NEW RELEASE
Lessons in Laughing Out Loud - Rowan Coleman (2011)
Willow gets to see what her life could have been through her twin Holly's life. Unlike Holly who has the perfect figure, family and life, Willow lives alone and is scared on the inside of being loved. Ever dependable Willow has to coping with a movie star in crisis, when her ex-step daughter Chloe turns up on her doorstop as a full-grown teenager with her own problems. Along with Chloe comes reminders of Willow's past, and suddenly Willow realises she has to confront her own past and her own secrets so that she can move forward and for once start to laugh out loud. Willow as a chick lit character is great; she's down to earth and instantly likeable. There's also a few good men that seem to be taken with Willow, and it keeps you guessing as to who she is going to end up with. Willow's secrets are a little predictable, but they're really well done and make you warm to Willow even more. (AB)
Rowan Coleman's new novel Lessons in Laughing Out Loud is centred around a woman dealing with obesity. The summary says: "'Good old Will', is how many of Willow's friends refer to her. Her four-year-old twin nieces call her 'cuddly Aunty Pillow'. Her identical twin sister Holly calls her 'her rock, her darling, her other half'. Depending on her mood her mother calls her either 'the London twin' or 'the disappointing one'. Her ex-husband had started off calling her 'darling', but after two years of marriage ended up describing her as 'a waste of space'. And once, for a very brief time his daughter, Chloe, had not minded one little bit if people thought Willow was her mum. But who is Willow? What is it that makes Willow so different from Holly - twice the size on the outside and afraid on the inside? When Chloe is desperate for help and turns up on Willow's doorstep, Willow realises it's finally time to shake off her fears and learn to laugh out loud." Lessons in Laughing Out Loud is out in July.