There are some ‘secondary’ characters in novels that leap off the page, steal all the scenes and capture people’s hearts. In One Greek Summer Wedding that character is the heroine’s aunt, Margot Jones!
Margot is a boss bitch entrepreneur, the CEO of luggage company Carried Away and an absolute force to be reckoned with. She could eat Lord Sugar for breakfast, Tim Campbell for lunch and finish off with a dessert of Baroness Brady! She’s smart, sassy, and seemingly satisfied being single and… she’s based on my late, great, great-aunt, Hazel John née Jones.
My larger-than-life great aunt – affectionately known as The G.A. to my The G.N. – was an absolute inspiration to me growing up. She bucked every trend there was, always took life by the balls and was the epitome of someone who was so utterly confident in who they were and what they wanted to achieve in life that nothing or no one was ever going to be able to get in their way. She was not afraid of any situation she found herself in, she took chances when they presented themselves – solo trips to far-flung places, battling health issues – and always taking the path less travelled compared to her contemporaries. Having such a fiercely independent woman as a role model in my family undoubtedly helped make me less afraid of stepping away from the ‘norm’ and creating my own vision for my future.
I know that Hazel would have adored Margot’s character and definitely see the similarities between the two of them and I feel grateful this book allowed me share a little bit of my great-aunt’s formidable spirit with my readers!
Pick up your copy of Mandy’s brand new book One Greek Summer Wedding here: https://mybook.to/OneGreekSummersocial