Debut author, MJ Greenwood, chats to Novel Nights about her novel based on two love affairs, during two summers set 75 years apart. Tilly is an unconventional older character who has had a very full life. Tilly Barwise is based on Greenwood's 'outrageous' mother. Tilly, at 89 has led a very full life, "I surveyed the talent. There wasn't much and then, in he came, a man worth my time."

The Blue Hour, published in 2021, focuses on a bond between Tilly and her shy carer, Ava. Tilly teaches Ava how to live again and Ava turns her life around. The dual-timeline story begins with Tilly's World War Two love affair in Liverpool and contrasts that with present-day Cornwall. 

Described by a literary agent as 'Uplift' fiction, the novel tackles serious issues with humour. The book is unflinching in its depiction of the physical effects of ageing but remains tender. MJ Greenwood's novel was picked up by literary agent Curtis Brown after her MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.  

Writers and readers will have the chance to ask the author questions after the talk.