Earlier this year my publisher, Charlotte Ledger at HarperCollins’ division One More Chapter met up with me and asked if I’d be interested in writing a book about Florence Boot, a strong woman who was very much ahead or her time. Florence, together with her husband, Jesse, the man behind the Boots empire, was a philanthropic woman determined to help other women to realise that they did not have to be restricted by the traditional limitations of society. She was born in Jersey, like me, she is someone I’ve long admired, so to spend time researching her life and then writing about it is a treat.
There’s been a huge amount of research, copious notes and photos to
work my way through and I’ve loved every moment. I thought I knew quite a lot about
Florence Boot, but I’ve learnt so much more. I was lucky enough to be invited
to spend the day at the Boots Archive in Nottingham and was given access to a
treasure trove of documents, photographs, personal letters. I then met
archivists at the Jersey Archive who shared their knowledge with me and
introduced me to Mrs Boot’s great, great-granddaughter and her lovely family
who shared more family photos and anecdotes with me. It has been a joy to
immerse myself in this fascinating woman’s life.
Mrs Boots (Mrs Boots, Book 1) now has a cover. I love it and hope you do, too. I’ve written book 1 and am most of the way through book 2, which must be delivered to my publisher by the end of the year.
As I mentioned, my deadline is looming and, after a sticky start, mostly brought about by a fear of doing this incredible lady the justice her memory deserves, the words are flowing. I might be writing my 15th book and the 12th book to be published, but I still find my confidence wobbles most days. It has therefore been a huge boost to discover that my first book with HarperCollins, The Poppy Field reached #20 in the Amazon US charts this week and #1 in a smaller chart, and to know that enough people have bought my book to take it there is a huge confidence boost.
Mrs Boots, Book 1 comes out in e-book on 27 March 2020 and in paperback on 11 June. I’m now busily working on Book 2, so I suppose I should go and get on with it.
