My Interview with the very lovely Judith Barrow, author of Patterns of Shadows and other books
- Please introduce yourself:
- What first inspired you to start writing?
- Tell us about your new book.
The first two are Daffodils, set in WW1 and Peace Lily, set in the immediate aftermath of 1919. Speedwell covers the entire decade of the roaring twenties and takes the characters back to America and on to various race tracks, particularly Brooklands in Weybridge, near London.
Katy Phipps is running a garage with her husband Jem, trying to raise a family, make innovations on cars and be a race mechanic all at the same time. She is co-driver to Douglas, an American who married her best friend and ex-employer Cassandra Smythe, the heiress of the local estate, Cheadle Manor in rural Wiltshire. Douglas has underwritten the garage and hopes to attract sponsorship and car sales to help support both the garage and his growing family.
His father, who lives in Boston, doesn’t approve, and Douglas relies on his rich mother for financial backing. When she dies, everything is put in jeopardy and Douglas risks his life trying to beat all his competitors to secure the future. Katy invents a vital car component to get the edge on their rivals and this has a profound effect on the future of Peacehaven Garage. In order to put the component into production without Douglas’s support, she and Jem have to put themselves deep into debt.
Will Douglas secure sponsorship? Will Katy and Jem be able to sell her invention? The suspense as the characters struggle with these pressures builds to an unusual climax and chimes with the innovation and excitement of this post-war decade when the modern age was born.
- Why do you write?
I do. It has been my bliss and passion. If I don’t write, I’m no fun to be around.
On the other hand, I can be pretty awful when the writing isn’t going well. I’m also pretty impossible when it is and I’m in what I call a ‘writing vortex’ and can’t stop. So, I’m either antsy because life is getting in the way of the creative process, fed up because it won’t flow, or over-excited and irritable because I can’t stop.
I’m heaven to live with. I suppose it could be described as a compulsion.
- Do you have to plan to write or are you constantly jotting ideas and lines down?
- What do you think it takes to stand out from the indie author crowd?
- What is the ultimate goal you hope to achieve with your writing?
- Do you only write one specific genre or are you multi-talented?
But my first book, The Twisted Vine, was set in France in the 1980’s and is more of a mystery/suspense type of story.

I’ve also written quite of lot of poetry, some short stories and I have other projects which include contemporary novels, a ghost story or two and many others.
- Give us a random fact about yourself.
See www.alexxx8586.blogspot.com where tales from The Plotting Shed can be found about my writing projects. I’m still applying the paint here, if you look closely!
Contacts:
My Blog: http://bit.ly/1H5OtqT www.alexxx8586.blogspot.com – tales from the Plotting Shed
My first novel: http://amzn.to/XHVZeD The Twisted Vine – a sensuous and mysterious journey through the vineyards of France in the 1980s
The Katherine Wheel Books:
1) http://amzn.to/141yEIG Daffodils – emotional and tender love story set in WW1
2) http://amzn.to/1zxG8aL Peace Lily – the sequel to Daffodils
Facebook author page: http://on.fb.me/16NHzpw
Find me on Twitter: http://bit.ly/16NI1E6
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