Get Booked – Amanda Robson, The Party Guest 010821

Hello, I'm Hazel Butterfield and this is Get Booked for Women's and Men's radio station. Here on Get Booked, we love talking to authors and book enthusiasts about new releases, going into detail about the topics covered, the inspiration, the mental health and well-being elements, opening discussions and offering support via the incredible writing community out there, and giving you the extra special insight into a different book and the author each week, and just having a good old chit-chat. Come and join us for the next hour, get involved, and if you want to catch up on previous shows, you can at womensradiostation.com/shows/getbooked and on our SoundCloud. Right, today's guest, we have Amanda Robson, the author of recently released The Party Guest. One dream holiday, 4 guests, one party to die for, and a birthday to remember, but would they rather forget? Ralph is turning 45 and the only gift he wants is his ex-wife Gemma, his trophy girlfriend, or more of a holding place girlfriend, won't let anything ruin her plans for an engagement. Sarah, the ex-wife, has agreed to attend Ralph's party with her new man in tow, and Jack, her partner, will stop at nothing to keep Sarah out of her ex-husband's clutches. Sounds complicated already. However, it is a celebration like no other, planned to a tee. However, the whole extended family, hangers-on, those trying to fit in, those with access to Grind and past grievances threatening to be aired and realized, all in one villa on the beautiful Amalfi Coast. What could possibly go wrong, but by the end of the trip, 2 people will be dead. At this birthday party to remember, will anybody unwrap the truth? And sometimes the truth is hardest to digest. 2 weeks, 4 guests, 1 party to die for. The Party Guest. Amanda, thank you for joining us on Get Booked. Oh, thank you. It's lovely to be here. You are the don of domestic noir, in my opinion. Well, thank you, that's a very nice thing to say. I love this book. I remember when, because you've been on GetBooked a few times, and I remember you saying that the next one was going to be set somewhere differently, somewhere different to usual, and I was like, oh no, I love it that it's all based around Twickenham and Richmond and whatnot, but there was still that kind of edge of Twickenham in there, and there was still just all of your usual traits that are just so incredibly hypnotic, and I just, I couldn't put it down. It's definitely your brand. It's just, I love it. You must be so pleased with it. Yeah, no, I enjoyed writing it, and it's lovely that you take the time to read all the authors' books because, you know, a lot of journalists just, they don't have time, they don't read before they interview you, so I think it's wonderful that you take such care of reading all the author's works. Oh, thank you. I do love it. It's the second I see on Instagram you've got a new book coming out and I'm like, "Nanda!" No, no, I'm glad. I'm really glad you enjoyed it because I did find it quite tricky actually this time because it's slightly different from my other books because, at least writing it was, because every character I had to write as if they could have done it. So usually I do have a few characters that you think might not have done it, or it could just usually be between, say, two characters. But this time, all I've written is if any of the characters that are still alive could have done it. And I found that quite complicated at times and quite a challenge, but I enjoyed it. Also, with it being set— the crime's actually set in Italy, so that was quite a challenge really with me I had visited the area and I had actually stayed in the villa that I've set it in, but obviously I'm not as familiar with the police procedure side of things and the court procedure and stuff, so I found that quite tricky. I was quite intrigued to figure out how much you did actually know of incarcerated, what it's like to be incarcerated over in Italy, because you do go into detail a little bit on that, and it sounded horrific. And I was thinking— Yeah, no, it did. I was shocked. I have to admit, but because I've not done one thing or another, I did have to do all my research online. Unfortunately, I had visited the area where it was set and stayed in that villa on the Amalfi Coast just before lockdown, you know, the summer of 2019. But when it came to the prisons, that I had to just do a load of reading on the internet, and I was absolutely horrified by what I found about the prisons in Italy. Going back not so long ago. I was— so it is based on facts, but it's from internet research. But I thought it was horrendous, the conditions that the prisoners were having to live in. Oh, and I mean, even though my character is a real baddie, while he was in prison, I felt sorry for him when I was writing it. There are different kind of baddies, and I know that sounds quite controversial, but there are people who are affected by crimes of passion, and there are people who just go out there to cause as much pain and inflict as much misery and destruction as possible. And we shouldn't, you know, murder's murder, but it's— I don't know, there was still that element. I can't say too much without giving away kind of too much of the storyline, but, you know, we all have our own past that affects how we behave, I guess. And you must have had fun with the characterization of such— you— there was quite a lot of different people stuck in this villa. And how much fun did you have creating these different characters? Oh yeah, no, I enjoyed it very much. And I enjoyed the girlfriend Gemma because I thought, you know, I enjoyed writing her because I thought she was rather spoilt and vain. And I, you know, have met people like that. So I rather liked her. And Janice, poor old Janice, That's one of the main protagonists' daughters, who's rather unhinged. And I enjoyed writing her and some of her angst, based a little bit on some of my own angst I've had over the years. Not in such an extreme form, but— Not murderous thoughts then? Although your writing would depict otherwise. Yeah, no, no, no, I did have a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun and I liked my main character, Sarah. I thought she was she was nice, she was my, you know, my favourite. I thought she was supposed to be nice, but, you know, often I haven't— I don't actually find it very easy to read my reviews because if people criticise me, I get quite upset. So I'm a bit of a coward about reading reviews. I know some authors read all their reviews and they really take note, but I am— but in the past when I have read my reviews, or sometimes I've been quite surprised with a character that I thought was a really nice character that was supposed to be the goodie, and someone said, "Oh, I hated that particular character." So I don't know, I'm not sure the writer's always the best judge of what other people make of their characters, but I liked writing Sarah. She was my rock. She was my goodie, really. Oh, she was a goodie. And I kind of, because she doesn't live in theory too far away from me, I kind of imagined her being in half the cafes that I've been in. And to be honest, I think you've probably amalgamated about 20 people I've seen just walking down Church Street. Yeah, definitely. To try and bring it back to Twickenham at the end, wouldn't it? Isn't that nice, after all the problems, that she comes back to live in Twickenham? The lady lived in Twickenham in the first place. So yeah, I always sort of come back to Twickenham somehow. I'd have been bereft if you hadn't. Yeah, well, I do love Twickenham. It's so beautiful, such a lovely place to live. It's so friendly. Yeah, it was so friendly, and yet there's so much that's going on underneath the surface. And I do find that quite interesting because it's real places. And rather bizarrely, as I was reading The Party Guest and you were talking about one of the characters being the headteacher of the Richmond School, and I'd just been to an open day with my son to the Richmond College, which is obviously just a stone's throw away, and I was like, "Ah, I see," and I was walking around thinking, "Hmm, they were both working here," but they're not, obviously. But you know, you just kind of— there's some— I mean, I absolutely love your writing. There's something about reading books where you're talking about Sandy's the Fishmonger's, which is real, and you're talking about this particular school, how she decided to go to another school, and then you're talking about a certain pub at the Old Meeting, which I know is one of your favourite pubs in Twickenham anyway. Yeah. It all just kind of brings it round, and I was actually, I was walking with a really good friend of mine the other day, and he went, "Oh, that house is nice." I went, "Do you know what? I'm pretty certain that's the house." where one of them, where one of the books was set, because I've always imagined that that's where it is because of where, of how you've described it. And there's something quite nice, I mean, about being able to kind of involve yourself in what you kind of actually know is a little bit more real, the real places, the real shops, they're real streets, they're real houses, they're real schools. And is there a reason why You go straight for that? Does it help with your imagination, or is there another reason? I just like to have a place in my head when I'm writing. I like to be able to see it, so obviously it helps if you know it, really. So, but I mean, I haven't only just written about Tricombe. I mean, you know, when I wrote about the Amalfi Coast, it was outside Priano. I had had a few weeks there. The only thing is about that, it had to be loosely based on that because the cliff Cliff Walks for all the terrible accidents. I think actually the villa we stayed in, I don't think the cliff walks were quite so dangerous as I made out. It was just loosely based, but I'm not sure it matters too much. But I think it's good to have a clear idea in your mind when you're writing of what the scene would look like. So, I mean, quite a lot of writers do write about their own area or what they know, don't they? Well, they do, and some fantastic writers out there. Sometimes you read books and you don't actually know whether you've seen the movie or not because the writing is so good. So add into that when you actually know the area and you just feel so incredibly involved. It's— I must say that I love reading about the Amalfi Coast. I'm going to Italy in the summer and whatnot, but it's like the mentions of— there's something about when your area is mentioned as well that you just kind of feel Oh, warm and cozy. I did a guest last week actually on Get Booked. He'd set the book in Italy, in London, and in Huddersfield, and Huddersfield is my hometown. And again, I was just like, oh, I've got like quite a few weeks of just reading books about places where I'm extremely familiar with. And it's weirdly quite heartwarming and good for your well-being. It kind of just makes you feel a little bit more close The only problem is if you write about somewhere that you think you know and someone says, "Oh, that's not like that," or something. I don't know, but I suppose because I've lived in Twickenham for like 40 years, so I'm not likely to get that wrong. But, you know. But it's also fiction, so it would be right if you got it wrong because it's completely down to poetic license. Yeah, well, I've got one close friend and I've known— well, she lived next door to me, in the house next door to me when I was a baby and she was a little girl. And I've I've known her forever, so she visited all my houses, she knows everything. So when she reads my books, she sometimes says, "That house, that's a mix of the house you lived in when you were in your 20s and the house you lived in," and she knows every little bit. She goes through my books guessing, you know, she's great fun to talk to. But sometimes I forget, you know, I forget what I've written, and then she suddenly reminds me that, you know, I based something on something that she remembers me doing or whatever. It's quite funny. Well, interestingly, your first book that I ever read was based in Twickenham but was called something completely different, wasn't it? Well, was it Obsession? A lot of them have loosely been based in Twickenham. That was Obsession, I think. That was definitely based in Twickenham. Yeah, but it wasn't called Twickenham, and that was my first book. And yes, I hadn't called it— yeah, that's right. It was after that the publishing house said to start using the real names. I don't really know why we didn't that time, because it was my first book. I hadn't realized whether you're supposed to call it by its real name or not, so I just sort of made up the name, and the editors never suggested we changed it. But that, yeah, that was definitely Twickenham, yes. Yeah, you could just kind of tell. And then it was like the next book, because obviously I've read every single one. So there's Obsession, Guilt, Envy, My Darling, and The Unwelcome Guest. Oh, you are wonderful. I think you're wonderful the way you've supported me. Thank you so much. No, you're welcome. And it's my favourite genre, you know. I do like to mix it up, but domestic noir is perfect for me, especially on GetBooked. I get to read so many different things, but just every now and again, if I know I kind of want that really weird, if I want to feel all warm inside, I'm like, "Go for a domestic noir, something entertaining, you know. Let's read about someone being catastrophically murdered over something really trivial." Yeah, that cheats, but does it? I mean, I'm single for a reason. Do say that. Now, interestingly, what you said then about how you don't like reading negative reviews of your books. Now, this is a toughie for me because, like, when I first started book blogging, I found a book that I didn't like and I wrote a vaguely negative review, and I've always felt guilty about it, and I've never actually written a negative review again. I've literally just chosen not to review it if I didn't necessarily like it. What's your opinion on that? Oh, it's very difficult. I mean, everybody should have a right, shouldn't they, to say exactly what they want to say about books. So if people say, "Oh, you shouldn't write a negative review," that's sort of like limiting freedom of speech, isn't it, and freedom of ideas. Yeah. But I think, is it— but I do think nowadays with the internet and Amazon and everything, you know, if somebody writes something really nasty It can just stay for a long time. And I think, yeah, I don't really know where you draw the line because people have a right to their opinion. But as a writer— You don't have to be nasty though. But I, you know, we work really hard for whatever we do. So it maybe could be phrased in a slightly nicer way than some people do. I mean, and I'm incredibly sensitive about it. So I'm a bit head in the sand. So my attitude isn't the correct attitude. I mean, all of the rest of my writer friends read all of their reviews. And then they, what they do, because you know we all do get good reviews, they use the good reviews to then sort of boost themselves on social media and everything. And I deny myself from being able to do that really because I can't bear to look at it, you know, I just don't, just categorically don't look at any of them, which is awful. But I did nearly have a panic attack. I've never had a panic attack in my life, but there's a thing called NetGalley when your book first comes out. Yes, yeah, I use that a lot. I do, yeah, and I'd had a bit of a disagreement with my editor about one aspect of the plot and she'd gone ahead with what I'd said, because at the end of the day it's our work, and the first review that came up on NetGalley was sort of agreeing with her and I just almost went "Apepeka!" because, "Oh no, I've done the wrong thing," you know, and I got really worked up. And that's partly why I stopped looking at the reviews, because after that I got loads of good reviews and it wasn't even really a bad review, it was just that she'd agreed with the one thing that that my editor had, you know, I just, it just hit a nerve. And that was silly of me. And my son, I was almost hyperventilating in the kitchen, which is ridiculous. And my son said to me, 'cause he's, only people in the know about books know about NetGalley. 90% of the people who read books probably never heard of NetGalley. So I, you know, my son was calming me down and he said, 'Well, what is NetGalley anyway? And you know, just stop it, Mom, just stop it.' So I thought, 'Yes, stop it. I will have to stop it.' 'Cause I've never had a panic attack in my life, not through university, not through any of the other stress. And then I'm getting worried worked up just because, you know, some thing on NetGalley is ridiculous. So, well, it's not ridiculous, Amanda, but I should be braver. I mean, it's me that's at fault. I don't blame people for giving reviews of what they think, and that's what people should be doing to help other readers, shouldn't they, really? Well, yeah, but the thing is, it's not— you're not being at fault. This is— it's a subjective opinion of some— on a literary piece. Not everybody has to like everything the same way. Some people like to have more of an opinion than others. I mean, just for all the listeners out there, NetGalley is basically where the book goes before it's actually officially published for people in the book industry, whether it's book bloggers, editors, and whatnot. They can choose to read the book, and the theory is to get a bit of feedback, but also to get the reviews out there before it's published. Yeah. And it is great. Not everybody's gonna like your book, but as long as it's constructive. I think the line has to be drawn at just being downright mean, but also I just think a lot of books on NetGalley tend to be emerging authors or people on their first or second book, and if you've got something negative to say about somebody who's going to struggle to get promotion anyways, then you just don't say it, you know. I think the negative reviews are— they should be subject to people who can possibly take the decrease in sales? Oh, I just don't know. I mean, it's a toughie. I mean, a lot of people, you know, would say that they want to, you know, it's awful for authors to sort of complain, everybody should have their own opinion. But I do think there are some people out there who just don't realize just all the work that goes into writing a book at all. So if you do just completely slate it just because it's not your taste, it can seem cruel because, you know, every single writer out there has probably worked, you know, it takes at least 6 months to write a novel and a lot of people will take years to write their first novel, years. And it's hours every day and they like try hard with every single word and, you know, if somebody just virtually says, "Well, this is rubbish," or something, or, you know, it's, you should just be careful what you say. Well, maybe, but I— No, 100%, I agree with that. See, if I go to like a hotel, you know, they want reviews for everything these days. So, so if you go to a little small hotel where they're obviously having a few problems and it's not absolutely perfect, but they're all trying their best and you don't really know what to say, and I, I tend to not— I don't tend to give bad reviews of hotels unless it's really bad, you know, unless it's something that you really have to warn the customer about. Like, you know, when, when Booking.com pester you to do a review and, and if you're not quite sure how you feel or there's just something a bit gone wrong which is not really anyone's fault, I just wouldn't start to complain, really? No, if it's down to just bad luck, but if it's intentional neglect and just general rubbish service and it's untidy, then I would probably put a review up because I would hate for somebody else to go with kids and to just have a miserable time. Exactly. So, but there's a balance, isn't there? Yes, there is a balance. But anyway, I don't know, our society, we do our best, don't they? I mean, Amazon do try regulate who reviews things. I think they do try, and I am— it's just, it's just, it's— I'm sure it's okay really, but I, but I mean, some of my friends have had awful reviews. I mean, some people have had reviews where they've been given a 1-star review, which if you've got lots of 4 and 5 stars, just even, and they've not got that many reviews, you get a 1-star, it really pulls your ratings down. Yeah, one of my friends had a 1-star 'Oh, the book didn't arrive from Amazon on time.' Well, what's that got to do with the writing? One star. You try getting rid of something like that off Amazon. You can't. So it's sort of me— I, on my very first book that came out, on my very first morning, I got a one star and a really bad review. It's my first review, brand new writer. It was just slated me. And I was walking downstairs and I was like really upset, you know, because I was quite nervous about my book coming out.. And, um, I mean, later on the day I got lots of good reviews. It was really well received, my first book. It was a real bestseller. And, uh, but just the first person— anyway, my son must have seen it. I just thought, stop it, I mustn't worry about it. But my son had looked it up, and then he looked up the reviewer on Amazon, and on that same morning he'd given, I don't know, like 6 or 7 debut authors all 1 stars in the sim— almost the same words. So it was just a nasty person out there to upset the writers on that particular Thursday when my book came out. But I I didn't know that, but there are people out there, there are people out there who are envious of published writers who do— there are a few people who do just go around trying to make a bit of mayhem and doing nasty things. There are a few of them, but I think in general they don't really manage to wreck as much havoc as they might like. Well, it's the fact that they want to do it that sometimes it's not necessarily what they say, it's the intention of what they're trying to achieve that's probably even more upsetting, but I'm pretty certain you'll find that same reviewer writing comments on Daily Mail articles just as prolifically. Anyway, it doesn't matter in the balance of the life. I think we live in a good society and we try our best, don't we, to be fair to one another. And yeah, I'm not really complaining, honestly. No, but I think I would like to— there's a lot of books out there. Yeah, there's a lot of fiction out there where people have been quite nervous to get their debut out, but there are books out there that are about real life and the things that people have decided to share with the world in a book to try and help somebody else. And because, you know, sharing does help other people share, and they will help with our mental health and our mental well-being. And some people have really agonized and been horrifically nervous about baring their soul. And people, if there are book reviewers listening now, I think that really has to be taken into consideration. If you genuinely don't like a book, 'Be very mindful with how you word it to not destroy somebody who was already quite nervous about doing something,' and the book is going to help somebody out there. So I think just if you're going to write a review, be very conscious of what you're saying, how you're saying it, and what your actual intention is with that review. Yeah, yes, and I'm sure, I'm sure most reviewers are, you know, I'm sure most people are, but Anyway. Well, we'll move on, but I think it's good for book reviewers to kind of appreciate what it is like for the actual author to read their reviews. Now I'm quite keen to know, how quickly can you spin out a book these days? How quickly can I write a book? Well, quite fast now because I've got much quicker as time goes on. I wrote, yes, I wrote I finished the first draft of The Party Guest in 3 months this time, which— and my one before, because I've been very busy with my family, I've had lots of other things. But I mean, my first book, which never got published, I spent 7 years writing. So it just— it just shows. And then, you know, probably spent at least a year writing Obsession that got published. And then, you know, to begin with, for my book deals with Hod Collins, it had been 6 months for a book, 6 months to hand it in, and then you know, 3 edits, another 6 months editing it, bringing it to production. So, but my last one, because of lockdown and one thing and another, and I don't know, and then I was having a holiday, it's, um, I wrote it in 3 months. I got, I think, I think I'm getting quicker because of all the edits I've had. I'm more used to what they're going to say you should be doing, if you see what I mean. Yeah, of course, you've kind of fine-tuned it. Yeah, but I don't know, it's, uh, Yeah. Well, so The Party Guest, it was released on ebook on the 16th of June, and yet the paperback isn't out until the 29th of September. Is this a new process? Is there a reason behind this? They were going to bring out the ebook and the paperback in September. Well, at first it was supposed to come out in August or July, and then they put me back. I got bumped off to September. And then I think, you know, because it's a holiday book about going on holiday with a cover about a holiday, I think, to be honest, my agent just thought that was a bit odd, you know, to be bringing it out in September. And I said, why on earth is it not coming out in the summer, you know, for summer holiday reads? And then all they could manage to do was get me a slot for the ebook to come out in the summer. So I think it's just, I don't know, it's just a bit of a mix-up rather than anything particularly sensible or well thought through. And I'm finding it a bit strange because I've got no copies of my book. Ebook, you know, to sort of give to anyone. Or, you know, like before I came on air now, I'm looking through one of my edits just to sort of refresh my memory about what I'd written. And, you know, it's all a bit— I'm finding it a bit odd. I don't know that it's a particularly clever policy. I think it was— they, I don't know, they just got so many books coming out, they're a bit stretched and they couldn't get the paperback out sooner, so they just decided to bring the ebook out. But I get the theory behind it. Yeah, but it feels like it's kind of a little bit of a a bit of this and a bit of that, and it's nice to actually hold the book, isn't it? To get it all out on Instagram. Yes, it doesn't seem quite as exciting somehow, you know, to not have the proper book. But anyway, yeah, maybe I'll have a party in September or something and it'll all come together better then. But yeah, yeah, any excuse for a party, I'd say. Yeah, we'll probably be able to have a party by then because I haven't had book launches for the last couple of years, what with One Thing and Another. I know, and do you know what, I got invited to my first publishing event last week and I couldn't go because I had other things with the kids. I was like, oh no, finally they're allowed to happen. I know, it's been a big shutdown, hasn't it? Yeah, completely. But obviously this book has been in the works for at least a little bit anyway, so does that mean that you were already on the next book's idea? Uh, yes, well, I've got another book which is psychological thriller, um, and, and, but it's not actually got a crime in it. It, it's still a psychological thriller because it's a woman who's— she's in a coma, she's had a car accident, and she's sort of arguing with her alter ego. You're not sure which personality is going to come out of the coma, or it's one woman about how she's lived her or how she might have liked to live her life, you know. And so I, yeah, that's my next one, but I'm not quite sure, I haven't actually sold it yet to a publishing house, I'm waiting to see, I've not quite finished it, but that's what I'm working on now and I'm hoping that will come out next year. Have you read The Midnight Library? Yes! So it's a bit similar to that, is it, in a way, but more domestic? It's similar, I read that after I'd sort of done the first draft of mine. Yeah, the whole concept is similar, but it's very differently done. I mean, I love that book. I thought it was fascinating. Yeah. Because in that book, they jump from lots of different lifestyles. It goes through all loads of different lives, whereas mine's just two contrasting lifestyles. Yeah. But it's based— because I live in Twickenham, but I've always had a holiday house in Wales, and we spent a lot of time there living a much more simple country life and the city life, and I've always had to come. So You know, needless to say, one of my characters lives in Twickenham. Good, I would be disappointed otherwise. The other character lives in the country and has a completely different type of life. And, you know, it's just which life is better, which one of the women is much more successful with a career, more feisty, and the other one is, you know, it's anyway, and I'm, yeah, but it's, but it's so much, it's a very different approach, but it's certainly that sort thing is what your life is and what your life could be. And I found that fascinating reading The Midnight Library. I thought it was a really excellent book. Have you ever read Pivotal by Nikki Valance? No, should I put that on my list, should I? Yeah, definitely. It's vaguely similar, but it's just— I can't tell you too much about it without giving away everything. All right, well, I've written it down, so I'll make that one of my next reads in Nicky Vellanche. Yeah, Nicky Vellanche, V-A-L-L-A-N-C-E. It's— the book's actually been out a couple of years, but it is fantastic. But it's very much of the ilk that you've just been describing. Lovely, I'll get that on my Kindle. I'll get that my next read, I think, because I could do with a new read. What have you been reading recently? Well, I— what am I reading? I'm reading a book book by— where is she? Oh dear, dear, dear, my brains are going. My brain's been gone for ages. Caught me up on one, you have. Oh yeah, one of the books I read recently, which I should have read years ago, was The Island by Victoria Hislop, and I really enjoyed it. I wish I'd read it ages ago. It must have been out about 15 years, so I'm in the mood to read quite a lot more of her books. I think it was great. And then this book, oh dear, it's— no, no, it's just completely gone. I'm sorry, that's embarrassing. I keep on having this, like, really, really simple words and really simple things that have happened and people are going, "Come on, Hazel, what are you trying to say?" I'm like, "I have no idea, my brain is completely—" I mean, it's been ridiculously hot at the time of recording this interview as well. Amanda Robson's going crackers. Join the club. So Victoria, here's one, I'm gonna have a look at that one as well because— oh yes, there you go. That was beautiful because it was about people on the leper island, Leprosy Island of Crete, and during going through the war and everything, and it was just so much facts about the war and about the leprosy and all the characters were amazing. I was really impressed by it and that was her debut, so I've only just read it, so I've got a lot to look forward to reading her work. I'll tell you something that I would definitely recommend to you, especially, and it's kind of similar to your work as well, but it's Kate Rae's Good Husbands. So it's Kate, C-A-T-E Rae, and I found that fantastic. It really challenges your opinion of right and wrong and historical elements and, you know, when we're all living in these happy lives and things that have happened, things that our husbands have done before we got married, back in an age when things were deemed more okay or more acceptable. So that's definitely one to put on your list. A friend of mine, Caroline England, I think— have you read some of her work before? I think you have. Caroline England, possibly. Well, anyway, she's got a new book out called The Sinner about a vicar's wife, and I've read that and I really love that because it's a downtrodden vicar's wife. It's quite amusing in places, but it's a sort of sinister— I mean, I found that fascinating because I found the setting of this sort of woman trapped in it as a vicar's wife. Oh, I do love sinister. Oh, the sinister— there we go, I've got it. Yeah, and the, you know, the COVID and everything, that's amazing. That's a really good book, and I read that just lately, that was very good. So I've just added Caroline England to my TBRs as well. I'm going to be following her on Twitter Instagram, so I've just checked her out at carolineenglandauthor.co.uk. Yeah, I think you'd really enjoy it, I really do. Brilliant, yeah, definitely. So I'm just currently reading Face It by Blondie. Oh really? Oh, is that good? It's so good, but every now and again, just kind of, because I read so much for, to be able to do Get Booked, but every now and again I just come across something and I just think, oh, I so need to read that, and I'm just absolutely loving it. Oh, that's interesting because I like Blondie a lot, I've always really liked her, so— I think it's really nice the way she's kind of— it's quite a personable and just kind of very open, just about how she was very early on in her career, quite, you know, people were like sexualized at the ages of 12 and 13 back when she was breaking into Hollywood and and it's all a little bit— it's just an interesting take on her journey. But yeah, we've got lots of recommendations for our listeners today, haven't we? Well, I loved reading— well, I love Elton John anyway, but I loved reading his autobiography. I just found that fascinating. I was sad when it was over. I thought he gave quite a nice little glimpse into his world in a very real, you know, quite an honest sort of way, which I thought was great. Do you know if the audiobook is read by him? No, I know I don't know because I didn't listen to it on audio. I've read the book. Because the thing is, when I read memoirs, if I can, I try and get them on audiobook if they're written by the person. So Barack Obama did it, and Will Smith did it, and it's quite nice. It's a different kind of edge, like they're telling you about their life. Yeah, that is lovely. No, I bet that is lovely. Yes. No, I haven't got a clue with the audiobook what he did, but I really did enjoy that very much because I don't read a lot of non-fiction and I don't read a lot of autobiography or biography, and then I was absolutely glued to Elton John's one. Well, he's definitely had an interesting life, hasn't he? And he's now godparent to about 86 different children. He really— I mean, I've always admired him, but you know, I love his music, but I also admire what he's done, and as an icon, I think, for gay rights or whatever. I don't know really deliberately, but just, you know, I was born in 1960, and, you know, to see the changes in society have been marvelous. And I, I think so, like, a major celebrity like him, he is— has made a big difference. That's my personal opinion. Well, this is why— I mean, one of the questions I ask all my guests here on Get Booked is for somebody they admire in the public eye, because because there are so many people out there that are not great. They kind of hinder wellbeing and hinder progress being somebody in the public eye, but there are— it's so important for people like celebrities who have a following, people look up to them, for them to actually say something useful and positive. And when they use their platform for good, which I must point out, there is nothing to say that they have to do that. So when they choose to do that, I think it's remarkable. Yes, yes, well, I— yes, you always ask me about this. Yeah, I don't know, it has to be someone in the public eye because, well, I say the same thing every time because I think, well, it has to be the platform. It can be anybody in the public eye, you know, but I— yeah, but they have to do something specifically morally amazing for this question, whereas you see, I I really just enjoy what people in the entertainment industry, particularly music and DJs, have done to keep everybody cheerful during lockdown, and I really admire them. And they're always sort of encouraging other people to ring in and talk about their lives and, you know, making a feeling of community with it for us all, which I think has been amazing. So I, I, I, and I, I listen to Radio 2 a lot, and I really, really like Steve Wright in the afternoon. He's so funny and he's just so non-sycophantic. And he's— and I like Jeremy Vine, the way he gets everyone to phone in with political— so they're the sort of people I really love. And I love people who write beautiful modern music with beautiful lyrics because I think it just— I just think it's— so that's what gives me a real lift, beautiful music. And, you know, but I find it very hard to like pick one person. Do you know what? Quite a few people lately on GetBooked have been going, "I can't pick one, so I'm going with 3, is that okay?" And I'm like, "Yeah, you do you. Nobody tells you how many people you admire in the public eye." But people think— I mean, because I mean, there are so many politicians that you just feel as if they're just there because they just want to project themselves and they don't really care about anybody. And it's not just one party or another. And so I, I I— there's so many people that I don't feel like that really about. Um, no, I get that. And I think so many of us— one of the— well, the main reason why I ask this question of all guests is because we are on social media, a lot of us, and there's so much that we consume on social media that makes us feel less than. And there are just people out there that just put out content that actually invigorates you. It's either ridiculously funny, it's either insightful, or, you know, it's just something that just you come away from looking at it and think, actually, I'm glad I was on social media rather than suddenly thinking, ah, I've put on too much weight, I'm not eating the right things, the world is bad. So that's predominantly why I do it. But to be honest, I think you kind of covered it by saying Elton John. Well, I've always really admired him tremendously. I think his music's amazing. I think what he's achieved musically is phenomenal, and he carries on writing amazing things. But just the way he's chosen to live his life has been a great, you know, it's something for people to look up to really. I think it's marvellous. But I mean, whether— I don't really know enough about him to know whether he's really been altruistic and he's had a message to try and move the world forward himself or what, but I just admire him because, you know, to be gay when I was born, I've had several friends. I had one male friend who's committed suicide and another male friend who's ended up taking drugs because he couldn't he couldn't live his life as he wished, you know, society pressure, people born when I was born, it was awful actually. So for somebody like him who's older than me to have come through on a wave and done so well and lived his life as he wishes in the predominance of the public, but I mean, I don't know, I mean, he's lived his life and a lot of people say, well, he's been very successful, he's a lot of money and it's easier for people like that, or, you know, people could criticize him, you know, for that, I suppose. Some people are always knocking other people, aren't they? Well, yeah, the people that criticize are not the people we should be listening to. But anyway, yeah, I did just have a look actually, and the Audible version of Me by Elton John is narrated by Elton John and Taron Egerton. Yeah, so Taron Egerton is obviously the actor that played him in the movie. Oh, I thought he was super. I really thought— I loved the movie too. Actually. I love the movie. Yeah, I'm just gonna download it now. I'm like, right, perfect. It's a bit edgy, like, the, uh, the movie. It's quite different, you know. So yeah, well, he didn't lead a simple or straightforward path, and he definitely did have his issues. He definitely had his stripes in, uh, and, and which he's very honest about. You know, when he'd had so much to drink he couldn't remember where he was and all this. And when he had, yeah, or when he had a night with all joking about being Sir Elt with some other celebrity because he couldn't quite believe it and all this sort of thing. It's just lovely. It's just like, you know, he comes across like a really nice normal fellow, doesn't he? Yes, he does. He kind of feels like, you know, everybody just wants to be friends with him, which is why he probably is. I suspect he is up there in being, you know, I'm trying to word this properly, the person with the most godchildren because it was like, they just, Uncle Elton, we love you! Yeah, I mean, I was being born in 1960, I probably would have seen him on top of the pops almost like the first time he came on, you know, when he was really young, he in one of his funny flamboyant outfits. And yeah, you know, you never knew then when we were young, you never knew that— you always used to think of this modern pop music as a bit transitory, you know, that they'd just be a few hits, or that we all thought we were so young and everyone would keep moving and these people would just be famous for a year or two. But in actual fact, the big— some of the really big stars, they still just— they've just gone on from strength to strength. Yeah, still bashing them out 30 years later. Stones, I mean, you know, there's so many of them, you know, they're really what would have been considered slightly, you know, elderly in the old days, and there they are still strutting their stuff and headlining at Glastonbury and God knows what, and it's quite incredible really, it's wonderful, I can't believe it because, you know, when I was young and I used to think I was so cool watching Top of the Pops and I thought, I just never thought life would still be like this, such fun in the music industry with a lot of all my old favourites still going on great. I think it's wonderful. Well, yeah, you've got like Dolly Parton headlining at Glastonbury, you've got Chrissie Hynde where people are falling over themselves to go and watch her live. I think it's brilliant, but we are becoming a lot better in society in terms of not just completely discounting people as soon as they hit 25. Although I don't know, the BBC policy is to try and stop— I got really cross one day and I was reading that the, I don't know, whoever's in charge of Radio 1 was trying to get rid of any listeners over a certain age. I was really disappointed because I was thinking, well, just even if you're 60, if you want to know what all the modern stuff coming up is, why should you be sort of almost prohibited, or why should they be trying to get rid of you from listening to Radio 1? I just, I found it a bit bit upsetting actually. It's just, it is ridiculous, but such is life. Life is quite ridiculous. The better it gets, it's very polarised, it gets so much better in so many ways and so much worse in so many other ways. Oh well, keep life going, get on with it, that's my attitude. Yes, so the other thing I do like to ask here on this show, women's radio station and men's radio station, they do focus on our mental health and mental well-being. What would be your 3 top tips on trying to achieve a good level of mental well-being? Oh dear, my 3 top tips. Oh, well, I think it is very important to find time for yourself and time to relax. Because I think if you're working every hour that God sends and you get— you can get very stressed. I think you do need to step back. I think a lot of people get sucked along with their careers and they just don't get the opportunity to take a bit of time off here and there. And if you don't, I think it can be cumulative. So I think that's important. How can I help to accumulate, I guess? I mean, I think having close friends or family that you can really communicate with when you are worried or upset I mean, that makes a huge difference, doesn't it? I think people who have a very not much of a friendship group have problems, but I don't know how you can encourage somebody if they're a bit of a loner to try and communicate better. And, you know, because I'm lucky, I've always had a very warm mum to chat to and girlfriends and, you know, a husband that, you know, is very understanding. But it is tremendously important. And what else? I don't know. I mean, I think you need to try and have a bit of inner self-confidence somehow to cope with life. I don't know how you achieve that if you haven't got it in the first place. And sadly, I think some people have it, you know, because they've had a very— I mean, I think your upbringing, if you've had a warm, happy family, it just makes such a difference. I don't know if you haven't. I don't know how you cope really. Well, the one thing that I say to my children is that you need to understand yourself, you need to know what shimmies you up, and you know, when you're feeling positive, you know, confidence comes, and I'm saying, so you know, find out what it is that relaxes you and makes you feel good about yourself. So if that is kicking a ball about out. If that's going for a run, if that's playing with the dog, if that's, you know, find out what it is that boosts you. And the more we boost ourselves, the better we feel within ourselves, the more confidence we'll have, right? Yes, I agree. I do agree. But I, I mean, I suppose if you're not feeling good and you haven't got the confidence to address it, because I mean, some people are very, um, loath to go and have seek help, aren't they, in counseling. And yet that can make such a huge difference, you know. But some people are just very loath to admit they're not feeling good, or, um, and yet, you know, so many wonderful counselors out there, it can make such a difference. I mean, one of my, my good friends has been a relationship counselor for years, and she's marvelous. But some people just won't, they just won't take that first step to, to ask for help, which is, is a shame. And I don't know how you try and persuade them? Well, the thing is, people that have actually done it, the majority of them go, wow, I can't believe I put it off for so long, it's done wonders. But taking that step, sometimes you've got to put in a lot of work. It's not like you go and, and get some counselling and after the first session you go, wow, that was good. You sometimes have to break yourself down a bit to be rebuilt back, and I think that's quite daunting for people. So it's an investment in yourself. And I mean, a book that I'm getting published, and it's called 20 Weeks, and it's about investing 20 weeks and going to a counselor and a therapist. And, you know, it's, it was quite a tough 20 weeks, but wow, how much I understand. The biggest gift we can give ourselves is to understand ourselves, because then we can understand why people treat us a certain way, or why we let people treat us a certain way, on how we're perceived and everything. And some people just think, well, 20 weeks, I haven't got that time. But it's not, it's only an hour a week for 20 weeks effectively. But yeah. Sorry, did you say you're getting this book published? It's a book you've written and you're having published? Yeah, so it's about 4 months into the process. So I'm just about to receive my first draft. But it's just, I mean, I'm using my life as example. It's not an autobiography. Autobiography, but I'm using examples of what I've done to exemplify how I've made certain mistakes or why I've needed to figure out. But it's more of a concept to kind of help people understand that, you know, we all make mistakes and sometimes we have to figure out why we've made them. Oh, excellent. So, well, so that's good then. So that sort of fits in with what I was saying a bit then. Yeah, yeah. And we must point out, very importantly, the power of dogs. You have a very lovely Floki. Oh yes, oh, oh, I love my dog. He's here right now at my feet. I thought I heard him sniffing. I love having a dog. I mean, he's so loving and gorgeous. But I mean, also, you know, you get out and about, don't you, with a dog, and you meet people to chat to, and it really can lift your day, you know. Yes, yeah, it really can. I mean, one journalist I was reading during lockdown she said it wasn't her friends she missed, it was the people she didn't really know very well during lockdown. Because, you know, if you've got close friends, you kept talking to them on Zoom, or you phoned them up, wouldn't you? But, you know, when you just go out and about and you just meet a stranger in passing, and sometimes you can have a chat and you tell each other all sorts of things, just partly because it doesn't matter because you might not see each other again, but you can have a real lift to your day just chattering to other different people. And I It really is lovely, and it— because it gets you out of the house, doesn't it? Because you have to— I mean, I have to take my dog out 3 times a day, but some people just go a couple of times. But it— because if you have to do that, you, you do just bump into people. It's really nice. I think it's that random interaction, isn't it, where it's kind of— there's no real emotional involvement, and yet you're still being sociable. So it, it kind of feels a little bit less taxing. Relaxing in a way. Yeah, no, that's great. That's what you just said, right? What did you say? Random? Yeah, it's— yes, it's nice because you get up, you don't know who you're going to meet or what's going to happen, and it's all just a bit of fun, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, completely. See, there you go, you smashed the person you admire in the public eye out the park with Elton John. Some 3 really fantastic tips on maintaining good mental well-being. If you haven't got a dog, go and borrow somebody else's. A lot of people do now these days. Isn't there something like Borrow My Doggy or something? It's like, yeah, your dog just for a short while, and they love it. Some people love it. My nephew is doing that for a while. He loved it. Oh, brilliant. Oh, if he ever wants to borrow my doggy, please do get in touch. I must say, thank you. I must lend you a doggy. Yeah, my dog's a bit of a weird one. She's not quite convinced that she's a dog. Every now and again she looks in the mirror and goes, "Ooh, who's that fluffy thing?" Well, thank you so much, Amanda, for joining us on Get Booked for Women's and Men's radio station, and congratulations on The Party Guest. Just a quick reminder to all our listeners, they can go and get the ebook, which was released on the 16th of June, and if you want to hold out for the paperback, it's going to be out on the 29th of September. And they can pop on to amandarobson.co.uk to find out more about you. Ah, lovely. Thanks ever so much, Hazel. You are very welcome, and thank you for joining us on Get Booked. Books. Right, now we have Helen from Literally PR, an award-winning company that over the last 10 years has worked on over 400 campaigns, helping hundreds of authors over the past decade to just achieve their long-term goals through PR, marketing, and branding. You can find out more at literallypr.com, and I'm not going to delay any further. Helen, hi. Hello. Thanks for joining us on Get Booked. You've put so many fantastic authors my way who have been featured on Get Booked here at Women's and Men's Radio Station, and now we have you. Well, aren't I lucky to be here? I feel like I'm sort of, um, there's a little bit of imposter syndrome really going on here because usually I'm sort of putting authors to you and now I'm here chatting. I feel a bit, uh, like the tables have turned a little bit, Hazel. Hasn't it just? But if we to talk to people about a love of writing and publishing and all the incredible books out there, who better than the person that's getting the books out there? Well, thank you very much. Yeah, I mean, basically every part of my job involves books, so I spend a lot of time reading, but as well as Literally PR, I'm the co-founder of Hashtag Press, which is a publishing house, and we have an imprint for underrepresented writers called Hashtag Black, and then I'm also the co-founder of The Author School, which helps to educate and empower authors so that they make the right decisions about how to get published and once they are published, what they should next do. And then I'm also the co-founder of the Diverse Book Awards, which is in its third year now, and I'm doing that side of the business with a prize-winning author called Abiola Bello. So I have— all roads basically lead to books, so I kind of have all things covered when it comes to publishing now. You definitely have a fantastic client list. I must say, I've kept up quite a few friendships with some of the authors that you've put my way. And it is, it is. And do you know what? Some of the authors are following my dog and they have an ongoing relationship with my dog too. Amazing. I've got to say, I am so lucky because every time we take on a new client, literally where we're, you know, we're building a relationship with them to help them do what they want to do. And because they're so passionate about their book and we are passionate about our book, books, then it sort of becomes this really nice— it sounds a bit cheesy, but like a family, like a big extended family of people who just love talking about books. And so many people, we are the same, we still stay in touch with them long after the campaign's ended. And then there was a lady the other day called Abi Oliver who we did a campaign for her back in, I want to say like 2017, maybe even '16, and she's come back with her latest book saying, "Oh, can you help?" And that makes my heart go, "Oh, fizzy because it's like, that's so nice that she's come back to us all these years later, that she's still writing, that she's, you know, she's still doing exactly what she wanted to do and she wants us to be part of it again. It's really lovely actually. Well, it's confirmation, isn't it? It doesn't matter how many campaigns you do, it's that confirmation that somebody is happy with what you do and they want to work with you. Yeah, as well. Yeah, yeah, it's really lovely. I mean, the whole point of of us doing this. The whole reason why I set this up in the first place is because I could— I used to be a journalist and then I moved into food and drink PR, and I could see there was this big kind of growing, really exciting market around books that was so fast changing, you know, with self-publishing was coming in much more and there was lots more indie publishing and stuff. And I was like, wow, I want to be a part of that. Like, that's like the cool cat, cool kids in the playground. Like, I want to be in that gang. And I kind of just I just threw myself into it really and learned about publishing. I'd never worked in a publishing house, I didn't really know how it really worked. And one of the things that I've learned really quickly was that people do need other people in when they're a writer. And even though actually writing is such a, can be such an isolating thing to do, you know, you do spend a lot of time on your own when you're a writer. When you then start taking the book out into the world, if you don't have a team of people around you, it's really quite scary you've spent all this time on this book and then you just kind of are left and you don't really know what to do with it. And so I realised that people needed that kind of community feeling as much as they needed the PR and the marketing, social media. And, you know, so we try and make people feel welcome and warmly welcomed when they join, and I think that's probably what makes people come back because, you know, we are a friendly bunch, which is nice to have. I have noticed that the writing community is is incredibly supportive. I spend quite a bit of time on Twitter. I like Twitter, especially for the aforementioned writing community. And a lot of my friends say, "Hey, you're on Twitter. Don't you hate it? It's just people constantly bitching at each other and really dodgy opinions." I'm like, "Yeah, but I'm more involved in the kind of publishing side and the writing community where everybody just kind of is nice to each other. They share each other's books. They write reviews for each other and make recommendations." And it's actually That's really sweet. It is, I totally agree, and one of the first things I say to our authors when they join is you should get on Twitter because it is basically the publishing social media, isn't it? It's like the platform where people, if you like books, then you will get book recommendations, like you say, you'll get to connect with authors. I mean, I still get really geeky and fangirly if like a really big named author who I've read sort of all of their books responds to one of my tweets. I'm like, oh my God, yeah, you know, it's such a good feeling, and I work with authors all the time, so they're like, I can't imagine how even more exciting that must be just as like a reader who's not quite as in the world, in the publishing world, to get a response. I'm like, you know, it is such a cool place to be. But yeah, I mean, Twitter's got its bad side, don't get me wrong. I've seen, I've seen plenty of like dodgy stuff on there. But as a whole, the writing community in particular does seem to be, and the book blogging community does seem to be really friendly and very inclusive, which is really lovely, isn't it? That was the exact word that I was going to use. And I must, I must say that I just, I love it that you send all these incredibly fantastic and very personable authors my way, and as I'm reading the book, I love my job because I get to actually write questions that I'm going to be able to ask the author for Get Booked, which is just, it is brilliant. Yeah, that's very cool, that's very cool. We actually do something similar, so when we So when we first take on a book and an author, we will read the book, obviously, and then we actually come up with a list of questions. And then there's a few sort of standard ones, you know, like, you know, why did you write the book? And what's the inspiration? You know, sort of standard ones. But that's our chance to kind of really get a bit of a sneak peek into why they wrote the book or the themes behind it, or kind of dig around a bit more or get that question answered, like, why did that character do that? Or, you know, it's really great to be able to get that before anyone else. It's quite fun, isn't it? Oh, brilliant, something to look forward to. Thank you so much, Helen, for joining us. You're welcome. And welcome to Get Booked, the women's and men's radio station. I hope all you lovely listeners have enjoyed listening to the show as much as I've enjoyed doing it. You can find out more about Literally PR and all their latest campaigns and authors at literallypr.com.