This week I’m delighted to welcome Christie Barlow onto the blog.

Thank you very much for inviting me to chat on your page about my Inheritance books.

It’s my pleasure, Christie. Please, grab a seat on the comfy sofa and tell us a bit about yourself.

I started writing diaries as a small child after receiving my first five year diary with its own special key to keep to lock up my thoughts one Christmas. I filled these diaries with writings of my childhood for over ten years and I still have all these diaries to this day bundled up in my loft.

These diaries have inspired me to write my first fictional comedy diary which was released this year on June 10th called A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother and soared up the Amazon Parent humour chart to number 2.

My book is based purely on comedic scenarios of mothers that occur in everyday life and as such its meant that people reading the diary find it immersive and actually start believing these fictional characters are real when in fact it’s pure fiction, this just exemplifies my characters and style of writing.

My inspiration for this book was from my four children who are all at various stages in their education and I became fascinated into the everyday politics and the dynamics of primary school playground mothers.

Apart from writing I enjoy quality time with my family who are my motivation in life and I have numerous animals to keep me very busy including a horse, dog and numerous chickens.

Sounds like you have lots to keep you busy. I’m impressed you’ve found time to write as well! 

Which book have you inherited from a generation above? Why is it special?

The book which I inherited from the generation above is ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’

I had many books on my bookshelf as a child and was an avid reader. This book sat alongside my own diaries in my bedroom and maybe this is where my fascination into diary writing came from. I was intrigued by this book – who was Kitty? Whilst I was reading this diary I was conscious I was nearly the same age as Anne yet I was living a very different life.  Whilst Anne was afraid for her life, her constant fear of discovery, her conflicts with her mother I was amazed by her wisdom and her reflection.

The pages were worn and bent and the smell of the book was very musty not like the new books that were sitting on my shelf. I would read a diary entry from Anne Frank every night then I would write my own.

Which book would you leave for future generations? Why?

The book I would leave to future generations is Enid’s Blyton’s first famous five book – Five on a Treasure Island. This book has stayed with me from the age of seven when I can remember sitting on an old trunk in my bedroom and not moving all day till I had finished it. The marvellous characters and adventures of the Famous Five I will never forget. I have introduced all my children to this series of books and my daughter Ruby is currently half way through the series and has enjoyed them all as much as myself. These books are absolute classics and every child should have the opportunity to read them, they are truly fantastic.

Yay! We love The Famous Five in our house too. They are so vivid and fun to read. 

Thank you for sharing your Inheritance Books with us Christie. All the best with your new book!

Christie’s hilarious book A Year In The Life of a Playground Mother is available now. You can find out more about Christie on her Facebook page or by following her on Twitter (@ChristieJBarlow).