Monday 8 October 2012

Author Showcase – Carol E. Wyer


Carol E. Wyer is an award winning author whose humorous novels take a light-hearted look at getting older and encourage others to age disgracefully. Her best-selling debut novel 'Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines' won five awards including Readers Views Reviewers Choice 2012 Award (category - humour) and was selected as a finalist for both the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the Indie Excellence Awards 2012.

'Surfing in Stilettos' which follows the further adventures of Amanda Wilson as she attempts to inject some fun into her life, is a Costa Award nominee. Carol recently signed a two book deal with ThornBerry Publishing. She is a fellow featured author at loveahappyending.com.
 
 

Janice, thank you very much indeed for letting me monopolise your blog today. I am sorry that I had to bring Hubby along, but as you can see, he has made a valiant effort and worn a tartan kilt, although I’m not sure which clan that is supposed to represent. I’ll just sit him down with a copy of the FT and an iPod to keep him occupied.

I am super excited about the eBook launch of Surfing in Stilettos today. It is a momentous occasion for me and I am so grateful and delighted that ThornBerry Publishing have welcomed me to their team. I feel like I have reached an important milestone in my journey to become a recognised author. I have been very fortunate to be interviewed now quite a few times and I am starting to wonder what else I can possibly tell you about me that would be interesting and entertaining. Throughout my blogging life I have worn my heart on my sleeve and shared every funny instance I can think of from my false teeth falling out into my school lunch in front of my latest boyfriend, to getting Hubby deliberately stopped by security when we went away recently so I could smuggle my iPad away and stay on-line even though I was supposed to be resting my eyes. (He can’t hear me through those headphones can he?)

I have always managed to look at life, not through rose-coloured glasses, but probably multi-coloured spotted ones that squirt water at people. I’m not quite sure how I got my sense of humour but I know that every day I ensure that I smile at something. Life is a serious business; ask Hubby, so I think it’s vital to inject some humour or light-heartedness into it as often as possible. Music is great for lifting the spirits so I always put on Smooth Seventies at some point and sing along to one of those old classics. I always have an emergency supply of old classic comedies too and I make it my mission to find a joke a day. Luckily, the internet is full of little gems. Yesterday I found myself chuckling at this one which reviewer Cathy Speight shared: “My mate just hired an Eastern European cleaner, took her 15 hours to hoover the house. Turns out she was a Slovak.”

My mother and father shared a good sense of humour and were always up to mischief. My mother is still getting up to it, even though she is almost eighty now. She, like Amanda’s mother in my novels, is partying her twilight years away in Cyprus, although I don’t think she has tried pole dancing. Well, not to my knowledge. I love the sound of laughter and I truly believe that laughter is a medicine. I lived next door to someone who taught laughter courses. I attended one once. We had to laugh at each other. It was lunacy, or so I thought; but before long we were convulsed with laughter at the stupidity of what we were doing. Believe it or not, even if you have to force yourself to laugh to start with, you will genuinely end up laughing properly. And, you’ll feel great afterwards.

My novels always have a lot of humour in them and Surfing in Stilettos is no exception. I have three more novels planned and have started work on two of them. My master plan is eventually to be recognised as a humorous writer. I am very proud of Surfing in Stilettos. It is already nominated for some awards including a Costa so I have hopes for it. Thanks to ThornBerry Publishing it is available today from Amazon.

If I might I’d like to put in a plug for my big launch party at my blog today where there are some fabulous prizes and gifts to be won, along with some secrets about the novel. Please drop by and say hello later. Thank you again Janice. I’ll drag Hubby away with me now to continue with his chauffeuring duties. He still has lots of driving to do today!
 
Carol’s Links:
And: As as a necessary part of Carol's fabulous Surfing in Stilettos Blog party today I'd like to display my own very favourite heels!
And yes, those are my legs and the tattoo is real too!