What’s the earliest memory you have of writing a story?
I wrote many stories at school. I remember a series of naive tales on what I would doing at 20/30/40 years old and so on. I was famous and my hair never went grey. Oh, the innocence of youth.
What is your least favorite part of the writing process?
Mid-droop plot. I suffer it every story. I enthusiastically start, then midway I seem to lose the plot - and the will to live.
What is your most favorite part of the writing process?
That first initial spark of an idea that takes root and develops into something bigger and then the voices start in my head. Yes, yes, I am allowed voices. I'm an author *nods*.
Tell us a bit about why you decided to set a story in England?
Uh, I live here? Somewhere along the way I decided I'd like to write books set in my world. It doesn't stop me basing books elsewhere but it's a lot easier for me to write in Brit.
Your book is the second in the Left At The Crossroads series, what was the inspiration for this series?
I wanted to write a series set in the English countryside and as it happens, my friend and author, Lisa Worrall was writing a story based in a village. Happy coincidence. The poor girl had to wait for me to get over the year from hell before my story was finished though. She is very patient.
Thank you so much for visiting today!
Thank you for inviting me, RJ.
In-Decision
Buylinks: ARe: Amazon.com: Amazon.co.uk, Smashwords
Left at the Crossroads series: #1
Un-Expected by Lisa Worrall
Blurb:
Little Mowbury is a sleepy English village deep in the
Cotswolds. The kind of village where you’re only a local if your lineage can be
traced back to the dinosaurs. Where you can find everything in the single
village shop from morning newspapers to dry-cleaning, and getting your shoes
mended. And, of course, where everybody knows everybody else’s business. It’s
easy to find… you can’t miss it… just ask anyone and they’ll tell you… “It’s
left at the crossroads.”
Eighteen months ago Jason Havers lost the love of his life
and it's time to move on. Applying for the position of chef in a sleepy country
pub, a million miles away from his previous life, may well be the fresh start
he needs. His new employers immediately take him under their wing and before
long he finds himself with a passel of new friends and a job he loves. What he
doesn’t expect is Tom, a gorgeous midwife, who stirs up feelings he’s not ready
to deal with.
EXCERPT:
Jason Havers drove down the
narrow village street looking for the Thatcher’s Arms. The farmer’s directions
to Little Mowbury had been clear enough, even if he had mumbled into his beard;
turn left at the crossroads and keep driving.
“But when the hell am I meant
to stop?” Jason muttered. He’d reached Little Mowbury and he still hadn’t found
the bloody pub. He’d left plenty of time to find the place, not wanting to be
late for the job interview, but there had been congestion on the motorway. The
stupid satnav had given up with a mile and a half to go, leaving him cursing at
the useless piece of technology and driving through unmarked country lanes for
twenty minutes until he found a human who could give him directions. Now he had
ten minutes to find the pub before he could kiss the interview goodbye. “It’s
on the left,” he muttered. “On the left.”
Something out of the corner
of his right eye caught his attention and he slammed on the brakes, missing the
man who’d stepped out in front of him by a hair’s breath. The bloke actually
had the gall to glare at him and give him the finger before he disappeared into
one of the cottages.
His heart pounding, Jason sat back in the
driver’s seat and stared after the arsehole. He shook his head in disbelief and
said sarcastically, “Welcome to Little Mowbury, Jason.”
A loud honk behind him made
Jason jump and he cursed as he stalled the engine before he finally managed to
get the car started again. Waving his apology to the car behind, he pulled away
and there it was, fifty yards down the road opposite the village green. A
typical English village pub with a thatched roof, wooden tables outside and
large hanging baskets everywhere.
Jason left the car at the edge of the green
and jogged towards the pub. Then he stopped and squinted at the ridge of the
roof, grinning as he spied the thatched duck perched on the top. He had three
minutes before eleven o’clock. Not good but at least he wasn’t late. He paused
in the doorway of the Thatcher’s Arms, his eyes adjusting to the dark interior
after the brightness of the late morning sunshine.
“Come in, son. You’re making
the place look untidy.”
Still blind from the sun,
Jason moved towards the voice, which he discovered as he drew closer, belonged
to an elderly lady who stood behind the bar.
“What can I get you?” she
asked, looking at him expectantly. Her huge, dangling earrings rattled as she
talked. Jason tried not to focus on them, but better to look at the earrings
than her impressive chest which was really distracting, even for him.
“Uh… I’m Jason.”
She looked at him with a
blank expression.
“Jason Havers. I’m here to
interview for the chef’s position. We spoke on the phone?”
Her expression had moved on
from blank to puzzled and Jason’s mind raced as he wondered whether he’d got
the wrong day or time, or even the wrong fucking pub.
Then she beamed at him as she leaned on the
bar. “Sorry, luv, I completely forgot. It’s been manic here this morning. We’ve
only just cleared the breakfast crowd and we’ve got to get ready for lunch.
Colin, he’s my hubby, isn’t feeling too chipper this morning and Rich, the
other chef, has had to go to the dentist. I’m Maggie Mason.” She shook Jason’s
hand. He resisted the desire to wince and flex his fingers as she let it go.
For an elderly woman she had a bloody firm grip.
Jason looked around him. The bar was half-full
but he could see the tables hadn’t been bussed and there were dirty glasses at
one end of the bar. “Can I help? I can give you a hand with the lunch. That is,
if you want me to, I mean….”
Maggie nodded and handed him
an apron. “If you want a baptism by fire, you’re on. I’ll interview you as we
go. Do you mind clearing the tables?”
“No problem.”
“Leave the dirty plates at that end of the bar
and I’ll take ‘em through to the kitchen.”
Although Jason was a chef by
trade, he’d done most of the jobs required in restaurants and pubs. He started
at one end of the bar and worked down, removing the remains of the breakfasts
and cleaning the tables. As Jason worked he was conscious of the other customers
staring and whispering about him. Maggie grinned at him as he delivered the
dirty plates.
“Are the locals giving you a
hard time?”
Jason smirked. “They just
want to know about the new boy in town.” He tilted his head at the two old
gents sat in the snug. “Especially them.”
Maggie scowled at them but it
was more affectionate than fierce and the old guys raised their pint glasses in
response. “They’re the worst of the lot. Never tell them your business. It’ll
be all round the village before you’ve had a chance to breathe.
“You’re the one who flaps her
mouth, Maggie May.” An elderly man with an amazing amount of snow-white hair
wrapped his arms around Maggie and tugged him against her.
She huffed but didn’t try to move away from
him. “Jason, this is my husband, Colin. Ignore everything he says. I’m the one
in charge.”
Colin shook Jason’s hand.
“Pleased to meet you, Jason. We just let Maggie think she’s in charge—for a
quiet life.”
“I understand,” Jason assured him then winked
at Maggie, who burst out laughing.
“I like him. I think we’ll
keep him.”
“You haven’t tried my cooking yet,” Jason
pointed out.
Maggie looked at her watch. “You’d better get
in the kitchen. Rich did the preparation before he left.”
Colin frowned at his wife. “I
thought he was here for an interview?”
“We decided to make it a practical interview.
He offered to help clear up.”
“Okay, son. The kitchen is all yours. I’ll
show you round.” As Jason followed Colin he noticed the man shuffled one of his
feet. Colin saw his gaze and shrugged. “I had a stroke the end of last year.
I’m fine now but I still struggle walking any distance.”
“Is that why you’re looking for another chef?”
“Rich has been great. He’s picked up most of
the shifts, but he’s found a girl in Southampton and he wants to spend more
time with her. We agreed to split his shifts.”
Jason frowned. “So the job
isn’t full-time?” He couldn’t afford to work part-time. Not now he was on his
own.
“It is, but split over
breakfast, lunch and dinner. You’ll have more than enough to do.” Colin opened
the door to the kitchen.
“Wow.” Jason blinked as he
looked at the stainless steel kitchen. He was hard put not to drool as he gazed
around. “This looks new.”
“Almost,” Colin said. “We replaced it just
before my stroke.”
“First orders, boys.” Maggie handed them to
Jason, ignoring Colin’s outstretched hand. “Three mixed grills and hold the
bacon on one of them.”
“Okay then.”
Colin limped to the fridge.
“I’ll give you a hand if you want.”
Jason was about to protest he
was fine on his own, but realised this was part of his interview. “Sounds good
to me.”
They worked efficiently
together with Colin holding back as Jason got the hang of the kitchen. Colin
nodded in approval as he plated the order then Jason delivered the food to a
family sitting in one corner of the bar.
He smiled at them all. “Who wants the no
bacon?”
A teenage girl with soft
curls and large eyes smiled shyly at him. “That’s mine.”
The man with her looked at
his plate. “This looks amazing.” His stomach rumbled audibly and he blushed as
his wife scolded him.
Jason grinned at them. “That’s what I like to
hear. You’re my very first customers. Enjoy.”
As he walked past Maggie she
handed him more orders. “It’s Thursday, so it’s liver and bacon day. Don’t
forget the extra gravy for Deano Wells.”
Jason ruffled through the
orders. “How will I know which one is his?”
“He’s usually the only one who orders liver
and bacon,” Colin said drily.
Maggie shrugged. “We look after our
customers.”
“Maggie has her favourites and they get whatever
they want,” Colin said as they retreated to the kitchen. “I just shut up and do
as I’m told.”
“Bollocks,” Maggie yelled behind them.
“I’ll make sure to do the
same thing.” Jason deliberately raised his voice and smirked at Colin when
Maggie responded with a loud snort.
“You’ll do just fine here,”
Colin said.
Jason really hoped so because he hadn’t got
nearly enough of this kitchen. “Tell me that at the end of the lunch session.”
Jason worked hard for a
couple of hours until the rush died off. He was clearing up the last of the
dishes when Maggie came in and handed him an envelope.
“What’s this?” He opened it
to see a few ten pound notes.
“Your pay for today. You came
for an interview, not to manage the kitchen. The job is yours if you want it.”
He cheered inside, but there
were practical details to sort out. “I’ll need to find somewhere to stay. I
couldn’t do this journey every day.”
Maggie pursed her lips before
she said, “There’s a room upstairs if you want it. We used to run a B&B but
after Colin’s stroke it became too much. There’s a room and a private
bathroom.”
Jason hesitated for only a
second. Although Maggie didn’t know it, this was the answer to his prayers. He
had the chance to get away and make a fresh start. Away from David, and away
from all the friends who looked at him as though he was broken. Those that had
even bothered to stay.
“When do you want me to
start?” He beamed at her and she grinned back.
“You can start Monday, but
Saturday is Cricket Day for the village. Why don’t you stay Friday night and
meet everyone before you start work?”
Jason opened his mouth to say
it was too soon then closed it again. “Sure. I’ll drive over tomorrow evening,
Mrs. Mason.”
Maggie held out her hand.
“Welcome to the family, son. Call me Maggie.”
He dried his hand and shook
it. “Thanks, Maggie. This means a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome. Now finish cleaning those
dishes.”
TOUR SCHEDULE
April 15: Diverse Reader
|| Multitasking
Mommas || UK Gay Romance
April 16: Scattered Thoughts
and Rogue Words || Cia's
stories
April 17: Hearts
on Fire Reviews || The Purple Rose Tea
House
April 20: The Novel Approach
April 21: Prism Book Alliance
April 22: RJ Scott
|| Because Two Men Are
Better Than One
April 23: Divine Magazine
April 24: Elisa - My Reviews
and Ramblings
April 27: Anne Barwell
|| Love
Bytes Reviews
April 28: MM Good Book Reviews
April 29: Bayou Book Junkie
April 30: BFD Book Blog
|| Rainbow
Gold Reviews
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sue
Brown is owned by her dog and two children. When she isn't following their
orders, she be found haunting coffee shops to feed her coffee addiction. She
spends hours people-watching instead of typing. She feeds the plot bunnies, not
the word count.
Sue
discovered M/M erotica at the time she woke up to find two men kissing on her
favorite television series. The series was boring; the kissing was not. She may
be late to the party, but she's made up for it since, writing fan fiction until
she was brave enough to venture out into the world of original fiction
GIVEAWAY
Win a copy of Lisa Worrall’s
‘Un-expected’ and 3 runners up will get to pick any one of Sue Brown’s books!
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