Helena Fairfax

Strictly speaking we’re only meeting half of Isabella Connor today – and she’s not called Isabella! Liv Thomas is one half of a writing duo who publish under the lovely name of Isabella Connor. Liv lives in England, and her writing partner, Val, lives in Canada. They’ve never actually met in real life, but they’ve created a very successful writing partnership.

Even though only half of Isabella is here today, I’ve made a full pot of tea and a whole plate of toasted English muffins.

Good to meet you, Liv!

Whereabouts in England do you live? Hampshire – Southampton, to be exact. At least, physically. See next question :)

Where is your favourite place in the world? Ireland, without question. The country, the people, the history, the legends….and an accent that makes the men very attractive. (And I’d guess the women too.) :)

It’s a beautiful country!

Being a writer is a great job.  What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?   Probably when I was doing one day a week in a wedding shop trying to promote a photographer. I’m not very good at approaching people and trying to sell them something. And when I was at school I had a Saturday job in a department store, the haberdashery department. The word ‘boredom’ doesn’t come close.

I’m imagining something like Are You Being Served, only without the innuendos. I can imagine how dull that might have been!

What book do you wish you’d written? The Harry Potter series. Obviously, the money aspect would be very nice, but I’d love to have written something that became so iconic.

What’s your favourite song? I have quite a collection of favourites. At the moment, I’m very fond of Maria McKee’s ‘Show me Heaven’ because it features (very briefly) in An Irish Promise and it makes me ‘live’ the moment! I love Bruno Mars ‘Just the Way you Are’ and I have a weakness for Bryan Adams and Westlife.

That’s exciting about the Maria Mckee song :)

If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you say to them? Ricky Gervais. He’s so vocal in his support for animals. I’d probably be very gushing in my praise, and wouldn’t mention that I didn’t like him much before I became aware of his campaign. If I could speak to the dead – maybe someone from the Marie Celeste and I could ask them what happened. There’s also a guy called Nick Juvicic, who has to be one of the most inspirational people ever born. I don’t know what I’d say to him though – I’d be in total awe. You can watch a video of him here.

I just watched his video, Liv, and it’s amazing. What an inspiring person. I was really moved by it.

What’s your happiest childhood memory? My Gran’s feather bed, and crisps and lemonade whilst she had her nightly bottle of stout. My dad died when I was quite young, so although I have a lot of good memories, to be honest, I can’t think of anything particularly special – we didn’t have holidays except when we went to my Aunt in Southend. Well, to be exact, Thorpe Bay. It might sound clichéd, but my happiest times were probably when I was reading – Enid Blyton, the Bobbsey Twins, What Katy Did, Heidi, Little Women. An endless list. And they were books I would re-read. That doesn’t happen so much these days, even with books I’ve really enjoyed.

It’s sad we don’t have time to re-read books when we’re older. Childhood is so fleeting, but at the time, it seems to go on forever. I love your list of favourites.

If you had to marry a fictional character, from film, television, or books, who would it be? I’m quite partial to Finn in An Irish Promise, but as he’s my creation I guess he’s my ideal, so not really feasible! I love Faramir from Lord of the Rings, but not sure I’d like to live with orcs on the doorstep. Also have a thing for Capt. America…well, actually, I have a thing for Chris Evans.

That’s a wide-ranging list. It made me laugh!

What’s the most important lesson life has taught you? To always be prepared for the worst. I’m actually quite an optimist, but it’s no use thinking that life is a bowl of cherries. The unpleasant side of life can be hard to deal with if you aren’t ready for it. It’s a long fall from a fluffy pink cloud. Also, try not to judge someone based on your own standards…if a person has a kind heart, that’s all that’s important really.

It’s sad that we have to learn to toughen up, but bad times can come out of the blue. To be honest, I don’t think you ever are really prepared.

And finally, please tell us about your latest book, where we can find it, and where we can find your blog/website

An Irish Promise is set in a fictional Irish village. It deals with school bullying and the long-term effects on both the bullied and the bullies, and whether revenge is the answer. Rachel returns to the village where she was at school as a child, intent on confronting the now adult teenage bullies who shattered her life. There’s also romance and how that is affected when past and present collide in a devastating way. It received five stars and four steamy kettles from InD’Tale magazine.  In all honesty, I’m not sure about the steamy rating – anyone buying it based on that might be a little disappointed!

Here’s the Amazon UK buy link and Amazon US

My own website is rather sadly neglected, although I have the best of intentions. You can find it here.

I also have Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter accounts, and a Facebook author page

Many thanks for hosting me, Helena!

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Many thanks for dropping in today, Liv. An Irish Promise sounds like a great read and has had some lovely reviews. Congratulations on your successful writing partnership!

If you’ve enjoyed Liv’s interview, or have any questions or comments, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you!