Hi there and thanks for joining me on my blog tour. I am enjoying myself hugely, everyone is so lovely and accommodating of my bizarre requests for mineral water, white lilies and bowls of pork scratchings in my dressing rooms. So, here I am now at Coffee Time Romance to tell you all about my latest novel, Please Don’t Stop the Music.
To give you a taste, here’s the blurb.
How much can you hide?
Jemima Hutton is determined to build a successful new life and keep her past a dark secret. Trouble is, her jewellery business looks set to fail ““ until enigmatic Ben Davies offers to stock her handmade belt buckles in his guitar shop and things start looking up, on all fronts.
But Ben has secrets too. When Jemima finds out he used to be the front man of hugely successful Indie rock band Willow Down, she wants to know more. Why did he desert the band on their US tour? Why is he now a semi-recluse?
And the curiosity is mutual ““ which means that her own secret is no longer safe “¦
Oh, you’ve read it, good. That was quick, I’m still only half way through the pork scratchings”¦ Anyway. This is a novel of Dark Secrets; almost every character has something that they are hiding from the others, which makes me wonder. Why are we so attracted to secrecy? I read somewhere (oh, don’t ask me where, Wiki probably. Or that website about 50 ways to crazy-pave your garden) that the word “Secret’ is the most seductive in the English language. And men with secrets make such great fictional heroes because, as the layers are peeled away new aspects of personality are revealed and I love exploring that characterisation. The deeper you go, the closer to the “real’ man you get, and that journey makes a fascinating read. Particularly when you consider that, in real life, men with secrets they deliberately don’t reveal aren’t nearly as sexy ““ they’re just annoying. Especially when you get to the bottom of it all and it turns out that their great “secret’ is a stack of unpaid parking fines or a worrying predilection for the music of Britney Spears.
So, for chance to win a copy of Please Don’t Stop the Music, please leave a comment telling me about your favourite fictional hero. Is he dark and tortured with secrets like Ben? Or open, above-board and absolutely forthright about everything. And please tell me why you like your hero, what makes him so attractive ““ that way I’ll know how to shape my next hero!
Please Don’t Stop the Music is published by Choc Lit on 01 February. To find out more about Jane (or even to ask her about those pork scratchings), go to www.janelovering.co.uk or follow her on Twitter, @janelovering. To read more Please Don’t Stop the Music
0 COMMENTS
Cindy L
14 years agoI’ll base my favorite hero on one from a book that I just read. He was in love with a woman that was to be married to another. He was an honorable man that loved her from afar. He even saved the man she loved so her heart wouldn’t be broken. So I guess he would be honorable, courageous and let’s not forget romantic.
Kate Johnson
14 years agoI’ve been thinking about Buffy the Vampire Slayer lately (yes, unusual for me). Now, I’ve practically written essays on the character of Spike, and one of the things that’s really interesting about him is that he rarely keeps secrets. What you see is what you get…or so he thinks. His secrets are buried so deep even he doesn’t know about them. And his biggest secret is that he’s not the evil Big Bad he thinks he is, but actually a sweet, intelligent, kind man, capable of great love.
I feel another essay coming on…
Jane Lovering
14 years agoOoh, Cindy, I feel quite weak at the knees reading that. You’re right, honorable is verrry sexy.
Debs Riccio
14 years agoOh god, still… will probably ALWAYS be Heathcliff. I fel in love with him at Upper School and I was the only one in class who defended his actions (apart from killing the dog, obvs) throughout Wuthering Heights. How could you not fall in love with a big, broody guy with so many issues? *swoon*.
Jane Lovering
14 years agoSpike and Heathcliff. Both guys with a LOT of backstory. So, along with honorable, we have deep and complicated on our list of required traits?