Cupcakes at Carringtons
Tell us about your new book Cupcakes at Carringtons.
Well it’s been likened to a modern day Mr Selfridge and is first of a series about sales assistant, Georgie Hart, who runs Women’s Accessories in Carrington’s Department store in the pretty seaside town of Mulberry-On-Sea. Georgie cherishes her happy childhood memories of shopping at Carrington’s with her mother before she died, and ended up in foster care, but everything changes when an axe-wielding retail consultant arrives and Georgie is not only forced to compete to keep her job, but also finds herself embroiled in a love triangle. In addition to all of this, Georgie is dealing with the complexities of the relationship with her estranged father and doing her best to support her best friends, Sam and Eddie, in dealing with their own relationship issues.
Chrissie Manby said that you have created a real and likeable cast of characters, so how do you achieve this? Are any of them based on you or people you know?â¨
Honestly, I don’t know, but I’m very flattered by Chrissie’s comment. I tend to write organically as the story and characters come to me. I‘m very nosey and love people-watching so perhaps that’s where the inspiration comes from. I never set out to base characters on myself or people I know, but I guess it’s inevitable that parts of my personality might appear in the characters.
Why did you decide to set the book in Carrington's Department store?â¨
I’ve always loved department stores, there’s just something so magical and euphoric about them, so when I met my husband and found out that his family used to own a small department store in Ireland, I was beyond excited and my father-in-law was very generous in sharing his childhood memories of visiting the store. The other inspiration was Hanningtons department store in Brighton where I grew up. I have fabulous memories of going there with my Nan, the smell of newness, the bright lights, the cage lift, the polite staff with their receipt pads – I loved everything about it, and of course, nothing bad ever happens inside a department store. Truefact.
Carringtons undergoes a makeover to beat the recession, so how important is it as a writer to stay up to date with current climates?
I think it’s very important, especially if what you’re writing is set in the current climate, and the recession is something that all of us are experiencing and can identify with.
You had a twenty year career doing something that was not your dream, so tell us about this.
I left school at sixteen with dreams of being a writer, but quickly realised that I needed a proper job too, I needed to earn a living, so I went to work in an office. I started out as an admin assistant and ended up running my own department as an operations manager. It wasn’t all bad, but I always felt as though I was swimming upstream in a predominantly male-orientated environment.
At what point did you say, 'no that’s enough I want to write now', what was the defining moment?â¨
I’ve always written, mainly on the long commute in to work and in my spare time with dreams of being able to write full time. I was in a cab rushing across London to yet another meeting when I really could have done with being in the office to help my team with a big project. I sat back, grateful for a moment to catch my breath, but all I could hear was the pounding of my heart, it was racing so fast my chest was aching and I actually thought I was going to have a heart attack – I was that stressed. I had been working too many hours for too many years and it was catching up on me. A few weeks later, I had my first holiday in five years, a long weekend in New York, I spent the four days in bed, completely exhausted and when I got home I went straight to my doctor who signed me off with adrenal exhaustion. I couldn’t get out of bed for three weeks and it was actually my husband who said, ‘enough is enough’ and after overhauling our outgoings we managed to find a way for to me follow my dream and write full time.
You wrote a weekly column for The London Paper about the City Girl, so how much did the regular writing prepare you to start your novel?â¨
It was fantastic preparation, especially as I’m now writing two books per year for the Carrington’s series. It taught me about the importance of writing every day to meet deadlines and it gave me confidence. I think all writers need validation at the start to spur them on.
You are a mum, wife and have two pet dogs, so how do you balance it all, what is your daily routine?â¨
Like most people with busy lives, I’m trying to become an expert in time management and I’ve also learnt to ask for help when I need it, something I wasn’t very good at in my previous career which is probably why I ended up exhausted. My daily routine starts with getting my three-year-old daughter up, ready and off to nursery, followed by walking the dogs and being in my office by 10am to write until my daughter comes home. I take a couple of breaks through the day to do household stuff like laundry and use that time to think about my characters and what’s going to happen next in the novel.
Who are your favourite reads?
Oh I have so many, but I have to whittle it down then it would be Armistead Maupin, Jackie Collins, Sophie Kinsella and Tess Gerritsen.
Which novel comes top of your list?
Lady Boss by Jackie Collins. I first read it in my teens and developed a bit of a girl crush on the main character, Lucky Santangelo, I wanted to be her. The novel is the perfect escape, glamorous, gripping and with a magnificent heroine. I also love that Jackie Collins wrote ‘girls can do anything’ in the dedication, it gave me resilience as a teenager and still inspires me today.
What is next for you?â¨
I’m just about to start editing the second Carrington’s book called Christmas At Carrington’s, which will be out on the 7th November, and then I’ll start writing the third book in the series. I also need to find time to write a short story for the Sunlounger Anthology - organised by Belinda Jones, it’s a collection of short stories by thirty bestselling authors and comes out in July.
Which authors can you thank for reading and writing inspiration?
Sophie Kinsella, I love her books. Her writing style flows beautifully and appears effortless which I’m sure it isn’t.
Jackie Collins, she made me want to be a writer.
Click here to buy Cupcakes at Carringtons by Alexandra Brown
Tagged in Harper Collins