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After working first for a bank and then as a teacher, Bedfordshire author Holly Martin found her  calling when a group of role-playing educators visited her school to bring Tudor England to life. Now, in her words, she spends her non-writing time driving around the country “in my little white van, dressing up as a Viking one day and an Egyptian High Priestess the next.” 

It must be excellent practice for the imagination, which she needs for her other career as an author. So far, she’s published the first installment of a paranormal young adult series, as well as a women’s fiction treat that weaves a story of laughter, loss, and love in a very unique way — through the pages of seaside inn’s guestbook.

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1. I absolutely love the premise of The Guestbook, which centers around a young widow who runs a guest house (filled with loads of interesting characters), and comes face to face with an old flame while still dealing with the loss of her husband. What can you tell us about that story?

The story of The Guestbook is told solely through the messages left in a holiday cottage guestbook. Annie, the landlady of Willow Cottage, is the main character and it is her story that is told through the messages she leaves for her guests and their interactions with her. I wanted to have a story unravel through just the messages, to have one main story running through it, but also the guests that come to stay have their own story to tell and I love that we get a glimpse into their lives too.

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2. What do think people will love most about the book? What do you love about it?

That it’s something different and unique. It’s still a love story, with humour and great characters but it’s told in a completely different way and hopefully people will embrace that. Continue reading →

What, I have to ask, is Jason Mott’s biggest claim to fame? There are so many options: Writing a bestselling novel. Starting a Hollywood bidding war. Attracting the attention (and the wallet) of Brad Pitt’s Plan B production company. Becoming the creative mind behind what I fully anticipate being ABC’s next big hit TV series. Any one of those is far more exciting than my biggest claim to fame, which is probably getting to tell people I share a literary agent with the esteemed Jason Mott.

Jason is the author of THE RETURNED, a New York Times bestseller that centers around a worldwide phenomenon in which people’s loved ones begin rising from the grave. But no, it is not a zombie apocalypse. It is an emotional, touching, and extremely thought-provoking look at how human beings–particularly Harold and Lucille Hargrave, who lost their eight-year-old son decades earlier–would react to such an event.

THE RETURNED is the inspiration for ABC’s brand new series, “Resurrection,” which premiered three days ago. I am beyond honored to be hosting Jason today, and to be giving away five autographed copies of his novel. Details follow after the interview.

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1. THE RETURNED centers around a worldwide event in which everyone’s loved ones return from the dead. I’m sure this is something we’ve all wished for—just for a moment—at one point or another. But you took it a step further and began to really look at what that would mean beyond the wishful nostalgia. Can you talk a bit about your thought process here?

I wanted to explore the truth behind how I felt that type of event might happen. The entire project started when I dreamed that I came home from work one day and found my mother sitting at the kitchen table waiting for me. It was a warm, cathartic reunion, and I feel that’s how we all think of this idea initially. However, in the writing of the novel, I tried to take things further. I tried to think how this might play out after the initial hugging and crying and joy of being reunited with someone we’ve lost. After thinking it out, I realized that, if my mother returned to me, she would come looking for the 22 year-old son she left behind. What she would find instead is a 35 year-old man who is very different than he was when she “left.” It’s that change, that dissonance of time that occurs when we lose someone, that I wanted to explore with THE RETURNED.

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2. Today, when people hear that a book is about people rising from the dead, they automatically think flesh-eating zombie apocalypse. Obviously, your story wound up becoming extremely successful, but in the beginning, do you think this unique angle made it easier or harder to sell?

I can’t quite say if it made it harder or easier to sell, but I think it definitely made it a different type of sell. There were times, early on, when I had to pre-emptively tell people “but it’s not a zombie story.” But the more I talked about the book the more people began to understand what I was shooting for and, thankfully, the end product has been well-received.

Continue reading →