About the Book

Book: Thanksgiving in Welcombe Bay

Author: Kate Darroch

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Release date: October 29, 2023

The story of an alcoholic former journalist, Eric, who is trying to straighten out his life and give up drinking, and Lily, a woman haunted by memories of domestic abuse, who meet and miracle in gorgeous Welcombe Bay. Both are coping with serious life problems, and neither is looking for romance. But lasting love is looking for them. Can these broken souls overcome their emotional and financial challenges, and help each other to heal through the transformative power of their love and faith?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Kate Darroch lives on the picturesque Devon coastline, where she combines her passion for cozy sleuths and her experiences of life as it’s lived in many countries to create compelling Travel Cozies.

Màiri Maguire, a Scots Irish teacher from 1970s Glasgow, heroine of debut novel, “Death in Paris”, has earned Kate many international book awards, including Readers Favorite Gold Medal for Humor, consolidating her reputation as a notable author. Kate hopes her readers will enjoy Màiri’s adventures as much as she enjoys Father Brown, Sherlock Holmes, and that old, old movie, the Perils of Pauline.

Next, Kate created Huntingdon Hart, a dry, witty, prescient, multi-millionaire, tongue-in-cheek cross between James Bond and Sherlock Holmes, who’s in love with a much older woman.

Kate’s most recent work is the Christian Second Chance for Lasting Love series, Sweets By the Sea, a saga of Recovery and Redemption; which her readers say is even sweeter than Màiri’s adventures.

More from Kate

If you want incident-crammed stories that seamlessly integrate Christian values, you’re in the right place. Why is that? Because my own Christian faith is a seamless part of my life. How can you separate everyday life and faith? Don’t ask me, because I can’t.

I wrote Màiri Maguire to make people laugh during a dark time; and I wrote Eric and Lily to give hope and understanding to the families of addicts in recovery, to shine a light on thought processes and emotions which are opaque to most of us; and which those of us with a friend or loved one in recovery would like to understand better. Because I’m a storyteller, not a counsellor, I also tried to tell you a story that would make you both laugh and cry, a story worth taking time to enjoy. I hope that you will decide to spend a little time with Eric and Lily, and that you will find the expenditure of your time to be worthwhile.

Interview with Kate

How do you create your main characters? 

I  believe that writing is a calling, and I take very seriously my obligation to the reader, to give them the best work I can. So I am always reading books about craft; and have been to a number of writing workshops which discussed creating characters.

You could ask me any question at all about any of my characters, right down to what brand of toothpaste they like, and I would be able to answer. I know my characters as well as if we were living in the same house together, and in a way we are.

That said, I don’t create my characters, they come to me when I’m thinking about the story, they come to life on the written page. We talk together, like friends. I know them in the same way that I know my family. My story people are real people to me.

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

The second third of the story.

I always have a strong relationship with my characters, I know who they are and where they want to go. And I know my plotline. The big debate in writing circles is – should story be plot driven or character led? To me, that’s a non-issue. My stories are character led and plot driven. Both.

See, here’s my character, and s/he has been put down spang in the middle of this plot. The characters are in the situation and can’t get out. They want to get out, of course. Writers call that the crucible. Put the main character into a crucible, and the story writes itself. That’s the theory. In practice, I find that the first third of the story writes itself. The second third takes a lot of skull sweat.

The crucible is a very powerful writing tool. Your characters are being compelled by the situation to do something against their nature. A weak character, or a character who is driven by an overwhelming need, gives in and goes with the plot. Maybe tries to get their own back later. That’s one kind of story, and it can be a very compelling read if you’re rooting for that character. But it’s not the kind of story I write.

My characters fight the situation. They’ll win or die. So once we get into the middle of the story, they’re in big trouble. It’s all too hard, and they want to give in. But they can’t. They’re driven by the overwhelming need to be true to themselves and to get out of the situation. That’s where I hit the roadblock. Because I’ve sent my character to a place where s/he has no way out, and s/he needs to get out.

So now I need to create ways over, under, or around the roadblock. That’s hard.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I am blessed to live in a very beautiful place, a small seaside resort. I like to go for coastal walks, and to go boating, and to sit drinking cappuccino in cafes that look straight out to the sea. I do Pilates. I visit with friends and family. Sometimes we go to a garden centre, or to a spa, or shopping for treats. I enjoy worship, especially the music, and I enjoy visiting churches and cathedrals.

I love going to the theatre, and musicals, and reading, and going to the races. I used to love dancing, it was my passion, but after I was hit by a van as a pedestrian, I wasn’t able to dance anymore. I still enjoy watching dancing.

Do you base your characters on real people?

Yes and No. Every writer puts something of themselves and the people they know into their stories, whether they realise that or not. I know that I do, because during my rigorous edit process, I spot the little snippets. “ah, so that’s why Major Peverel has a limp.” I enjoy spotting those moments of ‘borrowing’, it’s fun.

But as I say, my story people are real people to me, I don’t base them on anyone or anything, they come to me, we visit.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I have written, or am in the middle of writing, 16 books. I can’t say that I have a favorite as such, any more than most mothers will admit to having a favorite child. I love them all in different ways for different reasons.

I love Thanksgiving in Welcombe Bay because it has helped many people to understand the disease of alcoholism. I know that because they’ve written to tell me so.

I love all the Màiri Maguire Mysteries because Màiri is my favourite character.

I love the Huntingdon Hart Investigates stories because every single one of those stories is a spoof, a romp, a tongue-in-cheek combo of James Bond and Sherlock Holmes.

I love my Hunt thrillers, because there I’m saying, the world is a complex place for everyone, and if we don’t want to drown in the complexities, then we must be true to our ideals. We must fight for what we know to be right. They aren’t Christian stories. They’re about a cheerful atheist coming to terms with his innate belief that there’s something bigger than himself. He doesn’t find the Lord. He finds an ethic he’s willing to die for.

I love Elda because her story is a protest story; it’s about the world as I wish it was.

I love the Found Money stories because they’re fun and frothy but they’re also saying something real about women overcoming the restrictions which fence us in. Erin is a ditz, but she’s got guts.

And I will love Belle of Bow Street when at long last I get around to writing more than her first chapter.

Blog Stops

Stories By Gina, June 22 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 23

Artistic Nobody, June 24 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, June 24

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 25

Guild Master, June 26 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, June 27

For the Love of Literature, June 28 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 29

By The Book, June 30 (Author Interview)

An Author’s Take, July 1

Blossoms and Blessings, July 2 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 3

A Reader’s Brain, July 4 (Author Interview)

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, July 5 (Author Interview)

Pause for Tales, July 5

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kate is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and an eBook copy of the four books in the series: Cookies & Eggnog from Welcombe Bay, Thanksgiving in Welcombe Bay, Christmas in Welcombe Bay and New Beginnings in Welcombe Bay!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2c06e/thanksgiving-in-welcombe-bay-celebration-tour-giveaway