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LORRAINE Kelly was so happy about her debut novel being compared to the work of the late author Maeve Binchy that it reduced her to tears.
The television presenter and broadcaster’s book, The Island Swimmer, is a feelgood story set in Orkneys, an archipelago off the north-east coast of her native Scotland, which she loves.
Lorraine, 64, will be in conversation with Steve Jones about the novel at a Henley Literary Festival pop-up event on Tuesday.
One reviewer called the story “warm and wise” and dubbed the writer “a Scottish Maeve Binchy”.
“Maeve Binchy is my idol,” says Lorraine, who lives near Bourne End with her husband, Steve Smith.
“Do you know, I didn’t think I could love Tom Hanks more than I love him because he’s one of the nicest people you could ever meet, but he was at a book festival and was asked who his favourite author is and he said, ‘Maeve Binchy’.
“You know, when people ask you that, you always think, ‘Oh god, I’d better say Tolstoy or something so that I can appear intellectual and terribly terribly’ but he said what I would say, he said Maeve.
“I just loved him because Binchy is the absolute, ultimate storyteller. Her books are beautiful and you learn so much from them.
“You learn about the characters but you learn about yourself when you’re reading her books, like she puts a mirror up to you. She’s just wonderful.
“Obviously, she’s no longer with us but I was lucky enough to interview her and she was absolutely everything you would expect, so it was a delight.
“Not only that but she sent me a little note to say thanks very much for the interview, which I framed and have on my wall because I love her so much.
“So when somebody said that I was just like her, I just cried. I just couldn’t believe it. It was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s it. I don’t need to do anything else’. I’ve reached the apex, that’s it.”
The Island Swimmer follows the character of Evie, who is originally from Orkney.
When her father falls ill, she returns to her family home on the island, which she left in her teens, vowing never to return.
Something in her childhood caused her to fall out with her sister, Liv, who is less than pleased to see her back.
While clearing out her father’s house for sale, Evie gets to know a group of cold-water swimmers, including an old friend, Freya.
The therapeutic effects of the sea and new friendships help Evie to delve into her past, solve old mysteries and shake up her family.
Lorraine and Steve recently attended the official book launch on the island.
She says: “It was lovely. I mean, Orkney is almost like a character in the book. It’s stunning, it really is beautiful. It’s a place that I love and I feel very comfortable there. There’s so much to do and to see.
“I mean, we’ve been going since the Eighties and we still haven’t seen everything. We haven’t been to every single wee island, we haven’t explored everywhere but we go every year and we do something different every year.
“All the islands are very different in Orkney, they’ve all got their own sort of special magic. It’s so picturesque and magical, it’s absolutely gorgeous.
“Last year, I was out shopping in the main street in Kirkwall and this van came around the corner with all these amazing girls on it and they were all covered in treacle and feathers and it was for a bride-to-be. That’s called a blackening.
“They said to me, ‘Jump on’, so I jumped on and joined in the celebrations. It was fantastic.”
Lorraine’s years of listening to television guests, talking to people from all walks of life and writing magazine columns helped her form the characters in the book.
“All the people that I’ve interviewed over the years, that’s actually really helped me because you get a sort of insight into what is called the human condition, you really do.
“You meet all different people, famous, non-famous, you know, good people, bad people, all different types of people. So, although there’s part of me that wishes I’d done this before, maybe sort of coming up to 65 is the right time, you know?”
Originally from Glasgow, Lorraine lived in Cookham Dean and Broughty Ferry, Dundee, before moving to Bourne End with Steve and daughter Rosie seven years ago.
She and Rosie, 29, have appeared together on Celebrity Gogglebox.
She says: “We’re so lucky where we are, it’s such a lovely area. We’ve got all these different walks and I think that kept us all sane during covid as we got to take our doggies out for a walk.
“We’ve been doing the Thames Walk in little bits, all out of sequence, and we’re going to try to do a lot more of that this year. It’s a great part of the world.”
Lorraine will also be writing a follow-up novel as she has a two-book deal with her publisher.
“I feel as if I’m not finished with these characters,” she says. “I got a lot of inspiration just being back up in Orkney anyway but it’s up to the readers.
“I mean, so far, the reviews have been lovely and I’m just really heartened by that.
“As long as the readers enjoy the book and they put it down thinking, ‘Ah, that was a good story and I’d like to know more about these characters and I would also quite like to visit Orkney’, then my work here is done.”
• Lorraine Kelly will be in conversation with Steve Jones at Christ Church in Reading Road, Henley, on Tuesday (February 20) from 7.30pm to 8.30pm. Tickets cost £15 adults, or £22.50 to include a copy of The Island Swimmer. For more details and to buy tickets, visit www.henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk
19 February 2024
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