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Interview with Susan Buchanan, author of Sign of the Times

Tell us about Sign of the Times.

SIGN OF THE TIMES is a contemporary romantic drama, based mainly in Scotland and Italy. There are 12 main characters (yes, I know, but really, there are 12 of them). Each character represents a sign of the zodiac – their job, their personality, their likes. SIGN OF THE TIMES tells their stories and brings them all together, to show how they interlink. So it charts their lives, loves, drama, tragedy, happy events, and that’s all I’m giving away!

Here’s the Amazon blurb:-

Twelve people. Twelve star signs.

Sagittarius – Holly, a travel writer, visits Tuscany to research her next book. Seeking help when her car breaks down, she gets more than assistance when Dario, a vineyard owner, puts temptation in her path. Disappearing without explanation, he proves elusive. Bruised, Holly tries to put it behind her until a chance encounter brings her feelings to the surface again.

Capricorn – Holly’s fiancé, Tom misses her while she is in Italy and turns to an internet chat room for solace. His construction business is under threat, but could foul play be at work?

Gemini – Holly’s sister, Lucy, a serial man-eater finally meets her match, which puts her long-term relationship and career in jeopardy. Cheating she discovers, can have devastating consequences.

Libra – Holly’s uncle Jack, an eminent prosecutor, juggles a difficult teenage son with his high profile career and finds himself lacking. When his son’s school work starts slipping, he decides he needs to take control, but it’s not long before the balls all come tumbling down and Jack finds his family on the wrong side of the law.

One event binds them all…

How long did it take to write?

6 years – I wrote half of the book in 5 years. Basically I only wrote when I was on holiday. Then I took a year off work to finish it.  Writing full-time, I finished it in 5 months and took a further 5 months to edit it. I completed it in Oct 2008.

What genre is Sign of the Times?

Contemporary romantic fiction/drama.

What kind of reader will it appeal to?

Traditionally it would appeal to anyone who likes novels set in the 21st century, who usually read contemporary  fiction or chick lit. However, the novel has found a more diverse audience and shown greater appeal than I had initially expected. Many male readers have indicated that I shouldn’t even call it ‘chick lit without the fluff’, which is how I like to think of it. There are no handbags and lip gloss in it. It deals with lots of serious themes and is full of cliffhangers. So anyone who likes mystery and suspense, with romance and family drama thrown in, would also like it.

Sign of the Times is quite an intricate story. How did you manage to bring so many characters to life and keep them distinct?

Well, apart from because I created them, and I don’t apologise if it sounds twee, I got to know them – really well. I thought about how these characters would think, what would make them happy, what they liked and hated, how they interacted with various people – basically what made them tick.  I also made notes of lots of things that didn’t go into the book and a lot I edited out, so I know an awful lot more about these characters than readers will ever see.

The characters ARE very distinct. You wouldn’t want to read about people who were similar to each other – that would be boring. But, with them being split by star sign, there were certain very recognisable traits I could give them, which made them quite individual.

What is the best thing about being a writer?

Being able to create the characters. I love my characters. I felt really upset when I had to start writing another unrelated book, as I missed those from SIGN OF THE TIMES. That’s why, when many readers requested I  write a sequel, I decided that I will write, if not a sequel, certainly a continuation to SIGN OF THE TIMES, due out late 2013/early 2014.

What is the worst thing about being a writer? 

Never being able to switch off. I routinely wake up in the middle of the night with ideas for my next book. Or I think, ‘I didn’t do this or that’.  And once I wake up, my brain starts churning and interrupted sleep is the norm.  And of course, the fact that writing is the easy, enjoyable part. Getting it in front of readers is more difficult. So you have to do a lot of different types of marketing. Fortunately I have that background, so enjoy it, but it takes up a lot of time and a lot of my life!

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I worked in International Sales for 16 years, as I speak Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese. I live in the central belt of Scotland, with my partner, Tony, who has supported me no end in my writing. I have travelled a lot, both for work and pleasure, and I would like to think that each of my novels will have a travel-related element to them.

I love reading, travelling and languages. Those are my hobbies, and before I got injured last year, I was really enjoying running, 10K/half marathon.  Since I started writing again back in April,  I have rarely been running, as I am always writing or doing writing related activities.

I read lots of contemporary fiction – favourite books include A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, The Island by Victoria Hislop, and The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld

I also read chick lit, but it has to be either very funny, or like my own novels, chick lit without fluff – so Dorothy Koomson, Emily Barr, Jane Fallon for example, and from a pure chicklit point of view Sophie Kinsella.

And I read lots of crime and thrillers – Jo Nesbo, Ian Rankin, Henning Mankell, Camilla Lackberg, Michael Connelly, John Grisham and Sophie Hannah are my favourites.

I also have a major crush on English actor, Rupert Penry Jones!

Have you got a site where readers can keep up with your work?

Yep, I have a blog which is updated several times a week, www.susancbuchanan.blogspot.co.uk. I also do book reviews and author interviews on the site each Friday.

My author Facebook page is www.facebook.com/susan.buchanan.author.

Where can people buy your book?

My book SIGN OF THE TIMES is currently available only as an ebook, with no immediate plans to change that. I am too busy working on the next ebook and the one after that!

Readers can buy it from Amazon UK or Amazon US

What’s next?

My new novel, THE DATING GAME is due out 2nd November. There will be plenty on the blog about this in the next few weeks.

Here’s a little mini-blurb (I still need to write the official blurb) for THE DATING GAME, to give  you a taste of what it’s about.

Workaholic recruitment consultant Gill McFadden is sick of her friends trying to match-make for her.  Up until now her love life has been a disaster and she’s going through a drier spell than the Sahara desert.  Seeing an ad on a bus one day, she decides to visit Happy Ever After dating agency.  Before long she is experiencing laughs, lust and… could it be love?  But like everything in Gill’s life, nothing is straightforward and she ends up wondering exactly who she can trust.

A few weeks after I launch THE DATING GAME, I will start work on my third novel, due out Spring 2013.

Final question – and it’s the most important one: what sign are you?

Ha ha – I’m Sagittarius, relatively typical, and between you and me, I never look at my horoscope. I just loved the premise for the story!

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5 Comments

  1. Great interview! And wow! I am not at all surprised that you’re a Sagittarius, Susan. Not that I know you all that well (not that I know you at all outside of the blogosphere) but you really seem like a chill kind of gal – a lot like my brother who’s a Sag. :-)

  2. What a great interview. I think I need to read Sign of the Times. Sounds so interesting and different.

  3. What an interesting interview! I really think that Sign of the Times has one of the most clever premises I’ve ever heard of. I’ve always been fascinated by astrology, so it instantly appealed to me. I had no idea that you were a Sag, Sooz!

  4. Great blog piece from a splendid writer … LUV IT!

  5. Pingback: Interview with Dana Page, author of Pass the Hot Stuff | Indie Author Land

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