It's great to welcome you to the blog tour to celebrate the publication of Kiltie Jackson's A Rock 'n' Roll Lovestyle. Kiltie is joining us today to talk about why she chose to set her story in Salzburg. There's also the opportunity to enter to win a £40 or $40 Amazon Giftcard- details on how to enter are at the end of the post.
So who exactly is Sukie McClaren?
A Christmas-loving Cat lover? A Sound of Music Fanatic? A
Fiercely Independent Woman?
She is all of the above. And when she is sent to Salzburg
for a business trip a few weeks before Christmas, she thinks all her dreams
have come true. As she packs her suitcase, the only things on her mind are
Christmas markets, lots of snow and finally seeing the Doh-Ray-Me steps.
Becoming the new best friend of the world’s hottest rock-star doesn’t even get
a look in.
Pete Wallace is a reclusive, reluctant, rock-star and the
world’s Number One, best-selling, male solo artist. It’s been three years since
his last tour and he’s now preparing to go back on the road again. A week in
Salzburg, schmoozing with the music press, is one of his worst nightmares.
He can’t wait for it to be over.
When Pete and Sukie meet, it is the beginning of a beautiful
friendship. Lonely for too long, he begins to remember how it feels to be happy
and, for the first time in six years, Christmas feels special again.
Eduardo di Santo however, whose kid sister suffered
life-changing injuries at a Pete Wallace concert, is all set on getting
revenge. When Pete’s new tour is announced, he begins to make his plans. Plans
that will culminate in Pete's demise.
Will Pete and Sukie’s new friendship die before it has a
chance to flourish?
A Christmas tale full of love, laughter, friendship and
revenge.
Welcome to Books, Life and Everything, Kiltie.
Why did you set A Rock ‘n’ Roll Lovestyle in Salzburg?
Thank you for this question.
I suppose I should reply with something such as ‘It is
different from the other usual locations of London, Paris, New York etc’ or ‘I
wanted somewhere different to give my book an edge over other novels’ or even
‘Being a Christmas novel, I needed somewhere with snow’ but I can’t. I chose
Salzburg because I am passionately in love with this city! That’s it. Nothing
deep or meaningful, I just love it.
I can’t say exactly why I have such an intense amount of
feeling for Salzburg but I strongly suspect we can point a very big finger
towards the film ‘The Sound of Music’.
When this film was first released, I was just a little bun
being baked in my mum’s oven. My mum went to see it at the local cinema and,
being a lady who never does anything by halves, loved it so much she made a
further six viewing visits! I believe it is nothing short of a miracle that, at
the moment of my birth, I did not yodel when the doctor smacked my tiny behind.
From that day, I grew up with this film, and its soundtrack,
being a part of my life. Several family Christmas’s were spent watching it on
the television and all the beautiful scenery made quite an impact on the young
me. I made a promise that I would, one day, see it all for myself.
That day didn’t come until many years later when I finally
embarked upon a coach trip to Austria which included a day trip to Salzburg.
The minute I stepped off that bus I felt something shift a little inside me.
I’m loathe to use the moth-eaten expression of ‘I felt as though I’d come home’
but I absolutely did feel a sense of belonging.
On that first visit to Salzburg, the city was bathed in
glorious spring sunshine which enhanced all the sights – from the fortress high
up on its hill down to the beautiful cream stone of the Mirabell Palace where
you will find the Doh-Ray-Me steps and the funny little statues from the film.
When you cross over the River Salzach to the Altstadt (Old Town), you find
yourself immersed in the history of the city. Small, narrow streets which
suddenly open up into vast squares where there may be a glorious fountain or a
vibrant street market. The shops themselves are a viewing pleasure with their
gorgeous arched windows, many with floral wreathes around them, and their
pretty ironwork signage hanging over the street. You will also find Mozart’s
Birthplace in the Altstadt. This bright yellow and white building cannot be
missed.
Walk further into the Altstadt and you will find yourself at
the foot of the hill upon which sits the Festung Hohensalzburg. Visiting the
fortress is a must and there are two ways of getting there – you can be very
sensible and take the funicular up to the top or, like myself, you can decide
you are a complete masochist and walk! The advantages of walking are that the
steep, winding pathway offers many unique photographic opportunities. The disadvantage
is that they do not provide oxygen tanks for your immediate relief when you
finally crawl to the top. I genuinely feel they are missing a trick there! Once
you have recovered your breath, and the fainting sensation has passed, the
beautiful fortress stands waiting for you to walk around and admire it, both
inside and out. You are also treated to stunning views across Salzburg, high
above the aged-copper roofs of the buildings below.
If you are lucky enough to visit in December, you have the
additional treat of the Christmas Markets to add to the excitement.
I could wax lyrical for many hours on the merits of Salzburg
but I will prevent myself from doing so. All I will say is this – when the
opportunity arose to set my novel in any part of the world, how could I not
choose this wonderful city that I love so much. To unashamedly drag out another
moth-eaten expression – it was a no brainer!
Thanks so much, Kiltie. I can't think of a better reason!
About the Author
Kiltie grew up in Scotland, Glasgow to be precise. A very unique city with a very unique way of looking at life. When she was old enough to do so, she moved to London and then, after several years of obtaining interesting experiences -which are finding their way into her writing - she moved up to the Midlands.
She currently lives in Staffordshire with five cats and one husband. The cats kindly allow her and her husband to share their house on the condition they keeps paying the mortgage!
Her little home is known as Moggy Towers, even though despite having plenty of moggies, there are no towers!
She loves reading, watching movies, and visiting old castles. She really dislikes going to the gym!
Her biggest desire is that one day she can give up the day job and write her stories for a living.
Kiltie first began writing 'A Rock 'n' Roll Lovestyle' over ten years ago. The project was shelved on Chapter Seventeen as she felt the story wasn't flowing as she would like it to.
In her own words "The images in my head would not come out of my fingers!" Fast forward to November 2016 when, having finished reading Lizzie's Christmas Escape by Christie Barlow, she read more about the author and was inspired with how Christie herself came to be a best-selling author.
In that thunderbolt moment, Kiltie knew - with a deep certainty- that she needed to reacquaint herself with 'A Rock 'n' Roll Lovestyle' and begin writing again. She did this in January 2017 and found the words flowed faster than she could type them. Finally, the time was right for her to write her novel.
Her determination to finish what she had started all those years ago was absolute and the first draft was completed on Sunday 16th April 2017.
Since beginning to write again, the ideas have not stopped flowing. She has begun typing up her second book, 'Of All the Unlikely Places', and book three (not yet titled) has been worked out and is waiting in the wings for its turn in the spotlight.
She currently has a further ten plots and ideas stored in her file (it's costing a fortune in USB drives as each story has its own memory stick!) and the ideas still keep on coming.
She now lives her life around the following three quotes:
"I love having weird dreams, they're great fodder for book plots!"
"Why wait for your ship to come in when you can swim out to meet it?"
"Old enough to know better, young enough not to care!"
You can follow Kiltie here: Website | Facebook | Twitter
Book link: Amaon UK
Thanks to Kiltie and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a place on the event.
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