My guest this week is author Anna Bell. Anna is interviewing Ellie the main character from her emotional romantic comedy, The Man I Didn’t Marry which is out in all formats on the 4th February 2021. Let’s take a look at the cover and the blurb first.
Blurb
Ellie has the perfect life: a happy marriage, a gorgeous daughter and a baby on the way. But when her husband Max develops amnesia, he forgets everything about the last five years . . . including their relationship.
Now the man she said ‘I do’ to has become a stranger, and she has no idea why. Yet Ellie is determined to reconnect and find her Max again – he has to be in there somewhere, right?
As they get to know one another afresh, Ellie finds herself seeing Max clearly for the first time. But then she discovers that before his memory loss, Max was keeping a huge secret from her. Will their new beginning prove to be a false start, just as it seemed they might fall in love all over again?
It sounds fascinating, doesn’t it? Now let’s move on to Anna’s interview with Ellie.
Welcome Ellie! We know that you’ve had a rough time lately with your husband losing his memory. . .
Thank you for having me, and yes, it’s been quite the year.
Can you tell me about your relationship before he lost his memory? How you met?
Of course. Did you ever have one of those teenage crushes which was all encompassing? Well, I did, and that was Max. Not that he ever looked at me as anything but his sister’s geeky best friend. We didn’t get together until we were in our late twenties when I spotted him in a club. It was kind of a case of mistaken identity, I was dressed as Wonder Woman, he thought I was a stripper for the stag do he was on, but somehow, we ended up together. And after that it was a whirlwind. We quickly got married, had a baby, got pregnant again and moved to a house that we were going to renovate.
It must have been a bit of a shock when he couldn’t remember you – how did that feel?
I’m not saying that there’s ever going to be a good time for the love of your life to forget that you ever got together, but being eight weeks away from giving birth to your second child, and trying to look after a toddler in a wreck of a house was exceptionally bad timing. I needed him more than ever and to have lost him . . . I was heartbroken.
When your husband lost his memory, what was the thing you missed most about him?
I think it’s all the little things that you take for granted in a relationship. Like how he knows instinctively if he asks me if I want cakes from the shop and I say no, that I really mean yes. I don’t think I realised how much relationships were built on shared experiences and those little codes and half-truths. Being able to know what your partner was thinking without them saying a word.
I bet you needed a lot of support to get you through it all?
We’d just moved to our hometown, and I’d dragged Max to NCT classes to make new friends in the local area. I thought it was so I could message them to whinge about the 3am feeds, not for them to pick me up off the floor and support me through a major life crisis. I also couldn’t have done it without the help of my mother-in-law and Max’s sister (my best friend) Rach.
If the tables had turned, what would it have been like if you’d lost your memory?
If I’d lost my memory and found out that I was married to Max – aka my teenage crush – I would have thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I think he would have liked that version of me too, as I probably would have just done anything and been like an adoring fan, treating him like some sort of God. Thank heavens that didn’t happen, his ego would have gone through the roof!
Congratulations on the recent arrival of your second baby! Can you tell us what you had?
Thank you! We had a little girl and we called her Eva, after a certain sci-fi celebrity that we happened to meet at Comic Con. She’s a wonderful addition to our family and I couldn’t be happier. We’ve definitely got lots of new memories to make and let’s hope this time that no one forgets them!
Let’s hope so too! Thanks for chatting to us, Ellie!
Thanks for having me, it’s been a pleasure.
Praise for The Man I Didn’t Marry:
‘Funny and relatable, the perfect blend of light and shade. I love books that blend poignancy with laughter – and this one does it to perfection.’ Sophie Cousens, bestselling author of This Time Next Year
‘I feel like I’ve been on an emotional roller coaster. What a thrilling ride this novel was – strap in and enjoy. Hilarious yet heartfelt, this is romcom writing at its very best!’ Isabelle Broom, author of Hello, Again
‘This is Anna Bell’s best book yet, and – given how much I’ve always loved her writing – that’s saying a lot. It has all of Anna’s unique trademark wit, warmth and wisdom, while also being an incredibly compelling and brilliant story. I fell in love with Ellie, and I know you will, too.’ Lucy Vine, author of Hot Mess
Buying links for The Man I Didn’t Marry
About Anna:
Anna lives in the South of France with her young family and energetic Labrador. When not chained to her laptop, Anna can be found basking in the sun in the summer, heading to the ski slopes in the winter (to drink hot chocolate and watch – she can’t ski) or having a sneaky treat from the patisserie – all year round! The Man I Didn’t Marry is her ninth published book.
Follow Anna on Twitter: AnnaBell_writes Instagram: anna_bell_writes
Thanks so much for dropping by to tell us about your book, Anna. Wishing you lots of sales.
Bring a little sunshine into your life with a trip to The Cornish Hotel by the Sea. Sun, sea and romance all set in gorgeous Cornwall. What more could you want?
Available as an ebook, audio book or paperback: Amazon
Karen King: Author 