Author Interview - Joanne Phillips

Today I am really pleased to feature an interview with author Joanne Phillips. Joanne's latest novel is Cupid's Way.

Welcome Joanne, and thank you for agreeing to answer my questions! 

Please could you tell us a bit about your new book, Cupid's Way?

Cupid's Way is a feel-good romantic comedy about a woman called Evie Stone, who finds herself in the middle of a battle to save a Victorian terrace: Cupid's Way. Her grandparents live there, along with a host of colourful characters, but Dynamite Construction are threatening to demolish the site in the name of development. Evie begins to fall for charismatic Michael Andrews at an eco conference, not realizing he is in fact the CEO of Dynamite Construction ...

I know you've started a series of mystery novels too, I'm looking forward to reading the first one when I get chance. How do you decide what you want to write about next?

I have a notebook full of ideas, some are pretty detailed novel outlines and others just brief sketches, but I need to feel fired up about an idea to begin writing. A novel, even if you write quickly, takes a big chunk out of your life, and you have to love the characters and feel totally immersed in the plot to live with it for so long.

Do you plan extensively in advance when you write, in terms of plot and character, or do you have just an outline/main idea and then see where the words take you?

I do both, depending on the type of book. For a mystery, plotting is essential. The latest Flora Lively mystery was carefully plotted, scene by scene, before I started writing. You don't have to do it this way, of course, but if you don't it definitely means more re-writing and editing later to make sure you've laid a trail of clues and made the final denouncement totally credible. But my usual way of writing is to take an idea or a character and just begin. When I get to chapter 3 or 4, if I'm happy and certain I'm heading in the right direction, I might stop and jot down some ideas about where I want it to go. But plotting too much can suck all the joy out of it, for sure.

How long do you spend writing a novel from start to finish, and does it vary depending on the subject matter?

It does vary. Now I'm on my fifth novel, I usually spend about 6 months writing and editing, but often the idea will have been working itself out in my head for far longer, or will be based on notes and character sketches I've developed over time. Writing a novel for me doesn't only include sitting down at my desk and typing out the words - much of it goes on in my head while I'm doing other things.

Do you find writing addictive - is it hard to stop once you get going?

It is addictive, and I would write all day, every day if I could!

I love your site offering advice on writing and publishing from your own experiences. I read that you have done different roles prior to writing, but did you always have that itch to write?

I've always written, no matter what job or role I've had. I can still remember the feel of my school exercise books: red, blue or green covers with lined paper inside. I still think in stories all the time, and my characters have conversations with each other in my head! I think the big moment came for me when I realised that you need to take your dreams seriously, and give yourself every chance to achieve what you want, which for me was to have my work in front of readers. I'm enjoying sharing my journey on my blog and I'll always continue to do that too. 

Many thanks for being my guest on the blog today, Joanne!

You can visit Joanne's website here, and find her on twitter @joannegphillips and visit her amazon page here.

Anneli Purchase - Julia's Violinist - Excerpt

I am pleased to welcome author Anneli Purchase to the blog today!

Vancouver Island author, Anneli Purchase, has published her third novel. From “The Wind Weeps” set in the wilds of the BC coast, to “Orion’s Gift” set in Baja, Purchase now takes us to postwar Europe in “Julia’s Violinist.”

Imagine yourself growing up in a rural town in what used to be Austria-Hungary, expecting a normal happy life, when war shatters all your hopes and dreams. You are 32 and widowed with two small children. Like thousands of your fellow Sudetenlanders, you’ve been driven out of your country and strangers have taken over your home and all your possessions. You survive their brutal lust for revenge for Hitler’s mistreatment of them, survive the harsh conditions of refugee camps, survive disease and starvation. All you want is a return to the contented days of the past. But it is not to be. Once transported across the German border, you try to pick up the pieces of your shattered life and remarry, perhaps more for security than for love.

You’ve just begun the arduous task of rebuilding your life in war-torn Germany, when the young man you loved more than twenty years ago writes to tell you he has been searching everywhere for you. He still loves you and wants you to come to him. Such is Julia’s dilemma when her husband hands her the letter with the Canadian postmark.

What would you do?

Read “Julia’s Violinist” and learn how Julia’s decision changed her life.

Excerpt from Julia’s Violinist

September 1939

War! War? War. The terrible word was on everyone’s lips. Julia’s first thought was to find Lukas. She needed Lukas. As she pedaled furiously towards Bechert’s to find her husband, she heard the word in every snatch of conversation that reached her ears. War was about to change their lives.

Julia threw her bicycle down outside the factory and ran to the department that Lukas managed. “Georg! Have you seen Lukas? Where’s Lukas?” Georg turned from the pile of bolts in front of him and pointed down the hall just as Lukas appeared. “Lukas!” Julia shouted. “Did you hear?” Lukas looked white and shaken as he folded her into his arms.

“You’re shivering, Julia.”

“I’m still shaking from pedaling so fast, but I can’t seem to stop. Did you hear?”

“Yes,” he whispered, and pulled her closer. “Don’t worry.”

“You’re not going, are you? Please say you’re not.” She felt as if vise grips had hold of her stomach. He couldn’t leave her now, just when life was perfect. “Say you won’t go, Lukas. Please, say it.”

“Come, we’ll ride home on the motorbike and we’ll get your bicycle later.”

The ride home seemed too short. Julia clung to Lukas so tightly that she could feel his heart beating. She dreaded the conversation she knew was coming.

“You know I have to go, don’t you, Julia?”

She could feel tears trickling down her cheeks finding their way to her chin. “Why? Lukas!” She choked out his name. “You can’t. What about the children? Your aunt? What about me? Don’t you love me? How can you leave me now?”

“Sweetheart.” His eyes brimmed with tears. “The Czechs will be trying their best to get us under their thumb again. I have to—”

“No, you don’t have to. I don’t want you to—”

“I have to do what I can to help stop them.”

“If you really loved me you wouldn’t go.”

“It’s for you and Sofie and Steffie that I’m volunteering to go, exactly because I love you all so much. What kind of a coward would I be if I didn’t protect my family?”

Julia couldn’t argue when he put it that way, but dammit, why did he have to choose now to be so noble? Their happy life would be torn apart. She loved him so much. Her children loved him, needed him. How could he do this to them? She wiped her wet cheeks with the backs of her hands and sank into the nearest chair.

“Oh, Lukas! How will I manage without you?” She knew that further entreaties would only add to his pain. She was sure he was hurting as much, well, almost as much, as she was.

“I’ll be back before you have time to miss me. Meanwhile, you’re a strong girl, Julia. I want you to remember that, if times get hard. That inner strength that I love so much in you will see you through. God willing, I’ll come back to you.”

“You still believe there’s a God? How could He allow this to happen?” She flung out her arms indicating her crumbling world. She was incredulous at his naiveté.

“We aren’t meant to question God. Please, Julia. We need to believe He will guide us.”

“Oh, Lukas! There is no God. Why would God ask people to kill each other? How can you believe in God now?” She was amazed at his blind faith. They went to church, said the prayers, and sang the songs, but had never really had any serious discussion over their beliefs before.

“I have to believe in Him to see me through.”

Julia clamped her teeth together tightly. She didn’t want to take away Lukas’s crutch if he was counting on God to see him through. She needed Lukas to come home safely. But every rational thought told her that God had forsaken her.

***

“The Wind Weeps,” “Orion’s Gift,” and “Julia’s Violinist” can be found on all Amazon sites for paperback and Kindle versions.

Visit Anneli’s author page on amazon.com http://ow.ly/je5rT to see all her books.

They are also available in all e-book formats at smashwords.com http://ow.ly/je5IX

Anneli’s website: http://anneli-purchase.com

Anneli’s blogs: http://wordsfromanneli.wordpress.com

and http://annelisplace.wordpress.com

The Memory of Lost Senses - Judith Kinghorn

‘When the journey ended, this was all one was left with, memories.’

I absolutely adored Judith Kinghorn’s debut novel The Last Summer – (read my review here) – it was one of my favourite books of 2012, I felt very emotionally involved in that wonderful story of Clarissa and Tom, and I still clearly remember the weekend I sat reading it, and the bereft feeling on finishing it. I was therefore eagerly anticipating the arrival of this second book, and I was also a little nervous; will I enjoy this one as much, will the story grab hold of me, will the writing be as good? I am pleased to say that the answers were yes, yes and yes.

This is a beautifully written novel that took me back in time again to early in the twentieth century, to places and a period which are vividly evoked and introduced me to fascinating characters whose lives I was enthralled by.

A mysterious elderly lady, a countess in fact, arrives to take up residence in a quiet Hampshire village, and everyone is curious as to her identity and her past. Cecily Chadwick is one such curious neighbour of the countess, eager to find out more about the life of this enigmatic lady who has lived abroad for so many years. Cecily is attracted by this life and keen to hear about Cora’s experiences. However Cora is troubled by threats she has received, and by her memories. Her close and dear friend Sylvia, a novelist, joins her in Hampshire and endeavours to compile a more detailed account of Cora’s past to become her memoirs. The challenge of this process of thinking back over things is acknowledged; 'Sometimes it's not easy to revisit the past. It involves confronting everything we've done and said, all our actions, mistakes, and regrets.'

This is a novel about love, intrigue, memory, mystery and truth. It asks, can we rely on our memories? Place is very important in this story; both Hampshire and also Rome, the expatriate life there, and places within the story are intensely realised, as is the way in which places can offer 'a kind of freedom, and the chance to be whoever one wished to be,' as Cora speaks about Rome. Indeed she entrances Cecily with her strong recollections of her life in Rome: 

'And behind every doorway, no matter how humble, were masterpieces, friezes depicting ancient stories, magnificent frescoes, statues, intricate mosaics and richly marbled floors. Every window and balcony overlooked the antiquities, like one's own museum, one's very own art gallery. It felt to me like the centre of the world. And of course it had been, once. Everywhere one looked were relics, history and art, stupendous art. How could one fail to be inspired in such a place? All of it shaped me, who I am, and like those I have loved, it remains here,' she said, placing her palm flat upon her chest. 'It lives within me...that place.' And how could it not? Cecily thought.'

From the start, the clever structure hints at mysteries. There are secrets hidden in Cora’s past which her grandson Jack, staying with her now, wishes to uncover, to know more about his family’s past. The emotions stirred by the past, and the nature of memories, run throughout the novel. The author illustrates through Cora a keen understanding of the acute pain of joy and sadness deep within our pasts, and how, when we think about the events and feelings in our pasts, it can be overwhelming:

'Numbness had come with old age, but to her bones, not to her heart. And though in public she was careful to keep her emotions in check, to maintain - or try to maintain - a ready smile, a relaxed countenance, in quiet, solitary moments, moments of reflection, and often when least expecting it, she was sometimes plunged under, submerged, left gasping for breath; drowning in a great swell of sorrow and joy and pain and rapture. And it was this, the memory of senses and sensations, that made her weep.'

The quandary with me when reading this book, one that I think other readers will identify with when it comes to a new book by a favourite writer, was that part of me wanted to read it as quickly as I could, to devour it greedily because I couldn’t wait, and part of me wanted to take my time in reading, to savour it; having waited with excitement to read it, I didn’t want to rush it. The prose has a lyrical quality; there were many passages I savoured as I read.

Judith Kinghorn is now very high up on my list of authors that I know I can trust to skillfully create another world on the page for me to venture to and become ensconced in, always with a compelling, beautifully written tale to tell, a gorgeous use of language, with characters I love and relationships that are certain to intrigue me. Definitely recommended; settle yourself in a comfy chair and be captivated by this lovely period story. As with The Last Summer, this is certainly a book that I will keep on my shelves and return to one day.

Published by Headline

Thanks very much to the publisher for kindly sending me a copy of this novel to read and give an honest review.

You can follow the author on twitter @JudithKinghorn and visit her website here.

Author in focus - Iain Broome

I am delighted to welcome author Iain Broome to my blog today! Iain's debut novel, A is for Angelica, is published by Legend Press.

What gave you the initial inspiration for A is for Angelica?

Well, I'm not sure I knew I wanted to write this particular novel until I started writing it. It began as something of a character piece, where I had this middle-aged man curtain-twitching from his bedroom window. I also had the big reveal, that he had a wife who was there with him, '...asleep upstairs'.

In fact, I'd already written 10,000 words before I really decided what the book would be about. I was in the pub one Friday evening and a woman had a stroke on the table next to us. The ambulance came and took her to hospital, but I was struck by how easily life carried on around her. Even the group she was continued to chat and drink once she'd gone.

Anyway, it left an impression and I knew that I wanted to write about stroke and illness, especially its effect on family and loved ones.

Did the characters take on a life of their own as you began to write?

Yes, they really did. I think good characters are at the heart of every great book. You can have all the plot twists in the world, but if the characters aren't interesting, then what's the point? A good book makes you feel something. You need to care about what happens. It's all about characters.

As an author, I think I found my voice through Gordon Kingdom, the narrator in A is for Angelica. He started out a fairly quirky kind of a chap, but the more I wrote, the more I felt guided by him as a character.

Has writing always been your main passion?

Well, I loved reading from a very early age and I decided I wanted to be a writer when I was in my teens. I went to Sheffield Hallam University because I knew its English degree had a significant creative writing element to it, and that its MA Writing course had a great reputation. I wanted to put myself in the best possible position for getting published.

That said, I thought for some time that I was going to be a professional footballer. I know a lot of people say that, but I was actually quite good! I was in Notts County's youth academy from nine years old and left when I was 16 to do my A levels. But alas, it wasn't to be. I think things turned out for the best, really.

What was your journey to getting published like?

Pretty normal, I think. I wrote Angelica as part of Sheffield Hallam's MA Writing course, which meant I had a good idea of how to approach agents and how the industry works.

I managed to get an agent pretty quickly, but it did take a little longer and a reasonable amount of editing work before the book found a happy home at Legend Press. Again, that's pretty normal, especially in the current climate.

How was it seeing your finished book for the first time?

Pretty fantastic, I have to say. Although I was very lucky in that I was able to choose who designed my cover. I worked with hugely respected and rather brilliant Sheffield artist, Jonathan Wilkinson, who gave me a sneak preview before it was finally finished.

Seeing almost a decade's worth of work come together was very special. Still is in fact!

Where do you write?

Well, good question. Last year we bought our first house and then a week after moving in my wife fell pregnant with (identical) twins. What would have been my work area is now 90% nursery. I've managed to blag a small bureau, which was my granddad's, in the corner of the room, but it's hardly a writer's paradise.

To be honest though, I think that you can more or less work anywhere. It's all about having the ideas and the time. As a new parent, I'd happily take an extra hour or two a week to write over a spiffy new desk and view of the ocean.

Which authors do you enjoy reading?

I love Ray Carver's short stories and they are a big influence on my writing. But I also enjoy Margaret Atwood and, actually, my old tutor, Simon Crump. I also like to read a lot of non-fiction and I'm currently half way through Identically Different by Tim Spector. It's about genetics and twin studies, so I have a vested interest!

What do you do to take a break from writing?

I currently spend most of my time rearing identical twins and little else. Not that I'm complaining. They're ace. I suppose I also put a lot of time into my online world, usually my blog and podcast for readers and writers, Write for Your Life.

What do you have on the go/what is next for you with regards to writing?

Well, I'm working on a second novel, but I'm not far enough into yet to say any more, because I know how quickly things can change! There's a screenplay that I keep coming back to now and again too.

I've also got 20,000 words of non-fiction that I'm collaborating on and currently editing. It's about writing and being a writer, but from a very specific point of view. Hopefully, we'll be able to release it later this year in one form or another. 

Thanks very much to Iain for featuring on the blog and answering my questions.

A is for Angelica is published by Legend Press

About the novel:

Set in a northern mining town, A is for Angelica deftly draws us into the secretive life of troubled Gordon Kingdom. Gordon struggles with the fate of his seriously ill wife and patiently observes the unusual goings-on of his neighbours in Cressingham Vale. The arrival of the enigmatic Angelica prompts Gordon to make difficult decisions, as well as to embark on a flurry of cake baking. The book elegantly weaves prosaic tragedy, dark comedy and Hitchcockian menace.

You can read my review here.

Alys, Always - Harriet Lane

‘The random luck and lucklessness of an ordinary life…’

Frances Thorpe is in her thirties and works as a sub-editor on the books pages of a newspaper in London. She is driving back home one night after visiting her parents, when she happens upon the aftermath of an accident. Approaching the car that has left the road, she spends a few moments with, and hears the last words spoken by, the victim, Alys Kyte. These short moments will shape Frances’ life going forwards. The Kyte family hears that Frances spoke with Alys before she passed away, and is keen to meet her in their search for closure. Though her first reaction to this request is to decline it, she reconsiders, discovering that Alys Kyte’s husband is Laurence Kyte, a successful and well-known writer. As she begins to know them all, she glimpses the privileged lives they lead, and starts to become part of their world.

I found that once I started reading this book it was hard to put it down. It is a compelling tale that starts with an arresting opening sequence and then keeps you reading as you wonder what turn the narrative will take next. I was certainly very curious about Frances and her involvement with the Kyte family and I read on with a sense of both fascination and dread. Frances seems to lead an unexciting existence with few friends; early on, she describes her own reflection as showing ‘a pale, insignificant sort of person’, and her newfound connection to the Kyte’s opens the door for her to new acquaintances and experiences, to a fuller, more exciting life.

I enjoyed the depiction of the literary desk at the newspaper, with the competition and snobbery, the sudden recognition for Frances now she has new and important connections. Harriet Lane does a marvellous job of creating characters here. I thought the depiction of Frances’ parents and of Polly in particular were spot-on. Additionally she has created an intriguing tale that grabs the reader and keeps them guessing and wondering, how much does Frances control, how much happens to her and how much does she steer events? Is she a caring woman offering comfort, or is she rather heartless and purely motivated by shaping her own life for the better. This is a compact, spare yet involving story and it is clever and unsettling.  

Published by Phoenix, an imprint of Orion Books

Reviewed for the amazon vine programme

Reading Like A Writer - Francine Prose

A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them

'What writers know is that, ultimately, we learn to write by practice, hard work, by repeated trial and error, success and failure, and from the books we admire.'

In this guide, author and teacher Francine Prose offers us her experience and advice about how to read like a writer. She argues convincingly that one of the best ways to learn to write is by reading what she calls the 'masters', reading them slowly, and looking carefully at the words used, through close reading. She aims 'to help the passionate reader and would-be writer understand how a writer reads.'

After introducing her ideas and approach, she devotes chapters to words, sentences, paragraphs, narration, character, dialogue, details and gesture, as well as one entitled learning from Chekhov, and finally, reading for courage. She also suggests and includes in the book a list of 'Books to be read immediately', a bibliography of the many great writers she has referred to, and/or quoted from throughout the book.

This book is not one telling you what to do, or what not to do, something the author acknowledges is often a common feature of writing manuals or guides: 'One essential and telling difference between learning from a style manual and learning from literature is that any how-to book will, almost by definition, tell you how not to write.' It is instead encouraging the love of, and joy in reading, and illustrating how close reading of wonderful writers past can enlighten a budding writer and be a rewarding learning experience that can positively influence their own writing.

As a reader who would love to write, I think this informative book, written in an engaging and very accessible style, is very useful indeed. So often we find ourselves reading very quickly, for plot, and that is fine in certain circumstances, that may be what we need from a book at a given time. But when wanting to consider how we might start writing ourselves, I really like the approach taken here, the idea of reading closely, slowly. 

'In the ongoing process of becoming a writer, I read and re-read the authors I most loved. I read for pleasure, first, but also more analytically, conscious of style, of diction, of how sentences were formed and information was being conveyed, how the writer was structuring a plot creating characters, employing detail and dialogue.'

I enjoyed looking anew with the author's guidance at wonderful sentences and passages taken from works by great writers, being encouraged by her to think about what they have written, the effect of the words, what is said and unsaid, and so on. There are writers featured whose works I remember having read and loved in the past, like Richard Yates, Kafka, Dostoyevsky, but she reminded me also of writers I had almost forgotten reading and admiring, back in University, like Kleist. I was also introduced to writers whose works I have never read, through the inclusion of elements of their work here.

I think there will always be the question of finding your own voice and your own style, but it certainly seems like a worthwhile exercise to look more closely at the works of writers you admire. I intend to return to it again and again. 

Published by Union Books, an imprint of Aurum Press


Reviewed for NewBooks magazine.