The Kindle edition of Eden’s Garden is now up! Hurrah!
And I’ve been tagged by brilliant and thoughtful book-blogger and author Claire McAlpine of the ‘Word by Word’ blog, as part of the ‘Be Inspired’ blog hop. Thank you Claire! And thank you again for your wonderful review of Eden’s Garden.
To take part in the blog hop, I need to send a link back to my proposer (thank you Claire!) and then answer the following questions. Once answered, I need to tag five people to answer the questions, which don’t need to be the same, but must be about the writer’s book. And then I mustn’t forget to put the links to their blogs so everyone can hop over and see their answers.
Here we go:
Questions:
1. What is the name of your book?
‘Eden’s Garden’
2. Where did the idea for your book come from?
One inspiration is Brondanw Gardens in Snowdonia, which was the home of Clough Williams-Ellis, who built nearby Portmeirion. Part of it feels quite forlorn,
but with some wonderfully quirky touches.
The other inspiration was a Celtic myth of a woman created out of flowers to be a perfect wife. It all ends in tears, of course, and the woman is stripped of her youthful beauty and ba
nished. But supposing that is only the beginning of her story …..
3. In what genre would you classify your book?
It’s a time-slip. Part of the story is set now and part in Victorian times.
4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?
I’d chose British actor Sam West to play the Victorian hero. His voice alone is beautiful. I could sit and listen to it for hours……
5. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
Two women a century apart struggle with love, family duty, long buried secrets, and their own creative ambitions.
6. Is your book already published/represented?
Eden’s Garden was published by the small but mighty Honno Press in March 2012,and was the Welsh Books Council ‘Welsh Book of the Month’ for May.
7. How long did it take you to write your book?
The first idea came about 6 years ago. I worked on it on an off between other projects, always trying to find the right form for the story I wanted to tell and never quite getting there. I sent an earlier version to Honno, the Welsh Women’s Press, a couple of years ago. They didn’t accept it straight away, but they gave me a chance to work with one of their editors. That year was one of the most intensive learning curves of my life, and that’s when the book really came together.
8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?
I think readers of Kate Morton’s time-slip books like ‘The House at Riverton’ would enjoy ‘Eden’s Garden’, and anyone who enjoys Adele Geras’ novels like ‘Facing the Light’.
9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?
I have always loved Dickens, Elisabeth Gaskell and the Brontes. They were all an inspiration for the Victorian strand of the novel. I also love Sarah Waters’ books and Rosamund Pilcher’s ‘The Shell Seekers’.
10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.
More than a hundred years ago Ann left a trail through London, Cornwall and Wales that now leads Carys on a tantalising and increasingly shocking search for the truth…
Margaret James of ‘Writing Magazine’ called Eden’s Garden: ‘A great romantic read and also a very atmospheric, ingenious mystery.’
Intrigued? Then you can read the first chapters here:
And so to the people I have tagged to answer the questions:
1. What is the name of your book?
2. Where did the idea for your book come from?
3. In what genre would you classify your book?
4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?
5. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
6. Is your book already published/represented?
7. How long did it take you to write your book?
8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?
9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?
10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.
And the writers tagged are:
Shirley Wells, who writes gripping crime for Carina Press.
Susan Jones, great stories and a lovely blog to check out.
Chris Stovell, who writes for Choc Lit - with a hero guaranteed to make you go weak at the knees.
Lorraine Jenkin, fellow Honno author, whose blog is as witty as her books.
Marylynn Bast, author of the ‘Heart of a Wolf’ series. No feeble heroine there!
Take it away, ladies!
Once you have answered the questions, remember to tag five more worthy bloggers with the same instructions- especially to link back to your blog!!
I have been tagged, not sure where I am supposed to answer the questions, but here goes:
1. What is the name of your book?
Which one?
I have been lucky enough to have 3 books released since March.
No Remorse – 3/26.
One Bite To Passion – 5/21
A Justified Kill – 6/7
2. Where did the idea for your book come from?
No Remorse – a fellow author suggested I do a short story contest. The book grew from the short story into a novel. I had never written about werewolves until this and I was pulled into the paranormal world.
One Bite To Passion – PNR erotica. I was asked to write a story for an editor/publisher. My inspiration was my trip to Japan and working with the military there. It started out as a fiction. The editor came back and said by the way, it needs to be paranormal, romance and oh yeah, turn it into an erotica. I had my work cut out for me since I had never done an erotica and just ventured into Paranormal. My first novella turned out to be a vampire story and erotica.
A Justified Kill is a short story. I mentioned Amber’s first kill in No Remorse and wanted to elaborate on the story so the fans could find out what happened and why she had to decide if her first kill would be A Justified Kill.
3. In what genre would you classify your book?
My books are all paranromal. No Remorse – Paranormal Romance with adult scenes. One Bite To Passion – Erotica Paranormal Romance. A Justified Kill – Paranormal.
4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?
One Bite To Passion I would choose Chris Hemsworth to play Casey, Sandra Bullock would have to go blond and put on about fifty pounds, but I think she could pull it off to be Paige.
5. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
No Remorse – A lone wolf, can Amber give up her fears of being in a pack to be with the man she loves?
One Bite To Passion – Paige is pulled into a world of vampires she never knew existed, can she trust her heart and be with the man she loves?
A Justified Kill – Amber never gets involved yet she can’t walk away when a young woman is held hostage.
6. Is your book already published/represented?
No Remorse and A Justified Kill is published as an indie publisher.
One Bite To Passion is published through Sizzler Edition.
7. How long did it take you to write your book?
No Remorse took about 3 months to write.
One Bite To Passion was a quick write and was done in 2 days.
A Justified Kill took overall 3 days.
8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?
I am hoping the fans of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter Series. I am creating my own world and hope to continue with all kinds of novels and short stories.
9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?
Sherrilynn Kenyon is my favorite author along with Christine Feehan and Laurell K Hamilton.
10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.
No Remorse is about a strong independent werewolf who is forced remain on the run and is always alone. When faced with life or death situations, she is not afraid to step in and protect the ones she loves, even if it means giving up her own freedom.
One Bite To Passion is about a woman who has dealt with her husband cheating on her, forgiving him then finds herself in a similar situation. When she is unwittingly pulled into the world of vampires and their politics, she must decide if she will remain loyal to her husband or go with the man who treats her special, like the woman she really is.
A Justified Kill is not a romance, however, it allows the readers to be pulled a little more into the world of Amber and the life of a female werewolf on the run and some of the decisions she has to make along the way.
Congrats on getting tagged Juliet! Loved reading your responses!
Thanks Edith!
And don’t think you’ve escaped. I have something in store for you soon ….
(A nice something of course. That sounded a bit sinister)
x
Hello Juliet, oh, I feel a bit of a fraud now. I have a contract, but it’s for a story in an e.book. I’ll tell you about it anyway, as I’m sure my blog friends are wondering about my contract. Sounds good though doesn’t it. Hope I get it right. Talk soon, and thanks for linking to me…..xx
Hi Susan,
Congratulations! A story in an ebook is not a fraud. Anything with a contract is a professional sale – and no one gives that away lightly.
Woohoo! I can’t wait to read it. I think you should go and do the happy dance.
xx
Yes, I’m happy Juliet. I love that bit where it says, wordwide… Imagine my little story being zapped all over the world. Yayyy… happy dance….xx Oh I love the book. I’ve got to the bit where Carys has found photos in the loft. I think I know who Ann is, but I have to read on, it’s gripping, but the grass needs cutting as well.xx
That makes me want to read it all over again, and ask the universe to connect me with a wonderful editor, I’m ready for the hard work that inevitably follows
Love to read of your author inspirations and comparisons and now another wonderful list of talent to check out. Thank you so much for participating and for your kind words.
Thank you Claire, and thank your for tagging me. I think I’ve said somewhere else that all my writing life I thought I was working towards finding a publisher. What I should have realised is that I was working towards finding an editor. The right one will come along. Mine took years, with so many disappointments in between. But if I hadn’t had the heartache and the rejections I wouldn’t have met the editor that I ‘clicked’ with, and who changed my life.
I loved your extract. Keep on bashing them keys. It’s clear from the responses on your blog that you have a real way of connecting with people, and that, in the end, is the relationship between readers and writers.
You’re a star!
x
Interesting what you say about finding the right editor, I agree and know that’s the next step for me, I’m working on it
Thanks for the encouragement, yours is a wonderful journey and I’m very happy to have connected with you also. 
I can see how that location and the Celtic legend would inspire a writer.
Hi Juliet! Sorry to be so late catching up with you – I’ve been inundated one way and another! I’ll pick this up as soon as I have a moment so thank you for thinking of me.
I’ve always been meaning to say how lovely it was to catch up with you – if only briefly – at the Honno party. What a lovely, happy occasion that was! Cx