insideKENT Magazine Issue 29 - August 2014 | Page 21

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

KENT
AUTHOR
spreads the
Tummy Love
in Kent
this summer
Since publishing her debut novel, Tummy Love, at the beginning of the summer, journalist, PR and
now debut author Sarah Orton has been highly praised for her “gripping” novel and for writing as
a “talented new voice”. insideKENT went to chat to the Kentish author whose Weald of Kent based
thriller looks set to be one of the hottest reads this summer.
Weald of Kent is the jewel in the crown of this lovely county of ours. The
classic Kentish village green provided the seemingly tranquil backdrop for
the terrible events that unfold in my story.

What was the inspiration for Tummy Love?
Essentially Tummy Love was born out of a babysitting situation that went
badly wrong for us as a family. Thankfully, when I say ‘badly wrong’ it was
nothing like as bad as the terrible events that unfold in my novel, but it was
enough of an incident to get me thinking...that could be a really good thriller.
Then with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann every parent across
the globe was given an awful glimpse into the horror of having a child taken
from them. These two ideas fused hauntingly together in my mind – the
bad babysitter and a young child
being stolen from their parents – and
that’s when Tummy Love was born.

What book are you reading right now?
I’m not reading anything right now! When I am in a writing phase of my life,
I tend not to read novels. I know other authors who will consume dozens
of books before they begin to write, but I almost do the opposite and
withdraw from all other fiction. Rather than being compared to other writers,
I aspire to write with my own, unique voice so I need to keep my head clear.

The novel is both tragic and
triumphant - is there a particular
message you want readers
grasp?
My husband once said to me, “Sarah
your world is very black and
white...there is very little grey.” So
the lens I see the world through is
full of contrasts – it’s black or white,
good or evil, kind or cruel. I have
always been struck by the extremities
of the human heart... the ‘goodie’
and ‘baddie’ if you like and what
makes us hiss or cheer at the
pantomime. We all possess the same
human heart and yet some humans
commit heinous crimes, whilst others
demonstrate acts of incredible
kindness and selflessness. The human capacity for such love and cruelty
never ceases to amaze me and I wanted to throw a spotlight on the schism
that runs like a fault-line through the human heart.

Do you have any plans to publish again in the near future, and if
so, can we look forward to another thriller?
Absolutely! As long as my readers want to read my books, I’ll keep writing
fiction... I’ve never felt more alive. My next book, which I’ve already started
writing, is a psychological thriller called Room to Let. It’s even darker than
Tummy Love and is about a girl being held against her will in a London
apartment in the 1970s. After Room to Let I’m keen to try new genres and
plan to write a comedy noir. The ideas for book number three are just
bubbling to the surface.
What's the most important piece of advice you could give an
aspiring writer who wants to self-publish?
That’s so hard! I could write a whole page of advice, but the best thing
someone said to me is “get a great designer who is familiar with the selfpublishing process.” Writing a great novel is only the first step. You then
need to find a good designer who can hold your hand through designing
the paperback book and eBooks; create a great website for you and then
upload your books onto your chosen retail platforms. To see who I chose,
check out the inside front cover of Tummy Love.
Tummy Love is available in Paperback (UK only) for £6.99 from
www.sarahorton.co.uk and on Kindle Amazon for £2.95.

When writing a novel, the world is your oyster. What inspired you
to have your book set in Kent?
I genuinely could not have thought of a better setting for Tummy Love. It’s
been a privilege to live and work in the ‘Garden of England’ and I think the

/sarahortonauthor
@sarahortonbooks

21