Guest Post - Anna Mansell take a Chance! - Chances Fortnight

I’ve talked about my house on the dairy before, so apologies if you’re over it, but the thing is, I wouldn’t be sat here in my dining room, by the back window, watching the calves spring lamb their way across the paddock, were it not for utter chance.

We’d been searching for a house down Kernow for months. In truth, I’d been searching for years, but as ‘dirty’ bankrupts with a house repossession behind us, it was a pipe dream until very recently. I knew the housing market inside and out. I knew what had bought and sold and for how much, pretty much across the entire length and breadth of the St Ives, Carbis Bay area. So I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that our budget would not easily stretch to the three or four bedroomed house, with garden, and parking that we craved. Nope. Not remotely. Because you know, second home haven etcetera. In truth, my husband and I were at our lowest ebb. Renting is tough down here, high prices, few opportunities, in the previous eight years we’d moved five times. We had a roof over our heads, sure, but we just weren’t as settled as we wanted. As I needed. And we were beginning to realise (what really, I already knew!): what we wanted, we couldn’t afford, and what we needed (the real need, not the one I made up in my head) - had been and gone; overlooked because it wasn’t perfection... I’ve watched years of Kirsty and Phil, I should TOTALLY have known better, and yet.

‘We have to buy something and soon,’ my husband said, carefully, aware that to me, home is everything; a story for another time. ‘If we wait too many more years, I’m going to be working until my 80’s to pay the mortgage off.’

I grumbled. I cried. I behaved like a spoilt child. A child I can now, looking back, forgive. She needed some certainty, she needed security. Rightly, or wrongly, it was a big deal to her. What is bricks and mortar to some, is the air that we breathe to her.

Through tired eyes, knowing EVERY house on the market, knowing there was NOTHING suitable for us. I searched again, forgetting to put in my own criteria, as I had each day for eight years.  

And there it was!

My perfect home. Our perfect home. A place we would NEVER have found because it was not remotely what we were looking for. And yet in that instant, due to a chance accident, a chancident if you will, we both knew it was EVERYthing we were looking for… if not more!

I dialled the estate agent, fingers twitching with nerves and excitement. We made the appointment to view. And that afternoon, as we stepped in to the garden, our bellies fizzed and our hearts exploded. A rambling rose, in full bloom, crept up around the front. The birds sang. Cows in the fields surrounding us chewed happily on lush green grass. It was home. It was too small, it was further out of town than we wanted, it was nothing like what we thought we could get, or would get. But it was home, and everything in between.

We offered the asking price, the offer was accepted and within eight weeks, our lowest ebb became our happiest day.

Reading back, perhaps this sounds privileged. To buy anywhere is no longer our right, to buy at all is luck not just judgement. Perhaps it’s because we’d lost what we had before, through fault of our own, through circumstance. My mother lived in our family home for almost forty years, my children thought regular house moves were par for the course. We felt like we’d let them down. It’s hard to explain in a blog post, what this house means to us. Or why. Maybe one day I’ll write a book about it. Maybe not. But let’s just say that we’d had a rough ride, from the day the bankruptcy order was signed, to the morning before we found this home. As we opened the front door, the turn of that key was the moment our rollercoaster, finally, slowed to a stop. And it was all because of that thing called chance.

Thank you so much for taking part Anna, and for sharing your chance with us.

BIOG: Anna had a brush with 'fame' as a magician’s assistant back in 1977. She later decided that being sawn in half by her father, at barely 6 months old, was too submissive a role, vowing to channel the trauma in to something much more pro-actively creative. Having failed at acting, singing and professional murder mystery parties (she was ALWAYs the one to die!), she fell to something much more solitary: writing. How To Mend a Broken Heart was her first novel and her life was not on the line in order to write it. Anna lives on a dairy farm in Cornwall with her two children, her husband, and her ex-racing greyhound, Olive Dog. Her second novel, published by Bookouture, is released in August.

A compelling, heartbreaking tale that will make you laugh, cry and believe in the kindness of strangers. Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Lucy Dillon and Miranda Dickinson.

When Rhys is called to the hospital to meet Susan, a woman he barely knows, he is compelled to help her. Still grieving the loss of his brother months earlier, Rhys knows all too well the feeling of loneliness.

There are years between them, but Rhys is the only person Susan will respond to, and when she asks him to bring her her most treasured possession, a book of fairytales, he is intrigued.

Hidden in the book is a clue to Susan’s past, and the painful regrets she carries with her. And as Rhys starts to unearth Susan’s secrets, he finds that his own grief begins to heal too…

Together, Susan and Rhys must learn to live again. Can they help each other to find happiness and finally mend their broken hearts?

How to Mend a Broken Heart is a heart-wrenching and absorbing story about second chances, forgiveness, and making every second count.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Mend-Broken-Heart-emotional-ebook/dp/B01N1N5GJ7/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Blog: https://feelthefearandwriteitanyway.wordpress.com/

Social Media: @annamansell / Facebook.com/AnnaMansellAuthor

Fab Firsts - Q&A with Anna Mansell- Blog Tour

Fab Firsts is my new regular Sunday feature, that is going to be highlighting books that are firsts. When interviewing authors, it will be about their first book, as well as other firsts in their lives. When reviewing books for this feature, there will be a mix of debuts, first books in a series, the first time I read an author, and possibly other firsts depending on what I can think of! 

If you are an author wanting to take part in Fab Firsts then please do email on gilbster at gmail dot com and I'll whizz the questions over to you. 

I hope you enjoy this look at a variety of hopefully fabulous firsts, while making some sort of dent in my review and paperback TBRs which are my current main focus!

Let's welcome Anna Mansell today, who's debut book How To Mend A Broken Heart was published on 1st March 2017. 

1) Can you tell us a bit about your first book?

How to Mend a Broken Heart is the story of three strangers who have one thing in common, they’ve opted out of life’s greatest gift: to love and be loved. It’s about generosity of spirit, it’s about fear, it’s about taking a leap in to the unknown, and it’s about survival. It’s set in my home city of Sheffield, something I have loved writing about given that I live so far away from there now.

2) What was your original inspiration to become a writer, and to write your debut? 

The first book I wrote was called The Owl at Home. I was 6. It wasn’t very good. I didn’t ever consider writing as a career, having done spectacularly badly at school, I stumbled around in various jobs then fell in to marketing for dance and theatre companies. I’d always use editorials, reports or strategies as an excuse to sit down and write, not realising why I loved that part of the job so much. I moved to Cornwall 7 years ago, and that was when I really started to think about stories and writing. I am fascinated by people, their choices, their thoughts, their approaches to life. I remember someone told me once that we should never be afraid to love, and yet, so many of us are; especially when we’ve had our hearts broken. That idea, and how we might learn to take the leap, or not, is how my debut evolved.

3) How long did it take you to write your first book? 

The Owl at Home? Probably an afternoon! How To Mend a Broken Heart..? A little longer! I wrote the first draft in about 3 months, then did another 4 drafts over the course of a year, writing, working, leaving it, coming back. Eventually, I submitted it to Bookouture, then did another few drafts, edits, amends… In truth, it’s difficult to say exactly how long it took, but I’d wager it’s probably a good year of solid work. How to Mend a Broken Heart is actually the third novel I’ve ever written, despite being my debut. My second novel, out in August, was the second novel I ever wrote, and the first… may NEVER see the light of day! 

4) If you could do anything differently in retrospect, what would you change about your debut, or how you went about writing it?

You know something? I wouldn’t change a thing. I can’t say it has been an easy process in some respects, but despite that, I feel I’ve learnt huge amounts about the kind of writer I want to be. Like anyone who sits down to write a novel, we are hugely passionate about what we do. We have to be to get to the end of draft one, never mind anything else. So the bumps and detours we can take, all add up to a richer end product. I am still learning, and will continue to do so with every book, but goodness I’m lucky to firstly, be able to write, and secondly, be published at all. So, no, I wouldn’t change a thing, I’m just grateful that I’m here. 

5) Was your first book self or traditionally published, and how did you go about making that decision? 

How to Mend a Broken Heart is published by digital publishing house Bookouture. It was important to me that someone took on the book rather than me self-publishing, mainly, if I’m honest, because I needed that external validation. I believe it takes a team to make a book the best it can be. People who can question your aims, who can understand what you’re trying to achieve, help guide you to maximise the book’s potential. Even those big-name writers we admire are supported by a team of specialists. I didn’t have the resources to pull that together myself. Working with an editor, a publicist, a team who know how to position, market and promote my work, that was important to me. I admire those who self-publish, I think it takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there like that, maybe I’m just not brave enough! 

6) Do you have any tips for other first time authors? 

Nothing that hasn’t already been said a million times, I suspect. Mainly, never give up, believe you can do it and some time, some day, when it’s right, you will – it may not come in the shape you imagine, so be open to opportunities. Trust your instincts. Be prepared for the rejection. Remember that to be able to write at any time of day or night is a gift. And dream. Dreaming is essential! 

Tell us about your first…

7) Book you bought 

The BFG, it remains one of my all-time favourite books!

8) Person you fell in love with 

Ah, now that one still makes me smile. He was called Nick. He was a marine. We were too young. Lived too far apart. We were destined never to be together, but there is a tiny part of me that will always love him because he was my first true love, and the first boy who taught me that neither my body or mind was a commodity for his benefit. Something only he and my husband have ever made clear they understood. 

9) Holiday you went on 

France, Brittany to be exact, back in 1983 when I was 6. I met a german girl who I played with for the entire time, despite neither of us speaking the other’s language. I also ate my body weight in mussels. I can still eat my body weight in mussels.

10) Prize you won

A record for a dancing competition down my local Working Men’s club. It was ‘We don’t need another hero,’ by Tina Turner and I was thrilled.

11) Album you purchased

Wham. Make it Big. I write this just days after we lost George Michael and still can’t believe that the man I day dreamed over, his posters blue tacked to my wall, is no longer here. If I had a sad face emoticon on my laptop, I’d use it! 

12) Sport you enjoyed participating in 

Netball, until I hit puberty. Then putting on a gym skirt was one of the most excruciating experiences of my life. *shudders*

13) Embarrassing moment you can remember 

Oh my, so very many…. I can’t even…

14) Pet 

A guinea pig called Badger. My brother had one called Fergie. They met an unwelcome end courtesy of a local fox.

15) Time you were in trouble 

When I threw a brick at my neighbour Christopher’s head. A true story I borrowed in How To Mend A Broken Heart. Sorry Christopher! 

16) Choice of alternative career if you weren’t an author 

Singer. Ignoring the fact I can’t sing.

17) Time you felt like an adult 

I’m still waiting.

18) Dish you cooked 

Because I’m not one to do things by halves, it was a Roast Dinner!  I knew the importance of a good gravy with your roast, though perhaps misunderstood what a good gravy was… I lived near a well-known fried chicken emporium at the time and would pop in to pick up their chicken gravy to serve up with my roast. If you look up classy in a dictionary, 17 year old me is the description.

Thank you so much for sharing all that with us Anna, and I really hope your debut goes well for you. 

About Anna Mansell

Anna’s first brush with fame was as a magician’s assistant back in 1977. She later decided that being sawn in half by her father, at barely 6 months old, was too submissive a role, vowing to channel the trauma in to something much more pro-actively creative.  Having failed at acting, singing and professional murder mystery parties (she was ALWAYs the one to die!), she fell to something much more solitary: writing. How To Mend a Broken Heart is her first novel and her life was not on the line in order to write it. Anna lives on a dairy farm in Cornwall with her two children, her husband, and her ex-racing greyhound, Olive Dog.

Twitter - @annamansell

Website

https://www.facebook.com/AnnaMansellAuthor/

Book Review - How to Mend a Broken Heart by Anna Mansell - #AroundTheUKIn144Books #SouthYorkshire

Amazon UK

Title: How to Mend a Broken Heart

Author: Anna Mansell

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 1st March 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Three strangers. Three broken hearts. Three shots at happiness. 

Life is good for nurse Kat. That is until the man she intended to marry legs it, she’s unexpectedly promoted to a position with too much responsibility, and Susan arrives on her ward under strange circumstances.

Susan is a mystery. She refuses to speak or interact with anyone, she’s obsessed with a book of fairy tales, and the only name in her diary is that of Rhys – a plumber she barely knows.

Down-to-earth Rhys is trying to get his life back on track after the death of his beloved brother. His mum is his priority, but then a call from Kat brings the enigmatic Susan into his life…

As the lives of these three lost strangers intertwine, will they find a way to lay ghosts past, present and future to rest? And when the chance comes to mend their broken hearts, will they be brave enough to take it?

Interesting debut novel, that should have been heart breaking in its emotion, but just didn't reach me the way I would have hoped or expected. 

I think I am lacking in the correct sorts of empathy to truly realise the emotion in this story, but even without shedding a tear, I could see just what a great story it is. 

We have on the surface three strangers, with one thing in common, they all have broken hearts and are dealing with them in different ways. 

Kat is trying to come to terms with her long term boyfriend cheating on her, and returns to work as an acting ward sister, after a few weeks break. She is instantly intrigued by the newest patient on the ward. 

Meet Susan, she is refusing to talk, and is dealing with her own problems in not the best way, and its lucky she is still alive and in hospital. She has no close friends or family, and the only contact in her diary is for Rhys, her plumber. 

Rhys, is grieving his brother's death, but when he is contacted to see his connection to Susan, and to see if he can help, goes above and beyond to try to help her. He is the only person she tries to connect to, and all of their lives are changed initially by the book of fairy tales. 

I was interested in the lives of the characters, and how they were dealing with the circumstances that author, Anna Mansell was producing for them. This is not a light and fluffy read, but equally there are some moments of levity, but on the whole if feels quite an even novel. I could see there was definitely emotion to be had, I just didn't seem to feel any of it. 

I liked the way the story had been crafted, and the differing points of view, especially Susan's story who I was most intrigued by. The way she has been written especially while in hospital, is sad, while also giving snippets into her psyche. 

Kat, Rhys and Susan's lives really do converge in this book, and it is fascinating to see how they developed and started to cope as the story progressed.  How to Mend a Broken Heart is a great story, that I enjoyed reading. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.