I have the great pleasure of hosting a leg of Cally Taylor’s blog tour to launch her debut novel, Heaven Can Wait, which was published on 15 October 2009.
When I met Cally, I was on a train to Manchester for my first meet with the Novel Racers, a virtual writing community that we both belong to. I had seen her photo on her blog so knew who to look out for. Up and down the carriages I went. I ended up ringing her on the train and telling her to meet me on the buffet cart. I was so embarrassed. But when we sat down, there was none of that awkward silence, when you meet someone for the first time. Before we came up for air we had gone from Stoke to Manchester…
I thought it would be different to do this blog post from the point of view of Cally’s main character. So over to you, Lucy Brown…
1 Have you ever been so in love that you’ve gone off chocolate?
God, yes! The first time I saw Dan, strolling casually across Manchester Uni Student’s Union, I was chatting to a friend and munching on a bar of Galaxy chocolate. Something about Dan made my stomach flip over and I froze mid-sentence. I couldn’t stop staring at him. I put the bar of chocolate down on the table and never picked it back up (I did pick up my pint though!)
2 How would your Mum/Dad/parents describe you?
They’d probably say I was loving, kind and a bit of a klutz because I was always knocking into things and/or breaking them when I was a kid. When Dad found out how I’d died he just shook his head and said, “Only you, Lucy. Only you.”
3 X Factor or Strictly?
X Factor, definitely! I love karaoke and once threatened to audition for the X Factor. Dan didn’t try and dissuade me. He recorded me singing in the shower instead and played it back to me later. I never did send off my application.
4 Do you believe in life after death?
Absolutely! It’s not what you expect, I’ll say that much!
5 Adventure holiday or beach bum?
Definitely a beach bum. Dan’s more of an adventure holiday kind of guy but we’d normally compromise and go on a beach holiday where I could lie on the sand and read books and he could windsurf or whatever.
6 How old are you? What has been your best age yet and why?
I’m twenty-eight. My best age was twenty-one. I was at university, Dan and I were madly in love, and my parents were still alive.
7 Madonna or Beyonce?
Madonna, definitely! I’ve loved her since I was tiny. She’s fab. You know I was talking about karaoke before? Well “Crazy for You” is my song. I dressed up as Madonna for the Computer Blitz fancy dress party too – that was one weird day!
8 What is your most embarrassing moment ever?
Farting in front of Dan on our first date! Don’t make me tell you the story, it’s too embarrassing.
9 Book or magazine?
Oooh, difficult question. I love celebrity magazines like Heat and Now but you can’t beat a good book. Can I say magazines for commuting to work and books for curling up with?
10 Were you teacher’s pet at school or the class clown?
I wasn’t either really. I did my best at school but I got told off for laughing, a lot!
11 Fried breakfast or healthy option?
Nothing beats a fried breakfast. I had some good fried breakfasts with Brian and Claire in the cafe round the corner from the house of wannabe ghosts – they’re perfect for mopping up a hangover (and I had a few of those!)
12 Who is more important? Family or friends?
That’s tough! It’s almost as bad as making me choose between my parents and Dan! When I was younger I thought friends were more important but now I’d say family because I’ve discovered that sometimes your friends don’t always have your best interests at heart. Oh but that’s unfair, that’s just one of my friends. Others, like Jess and Archie, are lovely and would do anything for me. Could I have both please?
13 Have you ever won a competition?
I won an Easter Egg competition at school when I was seven. We had to paint boiled eggs and I turned mine into a rabbit and won a big Cadbury’s egg. Does that count?
14 A pint of lager or a large glass of wine?
Wine all the way! I used to drink lager at Uni (it was cheap) but I’m more of a large glass of dry white wine girl now.
15 Do you keep your birthday cards or throw them away?
I keep them, I’m a terrible hoarder. Every now and then I have a clear-out but, as Dan always points out, it’s not so much a clear-out as moving all my crap out of the bedroom and into the attic!
16 Flat shoes or killer heels?
Both! Flat shoes for commuting around London and killer heels for a night out!
17 Which do you enjoy the most? Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve?
I’ve been to some amazing New Year’s Eve parties but I’d have to choose Christmas Eve. Dan and I would curl up on the sofa with a big box of chocolates, a vat of mulled wine and watch something Christmassy like “It’s a Wonderful Life”, then we’d give each other one present at midnight (keeping the rest for Christmas Day) and fall into bed.
18 Finally, can you give us the low down on Cally Taylor?
Who? Never heard of her. Is she on the X Factor?

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