Kate Clothier is leading a double life: a successful jet-setting businesswoman to the outside world, but behind closed doors, life with Daniel and his volcanic temper is anything but rosy.
Some days – heck, make that EVERY day – cake is her only salvation.
Slowly but surely, the cities she visits – and the men she meets – help her to realise there IS a better future.
And the ley lines of Glastonbury are certainly doing their best to impart their mystical wisdom…
But will she escape before it’s too late?
Purchase Link: myBook.to/pavlova
Author Q&A Session
1: Oh! What a Pavlova is a book with a delicious-looking cover. Do you think this is misleading in any way, considering a major thread of the novel is about domestic violence?
We chose the cover carefully so that it would hint at the fusion of subjects. ‘Pavlova’ is a cross genre story that meshes comedy, romance, travel, spirituality, Glastonbury, food and, yes: D.V. All in no particular order.
The slightly chaotic aerial shot (and the photographic illustration) hopefully suggest to the reader that this isn’t the lightest of reads. But it is an honest tale of the very real way in which emotional and physical abuse can play out in relationships – even those that appear to be wonderful to the outside world.
2: When did you realise you wanted to become an author?
I guess the clues always been there…
As a toddler I’d sit for hours on the potty with a pile of books at my feet, refusing to move until I had ‘read’ through them all, Mum dragging me off in the end to stop the ring on my bottom getting any redder!
I have been scribbling and verbalizing in one way or another for as long as I can remember. As a young child I would invent stories (along with my little sister) about people we knew… as well as fictional characters, who would randomly jump into the mix to spice things up – WorzelGummidge, Aunt Sally and Emu to name a few. They would usually trail behind us in our hire car, chasing us through the mountains on holidays in Portugal and Cyprus – I know; I was a little bit ‘kooky’ to say the least!
And when I wasn’t doing that I was penning equally random and daft tales about the neighbours on our street, together with very amateur felt-tip illustrations. Thankfully my story-telling abilities have moved up several notches, even if my artistry hasn’t.
English lessons at high school were never creative or comedic enough for my liking though; we were either heads down and glued to Othello, or One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, desperately trying to stay awake; our own creativity hampered by words which felt quite meaningless to us at that age. No wonder I started to entertain my friends by surreptitiously passing around folded paper concertinas of the game Consequences… untilwe got caught.
3: What were your favourite books as a child?
When it came to reading, I wouldn’t say I was as book-wormish as some of my friends. I adored Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers. I wished (oh, I wished!) that I went to that boarding school where everything seemed to be fun and games. I must have got into reading those stories when I’d just started high school, and they offered up a safe haven of contrast to the school bullies who made it their daily mission to become my shadow at the time. Shortly before that, at primary school, I was in love with the busy madcap world of Richard Scarry. The illustrations captivated me, transporting me to another fun world full of endless possibilities.
I was a lazy reader as a teen. Far more interested in boys and magazines than the literary! I suppose Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Smash Hits had some words in them…
4: Some of the larger publishing houses rejected ‘Pavlova’. Why do you think this was?
Many of the larger publishing houses fell for the verve of my writing style, but not quite enough to take my novel on and this was for two reasons:
1) Marketability – my book straddles a number of genres, hey, I’m unapologetic when it comes to breaking the rules, and…
2) Some of them weren’t too keen on the mix of satire and a serious subject.
‘Pavlova’ is a tale of cake meets domestic violence, travel, spirituality, comedy, and a bid for freedom in the arms of many an unsuitable man… all set against the backdrop of the weird and wonderful characters of the publishing industry. It also features Glastonbury, a town I have long believed is totally under-represented when it comes to fiction!
‘Pavlova’ could never have been written any other way, not even to satisfy the demands of the 21st century publishing industry.
I’m so glad I held onto my vision. Crooked Cat Books ‘got it’ immediately and signed me up. They truly are the perfect publishing home for a writer like me, for they champion a multitude of authors who cross genres, touching on a number of important subjects, celebrating fabulous fiction in all its guises. Our author community is super supportive and I feel very blessed! The universe definitely delivered.
5: What’s next?
Well, since my debut novel (whose 1 year birthday book blog tour you are kindly taking part in – thank you!!!), I have had two more novels published with Crooked Cat: The Cocktail Bar was released in February of this year, and then more recently, Costa del Churros, in September.
Book 4 is also written and about to go off for editing. It’s another magical foodie adventure set in Capri and Bath (with a little culinary tour of Italy in-between). The best fun to write but it definitely made me hungry!
Author Bio –
Isabella May lives in (mostly) sunny Andalucia, Spain with her husband, daughter and son, creatively inspired by the sea and the mountains.
When she isn’t having her cake and eating it, sampling a new cocktail on the beach, or ferrying her children to and from after school activities, she can usually be found writing.
As a co-founder and a former contributing writer for the popular online women’s magazine, The Glass House Girls – www.theglasshousegirls.com – she has also been lucky enough to subject the digital world to her other favourite pastimes, travel, the Law of Attraction, and Prince (The Purple One).
She has recently become a Book Fairy, and is having lots of fun with her imaginative ‘drops’! Costa del Churros is her third novel with Crooked Cat Books, following on from the hit sensations, Oh! What a Pavlova and The Cocktail Bar.
Social Media Links –
Twitter – @IsabellaMayBks
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/IsabellaMayAuthor/
Instagram – @isabella_may_author
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