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Waiting for the Break
Waiting for the break
I finished writing my sixth novel just after Christmas. Having self-published Counting the Days and Poppy’s Seed. I have decided this time to submit this latest one to agents and publishers. Like many writers I am waiting for that lucky break, that moment when someone decides my book is marketable. It’s a tough business nowadays: so many writers chasing so few opportunities.
My sixth novel ‘I know you, don’t I?’ is slightly different from the others. I am still writing mainly for women and still interested in family dynamics, but this book is more of a mystery. It explores how well we know the people we have relationships with, the effect of the past on the present and the versions of the past we tell ourselves and other people.
When Carly Spurway is mistaken for old schoolfriend Caroline Westminster she has the chance to re-invent her life.
As the lines between fantasy and reality become blurred, the web of deceit Carly weaves around herself for protection threatens instead to trap her.
But what has happened in her past to make Carly want to escape? And is Caroline’s life as perfect as Carly thinks it is?
This story explores how well we really know the people we have relationships with; the different versions of the truth we tell ourselves and others; and the impact of the past on the present.
The idea for this story came to me when I was mistaken for someone else. I began to wonder what would have happened if I had said I was, in fact, that person. What if I had made up a story about my past? Could I have pretended I was a different person?
When an old school friend couldn’t remember someone we had been at school with, someone I remembered well, the idea began to take shape and grow.
I’ve always been interested in how well we really know the people we have relationships with. The things they tell us about their past, are they true? Or would someone else remember it differently?
This book would appeal to female readers of any age who like the type of books written by Maggie O’Farrell, Anne Tyler and Joanna Trollope.
So here I am, waiting for replies to my submissions, waiting for that elusive break that will secure my position in the world of published authors.
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.