LIST OF MY BOOK TITLES IN ORDER - TO 2014

I have recently had several queries about the order in which some of my Sagas were written, especially for those people who like to listen to the audio books.

List of Book Titles by Gwen Kirkwood

www.gwenkirkwood.co.uk

Moorland Mist due 2015

Beyond Reason   May 2014 (audio in production)

1.Dreams of Home (title for  e-book is Coming Home)

2. A Home of Our Own

3. Heart of the Home

4 Another Home-Another Love

5 Darkest Before the Dawn

1.  Secrets in the Heather

2 Call of the Heather

3 When the Heather Blooms

1 The Laird of Lochandee (audio books for this series due soon )

2 The Legacy of Lochandee

 (original title of hardback is A Tangled Web)

3 Children of the Glens

4 Home to the Glen

1 Fairlyden

2 Mistress of Fairlyden

3 The Family at Fairlyden

4 Fairlyden at War

(Shorter romances. All single novels. Available as e-books See my website for direct links to Amazon for all of my books)

Lonely is the Valley

The Wary Heart

The Laird of Lochvinnie

The Silver Link- The Silken Tie

Written on the Wind

A New Beginning (original title  Shattered Dreams)

A Question of Love (available only as an e-book to download)

Love’s Ransom        ( a few copies published but mainly as e-book)

FREE DOWNLOAD OFFER FOR HEART OF THE HOME

I am pleased to tell you that HEART OF THE HOME is available to download FREE from
Wednesday 27th August to Sunday 31st August.

I have shown  the urls for all the Home Series. but Heart of the Home is the third one. Many of the characters become like old friends and continue through all the books but each story is separate and has its own hero and heroine.
If anyone reads them out of sequence I would love to hear what you think and whether you pick up the threads easily.

HOME SERIES URLS

COMING HOME  ( original title of hard back DREAMS OF HOME)

http://amzn.to/1AQHJaG

A HOME OF OUR OWN

http://amzn.to/1mi6CCq

HEART OF THE HOME

http://amzn.to/XzO37q

ANOTHER HOME-ANOTHER  LOVE

http://amzn.to/1pAjS9f

DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN

http://amzn.to/164QNac   Amazon.com
http://amzn.to/1ev5mwZ  Amazon .co.uk

 

BEYOND REASON plus a little about the background to the story

Beyond Reason is completely fictional although it is set between the towns of Annan and Dumfries in South West Scotland. I have used the principles of the first Savings Bank to illustrate how important it was to people at that time to preserve their pride and independence, how they dreaded the poor house, and how much they valued education.

Below are a few facts about the Ruthwell Savings Bank which was established by the Reverend Doctor Henry Duncan in the Village of Ruthwell for people with little money but who wanted to save. Anyone interested in the facts of this great enterprise will find many interesting articles and books written about the Rev.Henry Duncan. 

He believed in the dignity of the ordinary working people and he encouraged thrift. Despite the appalling poverty at that time, he was against the introduction of a poor rate and fostered a spirit of pride and independence whenever possible.

The cottage which was the Meeting

 House where the world's first

Savings Bank started.

 

It exists today as a small museum

He used his knowledge,

gained during the three years he spent working in Heywoods Bank in Liverpool, but he believed a savings bank could only succeed if it were self-supporting and based on business principles. He gained the backing of the landowners – possibly because they welcomed the idea that the poor might no longer need their support.

The plaque on the wall.

 

As writers we all know the value of marketing and publicity to sell our books. The Rev Duncan had the same idea when he founded a local newspaper, The Dumfries & Galloway Courier, and published his proposal for a parish bank in Ruthwell.

 

On 10th May 1810 in the Society Room in Ruthwell he explained his ideas for a parish bank to his parishioners. Established banks needed £10 to open an account.(A small fortune to working people at that time). Sixpence would be enough to have an account in the Ruthwell Savings Bank. The deposits were placed with the Linen Bank in Dumfries and received 5% interest. Members received 4% interest - on whole pounds. The surplus provided a charity fund, increased interest for long-term savers, and a sum for administering the bank. The administration in Ruthwell was done by the Rev Duncan himself but he did not take any remuneration. Instead he used the money due to him to build another school in the parish. During the first year £151 was deposited in Ruthwell and there were savings banks throughout the UK within five years of the bank opening. The movement spread to Europe and the United States.

 

The Ruthwell Cross does not feature in my novel but it would be a pity to mention Dr Henry Duncan and Ruthwell and not include a little about it here in this blog post. The Cross is reputed to be late seventh or early eight century and is one of the finest Anglo-Saxon crosses in Britain. The Rev Duncan rescued it from the manse gardens where it had lain broken for many years after being cast out as idolatrous by previous Church of Scotland officials. Rev. Duncan restored it and it now stands in the Ruthwell Church where visitors can see it. The Savings Bank Museum can supply more information about it and the man who was minister for almost fifty years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although he was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland the Rev.Doctor Henry Duncan also played an active part in the Disruption of 1843

 

 

        

BEYOND REASON is 

published in hardback by Robert Hale Ltd £19.99 and will be available to download to digital readers in May 2014.

 

shortened link to Amazon  http://amzn.to/RHGHfr  

 Janet Scott loves books, and learning, and is happy living at the schoolhouse where her grandfather is the dominie. When tragedy strikes, and her grandfather dies suddenly, everything changes, and she is sent to work for farmer, Wull Foster. Life with no one to protect her is tough, and Janet experiences first-hand the dangers which can befall a young woman. So, when philanthropist, Josiah Saunders, an old friend of her grandfather's takes her in they both enjoy the companionship, but Josiah's avaricious relatives resent his generosity and are furious when he encourages Janet to stay at Crillion Keep. He considers ways to thwart their scheming. Janet loves Fingal McLauchlan but while he is only a lawyers' clerk he is unable to offer the help she needs to keep her promise to her brother and care for their mother. She faces a difficult dilemma when Josiah offers her marriage, and security, but even worse problems arise when Josiah's relatives devise an evil plot to be rid of her.

 

 

 

Secrets in the Heather now available as an e-book

 

 

 

I am please to say Secrets in the Heather is now published by Accent Press and is available to download at a very affordable price. It is the first in a series of three Heather books which were first published by Severn House in hardback, available from libraries and book shops. It is also available as an audio book for those who like to listen while they work or drive.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Heather-The-Series-ebook/dp/B00ICN4ITQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393344683&sr=8-1&keywords=secrets+in+heather+gwen

Victoria MacLauchlan was orphaned at birth and raised in a cottage on the Darlonachie Estate by Jane McCrady, whom she believes is her great-grandmother. When Jane dies Victoria is given a job in the Castle kitchens and offered a home by the Pringle family, also tenants of the Laird of Darlonachie. They are a kindly couple with four sons. They have known Victoria all her life but they have never guessed there is a long buried secret in her past. 

 

The First World War is over and times are changing. A new generation has taken over, both above and below stairs, making life difficult for Victoria, especially as she is growing into a capable and beautiful young woman. She must make difficult choices and come to terms with the secret which is accidentally revealed and which will have far reaching consequences, not only in her own  life.

 

COMING HOME - a FREE download for 5 days

 I am pleased to say this book is now available to download and it will be free from Wednesday 19th February 2014 until mid-day on Sunday. 23rd.

It is the first in a series of 5 novels beginning at the end of the war.

Steven Caraford  longs for the day he can return to Scotland and continue the life he loves, farming at Willowburn with his family.

After the death of his best friend, Tom Oliphant, Tom's sister, Meg, has continued corresponding with Steven. She was a schoolgirl when the two young men were recruited into the army but Steven returns to find she is an attractive young woman about to go to college and embark on a promising career as a teacher. She also has several admirers.

      Steven is dismayed and disheartened to find he is no longer welcome at Willowburn. His future seems bleak, but he is determined to try for a small farm of his own. Will Meg wait for him, or even want him? Then a crisis almost tears their world apart.

 

Original title and cover

This book was originally published in hardback as Dreams of Home so some readers may have read it from libraries. It is also available as an audio book.

Amazon links - full and shortened

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Coming+Home+by+Gwen+Kirkwood

OR

http://amzn.to/1iYqScH

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Coming+Home+by+Gwen+Kirkwood

OR

http://amzn.to/1hkD6yJ

 

Writing Progress Blog Tour

I was invited to take part in the Writing Progress Blog Tour by Sue Dawson, writing as Jodi Taylor, the creator of the 'Chronicles of St Mary's'. This is a series of books about the adventures of those time-travelling disaster-magnets - or historians as they like to be known! Full of history, love, romance, adventure - and reservoirs of tea, the latest - A Second Chance - should be published around March and will be available on Amazon and through Accent Press.

You can read more about Jodi on her Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJodiTaylor

 Or  her blog: www.jodi-taylor.com

 

These are the four questions I am required to answer. 

What am I working on at present?

 I am presently writing about the Border Reivers and the feuds between the Scottish and English during the 1500’s, moving to the early 1600’s, when King James 1^st of England (James V1 of Scotland) wanted his two kingdoms to live in peace. There were a great many hangings at this time and my heroine, Isabella offers her own life in place of her brother’s because their father is dead and her mother and sisters need him. The clan chief admires her courage. He wants grandchildren with character so instead of taking her life he decides she should be a wife for his son, but  Henry only wants to be a monk and a healer.

 

This is an earlier period than usual for me and it is involving a lot of interesting research re the Border Towers, living arrangements, food, crops available at the time (Neither turnips nor potatoes were available then and I believe early carrots were white). Herbs were used for medicine.

 How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My next novel - Beyond Reason – will be published in April 2014. It is set around 1840. This, and my current novel, are single books and earlier periods than usual so they are not my normal style of family sagas. My family sagas are different from many others because they are written in series of 3, 4 or 5 books, each series following different generations of the same family. They may be set any time from 1900 to present day. As an example my last series began at the end of the war with Dreams of Home and a young soldier desperate to start in a farm of his own. Darkest Before the Dawn, is the fifth in the series and the first time I have brought the generations up to present day.

It concerns a young man due to start at university, but he is also keen to farm. He is convinced milk robots will enable him to carry out his ambitions in spite of his injuries but his father does not agree. 

 Why do I write what I do?

I have always had a vivid imagination, quite scary sometimes, but I suppose you could say I write about what I know and that happens to be farming. My family have been farmers for several generations. I went to agricultural college against all the advice of my teachers, and to the disappointment of my mother, who thought I should go to university and be a teacher. I have only one regret and that is my mother did not live to see me write a book. It would have pleased her greatly because she was a great reader herself, as was my grandmother. (Incidentally I think some things must be in the genes as my daughter also went against advice and attended agricultural college and this year my granddaughter is doing the same.) Maybe some things are meant to be.

Since marrying a Scottish dairy farmer I have lived most of my adult life north of the Border so most of my books are set in Scotland, with an odd foray back to my Yorkshire schooldays. I have also written seven shorter, lighter romances but even they usually have some connection with animals or country life. The latest of these is called  A Question of Love – an e-book, recently published by Endeavour Press, about rare breeds, animal thieves, and of course, romance.

How does my writing process work?

I am not a plotter so my characters are the most important part of my story. I fix  the main characters first and usually I have a rough idea who will come together at the end, but I never know what their journey will involve, who they will meet, or what problems they will encounter. I wish I could write a rough outline but I can’t, it has to be a full first draft. This is the most difficult stage for me. I enjoy the second draft and often a third, especially if I have had to take a break in the middle.

When I begin a novel I keep a loose leaf folder beside me and I write down the names of the characters, their ages, colour of hair, eyes, build etc. and anything outstanding. Also names of places. This is more essential than most people realise, especially if the novel is part of a series. As I go along I get to know the characters and their traits, their strengths and weaknesses – as in real life. Whenever a new character appears, however minor, I make a note of them too, plus the chapter numbers where they first appear. I try not to use names which are similar, but I still make mistakes sometimes, as I believe most people do. I would not like to be published, or to self publish, without a copy editor, even if I do not always agree with some suggestions. Most of us believe we see what we intended to write.

Computers have made writing far easier than it used to be with typewriters and Tippex, re-writes and carbon copies, but for as long as I can remember I have loved the feel of a pen, or freshly sharpened pencil, and a new sheet of paper. This probably accounts for my old fashioned use of paper notes beside me.

Now I shall hand over the baton for the next Writing Progress Blog Tour to Janet Gover. I have read some of Janet’s stories and she makes the Australian countryside come alive and creates an atmosphere which makes you feel you are actually there.  

Janet grew up in Australia – but now wanders the world in her day job which involves something to do with very large and complex computers – there are times when even she is not sure exactly what. In between trips, she writes romantic adventures – mostly set in Australia. She has a passion for dark and damaged heroes. Despite her childhood love for knights in shining armour on big white horses, racing to rescue damsels in distress – in her books, it’s just as likely to be the heroine doing the saving.

She’ll be blogging next week, 27^th January, about her writing process at  http://janetgover.com/?page_id=54 . You’ll find her website at www.janetgover.com . Her facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/janetgoverbooks and you can follow her on twitter @janet_gover