Bedford resident fulfils dream of publishing her first novel

Oakley resident, Lesley Anne Brown, will be attending a craft and gift fair in aid of Save the Children at Oakley Village Hall this Saturday (April 20), where she will be signing copies of her novel Finding Carla, inspired by her travels across America.

Lesley’s list of 60 things to do to celebrate being 60 included write a novel.

A story eventually emerged - following the journey of Carla, a prematurely retired 50-something mum and grandmother who jets off to America for the trip of a lifetime after her husband ups and leaves her out of the blue. She chronicles the background and landscapes of Route 66, a historic highway running from Chicago in Illinois to Santa Monica in California, bringing it to life through Carla’s eyes during an exhilarating and sometimes perilous journey in a classic red Corvette (Lesley’s dream car).

She took the ‘write what you know’ approach and based many of her character’s adventures on the ones she had with her own husband, Dave, when they travelled together across the US. They are both car enthusiasts and undertook various trips in an eye-catching 1931 hot-rodded Ford Model ‘A’ Phaeton.

“We bought the car, which looks like the one Bonnie and Clyde drove when they were robbing banks, back in 2007 in Denver, Colorado. For the next seven years, we went on many memorable road trips, crossed 22 states, completed most of Route 66 and made lots of good friends along the way.”

Lesley’s varied background includes a career in banking, a business running convenience stores and a part-time position with Bedford Library Link Services choosing and delivering library books to housebound people. She kept a journal during her travels, which she referred to when she came to write her novel.

“All the characters bar one are fictional,” Lesley explains, “though there are some events that actually happened in real life, including a scene at a motel where the gardener turns up at midnight to noisily start work and all the staff and locals gather around the pool for a drunken party. I did change the location, though!”

Initially, Lesley, wrote Finding Carla purely for herself and to see if she could complete the challenge. But after finishing it, she decided it deserved a wider audience and enlisted the services of an independent publishing company in London to help her edit and publish it.

“I wanted a second pair of eyes to point out any faults,” Lesley explains, “and while I could visualise holding the book in my hands, I needed help to make that happen.”

Lesley published her book to rave reviews, including this five star Amazon review from Pauline Atkins of the South London Press.

‘... Once I started reading I found it very hard to put down. I loved the way Lesley Anne describes Route 66 and all the places Carla stops off to visit or stumbles across on her journey. I cried at the start of this book and I cried again at the end but in between I was cheering Carla on to find her true self. Well done Lesley Anne Brown a great read and I look forward to reading your next book/s.

“What has surprised me the most is how many men have enjoyed the book,” says Lesley. “They told me how they wouldn’t normally pick up a book in the genre of women’s fiction but nevertheless found it a real page-turner.”

Finding Carla is published by Wrate’s Publishing and will be available to buy between 10 am and 3 pm on Saturday at Oakley Village Hall. There will also be a wide selection of handmade gifts, home wares, craft supplies and more - created by local crafters, as well as refreshments.

Signed copies can also be purchased from The Eagle Bookshop in St Peters St, Bedford or from Amazon as an eBook.