Blogs
Guest Blog: Suzie Grogan on Talking Books with Bethany Askew
My guest blog is by Suzie Grogan.
Suzie is a professional writer and researcher. With one published title on her CV she has been commissioned to write a further two social history books which will examine the emotional upheaval caused by the First World War and the ways in which we deal with war trauma and how we have chosen to remember that period of our history.
She also offers a proofreading service and can provide copy for web sites and newsletters and provide advice on using social media.
Her website will help you find out a little more about her and introduce you to some of her published and to-be published writing.
You can find out more about Suzie on:
Suzie Grogan on life, writing, living life and writing
Suzie Grogan Writer & Researcher
So without further ado, here is Suzie’s blog:
My fortnightly book programme on 10Radio is going really well. I am enjoying discussions with a wide variety of guests and if it all sounds as if we are just having a good old chinwag about our favourite subject – books, poetry, reading and the written word in all its forms – then that is pretty close to the truth.
Two weeks ago I spent a really interesting thirty minutes in the company of author Bethany Askew. Bethany has been writing women’s commercial literature for twelve years and has completed four novels; The Double Life of Jemma Langford, Out Of Step and Counting The Days and The Time Before. The first two are currently available on Amazon Kindle and Bethany also writes poetry and short stories.
So how do you define fiction that is, mainly, read by women? We came to the conclusion that what one person might call ‘romance’ is actually what is often, somewhat disparagingly called ‘chick lit’, or ‘women’s popular fiction’. Do we want pure escapism? As my lovely friend Lucy said ‘ I like a happy ending! If I need s**t romantic f**kups then I can just stick to my ACTUAL LIFE.’ I used this quote in the show, but missed out the rude words for fear of being taken off the air….
Many people did want a challenge though. The books and authors we discussed more often wrote about relationships than romance. Life does not have neat and tidy outcomes and even happiness can come at a price. The authors that were recommended to me on social media were not necessarily the ones I expected, we ranged across the last two centuries and we had an interesting discussion about women’s fiction that is most popular in libraries…
So do listen to the show on the link below. Bethany was a great guest – knowledgeable and willing to share a lot about her writing life. She read a passage from her work and chose the most wonderful piece of music to end the show.
I must apologise for a few ums and ars as it was a month since the previous programme and I actually wasn’t very well, but we soon warmed up.
Bethany has a great website at bethanyaskew.co.uk which offers full details and some examples of her work. I would like to thank her very much for joining in the conversation. Talking Books is a pleasure to do and I am so glad to have the opportunity to spend 30 minutes talking about my favourite subject every fortnight!
Bethany Askew is the author of eight novels: The Time Before, The World Within, Out of Step, Counting the Days, Poppy's Seed, Three Extraordinary Years The Two Saras and I Know You, Don't I? She has also written a short story, The Night of the Storm, and she writes poetry. Two more women’s fiction books have been accepted for publication in 2020 and 2021 respectively and she is currently working on a new novel. In her spare time she enjoys reading, music, theatre, walking, Pilates, dancing and voluntary work. Bethany is married and lives in Somerset.