ALL THEIR MINDS IN TANDEM - INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR DAVID SANGER

Hello David and welcome to FLY HIGH! I’ve got so many questions for you but, don’t worry, I know I must cut my interview short. What about 10 questions? The first one is: how do you feel at being promoting your debut novel? Have you always wanted to be a writer? 

Hello and thanks for having me! I feel a mixture of excitement and strangeness. I worked in publishing for just over six years so it’s odd to be on the other side of things right now and promoting my book instead. I gave my parents headaches with the amount of different careers I wanted – animator, journalist and actor to name a few. Then I wrote something whilst at university and in one way or another it seemed to embody the other career choices. It took a few more years before I started writing full time but when I did I realised it was something I couldn’t do without.

I’m fond of historical fiction, period movies and costume drama series. But, what about you? How does it come that you started with a novel set in the past? 

I too love historical fiction and movies. I think there’s something extraordinary to stepping into a world that could easily be science fiction – far flung politics, clothes, food, attitudes, etc. – yet it’s something we have a faint purchase on; it’s in our collective past. If someone asked me to write a contemporary novel about 30-somethings today, even though I am one, I would struggle. I find a comfort in the past and the interest the research provokes is its own motivation.

WHAT IF SACRIFICING YOUR DREAM WAS THE ONLY WAY TO GET WHAT YOU REALLY WANTED? TAMERA ALEXANDER, TO WIN HER FAVOR - INTERVIEW + GIVEAWAY

In Tamera Alexander's riveting new novel, a young woman caught in a marriage of convenience must sacrifice everything to save her home, her land, and the people she truly loves. 

Seattle: Against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent times in American history, the post-Civil War era, one woman struggles against prejudice, injustice and suffocating conventions of the 19th century to pursue her dream. Tamera Alexander's To Win Her Favor , the second stand-alone novel in the Belle Meade Plantation series, is already receiving high praise. According to Library Journal, "Strong characters, a sense of the times and the themes of love, friendship and the importance of loyalty and determination make To Win Her Favor a triumph."

Maggie Linden lost nearly everything in the Civil War - including most of her family. She's about to lose her stables and land at Linden Downs and her thoroughbred racing hopes as well. A gifted rider in a world where ladies never race, Maggie is determined that her mare, Bourbon Belle, will become a champion. Indeed, her only hope of saving Linden Downs is if the horse takes the top purse in the inaugural Peyton Stakes, the richest race ever run in America. To give his daughter a chance, Maggie's wily father makes a barter. But his agreement includes one troublesome detail: Maggie must marry a man she's never met - a man she never would have chosen for herself.

An Irishman far from home, Cullen McGrath left a once-prosperous life in England because of a horse-racing scandal that nearly ruined him. He's come to Nashville for a fresh start, hoping to buy land and begin farming, all while determined to stay as far away from thoroughbred racing as possible. With "No Irish Need Apply" signs greeting him at every turn, Cullen finds starting over proves much more difficult than he wagered. When Maggie Linden's father makes him an offer he shouldn't accept, he finds it impossible to refuse.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD: TURN, THE STORY OF WASHINGTON'S SPIES

Jamie Bell as Abraham Woodhull

AMC Turn

This was an amazing series! The season finale was broadcast last Sunday 8 June, with an amazing crescendo of emotions but no news of a second series.  I think this story deserves a second season, I would be more than disappointed if it didn't get it. 

An excellent historical fiction drama series,  starring a blend of great British and US actors, TURN  is a period piece that reveals the story of America's first spy ring. 

A historical thriller set during the Revolutionary War, this TV show is based on Alexander Rose's book Washington's Spies. It was developed and written by Craig Silverstein (Nikita), who also serves as showrunner. It stars, among others, Jamie Bell (Filth, Jane Eyre, Nicholas Nickleby, Billy Elliot) , J. J. Feild (Northanger Abbey, Austenland, The Ruby in the Smoke), Seth Numrich (The Good Wife) and Heather Lind (Boardwalk Empire).