Welcome to the "Call Me Lucky" Mini-Tour featuring author Caroline Bell Foster!
Presented by Diverse Book Tours
Looking to diversify your TBR shelf? Check out it out on:
Want to read more? Check out the blurb!
What happens with the night team...Teddy couldn’t believe the foul mouthed girl he once knew had changed so little, but still he felt an attraction towards her. He helped her overcome her insecurities and health scare and they were happy and in love until the night their pasts collided.
To love her, was to let her go. But could he?
We got a chance to sit down with the author herself! She's a first timer on Twinja Book Reviews, so it's awesome to know how the mind of this writer works!
What can you tell us about yourself as a person, as well as an author?
A. I'm one of very few writers of colour out of England. I was born in Derby, which is in the Midlands and have memories of playing in strawberry fields with my older brother.
At the age of twelve, my family went on what should have been a 6 week holiday to Jamaica, my parents decided to stay. I lived in Jamaica for 18 years with a stint in Canada and Kenya.
Jamaica, gave my life a burst of colour and each day from the moment I stepped off the plane was an inspiration and I wrote everything down.
What is your first memory of being a writer?
A. I have several. I had a dairy, well I'd always had a diary from the age of seven right up to adulthood. My first diary was filled with references to my ballet class and how much I hated it, but how I loved my tap dancing classes.
My very first unofficial 'published' piece of work, was a love letter I'd written to a boy who was a year older than me at school. He'd stuck it on the blackboard for everyone to see. Surprisingly, I wasn't the least bit embarrassed and even offered a love letter writing service!
Someone once said that whatever it was you were doing before the age of twelve is your destiny. I have a distinct memory of seeing my name in the local paper and thinking I'd like to see my name in print one day.
What went into writing this book and who were the people(if any)that inspired these characters?
A. Call Me Lucky is the second (but stand alone) novel to my Call Centre Series. The series began as a single novel, with all members on the night shift contributing, but one character took over, and presto the series was born.
Call Me Lucky is Felicity's story. She was chosen by my readers of the first novel Call Me Royal.
I know it's hard, but do you have an ultimate favourite character, you've created? And why?
I love them all, but Felicity 'Fliss' Pecora, from Call Me Lucky, holds a special place in my heart. She started as a foul mouthed, mixed up, angry girl who just wanted to be left alone to look after her mother. She evolves into someone you could only call 'special'
I'm not ready to let her go yet, so she has a cameo appearance in another novel.
Why do you find diversity important in your writing?
A. It's who I am, a British girl of Caribbean parentage. Growing up I read every Mills and Boon novel I could get my hands on. I liked the stories, but they weren't about me. None of the characters looked like me or had a cultural background I could relate to.
I have children, and thankfully there's is now a plethora of books, in which they can relate to. What we need to encourage is works of quality.
What do you think is the hardest thing about writing a book?
A. Staying focused. Anyone can sit down and start to write a book, but it takes commitment, truth and dedication to finish.
Are there any interest tidbits about your writing process?
A. The process has changed over the years. I used to be very methodical before I'd even written a word. Now I have an idea, interview my main characters, know how I want the book to end, but I let my characters take me there. It's so much more exciting when I'm taken through an emotional roller coaster I hadn't seen coming.
What do you believe is your marketed genre? Is it hard to market a book in that genre?
A. I keep it simple. I write Contemporary Romantic Women's fiction.
Why did you choose the genre in which you write?
A. I'm a born romantic. Remember the love letter? I love the whole excitement of getting two people together and the swirl and twirl of emotions in those first heady emotions of newness.
My last few titles I've been romancing different cultures, which bring a whole new level of excitement for me and my readers.
What piece of advice would you give a writer about to be in your position, who is just starting out?
A. If you're serious about writing, you should know that you have to write everyday. What I would like to add is learning to look at everything with a writer's eye. It's not just a chair, or a tree or the person opposite you on the bus. See the detail, smell the richness, see the story behind every strangers eye. Learn to see past what's in front of you.
Do you typically start with characters, or plot first?
A. Characters. I fall in love with the characters and then give them a story. I'm a Panster, as in, I don't follow a particular path.
Since you are an accomplished author, what have you learned each time you've penned a new book, that perhaps you didn't know from the last book?
A. I'm about to start my 7th novel, but with each book I've learned a new level of confidence.
When I just started out, I had one-on-one tutor-ledge with a Caribbean author for a year. He sat me down and made me read through my work, crossing out anything that I thought shouldn't be there. Of course, at first, there was maybe a line here or a line there, but then I learned to go with my gut feelings. I can now write 3000 words in one sitting and be okay editing it to half that amount, making my work tighter.
I can also write anywhere. There used to be a time when it had to be dark and quiet. Now I can sit with my family, or in a café, or in bed and write and the words will flow to a high standard.
What can you tell us about your future in writing? Anything in the works?
A. The Cat Café, my interracial romance is about to be launched. It began as my NaNoWriMo project. I'd finished Call Me Lucky October last year and it had gone to the Editor. Now free I decided to do the 50K in 30 day challenge for the first time.
I was so scared of losing that I actually finished the book in 19 days.
I call it my playful piece of work. All I knew was that I wanted to write a novel about a woman who owned a cat café. It's set in my home town of Nottingham. A few weeks later I heard of a real café being opened in the exact location I'd set the book.
I hadn't intended for it to be published so soon, but it made perfect sense so I added a few more thousand words and it'll be released April 2nd online, with the physical launch in the real cat café late spring.
Where can potential readers learn more about you and your current and future projects?
A. My website is the best place, but I can also be found on the usual social media websites.
http://www.carolinebellfoster.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cbellfoster
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolinebellfoster
Ohhhh... it all sounds good! Click on the purchase link below to read more!
About The Author
Caroline Bell Foster was born in Derby, England and with her
family went on a six week holiday to Jamaica. She stayed for 18 years!
Ever the adventurer Caroline bought her first pair of high heels in Toronto and traded her pink sunglasses for a bus ride in the Rift Valley at 18. She wrote her first short story on that bus and had it published the following year in a local newspaper.
Caroline has always written in one form or another from a very young age. She started her first diary at age 7 and short stories and articles kept her occupied throughout her teens. Feeling the restrictions of short stories for newspapers, Caroline switched to full length novels letting her creativity flow.
Caroline is also known as 'The Caribbean's Leading Lady of Love' as her novels Ladies' Jamaican, Caribbean Whisper's, Saffron's Choice tend to reflect her love for the Islands. Caroline's fourth novel Call Me Royal has just been released.
The author now lives in Nottingham, England with her husband and two children.
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