I am thrilled to be sharing my review of From Dusty With Love and interview both (yes really!) authors on this brilliant read. On publication eve, I cannot wait to see this book enter the world.
Dusty-ing down the plot:
There’s a new spy on the block and what she lacks in skills she makes up for with perky enthusiasm.
Out of work actress Dusty Hall, is recruited into His Majesty’s Secret Service and this might be her best role yet! In training she meets Yazmin Khan, the epitome of a walking lethal weapon and a total badass. The two women couldn’t be more different but together they make the perfect duo.
Ready or not, the duo are sent on their first undercover mission: to infiltrate a Moroccan hotelier and suspected arms smuggler, Ahmed Al Sahid. Except there’s a snag, it falls on her sister Coco’s hen weekend. As maid-of-honour it is Dusty’s duty to ensure the bride-to-be has the best hen weekend ever! Coco is not someone you want to disappoint and is far scarier than any deadly, undercover operation. So, Dusty comes up with a cunning plan, to kill two birds with one stone, why not invite all the hens to Marrakech, job done. All she has to do is keep the two worlds apart - what could possibly go wrong?
Bobs and Books Honest Review:
This book is absolutely brilliant. It has everything, a feisty female lead in Dusty, she's wonderfully flawed but simply fantastic. From the first few pages she had me giggling away to myself and as the story progresses, I was her biggest cheerleader even in the deepest chaos. Her fear of receiving her P45 all the time is just so cute. But don't be fooled- this is one savvy lady. How great to challenge the mi6 stereotypes.
The ensemble cast is also sublime. Yaz makes for a great partner in anti-crime, Coco plays the annoying but sickly sweet sister and Dusty's roomie is just a delight too.
Some real LOL moments in this one, toilet jokes in the least crude way possible, and a few surprises along the way too.
A superb all-round entertaining read. Book 2 immediately please!
Author interview:
I was delighted that Clare and Nina agreed to answer a few of my burning questions after enjoying this read so much.
B&Bs: I totally devoured your book over the weekend, couldn’t put it down. Thanks so much for giving me an early read.
Wow! What a journey Dusty goes on, where did you come up with the idea for her character?
Nina: Thank you. We wanted Dusty to feel as if she has come to a dead end and questioning what she is doing with her life – because it is often in those moments that something unexpectedly great can happen.
Clare: Not wanting to sound like a self-help book here, the random, even a bad situation is often the funniest. They teach us the most important things, how to pick yourself up, the onwards fight to take your own path. They are life’s anecdotes; you learn from them. It’s a journey of self-discovery and how her confidence grows through trial and error, and more trialling errors!
B&Bs: As a writing duo, how do you split the writing? Have you ever disagreed about who writes what or felt jealous if another gets a juicy scene? (Not trying to cause an argument here, I just know how protective writers can be over their work!)
Clare: We’re unusual in that sense. We’ve never had a cross word between us. Quoting the amazing Simon Pegg's Hot Fuzz, everything is 'for the greater good.’ We have the same aim, and our egos are left firmly behind.
Nina: I like to get structure of the story down first and then pass the baton over to Clare. Clare will write a chunk and then pass it back to me. We never really give the process much thought and it works. We also never claim to have written one bit basically Nina Whyle is the author. It merges into one.
Clare: It’s self-affirming writing this way, as we make each other laugh constantly and keep each other going when we have a writer’s block. The best moment is when one messages the other and remarks on a line that made them laugh. We love what each of us do, but it’s not all clap-clap at self-congratulatory club; we're able to be critical without hurting each other’s feelings, which is important when you work together. On occasion we can be stubborn and make a case for a line to stay, not too often though.
Nina: Was that about what car Jodie should drive?
Clare: Yes, I was adamant that she should drive a brick of a vehicle because her mother was such a worrier.
Nina: You were right.
Clare: ‘Thank you,’ she said whilst thinking about all the other lines Nina was right about.
B&Bs: Sounds like you've got it sussed! Are you able to give us a sneak peek about what book 2 might bring us?
Clare: Absolutely. We can tell you that Coco and the Hens are back and they take part in a Tough Mudder obstacle course for charity.
Nina: Dusty and her badass partner Yaz are sent on their second mission. This time they head out to a wellness retreat in Barbados to spy on Televangelist, Beauty and Wellness guru Teddy Evans who has recently become engaged to their friend, Sarah (one of the hens).
Clare: We just love those hens.
Nina: They discover that all is not as it appears - beneath the tranquil setting and morning meditation lies a whole host of criminal activity.
Clare: Dusty also faces a new dilemma. She is offered a lead role in a new TV drama, now she has to pick between two jobs. Acting is all she’s ever dreamed about since being a little girl but catching crooks and making the world a safer place is where she has blossomed. Tough decisions.
B&Bs: Oooh that sounds so good! How important was it for you to have strong female characters in this read- particularly in a stereotypical male dominated environment? Was that a conscious decision?
Clare: It was very much a conscious decision - women (even in today’s world) are still being overlooked because of gender. We also consciously made our free novella Best On Board (which is based on Dusty’s flatmate Jodie) in the same vein. We’re not trying to be outwardly feministic, but we are mindful of what the world still perceives as more suitable roles for women.
Nina: I think we can all relate to being under-estimated and the assumption that you are incompetent until proven otherwise, which is usually the opposite for men.
B&Bs: Too true. That cleaning pitch scene had me laughing out loud. Did you have lots of fun writing this?
Nina: That was one of the last scenes to be added. We were in the rewriting stage and just felt the book was falling flat around the cover story, which is when we decided they were there to pitch for a cleaning contract. We also have our own version of Q in fact we have two Q’s, Morley and Jacob. They are our MI6 technical wizards and come up with several gadgets in the book. Afterall a spy story’s not a spy story without its clever gadgets.
Clare: The visual was spinning round in our heads, just as the blooming cleaner did! Had to resist giving the funny thing its own character name.
B&Bs: Haha!! I can’t complete the interview without a shout out to Dusty’s sister Coco. How important was it to you for Dusty to see a different side of her?
Nina: There’s no getting around it, weddings can be stressful especially when you have high expectations, and Coco has VERY high expectations. The bridezilla was intentional, but this would have been very one dimensional if we left it at that.
Clare: We probably would have put her in the cupboard, gagged by then, but Dusty is very tolerant. Writing Dusty’s aside comments about Coco’s behaviour was not only fun, but highlighted the transformation.
Nina: The two sisters have grown up and grown apart, but actually when it really comes down to it, they have much more in common. As they spend time together, they see each other in a different light.
Clare: Their worlds were literally worlds apart; it was really satisfying to develop the other side of Coco.
Nina: Coco was a joy to write, and we were so keen to see this love hate relationship evolve.
Clare: She needs her own book Nina!
B&Bs: Thanks to both of you for answering my questions, it is so appreciated.
From Dusty With Love is out tomorrow!