RW: What’s your story/back story? Why would
someone come up with a story about you?
CW: I grew up in a small town in Australia. I
was only around five or six years old when one day my English-born mother
packed our bags and moved us to London in the UK. We’ve never talked about that
time in my life so there’s a complete blank when it comes to my early
childhood. Then, out of the blue, my biological father contacts me and invites
me to Fermosa Bay, Australia. Apparently, he has terminal cancer. I’m a lawyer,
so it’s in my nature to be curious. A few weeks later, I’m on my way…
RW: Can you tell us about your heroine
CW: Emily, my little ray of sunshine. I’ve been
told I already had a thing for her when I was a kid. Even gave her a kiss. *Shakes
his head.* She’s beautiful. Inside as well as outside.
RW: What problems do you have to face and
overcome in your life?
CW: See, the thing is, my life is in London. I
suppose that’s the biggest obstacle when it comes to my relationship with my
dad, but also with Emily. But I have to tell you, it’s overwhelming to dig into
the past and find out all these little things I had no idea about. I mean, dad
told me about my love for the water. Really? I never go near water nowadays. Or
all these baby stories. Dad’s photos have been a great help… as well as fun. I
have to admit, I sit quite often on the veranda thinking “what if”. What if I
had lived all my life here? What would my life be like? I like it here, but I
know, my life’s in London. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye.
RW: Do you expect your heroine to help or is she
the problem?
CW: Well,
Emily can’t really help unless she would come with me to the UK, but honestly,
wow, moving from Fermosa Bay to London, I don’t think, no let me rephrase that,
I know she wouldn’t like it.
RW: How
are you coping with the conflict in your life?
CW: It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that
I could’ve had a completely different life. I mean, I lived in a metropolitan
city for most of my life. The lifestyle is completely opposite to the one in
Fermosa Bay … where people know each other, which, by the way, can be a
disadvantage as well, but most of the time … wow, you go into the bakery and
they know you like doughnuts.
RW: If money were not an object, where would you most like to live?
CW: I’d give Fermosa Bay a go.
RW: If you were stranded on a tropical island, who would it be with?
You can choose any living, deceased or mythical figure.
CW: My dad. We missed out on over twenty years. I’d definitely take
him with me to catch up on lost time.
RW: City life or country
life?
CW: I’ve lived in the city
for most of my life. You can’t get much bigger than London. But I tell you,
Fermosa Bay, the small place at the Australian coast is growing on me.
RW: If you came with a
warning label, what would it say?
CW: The lawyer in me never
goes to sleep. I like to mull over things and discuss things.
RW: Satin, Egyptian cotton,
jersey, flannel… What are your favorite sheets?
CW: Hahaha … I wouldn’t
have a clue. As long as it’s nice and comfy.
RW: Those
are all the questions I have for you. Thank you for speaking to me.
CW: Thank you for having me. It’s been
interesting. I hope your readers will give my story a go, Iris did great
putting it onto paper.
IRIS BLOBEL
Bio
Iris Blobel was born and raised in
Germany and only immigrated to Australia in the late 1990s. Having had the
travel bug most of her life, Iris spent quite some time living in Scotland,
London, as well as Canada where she met her husband. Her love for putting her
stories onto paper only emerged a few years back, but now her laptop is a
constant companion.
Iris resides west of Melbourne with her
husband and her two beautiful daughters as well as their dog. Next to her job
at a private school, she also presents a German program at the local community
radio.
ECHOES OF THE PAST
The Plot
When
Connor Walsh, a business lawyer in London, receives news that his estranged
father is terminally ill, he returns to Fermosa Bay, a little coastal town in
Australia. With the memories of his childhood years tucked away in the back of
his mind, he finds his father and kindergarten friends rallying around to
remind him of the past. But he’s unprepared for the growing attraction he feels
for Emily, and it doesn’t take long for Connor to feel regret that his life
could have been so much different.
Emily
Bradshaw has waited for over twenty years to see Connor again. And although he
can’t remember her, let alone their first kiss, her childhood crush is still in
full swing. Eager to pick up where they left off as children, she’s determined
to enjoy the short time he is in Fermosa Bay, accepting her heart will break
when he returns to his life in London.
Will
the echoes of the past lure him into staying in Fermosa Bay?
An
Excerpt:
She looked
at him, studied his eyes. “Was it hard to leave everything behind?”
He thought
back to their early days in London. Living with his grandparents, trying to fit
into one new school after the other, being the new one everywhere, being the
one with the different accent. He didn’t like thinking of those days and
preferred to lock them away with a cache of other memories.
“If you can’t
remember what you had, you can’t miss it, right?”
“We missed
you, and it was very hard for us to accept that you were gone.”
Her voice
was quiet, and he stared at her for a long moment before gazing back towards
the horizon. Everything inside him stilled when she took his hand into hers and
entwined her fingers with his.
“I missed
you,” she told him just above a whisper.
“You missed
a boy you knew when you were seven, Emily.”
She shook
her head. “I know that boy is still somewhere inside you. You just have to let
go and trust.”
He removed
his hands from hers and met her gaze. “Emily. Ethan told me that you still have
a crush on me, but—”
“That little
bugger.” She laughed and surprised him with her reaction. If anything, he’d
expected anger or irritation. But not laughter.
“Okay, crush
or no crush,” she replied. “Fact is, we missed you. You were part of our
neighbourhood. We were friends. We all were. Then you were gone and nobody ever
knew why. It’s got nothing to do with my crush, which, by the way, I resent
that. My best friend was taken away from me, and I missed you. Don’t go all
soppy on me.”
“No crush?”
Her attempt
to look serious failed miserably. “Nah. Perhaps a little. Okay, yes, so sue me.”
“I’m a
lawyer, sunshine. Don’t say what you don’t mean.”
Emily stared
at him and then whispered, “See, it’s coming back to you. You always called me
sunshine. Unless…” She paused. “Unless, you call every woman sunshine. Then I
might get upset.”
Connor
watched her. He hadn’t had such a delightful conversation in a very long time.
Talking to Emily was so easy, and it seemed he couldn’t say a wrong word. The
corner of her mouth was pulled into a slight smile.
Contact Iris
At:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/irisblobel
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/_iris_b
Amazon
Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Iris-Blobel/e/B00FNFP3LI/
Book
Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ENUQiS
