Alice, Shaken and Definitely Stirred by Paula Smith on tour July/August

About Paula Smith

Authors are often asked what was the inspiration for their book. Mine is a very simple tale to tell. Firstly, as a woman of a certain age (yes, we all get there eventually) I have many stories to tell of the trials and tribulations of friends who have experienced the end of long-term relationships. My heroine, Alice, faces just this. However, it was essential for me that Alice had a happy ending to her story. This is not just because I am unashamedly, a hopeless romantic but Alice’s story came from all the true, real-life happy endings I have witnessed in my own life.

Nearly all the friends I know whose partners left them (in some cases after many years) have all agreed that their life changed for the better, not just because they eventually met Mr or Miss Right but because they became so much stronger as a result of their experiences. The trauma of a relationship ending can never be minimalised but the rainbow at the end can be very real indeed. Many friends discussed how the very changes they were forced to make in their lives ultimately made them more confident and independent and, yes, quite frankly happier than they had previously been. It may have been a longer journey for some than others but it was a journey that had a positive impact.
My character, Alice, goes through such a journey. Ultimately it isn’t her makeover with the fashion guru Gok Wan, or her reading of Daphne D’Amour’s self-help book on how to be irresistible to everyone you meet but it is Alice’s journey to independence and self-discovery.

The second piece of inspiration I had to develop Alice’s story occurred during lock down. I started having strange dreams like so many of us experienced during lockdown. Now, I have to confess, I have never had such glamorous or interesting dreams as Alice experiences. Alas, Aidan Turner has never turned up in any hotel room I have been staying in, taken his shirt off and offered to make me cappuccino nor have I had Darcy inviting me into the lake to swim with him. However, as in anyone’s dreams they are often about the brain trying to make sense of our daily experiences. Alice is a great romantic so her dreams interweave the characters from her daily life with that of her favourite screen idols thus providing a great vehicle for much of the humour in the book.

Ultimately it is an uplifting, heart-warming story that I hope will provide great entertainment and make you laugh. Many thanks to The Conrad Press for giving me the opportunity to be able to tell this story which, I am sure, so many will be able to relate to.