So, you remember how much I liked Coffee at Little Angels, don't you? It was a story I could emotionally well relate to, and I absolutely loved Nadine's writing (to read the full review, go HERE). Nadine has come across as a wonderful person during our email exchange. She wrote a guest post for Willing To See Less, and agreed to give away an ebook of Coffee at Little Angels.
Without further ado, here is
Nadine Rose Larter
Hi Ivana
I wanted to first of all thank you for having me here today to talk a bit about myself and my book. It’s an honour to be here.
- Who am I?
Well, I’m not really anybody, but I did write a book and I would quite like it if a few people would read it so that I have a proper excuse to write my next book. My name is Nadine Rose Larter and I come from the sunny coastal city of Port Elizabeth in South Africa. I live with my fiancé, my son and my two step children. We have also recently acquired a little dog that clearly thinks it’s a bird - if you take into account that the only place she likes sleeping is on my shoulder.
Coffee at Little Angels
“Phillip, Sarah, Kaitlyn, Caleb, Maxine, Grant, Melanie and Josh grew up in a small town where they spent their high school years together as an inseparable clique. But high school has ended, and they are all living their own “grown up” lives, each under the impression that their group has basically come to an end. When Phillip dies in a hit and run accident, Kaitlyn summons the others to all come back home, forcing a reunion that no one is particularly interested in partaking in.Coffee at Little Angels follows how each character deals with the death of a childhood friend while at the same time dealing with their own ignored demons after years of separation. Events unfold as the group tries to rekindle the friendship they once shared to honour the memory of a friend they will never see again.”
I wrote Coffee at Little Angels after a high school friend of mine died in a car accident. I locked on to the idea that had he died just two or three years earlier his death would have been even more excruciating to deal with. I was devastated by the loss of course. This was the boy who gave me my first kiss. He was a sweetheart with blue eyes and a beautiful smile. And he is missed by many. Including myself. But...in my case I don’t always miss him as though he is dead. I simply miss him as someone I haven’t seen in a while. Someone who I would love to catch up with sometime, should we be fortunate enough to bump into each other in the street. It often feels simply as if we no longer live in the same town.
From start to finish this book has been a bit of a ride. I finished the first draft in about three months, but after that it was well over two years before I even looked at it again. Life happened and very much got in the way of my writing plans. All-in-all it has taken almost four years to complete. I really feel like it should only have taken a year though.
- Writer’s Block and Other Gremlins
I don’t really know how to approach the subject of writer’s block. I guess I don’t really believe in it. You’re either writing or you’re not. It very seldom has anything to do with some great ferocious affliction. If I’m not writing I’m usually thinking about writing. And the thinking about writing certainly happens a lot more than the actual writing does. We all have our excuses though. Right now my excuse is that I am currently marketing this book. And as soon as I am out of debt with this one I will be able to start working on the next. Good excuse? Sure. Good enough? Not a friggen damn! But I know it’s not a good excuse, as do most writers. The thing is that the chaos of life which inspires us to write in the first place is the same excuse we use to not write at all. Sometimes you overcome the excuse, sometimes it overcomes you. It simply is what it is.
- Life & Writing
I imagine that one day when I am living my perfect life I will be able to give you some sort of “day in the life of...” list that will prove most boring to read and will make people think that some sort of ritual is always necessary to complete books. Perhaps that is true in many ways, but often you just have to cram the writing in between everything else. That is not always the prettiest picture. I do most of my writing in the living room while my son watches Barney. Romantic, huh? Betcha I can sing all the lyrics to that song about raining gumdrops...
- Ongoing Projects
These days I spend a lot of time daydreaming about when my life will slow down long enough for me to catch my breath and work on The Tequila Thursday Writing Club which is a novel about a man whose best friend tricks him into starting a writing group as a way to help him get through his writer’s block. Yes, I am totally writing a book about an affliction that I don’t believe in! I am giving myself until the end of August to get all these silly ducks in a row and then I plan to throw myself into the story properly. Hopefully it will be out round about this time next year.
Otherwise I write for these four websites:
Passing the Open Windows
The Katalina Playroom
The Poetry Project
The Writers Club
Drop by and say hi sometime if you’d like. I always love meeting new people to chat to about books and writing and just about anything else.
~*~*~*~
Many thanks to Nadine for finding the time to write this wonderful post, and for offering a copy of her book to give away.
Here's your chance to win an ebook of Coffee at Little Angels:
- as always, open to followers. If you haven't already, join the group of Awesome People who are my followers through Google Friend Connect.
- more things you can do: follow me on Twitter, like WTSL on Facebook, spread the word about the contest
- leave an email or otherwise indicate how to contact you if you win
- winner will be announced on August 20
Good luck!
