Dorothy Koomson and Kirsteen Astor

28th September 2007
Guests: Dorothy Koomson, author of 'The Chocolate Run', 'The Cupid Effect', 'My Best-Friend's Girl' and 'Marshmallows for Breakfast'; Kirsteen Astor, Publicist at Little Brown Book Group.

Kirsteen Astor and Dorothy Koomson

Dorothy Koomson

Competition question: Which film featured the 'Staypuff Marshmallow Man'?
Correct Answer: Ghostbusters
Winner: Uma Yarakaraju, Ilford
Prize: Signed copies of 'The Cupid Effect', 'My Best-Friend's Girl'and 'Marshmallows for Breakfast'

Books

Running Wild by J.G.Ballard
On the morning of 25 June 1988 the 32 adult residents of an exclusive estate in West London are brutally murdered and their 13 children abducted. Dr Richard Greville, Deputy Psychiatric Adviser to the London Metropolitan Police, is determined to follow up his ideas, even against police advice.

Package Deal by Tasha Harrison
At first glance,it seems to Mia that the occupants of the neighbouring apartments are a typical bunch of Brits abroad – loud, embarrassing, to be avoided. But then she hadn’t come to socialise with other holidaymakers…

…Mia had come to Kefalonia to pay someone a surprise visit.

Meanwhile, her neighbours, young lovers Jo and Nathan are looking forward to two weeks of sun, sea and sex, while bosom buddies Caz and Babs are leaving the kids behind to celebrate their divorces over as many ouzos as they can pack into a fortnight. Frank and Margaret are making one last attempt to salvage their forty-year marriage, while gay meditation guru Shantee has come to find serenity in solitude. Lads-on-the-loose Craig and Steve are on a mission to bed as many babes as possible, while a miserable Simon is on his honeymoon – without his bride.

And then there’s local heartthrob Dimitri, who will do whatever it takes to escape the very same paradise his guests have been dreaming of.

They each have a suitcase full of expectations, but after two weeks together, no one is who they first seemed to be,and no one’s holiday turns out quite how they imagined…

19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult

In this emotionally charged novel, Jodi Picoult delves beneath the surface of a small town to explore what it means to be different in our society.

In Sterling, New Hampshire, 17-year-old high school student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of classmates. His best friend, Josie Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now hangs out with the popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One final incident of bullying sends Peter over the edge and leads him to commit an act of violence that forever changes the lives of Sterling’s residents.

Even those who were not inside the school that morning find their lives in an upheaval, including Alex Cormier. The superior court judge assigned to the Houghton case,Alex—whose aughter,Josie,witnessed the events that unfolded—must decide whether or not to step down. She’s torn between presiding over the biggest case of her career and knowing that doing so will cause an even wider chasm in her relationship with her emotionally fragile daughter. Josie, meanwhile,claims she can’t remember what happened in the last fatal minutes of Peter’s rampage. Or can she?And Peter’s parents,Lacy and Lewis Houghton, ceaselessly examine the past to see what they might have said or done to compel their son
to such extremes. Nineteen Minutes also features the return of two of Jodi Picoult’s characters—defense attorney Jordan McAfee from The Pact and Salem Falls, and Patrick DuCharme, the intrepid detective introduced in Perfect Match.

Valley of Dolls by Jaquline Susann

The exploits and excesses of three pill-popping showbiz heroines: Anne, the smalltown girl supposedly modelled on Grace Kelly, who captivates a millionaire but falls for an English cad; Jennifer, the beautiful Marilyn Monroe clone who possesses everything - except immortality; and Neely, the ruthless Judy Garlandesque understudy-turned-superstar. As friends - and enemies - they learn the hard way that fame,fortune,beauty and stardom don't always equal happiness.

Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins
Power! Sex! Money! Fame! -- the new Hollywood wives are back with a vengeance. Whatever they don't have, they want -- and whatever these women want, they get. Ambitious, young, smart and lethal, the new Hollywood wives are into yoga, fasting, spinning, Pilates, their own production companies, and making things happen.

In Hollywood Wives: The New Generation, you will meet...

Lissa Roman, mega movie and singing star - at the top of her game, until she begins to suspect that Gregg, her decade younger fourth husband, is cheating.

Taylor Singer, a sexy, thirty-six-year-old beauty, who craves the power and respect given her famous Oscar-winning husband, but how can she achieve everything he has?

Michael Scorsinni, a handsome with a dangerous edge, private investigator. A man who has his own demons to escape from.

Nicci Stone, Lissa's wild, nineteen-year-old daughter. Does she love Evan, her hot filmmaker fiance, or is Evan's bad boy brother and partner, Brian, the man she really wants?

Stella Rossiter, a smart-mouthed blonde married to Seth -- thirty years older than she. Together they make hit movies, while a surrogate mother waits to give birth to their twins.

Intruding on the lives of this select group...is Eric Vernon, a psychopath from out of town -- a man with kidnapping on his mind. And his intended victim is not just anybody...

Thornbirds by Colleen McClullough
The Thorn Birds is an epic family saga. It follows the lives, loves and deaths of one family – the Clearys
– through three generations from 1915 to 1965. Meggie is the central character and the story opens in New Zealand with her struggles to survive in a large family of boys. Her mother Fee is overworked and does not seem to care for her. Her father Paddy is often away. Her brothers work hard on the farm to make a living. Then the whole family gets the chance of a new life. They are invited to run Paddy's sister's large farm in New South Wales in Australia. They find the Australian outback very dry and dusty after the fertile green of New Zealand, but life is easier. Father Ralph, the local Catholic priest, comes into their lives and a deep friendship develops between him and young Meggie, now aged nine. But as Meggie grows into a young woman, their friendship grows into a forbidden love. Meggie knows that Ralph will never leave the church and marry her. When she wants a family of her own, she has to look elsewhere for a husband. She chooses a man who looks like Ralph. His character is very different,however, and her married life is miserable.
Tragedy comes to the Clearys along the way. The oldest son, their mother’s favourite, is arrested for murder after a street fight. A terrible fire kills Paddy Cleary and another brother. Will history repeat itself when Meggie has children of her own?

Madame Bovary by FlaubertEmma Bovary is beautiful and bored, trapped in her marriage to a mediocre doctor and stifled by the banality of provincial life. An ardent reader of sentimental novels, she longs for passion and seeks escape in fantasies of high romance, in voracious spending and, eventually, in adultery. But even her affairs bring her disappointment and the consequences are devastating. Flaubert's erotically charged and psychologically acute portrayal of Emma Bovary caused a moral outcry on its publication in 1857. It was deemed so lifelike that many women claimed they were the model for his heroine; but Flaubert insisted: 'Madame Bovary, c'est moi'.

Are you there God? Its me Margaret by Judy BlumeLife isn't easy for Margaret. She's moved away from her childhood home, she's starting a new school, finding new friends - and she's convinced she's not normal. For a start she hasn't got a clue whether she wants to be Jewish like her father or Christian like her mother. Everyone else seems really sure of who they are. And, worst of all, she's a 'late developer'. She just knows that all her friends are going to need a bra before she does. It's too embarrassing to talk to her parents about these things. So she talks to God instead - and waits for an answer ...

Young Wives Tale by Adele Parks
Lucy stole Rose’s ‘happily ever after’ because she wanted Rose’s husband, Peter. But as Peter’s interest diminishes and Lucy’s domestic responsibilities increase, Lucy wonders if the ‘happily ever after’ is all a big con.  Rose is now a devoted single mum but her twin boys seem to need her less and less and without them she wonders what she amounts to.  

They both envy Connie, who is happily married and effortlessly balancing two kids with a fulfilling career until, that is, a dangerous old flame flickers back into view at the school gates and threatens her marriage …

All three women need more than blind belief to negotiate their way through modern life.Things can only get better …or worse. Or better?

Damaged by Cathy Glass
Damaged is the true story of the relationship between Cathy,an experienced foster carer and Jodie,the most disturbed and abused child she had ever looked after. Jodie’s behaviour is so difficult that she has seen off five carers in four months, and when Jodie first arrives, her first act is to soil herself, and then wipe it on her face, grinning wickedly. Jodie meets Cathy's teenage children: Adrian, Paula and Lucy, and greets each of them with a sharp kick to the shins. Later, Cathy asks them for their first impressions. Adrian looks guilty when he says that Jodie reminds him of Chucky, the doll from the horror film Child's Play. That night, Cathy wakes to find Jodie covered in blood,having cut her own wrist, and smeared the blood over her face.

Jodie's behaviour improves, as she starts to trust Cathy and the children. She begins to 'disclose', revealing for the first time that she was sexually abused by her father. Over time, with childish honesty, she reveals details of her abuse at the hands of her parents and other relatives. It becomes clear that Jodie's parents were involved in a sickening paedophile ring, with neighbours turning a blind eye to it, and the Social Services unaware. 

Jodie becomes increasingly withdrawn and has frequent panic attacks. She starts taking on different identities and is diagnosed as suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder. Her personality disintegrates further and she can no longer attend school as she lies on the sofa all day,plagued by remembered horrors.It is clear that Jodie desperately needs psychiatric therapy and the Social Services make the decision that Jodie should go and live in a special residential therapy unit – High Oaks.

Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal
Jessica would stop at nothing ...Beautiful and ruthless, Jessica Wakefield is determined to be chosen queen of the fall dance at Sweet Valley High. If she can win the contest, she's sure to win Bruce Patman, the most sought-after boy in school. The only person standing in Jessica's way is Enid Rollins. When Jessica discovers the truth about Enid's past, she knows the crown is within her grasp. She doesn't care that Enid is her twin sister Elizabeth's best friend - or that revealing the secret may cost Enid both her reputation and the boy she loves. Only Elizabeth can save Enid from Jessica's vicious gossip - but can she stop her scheming twin in time ... 
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Coming up next Friday, Anne Fryer from the Storyteller Bookshop in Billericay will be joining me on the show.