Author Interview with The Bookshelf Cafe News

 

is a splendid resource for readers and writers. 

It offers a Daily Dose of news via Twitter and Instagram

http://www.thebookshelfcafe.news/

and also invites authors for an interview. Here is mine -

         

                              

How long have you been writing or when did you start? 

As a very small child I was fascinated by the little black marks on pages and how my parents could read me stories from those signs. How I longed to understand those marks for myself. I would hold a book open, look at a picture on the page and ‘read’ aloud the story that it inspired. Once I could read, I devoured any and every book I could lay my hands on. When the story finished too soon for my satisfaction, I added more to it. That’s where my writing began, and my motivation is still to create a story that is complete and satisfying. 

What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why? 

Inspiration usually starts from a picture of a person, or maybe from an interesting looking fellow passenger on a train or plane journey. For example, in an Airline magazine I spotted an advert for a black leather jacket. The model had such a moody expression, such an arrogant pose, that he sprang to life and I could see several episodes of his adventures. As I wiggled my way into his mind, his aims, abilities and of course, his faults and weaknesses become clear. Then his family, friends, enemies, and so on develop. These other people also tend to come from pictures, and their expressions and attitudes tell me their characters. By now they are all real people to me and the plot tends to develop as they dictate, rather than what I want them to do. 

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? 

All my life I’ve been a voracious reader, mainly of any story or textbook about past ages and long ago travel and events. My grandparents had plenty of tales about their young lives, which gave me information about customs and activities from the past. Studying French and Italian meant reading books from medieval to modern times in both languages, and then life in Turkey added another dimension to my experiences, as my husband was a great traveller, and both the history and geography of that land is vast and diverse. Along the way I observed people, places, climate, customs and food. It’s a rather large reservoir to help with thinking up a story.   

How do you develop your plot and characters? 

Once the main characters come forward and I can see scenes from their story, I work out what their urgent problems are and how they can try to solve them. This brings in antagonists, difficulties of character, family situation, ambition and the growing number and type of obstacles they must battle. Also the time they are living in, the events of that period, the general rules of behaviour, costume, transport and so on, all need noting carefully and adding to the complications of the plot.  

As an example, The Rake and His Honour involved checking information about the Huguenots in London, silversmithing, smallpox, coaching routes and their stages for changing horses, the life of the French King and his Court in exile at Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire, to name a few items on my list. 

Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they? 

A most important rule is to ‘cut, cut, cut.’ It takes a writer time and practice to learn how to express ideas clearly but concisely, by choosing an effective noun or verb, rather than through a longer description or by adding an adverb to a weak verb. Journalists who have to produce an article in a set total of words, quickly learn to convey ideas and information in an economical manner. Sometimes a story really improves after the writer removes passages they took great pains over, but which merely drag a scene out. It’s the rule of ‘kill your darlings.’ It hurts but usually by trimming the text, the story gains tension and becomes more vivid. 

How do you come up with character names for your stories? 

For my Regency Tales, I use the names of Georgian era writers and poets. Also, Jane Austen’s family is a good source of suitable names for that period. My main characters have fairly classic names, I keep a few outrageous ones for the people I don’t like. It’s also necessary to consider religion, to have suitable names for Catholic or Huguenot characters. All titled names need to be checked via Google to be sure there is no living peer of that name. As for my Turkish characters, I search Google for the names of Sultans of the period and choose from the list of their children’s names. And for the French characters, as my de Montailhac family is based in the very south-west, I went round several graveyards in the region to find local names from that period. 

 Have you ever traveled as research for your book? 

Travel is essential for accuracy, whether it’s knowing how long it takes to walk from Sydney Place to the Pump Room in Bath, from Grosvenor Square to the St Giles Rookery in London, or to make an accurate description of the layout of the rooms in the Sultan’s little summer palace on the Golden Horn in Constantinople [Istanbul]. In fact, I enjoy travelling, and bring it into my stories a lot, together with a range of different nationalities, appropriate to the time in which I set my novels.  

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite? 

I’ve written ten books, of which six have been published, and two are out seeking a publisher. Two more are still getting some adjustments.  

My published novels are all set in the wider Regency period, but three stories take place at least partly outside England. I draw on my years living in France and Turkey to add a slight exotic flavour. In Scandalous Lady, Olivia craves travel and adventure, like her role model, Lady Hester Stanhope, who she meets in Constantinople [Istanbul]. Writing a real life person into a novel means doing careful research to be faithful to her real character. 

The hero of Scandalous Lady, surprised me by revealing [in Chapter 7] that he had two brothers and two sisters. Once I got over the shock, I brought in his next brother in a minor role, and then gave him his own story in The Rake and his Honour. He is Arnaut, the middle son, desperate to find a worthwhile role in life and not altogether pleased that girls are helplessly attracted to him. Arnaut is my favourite character, he’s an ardent soul, all action and sensation and with devastating charm. I’ve obviously succumbed to that charm because I brought him into his younger brother’s story as well. So three stories are linked because they are about the Montailhac brothers. One is a diplomat, one finds a role as an anti-Napoleonic agent and one is a farmer.     

What, to you, are the most important elements of good writing? 

Good plain writing is what I prefer, simple sentences that flow so smoothly you barely notice the words, only the effect they have on you. If you are immersed in the story, then the writing is doing its job.  

How do you celebrate when you finish your book? 

Oh, it’s never a celebration when I finish writing a book. It means parting from one of my other families, as sad an event as at the end of my annual visit to family and friends in Turkey. Goodbyes are hard. At least the book is there so I can spend a little time with these people again. In any case, I revise a lot, which delays the parting. To be honest, someone really needs to show me how to let go.  

   

Interview with The Wild Rose Press

Growing up in a tiny Lancashire village where the only other children were two boys, I relied on books for companionship. Once I discovered Jane Austen's stories, I always had somewhere to go. It was fun to pretend I was one of the Bennet sisters in 'Pride and Prejudice'. I enjoy many different periods of history but find it easiest to visualize the Regency era and there are so many reminders of that time still in existence to help with accuracy. I visit the places I put in my novels, check on the time it takes to walk the distances, look at the fashions and the objects of daily life.

1 -When and why did you decide you wanted to be a published author?

Books were such a large part of my life as a child that I simply thought writing and reading were the things you did. I told stories to my little brother, and to my friends. At school I wrote long essays and edited the school magazine. A teaching career meant that life was always hectic. It seemed there would never be time to write novels. Then my husband became too ill to work, so to keep him busy I set him to write a quest story that we had been discussing for several years. Each evening I would read his efforts and edit. We laughed a lot over our characters and their adventures. Sadly, my husband died but over that year I had found time for writing in my day and I just kept going. I wrote 'The Wild Card' and sent it to the Romantic Novelists' Association for a critique. Following their advice I edited it, then sent it to Robert Hale, who took it at once. It was shortlisted for the RNA Romance Prize. Robert Hale has just published my fourth Regency tale, 'The Rake's Challenge'.

2 - What is the best and worst thing you have learned from an editor/agent?

When I sent out the quest story, one agent took the trouble to write a helpful rejection letter. She advised me to use more emotion so that my characters would sweep the reader along. It sounds so obvious but I needed that push not to be so buttoned up. Later, another agent warned me that stories must not be just publishable but marketable. She also advised me that Regencies don't sell well in the UK. I have a couple of ideas for stories in different time periods but they are on the back burner for now. I still have plenty of Regency adventures to write. My editors at Robert Hale are very helpful, but I had to learn 'house style'. I only ever argue over historical accuracy.

3 - Favourite authors?

I have been reading and rereading Jane Austen's novels since I was twelve. I always find something new in them. Wilkie Collins and George Eliot are also favourites. Georgette Heyer gave me the idea that the Regency period was elegant and full of adventure, so she has been a big inspiration. Then there's Loretta Chase and Nicola Cornick. And I must mention R D Blackmore and 'Lorna Doone'. Was there ever such a love story? *sigh*

4 - What is your typical day?

It starts when the cat pulls on the back door handle to call me because he's hungry. When Sir is fed I make a cup of tea and go back to bed to read what I wrote the night before. I add and alter and often get carried away by new ideas and rush down to the study to rewrite or develop something.
During the day I deal with general tasks, otherwise I'd disappear under a sea of papers and the hedge would reach the moon. I settle down to write in the evenings. What with background reading and checking details on the internet, it often gets to the wee small hours before I realise that the time has gone. Writing is like going away on holiday - and I don't want to come back.
I also travel a lot, which disrupts my writing, even though there is usually a research element to my journeys. For example, in July I visited a marvellous little palace in Istanbul; and in October I'll be hunting in the Pyrenees for a suitable castle for my hero's family home. They are both for the hero of my wip, an Ottoman Regency. It takes place in 1811 as that is when Lady Hester Stanhope was in Constantinople [Istanbul] and she plays a vital role in the story.

5 - Do you plan your books? Or write it as the dialogue/action comes to you?

Each story starts when I've collected enough faces and places. They come from all over, maybe an inflight magazine, a newspaper or a postcard from a museum. I spread the pictures out on the table and pair them off, adding friends, families and villains. Then I select homes for them all. The story sparks from something in one of those faces. Within an hour or so I'll have an outline plot. Over a few days it develops into a story and some episodes are vivid in my mind. I write this outline down as a guide - but it will only become a detailed plan when I know my characters better. It always seems to happen when I reach chapter 9. So the characters lead me along, really.

6 - What surprised you the most when you became published?

The thrill of holding my first book will remain with me always. Perhaps the greatest surprise was the amount of time and effort that is needed to publicise your books.

7 - Do you have a dedicated writing space? What does it look like?
We have a small study [my husband and I were modern languages teachers] with lots of bookshelves and a big desk that is crowded with papers and pots of pens. I work on a desktop computer. If inspiration fails I look up at the books, photos and pictures to get ideas moving again. To my right is the window, and just outside is a rambling rose bush - with thimble-sized pink flowers, which adds a romantic note. There is also an exercise bike that I use while reading bits of research or the pages I've just printed off.

8 - What’s next for you?

My wip is another Ottoman Regency, with more focus on the oriental way of life this time. My husband was Turkish [and a poet] and we lived in eastern Turkey for some years, so I have plenty of material for the background for my Ottoman stories. Robert Hale has just brought out a Kindle edition of my second story 'In All Honour'. It's exciting to join the ebook world. Then I want to write the next of my Byron books. My heroine in 'The Rake's Challenge' is a devoted Byron fan, like her three schoolfriends. I think they deserve a story as well.