Today I am delighted to have Anna-Lou Weatherley as guest author. Here she tells us about her crazy year and gives us a snippet of her next novel which is due to hit the bookshelves in July.
I read and reviewed Chelsea Wives last Friday.
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| Photos courtesy of the author |
I cannot even begin to explain how crazy (in a good way) the past twelve months of my life has been. I launched my debut novel, CHELSEA WIVES, threw a lavish launch party and got married (not in the same day I might add, though believe me, it felt like it!). To finally see my novel on the shelves was a life-changing moment for me and up there with giving birth (minus the gas and air). I will never forget the moment I walked into WH Smith in Victoria station and saw the cover staring back at me. I promptly bought a copy and announced to the startled cashier that I’d written it (I couldn’t help myself!). It was a moment I will cherish forever.
Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to write novels and I am very humbled that my dreams have come true. I love to create realistic, three-dimensional characters that are sometimes a little larger than life and often complex (like all of us!). I particularly enjoy writing strong female protagonists and I adore a flawed character, they are infinitely more fun to write! Although I give my books a very glamorous jet-set backdrop (I am a little obsessed with exotic locations and all things designer – a girl can dream, no?), I am interested in exploring the darker side of life and human nature too; glamour mixed with grime excites me. I’m not your standard chick-lit writer in that sense, or at least I hope I’m not. I was thrilled when CHELSEA WIVES was bought by Italian publishers Newton Compton (they translated the title to ‘La rivincitadelle Mogli’ – the Revenge of the Wives!). I went to Rome on the weekend of the launch and was astounded to see the cover on billboards all over the airport! I wish I could’ve bottled that feeling!
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My new title WICKED WIVES is predominantly set in London and Las Vegas, (though we also see Antigua, Santorini, Capri, Paris…) and is ostensibly the story of three women who are all inextricably linked by one delectable but dangerous man! Here’s a sneak preview at the synopsis below!
Wicked Wives
Sometimes it just feels so good being bad….
When the ‘Blue Angel’ yacht is found abandoned of the coast of Antigua and
Playboy and Casino owner, Tom Black, who was on board is pronounced missing, foul-play is suspected. After all, the serial gambler and womaniser has made plenty of enemies.
As events come to light however, the finger of suspicion points to three women in particular – and the men they’re married to.
Ellie Scott, the beautiful socialite with a dubious past whose husband is the billionaire property developer Vincent Scott; Loretta Fiorentino, the fame-seeking Italian gold-digger whose infamous plastic surgeon husband has transformed her looks at his ultimate cost and Victoria Mayfield, the glamorous successful author whose inability to conceive a child rocks her perfect marriage to core…
Nineteen years ago, on the eve of her marriage to Vincent Scott, childhood step-brother and sister turned sweethearts Ellie and Tom say one final and passionate goodbye, and unbeknown to him a child is conceived. Deeply in love with his beautiful young wife, Vincent Scott agrees to turn a blind eye on the condition Tom Black’s name is never mentioned again - ever. However, when Tom makes an unexpected reappearance in London twenty years on as the owner of a glamorous new casino, it’s obvious the past hasn’t completely been laid to rest and Ellie is forced to take the ultimate gamble of all…
Loretta Fiorentino should’ve married Tom Black when she had the chance. Having lured him away from the love of his life with promises of fame and fortune, she is left devastated and vengeful when he eventually discards her just like the others. When her second husband, Doctor Ramsey Hassan, infamous plastic surgeon to the stars, dies suddenly of a heart attack under a dark cloud of suspicion as to his professional ethics, Loretta gets what she’s always wanted: his money.And in a brillianttwist of fateshe finds herself in the driving seat once more when she runs into Tom in Las Vegas, only this time it’s on her terms….
Victoria Mayfield’s perfect life is shattered by the cot death of her adored baby girl and her pain is prolonged further by her husband’s secondary infertility. She loves her husband, but she loves the idea of motherhood more and as her obsession grows, so does her desire to have a child – at any cost… Prepared to sacrifice her moral beliefs for motherhood, Victoria embarks upon a search for a surrogate only with far-reaching repercussions…
The young and beautiful Tess Scott, daughter of Ellie and Vincent Scott, is desperate to get her parents off her back and make her own way in life, but when a trip to the party Island of Ibiza goes abhorrently wrong, Tess finds herself embroiled in a dangerous situation of blackmail and extortion. As her perfect rich-girl London life begins to unravel, she is forced to get a job at Black Jack’s casino and befriends her enigmatic boss, Tom Black, who goes all out to help the troubled girl he finds a strange affinity with. But is their relationship all that it seems?
When Vincent Scott has his wife followed, his discoveries leave him devastated and he vows to rid their lives of Tom Black once and for all. But has someone else got there before he can? And can Ellie stand by and watch the destruction of a man she loves deep down but knows she cannot trust…?
WICKED WIVES is a pacey, passionate and sizzling romp with a larger than life cast of characters and few unexpected twists! Set against a jet-set backdrop of exotic locations, boutique hotels and designer attire, it’ll leave you breathless for more!
I would be absolutely thrilled to hear from you, whether you’re a reader or a budding writer. Your feedback is very important to me.
Anna-Lou Weatherley was born in Hampshire but grew up in London where she still lives with her husband and two young children. An award-winning journalist and women’s lifestyle writer for over fifteen years, she is the former editor and acting editor of J-17 and Smash Hits respectively and has written for all the major glossies including Grazia, Company and Marie Claire among others and is currently More magazine’s resident no-nonsense advice columnist.
She is the author of two teen titles, Ibiza Summer and The Wrong Boy (Piccadilly Press) and her debut adult novel CHELSEA WIVES (Avon, Harper Collins) came out to acclaim in June of last year with Grazia magazine calling it, ‘A fun romp of a read, the perfect poolside companion.’
You can follow Anna-Lou on Twitter @annaloulondon or become a fan on Facebook/ChelseaWives.
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