MY LIFE IN BOOKS

Author Melanie Blake talks of escaping into glamorous stories of strong women, and the best book she ever wrote!

When I was at school I adored The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy, I loved

Mildred Hubble and her journey to witchhood via the spooky academy. Another book I never forgot from my school days was The Fat Girl by Marilyn Sachs. It tells the tale of an over weight unpopular girl in a challenging high school where she was judged by the way she looked. I had a pretty terrible time at school and also battled a weight problem in my teens so it spoke to me. I often cast an af fectionate eye over the spine of it on the bookshelf and remind myself how impor tant and useful it was to me at a time when I needed the message that it gave: that you will overcome your obstacles and find happiness.

The author I most admire is Jackie Collins. I grew up in a poor family, my mum worked as a cleaner, a job she hated, and was in an unhappy marriage. I didn’t realise there were women in the world who lived life on their own terms, didn’t answer to men they didn’t respect, or do jobs they didn’t like until I read Jackie’s book Rock Star. Her writing showed me that women could be glamorous, feisty and in control of their destinies. Lace by Shirley Conran is my most treasured book because, like Jackie Collin’s books, it took me away from my humdrum life and into a tale of glamour.

I adore a good celebrity autobiography. I tend to go for stars from eras I wouldn’t have been in to work with but would have loved to, like Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor and Diana Dors. I love the intimacy of what really went on behind some of the icons’ lives we thought we knew!

I love books about strong women, vengeance and crime, and for that nobody does it better than Lynda La Plante. I often return to her Widows book which follows the stor y of four gangster’s wives taking on a robber y themselves and then dealing with the consequences.

I love a bit of romance, especially in these lockdown days, and I’m currently reading Sophie Cousen’s This Time Next Year. It has a real twist to it and it just fills my hear t with joy.

This will sound awful but when I’m asked if there was a book I wish I’d written, the answer is no, because I wrote the one I would list as the one I wish I had written if it wasn’t mine! Ruthless Women is such a wild ride that even when I was reading it back for all the edits, of which there are always dozens in publishing, I never got tired of re-reading it! That’s never happened before with anything I’ve ever written. I do hope that if you get a chance to read it, you will agree with me!

Ruthless Women

By Melanie Blake

(Head of Zeus HB, £12.99)

Set on an island off Jersey, Falcon Bay is the setting for one of the world’s most popular soap operas. This private island is a volcano eruption of personalities, raging hormones and a battleground for its feisty cast of females caught up in a power struggle. Glamour, sex, friendships – only the most ruthless will sur vive. Beautifully written, a nod to the old genre of career women having it all, this is a racy romp of a read! Think the hotness of 50 Shades of Grey mixed with depths of female empowerment – Melanie Blake’s latest erotic thriller will set your bookshelf on fire!

Tamzin was brought up in London’s East End so felt instantly at home when she saw the sets of Ridley Road. “It brought ever ything back to me,” she said. “When I was a little girl my mum used to take me to Ridley Road market regularly. It was, and still is, one of the best street markets in the East End, not far from Hackney Downs. You don’t get more East End than that.

“As a kid I was thrilled by all the sights, sounds and smells of the market – sweets, fish, drinks, new clothes, you name it. Then there were the toy stalls where I used to slow down as much as possible to look at as we walked past. There were some great cafes too and a brilliant pie and mash shop. That was the Ridley Road I grew up with in the ’70s and the set is fantastic, just like I remembered it.

“I’ve got another set that is all mine too.” In the series, Tamzin plays Barbara Watson who owns a hairdressers. “It took my breath away when I first saw it,” said Tamzin. “It’s just like a real hairdressers