The Garden of Forgotten Wishes

"All of Trisha’s books hit the spot. She’s got a fan base that spans generations. She takes us somewhere else—and I think a garden is the place we all like to be in the summertime, especially one in the process of developing into an even better place. Also, it’s great to read about someone bravely making a new start. This is a well-loved theme but Trisha always puts a fresh spin on her stories. Trisha’s descriptions are quite amazing. She posts on Twitter and Facebook a lot, often just a little snippet about the weather where she is, and they are just magical—she’s very lyrical in her writing. And she’s got a gentle irony too. Yes, they cover so many different issues. Take Love, Actually , the film—the number of different relationships covered in that… it’s mind expanding, really, to think about other people of all ages and backgrounds, different issues like grief, family break-ups… all these things are woven into a lot of these books, and help people understand and process what they are going through themselves. Exactly. A good writer will take you through something you’ve not experienced, but also get right into where you’ve been hurt yourself. I think you can tell quite quickly, in the first chapter, if a book is going to touch you personally. Not all books need to do that, obviously. There are different ways of reading. But romantic comedies, I think, need to get right in there straight away and touch your heart—you need to feel the humour, the fun, the pain. All those things are mixed together. You’re in it for the ride. “Romantic comedies need to get right in there straight away and touch your heart—you need to feel the humour, the fun, the pain” Also, they’re very personality-led. You don’t necessarily have to like the main character, but they do have to be fully formed. You’ve got to root for them in some way. You’ve got to want them to get to the end—if not a happily-ever-after, then at least what we call a ‘happy for now.’ You know. Like: it’s going to be okay for a little while. Rom com books tend not to have everybody die at the end, in other words."