The Hotel Room
0 Comment / May 20, 2014

Sunlounger Stories 2
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Story Synopsis:

I used to count my life in terms of hotel room numbers – until I found the man of my dreams….

Sneak peek of story:

Room 125. What a co-incidence! Only five numbers more than the room I was in last year. Different hotel, of course. Different country, even. But nevertheless on the first floor.

Hotel room numbers are funny, aren’t they? When you first check in, it usually takes a couple of days to remember it – especially with the lovely warm heat and the excited unfamiliarity of it all. I love that part, don’t you? Exploring the grounds with the palm trees; taking your first dive into the pool; ordering a cocktail at the bar in that flimsy cocktail dress bought just for the ‘hols’.

SL Q&A Logo

Tell us about the location you chose for your SUNLOUNGER 2 story: The Maldives because I love it. It’s so peaceful and out of this world. You can actually see the fish through the water and I loved staying in a luxurious hut on stilts. However, it is tinged with some poignant memories as I went there with my first husband during a tricky time in our marriage. I’d love to go again with my new husband!

Have your books featured any exotic destinations? Yes! After The Honeymoon, to be published in May 2014 by Random House (under Janey Fraser) , is set partly in Greece. Two couples go to the same taverna in a tiny island called Siphalonia, only to find that it’s owned by a woman who used to know one of the grooms (rather intimately….) I adored writing about white, sun-washed villas and feta cheese.

If you could live anywhere in the world… Italy. I go there every year to talk at the Matera Women’s fiction festival. I have a tiny bit of Italian blood (so small that it’s almost immeasurable) but I’m certain that’s why I’m drawn there. Italy has a rhythm all of its own. I’m trying to learn the language so I can talk to my readers. One of my books reached number eight in the charts two years ago.

Destination you’ve returned to the most times… Italy! See above. Having said that, I also love Australia which I’ve visited twice. I love the light and the work-to-live ethos rather live-to-work. But I really want to visit the South Pacific island of Vanuatu where a cousin of mine lives. My husband is very tall so won’t go standard class and refused to pay Business. So maybe I’ll go on my own…..

Ticket, passport, money and… Simple skin moisturiser from Boots. I’m lucky enough to have an olive-ish skin, despite being blonde. But it needs re-hydrating on a plane.

Favourite cuisine from around the world? Lobster thermidor. I had an amazing one in Grenada. That was another pre-marital- split break. But the food was great and the beach divine.

Favourite holiday cocktail? This sounds awful but I can’t drink alcohol. I had to have an op four years ago and the anaesthetic changed my taste buds. The consultant said it was very rare. As a result, I can’t drink tea or coffee or anything alcoholic. It tastes like metal.  But I’ve learned to make a great fruit cocktail based on sparkly elderflower.

What was your best or worst holiday romance? They seem to have passed me by because I married young the first time and then only had three years on my own before marrying again. Here’s the nearest equivalent. Worst – when I was fourteen, I had my first bikini. It was pink with cream stripes. To my delight, a boy started chatting to me in the Isle of Wight. He promised to ring but didn’t.  Best – A long weekend in Ullswater, the Lake District where my now-husband proposed to me. I almost didn’t hear him because I was so busy admiring the trees which looked just like the sketching in Swallows and Amazons.



Janey Fraser

Sunlounger Contributing Author

Twitter:

@janey_fraser

Author Bio

Janey Fraser is the pen name for journalist Jane Bidder who also writes as Sophie King. You might have read some of her previous novels such as THE SCHOOL RUN and THE WEDDING PARTY which was short listed for Love Story of the Year 2010.

For many years, Jane was a journalist on women’s magazines and until recently, edited the family page of Woman. Now she writes ‘ MUM LIT’ novels about the ups and downs of family life.