In The Hot Seat with Cara Cooper

CURRENTLY READING…
 
‘The Killings At Badger’s Drift’ by Caroline Graham. I occasionally dip into the Midsomer Murders series on television and always enjoy them but I’d never tried reading Caroline Graham’s books. This one is the first and is listed by the Crime Writers Association as one of the top one hundred of all crime novels written. I’d say the beginning is an object lesson in starting a book, drawing the reader in and grabbing them (gently – this is cosy crime) by the jugular. As I’ve just started a crime novel myself I am studying it with interest.
 
CURRENTLY WATCHING…
 
Garrows Law – I missed this series the first time around and was given the DVD as a Christmas present. Just goes to show my To Be Seen pile is as extensive as my To Be Read pile. There is so much which is excellent about this series. Based on real accounts of trials at the Old Bailey and a lawyer with high morals and an eye for detail, the tales are fascinating. The 18th century costumes and makeup are wonderful, understated but grand. The acting is superb. But most of all, it is the writing which shines. Running through the series is the ‘will they won’t they’ suspense of a smouldering love affair between Garrow and a lady patroness. Unusually for the small screen today there is more smouldering and less getting it on. The romance is beautifully executed with a degree of restraint for which the director is to be applauded. Added to that, each episode retells one of the real tales from the Old Bailey involving cases such as fraud and insurance scandals which sound dull but which are brought beautifully to life. 
 
GUILTY PLEASURE…  
Spending an entire day on my backside reading a book cover to cover. Once did that with a Marion Keyes and have done it with a Ruth Rendell. Absolute bliss.
 
BEST ADVICE YOU EVER GOT… 
Never make the best the enemy of the good. In writing terms, I meet lots of people who from year to year are still working on the same novel. Yes, polish until it shines but accept that at some point you have to write THE END and mean it. Completing is a large part of success.
 
A COUNTRY OR TOWN YOU’D LIKE TO VISIT…
 
London ….. in the 1700’s. It’s the city of my birth and history oozes out of the cracks in the pavement. I so wish I could go back and find out what it was really like in the past
 
HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU READ THIS TITLE… 
Giselle Green’s latest ‘Falling For You’. Her books are always intriguing always challenging.
 
I’M SHAMELESSLY SELF-PROMOTING…
 
My first e-book with American publisher Astraea Press. ‘The Sanctuary’ is a sweet romance set partly in London and partly on an island off the English coast, here’s the link http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662245&mode=product&product=12423811
 
Here’s the blurb! City lawyer Kimberley is forced to take over an animal sanctuary left to her in a will. The Sanctuary, a Victorian house overlooking the sea, draws Kimberley under its spell. The same cannot be said for her husband Scott, whose dedication to his work threatens their relationship. When Kimberley comes to the aid of handsome, brooding widower Zach Coen and his troubled daughter, she could possibly help them. But will she risk endangering her marriage in the process?