Winner of last week's prize draw

I am pleased to say Kate Jackson's name was the one drawn out of the bag to receive a free download of all three parts of The Laird of Lochandee.Congratulations Kate. I hope you enjoy the story.

For all other followers please keep a look out for other prize draws from time to time

The Next Big Thing

Note: comments left on this and the previous blog will be eligible for a free prize draw download of The Laird of Lochandee. 

Kate Jackson, author of Secrets and Promises, a two novel series, has invited me to take part in the blog event THE NEXT BIG THING – a series of questions and answers relating to my next book. You can read more about Kate’s own success at http://katejacksonwriting.blogspot.co.uk/

What is the title of your book?

It is called Darkest Before The Dawn

How did you come by the idea?
It is the fifth and last novel in the Home Series which follows the fortunes of the Caraford family from the finish of World War ll to present day, so this is a natural follow on with the third generation.

What genre does your book fall under?

It is a family saga even though it is modern. It could almost be a Young Adult in that it has all the joys and uncertainties of two young people growing up and getting to know each other, but it also has an older love affair which I didn’t expect but which I have really enjoyed writing.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
The beauty of a new dawn often follows the darkest of nights as the joy of true love overcomes doubts and fears.

Will your book be self-published or traditional?
Darkest Before The Dawn is my twenty second novel and it will be published in hardback by Robert Hale Ltd in May 2013 and later in the year as an E-reader for downloading. It’s predecessor Another Home-Another Love is now available as an E-book.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The first draft takes longest and is the hardest for me as I am not a plotter so I like to take time to get to know my characters. I would say about three months for a first draft if it is part of a series and longer if it is a new series or a single novel. At least two drafts follow.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Although the background and settings are very different the exploring of the different generations and relationships is similar to some of the novels written by Anna Jacobs and Freda Lightfoot but they are both more prolific than I am

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
It is the first time I have written a novel right up to present day, complete with mobile phones and even a hint of drugs but I wanted to bring farming up to date as well as my characters. My son has recently installed robots for milking cows in his own herd and my characters have similar debates and discussions before the youngest member gets his way with modernisation.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
People who follow the Archers may be interested in the series. Even though my novels are fiction they can learn about robots for milking cows, and my descriptions of farming and country life are completely authentic because it is my own background. In this particular novel - Darkest Before The Dawn - there are also the problems of coping with a leg amputation and we hear a lot about these with so many injured young soldiers and the triumph of the recent Paralympics.

Thank you to Kate Jackson for asking me to take part in this blog event.
 

The following authors will pick up THE NEXT BIG THING baton next Tuesday, 27th November when you can visit their blogs.

Jean Bull   'self-published writer of one historical romance, Gypsy Moth, with another on the way http://jeanbullswritingblog.blogspot.com/

Paula Stanley writing as Christina Hollis author of 17 novels for Harlequin Mills & Boon  http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com  

Linda Hooper writing as Sarah Mallory historical romantic adventures for Harlequin Mills & Boon http://onebellesstrategem.blogspot.co.uk/

 

 

A MAXWELL MALIGNED - FREE DOWNLOAD

The Laird of Lochandee by Gwen Kirkwood is now published by Accent Press in three parts available to download from Amazon.

A FREE DOWNLOAD

Part One - A Maxwell Maligned.

FREE downloads of A Maxwell Maigned are available

from 21^st to 25^th November 2012
 http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=The+Laird+of+Lochandee

Part One of an historical romance saga set in the Scottish Borders between the two World Wars. A Maxwell Maligned.

At sixteen, Rachel O’Brian finds herself alone in the world and accepts a home with an old friend of her father’s, but she is unprepared for his wife’s malice and cannot guess at the secret which feeds the woman’s hatred.

The younger Maxwells welcome Rachel to their Ayrshire farm, especially Ross, but he too has earned Gertrude Maxwell’s spite. When Ross disappears Rachel is dismayed to find herself destitute and expecting his child. Not until past secrets are revealed can the two find each other again.

Prize Draw

On Tuesday 20^th November it is my turn to pick up the baton for the blog chain:-

The Next Big Thing  when you can read about my new book to be published in May 2013

The names of those leaving comments on either, or both, of these blogs will be put into a hat and one name picked at random. The prize is a free download of all three parts of The Laird of Lochandee.

Seven Deadly Sins or The Ten Commandments.

These are the ladies of Closeburn Guild who kindly invited me to speak at one of their meetings and tell them how I write my books and where I get my plots and characters.
    Most writers agree that there are seven main plots, although there are many variations on each one. Since the guild is connected to the Church I decided to slant my talk towards the bible where  examples of every kind of story can be found.    
      Whether or not people follow a religion most try to live a decent life and avoid the faults depicted in the ten commandments such as adultery, jealousy, obsession with certain objects or cravings for things we cannot have, deception or lies, murder and idleness. 
      As writers we can give our characters whatever traits we wish, and for good ones we emphasise the likable traits  and often have a nasty character as a foil. The plots of many novels are often based around such things as adultery, jealousy, deception or maybe murder if it is a crime story. Good characters may have some faults to make them believable and human and arouse the reader's support.
     Going back to the bible we could not choose anything more wicked than King Herod ordering the killing of all the baby boys, or the crowd watching a man hang on a cross until he dies. On the other hand we have the story of the small or weaker character overcoming the bigger, more powerfulul one with David and Goliath. There are too many illustrations in the bible to recount them all here but storytelling is as old as time and even the most modern novel will have a new twist or variation on an old theme.

      I enjoyed my visit to the friendly group of ladies and my journey home across country on the narrow winding roads via Loch Ettrick. The countryside is truly beautiful at this time of year. I am sorry I did not manage to get a better photograph of the the bronze and gold filigree of the larch trees.They make a lovely contrast with the dark green of the pines and spruce.         
      

Janice Horton's Spellbindingly Fun Blog Party

Here is the spell concocted from the listed ingredients chosen to launch Janice's latest book..

Take a pinch of pixie dust
Add a silver spoon of thistledown,
Mix with duo drops of dragon tears.
Stir in sparkling sprinkles of stardust 
Then wrap in three wild rose petals
And tie with specially spun spider's web.
Decorate with a sprig of Scottish heather
Adorned with mini moonstones. 

Send this spell to each of our publishers.
It will bewitch them so much they will keep us rich in royalties for life.

Ticking the box - or not

Today I am kicking myself because I have had to un-publish one of the novels, Fairlyden at War, which I had uploaded to Smashwords. The reason? I forgot to tick a box on Amazon KDP cancelling the book's availability in the Amazon KDP library. I had made it available for 90 days, ending mid August, but I failed to tick a box so it is now available in the Kindle library for another 90 days until November. This means I cannot upload it to Smashwords, or anywhere else until then.

Anyway here is some white heather from my garden in the hope it brings me luck with lots of sales for the other three books in the Fairlyden series. We have had a dreadfully wet summer in S.W. Scotland but my son finished combining the rest of the harvest yesterday. I don't know whether we are preparing for an early winter or not but the winter flowering Viburnum is already covered in pink blossoms. Like me the seasons seem to be a bit topsy turvy.

Linda Mitchelmore, author of To Turn Full Circle, is guest blogger.

Today we welcome Linda Mitchelmore from Devon who is going to tell us something of her writing life.

Can you tell us what made you want to write and how you got your first break?

I began writing when my hearing dropped so badly I could no longer hear music or TV – it was a way of communicating in a way. I could make my characters ‘hear’ which stopped me feeling so isolated.

My first break into the world of print was a short story competition in Woman’s Own. I didn’t get the first prize, but I did get £50 and my story was published. It was the first short story – post leaving school – so it was a wonderful boost to my ego. I often wonder if the winner of that competition went on to be a successful writer, or not.

 What is your favourite mode of working?

Having a deadline works for me! That said, I have two preferred methods. If I’m hand-writing – which is the way I often write short stories – then I can happily write, curled up on the couch while my husband watches TV or listens to music. I then type up the stories from my scribble the next morning. For novels, I write straight on to the computer but, although I don’t like interruptions of the ‘where’s my striped shirt?’ ‘what time’s lunch?’ variety, I do write better if there is someone else in the house.

Are your novels character driven or are you a plotter?

My novels are very definitely character driven. My first line in To Turn Full Circle  (TTFC) is something my father always used to say to me if I left it longer than a week to call in and say hello! It just sort of popped into my head one day when I was thinking about him. He always said it in a jokey way but I thought - what if it was said in a very snide, nasty way? And by whom and to whom? I knew I didn't want Emma in TTFC to say it because she isn't that sort of person. The plot started with a harridan - Mrs. Phipps - saying 'Well, well, well, look what the cat's brought in' to the lovely Emma and went from there really, although I'd decided from the start that Emma would be an orphan....but at that stage the logistics of how she'd come to be in that state hadn't been plotted out.

  What is your work schedule?  How do you relax? What interests do you have other than writing? Do you think it important for a writer to take time off?

I love gardening, but alas this summer it has not looked at its best due to the launch of my début novel when there was much to do by way of book signings and library talks, and getting on with the sequel. But I do love it, and have been on garden tour holidays which have gleaned more than a few short stories as well as more horticultural knowledge. I also like cycling in Brittany along the Nantes-Brest canal…nice and flat, beautiful scenery, and lots of little roads leading off to bars for a cool lager. I do try to find time to see friends – at least once a fortnight I meet up with one of them for coffee or lunch. Not all are writers – in fact I think it’s very important not to get too insular about writing so my non-writing friends are equally as important as the writing ones.

Do you believe writing is a skill anyone can learn? What advice would you give to a new writer? Can you remember what craft tip helped you the most when you were starting out?

I believe anyone’s writing can be improved but there has to be that ‘writing voice’ unique to us all in there somewhere – some who try very hard simply do not have that voice.

A very well-published writer once said to me never lose sight of whose story it is you are telling. What does she want? Who helps her? Who hinders her? How does she achieve her aims – BY DINT OF HER OWN HARD WORK. I am a reader for short story competitions and I’d like a pound for every story I’ve read where the heroine is poor but wins the lottery! – which neatly sums up how not to do it, I think.

. Do you have a critique partner, or share your work with anyone before you submit to an editor?

 I belong to a writing group. Brixham Writers. We are a very small group – just twelve of us – but we are all published. We meet every Thursday and are expected to bring something to read out. This can be work-in-progress or something to the ‘homework’ theme which is set each week. I’m a short story writer, too, so I often use the themes to write a new short story. Some of us will read from a novel-in-progress – a scene here, or a scene there, sometimes a whole chapter. I’m always happy to read out a short story but I tend to keep my novel close to my chest.

 Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, how do you cope with it?

I suffer from lack of a BOSS (Bum On Swivel Seat) sometimes but once I’m sitting down I find I can get back into it easily enough. A trick I’ve devised is – until you need to write THE END – never to stop work at the end of a chapter … always open the next. Never finish a sentence ….just don’t put that full stop …then you’ll always have a pick-up point.

You are a member of the Romantic Novelists Association. In what way has the RNA helped you or your career?

Just joining the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme has been instrumental to my career. Having to produce a manuscript by the end of August each year was a pretty good ‘whip’ to keep writing. The networking is also second to none. When I was awarded the Katie Fforde Bursary it gave me such encouragement and also the determination to restore the RNA’s faith in me that I could become a published novelist. I’ve also made pretty good use of the membership at The New Cavendish Club …it’s like a home from home now.

Do you enjoy research, and how do you set about it?

TO TURN FULL CIRCLE is the first historical novel I’ve ever written – all my other NWS entries were contemporary so I didn’t need to research things like clothes and vehicles and technology for those. TTFC is set between 1909 and the end of 1911 and I was given access to a whole year’s worth of local newspapers from that period. They were so interesting that the novel was in danger of never being finished – there were so many avenues I could have gone down. And so much I learned. For example….there was a report of an aircraft carrier shipping planes across the channel which surprised me – obviously not an aircraft carrier as we know them today, but all the same….a surprise. I was also intrigued to discover that best beef was 6d a pound and lemons were 1/- a dozen.

I’m now working on the sequel to TTFC and my first draft was to get the plot and the emotions of the story down, and to define my characters. In the second draft I added more social period detail, and in the third draft I’m working on putting in some political detail – although not too much as my writing is very emotion-led.

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Tell us about your latest book, and what inspired you to write it.

TO TURN FULL CIRCLE came about when my husband was researching some family history. He found that a great uncle of his had fished out of Brixham and had owned two fishing boats. One of those boats was lost to the sea. The other was sold on after said great uncle was badly injured in a fishing accident and had to come off the water. It got me thinking…..what happened back then when many fishermen and their families lived in tied cottages if the man died, or was incapacitated and the tied cottage went…..and I took it a step further and made Emma Le Goff a 16 year old orphan.

I beIleve Gone with the Wind is one of your favourite novels.

Yes, it is one of several favourites but I was thrilled when my book was placed next to Margaret Mitchel’s on the shelves in Waterstones.

Thank you Linda, you have raised some interesting points about the life of a writer.