Exclusive: author Liz Lawler reveals seven facts that she wants her readers to know about her.
Author Liz Lawler
When I was ten I fell off a wall and chipped my two front teeth. I had to wear a silver shield like the one worn by the villain in the James Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me. For a whole year I tried to talk with my top lip stretched down as kids would pretend to be blinded by the metallic shine.
As a teenager, I only read Mills & Boon stories. I used to hide my books between the covers of other books so that my mum couldn’t see them. Then my face when I got to the good parts! As my flushes would give me away. She would have preferred me to read books more noteworthy.
When I was 14, I borrowed my sister’s bra to go to a disco. I padded it with rolled up socks. While dancing with a French boy I saw one of the balled-up socks was being shuffled along the floor. I was mortified that he would notice I had one flat boob.
On bonfire night, my brothers and sisters dressed me in my dad’s work trousers and jacket, with a Halloween mask on my face and a trilby hat on my head. I would have been about five. They sat me in a pushchair and said I was to stay still and quiet so people didn’t know I was real. They parked me outside a pub and took it in turns to call out ‘Penny for the Guy’. We got loads of money for sweets. Plus a few screeches as well – when my tongue poked through the mouth slit.
As student nurses we were each given topics to speak about. We had to go away and learn about our subject and then present a three minute lecture to our tutors. I was given the topic ‘Organisms’. I began nervously, before gaining my confidence. I spoke about the cellular structure, how the cells, tissues, organs of the body work together. I punctuated each fact with a strong start. An organism is… The idea of organism… All organisms… and so forth. I received a resounding applause before being pulled aside by my tutor, who quietly informed me of the correct pronunciation for organisms and that I should not confuse it with the word ‘Orgasms!’.
I gave my first intramuscular injection to a patient on an orthopaedic ward. My tutor was there to ensure my technique was correct. Mindful of the contraption suspending his leg, the young man shifted onto his side, presenting me with his left buttock. With my finger I drew a cross in the upper outer quadrant to make my landmark. I picked up the syringe and uncapped the needle. I could do this. I had practised on oranges. I took aim, getting ready to dart him. Only to be halted by his alarmed cry at the tutor. ‘No way! She’s got her eyes shut!’
My first night shift as a student nurse, I was given the task of collecting denture pots from bedside lockers to take out to the sluice and clean. I collected all the pots in a bucket and headed to the sluice. I loved cleaning and didn’t mind this job at all. I set the bucket down in a large sink and turned on the taps, standing there waiting to begin. I then jumped at the voice behind me. Sister Majors. She stared down at the bucket, at the floating plastic pots and lids. Then gave me a new task: I had the rest of the night to find out whose teeth belonged to whom.
The Book
I love my husband. But should I trust him?
I watch the clock anxiously. My husband Mark should have been home hours ago. Where is he?
When at last I hear the noise at the door, I breathe a sigh of relief, but it’s the police – Mark is wanted in connection with a young woman’s death. My blood turns to ice.
Mark swears he had nothing to do with it, that the beautiful blonde woman was a colleague, nothing more. But he refuses to tell me where he really was that night. I believe that he’s not a killer – but I know he’s hiding something. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Then Mark is gravely hurt, lying in a coma. I’ll do anything to keep my husband here with me and our perfect, blue-eyed little boy. As I sit by his hospital bed, tears streaming down my face, I realise that if Mark can’t prove his innocence then I’ll have to.
But digging deeper into my husband’s life makes me question everything I thought I knew about us. If Mark ever wakes up, will we have a marriage left at all?
Or will my husband’s secrets tear my precious family apart for good?
An unbelievably tense and twisty psychological thriller that will leave you breathless for more!
My Husbands Lies is released 20th November 2023
Author Bio:
Liz Lawler grew up sharing pants, socks, occasionally a toothbrush, sleeping four to a bed. Born in Chatham and partly raised in Dublin, she is one of fourteen children. She spent over twenty years as a nurse and has since fitted in working as a flight attendant, a general manager of a five star hotel, and is now working with trains. She became an author in 2017 when her debut novel Don’t Wake Up was published by Twenty7.
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