Hi Louise. Thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your novel, The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond and what inspired it? Have you always had a fascination with Gothic and Tarot?
Hi, so excited for this Q&A! So, The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond is my first novel. Set in 1890, it tells the story of Julia Pearlie, a young woman who is hired to act as an etiquette coach for the mysterious Olivia Richmond. She discovers Olivia has a witchy reputation and Olivia’s father, Doctor Richmond, would like Julia to convince his daughter that her ‘powers’ are not real, but the more Julia gets to know Olivia, the more she begins to wonder if they really are…
Story ideas always come to me like a movie trailer playing in my head and when I came up with this one, I had an image of a young woman in white, standing at a set of French windows staring out over an overgrown lawn towards dark woods beyond and there was something waiting for her in the trees. I took that and ran with it.
I have always really enjoyed creepy psychological tales. I first encountered tarot through my aunt who used to read them and as I studied literature more – and began to teach it – I was really interested in gothic as a genre because of how it explored individuals and society so the interest went from there.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have a favourite place to write? Prefer noise or silence? Any other writing rituals?
I’m a full-time teacher so writing days tend to be during holidays and weekends and it happens wherever it can – there’s very little aesthetic going on! I wrote ‘Fortunes…’ either sitting at the kitchen table with my laptop or getting up early on a Saturday morning with my stepson and writing on the sofa while he watched Pokemon or Beyblade.
I do have a home office set up now though so when I can, I’ll make a cup of tea, light a scented candle (ambience. Very important.) and play some music that I feel reflects the mood I want to create or the scene that I’m writing. For instance, I listened to lots of Victorian waltzes when writing the party scenes in ‘Fortunes…’
If I’m writing a scary scene, I’ll try to write it at night in silence. That way, if I get nervous or scared, I know it will scare other people!
What were the challenges you found when writing your novel?
Plotting versus just writing and overcomplicating things for myself.
Technically a gothic novel is three books in one because they’re a ghost story, a mystery and (if you want to make your life difficult like me) a romance and so having a clear plan feels important. It’s easy to get stuck on the plotting and feel like you’re making headway, but plotting isn’t writing, and books are wily creatures. You’ll have everything mapped out and planned, and then you’ll start writing and realise that, in practice, that plan doesn’t work, or the characters take the wheel and start driving you in a different direction.
It’s easy to feel frustrated and like you’ve ‘wasted time’ plotting or try to force the book into the shape you’ve planned for it and in either situation, you can (like me) come up with over complicated ‘fixes’ when really the important thing is to just enjoy writing and let the story be what it is. It’s meant to be fun – let the process do its thing.
From idea to finished book, what’s your writing process like and how long does it typically take you? Any advice on research, starting and editing?
byHello Soulla. Thank you so much for joining me today and inviting Novel Kicks onto the blog tour for your book, The Magic of Miramare.
Aww, thanks so much. I appreciate you taking the time to chat to me like this.
What’s your typical writing day like and do you have any writing rituals – like a favourite place to write? Silence or noise?
Definitely silence and it’s what prompted my partner to build my own little haven away from the house. I’m now lucky enough to have a beautiful writing room tucked into the corner of my garden. It has lighting and heating and internet access so I can hide away all day writing—I usually start early, sometimes as early as 7am—and do my researching and planning for my books, social media campaigns and client edits. I can keep going for hours and sometimes even forget to stop for lunch. The back wall of my space is covered in pictures from magazines to inspire me and the other has shelves which house most of my books; all organised by colour. It really is a special place and during the pandemic I wrote Alexander and Maria in there in just a few short weeks.
What were the challenges when writing a novel from the point of view of three characters and what’s the most important thing to remember when doing so?
My second novel, The Summer Will Come was written from the POV of four different characters and each POV started with a new chapter. I have done the something similar with The Magic of Miramare. I like the use of multi viewpoints in that it brings the reader closer to the character and their thought processes and helps them to understand the characters’ motivations and behaviours better.
What’s your favourite word and why?
My favourite word is serendipity, not only is it such a beautiful sounding word but it brings so much magic to our everyday, ordinary lives. I have found that so many of my happiest moments and opportunities have arrived just by chance, as if by magic, and the feeling of being in the right place at just the right time, not a moment too early or too late, for me, speaks volumes about how amazing the power of God, and the Universe, are.
If you could visit a fictional world for a day, where would you go and why?
byHello Susan, thank you so much for joining me and for inviting Novel Kicks onto the blog tour for your book, A Little Christmas Spirit. Could you tell us a little about your latest novel, A Little Christmas Spirit and what inspired it?
Hi, thanks for having me. Well, it’s the third in the series, and the main character, Lara, who pulls everyone together in this story, is now 9 years old. It has been a long time since the last Christmas Spirit book (2015) so I specifically ensured Lara was the right age for everything to happen organically. We’re back at the Sugar and Spice café, now owned by her mum Tabitha and her uncle Jacob. Because of Lara’s age, and her key role in the novel, a great part of the book is set in her school, with all the Christmas events that throws up.
Which songs would make up a playlist for your novel?
This is a tough one, as I’ve never really thought about it. How about ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ by Mariah Carey. ‘Merry Christmas, Everyone’ by Shakin’ Stevens. ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ by Paul McCartney. You’ve got me on a roll here, now! ‘Step Into Christmas’ by Elton John, and ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham.
What’s your typical writing day like and do you have any writing rituals, for example, writing in silence, needing coffee?
I don’t have a typical writing day as every one is different and I don’t write every day. When I do write, sometimes I write a lot, like 12,000 words, to finish a book. As I also edit other authors’ books, sometimes it depends on my workload, and in the run-up to launch of a new book, I have a lot of business things that need doing: admin, processes. However, with regards to the actual writing, yes, I need silence and lots of coffee. Apart from that, I just lose myself in my world!
From idea to finished book, what’s your process like? How do you approach editing and when do you know when you’ve done enough preparation/research prior to starting?
byHi Ian, thank you so much for joining me today and inviting Novel Kicks onto the blog tour for your latest book. Can you tell me about your novel, Blood Matters and what inspired it?
Blood Matters is the tenth book in my Carmichael whodunit series. It’s set in rural Lancashire (as they all are) and starts with the discovery of a body down a dark unlit road. The murder victim is not from the area but is known to some of the residents of the small hamlet where he’s discovered. It quickly becomes apparent that the deceased was seen by the young man who found him and countless other people, less than 30 minutes earlier in the local pub, having a heated argument with one of the village residents.
The book was inspired by a twist I thought of when I was driving about 18 months ago.
What were the challenges you found when writing your novel, especially when it’s part of a series?
The main challenge when writing murder mysteries in a series is to come up with ideas for a plot, characters and a twist that are not just different from anything else in previous books in the series but that aren’t similar to whodunits written by other authors.
Which songs would make up a playlist for your book?
I’d go for tracks from the 80’s or 90’s.
From idea, to finished book, what’s your writing process like and how long does it typically take you?
It’s remarkably haphazard in that I write ferociously at times, but I can also not put finger to keyboard for a week or two if I’m mulling over how to tackle something I find tricky that’s coming up soon. I only write in the mornings and rarely write more than 1000 words a day (usually more like 500). Despite my seemingly chaotic approach I generally take about 1 year to write the first draft then 6 months recrafting parts to make them ready to share with my copy editor.
What’s your favourite word and why?
byI’m so pleased to be welcoming Alice May to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Mid-life Trials of Annabeth Hope.
Two very different worlds are about to collide.
Feisty country girl Annabeth Hope has sworn off men since her ex abandoned her. Juggling three resentful step-teens, a hyperactive toddler, a smallholding, and a herd of rescued llamas, she has her hands full.
With the roof about to collapse on her crumbling New Forest home, she is desperate to find a way to hold her patchwork family together. The last thing she needs is an attractive distraction moving in next door.
Burnt-out inner-city doctor Rick Mahon has left London and his medical career behind in a moment of professional crisis. A malpractice lawsuit is on the horizon, and the cancel culture mob are snapping at his heels. His plan to stay under the radar is thrown off course when he meets his new neighbour and sparks start to fly.
Annabeth and Rick couldn’t be more different, but maybe they hold the key to each other’s happiness…
Alice joins us today to chat about inspiration and people watching so without further ado, it’s over to you.
I love writing family dynamics. Finding the inspiration to write teen characters can be tricky, especially when you are trying to replicate their interactions with the adults in their lives. When I worked as a school librarian, it was interesting that pupils using the library often forgot that I was there. While I quietly moved around the room emptying the returns box and filing books back onto shelves, teenagers would chat openly with their friends about things they would never share in front of an adult. I wasn’t deliberately eavesdropping, but it was impossible to do my job without hearing what was being shared quite openly around me. Snippets of random conversations triggered ideas, situations and character quirks that went on to influence my writing.
byHi Alana, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your novel, A Modern Midlife Christmas Carol and what inspired it?
Thank you so much!
My book is about a frazzled wife/mother who is fast approaching burnout for the holiday season.
I am part of the “sandwich generation” myself, meaning I’m caught in the middle of helping aging parents, but I still have my own children at home to care for as well. I’ve had a lot of powerful conversations with friends and colleagues about navigating this challenging time of life and I drew upon our collective experiences, embellished and fabricated, to explore those feelings under the added pressure of holiday expectations.
I thought this stressed wife/mother character would make a fantastic modern day Scrooge and went from there.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you like to write in a particular spot? Silence or noise? Any other writing rituals?
I don’t like to be around other people when I write, so depending on who’s home, I’ll either write with my laptop on the dining room table, or closed up in my office.
I prefer to have music playing when I write. I also create a playlist for every book I write. Certain songs act as theme songs for different characters, or they get me in the right frame of mind for certain scenes I’m writing. If I have to step away from writing for a few days due to life, the music will put me right back in the world I’m creating.
What were the challenges you found when writing your novel especially when A Christmas Carol is so well known?
I wanted it to harken back to the original, but not too much. Scrooge himself makes a brief appearance in my book, but I really enjoyed playing with the idea of an overtaxed woman who’s lost her Christmas cheer but is expected to make holiday magic for everyone in her family.
To give myself more direction, I wanted to keep the length of my book to about the length of Dickens’ classic. His is a little more than 30,000 words. Mine came in around 37,000.
Which songs would make up a playlist for your book?
byHello. Thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell us a little about your novel, Manhattan Melodies Azorean Dreams and what inspired it?
Manhattan Melodies Azorean Dreams is deeply personal, as it draws from my own experiences from a trip I have taken to the island of Sao Miguel. The novel follows two individuals in different stages of their lives, who find each other when they need each other the most, despite being from vastly different worlds.
The inspiration came during a visit I made to the Azores, a place that holds a special significance for me. Walking through the lush landscapes with my fiancée, the Atlantic stretching endlessly on the horizon, I couldn’t help but reflect on how different life felt there compared to the city. The reason I selected Manhattan as the home location for the protagonist Olivia, I had anticipated getting engaged there, but alas the Covid virus vetoed my plans. That contrast—between the hectic, concrete jungle and the tranquil, almost timeless feel of the islands—sparked the idea of a character caught between these two places.
Through the novel, I explore themes of identity, cultural heritage, and belonging. Like my protagonist, I’ve often felt the pull between these two worlds, trying to navigate the fast-paced city life while being deeply connected to the quieter, introspective rhythms of the Azores. The novel became a way for me to reconcile those feelings and celebrate both the rush of the city and the profound beauty of the islands.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals like writing in silence, a favorite place to write, coffee or tea?
I start writing usually in the evenings, usually with a bucket sized cup of tea perched on the arm of my sofa. I prefer writing in silence, though sometimes instrumental jazz or classical music sets the mood. I write for several hours, aiming for a balance between disciplined output and creative flow.
Were there any challenges when writing your novel?
One of the main challenges was capturing the essence of two vastly different places—New York and the Azores—while making them feel interconnected. Balancing the pacing was tricky as well; I had to ensure that the slower, reflective moments of island life didn’t drag down the story’s momentum, while also letting the hustle of Manhattan breathe naturally into the plot.
With my homeplace being situated up a single-track country road, that in places is only marginally wider than a patio door, and being constantly surrounded by birdsong, painting a vivid landscape of the island of Sao Miguel using appropriate diction to keep the reader invested is second nature to me, almost to the extent wherein the Sao Miguel itself almost becomes a character However, I have my doubts that I have been able to pull this off in the Manhattan landscape where the early chapters of the novel is set.
Which songs would make up a playlist for your book?
The playlist would be comprised exclusively of long songs. Top three songs would include:
byHello Nova, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your novel, Not That Kind of Call Girl and what inspired it?
Not That Kind of Call Girl is in many ways, my personal story. It’s about a young newspaper call center manager with post-partum depression juggling a colicky newborn, a meddling mother and a skirt-chasing boss while working, undercover, to untangle a vulnerable employee’s mysterious relationship with a Hollywood icon. Saving the employee part is the fiction, but the rest mirrors my life.
My mission in writing this novel was three-fold. (1) Tell a highly relatable & humorous story about a woman experiencing post-partum depression so those who’ve been through it know they’re not alone and open the gate for conversation. (2) Make the protagonist, Julia, a Latina. Latinos make up 19% of the U.S. population according to the 2023 U.S. Census, and yet, we aren’t featured much as primary characters in the literary industry. While the lack of representation is improving , there’s still a long way to go. (3) Shed light on an injustice most often inflicted on powerless women, that isn’t often in the public consciousness.
What are the challenges you found when writing your novel?
When I first wrote the book, I loved it and couldn’t wait to find an agent to represent me. The trouble was, after more than a hundred tries, no one offered me a contract. Yes, more than a hundred! Dejected, I put the book away for three years then started up again. I felt connected to my lead character (probably because she and I are one and the same), so I kept her, deleted every chapter but one and started again. Luckily, The Wild Rose Press offered me a contract the second go around. So, what was the challenge? Staying motivated after a staggering number of no’s and no responses.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have a favourite writing spot and any daily writing rituals?
I really should follow a schedule, but I don’t. I write when the mood strikes. Sometimes, I’ll go a month or more between writing stints which gives my brain time to recoup. If my head’s not in the game, there’s no sense in sitting down and staring at my computer. I do my writing in a home office, but admittedly, our two little dogs distract me from time to time with their need for attention, which I happily oblige.
What songs would make up a playlist for your book?
byHi Donna. Thank you so much for joining me today to talk about your book, The Talking Stick. Can you tell me about this particular novel and what inspired you to write it?
Some years ago I was having coffee with a novelist friend, we talked about how we would both like to write a novel about a magical object. His idea was a device that would make people fall in love with him. Mine was about an object that would allow the possessor to read minds. We each went back writing our novels then in-progress.
Meanwhile, I was invited to join a new writing group in Marin. This was a group of women who’d been together a long time, and I’m cynical enough that I worried about what effect I’d have on their dynamic, but in fact it was a revelation. They made room for me. At this later stage in life, I discovered the healing power of women’s friendships. And by the way, they’re all sharp critics, too.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any particular writing rituals and a particular place you like to write?
Run to the neighborhood Starbucks and get the venti mocha. Home to semi-recline on the futon on the 3rdfloor with my laptop where it belongs — on my lap (hence the name). My children AT LAST are grown, and now I have two cats, Cabernet and Chardonnay, to keep me company. Alas, they shed so badly that I can only camp out on that futon after changing into some kind of “loungewear,” which is a euphemism for pajamas.
What were the challenges you found when you were writing your novel?
byI’m excited to be welcoming Alexandra Weston to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The Hollywood Governess.
A governess bound by her own strict rules, a movie-star tormented by grief, a forbidden love story you won’t forget.
Hollywood, 1937
Hester Carlye has no wish to look after the pampered offspring of the rich anymore, in spite of being a highly sought-after governess. But with her elderly father frail, and the roof of their rundown cottage falling in, she has no choice but to accept a dazzling new placement.
Movie star Aidan Neil is box office gold, but after the tragic death of his wife Dinah Doyle, he needs Hester’s help to raise their young daughter Erin. Aidan and Dinah were once the perfect Hollywood couple, but stars don’t shine forever…
At Aidan’s glittering Hollywood mansion, Hester finds a family struggling with their grief. Hester knows she can help little Erin, but Aidan’s torment is palpable. Brooding and reclusive, he is far from the picture-perfect hero Hester’s seen in films. There’s an edge to him that makes Hester wonder if he’s hiding a dark secret of his own….
Was the marriage between Aidan and Dinah as perfect as it appeared to be? Was Dinah’s death really a tragic accident?
When it finally comes, the truth is more shocking than Hester could ever have imagined. And she knows that if revealed, it will destroy the family she has grown to love and ruin Aidan’s Hollywood dream forever…
*****
It’s 1937. Hester Carlyle is a successful Governess. Having recently returned to Yorkshire from New York, she’s not in a hurry to return to the United States. However, bills need to be paid. When she receives a job offer that will mean a journey back across the Atlantic, she knows she can’t refuse.
If you’ve been a long term follower of this blog then you know I can’t resist a good cover and the one for The Hollywood Governess is one of the things that initially drew me to this book. There’s something very glamorous and romantic about it.
byHi Amber, thank you so much for joining me today and inviting Novel Kicks onto the blog tour for your latest book. Can you tell me about your novel, A Cask of You and what inspired it?
A Cask of You is the first of a seven book series (eight if you count the free prequel) following siblings who come from a whisky distilling family on the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland.
The story is about a down on her luck American romance author, Bea who travels to Edinburgh, Scotland to write her next book and find a Scotsman for inspiration. She meets aloof Cal Butler and gets a job in his bar. Cal has a lot on his mind: his father is terminally ill and his difficult ex is pregnant, possibly with his child. He tries to resist Bea, but their chemistry is too intense, so they agree to a three-month fling. Feelings develop on either side, and Bea struggles with Cal possibly being a father due to self-doubt her ex planted in her. The novel is passionate, sweet and steamy and if you enjoy being transported to Scotland and meeting hot Celtic heroes, you may very well love it.
In terms of inspiration, my memory is fuzzy as I began the book in 2019, but the idea came when I was doing a course in romance writing with the Professional Writing Academy, here in the UK. Fragments came to me each week as I wrote different elements of a romance novel – meet cute, sex scene, no way scene, etc. For example, Edinburgh was the setting, whisky would be a part of it, the FMC would be a romance writer, the MMC was from a big family. It all pieced together bit by bit until I realised I wanted to write a whole series. I wanted the vibe of the book to be evocative of Scotland. I am a bit obsessed with whisky, in that regard: its colours, its vibrancy, its integration with the land itself. That is why I made the whisky distillery the fulcrum for the whole Butler family. And I chose the Kintyre peninsula as I wanted them to be hardy Scottish surfers from a place where whisky is made
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals and a particular space you like to write in?
I dream of having a typical writing day, of getting up early with a cup of coffee and going to a lady shed at the bottom of the garden to write all day. But I live in a wee third floor flat so I find a space wherever I can. Because I have a chronic illness, I operate on the system of doing what I can when I can and taking time off if I need it. Some days, I have to accept that doing anything at all is an achievement. But when I work best is from around 7am, starting with a wee hot chocolate, until mid afternoon. The afternoon might be for lighter admin duties and small tasks that are easier to manage. I don’t have a desk but sitting up for long periods of time is difficult for anyway, so it’s usually the couch or bed. One day, I will have a lady shed with a chaise longue in it. #believe
What are the challenges you found when writing your novel especially as it’s book one in a series?
byHi Angie, thank you so much for joining me. Can you tell me about your novel, All I See is Violence and what inspired it?
Hello Laura! My novel is about the attempted cultural annihilation enacted against the indigenous North Americans by the United States government. This policy is very nuanced, and the people enacting it and experiencing it reacted in very personal and not necessarily typical ways, so I wove the timeline of 1876 and the coming-of-age experience of the female warrior Little Wolf against the seasoned military fighter Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and parallel that to her future relation Nancy Swiftfox in 1972 at the height of the American Indian Movement.
What’s your typical writing day like?
Each writing day is different. If I am working on the actual story, I spend more time thinking about the story and the characters and what their world was like versus actually writing.
What are the challenges you found when writing your novel?
The challenge I found was finding a publisher, the more people I talk to in the writing industry the more seem to all experience this, so I am going to say it is a writing rite of passage.
From idea to finished book, what’s your writing process like and how long does it typically take you?
I think each story is unique but two years from start to finish seems to be my rhythm, I work with historical fiction and I am trained as a historian so there is an archival research component to my work that takes some time against the dreaming of it in my mind.
What’s your favourite word and why?
Amazing. I am continuously awestruck with beauty and appreciation for this life and this world, despite everything at its core it is pure love and amazing.
Which fictional world would you like to visit and why?
byHi Lesley, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your latest novel, Murder by Christmas?
Thank you for inviting me! Murder by Christmas is the 25th in the Libby Sarjeant series. Libby is in the final throes of pantomime rehearsals, when she and her friend Fran become involved in the investigation into a local brewery. This involves visits to many pubs – naturally!
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals?
I write as soon as I can get into the office – any time between 10 and 1pm and for as long as I can before the cats need feeding again.
What are the challenges you found when writing this novel and does writing a series present challenges?
The challenge of this one was the short time (3 months) in which I had to do it. And writing a series is definitely a challenge – trying to come up with different plots and not repeat myself.
Which songs would make up a playlist for your book?
byHi Chris, thank you for joining me and welcome back to Novel Kicks. You’ve recently written a mystery thriller, Three Days in the Rain. Can you tell me about it and what inspired it?
Hi Laura. Well, one day I just started writing this scene that popped into my head. It involved a private investigator sitting in a man’s office. You could tell the man was rich, powerful, maybe a bit ruthless, and I had this image of the gentleman passing a photograph across the table to the investigator of a very beautiful woman. I remember that the story just came to me right there as I was doing that first chapter, the entire thing began to map out in my head. It sort of grew organically, but quickly. In short, it’s about this investigator who gets hired by a wealthy business man to follow his much younger girlfriend, who he is suspicious of. At first the detective thinks the old man is paranoid and actually a bit of a tyrant, a jealous man and control freak. As he starts to follow the girl though, he learns more and more about her, but hardly any of it is what it seems and as the story goes on, more and more mysteries are revealed. I had such fun writing it, presenting riddles and new twists and turns. It was one of the most enjoyable writing experiences I’ve ever had.
What was your writing process like for Three Days in the Rain, how long did it take you from idea to publication, how did you approach the planning process and has it changed much since you first started writing?
I honestly worked like a mad man on it, doing 12 to 15 hour days, maybe even more. The book is about 200 pages long but if I am honest it took a few weeks in all, including the edit. It was so smooth and fun, and it helped that all the story was just there waiting in my head, ready to come out on to the page. Nothing changed either, apart from a couple of tiny details at the very end. It was fully formed. I just kept following this very strong image of this beautiful dark haired woman who the main character becomes obsessed with, and it all just came out. I’d write a chapter a day and then I edited it all non-stop over and over for a couple of weeks. It was hard in a way, tiring too, but also extremely satisfying.
You’re also known for non fiction projects including works featuring James Woods and Oliver Stone. Does your writing process differ when writing fiction compared to non fiction?
Writing about films is just really fun. You obviously have to structure the film essays and make sure you ask decent questions when interviewing an actor or director, but you use a different kind of energy doing non-fiction, for sure. When I am writing fiction, the imagination is on overdrive, it’s basically running wild, and I am trying to keep myself in line and all the ideas in keeping with the story. It’s really liberating too. Writing these film books is just a treat, and they are actually a dream come true as well. As a kid in the 1990s I just loved films, and people like Sharon Stone, James Woods, Oliver Stone, and all those Hollywood legends were idols to me. Getting to work with them and interview them today as an adult just seems unreal. So the non-fiction and the fiction are totally different, and I love going from one to the other. That way I never get bored or even slightly frustrated.
What challenges did you face when approaching a fictional novel compared to the non-fiction books?
byHi Margaret, thank you so much for joining me and inviting Novel Kicks onto your blog tour. Can you tell me about your novel, Highland Fling on the Whisky Trail and what inspired it?
Whisky production is a big thing in the area I live. There are two distilleries quite close to me and even more the further north you travel. I read an article about a family run distillery in the highlands and how they’d been forced to diversify and adapt to keep up with larger companies.
It sparked the idea but I didn’t initially see it as a story in itself. The first book in the Glenbriar series Stolen Kisses at the Loch View Hotel is where I first used the idea for the whisky business.
As that story developed, the idea for Highland Fling on the Whisky Trail developed too. The main characters have both appeared as side characters in previous books and they fitted perfectly into this story.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any rituals and from idea to final draft, how long does it take you to write a book?
My writing days are on Monday and Tuesday. I pretty much have to stick to that as I have another job the rest of the week. Once I get writing and get in the zone, I can become immersed for hours! I don’t have any rituals but I do follow a plan for each book.
Usually the better planned they are, the quicker I can write them. The fastest first draft I ever wrote was seventy thousand words in 6 days! But normally it’s nowhere near as quick. That was a very happy fluke. My first drafts usually take about two months to write and then I spend at least that again, sometimes more, on editing.
What research do you usually undertake and how do you know when you’ve done enough?
byHi Helen. Thank you so much for joining me and inviting Novel Kicks onto your blog tour. Can you tell me about your novel, I Spy With My Little Die and what inspired it?
I Spy With My Little Die is the sixth book in the A Right Royal Cozy Investigation series and in it, not only do we have a couple of juicy murders for my main characters to get to the bottom of, but this book will tie up all the loose ends surrounding Lady Beatrice’s husband’s death in a car accident fifteen years ago. So it’s a mystery within a mystery. I’ve always liked reading books where there’s a meaty subplot that runs throughout the series. In this book the main plot and the series subplot meet head on.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals and from idea to finished book, what’s your writing process like (planning, research etc) and how long does it typically take you?
I don’t have a ‘typical day’ as such, I’m not a big fan of routine, but I do have a ‘to-do’ list that I work my way through each day. That list might include doing some research, finishing the next chapter in the work-in-progress I’m currently working on, arranging book promotions, creating and reviewing my adverts, plotting my next murder (fictional, of course!), and doing interviews. You may be surprised to know that only about half of what I do is actually writing. Research and planning are vital to enable me to keep me on track and to help me avoid hitting a road block when I’m actually writing, so I spend a lot of my time outlining my plot, especially the murder, before I put pen to paper. It normally takes about a month to research, plan, and outline my book but that could be spread out over a couple of months or even longer.
What are the challenges you found when writing your novel especially as it’s part of a series?
I find it easier now that I’m on the sixth book in my series as I know and understand my characters so much better – they have their own voice. On the other hand, coming up with a murder method is getting more difficult – there are only so many ways you can kill someone!
Which songs would make up a playlist for your book?
byHi Margaret, thank you so much for inviting Novel Kicks onto the blog tour for your novel, Two’s Company at the Forest Light Show. What’s your typical writing day like and how long does the writing process take you overall?
I’m a binge writer so when I get in the zone I keep going as long as possible! This usually happens when my son is at school and the house is quiet. I can write from nine a.m. to three p.m. with only short breaks. I find it the best way to keep the flow of the story going. On good days, I’ll write in the evenings as well.
Overall, I’m quite a fast writer, but to do that I spend a lot of time planning the books before I write a word. Once I know exactly where I want the story to go then I start. sometimes they detour here and there from the plan but generally speaking it keeps me on track and means I always know what I need to write.
Which songs would make up a playlist for your book?
That’s a really tricky question. I’m not sure what would fit this particular book. I’m thinking some power ballads for Cha and maybe something classical for Nick! Something that shows their opposite personalities.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve discovered since you’ve started writing?
byI am so pleased to be welcoming Felicity George to Novel Kicks today. Felicity, can you tell me about your novel, A Courtesans Worth and what inspired it?
A Courtesan’s Worth is a steamy Regency Romance described as ‘Bridgerton meets Moulin Rouge’ (but don’t worry, there’s a happily-ever-after!). It’s the against-all-odds love story of a famous courtesan and a curate-turned-novelist, inspired by the salacious memoirs of Regency courtesan Harriette Wilson, and also by my years-long interest in the sex workers of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain.
What’s your typical writing day like?
It primarily involves carving several pockets of writing between other responsibilities. I find setting timers on my computer helps me stay focused.
What are the challenges you found when writing your novel?
On some days, it seems that everything about writing a novel is a challenge. But I’d say the hardest thing is not letting myself give in to imposter’s syndrome or self-doubt. Creatives must fight a near-constant battle with the little hater in our heads that tells us we aren’t good enough, but it’s a worthy fight to fight! I try and remember there are people who genuinely love my novels, and knowing that they will receive joy reading them is very motivating.
Which fictional character would you like to meet and why?
Perhaps Elizabeth Bennet, from Pride and Prejudice. I think she’d be a great bestie and loads of fun.
Well-developed character arcs and a structured plot are the critical building blocks of a good story, but of course there must also be an emotional element. Readers need to care about the characters, and in order for that to occur, an author must develop character agency. This is why I have no worries about AI taking over fiction – an author must be a student of human nature!!
From idea to finished book, what’s your writing process like and how long does it typically take you?
I’m a plotter, so typically I spend about two to four weeks working first on character arcs and then developing the plot. Before I start writing, I have every scene in the book mapped out. The first draft takes about two to three months, depending on how much revision I do along the way. I then start my revision process, which takes another couple of months. So all in all, from beginning to having a draft to send to my editor, it takes me about five to six months to write a novel.
I am so pleased to be welcoming Francesca Scanacapra to Novel Kicks with the blog tour for The Daughter of Paradiso. Hi Francesca. Can you tell me about your novel, The Daughter of Paradiso and what inspired it?
This is the third book in the series and follows Paradiso and Return to Paradiso. We are now in the early sixties and the protagonist, Graziella, has left her abusive husband and is making a new life for herself and her young daughter in her old childhood home, Paradiso.
The main theme which drives the story is women’s fight for equality in a time and place where men are still very much in charge. However, the story is not all about struggle and injustice. There is also a strong theme of friendship and community.
Much of the inspiration for this has come from having moved recently to rural Lombardy, where the books are set. Social and family bonds are still very strong here. In this very moment, as I sit at my desk with the windows wide open, I can hear the loud conversations of group of elderly gentlemen who congregate outside a neighbour’s house every day to gossip and put the world to rights.
What’s your typical writing day like? From idea to final draft, how long does it take you to write a book?
My most productive time for writing is the morning and I am usually at my desk by 9am. How long I write for depends on how the inspiration is flowing on the day. Sometimes I won’t come up for air until the evening. However, if the muse isn’t with me, I’ll take myself off and do something else. For me, that works better than trying to fight against a poor writing day.
Previously, when I still had a day job, completing a novel took years. Now that I write full-time, I’m averaging around six months; although I seem to write around 80% of the book in a few weeks and the remaining 20% takes far, far longer.
What are the challenges of writing an historical novel?
It can be tempting to include too much history, and I was guilty of this when I first began writing. I had to learn the art of peppering the narrative with just enough historical information so as not to interrupt the flow of the story.
Giving a sense of time works best when little details are integrated into characters’ opinions, actions and beliefs, as well as the homes they live in, the clothes they wear and the food they eat. This makes for a far more engaging read than simply writing long paragraphs of exhaustively-researched facts.
Which fictional character would you like to meet and why?
It would be extraordinary to meet Jean-Baptiste Grenouille from Patrick Suskind’s astonishing book, Perfume, the Story of a Murderer. This character is both a victim and a villain. Although his actions are diabolical, he is able to justify them both to himself and to the reader, and even to gain the reader’s sympathy. So yes, I would be intrigued to meet him, but it would probably be prudent not to do so alone.
Which authors do you admire?
byHi Charlie, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your novel, I Love You, Always Forever and what inspired it?
I Love You. Always. Forever was written during a difficult period in my life. My mum had been diagnosed with kidney cancer as has Charlie’s and it was my coping mechanism, like my first book was with my dad’s dementia. I wanted to show that even when life is tough, you can still smile and find happy times. I decided to make it a dual timeline to show that family and friendships can last a lifetime.
What songs would make up a playlist for your book?
I Love You, Always, Forever by Donna Lewis
Boom Shake the Room by Will Smith
Let’s Talk About Sex by Salt n Pepa
Face to Face by Siouxsie and The Banshees
From idea to finished book, what’s your writing process like, do you conduct much research, how long does it typically take you, do you have a typical writing day and any writing rituals?
I am a complete pantser and just sit down and write. I’ve written novels in 3 months and also in three years. I usually start with an idea, something random that came to me in the night and go from there. My characters tell me how the story goes. I work and have family to care for so writing is a luxury in my spare time, I’m such a procrastinator though which doesn’t help either.
Which authors do you admire?
I am the biggest fan of Philippa Gregory. Her writing makes you feel as if she lived in the time and knew the characters herself. She inspires me to write an historical romance but I just don’t have the time for the research at the moment.
What’s your favourite word and why?
byHi Sarah. Thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your novel, One Night with her Viking Warrior, and what inspired it?
When her parents are killed at the hands of Danish raiders, a young Saxon girl, Rebekah, becomes the ward of her powerful uncle Cynerik. Alone at the fortress of Ryestone Keep, Rebekah’s only pleasure is riding, until she falls in love with a stable boy, regardless of his lack of status. However, her uncle wishes her to marry his son, Atol, a cold and corrupt young man. Envious of Rebekah’s relationship with Rædan, Atol seizes him and does the unthinkable…
Eight years later, a fleet of Danish ships sails up the river and lays siege to the fortress of Ryestone. The leader of the Northmen is instantly recognisable to Rebekah even though he is much changed. Rædan is back for revenge on those who destroyed his life. Seeing Rebekah at his enemy’s side, and with a daughter too, his anger – and attraction – burns. The Saxons offer the Vikings gold and silver to leave their lands, but Rædan demands something much more valuable – one night with Lady Rebekah…
I wanted to write a story where my characters have endured a lot – and I can’t think of anything worse than being parted from your loved ones and kept captive. These two characters really deserve a chance of finding their happy ever after. I loved creating Rebekah – she is beautiful yet strong – and Rædan is a true warrior yet kind and compassionate.
What’s your typical writing day like and do you have any particular writing quirks or rituals?
I actually work full time on magazines, so I have to fit my book writing in in the evenings. I put my daughters to bed then settle down with a coffee and some peace and quiet and try to write at least a few paragraphs, so I have something to work off the next evening, before I write some more. Chocolate definitely helps with the inspiration!
What are the challenges you found when writing your novel?
I always find the first few chapters the hardest, as you’re laying the groundwork for the plot and the characters’ personalities – basically setting up the story. I spend a month or two getting those first chapters right, and then the rest of the book usually flows quite naturally.
Which fictional character would you like to meet and why?
In my books? All my heroes… they’ve all been different, but swoon-worthy! In someone else’s book? Elizabeth Darcy
What elements make up a good story?
byHi Kerena, thank you so much for bringing your blog tour for Driven to Novel Kicks. Which part of the writing process do you enjoy most?
I like planning the novel and defining the character traits but I sometimes struggle with writing the first draft. I always think it’s complete rubbish but once I re-visit it and start tweaking and editing it (a process I really enjoy) I then find it’s not as bad as I first thought. When I was training to be a social worker, we had to write assignments of 750 words. This sounded easy but in truth it was doubly difficult. Every word had to count so I used to write 2,000 words to get all the necessary facts and theories in then I’d have to cut out nearly two thirds of it. I learned to enjoy the challenge, though, and the skill has really helped me in my writing. I have to write council tenders for my care agency and the word counts are tight. I enjoy cramming loads of information into short paragraphs.
Some authors don’t read their reviews. Do you read yours?
For me, the most rewarding part of the whole writing process is reading the reviews. Whilst they may not always be positive – although all my books have ratings of 4.3* or above – I’m just thrilled to know that people are reading what I’ve written. What would be the point otherwise? Negative reviews that give reasons are really useful as they help me to improve. Also, if someone has taken the time to write a review the least I can do is read it.
In several of your books you feature a man with Down syndrome. Do you have personal experience with people with Down’s?
byHi Eliza, thank you for joining me today and for inviting me onto your blog tour for A Cozy Countryside Christmas. Can you tell me about your book and what inspired it?
Well, without giving too much away, A Cosy Countryside Christmas centres around Ella Welford and Joss Campion. The couple were childhood best friends, until Joss left the village rather abruptly. When he returns, sparks fly but neither of them are keen to do anything about it. When they find themselves thrown together in an unexpected drama high on the snowy moor top… I’m afraid to say anything further would give too much away!
How long does it typically take you to write a book and what’s your process like?
It can take between three to four months per book. As for my writing process, I tend to start by drafting character profiles, jotting down as many details as possible. Then I set out a rough draft of the outline of the story so when I start to actually write it, I have an idea of the journey I’d like my protagonists to take. Having said that, I tend to let them take the lead and see what challenges they face on the way to their happy ending. I’m a mix of plotter and pantser – plotty pantser or pants plotter; I’m not sure which is applicable!
Which fictional world would you like to visit and why?
I loved The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe books when I was younger (actually, I still do), so I’d love to slip through the back of the wardrobe and visit Narnia. Can I be cheeky and name two? I’d love to have a wander around Enid Blyton’s Enchanted Wood too – and maybe have a quick scramble up the Faraway Tree.
Which songs would make up a playlist for your book?
byI am delighted to be welcoming you to Novel Kicks today, Helen. Thank you for inviting me onto your blog tour. Can you tell me about your book, Strictly Christmas Spirit and what inspired it?
Strictly Christmas Spirit is a heart-warming, festive romance about a bad boy Hollywood superstar sent to do community service at a homeless shelter. Blake immediately clashes with community centre manager Emily, who is a former dancer from TV show Strictly Dancing with Celebs. Blake doesn’t care about the centre, or Christmas for that matter, he just wants to get his community service over and done with. Will the people he meets at the centre, and Emily herself, change his heart? Strictly Christmas Spirit is book three in the Spotlight Series but can be read as a standalone story.
The book was actually inspired a lot by my real life work. I used to run a community centre in London, providing services for the homeless and marginalised in the community. I based a lot of the story on the experiences I had there (although I never had a Hollywood star come to do community service there!)
What’s your typical writing day like?
Almost impossible at the moment as I have two very young children! If I can, I write between 5-6am and 7-8pm. I literally squeeze in time while my kids are asleep and it’s very hard.
What are the challenges you found when writing your novel, especially when it’s part of a series? Did you know that it was always going to be a series?
Strictly Christmas Spirit is the third book in my Spotlight Series. When I wrote the first book, Strictly on Ice, I had no idea it was going to be part of a series. It was only when I met a literary agent that he gave me the tip to write a series, and that’s where it all came!
The main challenge I have when writing is having to research information. I just want to write and let my imagination run wild but sometimes a little research is necessary!
What songs would make up a playlist for your book?
byHello Owen, thank you for joining me today. Your book is called Another Life. Can you tell me about it and what inspired the story?
I had an idea for a character who, despite trying to do the best for everyone he encounters, feels his life to be one of disappointment and failure. Eventually, we discover that his decisions and actions have had a profound, beneficial effect on the lives of others. You could say it’s a modern-day interpretation of the film ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’.
I am also intrigued by quests and the twilight world of things that may or may not be. I am a great admirer of David Lynch and his ability to suggest that things are not as they seem was influential.
As for the story, it’s set in a secretive, hidden corner of Middle England, combining folklore, legends and ancient beliefs with the contemporary issue of what it means to be human in an increasingly technological world.
Thirty years ago, Oliver Merryweather is intrigued by a woman who waves to him from the window of a house in a village he discovers by accident.
In the present day, Oliver believes his life to be a series of failures and regrets. When the same woman appears to him in a dream, Oliver embarks on an obsessive quest to find her. With the village inexplicably absent from all maps, all he has to go on is the unusual mark on her wrist.
Journeying back into his past, Oliver finds himself inextricably drawn into a decades-old mystery involving missing children, pagan beliefs and the Green Man of folklore, while coming face to face with the disappointments and tragedies of his own life. As the story draws towards its unexpected and uplifting conclusion, the line between reality, dreams and memory begins to blur and Oliver gains an insight into the true purpose of his existence.
What were the challenges you faced whilst writing Another Life?
The bringing together of disparate ideas presented several difficulties. The biggest challenge was how to link my protagonist’s ordinary family life to the idea of the myths and legends associated with the Green Man.
The border between dreams and reality is a key theme in Another Life. This needed care, to avoid confusing the reader. There is the suggestion that something on the edge of the supernatural may be involved. It was essential to keep this as no more than a possibility in the mind of the reader. I’m not interested in writing pure fantasy – there has to be a grounding in reality, the possibility that the weirdest of events has a rational explanation. This was also important in creating a hidden community in Middle England, where the normal rules do not apply. I addressed this using a combination of geography and historical fact.
Finally, there was the challenge of the resolution: how to explain the mysteries and strange events encountered by the protagonist. Two-thirds of the way through the book the reader encounters a major change that makes sense of what comes before.
In summary, Another Life combines elements of family life, myths and legends, a quest and cutting-edge science. These elements are introduced in a natural, uncomplicated way, avoiding technical explanations, so as not to alienate the reader.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you need things like coffee? Do you prefer to write in silence?
I’m an early morning person, whether it be writing and related activities, walking, running, photography. Writing comes first; it’s a passion that can never fully be satisfied.
A typical pattern is revision of the previous day’s work, followed by new words, including necessary research and then more research, finishing with a review of the current day’s progress.
I have to work in silence, other than birdsong. Music is too distracting. Any breaks have to be at a time of my choosing, usually ten minutes out of every hour. The exception is when I’m engaged in a long passage that’s going well. You have to take advantage of those occasions.
What’s your favourite word and why?
Apricot. I like the falling rhythm of the three syllables with a pause between the first and second. It’s like a musical phrase, sensuous, as is the shape and texture of the fruit.
How do you approach a writing project from idea to final draft and how long does it typically take you to get from the beginning of the process to the end?
A new book begins with a lot of thinking. A primordial soup of apparently unrelated ideas seeking to connect with the ideal partner. I write a few experimental passages, in isolation, to test whether they work, or at least have promise. Even at this early stage, I’m keen to ensure I can write engaging prose and believe in the idea. Much research follows until I’m happy that there is a story, a voyage embracing change. It is good to have an early idea for one or more endings. Much more important to let the characters lead you on a journey.
A new book takes me between nine and twelve months, including long periods of revision, particularly in the latter stages.
Which fictional world would you like to escape to for a while and why?
byHello Mick. I am so very pleased and proud to be welcoming you to Novel Kicks. What’s the experience been like so far compared to your first novel, ‘The Season for Love’?
Hi Laura, it’s wonderful to be back celebrating my second novel, I’m delighted to be here. It’s never easy to obtain a contract for a book, and for some reason, in my opinion, if it’s not already in place, obtaining that second one is always the most nerve-shredding. When the email offer came through for this one, it was like a weight lifting from my mind.
Can you tell me a little about your first historical saga, ‘A Wing and a Prayer’ and what inspired the story?
Because of ill health, I hadn’t been writing, I’d wanted to but it hadn’t been working. My author friends had all been encouraging me to try, so when a friend suggested I try something new rather than to pick up an unfinished project, it was like a serendipitous moment. I was watching a program on tv called, Spitfire Women, about the lady pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary in WW2. Before I was even aware I was doing it, I found myself scrolling around the internet and the beginning of a story idea reared its head. For this prod up the proverbial, I have two excellent authors and good friends to thank; best-selling romance author Sue Moorcroft and historical saga author par excellence, Elaine Everest. Also, after finding out so much about the brave women and men of the ATA, I wanted to write a kind of tribute to them. I hope I’ve done so.
What are the challenges of setting your novel in WWII?
Getting your facts right. Well, that’s only partially true, as in this day and age of the internet, you really shouldn’t be getting anything wrong, though it does happen. The other part, at least so far as I’m concerned, is making sure your characters behave and talk as they did back then. Compared to my romance, which was set in contemporary times, this was initially much harder to write until I got into the swing of it and now, it’s quite natural. Now I’m well into writing the third book in the series, writing as if my mind is back in the 1940’s seems natural. My main issue is, and will probably remain, writing in US English, as my publisher is based in the USA and prefers this. It still looks strange to me.
What’s your writing process like from first idea to final draft? Are there any challenges when writing a book series?
A lot of my ideas, when I first tried my hand at writing, came from listening to Radio. I’d hear a song and that would spark an idea. I still have a folder with about 20 idea for stories, some are brief outlines, a few lines, some are up to 6 or 7 pages, quite full of detail, a few even with a start, a middle and an end. I’d like think I can get back to some of those at some point. For this saga series, once the idea came, I was able to start writing pretty fast. I like to begin a story as soon as the idea hits me and as I’m more of a panster than a planster, I can get the first draft down pretty quickly, even taking into account that my first drafts are more akin to between a second and third draft, as I edit as I go along; each chapter has to read right before I can move on to the next one. I also keep each chapter as its own file, as I find it much easier to go to what I need to if, well, I need to.
So far as writing a series is concerned, this is my first series as ‘The Season for Love’ was a standalone romance, I’m kind of learning my own way as I go along. I’m sure everyone who writes a series has their own ways, so there may be an easier way than the one I’m using, but so far, it works for me. I like to, if it’s possible, to leave each chapter on a cliffhanger. That’s not possible with a series of books, so far as the end of the book is concerned. I’d like to, but each book has to be able to be read as a standalone too, so that’s out of the question. What I have to do is give the reader an enjoyable reading experience, whilst making them want to find out what the characters get up to next. It’s a nice feeling to know that I’ll be coming back to these characters again too.
You are a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Do you feel that the RNA New Writers’ Scheme is worth joining if you’re wanting to start writing a novel?
My route to publication was through this esteemed scheme so, yes, very much so. I know so many authors who became published by joining the NWS scheme of the Romantic Novelists Association. It’s one of the hardest things to accomplish, having a book published and the support which this scheme provides is invaluable. I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to become an author.
What’s your favourite word and why?
byHi Don, thank you for joining me for a chat today. Can you tell me a little about your book, The Revelation of Chester Fortunberry and what inspired the book?
You come into this world alone and you leave this world alone, which got me thinking about whether that world even existed before I came into it and will it exist after I leave it.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you prefer silence? Lots of coffee?
I like to write in the afternoon. I prefer total silence, no distractions. I write on a desktop computer with a huge screen. Can’t do it on a laptop.
How do you approach the writing process, from idea, to planning, to final draft? How much prep do you feel you need to do before you feel ready to start writing?
For me, it all starts with the first paragraph of the book. Once I get that down on paper, then it’s off to the races. As all authors know, I don’t write the book; the book writes itself and goes in whatever direction it wants to. Kind of like a runaway train.
What is your favourite word and why?
Really. It’s a noun and a verb and an adjective and even an exclamation point.
What songs would feature on a playlist for your novel?
byHello Murray, thank you so much for joining me today. What was the inspiration for Singapore Killer?
The whole series was inspired by my father who was a military policeman in Singapore during the 1950s.
What prompted you to start writing the Singapore Series?
I read a Lee Child novel and thought: I can do that. I have a character and an exotic setting – plus the seeds for a plot. However I subsequently found it harder than I expected.
How much research did you do before starting?
I took my dad to Singapore for his 75th birthday. He thought it was a holiday but I never stopped asking questions. I’ve been again since. I’ve and also been to Kuala Lumpur and Penang, both of which feature in the series.
So no further research as you work?
Lots of research! I have a number of good reference books for the period including a fabulous one full of photographs. Of course I use the internet, but I also have a few readers who can also be called upon to help.
Singapore Killer is book 5. Can it be read as a stand-alone?
I hope so. It’ll help to read them in order, but it really shouldn’t matter.
Will there be a sixth book?
Yes, it’s called Singapore Fire, and it will be the last of the series. However Ash Carter may well appear in Hong Kong if he does resurface.
Map of the Dead which had flashbacks to ancient Egypt, was an Amazon best seller. Your dad didn’t inspire that one?
byThank you so much for joining me today, Derwin. Can you tell me a little about your book, Charles Dickens: My Life?
It is the life story of Charles Dickens using his own words to tell his story. On a number of occasions Dickens expressed the wish to write his own life story, but he died prematurely in 1870 at the age of 58 without doing it.
Now 150 years later and for the first time I have collected up all the various pieces of that jigsaw of things that he said about his life and put them into the narrative. It produces the nearest thing to an autobiography that is now possible.
Details of me, what I have done, and the written comments of people who have read my proofs can be seen on my official website at www.dickensmylife.com.
What challenges did you face when writing this novel?
The overwhelming challenge of hunting out things he actually said and did, as distinct from what other people have said about him in the last 150 years.
How did you approach the writing process for this novel?
I began my research about 25 years ago, became more focussed about collecting up the relevant pieces after I became a Judge in Portsmouth (his birthplace) in 2004 and visited the bedroom of his birth, and once I had retired in 2014 spent nearly 4 years putting all the pieces I had found together into a continuous narrative.
What do you think Charles Dickens would feel about the current state of the world?
I suspect he would be highly critical about it, as he was in his own day. He never trusted most politicians, having seen them at work in Parliament in his early career as a Parliamentary reporter. He later referred to Parliament as “The Dustheap of Westminster”. He was equally damming on the politicians he saw in America, as well as the way the press reported things over there.
He said many of the newspapers were only fit to be used as a water closet doormat. He was a Radical by nature and had a huge social conscience and whenever he saw anything that he felt was socially wrong he spoke out strongly against it. He became the people’s champion and that is why he was so loved in his time, apart from the brilliant fictional novels he also wrote. I think he would have taken the same approach to the social issues of today if he was alive now.
Which Charles Dickens character would you like to meet and why?
byHi Tracy. It’s a pleasure to welcome you to Novel Kicks. Tell me a little about The Variety Girls and what interested you most about this idea?
When I was a teenager I lived and breathed variety theatre – in fact, any kind of live entertainment. Before and during the war was a golden age of variety and there was so much to draw on – all the wonderful theatre, and the end of the pier shows. When I was sixteen I got a job working backstage at the local theatre on Cleethorpes pier and from that time I was hooked. It was an absolute joy to revisit variety when it meant so much to morale during WW2.
What were the challenges when writing The Variety Girls?
A deadline, although that was really a God send as it turned out. It kept me at my desk, so I had to learn to overcome the distractions and self-doubt that normally plague me. Sometimes what you fear most is the driving force to success.
What’s your writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals?
I write for about three or four hours a day, but I’ll be thinking about the book all the time and I’ll have thought a lot about it before I start writing at all. There’s always research to do, but it has to be balanced with spending time with family and friends. It would be no joy to spend all day writing, not to me.
I don’t have any rituals other than playing music in the background and sometimes lighting a scented candle. Anything that helps me relax and settle to work.
What was your route to publication like?
I started with articles and then short stories. I wanted to write a novel but our life was very unsettled and so I never had the mental headspace to invest in a longer work. I went to classes and conferences and kept myself connected with other writers – and the short stories were excellent for learning to write tightly. A couple of years ago I decided that it was now or never and got stuck into a novel. It was the right time for me.
What’s your favourite word and why?
byHi, Feyisayo. It’s a pleasure to welcome you to Novel Kicks today. What’s your route to publication been like?
It’s been quite interesting, starting with the birth of the idea, which got me excited about the whole thing because of my worldview and experience on love from my teenage years, and then editing process, and then getting the appropriate cover. I had a tough time with the designer because I felt he didn’t dig deep in creativity to get the best, but in the end I had to calm down. In the end, looking back, I would say that it was an exciting process.
What’s your typical writing day like?
I usually start with getting my family settled. I make sure I take my daughter to school and drive my wife to work. Then I get something to eat. I would sit on the table and work on my laptop with some music playing in the background. That happens earlier in the day. I hardly write after 3PM, so the next writing session is usually at night when my lovelies must have slept.
Your book is called The Stuff of Love Songs. Can you tell me a bit about it and what inspired the story?
It was inspired by the youthful search for true love. It is the story of a young man who was looking for something lasting, something beyond great sex, and a young woman who has tasted a fairytale-like relationship in the past and tries to give true love another chance. As usual, they face the challenges every good thing faces. It was inspired by the love songs I loved as a teen, and the promises of lovers in the stories in those songs, so as a teen I was always looking for the stuff of love songs.
What would be on a playlist for this book?
“Brighter Than The Sun” by Colbie Caillat
“Without You” by Mariah Carey
“Lucky” by Colbie Caillat featuring Jason Mraz
“Two is Better Than One” by Boys Like Girls featuring Taylor Swift
“Wait For Me” by KSA featuring Onyeka Onwenu
“Slow Jam” by Usher featuring Monica
What’s your favourite word and why?
byHi Tony. Welcome to Novel Kicks. I am so pleased you could join me today. Can you tell me a little about The Pineys and also about Wokeistan: A Novel and what interested you the most about each idea?
The Pineys is based on the legend of the Jersey Devil. Instead of just one Jersey Devil, Mother Leeds was a witch that summoned hundreds of them into the Pine Barrens. The nearby villagers of Abe’s Hat, NJ formed a secret society to hunt down the devils and send them back to Hell. In the present day, the Galloways (and their many, many cousins) continue the hunt. It’s kind of like Ghostbusters meets Men in Black meets Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. It’s a lot of fun and is steeped in South Jersey lore and color.
Previously, I created the Jersey Devil comic book and a lot of my stories take place in South Jersey. What interested me was exploring the culture of South Jersey in more detail and doing a story with a group of characters from a large extended family like mine.
Wokeistan: A Novel is a political satire in the vein of a Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. book. I co-wrote it with Christian Beranek. It takes place on an East Coast college campus in upstate New York and it’s about a student body that has a complete mental meltdown after Trump is re-elected. It’s sort of the best (worst) of Social Justice Warriors from the last two years and mixing that with taking post-modernist ideology to its logical conclusion. It’s funny, absurd and savage, but not that all unrealistic if you’ve followed the stories.
Christian and I were looking for a project to write. We were considering doing it as a webcomic, but decided to write it as a novel. She came by and stayed a couple of months. We basically wrote it in two weeks. It just really poured out of us. It was an amazing experience. The end result was a story that was equally funny and Orwellian.
What are the challenges to writing political satire and then a horror/comedy like The Pineys?
With Wokeistan, the story was already there. Colleges have become so inbred intellectually, they no longer seem to function for the purpose for which they were intended. Instead, we’ve developed a system that drains money from kids that are expecting an education and a career and instead they’re getting brainwashed and fleeced financially. The challenge is, most people don’t realize how far the college system has degraded, so some read it and go, “What? This is insane. Nothing like this is happening.” But many of the events of the book were based on things that actually happened on college campuses over the last few years. I’m proud to say my nephew, who is in college, seemed to like it. He helped proofread it.
For the Pineys, horror and comedy are closely linked. They rely on surprise. This is the kind of stuff I’ve been writing for decades, but in the world of the Pineys I have no limits like I did with comics or trying to write a screenplay— I guess the hardest part is keeping track of all the Galloway family members mentioned in the books. It’s getting pretty tough at book six, which is what I’m currently writing.
How would you describe your writing style?
byHi Kris. Welcome to Novel Kicks. Tell me a little about your book, Hopscotch Life and what inspired it?
Thanks, Laura. It’s great to be interviewed here.
Before I focused on a character, I knew there were themes I wanted to address in Hopscotch Life. One theme was that some of us judge ourselves harder than we would ever judge others. We’re simply not accepting of ourselves, and we don’t see all the wonderful character traits we might possess.
Another issue I wanted to deal with is the way our lives are sometimes on either a strong upswing, or a determined downhill slide. And that often we can’t bring that downward slide to a stop until we reach a pretty low point.
Those themes became my inspiration. With those in place, protagonist Plum Tardy then simply walked onto the page for me. Quirky, out-of-synch, hopscotch-playing, but still sweet, funny, and appealing Plum. She pulled it all together. Here’s how I describe it: Feeling like she’s living in a country song, having just lost her job, her house, and her man, quirky Plum Tardy sets out in her usual hopscotch fashion to find a completely new town and a new man. But even knowing how out-of-synch she is, and how oddly she moves through life, Plum could never have predicted the unexpected way that trouble would find her, or the way her past would collide with her future.
Do you think strong characters or plot is more important to a reader?
While both are important, I believe it’s the characters we relate to, especially the protagonist. Once a writer creates a really well-developed character, that character points the way. She shows us how the plot should evolve because her actions drive it, and her choices reflect her. Besides, don’t we all love to find a protagonist we can cheer for, cry over, and champion when no one close to her does? We love to find a character who remains with us almost like a real friend after we finish a book. I’m not sure that most of us can care about a plot that much.
What’s your writing day like? Do you have any rituals?
I like to sneak up on my writing. I mull scenes over in my mind for quite some time before I write them. But then I write them fast. Sometimes that mulling takes place during sensible activities like hiking. More often it’s during sleepless hours in the middle of the night, when I stare at the bedroom ceiling in the dark, trying out different alternatives. I do have a few actual rituals. As I said, I walk or hike, I meditate, answer emails, and spend too much time scrolling through Facebook—but those are just stall tactics while I’m mulling, waiting to pounce on my scene the instant it’s ready to be written.
Tell me a little about your writing process? Do you research much before hand?
It varies from novel to novel. My last book, REVENGE ON ROUTE 66, which is a road trip mystery that takes place along Route 66 from California to Texas (in the US), required me to actually drive much of the route and take loads of notes. That was great fun, of course, but I also noted everything. I worried that I’d lack some critical information when I went to write it.
One of my novels, NEVER SAY DIE, a thriller, takes place in the San Diego, California area, and it involves the world of professional female triathletes. I filled boxes with all my setting material and the interviews I did with professional female triathletes.
In HOPSCOTCH LIFE, it was more a matter of creation. The town of Applewood, Arizona, where much of the novel takes place, does not exist. But I needed it to be such a rich place that the town would become like another character. I drew on some other towns I’d visited for aspects of it, but most of Applewood comes straight out of my own fertile imagination.
Do you tend to edit as you go or wait for a completed first draft? What do you feel are the benefits of doing it this way?
byHi Laura (great name!) Thank you for joining me today. Can you tell me a little about your book, Time of My Life?
Time of My Life is a gender-flipped Dirty Dancing. Pole fitness instructor Janey needs a new partner for the end of cruise Talent Show after her friend Penny drops out due to illness.
When Frank steps up, she’s beyond skeptical, but she really doesn’t have anyone else who can help. As he learns the routine, Janey starts to fall for Frank. Unfortunately, if she acts on her feelings, she could lose her job.
What have been the challenges of writing within the Oceanic book series? Do you need to have read the other books to read yours?
The primary challenge was just figuring out how to balance several very busy authors with different schedules, especially since we’re living in 4 different countries (and multiple time zones). Once we talked through all the logistics and things really started getting moving, for me it was largely smooth sailing.
You don’t have to read the other books in the series to enjoy mine, but I recommend it. You might see someone you recognise.
Is character or plot more important?
To me, the character drives the plot. If Harry Potter had just kept his head down and gone to classes, Voldemort would have killed him in the first book. If Katniss Everdeen hadn’t stepped up to take her sister’s place, the Hunger Games series wouldn’t exist. Plot is important, but it’s the character’s choices that make things happen.
What’s your favourite word and why?
My favorite word has always been “defenestrate,” because it’s fun to say. But sadly, it’s not one I manage to work into conversation very often.
What advice do you have for someone suffering from writers’ block?
byHi Hilary. It’s so nice to welcome you to Novel Kicks today. Your latest novel, Mom Genes has just been released. Can you tell me a little about it?
Hi Laura! Thank you so much for having me! I am so excited to “chat” with you. Mom Genes, which is my fifth novel, is currently available on all eBook platforms and has been published today (March 24th.)
It is the second book in my Forest River PTA series, but it’s a completely standalone story. Mom Genes is a heartwarming and hilarious book about a PTA mom, Claire Conroy, who is searching for a fresh start while struggling to survive suburban backstabbing and parental politics
What songs would be on a playlist for this novel?
Oh my, this is a hard question, but a few songs come to mind.
The first would be Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” because Claire is faced with quite a few problematic situations in the book. First, she returns home from a trip to Italy gearing up to separate from her husband of thirteen years. Then the meddling mothers spread rumors about the “real reason” for her divorce.
The second would be “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge because Claire’s family plays such an essential role in this story, especially her hysterical grandmother, Gigi.
The last would be “Take Me Back To The Night We Met” by Lord Huron because thanks to a chance encounter, Claire reconnects with someone from her past.
What’s your writing process like, from idea, to first draft and then to final edit?
I’m pretty impulsive, so as soon as an idea pops into my head, I start writing. I don’t plot out my books. I let the story take its twists and turns. I often to run to my laptop fresh out of the shower, dripping wet, because one of my characters “told me something funny.
After I finish the first draft, which is always pretty rough, I read it over and polish it, and add a lot to the story. Then I send it to my editor. She has a keen eye and incredible insights, and I pretty much end up writing the book over again.
What has your route to publication like and, in your opinion, what’s the most common mistake new writers make when looking to be published?
My route to publication has been like a roller coaster. I self-published my first book, Dangled Carat. Then a few months later, I secured a publisher who then published my second novel, Plan Bea. Right before they were about to publish my third book, Plan Cee, they went out of business. As soon as I received my rights back, I self-published all of my books, and have been self-publishing ever since.
I think the most common mistakes new writers make when looking to be published, they don’t have a complete understanding of the industry and the process. There is so much to know. It is overwhelming. However, I have found the author community is the most generous group of people. Everyone is always so eager to help each other out and share their experiences and knowledge.
Which author has impacted you the most as a writer?
byThank you so much for joining me today, Daisy. Tell me a little about your novel, The Silence and what interested you most about the premise?
Hi! Thanks for having me. A lot of my ideas begin with an image and in the case of The Silence it was the image of a woman jumping into the sea with her toes pointed downward. I’d been reading a lot about gaslighting – a covert form of emotional manipulation – and how easily it could be used to isolate someone from their friends and family.
The two ideas came together almost at the same time. Stella (the central character) is a former child star and I liked the idea of her trying to untangle herself from her former fame.
What were the challenges of writing this novel?
Ha. All of them. All the challenges! Time, for one. I squeezed writing The Silence into every moment my daughter was asleep and then again when I forced myself to wake up early. It’s the commitment, I think. Financial, emotional, mental.
Sometimes the story was so suffocating I would happily have drop kicked my computer into the sun. Other than that, you know, it was a breeze!
What’s your writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals?
A cup of tea. We live in a cold, cold house and so in the winter I started writing in bed with a hot water bottle so now that is where I write 99 percent of the time. I’m told it’s terrible for my sleep hygiene but I’m stuck in it now.
I work in a library, so I write in between the end of my work day and school pick-up and then again in the evenings. There’s a lot of opportunity for procrastination so I try to be really disciplined.
Which fictional character would you like to meet and why?
This is a great question and I’ve got two terrible answers for it. One, is Nanny Ogg’s cat Greebo from the Discworld novels but only – only – when he turns into a piratical man. The other is all the kids from the Losers club from the novel IT, the people I most identified with as an adolescent.
NK: My husband is a huge fan of The Discworld and I also think he would like to meet Greebo.
In your opinion, what’s the most important thing to remember when developing characters?
Personally, I like to see flaws in a character. Jealousy, anger, bitterness. I need to see them as human and I need to care if they live or die. That’s what carries me through a book. I don’t neccessarily need to relate to them but I do need to know they’re not entirely whole. That helps, for me.
Which author has made the most impact on you as a writer?
byHello Helen, thank you for joining me today. Can you tell me about your book, Why Women Read Fiction and what inspired you to write it?
I have always been fascinated by the fact that the main readers of novels and short stories are women. Currently we buy (and also borrow) about 80% of all fiction. Women are the vast majority of members of book clubs, attendees at literary festivals, visitors to libraries and bookshops, and organisers of days out to literary heritage sites like the Brontës’ Haworth Parsonage. Many years ago, I wrote a book about Gone With the Wind, and more recently a Daphne du Maurier Companion, and while researching both these, I was struck by how many women told me of their passion for both writers and their books, and how profoundly they had wrapped words, scenes, characters and settings into their hearts and their own life stories.
They had even called their daughters, dogs and cats after the protagonists (Scarlett, Rhett, Rebecca). So I set out to ask what it is about reading fiction that appeals to women – and I found it offers escape, a special space just for us (‘me-time’), and the opportunity to spread our wings intellectually and emotionally. It helps us through the night, and gives us insights into our relationships and families, as well as the world beyond. Jackie Kay suggests ‘our lives are mapped by books’.
Fiction is important to so many people (including me.) Which fictional novel has made the most impact on you and why?
At different stages of my life, particular books have resonated. As a girl, I wanted to be like awkward, unconventional and ambitious Jo March in Little Women. As a young student, George Eliot’s Middlemarch taught me about social and intellectual pretentiousness, and warned me never to marry an emotionally stunted man.
As a middle-aged and older woman, I’ve learned about worlds very different from my own through writers such as Ralph Ellison, Eudora Welty and Hilary Mantel. Toni Morrison’s Beloved about American slavery is the most devastating novel I’ve ever read, and Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is very dear to my heart because set in a special place of mine, Louisiana.
What were the challenges you faced when writing When Women Read Fiction?
I decided to send out questionnaires to women about their reading, and to interview women writers too. The enthusiasm with which over 400 women responded to my questions and the wonderful material they provided me with, were very humbling, and I had to try to do justice to it all. Women love to tell you about what reading fiction means to them – ‘a lifeline,’ ‘my best friend,’ ‘the love of my life’ – and all the ways they have found it helped them in sorrow, joy, sickness and health.
Women writers are very aware of their responsibility to, and friendly relationship with women readers, though they gave me angry accounts of being ‘Little Womaned’, as Hilary Mantel put it – reviewed, paid and valued less than male fiction writers.
What’s your writing day like and what do you need around you? For example, coffee, tea, music, silence?
Alas, I’m not an early riser, but when I get going (after many cups of good English Breakfast tea) I like to write to music – Joni Mitchell, Kate Rusby, Mozart, Leonard Cohen)- but when I REALLY get going and the writing is flowing, I work in silence. Those are the most productive and precious times.
What’s the first thing you do when starting a new project? What comes next?
I am a slow burn writer. I was commissioned to write a BFI book about the film of Gone With the Wind and I finished it in three months, but usually it takes me years to shape an idea and produce a book.
I had the germ of an idea for Why Women Read Fiction thirty years ago, but I worked on it seriously for about five years. I think it’s a better book for taking so much time.
How do you approach the editing process?
Editing is my favourite process of all. I find research and first drafts time-consuming and difficult, but I love to edit.
Years of teaching students have given me considerable experience here, and I love to spot my own repetitions, clichés, weak phrases and poor arguments – then brutally cut and reshape. It’s the most creative process.
What’s your favourite word and why?
byHello Nicola, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me a little about your debut novel, A Degree of Uncertainty and what inspired the story?
Thank you for inviting me to chat with Novel Kicks, Laura.
A Degree of Uncertainty explores how a Cornish community is being ripped apart by its growing university, with an influx of students upsetting the balance of things and challenging the way life has always been. Some residents — and business people — see it as progress and welcome the expansion. Others feel threatened by the change in dynamics.
Against this backdrop of small town politics, the story is very character driven, exploring love, friendship, loyalty and betrayal. The shifting community pits friends, neighbours and colleagues against each other and reopens old wounds…
Do you think character or plot is more important in a story?
I think that’s a little bit like asking which is more important, a bra or knickers… I agree that some books are weighted more in favour of one or the other, but for me, you need both. That doesn’t mean the plot has to be a rip-roaring rampage punctuated with multiple murders and endless twists, but the storyline needs to travel from A to B.
That said, I can really enjoy a book where a deeply plausible character goes on an emotional journey and, in essence, very little happens. But I don’t think the best plot in the world will stand up in the hands of characters in whom readers don’t believe or, worse, don’t care about.
What would be on a playlist for this novel?
One of the two key protagonists is Harry Manchester, a proud Cornishman and successful local businessman who vows to save his beloved community from being overrun by students and ruined by change. Harry is a keen music fan and ex-drummer and he often seeks solace in Queen music, letting the lyrics guide his mood and — in one instance — his actions. So it would have to be Queen’s Greatest Hits. (He also has an incident where his Bohemian Rhapsody ring tone goes off at an untimely moment, but that’s another story…)
What was the biggest challenge when writing your first book?
Starting a book is a challenge. I’d had the idea for a while and I began making notes and sketching out characters and plot, but actually writing those first words seemed like a terrifying leap!
I did a ‘Starting to write your novel’ course with the literary agency, Curtis Brown, which gave me the tools to plan and start the book. It also gave me a huge dose of confidence as I was chosen as ‘Most promising student’ on the course, and was rewarded with a one-to-one tutorial with one of the agents. That was a massive shove in the right direction, and the novel began…
What’s your typical writing day like? Where do you like to write? Do you prefer silence, do you need coffee?
byHello Patricia, thank you so much for joining me today and for inviting me onto your blog tour. Can you tell me a little about your novel, The Cure and what inspired the story?
I was at a meeting of Sisters in Crime in Atlanta when the leader asked the audience to write a quick book blurb and share it. I’d been doing a lot of volunteer work with senior citizens, and my dad had recently passed away with dementia, so the topic of Alzheimer’s was top of mind. I raised my hand with an idea, the audience applauded, and two long years later I published the book.
It’s women’s fiction, a tale of a woman with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease who is visited by a man from the future with a cure. I call it a hopeful fantasy. He’s a doctor, head of a medical research team, and needs her to conduct a long-term study to prove the safety and efficacy of their drug, and the only way for him to do this quickly is to get patients in the past to take the drug and get the results to him. The plot thickens as their relationship gets complicated, as the study must be done under the legal and ethical radar, and as the doctor ignores his directive to change nothing during his trip to the past.
What’s your writing day like and what do you need around you, for example, silence, coffee?
I either write or revise almost every day. If I’m writing, I shoot for at least one thousand words. If I’m revising, at least a couple of hours. I’m a morning person, up at around four most days, and my mental state is best early in the day. So, I’m that weird neighbour you see out walking in the dark of the morning in the light of the moon for exercise, then come home for coffee and breakfast, two cats show up on my desk, pictures of my muses surround me (Flannery O’Connor, Elena Ferrante, Pascal Garnier, Patricia Highsmith), my laptop has ready research available from google and Wikipedia, and I begin to write.
What’s your favourite word and why?
Great question. After much thought, I’d have to say “care”. I want to care about the important things, things that will help me and others, inspire me to give back to all who’ve helped me and cared for me. It’s easy to say we like something, but do we care about it?
Do we care enough about something to do something about it…put some time in for it? We have so many challenges today, life is not simple anymore, and I think that caring becomes a differentiator, whether it’s a small thing like making a good cup of coffee or a big one like what can I personally do to make someone else’s life better today.
Like write a better story, take someone away from their troubles for a page at a time. Listen, we writers aren’t in this for the money, and I love hearing that a reader cared about my story, that it made them think, or laugh, or grin, or even that it put them to sleep after a long day.
How do you approach the editing process?
With sheer dread. I can’t say that writing is easy, but I find it a breeze compared to editing and revising. It’s difficult to tear your own work apart, to read it like a reader and not the author of all those words. As for my process, I make five passes: first to review the draft and mark it up for obvious changes; second to enhance the plot, subplot(s) and scenes… too much detail, not enough, right details; third, enhance the characters and their dialog; fourth, check spelling, grammar, for weak and passive words, check names and dates and places; fifth, polish it, show off, spice it up, add some clues, ramp up the pace. Then I send it out to four to six beta readers and attend to their advice, making changes, rereading, reediting. There are no short-cuts.
Do you think character or plot is more important?
byHi Patrick. Thank you so much for joining me on Novel Kicks today. Can you tell me a little about your novel, The Colonel and The Bee and what inspired the idea.
The Colonel and the Bee is a Victorian Age adventure novel about a young acrobat who meets a larger-than-life explorer and the journey they go on together. The idea for the book was as simple as people flying around in a hot air balloon, getting into adventures, and the characters and themes followed.
What’s your writing day like, where do you like to write and do you have any writing rituals?
I try to write every day (though admittedly little on Sundays). I write in coffee shops because there are too many distractions at home. I wouldn’t say I have any real rituals other than a cold brew or iced tea, and I’ll either listen to the ambience of the space or something instrumental in my headphones to really focus in.
Can you tell me a little about your writing process from idea to final edit?
I always have a long phase of gathering material for a particular idea, and once that becomes enough for an outline, make a fairly general outline. Whenever the schedule allows, the outline goes into a first draft (which usually takes a few weeks). Then it’s many rounds of rewriting, outside feedback, and whatever else is necessary to get the book out.
What music would feature on a playlist for this novel?
Any kind of whimsical classical music. The soundtrack for the movie The Brothers Bloom might work.
What is more important when writing a novel, character or plot?
I think it depends on the particular novel. Stories that are more firmly rooted in genre will probably have a more plot-dependent execution because there are certain reader expectations, but if something is a little more literary or unconventional, character might take the lead. The boring but true answer is that both are simultaneously the most important, and in some ways inseparable if done correctly.
How do you approach creating a character?
byHello, L.M Brown, thank you so much for joining me today. What’s your typical writing day like?
It depends on what stage I am at. Before I start a project, whether it’s a novel or a short story, I plan it out. I think of the characters and their main story as well as the backstory.
This could take weeks or months with a novel, especially because I never start a novel now without reading at least 5 or 6 novels that I think might be similar.
With a story it could take an hour or so, and then I start writing. I like to get up before 6 when the house is quiet, and I work all the time I can. The re-write is my favorite part and its much easier to get up at 5 when I am there, because I have something to work with.
What’s the challenges of writing a collection of short stories?
For a collection, there needs to be a common thread linking all the stories together, so not every story might fit the collection.
For Were We Awake, the publisher didn’t think one story fit. It was a story about alcoholism and family dynamics, but Marc believed it was too normal and boring for a collection with ghosts, clowns, exotic birds and murders. So, I wrote a different story, and he was right. The collection was better for it.
What’s your favorite word and why?
I laughed when I read this, such a hard question. I like the word ‘pernicious’, though I can’t say I have a favorite word.
How do you approach the planning process when writing a book made up of short stories? What advice do you have for someone who would like to put together a short story collection?
byHi Sasha, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me a little about Christmas in Chamonix and what inspired the novel?
Hi there! Thank you for putting these fabulous questions together for me. So, first things first – I absolutely loved writing Christmas in Chamonix. I have recently fallen in love with skiing (although I have really struggled with it – Lily’s fear of heights echoes my own!) and I have always adored Christmas. My parents have always been huge fans of Christmas and made it such a special time of year for myself and my brother, with lots of traditions and magical moments – which I now carry out with my own children.
So Chamonix was mostly inspired by my absolute love of Christmas. But it was also the opportunity to take readers into a beautifully Christmassy environment – with falling snow, gorgeous, festive decorations and the delicious food and drink involved. Add skiing into that – and I was in writing heaven! Skiing is such an exhilarating sport…it’s amazing if you master even a small part of it, let alone manage to ski down a steep mountain and not fall over!
How do you approach the planning of a novel and how has it evolved since your debut novel?
I approach the planning of a novel with military precision – and always have done. With lots of creativity thrown in, of course, but for me, it’s about being organised and disciplined. So I begin with the idea. I expand it with lots of notes (I use a different, A4 sized notebook with a lovely cover for each new novel) and begin writing character notes to flesh out my main players. I then write a synopsis which will be two pages or fifteen, depending on how much of the story flows out at that stage, but the main point is to get down the beginning, the middle and the end. After that, I write a full version of this, which is where I will structure scenes and make sure each section moves smoothly on to the next one. With some cliff hangers thrown in here and there. I find this process easier and more fun than I used to in the early days and it also makes writing the novel itself fairly straight forward as I have a strong structure as a guideline and I’m essentially then delving into the thoughts and feelings and emotions of my characters.
Do you think character or plot is more important?
Well, that’s a seriously good question! Ok. So even with a killer idea, if you don’t have the right personalities in place to play the story out, it’s going nowhere and it’s just a concept with no heart and soul. Equally, if you have fantastic lead players and strong secondary characters but no real idea of what the story is about or where it’s going, the reader won’t feel invested as there isn’t anything for them to connect with and relate to. For me, they are equally important. You need a killer idea and you need relatable characters your readers can fall in love with and care about.
What’s your favourite word and why?
My favourite word….I’m loving these questions! I love the word ‘serendipitous’. Which means ‘occurring or discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way’. I just think it’s a really positive word and one which puts me in a strong headspace of believing that everything happens for a reason and that there is something to be grateful for everywhere you look.
Can you tell me about your typical writing day, where you like to write, do you need endless amounts of coffee and silence or do you prefer noise?
byHi Emma, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your new novel, A Mistletoe Miracle?
Beth, my heroine, has returned to her childhood home – the Hotel Everdene – after a bad breakup. Her confidence is badly shaken & she’s struggling to know what to do next in life. When her mother is stranded in a blizzard, Beth is left in charge of the fully booked hotel, feeling completely out of her depth. But one thing Beth isn’t, is a quitter and, with a bit of help from Nick, a gorgeous guest, she does her best to make sure Christmas doesn’t end in catastrophe!
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you need coffee? Silence? Where do you like to work?
It varies through the week. On a Monday & Tuesday, when my 3yo is in nursery, I usually get back from the school & nursery run by 9.30. Then I run around tidying up the mess from breakfast, make a start in some housework & settle down to write at my desk at around 10.30-11.00. I have a fantastic pull down desk in my bedroom which my partner put in as a surprise for me when I was away at the RNA conference in July & I love it so much. I always have music playing, the house is so quiet without the kids in it, and I probably spend too much time creating special playlists for each project. The rest of the week when I have my 3yo home, writing takes place in the evenings on the sofa with my headphones on!
What’s your route to publication been like?
It feels like it has been very long. I started writing my first novel over a decade ago & I did query it but in hindsight I had no clue what I was doing! Writing became sporadic over the last eight years as we started a family & I became a stay-at-home mum. Some people might think that gives you lots of time to write but I find it so hard to concentrate on writing with my kids around me.
Then I joined the RNA at the beginning of 2019 & really got serious about finishing my manuscript, sending it for the NWS critique & submitting it. Orion announced their new digital first imprint called Dash at the RNA Conference & I sent it along. Overall, I probably submitted A Mistletoe Miracle to twenty agents & publishers, and entered half a dozen competitions. So, lots of no’s but you only need one yes!
What would be on a playlist for this novel?
As I mentioned earlier I have an extensive playlist for this novel on Spotify (which I’m going to make available very soon). Also, Beth is a music tutor so music is very important to her & lots of songs feature in the story. Three Little Birds by Bob Marley, Come Away with Me by Norah Jones & Words Are Dead by Agnes Obel all play a significant part in her journey.
What’s your favourite word?
bySay a big hello to RE McLean and the blog tour for her novel, Murder in the Multiverse. Thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your book, Murder in the Multiverse and what inspired the story.
Thanks for having me here! Murder in the Multiverse is a geeky mystery, the kind of thing you’d enjoy if you like Jodi Taylor or Douglas Adams. It’s about Alex Strand, a physics postdoc who finds herself recruited to the top-secret Multiverse Investigations Unit. The MIU is based in the parking lot of San Francisco PD (in a Tardis-like VW campervan) and investigates crimes by visiting parallel worlds where the crime hasn’t happened – yet.
What’s the challenges of writing something like Murder in the Multiverse? Do you have an idea of where you want the series to go?
The main challenge is writing a book where the solution to the mystery always has some kind of link to quantum physics, while not being a quantum physicist myself. I’ve dealt with that by making the physics very silly – hard science this is not!
I have a ten-book outline for the series storyline. Each book will be focused on one specific crime, and take place in a new parallel universe. But the twin threads of Alex’s search for her mother across the multiverse and her growing relationship with Sarita, the mysterious materials scientist, will drive the series plot.
What’s your writing day like, where do you like to write and do you have any writing rituals?
I like to write in my local library, and I have a Spotify playlist to help me focus. And Schrödinger the quantum cat sits on my desk while I write!
If you could go and investigate anywhere, where would it be and why?
Definitely Silicon City, the parallel universe in Murder in the Multiverse. It’s got an augmented reality version of the internet and you can conjure up a plate of cookies just by thinking about it. And all the doors go swish-thunk, like in Star Trek.
Which songs would be on a playlist for this book?
Good question! I’ve been putting together a playlist for Alex and her team, which you can find on Spotify. Alex is into retro tech (and music) and can only get to sleep to the sound of the Cheeky Girls. Her partner, Sergeant Mike Long, prefers easy listening. Alex wants to pull her eardum out with a fish hook when he puts that on the radio.
Do you think character or plot is more important?
I normally start a book with a concept, then decide who’s going to have to live with the consequences of that concept, then write the plot around that. Normally the characters come first for me, but I think both character and plot are equally important (and interwoven).
Which other authors have inspired/influenced you the most?
byHello Laura and welcome to Novel Kicks. Can you tell me a bit about your book, Sea Holly and Mistletoe Kisses?
Hi Laura, and thanks so much for inviting me to share with your readers! Sea Holly and Mistletoe Kisses is a cosy Christmas read and the third book in my romance series known as ‘A Little Hotel in Cornwall’. It continues the adventures of Maisie Clark, an aspiring author who follows her writing dreams across the Pond to a quaint Cornish hotel by the sea. Readers can expect a festive, feel-good read, as Maisie and the rest of the staff at the Penmarrow prepare to host an ice sculpting competition at the historic hotel.
Are you able to tell me a little about what you’re currently working on?
Currently, I’m working on the edits for Book Four in the series, The Cornish Secret of Summer’s Promise. It features a daring heist, an unexpected secret, and a romantic crossroads that Maisie never expected!
When you begin a novel, what do you focus on first?
Hmmmm. I think it varies from project to project, but I tend to focus first on the central plotline or event that kicks off the story. Then the characters tend to develop alongside the twists and turns in the plot that help to bring the whole story together.
Which songs would be on a playlist for Sea Holly and Mistletoe Kisses?
Christmas songs! I have everything from classic to modern on my holiday music playlists, so it could feature anything from Bing Crosby to Mariah Carey songs.
What is your idea of a perfect Christmas?
Oooh, that’s a tough one! I think something peaceful but festive and cozy that involves sharing the joy of the season with others would be a good place to start!
How do you approach the editing process and what is the biggest mistake that new writers make do you think?
byHello Eliza. I am so happy to be chatting to you today. I am excited to be heading back to Lytell Stangdale with A Christmas Kiss. What is this one about and how does it fit in with the others in the Life on the Moors series?
Hi there Laura, thank you for taking part in the Publication Day Blog Tour for A Christmas Kiss; I’m very happy to be chatting to you, too! So, this book sees us getting better acquainted with Zander Gillespie, who briefly featured in The Secret – Violet’s Story.
After a last-minute change of plans with his girlfriend, he finds himself – and his adorable black Labrador Alf – driving through a snow storm to his holiday cottage in a very wintry Lytell Stangdale. There, in an unusual set of circumstances, he meets Livvie.
Thanks to her boyfriend, she’s also had a last-minute change of plans and has come to Lytell Stangdale to lick her wounds. It soon becomes apparent that fate may have had a hand in their situation and they find themselves fighting a powerful mutual attraction.
Over the course of their story, we get to see all of the usual characters once again – Kitty, Molly, Vi, Jimby, Ollie and Camm feature heavily; a Life on the Moors book wouldn’t be complete without them! Hopefully, A Christmas Kiss should slot in rather well.
What is your writing process like from idea to the final draft, where do you like to write and do you have any writing rituals?
I have notebooks allocated to all of my different story ideas, it makes them easy for me to locate if an idea suddenly pops into my head. When it eventually comes to writing that story, I’ll grab the relevant notebook, sit at my laptop and start to plot it properly.
After that, I’ll then work on developing the characters – I go into quite a lot of detail for this so I get a really clear idea of each one of them in my head.
Once this is done, I launch into the actual writing of the story. I’ve learnt that I’m not the sort of writer who can just get anything down on a page for the first draft; I have to do as clean a first draft as possible, then go back and do a little editing the following day.
Once I’ve got that first draft done, I print it off and read through, making lots of notes along the way. I then edit the first draft and repeat the process of reading through and editing several times before I send it off to my editor.
Once it’s returned, I get stuck into her edits, check through them, amend them, get them proof read, then convert the document to a mobi and send it to my Kindle for another read through. Phew! It involves an awful lot of reading!
As far as writing rituals are concerned, I don’t have any as such, though I do need a regular supply of Yorkshire tea and plenty of ginger biscuits to nibble on!
How has your process evolved since your first novel? Is there anything you know now that you wished you’d known then?
I’d say I’ve become much more organised in my writing process since my first novel, which makes it much more enjoyable for me. Though, I wish I’d known that everyone has their own system that works for them, and that there isn’t a right or a wrong way; it’s okay not to just get words down if that process doesn’t work for you. Of course, if I’m pushed for time, I will just list ideas, conversations etc. so when I go back to my manuscript, I can flesh it all out and get it to make sense.
How important is planning when writing a series like this and what challenges did you face?
For me it was very important to plan, particularly for the first three books, as I had to ensure that time-lines matched. I’d say the challenges for making sure everyone’s age was right leading from one story to the next.
Do you think character or plot is more important?
For me, I think a story needs to have a good plot, otherwise there’ll be nothing to keep the reader interested. Though well-rounded characters are important, too; I feel they can help move the story along – does that make sense? I hope so!
Which fictional character (other than any of yours) would you like to spend Christmas with?
byHi Stephen, thank you for joining me. Can you tell me about your writing day, where you like to write and do you have any writing rituals?
Thanks so much for having me. When it’s time to write, that’s when I hunker down in front of the TV or get on Twitter or remember that I have a wife and kid. Basically, I procrastinate as long as possible until the muse possesses me and compels me to burn the midnight oil in the solitude of my den.
It’s not that I like to write in my den or any place of isolation for that matter. But when I’m in the zone, it’s best to leave me alone. I don’t have any writing rituals per se, but I need to create some, especially when the muse goes MIA.
Your novel is called Hands Up. What is it about?
Hands Up follows three characters from different worlds on are on collision course after a deadly police shooting spins their lives into chaos. Officer Ryan Quinn is on the fast track to detective until he shoots an unarmed black male. Now he embarks on a quest for redemption that forces him to choose between conscience or silence.
Jade Wakefield is an emotionally damaged college student who lives in one of the city’s worst neighbourhoods. She sets out to find the truth and get revenge after learning that there’s more to her brother’s death than the official police account.
While mourning the death of his son, Kelly Randolph returns to his hometown broke and broken to seek forgiveness for abandoning his family 10 years earlier. But when he is thrust into the spotlight as the face of the protest movement, his disavowed criminal past resurfaces and threatens to derail the family’s pursuit of justice.
What’s your writing process like from idea to final draft?
It’s like a sausage factory on fire. It’s not pretty or safe. As Ernest Hemingway said, the first draft of anything is s***. My writing process aims to turn that s***, speck by speck, into gold.
What music would be on a playlist for Hands Up?
byHi Laura. It’s lovely to welcome you to Novel Kicks today and happy book birthday for A Wedding in Cornwall. Can you tell me a little about it and what inspired it?
Thanks so much, and very excited to share with your readers today! The romance read A Wedding in Cornwall is the first novella in a series that focuses on an American event planner’s adventures working at a Cornish manor house in a remote village. It was heavily inspired by other Cornish-themed stories, including the television shows Poldark and Doc Martin.
What’s your writing process like, from idea to final draft and how has it evolved from your first novel?
My writing process is actually much the same as when I first started. I usually start with brainstorming some notes, and then create an outline. This can range from anything from a few lines to describe each scene to a more full-blown, descriptive document outlining what happens in the story. From there, it’s just a matter of getting it all on paper and then onto revisions and editing for the final draft.
Where do you like to write, do you prefer silence and do you write longhand? Need coffee?
I work with a laptop, but my work station is most often in my living room (usually with a cat or two on hand for company!). I often work to music or sometimes a favourite television program, although silence is okay too. No coffee, but occasionally a cup of hot chocolate in the winter time!
What elements need to be in place for beginning a novel?
For me, the basic events of the story need to be outlined, so I don’t get too off track, so to speak! And I need to have some basic notes on character background too, even though certain things about both plot or characters may change as the story goes on paper.
Do you think plot or character is more important?
byHi Ann, thank you so much for joining me today. Your book is called Crossing Over. Can you tell me a bit about it and what inspired the story?
Thanks for having me! Crossing Over is the story of an unlikely friendship between an elderly woman living alone on the Kent coast and a traumatized Malawian migrant hiding in her barn. On the surface, the two characters have little in common and in some ways they can never fully understand one another, but through their interaction they gain new perspectives on their own experiences and uncover more similarities between their lives than you might expect.
For several years, I’d wanted to write about the little ships manned by civilians that were sent to rescue soldiers from the beaches in Dunkirk early in the second world war. I knew this would probably involve an elderly character who had been involved in the evacuation effort. Then, when reports started to surface of refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean and more recently the Channel in small boats, the parallels and contrasts between the two types of crossings seemed powerful.
In addition, I’m fascinated by representing altered mental states in narrative and how mental illness affects storytelling (something I explored with bipolar disorder in my first novel, Beside Myself). Many therapies are built on the theory that telling a story can help a person move past a traumatic event – so what are the implications for people who are unable to articulate what has happened to them coherently? It struck me that bringing together two characters whose storytelling is compromised – one through PTSD and the other through dementia – might provide an interesting way to explore this.
What challenges did you face in regards to the themes of the book?
I was representing the story from the point of view of two characters with markedly different life experiences to my own. It required sensitivity and a great deal of thought. Indeed, for a long time I would have doubted my entitlement as white British writer to try and tell the story of a Malawian character.
However, recent books such as The Good Immigrant and Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race challenged my thinking on this and made me see that it’s important for writers of all backgrounds to do what we can to increase representation and diversity in storytelling.
The key is to do your best to do it well – in fact that is always a writer’s job. In the case of Jonah and Edie, this involved a huge amount of research and time spent talking to people with direct knowledge of and insight into many of the things I was writing about.
I then had to filter all this research through my own imagination and sensibility to try to make sure that it lived in the story as human experience, rather than two-dimensional information.
What’s your typical writing day like? Is there somewhere specific you like to write?
I get up very early and start at 5am in my writing room looking out over the hills and the white cliffs. Those early hours when the house is quiet are golden. If I have all day and am not going out for meetings, I will work in two- or three-hour stints, with breaks for meals and probably a run in the middle of the day, until around 6pm.
What’s your favourite word and why?
byYour book is called Reader, I Married Me (I love this title.) Can you tell me a little about it and what inspired it?
I wrote this book after going through a bad break up – being cheated on, lied to and rejected by the person I trusted the most. But, you know what, looking back I realise it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Romantic love is wonderful and all, but realising that I didn’t need ‘another half’ to make me happy or ‘complete’ me was an awesome revelation to have. So much so that I decided to take vows of self-commitment and marry myself in Brighton! I know it sounds bonkers but the idea was to start conversations and ask the question ‘why shouldn’t self-love be AS important as romantic love?!’ After all, your relationship with yourself deserves as much attention as any other – and the more you deal with your own crap the less other people have to, right?
So, my new novel is loosely based on my own experience of sologamy because it turns out that loving yourself so publicly is not easy – in fact, it got me a lot of haters. Which kind of highlights the complex attitude our culture has to self-love in the first place! The title slightly adulterates the words of literary heroine Jane Eyre 🙂
What’s your favourite word and why?
Discombobulate. I love this word because it sounds amazing in your mouth and describes the rather marvellous state of being tumbled from your comfort zone. It kind of reminds me of how Winnie the Pooh thinks.
What’s your writing process like from idea to final draft?
Well, I’m still figuring that out actually. Writing the novel was such a great learning curve and I think the next book I write should be a lot more streamlined. Because there is a certain formula to plot and character development and I think if you can pin that down first then your writing becomes a lot less chaotic!
Where do you normally write and do you need coffee, silence, noise?
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