Portobello Book Blog

I’m delighted to have author and blogger Berni Maycock joining me today. Berni is the author of ‘It Started With a Snub’ which you can order online here. She also blogs at https://brmaycock.wordpress.com/

Thanks for agreeing to be part of my Blogger in the Spotlight feature. First of all, would you tell my blog readers a little about yourself?

Thanks so so much for having me! I live in a chaotic house in Westmeath in Ireland with the hubby and four crazily brilliant little men. I review, gush and try to help people find their fave books at https://brmaycock.wordpress.com/ (BRMaycock’s book blog). I used to live for chick lit and but now thrillers are part of my staple diet too and so I have both on my blog.  I am a writer too and write as part of Carmel Harrington’s Imagine, Write, Inspire writing group and have one book out  ‘It Started With A snub.’

 

What books/authors did you enjoy as a child?

Enid Blyton (Malory Towers was my favourite series of hers) and Roald Dahl (at last count I’d read Matilda 21 times, The Witches 15!) My standout book back then was Under The Hawthorne Tree by Marita Conlon-McKenna. Then I moved onto Sweet Valley High, Point Horror and the ‘Jill’ series (horsey books by Ruby Ferguson). My most read books then were Star Dancer by Morgan Llywelyn and Black Beauty (MAJOR horsey phase that lasted 6 years!)

What do you enjoy most about blogging?

I love to rave about books I adored and have people tell me that they found them because of something I said and loved them as much as me!!

Tell me about your blog – sell yourself!

I originally set up my blog because they tell you to do that when you write a book (rolls eyes at how clueless I was), but then it took over and I found myself more avidly trying to ‘add to the lighter side of your tbr’ and it’s still my goal, but whereas I set it up more to re-introduce the world of chick lit, now I find myself tight rope walking the line between them and thrillers, albeit still light ones (I don’t really do gore)!

What’s your favourite book you’ve reviewed in the past year? Or favourite three if you really can’t choose.

If I close my eyes and think of three books that jumped out (only way I can do it!) there was The Saven series by Siobhan Davis (I never read dystopian books and this BLEW me away, plus I had known Siobhan from Carmel Harrington’s Imagine Write Inspire groups so it floored me even more!), The Other Side of The Wall by Andrea Mara (again, someone I knew from IWI,) which is a thriller about the people who move in next door to you, it stayed with me for a long time(!) and The Darkest Lies by Barbara Copperthwaithe, because it put me on edge and made me cry in equal measures!

 

               

What are you reading just now? 

The Heights by Juliet Bell, which is out this month (Jan 2018) and is a retelling of Wuthering Heights (one of my fave books ever!) set in ’80’s Yorkshire. That’s how they tell it, I have just started it and it’s atmospheric and rough enough that I see where the comparison comes from. I’m really taking to it, although I am going to try to park said  comparison (which may be crazy as that’s why I chose it!!!)

If you were on Desert Island Discs, what one book would you take with you?

 The Writer’s Handbook as there’s loads of articles in there as well as the publisher and agent listings so it would keep me occupied. 

Is there a book you’d like to see made into a film? Who would be in your dream cast?

 No, sorry, going to bow out of this question, I would need months to figure this one out, I’m really bad at this sort of question! Can’t wait to see other people’s answers though! (edges away, whistling … )

How can people follow your blog or connect with you on social media?

My blog is BRMaycock’s book blog at https://brmaycock.wordpress.com/

And I ADORE speaking to bookish people on Twitter @BRMaycock  

or

Goodreads author page: BR Maycock (best invention ever, really getting back to it this year!) 

And my writer’s page on Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/BRMaycockWriter

And finally, if you could be a character in any book you have read, who would it be and why?

Oh! It would have to be Becky from Ginny Elliot’s ‘Winning’ (what is the story with all the horsey answers!), a girl who joins a top eventing yard to follow her dreams of competing.