Unhappy, friendless and dissatisfied with life in general, Lottie Botte isn’t afraid to let people know how she really feels.
When her husband Donald comes home and drops a bombshell, Lottie realises she is about to lose everything. Now is her chance to make some changes.
Second chances don’t come along very often, and Lottie must grab her opportunity with both hands, even if it means negotiating with the mysterious hot guy who is moving into her house…
Can Lottie become someone else - a less grotty, snotty Lottie?
Second Chances for Lottie Botte by Katy Lilley was published by Manatee Books on 23 May 2019.
As part of the Blog Tour, I am delighted to welcome the author here to Random Things today. She's talking about the books that are special to her in My Life In Books.
My Life in Books - Katy Lilley
I think the first book I really remember (or think I do) was called Naughty Pussy Pickpaws.
It sticks in my mind, because just before my second birthday, my mum went to help my aunt, who was expecting her 4th child. (My cousin arrived the day after my birthday.) Evidently as my aunt told me the story ad nauseam, I exclaimed at every opportunity, ‘oh dear, naughty pussy Pickpaws. I don’t remember that, but I do remember it was on my bookshelf for years. I wonder what happened to it?
The next one is from a year or so later… Mitten the Kitten… (Is it any wonder I had cats when I got older?) The cover was to me, as a toddler, lovely, a tiny black kitten with one white paw. I can even remember the repeated refrain Mitten ‘sang’. Ready? I’m Mitten the kitten, the kitten with a mitten, I’m Mitten the Kitten ho, ho.
Fast forward a few years to the Milly, Molly Mandy stories by Joyce Lankester Brisley and then…
The books that really hooked me on reading…
Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons series. All of them, though my favourites were Swallows and Amazons and then Missie Lee. I wanted to be an Amazon and be ruthless. Start to sail and go around the world. I managed to go on the broads, the canals and our local reservoir!
As a more ‘mature’ (haha) person, I moved on. (Though I still have them all in hardback)
Via Beverley Cleary and Sixteen. (Very ‘hot for a sixteen year old in those days. It mentioned breasts)
Now to Robyn Donald’s Return to Yesterday. Yes it’s a romance—I like romance stories. Her description of New Zealand made me want to go there and when our daughter did her gap year in NZ we got our chance. And the lovely Robyn invited me to tea, and told me I must keep trying, and not give up. Thanks Robyn.
A cardboard book belonging to my daughter when she was first talking. It was a counting book with rhymes and she learned it by heart, turning the pages at the appropriate time. ‘One little engine puffing down the track, two little engines back to back’. Argh…
Nora Roberts, The Witness. Enough to get your heart racing in places, made me laugh and cry as well. A great story.
Any Miss Read books. Her stories, telling tales set in country villages are superb. Thrush Green (Thrush Green, Winter in Thrush Green etc about everyone and everything) and Fairacre (Village School, Village Diary etc) are reminiscent of my childhood. Evocative and although written in a way that would perhaps be frowned upon now, hold my attention from start to finish.
Any Doreen Tovey book. (Cats in the Belfry, Cats in May etc) Again set in a different era, but you are there with her and her Siamese cats. Funny, sad at times but you can so see it all. I once wrote to her and got a lovely reply.
Devil’s Bride, Stephanie Laurens. When I wrote my first book with my alter ego’s hat on, (Regency) I hadn’t read Regency for years. Then someone recommended this book and I was hooked even more on the shenanigans of Regency times. This one had a great story, fascinating, and at one point quite heart racing sub plot, and really works well to get you to go back 200 years.
I can’t single out any one book by my favourite crime writes (Mark/Juliet Hebden, Bill Knox, Gerald Hammond, Peter Turnbull so I won’t ;) Or, rom com/chick lit. What means a lot depends on the moment.
I think it shows I have a weird taste in books, but each book (or series) I’ve mentioned are important, and matter a lot.
Katy Lilley - May 2019
Ever since I made up happy ever after stories to tell to my dolls, and then to my children, I've wanted to write them.
It just took a long while to get there
Twitter @KatyLilley
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