I’m delighted to welcome author Samantha Tonge to the blog with her new release, The New Beginnings Coffee Club. I met Samantha at an author/blogger shindig last year, and she’s a lovely lady to chat to. Since I thoroughly enjoyed reading one of her previous novels, Game of Scones, I was keen to find out about her latest release.
But first, take a look at the very pretty cover and the blurb …
Everyone deserves a second chance…don’t they?
Jenny Masters finds herself living the modern dream. Wife to a millionaire, living in a mansion and mother to Kardashian-obsessed ten-year-old April, there isn’t anything missing. Until, her whole world comes crashing down, forcing Jenny and April to leave behind their glittering life and start over with nothing.
With village gossip following her wherever she goes, she finds refuge and a job in the new coffee shop in town. As the days pass Jenny fears she doesn’t have what it takes to pick herself back up and give April the life she always wanted to. But with the help of enigmatic new boss Noah, and housemate Elle, Jenny realises it’s never too late to become the woman life really intended you to be!
And now to find out more …
Tell me, Samantha, what was the initial kernel of an idea that got you started writing The New Beginnings Coffee Club?
To start with I wanted to write a book about a list. A wish list. Perhaps written by a child. I liked the concept. The idea sprung from there and then ended up not really being about that – as is often the way. Instead the story developed into one about second chances and being true to yourself. However April, the little girl, is turning out to be a popular character amongst readers and she has an emotional journey during the novel. As do her mum, Jenny, enigmatic barista Noah and his colleague Elle. The New Beginnings Coffee Club is about identity, starting over and friendship.
I love a story about new starts and characters who rediscover themselves as the book progresses. What did you enjoy most about writing your heroine Jenny?
I enjoyed showing what a brave woman she is. The new beginning she has to make is a challenging one, for a person in her position, and she is full of self-doubt. However, for the sake of her daughter she shows great determination and it was lovely to feel the character blossom and become more confident with her new life.
How much importance do you attach to your secondary characters?
They are incredibly important. They give a fuller view of the main character and can also flesh out a book’s themes. And creating a cast of very different people is great fun. I often feel that the secondary characters are just as important as the hero/heroine and that has proved the case in this book. Many readers have really taken to Elle’s story which, I believe, is very relatable.
I too love creating secondary characters, and I agree, they can add so much to the story!
Now, a little about you. Where do you do most of your writing? And what would be your fantasy writing spot?
At a TINY desk, which folds away into a wardrobe. We do have a fancy office downstairs but I am used to my cosy little space now, in the spare room with our cat, Mitzie!
My fantasy spot, however – sitting next to Chris Hemsworth on the sofa, apart
