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Food for Thought was my first novel, and if you’d asked me two months before I started writing it, I would have told you definitively that I did not have a novel in me. I’d written a self-help book, and wrote almost exclusively non-fiction, and only allowed myself to read fiction when I was on a sun lounger. 

Fast forward to lock-down, where the self-help went out the window and I found myself eating gluten and drinking rosé (shock horror!). We had a gorgeous spring in the UK, and I would walk by the River Thames with my puppy, revelling in the abundance of cow parsley and forget-me-nots on the tow-path, trying very hard to imagine I wasn’t in London. My in-laws live in rural Kent (about twenty miles south of London as the crow flies) and May was my favourite month down there. I couldn’t believe we were missing nature’s party at my favourite time of year.

Because of all the panic buying, it was difficult to buy exciting fresh food, and I started to dream about a parallel universe, where a city creature escaped down to Kent and gorged herself on food and drink and learnt how to be kinder to herself. What possible crisis could propel her down there, I wondered? 

At the beginning, Food for Thought wasn’t a romance. It was about a woman trying to understand what she wants from life; what’s important. I even wondered if her rift with her husband would be temporary. And then I dreamed up Angus. Dot, dot, dot, as Sophie from Mamma Mia would say. I knew I wanted her to find new love. And so I needed a rift in her marriage that would be clearly irreparable. A gay husband is a pretty safe deal-breaker. 

In the UK, a famous TV presenter, Philip Schofield, came out as gay on his morning TV show after twenty-seven years of marriage. I wondered how on earth his wife had dealt with that blow, whether she had always secretly suspected, just how honest he’d been with her. And so my inciting incident was born, and I made the whole episode as excruciating and shambolic as possible. It was a lot of fun! And without giving away any spoilers, Evelyn does get her big, fat, happy ending with a bow on it (it turns out I have a weakness for big, fat happy endings. All my books have them).

Writing Food for Thought was a transformative process for me at a time when nothing in the world felt certain. I fell very, very hard for Angus, my first book boyfriend, and I adored the world I’d created at Sorrel Farm so much that I realised I needed to write more books set in that special place. Food for Thought now has two sequels which are also standalone novels: Heaven on Earth and When Then Becomes Now. 

I hope you enjoy Food for Thought, and I hope reading it provides you with the respite that writing it did for me! 

Well-rounded characters require serious thought, and authors have far more colour on their characters than the reader will ever explicitly see on the page. We all have our systems. I’ve compiled a lengthy questionnaire which I use for each of my main characters, in order to understand how they think and behave.

Plots can’t happen to the characters; it’s the characters who must drive the plot, usually by way of their flaws. This means that the more I understand my characters, the more creative and outlandish plot lines I can conjure up! You’ll see an example of this below with Rosa from The Winter’s Fail. The plot of the story becomes the vehicle through which a character can confront and beat his or her flaws.

Here are some of the questions and brainstorming prompts I use. I’ve cobbled them together from several wise authors and included my answers from The Winter’s Fail.

From Will Storr—The Science of Storytelling: the flawed theory of control. I find his prompts invaluable. Here are some examples for Emmy.

How has she learnt to control her world?

Let it wash over her—don’t get too settled

What’s her automatic go-to tactic for wrestling with chaos, when the unexpected happens?

RUN!!!

She’s only safe when she … 

Doesn’t take life too seriously, doesn’t put down roots, doesn’t get stale

The big thing she understands about the world that nobody else seems to get is … 

We are all connected as human beings. There is no us and them.

 
What will she risk losing, materially, socially or otherwise, if she acts against her flaw?

Her sense of perspective and compassion—she could end up valuing money and her social conscience and choosing entitlement

Her freedom

From KM Weiland—Outlining Your Novel: again, I’m using my answers for Emmy here

Who depends on her and why?

No one really, because she ran off to India to do aid work—those people needed her more than her family and now she’s abandoned them

She was always told by her mother and sister that she had a tendency to mess things up and that she was unreliable, which is why she didn’t feel bad turning her back on them. She’s actually a lot more reliable and competent than they give her credit for.

What if anything would she like to change about her life?

To have some financial security and to want to put down some roots, not to feel so torn all the time

What personal demons haunt her?

The sex workers she walked away from in India

Is she lying to herself about something?

Possibly about how easy it will be to bring up a baby by herself

Or she’s lying to herself that she can always keep running; that she never has to do the hard work and put down roots

Why will the reader sympathise with her right away?

Because she’s given up the last few years of her life to help people and she’s now in a pickle and she’s really screwed up—she’s got nothing to fall back on. 

What are the 10 worst things that could happen to her?

I won’t put spoilers in here, but this is a brilliant way to generate plot ideas. It’s also a very fun process to dream up ways to torture your poor characters! It’s a development of my favourite writing prompt, what if? When I did this for Rosa, it yielded me the idea that comprises the defining moment in her character arc: the destruction of her career and personal brand by someone close to her.

From Debra Dixon—GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict

There’s a lot more to this book, but essentially it boils down to ensuring your story has these three elements for maximum tension and satisfaction:

Goal – what does your character want?

Motivation – why does she want this so badly?

Conflict – what stands in the way of her achieving her goal?

And there you have it–a sneak peek at my characterisation process. I usually spend a month or so percolating these questions before I write my final plot outline.

I’ve wanted to set a novel in Surrey for a while. I have good friends in Esher and Cobham, and I love hearing their stories from the private schools in that area. It’s my impression that the parents in their circle have a far more exciting social life than I do! (Or at least they did, pre-Covid.)

There’s no denying Surrey provides rich pickings for fiction. You’ll find that out quickly in Chapter 2, when Stacey gets some extra-curricular tuition from her tennis coach at the beautiful Beaverbrook hotel! I thought it would be fun to explore this part of the world through the eyes of a fish-out-of-water character, namely Emmy.

The wealth of Surrey doesn’t find much more contrast than the slums of India. Emmy’s been an aid worker in Uttar Pradesh for six years and she’s finding it hard to adjust to life back in the UK. I was very inspired last year by Melinda Gates’ stunning book, The Moment of Lift. It gave me so much to think about and I wanted Emmy (and her love-interest Jack, who runs a non-profit in the education sector) to be attuned to that world and to the astounding privilege that her friends in Surrey enjoy on an absolute and relative basis.

Finally, having spent eight years running a fashion brand, I still love writing about that industry, especially the fascinating lives of influencers and the gap between how they are perceived and their real lives. The concept of Cancel Culture gained strength in 2020 and I wanted to explore how Emmy’s sister Rosa, a successful influencer, would cope with an assault on her personal brand. 

I hope you enjoy reading the storylines as much as I enjoyed creating them!

With the epic Parents and Teachers blog tour more than halfway done, I wanted to post a round up of the reviews (and my favourite quotes!). There are links to all the full reviews in the headers. Perhaps you’ve downloaded the free copy and haven’t read it yet–I hope these reviews pique your interest in the book!

Huge thanks to all the bloggers who took invested their precious hours in reading and reviewing my book.

C is for Claire Reads

5 stars

“OMG! What a delicious, fun and addictive read this book was … I loved the storyline; it’s full of drama, scandal, sex and tangled personal lives, which made it a perfect escapist and juicy read. It’s been pure pleasure to devour this book.”

RhiRhi Reads

“What a fun and naughty little read! Lots of characters to get to grips with, but once I got used to them all, I couldn’t put it down.”

Mrs J Tea reads (Jess Townley)

4 stars

“This book is just so much fun”

PRDG Reads

4 stars

“The story added a hint of glamour to my life which I appreciated with everything that’s going on in the world right now”

Read with Lauren

4 stars

“I really hope she gets the credit she deserves and becomes a very well known author.”

Karen Reads and Recommends

“The book was just what I needed funny, current and full of glamour, designer outfits and huge houses and lots of sex ! I loved it, it took me right back to my Jilly Cooper years of Riders and Rivals which I absolutely love … If you are looking for a escape in lockdown then this author has provided one. Get a glass of wine, a comfy chair and enjoy!”

Chapter of Chels

“This book was the perfect fun, romantic quick read! Easy to get into, investable stories and plenty of wine to sink a ship, this is the perfect read for anyone wanting a fluffy but good book.”

Jules Writes

“Compelling. Witty. And just so READABLE. I was hooked.”

Karen K is reading

“Overall, I enjoyed the fast paced, often humorous and fabulously glamorous story, and could imagine this being made into a TV drama full of very attractive people.”

Little Miss Book Lover 87

“I absolutely love this author. This book has been one of my favourites I’ve read. I haven’t wanted to put this book down.I have adored this from start to finish.A definite five star read and I absolutely cannot wait for more from this author.”

Secret World of a Book

5 stars

“Hilariously funny breath of fresh air!this story gives you the kind of buzz you get from reading a really good romantic comedy.”

You can get the ebook of Parents and Teachers FREE by signing up to my mailing list, or you can buy it in ebook and paperback formats from all major online retailers.

If you stop thinking of writing as an art form and consider it as a craft instead, it can be a more constructive perspective. Writing has levers and layers and formulae and tried-and-tested tricks; it has character arcs and plot structures and tropes that we, as readers, are all familiar with without realising. We’re so familiar with these recipes, in fact, that when they are done well our reader’s journey is supremely satisfying, and when they miss the mark we’re left hungry or frustrated. 

Ahead of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, in November) I wanted to share the craft books that have helped me the most. I love learning about the craft of writing (which is lucky, because it’s a lifelong process.

Beyond the books below, I highly recommend the Masterclass programme. The classes by Dan Brown, James Patterson and David Baldacci in particular are exceptionally good all-rounders, but they have lots of other writing classes too. 

Outlining your Novel – KM Weiland

I just read this and have overhauled my plotting approach for my third novel because of it. It’s a brilliant book on how a thoughtful, rigorous outlining process can make the writing process so much easier, and add so much depth and plot to your book. 

GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict – Debra Dixon

A brilliant starting point for anyone wanting to build compelling characters and plots. Dixon argues that all characters have a goal because of a motivation but face an obstacle, and when we can make these 3 compelling enough, all great characters, scenes and plots spring from there. It has been startlingly effective in clarifying my jumble of thoughts for the novel I’m currently plotting. 

The Science of Storytelling – Will Storr

A wonderful read on how our brains work and therefore how to optimise stories for human biology. The appendix contains what he calls The Sacred Flaw Approach—this brilliant framework is a critical part of all my character work. 

Between the Lines: Master the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing – Jessica Morrell

Oh, boy. This book is incredible. It’s a nuanced, deeply insightful take on how to imbue your manuscript with emotional resonance, elegance and depth. It felt like a Masters Degree in a book! 

The Anatomy of a Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller – John Truby

Truby advocates a very specific 22-step story structure. I followed this in my first novel, Food for Thought, and it was hard but effective. There’s an argument that his methodology is unnecessarily complex, but this is a wonderful read whose lessons borrow heavily from the screenplays of classic movies such as The Godfather, Tootsie and Casablanca. (I also bought Truby’s audio course on the beats needed for Romance, and it was excellent). 

Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels – Gwen Hayes

I write novels with a strong romantic bent, rather than pure romance, but the ‘beats’ of a love story need special handling, and it can be tricky integrating your romantic arc with your main (external) plot. This short book is brilliant, witty and extremely practical.

I decided to do a Q&A with myself around Food for Thought, because I love to talk about my books and characters! And given it’s my first novel, I thought it might be of interest to discuss how I made the leap into fiction.

[Read more…] about Chat with me on Food for Thought