Happy Hogmanay and New Year!

Another year drawing to a close already. It's been a rollercoaster in many ways: first historical novel published; first tween novel accepted (to be published in March); son married; news of first grandchild expected next year. I think 2012 will be just as exciting!

May I wish everyone who reads this blog a very Happy New Year, filled with much health, love and success. Thank you so much for making blogging such an enjoyable and satisfying form of communication. Thanks to all the authors profiled on here this year. I look forward to introducing many more in 2012.

So raise a toast on our Scottish Hogmanay for Auld Lang Syne and a guid New Year!

Rosemary

Music and Chocolate

Hope everyone who was celebrating had a great Christmas. Our festivities began on Christmas Eve when we went to the Abbey in a nearby town for the early evening Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. A magical experience for someone who loves music and atmospheric ancient buildings. My favourite piece by the wonderful choristers was the hauntingly beautiful 'O Magnum Mysterium' by Morton Lauridson. A lovely way to begin the celebrations.

We had a happy time with our family over the past two days and, as always, I am now indulging in the annual chocolate overload from all the edible gifts. Do I feel guilty? Absolutely not. Everyone knows how much I enjoy chocolate, and the family buy me exactly the right kind. However, I'll be glad once the boxes eventually disappear, or I'll never fit into any of my clothes. Fortunately, my husband helps out by eating all the chocs he likes!

Now, it's catching up with friends before the Hogmanay and New Year celebrations. And maybe grabbing a few hours for some work in between... except daughter bought me the new PD James book and it's calling to me every time I walk past it!

Rosemary

Christmas Joy

This is a wonderful affirmation of the joy Christmas music and meaning can bring to people everywhere. This took place in a California Mall. It's worth watching right to the end.

Enjoy!
Rosemary

For Horse Lovers of all Ages

Today, I'm interviewing lovely tween author, C.K. Volnek over on my Flights of Imagination blog, where she is talking about her great new book, A Horse Called Trouble. For horse lovers of all ages, C.K.'s novel explores what happens when troubled teenager, Tara, is sent for horse therapy and meets an equally troubled horse. And both are in danger from the nasty Alissa.

C.K. is kindly offering a FREE download of A Horse Called Trouble to one lucky reader who leaves a comment below her interview on Flights of Imagination.

Rosemary

Wish I Was Here...

Today is the launch party of Janice Horton's great new book, Reaching for the Stars, and I'm taking part in her 'Wish I was here' blog tour. So in the spirit of the theme: Wish I was in Venice. One of my all time favourite destinations, I love the romance, the mystery and history of this unique place. From the water taxi along the length of the grand canal, and the 16th century buildings, to getting lost in the meandering narrow lanes, I'd happily be there right now!

Meantime, while I'm dreaming of Venice, here's the blurb for Janice's book.

Reaching for the Stars

Scottish celebrity chef Finn McDuff is media stalked and disillusioned after winning his third star and losing his third wife. He decides he’s had enough of all the food campaigns, the TV cookery shows, the constant frenzy surrounding his private life and, after giving up all his accolades and closing down his restaurant, he disappears.

With the enfant terrible of the kitchen missing, two rival newspapers, having lost their media meal ticket, compete against each other to whip up further public curiosity in the missing chef. Love him or hate him, everyone is out looking for Chef McDuff. Who will find him first and whose side will you be on...?

Sounds great! You can buy Janice's book at Amazon (UK) or Amazon (US)

Enjoy the launch, Janice
Rosemary

City Scape

I'm away behind with lots of writing jobs and various other items of busyness, but today I enjoyed a little escape up to Glasgow. Not for Christmas shopping (didn't do a single bit), but to meet up with my lovely daughter-in-law for lunch and a blether. She and our son are making us first-time grandparents next year and, after a difficult beginning to the pregnancy, it was great to see d-in-l and her little 'bump' manage into the city.

On my way back to the station, I couldn't help noticing all the busy shoppers with bulging carrier bags from various stores, as to be expected just a couple of weeks before Christmas. But mainly, I was looking at all the beautiful lights and almost wishing it was much darker to see them in their proper glory. And forgive me for feeling smug, but I took pleasure in carrying nothing more than a handbag. I could enjoy the atmosphere without worrying about what to buy for whom and then having to carry it. But, fear ye not, I've still to do some of my shopping yet!

I hope the photo gives some idea of the glorious canopy of star-like lights stretched across some of our city's most gracious architecture - had to keep looking down to avoid tripping over anything. Lovely day out, and I even wrote on the train both ways. Must do it again soon!

Rosemary

Featured Author: Linda Rettstatt

I’m delighted to welcome fellow Champagne author, Linda Rettstatt, as my featured author today. Linda is an award winning writer of meaningful contemporary fiction and her latest novel, Reinventing Christmas, is an ideal read to put us in the mood for the festive season.

Welcome to reading and writing, Linda. Please introduce yourself.

Born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, I worked for my hometown newspaper following graduation from high school. My writing career began with reviewing community theater productions (a task no one else on the news staff wanted.) I penned my first novel in 2004 and now have ten published. Four of my books have finaled for EPIC eBook Awards.

I write women's fiction and contemporary romance, and my background as a psychotherapist serves me in digging deeply into the emotional and psychological depths of characters. I am the owner and moderator of Women Fiction Writers, an online critique group of women writers from the USA and Canada. My work is published with Champagne Books, Class Act Books, and Wings ePress, and will soon be coming to Turquoise Morning Press. You can find me on my website and blog.

I currently reside in Southaven, Mississippi where I’m allowed to share an apartment with my cat, Binky (as long as I continue to bring home the Fancy Feast).

Reinventing Christmas

M.J. Rich is about to breakup with her boyfriend and seeks the comfort of her family’s familiar traditions for Christmas in Pittsburgh. Brady Cameron plans to spend the holiday alone at a Pennsylvania ski resort, drowning his sorrows. They meet while stranded by a winter storm in the Philadelphia Airport and agree to share the last rental car available, since they are both heading west. But a blizzard forces them off the highway and into an abandoned hunting cabin. Upon rescue, M.J. invites Brady to join her for a traditional family Christmas. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that nothing and no one is the same as when she last visited. Christmas turns out to be nothing either M.J. or Brady expects. It’s even better.

Reinventing Christmas is available at Champagne Books  and at Amazon (US) and Amazon (UK) for Kindle.

Thanks for joining us today, Linda, and all the best with your novels!
Rosemary

From Floods to Snow

Last week, we had crazy flooding in our village and the nearby towns. We're used to rain in the west coast of Scotland, in fact we're famous for it, but this was exceptional. The highest rainfall happened overnight so we weren't even aware of the extent of the problem at first. Our village main street was completely under water (we live at the top of the hill!), cars and buses couldn't get into the nearest main town because of floods, and the trains stopped around lunch time. We've never seen anything as bad as this. Husband was away for two days and couldn't get a train all the way home when he returned. But apart from the village street, which wasn't quite cleared until the end of the week, life soon returned to normal.

Last year, it was excessive snow falls which interfered with transport and travel, and I'd heard we were not meant to have any before Christmas. But it snowed last night. There's only a light dusting of it on the streets and grass this morning but it makes everything look so pretty. And in the midst of everything, our central heating boiler broke down. I was certainly grateful for the little electric heater! Fortunately, a new pump has finally got everything working again, after a few airlocks.

On Friday, I had the pleasure of going through to Edinburgh to meet up with lots of online writer friends for our Christmas lunch. You can imagine the volume of chatting, as we only get together in person a few times a year. I didn't even manage to speak to everyone properly as we ran out of time and many of us had trains to catch. When I eventually got back to Glasgow, the gorgeous Christmas lights around George Square and Buchanan Street ensured I retained that warm glow of a lovely day out in good company.

I love this time of year, with cold days and cosy dark nights, the brightly lit towns, advent and carol singing, the run up to Christmas. But I'm also grateful for warmth, home, friends and family and am very aware that many people don't have those necessities of life. Sometimes we need a little discomfort to remind us of the blessings we have!

Rosemary

Featured Author: Pauline Barclay

I’m beginning a new venture on this blog over the next few months, where I hope to feature different authors and display one of their book covers on the side bar for the month in which they appear.

So to start us off, I’m delighted to welcome independent author, Pauline Barclay, who as well as being a prolific writer is lucky enough to live on one of the lovely Canary Islands. Pauline is a brilliant blogger who takes part in many online forums and blogs, and she is always helpful to other writers. Her three published books have already gathered a huge number of five-star reviews on Amazon Kindle.

Hello Pauline, please introduce yourself!

Years ago I gained a BA (Hons) degree from the Open University, today I spend my time writing fiction.These days, I live on the beautiful island of Lanzarote with my husband and two rescue doggies and it is a wonderful place for inspiration to write. Though born in Yorkshire, UK, we have lived in Suffolk and Surrey and before moving to Lanzarote, we lived in Holland in the beautiful town of Leiden.

I have three published novels, Magnolia House, Satchfield Hall and Sometimes It Happens… In between marketing and all my other commitments, I am busy with my fourth novel!

You can find out what I get up to at my blog and website

Pauline’s Latest Book

Satchfield Hall

When the news reached Henry Bryant-Smythe about his daughter’s indiscretion, he not only dealt with it, but stamped on it with such a resounding thud, that the consequences ricocheted through the years and well into the future. Henry Bryant-Smythe cared nothing for the consequences of his actions and even less for the feelings of those involved, with the exception of his own, and these he cosseted.

Celia Bryant-Smythe’s disgrace set in motion events that would affect the lives of many people, taking decades to unravel. Lives would be lost and destroyed and it would take until the death of the one man who had callously started it all, Henry Bryant-Smythe, until it was finally over.

Satchfield Hall is not about gentleness, tranquillity and privilege; it is about power, love, lies and, in the end, revenge.

A sweeping saga set in 1942 through to1986

Available now from Amazon Kindle

Thanks for visiting today, Pauline, and all the best with your novels.

Rosemary

Trains, Writing and Blog Awards

I had a lovely evening speaking about historical fiction and research at a writing group on Wednesday evening, a little further south from where I live. Since the train was the most sensible way to travel in a late November evening, I made the most of the forty minute journey down and took out pen and paper. I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy writing on trains, or in my favourite cafe. And this was no exception. By the time the train drew in, I’d written around 600 words of my WIP (I checked the word count when transferring it to the computer yesterday). So as well as enjoying time with old friends and new, while talking about a favourite subject, it was very productive evening all round. I read on the way home!
 

I’m delighted to accept the cute Liebster Award from a supportive and friendly online writing colleague, Angela Barton, for blogs with fewer than 200 followers. I also received one from another lovely online friend, Melanie Robertson-King for my Romancing History blog. Liebster is German for dearest and I love the way we encourage and support each other in this competitive world of writing. I do enjoy reading other writers’ blogs as much as possible. So in the spirit of the award, this is what I and my recipients must do:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger

2. Choose your 5 bloggers to receive the award and tell them by leaving a comment on their blog

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog

4. Hope those five people send it to their chosen bloggers!

It’s now my pleasure to pass the Liebster Award on to the following five bloggers:

Gwen Kirkwood: a genuinely lovely person and writer of great fiction with a farming background

Debbie White: a brave writer who is positively moving on after personal trauma

Jean Bull: a new blogger who has published a great sounding book with a lovely cover

Anita Chapman: another fairly new blogger whose posts are so interesting

Freda Lightfoot: prolific novelist of some great titles and more recent blogger

Happy writing and blogging,
Rosemary

Targets, Goals and Motivation

So that's us into week four of NaNoWriMo and it's been an interesting experiment. Since November has been a busy month in general, I never really thought I'd make the target 50,000 words. But I'm still following my own target of writing another bit of the novel every single morning before getting distracted with online activity, or going out, and I really feel the benefit of getting back into that kind of routine. Still not sure if I'm concentrating on the right novel but I might as well try and finish it - even if it's by the end of the year rather than the end of November!

My thoughts always turn to writing goals towards the end of a year as I love a new start in January. I don't always write them down, but usually have some big goal in mind, in addition to writing and redrafting the shorter pieces. Getting at least one novel published has come to fruition and another goal to see my first tween novel published is coming true in March. This coming year, I'd love to have my mainstream novel accepted by a UK publisher and I'm redrafting it to send out before this year ends.

But we all need motivation to keep going. All my blogging friends and writing colleagues help to keep me writing (thank you!) as we're encouraged by successes, sympathetic in rejections, and empathetic about the struggle it sometimes is to remain optimistic. So to motivate us all for the coming year, here are two blogs to sign up to for challenges in 2012, although some may already have found their way to them. Both are the brainchild of Sally Quilford and can be used as a double motivation if you're so inclined.

The first is the Pocketeers blog - for all writers interested in writing a pocket novel of the type published by My Weekly and People's Friend, which both require 50,000 words.

The second is Sally's '100,000 words in 100 days' challenge - completely feasible at a mere 1,000 words of writing a day, of any kind. So we could try a pocket novel AND part of a novel, or some short stories all in the time scale. It's all the motivation I need to keep on with the good writing habits, and it certainly helps knowing other writers are taking up the same challenge.

Onwards and upwards!
Rosemary

Friday Friend Post

I'm delighted to be featured as the Friday Friend on the lovely Heroines with Hearts blog today, courtesy of Paula Martin, where I'm talking about romancing history.

Would love you to pop by and say hello!

Rosemary

Change of Scene

I'd like to say I got time off for good writing behaviour on Saturday, but I'm just over 14,000 words into my NaNo novel. But that's fine, as it's moved my previously languishing book on to a total of 35,500 words and I'm writing a little every single day. I still want to finish redrafting my other book and get it away while continuing with this one.

Anyway, on Saturday morning, husband and I returned to one of my favourite historical buildings, Pollok House near Glasgow and I guess it could be classed as research. I mentioned it ages ago on my Romancing History blog, but on that day we'd only enjoyed the gardens and surrounding Park. This time we explored the house itself, as well as having coffee down in the original kitchens, now a cafe and restaurant. The original Georgian house was built in the 1750s, although other parts were added over the years. I'd been through the house with our writing group over a year ago but this time we wandered round ourselves so I could absorb the atmosphere.

For a gracious country house, it has an air of homeliness about it, although visitors are not allowed into all areas. It's also a popular venue for weddings and one of the guides kindly advised us to visit the long, open library first before the current wedding started there! I almost lost husband to the fantastic grand piano on the way through to another room, while I would happily have sat in the beautiful little Morning Room. The famous paintings adorning many of the walls added to the pleasure of wandering around.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the visit is the friendliness of the discreet guides who are always happy to answer any questions with their inimitable Glasgow humour. We were invited to come back at the end of November, beginning of December when the whole house is decorated in all its Christmas finery. Try and keep me away! And best of all, it's exactly the kind of research useful for my NaNo novel, so what more excuse do I need for another visit.

Rosemary

Viking Gold

Just posted a little bit about the launch of V. Campbell's debut YA novel, Viking Gold, on my Flights of Imagination blog.

Rosemary

An Interlude

On Tuesday, we enjoyed our writing group's annual awards meeting and evening dinner. It's a lovely tradition - a later afternoon meeting where we read a short piece to a particular theme, either original or written by someone else. Then our annual cups and prizes are awarded for the winners of that year's in-house competitions (I was third in the children's story). After a short break, we enjoy much chat over dinner.

This was our second year at a local equestrian centre in the nearby countryside so our theme for reading was 'the countryside'. I was impressed that so many members had written an original piece for the day - and every one of them was excellent. I took the easy way out (NaNo was my excuse!) and read a short amusing extract from 'Jude the Obscure' about an escaping pig and country girl Arabella's enticement of Jude. Made me want to read the novel again as it's some years since I studied it.

This evening, I'm off to the debut book launch of one of my daughter's friends. Should be fun. Once I've read it, I shall profile 'Viking Gold' on one of my blogs eventually. So, on with some more writing before the evening gallavanting again!

Rosemary

Getting Creative

So, this is us into the second week of NaNoWriMo today. Has it been worth it so far? Definitely. First of all, the reason for me signing up still holds true: I've replaced my world-class procrastination with good writing habits. I've managed to write some of my new novel every single day and even if I haven't exactly kept to the suggested word count, I'm now 8,530 words further on. I begin each morning straight after checking emails and don't look at forums, blogs, twitter or Facebook until I've produced some more words.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I find it difficult to continue for hours at a time, so I often go back in the afternoon and do a little more, if I'm in. But here's a strange thing, the whole exercise is making me more creative in general. In addition to NaNo, I'm also still doing final edits on the tween novel and preparing a talk for a writing group in a couple of weeks. Then I suddenly had an urge to get on with redrafting the mainstream novel that is actually finished. But I've always felt it needed a rewrite of the first couple of chapters which were too long. After putting off the major restructuring I knew I wanted to do, I began it yesterday and got right into it!

Maybe I should be putting all that creative energy into the new novel, but here's the reasoning behind my way of working. The tween novel is being published in March which is why it's going through edits just now, and I enjoy those since I'm learning and improving all the time with a professional editor. The current new novel will need redrafting and editing after NaNo before I can even think of submitting it. But the completed mainstream novel has already been through the NWS (with a good report) and was already at one agent. I've never been happy with the first two chapters and now I know why - already I can see a huge improvement in the pace of the novel after changing it and I'll enjoy editing the remainder of it in light of my own further experience (she hopes). Then I'll start submitting it again, while I work on the new novel. Are you still with me!

Hopefully, I can keep all this up over the rest of the month! Meanwhile, if anyone needs an incentive to get a novel finished, you might be interested in the call for submissions from Carina Press. Good luck to all fellow NaNo writers!

Rsoemary

Third Day of NaNoWriMo

Well, already I've achieved what I set out to do - getting into the good habit of writing some of my novel each day. It definitely works best for me if I get started as soon as I've had my shower. I take my breakfast through to the computer and eat it while having a quick look at emails (because I can't wait to see who has contacted me) but don't read the forums and blogs until after writing. I'd discovered this before, of course, but had got into bad habits!

As a complete panster, I just start writing and hope my subconscious thoughts about the novel come together in some way to produce enough words to move it on. I almost came to a halt this morning but ended up with another 1,150 words. Hopefully, I'll do some more before the day is out or else I won't make the target (I've written 3728 words so far), although I'm not so worried about the word count as long as I get most of the way through the novel. And it all depends what else I have on each day, or how long I'm out - today is one of the few days I'm staying in. Might even get that huge pile of ironing done at some point.

I'm curious - do any of you manage to write for more than an hour or two at a time on the one piece? I don't seem to be able to sustain any more than that before needing to do something else and I suspect that's why I find novel length more taxing than short pieces.

Onwards and upwards!
Rosemary

Mad November Begins!

So that's NaNoWriMo underway! Whether or not I make the 50,000 words doesn't really matter in the larger scheme of things, but it will get me back into the good habit of focusing on one particular novel until it is finished - and that's the sense of achievement I'm aiming for.

Meanwhile, I have an excerpt from Dangerous Deceit on Lindsay's Romantics blog today, where she is celebrating the mischief of Bonfire week: http://lindsaysromantics.blogspot.com/

And now I must try and finish the edits on my Tween novel, then there's the writing group... why did I sign up for NaNo again?

Rosemary

Competitions

Before I get caught up with actually writing my novel (for a change) when NaNoWriMo starts on Tuesday, Ist November, I thought I'd mention these competitions. Plenty of encouragement to get the creative juices flowing!

The New Writer Prose and Poetry Competitions
Lots of great competitions. Closing date: 30th November 2011
Full details on TNW website

SAW St Andrew's Day Short Story Competition
Short stories of between 1,500 and 2,000 words - judged by Robin Pilcher.
Closing date: 30th November 2011. Full details here

Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Short Story between 2,000 and 5,000 words
Closing date: 30th November 2011. Full details here

The following is an unusual competition I've been asked to mention - warning: it's absolutely feminist!
Mookychick Feminist Flash 2011
Poem or fiction under 200 words. Full details on website

Good luck!
Rosemary

Introducing C.K.Volnek

I'm delighted to welcome fellow MuseItUp tween author, C.K. Volnek, to my Flights of Imagination blog today. C.K.'s wonderful debut novel, Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island, is an imaginative contemporary story inspired by a real mystery on the island from the 16th century.

Please pop over and say hello to C.K. on Flights of Imagination!

Rosemary

Lavender Dreams - Anthology for Cancer Research

I'm delighted to announce that a new anthology, 'Lavender Dreams', has just been released from one of my Canadian publishers, MuseItUp, and it includes one of my short stories. The collection is in memory of one of the well-loved editors who died from cancer earlier this year. I'm so pleased it's released in the week I'm celebrating fifty plus years of a relatively healthy life, as it reminds me of others. I dedicated my story to my lovely mother who survived a major operation for cancer many years ago and lived cancer-free to enjoy another ten years or so before she passed on at 80 years of age.

Lavender Dreams contains ten stories: fiction, fiction based on a true story, and one non-fiction. My story is called 'Waiting' and is fiction based on an actual incident. The idea is that stories from different Muse authors will be featured another year, so that the book always remains fresh. All royalties from the authors and the cover artist will go to cancer research. It is also coming out in print in a couple of weeks and will be available on Amazon as well as from the publisher.

If you would like to buy a copy to support cancer research, Lavender Dreams is now available in ebook from:

MuseItUp Publishing (all e-formats) at $1.99
Kindle Amazon (US) at $2.30
Kindle Amazon (UK) at £1.44

If anyone would like to display this lovely badge on the side of their blog, please feel free to support it in this way! Thank you.

Rosemary

NaNo Decision Made!

Well, I've pondered all the comments here and elsewhere and thought long and hard about signing up for NaNo, and I made my decision half an hour ago. I am now signed up and, if not quite ready to roll, at least I'm trying to get other things up to date so I can start as organised as possible on November 1st.

Thank you all so much for the advice and opinions - all gratefully received. I'm going to treat it as a fun challenge to try and cut down my terrible procrastination. And if you think I'm kidding about my lack of focus, I'm still a bit undecided which piece of writing to tackle during the challenge. These are the contenders:

• Continue the Regency novel that already has 22,000 words - but even that needs restructuring
• Continue another Regency novel that has only 3,000 words but might be fun to write
• Continue the contemporary novel set in Scotland that already has 14,500 words
• Continue the contemporary novel set in Scotland that already has almost 16,000 words
• Write the late Victorian crime novel that has only 2,200 words and a rough synopsis
• Write the 12th century novel that has only 2,700 words so far
• Continue changing a 2000 words short story set in 16th century Venice into a novel
• Continue the children's time-slip novel set partly in Ancient Egypt that has about 7,000 words so far

And that's just the novels that are already started! I'm also redrafting another children's novel and a mainstream adult novel to send out. Let's forget about all the short stories for the moment!

Shocking lack of focus isn't it? In my slight defense, some of these novels were started for the purpose of entering the novel competitions at our annual Scottish conference (for a critique). Only I didn't finish them afterwards and started another one each year - apart from the tween novel being published finally in March 2012). And I completed the mainstream novel that had a good NWS report from the RNA last year (now looking for an agent). And of course, one previous NWS Regency finally made it to publication this year.

Remember I mentioned I was a butterfly writer? Now you see the evidence! So, one decision is already made - need to make the other one this week so I can register the title of my NaNo novel. But I promise you, I need that month of focus!

Edits and NaNoWriMo

I'm right in the middle of the second edits of my forthcoming Tween novel, 'Summer of the Eagles', and I'm enjoying them immensely. Not because I don't have many (I do!) but I'm learning so much from this particular content editor. The publisher, MuseItUp (MuseItYoung imprint), is Canadian, the editor is American, and I'm allowed to keep my British spelling and phrases where possible. But what a lot I'm learning - about using active verbs and getting rid of far too much use of words like 'was', 'had', 'would', and so on. I don't always agree with every suggestion, and Susan is happy with that as she wants me to think for myself and keep my own voice. I'm now going to go through all my other writing and put some of this into practise - I hope!

I've been reading and hearing a lot about the annual NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I must admit I'm tempted to sign up for the first time. I'm a bit wary about the committment to try and write 50,000 words in one month, as I have a competition to judge during November, as well as the other writing projects on the go. BUT... I can't quite get into my next Regency novel as much I should and that's about the number of words I still need to finish it.

The connection between the edits and NaNoWriMo is that the whole philosophy behind the November writing month is to switch off your internal editor, forget about spelling, punctuation and grammar, and get the story down. As a panster type of writer, I think this might be an ideal way for me to move on with the book. After the month's challenge, of course, the book then has to be redrafted and edited, but I love that part of the process. It's getting the initial full length book written that's my problem as I'm too easily distracted by other writing.

So, I'd love some advice, opinions and experiences about NaNoWriMo, please, from anyone who has tackled it in a previous year. Or even if you're thinking of signing up this year. I need to decide soon!

Rosemary

Interviewed on Jude's blog

The fascinating Jude Johnson, who I profiled on my Author Spotlight last week, has now posted an interview with me about writing and Dangerous Deceit on her own lovely blog, Words that Remain.

Thanks, Jude!
Rosemary

Monday Market: The First Line

I found details of this intriguing little journal and thought their 'first line' approach to stories very useful for kickstarting ideas, as well as for submissions to their publication. They provide the first line of a story and entries should be between 300 and 3,000 words.

The first line for the current submission is 'It had been a long year', and entries should be emailed by November 1st 2011. They offer a token payment of $20 for published stories, but it's also a great site for first line ideas. This is often all we need to start the seeds of a storyline, so it's a valuable creative exercise.

Full details and rules of submission are on The First Line website.

Rosemary

Author Spotlight - Jude Johnson

Today, I’m delighted to welcome very interesting fellow Champagne author Jude Johnson into the Author Spotlight. Jude’s first novel, Dragon & Hawk, was published a few months ago and it introduced me completely to another time and way of life.

It’s always fascinating to read about an unfamiliar period of history through fiction and Dragon & Hawk takes the reader right into the later part of 19th century Arizona. The story is rich in historical detail, from the dangerous conditions in the mines to the saucy girls in the local saloon. The excellent characterisation of the three very different Welsh brothers drives the story forward. Each brother is carefully depicted but it is Evan Jones, the dragon of the title, we follow most closely in this book as he seeks to find his true love, the Senora.

The Senora herself is an interesting character – a curandera, a healer, and the hawk of the title. Their love is never straightforward and is hard-won but they are meant to be together. The author doesn’t spare the grittier details of life, the hardship and cruelty, but the characters feel like real people who lived and loved in those difficult times. An added bonus, or distraction, depending on your taste, is the addition of Spanish and Welsh phrases throughout the story, but they are always understandable and add to the authenticity of the period. Dragon & Hawk is an enthralling read!

Jude kindly agreed to answer the following questions.

Do you prefer to write (and read) historical fiction?

At the moment for writing, yes. I’m a Gemini, so I change my minds (my multiple personalities have multiple personalities) rather often, but so far writing history enthrals me. Though I have dipped my nib into fantasy a couple of times, it still was historical fantasy.

Reading-wise though I am all over the place. I have a huge stack of paper books and e-books to read: an Arthurian fantasy, a contemporary murder mystery, and a Persian-flavored take on Cinderella are all calling to me. Plus I’m reading nonfiction history of the American Revolution.

Why did you write about three Welsh brothers?

I fell in love with Cymraeg, the Welsh language, and started studying back in 2001. Then I went with my son’s (then) grade school class on a field trip to the copper mining town of Bisbee in Southern Arizona where one of the miner tour guides told us how the original mine managers went to Wales in the late 1870s to recruit workers. After all, the Welsh coal miners were renowned even then for their knowledge, skills, and scrappiness. Suddenly, a circuit snapped on in my brain and I imagined how they must have reacted when they arrived in such a hostile environment so totally alien from their homeland. I mean, Wales is lush green and trees and rain and sheep. Southern Arizona has this vast desert; Bisbee even then had no trees, no rain, big deadly rattlesnakes, and the Apaches weren’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat.

How did you do the research needed for Dragon & Hawk?

I started with things I didn’t know: mining details and how those men lived. Thank goodness for historical societies and how they preserved so much of those days! I am fortunate to live in Tucson where the first Territorial historical society was formed in 1874. Their research library has a ton of original documents, photographs, maps - even the original, hand-tooled leather ledger book of all the stagecoach and train robberies compiled by the Wells Fargo Detectives. I would get lost for hours reading and noting the little details, such as a real stage robber who came from Wales. I was also fortunate at the time to have two Native shaman and a long distance horse racing enthusiast to consult. My mom had also shared stories of my grandmother, who was a curandera - a Mexican mystic and healer back at the turn of the twentieth century. Those details were vital for me; I wanted my Welsh friends to know what it was like for them here, and I wanted my Arizona friends to learn about the cultures immigrant miners brought to our state.

I recently signed a contract with Anaphora Literary Press to have my research about real Welsh immigrants published. It’s called Cactus Cymry--Influential Welsh in the Southern Arizona Territory. (Cymry is the Welsh word for Welsh people.) It should be released in the next month or so - woot!

How important is natural medicine to you?

I have to kind of chuckle here because when I first shopped my manuscript around, a number of publishers labelled it a fantasy because of the natural/Native healing rituals. These aren’t fantasy to many, but are used constantly around here. We even have an “Integrative Medicine” clinic at the University of Arizona Medical School that incorporates herbs and Native medicine rituals. It’s second nature to me to use herbs and natural elements before anything else. My “real career” is as a chiropractic physician, and while I limit my practice to strictly accurate chiropractic manipulation, I tell my patients where to find information on alternatives if they so desire.

Are you writing a sequel?

Two sequels are already written and are in the queue for publication by Champagne Books. Book Two is Out of Forgotten Ashes and is scheduled for release in April 2012. Book Three is Dragon’s Legacy and will be released in July 2012.

My next project is in a different time and space from Dragon & Hawk. I’m working on a Revolutionary War tale based on the true story of a friend’s ancestor who was pressed into the British Navy, jumped ship in Boston Harbor, and nearly froze to death hiding out in a cranberry bog. And that’s just the beginning of his adventures!

Any tips for new writers?

Write what you love to read, or write what enthuses you. If you aren’t excited about it, how can you expect anyone else to be? Don’t worry about trends or what’s hot; the cycle always turns. And be open to change; characters don’t always do what you want them to! Sometimes their ideas are better than your original ones, so be ready to go with the flow.

Fascinating! Thank you for your insight, Jude.

Where to find Jude:
Website; Blog; Facebook; Twitter
To buy Jude's Books: Champagne Books
Jude's Amazon (US) Page
Jude's Amazon (UK) Page
Fictionwise

Coming soon (from catalogue): Anaphora Literary Press

Author Bio: Granddaughter of a curandera, a Mexican healer who uses herbs, psychology and a little bit of mysticism, Jude incorporates a bit of family legend into her Dragon & Hawk series. Currently, Book One, Dragon & Hawk, has been released by Champagne Books, with Books Two and Three slated for release in Spring 2012. Jude's short story Within The Mists, about a Lieutenant of Nelson's Navy rescued by a selchie (a woman on land who becomes a seal in the sea), is now also available from Champagne Books as an e-read.

Jude loves adventure, action, romance, and fantasy to spirit her readers into a different time and place. She has studied the Welsh language – Cymraeg - enough to order beer, swear, order pancakes, and ask for the facilities. Trips to Britain to capture the cadence of the melodic Welsh accent and attitude allowed her to infuse her Welsh immigrant characters with realism. Jude also speaks fairly bad border Spanish. Home is situated in the Catalina Foothills of northern Tucson, Arizona, near Pima Canyon and not too far from Sabino Canyon. Jude lives with her long-suffering husband and son, as well as two deranged cats who don't mind watching bobcats, coyotes, and javelina frequent the yard - but only from behind the double-paned windows.

Behind the Scenes Novel Spot

Way back when, the Champagne Books authors were given the opportunity to apply to be a featured writer on the Behind the Scenes Novel Spot. Although my first novel was just coming out, I reckoned October was far away and duly applied.

Well, from today, I'm the featured author all this week! This is a novel idea (excuse the pun) as I had to write an autobiographical piece to be spread over 7 days - kind of showing the writer and the influences behind the writing, as it were. It was fun to compose, although when I begin to read it over this week I'll probably wish I'd mentioned this, or left out that!

Online writing can seem a bit removed from real life sometimes, until we realise people might actually read it - a bit like any kind of writing really. And isn't that why most of us write and send work out in the first place, even though it's a scary thought sometimes. But it's fun to think about some of the influences through our lives that shape us today.

And if anyone wants to read my 7-day ramblings, they start today on Behind the Scenes!

Rosemary

Friendly Blogger Award

It's always lovely when blogging friends acknowledge one another and perhaps introduce writers and readers to blogs they haven't come across before.

So I'm delighted to accept this cute Friendly Blogger Award from my lovely writing friends: Janice Horton and Gilly Fraser. Than you both very much - I love reading your blogs!

In the spirit of giving, I'm now passing this award on to the following friendly bloggers. I follow many more, but these are the people whose blogs I regularly read and enjoy:

Vikki Gemmell  (my talented daughter)

Joan Fleming (supportive friend and new blogger)

Myra Duffy  (another supportive friend quite new to blogging)

Teresa Ashby  (one of my favourite short story writers and amusing blogger)

Joanna Campbell  (another favourite short story writer)

Joanne Fox  (yet another lovely short story writer)

Frances Garrood  (novelist and writer whose posts often make me smile)

Diane Fordham  (encouraging Australian writer)

Carol B  (friendly writing snippets)

K.C. Woolf  (inspiring words for women)

Paula Martin  (bloggging writer who feels like a friend)

Debs Carr (friendly Jersey writer aided by Grumps her dog)
Angela Barton (another lovely blogging friend)

Please pick up your award, ladies, and take a bow for keeping me entertained!

Rosemary

The Day After the Launch!

I had such a good time last night at my very first book launch and reading. Thank you so much to all my family and friends who came along to support me, and a special thanks to my daughter and her friends who helped to set out the nibbles and clear it all away! My dear, long-suffering husband deserves extra special thanks for everything he did to make it such an enjoyable evening. And I even sold many books (you can tell I'm not a busines woman). Dear Lorna brought me the gorgeous flowers in the photo. Thanks too, to all my lovely blogging and Facebook friends who wished me well. 


As a bit of fun, and hopefully some interest, I tried to dress in a vague semblance of Regency style. I just adapted a dress I had at home by sewing a ribbon under the bust, and I wore medium long white gloves, and even sewed some pearls on a cream ribbon to tie in my hair. Unfortunately, the hair wasn't long enough to pull neatly into a topknot, but my heroine, Lydia, usually had rather untidy hair.

I also brought along a parasol, a fan, a reticule and a shawl to illustrate the kind of items a Regency lady wouldn't be without. And I even showed a mask which my daughter bought me last Christmas - it might feature in the next book, if I ever get it finished! I've posted some photos of what a real Regency lady might look like on my romancing history blog.

So, all in all, I had a lovely evening and the venue was perfect. And the icing on the cake was the fact the local Art Club has an exhibition on in the elegant hall at the moment, so the walls were beautifully adorned with lovely paintings. Roll on the next launch!

Rosemary

Live Book Launch and Reading!

Well, it's finally here - my very first book launch and reading of Dangerous Deceit. It began with a fun cyber launch in May for the e-book and now it's a live launch of the print book in front of family, friends and acquaintances!

To make it more interesting and fun (I hope), I'm dressing in vaguely Regency-style, adapted from what I already have. It won't be completely authentic, but will give a flavour of the evening fashion of the period. I also have a fan, parasol, shawl, something that will pass for a reticule, and even a mask - although I won't be wearing the latter. Think I must be a frustrated actress!

The lovely venue is the Watt Hall, in the Victorian era MacLean Museum in my original home town of Greenock, from 6.30pm to 7.30pm, this evening, Monday 3rd October. I don't know whether to be excited or nervous, or both!

Rosemary

Jane Eyre: From Book to Film

Last week, I managed to see the new film of Jane Eyre at the cinema, an event I'd been longing for as this is one of my all-time favourite books. As always, I was a little nervous about the portrayal of Mr Rochester since he's been my literary hero for a long time, through many different versions of the novel in film and TV. I also loved the recent TV production starring Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson, which had more time to develop the characters.

So what did I think? It was a beautifully made, atmospheric film, with stunning cinematography, excellent main characters and an intriguingly different beginning from most versions. I don't remember seeing Michael Fassbender before and I wasn't disappointed with his portrayal of Mr Rochester. Mia Wasikowska seemed the embodiment of the young, but strong Jane Eyre, and Judi Dench, excelled (as always) in her portrayal of Mrs Fairfax. And the Yorkshire accents sounded authentic.

But... one of the biggest disappointments for me was the love story itself. I love the passion in the book, and the relationship between Mr Rochester and Jane just didn't convince me in this version. I felt more emotion during the scenes with the young Jane and her fragile childhood friend at the terrible Lowood school. Perhaps the film was too short to develop the main romance with enough conviction, but even the ending left me, and my friends, a bit bemused. Although Thornfield Hall is a ruin at the end, this looked like a set piece and it was a bit incongruous for Jane to find Mrs Fairfax suddenly appearing in time for her arrival. And that rather diluted the final meeting between Jane and Mr Rochester.

Obviously a film is never going to be 100% accurate in bringing the pages of a novel to life, and something is bound to suffer. On the whole, it was an enjoyable, atmospheric film but I don't think it's the film version of Jane Eyre I'll most fondly remember.

Rosemary

Mills & Boon New Voices

In case anyone isn't aware of this (who might be interested), the latest Mills & Boon New Voices competition is now under way. Authors who haven't had a book contract may enter the first chapter of a romantic novel up until 10th October. Anyone registering on the site can comment on those chapters, and a short list of twenty will be announced on 20th October.

The next stage will be second chapters from the top ten, and so on until they find the winner on 4th November. Sounds like a great opportunity for anyone wanting to write for M&B.

Full details and registration are on the New Voices website, which is appropriately titled: Romance is not Dead. Good luck if you enter!

Rosemary

Introducing Elizabeth McKay

I'm so delighted to be featuring new Scottish children's writer, Elizabeth McKay, on my children's writing blog, Flights of Imagination.

Many short story writers will know Elizabeth's fabulous women's magazine fiction, as she is a regular author in Woman's Weekly among others. Now Elizabeth has added another success to her list with the publication of her first picture book, Wee Granny's Magic Bag, by Floris Books in Edinburgh. This a gorgeous story book for young children, and even the adults will enjoy reading it!

Please pop over to Flights of Imagination to read about Elizabeth's exciting new venture.

Rosemary

Free Online Writers Conference

Sorry for the last minute information, but I thought I should mention this brilliant, and free, Online Writers Conference, October 3rd to 9th, from one of my Canadian publishers, MuseItUp Publishing.

You just have to register here by Sunday, September 25th. There are so many great workshops and even an opportunity to pitch a book idea to one of the designated agents or publishers online - our MIU publisher, Lea, is very generous in sharing opportunities for writers.

I've just registered, so maybe see some of you there!

Rosemary

Monday Market: Tales of Old

Tales of Old Masthead

This is another interesting audio magazine I came across "for historical fiction and alternate history." Short stories from 3,000 to 6,000 words are required for podcasts, set in any historical period. They accept unpublished or previously published stories, if the author retains the copyright. Payment is $25 through Paypal, so it might be a better market for stories already in print somewhere else, if you're hoping to make a living from your work! However, audio is becoming more popular and this seems a very accessible market.

Full submission details are on the Tales of Old website.

Rosemary

Nostalgic Reads: Victoria Holt

A small selection of my Victoria Holt books!

After the previous nostalgic post about Mary Stewart, this next one had to be about Victoria Holt! I first discovered these gripping romantic suspense novels in my teens and was completely hooked. Between visits to the library, then buying every hardback I could afford after leaving school, I couldn't get enough of their escapism. Even the titles were enough to ignite the imagination.

The Victoria Holt novels tended to be historical, with unusual settings, dark and often dangerous heroes and a feisty heroine. Some were almost Gothic in their mystery and suspense, with titles like The Demon Lover and The Devil on Horseback. Exactly what this romantic, escapist teenager wanted to read. There were an incredible thirty two books under the Victoria Holt name, published between 1960 and 1993, and I probably read every one of them. I can't even pick out a favourite now, but the titles that come to mind first are The Shivering Sands and The Legend of the Seventh Virgin.

But Victoria Holt was only one of the pseudonyms of the remarkably prolific writer, Eleanor Hibbert. Born in 1906, this British author also wrote some of the best and most popular historical novels as Jean Plaidy, which taught me more about history than school ever did! But she didn't stop there - she also wrote as Philippa Carr and Eleanor Burford (her maiden name), as well as a few others. No wonder she sold a million books by the time she died in 1993.

I'm not the only modern writer who is still influenced by those Victoria Holt novels well into adulthood, for romantic suspense is high on the list of the type of novel many of us love to read - and hope to write! As with the Mary Stewart books, I'm still wondering whether to read all my Victoria Holt books again, or if perhaps they belong to a different time in my life and I'd be disappointed. Watch this space!

Rosemary

Change and Reflection

The Cobbler at Loch Long

I missed my swans, so I've brought them back and changed my photo again, partly because I can't find a decent one. The dear husband of a good friend passed away suddenly the other day and we were fond of him, so I'm in a more reflective mood today. When I suddenly lost different members of my family some years ago, I always turned to writing, preferring to work out grief in creativity.

It certainly makes my husband and me more aware of our own passing years, and the things we still want to achieve. I'm not overly ambitious, never have been, but once again I'm looking at all the stories, poems and novels that lie in various levels of completion on the computer and in files. And I think it's long past the time that I finish what I started, send out those seeking publication, and rewrite the alarmingly long list of those to be worked on and improved.

Autumn and winter always seem ideal for writing, when we can stay indoors more (if we're lucky) and enjoy darker, cosy evenings which lend themselves to any type of creativity. The writing group also begins this week, with a full programme to inspire me. All I need now is to limit my television viewing - I love all the dramas at this time of year. Maybe I should start setting goals down on paper, instead of keeping them vaguely in my mind. But the main thing is to finish what I've started, before time runs out too quickly.

Mark Twain summed it up nicely:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Rosemary

Book Review - Clara by Janice Galloway

One of the most absorbing books I’ve read in recent years, was Clara by Janice Galloway. Right from the start, I was intrigued by the unusual way in which it uses a variety of narrative devices, from prose to letters and musical scores. The prologue is almost poetic in its introduction to the main character; very descriptive yet without naming her. Instead we have the vignette of a young girl preparing for a piano recital, mentally and physically. As she lays out her clothes, we see them as a detailed yet concise list. When dressed, she sits and waits: “The fist on her lap clenches, releases, spreads its fingers into a starfish. Hands have a memory of their own; they will know what to do.”

Clara Wieck was a world-acclaimed pianist and composer long before she became Clara Schumann, wife of composer, Robert, and mother to their eight children. This is a feast of a novel, taking the reader into the world of nineteenth century music, peopled by such maestros as Mendelssohn and Brahms, two of their great friends. Although the novel is a little slow at times, with intricate detail, it offers a deep psychological insight into Clara’s childhood with her exacting taskmaster and music teacher: her driven, unbending father, Friedrich.

But it’s the love story between Clara and Robert that makes compelling reading. As lyrical as a musical score, no details of their single and married lives are spared, with the author drawing on the contents of the diaries in which they often communicated with each other. The addition of sections of musical notes and words enhances this passion. It’s also a deeply intimate portrayal of a marriage between two outstanding talents and the compromises expected of Clara in particular. When Robert begins their joint diary, the reader becomes an eavesdropper on their marriage. He calls it: “This little book…a diary that affects us both in our household and our marriage; our wishes and hopes shall be written here.”

Clara is a highly stylized novel, but the story is told by an accomplished author who draws the reader into another world where music is the reason for living. As might be expected from two such passionate musical talents, the marriage is not without problems, including Robert’s increasing mental illness, but it’s a love story right until its poignant end, even after a forced separation. Clara’s great friend, Johannes Brahms, tells her: “The world holds more pain than is fair. It holds more beauty. This is what music is for. You might play, Clara. Play.” And through this painful period of her life, Clara Schumann played her piano to full audiences.

Janice Galloway’s writing moved me as much as any exquisite music. Clara is an unforgettable novel, with an incredible heroine who deserves more of a place in music history.

Rosemary

Monday Market: Traveler's Tales

The Algarve

Since this blog covers all types of reading and writing, I thought it might be good to profile a different type of market today - and it's probably one that most of us could try.

Traveler's Tales accepts non-fiction travel essays for their numerous anthologies and they seem to like humour! Two of the open submissions at the moment are for Women's Travel Humor and More Travel Humor. They do, however, accept all kinds of travel-related pieces, including the frightening, adventurous and grim. They also seem to be running a '30 Days in...' variety of destinations.

Something to note: I read under their 'submissions' that they might use a submitted piece for their online Editor's Choice section - at no payment, although they would offer 50% off their travel books. Stories published in any of their print books earn $100. Submissions are only through the online intake site which is given on the Traveler's Tales website, along with all other details. Might be worth a closer look for anyone who likes to write about their travels!

Rosemary

Introducing New Children's Blog

Well, I've finally finished creating my new blog celebrating children's writing of all ages, 'Flights of Imagination'. I could go on for ever tweaking it and changing colours and so on, but it's the first day of a new month and time to get it live! I've started it partly because my tween novel will be under Ros Gemmell, and since I already have a separate history blog for the Romy name, it seemed like a good idea - at the time. That remains to be seen, but I still like the idea of a blog dedicated to children's writing, from picture books to Young Adult.

So, to get us all in touch with our inner child, I thought this reminder of the wonderful Christmas Annuals from the early 1990s might help. My favourite weekly comic was Bunty, but I loved all the other annuals like Mandy and Judy. The photo shows a selection of those I still have on my shelves, which I think must have belonged to my daughter (!) The Dandy must have sneaked into my pile from my son, as he'd probably be reading them in the 90s. Obviously I was a bit old by then to be reading these. Who am I kidding, I still love looking through them.

So if you like children's books and want to follow my new blog, I'll be delighted to see you there at Flights of Imagination.

Rosemary

Autumn Joy

Sedum Autumn Joy

Yes, this is the Reading and Writing blog! I've just changed the picture in the heading, which I took from a local walkway. I blame it on autumn. This is my favourite season and, here in Scotland, dusk is already creeping in ever earlier in the evenings. In fact, I've now cleared away all my more summery clothes to make way for the warmer, cosier kind in anticipation of even colder days. So, much as I liked my two swans on their misty loch, I now need a more autumny picture to brighten the blog.

One of the best side effects of cooler weather for me is that I come more alive. Summer is my least favourite season as it just makes me lethargic, with a tendency to overeat. But with the coming of autumn, my mind and body are more energised, eating is (slightly) more under control and the dentist and hair appointments are finally made. Please tell me I'm not the only strange person who feels this way!

On the writing front, I was excited to 'meet' the content editor for my Tween novel and to receive the edits for the first half. It was even better to read how excited she is by the book and that she didn't want to stop half way through. I'm hoping that bodes well for the tween readers who might read 'Summer of the Eagles'.

I've nearly finished creating a new blog for children's writing of all ages which will be live in the next few days. Then I'm hoping to finally finish arranging the small local launch for my Dangerous Deceit print books. And the writing group restarts soon. Oh, I do love autumn - now if only I can keep this more energised momentum going to get me through all my writing projects too!

Rosemary

Market Monday - AudioLark

AudioLark is an unusual market I came across for stories and novellas, as it's for audio book first with the added possibility of ebook, if the story is not already published that way. One of the attractions is the length: from 8,000 to 35,000 words, although they will consider longer work.

They seem to be looking for most types of romance, young adult, and 'hard' science fiction. Royalties are fairly generous and, after taking a quick look at some of the audio books already on offer, I recognise a couple of the authors published by them.

You can find all details on the AudioLark website. As always, I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience with them, or who submits to them in the future.

Rosemary

Author Spotlight - Paula Martin

Today, I’m delighted to welcome UK author Paula Martin to the Author Spotlight. Paula’s new contemporary romance, His Leading Lady, is one of the most enjoyable stories I’ve read over the last few months, and what a lovely cover. From the moment I started reading the first chapter, I was completely hooked and had to keep reading the rest of the book until the very satisfying ending.

The characters are very well drawn, with a perfectly matched hero and heroine. The background setting of a theatre and stage musical was the icing on the cake and seemed completely authentic, greatly adding to the enjoyment of the main story between Jess, one of twin sisters, and Kyle, the arrogant director. The added touch of mystery surrounding the disappearance of Lora, Jess’ twin, and the ensuing impersonation by Jess gave the romance a lovely touch of suspense. Highly recommended!

Paula was kind enough to answer the following questions. Thanks for being here, Paula!

Have you been writing fiction long?

It would be easy to say all my life – or at least from when I was about 8 or 9. I was a voracious reader as a child and my first stories were based on some of the books I read (usually school stories like Malory Towers). Soon, however, I was developing my own characters and, once I got to my teens, writing romances. My first novel was published when I was 25, and was based on one of the romances I’d written about ten years earlier. I had four novels published in the 60s and 70s and several short stories in romance magazines, then didn’t write any fiction for about twenty five years. Instead I wrote articles for several years for the UK Girl Guide magazine, one every month as the editor gave me my own ‘page’. I came back to writing fiction about four years ago, initially with fan fiction. Then, after a serendipity meeting with a Harlequin writer when I was America, I decided to try my hand at novels again.

What made you decide to set your novel in the theatre world and did it involve a lot of research?

I’ve always been fascinated by the theatre but, although I had a few minor roles in school plays, I couldn’t really act to save my life (can’t sing or dance either!). However, in the 80s and 90s, I worked backstage with two local amateur Musical Theatre Societies, and for about ten years I produced two shows each year with the junior section of one society. I was privileged to work with a lot of very talented youngsters and it was wonderful to see them develop in confidence, acting skills and stage presence. Many of them are still involved in musical theatre, and I know that at least five of them went on into professional theatre.

I’ve never worked in the professional theatre (although I have been backstage at the two big theatres in Manchester, does that count?), but I reasoned that rehearsals are pretty much the same as in the amateur world, as well as the glitches which happen with scenery and props. The main research I had to do was about how professional shows are financed; the rest came mainly from my own experiences.

Why did you set one scene in Scotland? (Which I loved!)

Once I had my hero’s name, Kyle Drummond, he HAD to have Scottish ancestry, so when I wanted him to introduce Jess to the (previously unrevealed) writer of the musical show, I decided to take them up to Scotland for the weekend. Also it had to be Argyll because the show is based on an old legend from that area. I think I had to do more research for the Scotland chapters than anything else – looking at maps and photos, tower houses, even finding out if there were any private airfields near Oban. I wanted to take a trip up there to make sure I got it right, but time didn’t allow, so I had to draw on my experiences of other parts of Scotland which I’ve visited.

Did you make up the story of the show they are putting on in the novel? (Great story by the way!)

Having decided that Kyle had a Scottish background, I needed the show to be based on a Scottish legend. I googled until I found a legend I liked, and one which I could visualise being adapted into a musical. It’s based on the legend of Black Colin of Argyll, or at least the part of the legend when Colin goes off to the Crusades leaving his young wife behind. The story of him cutting a ring in two and giving half to his wife is part of the legend, and provided the title of the show ‘Token of Love’. I’m wondering whether I could pitch the idea to Andrew Lloyd Webber or Cameron Mackintosh? (Definitely, Paula!)

Do you go to the theatre a lot?
Not as much as I used to. When I was a child, my parents were Gilbert and Sullivan fans so my very first experience of musical theatre was ‘The Yeomen of the Guard’ when I was about eight. I loved it (and still love the G and S shows). Repertory theatre was also still alive then, so my mum used to take me the weekly plays if she thought they were ‘suitable’ for me. Then I discovered Rodgers and Hammerstein shows through the Amateur Operatic Society in my home town, and I was hooked!

Once I started working with our local group in the 80s, I also went to a lot of other societies’ performances in various parts of Manchester (and further afield sometimes). I used to go to many different musicals and plays at the professional theatres in the city too, and once spent a week in London with my teenage daughter (who was also stage-struck) when we went to every afternoon and evening show we could fit into the week. That was in the days when theatre tickets weren’t as expensive as they are now! Nowadays, I tend to go mainly to the amateur shows, although occasionally I venture into the city centre for a professional show and, more rarely, to London. But I did go to Dublin last year, simply to see Stockard Channing in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ which is my favourite play of all time.

What is your favourite stage musical?

This has to be ‘Les Miserables’ which I’ve seen about ten times, both in Manchester and London. I LOVE the songs – and even thinking about ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’ and ‘One More Day’ can make the hairs on my neck stand on end.

Of the shows I’ve worked with, either backstage or producing with my junior group, ‘Carousel’ is probably my favourite (I always cry at the end), although ‘Calamity Jane’ comes a close second, and then there’s ‘Guys and Dolls’ and ‘The Sound of Music’ and – okay, I’ll stop now!

Any tips for newer writers?

The classic answer to this is ‘Don’t give up.’ But maybe more important than that is: A first draft is not a finished manuscript. Learn the craft and the mechanics. Yes, spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence construction are all important. So work at it. Write a good story and write it well.

Thanks so much for having me as a guest on your blog, Rosemary, and for giving me such interesting questions to answer.

Paula Martin lives near Manchester in North West England and has two daughters and two grandsons.

She had some early publishing success with four romance novels and several short stories, but then had a break from writing while she brought up a young family and also pursued her career as a history teacher for twenty-five years. She has recently returned to writing fiction, after retiring from teaching and is thrilled to have found publishing success again with her contemporary romances.

Apart from writing, she enjoys visiting new places. She has travelled extensively in Britain, mainland Europe, America and Canada - and a few years ago she fell in love with Ireland which she visits at least twice a year. Her other interests are musical theatre and tracing her family history.

His leading Lady is available from the publisher Whiskey Creek Press, Amazon (UK) and Amazon (US)

You can find out more about Paula on her Website and Blog