The wonderful Daisy Tate has not only one but TWO books publishing with HarperCollins today!
11 June 2020
First up, the hilarious The Happy Glampers that was previously published as a four part eBook series and is now available in paperback!
Is friendship meant to last forever? Charlotte Mayfield hopes so. Especially as she’s throwing some luxury glamping into the mix.
After fifteen years of trying to be the perfect wife, maybe Charlotte’s best friends from uni – Freya, Emily and Izzy – can still glimpse the woman she’d once set out to be.
Freya is up for it. Could a powwow with her yesteryear besties helps her knock some sense into her useless husband?
Emily’s hiding her own crisis from her parents, colleagues and now, her mates. Can a weekend under canvas get her to open up?
Izzy’s back from a decade abroad with an unexpected addition, her nine-year-old daughter Flora. She’s also keeping another big secret, one that’s brought her home for good.
Will a year of yurts mend two decades of hurts – or are some things, like shower blocks, burnt sausages and no wi-fi, best left in the past…
Next up, A Bicycle Built For Sue which is now available as an eBook:
Sue Young has never asked for much apart from a quiet life. She’s always been happy with her call centre job and dinner on the table at six o clock; that was until her husband’s suicide tore her tranquility into little shreds.
With her life in tatters, Sue is persuaded to join a charity cycle ride led by Morning TV’s Kath Fuller, who is having a crisis of her own, and Sue’s self-appointed support crew are struggling with their own issues. Pensioner Flo Wilson is refusing to grow old, gracefully or otherwise, and a teen goth Raven Chakrabarti, is determined to dodge the path her family have mapped out for her.
Can the foursome cycle through saddle sores and chaffed thighs to a brighter future, or will pushing themselves to the limit prove harder than they thought?
Praise for Daisy Tate:
‘A warm, witty and endlessly wise story’ Cressida McLaughlin
‘Full of heart … I love the fabulous friendships’ Jo Thomas
‘What a great book. I loved it.’ Debbie Macomber
In celebration of Daisy’s AMAZING DAY we thought we would catch up with her for an exclusive Q&A:
1. What do you love most about writing commercial women’s fiction? Have you always written in this genre? Would you like to write in any other genre?
One of the many things I love about writing women’s fiction is the vast gamut of subjects you can cover. Women live rich, amazing, complex, intimate, passionate, broad-reaching, multi-cultural, (I could go on) lives. We love knowing about one another’s lives and, sometimes, our own. Reading about shared experiences is something that draws us even closer together. I believe one of the sorrows of modern life is a feeling of isolation. Difficult to believe when there is so much social media with which to connect with people, but…somehow too much time on Twitter or Facebook can end up feeling like eating e-numbers. You LOVE it when you’re doing it, and find it really really difficult to stop, but when you finally put the bag of crisps/biscuits/peanut butter stuffed pretzels down…are you really satisfied? Writing women’s fiction gives me that ‘I just ate a really lovely, healthy and surprisingly delicious meal’ feeling. With a guilt free dessert. Boom! What more could you ask for?
2. In both of your books publishing, the importance of female friendships is a key theme- why is this? Are female friendships important to you too?
I have written quite a few romances for Mills & Boon and whilst I adore bringing my characters to their happily ever afters, I have also wanted to explore the complexities of being a woman and female friendships are one of the elements at the heart of this. Even though I’m American born, I have a fairly British ‘cards close to the chest’ trait when it comes to sharing what’s really going on with me. Then I went through a few things, as we all do at one juncture or another, and all of the safety pins popped out along with all of the information I’d been trying to safeguard and lo and behold! The women I shared my deepest/darkest/ugliest feelings with didn’t push me away. They pulled me in closer and comforted me. Well. Not everyone, but…the ones who mattered did and it was an extraordinary experience. I’m not saying I wander round with a loud speaker announcing my woes to one and all to see what happens, but it has taught me to truly value those friendships that kept me propped up when I wasn’t up to it. Falling apart isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world because the person you put back together can be even more glorious, strong, and vital than the one you’d once believed yourself to be. That, and women are more comfortable sharing the TMI bits of life with one another because, almost inevitably, our gal pals can relate. I mean, who else is going to understand that life can grind to an unseemly halt because you can’t choose what nail polish to wear to That All Important Night Out? And that is something to cherish.
3. Do you have any Glamping tips for those trying to camp in their back gardens during Lockdown?
Oh yes. First of all? MARSHMALLOWS. Marshmallows help everything. Get the American ones if you can because, no offence, British ones aren’t made for toasting. If you have any heavy quilts, those are most excellent. Or the desire to bring your bed outside…that’s good, too. I’m going to guess no on that front, but…maybe pull your bed right up to the very very open windows and sleep there if you don’t already. Eat sausages if you eat meat. Eat vegan chilli if you don’t. Anything cooked over a fire is chargrilled, not burnt (it’s all in the spin). Bring plasters. Someone will hurt themselves (usually that’s me). Play in the sprinkler. Make a daisy chain if you can. If not play anything you normally play inside that isn’t battery operated outside. Do something by torchlight, even if it’s sticking the light under your chin and making yourself look spooky. Don’t go to sleep until you’ve heard an owl.
4. When your not writing, what hobbies and activities do you like to get up to?
I am a lucky gal and live on a small farm. We raise a modest herd of Belted Galloways and I absolutely love them. I also have two dogs who I like to go exploring with - usually with a pal (socially distanced when necessary). My husband is a huge nature aficionado so is always teaching me about some new rare plant or flower he’s found on the farm (which we’re slowly slowly converting into traditional wildflower meadows). Reading (surprise, surprise). I love brunching with friends. Yoga. Cooking. Thinking about cooking. Reading about cooking. Travel is a big passion. I don’t do as much of it as I used to when I was a news cameraman, but a couple of years ago a friend and I took a cycle tour from Saigon to Hanoi and that was pretty amazing (and bone achingly difficult). I also like sitting. Sitting with a beverage and watching the world go by. That’s fun, too.
5. Can you describe both of your books for our followers?
Happy Glampers is a tale of four uni friends who have mostly lost touch and are reunited at Charlotte Mayfield’s fortieth birthday party. They’re all hiding secrets from one another because who doesn’t want to impress their friends from way back when, but…inevitably…the cat simply doesn’t want to stay in the bag. It was a joy to write this book and watch the friendships wax and wane as friendships often can, ultimately cinching tight when it matters most. And, of course, there are plenty of marshmallows.
A Bicycle Built for Sue is about three 111 call operators who all end up on a charity cycle ride in the wake of Sue’s husband’s suicide. It’s about grief and recovery and, ultimately, life. I utterly adored writing this book and I sincerely hope people enjoy reading it.
Sheila McClure
Sheila McClure has written over 35 published books, one play, a video games pitch, and endless comedy sketches. She was born in the United States…