PINTEREST
BLOGLOVIN
GOODREADS
Published by Urbane Publications Limited
Available in ebook and paperback (8 November 2018)
298 pages
| About the Book |
A compelling and emotive story about a mother’s unbreakable love for her autistic son.
Kate has a six-year-old autistic son, Sam. Having started a new life to escape her controlling and abusive boyfriend Jake, Kate believes the past is behind her and that she and Sam are safe.
But after spotting Jake through a misted-up cafe window, she knows that her previous life has found her.
Kate confides in her new neighbour Matt, a man running from his own secrets. He seems to offer a genuine chance at happiness for Kate and her son, but Jake is determined to get them back at all costs….
Picking Up The Pieces is an original, moving and gripping page-turner about a woman’s search for happiness as she fights to protect her autistic son’s future.
Characterisation – Kate and Matt
Picking Up The Pieces is a contemporary work of fiction that revolves around two main central characters, Kate Sullivan and Matt Harper. Below I’ll explore how I developed these two characters, plus my ideas and inspiration behind them.
I began by writing down all the ideas that I had in terms of how they look, where they live, what jobs they do, education, fears and likes. In fact, everything I could think of to help me create a fully rounded character.
I wanted Kate to be a single mum. I wanted her to be a working mum, independent, someone who knows her own mind, but who also has vulnerabilities. Kate has never really shaken off, not forgotten, what happened to her in the past and this has an impact on her life as it is now. I wanted Kate to be a little quirky, an interesting woman, but one who the reader would be easily able to identify with. She’s a mum who is simply doing her best and getting by. But, ultimately, she’s only really going through the motions, she isn’t really living life. I wanted so much more for Kate. I wanted her to shrug off her past and to become the woman she once wanted to become.
In chapter two we are introduced to Dr Matt Harper. I wanted him to be a no-nonsense kind of guy, kind, caring, and who had also suffered loss in his life with skeletons in his cupboard. In one way he shares so many similarities with Kate, in that he is living alone, and that work is the sole purpose of his life. His past also plagues him and is holding him back from living his life. I wanted him to be challenged, to step out of his comfort zone, and both Kate and Sam enable him to do so.
I had a lot of fun writing conversations between these two characters and the situations that they found themselves in, usually involving Sam and his antics. I hope that you enjoy reading their story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
My thanks to Kelly of Love Books Group for the invitation to take part in the tour and to Jo for the guest post.
| Author Bio |
Jo Worgan is a freelance copywriter, columnist and book blogger. She has published 4 non-fiction works aimed at parenting children on the Autistic spectrum, based upon her experiences as a mother of an autistic son. Writing is what she truly loves, and Picking up the Pieces is her second novel following her first, An Unextraordinary Life. Today Jo lives in Lancashire with her husband of 19 years and their two young sons. When she is not busy writing, she likes to take her boys to the local museums, cafes, cinema, the Lake District and lots of playgrounds.
Website/Blog | Twitter | Amazon UK | Goodreads
