Welcome to my November author, Abigail Yardimci
I saw Abigail's shout out for bloggers to join her on her book launch tour and I loved the graphics for Everything is Yours, so jumped on a spot, for today!
Let's start with finding out a bit more about Abi, and then I'll leave you with the official blurb, my review and my rating as I usually do on my review blogs.
Hi Abi, you’ve had some interesting and varied jobs in the past. What has been the most rewarding?
I've done everything from dusting shelves in a video shop (remember those?) to spinning wool dressed up as a Georgian housemaid! Luckily, I've had quite a few rewarding jobs but I have to say there is nothing more rewarding than when a reader contacts me to tell me they've been moved by one of my books. It sounds cheesy, I know, but writing is a very solitary job and connecting with readers gives me such a boost. There was one reader, David, who really took on Jess's journaling technique in Life Is Yours and emailed me his own responses to her journal prompts. I honestly teared up, it was so moving. I couldn't believe my little book had helped him so much.
There are some aspects in Everything is Yours that I’m dying to know whether it’s based on your own experience. The past life regression for instance?
The whole of the Life Is Yours Trilogy is heavily inspired by my own lived experience. Most of it happened within the year the story is set, 2006, but some of it came after. The past life regression scenes in the third book, Everything Is Yours, are based on when I trained to be an NLP practitioner some years later. The experience Jess goes through is exactly what happened to me, albeit in a slightly different context. I really deliberated over whether to include it or not but it became such an important part of the fabric of Jess's adventure, I felt it just had to go in. I'm so glad I made that choice!
Me too! Tell me more about your trilogy.
The Life Is Yours Trilogy tells the story of Jess, who unwittingly transforms the grief and torment of a major heartbreak into the most magical time of her life. We've all been through heartbreak in some form or another at least once in our lives, and I wanted to tell a story that people could relate to as well as learn something from. My own heart was broken at the beginning of 2006 and I honestly thought life would never be the same again. I was right. But not in the way I anticipated.
What benefits does writing have for you?
Writing is a tricky and mind-bending thing. At times I curse the very idea of it - when a character refuses to be rounded, when a setting avoids coming to life, when a plot point maddeningly eludes me. But when I'm in the flow of it, there is nothing better in the world. I feel writing lets me step into myself, lets me be who I'm really meant to be. It gives me the courage to step up to life and insist it embraces me. Writing is my self-care, my form of expression, my respite and my exercise. It's a hell of a paradox but I love it.
You seem exceptionally good at the marketing side of publishing. Are these skills you have had to work hard at or have they come naturally?
That's so nice of you to say that, Sophy! Although I'm a writer, I'm a very visual person, so I've always been excited by design as a form of communication. My dad was a graphic designer and taught me lots of cool stuff from an early age. I have quite an entrepreneurial mind and ever since I used to set up fake shops when I was a little girl, I've loved finding ways to grab people's attention and engage them in conversation. So I guess marketing my books these days is just an extension of that.
What future ambitions do you have?
More than anything, I want to get the Life Is Yours Trilogy into as many readers' hands as possible. Stories are meant to be read and, as you know, they don't really come alive until readers breathe life into the words. I'd love to have more conversations about my books, stage more author events and be part of literary festivals. I love books and want to be a part of the literary world as often as I can. In an age where reading is morphing to suit the digital age, I just want to be part of keeping the written word alive.
Is there anything in the pipeline you would like to tell us about?
Sometime next year, I hope to release a fourth book called 'My Little Ramadan'. It will be based on my lived experience again and although it will work as a standalone book, it will involve some of the characters from the Life Is Yours Trilogy. My husband is a Muslim and we used to live in the Highlands of Scotland. It was a bit of culture shock for him and when it came round to him fasting for the holy month of Ramadan, I stupidly offered to fast along with him. The book will be based on my experiences of fasting in a freezing cold climate with not another Muslim in sight, whilst navigating the highs and lows of becoming a mum. I think it's going to be an epic story and I'm really excited to bring it to my readers.
That sounds fantastic! Thank you x
Do keep in touch with Abigail here:
www.facebook.com/AbigailYardimci
www.twitter.com/AbigailYardimci
www.instagram.com/abigailyardimciauthor
Everything is Yours by Abigail Yardimci
Published November 2021 by Soft Rebel Publishing
Official Blurb
New Year’s Eve is in full swing. Jess and Lindy have met by chance and already they’re sharing a bottle of wine in a cosy Turkish restaurant. Lindy is hooked on a story Jess is telling, but midnight is coming and happy endings aren’t always guaranteed . . .
After Jess returns from the trip of a lifetime high on hope, ambition and new love, she’s ready to take on the world. She shuts down her business, cuts ties with her ex and announces to everyone the old her is gone.
But a violent encounter rocks her world and her past comes crashing back to haunt her. With a childhood demon to forgive, a long-distance relationship to navigate and that final layer of self-love to uncover, can Jess dig deep and put the final pieces in place before midnight comes knocking?
Everything Is Yours is the third and final book in the uplifting and inspirational Life Is Yours Trilogy.
If you enjoy heart-warming fiction with real soul, a touch of sass and a lot of adventure then you’ll love this book in Abigail Yardimci’s page-turning trilogy.
Buy Everything Is Yours to read Jess’s latest adventure today!
My Review
It took me a little while to get into Everything is Yours, but once I did I found the characters endearing and the writing style, fast, smooth, with an unusual and refreshing narrative voice. There are some slightly saccharine moments which you'd expect in an uplifting and life affirming story but these are brilliantly tempered by the strong northern voice that comes through, particularly from Jess's mum.
There was a great deal that I could relate to in Jess and some of her experiences really intrigued me. It's made me think quite deeply about how our spiritual journey is made. I wish I had read the other two books in the trilogy and highly recommend you do, so that Jess's story can be enjoyed in full.
My Rating
4 stars