Today is my stop on the blog tour for Willow Weeps and I am absolutely delighted to host a Q and A session with Louise Worthington, the author of this moving psychological thriller/suspense.
Willow Weeps
A secret is a lie in the making.
A charming divorcee and his young daughter. The promise of a new life – together as a family, in an apartment in a historic building. A fresh start – or the key to a nightmare?
Who will Willow believe – a young offender, or the love of her life?
Page-turning and emotional, Willow Weeps is the gripping new thriller from the author of Rachel’s Garden and The Entrepreneur.
Q and A with Louise Worthington,
author of psychological women’s fiction.
Her latest moving psychological suspense is Willow Weeps.
1 What inspired you to write Willow Weeps?
I listened to an audiobook called Doing Time: 25 Years of Prison Writing. I found many of the poems and the prose emotive and powerful, hard-hitting and without self-pity. It gave me the idea of creating a character called Lily Lessing who is a young offender and a gifted writer. Part of my research for the story involved visiting two local prisons- Shrewsbury prison, now a visitor attraction and Berwyn prison in North Wales.
2 Can you explain the significance of the title?
Towards the end of the novel, Willow’s journey is complete. She develops emotionally from the experiences which take place stemming from her relationship with Paul and his daughter, Evie-May. There is sadness along the way leading to a bitter-sweet ending!
‘Willow weeps, not for Paul, not for herself, or the woman who has been killed instantly. She weeps for her sister, Mandy, who has saved her life.’
‘I’m happy,’ Willow says with a sob. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me! I’m weeping with joy.
3 What influences your writing?
I studied literature at university and taught English to pupils aged 11-18 for a long time. Then I became interested in psychology and studied that. I enjoy walking and running, and it’s often outside, in woods or by water – canals and rivers, were I get the best ideas. I volunteer at a local dog sanctuary and it is often while I’m cycling there, or walking a dog through the woods, that I get an idea.
I went to the Crime Writers Festival in Bristol a few years ago where I met inspirational and aspiring writers and pitched to three agents. I read a lot – fiction and poetry, the odd non-fiction book- and of course the reviews I receive from readers of my novels are a great way to learn what I’m doing well and what I need to work on!
4 What else is in the pipeline?
Lots! The audiobook of Willow Weeps will come out in June 2021. The Entrepreneur, a psychological thriller, comes out this month which is a rather like Big Brother meets The Apprentice. Later this year the first in a series of psychological thrillers will be released – Dr. Glass. The female protagonist is a clinical psychologist.
5 What are you reading at the moment?
I’ve just finished reading My Dark Vanessa which is a really good book. It’s one of those reads which can’t be followed by anything else quite so dark in theme so I’ve put Sisters by Daisy Johnson, which I was reading, to one side for now. I’m reading Someone We Know by Shari Lapena which came from the disused telephone box in the village where books are exchanged. It’s a great lucky dip. Also, I’m reading The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell.
I subscribe to Audible and am currently listening to Dearly: Poems by Margaret Atwood narrated by the author. I tend to only read non-fiction if it’s about the craft of writing, but I do enjoy the odd memoir.
Author Links
Willow Weeps is available from Amazon as an eBook and paperback: HERE. Details of Louise Worthington’s other psychological fiction can be found on her website.
Follow Louise on Twitter @louiseworthing9
Instagram @louworthingtonwriter
Goodreads
Other novels by Louise Worthington:
Rachel’s Garden
Distorted Days
Rosie Shadow
The Entrepreneur
Thank you to Louise for her fascinating Q and A session! Hope you pick up and enjoy reading Willow Weeps, whether in its ebook, paperback (already available) or audiobook format (coming in June 2021)!
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