Coffee Break- with Daisy James

I am so excited for this week’s coffee break to welcome author Daisy James!

You can follow Daisy on Twitter @daisyjamesbook

She has not long published the first book in The Cornish Confetti series, with the next in the series due out this week on the 11^th June!  

First let’s find out more about Daisy and the Cornish Confetti Agency…..

Hello Daisy! Thank you so much for spending some time and talking with us today!

Hi Katie, thank you for inviting me to your Sunday Corner, it’s wonderful to be here.

First of all I hope you and your family are well at this strange time and are keeping busy?

It’s such a challenging time, isn’t it? Sometimes when I get up in the morning it takes me a few moments to remember what day it is. As an author I’m used to working at home, alone during the day. In the summer I retreat to me little peppermint-and-cream writing shed for a bit of peace and quiet, and I’ve been doing that now as my family are all working from home too and it can get rather like Grand Central Station if I work at the kitchen table – where the kettle and the biscuit tin is!

What/who has influenced you the most as a writer? 

 I’ve always wanted to be a writer, ever since I was five years old and I scribbled down my first story in pencil – with illustrations in felt pen – before stapling it together to resemble a book. In my teenage years I loved Agatha Christie and anything that had a mystery element, and now I love reading stories about people who’ve decided to ditch the rat race and head off for a new life in a foreign country. I loved Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart, Extra Virgin by Annie Hawes and I’ve just finished reading Falling in Honey by Jennifer Barclay which is set on the gorgeous Greek island of Tilos, just off the coast of Rhodes. I don’t think I’ll be going on holiday this year, so books like these are the perfect solution when craving a slice of sunshine.

I absolutely love Cornwall, what was behind the inspiration to base the series there?

Me too! I had a holiday in Perranporth when I was twelve and loved the freedom of running on the beach, building sandcastle, paddling in the sea. But the memory that has stayed with me is of retreating to a little café – when the rain became just too much – and indulging in a sumptuous afternoon tea. I love afternoon tea; tiny sandwiches with the crusts trimmed, cute little cakes, and best of all, warm scones with strawberry jam and lashings of Cornish clotted cream. Yum!

Can you tell us more about your upcoming book Summertime at the Cornish Confetti Agency?

 This is the second book in The Cornish Confetti Agency trilogy and I absolutely loved writing it. It’s about wedding planner - Lexie Harrington - who’s helping Kat and Dylan to co-ordinate their village-fête-cum-festival wedding in the grounds of the local vicarage. She’s determined that, after the last wedding she organised (in the first book), there’ll be no crazy ice bucket challenges, no whoopee cushions, and no googly eyes attached to everything in sight. It’s full of fun, friendship and foodie treats, with a sprinkle of mystery thrown in for good measure.

Which characters in The Cornish Confetti Agency series have a special place in your heart? – why?

I love all the characters! But if I had to choose one, apart from Lexie herself, it would have to be her gorgeous white labradoodle, Dilly. I ran a competition on my Facebook page for one lucky reader to name Lexie’s best canine friend and that’s how she got her name – which I love!

If you had to describe Lexie in 3 words, what would they be?

Kind, creative and a little bit chaotic.

 What has been the highlight of writing this series?

It has to be two things, no three! Is that allowed? First, I loved researching the setting for Pengarth, the gorgeous Cornish village where the story is set with a wonderful village green, a cute duck pond and a white-washed bandstand, and a local pub called The Daft Cuckoo. I also enjoyed delving into the local food and drink, like the home-brewed cider, locally produced gins and even Cornish sparkling wine!

However, the bit I enjoyed the most, and why I decided to write this series, has to be the weddings. The wedding in the first book was themed around all-things Caribbean, with bright colours, exotic flowers, tropical cocktails and fabulous Calypso music. The wedding in the second book has a village fête theme, so there’s a pink horse box bar, a mini carousel, sack races and spacehoppers and hula hoops. The third book in the series – Christmas at the Cornish Confetti Agency – will, of course, be themed around everything Christmas, so Christmas trees, mulled wine, mince pies, chocolate yule logs, and cinnamon-infused wreaths.

Share a photo of one of your favourite things 

Great idea! I was recently lucky enough to visit Walt Disney World in Florida which was absolutely amazing, and this photograph always makes me smile. I hope it makes you smile too.

A massive thank you, Katie, for having me on your blog today – I’ve had a wonderful time answering all your questions.

Love Daisy x

What a lovely chat with Daisy! I love hearing all about the inspiration behind stories, a huge thank you Daisy for telling us so much! We hope you have a lovely time in the week when the second in the series comes out.

You can buy the first in the series, which I am currently reading and loving it below

And you can pre oder the second book in the series Summertime at the Cornish Confetti Agency by clicking here