Interview with Nadine Rose Larter, author of COFFEE AT LITTLE ANGELS

We're honored to have Nadine Rose Larter, author of Coffee at Little Angels here today.

Nadine, how long did it take you from idea to publishing your novel?

Way too long! I thought of the idea about halfway through 2006, started working on it properly in 2007 and only finished it this year (2011). I hope the next one goes a little smoother. I don’t plan on getting divorced or pregnant for a while though so I think I can count on taking about a year with my current book.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

I’m a complete pantser. When I started writing fiction I tried to plot out as much detail as I could. But it was too much. The writer in me wasn’t interested in working from outlines or following formulas. Basically I start with a vague idea and let the story write itself. Sometimes it works.

What are you writing now or have forthcoming?

I’m currently working on a novel called The Tequila Thursday Writing Club. It’s about a man with writer’s block whose best friend tricks him into teaching a writing class in his living room.

Good luck with your next novel! I always find it interesting to learn what other authors are reading. If you could recommend a book—not your own—what book would that be?

Tony Parson’s One For My Baby or Nick Hornby’s How to be Good. I wish I was responsible for writing those two books!

Thank you, Nadine!

My name is Nadine Rose Larter and I was born in a small South African town called Molteno, somewhere in the heart of the Karoo. After my last year of high school I moved with my family to the city of Port Elizabeth where I now live with my son, my fiancé, and my two step children. I’m a bit of a free-spirit and have never been happy having a “day job”. I spend my days writing, or thinking about writing. Sometimes I do a bit of work.

I have always been a writer. I started writing poems and short stories when I was little, and I have intermittently kept diaries since I was about nine years old. In the last two years I have started taking my writing more seriously and have made the decision to become a full-time author. I have no formal education, aside from a year of Literature and Creative Writing study, but I am constantly trying to grow as a writer. Sometimes being a wife and mom makes fitting it all in a little tough but I am learning how to juggle it all slowly.

I chose to self publish simply because it feels like taking my future into my own hands and running with it. There are no excuses when it is just you. The self-accountability can be thrilling sometimes. Being ready and then actually being able to move forward instead of waiting to hear from publishers has been a special kind of blessing. I am not closed to the idea of having a publisher, I am just ready to go on without one for now.

I write regularly on these four websites:

Passing the Open Windows

http://www.passingtheopenwindows.co.za/

The Katalina Playroom

http://katalina.co.za/

The Poetry Project

http://www.thepoetryproject.co.za/

The Writers Club

http://www.thewritersclub.co.za/

You can follow me on twitter (@Nayes1982)

Or say hi on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/nayes)

 

Book Review: COFFEE AT LITTLE ANGELS by Nadine Rose Larter

Title: Coffee at Little Angels

Author: Nadine Rose Larter

Publisher: Katalina Playroom

Format: eBook Novel

Source: Author

Genre: Fiction

Goodreads  

Description: Phillip, Sarah, Kaitlyn, Caleb, Maxine, Grant, Melanie and Josh grew up in a small town where they spent their high school years together as an inseparable clique. But high school has ended, and they are all living their own “grown up” lives, each under the impression that their group has basically come to an end. When Phillip dies in a hit and run accident, Kaitlyn summons the others to all come back home, forcing a reunion that no one is particularly interested in partaking in.

Coffee at Little Angels follows how each character deals with the death of a childhood friend while at the same time dealing with their own ignored demons after years of separation. Events unfold as the group tries to rekindle the friendship they once shared to honour the memory of a friend they will never see again.

Review: Going home again is never quite the same in Coffee at Little Angels by Nadine Rose Larter.

When their friend Phillip dies, his friends return to their small town and come together as one since high school. Yet, this tight clique is anything but tight anymore. In fact, they can’t seem to stand each other, but they must find a way to rekindle their friendship and honor the memory of their friend who bound the together.

Coffee at Little Angels is a character-driven story. The reader follows all the characters in a first person narrative as they deal with their friend’s death, their current lives, and the lives they left behind after high school. As a reader, the first person point of view changes from character to character are sometimes difficult to follow. I often had to flip back and see who was talking. The central plot revolves around the friends as they deal with their friend Phillip’s death. There is a hint of mystery behind it, but the questions are left unresolved at the end of the novel. The social injustices filtering into the background of the story are poignant. The emotions run high in Larter’s work. I smiled and laughed at some points. Others, I teared up.

Overall, Nadine Rose Larter’s Coffee at Little Angels is a touching story about friendship and the ties that bind us.

Three Bookworms = I liked it!

Teaser Tuesdays: COFFEE AT LITTLE ANGELS by Nadine Rose Larter

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

Coffee at Little Angels by Nadine Rose Larter

Page 109 in PDF version

The laughter in her voice faded and a sadness entered her eyes that I hadn't quite noticed before. It was like she was tired.

Do you have a teaser? Feel free to add your teaser or a link to your teaser in the comments.