You.I.Us - Annalisa Crawford Grand Book Tour

Welcome to the Annalisa Crawford Grand Book Tour - she zoomed across the virtual ocean to visit me in Texas. We'll eat some Tex-Mex and Ray will mix up his yummy margaritas. Cheers, y'all

You. I. Us. is a collection of vignettes, small scenes which hint at the story beneath.

Annalisa has taken that idea to another level, because she asked 15 bloggers to ask her one question each, creating small insights into her life and writing.

I am pleased to welcome Annalisa - here is the question I asked her:

 You and your husband have careers in the arts. Your boys have seen the fickle nature of the business. Every career has its trials, however do you see them following footsteps into writing and/or music? Or choosing something deemed more steady and reliable?

Hi Joanne, thanks for being part of my tour.

Both of them seem quite arty at the moment, which makes me so happy. My eldest, Connor, is taking a film-making course at college which he loves. He’s just finishing his first year, and it’s interesting to see how dedicated he is. He writes his own scripts, but doesn’t like to share them

And Ollie, the other one, is a budding actor. Credits so far include Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking Glass, several parts in a play about World War I, and a granny in his school play.

They’ve grown up with me writing all the time and my husband, Peter, going out to gigs or popping over to Europe for short tours. They’ve also seen how we’ve needed to keep up the day jobs in order to pursue our passions. So I think they’re pretty grounded, and understand how challenging it will be to pursue their dreams. I’m definitely encouraging them as much as possible—I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was about 9, and it’s worked out for me!

This is a short video from a couple of years ago called Sore Loser https://youtu.be/ijvT5DsICpQ

And now presenting a book you'll want to buy and read

 You. I. Us.

Publication date: June 10, 2016
Genre: Short Stories (Single Author)

Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Book Depository // Kobo // iBooks // Nook

In You. I. Us., Annalisa Crawford captures everyday people during  poignant defining moments in their lives: An artist puts his heart into his latest sketch, an elderly couple endures scrutiny by a fellow diner, an ex-student attempts to make amends with a girl she bullied at school, a teenager holds vigil at his friend’s hospital bedside, long distance lovers promise complete devotion, a broken-hearted widow stares into the sea from the edge of a cliff where her husband died, a grieving son contacts the only person he can rely on in a moment of crisis, a group of middle-aged friends inspire each other to live remarkable lives.

Day after day, we make the same choices. But after reading You. I. Us., you’ll ask yourself, “What if we didn’t?”

About the author

Annalisa Crawford lives in Cornwall UK, with a good supply of moorland and beaches to keep her inspired. She lives with her husband, two sons, a dog and a cat. Annalisa writes dark contemporary, character-driven stories. She has been winning competitions and publishing short stories in small press journals for many years, and is the author of Cat & The Dreamer and Our Beautiful Child.

www.annalisacrawford.com

Cover Reveal

I am very pleased to participate in the cover reveal for Annalisa Crawford's new story collection. I met her through an A to Z Blog Challenge, and have enjoyed her blog. I'm also a fan of her first collection That Sadie Thing and also her book Cat and the Dreamer.

So without further ado..........drum roll please..........

 

 

 

 

 

Title: Our Beautiful Child

Author: Annalisa Crawford

Release date: 10^th June 2014

Publisher: Battered Suitcase Press 

“The Boathouse collects misfits. Strange solitary creatures that yearn for contact with the outside world, but not too much. They sit, glass in hand, either staring at the table in front of them, or at some distant point on the horizon.”

… so says the narrator of Our Beautiful Child. And he’s been around long enough to know.

People end up in this town almost by accident. Ella is running away from her nightmares, Sally is running away from the memories of previous boyfriends and Rona is running away from university. Each of them seek sanctuary in the 18th century pub, The Boathouse; but in fact, that’s where their troubles begin.

Ella finds love, a moment too late; Rona discovers a beautiful ability which needs refining before she gets hurt; and Sally meets the captivating Murray, who threatens to ruin everything.

Three women. Three stories. One pub.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I live in Cornwall UK, with a good supply of beaches and moorland right on my doorstep to keep me inspired. I live with my husband, two sons, a dog and a cat.

Despite my location, I neither surf nor sail, and have never had any inclination to try. I much prefer walking along a deserted beach and listening to the waves crashing over rocks. For this reason, I really love the beach in the winter!

Links:

Website // Blog // Twitter // Facebook // Pinterest // Add to Goodreads

 

Thanks Annalisa for letting me in on the sneak peek. All the best to you, and let's support this talented writer.

 

Meet Annalisa Crawford

 I met Annalisa Crawford through the April 2012 A-Z Blog Challenge. Her blog posts exuded energy and charm. I asked her to be a guest today, and I hope fellow writers/readers check out her blog, book - Cat and the Dreamer and enjoy our meet and greet.

What are your current or upcoming works? I've got a couple of collections I'm working on at the moment. One is a trilogy of novellas set in the same town, and the other is gathering together my previously published short stories. Some of them were published in small press magazines more than 10 years ago - as a result, I'm sure very few people have ever read them!

Who is your favorite character in your books? There's a character called Murray in one of the novellas I mentioned above. He's in a story called The Traveller, and I based him on a couple of lads I had crushes on at school.

Here is an excerpt that introduces Murray:
I watch the stranger enter. As do all the women. We all look up, gazing out from behind the large yellow menus, or peering around the heads of tired, worn-out husbands. We all look up in clumsy unison, so he must have noticed. But he walks solidly towards the bar and faces the wall, pretending otherwise.
The stranger. An odd term to use; all the people in this room are strangers to me. But he is different; he does not belong. He stands out from the other men; not least because the other men are dressed in white shirts and gaudy ties, with heavy jackets slung across the backs of their chairs. They’ve been dressed by girlfriends or wives. And the girlfriends or wives are in pretty maxi-dresses with dainty sandals and too many beaded bracelets.

He – this stranger – is wearing frayed denim cut-offs, heavy black walking boots and a washed out, long-sleeved orange T-shirt. His hair is dark, the curled ends are bleached softly by the sun, his skin is tanned golden. His eyes – should I get that close – will be a smooth rock-grey or deep ocean green. He sweeps both hands through his hair and, for the first time, turns to survey the bar. Female heads swoop conspicuously.
He walks to a table in the middle of the room, drops his rucksack to the floor and slides into the chair in one fluid movement. He lifts his glass, closing his eyes and tilting his head, savouring the taste as though it was his very first. I almost feel the ice-cold lager in my mouth, the fine tingle of white froth on my lips, the droplets clinging to the rim. Women stare, caught up in fantasy, but as his gaze scans the room they lower their eyes and shrink back into their chairs in an inverted Mexican Wave.


I focus on his rucksack, which is large and straining. So he is not a Stranger, after all, but a Traveller

Any chance of a screenplay from your book? Who would you cast as your leading characters? Years ago it would have been Johnny Depp - no question! But he's a bit too old for that part now, so I'll go for Ashton Kutcher


Favorite tunes playing as you write Currently, I'm listening to the radio. But I'm also listening to The Vaccines. The music I listen to changes with each project.

Last movie viewed. HP & The Deathly Hallows, pts 1 and 2 with my kids. I haven't watched the other films, but I love the books. I just really wanted to watch the last installment.

If you could go anywhere on a paid vacation or retreat to write, where would you choose? Probably Canada. Somewhere a little bit cooler which would make me want to be inside, all wrapped up, but with a really good view of a lake.

If you won the lottery, but had to give away half the winnings, where would you spread the joy? As many charities as I could that were involved with children, diabetes and cancer.

Do you encounter writer's block? What do you do to get over it? Yes I do! To get over it, I gather together all my previously published stories and work at making them into a collection!


Thank you Annalisa for being a guest today, and good luck in all writing endeavors. Enjoy your summer.