Promising follow-up to pair’s chick-lit debut
Internationally famous writer Graham ‘GP’ Taylor and co-author Claire Connor will be launching their latest book at WH Smith in Westborough at 2pm tomorrow.
The Promise is the second book in the Lipstick Confessions chick-lit series – but last year it looked as though the whole venture might fall through when the publisher went out of business.
Mr Taylor said: “We had a five-book deal, and we launched the first, Rosie: Notes to Self, here in Scarborough, selling over 300 copies on the first day. But then it became clear that people weren’t able to buy the book anywhere else, and it turned out that the American publisher had gone into liquidation.
“It looked as though we weren’t going to get paid or be able to complete the series, but eventually the administrators sold the publisher to an Australian company, which took up the book deal.
“But it means that it’s only now that the first book is widely available, too.”
‘Rosie’ has, however, been very well received by those who have already managed to get hold of a copy, with a readership ranging from teenagers to pensioners. It has also gone down well with men – a surprising achievement for a novel of this genre.
Mr Taylor’s writing partner for this project, Claire, was a pupil at St George’s and then St Augustine’s schools before studying French at Durham University. She said: “The five books will all be all stand-alone stories, but connected by strong moral themes.
“It’s a real combined effort. We meet to agree the basic plotlines and characters, and then we write and send it back and forth, each adding a little bit, and a little bit more, so it comes out as a unified voice, not two separate writers.
“The books are inspired by biblical stories – the first was loosely based on Ruth, this latest by Abraham and Sarah – but brought up to date and presented for a modern readership.
“But they’re still enjoyable even for those of no religious affiliation, the themes that they tackle are age-old, and everyone will be able to relate to them.”
Books about moral issues and with a strong Christian basis come at an interesting time for Mr Taylor, who has recently been accused by Christian groups of writing books that promote the occult.
His last book, Redeye, is a tale about vampires in Whitby during the Second World War and is, the objectors say, simply too frightening for children.
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