Authors Interviewing Characters: Beth Miller

THE FRIENDSHIP LIST

Wiping away her tears, Kay looks at her old photos, of friends who have come and gone through life’s big moments. But then there’s Rose, her one constant through everything. Now Rose is missing, does the key to finding her lie in their past?

It should have been the happiest day of Kay’s life. Getting married with her best friend and maid of honour, Rose at her side. But then Rose messages Kay moments before the ceremony, I’m so sorry. I can’t do this. Please don’t look for me. Kay is heartbroken. What could have possibly driven Rose to leave?

Kay doesn’t know a life without Rose in it. They’ve stuck together through thick and thin; getting each other through tough break-ups, the rollercoaster of children and losing Kay’s beloved mum.

Searching through a lifetime of belongings, desperate for clues, Kay finds a box of old photos. As she looks at pictures of them dancing with their friends from years ago, she suddenly wonders whether the key to finding Rose lies in their past. Writing down a list of long-lost friendships, Kay feels certain one of them will know what happened to Rose.

But as Kay begins to uncover a lifetime of memories to help her find her friend, will she also find herself?

Conversation with Alice Bright

In which Beth Miller interviews a minor character who thinks she’s the protagonist

Beth: Hello Alice, you’re looking lovely. What a pretty suit.

Alice [placing matching handbag on her knee]: Pretty? It’s Chanel.

Beth: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Alice [sits up straight, fixes her interviewer with an imperious stare]: How on earth can I guess what you don’t know about me?

Beth [smiling awkwardly]: That is a fair point. Perhaps you can tell us how you are related to Kay Bright, the main character in The Friendship List, my new book?

Alice [sits up even straighter, if such a thing is possible]: Kay? You mean Kathleen is the main character? [Laughs] I don’t think so, my dear. I mean, I’m sure she thinks she is…

Beth: Kay is your daughter-in-law…

Alice: My ex daughter-in-law. She is no longer a Bright. She has a new surname, which I cannot recall.

Beth [checks notes]: Sorry, yes. She was married to your son, Richard Bright.

Alice: Mmm. [She gets a lot of nuance into this simple sound.] They finally divorced a few years ago. Richard has remarried, though once again, the new one wouldn’t have been my choice.

Beth: And Kay? She has just remarried too.

Alice: I don’t know why we’re harping on about Kathleen. But yes. At the, some might say, overly late age to have such an ostentatious wedding…

Beth: Kay’s 56, I believe?

Alice: As I say, ridiculously old to make such a fuss. Wearing an eyesore of a dress the colour of a canary, it’s just deliberately provocative. As for that new husband of hers, well, he’s Australian, need I say more? Put them in a suit and tie, they still look as though they’re at the beach. We were just relieved he wasn’t wearing flipflops. And you know of course that he was formerly married to her close friend. All rather odd. 

Beth: Why were you at Kay’s wedding, if it’s not a rude question?

Alice [looks the interviewer up and down]: You’re a little gauche, aren’t you. I was there because my grandchildren wanted me to be. And to support my Richard, because he was, for some inane reason, giving Kathleen away. Have you ever heard of such a thing, the man giving his ex-wife away? I sometimes feel that I am the last sane person standing.

Beth: I’m sure it was a very happy day for Kay…

Alice: My dear, no. She ended the day in absolute floods of tears. We were all mortified. You’ve never seen such a rush for the exits.

Beth: Why? What on earth happened?

Alice [lips go into a thin line]: I’m not one to gossip.

Beth: Well, lets leave Kay for the minute. Tell me about yourself. You’ve had an interesting life, I believe. What was it like, working for royalty during the 1960s?

Alice: It’s all anyone ever wants to know about. I have done other things in the last sixty years, you know. I’m a mother and grandmother. I’ve recently started working in Richard’s high-end stationery shop. [Interviewer coughs] Oh, very well. My role in the Queen’s household was to cook for the children. Very pleasant, never a moment’s bother from any of them. Even the baby, Edward.

Beth: Anything interesting you can tell us about your time with the family?

Alice: No. I signed several privacy agreements.

Beth: Surely there must be something? I doubt anyone will read this, anyway.

Alice: Very well. [Quietly] Princess Anne was partial to blancmange. [Almost inaudibly]. Raspberry.

Beth: This is hot stuff.

Alice: I don’t have to be here, you know.

Beth: Sorry. Last question. I understand that Kay has been dropped by her best friend, Rose.

Alice: The very stuff of the schoolyard. These are people in middle-age, for heaven’s sake!

Beth: Yes, well anyway, I wondered if you had any insight into what went on between them. Kay seems utterly baffled.

Alice: I have my theories. Kathleen is not the easiest person, you know. When she left my Richard, five years ago, she walked out on him without a backwards glance. Cold as ice. She’s always been rather self-absorbed, to put it politely. I suspect that Rosemary just had enough of Kay’s nonsense, and I for one would not blame her.

Beth: Thanks Alice, this has been very enlightening.

Alice: Well, it could have been, had you not spent the entire time blathering on about Kathleen. May I remind you that you promised that the interrogation would conclude with a cold glass of Chablis? I don’t see any glasses.

Beth: Coming right up, Alice.

Alice: And some almonds.

The Friendship List by Beth Miller is out on 18th August 2025, published by Bookouture

BUY HERE

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Beth Miller is the author of six novels, including The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom and the bestselling The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright. She has also written two non-fiction titles, including For the Love of The Archers. She has worked as a sexual health trainer, a journalist and a psychology lecturer and is now a book coach and creative writing teacher. Beth has a PhD in Psychology, and an advanced diploma in tea-drinking.