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It was a pleasure to be involved in the publisher blog tour for the hardback release of Before You Go earlier this year. I loved this book and you can read my full review here and this is just a snippet –
This is a wonderful poignant story of love, regret and the difficulties of trying to make relationships work.
I loved this story. The writing is beautiful and perceptive and I took the characters to my heart, flaws and all. Do put this on your reading lists, you won’t regret it
The paperback, with its new cover, is being published by Pan *TODAY* and to celebrate, I’m thrilled to share with you a lovely guest post from author Clare Swatman.
My Fairytale Came True
By Clare Swatman
Once upon a time there was a little girl who really loved listening to stories. Then one day, her teacher told the little girl’s mother that her daughter would never be much of a reader. The little girl thought this seemed strange. She was only six and she loved stories. Why wouldn’t she be able to read them very well?
By the time she was eight she loved reading. She devoured Enid Blyton books – her favourite was The Magic Faraway Tree and she loved Malory Towers. She thought one day she might be in the Secret Seven.
Then one day she decided she wanted to be a journalist. It looked fun, and glamorous. She also longed to write a novel, something that other people would love reading, that would whisk them away to another place, another time. But that would have to wait. She was too busy having fun.
After getting her A Levels and a degree in French and Spanish she started working as a journalist for women’s magazines in London. It was the life she had always dreamed of. But she still longed to write a novel. It’s just that several attempts to start one hadn’t ended well, and she was beginning to think she’d never actually do it.
Then one day, when her children were very young, she decided that it was now or never, otherwise she would always regret not having tried. She had an idea bubbling away, which had formed when she was writing real life stories. She’d always wondered what would happen if some of these people could go back in time to before the awful thing that had happened to them, and what they would change.
Over the next year she wrote Before You Go in coffee shops and libraries while her kids were at nursery. By Christmas she had a first draft.
It wasn’t until almost 18 months later that she got up the courage to send it off to anyone to read – and that was when her long-held dream finally became a reality as she found an agent and a publisher. Her little idea was about to be turned into a real-life novel!
And now, Before You Go is out there in the world, and that little girl who was told she would never be much of a reader has become an author. And she knows she will never have any regrets, because she gave it a go – and her dream came true.
(Hopefully Not) The End
Thank you Clare, and also my thanks to Jess at Pan Macmillan for inviting me to take part in the paperback celebrations.
| About the Book |
Before You Go is powerful story of love and loss perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day, by debut author Clare Swatman.
When Zoe’s husband Ed dies, her world caves in. But what if Zoe can get Ed back?
You find your soulmate . . .
Some people stare love in the face for years before they find it. Zoe and Ed fumbled their way into adulthood, both on different paths – but always in the same direction. Years later, having navigated dead-end jobs and chaotic house shares, romance finally blossoms. Their future together looks set . . .
Then the unthinkable happens.
One morning, on his way to work, Ed is knocked off his bike and dies. Now Zoe must find a way to survive. But she’s not ready to let go of the memories. How can she forget all of the happy times, their first kiss, everything they’d built together? Zoe decides she has to tell Ed all the things she never said.
Now it’s too late. Or is it?
| About the author |
Clare Swatman is a journalist for a number of weekly women’s magazines. Clare was Features Editor for Bella and has written for Best, Woman’s Own and Real People. She writes for her local magazine as well as the travel pages for Take a Break. Clare lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two boys.
Before You Go is her first novel, and she’s busy working on her second.
Author Links : Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon UK | Goodreads
