First of many blog tours today, and I am closing the tour for ‘The Louise Fawley Symphony’ by Rikki Evas, with an author interview. Before that, here is a little bit more about the book, as well as the all important purchase links. Enjoy!
Meet Louise Fawley – the newest, sassiest and sleaziest agent in Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Follow Louise as she burgles and bungles at Melusine Plastics, gets flirtatious and salacious in Vetchley Castle, grows amorous and glamorous in Sainte-Modeste, and finally, hooks and sinks her villainess on the superyacht Bonquonne.
In this delicious, light-hearted, randy romp, can Louise solve the arcane mystery of La Ligne?
The Louise Fawley Symphony contains material of a sexually explicit nature, so will not be to the taste of every adult reader.
Buy now from Amazon UK
Buy now from Amazon US
Q and A with author, Rikki Evans.
Firstly, many thanks to The Writing Garnet for stepping into the blogging breach at such
short notice!
TWG – No problem at all, happy to help! Thanks for joining me!
TWG – Could you tell us a bit about you and your background before you began writing?
Rikki – For the inside cover, I wrote: ‘After graduating with first class honours in History, Rikki
Evans entered the accountancy profession, qualifying within public practice with one of
the accountancy bodies. Specialising in statutory audit, Rikki ultimately became a
director within a small practice before, after more than twenty-five years in accountancy, quitting the profession to look after a parent whose health had deteriorated, and to give more time to those interests and hobbies which had helped render accountancy almost bearable.
Rikki’s interests include all things historical, from castles to candlesticks, music of many
genres, from Gregorian Chant to Brit Pop, and above all, like HE Bates, is happiest
when working and whiling in a garden.’
TWG – Have you always wanted to become a published writer?
Rikki – In the sixth-form, I studied A Level English Literature, and for decades afterwards longed
to write. I had plenty of ideas and from time to time would come up with a title,
outline a plot, sketch some characters and… never actually put a pen to paper.
Then, suddenly, about four years ago, I found the insatiable urge to write.
TWG – What made you decide to write your new novel?
Rikki – Seeing a billboard for the then latest ‘Bond’ film – I felt that the old boy had had it to himself for far too long and it was time he had some female competition.
TWG – How hard was it to find the inspiration for your book?
Rikki – Incredibly easy – the difficult part for me is finding the time to write.
TWG – If you could pick a favourite character from your novel, who would it be and why?
Rikki – Aside from my preponderant lead character, Louise Fawley, my favourite character is Tiggi Trebarwith. Tiggi is great fun to write. She’s headstrong and ruthless,
beautiful and stylish. She’s always going to invite jealousy, infuriate her superiors
and land herself in trouble. But, she’ll always manage to claw herself free from
the mire again.
TWG – Did you ever regret writing a character into your story after it was published?
Rikki – Thankfully, not yet.
TWG – Did you find yourself under any personal pressure for your debut novel to succeed and be liked by many?
Rikki – I’d love ‘Louise Fawley’ to be loved by many – but there are so many great reads out there by so many talented writers that it’s bound to take time – and luck – for
‘Louise Fawley’ to gain the awareness of the reading public.
TWG – Time for a tough one, if you could choose any book that has already been published to be the author of, which one would you choose and why?
Rikki – would choose Herodotus’ ‘Histories’, just to get to see the ancient world when it was new.
TWG – What does your ‘writing space’ look like?
Rikki – I write on my laptop, so I don’t really have one! My only ‘props’ were tiny notebooks I would use to jot down any words or phrases appropriate to a scene which came to me when I wasn’t writing.
TWG – Were there any authors you wanted to be like, when you were a child?
Rikki – As a child, I don’t think I ever really thought that far. My favourite authors were: Enid Blyton (Noddy, pre-school), Elizabeth Beresford (Wombles, infants), Enid Blyton
(Famous Five, juniors), Richard Adams (Watership Down, early high school), and
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes (later high school).
TWG – If you had to sum up your book to a stranger in five words, what would they be and why?
Rikki – Humour, spying, seduction, teasing, titillation. That’s the best I can do if I’m only allowed 5 words to sum up 46,000!
TWG – What’s coming up next for you? Any exclusives?
Rikki – As yet, I’m undecided. Much will depend on how ‘Louise Fawley’ is received. There’s a sequel in my noodle just waiting to be written. That said, I’ve several other ideas too, among them a ‘Game of Thrones’ / ‘Lord of The Rings’ type thing. But the
thought of inventing an entire continent is somewhat daunting!
TWG – One final question. What advice would you give to a writer that wants to be published?
Any words of wisdom?
Rikki – When I first started writing ‘Louise Fawley, I asked a trusted friend who regularly reads for pleasure to read my novel chapter-by-chapter as it rolled off my lap-top, and
took care to heed any encouraging suggestions. That way, I felt sure that I was
aiming at a target audience. When my publishers first read ‘Louise Fawley’, they
too could identify that target audience. I’m sure that this was a factor in their
accepting my work for publication.
Many thanks to Rikki Evans for stopping by to talk about their new release, ‘The Louise Fawley Symphony’!
The Writing Garnet 