Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop
Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweet Shop is a self-contained story about the characters- Rosie, who took over her great aunt's sweetshop in a rural village in Derbyshire- and her great-Aunt Lilian. It's very romantic, extremely Christmassy, hopefully funny and full of delicious Christmas goodies from the sweetshop!
Why did you decide to set the book in Lipton Derbyshire?
Rural Derbyshire is both incredibly beautiful and quite remote. Rosie moves there from London so I wanted a huge contrast, and for her to fall in love with the dramatic landscape, as many people do.
Please tell us a bit about the character of Rosie.
Rosie is a nurse, who thinks she's going to help her Great Aunt recover from a fall for a few weeks then go back to her busy life in London. But it doesn't work out quite like that and she gradually falls in love with the place. Rosie is kind and practical, two of the best nursing qualities, but totally unsuited to country life, so she has to learn a few things!
There is a theme of food running through many of your books, so how important are sweets treats in your life?
Well, since I had children I learned to bake and have had such a good time on that learning curve that I like to share it with people. So quite important is the answer!
Why do you like to include your recipes in your books?
Well, I like to describe food- there's loads of delicious things in the books, so it seemed a bit mean to talk about them and not help out if you want to make them! Some people love the recipes, and send me pictures of the things they've made, but lots of people just enjoy the books on their own terms, so you can take it or leave it if you want to.
You have three children and a husband so how do you juggle your time around your writing?
I shout a lot :) Also of course I have a nice lady who comes in and helps three times a week, and I couldn't do it without her; thank goodness. Otherwise you have to see me, grabbing any moment I can- I work during piano lessons; waiting for the speech therapist. You grab it here and there when you can!