Gilli Allan and Buried Treasure

It's always good to talk to fellow authors and so it's a great pleasure to welcome Gilli Allan today.  Gilli is a much-published novelist whose latest novel is Buried Treasure. So now let's hear about Gilli and  the new book!

Here's the blurb:

Their backgrounds could hardly be further apart, their expectations in life more different. And there is nothing in the first meeting between the conference planner and the university lecturer which suggests they should expect or even want to connect again.

But they have more in common than they could ever have imagined. They both have issues from the past which have marked them and both have an archaeological puzzle they want to solve.

Their stories intertwine and they discover together that treasure isn’t always what it seems.

‘I was delighted to have a pre-publication review for Buried Treasure from the well-known and influential book blogger Anne Williams,’ Gilli told me. ‘Anne says: this is a book that rather defies classification by genre. Although there’s a strong element of romance, there’s a great deal more to its clever construction.

‘Anne’s comments sum up what I try to do in my writing. Love is probably the most important part of life, and reading and writing about a developing relationship is delicious. But, over the years, particularly when I was a teenager and during my early twenties, I read my share of romances about impossibly beautiful and desirable heroines in glamorous jobs, whose only flaw was a tendency to be a bit snippy.

‘Perhaps I’ve a jealous and spiteful nature - I am a Scorpio, after all - but these perfect creatures, pining for aloof heroes almost from the start of the books, increasingly annoyed me. The only reason for engaging with this kind of story is if you care. I found it hard to care about the drop dead gorgeous but misunderstood heroines, and I grew less and less willing to invest the time to discover exactly how the obstacle to ultimate happiness - union with the equally gorgeous, misunderstood but rich, alpha male heroes - would be overcome.

‘I want to read about real people, in real situations, people marked by difficult upbringings and failed relationships, making their way in life. And this is what I write about. All I can do is hope there are some like-minded readers out there.’ 

Gilli began to write in childhood and carried on throughout her teenage years, only to abandon writing when she left home and real life supplanted fiction.

After a few false starts, she worked longest and most happily as a commercial artist, but when she became a mother she began writing again.

Nowadays, she lives in Gloucestershire with her husband Geoff, and is still a keen artist. She draws and paints and has moved into book illustration too.

Gilli’s previous novels Torn, Life Class and Fly or Fall are published by Accent Press and all three have won a ‘Chill with a Book’ award. 

Following in the family tradition, her son - the historian Thomas Williams - is also a writer. His most recent work, published by William Collins, is Viking Britain.

Thank you for being my guest, Gilli. I've enjoyed hearing about your new novel and am looking forward to reading it.

https://accentpressbooks.com/collections/gilli-allan

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gilli-Allan/e/B004W7GG7I

http://twitter.com/gilliallan   (@gilliallan)

https://www.facebook.com/GilliAllan.AUTHOR

http://gilliallan.blogspot.com

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1027644.Gilli_Allan

https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/rna_author/gilli-allan/

LIFE CLASS:    http://myBook.to/LifeClass

FLY OR FALL:  myBook.to/GilliAllan

TORN:   MyBook.to/gilliallansTORN   Trailer:  http://youtu.be/u2eIP16ERcI