Please welcome Alison Brodie, author of Zenka, as she lets us into her life with our Name 3 Things interview!
About Alison:
Alison Brodie is a Scot, with French Huguenot ancestors on her mother’s side.
Alison Brodie is an international best-selling author. Her books having been published in hardback and paperback by Hodder & Stoughton (UK), Heyne (Germany) and Unieboek (Holland).
Alison has now gone “indie”.
Connect with Alison:
Alison Brodie on Name 3 things:
Name three things one wouldn’t normally expect to find…
In your fridge
A half drunk Guinness (the Guinness isn’t drunk. I mean, I drank half of the bottle)
An over-ripe pear (that’s the genteel way of saying a pear that is so bruised it looks as if it’s been flung around the room in a game of dodge-ball).
A cheap, roasted pork slab which has been bought for doggo but I’ve been stealing bits off it (I have no lunch!) and doggo has been watching me balefully with a “That’s mine” look.
An over-ripe pear (that’s the genteel way of saying a pear that is so bruised it looks as if it’s been flung around the room in a game of dodge-ball).
A cheap, roasted pork slab which has been bought for doggo but I’ve been stealing bits off it (I have no lunch!) and doggo has been watching me balefully with a “That’s mine” look.
In your purse
You don’t want to know! But I’ll tell you:
A brocade-covered diary with slim gold pencil.
An invitation to Her Majesty’s Garden Party.
A tracking device issued by MI5.
(Ha! You will never know what’s inside my handbag!)
A brocade-covered diary with slim gold pencil.
An invitation to Her Majesty’s Garden Party.
A tracking device issued by MI5.
(Ha! You will never know what’s inside my handbag!)
In/On your bedside table
Books
Books
And more books
Books
And more books
In your car
Pen.
Writing pad.
Maps. (I have a boring car)
Writing pad.
Maps. (I have a boring car)
On your desk/writing spot
Hand spinner.
Cup of Lapsong Souchong tea.
A Noddy pencil sharpener.
Cup of Lapsong Souchong tea.
A Noddy pencil sharpener.
In the "junk drawer"
Keys! Hundreds of them. I never knew I had so many. I think they are breeding.
A Girl Guide whistle (??)
A compass.
A Girl Guide whistle (??)
A compass.
In your closet/garage/storage room
A red feather boa – never worn
Gold stiletto shoes with v. high heels – never worn
Grey, baggy knickers – worn all the time
Gold stiletto shoes with v. high heels – never worn
Grey, baggy knickers – worn all the time
In your music or movie collection
Fats Domino, His Greatest Hits
Max Bygraves, SingaLongaWarYears! (??) (That must be my mother-in-laws)
Maria Muldaur (that must be Hubby’s)
Max Bygraves, SingaLongaWarYears! (??) (That must be my mother-in-laws)
Maria Muldaur (that must be Hubby’s)
On your bookshelf
You are not going to believe this but it is true. A glass bottle in the most beautiful shade of blue with the words TASCHENFLASCHE FUR HUSTENDE. I bought this for one euro in a house sale, got home and checked it up on the internet. It was used in tuberculosis sanitoriums in the 1930s for ladies to spit into.
A line of tiny wind-up toys. I get them out at dinner parties when everyone is drunk. There’s a prize for the one whose toy gets to the finish line first. Everyone becomes alarmingly competitive! What my guests don’t know is … the rabbit only does somersaults, the seal-lion keeps falling on his face, the penguin waddles and the fireman goes round in circle. I’ll tell you the secret if you ever come to dinner: it’s the elephant that always wins.
“Dining With The Duchess” by Sarah, The Duchess of York and Weight Watchers. This is a signed edition (I used to know someone who was friends with her). And there are recipes for “Supper After a Horseback Ride”, “A Working Mother’s Lunch” (working mother?) and Apres-Ski Lunch.
A line of tiny wind-up toys. I get them out at dinner parties when everyone is drunk. There’s a prize for the one whose toy gets to the finish line first. Everyone becomes alarmingly competitive! What my guests don’t know is … the rabbit only does somersaults, the seal-lion keeps falling on his face, the penguin waddles and the fireman goes round in circle. I’ll tell you the secret if you ever come to dinner: it’s the elephant that always wins.
“Dining With The Duchess” by Sarah, The Duchess of York and Weight Watchers. This is a signed edition (I used to know someone who was friends with her). And there are recipes for “Supper After a Horseback Ride”, “A Working Mother’s Lunch” (working mother?) and Apres-Ski Lunch.
Zenka
Ruthless, devious, and loyal.
Zenka is a Hungarian pole-dancer with a dark past.
When cranky London mob boss, Jack Murray, saves her life she vows to become his guardian angel – whether he likes it or not. Happily, she now has easy access to pistols, knives and shotguns.
Jack discovers he has a son, Nicholas, a male nurse with a heart of gold. Problem is, Nicholas is a wimp.
Zenka takes charges. Using her feminine wiles and gangland contacts, she will turn Nicholas into the son any self-respecting crime boss would be proud of. And she succeeds!
Nicholas transforms from pussycat to mad dog, falls in love with Zenka, and finds out where the bodies are buried – because he buries them. He’s learning fast that sometimes you have to kill, or be killed.
As his life becomes more terrifying, questions have to be asked:
How do you tell a mob boss you don’t want to be his son?
And is Zenka really who she says she is?
Kindle
Thank you, Lydia, for inviting me onto your blog today. I had so much fun!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I've just realised that when you ask the question: "What is on your bookshelf", you don't want to hear about my wee knick-knacks, you want to hear about my books. There are so many I wouldn't know where to start: I'll pick out the first four that come to hand:
ReplyDelete1. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
2. The Girl with all the Gifts, by M. R. Carey
3. Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
4. Miss Wrong and Mr Right by Robert Bryndza