Alexandra Brown
Christmas at Carrington’s is ultimately a comedy, with lots of snarky one-liners and cringe-inducing moments, and covers some serious topics too. It’s set in the run up to Christmas and there’s a surprise in-store when retail guru, Kelly Cooper, arrives to film her hot new reality TV show. Georgie is shown in a far from flattering light and ends up becoming a very reluctant reality TV star, and then when Tom, her new flame disappears; Georgie fears this could be the worse Christmas ever…. It's a warm funny Christmassy read with plenty of sparkle and lots of heart.
Please tell us a bit about the character of Georgie.
Georgie knows a beautiful piece of arm-candy when she sees it, which is very handy given that she works in the Luxury Handbag section in Carrington’s department store. I hope people think she’s fun, the kind of girl they’d want to hang out with, and she’s very loyal, a bit bonkers and has a tendency to put two and two together to make five trillion…
Why is Christmas time in a department store so magical?
Oooh, I love this question – one of the lines I always include in the Carrington’s books is ‘nothing bad ever happens…. (in a dept. store) true fact, and even more so at Christmas time. It’s the feeling of promise, of reinvention, of happiness, of euphoria, of seeing someone’s face light up on receiving the perfect present, it’s treating yourself to the perfect present, it’s the lights, the glamour, the aroma, the stuff, all of the stuff… it’s everything…. that’s the magic of a department store at Christmas time.
Who are your favourite reads at Christmas?
Autobiographies – I can’t get enough of them and always wish for one in my Christmas stocking. This year I’m hoping for David Jason’s, My Life.
What is Christmas like in your house?
A theme park! I always go overboard on the decorations with a floor-to-ceiling real pine tree, multi-coloured pulsing fairy lights, swathes of tinsel everywhere, we even have lights swirled around the oak tree in the garden. On the actual day, my house if full of laughs, love, loads of Christmas TV, all of the Christmas food and me getting emotional on seeing my daughter’s face when she realises that Santa has visited and left her a mountain of presents.
You have an online shopping addiction, so what are your guilty indulgences?
Handbags every time - I’m an addict and just can’t resist them. I’m also a big fan of beauty advent calendars – Benefit, Ciate, YOU Beauty, there are so many and I love them all. I’m currently stalking eBay in an attempt to get my hands on one of the Selfridges ones….
You are an avid tweeter, so how important is staying in touch with your readers for you?
It means the world to me; I wouldn’t be able to do this without my readers and I love chatting to them, I love that they send me pictures of Tom Hardy and Henry Cavill, and I feel honoured that they trust me to DM for advice on a whole range of stuff going on in their lives. I also love that I can be in Selfridges Beauty Hall wondering what foundation to buy, and they’re right there to help me out. I actually don’t know how I existed before social media was invented.
What is your favourite trashy TV programme?
Can I be cheeky and have three please? I’m a total trashy TV addict so it’s a tough call choosing between Big Rich Texas and Meet The Russians, but I recently discovered Preachers Daughters, which really is mind-boggling. To be honest, I love all of them …
What is next for you?
The third book in the Carrington’s series, Ice Creams at Carrington’s – I’m writing it now and hoping to have it finished before Christmas so I can collapse in a heap somewhere with a large caipirinha. I’ve written two novels this year, plus an eBook novella and a short story for an anthology…. I could really do with a little rest before starting the next novel in January, which might be something completely new.
Christmas at Carrington’s by Alexandra Brown is available now in ebook, priced £3.99 and on 5th December in paperback.