Suzie Tullett has a way with words

We're glad to have Suzie Tullett back at CLC today. She's here to talk about her latest novel, The Trouble with Words, and reflect on some of her favorite moments in the story.

Suzie Tullett is an author of contemporary humorous fiction and romantic comedy. As well as The Trouble with Words, her novels include Going Underground and Little White Lies and Butterflies, which was short-listed for The Guardian's 2013 Not the Booker Prize. She has a Masters Degree in Television and Radio Scriptwriting and worked as a scriptwriter before becoming a full-time novelist. And when she's not tapping away on the computer creating her own literary masterpiece, she usually has her head in someone else's.

Visit Suzie at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.


Setting the Scene

Releasing a new book is both nerve-racking and exciting for any author. We get caught up in a whirlwind of preparations as we go through edits, plan blog tours, attend book events and undertake interviews.

It’s during these interviews that we discuss our characters, what inspired us to write our books in the first place and we talk to a host of lovely people about settings and themes. It’s all interesting stuff and being an avid reader, myself, I love to hear the story behind the story when it comes to new novels coming out.

Naturally, some questions are harder to answer than others. And being interviewed about The Trouble with Words, the one question that forced me to really think about what I’d written related to any favourite scene I might have.

Of course, there’s lots comedy to choose from, like the time Dan has to deal with the aftermath of his mother’s arrest. I don’t know about you, but any scene that has the ability to make me laugh out loud will always come out on top.

However, there are other pages filled with touching and even heart-wrenching moments, also firm favourites but in a different kind of way. Such as when Annabel, a young widow, discusses her desire to become a mother even though the odds are stacked against her. Or the time Dan’s mother drops to her hands and knees in a desperate attempt to locate the pill she’s just dropped. That scene actually made me cry, probably because I’m a mother of sons myself.

Then there are those internal reflections in the book that we’ve all experienced – scenes I adore because I can instantly relate to what the character concerned is going through. Take the following scene. Again, I don’t know about you, but I’ve often cleaned my house to within an inch of its life thanks to some argument or other I’ve had. All the while wishing I’d said this or said that. And the very next time I see them I’ll… I won’t explain what Dan has done to Annabel or why, that would be giving too much away. But I’m sure as far as her feelings go, like me, you’ve been there, done that, and worn the T-shirt!

Exclusive excerpt:
Annabel sat by the till and placed her elbow on the counter; she propped her chin in her hand and sighed. It was one of those days, one of those weeks even.

She stared at the phone and willed it to ring. With all the births, deaths, and marriages taking place, let alone the engagements, the leaving dos and the just for the heck of its, someone somewhere must want a bunch of flowers. Of course they did. Just not from her it seemed. She gazed out of the window at all the passers-by, acknowledging there’d been a distinct lack of customers coming through the door. Annabel hated times like these. They weren’t just bad for business, they gave her the head space to think, whether she wanted to or not.

The one thing she most certainly didn’t want to consider was her situation with Dan, a desire her brain adamantly refused to acknowledge. Images of the man popped into her head at every given opportunity. Pictures of him having a good laugh at her expense, while she just sat there waiting for him to turn up. She felt almost as annoyed with herself. From what Katy had said about him being a player, she should have known he’d pull a stunt like that.

While glancing around the room, she tried to conjure up another job to help keep her murderous thoughts at bay. It was a struggle. Having spent the last couple of days tidying the stock room, checking the inventory, and giving the shop a good old clean, there didn’t seem to be any more chores left. She tried to look on the bright side and supposed that Dan had done her a favour. These were all jobs that had needed doing anyway and he had provided her with the required motivation to get stuck in. She frowned, wondering who she was trying to kid. The man hadn’t done her a favour at all. He’d made a complete fool of her.

She reached over the counter and pulled a rose out of its container. After running her fingers along its velvety petals, she put it to her nose hoping its scent would be enough to soothe her. On this occasion though, it seemed even her beloved flowers couldn’t help and, she began to imagine what she was going to say, or better still do, to Dan the very next time she clapped eyes on him.

Thanks to Suzie for sharing her thoughts with us and Safkhet Publishing for coordinating this post. Visit Suzie at all the stops on her blog tour.

Buy Links:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon EU