Life isn’t always a box of chocolates.

Do you fancy a romp in the Hay? Rough Ride is an slowly simmering Aga-Saga story of life in a quaint little village in West Sussex in England with all the saucy and racy eccentricities of the personalities who live there and revolves around the equestrian scene. Be prepared however, for a bumpy ride when urban invaders infiltrate this rural utopia and turn their dreams into nightmares.

Tell us more. Who are these city folk?

Charles has it all, the looks, the money, the breeding and the country estate. During the week he works in London as a City Trader and after a steamy affair with his secretary Jennifer, he marries her and brings her to live in his country pile. Jennifer, having been brought up in the rough part of East London, soon discovers that life in the country is not a box of chocolates and initially is thoroughly miserable – that is until she meet Chloe. She secretly learns to ride and develops a deep bond with horses and she makes new friends and integrates into the spirit of village life with its gossip and intrigue.

Charles on the other hand, who despite his best intentions to change his behaviour, has an unpleasant one-off sexual encounter with a girl in London. This girl is determined to seek revenge and enlists the help of her psychopathic boyfriend, which has far reaching and catastrophic effects, as it becomes clear that his ideas are far more sinister than her own.

As the sleepy, seemingly day to day life of the village goes by, each character is woven into the story to bring their own personalities to life and the critical consequences of Charles’ behaviour ensures there will be a Rough Ride ahead for them all.

What genre is your book?

It is hard to quantify a genre.

Perhaps a contemporary romance, but it has the sinister threads of a thriller throughout and an exciting denouement where a character is murdered. There are also some saucy sex scenes.

We like that. Who else will it appeal to?

I am not vain enough to liken myself to any of the good authors, but it has been considered to be a mixture of Jilly Cooper/Midsomer Murders/Fifty Shades rolled into one book; or as another reviewer quoted Joanna Trollope/Colin Dexter.

Ah, we can see the Jilly Cooper similarity.

The book is primarily about the countryside and riding and competing horses. It deals with people from all walks of life from the privileged and wealthy, to the underprivileged. Every character has their own personality which is explored in depth to give credence to the story.

Now we’ve got that settled, are there any other characters that we need to know better?

Jennifer is a young woman who has had a tough life. She was brought up by her mother, and lived previously in the East End of London. She worked hard at school despite being taunted by her school mates for being a swot. She found herself a good job working for a City Trader – Charles. She has a steamy affair with him and finally he divorces his wife and marries her and takes her to live in his country home in West Sussex. Jennifer is like a fish out of water. Trying to take over from Charles’ first wife, she is alienated by the staff, has no idea about village life and is not invited into the inner circle of the County set.

Jennifer is determined to succeed in her new home and doggedly learns to ride as a surprise for Charles. Unbeknown to her, Charles is up to his old tricks in London, and Jennifer has no idea how tenacious she will need to be – if she is to survive at all what life has in store for her.

Will we be seeing Jennifer and Charles and the others again?

I am writing the sequel to Rough Ride at the moment.

Tell us about yourself.

I had a wonderful childhood, being brought up in the country with a big family and our lifestyle was reminiscent of the H E Bates’ “The Darling Buds of May” story. Despite my rural upbringing, I initially worked on the front line of an acute psychiatric hospital with a multi-disciplinary medical team.

My innate passion for horses drew me back to the countryside and I now live, with my husband and three children, a plethora of dogs and horses in the South East corner of England, in an village steeped in history and tradition. We own a stud farm where we breed sports horses and I am British Dressage Judge, Trainer, and also a Sports Psychologist.

My passion for horses and my experiences working within the complex field of psychiatry and psychology inspired me to write about what I knew best – and to create characters based on those subjects and weave them into a novel. Rough Ride is that story.

Have you got a website?

www.pjkingauthor.co.uk

How can we follow you on social media?

@pjking_author