Laurie Graham

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Published by: Quercus
Release Date: August 23, 2018
Pages: 352
ISBN13: 978-1784297978

Synopsis

Life has been going downhill for ex-TV chef Lizzie Partridge ever since she famously ended her career by throwing a chocolate mousse at the couch pilot of Midlands This Morning.

The nest is empty, her lover has fled and Nigella and Jamie have the cookery scene sewn up. Can things get any worse? To avoid finding out Lizzie runs away, from the unpaid gas bill and the mouse under the sink. And in wet and wintry Aberystwyth she experiences a brush with her past and a glimmer of new prospects.

Her nephew, formerly an odious little tyke, has grown up and blossomed. He has a girlfriend who’s a TV producer and she has plans. Is Lizzie’s luck about to change?

 

Back Story

I have (apparently) overcome my fear of sequel writing. For this I thank my readers. Far from feeling short-changed, they tell me they enjoy revisiting old characters.

One way or another most of my protagonists are me, but none more so than Lizzie Partridge. When I created her for Perfect Meringues I had gothic teenage children, a stalled career and a six month subscription to the Last Resort Introductions Bureau. Obliged to reread her before starting to write her continuing story, I recognised my own voice, loud and clear.

In the 20 years since I first created Lizzie my own life has been full of adventure, happiness and grief. So what kind of hand to deal Lizzie? I decided to give her a slightly different path, but I retained her (my) voice as well as the distinctive voice of my mother, now heard from that Far Shore. Lizzie's sequel also gave me the opportunity to touch on the fascinating topic of grown men who, on weekends, dress up as furry animals. The book is a work of fiction. I say no more.