From the Book Cover
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. Perfect for fans of Claire Pooley, Rachel Joyce and Libby Page.
The Flowers of Bay C is a stand-alone novel, part of an upcoming series of uplifting, powerful contemporary stories.
Have a look at the video here
My Thoughts
Although this book is set in a hospital ward and it doesn’t shy away from the reality of serious illness, it also manages to be both hope-filled and uplifting.
A hospital is one of those places where unlikely people are thrown together and forced to co-exist for the duration of their stay. The six women in this story couldn’t be more different, yet by the end of their time together, they are bonded by unusual friendships and shared experiences.
The main protagonist is Penny, who suffers from a serious lung disease. She has had a difficult life, both because of her illness and a failed marriage which has left her bringing up her teenaged son alone. Penny has low self-esteem and feels as though she can’t live up to anyone’s high expectations. I could really relate to her and sensed the author had poured much of herself into making Penny a believable character.
Most of what we learn about the other five ladies is seen through Penny’s eyes, but this does not stop us getting to know them equally well. For me, one of the author’s biggest strong points was the way in which she breathed life into all six women. I found myself rooting for each of them, even prickly Violet who reminded me of a famous character from an old British sitcom who thought herself a cut above the rest.
The adventure these ladies embark upon in the second half of the book had me on the edge of my seat. I was both worried for their safety and egging them on, desperately hoping they would succeed. I won’t say more, as I don’t want to give away any spoilers.
This book is a huge departure from E.M. Carter’s previous dystopian titles, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I love her writing style, so I am bound to enjoy her work, no matter the genre. I’m looking forward to the next book in the Flowers series.
Interview With the Author, Liz Carter
Q: This book is a huge departure from your last set of fiction titles. What inspired you to change genres? And where did your ideas for this novel come from?
A: I actually wrote this one a few years ago and had the idea for it years before that – it’s been bubbling away for a long time! In fact, its themes are similar to those in my dystopian trilogy – value and worth, and what it means to be human, as well as touches of faith and hope. So the two kind of grew together in my mind. The idea for this novel was born one day while I was in hospital for quite a while with double pneumonia, and I got to know some of the ladies on my ward quite well, despite us all being very different. I got to thinking about what this could look like in a novel about six women who come together in adversity and begin to share deeply of themselves – and be changed for the good. It’s definitely rooted in my own experience of hospitals – I’m a frequent flyer, as it were – and my life with chronic illness. I wanted to represent illness and disability in fiction and bring empathy and compassion to situations people often feel are forgotten.
Q: In dystopian fiction, there is room for a lot of creativity and a certain amount of world building because you are writing about the future. However, this book was set in the present. Did you find having to work within believable boundaries restrictive, or was it easier to work with things you knew and understood?
A: That’s a great question! I have loved writing dystopian fiction precisely because I could let my mind wander and come up with all sorts of situations. Not being bound by ‘reality’ is great for creativity – it’s why fantasy, for example, is such a popular genre for both readers and writers! Yet I loved writing Flowers just as much, just in a different way. I had to stick within the boundaries of what a hospital setting is like, what happens there, even right down to what colour uniforms different nurses wear and the ranks of doctors and what that means. Luckily (or not, in fact!) I have a lot of experience of hospitals as a patient, so I was able to draw on that to craft the narrative and within that I found myself free to create and imagine despite the bounds (I might have somewhat pushed them in some places!)
Q: Were any of the characters based on you or people you know?
A: Kind of. The main character, Penny, does have the same disease as me, though I never name it in the book because I didn’t want to go into too much technical detail and wanted to leave it wide open for people to find themselves within its lines. She’s had a lot of the same experiences in terms of living with chronic illness in a world that values the productive and the ‘useful’, and doctors who don’t always listen, and bringing up children when you are struggling with pain. Her character reflects mine in the sense of how she sometimes puts herself down because she’s always felt lesser. But, apart from that, we’re not alike – she has wildly different experiences of relationships, for example, and processes things differently. As for the other characters, they’ve probably all got a bit of me – even prickly Violet! I guess that’s the case with any author – we’re always going to write ourselves in because we can’t help it!
Q: I found Penny very relatable. Especially her tendency to be a people pleaser, while always being convinced she isn’t good enough. Do you think that’s something many people with disabilities or serious illnesses struggle with? And is there a message you are hoping to share through this book?
A: I do think a lot of people who live with disability and illness feel like this – I’ve seen it over and over again. I wrote my non-fiction book Valuable to explore something of this – to help people see themselves how God sees them: loved, whole, filled with purpose and beautiful to God. So often we’ve felt like we’re not enough for the world around us, especially when we see narratives about benefits, the pandemic and so on, where sick people can feel forgotten or even blamed for things going wrong. It’s a theme I picked up and ran with in my YA trilogy, too – that whole world is formed around having to be Productive for the state and the consequences of weakness. So, through this book, I hope readers might be able to pause for a moment and recognise their own worth as Penny and the others explore theirs together. I hope they might gain confidence to see themselves more clearly and to know their infinite value.
Q: Can you give any hints about what you’re planning for future books in the Flowers series?
A: I have ideas for three more books in this series. They won’t all be about the same characters, though you’ll see some of them as side characters along the way, but they’ll be based in the same area and contain a lot of the same themes and vibes. I’d like to get the sea into every one, in some way, because I loved writing about the sea in Flowers – and the coast is always my favourite place to be.
I’m Interested, so Where Can I Find the Book?
You can get hold of The Flowers of Bay C :
On Amazon
From Blackwells
and on other bookstores worldwide.
You can find Liz on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and Titktock by searching for liscarterwriter
Or by visiting her website