NK Chats To… Sandy Barker

Hi Sandy. Thank you so much for inviting me on the blog tour. Can you tell me about your novel, The Christmas Trip, and what inspired it?

When I wrote The Christmas Swap back in 2020, I didn’t know that I’d eventually write a sequel, but that niggling question, ‘Where are the May Ladies now?’ kept popping into my head. I wanted to bring them all together this time―from their various homes around the world―and thought ‘Hawaii!’ It’s a destination we’ve travelled to twice and it’s so incredibly beautiful. In Book 2, there are new characters, including Mama Leilani, plenty of May Ladies mayhem, some rocky romantic situations, and a Hawaiian Christmas to remember. It was a blast to write.

What’s your typical writing day like?

I still work in adult education 4 days a week, so I typically write or edit in the early mornings before switching gears to work mode. Fridays are a writing day but with the freedom of a sleep-in till at least 6:00am 😉. And I typically write on Saturdays and Sundays for at least a few hours. If I’m editing, I simply swap writing for editing on the same schedule but those weekends become a lot more intense. There’s usually a tight turnaround on edits―1-2 weeks.

What are the challenges you found when writing your novel?

Many authors, me included, will spend years writing their first novel. I drafted the book that became One Summer in Santorini so many times that the story started to ‘blur’ for me. It took a professional eye―my first editor, Molly Walker-Sharp―to help me pare back the story and go deeper into the characters while still maintaining my writerly voice and ensuring that the setting―the Greek Islands―really sang.

What songs would make up a playlist for your book?

I’m a die-hard Mariah Carey-Michael Bublé Christmas album fan. Throw in a bit of Bing, even Elvis and I am HAPP-PPYYY! I even love a lot of the Christmas hymns. ‘Angels We Have Heard on High’, ‘Silent Night, ‘The Little Drummer Boy’, ‘Oh, Holy Night’ … I’ll sing along at full volume. And, of course, The Christmas Trip is set in Hawaii so ‘Mele Kalikimaka’ and the (not-so-Christmassy-but a fave nonetheless) ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow-What a Wonderful World’ by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.

From idea to finished book, what’s your writing process like and how long does it typically take you?

From Chapter 1 to a completed manuscript typically takes me 3-5 months, depending on how much mental space I have outside of my other job. And editing earlier books often cuts into writing time. This book actually took me the longest to write since my first book―about 6 months―because I had to stop writing to edit A Sunrise over Bali and A Wedding in Tuscany.

What’s your favourite word and why?

Bridge. It’s a weird one, right? I just like the mouth feel. One of my favourite names is Bridget.

I also like ‘obstreperous’ because it was the first ‘big word’ I learnt. My mum used it with her students and sometimes, when I was being obstreperous, with me. 😉

Any other advice for aspiring writers?

Write the story. No truer words have ever been said about writing than, ‘You can’t edit a blank page.’ If you’re serious about writing a book, carve out regular time to write and tell your story. There is a lot to learn about the craft―I am constantly learning―but you can learn as you write. Learning about the craft will help you tweak as you go and edit when you’re done.

Which comes first for you, plot or characters?

This really depends for me. The Christmas Swap started as a concept: 3 childhood friends, an American, a Brit and an Aussie, decide to swap Christmases so they each get the kind of Christmas they dream of.

Whereas, A Sunrise over Bali, started with location and a supporting character from my Holiday Romance series. I’d been on sabbatical to Bali―I lived there for 2 months in 2018―and I wanted to send Jaelee there. I drew from her backstory and found a reason for her to go. It was a fun ‘fish out of water’ story to write.

And my first book was a fictitious reimagining of my real-life love story. I met my partner, Ben the cute American, on a pier in Santorini right as we were about to board a sailboat for ten days of sailing the Greek Islands. It was ‘Insta love’ and ‘long distance love’ and terrific inspiration for a love story that sparked a series.

Inspiration comes in multiple ways.

Which fictional world would you like to visit and why?

Ooo! I’d like to be plopped down in the middle of the Bridgerton world―all that steamy romance bubbling away under the surface. Swoon! I wouldn’t want to stay too long though. I suspect it’s rather boring sitting around all day staring at each other and drinking tea, and I’m terrible at needlepoint.

Do you have any particular writing quirks or rituals?

In the early mornings, I drink tea as though I’ve got stock in PG Tips. Seriously, I drink 3-4 enormous mugs of it every morning. I may have a problem.

I also can’t write when I’m listening to music with lyrics. I’ll often write to EDM (yes, really). And if I really need to drown out the ambient noise, I’ll listen to sounds of the ocean or rain. Again, yes really.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve discovered since you’ve started writing?

That the writing community is so close-knit. I’ve made some incredible friends, some of whom I connect with every day even though we’ve never met face to face. We have each other’s back. It’s an odd profession to put your heart and soul into something then send it out into the world and hope people like it. There are challenges and pitfalls and setbacks, but when those inevitably happen, there is always someone in the community there to support you. Those writers are not my competition―they are my siblings, especially in Romance. We’re all working to elevate and perpetuate the genre―the world’s biggest selling and (often) most maligned genre.

What are you currently working on?

I’ve started working on a new romcom series that features a bespoke dating agency and in each story I get to play with a range of romantic tropes: enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, forced proximity, cinnamon roll, grump sunshine … So watch this space!

I’m also writing an Australian dramedy―lots of Aussie humour but with real family drama―about a rich and famous lifestyle guru who blows up her ‘perfect’ life to reconnect with her roots, finding herself along the way. It’s called Tilly Finnegan, Begin Again and it’s my passion project.

Which book have you read that you wish you could forget, just so you could discover it again?

In my genre, Lindsey Kelk’s I Heart New York. I read that book―and (at the time) the four follow-ups―and I realised that there really was a place for a writer like me. We have similar voices and styles and setting is a huge part of the I Heart series. It was a life-changing read.

For books outside my genre, The Time Traveller’s Wife. Hands-down one of my favourite books ever and such an original concept. It’s also beautifully written and that ending. It broke me. So of course I want to have that experience again – hee hee.

*****

About The Christmas Trip:

Another year has passed and it’s Christmas again. This year best friends Chloe, Jules and Lucy are all loved up but living worlds apart.

Chloe is madly in love with her celebrity beau, Archer, but after a whirlwind year in Hollywood’s limelight, she’s desperate to get away and spend some quality time together.

Jules loves her Melbourne life – and gorgeous winemaker Matt – but a crowded flat share has her longing for a place of her own.

Meantime, Lucy is stuck in a long distance relationship, jetting back and forth between Colorado and London to see Will.

When Archer’s plan to whisk Chloe to Paris goes awry, he surprises her by bringing her friends together for a Christmas to remember…

About Sandy Barker:

Sandy is a writer, traveller and hopeful romantic with a lengthy bucket list, and many of her travel adventures have found homes in her novels. She’s also an avid reader, a film buff, a wine lover and a coffee snob.

Sandy lives in Melbourne Australia with her partner, Ben, who she met while travelling in Greece. Their real-life love story inspired Sandy’s debut novel One Summer in Santorini, the first in the Holiday Romance series with One More Chapter, an imprint of HarperCollins.

The series continues in That Night in Paris and A Sunset in Sydney and there are two more to come in 2022. Her standalone novel The Christmas Swap celebrates her favourite time of the year, and next up is The Dating Game, a laugh-out-loud romcom set in the world of Reality TV.

Say hello to Sandy via her website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

The Christmas Trip was released by One More Chapter in November 2022. Click to buy on Amazon UK, Amazon AU, Amazon CA, Amazon US, Waterstones, Kobo, iBooks, Nook and Google Play. 

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Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.