I’m delighted to welcome Sandy Barker to my blog.
Sandy Barker - Author
Hello Sandy – It was lovely to connect with you through the Romantic Novelists' Association and I have been looking forward to hosting you on Arabella's Blog and Chit-Chat. But before we discover more about your latest release, The Christmas Swap, here are a few questions which will hopefully give your readers and followers an insight into some of the things that matter to you.
Arabella: You’ve got an idea for a story but it has yet to take shape. Where do you start? Do you concentrate on the location in the story, or developing the characters personalities, or are there other key points you might consider?
Sandy: All my books are travel romances, so I typically
start with the location (somewhere I’ve visited or lived), and then I consider
who should go there and how they will be transformed by their time there. Once
I have the basic framework and know who is going where, I let the idea
percolate until I can imagine the characters in the location ― almost like watching
a film. I typically have a basic outline of the story and detailed character
outlines when I start writing ― from there, anything is possible and I am
frequently surprised by my characters’ actions.
Arabella: In your latest release The Christmas Swap what is the overall theme or premise, and what made you choose this topic?
Sandy:
I really wanted to write a Christmas book as it’s my favourite holiday and I
started thinking back over the Christmases I’ve had, particularly those in the
US and the UK, which are quite different from the hot Christmases we enjoy here
in Australia. Once I had the spark of the idea, that three friends who live in
three different countries would swap Christmases, the characters started
forming in my head ― each distinct and each with a different feeling about the
holiday. Lucy from the UK is desperate for a proper white Christmas, so is
enticed by a trip to Colorado. Jules from Colorado is over the freezing winters
and jumps at the chance of a hot Christmas in Melbourne, and Chloe is keen to
swap her orphans’ ―
her
parents are going on a cruise ― for a traditional British Christmas in a sleepy
English village. And, of course, as I write romcoms, hilarity and romance
follow.
Arabella: Trainers, Slippers or High-Heels?
Sandy: I’ve been in lockdown for the better part of six
months and over the cold months, so slippers or Uggs are the norm. I’d love a
reason to put on some heels and hit the town ― maybe soon. I am also a bit of a
gym junkie ― exercise is my therapy ― so it’s trainers most days too.
Arabella: You’re stuck in a lift and it’s a two-hour wait before a pain-free extraction. What emergency rations would you like to be sent down the lift shaft?
Sandy: My Kindle and a proper coffee. Maybe a cushion.
Arabella: You’ve arranged
to meet up with friends and family for an afternoon of fun. Where do you go and
what do you do?
Sandy: We go to a winery and sit in the sun, tasting
and sipping wine, and grazing on antipasto and cheese while enjoying the view.
Arabella: The moment we are published, a career path is usually envisaged. Do you have any aspirations or ambitions for yourself and any future novels you might write?
Sandy: I work fulltime in adult education and, though I
love it, I love writing even more so I am working towards being a fulltime
author. The Christmas Swap is my 4th book, and I have just
finished writing my 5th and have started my 6th, both in
the Holiday Romance series. I have the final book in that series planned out
and an idea for a few stand-alones too. There’s a fairy-tale I wrote as a short
story years ago that I’d love to write as a novel and my (author) friend and I
have a great idea for a dark contemporary thriller. I think that once I am a
fulltime author, I can branch out into other genres.
Thank
you for joining me on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat, Sandy. I too have a soft
spot for Uggs when lounging about the house.
All
the best for your latest release - The
Christmas Swap
Arabella
About Sandy Barker
 |
| Sandy Barker - Author |
Sandy is a writer, traveller and hopeful romantic with a lengthy bucket list, and many of her travel adventures have found homes in her novels. She’s also an avid reader, a film buff, a wine lover and a coffee snob. She lives in Melbourne Australia with her partner, Ben, who she met while travelling in Greece. Their real-life love story inspired Sandy’s debut novel One Summer in Santorini, the first in the Holiday Romance series with One More Chapter, an imprint of HarperCollins. The Christmas Swap, Sandy’s fourth novel is a stand-alone and celebrates her favourite time of year.
Social Media:
https://twitter.com/sandybarker
https://www.facebook.com/sandybarkerauthor
https://www.instagram.com/sandybarkerauthor/
Book Blurb: The Christmas Swap
Australian Chloe spends her Christmas in a sleepy village in Oxfordshire, England. She is totally star-struck when she discovers who lives across the road.
Lucy, who has jetted off to snowy Colorado for her dream-come-true white Christmas, is taken into the fold of Jules’s loud and brash family, discovering more about herself in a few short days than she has in years.
And Jules leaves the cold climes of Colorado to spend her Christmas on a beach with Chloe’s friends in Melbourne, finding that time away is just what she needed.
Release dates: Oct 16 (ebook) Nov 26 (print)
Buy links:
Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-christmas-swap/sandy-barker/9780008390044
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XFlqHt
Foyles: https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/fiction-poetry/the-christmas-swap,sandy-barker-9780008390044
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/the-christmas-swap
Thank you for having me - you are a fabulous host and I look forward to catching up on person - hopefully in 2021!
ReplyDeleteSandy - You were a super guest and thank you so much for sharing some of your writing secrets.
DeleteWishing you all the best for your latest release - The Christmas Swap
Arabella