Meet....Ali Mcnamara

THE NOVEL CAFE WELCOMES....ALI MCNAMARA

As a huge fan I was delighted when Ali agreed to take part in a small interview for the Novel Cafe. Ali's new book 'Step back in Time' was published yesterday. Interview conducted October 2013.

Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for my new blog....welcome to the Novel Cafe!

Tell us a little about yourself Ali?

I live in Cambridgeshire UK with my family and our two Labrador dogs.

But I would love to live by the sea one day, with an apartment overlooking Central Park in NYC for the occasional break!

When did you first start to write? Is being an author something you have always wanted to be?

I actually started writing stories by accident on an Internet message board; they became so popular that they were sold to raise money for a cancer awareness charity. I decided if people were enjoying my stories so much on the Internet, maybe I should have a go at writing a real book! It was my third attempt that was to become my first published novel – From Notting Hill with Love…Actually.

I for one loved the From Notting Hill to...Books. Movies played such a large part in these, are you a big film fan like Scarlett?

I love a good, witty rom-com! But I can’t be doing with horror and unnecessary violence in the cinema at all. I’d walk out!

If you could be in one film which would it be and which Character would you play?

Silver Linings Playbook: Mostly because it’s a fab script, but I’d also love Jennifer Lawrence’s figure, and I’d love to play opposite the rather lovely Bradley Cooper!

Are your own experiences and people you know and meet always the main inspiration for your books?

Yes, I think it has to be. Then your writing comes over as realistic and your stories genuine.

Very exciting...your fourth novel 'Step Back in Time' is due for release early next month, can you tell us a little about it?

I think the book blurb sums it up better than me!

When single career girl Jo-Jo steps onto a zebra crossing and gets hit by a car, she awakes to find herself in 1963. The fashion, the music, her job, even her romantic life: everything is different. And then it happens three more times, and Jo-Jo finds herself living a completely new life in the 1970's, 80's and 90's. The only people she can rely on are Harry and Ellie, two companions from 2013, and George, the owner of a second-hand record store. If she's ever to return from her travels, Jo-Jo must work out why she's jumping through time like this. And if she does make it back, will her old life ever be the same again?

What’s next for Ali?

A third in the series of Notting Hill books due to be published in 2014!