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Book Chat with Rosie Dean

Posted on | by Rosie Travers | 2 Comments on Book Chat with Rosie Dean

This week I’m meeting up with writer Rosie Dean. Rosie lives in one of my favourite places, the Isle of Wight, but for our author chat we’ve hopped over to one of her favourite places, sunny Andalucia, and a sea-front cafe, where we’re sat under a parasol, sharing our love of writing, and observing potential new characters wander by…

Hi Rosie and welcome to my blog.

What’s your latest WIP called and what is it about? 

The working title is Zoe’s Other Life.  Zoe, on the cusp of a new life seriously screws up when she does something totally out of character – but which ultimately leads to a more fulfilling life.
 

What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? 

When a scene is playing out in my head and my fingers are almost falling over themselves to type it into the manuscript. A little while later, I have two or three thousand words I’m really pleased with. I LOVE it when that happens.  

Where do you do your writing? 

I have no fixed abode for my writing. I write best in a café or on a park bench somewhere – even if there’s noise going on around me, I can zone out and write. I’m also really productive if I go on a writing retreat – a delicious indulgence.

The trouble with writing at home is that, for one as ill-disciplined as myself, gardening, laundry, baking and other distractions peck at my head.  

That’s interesting, for me it would be the other way round. I’d be far too distracted writing anywhere but my office at home!

How many unfinished novels have you got on your laptop/in your notebooks? 
 Five – three of which are Young Adult novels.  

How do you come up with names for your characters?
Sometimes I hear a name which immediately suggests a character type to me, and squirrel it away for future use.  

I try to have characters whose names begin with different letters; I find books are confusing if several characters’ names begin with the same letter. I think it’s important for each individual to have a distinctive name. I search the internet for baby names popular during the imagined birth year of the character, so as not to pick one that would be anachronistic.  

If you could pick one character from your books to meet in real life, who would it be and why? 

Ooh, tricky…Some of my secondary characters – especially the eccentric women – really appeal to me. In Millie’s Game Plan, I loved writing Vonnie Marshal, who had seen better days but still fancied herself as a glamour model. Then there’s Carla Spielman in Toni’s Blind Date, a middle-aged American health and fitness guru. I’ve always had a soft spot for sassy older women, who don’t give a fig what other people think. We could learn a lot from them! 

Hollywood comes calling and you’re offered big bucks for film rights to one of your books, but you have absolutely NO SAY in how it’s adapted. Do you sign on the dotted line? 

Call me shallow but…hell, yeah!

About Rosie Dean

I’ve been writing stories and plays since I was big enough to type. After studying ceramic design and gaining a ‘degree in crockery’ as the man in my life calls it, I became an Art & Pottery teacher. Seven years later, I moved into corporate world, writing training courses and marketing copy until the lure of being a full-time writer became irresistible.  

My passion is to write entertaining love stories that can make a reader chuckle, laugh out loud or, occasionally, feel a lump in the throat. Most of all, I love developing the characters who inhabit my stories – eccentricities and screwball scenarios pop up in all my work. Some of these characters have four legs – because animals offer an interesting counterpoint to human dramas. 

I live on the Isle of Wight, and can see the sea from my writing den. 

Website/blog www.rosie-dean.com

Facebook www.facebook.com/RosieDeanWriter

Twitter http://twitter.com/RosieDeanAuthor  

Goodreads www.goodreads.com/RosieDean

Amazon (Author Page) http://www.amazon.com/Rosie-Dean/e/B00GML9CU0

Many thanks to Rosie for inviting me over to Andalucia!

Out of My Comfort Zone

Posted on | by Rosie Travers | Leave a Comment on Out of My Comfort Zone

I’ve written before about how my writing journey has forced me out of my “comfort zone” when it comes to social media/marketing. Shy wallflowers like me are not great at self-promotion; I’ve had to force myself every step of the way.  The actual writing has always been the soft squidgy part of the process.  That’s what I’m good at, sitting at my laptop and playing with my characters, manipulating them to do my bidding.

Writing my Isle of Wight mysteries has been the literary equivalent of putting on a pair of well-worn slippers. It’s been a joy, a delightful escape which has kept me occupied for the best part of the last three years, and I do feel a little sad it’s come to an end (although never say never because I’ve had an idea for a possible future Christmas special for Eliza and Charlie…).

But now I’m casting those slippers aside to put on a pair of super-high stilettoes, the type of shoes you buy and wear only once because they pinch and rub, cause blisters and broken ankles…

My next project requires RESEARCH on a large scale and it’s anything but comfortable. Each Eliza Kane mystery has involved a limited amount of research – I knew nothing about the Isle of Wight’s aviation industry until I started writing A Crisis at Clifftops, even less about golf, but it was very much a case of looking things up as a I went along, and also with the knowledge that most readers probably knew even less about these things than I did.

But now I’ve got to man-up! My WIP (work in progress) – which is still very much at the in my head stage – is a major epic, a historical saga very different to anything I’ve written before. It is based on real events that took place during the Second World War,  and I need to stick to the facts. Not only that, but the relatives of the central characters are still alive and kicking, and have very kindly allowed me to re-tell the family history. I have to do them and their ancestors justice. I want the background/setting for this story to be as accurate as it can be, even though I have a licence to embellish the plot.

Fortunately my local library has several shelves of local history books. My reading list is growing. There’s also the internet research and YouTube videos…

The setting for the story is the local to me in the New Forest, in particular the villages on the western banks of Southampton Water. These days this side of Southampton Water is dominated by the enormous oil refinery at Fawley, but the refinery wasn’t constructed until the 1950s. Before then, the western banks of the water were flanked by open fields and farmland.   

Any descriptions of the local landscape I include in this new novel, when I finally get round to putting my fingers to the keyboard, are going to vary a lot from what a visitor to this area sees today. It’s not as if I can go for a walk and experience the same sights and sounds as my 1940s heroine. If you think a stroll in through the trees in the Forest might help, think again. Most of the New Forest was out of bounds for the entire duration of the War, requisitioned by the military for top secret training camps, dummy bombing raids and hastily constructed aerodromes. (Research paying off already!)

The War itself is very central to the story. I’ve read a handful of novels set during that time, I know about ration books and air-raids, black-outs, the Home Guard, digging for Victory, etc, but now I need more detailed knowledge. What music did my heroine dance to? There must have been more choice than Glen Miller and the Andrews Sisters. What was she wearing? Probably something she made or altered herself. What was her favourite tipple? A watered down beer – how delicious! There’s a lot of information out there, but filtering out the bits I need will take time.

In addition, I need to adopt a new “serious” voice. This isn’t a frivolous story, and although I’m sure humour will creep into certain scenes, I have to make sure it’s appropriate for the setting and the time. My characters will have fun, but they also have some huge choices and heart-wrenching decisions to make. I can’t trivialise that.

I’ll keep you updated on my progress but I’m in this for the long haul. It will be a learning curve, and a challenge, but I’m determined to give it a go. I don’t have a title, and the three central characters have already undergone several name changes before they’ve even been cast onto paper (I’m not using their real names but coming up with new ones that suit them is proving a bit trickier than I thought). I’ll get there. Some parts of the story are set in stone, others have some wriggle room.

On a lighter note, and talking of things that wriggle….Ed the cat has been a great hindrance during the proof-reading of Trouble on the Tide, but we’re still on target for ebook launch at the end of June. Paperbacks will follow later in the year. Cover reveal coming soon!

Book Chat with Carol Thomas

Posted on | by Rosie Travers | Leave a Comment on Book Chat with Carol Thomas

Today I’m in the historic market town of Arundel in West Sussex, having a chat with author Carol Thomas. Arundel provided the inspiration for Carol’s novel, A Summer of Second Chances, and I can see why she was inspired to write with this view from her office! Not only can you glimpse the town’s medieval castle across the rooftops, but it also looks like someone has kidnapped my cat Ed….

Hello Rosie, 

Thank you for having me on your blog.

You’re very welcome Carol. Tell me about your latest WIP.

My current WIP is far from finished but has the working title New Beginnings (or Christmas) at The Mistletoe Tearoom. It is about a single mother of two who starts over and finds love at Christmas after an unexpected encounter.

What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most?

I enjoy it when the ideas and words flow. It is the best feeling when your fingers can’t type quickly enough to get your ideas down. I enjoy it when I know where my story is going, and I am excitedly writing towards a certain point.

How many unfinished novels have you got on your laptop/in your notebooks?

A quick count suggests nine. It is a bit of an estimate as some merge into others as I take threads and weave them into new stories as my ideas develop.

That’s exactly what I do too! How do you come up with names for your characters? 

First, I look at pictures of people, celebrities typically, who fit the description of my character. Then, I try names out to see if they suit them. Once I have a name, I do a few checks to ensure it is appropriate: was it around in the year of the character’s birth? Do people with the same name have similar attributes to my character? And, are there any famous or infamous people with the same name?

If you could pick one character from your books to meet in real life, who would it be and why?

I would love to meet Flo, a secondary character in my novel A Summer of Second Chances, who volunteers in the charity shop at the heart of the story. She is a lot of fun and a little bit mischievous. I’d enjoy spending time with her. Having worked in a charity shop myself, I know we would have a good chat about some of the more obscure donations received – such as those Flo accidentally displays that she shouldn’t.

Charity shops are Aladdin Caves – I can see that working in one could provide no end of inspiration!

Now, just imagine Hollywood comes calling, and you’re offered big bucks for film rights to one of your books, but you have absolutely NO SAY in how it’s adapted. Would you sign on the dotted line?

Oh, that’s a good question. I think I probably would for two reasons:

Practically, the money would be fabulous. My second eldest daughter is off to university soon, and I have two younger children yet to follow. Also, my husband talks about the cost-of-living crisis daily; it would be wonderful not to hear that for a bit.

I love to watch films at the cinema, and I think I’d like to trust the process and see how that goes. Being published, I know how hard it can be to accept titles, covers and edits that aren’t what you originally had in mind, but I have also seen that they can improve and add to the story. Trusting someone with the right cinematic vision may be beneficial.

In a dystopian future, you’re only allowed to keep one book from all the books on the shelves in your house. Which one would you choose?

I wish I had a book called How to Survive in a Dystopian Future, but I don’t. So, I’d choose my Ladybird Book of Five Little Kittens because my mum, who sadly passed away in 2021, read it to me as a child. I wasn’t a big book lover when I was young – so different to how I am now – but I remember the enjoyment of my mum reading it to me and my love of that story.

That’s a lovely memory to share. Thank you Carol.

Here’s a little more about A Summer of Second Chances

A heart-warming romance full of love, friendship and four legged friends!

Does first love deserve a second chance?

Ava Flynn sometimes feels like the clothes donated to her charity shop have seen more life than her, but ‘maximum dedication for a minimal wage’ is what it takes to keep her mother’s beloved wildlife charity, All Critters Great and Small, running especially in the village of Dapplebury, where business is certainly not booming.

But when Ava’s first love, Henry Bramlington, returns to the village, suddenly life becomes a little too eventful. Henry escaped Dapplebury many years before, but now he has the power to make or break the village he left behind All Critters Great and Small included. Can Ava trust the boy who ran away to give both her and her charity a second chance?

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Published by: Choc Lit

Buying Link:

Amazon: http://getbook.at/SOSCAmazon

Other books by Carol Thomas

Maybe Baby: http://getbook.at/MBAmazon

The Purrfect Pet Sitter: http://getbook.at/TPPSAmazon

Crazy Over You: http://getbook.at/COYAmazon

Author Bio:

Carol Thomas lives on the south coast of England with her husband and four children. She has been a primary school teacher for over twenty years and has a passion for reading, writing and people watching. Whenever the opportunity arises, Carol can be found loitering in local cafes drinking too much tea and working on her next book.

Carol writes contemporary romance novels, with relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads.

Website and Social Media Links:

http://carol-thomas.co.uk

http://carol-thomas.co.uk/blog

http://facebook.com/carolthomasauthor

http://twitter.com/carol_thomas2

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/carol_thomas2/

https://www.instagram.com/carol_thomas2/

For anyone who is worried about Ed, I’m happy to report that he’s safely home in the garden!

Kill Your Darlings

Posted on | by Rosie Travers | 2 Comments on Kill Your Darlings

I thought I’d write a post about the joys of editing. I like editing. It’s fine-tuning, polishing off. I’m a Virgo and we’re supposed to be pernickety (Mr T may have a different opinion on this when it comes to things like decorating…) but as for my writing, yes I like to dot every t and cross every i, or something like that.

When I decided to embrace self-publishing, I knew it was important that my books were edited professionally. I wanted to create a product that was as good as anything else out there on the market. That meant giving my baby up to someone else for inspection.

When I’ve reached a stage in my writing when I think a novel is good to go – I send it out to a handful of good friends, just to make sure the plot works and they find the story enjoyable. I know they will be kind but I always ask for an honest opinion.  I take their feedback on board and give my manuscript another self-edit, before I send it off to the professional.

The professional I’ve used for all three Eliza Kane books is a lovely lady in the Isle of Wight called Anna, https://www.annabritton.co.uk/editing who I originally found on Twitter.  I’ll admit when I received the very comprehensive report she provided on A Crisis at Clifftops, the first book in the series, I had to pick myself up off the floor. I thought my book was finished, I thought it was ready to hit the shelves… But of course it wasn’t.

Anna pointed out a lot of flaws, but also a lot of positives. After a few days of mulling over, I decided I could make some of the changes she suggested, perhaps I hadn’t made the characters’ motivations as clear as I thought, perhaps there were aspects of the plot that didn’t quite work… and so on. I didn’t change everything she suggested, but I do know at the end of what seemed like a very painful process, my novel was a lot better because of her intervention.  

It made sense to continue to use Anna for the second and third books in the series, and I’ve just received her report on Book 3, Trouble on the Tide. Once again it has been a positive experience. There are few minor differences of opinion, which we’ve sorted out, and a few things to tighten up. Writers carry a lot of background knowledge about their characters in their heads, but that doesn’t always transfer to the page.  Anna is very good at pointing bits that are missing – why is Character A behaving like this? Why isn’t Character B reacting? Sometimes I think it’s obvious, but that’s because I know what’s about to happen next. The reader doesn’t.  

It’s very hard to be subjective about your own writing – which is why having an editor who doesn’t know you, who isn’t your best friend or related to you in anyway, is vital!

My old writing tutor used to say every word has to earn its place in a story. I try to keep my writing tight and not wander off on a tangent. Anna did suggest I might like to think about getting rid of some of my secondary characters because there are rather a lot of them. My plots are character driven, and every one of the people in Trouble on the Tide is instrumental in carrying the plot forward (seriously Rosie? Yes! Vital!). However, because I’m reasonable and sensible I’ve taken her comments on board and made some changes to the way some of these folk are mentioned and re-introduced. But kill them off? The sheer horror of a cull…but talking of culling, yes all those VERYs, JUSTs, REALLYs, SMALLs, STILLs, have got to go. Another self-edit should reduce the superfluous word count.

I’m really pleased DELIGHTED with the way the story has worked out – Trouble On The Tide isn’t just a cosy mystery.  It’s a story about families and trust, and Eliza has some big decisions to make. I’m working on the blurb, and the cover has been commissioned.  I’ll keep you posted on pre-order and launch date.

In other news, I’ve got the go ahead to work on my historical romance. This is going to be a whole new challenge, involving research and planning. I want to do the family involved and their story justice. Exciting times ahead!

Book Chat with Val Penny

Posted on | by Rosie Travers | Leave a Comment on Book Chat with Val Penny

I’m delighted to welcome Val Penny back to my blog as my first guest in a new series of author interviews. Picture two writers having a cosy chat in a bar on the Royal Mile in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle…

Hello Val

I am so happy to join you on your blog today, Rosie. Thank you for hosting me.

You’re very welcome. Please start by telling me about your new book.

My new book is to be published on 6 March by SpellBound Books. The title is The First Cut and is the first book in my new series of Jane Renwick Crime Thrillers. It is about why Jane’s difficult childhood helps a series of murders to be solved.

What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most?

I most enjoy planning the stories and novels, deciding what difficult circumstances I can devise for my characters and how to resolve the issues I throw at them.

Where do you do your writing?

I enjoy writing while sitting cross legged on a large, comfortable chair with my computer balanced on my lap. Idiosyncratic? Yes. But then, I am a writer.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block, and if you do, what’s your cure?

I’m sure every writer suffers from writer’s block from time to time, but if writing is your job, it is a self-indulgent luxury to succumb to it. I tend to write something else, or bring my blog up to date and then return to the piece that is causing me an issue and fix the problem.

What inspired you to first put pen to paper, or fingers to the keyboard, and start writing novels?

I took early retirement when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and there were times when I suffered severe side effects from my treatment. I could not go out, spend time with friends or indulge in many of my favourite hobbies, but watching daytime television got very old very fast, so I turned to reading. It was the only thing I had the energy to do and could do safely.

After a while, I got restless, but was still not well enough to do very much and I complained to my long-suffering husband about getting bored. It was then he challenged me: ‘If you know so much about what makes a good book, why don’t you write one?’ I did laugh. However, the challenge set, I have been writing police procedural crime thrillers set in Scotland ever since.

If you could pick one character from your books to meet in real life, who would it be and why?

I think it would have to be DS Jane Renwick, the main character of The First Cut. She is smart, sassy and quick-witted. She also has an extensive knowledge of fine art. I think a visit to the national Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh or The Burrell Collection in Glasgow would be fun and interesting in her company.

In a dystopian future you’re only allowed to keep one book from all the books on the shelves in your house. Which one would you choose?

Good grief! Only one? What would happen to all my other books?

If I could only keep one, it would probably be my copy of Roget’s Thesaurus. If I had pencil and paper, I could write and be sure that I used the correct words and that they were correctly spelt!

Thank you for hosting me on your blog today, Rosie. It is always lovely to chat with you.

The First Cut

It’s hard to escape a brutal past.  

A vicious killer is on the loose and victims include an academic and members of Edinburgh’s high society.  

DS Jane Renwick is banished to the side-lines of the case and forced to look on impotently when the hunt for the killer ramps up, because the Murder Investigation Team finds out that the killer is her relative.  

Has someone from Jane’s birth family returned to haunt her? Is one of her relatives be involved? Where will the killer strike next?  

This gripping police procedural is set in Edinburgh and Glasgow.  

The exciting novel is the first in Val Penny’s new series of Scottish thrillers.  

Buying link https://linktr.ee/spellboundbks

Author Bio

Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.  Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.  

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.  

 Many thanks to Val for joining me.

Coming out of hibernation…

Posted on | by Rosie Travers | 4 Comments on Coming out of hibernation…

It has been a very long winter but I’ve finally re-emerged!

It is four months since my last blog post. Back in November I was about to set off on holiday and all was well in the world…That holiday is not one I’m ever going to forget, and for all the wrong reasons. One broken arm later and we were back home within four days. Any hope of bouncing back to start editing Trouble On The Tide flew out of the window. On top of the broken arm I’ve also had the cold from hell to contend with since January.  It’s as if three years of being virus-free caught up with me. Even worse every cold/flu remedy in my medicine cabinet was out of date and the supermarket shelves were empty. Clearly everyone else in the same boat. 

Did I feel sorry for myself? Yes!

But now with spring around the corner, the snivels and coughs are finally coming to an end. I’ve managed to finish my self-edits and Trouble on the Tide is out of the door and on its way to professional editor Anna in the Isle of Wight for her strict appraisal.

As I said in November, this book has been a joy to write, and all the early readers who’ve had a preview have sent back positive feedback. One comment about a confusion over characters was quickly rectified when I realised one character had actually changed name half-way through the manuscript. A minor issue. That’s why editing is so important!

I originally thought I would continue writing my Isle of Wight mysteries for ever more. I could see endless possibilities for Eliza to investigate, but sometimes you watch a long running TV show and you think if only they’d stopped this after the third series…

I’ve spent the last three years immersing myself in Eliza and her family, and lovely people though they are, I feel it’s time to move on.  The plan is to launch Trouble on the Tide this summer and then take a break.

I do have another idea brewing but it’s a total change of direction and involves RESEARCH. It’s a story I’ve been thinking about for some time, but a casual “yes of course you can turn my family history into a novel if you want to” isn’t permission to proceed. Before I even begin to put pen to paper, I’ll need to consult and gather facts, and as someone who usually googles as they go along, this is a bit of an alien concept.  And if I do go ahead, I want to do this amazing story justice (think epic wartime romance/espionage/tragedy). In addition, although I’ve said I’d never go back to seeking a traditional publisher, if I could pull this story off it deserves a wider audience.

Being in hibernation over the last four months has reiterated the downsides of self-publishing. To be a successful indie author you have to be relentless in your marketing. If you’re not visual and vocal on social media, books don’t sell. The publishing world is tough, every celebrity and their mother currently has a book on the market.  In addition the cosy mystery is becoming overdone.  Eliza Kane was always so much more than just a simple cosy – there is the family drama, the romance, the dual timelines. I know comparativitis is a horrible condition that should be ignored, but when I see multiple versions of Mrs Busybody strangled by floral bunting at the church fete riding high in the Amazon charts I do start to feel I should have listened to all that advice and just written something that fitted into the commercial cosy pigeon hole. (I’ve just realised Flora Bunting is the perfect name for a killer…hurriedly picks up pen…)

On the upside, I did do a lovely talk at Lee Hub community library last weekend – the Lee Tower in Lee-on-the-Solent was the inspiration behind Hookes Bay pavilion in The Theatre of Dreams so it was an appropriate place to give a talk. The Lee hub library is also housed in a beautiful 1920s building now taken over by the community, which is the whole premise of my debut novel. Life really does imitate art. The audience seemed to appreciate the efforts I’d made with my Powerpoint presentation, they asked lots of questions about all four of my books and nobody fell asleep – always a good sign!

Me and my Powerpoint!

Now that I’ve finally stuck my head back over the parapet, I will keep you updated on the cover reveal and launch date for Trouble on the Tide. I’ll also keep you posted on whether that next project goes ahead or not. If it does you’ll find me in the library with my head in a reference book…

Trouble On The Tide

Posted on | by Rosie Travers | 2 Comments on Trouble On The Tide

Here it is – the first sneak preview of the third Eliza Kane story – Trouble on the Tide. The first draft is finished and it has been an absolute joy to write. I set myself a deadline to finish this draft before going on holiday next week, so I know there is still a lot of work to do, especially in the latter half of the story. I’m itching to start editing. There are tweaks to be made, characters and scenes to plump up, a new twist is already floating about in my head, but I need to stop now, sit on it, and attack the manuscript with “new eyes” when I return to my desk in December.  I don’t think I have ever enjoyed writing a novel so much – probably because I know Eliza and all her foibles very well by now, plus part of the book is set in 1981 – my teenage years – so to re-visit that period in time has been great fun!

I will spend the winter editing and polishing off, and plan to launch the book in early summer 2023. More good news is that I hope to be able to have a physical book launch as well.  A new independent book shop has opened in Lymington in the New Forest, and I have been able to persuade the lovely owners, Robyn and Dan, to stock the Eliza Kane Investigates series in their “local author” section.  Robyn has done a grand job persuading her customers they will enjoy meeting Eliza, and they are now on their third stock-run of books (granted they don’t hold a huge stock but it’s wonderful to be told they’ve sold out!)

I know I’ve been all too quiet on social media while I’ve been working to get Trouble On The Tide finished, and as any author knows, if you disappear off air for a while people very quickly forget about you and your books. Self-publishing is all about being visible and vocal, but I have accepted that for my own personal well-being I need to concentrate on the things that make me happy – which is writing!  

I did pop my head up to do an author talk at a local arts centre in my old home village of Bursledon on the eastern side of Southampton earlier this week. As I’ve said before, “performing” in front of an audience is something I would never have seen myself doing a few years’ back, and I’d like to thank the Greyladys Art Foundation for inviting me along, and those brave souls who ventured out on what was a horrible Tuesday evening to listen to me wittering on about my path to publication.  I always refer to my path as a rocky road because just like the chocolate treat of the same name it’s full of soft gooey bits, delicious bits, colourful bits, and some very hard, break your teeth on bits. Right now, with Amazon sales and page reads on Kindle Unlimited of A Crisis at Clifftops and The Puzzle of Pine Bay trickling in slowly but surely, I’m at soft-gooey stage, which is a very satisfying place to end the year!

Don’t forget books make wonderful Christmas presents – personalised signed copies of all four of my paperbacks are available directly from me and I’m happy to post anywhere in the UK. Sadly I’m down to my last few copies of Your Secret’s Safe With Me and The Theatre of Dreams….and when they’re gone, they’re gone. The books will remain on Amazon in ebook format only, and signed paperbacks will become very rare copies. Who knows, one day they could be worth a fortune! I dream on…

An Extraordinary Journey

Posted on | by Rosie Travers | 6 Comments on An Extraordinary Journey

Writing is hard, don’t let anyone tell you it isn’t, and don’t listen to people who say anyone can do it, because they can’t.  It requires patience, persistence, and quite often sheer bloody mindedness to get a novel from conception into print these days – and not everyone has the stamina to see it through.

Regular followers of this blog will know that over the summer I ran a series of guest posts where authors shared the inspiration, the back-story, to their latest novel. This week I’d like to introduce readers to Dave, whose book launch I attended last weekend.

I first met Dave several years ago when I volunteered at my local community library. Dave came along to a meeting of the library’s creative writing group. I can’t recall the exact date, but I think it was shortly after I’d had an offer of publication for my first book, The Theatre of Dreams. Dave was very keen to pick my brains about the publishing process, because he too was in the middle of writing a book. In fact, he’d been in the middle of writing a book for several years.

I knew that feeling and immediately recognised Dave as a kindred spirit.

Dave’s would-be novel was set in World War II, and I’ll be the first to admit the mere mention of a military novel and my eyes tend to glaze over and my brain switches off. But this didn’t happen in Dave’s case, because his story was so uniquely personal to him, it was impossible to ignore his passion, his commitment, to consign his story to paper, or in his case, to his laptop, because Dave is quadriplegic, and the only tool he has to write his novel is his voice.

Way back in 1973 Dave had travelled to Norway as part of an RAF salvage team charged with the task of raising a submerged Halifax Bomber, shot down in 1942. When the mission was complete and the plane had been transported to the RAF museum at Hendon to be restored, Dave met with members of the original crew.  The airmen’s stories of bailing out over occupied territory, the treacherous journey they made back to the UK with the aid of the Norwegian resistance, their tales of personal loves and losses, left a lasting impression.

Newspaper clip from 1973 reporting on the salvage operation

Like most writers, Dave has always been an avid reader. He worked as an air traffic controller before retiring in 2004, following a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.  It was then that he started to make notes about his own life experiences and began the bare bones of the novel that would eventually become The Flags of Dawn.

A lot of authors dictate their novels. That’s not unique, but they can also type, use a mouse, print out pages, edit with post-it notes and a big red pen. That’s not an option for Dave.  If Dave’s in the middle of dictating and his wife Jane asks if he’d like a drink of coffee, his refreshment order turns up in the manuscript. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to appreciate the obstacles he’s had to overcome on his writing journey. Dave refers to his novel as the tale of ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things, but he’s extremely modest about his own achievements.

Dave and I write in totally different genres and in totally different styles, he’s a military historian who has been meticulous with his research, I’m a happy-go-lucky lightweight, but I do know what it’s like to have a story in your head that won’t go away. This was the book he had to write. Dave was determined the air crew, and their families, should not be forgotten. I wish him and his book all the success in the world.

Dave and his wife Jane celebrating at the launch of The Flags of Dawn

Buying Link to The Flags of Dawn

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flags-Dawn-Stanley-Francis-ebook/dp/B0BFK8Z7R1/

(Dave has used the pen-name Stanley Francis in honour of his father who was a POW during World War II.)

Behind The Scenes with Ruby Basu

Posted on | by Rosie Travers | Leave a Comment on Behind The Scenes with Ruby Basu

As the summer draws to a close, we’re paying our last visit behind the scenes. I hope readers have enjoyed these insights into how a writer’s mind works. For the season finale, I’m delighted to welcome Ruby Basu with the backstory to her latest novel, The Love Arrangement.

Thank you for having me on your blog and giving me the opportunity to tell you about the inspiration for my latest book, The Love Arrangement.

Like many authors, I can get ideas for books from anywhere. Something I’ve read, something I’ve heard or just an image that pops into my head – all sparking a ‘what if’ question which then leads to characters, plots and settings. But the process for The Love Arrangement was completely different. This story began with a trope.

I love reading or watching stories where the couple pretends to be in a relationship. The fake dating trope is often coupled with either friends-to-lovers or enemies-to-lovers and it can bring in so many other tropes like the forced proximity or only one bed. There’s so much to love about it. I really wanted to write a book based on a fake relationship.

But of course, it’s not enough to have the trope. You need the plot, the conflicts and the character growth as well.

All my books feature at least one British Indian protagonist, so my mind immediately went to Indian weddings. As someone who had four wedding receptions (one in England and three in India), I wanted to reflect the vibrant, colourful, multi-day events in my book. That inevitably turned my thoughts to settings because if you’re going to feature a wedding why not have a destination wedding?

As I thought about what other events my fake couple could attend as part of their arrangement, I wanted to include some British activities and what is more quintessentially British than a garden party?

Once I had these events ready, Annika and Rav’s backstory, conflicts and character arcs flowed organically and the story came alive.

I’m not sure I would deliberately work from a trope to create a book again, but the development of The Love Arrangement proves that stories really can come from anywhere.

Blurb

Independent and free-spirted Annika has no plans to settle down anytime soon… if only her parents felt the same way. But when her father unexpectedly falls ill, she’ll do anything to make things better. Even if it means suddenly blurting out she has a boyfriend.

The only issue is, he doesn’t exist.

Then, by chance, she bumps into handsome entrepreneur Rav, and she can’t believe her luck. He’s single, sworn off relationships and looking for a date to attend work events with. He’s the perfect solution to her troubles. Or is he?

Because there’s just one slight catch – he also happens to be her childhood nemesis.

It was only ever supposed to be a simple, temporary arrangement. Nothing more. Certainly love was never part of the terms and conditions. But Annika’s about to discover that some deals are made to be broken…

Buying Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ebook/dp/B0B3STGBKK/

Author Bio

Ruby lives in the beautiful Chilterns with her husband, two children, and the cutest dog in the world. She worked for many years as a lawyer and policy lead in the Civil Service.

As the second of four children, Ruby connected strongly with Little Women’s Jo March and was scribbling down stories from a young age. A huge fan of romantic movies, Star Wars, and Marvel, she loves creating new characters and worlds while waiting for her superpowers to develop.

She is the author of The Twelve Wishes of Christmas and Baby Surprise for the Millionaire. Her latest book, The Love Arrangement, was published in eBook on 17 August and will be out in paperback and audiobook on 13 October.

Website https://www.rubybasu.com

Twitter – @writerrb01 or @RubyBasu_Author (promo account)

Ruby Basu | Facebook

Instagram – AuthorRubyBasu

TikTok – AuthorRubyBasu

Many thanks to Ruby for taking part. A case of four weddings and a book! There must be a film adaptation in there somewhere….

Thanks to all the authors who have taken part over the summer. I’ll be going quiet on the blogging front over the winter as I need to get some serious writing done!

Behind the Scenes with Alexandra Wholey

Posted on | by Rosie Travers | Leave a Comment on Behind the Scenes with Alexandra Wholey

Can you remember what you got up to in lockdown? For some people, such as this week’s guest, Alexandra Wholey, those weeks at home provided the opportunity to explore their creativity. I’m delighted to welcome Alexandra to share the backstory to her debut novel, A Year at Honeybee Cottage.

A Year at Honeybee Cottage is my lockdown novel, written in the throes of all the chaos in the world. At the time I began watching the latest series of This Farming Life, and Channel 5’s All Creatures Great and Small, and a seed of an idea was born. I wanted to write a heart-warming, gentle romance which focused on life in a tight knit community, dealing with family and friendship through the good times and the not, and A Year of Honeybee Cottage developed from there. The village of Mossbrae is based on Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, and is one of my favourite places for its breathtaking views and scenery. 

Blurb

Love Can Blossom when you least expect it…
Jilted on her wedding day, a surprise inheritance of Honeybee Cottage, her late grandmother Marianne’s home in the Inner Hebrides, gives Eilidh the chance of a fresh start she so badly needs. Welcomed back with open arms into the tight knit community of Mossbrae, Eilidh reconnects with old friends, adjusts to village life again, and slowly learns to come to terms with her heartbreak through her reignited passion for her job as a beekeeper, all the while vowing that is is done with love. That is, until her meddling matchmaking friends and the rest of the village get involved…with hilariously romantic consequences! Will Eilidh get the happily ever after she deserves or will she receive a sting in the tale?

 Buying Link: A Year at Honeybee Cottage

Author Bio

Hi, I’m Alexandra, a Yorkshire-born lass, former library assistant turned romance writer, who now lives in the Midlands with my husband and two kids.  An avid animal lover who loved reading and writing from toddlerhood, whose present of choice was either a notebook and pen, or a book, and who grew up in the countryside reared on a diet of James Herriot and Catherine Cookson, becoming an author seemed a fated career choice. When I’m not writing and spending time with my family out at National Trust places on a weekend, I love binge watching TV box sets. Current favourites are Outlander, Peaky Blinders, and Bridgerton.

Many thanks to Alexandra for taking part. That lovely cover oozes calm and well-being. I wish Alexandra every success in her new career as a novelist.