Guest Blogger Wednesdays, Author Jane Linfoot in the Hot Seat!

Hi everyone, 

It’s wicked cold this week down Wexico way, time for the thermals me thinks!

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for a new bum to take a seat in Mrsh’s blog.   Are you a fan of RomComs like Love Actually, Notting Hill or Four Weddings and a Funeral?  Then I think you might like author Jane LInfoot‘s book How to Win a Guy in 10 Dates, because this book has the perfect balance of fun, romance, angst and above all love!  It really was a great read.  

So here we go, let’s get started, you comfy Jane? Yes? Good! Let’s ease you in gently, tell us all about yourself to kick things off please!

 

Hi, I’m Jane Linfoot, and I live in a muddy part of Derbyshire with my son and lots of pets. Although I’m  an architect, and I love good design, since I started writing, our home has been pretty chaotic. For years I’ve been doing up houses, because it fitted in well with having three children, but when the property slow-down hit, I suddenly found I had time to write the romance I’d always dreamed of. I get a big kick out of anything creative, and my writing seems like a natural extension of that. I love the buzz of cities, but I spent my childhood holidays on my Grandparents’ farm, so I think my heart is in the country. I’m quite an outdoor kind of a girl – I like cycling and gardening, and I’m always dashing off to take the dog for walks. Those are fab times for working out the next stage of the novel!

 

Who would have thought we could credit the property market freefall with the creation of such a great author!  Like you Jane, I love big cities too, but since I returned to Wexford have realised my heart is well and truly in the country too, so I can identify with how you feel.  So, just from your description of yourself, I reckon your life could be made into a movie, what genre movie would it be and who would play in the starring roles?

 

Life is busy and sometimes a little bit complicated. My partner is widowed, and we each have our own house, and we have six children between us. I guess a movie of my life would have to be a genre mash-up – a kind of rom-com crossed with disaster movie might work!

As for starring roles, when I asked my partner who he thought was a good fit to play him, he suggested Martin Clunes. O dear. In the end we decided maybe Gerard Depardieu for him, or David Tennant, if he put on a stone. And Andy MacDowell might work okay for me, but she’d have to sharpen up, and do a lot less simpering.

 

I think all lives are a little bit complicated at times, mine certainly is too.  But that keeps it interesting.  Six children, ahem, thats a lot of Christmas pressies!  But I love your mash up of genres, I’d watch that movie! Tell your partner that I have a soft spot for Martin Clunes.  Geek chic at its best!  But David Tennant probably a more popular choice 😉  You do look like Andi too!   Great choice.  

So tell us all about your writing. 

 

My first book was a hen-lit best seller, (chick-lit for chicks who’ve grown up) which I co-wrote with a friend back in 2005, but romance was something I really wanted to try on my own. Writing a romance, and finding a publisher, was the hardest thing I’ve done in my whole life. It’s quite a slow-burn thing, and I was writing book five by the time I was offered my three book contract with Harper Impulse.

So far I’ve written ‘medium length contemporary romance’, but it’s a kind of rom-com-chick-lit with a dose of steam. The reviewers describe my debut romance for harper Impulse, How To Win A Guy In 10 Dates, as ‘wry, cute, funny, and quirky, a thinking woman’s rom-com’.

And I’m totally thrilled and honoured, because How To Win A Guy In 10 Dates has been shortlisted for the Reader award for the Best Romantic EBook, at the Festival of Romance in Bedford, along with your own Beyond Grace’s Rainbow, and Lorraine Wilson’s Confessions of a Chalet Girl. I’m so proud to be representing Harper Impulse there!

 

You know I hadn’t even heard the term henlit or grannylit until recently.  I live a sheltered life!  That’s a great description pf your book though.  

Congratulations (again) on Festival of Romance Book award shortlist.  Just to let the readers know, The Festival Of Romance is a 3 day Book Festival in the UK which also hosts an annual book awards ceremony, that is quite the big deal in the world of Romance writing.  

I was so excited to find out I had been shortlisted with 4 excellent authors (competition is very strong!). Here is a picture of Lorraine, Me and Jane celebrating our award nomination last week!  

 

Out of interest, of the characters you’ve created through writing, which one is your favourite and why so?

 

I love the writing, because it’s just like hanging out with friends all day. My characters come alive, and have minds of their own. I like to think I’m in control, but often they’re the ones telling me what to write! As for favourites, I tend to love whoever I’m with at the time. The saddest part is when I get to the end, and know I won’t be spending long days with my characters any more. It’s like waving friends off, when they’ve been staying with you for a long time. When I came to the end of my first book, I felt so empty, the only thing to do was to start a new one.

 

I always feel sad when I get to the end of a book too (along with huge relief that I managed to write it!!) Can you share something with us about one of your books that you’ve not shared with anyone else before?  I love an exclusive 😉

 

Definitely! Cracker the pony, who plays an important part at the start and the end of How to Win a Guy In 10 Dates, is based on a real pony called Sam, who my lovely neighbour bought for my children to ride. I called him Cracker in the book, because I began by playing around with a quote about love being like an exploding cigar. The setting of the quarry is real too, and we used to ride Sam up there.

He’s a grey Welsh Mountain Pony, so he’s small, and puts on weight if he has more than the odd blade of grass to eat – he’s often rounder than he should be. Despite the fact he’s completely cute, and a perfect size for a child to ride, Welsh Mountain Ponies can be very headstrong, and quite a handful, and Sam’s no exception. His pet hate is tractors, which is not so good if you live in the country! When the children were at primary school we used to do the school run on the ponies, which was lovely.

 

I grew up with ponies myself Jane and Daddy recently spoiled all his grandchildren by buying a pony for them to share.  So we now have Shadow in Grand-dad and Nana’s back garden.  Love the Cracker story, thank you for sharing that with us all!

So what are you working on right now?

 

Harper Impulse already has my next book, which is coming out in the new year and has a working title, Being Bad, and a hero called Brando. I’m currently working on a follow-up to this – Brando’s little sister, Bryony, is all tangled up with a cycling star called Jackson, and they head off to Cornwall, on a road trip in his VW camper. It’s lots of fun to write, as Bryony is very high maintenance, they’re both used to having their own way, but they also fancy the pants off each other.

 

Oh it all makes sense now, you went on a big cycling trip this summer didn’t you?  Research!  Must ask, did the cycling element come from your holiday or did you go on a cycling holiday for research?  Both books sound great, looking forward already to reading.  So describe your perfect day for us.  

Perfect day: There are three:

The first would start with a dog walk with my lovely Old English Sheepdog, Yoyo, then I would be let loose with a roller and a vast quantity of paint in a big empty house that needed decorating. Oh, and there would unlimited quantities of apple pie too.

The second would be by my favourite french lake with all my children, a picnic, a good book, and some French Interior Decoration Magazines. It would be baking hot and sunny, and, for once, the children wouldn’t argue.

The third would be in Provence, wandering round our favourite villages in the sunny Luberon, with my oph (own personal hero).

 

Would your ‘oph’ be a Martin Clunes lookalike I wonder?  What perfect days you have described Jane.

I’d love everyone to see a small excerpt from your book How to win a guy in ten dates, can you oblige?

An excerpt from Chapter 3 of How To Win A Guy In Ten Dates…

 

‘And there is something, something you can do, that is……’

‘Yes?’ She tilted her head, narrowed her eyes, her heart belting her chest wall as she waited.

‘Come out with me tonight.’ Just like that. Cool as a chilled beer. Unleashing a waterfall of shivers to cascade down her neck.

Oh lordy. ‘You got me there, I’m sorry, I don’t think so, I don’t…..’

Now he was the one narrowing his eyes, staring like she was gone out, planting his hands on his hips. Definitely not happy.

‘Lets get this clear. I saved your life twice, and you’re refusing me a date? Don’t even think about it.’ Chocolate voice like an incendiary now.

It was her turn to be chilled as a cool thing. Icey. Decided.

‘I was planning to make you a thank-you batch of cookies.’ She watched his expression slide from disbelieving to incredulous. ‘I’m very sorry, but my life-plan doesn’t include dates. I’m aiming for total independence.’ Despite it being the truth, out loud it sounded ridiculous. But she couldn’t be independent and have dates. Dates robbed you of your independence on every level.

‘Excuse me? I’m talking about going out for an hour, not moving in!’

‘Whatever.’ She shrugged. This was not negotiable.

‘Jeez, if you can dance around to Santa Baby all morning, you can damn well fit in an hour with me tonight.’ Sounded pretty non-negotiable too.

But she’d got in first, and he knew that.

 

What the book is all about :-

 

The 10 Date Challenge

Day 1: Take one loaded commitment-phobe explosives expert, embarking on the impossible–a challenge to have ten dates with one woman.

Day 5: Add in a fiercely independent and feisty burlesque teacher who has sworn off men.

Day 10: She’s so not his type and he’s so not in her life-plan. But the heat is sizzling and the attraction is explosive. And they’re fighting it all the way….

 

Buy Links:

 

US     http://amzn.to/175vMNR

 

 

UK    http://amzn.to/19axrXZ

 

Author Page Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/JaneLinfoot2

 

Personal Page Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jane.linfoot.1

(happy to have friend requests)

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/janelinfoot @janelinfoot

 

Website: http://www.janelinfoot.co.uk

 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jane-Linfoot/e/B00EAMLZ80/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

 

 Thank you Jane, really great.  Give me 3 words to describe your best self and 3 words to describe your worst self. 

Best self: creative, happy, hard-working 🙂     Worst self: difficult, over-reacting, hard work 🙁

 

Very honest answers there, which I applaud. I hate those worst self answers that are really giving yourself a compliment! We want to know our guest bloggers warts and all!  However, now that I’ve met you I can’t imagine you ever being hard work or difficult!  Over-reacting? Well that’s just your creative self expressing itself at times! (that’s what I tell myself when I am in mid meltdown)

Girls or boys night out, room for 10 in the limo, who are you bringing with you? (Dead, alive, fictional, celebrities, friends, the choice is yours!)

 

I’ll have a girls night out please, with the Harper Impulse Team, and as many of the authors as can make it. Nic (Tatano) will have to be an honorary girl for the evening! We may need to order and extra couple of limo’s, but if Carmel’s Blog Rules say no to that, it’ll have to be first come first served. You and me can call shotgun Mrs H 😉

 

 I love that idea and I’m in!  That would be a What are you reading right now? And is it a paper book or ebook?

 

I can’t read at the same time as I write, but once I’ve finished a novel, my big treat is to read, whilst I’m plotting the next book. I took a whole stack of paperbacks on holiday recently, to read across a range of genres, but I got the balance a bit wrong, and ended up with an overdose of erotica. It was a relief to move onto cyclist, David Millar’s autobiography, Racing Through The Dark, which I read to check out some final details for my work-in-progress. I loved David’s book. It was a really honest, soul-baring account, that gave fab insights into both the guy, and the tough old world of professional cycling.

 

 

Actually I love reading autobiographies too.  It can make a lovely change from fiction.  If you could pick any career in the world other than what you do now, what would it be?

I’d love to be a lingerie designer.

 

 Great answer! I picked up on the lingerie passion in your book actually.  That would be a pretty cool job.  So time for the Quick fire round, pick one of each of the below!

Beer or cocktails  Beer, in bottles

Jeans or dress/suit   I would say jeans, but those little T shirt dresses are very forgiving round the waist for long stints at the key-board

Sun or Snow Definitely sun

Beach or Pool  Beach

Cats or Dogs Both – this one’s non negotiable!)

Theatre or Cinema  Cinema

Pink or Green Pink – pink is a way of life haha

Night in or night out Night in

Paperback or eBook Paperback

Lobster or steak Lobster

The Walking Dead/Downton Abbey The Walking Dead

 

I always try to guess the answers of the quick fire round for all my guests and guess what Jane? I guessed all of yours correctly!  Even down to both Cats and dogs, I’d knew you couldn’t pick!

No idea what you will say to this though! What is the best compliment anyone could give you?

 

Your kids are fab! And by the way, I loved your book! 

 

Ok, well here is a picture of you and your kids and may I say that they are only fabulous! And I loved your book!  Easy. 

 Jane, thank you for stopping by and being such a great guest blogger.  Looking forward to having a few cocktails with you at the Festival! 

Thank you everyone for reading as always.  Next week I have an author who writes paranormal books, so don’t miss that!

Chat soon, 

Carmel