I was very lucky to get to read Chasing Butterflies and add my own review:
When tragedy
strikes her mother, Helen, Hope runs away from the beautiful Cornish town of
Port Merdow to build her own life. She becomes a respected architect with a
loving husband until problems in her life drive her back home. In order to move
on with her life, she needs to come face to face with her past to find peace.
Thorne has
written an intriguing novel that I found hard to put down. The only thing that
could have made it better was a good edit but my heart went out to Hope and all she endured.
Diane
Nicole Thorne lives on the North-West of England with her husband Sean and her children.
She is a former teacher who now owns and runs a tea room.
Nic has always had a passion for developing characters and stories. In her younger days
she wrote plays for the other children in the street to perform. In junior
school she won a competition with a play she wrote. In high school she brought
her English teacher to tears with a story about bullying.
Nic's
writing focuses on the emotions of the situations. Her debut novel Chasing
Butterflies is a very emotional journey with twists, turns and ups and downs
along the way.
Nic is
currently working on a prequel to "Chasing Butterflies" called
"The China Doll".
Tell
us about your life outside of writing.
Outside
of writing I have quite a busy life. I have four children, but two of them
are grown up so don't need much from me. I own and run a tea room. A few years
ago I decided that the pressures of teaching were too much and
decided to start my own business. It's hard work, but incredibly rewarding. I have
some fantastic customers and have built a really good reputation in the town.
To relax I love to sit down to a delicious home cooked meal and a glass or two
of wine while me and my other half put the world to rights. I also really love
my family time. Getting all the kids around to play a board game or watch a
film is great. Other than that I love to soak in the bath with a good book.
Do
you have a work in progress?
I'm
currently working on a prequel to "Chasing Butterflies" called
"The China Doll". Hopefully readers will gain more empathy for the
character Helen who they met in Chasing Butterflies.
What
was the most difficult section/piece you ever wrote? What made it difficult?
The
most difficult part was writing about the miscarriage. I suffered multiple
miscarriages before I conceived my youngest daughter so the
emotions conveyed in that part of the book were very real. I had all of
these people around me expecting me to pick myself up and brush myself off as
though nothing had happened and I just couldn't do that. I wrote about
the miscarriage shortly after I suffered my first loss five years ago. I
left it for quite some time before revisiting the story. I altered
the events and the Character Hope's circumstances were very
different to mine. I decided to explore the reasons a person
who craved a family of her own might postpone pregnancy until she was
almost forty. The story that unfolded started with the miscarriage as a
catalist, but ultimately that is not what the story is about. I thought about
the events that might have happened in her life to damage her trust in people,
especially men. Hope is a very damaged and fragile character, but
she also displays a great deal of strength and determination.
What
sort of research do you do for your work? - Most of the research was just via
google. The book is very character based so it depended mainly on my own
imagination. I of course drew on my own experiences too. For my latest novel I
have been researching fishing techniques and art courses.
Which
books and authors do you read for pleasure? Is there an author that inspires
you?
I
tend not to read one particular author these days. Mostly I'll look for
books by indie authors or just pick something up that I like the look of. I
used to be obsessed with Steven King and Dean Koontz, although I had to sleep
with the bedroom light on when I had read their books.
Was
there a person who encouraged you to write?
I've
always had a desire to write. I don't think it came from anyone else. The
stories have always been there developing in my mind. At school I used to get
told off for daydreaming. I had a few English teachers who praised my writing,
I found that encouraging.
CHASING BUTTERFLIES
Chasing
Butterflies is the story of Hope.
It's
the story of a girl who is damaged by life. A story about finding love against
all odds. It's a story of hidden truths and painful lies.
The main character Hope is on the cusp of her fortieth birthday. She has just about
got her life together. She is married to Ben who she absolutely adores, she has
an amazing job as an architect.
Everything
changes following a devastating twist of fate. Hope's life starts to spiral out
of control, she is troubled by dreams that remind her of the past she left
behind.
Hope
returns to the idyllic Cornish village of her childhood to find the answers she
needs to find peace.
Will
she find the truth is more painful than the lie?
Amazon
Link
