Book sequel will have a familiar setting

Nov 13 2008 By Emma Heseltine

A Scottish born author whose first novel was about a family in 1960s Glasgow has penned a sequel in which they all move to Addlestone.

They say 'stick to what you know' and that is exactly what Scottish born author Avril Dalziel Saunders did when penning her latest book.

The 60 year old wrote her first novel, based on a family in 1960s Glasgow, five years ago and after pressure from fans who wanted to find out what happened to the characters she decided to write a sequel which saw the family in the book move to Addlestone.

'Chasin that Carrot' has now been published, and was released on October 31.

Avril, who moved to New Haw in 1971 and now lives in Addlestone, said: "When I wrote the first book, I always said that I would never write another one, because I'd already achieved what I wanted to achieve.

"But I had letters from all over the world, including from Canada, America, Australia and South Africa, asking me what happened next, and asking me to write another book.

"But the problem I had was that the first book was based in Glasgow, and I left Scotland in 1971, so I was worried that references to Scotland might not be accurate anymore.

"So I decided to move the characters down to where I do know, which is Addlestone and New Haw."

Parts of Church Road in Addlestone are mentioned in the book, including the old Nat West bank which stood on the corner of Brighton Road, and the old library.

Also visited by the characters are the railway station and shops in West Byfleet, and St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, where a new baby is born into the family.

Avril added: "People always say you should write about what you know, which is what I tried to do.

"I've lived in the Broadway in New Haw, and in Church Road, Addlestone, so the book really is based on my neighbourhood really, although the characters are fictional.

"Certainly getting published this time around was much easier, because publishers already knew who I was."

When Avril first moved from Scotland, she lived in The Broadway in New Haw, and then she moved to Addlestone and Kingston.

The mum-of-three now lives in Addlestone with her husband Jim, but her three children have grown up and left home. She has three young grandchildren.

Avril said: "It's difficult to know if I'll ever write a third book.

"People have contacted me to say that I should branch off and write something else linked to the family, but I don't know.

"I think my grandchildren are keeping me busy enough at the moment, but I'll see how it goes."