We all have favourite writers, and if those people are also delightful and can be counted as friends, so much the better! The lovely Liz Carter and I both publish with Resolute Books and I was very honoured to get my hands on a review copy of her new contemporary fiction book, “The Flowers of Bay C.” Liz has a chronic lung condition which has shaped her life in a certain way and flavoured this book. Reading it helped me to understand what she goes through every day, and led me to admire her even more. I caught up with her to ask a few questions, but first, let’s take a look at the blurb.
Six women. One hospital ward. A last wish that could change everything. When life has worn you thin, sometimes the most unexpected friendships can make you bloom again.
Penny Fielding is done: with illness, with being a people pleaser while feeling like a burden. But when she’s admitted to hospital, she finds herself surrounded by five unforgettable women: Barbara, eighty-seven and desperate to see the sea one last time; Jodie, all laughter and hidden pain; Kat, the tattooed vicar who never puts herself first; Violet, proud and prickly; and gentle Amina, who sees the truth in everyone else.
As friendships spark and secrets surface, an impulsive plan to grant Barbara’s dying wish turns into something far bigger — a wild, life-affirming adventure that might just save them all.
Heartfelt and tender, The Flowers of Bay C is a story about second chances, fierce resilience, and choosing joy even when the odds are stacked against you.
Ruth: How long has the germ of this idea been in your writer's brain?
Liz: For many years now! I remember lying in my hospital bed about twelve years ago and thinking, ‘I’d like to write a book about some of these experiences - about the friendships made in hospital, about what it’s like’, and from there I began to imagine characters and a storyline. I actually wrote the first draft of this book about five years ago, but have never plucked up the courage to publish until now!
How much of you and your medical experiences did you put into the book?
It was a tough one to write because it was so much based on my own experience. I’ve been a frequent hospital patient for most of my life, so know it all too well. I wanted to write about that while also creating distinct characters who are not like me at all (well, maybe just a little bit), so getting the balance right was challenging in places. I wanted to show some of the indignities and absurdities of hospital life, while also giving a picture of how it’s possible to fall into deep friendship in situations like these - often with people who don’t seem like those you’d usually connect with. Penny, the main character, is feeling useless and worn down by her past and a life with chronic illness, yet it’s through friendships with the other five women on the hospital bay that she can bloom again and find out who she really is. So, while the book is definitely written out of my own experience, my hope is that it speaks of the wider human experience of relationships - in all their messy glory.
I know your dystopian fiction, your poetry and your reflections, but this is a new genre. I really enjoyed the book - how did you find writing it?
Thank you! I loved writing this. It was actually pretty cathartic - getting out some of that stuff that can become such a burden and even part of trauma when you’re so often in hospital. But it was dreaming up the characters I loved most, because they’re all so different, and all so flawed in their own way as well - some more than others! It was also hard to write because it brought up a whole load of emotion in places as it made me face what I’d been through and perhaps never processed properly before. Being in hospital a lot has a marked effect on you because while you’re there you’re subjected to so many little things, from needles to burst cannulas, which cause massive bruising, to more invasive procedures that hurt, and to things like lack of sleep due to noise as well as observations and meds at all hours. It’s a place where you can’t have your own space, and you feel a little bit like an object rather than a human - an object to be dealt with, but sometimes not with compassion. Although, as you’ll see in the book, I do see a whole load of compassion in hospitals too.
Awful question, but it must be asked. Who is your favourite character?
Oh gosh, that’s a hard one! When you’ve dreamed them all up, they’re all special to you. But one of the characters who pretty much wrote herself was Jodie, the thirty-ish woman who brings everyone together due to her general brash nosiness and extreme curiosity about everyone and everything. She’s burying deep hurt under a blustery and humorous mask, though, so she needs all the others as much as they need her. Her story is a bittersweet one, but I have a very soft spot for her, not least because she quickly establishes a gentle and sweet rapport with the main character’s (Penny’s) grumpy teenage son, and I love the way they bond over a slightly wicked sense of humour. She’s definitely one of a kind.
And will there be more? I do hope so!
Well, I’ve taken the step of saying that this is the first in the ‘Flowers’ series, so yes, that’s the plan! I have three more book ideas for this series and plan to start writing book two in April, so watch this space! The next books won’t be about the exact same women or in the same setting, but they’ll be set in the same area and include one or two of the characters in more of a side role. Book two is looking likely to be about a bunch of misfit church flower ladies, so let’s see what happens!
