Seasons come and go, but the peppermint green sails of the Windmill Café will keep on turning.
Escaping the bustle and heartbreak of her old life in the city, Rosie Barnes can’t believe that her dream of setting up a café has come true. Whether it’s her chilled homemade lemonade, sticky chocolate brownies or warming mince pies, Rosie’s café draws guests in from far and wide, and the folk of Willerby can enjoy it come rain or shine.
But some mysterious events soon threaten the picturesque town she now calls home, and with the help of ruggedly handsome local Matt Wilson, she must find out what’s going on before the reputation of the town – and her beloved café – are ruined.
From the scorching summer sun through to the crisp winter frosts, Rosie is in for a year she’ll never forget…
Author bio :
Poppy Blake is an avid scribbler of contemporary romance and romcoms. When not writing she loves indulging in the odd cocktail or two - accompanied by a tower of cupcakes. The Windmill Cafe series follows the life and loves of Rosie and Matt in the glorious countryside of Norfolk and will be opening its doors in March 2018 with Summer Breeze. Why not pop in for a visit?
Welcome to the blog, Poppy. Why not begin by telling us a bit about yourself?
Hi Julie, thanks ever so much for having me as a guest on your lovely blog today. So, I’m Poppy Blake and I write romantic comedies with a twist of mystery and surprise. I’ve been scribbling away since I was a child, illustrating my stories with really dreadful drawings, before moving on to longer pieces, and eventually a full-length novel which is still in a shoe box on the top of my wardrobe. I was absolutely amazed and over-the-moon when the fabulous people at Harper Impulse said they wanted to publish three of my Windmill Café books! It’s a dream come true.
2 Let's talk about your novel! What is it about?
The Windmill Café is a series of three books that can be either read in sequence beginning with Summer Breeze, or as standalones. I would describe them as romantic comedies/cosy mysteries. Autumn Leaves is the second book in the Windmill Café series, where we meet up one again with Rosie Barnes, the manager of the cute little cafe in a windmill in the Norfolk countryside, along with her friend, Mia Williams, who has a penchant for quirky, if not down-right risqué aprons! Having moved on from the ice-cold fizz and strawberry-and-cream scones of summer, they are now getting stuck into pumpkin-spiced lattes and chocolate fudge brownies. However, as always, all is not as it seems at the Windmill Café. After the food-poisoning mystery of Summer Breeze, Rosie and her friends are faced with another mystery to solve, this time when one of their guests gets shot by a stray archery arrow!
3 Tell us a little bit about the characters? What are they like and how did you come up with them?
I think some characters are easier to write than others. For me, Rosie Barnes was the easiest to come up with. Before she escaped to the gorgeous countryside of Norfolk to run the Windmill Cafe, she worked in a little florist’s shop in London until she found her partner frolicking amongst the fuchsias with one of their wedding clients. She was devastated, of course, and the break-up caused the resurgence of her obsession with cleanliness and order which for a while she was able to conceal under the guise of the necessary hygiene requirements of the café. I love how she develops over the course of the three books, from someone who arrives in Willerby with a broken heart to someone who, with the support of new friends and the wider community, is able to move on with a smile on her face and a song in her heart. The trickiest character to create was the culprit because I needed to make it as difficult as possible for the reader to guess the person responsible until the end when their identity is revealed.
4 What is the message you are trying to get across in your book?
When I wrote the books, first and foremost I wanted to create an entertaining story. There had to be a great setting, an interesting set of characters, and lots of twist and turns in the plot, as well as plenty delicious recipes that would make the reader’s mouth water – well, it is a café after all and Rosie loves to bake. However, there is a message within Rosie’s story and that was with the support of family and friends, she was able to ditch her mantle of sadness over the ending of her relationship (and loss of her job and her home) and move on to a place where she could be happy again.
5 What is your writing process like?
Apparently, there are two types of writers – plotters and pantsers. If that’s true, then I would have to say that I fall into the category of a plotter. I do however, start with my characters, learn all about them, interview them whilst on long walks in the countryside, ask really deep questions and write down their answers until I know everything about them. They almost become friends that I’m sad to leave when the story is finished. I like to write in a light, sunny room and for me that’s the kitchen where we have a huge table and I can spread all my books, pens, notes and character profiles across its width. However, I like it mainly because it’s near the kettle and the biscuit drawer!
Well, I’m not sure if it’s a quirk, but the way I write my stories is by writing them long-hand first and then typing them up at the end of the day. I also love to have a new writing pad for every story – I adore stationary and my family and friend always know what to get me for my birthday or Christmas! Other than that I have to have lots of cups of tea.
7 What plans do you have for the future of your writing?
The Windmill Café – Christmas Trees has just been published and is the festive story set at the Windmill Café. At the moment I’m working on a new series. It’s only at the planning stage, but I’m enjoying meeting new friends and creating a new world for them to live in.
It’s been great to be a guest on your blog, I’ve had fun answering your questions. Thanks for having me. Love Poppy.
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