Guest Suzanne Bourgeois-Casey of Moncton, NB.

I have known Suzanne for many years and she has been a wonderful supporter of my writing. She has recently published her debut novel and I’m very excited to have her as a guest this week. Her novel is at the top of my to-be-read list and I’m anxious to read her story. She has agreed to a 4Q Interview and is sharing and excerpt from her novel – Danny and MJ.

            I grew up on the shores of Grande-Digue, New Brunswick.  I was the middle child of five my parents had.  My Grade 4 teacher encouraged me to write, lighting a passion that has followed me since.  Through my junior high school years, I'd write small stories and distribute copies to all my friends, using my father's office supplies.  He never complained. 

          My formal education ended abruptly when I discovered I was pregnant in my senior year in high school.  My husband and I have raised two successful young women with families of their own. 

          But I never stopped writing.  Deep down, I wanted to be published.

          My parents took ill shortly after our nest emptied.  I volunteered to drive them to appointments and errands in between my work hours.  It was a stressful chapter in my life, and I became an insomniac as a result.  I'd wake up during the night with these two characters telling me about themselves, asking me to share their love story.  A word.  A sentence.  A scene.  Sometimes an entire chapter.  This continued until six months after my parents eventually passed.  Only then did I sit down and actually write the story.  Ten weeks later, the first draft of Danny and MJ was complete.

          Having my publisher call me in December 2019 to say that I was now a published author has been one of the most significant moments of my life.  At over 75,000 words, my debut novel is sitting on bookstore shelves.  And I'm in awe.

4Q: First off, tell our readers about your novel.




SBC: Danny and MJ meet at a work conference, feeling an instant connection.  She fights the attraction, while he decides to pursue, for the fun of it.  After many attempts, Danny breaks down MJ's reserve, and they end up in a hotel room.

       A passionate tryst ignites between MJ, a married mother of two, and Danny, a committed man with two stepchildren of his own.  Unable to stay away from each other, they begin a torrid affair.  In the process, MJ discovers sex can be mind-blowing while Danny learns to trust her.  Enough to unburden his hurts.

       A death will change the course of MJ's life, making her want more.  And an accident will make them both question their future.








4Q: What inspired you to write this story?




SBC:  My friend's married sister was involved with another man, himself married, for 20 years before he broke it off.  She was devastated.  Until I heard of their situation, I always took an affair as a physical moment, not the emotional growth it can create. 

Although their relationship didn't end favorably for her, it still intrigued me.  They loved.  They grew.  They had a deep connection.  It was worth a story.









4Q: Pleased share a childhood memory or anecdote.




SBC: My father was an avid gardener.  If he wasn't at work, chances are you'd find him in his vegetable garden.  One summer, work got too busy.  So, he asked my sister and I to plant it for him.  It was our first time sowing, so we weren't aware of the spacing between the seeds.  Lo and behold, the cucumbers took over the entire garden, killing the rest of the seedlings.  Nothing grew but cucumbers.  My sister and I were now responsible to sell them all, in return my mother would be able to buy different produce with the money we made.  We would go door to door, day after day, 10c a cucumber, 25 for 3.   Eventually, my mother made a deal with the local grocer that she would supply him all his cucumbers in return for items.

Our father always sowed his garden himself after that.









4Q: If you were to write a biography of someone, living or deceased, who would it be and why?




SBC: It would have to be my paternal grandmother.  I've gotten to know so much more about her SINCE her death.  While living, she wasn't approachable.  Unless you were blond blue-eyed, which I'm not, she chose not to like you.  As a child, I feared her.  As an adult, I avoided her.  Mainly, I wanted to protect my own children.  But now, I'd love to know why she was that way.  What made her so vulnerable?  How did she and my grandfather meet?  What was her childhood like?  And why did she only wear heels, even as a farmer?

4Q: What can we expect next from Suzanne, the author?




SBC: I've been accumulating scenes, paragraphs, etc., doing research on my next story, tentatively called Quilting Bee.  I started this process in January 2019, but put everything aside in July when then the final steps of editing to publishing rolled through.  Now I'm back fully into piecing scenes together, hopefully my first draft will be done in late spring.

4Q: Anything else you’d like to tell us about?




SBC: As a brand new author, it's been an interesting journey of learning the world of publishing.  Each step forward has awakened me that much more.  The more I do, the more I want it.  The more I love it.  Writing is the easy part, as any author knows.  The work begins with editing and ends with marketing yourself.  If you believe in yourself and believe in the story you've written, go chase your dreams.  It's never too late. 

An Excerpt from Danny and MJ.

(Copyright is held by the author. Used with permission.)

            When responding, I wanted to have the perfect vocabulary in place to end this charade he and I were playing.  But I chose to ignore answering his email, continuing on with my other work.  Reports had to be written.  Decisions had to be made.  Budgets had to be balanced.

          Enveloped in my work, my lunch hour came and went.  Annie knocked at my door at 1:45, startling me.  She pointed at her trendy watch, indicating I was overdue to stop and take a break.

          I cracked a big smile while pushing my chair away from my glass and chrome desk, grabbing my office keys. I locked up, thanked her with a kiss on the top of her blonde head, and walked up to the staff lunch room down the hall.  I didn't always bring my lunch, often having a working lunch down Main Street with whoever might need my attention.  Mondays though were always hectic.  Between meetings, catching up on weekend communications and monthly budget presentations at our televised council meetings, a bagged lunch was safest.

          I settled down with my egg salad sandwich and cherry tomatoes, plugging in the kettle to make myself a cup of peppermint tea.  I was two hours away from clocking out, so I didn't see the need to fuel up on coffee that late in the afternoon.  However, I did treat myself to a handful of chocolate-covered almonds purchased from a dispenser in the lunch room.

          I picked up after myself, joyfully tossed an almond up in the air to catch it with my mouth.  And succeeded.  Rick had taught me that while in college.  As I reached my office, I flung another one up, and caught it again.  I've still got it, I chuckled to myself.

          I checked with Annie if there were any messages.  There were none.   I sat in my chair with a few almonds left in my hand. They were starting to warm up, slowly melting, so I laid them next to my keyboard.  I swished my mouse to reignite my screen, and three emails had since come in.  Thank goodness I loved my job.  It was one of those positions that was never, ever done.  I played the game of tossing another chocolate-covered almond into the air every time I answered one of those emails.  On the third one, as the almond briefly floated in the air, there was a knock at my door.  It took my focus away for a millisecond.  I felt it land on my chest, but did not hear it fall to the ground. Not wanting to keep the Deputy Mayor waiting, I resolved to look later. He noticed what I'd been doing and smirked.

          “MJ, sorry to bother you this late, but I'm gonna need an updated written report on the renovations at the zoo hospital, ASAP.  The Premier is dropping in tomorrow, and I'd like to be well informed.”

          “Absolutely, George,” I answered.  Dread came over me.  My four o'clock departure had just gotten delayed by half an hour.  “Do you want it emailed?  Or would you prefer I text it to you?  This way, you could read up on it this evening, versus in the morning.”

          “A text would be fantastic,” George smiled.  “MJ, you're a peach!”

          And with that, he turned around and left my office.  I immediately sent a text to all three members of my family, saying I would be late coming home.  I noticed a slight commotion behind George, quickly realizing it was Danny coming off the elevator. They shook hands as Danny introduced himself. 

          “What can we help you with, Mr Russell?” I asked curtly, cutting short any more small talk.  The workday was coming to an end for the entire building, except security and eventually cleaning crews.  I wanted to go home.

          “I simply wanted to touch base with you, Mrs. Taylor,” he answered, croaking the word Mrs. slowly.  “I wasn't sure if you'd had the chance to read my reply to the email you'd sent earlier today.  And since I was in the neighbourhood, I thought I'd drop in. Killing two birds with one stone,” Danny concluded, his delicious eyes keeping a steady hold on mine.

          “Again, I appreciate your persistence, Mr Russell.  But as my communication with you this morning indicated, I will be appointing a member from the Purchasing Department to negotiate a contract with Juno Electronics, as you can appreciate how full my calendar must be.”

          “I understand, Mrs. Taylor,” Danny smiled.   “But as I indicated to you in my previous email, I deal directly with the higher ups only.  Once we're in, then my subordinates can communicate with yours.  All I ask is a moment of your time.”

          “Mr Russell, I'm a very busy woman.  It's the end of the day, and I have a report to prepare and send to our Deputy Mayor before I can leave the office.  I don't have time to entertain you right now.”

          “I can wait,” Danny persisted.

          “What report, MJ?” Annie cut in.

          “George wants me to have an updated report on the zoo hospital renovations texted to him as soon as possible,” I sighed.

          “I received one today!” Annie smiled, pulling it out of a folder yet to be filed on her desk.  “I'll email it to him.”

          “No,” I breathed out.  “He insisted I text it to him so he can review it this evening.”  I was starting to feel defeated by not getting rid of Danny.  He was making me jittery.  But I also felt relief that Annie was, once again, there to save the day for me.

          “I'll have that done in a jiffy!” she cheerfully exclaimed.  “It's three minutes to 4. It'll be in George's phone before he reaches his car in the parking lot.  I guess MJ has time to see you now, Mr Russell” Annie said, smiling as she ushered Danny and myself into my office.

          We walked silently to the majestic window, featuring a spectacular view of the Sevy River two blocks away.  The mayor's office had the same scenery, but one storey above.  I was edgy.  I nervously made small talk with Danny, pointing at several buildings surrounding City Hall, giving the history of them all.  Not once during my rambling did Danny take his eyes off of me. 

          The lights dimmed behind us, indicating Annie had completed her task and was now stepping into the elevator.   It was ten minutes after four, and my entire floor of colleagues had gone for the day, leaving me alone with Danny.  A smirk remained on his face from what I could see from my peripheral vision.  He made me nervous.  I didn't dare look him straight in the eye.  My voice trailed off, no longer able to fake small talk.  We weren't touching or I definitely would've crumbled to the floor, had that happened.  But Danny was standing so close to me my hair fluttered whenever he exhaled, a trail of goosebumps following behind.

          And then it happened.  Our bodies touched in the most unusual way.  Danny startled me so, I gasped.  His stubby fingers plunged in between my awakened breasts, plucked out the semi-melted chocolate-covered almond that was resting in my cleavage.  He examined it from side to side with a queer sense of amusement, then plopped it into his mouth.

          “Very sweet,” he proclaimed as he licked his fingers clean.  From there, Danny let himself out of my office, leaving me stunned and motionless.

          I was mortified.  I was shocked.  I was angry.  I was turned on.  I was moist.  I was so ashamed of my behaviour, I couldn't look at him.  Any other person touching me like that, I would've slapped their face, charged them with sexual misconduct, called security. But this man, this piece of flesh, he's done nothing but torment my soul since the day he walked into my life.  He's turned me into mush at the sound of his voice, sight of his face, touch of his skin.   I somehow welcomed his inappropriate gesture. And this time, my knees stood straight.

Thank you, Suzanne for being our featured guest this week. All the best with your future writing endeavors.

For you Readers wanting to discover more about Suzanne and her book, please follow these links:



Facebook Author Page.
 
https://www.facebook.com/Suzanne-Casey-Author-102830968006283/?modal=admin_todo_tour&notif_id=1583545649780455&notif_t=page_invite



Chapters/Indigo/Kobo


Amazon/Kindle


Cover to Cover book store, Riverview, New Brunswick


Guardian Pharmacy, Dieppe, New Brunswick



more to come...

Guest Author Dr. Lewena Bayer of Civility Experts Inc.

The Scribbler is pleased to do a series of guest appearances in conjunction with Creative Edge Publicity of Saskatchewan, Canada. (See below for more of Creative Edge)

The first guest in our monthly lineup is Dr. Lew Bayer of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is a 16-time published author, professional trainer and an award winning internationally acclaimed civility expert. Her remarkable CV contains many impressive titles; CEO, President, Executive Director, Co-chair, Presenter, Personal Coach, etc.




Dr. Lew Bayer believes,

  “Civility is its own reward”

She suggests,

“In choosing civility, people find their best self, and in doing so, they experience the grace, courage, generosity, humanity, and humility that civility engenders.”

The Scribbler is honoured to have her participate in a 4Q Interview.

For more than 20 years Lewena Bayer has been internationally recognized as the leading expert on civility at work. With a focus on social intelligence and culturally-competent communication, the team at Civility Experts – which includes 501 affiliates in 48 countries has supported 100’s of organizations in building better workplaces. In addition to her role as CEO of international civility training group Civility Experts Inc. www.CivilityExperts.com which includes The Civility Speakers Bureau and Propriety Publishing. Lew is Chair of the International Civility Trainers’ Consortium, President of The Center for Organizational Cultural Competence www.culturalcompetence.ca, and Founder of the In Good Company Etiquette Academy Franchise Group www.ingoodcompanyetiquette.com. Most recently, Lew was selected as an International Advocate for Aegis Trust, a UK based organization focused on peace education and the prevention of genocide. She is also an Education Chair for www.globalgoodwillambassadors.org/. Recently, Dr. Bayer has been assigned the privilege of being named Ambassador of Global Knowledge Exchange http://www.gkefoundation.org/bios-chang.htm and a Master Educator in Global Teachers Academy.

Including 2-time, international bestseller, The 30% Solution, and the pending December release of Golden Rule Peace and Civility Lew is a 17-time published author. Lew donates her time as Director of the National Civility Center, www.civilitycenter.org and co-founder of the Golden Rule Civility Global Initiative, she is also a proud mentor for The Etiquette House, a member of the Advisory Board for A Civil Tongue, was a national magazine columnist for 10 years, and has contributed expert commentary to many online, print, and television publications. Lew is one of only 14 Master Civility Trainers in the world, a distance faculty member at Georgetown University Center for Cultural Competence, a long-term facilitator at the Canadian Management Center in Toronto Canada, Instructor – Social Justice at MITT, a Master trainer for the Canadian School of Service, a certified High Style Impression Management Professional and a Certified Culture Coach® who also holds credentials in Intercultural Communications, Essential Skills, and Occupational Language Assessment. Most recently Lew has completed the Champions of Humanity Master Peace Educator Certificate Program at the Kigali Peace School in Rwanda.

Lew has been recognized at World Civility Day three consecutive years for her contributions in the field of civility with a Community Civility Counts Award, and she was recently nominated for Women of Distinction, Woman of Influence, and the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the year. She was previously awarded Manitoba Woman Entrepreneur in International Business and she was the first Canadian to receive the prestigious AICI International Civility Star Award. In 2018 Lew was acknowledged for her work as co-founder of Golden Rule Civility Global Initiative www.goldenrulecivility.com and presented with the International Person of the Year Award by iChange Nations. In May 2018 she was presented with a US Congressional Educator Award. She has been recommended for a position in the Canadian Senate and also under consideration as Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. In April 2019, the Global Peace Federation awarded Lew the International Peace Ambassador Award. In June 30, 2019, Dr. Bayer was nominated for a 36th Annual Manitoba Business Awards in the Outstanding Large Business Award category.

In addition to regularly consulting on corporate civility, social impact and impression management, building relationships with media and creating civil communication, Lew was a national columnist for over 10 years, and is Lew is a sought-after expert who frequently writes, interviews and speaks with media all around the world. 

Civility Experts Inc. manages The Civility Speakers Bureau www.civilityspeakers.com offers online certification, www.civilityexpertsonline.com and offers a large array of civility training tools and materials via www.civilitystore.com. It is a combination of the collective experience of the world-wide affiliate team, the leading-edge training solutions and the team's ability to customize to their client's need that leads to the sometimes immeasurable bene­fits that choosing civility brings. These outputs include increased social capital, trust, social intelligence and culturally competent communication - and together these impacts result in efficiency, competency, retention and bottom line results.



4Q: Before we talk about your book(s), please tell us your definition of civility and why it is important in today’s world.



LB: Many people think that civility is just manners or about being nice. It is soooo much more than that. At Civility Experts we have worked with our 500+ affiliates in 48 countries to define civility in a way that captures how significant and impactful it is, and also to show how civility is a measurable competency.

CIVILITY IS:

*A conscious awareness of the impact of one’s thoughts, actions, words and intentions on others; combined with,

*A continuous acknowledgement of one’s responsibility to ease the experience of others (e.g., through restraint, kindness, non-judgment, respect, and courtesy); and,

*A consistent effort to adopt and exhibit civil behaviour as a non-negotiable point of one’s character. 




4Q: Your latest publication is titled Power of One - How Choosing Civility Can Change Your Life. Please tell us about the book and its contents.

LB: The book is about choosing civility and what that looks like in practice, we each have opportunity. We have a voice, we have the power to choose – our words, our thoughts, our actions. We each have the power to influence others and we each have the power of our gifts and talents. We need only acknowledge and use our power. 

In this book, the goal was to gather together aspects of civility which I understand to be powerful in the choosing of them. 

If you define civility as we do at Civility Experts Inc., you will understand how each of the nine aspects below are necessarily become part of who you are and how you live and interact with others.

One Underpinning Value - When we choose civility as a core personal value, and when we define it in a way that is measurable, we necessarily incorporate several other related values. Civility serves as a foundational value that directs our attitude, decision-making and behaviour such that describing and delineating many other values is not necessary.

One Story - The sharing of and listening to our stories is “social communion™”. By engaging in this act of fellowship, we come to understand how at an energetic and spiritual level we’re all connected.

One Decision - Every decision we make impacts someone or something in some way. We each have the power, every day, to be a positive or a negative influence on the world around us.

One Mission - There is power in having a clear purpose, an undertaking, something you am aiming for, and committed to achieving.

One Gift - Every life is valuable and created with a specific purpose and gift. Each of us has the power to be a positive contributor to the world through our own gifts, and each of us has an obligation to support others in the development of their gifts.

One Moment of Courage - Choosing civility requires courage. We each have the power to draw on our inner strength and exhibit courage e.g., making hard choices, standing up for what is right- just because it is right, and doing whatever we can to ease the experience of others.

One Small Kindness - One word, one minute of attention, one act of generosity, one second chance…the opportunities for kindness are endless and even the smallest kindness has the power to change the course of another person’s day, and even his/her life.



4Q: Previous to the book mentioned above, you’ve also published The 30% Solution. That sounds intriguing. Care to tell us about it as well?



LB: The 30% Solution is based on research showing that companies that embed civility into their policies and practices experience measurable (average 30%) increases in retention, engagement, and profitability. The book is a toolkit for organizations that want to take on a civility initiative and change their workplace culture.




4Q: Please tell us about your role as CEO of the multinational civility training group Civility Experts Group.


LB: As CEO I have the privilege of both learning from and mentoring/sharing civility best practices with our affiliates and clients around the world. I travel and teach about 250 days a year and I can tell you – there is a need for this work, and we are making a difference. 



4Q: How do your novels fit into your role as a civility expert? How do you benefit personally from the exercise of writing?


LB: To be a change-maker you have to be a continuous learning. You have to be open to new ideas, to learning, growing, sharing, collaborating- I think part of being civil is acknowledging that you are human and can never know everything you need to learn- we are all just doing the best we can to be good people and live a good life. Writing gives me an opportunity to reflect on what I’ve read and learned and to present it in a way that might be meaningful to others. 



4Q: What is next for Dr. Lew Bayer, the author?

LB: Well- more writing I hope. But the big project right now is called World Citizen- a global civility training initiative with my Taiwan affiliate and partners in China and around the world. As well, I hope to be an ongoing support to my team and clients.


4Q Anything else you’d like to share with us?



LB: Just that I do truly believe that civility is its own reward- I encourage every one to bring his/her best self to every opportunity, every conversation, every interaction and learn as I have that the gift is in the giving.


Thank you  

Thank you, Dr. Bayor for being our guest and your insightful interview.

For you readers wanting to discover more about Dr. Bayor’s writing and company, please follow these links.

Amazon.com 

Civilityexperts.com 

Creative Edge is a dynamic Publicity Company based in Saskatchewan. Founder and co-Owner Mickey Mikkelson made this statement:

Creative Edge specializes in elevating the public profile of authors and artists through such means as (but not limited to) book signings, presentations (libraries, schools, conferences, businesses, etc.), involvement in applicable events, media interviews (including podcasts and print media), and soliciting of reviews from influential reviewers and bloggers.  

Guest Kathy Shuker of Devon, UK.

Kathy is a British author with four published novels. When you visit her website, she says this about her stories:


“And, though they (her novels) have a strong plot line, it is the characters, their relationships and their passions which drive the stories forward.”

I like that. Her novels have striking covers and intriguing titles that are certain to make you want to have a look. There’s no doubt in my mind that these are exceptional stories.

Kathy had graciously agreed to a 4Q Interview and is sharing an excerpt of her writing.




Kathy was born and raised in the north west of England and trained as a physiotherapist but had to give the work up early due to a back injury. She studied design and took up a career as a freelance artist, painting in watercolours and oils, exhibiting, supplying galleries and teaching, but started writing several years ago and quickly became hooked. She now writes full-time.

As well as an ongoing interest in art, Kathy is a keen amateur singer and musician, playing piano and acoustic guitar. She also loves learning foreign languages and reads widely. Kathy lives with her husband near the sea in Devon in the southwest of England.









4Q: Four published novels, all with great reviews. Which of them was the most difficult to write, the one you worked hardest at?




This is an interesting question. With every book I write I complain that I’m wrestling with it, that it’s not working out and I’m not sure I can pull it off. My husband always laughs and says, long-sufferingly, we’ve been here before – every time! I have to concede that he may be right.

I’m not a great one for planning the details of a novel before I start. I have a broad outline, the main characters and the thrust of the plot in my mind and roughly how it will end, but not how I will get there. I think some of my best ideas arise from just writing it, especially when I start to understand my characters and how the plot and sub plots should weave together. It means that a first draft is often a slow, painful process but that seems to be the only way I can work. So every book is a challenge.

Having said that, I think my third novel required the greatest amount of research because the story revolves around a family who run a vineyard in Cornwall, UK. I had to learn a lot about vines and wine-making in order to make it authentic. Not that doing wine tours including wine-tastings around all the local vineyards was too onerous! As far as the story was concerned, that book also was more emotional to write because it involves the disappearance of a young girl which made it harrowing at times. It also meant that I felt I had to get it pitch perfect.





4Q: You took up painting before deciding to steer your creative pursuits toward writing. Is there any correlation between the art of painting and the art of writing? Looking at a blank canvas or a blank page.



Fortunately, I don’t have an issue with blank pages or canvases! Just before I start, I’m still in the optimistic ‘I know what I want to do with this’ phase. I’m excited. Of course, it’s usually short-lived. But there are definitely correlations between the two arts. When you start a painting or a story, the image you have in your mind – odd details but more an impression, the tone of it – is wonderful. It is always going to be the best thing you have produced. Inevitably, it always falls short; it’s never quite as perfect as the creation you had envisaged. You may be pleased with it but there’s a feeling that you could have made it even better.

Which brings me to another: if you stay too long at a painting, you can lose the original concept and it ends up looking overworked and muddy. The same applies to writing. I’m a perfectionist and tend to keep picking at a manuscript but at some point, you have to walk away and accept it for what it is, keeping, hopefully, the original creative sparkle.




And there is the need to give your work space. When you think you have finished a painting, you need to step away from it, maybe put it out of sight for a while so that, when you see it again, your perceptions will be fresher and you’ll notice anything that might need doing. With a novel, it’s the same. Finish a draft then set it aside for at least a few days if not weeks, then read it again. It is amazing what clarity that can bring and you will see errors and inconsistencies that you had missed before. You also have a better overview of the whole work and how well the story runs, especially the pacing, rather than getting caught up in small details.






4Q: Please share a childhood memory or anecdote.

I grew up in a house full of books. My late father was an academic, a theologian with an amazingly hearty laugh and a broad and eclectic taste in music and books. There were books on the major world religions, some illustrated with wonderful paintings, and books on art – from the Renaissance to the Post-Impressionists. The shelves were groaning with fiction too from cheap thrillers to poetry and the complete works of Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. He was interested in language and had a surprising collection of foreign language dictionaries (some for languages he had never learnt) plus the inevitable thesaurus to help him do crosswords. For me it was like living in a treasure trove. I loved all those books and regularly took them down and picked over them, sometimes with dad at my shoulder, explaining things to me.

And then there was the piano which he taught me to play, and the vinyl records, as they were then, which we would all listen to – jazz and blues, gospel and country, classical and pop. I accepted it all as normal since it was all I knew, but I can see now how lucky I was to be exposed to such a broad range of creative work growing up. As a young child, my father told me stories at bedtime, tales he made up as he went along, and I thought they were magical. I couldn’t do that but I can, with time and work, draft a story and I think that’s thanks to my dad along with so many other things. He taught me, by example, to wonder at the world. I hope it’s something I never lose and maybe that I can pass on.







4Q: On the home page of your website, you tell the readers art, music and wildlife show up in your stories. Of particular note, your novel - Silent Faces, Painted Ghosts - (love the title) there is an image of an easel and frames. I’m not sure if it was intended but it’s a great teaser. How do these figure in the story?



Yes, it was intended. I love those empty picture frames. I’ll explain their significance.

This novel is set in Provence at the large hillside home of Peter Stedding, a celebrated but reclusive portrait painter. For his forthcoming retrospective exhibition at a Nice gallery, unwilling to trust the gallery staff, he employs his own curator, Terri, to organise his work. Keen to escape a controlling romantic relationship, Terri has jumped at the job despite Peter’s reputation for being a volatile, difficult person.

But Terri arrives to an atmosphere. There’s Peter’s second – and much younger – wife and his eccentric sister Celia, with undercurrents running between them. And Sami, the gardener cum handyman who watches everything. And there’s a mesmerizing portrait on the wall of Peter’s first wife which no-one mentions. There are secrets in that house.

When Terri starts to explore Peter’s paintings for work to exhibit, she finds tantalising suggestions that there have been other portraits, personal ones, now destroyed. Whose were they and why have they gone?





4Q: Music and Wildlife are particular interests to you. How do you intertwine your passions as part of the story? Which of your novels would be an example?




My first published novel, Deep Water, Thin Ice is the best example of the intertwining of these two interests. The main story revolves around Alex, whose husband, Simon Brook, a well-known and flamboyant conductor has recently killed himself. Alex, a classical soprano with a successful career but now guilt-ridden and grieving, escapes to Hillen Hall, an old house by the sea, trying to come to terms with her loss.

Hillen Hall is an old Brook family home, once a fine manor house but now creaking and unloved. Keen to do something, she sets about renovating it and is puzzled when Theo Hellyon, Simon's cousin, turns up and offers to help because she didn’t know Simon had a cousin. Theo is charming though, too charming, and he reminds her of Simon and there’s history she doesn’t know about. Theo is not what he seems and we watch with baited breath, waiting and hoping Alex realises too.

Alongside this edgy and intriguing thread is Alex’s secretive friendship with Mick, the solitary and touchy man who runs the wildlife sanctuary down on a tidal inlet by the sea. He lives in a converted railway carriage on the site and keeps himself – and his secrets – to himself. Alex finds the sanctuary therapeutic. Sitting in the hide that Mick has built, watching the birds and other wildlife pass before her, she starts to find some peace again. It’s an antidote to everything else that is going on in her life. These two threads and the two relationships weave in and out of the story, counterbalancing each other until…well, you’d have to read the book!

It was a pleasure to write about someone creating a wildlife reserve, particularly managing and extending areas of reedbed so that bitterns would nest there again. I was able to indulge my interest in birds and it gave me an excuse to visit more reserves myself and learn more. The bittern – a highly reclusive type of heron – had badly diminished in numbers in the UK due to loss of its habitat through drainage in order to reclaim land. But there has been a reversal in recent years with a number of new reedbed reserves created and the shy and elusive bittern is slowly returning. I have been thrilled to see one a couple of times myself and I judge it a worthy minor character for my book!




4Q: What’s next for Kathy Shuker, the author?



I am currently working on another novel which is set back in France, up in the hills of Provence. It’s an area I love for the light and the landscape, the Mediterranean climate and culture, and the heady scents of lavender and herbs. I also think that more remote settings enhance the intimacy and ‘pressure cooker’ feel of a story. And art figures heavily in this story too but I’m still exploring it and dare say no more at this point for fear of jinxing it; there’s a long way to go yet.








4Q: Anything else you’d like to share with us?


My novels provide interesting topics for book clubs to discuss and, on my website, each one has downloadable questions, should your book club wish to choose one to read. (Please be aware that book club questions may contain spoilers.) 

I love to chat with readers on my Facebook page. If anyone would like to keep in touch or find out about special offers, events or new publications, please like the page.

My books are available across multiple e platforms and in paperback. The links at the end will take you to your preferred vendor.

And I’d like to thank you, Allan, for the generous invitation to chat on your blog. It’s been a pleasure to answer such insightful questions.






**It's my pleasure to have you with us this week Kathy. 











An Excerpt from Silent faces, Painted Ghosts

(Copyright is held by the author. Used with permission)

Le Chant du Mistral, Provence

Angela Stedding watched her husband struggle to cut the piece of beef with his fork but said nothing. If she offered to help, he’d tell her she was fussing. If she’d made a meal which he would have found easier to manage, he’d ask why she was giving him baby food. It was lunchtime on the first Saturday in April. Corinne, the bonne, cooked Peter’s lunches in the week; Angela usually did it at weekends. It had seemed like a romantic thing to do when she had first started the routine all those years ago but now it was a tedious chore, a habit which seemed to bring neither of them any real pleasure. Would Peter care if she stopped doing it? She doubted it. He appeared to like Corinne for some reason – or at least he tolerated her - and the French woman would surely agree to take on the task; she regularly worked extra hours to earn a little more money.

Angela continued to eat her salad, ignoring her husband’s grunts of exertion. He’d get frustrated eventually no doubt and lose his temper. For a little over four weeks now he’d had his left arm in plaster from his elbow to his knuckles, the result of a fall. Though the fingers and thumb were free, he was unable to use the hand in any practical way and was obliged to eat all his meals with either a fork or a spoon. Given his advancing years, there was something faintly admirable about his fierce independence, his determination not to let the accident slow him up, and he had complained little about the pain he must have felt, just the inconvenience. But it certainly hadn’t improved his temper. Fortunately he generally reserved the worst of it for the studio.

‘Oh, for God’s sake. Damn and blast this bloody hand.’ His patience finally snapping, Peter dropped the fork with a clatter onto the plate and swore again, more colourfully this time. ‘I’ll starve if I have to go on like this.’

‘Peter, please.’

‘What? Oh, mm. Sorry.’ Tight-lipped, glaring at the plaster on his wrist, he appeared not remotely repentant.

‘About this girl you’ve invited to stay with us.’

‘Who? Oh her. What about her?’ He picked up the salt cellar, sprinkled more salt over the remaining potatoes on his plate, grabbed the fork again and returned to fumbling about with his food.

‘You didn’t give me much warning,’ she complained.

‘Only just decided really. I nearly called it off. Then I thought I might as well take a look at her, see if she might be of any use.’

Angela ate another mouthful of food then laid her knife and fork down on the plate, pushing it away. She dabbed the corners of her mouth on her napkin, folded it and put it on the table. There was the distant ringing of the house phone. She wondered where she’d left it, thought of getting up to go and look but then the ringing stopped and she assumed her daughter had answered it.

‘So who is she exactly?’ she pressed.

‘The curator? I’ve told you already: Terri Challoner. Odd name. Short for Theresa I suppose.’

Angela tutted impatiently. ‘I know her name, Peter, but…’ She shrugged. ‘…I don’t know…how old is she?’

‘Mid-thirties.’ He forked the last piece of meat into his mouth, chewed and swallowed.

‘And…?’

He puffed out his lips in that offhand French way she so disliked. ‘She’s got a good CV. Involved in some decent exhibitions. Specialises in portraiture mainly but she’s done other work too, I believe, ranging…’

‘Peter, please don’t tell me her résumé. You know it means nothing to me. Is she English? Or perhaps American?’ Angela had a soft spot for people from the States. If the girl was American it might make her more appealing.

‘English I think.’ He finished eating, put the fork down and pushed the plate away. ‘Yes, English.’

‘Do you want dessert? Tea then? No?’ She sighed. Even after all this time, she couldn’t get used to him drinking water with his meals. Another of his French habits. ‘We’re going to have this woman in the house for six months; I’d like to know something about her. You’re usually so protective of your privacy, I’m surprised you’ve done this.’

He frowned at her as if that issue had not previously crossed his mind. She wondered if he was going senile; his sister certainly was and she was six years younger.

‘She’s here to do a job, Angela,’ he said. ‘That’s all. Don’t make a fuss about her. Anyway, you’re putting her in the annexe aren’t you?’

‘Yes, but it’s very small and it’s still attached to the house. We can’t expect her to stay in her room for six months like a monk or something.’

‘A nun more like.’ Peter unexpectedly grinned which suddenly made him look much younger. It occurred to her that he was still remarkably handsome in a craggy sort of way, a thought which obscurely made her more irritated.

‘Well she can’t do all her cooking with a microwave. I’m going to have to let her use the kitchen sometimes.’

‘Are you? Well…’ He waved a dismissive right hand. ‘…as you wish, my dear.’

As I wish, thought Angela. Hardly. She toyed with suggesting that Terri could eat with him each lunch-time but knew that would go down badly. In any case it seemed rather strange to have a member of staff regularly installed at the family table. She fixed him with a wary gaze.

‘I’m still not sure it was wise to offer her accommodation.’

He hesitated, frowning, and began to look rattled as if the full implication of his decision had only just sunk in. ‘I did think it through, Angela,’ he said, irascibly. ‘She’d be more likely to talk if she stayed in the village and you know I won’t have that. It’ll be easier to keep an eye on her here, you know, control her. Anyway, as I said: she’s come to do a job. End of story.’ He stabbed at the table with an emphatic index finger. ‘Just make it clear to her where she can go and where she can’t. I’ll leave that to you.’ His tone softened; he almost smiled. ‘The house is your domain after all, dear: your rules.’

That’s only partly true, thought Angela, though she suspected that in the unfathomable workings of Peter’s mind he might genuinely believe it. But Peter had his own rules, rules which were never even voiced, they just existed, as if they were part of the very fabric of the house and the air which they breathed.

‘She’s going to be late,’ said a husky voice behind her.

Angela turned quickly in her chair. A white-haired woman wearing blue dungarees had appeared silently at the kitchen door. She was standing flicking an artist’s brush back and forth across the gnarled index finger of her left hand. Her frizzy hair fell to shoulder length and a splodge of red paint was smeared across her left cheek.

‘What are you talking about, Celia?’ Angela demanded.

‘Terri is going to be late. There’s some problem with her flight.’

‘How do you know?’

Celia wandered across to the island separating the long pine table from the kitchen proper and took an apple from the bowl of fruit. She bore a striking resemblance to her brother: tall and rangy with the same icy, pale blue-grey eyes. She could also be similarly evasive and irritating. Now she was polishing the apple on her less than clean dungarees. Angela’s lip curled in disgust.

‘She’s just rung from Gatwick,’ Celia replied, after closely examining the apple. ‘She’s not sure what time she’ll arrive. Sometime this evening probably.’

‘You answered the phone?’

‘Someone had to.’

‘I thought Lindsey had.’

‘She’s just left for work.’

‘Oh? She didn’t come to say goodbye.’

‘Well she’s a big girl now,’ said Celia, and bit into the apple.

Angela’s eyes narrowed and she glanced towards Peter who was staring out of the window as if the conversation were not taking place. ‘I’ve asked you before not to answer the phone in the house,’ she snapped at Celia. ‘What did you say to her?’

Peter glanced shiftily between the two women, pushed his chair back and eased himself to his feet. ‘I’m just going to rest for a few minutes,’ he said, heading past Celia towards the door and pausing briefly as if he’d just remembered something. ‘I’ve got something particular I need to finish Angela. I’ll be working late tonight.’

Celia watched her brother out of the room and turned back towards Angela who was now on her feet, facing her. ‘I wished her bon voyage, of course,’ said Celia. She smiled blandly, took another bite of the apple and strolled out of the room.

Angela sighed, looked heavenwards and cleared the table. She had made plans for the evening and now she would have to shelve them to sort out this Challoner woman. So Peter would be working late. That was no surprise; he always was. No doubt he was now upstairs, stretched out on the bed for his routine siesta.

She loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, straightened up and leaned against the kitchen unit, her thoughts returning to Terri Challoner. Exactly what position was the woman going to have in their household for the next six months? Angela felt a growing unease. It wasn’t that it was unusual for Peter not to tell her things, far from it – he was a secretive man - but still there was something odd about this whole situation.

Out of the window to the front she saw Celia pushing that ridiculous pram across the terrace, the apple now apparently finished. She’d probably thrown the core into one of the huge flower pots and Sammy would complain.

Thank you so much for being our featured guest this week Kathy. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you and your writing better.

For you wonderful readers that are interested in discovering more about this talented lady, please follow this link:

www.kathyshuker.co.uk