Blogging is universal and even though we inhabit the same community, we don’t always live in the same country. What country do you live in?

I live just outside of Leeds, Yorkshire in the UK

What is the view outside your front door?

This is the view from my front door. We live on a small housing estate close to the city of Leeds but far enough out so I can see green fields yards from my doorstep and our garden backs onto some woodland.

Most blogs have a fun story of origin. Please share the story behind your blogs name and/or why you started blogging.

Initially I started guest reviewing for Noelle Holten and Crimebookjunkie.co.uk. I started there late 2015 and stayed for over 2 years. I always knew I wanted my own blog but with two energetic young boys, I didn’t have the time alongside the reading. But in January this year, my youngest started at preschool so I knew the time had come to fly the nest and go solo!  I admit that its not exactly a fun story…

Describe where you write your blog. 

I vary where I blog. I do a bit at work, bit in our home office, a bit on my phone but at the moment, I’m most comfortable sat on the sofa in front of the TV (currently binge watching the fabulous Suits).

Most of us have a stack of books sitting next to our couch or bed waiting to be read. What books are in your stack? 

At the end of every month, I plan what I’m reading for the following month – these are my October reads.  When I get a physical of an advanced copy of a book I pop a little sticker on the spine to plan when I’m going to read it. If it’s an electronic copy, I’ll note in my blogging diary (I’d be lost without it) as to when publication day is and when I’m planning to read it.

The Lingering by SJI Holliday

Married couple Jack and Ali Gardiner move to a self-sufficient commune in the English Fens, desperate for fresh start. The local village is known for the witches who once resided there, and Rosalind House, where the commune has been established, is a former psychiatric home, with a disturbing history. When Jack and Ali arrive, a chain of unexpected and unexplained events is set off, and it becomes clear that they are not all that they seem. As the residents become twitchy, and the villagers suspicious, events from the past come back to haunt them, and someone is seeking retribution. The Lingering is an exceptionally plotted, terrifying and tantalizingly twisted novel by one of the most exciting authors in the genre.

Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough

Lisa is living a lie and everyone is about to find out.

Lisa lives for her daughter Ava, her job and her best friend Marilyn.

But when a handsome client shows an interest in her, Lisa starts daydreaming about sharing her life with him, too. Maybe she’s ready now. Maybe she can trust again. Maybe it’s time to let her terrifying secret past go.

But when her daughter rescues a boy from drowning and their pictures are all over the news for everyone to see, Lisa’s world explodes.

As she finds everything she has built threatened, and not knowing who she can trust, it’s up to Lisa to face her past in order to save what she holds dear.

But someone has been pulling all their strings. And that someone is determined that both Lisa and Ava must suffer.

Because long ago Lisa broke a promise. And some promises aren’t meant to be broken.

If you have had a bad day and want to spend an hour reading a book, what is your go to genre or favorite book that will lift your mood?

My go-to genre is crime fiction, I love the escapism of solving crimes or having an author mess with my head to make me forget the day.

When you aren’t blogging, how do you spend your time? Work, Play, School?

As I mentioned in question 3, I’m a mum of two gorgeous boys (I’m biased yes) so they’re a big part of my life along with my husband. I also work four days a week for a third party pensions company. When I get chance, I do like a bit of TV watching.  I’m gradually working my way through US legal drama Suits and some of the excellent BBC dramas we’ve been gifted with.  I also love a good cookery show like Masterchef and the fabulous Marvel series that Netflix are putting out.

What is your favorite blog post you’ve ever written?

I’ve got two favourites. The first is my very first blog post that I prepared for A Knight’s Reads – it’s my review for Graham Smith’s Past Echoes, the third in his Jake Boulder series which I love. It was the most petrifying moment of my blogging time as it’s all me, not hiding behind the fabulous name of CrimeBookJunkie. Mr Smith very kindly offered to take part in a short Q&A as well to help launch me into the blogisphere!

#Blogblitz Past Echoes by Graham Smith

The second is a guest post that C.S. Duffy wrote for me.  She gave me a number of different titles to pick from and I chose “The Intimate Thriller”.  When I received it, I was amazed. I was inspired by the post!

Dark of Night by C.S. Duffy

Have you ever met one of your favorite authors? If so, what did you say to them? Looking back, what do you wish you had said instead?

I have met quite a few of my favourite authors. To start with I was a tad nervous to say anything as I’m not the most confident and out-going.  But at my first time at Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, a wise author said to me that authors are just normal people like me and all they want know is that you liked their book. So I tentatively wandered up to Sarah Hilary and told her that I loved her books.  Since then I’ve met a number of authors whose books I’ve loved and I’ve told them that – got to say I love their reactions, big smiles!! 

If you could sit down with an author for a slice of cake and a question, who is the author, what kind of cake would you serve, and what is the first question you’d ask?

I would love to have cake with the late great Agatha Christie. I’d serve her a scone cream tea and I’d quiz her about her disappearance in 1926.