Introducing Ian Wilfred

An extra blog post this week as I would like to introduce you to a gentleman friend of mine, Mr Ian Wilfred.

Ian has just released his first chicklit novel ‘Putting Right the Past’.  It can be found on Amazon for Kindle and will also be released in paperback on April 1^st.

Here's the blurb:

Carole Harding is in her 50s. She divorced her husband after he cheated on her with a prostitute. She hated her life – working in a Bristol supermarket – and the only exciting thing she’d done was to go on holiday (to Scotland in a caravan).

Then she inherited 2 million pounds.

Now she lives in an apartment in a plush complex in Tenerife, but it seems all her neighbours have problems and Carole finds herself helping to change their lives...

Nadean is the actress who hit the headlines and had to go into hiding; Victoria, a model, why did her family turn against her? Hamilton spent his life traveling the world, earning so much money, but was so lonely; Riley gave up everything for love... Then there are Peter and Paul, who only seem to be happy when having a crisis and Jeremy – who has secrets from his wife and from the law.

As Carole gets involved with the lives of her neighbours, she blossoms into the woman she’d always longed to be... when she meets Robson, can Carole make the biggest transformation of her life? 

Ian and I met on Twitter last year (you can follow him @ian_wilfred) and I was interested to learn that he was about to publish his debut novel. I feel that us Indies need all the support we can get when we begin on our writing journey so I invited Ian to feature on my blog and tell people a little bit about himself.

As a male chick-lit writer do you find it difficult to find a ‘woman's voice’?

I don't really have to try very hard - I just release my inner woman, if you know what I mean?!

Name three books you wish you had written.

Oh Amanda let's think. Three books I wish I had written but not necessarily my all time favourite reads:

'The Bridges of Madison County' by Robert James Waller. This was the one that started me reading woman's fiction.

'Delia's Complete Cookery Course'. So easy to read and follow the recipes and it's helped save my life for twenty odd years.

'Olive Trilogy' by Carole Drinkwater because I would have loved to have experienced everything she has in her books.

Over the past few weeks you’ve blogged about how and why you wrote ‘Putting Right the Past’. Have you enjoyed doing that? (Ian's blog can be found here.)

Yes.  I was nervous because you are opening yourself up so much but I think it has helped people to see who I am and has also hopefully helped sell some Kindle copies.

If money was no object and you could have any launch party you wanted, where would you have it and what would you do?

My dream would be at Claridge's with fab and glam people (including yourself of course), lots of bubbly and Lizzie Kramer (agent) introducing me and my book to everyone.

If you didn't write chick-lit what other genre would you choose?

It would have to be travel books as I could then spend months of the year travelling the world away from the wet British weather.

Were you nervous about your book coming out?

Nervous and excited.  The thing that I don't want to happen is that friends and family feel they have to read it just because they know me - I just want people to read it because they want to .

If you were giving a dream dinner party who would you invite (dead or alive) and what would you serve?

It would have to be all the Bs. Betty Davis, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler and the fabulous Beverley Knight. The food would be lobster thermidor followed by a crème brûlée.

I know you're a huge fan of 'Loose Women'. If they asked you to feature on the show, would you?

Oh yes, like a shot!  I’d love to be on the show on the same day as Sherrie Hewson and Janet Street Porter.  That would be a dream come true and after the show it would be fantastic to have lunch with them.  (I wish!)

Name one song that sums up your book.

It would have to be 'No One Ever Loves In Vain' by Beverley Knight - the reason for this is because this song is mentioned in ‘Putting Right The Past’.

How will you celebrate your book launch?

I have no plans myself but I’m secretly hoping for a surprise.  Although the paperback is released on April Fool’s day!   Lets hope I'm not an April Fool.

Has your partner read Putting Right The Past’?

Yes, when he first read it he couldn't work out where it had come from or how I managed to write it.  After reading it what seems a hundred times or more, as we worked on it together, he still can't quite believe I've done it.

QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS

Jeans or suit?

Prefer jeans but look slimmer in a suit.

Pudding or cheese?

Cheese every time but must be with Cornish Wafers.

Night in or night out?

Night out if food was involved.

Bath or shower?

Shower.

Dancer or watcher?

Depends if red wine has been consumed.

Comedy or drama?

A mixture of both.

Dogs or cats?

Dogs.

Lover or fighter?

Lover. I avoid a fight at all costs as I don't like confrontation.

Thank you for joining me today, Ian.  I wish you every success with your book and any writing ventures in the future.

Ian’s book can be found at Amazon UK here or .com here.