Today I’m taking part in the blog tour for A Perfect Discovery. I’m sharing my Q&A with the author with thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the blog tour and Margaret Amatt for answering my questions!

Have you always wanted to write?

I’ve always written in some shape or form. I think I was in my early twenties when I first thought it would be cool to have a published book

What were your previous jobs? Have they helped you with your writing process?

I still work three days a week teaching pre-school children. I think that helps me be patient and have a good wide understanding of human nature which definitely helps in writing.

What was your inspiration for A Perfect Discovery?

It started with a previous book in the series when Calum (the lead) was involved as ‘the bad guy’. When I was writing it, I didn’t want him to be bad just for the sake of it. Villains with no agency are melodramatic and annoying, so I had a story for why he acted the way he did. When I finished that book, I realised I actually had a great character who needed a redemption story of his own. I’d mentioned in that story that he had a long-term feud with another family on the island and that got me thinking about how much fun it would be if I paired him up with one of them. As Calum was a property mogul, I thought it would be fitting if the female lead not only belonged to the rival family but was in some way blocking him from building more properties. That was when I learned about some places having archaeological conditions attached to planning consent and how developers had to pay for these to be fully investigated before they could build anything. And so Rhona the archaeologist was born!

How do you construct your characters? Do they have traits of people you know?

I generally build them from scratch and only occasionally base their traits on people I know. I’ve occasionally based some side characters on friends or relatives just for fun (to see if they notice!)

What does your writing process look like? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Big time plotter! I need a good road map to keep me going in the right direction

How did you research? Did you enjoy it?

 As I enjoy learning about history, I really enjoyed researching the work of an archaeologist for this book.

Who are your favourite writers? Are you influenced by them?

I like a variety of writers both historical and contemporary. It’s their work ethic and determination that often inspires me and influences me

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I love photography, drawing and going on road trips!

What is next for you?

 I have a new series planned for next year and am currently working on a book for that set in a pink hotel!

Favourites:

Book?

Just one??? Eeek

Emma – Jane Austen

Lord of the Rings – Tolkien

North and South – Elizabeth Gaskell

One in a Million – Lindsey Kelk

Film?

 The Jane Austen Book Club

Band/Singer?

 Not really into bands

Colour?

 Red

Place?

 Isle of Mull in the Hebrides where all my books so far are set!

Biscuit?

Jaffa Cakes

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A Perfect Discovery is available from Amazon.

You can follow the rest of the blog tour here: