Author Interview: Cathy Bussey

Today I would like to welcome author Cathy Bussey to The Burgeoning Bookshelf.

About the author


Cathy is an author, journalist and hopeless romantic who wrote her first book at the tender age of six. Entitled Tarka the Otter, it was a shameless rip-off of the Henry Williamson classic of the same name, and the manuscript was lost after she sent it to her pen-pal and never heard a jot from her since.

Fortunately reception to her writing became more favourable and she spent ten years working for a range of newspapers and magazines covering everything from general elections and celebrity scandals to cats stuck up trees and village fetes. She has been freelance since 2011 and written for The Telegraph, Red Online, Total Women’s Cycling and other lifestyle and cycling publications and websites.

She is the author of three non-fiction books and her debut and thankfully non-plagiarised novel Summer at Hollyhock House has been published by Sapere Books.

Cathy lives on the leafy London/Surrey border with her husband, two children and a dog with only two facial expressions, hungry and guilty. Her hobbies include mountain biking, photography, wandering around outside getting lost, fantasising about getting her garden under control, reading, looking at pretty things on Instagram and drinking tea.

So, let's get started and find out a little more about Cathy and her writing.

Hello Cathy, thank you for joining us. Can you tell us a little about yourself? 

Yes I can! I’m Cathy and I’m the author of Summer at Hollyhock House, which is my first novel. I’m also the author of three non-fiction books and a journalist who has written for publications including The Telegraph. I work part-time as content editor for a creative non-profit called Girl Effect, and the rest of the time I write books, features and various other bits and pieces, and hang out with my two daughters and dog.

I’m a keen cyclist and love all forms and disciplines, from road racing to BMX. I’m  also a total nature nerd and bookworm.

 

What inspires you to write? 

I can honestly say I’m not so much inspired to write as compelled. I’ve been writing stories since I knew what writing was, and I was probably telling stories even before that much like my daughters tell me stories now. The written word has always been my most authentic form of communication – I’m a much more eloquent writer than I am conversationalist! In terms of the types of stories I like to tell, I draw inspiration from human relationships – how we connect, interact and communicate with one another – and the natural world.

What is a typical writing day for you?

I don’t yet write novels full-time so much of my writing days are spent writing for Girl Effect or for various publications or clients. In terms of novel-writing, a typical writing day could quite easily look like me sitting down to write at 8am and not getting up other than to make tea, eat or go to the toilet, until  2am the following morning. I could do that for days on end! If I’m really caught up in the story I’m telling I find it hard to do anything but write.

But nobody can sustain that form of creative flow long-term, and at other times it’s more about squeezing in an hour here and there around the day-job, or sitting down to write once the children are in bed.

Where is your favourite place to write?

At my kitchen table. I sit in the same chair, facing the room with the radiator at my back and the dog at my feet. From here I can see out of the French windows into our small and rather overgrown garden, and I can also see the unholy mess that is our kitchen most of the time but I choose to ignore it. The garden is a much nicer view!

Do you have any writing rituals or good luck charms?

Other than a preference for the kitchen table and a nonstop supply of tea, I actually don’t have any rituals or superstitions. I’m not the most organised person so I doubt I could even maintain a habit or ritual!

What authors, genres do you like to read?

 By far my favourite genre is the genre I write – contemporary women’s fiction, or chick lit as many call it. I don’t really object to the label chick lit, I know it carries meaning and is generally meant as pejorative or dismissive, but to me it’s intelligent, emotionally literate fiction that accurately reflects the reality of women’s lives. There are heaps of sub-genres within chick lit but the books I favour have emotional depth and focus on everyday issues many women face, things like motherhood, addiction, depression, balancing work and family, health issues and so on. I absolutely adore Marion Keyes, to me she’s the perfect example of an incredibly intelligent and thoughtful writer who brings warmth and humour to very real issues that real women face.

I read a huge amount of non-fiction and find it so life-enhancing. I learned pretty much everything I know from books! Nature writing is a big favourite of mine and I hope to explore my own nature writing more in the future.

What are you currently reading?

I read very quickly and borderline compulsively – I don’t like to put a book down once I’ve started so if I were currently reading something I’d have  finished it before I came to answer this question! Most recently I read Girlfriend, Interrupted by Patricia Caliskan, My Boxed-Shaped Heart by Rachael Lucas and Together by Julie Cohen, all of which I unreservedly recommend, and I have Somewhere Beyond the Sea by Miranda Dickinson, The Year of Surprising Acts of Kindness by Laura Kemp and Forgive Me Not by Samantha Tonge closest to me on the TBR. I also have a few non-fic on the go, the titles of which are rather compromising so I won’t elaborate, but recent non-fic I really enjoyed include Owl Sense by Miram Darlington, Sensation by Isabel Losada, and Sorted: The Active Women’s Guide to Health by Dr Juliet McGrattan.

I now have a great list of new authors to look into and more books that will be added to my TBR.

How did you come up with the idea for Summer at Hollyhock House?

I became really preoccupied with thinking about my teenage years. The people I knew, the places I went, the music I listened to, the things I did. I was going through a time of deep personal change and reflection and for various reasons my teenage years rose to the forefront as a significant time. I got really fixated on the choices I made back then and wondering what would have happened if I made different choices.

And from that place came Summer at Hollyhock House, which was essentially a question about how the connections we make during our formative years endure into adulthood.

I wondered what would happen if people we thought we’d left behind – or even chosen to leave behind – came back into our lives and what that would mean for us. How much of us is connected to those people whether we want to be or not. And out of this came a love story that made me so happy and filled me with so much poignant, bittersweet nostalgia and joy, that I knew it deserved to be share with the world.

Has romance always been your genre of choice?

For novel writing, yes. I used to write rip-roaring pony adventures in my early teens but they gravitated into romance from about the age of 14. I have always been fascinated by the human connection and romance is a pretty defining one.

What’s next for Cathy Bussey? Do you have a new WIP? 

I think there are more stories to be told about Hollyhock House and the people within and around it. I also have a WIP that is set in Streatham in London and is very different and quite ambitious, but hopefully one day I will manage to find a way to pull it off. And I would also like to write more non-fiction and have a crack at nature writing. As I grow and change so too will the stories I tell – I hope to still be writing when I’m 90!

I will be looking forward to more Hollyhock House stories in the future.

Thank you for stopping by and spending some time with us on The Burgeoning Bookshelf.

 
 Blurb

 One long summer changed Faith forever…

Faith Coombes should have been over the moon when her long-term boyfriend proposed to her. But instead, she broke up with him. Rob was safe, reliable, nice and … boring. Nothing like the only person who had ever broken her heart…

Unable to afford the rent on another flat and desperate for a new start, Faith takes the plunge and moves back to the village she grew up in, returning to the house that holds so many memories for her.

Hollyhock House, the family home of her best-friend Minel, also belongs to the boy who meant so much to her all those years ago…

As Faith falls back in love with the sprawling surroundings at Hollyhock she also finds herself falling all over again for the only person who has truly hurt her.

Can Faith come to terms with her past? Did she make the wrong decision in breaking up with Rob?
 
Or does her heart really lie at Hollyhock House?

Summer at Hollyhock House is a charming romantic comedy full of lost loves, missed opportunities and second chances. This summer read, perfect for the holidays, will have you laughing-out-loud in parts, close to tears in others, and above all, championing Faith as she searches for what is most important to her. 

*Cathy's novel Summer at Hollyhock House is published by Sapere Books and can be purchased here 

 Check out the other posts and reviews on the Summer at Hollyhock House blog tour.

 

What's arrived in The Burgeoning Bookshelf's Mailbox in August

Books that have arrived in my mailbox during August and what I'm excited about reading next.

Back cover blurb
The illegitimate son of the wealthiest man in Cedar River, Jonah Rickard spent his life avoiding his father. Forced back home for a wedding, he’s brought face-to-face with the only woman to ever threaten his hardened heart. Connie Bedford knows what it is to be haunted by the past, betrayed by trust…scared by desire. Years ago, Jonah’s father saved her. Now only Connie and her love can save Jonah—and, maybe, his family…

 Back cover blurb
 In the mid 90s, Elizabeth Booth is a young British college student studying Arabic at Durham University. With some travel and work already under her belt, she excels at her studies and is sent to Damascus to immerse herself in the language. Taken aback by the generosity and kindness of the people there, she easy slips into a life in the ancient city. She has friends, her studies, and even a handsome boyfriend. But things aren't always what they seem. Soon, in a world where mistrust and disloyalty are commonplace, Elizabeth finds herself navigating a web of lies, betrayals, and even murder involving MI6, deadly terrorist factions, and the shadowy Syrian secret police.

  Back cover blurb
 Lenny, small and sharp, has a younger brother Davey who won't stop growing - and at seven is as tall as a man. Raised by their single mother, who works two jobs and is made almost entirely out of worries, they have food and a roof over their heads, but not much else.

The bright spot every week is the arrival of the latest issue of Burrell's Build-It-at-Home Encyclopedia. Through the encyclopedia, Lenny and Davey experience the wonders of the world - beetles, birds, quasars, quartz - and dream about a life of freedom and adventure, visiting places like Saskatchewan and Yellowknife, and the gleaming lakes of the Northwest Territories. But as her brother's health deteriorates, Lenny comes to accept the inevitable truth; Davey will never make it to Great Bear Lake. (Publication Date 1st November 2018)

Back cover blurb
It wasn't just the bad break-up that caused Eleanor's life to unravel. It was the cancer. And all the demons that came with it.
Not just the inappropriately George Clooney-handsome doctor who carved her up, or the kind sweet one that recoiled when she tried to kiss him. Or the scrapbooking workshop, or the deluge of cupcakes (What is it about breast cancer that makes people think of cupcakes? Oh. Right), the knitted sweaters from her mum or the irritatingly judgemental support groups.
It was the demons. (Publication Date 1st October 2018)

 Back cover blurb
 The last few years have been punishingly dry, especially for the farmers, but otherwise, it's all Neralie Mackintosh's fault. If she'd never left town then her ex, the hapless but extremely eligible Mitchell Bishop, would never have fallen into the clutches of the truly awful Mandy, who now lords it over everyone as if she owns the place.

So, now that Neralie has returned to run the local pub, the whole town is determined to reinstate her to her rightful position in the social order. But Mandy Bishop has other ideas. Meanwhile the head of the local water board - Glenys 'Gravedigger' Dingle - is looking for a way to line her pockets at the expense of hardworking farmers already up to their eyes in debt. And Mandy and Neralie's war may be just the chance she was looking for... (Publication Date 25th September 2018)

Back cover blurb
   Any woman who’s ever been involved with a bad, bad man and been dumped will understand what it feels like to be broken, broken-hearted and bent on revenge. Taylor Bishop is hurt, angry and wants to destroy Angus Hollingsworth in the way he destroyed her: Insidiously. Irreparably. Like a puzzle, he’d slowly dissembled … stolen a couple of pieces from, and then discarded, knowing that nobody would ever be able to put it back together ever again. So Taylor consulted The Art of War and made a plan. Then she took the next step – one that would change her life forever.

Back cover blurb
 Corinna Chapman, baker extraordinaire, talented sleuth, stalwart friend and lover is back! When a distraught Scottish veteran from Afghanistan is knocked unconscious, waking up to find his beloved ex-service dog missing, Corinna and her lover, Daniel,
find themselves inextricably drawn into the machinations of a notorious underworld gang of drug runners.

Corinna and Daniel need to pull together all the strings to find the connections between their wandering Scottish veteran, his kidnapped dog, a student dramatic society that's moved into Corinna's building, burglaries, and the threatening notes that begin to mysteriously appear in Corinna's apartment. Between her forays into danger, there is still time in Corinna's life for tender encounters as the delicious aromas of newly baked breads, muffins and treats waft out of Corinna's bakery, Earthly Delights.

Back cover Blurb
This is the story of an adventurer who never gave up - who set herself incredible challenges beyond her years and experience.

An adventurer who endured extremes of cold and blizzards; treacherous terrain where one wrong step could be fatal; struggled through sastrugi, ice rubble and emotional lows to achieve an extraordinary goal.

Along the way, she made a sandwich for online trolls, inspired young people, and made international headlines.

At sixteen, Jade Hameister became the youngest person in history to complete the Polar Hat Trick.

 Back cover blurb
 Five years ago, Geo's first love was revealed as a terrifying serial killer.

Except he escaped custody and went on the run.

Now bodies have started turning up, killed in exactly the same way as before.

The message is clear: he's making his way to her, one murder at a time....

Back cover Blurb
Meet Evangelia, a grieving souvlaki shop owner; Rik, a news hack haunted by his past; Nell, a lawyer who worries over her soul; and Ben, a young father desperate to measure up - four people who have everything and nothing to do with one another.

But each of their lives is about to be changed forever by Aida, a woman who never wanted their help, nor their sympathy. A woman with her own tale to tell...

Back cover Blurb
Bridge of Clay is about a boy who is caught in the current - of destroying everything he has, to become all he needs to be. He's a boy in search of greatness, as a cure for memory and tragedy. He builds a bridge to save his family, but also to save himself. It's an attempt to transcend humanness, to make a single, glorious moment: 

A miracle and nothing less. 
(Publication Date 9th October 2018)

 Back cover blurb
 A struggling actor, a Brit in America without a green card, Claire needs work and money to survive. Then she gets both. But nothing like she expected.
Claire agrees to become a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers. Hired to entrap straying husbands, she must catch them on tape with their seductive propositions.
The rules? Never hit on the mark directly. Make it clear you’re available, but he has to proposition you, not the other way around. The firm is after evidence, not coercion. The innocent have nothing to hide.

Then the game changes.

When the wife of one of Claire’s targets is violently murdered, the cops are sure the husband is to blame. Desperate to catch him before he kills again, they enlist Claire to lure him into a confession.
Claire can do this. She’s brilliant at assuming a voice and an identity. For a woman who’s mastered the art of manipulation, how difficult could it be to tempt a killer into a trap?

But who is the decoy . . . and who is the prey?

 Back cover Blurb
 Fourteen-year-old Trysten 'Tryst' Black's life changes dramatically when his oldest brother, Shaun, goes off to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. Tryst's mother, Kirsten, deals with Shaun's absence by drinking, leaving Tryst to fend for himself. Tryst's answer to this is to rage against his father, Old Greggy Boy, who lives in a caravan by the creek, to get into a punch-up at school, and to line up for another fight with his uncle who has come to stay.

When the fractured family receives news that Shaun is coming home, things begin to look better for Tryst. But Tryst is dead worried  about his brother. And it's only his friends who'll listen.

 Back cover blurb
Thirty-year-old Tessa Lowell has a PhD in psychology and is working in Uganda to research the effects of PTSD and war on child soldiers. She joins a delegation travelling across the Congolese border, deep into the African bush, for peace talks with Joseph Kony, notorious leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.  
At the camp Tessa meets thirteen-year-old Francis, already an experienced soldier and survivor of shocking violence. The talks stall, and the camp is attacked by other rebels who take Tessa. Isolated in an increasingly volatile situation, she tries to form a bond with Francis. 

In Melbourne, Tessa's parents are notified of the kidnapping, but learn there is little that government agencies can do. Desperate, they contact their son Stephen, an astute if manipulative businessman based in Cape Town. He agrees to search for his sister but has other reasons to contact the rebel forces.
As Tessa's time runs out, her family begins to fracture. Her parents arrive in Uganda to hear awful news about what she has endured. They also learn the devastating truth about the kind of man their son has become. Only they have the power to stop a terrible injustice. 

Back cover blurb
In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe's life is in ruins. 
Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist's sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?
Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker's Daughter is a story of murder, mystery and thievery, of art, love and loss. And flowing through its pages like a river, is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history, but who has watched it all unfold: Birdie Bell, the clockmaker's daughter. (Publication date 12th September 2018)

 Back cover blurb
 Germaine Johnson may not be all that good with people but she’s great with numbers. Unfortunately, as she discovers after the incident at Wallace Insurance, there are very few openings these days for senior mathematicians.
Then her cousin gets her a job at the council. On the Senior Citizens Helpline.
It’s not the resume entry Germaine wanted—but it turns out Mayor Verity Bainbridge has something more interesting in mind for her. A secret project involving the troublemakers at the senior citizens centre and their feud with the golf club next door. Which is run by the strangely attractive Don Thomas.

Don and the mayor want the seniors closed down.
Germaine wants what Don and the mayor want. But when she’s forced to get to know the ‘troublemakers’—things get more complicated.

August was a big month!!!!

What am I really looking forward to reading? This is going to be a hard pick as I keeping myself down to three 'I can't wait to get my hands on it' books. 

Jar of Hearts is a must pick. I bought this for love your bookshop day as I have read so many amazing reviews for it. It's one of those books I just had to have.

The Clockmaker's Daughter is another I can't wait to read. I love Historical Fiction and combine that with Kate Morton and I know this book is going to be unputdownable.

My final pick is Bridge of Clay it took Markus Zusak 10 years to write this book so I'm expecting it to be more than amazing.

I am going to have to add one more this month because I can't go without mentioning the simply courageous and inspiring Jade Hameister with her biography My Polar Dream. She is an inspiration to women everywhere.

Anything here that takes your fancy? I'd love to know what is on your must-read list for September.