Opening Lines On Jenny Kane's blog

I'm on Jenny Kane's blog with my opening lines to Meet Me At Wisteria Cottage

Follow the link! CLICK HERE

Meet Me At Wisteria Cottage is still only 99p on Amazon UK! So grab your copy fast!

Fake Friday With Jennifer Ash

Meet Mathilda: The Outlaw’s Ransom

Jennifer Ash

Many thanks for inviting me to your lovely blog to talk a little about my medieval mystery (with a hint of romance), The Outlaw’s Ransom- the first book of ‘The Folville Chronicles.’

Within The Outlaw’s Ransom, my fourteenth century protagonist is a nineteen year old woman called, Mathilda of Twyford. In the medieval period, nineteen was the age of a full grown woman. Most would be married and have children by that age. Mathilda however, is single, as she’s been looking after her father and brothers, running the home and the family pottery business since the death of her mother.

Her life changes abruptly when she is forced to get to know the notorious Folville family rather better than she would have liked. Suddenly, Mathilda finds herself surrounded by criminals and under a very frightening type of suspicion...

Blurb

When potter’s daughter Mathilda is kidnapped by the notorious Folville brothers as punishment for her father’s debts, she fears for her life. Although of noble birth, the Folvilles are infamous throughout the county for using crime to rule their lands—and for using any means necessary to deliver their distinctive brand of ‘justice’.

Mathilda must prove her worth to the Folvilles in order to win her freedom. To do so, she must go against her instincts and, disguised as the betrothed of Robert de Folville, undertake a mission that will send her to Bakewell in Derbyshire, and the home of Nicholas Coterel, one of the most villainous men in England.

With her life in the hands of more than one dangerous brigand, Mathilda must win the trust of the Folville’s housekeeper, Sarah, and Robert Folville himself if she has any chance of survival.

Never have the teachings gleaned from the tales of Robyn Hode been so useful…

***

Women in the fourteenth century had to be strong-willed, as well as physically fit, or they’d never have survived. Putting aside the obvious pressures and problems of childbirth, they ran family businesses alongside their men folk, kept the house, dealt with all the food and raised the children. In fact, it all sounds fairly familiar!

I’ve never been keen on the idea of writing weak characters; be they male or female. Such characters frequently fail to hold the interest of a reader, often frustrating you into wishing they’d just grasp the metaphorical nettle and get on with it- whatever, ‘it’ is.

In the case of The Outlaw’s Ransom, it was particularly important for me to have a determined, capable and intelligent female in the driving seat. I wanted Mathilda to not just survive within her enforced hostile environment, but to hold her own and show the Folville brothers that they were dealing with a feisty, clever, woman who could give as good as she got.

Here’s a little taster from when Mathilda – having just been hauled out of the Folville family cell – meets her keeper, Robert de Folville, for the first time.

Extract

...The Folville didn’t say anything else, but satisfied himself with watching Mathilda as she stood, half bowed, before him. She wasn’t shaking now. He’d noticed how hard she had fought within herself to still her external reactions to his news of her change in circumstance and had admired her self-control. It was almost as if she had an offended dignity about her rather than terror; an unusual reaction from a prisoner in the presence of a Folville.

He wondered if she’d been taught her letters. Most families didn’t waste their time teaching their womenfolk such things, but Mathilda of Twyford was clearly sharp and capable. With her mother gone, she’d run the household, and he imagined she did that job well. He saw that his family’s plan for this girl might work, but only if she kept that nerve. Otherwise… well, she wouldn’t be the first to die during his family’s quest to maintain their position.

Breaking the silence that had stretched out between them he said, ‘I recall you have questions for me. I can see your head jarring with them.’

‘If I may, my Lord?’

‘You may, although I should caution you, I may not choose to offer a reply.’

Mathilda licked her lips and ran her clammy palms down her grubby belted surcoat, which largely hid her brother’s leather hose, and flexed her numb bare toes.

‘Please, my Lord, who are you?’

This produced a bark of laughter, ‘You are well-mannered despite the indignity of being thrust, if only for a short while, into our cell. I am Robert de Folville, one of seven brothers of this manor.’

Mathilda curtsied, more out of natural impulse than any feelings of reverence towards this man, whom she knew for certain, had been party to at least one murder. ‘You are kin to my Lord Eustace, my Lord?’

‘Yes, girl, I am.’ He cocked his head to one side. ‘That worries you?’

‘He is a man I have been taught to fear, forgive my impudence, my Lord.’

He snorted. ‘I would rather have honest impudence than bluff and lies. So, you have been instructed by your father to be wary of us?’

‘Not only my father, sir.’ Abruptly worried that her boldness might place her family in more danger, Mathilda clamped her mouth shut. Seeing, however, that the Folville wasn’t cross, but had an expression of acceptance on his face, Mathilda braved a further question.

‘Where is my father, my Lord, and Matthew and Oswin, my brothers?’

Robert de Folville paused and, after a moment’s consideration, gestured for the servant boy to bring her a chair. Mathilda was glad to be allowed to sit down, but was puzzled at the equal status she was being afforded after her earlier abuse, as Folville sat next to her, leaning uncomfortably close to her slight, tense frame.

‘Your father and your brother Matthew are at home in Twyford working on ways to pay back your debt. I do not know Oswin’s whereabouts. I am, after all, only one of the younger brothers.’

Mathilda heard the bitterness in him and for the first time, she thought she understood something of this man. Robert de Folville would probably have made a good lord of the manor, but his lot was to be a minor son.

‘You will have heard of the death of Belers almost three years hence?’

‘Yes, my Lord.’ Mathilda spoke softly as she thought back to the day she’d heard first about the murder on Brokesby Field. It may not have happened right on their doorstep, but the frisson of fear the crime had engendered had been felt even in Twyford; such was their closeness to the Folvilles’ manor house; and the waves the crime had created were still leaving ripples these many months later.

He must have read her mind, for Robert slammed his hand against the table, making Mathilda jump. ‘Damn it all girl! Roger Belers was a tyrant! An oppressive, rapacious man who had become a scourge on our county! We did what needed to be done. Hode would have done no less!’

Mathilda said nothing. It was clear he meant exactly what he said. His brothers probably did as well. They evidently believed they were providing a public service. They took their fee for such deeds as wages, just as the sheriff did when he arrested a felon for the King.

Folville leant towards Mathilda earnestly. ‘Did your father ever sing you “The Outlaw’s Song of Trailbaston”, child?’

‘I’ve heard of it, my Lord, but no, I don’t know it as I know the Robyn Hode tunes.’

‘It contains much wisdom, Mathilda. I have no doubt that its great length influenced the author of the Hode stories.’ Robert lounged back in his seat, his arms stretched behind his neck as he began to quote a verse to his captive.

‘You who are indicted, I advise you, come to me,

To the green forest of Belregard, where there is no annoyance

But only the wild animal and the beautiful shade;

For the common law is too uncertain.

What do you say, child?’

Mathilda swallowed again. The ale she’d drunk earlier had been stronger than she was used to. Her head ached, and her throat felt sticky, giving her a thirst worse than before. ‘I believe there is wisdom within, my Lord. I have heard my elders say that the law is contradictory. If we truly have been abandoned by the law, perhaps you are correct to take matters into your own hands – within reason, my Lord.’

Mathilda flinched, expecting her host to strike out. She shouldn’t have said that last bit. Why couldn’t she ever keep her tongue in check? Her directness had always been frowned upon within her family, and now Mathilda was deeply regretting sharing her opinion honestly. She tensed, awaiting the call for a guard to come and throw her back into prison.

It did not come. Folville was peering at her quizzically, ‘You are a curious creature, Mathilda of Twyford. You must realise you have been used to pay off your father’s debts, but you ask nothing of your own future, only theirs. My reverend brother placed you in our cell, and you do not ask why, nor make complaint about your enclosure.’

Mathilda bit her tongue, not wanting to say the wrong thing, despite her desire for answers to the questions he’d posed.

‘Your father told Eustace and the rector that you were headstrong and determined when they collected you. As a result, Richard decreed a spell in our holding cell to soften you to our will.’ Robert snorted into his mug of ale. ‘He obviously never bothered to take the time to speak to you himself before he acted. A fact about my holy brother that astounds me not one jot.’

Mathilda stared hard at the floor. The glimmer of a first smile since her kidnap was trying to form at the corner of her mouth, and she felt guilty for its presence.

She could feel Robert’s blue eyes burning into the top of her bowed head. As he said, ‘Your father vouched to Eustace that you have qualities more suited to a man than to the gentler sex. It seems you are happier in the river or fields than the house and only run the home as it is your duty as a woman.’

Giving no reply, Mathilda was glad Robert wasn’t able to see her face, as she was unable to prevent the crimson blush of shame that came as she heard how her father had described her. Not only was she ashamed, she felt indignant. She’d worked ceaselessly to run the house, the remaining furlong and the orchard as successfully as her mother had done, even though it was a task she didn’t enjoy and frequently resented.

‘Well, Mathilda of Twyford, I will tell you what Eustace has demanded of your father...’

 

If that has whetted your appetite- then here are those all important buy links!

Kindle-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07B3TNRYN/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519759895&sr=8-1&keywords=the+outlaw%27s+ransom

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B3TNRYN/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519760741&sr=8-1&keywords=the+outlaw%27s+ransom

Paperback-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Outlaws-Ransom-Folville-Chronicles/dp/1999855264/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1520007697&sr=1-2&keywords=the+outlaw%27s+ransom

https://www.amazon.com/Outlaws-Ransom-Folville-Chronicles/dp/1999855264/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1520007771&sr=1-1&keywords=the+outlaw%27s+ransom

(Please note that if you have read Romancing Robin Hood by Jenny Kane and Jennifer Ash- then you will already be familiar with the story with The Outlaw’s Ransom)



Many thanks for inviting me to stop by today Teresa.


Happy reading,

Jennifer x

Bio

With a background in history and archaeology, Jennifer Ash should really be sat in a dusty university library translating Medieval Latin criminal records, and writing research documents that hardly anyone would want to read. Instead, tucked away in the South West of England, Jennifer writes stories of medieval crime, steeped in mystery, with a side order of romance.

Influenced by a lifelong love of Robin Hood and medieval ballad literature, Jennifer has written The Outlaw’s Ransom (Book One in The Folville Chronicles) – a short novel, which first saw the light of day within the novel Romancing Robin Hood (written under the name Jenny Kane; Pub. Littwitz Press, 2018).



Book Two of The Folville Chronicles - The Winter Outlaw - will be released in April 2018. (pub. LittwitzPress)



All of Jennifer and Jenny Kane’s news can be found at www.jennykane.co.uk

@JenAshHistory

@JennyKaneAuthor

Jennifer Ash https://www.facebook.com/jenniferashhistorical/

Jenny Kane https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011235488766

Talking Weston Literary Festival on Breeze Radio

With the launch party for the Weston-super-Mare Literary Festival, we held an interview for Breeze Radio to discuss what Jenny Kane, Alison Knight, Jan Ellis, Fay Keenan and myself will be chatting about on Tuesday 27th February!

If you want to hear the interview, click on the link below!

Radio interview on Breeze! 

Next Tuesday is going to be soooo exciting.

Tickets are still available here!

Weston-super-Mare's First Literary Festival - Not Long Now!

February is here, and you know what that means?

It's the Weston-super-Mare Literary Festival!

I will be on the panel with some fellow romantic novelists on the "This Is What A Romance Writer Looks Like" event. It's Tuesday 27th February, 7pm, at the Blakehay Theatre!

Come say hello to Fay Keenan, Jenny Kane, Alison Knight, Jan Ellis and me! We are all part of the Bath and Wiltshire Romantic Novelist Association's chapter.

I'm so excited about this. I think I've decided what to wear...

The literary festival is running from the 22nd February to the 1st March (World Book Day) with lots of fabulous events. To find out more visit their Facebook page - Weston-super-Mare Literary Festival. 

Fake Friday With Rachel Brimble

Today, I have Rachel Brimble on my blog talking about her latest book If I Want You. Rachel and I have known each other for a few years now, as she organises our RNA Chapters in Lacock. I always value her advice as a fellow author, she's so lovely! So let's get on with the interview! 

What was the inspiration behind the story of If I Want You?

I was watching a news piece where a missing little girl had been safely found and reunited with her parents. As a mum of two daughters, the story terrified and moved me. Very soon, my emotions and ‘what if’ questions came surging to the surface.

It wasn’t long before I knew I wanted to write a story about a missing little girl and how her disappearance was in some way connected to the heroine’s past. The rest followed quickly, and I absolutely loved writing this book.

If your book, If I Want You, was turned into a movie, who would you like to play the hero and heroine?

That’s an easy question for me! I start every book by trawling the internet for pics of my hero, heroine and villain (if I have one). Mark Bolton (the hero) would be played by Harry Tressler and Tori Peterson (the heroine) would be played by Darby Stanchfield.

Who is your favourite minor character in your book?

That would have to be Principal White – she is one of the suspects in the case, and I loved writing her scenes with both the hero and heroine. She turned out to be quite a complex character that I could give both serious and humourous scenes.

What's next on the horizon for Rachel Brimble?

My next release comes out in January 2018 – A Stranger In The Cove is the eighth and final instalment in my Harlequin Templeton Cove series (all the books can be read stand-alone). I had so much fun writing this book and although the series has come to an end, I will love the characters in the series forever. They mean the world to me.

As for works in progress, I currently have an Edwardian romance and a romantic suspense under publisher consideration as well as writing another historical. Busy, busy!

Blurb: 

When local journalist, Tori Peterson, fails to prevent a child abduction outside her niece’s school, her horror and guilt sparks a vow to do whatever it takes to get little Abby Brady home to her parents.

While Tori battles the vile memories of her own kidnapping as a child, she accepts the help of widowed father, Mark Bolton. As he and Tori join forces with the local police, their attraction and intimacy grows…along with their fears for Abby.

Links are uncovered between Abby’s disappearance and Tori’s kidnapping, and Tori is forced to accept the monster who held her captive is back. But this time, Tori is all grown up, and there is no way she will let him hurt another little girl.

Buy Links:

Amazon UK: http://amzn.eu/190CYmx
Amazon US: http://a.co/c5O5R7s
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-want-you-rachel-brimble/1127157672?ean=2940158911118
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/if-i-want-you

Bio: 

Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. Since 2013, she has had seven books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and an eighth coming in Jan 2018. She also has four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical Press.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.

She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!

Links:

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Facebook Street Team - Rachel's Readers

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Brimble/e/B007829ZRM/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1490948101&sr=8-1

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1806411.Rachel_Brimble

Fake Friday With Sonja Price

Hello! I hope you've all recovered from the bank holiday weekend, and the sunny weather that finally arrived. Today I have the lovely Sonja Price on my blog. Sonja and I met at our RNA chapter meetings in Lacock, and she's here to talk a bit about herself and her writing. 

Sonja, did you manage to get the first book you wrote published, or is it tucked in a drawer somewhere?

THE GIANTS LOOK DOWN was the first one I sent in, but I have got another story languishing somewhere in a drawer. It’s part of a process so many authors go through. Writing a book is a learning curve which may lead to you holding back if the finished product just hasn’t got that special something. My heart goes ou though to the many writers who don’t have the confidence to try to get their stories published. They get put off by their first couple of rejections and never try again.

This is my Twitter style question: Describe your hero in 140 characters.

Tall with wavy dark auburn hair, Alastair is a Scottish student of architecture and an aspiring writer, who loves jazz music

My other Twitter style question: Describe your heroine in 140 characters.

Feisty but quiet, Jaya battles against the odds to try to become a doctor in the patriarchal society of 1960s Kashmir.

What do you read while you write, or don’t you?

Almost anything. What you read accumulates and morphs in your subconscious, and can be as inspiring as any real life experience. On the downside it can influence your writing to such an extent that a crime writer I know avoids reading anything too similar when she has a deadline for fear of it influencing her style. Deadlines aside, I read all kinds of books, good and bad (but always entertaining), because I think they can stimulate and improve your style. Knowing what doesn’t work is as important as knowing what does.

Do you have a favourite author?

Too difficult to choose but I do love Iris Murdoch, A S Byatt and Margaret Atwood

What do you do with a paperback once you’ve read it?

Books are like friends. When I see them sitting on my shelf, I immediately feel at home, especially if I’ve just moved house, which has happened twice recently. If I really enjoy one, I’ll keep it, paperback or not, but if it was a holiday read then I’ll pass it on- to a friend or the charity shop.

What’s the best bit of writing advice you’ve ever received or read?

Jim Crace once told me not to write a travel report if I’m describing a location I’ve never been to but to make it seem totally familiar. This led to my heroine who grew up in the Vale of Kashmir talking of the view from her bedroom window where the moonlight would create an old lady’s face when it played on the mountainside.

What advice would you give to new writers?

Never give up. It’s often the difference between a published and an unpublished writer

What things inspire you to write? Location, music, film or even in a book?

Well in the case of THE GIANTS LOOK DOWN it was location. My imagination was ignited by a report on the car radio of the Great Earthquake in Kashmir of 2005. I discovered that the Vale of Kashmir is breathtakingly beautiful with majestic snow-covered mountain ranges cradling a valley lush in sycamore woods and fields of saffron interspersed with a pearl necklace of lakes. I thought this would make a spectacular setting for a story and it did!

What is next on your agenda after publishing your (first) book?

My new novel is about a widow’s quest to solve the mystery surrounding her husband’s death in the Canadian Wilds. Just like in THE GIANTS LOOK DOWN my story inevitably contains an innate conflict, the construction of an oil pipeline across the sacred burial sites of Native American territory, and of course a romance.

Are you nervous about friends reading your book?

Not when it’s finished but I rarely show them a draft. Someone once told me never to show your work in progress to anyone you’d eat Christmas dinner with, because they’re never likely to give you an honest answer!

Do you love or hate Facebook?

Most of the time I love it! It helps me keep in contact with friends abroad and keeps me up to date with fellow writers. It also makes me laugh a great deal. As with most things you just have to apply common sense. If you post something controversial, you have to expect responses you disagree with.

Dogs or cats?

I love both! I have a black lab/springer spaniel mix, who is an absolute joy but wrote my debut novel with a cat on my lap. Sadly I lost her but am sorely tempted to get another.

Thanks so much for a fantastic interview! Good luck with the book, Sonja. And we'll catch up soon at the next RNA chapter!


Author Bio: Sonja’s short stories appeared in Stories For Homes, the Shelter Anthology of Short Stories and In these Tangles, Beauty Lies, an anthology in aid of the Beanstalk Trust for children with reading difficulties, before her first novel The Giants Look Down came out in 2016. Longlisted for the Mslexia First Novel Competition, it also made her a finalist for the Joan Hessayon Award. Born in Bristol, Sonja studied at the University of East Anglia. She completed a PhD in English Literature and teaches English at Jena University in Germany. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.


Blurb: At the age of 10, Jaya Vaidya decides to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor, much to the chagrin of her mother and the patriarchal community of Kashmir in the 1960s. When disaster strikes, Jaya is faced with obstacles as insurmountable as the Himalayas. Just how far will she go to achieve her dream and will she have to walk away from love? Published by Robert Hale, 2016

Excerpt: Soft moaning sounds, like the ones my Granny made in her sleep, were coming from the house. The moans turned into cries of pain and the dog pulled away. Why wasn’t Pa doing anything about it? That was why we were here. Even with my hands over my ears I could still hear the woman. On and on it went. The man started shouting and the dog collapsed on the ground with a sigh. The woman’s cries reminded me of a Tibetan fox caught in a trap up in the forests around Lake Gangabal. Kaliq had to shoot it as the iron teeth had bitten clean through its back leg.

Silence. Even worse! Only swallows swooping overhead as the entire valley held its breath. Shattered by the cries of a baby and a jubilant ‘A boy!’ Brahma be praised, it was over. We could go home.

The dreadful screaming recommenced. Perhaps Pa had done something to her. I had to see what was going on. Like a snow leopard stalking a deer, I crept into the house, which was only slightly larger than our woodshed. It reeked of animal hide and smoke. My eyes took a moment to get used to the gloom. I could make out two rooms: a kitchen and another one where the woman lay. Our house was all sunny rooms and places where I could be by myself. I edged my way towards the grown-ups, towards the man with the bundle in his arms and Pa tending the woman, still writhing in agony.

She was so young. Why was the old man putting her through this? She could have been his granddaughter. Why choose a girl, in a place where so many women had been widowed by the troubles? Cast out by their families with children in tow. They would have been happy to have a husband, any husband. But this poor girl. It made me sick. I wasn’t going to have a baby, ever. She screamed and screamed and then I caught a glimpse of something round between her blood-smeared legs. Not another one! Pa eased out a head, then a shoulder and then the rest before the woman fell back onto the messy covers.

Limp, lifeless and smeary-white, it looked more like a skinned rabbit than a real baby. Pa tried to rub it to life but the woman was not moving either. He looked to the man for help but he merely shrugged his shoulders as if to say why bother with a girl? Pa laid the baby carefully in the cot by the fire, turned to the woman and drew up a syringe.

I ran around the bed and picked the baby up. I couldn’t believe how small she was. Tiny hands and feet just like my dolly. Only she was warm. The boy was crying for all he was worth, loud screeches that you’d never believe could come from someone so little. He was rosy and angry, and she was pale, almost white. Shiva! I wanted to shout. She was slipping away before she had even arrived. Pa was doing everything he could for the woman and there was no point in talking to the man if he wouldn’t even listen to Pa. I rubbed her like Pa had done before he put her down but she was growing colder and colder.

I stared into the flames and then my eyes rested on the one set of baby’s clothes laid out in front of the fireplace. It wasn’t fair! Why should she have to die? A ragdoll nobody wanted to play with. No! I wouldn’t allow this to happen. What had the herdsman done to the newborn yak? I bent and blew into her tiny mouth. Her cheeks soft and cool like goat’s cheese. No reaction. I blew more strongly into her. Nothing.

Tears pricked my eyes. I couldn’t help her. There was absolutely nothing I could do. Stupid of me to think I could make a difference. All I wanted to do was run outside. I went to kiss her goodbye but instead found myself trying one last time. The baby’s lips puckered; her face screwed up. She turned a deep red before letting out the most wonderful cry I had ever heard. The woman opened her eyes. Tears ran down her face as she reached out for her little girl. Pa looked from the baby to me and smiled.

Half an hour later we climbed back into the car, ‘When I’m big Pa, I want to be a doctor just like you!’

He stroked my head and switched the radio back on.


Contact Details:

Website: sonja-price.com

Twitter: @PriceSonja

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

You can buy THE GIANTS LOOK DOWN on Amazon

Two Weeks Being A Full-Time Writer

Me, Rachel Brimble & Jane Lark

This weekend is the RNA Conference and I'm not attending! I'm going to miss the buzz of putting faces to names, catching up with old friends, the pink lanyards, the goodiebags, the late evenings drinking wine and the fantastic writing sessions and talks, and the parties in the kitchens...

I first attended back in 2011, which was the start of my RNA journey, introducing me to the New Writers Scheme, which definitely helped to aid my journey to publication. I then attended back in 2014, as a full member of the RNA and I long to attend again, but sadly, working Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays it buggers up going away weekends generally.

Me, Sue Fortin & Mandy Baggot

However, in hindsight, I could have gone to the RNA Conference this year after all. (I am kicking myself just a little bit). Initially, I didn't have enough holiday to cover taking the time off work and this was my main reason for not committing to attend.

The store where I work is now closed for two weeks for a refit and I'm taking the time off unpaid. It closed Monday, so I don't have to work at all this weekend. In fact I don't go back until Friday 28th July... *rolls eyes*

Our RNA Chapter (Bath & Wiltshire)

Admittedly, my eldest is going on his school trip Sunday - his first time abroad, yet not on a plane. It is also my weekend to have the boys, before they go off for two weeks the following weekend with their dad for the summer holidays, so I still can't drop everything and go now.

Never mind. There's always next year... And I did get to attend the Harper Collins 200th Anniversary Summer Party - so it's not like I've not had a party! (Really need to blog about that one too).

Mary Cross (who sadly passed away this year) & Lizzie Lane

But yes, you read right. I do have two and a bit weeks, off! What am I doing with this time you may ask... Well, I am living the life of a full-time writer! I am making sure I get writing in every day of the week (except weekends - a girl's got to live a little).

Five days a week of writing! Plus the boys will be off the first two weeks of the holidays (although I have to go back to work)... this gives me four weeks to crack on and finish my first draft. So exciting!

For all those attending the RNA Conference this weekend, travel safe, enjoy the experience, and make sure you take plenty of wine... Say hello to everyone from me! x x x



n.b. all photos were taken from the RNA Summer Conference 2014. 

Chippenham Festival "Ask The Author"

On the evening of Monday 27th June, I joined a panel with these five other lovely ladies. We gave a talk about writing romance to a small audience in Chippenham Library.

We all belong to the Bath and Wiltshire RNA Chapter organised by Rachel Brimble who was in the audience.



From left to right: Me, Alison Knight (aka Alison Rose), Louise Douglas, Pia Fenton (Christina Courtenay), Jean Burnett and Nicola Cornick.

I was extremely nervous because I hadn't done anything like this before and was worried I wouldn't know the answers.

How stupid. Of course I know the answers.

I talked of my experience, and of my opinions, and it was a lovely, fun discussion about the voices in our heads, and how we have to love our heroes. It was just as interesting to hear the other five authors' stories too.

So whether you've known you want to write since you were a child, or stumbled into it like me as something to do, working around the kids, if you want to write, then just write.

Me of course! 

You can not edit a blank page. And if you want it bad enough, and listen to good advice, you can make it.

After the talk we had in usual romance author style, homemade cakes (supplied by the lovely Ali Williams) and wine.

Alison Knight

I was so nervous that I wouldn't know what to talk about. A bit silly really when writing romance is my passion. I do need to learn to be more confident about it. And about myself. I have had two books published.

Anyway, this blog post is about sharing some pictures from the evening.

Thoroughly enjoyed myself immersed in the world of writing and talking to like minded people. :)

10 Years Writing

Did you know this year marks that I've been writing for ten years? Yes, that's come round fast... I thought I better blog about it! 

Writing is not something I've known I wanted to do all my life either. I sort of stumbled into it. Maybe it was always there, I just didn't realise it. 

I couldn't really tell you exactly when I started writing Fan-fiction in 2006, or when my first piece went *out there* but 2006 was the start of my writing journey... 

After writing a few pieces, and getting bigger story ideas, in the October of 2006, Becky Black convinced me to do NaNoWriMo with her. And I completed it! I wrote a fan-fiction story which was over 50,000 words.

I was pregnant with Kieran at the time and I would snatch an hour here and there in the day when Ben took his naps. Although I've never 'won' another since, this gave me good grounding for how to get a novel out there. To keep writing, no matter what, and not to look back. Do not edit as you go, just bash that thing out! Write now, edit later. And to this day, that's how I work. Some times I plan... sometimes I work a bit seats of pants style.

If you're new to writing, I very much recommend NaNoWriMo!

So by 2009 I was tinkering with the idea of writing professionally, something to work around my young family, and joined the Writers' Bureau Comprehensive Writing Course. This really helped with all sorts of areas of writing, down to presentation and writing to editors. I got bits and pieces, letters mainly published in magazines, and a big piece in the local paper, but nothing that paid.

Sue Moorcroft - RNA Conf. 2011

In 2010, I entered the first chapter of The Wedding Favour (which is now Plus One is a Lucky Number) into the Mills and Boon New Voice competition and made many online writer friends through this.

Then, through the powers of social media, talking to Sue Moorcroft, I attended the RNA's (Romantic Novelists Association) Conference in Caerleon, Wales in 2011, as a non-member. (I was thrilled to be sat beside Sue at the Gala dinner on the Saturday night - I tried not to have a fangirl moment - I absolutely love her books!). I made even more writer friends - published and non-published (like me). Here I was made aware of the New Writer's Scheme, which I joined in January 2012.

In a ten minutes slot with an editor at the RNA conference, I received feedback about The Wedding Favour on how to improve it, and after more editing of this novel, I started sending it out to publishers in 2012.

HarperImpulse party Oct 2013

For the RNA NWS, I wrote Perfect Isn't An Option (now One Fine Day) and sent that off to the New Writers' Scheme. (All while tackling separating from my husband - I look back now and wonder how I achieved it.)

Being an RNA Member in the NWS, I was able to join the Bath and Wiltshire chapter meetingin Lacock. I already knew two of the members because I'd met Rachel Brimble and Alison Knight at the conference. I tried not to have another fan girl moment when Liz Fielding, my favourite Mills and Boon author turned up as part of our chapter. Although I wasn't published, I was starting to feel more like a writer.

Then, in 2013, I put The Wedding Favour through the NWS as, although I'd received some good feedback about it, it had been unsuccessful with the publishers I'd sent it out to. However, while awaiting this feedback, through my RNA Chapter I learnt that HarperCollins were launching a new imprint, HarperImpulse, and decided to send off my manuscript.

It was a good job I was sitting down. In June 2013 I was offered a TWO book contract.

Plus One is a Lucky Number (was The Wedding Favour) was published in eBook 29th August 2013. (It was release in paperback 8th May 2014).

As it had gone through the NWS, this book also allowed me to be a contender for the RNA's Joan Hessayon award - so I attended the RNA Summer Party in 2014. I love talking to fellow writers. Although I didn't win, it was great fun, and I got to spend the evening with my delightful editor, Charlotte Ledger, who'd treated Sue Fortin and myself to cocktails at the Ritz.

Joan Hessayon Award - May 2014

January 2015 saw the release of my second novel, One Fine Day in eBook, and in paperback 12th March.

And there you are, my writing journey over the past ten years! And it's still going. I now have an agent, and I've sent my third novel off to my publisher.  So watch this space!

To all the new budding writers, keep writing. If it can happen to me, then it can happen to you, too. Sometimes it will happen quickly, sometimes it takes a little longer, but just keep writing, keep learning, improving your skill, keep reading too... and it will come.

Did You Miss Me?

Due to a great big cock up by Vodafone, I was left without Broadband and my land line for over a week.

I was cut off on the 25th of February by Sky, because they were led to believe (by Vodafone) that's when they'd be connecting me. However, due to lack of communication by Vodafone, they actually couldn't connect me until the 7th March.

So yes, I've been without internet really... and stuck watching 'normal' TV unable to stream my favourite programmes etc.

They did give me unlimited data on my mobile, which I could tether my tablet to (gosh, it's amazing how technologically savvy you become when you need to be). I could keep an eye on my emails, Facebook, Twitter, etc. But it's not the same trying to create a blog post from a tablet... it's so slow. I'm a touch-typist!

Anyway, I'm back! I have sent off book 3 to my editor, and I've got myself an agent! So it's all exciting news, although won't believe anything is happening until it actually does. Some days I feel like a writer, and sometimes I worry I am not really doing anywhere near enough and can't take myself seriously about it.

Last night I had a fabulous RNA Chapter meeting, and this always makes me feel so much better. I am in the same boat as other writers, who are also mum's and some also hold part-time jobs, and wonder how the hell we're going to fit it all in. How we hate leaving the house, because that would mean not writing, and it all being such an effort to actually leave the house...

I have other stories I'd like to write, and after chatting with Fay Keenan on the way home, I may write contemporary romance Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and dedicate Thursdays to a fantasy novel idea I have running around in my head. Just for now, until I hear about book 3, which currently has the title To Love Again.

In other news: Plus One is a Lucky Number is 99p on Amazon again! Grab it while you can!

Advent Calendar Day 22 #FayKeenan

Only 3 more sleeps! Door 22 is Fay Keenan :) 

Mistletoe, Kisses and Christmas Misses

I love Christmas; I always have. Ever since those childhood days when I used to wake at an indecent hour and rummage through the stocking that my parents had somehow managed, ninja-like, to sneak onto the end of my bed, grappling its contents in the morning darkness, trying to guess what delights 'Father Christmas' had left there, to now, when my elder daughter has inherited the exact same stocking. There's something about the anticipation, and then the joy of the day itself, that excites me, even now I have to do a lot more preparation for it. Having said that, Mum and Dad still usually cook Christmas dinner, even now I'm the ripe old age of thirty eight!

The scent of Christmas, for me, is as important as any other sense. My parents owned a Holland and Barrett shop for some time during my childhood, and the addition to the Christmas decoration box of lavender scented fabric Christmas decorations, the scent of which permeated every other thing that was stored in the box, including the stockings and mingled with the potent pine aroma of a real tree (which had to be taller than I was - that was the only rule) is one I shall forever associate with the Yuletide season.

When the family moved to Somerset nearly two and a half decades ago, I was stunned by the abundance of holly and mistletoe in the region. Our new house had a garden that contained quite a few mature apple trees, and the sight of mistletoe growing in nearly every one in quantities that in the South East would have commanded a hefty price tag was wonderful to see. Even now, my dad cuts a generous bunch and brings it round to my house to hang from light fittings and anywhere I can put it. To a girl who had grown up roaming the commons of Hampshire, where pine trees grew in abundance, it was some compensation.

So it seems very surprising to me, looking back on my first book (currently out to publishers, watch this space!), that it doesn't actually contain an actual detailed account of a Christmas. The timeline of the novel just didn't allow for it, a fact I will definitely be allowing for in my second book! It wasn't a deliberate decision; it just seemed to happen that way, but never fear, there are plenty of other festivals in the book to make up for it! And since apple trees and their produce (especially cider!) feature so heavily, it seems even more surprising to me that mistletoe doesn't get a look in much! One thing's for certain; when I do eventually get to include a Christmas in a book, I'll be drawing on my own wonderful experiences. I feel very fortunate to be able to say that!

Bio: 

Fay Keenan was born in Surrey and raised in Hampshire, before moving to the West Country during the grumpy stage of her adolescence. After studying English and Politics at the University of York (along with an informal qualification in wildfowl spotting and the avoidance of goose poo), she worked in Manchester, Exeter, and finally settled back in the West.

Fay has been writing since she could pick up a pen, and has had several articles published in education magazines, including the English and Media Centre’s Media Magazine. The Little Somerby series is her first foray into novel length fiction, although she has written stories of many flavours over the years, including fanfiction. Far From the Tree is the first book in the series, and the bulk of it was written while Fay was on maternity leave with her second child.

When Fay is not chasing her children around or writing, she teaches English and Media Studies at a secondary school in the West Country. She lives with her husband of twelve years, two daughters, three cats, four chickens, a multitude of fish and a Weimaraner puppy called Bertie in a village in Somerset, which may or may not have provided the inspiration for Little Somerby.

Far From the Tree Blurb: 

Sometimes all you need to make a fresh start is to go back to your roots. When widowed Anna Hemingway moves back to Little Somerby, the last thing she’s looking for is romance. But then Matthew Carter, autocratic, charismatic divorced father and fourth generation cider maker walks into her life. Anna and Matthew feel an undeniable attraction, but when Matthew’s estranged brother Jonathan makes a surprise return to the village, trouble starts fermenting along with the apples. Will Anna and Matthew find happiness and the strength to move on with their lives, or will a tragedy that brings Matthew’s past back to haunt him thwart their blossoming relationship? Rural traditions, dysfunctional family relationships, four generations of family history and a host of likeable locals combine to build a story that will make you laugh, cry and yearn for a glass of cider.

www.faykeenan.com

Advent Calendar Day 19 #ChristinaCourtney

Door 19 opened! Pia Fenton, aka Christina Courtenay is on my blog today!  

As I’m half Swedish and grew up in that country, Christmas for me is associated with a lot of Swedish Christmas traditions. We call it “jul” (the same word as the English Yule and pronounced the same way) and our Santa Claus is “Tomten”.

A “tomte” is normally a tiny leprechaun type of being who supposedly lives in every Swedish household and is responsible for the well-being of all the inhabitants, including animals. I love the thought of this and there are a lot of “tomtar” featured in our Christmas decorations, such as these tiny ones I keep next to my advent candles (another tradition – we light one candle each Sunday in the four weeks before Christmas Eve).

Where I come from, there are huge forests which are beautiful in winter, deep with snow and with all the branches covered in frost or snowflakes. That is the one thing I really miss as it’s a truly magical sight! But who knows, we might get some snow over here this year? I’m always hopeful.

Now that I live in England and have an English family, I really enjoy mixing the two countries’ traditions and having the best of both. Tomtar and angels, smörgåsbord followed the next day by a full turkey dinner – what could be better? It’s twice the celebration!

Wherever and however you celebrate, I wish you a Very Happy Christmas!

Short author bio:-

Pia Fenton (writing as Christina Courtenay) writes historical romance, time slip and YA contemporary romance, all published by independent publisher Choc Lit. She is half Swedish and was brought up in Sweden. In her teens, she moved to Japan where she had the opportunity to travel extensively in the Far East. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association. Her novels Highland Storms and The Gilded Fan have both won the RoNA Award for Best Historical Romantic Novel of the Year (in 2012 and 2014 respectively). Her latest novels are The Jade Lioness (historical) and New England TLC (YA contemporary romance).

The Jade Lioness blurb:-

Can an impossible love become possible? (Nagasaki, 1648)

Temperance Marston longs to escape war-torn England and explore the exotic empire of Japan. When offered the chance to accompany her cousin and Captain Noordholt on a trading expedition to Nagasaki, she jumps at the opportunity. However, she soon finds the country’s strict laws for foreigners curtail her freedom.

On a dangerous and foolhardy venture she meets Kazuo, a ronin. Kazuo is fascinated by her blonde hair and blue eyes, but he has a mission to complete and he cannot be distracted. Long ago, his father was accused of a crime he didn’t commit – stealing a valuable jade lioness ornament from the Shogun – and Kazuo must restore his family's honour.

But when Temperance is kidnapped and sold as a concubine, he has to make a decision – can he save her and keep the promise he made to his father?

Website: http://christinacourtenay.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/christinacourtenayauthor?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PiaCCourtenay

Buy links:-

Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jade-Lioness-Kumashiro-Christina-Courtenay/dp/1781892377/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444222646&sr=1-1

Amazon US http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1781892377?keywords=The%20jade%20lioness&qid=1444222741&ref_=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2&sr=8-1

Advent Calendar Day 7 #RachelBrimble

Behind door 7 is Rachel Brimble! She's sharing her most memorable Christmas...

I love Christmas once all the presents are bought and wrapped, the cards sent out and the decision of where we’ll eat the all-important Christmas lunch has been decided. We tend to alternate Christmas lunch either at my mother-in-laws or hosting my parents and my in-laws at our house.

One of my memorable Christmases was 2010.

In June of the same year, my husband, two daughters and I (along with family friends) were caught up in the unexpected and terrifying French floods. This resulted in us being evacuated from our holiday caravan and, after a twelve-hour ordeal of waiting and worrying what would happen next, we were eventually rescued by helicopter from the clubhouse roof.

We lost all our belongings, passports and my engagement ring, but thankfully got home relatively unscathed. We were very lucky. Twenty-five people lost their lives that day…

The reason I will never forget this Christmas is because the ripple effects of the ordeal were still very much within us when my husband stood up at the dressed Christmas dining table and announced he had a surprise present for me.

I had absolutely no idea what was coming next!

From behind his back, he produced a small velvet box…and inside was a brand new, diamond solitaire engagement ring to replace the one I’d lost in the flood. Suffice to say, I promptly burst into tears as the rest of my family cheered and clapped.

Definitely a Christmas to remember and be thankful for!

Christmas At The Cove

More family for Christmas?

Scott Walker doesn't have time for a relationship. The sexy mechanic has career ambitions, not to mention a mother and three sisters to take care of. The last thing he needs is Carrie Jameson, the beauty he never forgot, arriving in Templeton Cove over the holidays with some unexpected news.

Scott still finds Carrie irresistible, and he's not one to shirk responsibility. Scott's issues with his own dad make the prospect of parenthood a minefield. But if he and Carrie can overcome their fears, this Christmas could bring them the best gift of all.

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~  Barnes & Noble

Templeton Cove Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtVExzpJ6b4

Bio: Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. Since 2013, she has had five books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and recently signed a contract for three more. She also has three Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical with a fourth due for release in March 2016.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.

She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!

Links: Website - Blog - Twitter - Facebook - Facebook Street Team - Rachel's Readers

Fake Friday with Jenny Kane

It's been a while for my Fake Friday feature, but today I have Jenny Kane on my blog. Jenny and I get to meet up - not as often as we'd like - at our RNA Chapter meeting in Lacock. I feature on Jenny's blog a little while ago... and I wanted to return the favour. 

And so, over to Jenny...

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

No - I wanted to be an archaeologist- and I was! I didn't find out I wanted to be a writer until I was 33 years old - it happened by accident over a coffee and a Mars Bar scone…

Did you manage to get the first book you wrote published, or is it tucked in a drawer somewhere?

I did - but it took 13 years to happen! The first book I wrote, Another Cup of Coffee, was published in 2013 - 10 years after I’d had over 100 other stories, long and short, published (under the name Kay Jaybee). I simply didn’t think Another Cup of Coffee was good enough at first. It took me all that time to get it just right.

My Twitter style question: Describe your hero in 140 characters.

Rugged Cornish decorator, Max Pendale, is determined never to take a chance on love again, until he meets Abi…

My Twitter style question: Describe your heroine in 140 characters.

Young widow, petite brunette children’s illustrator, Abi Carter, is on the run from an unhappy life. A fresh start in sunny Cornwall is calling her.

What do you read while you write, or don’t you?

I tend to read genres that are opposite to those I write. Although I do sometimes read romance, I wouldn't read it while I was writing one of my own. I would be afraid the book I was reading would influence the plot I was writing.

What do you do with a paperback once you’ve read it?

I keep them. I can never bear to part with a book, even if I haven’t enjoyed it. My bookshelves couldn't be more crammed if I tried.

What’s the best bit of writing advice you’ve ever received or read?

To keep a list of all the words and phrases I tend to overuse, so that when I have finished a novel draft, I can go through the whole thing and check I haven’t been excessive with those words. For example, I am a horror for having the words ‘slightly’, ‘long’ and ‘little’ in my manuscripts too often.

What is next on your agenda after publishing your book?

Now that Abi’s House is published, I am working on adding the finishing touches to the draft of my next novel, Another Glass of Champagne. This is the fourth in my Another Cup of… series, which follows on from Another Cup of Coffee (novel), Another Cup of Christmas (novella), and Christmas in the Cotswolds (novella). This new novel will be out in early 2016.

How would your best friend describe you in 140 characters? (Another Twitter question). 

I asked one of my friends - and she said:

A work obsessed, underpaid, coffee drinking, pen wielding, novel writing, kink thinking, word loving, secretly shy person.

Tea or coffee?

Coffee - always black! I write a coffee shop blog called Have Americano and Pen…Will Travel – so I’ve sampled a lot of different black coffee’s in a huge number of café’s and coffee houses.

Starbucks or Costa?

No question - it has to be Costa. My local one even has a plaque over my usual table I write in there so often!

Chocolate or ice cream?

Chocolate.

Dogs or cats?

Dogs.

Thanks for some fab answers, Jenny, but I'm trying to do the maths and I thought you were a lot younger... lol! 

Blurb for Abi’s House:

Newly widowed at barely thirty, Abi Carter is desperate to escape the Stepford Wives lifestyle that her late husband was so keen for her to live. Abi decides to fulfil a lifelong dream. As a child on holiday in a Cornwall she fell in love with a cottage – the prophetically named Abbey’s House. Now she is going to see if she can find the place again, relive the happy memories … maybe even buy a place of her own nearby.

On impulse Abi sets off to Cornwall, where a chance meeting in a village pub brings new friends Beth and Max into her life. Beth, like Abi, has a life-changing decision to make. Max helps Abi track down the house of her dreams … but things aren’t quite that simple. There’s the complicated life Abi left behind, including her brother-in-law Simon – a man with more than friendship on his mind … Will Abi’s house remain a dream, or will the bricks and mortar become a reality?

Buy links

http://www.accentpress.co.uk/Book/12915/Abis-House

Amazon Kindle

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abis-House-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B00UVPPWO8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1426711175&sr=1-1&keywords=Abi%27s+House+Jenny+Kane


http://www.amazon.com/Abis-House-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B00UVPPWO8/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426711253&sr=1-2&keywords=Abi%27s+House+Jenny+Kane


Amazon Paperback

http://www.amazon.com/Abis-House-Jenny-Kane/dp/1783753285/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426711253&sr=1-1&keywords=Abi%27s+House+Jenny+Kane

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abis-House-Jenny-Kane/dp/1783753285/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426711343&sr=1-1&keywords=Abi%27s+House+Jenny+Kane

About Jenny Kane

With a background in history and archaeology, Jenny Kane should really be sat in a dusty university library translating Medieval Latin criminal records, before writing research documents that hardly anyone would want to read. Instead, tucked away in the South West of England, Jenny Kane writes stories with one hand, while working for a Distance Learning Company with the other.

Jenny spends a large part of her time in the local coffee shops, where she creates her stories, including the novels Abi’s House (Accent Press, June 2015), Romancing Robin Hood (Accent Press, 2014), the best selling contemporary romance Another Cup of Coffee (Accent Press, 2013), and the novella length sequels Another Cup of Christmas (Accent Press, 2013) and Christmas in the Cotswolds, (Accent Press, 2014)

Jenny’s next full length novel, Another Glass of Champagne, (Part 4 of the Another Cup of... series), will be published by Accent Press in 2016.

Jenny Kane is also the author of quirky children’s picture books There’s a Cow in the Flat (Hushpuppy, 2014) and Ben’s Biscuit Tin (Coming soon from Hushpuppy)

Keep your eye on Jenny’s blog at www.jennykane.co.uk for more details.

Twitter- @JennyKaneAuthor

Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/JennyKaneRomance?ref=hl  

Jenny Kane also writes erotica as Kay Jaybee. (www.kayjaybee.me.uk)