It was lovely to stop and chat with Sophie on her busy book blog Reviewed the Book, this morning. My, but there’s a lot going on over there, you could get lost for days….

Here’s a link if you’d like to check it out:

Reviewed the Book Q&A with Faith Hogan

And here’s what we chatted about…

Hi Faith!

Hi Sophie, it’s lovely to be here at Reviewed the Book, you have a great selection of reviews and authors interviews, so I’m delighted to be joining such lovely company on your interview list!!

Tell us about your debut novel:

The book is called ‘My Husband’s Wives,’ and it is a story of love and jealousy and ultimately of four women who manage to overcome the things that have been holding them back. It is an uplifting story, with a couple of turns along the way. It is one of hope and courage and it centres on how four women deal with each other and eventually help each other after they lose the man who has connected them, however unwillingly, to each other for better or worse!

Where did the idea for the book come from?

The book began with the idea of life turning on the opening of your front door and how events in one person’s life can knock on and reverberate across the lives of many. The characters arrived very clearly with distinct voices that demanded to be told, so they were going to arrive on the page either way, it was the vehicle in which they would travel that really surprised me.

What can you tell us about the next book?

The next book is already drafted. It’s well on its way and currently with my agent. I signed a three-book deal with Aria, so there are a few deadlines to be met this year. It is my busiest year ever! The next story centres around a seaside village, the story is one which moves between the present and the past. It’s a tale of the many kinds of love and I hope it makes us think about what it means to have real love…

Who was your favourite character to write?

In my book it has to be Annalise! She is the perfect blend of ditzy and emotionally savvy. She writes herself and with her, I feel I cut so much in the editing; I probably have a novella just sitting on my office floor. She is funny, or at least she made me laugh as I wrote her, I hope she does the same for my readers.

What can readers take from My Husband’s Wives?

If it is anything it is this:

Sometimes the things that hold us back the most, are the things we are afraid to let go of…

I think, that’s true of all of us, it’s just too often, we can’t see it.

What has been your biggest highlight of publishing so far?

This is a tough one.

It’s hard to beat that first time you hear that you have a book deal… but that’s a whole other story!

Since that, it’s been the reaction of people around me. People that I’ve known for years are so genuinely delighted and the number of people who have contacted me to say they’ve bought the book already… well, it is very touching.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

This is an easy one. There are so many great things about writing and I say that to cover the many people who are out there scribbling silently away at home. It is an escape, let’s face it, I can have killed four people by breakfast and be best buds with them by the eleven o’clock tea break. Anyone for a jaffa cake? Better than any gym workout for the stress levels, let me tell you…

How many books do you read a year?

Not nearly as many as I’d like to. There was a time when… well, life is busier these days, and I’m lucky to get through a book a month. But then, I do tend to read two to three at a time, so it’s actually quite hard to say!

Can you name a book that you’ve read that you’d love to have written yourself?

There are many other books, but for the sheer fun of the writing experience, it has to be ‘Death Comes to Pemberly,’ can you imagine immersing yourself for a whole year in the world of Mr D’arcy?

Tell us about your writing process:

I tend to write long and wide to start. Most of my books are going to end up somewhere around the 90,000 words, but my first draft is always 120k at least, then I take out my scissors and start to cut maybe down to the 60 or 70k mark. I’ll lose a character, maybe two. But, one always has to go. I like to write the first draft from a few viewpoints, any less seems too claustrophobic somehow.

Are you doing anything to celebrate publication?

I really should, shouldn’t I?

I suppose I just hadn’t planned, and now, it seems the publication date is almost upon us. But then, you can never have too many pairs of shoes, so perhaps a little retail therapy and a nice dinner out with my nearest and dearest…

My Husband’s Wives will be published on May 1, 2016.