Wednesday, August 19, 2009

As promised - the guest post from Holly Denham/Bill Hutton-Surie of Holly's Inbox

Holly’s InboxI'm very excited to have a guest post from Bill Hutton-Surie/Holly Denham, author of Holly's Inbox.


Without further ado, here it is!


Gaby was expecting something from me a couple of weeks ago for her wonderful blog ‘starting fresh’– and so I actually began this lengthy excuse for my tardiness and then decided this could be my blog post instead.

My sister recently decided to take over a restaurant during the Feria week, in a beautiful little
town, hidden within the Spanish mountainside. The opening night was broken up with the sounds of firecrackers exploding above, which was meant to remind everyone it was a night of celebration but actually giving you the distinct impression you were eating on a battle field.
Having come to Spain to see if I could write something new and funny, and found nothing new or funny was forthcoming, I became more involved in this restaurant, hence why I could now be in trouble with Gaby.


An exciting business it is to be sure, I contemplated, staring off into the distance, a beautiful
lake cutting through the landscape to my left.
“Excuse me, I’m still waiting for my steak!”
I think the main difference between writing and running a restaurant, is that you have a lot more
time to prepare your next line, than you do say a starter or main course.
“Do any of you have any kind of restaurant experience at all??”
I turned back, behind her head I saw my worried sister come out of the kitchen with two plates, she swayed from table to table offering various people a glimpse of some food they hadn’t ordered before heading back, the plates still in her grasp.

The mayor was trying to get my attention, his table still without their starter. I could see
through the bamboo slats our chef crying into his handkerchief. It was at this point I decided
maybe distracting the mayor with the good news that he was in the presence of a relatively obscure writer of chic lit, might be a good thing. I’m not sure why, I just thought it might buy us some more time.

“Hello my name is Bill Hutton,” I said in my terrible Spanish, then I winked and said “but I’m
really Holly Denham”.
A firecracker exploded and a skitty waiter showered someone with Chardonnay. The mayor was
studying me fearfully, so I tried to explain further, by showing him a copy of my book. “It’s my
little secret,” I pretended to look carefully over one shoulder, “shhhhh, don’t tell anyone, but
I’m really a woman” . He asked me to go away.

About this point my sister who does speak perfect Spanish took me away from his table carefully, and asked me to continue my PR offensive at home.

So here I am writing once again, doing something I feel much safer about. Thank you Gaby for
reviewing my book, I’m so grateful that you took the time out to read and review it, and do pop in for a meal if you’re ever in Spain!!!
x



To end, here are pictures of Bill having fun with his beautiful daughter.


Thank you so much, Bill! This is hilarious. I'm so looking forward to your next book. Stop by anytime!


In case you haven't read Holly's Inbox, you can learn more through my review
at http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/2009/08/book-review-hollys-inbox-by-holly.html

Or order a copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Book Depository (free shipping worldwide).

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