2500 x 500

The often dubious, politically incorrect and mainly humorous musings of Ms Jane Turley, (Ex) Housewife Extraordinaire.

Paperback Cover to The Changing Room

The final cover for the paperback version of The Changing Room has arrived. You can see pre-barcoded version below. I think it’s fantastic and on a par, if not better, than many of the traditionally published women’s novels. It just what I wanted – something unique and with an almost seaside-postcard feel that will hopefully create interest from both men and women.

I’ve added a little clothes tag-style ticket to the upper left-hand corner of the rear cover which reads ” A book club novel.” This is because I believe The Changing Room is an ideal novel for book clubs as it incorporates many themes for discussion. (Although probably not in my book club where we prefer to discuss the choice of wine and latest village scandals.) So I’ve also included a book club section at the rear which includes bullet points for discussion and a Q & A section with me where I waffle on in my usual dubious manner.

The principle theme of my novel is “change” as suggested by the title. This is “change” as an individual that stems from the choices we make in our lives when faced with big decisions. In the case of my heroine, Sandy, these are crucial decisions such as whether or not to place her mother in a care home and how she will deal with the failing family business. But there are also deeper strands to the novel which I hope will open up discussion about how we deal with problems such as age and senility, not just on an individual basis, but also in the wider context of government and politics. The antagonist in my book, the unscrupulous local politician Trewin Thackeray, is another talking point whose dastardly behaviour I hope will generate conversation amongst readers about whether or not there should be “change” in the way MPs are recruited and how governments conduct their business.

I suppose, ultimately, I’ve written a book I wanted to read and, interpreting my friends’ favourite book club choices,  what they might want to read too – a book which is light and fun but underneath addresses some serious issues. I’ve felt that this is an element missing from the women’s market with publishers rarely taking a chance on “fun” fiction except when it’s romance-oriented and, more often than not, in the chick-lit style. Jo Jo Moyes Me Before You is a rare exception to this but even that was a set within the boundaries of an almost-conventional romance. As for the comedic elements of my novel –  from a personal perspective I feel I’m probably pushing the comedic boundaries much further than current mainstream novels. But that is the freedom that self-publishing has given me – to take a chance on what I believe women may enjoy reading and not feel constrained by agents’ and publishers’ preferences.

Okay that’s it for today. I only have to wait for approval and for the proof copies. Once I’ve approved them I can hit the publish button and a few days later the paperback will be available to order. In the meantime, if there’s any of you out there who are book reviewers, librarians, are part of a book group or have a blog and would like to receive a free ebook, gifted via Amazon, of The Changing Room or A Modern Life in exchange for honest, impartial reviews on Amazon and/or Goodreads or on your blog please do get in touch via my contact page.

I’m nearly there now. Phew.

And just to keep you updated my next blog will be on a topic which is not close to my heart but definitely close to my sense of humour. It will be called French Trains and German Engineering. I haven’t written it yet – but I have a feeling it might be a little politically incorrect.

Latest Posts
A to Z: B is for Badass Brits.

Now, when I think of Badass Brits, I think of the likes of Jason Statham and Vinny Jones. Men with humble, working-class backgrounds who’ve made good and have a reputation as hard men in films. The kind of men who, 100 years ago, might have worked 12-hour shifts down the mines and still come home and dug the garden over.       Not like our present PM, Keir Starmer, who keeps trying to pass himself off as the son

Read More »
A to Z: Age is for Ageism

So, I reckon we should start off the A to Z with a rant on ageism and generally being old (read f***** over for the less sensitive amongst you.)   I know it’s hard to believe, but I started writing this blog in 2007 when I was 42. This makes me a dinosaur amongst the blogging community (i.e., I’m verging on the extinct), and last month, I turned 60.   Now, I know the kinder amongst you will be saying, “How

Read More »
New Website

After 18 years on another CMS, I have moved my blog to a more versatile platform. However, it will take some time while I perform some jiggery-pokery to get it exactly how I want it. So please bear with me as things fall off the page, are posted upside down and so on. It has also beome apparent that I will have to edit hundreds of posts as importing them has screwed up all the post layouts, especially paragraphs. This

Read More »
A Chicken Nugget A Day Keeps Justice Away

I have been forced. Yes, forced to come out of blog hibernation to comment on the latest scandal to hit the UK. God knows I have been tempted multiple times in the last few years to comment on some of the insane things happening in the UK and in the world, but sadly, life has just thrown too many curve balls at me. But today, I can take no more – I cannot keep my mouth shut any longer over

Read More »
My Nominees for the US and UK Elections and Other Waffle

It’s the early hours of the morning, and I have had a large gin… Late-night alcohol is always a good recipe for writing gibberish. And I have not written gibberish for a while on my blog as I have been busy writing gibberish for my MA in Comedy Writing. Which I recently passed with a distinction. Yay! Yes, it transpires that even academics can be fooled into thinking gibberish is genius. Excellent. So anyway, I have written two sitcoms, a

Read More »
Less is More (well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it)

I’ve been practising my haikus, which you may recall, I’m not particularly good at. However, I wanted to address the woke issue in a concise, meaningful way as it is such a serious matter for discussion and particularly relevant to me as a comic writer. Which, if you know me,  translates as: 1) I’m too lazy to write a long analytical post. And 2) I’d rather watch a movie and eat tortilla chips. However, I feel obliged to say my

Read More »

4 responses

  1. It's great isn't it, G? If I can just get it some visibility I think it would definitely spur some interest. Unfortunately, with self-pub but that's where the challenge really lies! Got to get my head around that bit yet:)

  2. Very best of luck with all the last-minute stuff, Mrs T! That cover is very suitable, I think, and should create the right sort of interest and curiosity. (I will have to interview you so that you can say 'it's been a journey ….'!)

  3. God, I need that luck, Mrs B. I think my eyeballs are about to explode:D

    Pretty good cover isn't? That lit agent who sat on my MS for 4 months is going to live to regret he didn't sign Mrs T. I just need a film deal for it so I can go visit and shove my book where the sun don't shine:D

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *