Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we welcome Rachel's Random Resources as we shine the BOOK SPOTLIGHT on a title that asks us...just how safe are our secrets? I mean, if we tell one person, even if it's someone we REALLY trust...are there conditions under which they might spill everything? Hmm...something to think about but before you get too involved in those inner thoughts, or making lists of those that need a reminder to stay mum (JK!), let's get to know today's title in the spotlight AND the author behind the work in a special Q&A! Ladies and gents, may I present....
When We Were Young
by
Dawn Gooding
About the book...
Four best friends. One of them is dead. Are their secrets safe?
Uni friends Stacey, Paula, Bev and Valentina used to be inseparable until one weekend before graduation when nothing was ever the same again.
Thirty years later, reunited at Valentina's funeral, Stacey receives a letter written by her late friend asking for one last wish... that the three friends go back to where things fell apart and finally bury the hatchet.
As they revisit their old haunts of their uni days and follow a series of clues left by Valentina, their friend's death begins to look suspicious and it is up to them to find out what happened – but they all have secrets to hide.
They say good friends are hard to come by, but when there is so much at stake and someone is lurking in the shadows, how do you know who is a friend and who is a foe?
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~~~ Q&A with Author Dawn Gooding ~~~
Describe WHEN WE WERE YOUNG in ten words or less.
Old friends, new secrets, one deadly weekend.
Where did the idea for the story come from?
It was the nostalgia of old friendships when we were young and reckless, those friends who would have your back through anything, but years later, are they the same people? And how well do we know each other now that time has passed and we’re all grown up?
Any favorite characters in the story? Either someone you identify with or that wouldn't live quietly in your imagination?
I love Valentina because she is colourful, complicated, misunderstood and a little bit weird. She is desperately looking for an identity and a place to belong, adapting herself to her surroundings rather than believing that she is good enough as she is. I think we have all felt a little like that at some point in our lives, especially when we were younger.
What about the psychological thriller genre appealed to you?
I write what I love to read essentially. Although I dip in and out of other genres, the thriller genre is what I return to constantly and keeps me turning the pages long into the night. They say “write what you know”, but I write what I love to read.
Did you always want to be a writer? If not, what other career options did you entertain?
I wanted to be a war correspondent when I was little – Kate Adie was my hero – but reading was always my favourite hobby, all the way back to devouring Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. I have been writing all manner of bits and pieces since I was a child, trying to replicate the stories I loved when I was little, so it has always been there in the background.
For the budding writers out there, what's one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started this journey?
That the work isn’t done when the first book is published. It is a constantly evolving process of learning, renegotiating, questioning and adapting your style. Each book will take you on a new journey of discovery about yourself and if it was easy, everyone would do it, so embrace the challenges, self-doubt, anxieties and tight deadlines because they will make you a better writer.
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About the author...
Dawn Goodwin’s twenty-year career has spanned PR, advertising and publishing, both in London and Johannesburg. A graduate of the Curtis Brown creative writing school, she loves to write about the personalities hiding behind the masks we wear every day, whether beautiful or ugly. Now a company director, what spare time she has is spent chasing good intentions, contemplating how to get away with various crimes and misdemeanours, and immersing herself in fictitious worlds. She lives in London with her husband, two teenage daughters and British bulldogs Geoffrey and Luna.
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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the author for the Q&A. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today and be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!
Until next time, remember....if it looks good, READ IT!
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