Tag: interview Page 5 of 7

Interview with Rachel Dove: Competitions and Beyond

On April 25, 2016

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Interview

I’m delighted to have Rachel Dove popping for a cuppa today- maybe some cake- and a chatter about her new writing adventure.

Over to you Rachel…

coffee and cake

What inspired you to write your book?

At the time, my husband owned a sunbed shop next to a dog groomers, and one day while I was helping out there, the idea of two shop owners came to me. I had just seen the competition in Prima, so I took pen to paper right there and started writing.

Do you model any of your characters after people you know? If so, do these people see themselves in your characters?

Grace and Marlene, two of the characters in The Chic Boutique are the real names of my grandmothers, and parts of them are incorporated in the characters. Other than that, I make up my characters from scratch.

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What type of research did you have to do for your book?

I love small villages and have been to Haworth lots of times, and even where I live is quite rural, so I had a head start creating Westfield, but I did have to do a lot of research on chickens, birthing calves and general vet knowledge, which was fascinating!

Do you prefer to plot your story or just go with the flow?

I am a bit of a rogue that way, I tend to play with the pieces in my head away from the computer, till they fit, then I draw up character profiles and plot plans, so a bit of both really.

What is your writing regime?

I recently took a year off from teaching to write, but I wrote Chic Boutique in three months, over the summer holidays too, when both of my boys were home, so Chic Boutique was pretty much a full on writing adventure. These days, I tend to aim for 500 words minimum a day, but aim for more. I also enter competitions regularly, and read a lot of books and magazines. I have a clippings file where I keep things that could be made into stories, writers tips etc, and I have done this since my twenties, so I have a fair few ideas!

What excites you the most about your book?

Where to start? I am really excited for people to read it, to get to know my characters, and hopefully they will love them as much as I do. I think the moment I see my book out there, on shelves in shops, will be something I will remember forever.

If you were stranded on a desert island with three other people, fictional or real, who would they be and why?

I would have to say my husband Peter and our two boys. I just don’t work without them.

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Links

https://racheldoveauthor.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Rachel-Dove-Author-373524896089079/?ref=bookmarks

Twitter: @writerdove

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chic-Boutique-Baker-Street-Mills-ebook/dp/B018DKIWTE

Rachel Dove

Bio

I am a wife, mother of two boys, degree student, avid reader and writer of words. I sometimes sleep, always have eye bags and dream of retiring to a big white house in Cornwall, with 2 shaggy dogs and a load of chickens, drinking wine on my seafront balcony whilst creating works of romantic fiction. All done with immaculate make up and floaty dresses. In the meantime I nearly always remember to brush my hair, seldom have time to look in a mirror and write many, many to-do lists.

The Chic Boutique on Baker Street is my debut novel from Mills & Boon, and the winning entry of the 2015 Prima Magazine and Mills & Boon Flirty Fiction Competition.

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Many thanks for stopping by today Rachel. Congratulations on such a terrific win!

Happy reading,

Jenny x

Interview with N.B. Dixon: Outlaws Legacy

By Jenny Kane

On April 14, 2016

In Blog, crime, Fiction, Historical fiction, Interview

Regular readers of this blog will know that I adore anything to do with Robin Hood. Recently, thanks to the rebirth of Robin of Sherwood (see my previous blogs), I have met many other writers who share my interest. I couple of days ago I was fortunate enough to interview the lovely N.B.Dixon, and question her about her own outlaw obsession, and how she is interpreting it for a modern audience.

So pull up a chair, rest those weary legs, and have a read.

coffee and cake

When did you first encounter Robin Hood as a character?

I had a free period one Friday afternoon and I was buried in a corner of the school library. I had been given two tapes, one was a straightforward narration of the Robin Hood legend, the other, as I’ve only recently discovered, was an audio-book adaptation of one of the episodes of the TV series, Robin of Sherwood. I don’t remember why the librarian gave me these tapes to listen to, whether I’d expressed an interest in Robin Hood, or whether it was just something she thought I would like.

I was a bookworm even in those days. However, my love of Robin Hood was born. It’s the only time I can ever remember being disappointed when I heard the school bell.

User comments

How much historical research have you done on the subject of Robin Hood?

I’ve done extensive research into the Robin Hood legend, trawling various websites in an effort to locate any real-life men who might have been the outlaw. Though there’s no proof Robin Hood ever existed, the parallels between the legend and certain real-life men are fascinating. I’ve also

done considerable research into the period of history in which the Robin Hood legend is set, namely, the reigns of Henry II and his sons, RichardI, known as the Lionheart, and his brother, Prince John. Richard and John have always figured the most prominently in the Robin Hood stories. I’ve

visited the places in which the Robin Hood legend is set, most memorably, Sherwood Forest, and I’ve also handled a longbow and been put in the stocks, all in the name of research.

What is your writing regime?

I tend to write in the morning, then break for lunch and write again in the afternoon. I take a longer break late afternoon and once dinner is over, I turn my attention to any editing I might have to do. More often than not I’m writing one book and editing another.

RH books 2

What excites you the most about your book?

The idea of adding to the Robin Hood legend excites me. There have been so many different interpretations of the story over the years. I wanted to find a balance between telling the legend people were familiar with, and placing my own stamp on it. For me, the most exciting thing about writing this series is the love interest for Robin. Outlaws Legacy is the story behind the legend of Robin Hood. It chronicles his life from his childhood onwards and tells the story beneath the surface legend we are all familiar with.

On the surface, many readers will be familiar with the story; a young nobleman loses his land, becomes an outlaw, meets a rich heiress etc. My Robin however has a secret, and this secret is that he is in fact in love with another man. I wanted to portray someone who, on the outside, was the people’s champion, confident, brave, all the things a hero should be, but beneath this facade was a man with his own doubts and troubles, a human being who would make mistakes and discover things about himself.

I’ve really enjoyed describing the romance as it has unfolded over the series. Currently, book 1, Heir of Locksley, is with my publisher and due for release late 2016/early 2017. I have just completed book 2 and there are still two more books to go in the series.

These books have challenged me in ways I could never have expected and I’m only halfway through. I can’t wait to see what else I will encounter on this journey.

Which is your favourite medieval outlaw apart from Robin Hood?

I think that would have to be Fulk FitzWarin. His story is similar to that of Robin Hood in that his lands are stolen from him and he fights to get them back. His story is a bit of a cross between Robin Hood and King Arthur as he fights just as many dragons and monsters as he does people.

Like Robin, his story also has a bittersweet ending as although he is able to reclaim what was stolen from him, he loses his site in the process as a punishment for the lives he has taken. I always found that story rather moving.

If you were stranded on a desert island with three other people, fictional or real, who would they be and why?

Robin Hood of course, since I’m sure his hunting skills would come in very handy. I’d pick Sherlock Holmes so that I could have intelligent conversation, and I’d choose Harry Potter so that if anything came along to threaten me, he could wave his magic wand and incapacitate it somehow.

Between the three of them, I think I’d be pretty safe.

***

For more information on the Outlaws Legacy series, please visit

http://www.nbdixonauthor.com/

Bio

I’ve made up stories since I was a child. I loved to take characters from my favourite books or television programs and make up stories about them or continue existing stories. In fact, if I had ever published them, I’d be in flagrant breach of copyright.

Away from all things literary, I am an enthusiastic theatre goer. I also play the piano for pleasure and I like to sing when I’m sure no one can hear me. I’m fond of cooking and long walks, and even now I’m still a self-confessed bookworm.

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Many thanks hun. Great ideas there- Do you buy the Richard I and Prince John era for Robin Hood’s ballads?

Good luck with your series.

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny xx

My First Time: Lynne Shelby

By Jenny Kane

On April 13, 2016

In Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Interview

Amazingly, two weeks have passed since Nell Peters shared her ‘First Time’ publishing experiences with us. Today I’m delighted to have the ‘French Kissing’, Lynne Shelby, here to share her own first time with us.

Over to you Lynne…

First Time

Can you remember writing the first story you actually wanted to write, rather than those you were forced to write at school? What was it about?

I can remember that first story! I was fourteen, and had decided that I wanted to be a writer. My first effort was ‘The Mysterious Island, ’a book-length fantasy/adventure story (it would probably be called YA now) in which four teenagers were out in a rowing boat off the Cornish coast, and were lost in a sudden sea mist. When the mist cleared, they found themselves … on a mysterious island, where time had apparently stood still since the middle ages. Taken prisoner by the island’s villainous ruler, a witch, and about to be sacrificed to the ‘old powers,’ the four teenagers were rescued by the island’s rightful – and extremely handsome – ruler! Looking back, I can see that the book can best be described as ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ meets ‘The Wicker Man’ – which I guess is a reflection of the sort of books I was reading as a young teenager! I sent the completed manuscript off to a publisher, and although they didn’t publish it, one of the editors sent me a very kind and encouraging letter back, telling me to be sure to keep writing as she felt I did have talent. I’m so glad I took her advice! I kept the manuscript of that first story for years, but it got misplaced when we moved house.

What was your first official publication?

My first official publication was my debut novel, ‘French Kissing,’ which won the Accent Press and Woman magazine Writing Competition in 2015 – the prize was to be published by Accent Press. A contemporary romance, the novel is about two childhood penfriends, one English, one French, who meet as adults, when their friendship could become something more…

Lynne Shelby with her debut novel French Kissing

What affect did that have on your life?

For me, becoming a published author really was a life-long dream come true. This last year, since I found out I’d won the competition, has been amazing, with so many highlights, like holding a book I’d written in my hands for the first time. It’s been fantastic to have so many readers tell me they’ve enjoyed the book, and I’ve also had the opportunity to meet some wonderful writers who have been so generous with their knowledge and advice about writing.

Does your first published story reflect your current writing style?

I think ‘French Kissing’ is the story in which I found my ‘voice,’ and I am continuing to write in that style – although I hope that I can always continue to grow as a writer.

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment I’m working on another contemporary romance – a love triangle set in the world of showbusiness. I’m having a lot of fun writing about film premieres in Leicester Square and first nights at the theatre.

L Shelby cover

Buy links to ‘French Kissing’ by Lynne Shelby:

Bio

Lynne Shelby can’t remember a time when she wasn’t writing stories, and it has always been her ambition to be a published author. She writes contemporary romance because that is what she most likes reading. She’s worked in a variety of day jobs from stable girl to legal administrator. She’s also had a very enjoyable vicarious career as a stage mother, which has given her a love of the theatre that inspires a lot of her writing. She loves travelling, and she’s also inspired to write by the many wonderful foreign cities that she’s visited and explored – with a camera and writer’s notebook in hand – and her first novel, ‘French Kissing’ is set partly in Paris. She is currently working on her second novel. She lives in north London with her tall, dark, handsome husband and a lot of books.

Website: www.lynneshelby.com

Twitter: @LynneB1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LynneShelbyWriter

***

Many thanks Lynne! Great stuff!

Happy reading,

Jenny x

Guest Interview with Catherine Hokin: Blood and Roses

By Jenny Kane

On April 1, 2016

In Fiction, Historical fiction, Interview

I’m delighted to welcome historical fiction author, Catherine Hokin, to my site today. Why not pop the kettle on, fetch a cuppa, – maybe a slice of cake- and sit down for five minutes to read about Catherine’s latest novel? I have to say, it sounds fantastic.

coffee and cake

What inspired you to write your book?

Blood and Roses tells the story of Margaret of Anjou (1430-1482), wife of King Henry VI, and her pivotal role in the Wars of the Roses. As a child, my father ran a war gaming society (in the days when this actually involved a sand table and little soldiers) and the members were obsessed with the Wars of the Roses and the people involved – to the point where I started to think some of the characters were actually still alive. Among all the people they argued about (and they argued a lot), it was Margaret of Anjou who captured my imagination because they loathed her! Then I met her in the Shakespeare version which depicts her almost as a devil – as a contrary teenager, anyone who could engender this much fury (especially among men) was definitely worth my attention. Then at university, as part of my History degree, I wrote a thesis on medieval politics, witchcraft and propaganda and there she was again. She’s an itch I’ve long wanted to scratch!

CHokin- Blood

Do you model any of your characters after people you know? If so, do these people see themselves in your characters?

Not people I specifically know although I did draw on character traits from Claire Underwood in House of Cards and Alicia Florrick in The Good Wife who I would say are very modern Margarets. I don’t tend to use people in my life but I do draw on relationships. The dynamic between Margaret and her son Edward is key to the book – particularly from the viewpoint of how to raise a strong boy and then let him go, even if the path he chooses is dangerous. I have a son who was 18 when I was writing this and I really drew on our relationship. He thought that was great till he read the death scene…

claire

What type of research did you have to do for your book?

Detailed research is essential to give novels like this credibility – there are a lot of expert readers out there! So the research was extensive and took nearly 2 years – I read everything I could about the time period and the characters, including non-fiction books by other authors and contemporary chronicles written during/shortly after Margaret’s life. You have to read widely to get the different perspectives and find the gaps in the facts where the story starts to grow. I loved researching the really gory battles (the exploding teeth as a result of head injuries at Towton was fascinating) as much as the food and clothing! But you have to be careful not to overwhelm the reader – a lot of what I read came down to 2 or 3 words in the actual novel. And I can now pretty much calculate any distance in terms of how long it takes a horse to get there!

Henry VI – Part 3, Act 2

What excites you the most about your book?

Hopefully what has certainly gripped some of the reviewer’s imaginations! There has always been speculation about who was the father of Margaret’s son. Her husband Henry was essentially a monk and Prince Edward was born 8 years into the marriage. There have been candidates out forward but none of them are believable when you consider Margaret’s character – rather like Elizabeth I, I don’t believe she would have been foolish enough to have an affair that would have threatened her power. So, I looked for the gaps in the facts and found something: at a crucial point in the conflict, Margaret’s army was refused entry to London by her supposed friend, Jacquetta Woodville. The betrayal is stated everywhere but not explained – I had my story…

If you were stranded on a desert island with three other people, fictional or real, who would they be and why?

My first instinct was to say Richard Armitage, Tom Hiddleston and Bruce Springsteen but that’s not what I think you mean so…

I would have said Margaret so I could find out if my take on her life is as realistic as I wanted it to be but I think she would be terrifying so I’ll leave her behind. First of all, I need a good cook (I like to eat) so I’m going to choose the fabulous Julia Childs as long as she was played by Meryl Streep (I know that’s a 2 in 1 but it’s my fantasy). I imagine I might be there a long time so I need someone with a wealth of fascinating stories so I’m going to choose my favourite author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez – this hopefully means that I will also finally learn Spanish which I’ve been meaning to do for ages. And finally, I need someone who would add a bit of spice to the whole thing so I’m choosing Adam from my favourite film ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’. He’s a vampire which is a bit of an issue but maybe fish blood will be ok and at least he won’t eat the food stocks, he’s a great musician so there’s the entertainment sorted and he’s played by Tom Hiddleston…

Links:

https://www.catherinehokin.com/

http://catherinehokin.blogspot.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/cathokin/

Twitter @cathokin

CHokin

Bio:

Catherine is a Glasgow-based author whose debut novel, Blood and Roses was published in January 2016 by Yolk Publishing. The novel brings a feminist perspective to the story of Margaret of Anjou (1430-1482, wife of Henry VI) and her pivotal role in the Wars of the Roses, exploring the relationship between Margaret and her son and her part in shaping the course of the bloody political rivalry of the fifteenth century. Catherine also writes short stories – she was 3rd prize winner in the 2015 West Sussex Writers Short Story Competition and a finalist in the Scottish Arts Club 2015 Short Story Competition. She regularly blogs as Heroine Chic, casting a historical, and often hysterical, eye over women in history, popular culture and life in general. She is profiled in the March 2016 edition of Writing Magazine. For 2016 she has been awarded a place on the Scottish Book Trust Author Mentoring Programme to develop her second novel. In her spare time she listens to loud music, watches far too many movies and tries to remember to talk to her husband and children.

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Thank you such a wonderful interview Catherine.

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny x

My First Time: Nell Peters

By Jenny Kane

On March 30, 2016

In Contemporary fiction, crime, Uncategorized

This week it’s the turn of the always lovely Nell Peters, aka Anne Polhill Walton, to share her first time publishing experiences- and a picture of a chicken…Ummm…

Over to you Nell…

First Time

Can you remember writing the first story you actually wanted to write, rather than those you were forced to write at school? What was it about?

At a loose end over a summer in Montreal (early 20s, pre-children), living in a house with the St Lawrence at the bottom of the garden, I settled down at a picnic table and started writing stories for young children – in between swatting mosquitoes. They were the sort of traditional tales I’d been raised on – gentle escapism, make-believe storylines and not a boy (or girl) wizard in sight, as far as I remember. They were rubbish.

What was your first official publication?

That was a poem published in an anthology for Mother’s Day – I forget what year, but I had four children by then. It was entitled ‘Bonjour Maman’ and some of it was in French, so I had to translate for my mother as she doesn’t speak the lingo.

What affect did that have on your life?

I became rich and famous overnight. Oh no – that wasn’t me. Am eejit.

By Any Name final

Does your first published story reflect your current writing style?

As you specify ‘story’, that would be my psychological crime novel By Any Other Name, which was published in November 2014 by Accent Press. Obviously, my style hasn’t changed too much since then, but with Hostile Witness – launched February 2016, my editor took out a lot (actually most) of the humour I find impossible to resist, to make it quite dark.

Hostile Witness ver 2

What are you working on at the moment?

This questionnaire, silly!

Buy links

By Any Other Name – http://viewbook.at/By_Any_Other_Name_by_Nell_Peters

Hostile Witness – http://mybook.to/hostilewitness

Author Bio and links

Nell Peters is a pen name, as Anne Polhill Walton is something of a mouthful. After I abandoned my quest to become the next Enid Blyton, I started to write poetry and that remained my first love for many years, before I moved on to writing crime – a genre that very much suits my warped mind. Poetry as a therapy continues to be an interest.

I live in Norfolk UK and most of the family are close-ish, so we have some very chaotic weekend get-togethers, Christmases etc. We are collecting a frightening number of Grands – three of each at the last count. Oh, and Pavlova the chicken who turned up almost two years ago and just stayed. She is named not after a meringue dessert, but Ivan Pavlov (he of dog fame) because she responds to classical conditioning. Did I mention my warped mind?

chicken

On Facebook I have an author page: https://www.facebook.com/NellPetersAuthor/

And on Twitter I am myself as @paegon

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***

Many thanks Nell (Anne!)- fabulous! Love Pavlova!

Happy reading,

Jenny x

Nothing’s Forgotten: An Interview with #KOTA Producer Barnaby Eaton-Jones

By Jenny Kane

On March 26, 2016

In Blog, Fiction, Historical fiction, Interview, News

I’m delighted to be interviewing the producer of the brand new Robin of Sherwood audio production today (The Knights of the Apocalypse #KOTA) – Barnaby Eaton-Jones- today!

Got your coffee and cake? Feet up for five minutes? Then let’s begin!

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How did you get involved in #KOTA?

I was asked to co-produce by Simon Barnard, of Bafflegab Productions, as I’d been organising the 30th anniversary ‘Robin Of Sherwood’ celebration – The Hooded Man 2014, which made history by being the only event to have both Hooded Men together at the same time and on stage together being interviewed; Michael Praed and Jason Connery. It was I who liaised with Richard ‘Kip’ Carpenter’s estate and suggested we use the unproduced KOTA script, as well as asking all the surviving actors from the show whether they wanted to come on board. Sadly, Simon left the project in late 2015 and I become sole Producer and basically started the production again (re-casting, re-writing, booking new studios, finding a new audio company – Spiteful Puppet – and generally making sure that ITV and Kip’s estate didn’t pull the plug on it, which was very, very close to happening). It was all rather hectic but I think the production become stronger because of it.

Judi Trott and Nickolas Grace

Have you always like RH/RoS? You’re much too young to have watched RoS when it aired the first time around.

You flatter me! Ha. I am easily old enough to have watched it the first time round. When the show ended, I was hitting my teenage years, and so I recall it all with great clarity and loved every second of it. I think I’d always had a fascination with Robin Hood (I recall reading the ‘proper’ legend, which was anything but, that had been written by Enid Blyton – a simplified version of the most well-known tale – when I was young. But, Robin Of Sherwood was a different chalice of mead. It was rooted in the ’80s but yet seemingly tireless. It was rather ‘adult’ for a teatime adventure slot on ITV (there is talk in the first episode of Will Scarlet’s wife being raped by soldiers, hence his rather unhinged character and desire to fight the Normans). I eagerly awaited ‘Look-In’ (the TV guide for kids), that had a comic strip of the show in it and the odd article and I recall the confusion when Michael Praed’s Robin died and the next series saw the introduction of a new Hooded Man, in the form of Jason Connery’s Robert of Huntingdon. As I got older, I loved the fact that Kip had basically used the two most well-known legends for the outlaw – the first being a Saxon peasant, in the form of Robin of Loxley, and the second being a well-to-do song of an Earl, in the form of Robert of Huntingdon. Artistic leeway aside, with Kip’s interpretation featuring a regular Merry Man in the form of a Saracen called Nasir, I think his vision was pitch perfect for the show and I don’t believe there’s been one better before or since.

Recording of #KOTA

What’s your ‘real’ job?

My two little daughters will say it’s being a silly Daddy. I work from home, so I look after them. But, I basically do anything that’s creative. I’ve been a writer (documentaries on television, published book, published poet, etc), a publisher (Chinbeard Books Ltd), an actor (mostly on stage but a lot of voiceover work and the odd foray into the limelight), a director/producer (I just find projects easier to do if I sort them myself!), a musical tart (writing and performing comedy songs, not-comedy songs and, at one time, spending nearly a decade being Elwood in a 10-piece Blues Brothers tribute I managed), an improviser (my monthly comedy show has returned after a little break, to take a year-long residency in Cheltenham at The Playhouse) and an impressario (I have run The OFFSTAGE Theatre Group since 1993 and we’ve toured here and overseas with many original and ‘classic’ productions). It all sounds highly egotistical but, in a nutshell, my life has been geared to make people happy. I love that. It’s not for me, though of course it does make me happy too, but knowing an audience is having a good time – in comedy or in drama or in music – really fuels me. So, I try not to have an ego. If I do, I certainly keep it in my back pocket.

Colin Baker and Barnaby

Have you always been a ‘creative’ type?

Yes. See above. Ahem. At school, I was known for writing ‘too long stories’ (can stories be ‘too long’? I don’t think so). Often being given a subject and ending up finishing my exercise book and asking for a new one to end it in, as well as illustrating them too. I think that began as early as Infant School, as did my love of standing up and making people laugh. I was probably about 4 or 5 when I was cast as Grumpy in the school play and I only had one line – “I am Grumpy!” – but I still recall the roar of laughter when I said it and the feeling that I wanted to do that again and again.

I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again

What’s next for you after #KOTA has aired?

I’m currently putting together a tour for the revival of an old BBC Radio comedy series called ‘I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again’ (which starred John Cleese, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor, et all). We did a one-off version for charity, to see how it faired and it seemed to work well and attract a big audience. So, we’ve been kindly granted a longer licence by Graeme and Bill to tour with it. Plus, I’ve finally got time to get my publishing company back on track a bit. We’ve got a lot of books finished and ready to be released but I just haven’t had the time. Of course, I also need to be beaten up by my little daughters and make them laugh by falling over a lot.

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Many thanks for such a great interview Barnaby- and for the exclusive photographs! I know you are extremely busy getting the #KOTA production ready in time for next months premiere!

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny x

Interview with Tracey Sinclair: Romance and Fantasy

By Jenny Kane

On March 24, 2016

In Blog, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Interview

I’m delighted to welcome Tracey Sinclair to my site today to tell us about her latest books. Why not grab a cuppa, a slice of cake, put your feet up, and join us for a chat!

coffee and cake

What inspired you to write your book?

I know one of the most commonly asked questions for writers is, where do you get your ideas from, but the only honest answer is, everywhere! My romance, Bridesmaid Blues, was inspired by the fact that, as a single woman, I was bridesmaid to an awful lot of friends (I used to joke that the film 27 Dresses was my autobiography!) I was also the only bridesmaid at a wedding where my ex-boyfriend was best man, and though that worked out fine in real life, I saw the comic possibilities of it as a basis for a story.

For the Dark Dates urban fantasy books, it was a little different – I was sick of the wimpy, whiny heroines I was seeing in some books (naming no names, but sparkling vampires may have been involved!) and I wanted to create a series based around someone who wasn’t like that, but also wasn’t some kind of superwoman – just a normal, relatable woman thrown into extraordinary circumstances.

Bridesmaid Blues Final High res

Do you model any of your characters after people you know? If so, do these people see themselves in your characters?

I do, quite often, though usually I take a mix of characteristics from several people and combine them so as to protect the guilty! Funnily enough, I often combine siblings’ characteristics into one person. The glamorous Hali from Bridesmaid Blues is based on a brother and sister who were great friends to me when, like Luce in the novel, I first moved to London, while Katie in Dark Dates is loosely based on a couple of dryly funny, no nonsense sisters who are also good friends of mine. Sometimes people see it, but I try not to make them too much of a carbon copy, otherwise I think you worry too much about offending people instead of staying true to the characters.

Do you prefer to plot your story or just go with the flow?

I usually have an idea for the start of the book, and the end, but the middle is left to unfold as it will. It’s a bit nerve-wracking, and often ends up being quite surprising, but it works out – although I do a lot of advance notes, sketching out scenes, and an awful lot of rewrites.

What is your writing regime?

I write loose fragments and character sketches, to test or flesh out ideas, characters or scenes, then I do a first draft in longhand. Then, depending on how well it’s going, I’ll do another longhand draft and then at least a couple more on the computer.

In terms of routine, I tend not to write a lot over the winter as I have a lot of other commitments (I’m a freelance writer and editor, so I work around a lot of deadlines) but from March-October I usually write every day, depending where I am in the story.

What excites you the most about your book?

It’s different things for different books, I think. With Bridesmaid Blues, I relished the idea of writing a rom-com that was set in my home city of Newcastle, because you see so many books about women being whisked off to glamourous lives in New York or Paris, and I wanted a more down to earth setting. With Angel Falls, which is the latest in the Dark Dates series, it’s the thrill of writing about characters I’ve become familiar with, and that readers have become attached to – knowing you’re putting out a book that people are looking forward to, and that feature characters that readers have come to really care about is pretty much the biggest thrill I can think of!

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Links – darkdates.org

Facebook.com/darkdates

Twitter – @thriftygal

Books:

Angel Falls – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Angel-Falls-Cassandra-Bick-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B01AMOGRBY/

Bridesmaid Blues: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Bridesmaid-Blues-Tracey-Sinclair-ebook/dp/B00M83Y3VO/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/510122.Tracey_Sinclair

Author image

Bio

Tracey Sinclair is a freelance editor and writer, theatre reviewer, author and playwright. She has been published widely in both print and online magazines, and included in a number of print anthologies. Her play Bystanders was produced at Baron’s Court Theatre in 2011, and again at the White Bear, Kennington and Tristan Bates Theatre, London in 2015, and Dark Dates: An Audience with Cassandra Bick, which she co-wrote with Zoe Cunningham and Peta Lily, has been performed at the Tristan Bates Theatre and the Brighton Fringe. Her first two books were published by Kennedy & Boyd, and her latest series is the Dark Dates/Cassandra Bick novels. A Northerner by birth and temperament, after spending most of her life in Newcastle and Glasgow, she bailed for sunnier climes and now lives happily by the sea in Brighton, with only occasional yearnings for a stottie sandwich or a macaroni pie.

You can follow her on Twitter under the profoundly misleading Twitter name, @thriftygal, or keep up with Dark Dates via darkdates.org or www.facebook.com/darkdates

***

Many thanks Tracey- great interview!

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny xx

My First Time: Maggie Cammis

By Jenny Kane

On March 16, 2016

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

It’s time for another instalment of my blog series, ‘My First Time’. Today I’m delighted to welcome Mggie Cammis to my site. Over to you Maggie…

First Time

Can you remember writing the first story you actually wanted to write, rather than those you were forced to write at school? What was it about?

I have vague recollections of a torrid story concerning a stolen horse and a damsel in distress but to be honest, I can’t remember writing many stories except for homework. I was far too busy reading. When the writing bug finally bit, I jumped straight in with a novel, which had an incestuous relationship at its heart. (I have no idea where that idea sprang from, but the characters just took up the story and ran with it.) Perhaps a little ambitious for a first attempt. It languished at the bottom of a drawer for years, too embarrassed to show its face.

What was your first official publication?

About ten years ago I entered a Writer’s News competition for a personal memoir. Mine was about my experiences working as a teenager in a liquorice factory in the late 1960s. I was thrilled when it won! The article was later published in a local magazine and it’s now available to read on my blog: The liquorice fields of Pontefract

My first published fiction was my novel ‘No News is Good News’, published by Accent Press. It’s set in the exciting world of 24-hour rolling news, and concerns a young editor whose career is compromised by an intriguing storyline.

No News Is Good News(1)

Eleanor was gearing up for marriage when her boyfriend Daniel rejected her without explanation and disappeared. Four years later, she has thrown herself into her hectic career as a TV news editor. She is happy and successful and has definitely moved on.

That is, until Daniel returns with a brand-new fiancée on his arm and Eleanor’s golden chance turns to be not as shiny as she had first anticipated.

What affect did that have on your life?

The competition win confirmed my suspicions – maybe I could write after all. The publication of the novel endorsed them.

Does your first published story reflect your current writing style?

No. That first novel attempt was littered with purple prose! I’ve learned a lot in the intervening years and it’s taken a lot of practice to find my own style.

What are you working on at the moment?

As well as the final edit of novel number 2 – working title ‘Background Feature’ – I’m well into the third, which is a complete departure, covering very different subject matter. It deals with some of the issues surrounding women of a certain age. My age. With added humour, of course.

***

Buy links to your first published story (if still available) and links to your latest book. http://maggiecammiss.com/non-fiction/the-licquorice-fields-of-pontefract/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-News-Good-Maggie-Cammiss/dp/1783757035/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452605212&sr=1-1&keywords=no+news+is+good+news

https://www.accentpress.co.uk/maggie-cammiss

Author Bio and links

Always an avid reader, the first years of my working life were spent in public libraries. Later, I moved into film archives, and in 1989 joined Sky News when the channel first launched. At the end of 2005, after more than ten years as Head of the News Library, I left London with my partner – now my husband – to see what life outside the M25 had to offer. We settled in Norfolk, I joined the Cutting Edge Writers group and started to write seriously.

I came away from the hectic environment of a 24-hour rolling news channel with a gift: masses of background material for a novel. No News is Good News was published by Accent Press in December 2014. In 2012 I entered the NaNoWriMo challenge to write a novel in a month and succeeded with the first 50,000 words of a second novel, with a similar setting, which is now in its final edit. A third novel, with a different theme, is in progress. I also write short stories, some of which I read on local radio, and our writing group has just published an anthology of our work.

https://www.facebook.com/maggiecammisswriter/

http://maggiecammiss.com/

https://twitter.com/maggiecammiss

***

Great interview! Thanks Maggie.

Happy reading,

Jenny x

My First Time: Grace Lowrie

By Jenny Kane

On March 2, 2016

In Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Interview

Today I have the lovely Grace Lowrie visiting to tell us all about her very first story writing and publishing experience.

First Time

My First Time

Can you remember writing the first story you actually wanted to write, rather than those you were forced to write at school? What was it about?

The Dream Cats is a story about two children, James and Jane, who are whisked away in the middle of the night on the back of a black cat. When they wake in the morning they find themselves lying on a knitted blanket beside a pond (as illustrated). The talking cat offers to carry them to a village full of cats, where they are greeted so enthusiastically that James almost falls off his mount. The children are given a cottage to live in, while they make the difficult decision of which cat to adopt and take home…

TheDreamCats

I’m not sure how old I was when I wrote this story, and sadly I never finished it, but I do recall writing it in the back garden, during the summer holidays (almost certainly whilst sitting on a knitted blanket). Reading it back my childhood obsession with cats is obvious, but what most appeals to me now, is that it is James who falls and Jane who catches him. Girl power.

TheDreamCats2

What was your first official publication?

My first official publication was Kindred Hearts, in March 2015. In all honestly I’d never been brave enough to try to get published prior to that, despite having penned hundreds of poems and short stories over the years. I wrote because I enjoyed it, but never suspected I was any good. Now I wish I’d been braver sooner.

KindredHearts

What affect did that have on your life?

My life has changed significantly since getting published. Timing wise it coincided with moving to a new area and changing career, but being published gave me the confidence to return to what I love; make time for my writing and be proud of it. I can honestly say I’ve never felt more content.

Does your first published story reflect your current writing style?

Kindred Hearts is a sexy, contemporary romance novel, exploring the complex relationship between three individuals who have known each other since childhood. It is set in glamorous parts of London but deals with love, loss and loneliness as much as lust. I am currently working on a series of three novels in the same genre. However, I am a bibliophile – I suspect that I am influenced by every book I read and that my writing style is changing and evolving with each new book I write. I hope so anyway.

What are you working on at the moment?

A three-book series of standalone, contemporary, romance novels. Whilst each book focuses on a different relationship, the stories are linked by the fictional setting of Wildham and a cast of reoccurring characters. Themes of isolation, longing and the healing potential of love, weave throughout the series, complemented by a healthy dose of sensuality 🙂

Buy links

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindred-Hearts-Grace-Lowrie-ebook/dp/B00SMRLCA0

http://www.amazon.com/Kindred-Hearts-Grace-Lowrie-ebook/dp/B00SMRLCA0

Author Bio and links

Grace Lowrie was born and raised on the outskirts of London and spent her student years in the eclectic seaside town of Brighton. Since then she has utilised her creativity as a collage-artist, sculptor, prop-maker and garden designer. In March 2015 her debut novel, Kindred Hearts, was released by Cardiff-based publisher, Accent Press. Spurred on by this success, a lifelong passion for reading and a supportive family, she continues to write novels from her Hertfordshire home.

http://www.facebook.com/GraceLowrieWriter

http://www.twitter.com/gracelowrie1

http://www.pinterest.com/grace_lowrie

https://www.goodreads.com/Grace_Lowrie

***

Many thanks Grace,

Great interview. The Dream Cats looks amazing!

Happy reading,

Jenny x

My First Time: Tom Williams

By Jenny Kane

On February 17, 2016

In Blog, Fiction, Historical fiction, Interview

My new fortnightly blog series, talking about authors first publishing experiences, continues today with a geat interview from historical novelist, Tom Williams.

First Time

My First Time

I can’t remember the first story I ever wrote. For this blog we’re not supposed to include stories we were made to write at school, but I loved writing stories at school. I wrote stories, poems, essays … I wrote anything and everything. I’ve always enjoyed writing.

When I was a teenager I decided I’d like to write short stories for publication. I bought loads of women’s magazines and read them and then tried to write something that would fit their market, but I never cracked it. This was in the days before word processing so I got individually typewritten rejection letters. I remember they were often on very small sheets of paper. Presumably they sent so many of them out that using small sheets meant a real saving.

That was when I started my world-class collection of rejections. I’ve still got a lot of them, hidden in a box in the loft.

Eventually I grew up (more or less), got a job, got married, and got a life (not necessarily in that order). I’ve always been incredibly jealous of people who can organise their writing round work/marriage/hobbies. I’ve never been able to. I think it’s even harder when, like me, you do a lot of writing in the course of your work. I more or less gave up writing fiction for years but then decided that I would take time out and try and produce the novel I had always dreamt of. It took me almost a year and it attracted the interest of quite a well-known agent who sent me to an editor. I was still very young and had absolutely no idea of how lucky I was to get that far. Instead of persevering, I got increasingly frustrated until the editor suggested that I should rest the book, do something else, and come back to it. I rested it for over twenty years before I decided to have a crack at another novel. When I thought about what I wanted to do, I realised that I could take the story that I had tried to tell all those years ago and twist it round to tell it from another direction. This is the book that eventually became The White Rajah. Yet again, it did find an agent, but, though he sent it to several major publishers all of them politely declined it. It was, they said, a “difficult” first novel. Why not write something more commercial and then tried to sell The White Rajah once I was established?

The White Rajah2

I obediently went off to write something “more commercial” (it eventually became Burke in the Land of Silver) but I was beginning to think that I would be cold in my grave before The White Rajah ever saw publication. Then I saw that a tiny US indie publisher, who specialised in novels for the gay community, was looking for historical works. I had a suspicion that one of the things that made The White Rajah “difficult” was that it featured a love story but also a pronounced absence of any female characters. I decided that a niche indie publisher was probably the way to go so The White Rajah finally saw publication.

[Scrabbles desperately around and finds Jenny’s interview questions. Tries to pull himself back on track.]

What effect did that have on your life?

In practical terms, not a lot. I think everybody imagines that their first published book will change their lives, but it’s very rare that it does. It got some nice reviews and enough people bought it for JMS to ask me to produce a sequel so I did. That was Cawnpore. For what it’s worth, I think it’s the better book, but I’m happy to have written both of them.

Cawnpore_edited-1

Does your first published story reflect your current writing style?

Yes and no. I finally took the advice I had been offered years earlier and tried to write something more commercial. So I’ve written three books about a (very) heterosexual spy in the time of Napoleon and am working on a fourth. Apart from the fact that these are historical novels, they have practically nothing in common with the first two books. At the same time I produced another book in the original series, Back Home, which will be published by Accent in April. That’s totally in the style of the first two. It was never originally conceived as a trilogy, but it has worked out very naturally. The three books have different subjects but they are all seen through the eyes of John Williamson. We meet him first as a young man setting out from England for adventures in the Far East and then, in Cawnpore, as an established figure in British colonial administration who sees everything he has worked for being destroyed in the Indian Mutiny. The final book sees him back in England, closing the circle of his life. It’s fair to say that they’re not cheerful, but I honestly think they’re worth a read.

What are you working on at the moment?

Another book about my spy, James Burke. This time he will be fighting in the Peninsular War.

Tom Williams

Bio

Tom Williams used to write about boring things for money. If you wanted an analysis of complaints volumes in legal services or attitudes to diversity at the BBC, then he was your man. Now he writes much more interesting books about historical characters and earns in a year about what he could make in a day back then. (This, unfortunately, is absolutely true.) He also writes a blog (http://thewhiterajah.blogspot.co.uk/) which is widely read all over the world and generates no income at all. Besides making no money from writing, Tom makes no money out of occasionally teaching people to tango and then spends all the money he hasn’t made on going to dance in Argentina.

Please save Tom from himself and buy the bloody books.

Here are links to the published stories about John Williamson.

The White Rajah: myBook.to/WhiteRajah

Cawnpore: myBook.to/Cawnpore

Back Home will be published in April.

TW1 Burke at Waterloo

And here are the stories about James Burke.

Burke in the Land of Silver: myBook.to/LandofSilver

Burke and the Bedouin: http://mybook.to/Bedouin

Burke at Waterloo: myBook.to/BurkeWaterloo

Burke in the land of silver

Many thanks Tom. Great interview!

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny xx

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