Today it's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour How to Say Goodbye by Katy Colins. It's women's fiction with a lively tone and an emotional thread woven throughout.
About the Author
Katy Colins is a qualified journalist with articles published in Company Magazine and The Daily Star she crossed sides to work in Public Relations before selling all she owned to backpack solo around South East Asia and finally put her thoughts into words, writing as she travelled.
Her experiences inspired her to pen 'The Lonely Hearts Travel Club' series and saw her labelled the 'Backpacking Bridget Jones' by the global media.
Katy currently lives by the sea in France where she is on a one woman mission to educate the French about the necessity and technicalities of making a good cup of tea. When she is not writing about romance, travel and adventure, she loves travelling, catching up with family and friends and convincing herself that her croissant addiction isn't out of control - just yet.
You can find out more about Katy, her writing and her travels on her blog www.notwedordead.com
Follow Katy Colins - @Notwedordead on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon,
Buy How To Say Goodbye
About the book
No-one is ever happy to see Grace Salmon.
As a funeral arranger, she’s responsible for steering strangers through the hardest day of their lives. It’s not a task many would want – but, for Grace, giving people the chance to say a proper goodbye to the ones they love is the most important job in the world.
From the flowers in the church to the drinks served at the wake,Grace knows it’s the personal touches that count – and it’s amazing what you can find out about someone from their grieving relatives … or their Facebook page. But when she accidentally finds out too much about someone who’s died, Grace is finally forced to step out of the shadows… and start living.
I'm not sure a lot of us give any thought to the people who ensure our loved ones get a good send off. It's really the last thing you want to think of. The thought of somebody you love dying and then having to arrange how everyone else gets to say goodbye to them. In a way the funeral isn't for the dearly departed, but rather for the living who grieve them.
I'll admit I have asked my mother to plan her funeral. I was pulling her leg a little, but it actually gave her the chance to think about the way she wanted people to say goodbye to her. Her playlist is something else I tell ya! Saying that, lately she has been telling me it's perfectly fine to pop her in a cardboard box and whip her round to the crematorium and Bob's your uncle. (Apparently that's legal here).
Grace is the kind of character readers tend to warm to, because she is like all of us. She is perfect with all of her imperfections. Part of her is afraid to live and to love. Hindered by the memories of a lost love and unwilling to confront what is keeping her from moving on.
I'm intentionally not going to go into the most emotional part of the book. I think It's best readers experience that for themselves. What I will say is that it makes this more than just Chick Lit and it ventures soundly into women's fiction.
The group meeting aspect of the story is emotional and heartfelt. In fact the whole book is, despite the light-hearted humour and the realistic characters. It's women's fiction with a lively tone and an emotional thread woven throughout.
I think one of my favourite paragraphs by far is the last one. It just speaks volumes about how far Grace has come and the difference in the way she sees life and lives it. Something so simple, and yet perfect in every way. It's a lovely read.
Buy How To Say Goodbye at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.
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