I’m delighted to welcome the lovely, Rose Amberly to my blog today to talk about her new book Home is Where the Heart Is.
When Rose Amberly was little, she pestered her mother for stories every night (and morning and afternoon.) In the end, her parents taught her to read so they could have some peace, but very soon she pestered them for books and more books. By the age of six, she started to make up stories and tell them to her parents pretending she’d read them in a book. Happily, now she’s all grown up and no longer has to pretend.
Rose has travelled widely and tried different careers in education, therapy, art management and even briefly, bookkeeping but none of them were as much fun as making up stories.
She lives in London, which she thinks is the most fabulous city in the world, but loves to set her stories in beautiful villages to share with readers some of her favourite places.
Home is Where the Heart Is
For the first time, Leonie is happy but can it last?
The welcome she’s had at Kendric House is like the biggest warmest hug. The charming if dilapidated pink manor house is full of beautiful rooms all in desperate need of restoration.
Leonie’s also met a grandfather she never knew she had. A kind sweet old man who lives in a miserable care home, eating cheap stale biscuits and drinking dish-rag tea. His only wish now is to have one last traditional cream tea. She wants to give him that before leaving, except she has never baked a scone in her life.
Then there’s Raff, the strong and silent neighbour with masses of long hair and a dark beard. The longer she stays the greater the danger to her heart because he seems to have secrets of his own.
With Christmas only six weeks away, she needs to hurry back to London to rescue her acting career and find a new place to live. Her normal life might be cold and full of disapproval and competition, but how can she stay in Wales with no money and no prospect of work? Even worse, the beautiful Kendric House is under threat of closure, and the generous family who welcomed her might find themselves homeless for Christmas.
Home is where the Heart Is, is the second book in Rose’s Kendric House series and I have to say Rose, I loved it. In the first book in this series we discovered Evan and Haneen’s stories and now we meet Leonie Henderson who, I’m hoping it’s not too much of a spoiler to say has arrived at Kendric House in search of Professor Jones, prior to going on tour with a pantomime. Leonie is as an actor struggling to make it big in such a competitive world and she’s just about to embark on a two month tour with Aladdin. So, Rose, I have to ask if you were going to be away from home for two months what would be the first three things on your packing list be? Three things that you couldn’t imagine spending two months without.
Don’t laugh, but I can’t go anywhere without my laptop. Not even a weekend away. I always want to be able to write; a day without writing is a depressing day. Not long ago, while watering my plants in the morning, some water splashed on my keyboard and the computer stopped working. By 3:00 p.m. I was at John Lewis to pick up another and hang the cost.
My music. I have about 50 playlists on my Apple Music from classical music compilations that I play while writing, to quirky songs like I’s the B’y, a lovey folk song of Newfoundland; in standard English means, I’m the Boy.
Finally, cinnamon. While I love all spices, cinnamon is closest to my heart. There are very few things in the world that can’t be made better with a sprinkling of this warm, sweet magic stuff.
What part in any play or film do you think that Leonie would most love to have been offered?
I really had to think about this. Leonie might look like Jennifer Anniston or Sharon Stone, but in her heart she is Susan Sarandon. A deeply caring young woman who is also a crusading advocate who fights for anyone who can’t fight for themselves. So, the roles played by Ms Sarandon in Dead Man Walking, The Client, and maybe with the humour of her guest appearance on Friends.
Kendric House is a beautiful but dilapidated manor house, is this based on a real place? And or location? Can you say something about what inspired you to write about this house?
It’s inspired by Voewood in Norfolk, another Arts and Crafts house built to look, from above, like a butterfly. I’ve always loved the pre-Raphaelite art nouveau movement. Such gorgeous fabrics and jewellery. Anyone who has read my other books will notice how often this crops up in my created worlds, from the exquisite Lalique glass in The House of Honey and Hope to the lush velvet wrap in Secret Christmas in Darling Wood.
What is the story behind the Blue Lady stained glass windows and mosaic tiles?
Ah-ha. I’m glad you noticed her. She is one of the mysteries of Kendric House and the key to a bigger riddle. You find out in the next book, so I’m not going to spoil it for you now.
Are you a fan of Great British Bake Off?
I’m sorry to say I’ve never watched it. Baking is something I dream about and write into my stories. But in real life, I almost never bake and when I do it’s a disaster. That’s why I bake vicariously through my characters.
Leonie cooks a cream tea, with proper scones, clotted cream and jam. Is she a Devonian or Cornish? Cream below or on top of the jam?
Another question I had to think about. Leonie wants to give people what they need, so Devonian or Cornish will depend on who she’s making the scones for, her grandad or his cheeky flirting friend from the care home.
And you – what’s your favourite hot drink?
Spiced pear & jasmine tea, almond and cinnamon tea and when I want something strong, a freshly brewed pot of Ceylon tea.
I’m a real sucker for cream horns, but what would you most want to see on a sweet trolley?
Bakewell tart.
We’re coming up to that time of the year, so I think it’s all right to ask you to describe your perfect Christmas dinner.
If you read Secret Christmas in Darling Wood you might remember the Xmas dinner they had to create a for less than £6.99, cooked in a cabin in the forest. That is my idea of perfect.
I love the profit-participants idea for all the residents at Kendric House, what could you offer them to secure a room in the house?
A life coach, therapist. In the back of my mind, there’s a character who is a psychologist that I’m saving for a future book, so maybe she will be my alter ego.
What does a normal writing day look like in the Amberly household?
My alarm comes on at 4:15 a.m.. By 5:00 a.m. I’m at my desk with a large cup of Viennese blend coffee. I write until 9:00 a.m. (Can you tell I’m a morning person?) All other jobs and chores come after 9:00 a.m.
Are you a pantser or a plotter?
Mostly a pantser (a winger.) When I start writing a novel, I know very little apart from a general idea of the concept. For example, when I wrote Unwanted Bride, all I started with was a wedding dress designer who believes she’s destined never to marry. Slowly as I started typing, she grew into a talented designer just waiting for a chance to prove herself. Then she meets a man who hates marriage because of a past trauma. The story developed into this funny, enemies to lovers romance with a village full of kind characters that force these two cynics to become optimistic.
I know this is book 2 in the Kendric House series, so I’m really hoping book 3 is already in the planning, can you tell us something of your future plans?
In the last chapter of the book, you meet Evangeline, the heroine of the next book, The Five Colours of Hope. She will take on the dead gardens and try to create something beautiful while trying not to fall in love. As you can imagine, she succeeds at one of these hopes but fails at the other.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to me Rose, and good luck with the publication of Home is Where the Heart Is.
You can reach Rose at:
Website: https://www.roseamberly.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rose.amberly.35
You can find Home is Where the Heart Is at: https://amzn.to/4fC2UVP
Thank you for visiting my blog today. Anni x
