Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Amelia Ireland to HJ!
Hi Amelia and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Seven O’Clock Club!
Hi everyone, delighted to be here (virtually)
Please summarize the book for the readers here:
The book is about four very different characters – Victoria, Freya, Misha and Callum – who are brought together by an unconventional counsellor called Genevieve, to participate in an psychological experiment designed to help them move on from their pasts. Although they would appear to be strangers, they all share two things in common: a traumatic bereavement six months prior and an inability to heal from it. As each session takes place, unlikely friendships, strong bonds and even love develop, and it seems that, against all the odds, the four could find the peace they have been so desperately searching for. However, when a shocking revelation reveals the real reason they were chosen for this group, it soon becomes clear that a much harder test awaits them.
Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:
“Together we were two people about to swan dive from the top of a cliff, knowing that in a matter of seconds, the tips of our fingers would part the water and then everything around us would change forever.”
Please share a few Fun facts about this book…
- The book was originally called The Grief Experiment, but my publishers were worried it was too sad a title.
- When I started writing the book, the character of Callum didn’t even exist.
- The chapter which contains the twist for which the book is now famous took me several days and many more attempts to write before I was happy with it.
- Almost three quarters of the book was written on some mode of transport, mostly trains and planes.
What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?
When he wakes up one morning and watches her sleeping. It’s the first time he really sees her without any trace of suffering and he realizes how naturally beautiful she is.
Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?
The scene where you find out about what happened to Mischa was definitely the most emotional part of the book for me and had me in tears for most of it. I don’t think it’s necessarily the saddest chapter in the book, but for me it was very personal because the story she tells is very similar to an incident in my own life which I wanted to pass on to readers. I won’t say anymore!
Readers should read this book….
… if they like something a little bit different, appreciate an unconventional love story and love to go on a rollercoaster journey of emotions.
What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?
I’m currently working on my second novel, and am about 20,000 words in. My aim is to try to finish it in the next couple of months (I am a quick writer when I get going)!
Thanks for blogging at HJ!
Giveaway: One finished copy of THE SEVEN O’CLOCK CLUB (US only, 18+)
To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Tell me your favorite love story and why
Excerpt from The Seven O’Clock Club:
And now there was Callum. Callum, with his perfectly chiseled face, cat-like eyes and stupidly floppy hair. Callum with his natural tan and athletic physique and his annoyingly strong arms. I realized with a pang that what I had felt in my few hours with him were things I’d never experienced with Joe, or indeed any guy. What sort of person did that make me? A
fucking groupie, clearly.But that kiss. Christ, that kiss. Not to mention the 30-odd seconds that came after it. It may have meant nothing to him, but it meant something to me. It was obvious Callum hadn’t
felt the same way about it as I did. He couldn’t have been sweeter when it came to letting me down, but he’d still pulled away. He’d still made it clear that it wasn’t what he wanted. I
wasn’t what he wanted.I wasn’t sure if this bothered me. My life had at least been simple before. Now it felt horribly complicated. Wherever my life was going, I knew I had to forget about Callum. He wasn’t good for me. He was a drug addict for a start – he’d said that himself. He was reckless and unpredict-
able. Something had happened to him that had left him scarred and probably mentally unstable. I might not understand a huge amount about human psychology, but I knew enough to know that I, of all people, shouldn’t be hurling myself at someone like that.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Book Info:
Freya, Callum, Mischa, and Victoria have nothing in common–well, except for one thing: they’ve each experienced a deep personal loss that has led them to an unconventional group meeting, every Tuesday night at seven. A meeting they’ve been particularly selected for that will help them finally move on. At least, that’s the claim.
As they warily eye one another and their unnervingly observant group leader, one question hangs over them: why were they chosen? To get the answer, they are going to have to share a whole lot of themselves first. Getting Freya, Callum, Mischa, and Victoria to trust each other is vital–because the real reason they’re connected will shift the ground beneath their feet.
Riveting and wise, The Seven O’clock Club shows us the courage needed to face your past and the joy that can be found in stepping into your future.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo |
Meet the Author:
After abandoning her childhood dream of becoming an actress by qualifying as a finance lawyer to work in London, Amelia now uses writing as her creative escapism.
Her first novel, The Seven O’clock Club, was written in memory of her mother, who died five years‘ after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s‘. Her experience of loss at a relatively young age, and that of others she spoke to, led her to want to write a compelling story about the nature of grief, but in a way that reminded people of the importance of love, hope and above all, laughter.
Amelia lives in London, travels extensively to far flung places and likes to rock climb, kite surf and ride horses.
She is also a mother to two very dramatic children.
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My favorites change often.