Cocktails and Dreams by A L Michael ** Blog Tour**

    It is lovely to welcome A. L. Michael  to Books, Life and Everything today on the latest stop on the Blog Tour to celebrate her latest book, Cocktails and Dreams. I'm also thrilled to be able to offer you the chance to win a Cocktail Making Set and a copy of the ebook,- sorry it's UK only. There are details how to enter at the end of the post. Before the author talks to us about her thoughts on creating her central character, Savannah Curtis, I'll tell you a bit more about the book.

A heart-warming novel with characters you’ll love, don’t miss this first in a new series for romance, laugh-out-loud comedy and a feel-good ending. Perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane and Lindsey Kelk. 

I was seven years old when I realized my mother was not a great person… 

Since Savvy was abandoned by her rockstar mother, she has craved a normal life. But after years of financing her boyfriend’s lacklustre career, he leaves her when he hits the bigtime.

Savvy’s friends at the burlesque club where she serves elaborate cocktails encourage her to make bold changes in her life. She soon meets handsome bartender Milo, and begins to plan a future she can be excited about.

But when Savvy’s estranged mother crashes back into her life, her newfound happiness is under threat… will Savvy have the courage to pursue her dreams? 

See inside for a delicious cocktail recipe and book club questions!

Well that has whetted our appetite! Welcome to Books, Life and Everything, A. L Michael! Over to you!

When I first started writing Cocktails and Dreams, I didn’t really know what I was writing. I sat down, and I wrote the first sentence: I was seven years old when I realised my mother was not a great person. 

I knew I wanted to write about a young woman with a famous mother, a mother who thousands of people across the world adored, and thought a genius, someone who was called ‘The mother of rock and roll’ but was never a real mother in the way that girl needed.

The character who came out of that was Savannah Curtis.

Savannah is used to being invisible, as she was to her mother, this little figure waiting in the wings as her mum performed, then being left with her aunt without a second glance. She wants something stable and simple, more than anything else. She wants a family she can make for herself. So when her boyfriend leaves her for basically being boring, she wonders why she’s never thought about what she wanted her dream to be.

I know I always want my characters to be well rounded and real, people who make mistakes. I’ve done some studies in counselling and psychology, and those have influenced how I form my characters - I want to think about what’s happened to them and how that might effect them. How they make their choices, what experiences have influenced and shaped them. I want everything they do and say to be in cannon with who they are. Sometimes it’s easy to write dialogue that needs to move the scene forward, but you read it back and think ‘Savvy wouldn’t say that, she doesn’t speak like that.’

Characters, to me, are all about intention and voice. They need to be themselves. And just as each character represents a part of their author, Savvy represents parts of me. She is the quiet part, the one standing in the corner of the party, the one who is happy to be alone, who wants to be seen but is used to feeling invisible. Seeing her find her passion and her drive in the story made me feel like I’d found mine ago too.

She’s a special character, because it’s hard to write quiet people, hard to write the invisible ones who want to be seen, but aren’t taking up the space in the scene. I’m glad Savvy’s story gets to be seen now.

Thank you so much! What an informative post and what an insight into how you crafted the book. 

My Thoughts

You can't help but have empathy with Savannah, the central character, from the very first sentence. You can feel where her insecurities might come from and how betrayed she feels by her mother. You are rooting for her from the start and willing her to shake the past off and follow her dreams. But of course, the past and her childhood are powerful pulls on her self confidence. 

    The story is a lovely mixture of humour and the serious side of life- being abandoned and where you get your security from. Savvy wants to create a safe place for herself, worlds away from the upheaval of her early days with her mother. Snappily written with believable dialogue, I enjoyed going on a journey with Savvy and would actually like to meet her again.

About the Author

A.L. Michael is hurtling towards the end of her twenties a little too quickly. She is the author of nine novels. Her most recent collection of books, The Martini Club Series, will start with Cocktails and Dreams, released 24th July 2017. She likes to write about sassy females who follow their dreams, and don't take no for an answer.

She is a Creative Therapeutic Facilitator, currently researching the power of creative writing to be helpful in recovering from eating disorders, and believes in the power of writing to heal.

You can find out more about A.L. Michael at (surprisingly) www.almichael.com and on Twitter @almichael.

 

Amazon UK               Kobo

Thanks to A L Michael, Canelo, and Jenny at Neverland Tours for a copy of the book and a place on the Tour.

Giveaway

This Giveaway is to win a cocktail making giftset and an ecopy of the book. Sorry, UK only. To enter, follow the link below.

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