Today it's the final stop on the Flowers For The Dead Birthday Blog Tour. I read this book at the end of last year and it was my second favourite book of 2015 so I was delighted to be asked by the author, Barbara Copperthwaite, to take part in the celebrations.
If you're reading this then the chances are that you're a fellow bookworm, devouring books at a rate of knots and always on the lookout for that one book that you just have to tell everyone you know about. Flowers For The Dead is one of those books for me. Whenever I see the title mentioned somewhere I have to jump in with "I love this book" and I'm always jealous of someone reading it for the first time because I wish that I could read it again with fresh eyes, not knowing what was going to happen next in the protagonist Adam's life.
But if you haven't read it yet and you're in for a real treat and you can read my review here.
So now that you know about the book, what about the lady behind the words? What kind of woman can write so convincingly about a serial killer, someone who is supposed to be feared, someone who usually, as a reader, you want to be caught and punished and make you feel sorry for that person to the point where you just want to give him a big hug. Well, today I'm thrilled to welcome Barbara to my blog and she's sharing ten things you didn't know about her which will give you an insight into her world.
Photo courtesy of Barbara Copperthwaite |
1 The car crash scene in Flowers For The Dead is
actually inspired by two car crashes I was in. Just like in the book, I was
driving to work one day in the mist when a white van smashed my wing mirror
through my window. A few weeks later, I hit a patch of black ice, and span the
car out of control. It hit a hedge, bounced off it, and flipped upside down,
which caved the roof in. The fire brigade told me that my life had been saved
by the fact I had let go of the steering wheel and flinched away from the
window – most people brace against the steering wheel, straightening their arms
and sitting upright. If I’d done that, the roof would have hit my head, killing
me. The reason I let go of the steering wheel? Because of the crash a few weeks
earlier – I’d been terrified the window was going to smash again. White van man
indirectly saved my life when he drove into me.
2 I love dogs. My mum says that even as a child in a
pram I used to terrify her by reaching out to every dog that passed by. They
always loved me, too. No jokes, please. My present dog, Scamp, is obsessed with
tennis balls and can find one wherever we go for a walk. I think I should enter
her in Britain’s Got Talent, or something…
3 When I write, I love noise. I can’t stand writing in
silence. Music, television, a café, whatever, I need noise. I think its from my
days as a journalist, working in hectic offices.
4 To relax, I take photographs of wildlife. I’ve
always been passionate about nature, and love taking pictures of birds,
insects, plants, and animals, and then looking them up to discover more about
what I’ve seen. Information on my nature blog has recently been used to help
create a management plan for my local park that will safeguard the wildlife
there. Do not get me into a conversation about the environment, you may never
escape.
5 I love drawing. Many of my sketches are based on the
photographs I take.
6 I can wiggle my little toes independently of my
other toes. It completely freaks my sisters out, and we have been known to all
sit around staring at each others toes, laughing hysterically, as I try to
teach them how to do it. This is what passes for entertainment in the
Copperthwaite family!
Teach yourself how to do this by clicking here!!! |
7 If I don’t get outside for at least an hour every
day I start to feel antsy. Even when I worked full time in an office, I always
had to make time at the start or end of the day for a long walk. No matter what
the weather, I’m always happiest when out on a walk. And on a really dreadful
day, getting inside after a walk makes me appreciate being home all the more!
8 Many of the murder locations I choose in my books
have special meaning to me:
I was raised near Skegness and my first job in
journalism was writing for the Skegness Standard. In Flowers For The Dead, Adam
strikes on a cold winter’s day on Skegness beach.
I lived in Colchester for five years, which is where
my character Detective Sergeant Mike Bishop lives and works, and where Adam’s
final victim, Laura lived.
Adam’s home was in Moseley, Birmingham – which is
right next to where I now live.
9 I dislike cooking meals, but will happily spend all
day baking cakes.
10 My next novel, Dying Light, is set in the fictional
village of Fenmere, which is geographically based on Friskney, the village I
was raised in. Just as in the book, the village abuts a marsh that was used as
a bombing range by the RAF. I grew up in the middle of the peaceful countryside,
surrounded by the sounds of war: gun fire on the wind, fighter jets roaring
overhead, and the boom of bombs going off in the distance.
To summarise then, Barbara is a noisy, dog and nature loving lady who likes to draw pictures whilst daydreaming of becoming the next Mary Berry (I hear there's a vacancy coming up on Channel 4 next year Barbara!) and she can do weird things with her feet! Having been lucky enough to have met Barbara twice now I can also tell you that she is one of the loveliest people you could ever wish to meet.
Flowers For The Dead is a fantastic book and one that I would highly recommend so why not give it a try?
You can find out even more about Barbara by using the links below:
Author website
Blog
Wildlife blog
I'd like to congratulate Barbara on the success of Flowers For The Dead and to say thank you for taking the time to stop by today, it's always a pleasure to chat with you 😉
Another brilliant blog post interview Neats.
ReplyDeleteVert interesting /informative.
Keep up the great work....loving it !
Thanks Sue. It's great to hear that you enjoy my posts 😉
ReplyDelete