Blog tour #QandA with Sandy Barker #author of A Wedding in Tuscany #romance @rararesources @sandybarker

I’m delighted to share a Q&A with Sandy for my stop on the blog tour, courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources.

Tell us, what inspired you to write A Wedding in Tuscany?

I knew some time ago that I wanted to bring all the characters from this series back together for one final story. This is Book #5, and includes the protagonists from Books 1-4, Sarah and Cat Parsons, and Cat’s friend, Jaelee Tan.

I had originally planned to set this story in France – we were supposed to travel to wine country in 2020 during a European trip and I was going to set this story there. Then, when we couldn’t travel anywhere, I had to consider where I could write that would feel as authentic as my other books. (I only write places I have lived in or visited enough times to make the setting authentic).

And the answer was Tuscany!

What I also loved about writing this book was including Cat and Sarah’s parents – they’ve been minor characters in other books, but in this one they move up to supporting roles – and they are hilarious(!), especially their mum, Karen. She may be my favourite character.

What’s your most recent read that you’d like to recommend?

I’ve been either in writing or editing mode for 14 months, so my reading has taken a backseat. Still, I do like to escape my own stories and I just finished Sister Stardust by Jane Green. I loved it. I’ve read Jane Green since she was a chick lit author (20+ years ago) and I have loved her progression as an author. We’re the same age but I aspire to have a writing career like hers. She is a wonderful storyteller and character is at the heart of all she writes.

What has been your author highlight over the past year?

‘Re-starting’ the Holiday Romance series. There was a 20-month gap between Books 3 and 4 (due to shifts in publishing schedules and other factors) and it has been wonderful seeing readers pick up that series again. 

What are you working on now?

I have (literally) just finished The Christmas Swap 2: The May Ladies’ Christmas, which is out this October. Draft #2 will be off to my publisher, One More Chapter, by the end of the month and it’s currently on my agent’s desk. Once that’s done, I will be working on launching this book (Tuscany) and drafting an outline for my next series.

What do you hope readers will take away from A Wedding in Tuscany?

For readers of the series, I hope they will feel like it is a resolution – that they know where everyone ends up and can then imagine their futures clearly. For all readers, I hope it is a chance to escape, to laugh and to armchair travel. There are some deeper themes in this book, although (as usual) handled with a lighter touch, so it may also be an opportunity for some readers to reflect on their own lives.

Thank you so much for having me. I so hope you enjoy this book. 

Thanks so much, Sandy.

The Parsons sisters are all loved up.

Sarah is living in Sydney with Josh and their cat, Domino, but is anxious about her fast-approaching fortieth birthday.

And Cat is still living in London with her flatmate, Jane, but is in a long-distance relationship with Jean-Luc, her childhood sweetheart and recently re-discovered love.

One of the sisters receives a surprise wedding proposal – it’s a yes! – and everyone heads off to Tuscany for a destination wedding.

Reunite with favourite characters from the Holiday Romance series in one of the most beautiful locations yet for love, laughter, wedding vows, and just a smidge of sisterly mayhem

Purchase Links – Amazon UK / AU / US / CA /  Waterstones / Foyles / GooglePlay / iBooks

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.

Follow Sandy ~ Twitter | Facebook | Website | Instagram