Samantha Tonge

Samantha Tonge

Samantha Tonge’s debut novel, Doubting Abbey (published by Carina,) was released on Kindle earlier this month. Samantha chats to us about her new novel, her favourite word and who she’d like to invite round to dinner…

What’s your writing day like?

With both children at school, I am lucky enough to write full-time, so most days I’m at my desk by 8.30am and more or less stay there until 3pm, balancing the hours between novel and short story writing – unless the dust is an inch high or the cupboards bare.

Can you tell us about your debut novel, Doubting Abbey?

Doubting Abbey was inspired by Downton Abbey – I was fascinated by the public’s obsession with this period drama, and wondered what would happen if I put a thoroughly modern gal into a stuffy, aristocratic environment. In Doubting Abbey, pizza waitress Gemma must pass herself off as posh Abbey for two weeks, to help run-down Applebridge Hall win the reality show Million Dollar Mansion. Her stay is not without mishaps! Nor the tempting presence of gorgeous Lord Edward…

Are you a planner?

Yes. I learnt a lesson from my first ever novel – I stopped writing at 95,000 words and had only written 4 chapters! Now I roughly plan every chapter before starting – although if the characters want to take me somewhere unexpected, I let them.

How do you approach editing? Wait for a draft or as you go along?

A little of both. But I do go through the whole draft at the end, several times, refining different aspects, eg character detail.

Which three books have had the most impact on you?

Any Enid Blyton book as a child – they turned me into a voracious reader. Sophie Kinsella’s Shopoholic series, which inspired a love of fun chick lit. And the classics by Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, which I devoured in my youth. (Sorry, altogether that is way more than 3!)

Is there a character from fiction you’d like to meet?

Bridget Jones. It would be a hoot.

If you could swap places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?

As a writer, I love to get under the skin of people with lives very different to my own, so for a day I would love to swap with one of my teenage children and see just how different life is for them, compared to my high school days in the seventies/eighties.

What’s your favourite word?

Discombobulated always makes me giggle.

Who would be your ideal dinner guests?

Stephen Hawkins, to explain the theories of time in layman terms. Alan Carr to make me laugh and keep the drinks flowing. And Jane Austen – to tell her just how valued her work is, all these decades on.

Which superpower would you have?

I am obsessed with the vampire genre so I guess being lightening quick and super strong, with the added ability to compel people, would be pretty cool.

Top five tips for writers? 

Join an online author forum – don’t write in a vacuum.

Accept that succeeding might take time – you need to learn your craft.

Offer your work up for critiques – in my opinion, it’s the best way to learn.

Write short stories – they will improve your novel writing.

Don’t be too hard on yourself – all writers receive rejections (I’ve kept a whole folder full.)

For more information on Samantha:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor

Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/

Novel: http://doubtingabbey.blogspot.co.uk/

Doubting Abbey, Carina, November 2013

About Doubting Abbey:

Swapping downstairs for upstairs… How hard can it be!?
Look up the phrase ordinary girl and you’ll see a picture of me, Gemma Goodwin – I only look half-decent after applying the entire contents of my make-up bag, and my dating track-record includes a man who treated me to dinner…at a kebab shop. No joke! 
The only extraordinary thing about me is that I look EXACTLY like my BFF, Abbey Croxley. Oh, and that for reasons I can’t explain, I’ve agreed to swap identities and pretend be her to star in the TV show about her aristocratic family’s country estate, Million Dollar Mansion. 
So now it’s not just my tan I’m faking – it’s Kate Middleton style demure hemlines and lady-like manners too. And amongst the hundreds of fusty etiquette rules I’m trying to cram into my head, there are two I really must remember; 1) No-one can ever find out that I’m just Gemma, who’d be more at home in the servants quarters. And 2) There can be absolutely no flirting with Abbey’s dishy but buttoned-up cousin, Lord Edward.
Aaargh, this is going to be harder than I thought…

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.