Website: Anne Allen
Twitter: @AnneAllen21
E-Mail: me@anneallen.co.uk
LinkedIn: Check Out LinkedIn
Author Description: Anne was born in Rugby to a Welsh father and an English mother. As a result she spent many summers with her Welsh grandparents in Anglesey and learnt to love the sea. Now she is based in Devon to be near her daughter and 2 small grandchildren. Her restless spirit has meant a number of moves, the longest stay being in Guernsey for twelve years after falling in love with the island and the people. She contrived to leave one son behind to ensure a valid reason for frequent returns. Her younger son is based in London - ideal for City breaks. By profession Anne is a psychotherapist but had long had a desire to write and Dangerous Waters is her first novel.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
Are you working on a new book? When will it be released? Give us a tease here.
Yes, I am. It’s called Finding Mother and is the story of a young woman (Nicole) who, as her marriage collapses, decides to trace her natural mother. She needs to find a sense of ‘self’, realising that she has been too attracted to material success to the detriment of her relationships. Her husband’s infidelity causes a big shift in her perceptions and sets her on a path of no return. In the process she finds not only her biological mother but also her grandmother, both of whom have kept secrets from each other. The sudden appearance of Nicole in their lives creates a need for honesty and re-appraisal of their hidden pasts. Nicole herself is on a journey to discover what is really important to her. The story is set predominantly in Guernsey again, but there are excursions to England, Spain and Jersey. I’m hoping that the book will be published in 2013.
Good authors are always analyzing people around them to create that one great character. How much does your day job help in your character development?
As a psychotherapist I certainly have a head start on people analysis! I think I’ve unconsciously drawn on that experience to flesh out my characters and the way that they respond to various situations. Dangerous Waters looks at the issues of love and loss and this is something of a recurring theme with my clients over the years. I’ve always found it fascinating and uplifting that people can cope with awful traumas and come out stronger in the end. But it’s never an overnight transformation – it takes time and the right support to emerge through that dark night of the soul.
With the UK ebook market expanding so quickly, how do you plan to market in the US? Will social media play a big part?
I’ve been using social media to market in both the US and UK. I came to it a bit late in the day, now realising that you need a prominent profile before a book is published. I now know that having a writer’s blog is paramount but I haven’t got mine off the ground properly yet. I’ve been featured on numerous blogs, mainly in the US, and this is helping but sales there are still lower than in the UK.
My book is available as both a paperback and ebook and I was surprised that, in the UK, the sales of the paperback far outstrip those of the ebook. It’s the reverse in the US. I think I’ll just have to keep trying to raise my profile through blog features, book reviews etc in the US. Perhaps it will be easier once my second book is published!
Author's Book List
Dangerous WatersMystery, loss and love on the island of Guernsey
'Oh my God, what's happening to me? After all this time, please, not again!' Jeanne Le Page, gripped by fear and panic, struggles to breathe as the ferry arrives in Guernsey, the island she had fled 15 years before, traumatised by a family tragedy. Now she has to return after her grandmother's death. Jeanne has inherited her cottage and she plans to sell it before returning to the UK. Deeply unhappy after the recent end of a long-term relationship, she has no desire to pick up her old life on the island. Suffering traumatic amnesia after being involved in the accident that killed her family, Jeanne has experienced nightmares for years. The return to Guernsey triggers frightening flashbacks and Jeanne undergoes hypnosis to recover her memory, reliving the tragedy as the ghosts continue to haunt her. But someone on the island does not want her to remember, and she faces danger from an unexpected source... A contemporary story of love and loss that will capture the reader's imagination, Dangerous Waters will appeal to fans of female fiction. Anne is inspired by a number of authors, including Robert?Goddard, Katie Fforde and Mary Higgins Clark. A comparison can be drawn to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
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Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the HBS Author's Spotlight plus the blog: eBook Author's Corner
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