How to Get Hitched in Ten Days is my first novella and the story just flew
onto the page. It is a tale of friendship, unrequited love and about turning
around the challenges that occasionally strike us all as we go through life.
Mikey helps the boyfriend of his best friend and flat mate, Jasmine, turn
around a disastrous Valentine’s Day proposal.
Early reviews are coming in and I am
thrilled that many readers are reacting to Mikey in the way I intended – they
all love him and wish he was part of their lives. As one reviewer, Coffeeholic Bookworm says:
“ I want some Mikey in my life! Mikey isn’t your typical hero. He’s soft, fluffy, sensitive and yummy. His friendship with Jasmine was admirable. He’s a keeper”
Do you have a best friend? Someone you can turn to in your
hour of need?
I think I created this character because, apart from my lovely
husband, I don’t. And sometimes life gets difficult. You don’t necessarily want
to burden your family or partner with your problems. You simply want an
objective view from someone who will crack open the wine, stick on a romcom DVD
and lend you a listening ear, because they care but aren’t too involved.
I think many of us, nowadays, don’t necessarily have a best
friend. I have lots of really good mates, in real life and online, but it is
difficult to keep a close friendship going when you might move around with work
or your life changes, for example you have children and don’t go out so often.
I went to university, spent my twenties travelling on and off and temping and
then moved up north, away from where I’d grown up. I am still in touch with
school and uni friends, and people I got to know during various jobs, but the
closeness, over time, understandably diminishes. And even if your close friends
live nearby, we are all so busy nowadays – people go back to work after having babies, or
perhaps climb the career ladder and have less time to socialize. Plus life
feels as if it is twenty-four seven, with more of us working shifts and the
rise in popularity of the ever-present Social Media.
So, I created this character and whilst writing dreamt of
Pinot sleepovers and popcorn parties! Mikey is warm. Loyal. Funny. Hardworking.
Generous. Give great hugs. And he is pretty easy on the eye too! Everything you
could want in a best friend.
After one especially hard day, Jasmine returns home to her
flat:
“... oh, what a welcome sight: Mikey, in his night-time shorts and T-shirt, sitting on the far side of his huge king-sized bed which stood opposite a widescreen telly. Next to him was a bottle of wine, large bowl of popcorn and an array of DVDs. I pursed my lips to trap a sob I could feel rising as he folded down the duvet and patted the mattress...”
“... oh, what a welcome sight: Mikey, in his night-time shorts and T-shirt, sitting on the far side of his huge king-sized bed which stood opposite a widescreen telly. Next to him was a bottle of wine, large bowl of popcorn and an array of DVDs. I pursed my lips to trap a sob I could feel rising as he folded down the duvet and patted the mattress...”
Yes, it is a
fantasy figure – my husband wouldn’t be too pleased if I had sleepovers with a
male friend, and that I could understand! But then stories are supposed to be
escapist. And my husband shouldn’t worry, because at their core, all of my
heroes are based on his qualities.
If you are looking for a short story to whisk you away from life’s problems and temporarily lend you a new best friend, then How toGet Hitched in Ten Days might be the book for you!
If you are looking for a short story to whisk you away from life’s problems and temporarily lend you a new best friend, then How toGet Hitched in Ten Days might be the book for you!
---------------
Samantha Tonge's new novella How to Get Hitech in Ten Days is out this Thursday! Get ready to grab your copy soon. You can find out more about Samantha Tonge novels on her website, and she's also on Twitter and Facebook. Happy reading!
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank you. Your comment has been submitted for moderation.