Thank you so much for buying and reading this book. I hope you enjoyed meeting the characters and buzzing around France. I am a complete Francophile and have spent many years living and working in France. It was wonderful to be able to write about perfect Summer afternoons and the stunning countryside – all of which I remember with nostalgia.
I draw quite a bit of material from real life and this novel was no exception. As part of my research for it, I applied for and was accepted on various televised game shows, including Decimate with Shane Ritchie and Tipping Point presented by Ben Shepherd. I met hugely entertaining characters on set and at auditions like those at the audition for What Happens in…
Much of the inspiration and traits of the characters for this novel came from sitting in a country manor house in Essex waiting to film a game show called Masterpiece with Alan Titchmarsh. We began filming at seven in the morning and did not finish until almost ten o’clock. We were also all put up at the same hotel so we had much time to kill as we waited for our pieces to camera and plenty of opportunities to learn about each other. I have to say that Alan Titchmarsh is nothing at all like Professor David Potts and he did not need to retake once.
So, who was your favourite character? I'm torn between Melinda and Oscar both of whom I adore. It's been wonderful having them in my life and hard to wave them goodbye. I wonder if Bryony and Lewis will see a lot of Jim and Oscar and I hope Biggie Smalls the Second will gain an even bigger following than he already has, and Oscar will become a famous ballet dancer. I’m also curious to know where the next edition of What Happens in… will be filmed. In brief, I am sorely tempted to write more about them all, especially if it means I get to spend more time with the utterly delicious Lewis.
My thanks again for reading. If you enjoyed What Happens in… could you kindly leave a review no matter how short it may be? It would mean such a lot to me.