Bio
I grew up in Liverpool and yes, at heart I’m the stereotype – a warm-blooded enthusiast who likes nothing better than swinging between a good laugh and a good cry, and to whom silence is alien. People are endlessly interesting, and there’s so much about the world that I just need you to know! I studied languages as a route to reading even more books (including some really wacky stuff) and found a career in education. Joe Faber and the Optimists is my second novel, prompted by the experience of my husband’s stroke, and serious comedy is the furrow I’m still ploughing now.
Published Fiction, Ah But Books
Novels: A Backward Glance, 2016; Joe Faber and the Optimists, 2020
Short stories: Art My Eye, 2016
Recent non-fiction
With Terry Oliver, Our Stroke Blog – then and now, the long haul
Contact
I am available for interviews, speaking events and written articles.
Gill Oliver
gill@gilloliverauthor.com
01963 441252 / 07769 117424
twitter@GillOliver__
Facebook @gilloliverbooks
Publicist Liz Gordon at www.brilliantfish.co.uk
Media Coverage
LibraryCast – With author Gill Oliver – from Somerset Libraries UK, May 2022
Interview, BBC Radio Somerset, Simon Parkin 4 May 2021 (3 hr 17 in)
Article, My Weekly online: Can you write a funny book about a man who’s had a stroke?
Interview, Headway (The Brain Injury Charity) website: Gill and Terry Oliver
The Voice: Author Interview
Virtual Book Tour: Lovebooks Tours
Sample Q and A
Why a novel, not a memoir? Who are the readers you’d most like to reach? and more… Sample Q and A
Photographs
With reading (8 mins)
Interview with Susan Elderkin. Extract from book launch.
At a glance
Book details / reviews
Title Joe Faber and the Optimists
Author Gill Oliver
Imprint Ah But Books
Genre Humorous Literary Fiction / Book Club Fiction
Formats
Kindle ASIN B089B5PS4W £3.99 27 May 2020
Paperback ISBN 9780993597640 £8.99, 350pp 1 September 2020
Available from Independent Bookshops, Bookshop.org, Amazon
Synopsis
Joe Faber’s a funny guy, good with his hands, great with words – until a stroke leaves him severely disabled. Will he make it to his daughter’s big gig in Shetland? Or to her wedding? His wife draws up a manifesto. But will it work? By turns hilarious and heart-breaking, this is a feel-good read with a wide appeal, providing rich material for book clubs.
Praise for Joe Faber and the Optimists
A wonderfully warm and hopeful story
Administering hope and regular hearty laughs, it’s a powerful antidote to despair and an essential manual for anyone affected by stroke
A real page-turner, sweet, funny, heartwarming as well as heartbreaking
"Moving, funny and unexpected... " / "Uplifting, witty, wry, perceptive and written with a deft, light touch... Gill Oliver has produced that rare thing, a profound and moving examination of life struck by adversity which also manages to feel like a light hearted easy read. " / "Credible characters, engaging dialogues.." / "Really well-written" / "full of vivid turns of phrase"