Third Time Lucky

Third Time Lucky

Third Time Lucky is the third book in the Oxford Blue series, and it brings the love story of troubled aristocrat, Alexander, and independent senator’s daughter, Lauren, to a climax. Like the first two novels, Third Time Lucky is sexy, fun and glamorous but that doesn’t mean it’s fluffy!  Alexander has a very dark past and is a special forces officer. He challenges Lauren in every possible way and she is determined to keep her independence at all costs. They both have huge life changing decisions to make as they reach the end of their time at Oxford together.

How much has reading English helped to write books?

Sometimes I think it hasn’t helped at all – because I left Oxford carrying a huge weight of self inflicted expectation. I wish I’d started writing fiction years ago but I always thought that if you couldn’t write like Jane Austen or be a Man Booker winner, why bother? I now realise there is room out there for an infinite number of voices – all I had to do was tell the story that made my heart sing.

How much has your background in journalism helped you to discipline yourself and your writing?

As a ‘professional’ writer, I was used to working to deadlines and to the day to day business of actually getting words down on a page and out there in front of readers. However, nothing could have prepared me for the terror of having to show my fictional work to other people. In my professional life, I am always commissioned by a publication or client so I found it very hard to think I might be writing on spec, for nothing.

Your debut novel won the RNA’s New Writers Award, so who did that affect your confidence as a new writer?

It was a boost because at that stage I’m not sure I really felt like an ‘author’. I do remember mumbling ‘it can’t be me’ to the other nominated authors, many of whom have also gone on to writing careers. It was just one step along the way to accepting I *was* an author, but I think that it’s the fact I’ve physically carried on writing novels, rather than any particular milestone or success, that has made me feel like a ‘real  writer’.

This was made into a TV movie too so how did you react when you found out?

I literally fell off my chair! Believe it or not, authors are often the last to know about these things. Of course, I knew that Decent Exposure had been optioned but it had been a couple of years since I’d heard anything. In desperation, I’d tracked down the producer on Facebook and he told me he was working on it then he happened to post a photo on Facebook that looked suspiciously like a location to me. But still I barely dared to dream. A few weeks later I woke one morning to a Google alert that mentioned my name, my book title and a movie. I could barely breathe and almost fell off the chair in shock when I realised what it meant. I called my daughter who was on her way to one of her Finals at uni, then I got my husband who said I was incoherent.

Your books have been compared to Sylvia Day and E L James so how does that make you feel?

Very proud because I love romance of all kinds, from sweet to sexy! They are probably more Sylvia Day than EL James, but with a classic British twist.

When did you realise that your idea for the Oxford Blue series would span over a trilogy?

It was planned that way from the start. A series demands more disciplined planning, I think, than a single title – you need a plan for each book and an overall story arc over the series. But you also need to be flexible to allow the characters to take off in new directions. That happened a lot with the story of Alexander and Lauren!

What is next for you?

Ohh. I’m working on a few things; one is a single title Phillipa Ashley novel and the other is something I can’t tell you about!


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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