*1st Birthday Blog Tour* Flowers For The Dead - Barbara Copperthwaite

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.

 

Photo courtesy of Barbara Copperthwaite

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
Facebook
Twitter

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 😉