BLOG TOUR: The New Woman by Charity Norman

I am very excited to welcome Charity Norman to my blog today. I am a huge fan of her books, she is not afraid to tackle difficult issues and she does so with great care and empathy. I think Charity's latest book, The New Woman is her best yet and I was lucky enough to be able to ask her some questions about the writing process involved: 

1.     Where did the idea for The New Woman come from?

I was volunteering on a telephone crisis line and a number of our callers were transgender. I spoke to some really amazing people who’d been through terrible times. It struck me just how common this is, and how misunderstood. Then I became friends with a transgender woman who I find inspirational, and her insights helped me to glimpse what she and others had been through. The more I learned, the more I felt this had to be my next book.

2. The book is clearly well researched, how did you go about it?

This did take a lot of detailed research – it’s complex subject and I really had to try and get it right. I talked to transgender people and their families and friends. I read books, articles and blogs; I watched videos and visited forums, followed relevant sites on social media, and was kept up to date with stories: some tragic, some uplifting. I thought I had some knowledge before I began, but it wasn’t until the research was underway that I really began to understand Luke’s despair, and the immensity of the choice he faces. I had to be careful not to dump all of that research into the novel – most of it went unused.

3. The Livingstone family is torn apart by Luke's revelation, did you have a clear idea about their reactions or did they develop and change as you were writing the book?

I had some idea how each might react, but writing character is quite a fluid thing – they don’t always react as you expect, and sometimes they aren’t the people you thought they were. It’s very like getting to know a person in real life. They have complexities and hang-ups that don’t emerge until they’re faced with difficult situations.

4. Are you working on a new book? Can you tell us anything about it?

Oh yes; the first draft is almost finished. It’s set in New Zealand, and is about a young English backpacker who gets herself tangled up in a cult. The research has been chilling but fascinating. You wouldn’t believe what’s out there! It’s my latest obsession.  

Thank you so much to Charity for answering my questions, I have popped my review of The New Woman below, it is out now so go and get your copy!  

What would you do if you found out that your husband, your father, your son- was not who you thought? Could you ever love him again?
Luke Livingstone is a lucky man. He's a respected solicitor, a father and a grandfather, a pillar of the community. He has a loving wife and an idyllic home in the Oxfordshire countryside. Yet Luke is struggling with an unbearable secret, and it's threatening to destroy him.
All his life, Luke has hidden the truth about himself and his identity. It's a truth so fundamental that it will devastate his wife, shatter his children, rock his community and leave him outcast. But Luke has nowhere left to run, and to continue living, he must become the person- the woman- he knows himself to be, whatever the cost. 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Pages: 374

I have read all of Charity Norman's books and I didn't think she could get any better but The New Woman is her best yet.

Luke Livingstone has been living a lie his whole life; his children are grown up and he is now a grandfather, it's time he told the truth. But the truth will devastate his wife Eilish and Children Simon and Kate. Yet he is prepared to tear his family apart in order to live the rest of his life as a woman. Ever since he can remember he has thought of himself as a female but he has tried to hide the truth. He truly loves his wife and children but will they ever be able to forgive him?

This book was outstanding; I felt like I was constantly in awe of how well Charity Norman handled such a complex and sensitive subject. Each chapter is told from either Luke, Eilish's, Kate or Simon's perspective which was brilliant as we got a complete picture of the turmoil this family goes through. Luke and Eilish were my favourite characters; despite Luke's lie they had been happily married and in love. Luke's revelation shatters Eilish but she can't stop loving her husband and we follow her as she comes to terms with what it means for her marriage and family. 

As with all of this author's books, the research undertaken shines through. This all makes the story so much more believable and I also felt as though I learnt a lot about a subject I hadn't really thought about. 

Charity Norman is so, so good at taking a normal, identifiable domestic situation and blowing it apart. Her books always make me think about how I would react in the same situation. She makes you think deeply about family, relationships and love. Her characters are always pushed to their limits with varying results. 

Charity Norman is a fantastic author and I highly recommend The New Woman, it is such a good read and one that will give you plenty to think about. 

Book Review: The Son-in-Law by Charity Norman

On a sharp winter's morning, a man turns his back on prison. Joseph Scott has served his term. He's almost lost everything: his career as a teacher, his wife, the future he'd envisaged. All he has left are his three children but he is not allowed anywhere near them.
This is the story of Joseph, who killed his wife, Zoe. Of their three children who witnessed the event. Of Zoe's parents, Hannah and Frederick, who are bringing up the children and can't forgive or understand Joseph.
They slowly adjust to life without Zoe, until the day Joseph is released from prison...

Charity Norman just gets better. I very much enjoyed her first book, After the Fall but I think that The Son-in-Law is her best yet.
Joseph Scott leaves prison, the only thing he has been thinking about, focusing on, is seeing his three children, Scarlett, Theo and Ben. But does he have the right to see them? Will they want to see him? The last time they saw him they witnessed Joseph kill their mother, Ben was in Zoe's arms as she fell to the floor.
We follow the family as Joseph tries to re-stablish contact. The readers discovers the events leading up to Zoe's death. How Zoe's parents, Hannah and Freddie have cared for the children. How their lives will never be the same again and the way this impacts on their individual futures.
Each chapter is told from the perspective of either Joseph, Hannah or Scarlett so we always get their different view point of the same events. Each character in this book is conflicted and broken, they all loved Zoe and would do anything to have her back but they all know that is not possible.
Scarlett and her brothers are incredibly angry at their father and maybe a little frightened but he is still their Dad. They want to see him but they feel disloyal to Hannah and Frederick who have cared for them and loved them so well.
Hannah and Frederick will never forgive Joseph for taking their daughter and they are prepared to fight him all the way but they also have to remove their feelings and emotions and only consider what is best for the children. But how can they hand over their precious grandchildren to the very man who killed their daughter?
Charity Norman has written a really intricate story that explores the many ties that hold a family together.. The ending had me in tears as it is so clear that everyone wants the children to
be happy and so sacrifices have to be made.
The Son-in-Law is a fantastic read. I think that Charity Norman's book gives you a lot to think about which is one of the best things about reading. The writing style is engaging and you will be gripped from the very beginning. I am already looking forward to Charity Norman's next book.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Pages: 304

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Many thanks to the lovely Sam at Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy of this book to review, The Son-in-Law is out now!

Vote for After the Fall by Charity Norman in the Richard and Judy Book Club final!

It's that time of the year again, the Richard and Judy Book Club final! Out of all the books, my favourite is After the Fall by Charity Norman, you can read my review of this brilliant book here! 

Please take the time to vote and get this book the recognition that it deserves, here's the link:

 http://www.whsmith.co.uk/Voting/RichardAndJudyBookClubVoting.aspx

After the Fall by Charity Norman selected for the Richard and Judy Spring Book Club

After the Fall by Charity Norman which I reviewed last week has been selected by the 2013 Richard and Judy Spring Book Club. I think this is very exciting and well deserved, After the Fall was the first book that I have read by Charity Norman but I fell in love with her writing and story telling style. I have popped a few details about the book club below and also my review of After the Fall!

- After the Fall will be the featured title in the week of 4^th March.

- An exclusive interview with Charity Norman is available as part of the Richard and Judy podcast series which readers will be able to immediately download by scanning the QR code in the back of their book.

- The first chapter of After the Fall is available to read for free by visiting       www.whsmith.co.uk/bcchapters

- Other titles in the Spring Book Club include Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Gold by Chris Cleave.

In the quite of a New Zealand winter's night, a rescue helicopter is sent to airlift a five-year-old boy with severe internal injuries. He's fallen from the upstairs veranda of an isolated farmhouse, and his condition is critical. At first, Finn's fall looks like a horrible accident; after all he's prone to sleep walking. Only his frantic mother, Martha McNamara knows how it happened. And she isn't telling. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Tragedy isn't what the McNamara family expected when they moved to New Zealand. For Martha, it was an escape. For her artist  husband Kit, it was a dream. For their small twin boys, it was an adventure. For sixteen-year-old Sacha it was the start of a nightmare.
They end up on the isolated east coast of the North island, seemingly in the middle of a New Zealand tourist campaign. But their peaceful idyll is soon shattered as the choices Sacha makes lead the family down a path which threatens to destroy them all. Martha finds herself facing a series of impossible decisions, each with devastating consequences for her family.

This book is going to be very difficult to review as I don't want to give the plot away but I have to stress that it was a fantastic read.
Martha and her family move to New Zealand because Kit, Martha's husband is drinking heavily after seeing his company collapse. New Zealand offers him a chance to pursue his painting ambitions and offers Martha and the children a new life on the other side of the world. Sacha is Kit's step-daughter and a doting sister to her twin half brothers, Charlie and Finn. The move to New Zealand affects Sacha in a way that none of them saw coming and her actions put her whole family in danger.
We know at the beginning of the book that Finn has had a fall; he has a head injury and lies in a coma. Martha has explained that it was an accident but her inner thoughts, expressed in the book, suggest otherwise.
Charity Norman flits back and forth between the past and the present. We learn of the events leading up to Finn's fall and the then the immediate aftermath.
The plot is extremely intriguing, I really couldn't decide what had happened and Charity Norman keeps up the tension and mystery throughout.
Sacha is a difficult character and I still haven't decided what I think about her. I felt so much empathy for Martha though as the book really made me question how I would react to my own daughter in the same situation. There were times when I could really feel Martha's desperation to make everything right and her fear that it is all out of her control.
After the Fall is a particularly gripping read. I have Charity Norman's first book sitting on my shelf so I am really looking forward to reading more by this great author.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy of the book to review, After the Fall is out now.

The lovely Charity Norman is also on Twitter, simply follow @CharityNorman1

Book Review: After the Fall by Charity Norman

In the quite of a New Zealand winter's night, a rescue helicopter is sent to airlift a five-year-old boy with severe internal injuries. He's fallen from the upstairs veranda of an isolated farmhouse, and his condition is critical. At first, Finn's fall looks like a horrible accident; after all he's prone to sleep walking. Only his frantic mother, Martha McNamara knows how it happened. And she isn't telling. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Tragedy isn't what the McNamara family expected when they moved to New Zealand. For Martha, it was an escape. For her artist  husband Kit, it was a dream. For their small twin boys, it was an adventure. For sixteen-year-old Sacha it was the start of a nightmare.
They end up on the isolated east coast of the North island, seemingly in the middle of a New Zealand tourist campaign. But their peaceful idyll is soon shattered as the choices Sacha makes lead the family down a path which threatens to destroy them all. Martha finds herself facing a series of impossible decisions, each with devastating consequences for her family.

This book is going to be very difficult to review as I don't want to give the plot away but I have to stress that it was a fantastic read.
Martha and her family move to New Zealand because Kit, Martha's husband is drinking heavily after seeing his company collapse. New Zealand offers him a chance to pursue his painting ambitions and offers Martha and the children a new life on the other side of the world. Sacha is Kit's step-daughter and a doting sister to her twin half brothers, Charlie and Finn. The move to New Zealand affects Sacha in a way that none of them saw coming and her actions put her whole family in danger.
We know at the beginning of the book that Finn has had a fall; he has a head injury and lies in a coma. Martha has explained that it was an accident but her inner thoughts, expressed in the book, suggest otherwise.
Charity Norman flits back and forth between the past and the present. We learn of the events leading up to Finn's fall and the then the immediate aftermath.
The plot is extremely intriguing, I really couldn't decide what had happened and Charity Norman keeps up the tension and mystery throughout.
Sacha is a difficult character and I still haven't decided what I think about her. I felt so much empathy for Martha though as the book really made me question how I would react to my own daughter in the same situation. There were times when I could really feel Martha's desperation to make everything right and her fear that it is all out of her control.
After the Fall is a particularly gripping read. I have Charity Norman's first book sitting on my shelf so I am really looking forward to reading more by this great author.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy of the book to review, After the Fall is out now.