Author Archive: Charlotte French

A Midlife Holiday

Helen, Caro, and Kay have been friends for over three decades. At middle-age they’ve all found that life didn’t exactly turn out how they imagined. Helen who was the fun loving risk taker, lives her life on the sidelines, forever

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Treading Water

Writing is rewriting. After a short affair with a critique group, I made the tough decision to take another look at Agnes. I pulled her out of the query trench, dusted her off, and took a long deep breath.
The story of Agnes is told in dual time-line. Originally I wrote the novel in first person, but split the two timelines into past tense and present tense. My editor suggested to try rewriting in third person, and all of it in past tense. That was in November 2021. I decided to trust her judgment. I rewrote it in three weeks.
It’s always interesting when you change a POV and tense. The story comes alive in a new light. I was happy with the result, except deep down, I wondered if Agnes’s wedding day shouldn’t have stayed in present tense. But I wasn’t sure about present tense in third person, if I really wanted to go that way, so past it was.

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We Are Inevitable

This was my first Gayle Forman novel, and I must go check out her other titles. I loved this book. Again it was audio, ready by Sunil Malhotra. At the age of 18 Aaron Stein isn’t thrilled with his life.

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You and Me on Vacation

Though I know she’s well known, and much accomplished writer, this was my first Emily Henry Novel. This was another audio as well—read by Julia Whelan. When Poppy and Alex meet for the first time 12 years ago, it’s obvious

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Brain Freeze

There are two kinds of brain freeze. There’s the one you get from gulping down ice-cream. Painful. There’s another other kind, and much more troublesome. At least if you’re a creative soul with a deadline.
My deadlines are not serious matters. If my newsletter makes it out a little later, like say, the last Monday of the month instead of the Sunday, I will not get the sack or be executed at dawn. However, if you say, you’ll produce a newsletter last Sunday of the month, that’s really what you ought to do. That other brain freeze gets in the way. Always.
Did you ever play that game? Where everyone’s dancing around while the music’s playing and then when the allocated person in charge, turns it off, everyone must freeze in their spot. My brain does this, all by itself—no music needed.

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Other Women

This was my very first Cathy Kelly novel, and having heard so much about her, I assumed and certainly wanted to love ‘Other Women’. This tale is three stories that weave together. Marin is happily married, or at least married,

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