Carol Lovekin on having a book shortlisted ….

After having a book published, most authors dream of seeing their book shortlisted for an award. So thank you to Carol Lovekin for her thoughts on her haunting novel Wild Spinning Girls, published by Honno Press, being shortlisted for the prestigious Rhys Davies Trust Fiction Award 2021.

One Bird at a Time
(Thoughts on having a book shortlisted)

Carol Lovekin

Several years ago, as a fledgling author with one novel under my belt, I read a book called Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott. The title is based on an incident when Lamott’s father urged her ten-year-old brother, who was struggling to finish a report on birds, to tackle it, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’ (Already convinced my imaginary Muse was a local crow who left random words on my windowsill, the title of the book alone appealed to me.)

And bird by bird, is how Lamott advises her readers to write their books.

I’m a slow writer and over the years have discovered it takes as long as it takes. One step – one bird – at a time. This approach works equally well with regard to the ongoing fact of being published. I’m nothing special, I’ve just written a few books some people have liked and even loved. Writing is my job now, so just show up, follow the birds and get on with it?

Having an idea for a story you sense might work is a moment of wonder for any writer. It can be a tiny spark or an explosion. Either way, it’s the beginning of something unique to the author. And there is something irresistible in the idea that you might, for a while, cause magic in the mind another person through the act of storytelling. Plus, never mind the reader, who knows where a new story will take the writer? 

Over the years since I’ve been published, the idea that anything I’d written might be considered for an award never crossed my mind. (It’s the secret dream of course, like having your book turned into a film, and as unlikely to ever happen.) When I received the email telling me my third novel, Wild Spinning Girls, had been shortlisted for the Rhys Davies Trust Fiction Award 2021, I had to read it twice, look for the bit I’d missed: about it having to do with someone else? Slowly, it sank in – my book had been selected. (One of the birds appeared to have taken an unexpectedly big step!) And to be perfectly honest, I still can’t quite get my head around it.

What is gratifying is the sense of validation. I was seventy-two when Ghostbird was published and that, frankly, was the box ticked! I’d done it, the dream come true! Since then, even after having three more accepted (my fourth novel – Only May – is due for publication on 19 May this year) I still pinch myself.

I write very much from instinct and was unsure if my quirky style would ever find a publishing home. It was my good fortune to be signed by a press who made no attempt to persuade me towards a more commercial brief. Honno gave me a chance and I have been privileged to be superbly edited by two outstanding women: Caroline Oakley and Janet Thomas. The nomination for Wild Spinning Girls says as much about Honno – about them – as it does about me.

Which brings me to the question, the one I am often asked: how does it make me feel? Having my book nominated? Needless to say, I am indebted to Literature Wales for choosing my book for their shortlist. It’s pretty wild to be honest and yes, a little bit special. It’s affirming, certainly. Above all though, I remain hugely grateful to Honno for their faith in me. I write because I love it, and because someone else might love what I write too. So I shall keep on doing it – continue writing stories from my heart – one bird at a time.

Stop Press! Carol’s new book has just had its cover reveal, and it’s looking gorgeous! Only May will be published by Honno on May 19th – available for pre-order now!

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Penguins and Harp Makers – and the making of Hazel Prior’s new harp!

Hazel playing her new Celtic Harp

• I loved your tweet about ordering a new harp to celebrate the publication of Ellie and the Harp Maker. I just had to ask what drew you to playing the harp, and the Celtic harp in particular?

Thanks so much, Juliet! Yes, the new harp was a ‘reward’ for my debut novel, although it ended up being two year’s wait before I actually got it! This was because it was hand-made to order … and then of course COVID made everything take even longer. It’s a beautiful instrument though, and I’m delighted with it.

The harp in the workshop

I first started harp-playing when I was at university, many years ago. I’d always loved music but never played an instrument. It was a happy accident that led me to a locker that contained a battered, broken old harp. It belonged to one of the music societies but I instantly loved it, so I kidnapped it that summer and had it mended. I realised then how much I longed to play it. It took me a long time to learn but I’m so glad I did!

Although it was chance rather than choice that paired me up with this particular instrument, it’s the perfect one for me. I’ve always been drawn to anything Celtic (I have some Scottish blood, which could be a reason) and I do prefer Celtic harps to classical harps. To my ears the sound is more organic, more ancient, wilder and wiser. It moves me deeply and somehow, in this complicated world, seems to heal and help put things right again.

A harp begins …

• What were the origins of ‘Foxwillow Trio’? Have you managed to keep on playing and composing during lockdown?

I joined Foxwillow a few years ago. Martin and Celia, the other members, had already been together as duo for over a decade. We met at an informal gig where I was doing some harping and they were singing with guitar, flute and clarinet accompaniment. They invited me and my harp over to theirs the following week and I busked along to their lovely, nature-themed songs. They seemed to like it… at any rate they still keep inviting me back! They write all the songs for this group but I compose the harp parts.

We had masses of gigs lined up for 2020, all of which were cancelled, along with my solo performances. It’s been a sad time for musicians (and I’m extremely grateful that writing is now my main income.) Whenever regulations eased and weather permitted we met up in gardens to keep practising. 2021 has, at last, given us opportunities to perform again. We’ve recently been on stage at the Mid Devon Show and will be playing again at Watchet Festival in August. But it will be a long time before I’ll be able to return to Care Homes with my harp.

• Do you find the process of writing music for your harp differs from writing a book, or do you find there are similarities?

They’re pretty different, but they complement each other well. Writing drives me slightly crazy because there’s so much intensive thinking involved, so I do need the less cerebral process of music-making as a break from it. Songs or harp pieces are much quicker to write than novels, too, so you have the satisfaction of actually completing something more often.

The two creative processes do have similarities, though. Both take a lot of energy and experimentation. I’m not a very systematic person and when I start a new project I tend to blindly follow my gut instinct. But once I’ve found something I like I’ll doggedly hone and hone. I delete a large proportion of everything I write and I never perform a huge chunk of my repertoire, so masses of work doesn’t actually get used. Maybe I’m too perfectionist?

• Can I ask you what inspired you to write the story of Ellie and the Harp Maker?

The beginnings of Hazel’s harp in the workshop

My first inspiration was all the people who came up to me after harp performances and said: “I’ve always wanted to play the harp.” I was amazed at the number of people (both women and men) who have this dream. I thought about how much of life we spend dreaming and how we sometimes follow these dreams but often don’t; about what happens when dreams come true… and how they have a habit of not quite turning out the way we expect.

A harp skeleton…

As I was pondering, I was going on a lot of walks in the Exmoor countryside and that became an integral part of the story too. Dan (the harp maker) emerged as not only somebody who could make Ellie’s dream come true, but also someone living a solitarily life, immersed in the local landscape. Then came Phineas the pheasant, who plays an important role in the drama. He was inspired by Exmoor as well.

• The character of Dan and the details of harp making in Ellie and the Harp Maker were fascinating. Do you think it takes a special kind of person to create a Celtic harp? And were you able to see your new harp being made?

I’d say it does take a special person to create a harp, yes. Of course a great deal of woodworking experience is required, and masses of patience, precision and passion. I’ve never met anyone quite like Dan in real life, although I’ve met several harp makers.

Most harps are factory-made these days, but there are still quite a few skilled harp makers around. My old harp (which I still love, by the way!) was made by a German harp-maker called Frank Sievert. To research Ellie And The Harp Maker I went down to Cornwall and quizzed Tim Hampson, who patiently explained a lot of harp-making details to me and showed me around his workshop. My new harp was made by Mark Norris, who’s based near Peebles in Scotland. It was too far to visit to see the harp being constructed (and it was lockdown anyway) but he generously sent me lots of photos of my harp-in-the-making.

This is just how I imagine Dan’s workshop!

• I loved the description of surroundings, do you find nature important for the creative process?

Absolutely! I couldn’t do without my ‘thinking walks’. It’s unhealthy to be stuck behind a computer screen all day anyway, and the act of walking is scientifically proven to help problem-solving. Fresh air, flowing water, blowing breezes, buzzing insects, singing birds, green hills… I’m greedy for them all and my writing would lose so much without them.

• Can you say what you are working on now, both for books and music?

I’ve just finished proof-reading my third novel, Call Of The Penguins, which will be out in November. I have something up my sleeve for book 4, which I’m very excited about but not quite sure how it will pan out so I’d probably better not say more than that.

Music-wise I’m out and about with Foxwillow Trio again and getting my solo repertoire together, with a few private gigs booked. Normally at Christmas I play a glorious festive selection at Dunster Castle and I’m hoping that will happen again this year. I’ll be appearing at some literary festivals too (e.g. Taunton, Exeter and Yeovil) where I’ll be accompanying readings with my harp and playing my song about penguins, Waddling On. So it’s a good mix, and all good fun!

Thank you so much for having me, Juliet. It’s a real pleasure and honour to be featured on your website.

Thank you, Hazel, it’s been a huge pleasure – and I’ll keep my fingers firmly crossed for live audiences being able to enjoy performances of Waddling On!

You can find out more about Hazel, her harp and her best-selling books Away with the Penguins (currently just 99p on kindle!) and Ellie and the Harp Maker on her website, and there are also details and buying links below. Enjoy!

https://www.hazeltheharpist.co.uk/

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Bestselling Thorne Moore and the resilient women who fought back…

Today I’d like to welcome Thorne Moore, best selling author of A Time for Silence, who is published by Honno Press. Thorne’s latest novel, The Covenant, is a prequel to A Time for Silence and is published on August 20th 2020.

 

 

As a child I was very fond of the Narnia books (mostly because of the Pauline Baynes illustrations). One sentence in The Magician’s Nephew made a deep impression on me. “Aunt Letty was a very tough old lady: aunts often were in those days.” I really liked that. All the images I had had of Victorian women until then, thanks to BBC adaptations of Dickens, usually starring Martin Jarvis, had been of sweet little things with very pretty dresses and ringlets, on a par with fluffy kittens and with about the same IQ, or sad victims doomed by poverty or consumption.

There’s Victorian literature for you, or at least the variety written by men, who lived among women, were raised by them, nursed by them – women they lusted after and married, and yet men never seemed to rise above smug contempt for them. Women are portrayed as feeble and infantile, in need of protection and mastery. Show them as strong and they are mere figures of ridicule, like Trollope’s Mrs Proudie.

Thorne with Honno author Judith Barrow, and Firefly editor, Janet Thomas

Of course Victorian literature written by women presented a completely different picture of female understanding and determination in the period. In the works of the Brontës, Mrs Gaskell or George Eliot, women were rational creatures with at least as much determination and fight in them as the men who treated them as an amusing sub-species.

Real women, like fictional ones, were the same. Law, church and society were against them. Women who failed to marry were objects of contempt and pity. Those who did marry, officially ceased to exist. In the 18^th century, it had been decreed that “By marriage, the very being or legal existence of a woman is suspended, or at least incorporated or consolidated into that of the husband.”

So it wasn’t just the vote that women lacked. A wife couldn’t hold property of her own, couldn’t keep her own earnings, couldn’t seek divorce from an intolerable union, couldn’t claim custody of her own children, couldn’t have control over her own body and couldn’t even claim to be a person in her own right. If she had paid work, it was at a far lower rate than any man. If she fell into ‘sin’ she was utterly outcast.

See her on the bridge at midnight

Saying, ‘Farewell, blighted love!’

There’s a scream, a splash, good ‘eavens!

What is she a doing of?

I am sure plenty of women, faced with what life threw at them, did choose suicide as the only way out. And disturbingly, male writers seemed to like the idea of women drowning themselves rather than living to face shame. But many women refused to go under. They refused to accept their lot. They refused to bow to injustice.

They fought back, sometimes at immense cost to themselves and though Parliament, run by men, gets the credit for any changes reluctantly forced through, it was often women’s struggle that lit the touch paper – not just the suffragettes like the Pankhursts, but women like Caroline Norton who campaigned tooth and nail for the Custody of Infants Act, the Matrimonial Causes Act and the Married Women’s Property Act. Or Josephine Butler who fought for the legal rights of wives and the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act which allowed for the forced and often violent examination of prostitutes. Or Florence Nightingale whose reforms improved the status of female work and raised levels of health care. Or Annie Besant who fought for the rights of the matchgirls to better pay and conditions. Denied the schools and colleges open to their brothers, women fought their way into education, science, medicine. Intrepid women like Gertrude Bell conquered mountains, deserts and jungles, while thousands of ordinary women took their fate in their own hands and sailed for the colonies in the hope of making a better life for themselves. Despite their corsets, crinolines and bustles, women weren’t meek and amenable. They never have been.

In the workplace, though they were lucky to receive half the pay given to men, they were indomitable providers, slaving to keep their families from starvation when husbands died, or fell sick, or deserted. They didn’t fade away if fortune turned against them, they kept fighting, doing whatever it took to keep going, whether that meant slaving in an unhealthy factory, managing the family business, keeping geese in the back yard, taking in washing, or prostitution. Whatever it took. The world pictured women as sweet simpering angels in the house. They were better than that. They were human.

In my new novel, The Covenant, Leah Owen is a woman after my own heart. She has intelligence and determination. She has dreams, and when they come to nothing she turns to the next. She fights. She values her self-respect. Which doesn’t mean she enjoys the struggle. Few women would have done. She’s an Aunty Sally and the world is throwing everything it can find at her. But no matter what is thrown, she refuses to fall. Unless by her own choice.

 

 

My links

The Covenant: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08CZJ8BSL

Honno: https://www.honno.co.uk/

website: https://thornemoore.com/

FB Author page: https://www.facebook.com/thornemoorenovelist

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThorneMoore

Amazon author page http://amzn.to/1Ruu9m1

 

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From novel to audio book – with author and actor Elizabeth Morton

I still can’t get over the amazment of hearing ‘The Ferryman’s Daughter’ being read as an audiobook by the wonderful Karen Cass. So when I saw that Elizabeth Morton is narrating her new book ‘A Last Dance in Liverpool‘, I couldn’t resist asking her about how she went about it – especially in the middle of a pandemic! 

Narrating your own book is not for the faint-hearted, so it does help that Liz is an actor, known (among other things) for playing Madeleine Basset in ‘Jeeves and Wooster’ and Linda in the Liverpool sitcom, ‘Watching’. Her husband Peter Davison is also an actor (don’t mention Darleks!), as are her sons.

The results are fascinating  – and unexpectedly hilarious. A real insight into the world of audio books. 

 

 So Liz, I have to ask what made you decide to narrate your own book?

Well, this was certainly a very different experience to the launch of my last book! I did the narration for A Liverpool Girl, at Isis sound studios some time after the book came out earlier this year.

It was only when Peter converted our very small dusty cupboard under the stairs into a makeshift recording studio and I kept seeing not only him, but my two boys darting off from their breakfast cereal to do recordings, and also signs appearing around the house saying ‘walk quietly down the stairs’ that I decided I should get in touch with Isis Audio and ask them if they would like me to try and do the recording for my new book, A Last Dance in Liverpool from home.

Did you experience any particular problems working in a cupboard?

Initially there were problems with the noise from the fridge after I kept forgetting to switch it off, then problems with forgetting to switch it back on again and all the food defrosting but that’s another story. Eventually I got the hang of it.

The sign …

 

And did you enjoy narrating ‘A Last Dance in Liverpool’?

I so enjoyed playing all the characters and even though I have done some work for Big Finish Audio, narrating my books has felt like a return to acting, albeit in this case, perched on a wobbly stool in the dark and with Stanley the dog threatening to bark at the postman at any moment.

A very innocent-looking Stanley

It’s strange also, how it feels like you are seeing the text for the first time, even though I wrote it. Not sure why, but I guess because you are coming at it from a different perspective and it’s important you immerse yourself in the characters so you stop worrying about things like structure and writing style, and that’s quite freeing. I write many different voices, and I would move from Irish, to Liverpool, to Lancashire, often on one page. Keeping the narrator’s voice, which is my natural Northern accent, from veering into one of these other voices, is also tricky.

Technically, when I made a mistake, I had to clap to mark the retake, so when I sent the files to the editor she would then work from those cues. Is this the future? My under-stairs cupboard? I missed walking on Whitley Bay beach at the end of each recording day which is what I did when I recorded earlier in the year, but for now, you’ll find me quite happy in the cupboard under the stairs.

Hope you enjoy the new book!

Thank you Liz for the inside story. I’ll never listen to an audio book in quite the same way again. And I’m looking forward to hearing you read A Last Dance in Liverpool!

 

A last Dance in Liverpool 

You can get the audio edition, narrated by Liz Here

And the Kindle edition HERE

All she wants is one last dance…

Lily and Vincent have been dancing everything from the waltz to the foxtrot together since they were six-years-old. Now a teenager, Lily realises she has feelings for Vincent that she never knew were there.

However, with Vincent off to war, Lily is evacuated to a mother and baby home with her younger siblings. It is there that she finds she has more in common with the fallen women than she once thought. But as the bombs begin to fall in Liverpool, will she ever see her sweetheart again?…

A heart-warming saga for fans of Call The Midwife from the author of A Liverpool Girl.

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Shortcrust pastry for the terrified by Trisha Ashley

Shortcrust pastry for the terrified

With her new book ‘The Garden of Forgotten Wishes’ about to emerge into the world, Sunday Times bestseller Trisha Ashey shares some of her best baking tips. You need never be terrified of shortcrust pastry again! 

It’s dead easy to make shortcrust pastry – all you need is flour, cooking fat and water. Plain flour is best, but you will still get an edible result with self-raising or wholemeal flour. Cooking fat or lard – you can use butter but it tends to disintegrate while rolling.

The rule is that you need half the weight of the flour in fat. So if you have eight ounces (sorry, I am not metric) of flour, you need four ounces of fat. Other than that, you need some water. You are not going to put sugar in your pastry, because if you are putting in a sweet filling, you don’t need it and if you are putting in a savoury filling, you certainly don’t need it. Thick, sweet, chalky white pasty in supermarkets is an abomination. Decide what you are going to make. Maybe you have a cake or tart baking tray and can make tarts, or a large flan dish, or an enamel plate or two. It just needs to be heatproof.

Grease whatever you are going to use. Turn the oven on to a medium heat to warm up.

In a large bowl put your flour (sieve it in if you have a sieve) and your fat, cut into chunks. Now, start to rub the fat and flour between your thumb and fingers and allow yourself to go into a trance for ten minutes. The fat will rub into the flour and it will end up like fine breadcrumbs. You have put air into it at the same time, to make your pastry lighter. When it is all rubbed in, add a little cold water, a little bit at a time until you can gently gather the pastry together into a ball. If you overdo the water, add more flour.

Dust a clean surface with flour, and your rolling pin (or clean bottle or whatever you can find to use instead) and roll out the pastry fairly thinly so you can cut circles out of it with your cutter, or a tumbler or cup, if improvising and making tarts. If using a dish or plate, drape pastry over it and cut off excess round the edges. Gather any leftover bits together.

Fill the tart or tarts, but be frugal with jam etc. because it will bubble over if you overfill. You can use: jam, lemon curd, treacle, that jar of leftover mincemeat, or for savoury ones, a little grated cheese and tomato puree or finely chopped onions.

Bake in the medium-low oven until the pastry is just pale gold – keep an eye on it.

The excess pastry can be wrapped in cling foil and will keep in the fridge for a day or two. You can use it to cover a casserole, or top a fruit filling in a pie dish. Or cover a potato, cheese and onion bake. Or cover your large treacle tart with a lattice of pastry strips before baking…improvise, have fun!

 

The Garden of Forgotten Wishes 

Purchase Links: You can get the UK edition HERE and the US edition HERE

All Marnie wants is somewhere to call home. Mourning lost years spent in a marriage that has finally come to an end, she needs a fresh start and time to heal. Things she hopes to find in the rural west Lancashire village her mother always told her about.

With nothing but her two green thumbs, Marnie takes a job as a gardener, which comes with a little cottage to make her own. The garden is beautiful – filled with roses, lavender and honeysuckle – and only a little rough around the edges. Which is more than can be said for her next-door-neighbour, Ned Mars.

Marnie remembers Ned from her school days but he’s far from the untroubled man she once knew. A recent relationship has left him with a heart as bruised as her own.

Can a summer spent gardening help them heal and recapture the forgotten dreams they’ve let get away?

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Louise Marley: Five things I learnt while writing through lockdown

Five Things I Learnt While

Writing Through Lockdown

By Louise Marley

When Juliet first asked me if I’d like to contribute to her series of posts from authors about how they were coping with lockdown, I’m afraid I laughed. I wasn’t coping with lockdown, how could I give advice to others?

As I usually work from home, in theory nothing had changed for me. In practise (like everyone else), I suddenly had a house full of people and double the workload. Food shopping took most of the morning (and a lot of creativity), making me appreciative for everything I’d previously taken for granted. Most of all, I missed being able to meet my friends.

Now lockdown is easing, I’ve had my first trip outside my village and the shops and cafes are slowly beginning to open. Apart from ensuring I always have a supply of flour, pasta and toilet rolls in the cupboard, what have I learnt over the past few months?

 

1. Working from home is my ‘normal’ and I shouldn’t be tempted to procrastinate. (I did so want to clear out my garage and paint my fence.)
2. When a limited amount of writing time is available, plan ruthlessly. Tasks become more manageable if prioritised and spread over several days (and shared with the family).
3. Limit time spent on the Internet, checking the news and social media. The last one was particularly difficult while feeling isolated from my friends and extended family.
4. Remember to take time off. When I no longer had time to read I became distinctly twitchy. Forcing myself to take a break with a book someone else had written (and not feel guilty about it) made a lot of difference. If I had a day where I couldn’t concentrate on my own writing, I’d do something work-related instead: update my website, write a blog post, design a book cover, etc.
5. When life becomes really stressful, take time out. (This last one was especially important). Under lockdown rules we were allowed an hour’s exercise, so my family and I decided to explore our village. We found footpaths we hadn’t known existed, lots of wildlife, even the remains of an earth and timber motte and bailey castle. And we got fit too! (https://www.instagram.com/louisemarleywrites/)

Three months later, as our lives return to a very different version of normal, I’m determined to incorporate these changes into my routine. Keep up my evening walk, read more, tweet less and definitely be grateful for everything.

 

Louise Marley

Louise Marley writes romantic comedies and murder mysteries. She is lucky enough to live in a village where there is a famous library and two ruined castles. (Her husband still thinks they moved there by accident).

 

Website: http://www.louisemarley.co.uk/

Blog: http://www.louisemarleywrites.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter: @LouiseMarley

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louisemarleywrites/

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

 

Trust Me I Lie

When Milla Graham arrives in the picture-perfect village of Raven’s Edge, she tells everyone she’s investigating the murder of her mother who died eighteen years ago. But there’s already one Milla Graham buried in the churchyard and another about to be found dead in the derelict family mansion.

Obviously she’s lying.

Detective Inspector Ben Taylor has no life outside the police force. Even his own colleagues think he’s a boring stick-in-the-mud. Now he’s met Milla and his safe, comfortable life has been turned upside down. She’s crashed his car, emptied his wallet and is about to get him fired. 

He knows she’s a liar because she cheerfully told him so. 

Unless she’s lying about that too…

 

Buying Links: UK HERE       US HERE

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Leah Fleming’s simple (and delicous) Granola recipe!

A delicious (and simple!) recipe for Granola

from Leah Fleming

A perfect way to start the day …

 

500 gms whole rolled oats

125 gms butter or non-dairy substitute

125gms (ish) honey or maple syrup

 Selection of nuts and seeds. I use linseed, hemp seed, sunflower, pumpkin. Flaked almonds, mixed nuts, walnuts, whatever’s in the cupboard.

 

Melt the butter and honey in a pan and mix into the oats.

 Add the nuts and seeds. Put in in a large flat oven tray at 180C. cook for about 20 mins. Take out give a good stir round and return for another 15 mins. It should be golden brown colour.

 Let it cool and add dried fruit according to taste. I use, cranberries, soft raisins, soft chopped apricots, whatever you like.

Serve with yoghurt and fresh fruit.

 

Escape to the sun this summer – no planes or quarantine involved!

Leah’s enchanting new book is out now:

UK HERE    US HERE

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Francesca Capaldi on writing, inspiration and her debut ‘Heartbreak in the Valleys’

Today I’d like to welcome Francesca Capaldi, whose debut, ‘Heartbreak in the Valleys’, has just been released by Hera Books. I wanted to ask Francesca about her inspiration and her writing process – and about writing a saga set in Wales.

 

Can you tell us a little of your writing journey and how you came to write ‘Heartbreak in the Valleys’. Did you always want to set a book in Wales?

I’d wanted to be a writer since I was a child, but didn’t send anything for publication until I joined an adult education class. I started with short story sales. After a while I started writing various novels as well, young adult and contemporary romance, none of which were picked up, although three pocket novels were bought by DC Thomson. One of the contemporary novels was set in Ceredigion, but one agent told me that nobody wanted novels set in Wales! Being half Welsh, it made me more determined that there should be novels set in Wales!

Did you find writing for magazines helping in writing your novels?

On the whole, yes. Writing magazine stories helps you to write concisely and I do think it’s easier to start with them and move to novels rather than do it the other way round. It’s also less daunting to start with short stories. Getting a few accepted for publication gave me the courage to try something longer.

I’m interested to see the story of Idris and Anwen was inspired by your own family history. What drew you to explore your history, and do you feel there is anything we can learn from the time of WW1, particularly in the light of the current global pandemic?

I’ve long been interested in my family history, especially with my parents coming from very different backgrounds (my father was Italian). On the Ancestry site, I discovered my great grandfather’s World War 1 military record and the fact he was medically discharged eight months after he enlisted. The novel started life as a short story, but having had a passion for social history since my degree, I was soon researching the records for other information. And so was born Heartbreak in the Valleys.

I have seen quite a few parallels between the current pandemic and World War 1. Food shortages is an obvious one. People have taken more to growing their own now, as they did then with the allotment schemes. In the early stages of this pandemic, nobody knew how long food shortages would last and how severe the pandemic would get, which is much like the war. The Spanish ‘flu pandemic that started in 1918, has already been used as a parallel in the media, though there were many diseases causing widespread mortality before that. These included tuberculosis (‘consumption’), which three women in my family died of and the diphtheria epidemic of 1914. As awful as this pandemic is, it gives us an idea of what people of the past lived with constantly.

I loved the portrayal of the village community, and particularly all the characters. Did you base the village and its characters on specific places and people you know?

The village, which I call Dorcalon (literally, ‘Heartbreak’), is based almost entirely on Abertysswg in the Rhymney Valley. It’s where my mother and her mother were born, and where my great grandparents lived for thirty-odd years. I’ve taken a few liberties with it, which is why I didn’t want to give it its real name. Although the seed for the story was my great grandfather Hugh’s medical discharge, Idris is not based on him at all. The only real person who appears in the story (apart from mentions of historical people like Lloyd George) is a minor character called Mary Jones. She was my great gran, on the other side of the family from Hugh. Everyone else is a product of my overactive imagination!

How did you go about getting the historical details right, and creating the atmosphere of the world of WW1?

Lots of research and reading. I have several social history books, including accounts written by people living at the time. I trawled the 1911 census for an idea of the makeup of households and family size, job descriptions and places of origin. I read through contemporary local papers for types of social activities, shops, court proceedings and so on. I found several websites about the local pals’ battalion. I also looked at the historical OS maps.

It was interesting seeing the mixing of the different classes as the community pulled together to survive the shortages. Was there any particular story, or part of your research that inspired this part of the novel?

I think it was reading something of the Suffragettes that helped form the character of Elizabeth, the manager’s daughter, who I saw immediately as an enlightened woman of her times. The Suffragettes put their activities to one side during this time to help the war effort and I realised that Elizabeth would be the kind of woman who’d want to make a difference, hence her idea for the allotments.

Can you say what are you writing now?

I haven’t long finished another Valleys book, which is due out in the Autumn. I’m taking the opportunity to create a couple of short stories for magazines – I’ve missed writing them!

Thank you for joining me on the blog, Francesca – and I’m looking forward to the next ‘Valleys’ story already! 

 

Heartbreak in the Valleys

You can purchase a copy of the book HERE

November 1915. For young housemaid, Anwen Rhys, life is hard in the Welsh mining village of Dorcalon, deep in the Rhymney Valley. She cares for her ill mother and beloved younger sister Sara, all while shielding them from her father’s drunken, violent temper. Anwen comforts herself with her love for childhood sweetheart, Idris Hughes, away fighting in the Great War.

Yet when Idris returns, he is a changed man; no longer the innocent boy she loved, he is harder, more distant, quickly breaking off their engagement. And when tragedy once again strikes her family, Anwen’s heart is completely broken.

But when an explosion at the pit brings unimaginable heartache to Dorcalon, Anwen and Idris put their feelings aside to unite their mining community.

In the midst of despair, can Anwen find hope again? And will she ever find the happiness she deserves?

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Sophie Claire and the importance of family in lockdown

Today I’m welcoming fellow Novelista, Sophie Claire, to the blog, to talk about the importance of family to surviving lockdown, and her new book A Forget-Me-Not Summer, which is now out, ready to sweep readers away to sunnier climes…

At the start of lockdown I had hoped to be super-productive. I told myself I’d whizz through the book I’m writing, get ahead of schedule and begin the next.

It didn’t happen. I muddled through, distracted and worried that my work was trivial compared with that of scientists, medics, and all the businessmen and women fighting to keep their companies solvent.

BUT … at the start of this crisis my son was in the USA and we had difficulties getting him home. Flights were cancelled and I was desperately worried he’d be stranded on another continent. Happily he made it home in the end, but that crisis made me realise what’s important: being together. Friends and family being there for each other whatever happens.

And curiously, that brings me back to my writing. Family, community and love are at the heart of all my books: they’re what I like to write about and to read about, too. Books and television feel more important than ever now, and I’ve been devouring both. When we watch a comedy and it makes us smile, when a good film distracts us for an hour or two, it helps us get through. So perhaps entertainment is important too? Perhaps books aren’t so trivial after all?

I’ve persevered with writing and luckily now I’m at that point in the process where my characters are coming alive. I daydream about them whilst doing other things and ideas pop into my head unexpectedly. I love this stage. It’s the best part of writing a book.

Plus I have reason to celebrate: my latest novel, A FORGET-ME-NOT SUMMER, is out in paperback! I can’t have a book launch or do book signings, but it’s still an exciting time – especially when readers contact me to say how much they’ve enjoyed being transported to sunny Provence with my characters.

Books are an escape. They’re helping me get through these strange times, and I know I’m not alone.

Sophie.x

A Forget-Me-Not-Summer

Purchase Links: UK    US

It’s taken years, but Natasha Brown’s life is finally on track. Running a florists in the quaint village of Willowbrook, she’s put her short-lived marriage to Luc Duval far behind her. That is, until he unexpectedly walks through her shop door, three years after their divorce.

Luc reveals that he never told his family about their split, and now his father is desperately ill and demanding to meet Natasha. Luc needs her to come to France and pretend they’re still happily married. Natasha is horrified, but when Luc makes her an offer she can’t refuse, reluctantly packs her bags.

The deal is two weeks on a vineyard with his family, but will Luc and Natasha be able to play the perfect couple after years apart? And in the glorious Provence sun, will the old spark between them be impossible to ignore?

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Keeping creativity alive with Valerie Anne Baglietto

Today I’d like to welcome fellow Novelista Valerie Anne Baglietto to the blog. Usually we all meet up once a month, but now that’s not possible I wanted to ask how she was faring in lockdown, and how she is keeping her creativity alive.

Like many people, I’m finding this ‘new normal’a little surreal. However, I’m autistic and home is my safe space, so I’m more fortunate than most. Those feelings of anxiety and uncertainty people are talking about right now – that was my normal, during daily life before lockdown. In many ways I’m more in control now than I was before, even with a houseful of people. With less transitions to mess with my brain, I’ve bought myself more time to write than I had previously, albeit in a pop-up office in my bedroom!

I’m upstairs, my husband’s downstairs. Like a dutiful manservant, he brings me mugs of tea or coffee. In return, I stay out of his way during remote team meetings and conference calls. The teens lurk. They joke, work, slide into strops, exercise in their makeshift gym, interact on iPhones or Xboxes with friends, cook meals for themselves and ‘forget’ to clear up, and then joke a bit more. I think they realise they’re lucky; the house is too busy to be lonely for long.

For two weeks we hid even more scrupulously when my daughter developed symptoms of Covid-19. Thankfully, we all came out the other side, still speculating if the headache and strange cough she caught just from being in the house (she hadn’t gone further than our back garden) was the dreaded Thing, and some asymptomatic member of the household had brought it in from the outside world. A scary thought. Like others in the same position, we’re left wondering, but our GP told us to self-isolate so we obeyed orders.

Now, at last, for my writing advice – if you’re in the mood to write, and I know many of you aren’t, understandably – go a little feral. Or a lot, depending on how brave you’re feeling. At the start of the year, I decided to work on an old novella which I knew had the makings of a full-length book. The long hours I can invest in it at the moment, mean I’m on track to finish sooner than I’d estimated. But I’m rewriting a lot more of it than I thought I would, which got me thinking that we all have these old stories, hidden or not so hidden. And if writing something entirely from scratch right now is proving too harrowing, why not try dusting down something old and half-forgotten, and letting your imagination loose on it again.

Go wild with it. Rewrite. Laugh at the writer you used to be. Learn from their mistakes. Take pride in the good bits. Make lemonade out of lemons. Experiment. Have fun. Or cry. Whatever. Go wherever your heart takes you. See where the New You can lead the Old You, or vice versa. But most of all, don’t beat yourself up if your imagination stubbornly refuses to transport you anywhere right now. These are strange and frightening times. The most important thing we can do for ourselves and our families is to stay home and stay safe; unless you’re a keyworker, in which case THANK YOU! But if you find writing actually helps, if it contributes to your self-care, then don’t feel guilty, either, for indulging in it.

 

Four Sides to Every Story

 

*SHORTLISTED IN THE 2015 LOVE STORIES AWARDS*

If you found ‘the one’ would you know it straight away, or would you need a little push in the right direction?

What if there was someone like Lily Rose Whyte in your life, whose sole aim was to help you? Someone who could jiggle fate and fortune in your favour, without you even realising.

And what if you live in a sleepy Cheshire village where nothing much seems to happen, except suddenly one summer, everything does. Your life is turned upside down and inside out. As we all know, love has a habit of doing that.

But hold on. Slow down. Because what if – for once – Lily’s got it wrong? About as wrong as she can get. What would you do then?

Don’t worry, though. Life isn’t a fairy tale, and magic doesn’t exist. So, as long as you don’t read this book, and you never meet Lily Rose Whyte, you’re perfectly safe.

Aren’t you…?

 

You can get the UK edition HERE

And the US edition HERE

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