Tell us about Completing the Puzzle.
Completing the Puzzle is a tale of love, families and friendship – with a little mid-life crisis thrown in for good measure.

What genre is it?
I’d say it’s chick lit/romance.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
I’ve been told in a review it would appeal to any age from teens to 100!  I’d say female readers from 30 upwards.

Complete this sentence for us: If you like ___________, you’ll love Completing the Puzzle.
… reading about family life with all its humour, sadness, change and growth …

Our society seems increasingly obsessed with youth. Was it a risk not making (lead character) Fee Crawford a twenty-something airhead?
I wanted an older main character for several reasons – her story couldn’t be told by a twenty year old airhead as it involves maturity, experience and dissatisfaction.  I also wanted to show her as someone who is still attractive and feisty, with wants and needs.

Readers may remember you as the author of the Mummy Misfit novels. However, for anyone who may have missed them, can you tell us what they are about?
The Misfit books tell the story of an ordinary couple who choose to sacrifice luxuries to send their only child to a private London prep school.  It shows the chasm between the haves and the have-nots, the school gate bitching and the humorous side of private education politics.

Will there be a third Misfit novel?
I always said there wouldn’t be a third but, as I now have so many readers asking for another, I’m reconsidering.  I won’t pick up where the 2nd book finished off but at a later point in the Misfit’s life.  I also won’t do it unless I know I can do her story justice.  Watch this space …

Your Mummy Misfit books have been compared to the Bridget Jones novels. What is your reaction to that?
I’m delighted to have my work compared to Helen Fielding’s.  I’ve been told that the Misfit books are a ‘grown-up’ Bridget Jones and, having loved the books myself many years ago, I’m very flattered that people would think that.

Because chick lit is airy and easy to read, there is the temptation to imagine that it is easy to write too. Is this really the case?
No book is easy to write – it’s a hard graft and takes huge discipline.  I don’t think that chick lit is any easier to write as it presents the same issues and problems as any other genre – characters, plot, planning, structure, word counts and just generally getting from A to B with your thoughts.  I think chick lit is much misaligned but the sales figures say it all – many women love to read it.

What would you say is the essential ingredient of a good chick lit novel?
I think that varies from reader to reader but for me it would have to be humour mixed with characters that I grow to love and care about.

Writing a book is never easy, but other than that, what has been the toughest part – editing or marketing?
Without a doubt, the marketing.  Hubbie and I edit together, which is tough (and includes lots of hissy fits and shouting!) but it ENDS.  The marketing NEVER ends and, as an Indie, there is no one there to do it for me.  It really is a full time job as I’m always looking for new angles to get my books out there and talked about.  Of course the best ads are the lovely readers who enjoy and then tell others.  My fans are priceless.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a forty-eight year old mother of a teen.  I live very happily in South West London with my husband, son and two cats.  I now write and market full-time and it was the best decision I ever made.

Have you got a blog where readers can keep up with your work? Do you use social media?
Yes, I blog at http://mummymisfit.blogspot.co.uk/ and am on Twitter as @mummy_misfit.  I also have an author Facebook page for Mummy Misfit.

Where can we buy Completing the Puzzle?
All of my books can be bought for Kindle at Amazon and in paperback at Lulu.

What’s next?
On 28th November my new novel Stilettos & Stubble will be released – this tells the story of a slightly larger than average female lead who finds happiness in the most unlikely of places and learns that ‘It’s what’s inside that counts.’  I also have a Christmas novella coming out on 1st December – Christmas Deliverance.

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Enjoyed this interview? Then check out our conversation with Dana Page