Tea and Talk at Sally Lunn’s with Book Reviewer JB Johnson

Sally Lunns Tea HousemailWelcome Jonty to Tea and Talk, lovely to see you here and to greet another great reviewer.

Right now we’re settled and waiting for refreshments to arrive my first question as always is to ask a bit about you.  Where  you live, your family, your work…oh and also any pets?

Hi! Thank you so much for inviting me! I’m thrilled to be here. So, you want to know a bit about me? Well, I’m very dull lol. I live in sunny Northern Ireland in a seaside town called Bangor (yes I know there’s one in Wales).  I’ve lived here all my life.  My husband is desperately keen for us to move away and for me to broaden my horizons! I’ve told him I’ll only go if we move to New Zealand!

I am very happily married for the second time and we will have been married for 6 years in August. I have two children – a son aged 20 and a daughter aged 15 who are affectionately known as Afro Boy and the Fashion Diva. My daughter has special needs so she keeps me pretty busy. I also have a step daughter aged 18 and a step son who is 12. Life can get a little crazy at times when we are all together.  And, last but not least we have a crazy dog called Floyd who provides hours of entertainment with his antics.

Work-wise, I am a social worker and have just recently left my job in child protection to move onto a new area of social work – inspecting nursery schools, playgroups and child-minders. It’s a far cry from the nitty-gritty field of taking kids into care but after 5 years of some pretty intensive work I found the hours and stress were just a bit too difficult with a family at home, especially as my daughter’s needs are changing as she is getting older. I am hoping to return to more therapeutic social work in the future, but for now I will content myself with a much better work / life balance and a huge reduction in stress. I’m also hoping to go back to University part-time and study something like family therapy.

What drew you to reviewing books and how long have you been doing this?

I began to review books in 2011 I think it was.  I won a copy of Kathryn Brown’s book Discovery at Rosehill through a competition at loveahappyending.com and wrote a review for the site. Since then, in addiction to blogging I have continued to write reviews for not only loveahappyending.com but also for famousfiveplus.com and lovereading.co.uk. I have contributed to two anthologies with Plumtree Books also. I have always adored books and part of me holds a secret dream to write something half decent myself someday.  Last year I realised that requests for book reviews were getting to the point where my personal blog could not accommodate them. That blog very much was a place for me to discuss family life and educate about special needs and I didn’t want that getting lost amongst the book reviews. So, Brook Cottage Books was born and launched in December 2012 and now I run two blogs!

Are there any favourite genres or do you have a pretty broad taste in books?

Before I began reviewing books I used to be pretty stuck in my ways with regards genres. I never took a chance and tried new genres or even indie authors. I would have only read books by well-known authors and pretty much stuck to the Classics, horrors and thrillers. Now, I will pretty much read anything and I am amazed by what I find enjoyable now. I’d encourage anyone to try a new genre or read a book written by an indie author. I have discovered some wonderfully talented authors.

Have you any favourite books and why?

Oh that is a difficult question as there are so many books I adore. Some of my favourites would have to be a couple of the classics – Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. I also adore Rebecca. As for modern writing I’m not sure I could answer that question because every time I try to think of a favourite book I end up with a huge list, but books such as The Passage series, Me Before You and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society would be among my favourites. One of my favourite books that I discovered through reviewing has got to be Somebody to Love by Sheryl Browne. I love Sheryl’s writing and we have become online friends through my love of her books. I’m looking forward to meeting her at the Festival of Romance in November.

You started a website, Brook Cottage Books, can you tell us something about that?

As I’ve previously said, Brook Cottage Books was started to meet the demand for reviews that I was receiving. I didn’t want the message of my personal blog to get lost amongst all the booky stuff. Brook Cottage Books attempts to be a source of information for those who adore books as much as I do. You can find author interviews, book reviews, book news, cover reveals and a whole host of other posts related to books. I regularly take part in blog tours to promote books and authors and as a result I’ve managed to get myself a little bit of paid work now doing a little bit of proofreading and final read-throughs. I’ve also recently edited a book (under my real name) Little White Lies and Butterflies by Suzie Tullett. It’s a fab read! Safkhet Publishing has been kind enough to take me on as an intern and let me gain more experience. I hope one day to make a bit of a living through the blog.

What is a ‘normal’ day for you?

Oh my goodness, there is no such thing as a normal day for me but I’ll attempt to describe my schedule. I usually wake anytime between 4.30am and 6am and sort some blog posts before getting my daughter ready for school. Once she goes to school I normally send a couple of emails, check the blog diary, clean the kitchen and then head to work. Throughout the day in work I try to check in with what’s happening on the blog, Facebook and Twitter and answer some more emails during any break I get in work. After work its household chores, attending to my daughter, walking the dog, going to the gym, reading, writing some more blog posts and answering emails. In between all that I do managed to squeeze in some time with my husband and son and my step children if they are staying with us. By that time its bedtime and I usually read in bed until about midnight. If I am lucky, my daughter will sleep for a few hours and I get some rest then. Sometimes however she is up most of the night so I read some more! No point in wasting good reading time!

Have you one great indulgence or passion?

One of my greatest passions in life is of course books. I love to be surrounded by them. I love the feel and smell of them and I am addicted to buying them! I am a total author groupie and nothing makes me happier than receiving books signed by the author. Books are actually taking over my life and it makes me so happy. I adore having the house to myself and lying on the sofa reading. I love it when the house is nice and quiet as this doesn’t happen very often. A nice glass of wine also helps me relax.

If you had three wishes to do anything you wanted what would they be?

1.       Be instrumental in educating the world about special needs and actually make a difference.

2.       Give up social work and have a career in the book world.

3.       Write a good book.

If you could invite four guests to dinner who would they be and why would you choose them?

Oh that’s another difficult question but I’ll give it a go!

1.       Temple Grandin – a major voice in the autism world and a lady of extreme courage.

2.       Stephen King –  I adore his books

3.       Daphne Du Maurier

4.       Alfred Hitchcock – you’ve gotta love his movies. Plus, he would get on so well with Daphne!

Thanks Jonty for a brilliant and very interesting interview, I know so much more about you now!  I also love Daphne Du Maurier – I’ve read all her novels and Frenchman’s Creek is my favourite.

If you are interested in learning more about Jonty simply click on any of her social network links below.

www.brookcottagebooks.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/brookcottagebooks

www.twitter.com/brookcottagebks

www.jontybabe.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/jontybabe

www.twitter.com/jontybabe

http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/jb-johnston/67/729/587

19 thoughts on “Tea and Talk at Sally Lunn’s with Book Reviewer JB Johnson

  1. Wonderful interview Jo and so interesting. JB what a fantastic life you have and such demands but you seem to be busy and having a ball. Good luck with your blogs and your own writing. I have visited Brook Cottage several times and really enjoy it and Suzie Tullett is always a good read. She and I became FB pals a couple of years back and I loved Going Underground so I will check out her latest too. Great reading this thanks both.

  2. Great interview – you know whenever you’ve mentioned FD before, for some reason I always thought ‘Foster Daughter’ – now I know what FD really stands for 🙂 I have a FD too!

    Good luck with your new job 🙂

  3. Hi JB! I was thrilled to read this interview and to discover more about the wonderful and enthusiastic book lover and blogger to whom I’ve become such an ardent fan of over the past year or so! Your life sounds totally crazy but your passion for everything comes through in bucket loads. You really are a champion. I can’t wait to meet you in November at the Festival of Romance and buy you a drink. Thank you so much for all you do!
    Janice xx

  4. Great interview ladies! JB really is superwoman – a fab mum, who has held everything together through some hard times and some of her blog posts have brought tears to my eyes! Brook Cottage Books is an amazing place to visit and JB must be so thrilled at what she’s achieved! Thanks for all the support JB – personally and for all the other authors whose profiles you help to raise! You were amazing helping out at my FB launch yesterday and it most certainly would NOT have been the same without you! Lxxx

  5. Stephanie Keyes

    Wonderful post. It’s fabulous to meet the woman behind the reviewer! You’re doing a bang-up job, lady. Keep at it! Thanks for hosting, Jo! 🙂

  6. Oh, Jonty, I second everything said here. I really do not know how you do it all – and still remain so positive, upbeat and supportive of other people. I cannot believe you mentioned my book Somebody to Love of one of your faves. It makes me very proud. Very proud indeed. And very humbled. We authors are always juggling, juggling, Your agenda puts me to shame. I will never moan again! Well, not much. 😉 I can’t wait to meet up with you at the Festival of Romance – and if you go to New Zealand, you’d better know I’m coming with you. Thanks, Jonty. You’re a total star. Good luck with that new job (don’t know how you coped with the previous one. Really don’t. Heart-breaking). PS. Your personal blog makes fabulously funny, informative – and also a little bit heart-breaking – reading. When you write your book, I will be you absolute first reader. 🙂 xx

  7. Jonty, wow! First of, congratulations on the new job, I’m so glad that finally worked out. And whoa, you’re writing too AND interning with Safkhet~what a lot of exciting opportunities, I’m totally thrilled for you! This was a brilliant interview, I loved looking behind the scenes with JB Johnson. Love Brook Cottage Books, as you know, and cannot begin to imagine how you fit all of this in. AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME. Thanks to Jo for bringing us the lovely Jonty here. Rock on!

  8. Wow, JONTY! Absolutely brilliant interview! First of all, congrats on the new job ~ I’m so glad this finally worked out for you. And also ~ an internship with Safkhet, plus writing endeavours of your own, whoa! Good luck with all of that, what a lot of great opportunities you’re seizing at the moment. Honestly, I don’t know how you fit it all in. Awesome stuff, great interview, absolutely loved this feature. Rock on, ladies!

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