Category:

Frances Kay

8/20/2014

Today The Coffee House welcomes Frances Kay. Frances, (Fan as she’s known to her friends) is the author of the acclaimed book 'Micka', the recently published' Dollywagglers', and she’s also a children's playwright. She has roots in Ireland and England, and currently lives in Wales, and is a very busy lady so I’m especially pleased that she’s found the time to drop in for a chat. So, make yourself at home, Fan. Hang up your coat and kick off your shoes. Feel free to sprawl on the sofas or grab a chair by the stove.

1 - First things first. What are you having? Name your poison, Fan, or in this case the hot beverage of your choice. Are you a latte or a lemon tea? A shortbread or a chocolate cake? Or perhaps you have some local delicacy in mind?
Well... lately I've been very influenced by a book called NOURISHING TRADITIONS by Sally Fallon, an American food scientist. Her book has given my ideas about healthy nutrition a good old shake-up. So today, I'll have a glass of kefir, made with milk. It's a bit like buttermilk, kind of sour and delicious. Oh, and it doesn't need hotting up! Alas, no cake for me - I don't do glucose.

2 – Let’s get to know a little bit more about how you ended up here on my sofa. A quick bio if you please m’dear.
I'm a new girl to the world of novels; I made my living as a children's playwright [and before that, a director and actor in theatre] for too many years to specify! Having been launched in 2010, I quickly discovered the joys of knowing and sharing information and tips with other writers, which is how I come to be on your sofa!

3 – How did you get into writing and which came first, the theatre or your novels?
I've always loved writing. I learned to read at three and a half. Just looking at a shelf of books makes me feel happy. Theatre has always been a passion too - both my parents, and grandparents on both sides, worked in theatre, either as performers or behind the scenes. What I really wanted to do when I left university was ACT, but so did thousands of other women. I discovered the only way to act, was to write and produce the plays myself, and luckily, the seventies in England were a great time for small scale theatre companies to flourish.

4 – What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it?
Mm. Do you count a limerick I had read out on the radio when I was eleven? Or the short story in a young people's magazine called The Young Elizabethan? I was fourteen then, with dreams of being a child prodigy. I always had a novel on the go, from age twelve, but none of them ever got published. Which is just as well, as they weren't very good. 'Micka' was my first novel, published in 2010. I went in for a competition run by Cornerstones, a literary consultancy, and from that, I found an agent, Annette Green, who loved Micka, and found a publisher for me within weeks [we didn't even meet!].

5 – From your experience do you have any tips for those not yet published?
Yes - read a lot of good literature, old and new. And when you start writing, give yourself entirely to it, it's like a love affair, be as passionate as you can be, and never look back or forward. Be in the moment.

6 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why? Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?
I am a total chameleon. Writing plays gives you a chance to speak as a character, from Tom Crean to a cunning Fox. So I see novels as a chance to speak in a voice, and that voice sets the tone of the book. I don't have a favourite genre, though I'd like to become known [ah! wouldn't we all!] as a writer of literary fiction. I also write outrageous erotic romances, under the name of Pan Zador, and she is a very strong character who has to be kept firmly in check. Oh dear, I'm beginning to sound as if we're at a seance! Genres I would avoid - thrillers and crime novels, I don't have the kind of logical mind to construct those plots. And historical fiction, which I love reading, but could not write - too much detailed research for me.

7 – Promotion and marketing, most writers see this as a necessary evil. What do you do to make sure your work reaches your readers?
Not enough. I HATE selling myself. That's why I have not bitten the bullet and self-published. I have huge admiration for friends who do, including yourself.

8 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?
I didn't have a favourite. If I found an author I liked, I went to the library and steadily read my way through everything s/he had written. Enid Blyton, Louisa Alcott, Richmal Crompton, Anthony Buckeridge [The 'Jennings' series], Alexandre Dumas, P.G. Wodehouse - that takes me from age six up to eleven. Yes, I was read to by my mother, herself a gifted actress and maker of stories, who made the magic happen and gave me a hunger to read and write and make stories myself.

9 – Tell us a little about the books you currently have published.
I have four books currently seeking good homes. 'Micka' is about two ten year old boys who come from difficult homes and when they meet, they get themselves into serious trouble. I enjoyed the challenge of writing the entire book just in their voices - could I convincingly be those boys? It's a dark book, but authentic, based on my time in Newcastle and my work with travellers [gypsies] in Scotland. 'Dollywagglers' was published in April, and it's a dystopia. I've wanted to write my own take on the world after a major disaster ever since I read Orwell and Huxley as a teenager. Again, it's dark, but told by a character determined to find humour in any situation. Now Pan Zador is elbowing her way in and has just ordered a knickerbocker glory and a triple strength espresso while she waves copies of 'Act of Love' her theatre romance, and her own extremely rude version of 'Far From The Madding Crowd' - oh, and she's offering a ride in her Bugatti to anyone who can tell the difference between her additions and Thomas Hardy's original.

10 – Can you give us a hint at what you have planned next?
I'm nearly at the end of my first draft of the sequel to 'Dollywagglers' - I realised there was a lot more story and I wanted the challenge of writing a dystopia, but with some utopian moments, as society sorts itself out into the power-hungry and the idealistic. I won’t tell you who wins, or if anyone wins.

11 – And tell us even more about the one you’ve brought with you. I did explain about reading an excerpt later didn’t I? Oh good. Don’t think you get coffee and cake for nothing.
I first tried this out with potential readers - who are also writers - on the extremely helpful 'Authonomy' site run by Harper Collins. 'Dollywagglers' is not the kind of book HC would pick up, but I had over a hundred useful comments which helped me polish up the umpteenth draft and find a publisher, the dark fiction imprint Tenebris Books.

12 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.
I told you, I am hopeless at selling! But here goes: Tall, overweight, sings folk songs to keep up the morale, doesn't do crying, hopes everyone will think she's a man.

13 – While I top up your coffee would you like to read a short excerpt from your book?

                                                                                    ....................................................

Chestnut Avenue used to be near Tollington Park, according to my A-Z; a wide street now barely distinguishable, like the stain on the mattress, a tired overlay of rubble in order of meltdown with the ruin of the old railway bridge slashing blackly across it. Beyond, a pale sun-flecked landscape where a few middle-aged figures are moving to and fro with wheelbarrows, purposeful as dungbeetles, but not as lovable.

Number thirty-nine no longer exists, as such; just a plot and a mixed mound of interesting, though slimy, remnants. It’s been raining recently. Patiently I begin sifting, trawling through these dead strangers’ effects.

Looking up, I see three beings wheelbarrowing grimly towards me. They’ve probably got rights of piccage and pokage and rummage. One of them speaks:

‘Looking for something?’ His voice is civilised; not friendly, but civilised. Christ! He’s wearing a dog collar!

I adopt a harmless, sad, religious expression.

‘No. I’m only saying goodbye to a friend.’ My gaze travels over the three wheelbarrows with a nauseous suspicion that they are gathering bodies for Christian burial, but not so. They seem to be going big on blue. All kinds of blue objects are tumbled indiscriminately on the three wheelbarrows. The vicar’s wheelbarrow is the emptiest – maybe he’s got a bad back.

‘You’re not from round here, are you?’ says a beak-faced woman in a black hat who could have stepped from the vestry of a church – except that she’s wearing rigger boots, and they’re spattered with blood.

The vicar has a strange expression on his face... maybe the words of a funeral benediction are whirling inside his hairless pate.

‘So – how’s the Jesus business?’ He gives me a twisted, intelligent smile. I notice how thin his lips are, and how his hooded eyes take on a fleeting resemblance to a species of small raptor. Before he has time to answer, the third wheelbarrow, her generous jowls trembling with loyalty, cuts in.

‘Don’t waste your time talking to him, Vicar dear. He’s just a filthy ref. Needs a jolly good bath, if you ask me, his face is positively grey.’

I ignore her, and address the vicar again – I know it’s sexist, but it serves her right for assuming I’m a man.

‘So, you’ve got the hot line to God. Explain this to me.’ I gesture at the general devastation. ‘Why? What did we do to get Him so upset? And who’s going to triumph in the end, good or evil?’

Jowls and Black Hat, alert for his response, stand respectfully silent by their wheelbarrows, twin pallbearers at the funeral of civilisation as we know it.

‘How the fuck should I know?’ says Vicar with simple dignity. ‘And if I knew, why the fuck should I tell you?’

He reaches into his pocket and stuffs a flyer into my hand.

‘TUESDAY JANUARY 28th. RAINBOW JUMBLE SALE,’ it reads. ‘IN AID OF CHURCH FUNDS.’ It is printed by hand in marker-pen rainbow colours; the spelling is faultless. Incredulously, I let it drop, and the Vicar suddenly whispers, urgent and serious and almost certainly insane:

‘Life goes on. You see?’

Jowls has had enough of this disrespect. Heftily engaging with her wheelbarrow, she gives a Valkyrie-type cry and directly targets my solar plexus. I hop comparatively nimbly behind the pile of rubble as she veers off to the left, steering hopelessly out of control, squawking like an enraged chicken, fetching up entangled with the old Habitat armchair. As she lies sprawled in the mud, I see with immense delight she is sporting old-fashioned pink interlock knickers.

Vicar, like many mad people, is right. Life goes on. I offer to help her up and she shakes me off, giving me the born-again evil eye. Black Hat dusts her down, uttering wren-like chirrups of consternation.

Ah, the bird life of London!
                                                                                    .................................................

Thanks to Fan for popping in and telling us about her life and her books. If you'd like to check out Micka or Dollywagglers you can find them here:

                                                                                                                                                                    Babs x

Micka

Dollywagglers

4 Comments

Jacoba Dorothy

3/23/2014

3 Comments

This weekend at The Coffee House I’m featuring the work of a very good friend Jacoba Dorothy. Jacoba and I met many moons ago on Authonomy and have remained friends ever since. She’s a great supporter of Indie writers, a genuine bookaholic, and I’ve lost count of the number of books she’s reviewed. She’s an honest and valued beta-reader and a cracking writer. Today I’ve invited Jacoba along to talk about her Heartbreaker books, a new series of romances that have just hit the Amazon shelves. I’m a self confessed Heartbreaker groupie, and coming from a diehard thriller writer that’s saying something, but I have to tell you, these books are just wonderful. Following the interwoven lives of a group of young friends from small town America, they are witty, funny, happy and sad, with characters that get in your head and heart to the point where you just can’t wait for the next episode, and above all they beautifully written for today’s market. But before I get totally carried away with Bailey, Jen and Bennett, let’s find out a little more about their creator Jacoba.

1. Mini bio time, Jacoba. Give us a quick 24hr insight into your life. How does a typical Monday pan out for you? And where does writing fit into it all?

JD - First, it’s lovely to be invited here today. I’ve been dying for some of Babs' coffee and cake. (Glad John and Alfie left me some, cheers guys.) Though I’d much rather she visited Australia, so we could enjoy the real thing. Hint, hint!!!

Okay, so back to book business ...

I really hate Mondays, I'm so glad you picked that day!! Groan. That first moment of waking, when you know the working week lies ahead, and that the day doesn’t include a leisurely morning of tea, toast and writing, is a real- am I allowed to say: bummer- if not: a pain in the you know what. So after dragging my head from the covers at about six thirty, there’s kids to feed, dress, and after a quick check of my emails, it’s off to work I go, usually without the “hi ho”. Mondays are meeting days, just to add to the delight, so my day doesn’t finish till five, five thirty sometimes. I am, however, very fortunate to have a very lovely husband, who is home in the afternoon to bath my little boy and get him ready for bed, and to get homework done with my thirteen year old, cheers and hurrah-because that is definitely not a delight, and if I’m honest I’m kind of grateful when meetings run late ( says in a hushed small voice, so hubby does not hear that). So it's usually only dinner and dishes I help with. Then I usually zone out in front of the telly for a couple of hours, if I don’t doze off that is. I wouldn’t say I’m very productive with my writing on a Monday, unless I’m editing or get a buzz from an idea, that might have been swimming in my head all day that I have to get down.

(And if my boss ever reads this, I love my job, truly I do. And I really do love Mondays, hand on my heart.)

2. Tell us a little about the first book, Heartbreaker.

Blurb:
I know I’m a heart breaker. I broke Cam and me.
And I also broke myself somewhere along the way.
But I finally made it back.
It’s been two years.
Two years I wish I could erase, and purge from my existence.
I wish I could kick myself back into the past, kick that stupid, idiotic girl,
and tell her to stop running away.
To live the life she wants, not the life her Mum wanted her to have.
You were such a coward Bailey Ryan.
Now the only thing I know for sure is, I’m home.
I’m never going away again.
                                                         And maybe Cam will forgive me.
                                                         And maybe I’ll exorcise my demons and forget.
                                                         Maybe … but I’m not really sure.
                                                         But now I’m here, I know one thing …
                                                         I’m sure as hell going to try.

                                                      Amazon .com                Amazon.co.uk

JD - Originally it was called, The Beating of my Heart, and was a short story that I put in Soooz’ Paragraphs of Power competition one month last year and won, must have been all the voting I did. Whoops!!! Shouldn't have said that. Ah well...

But it really did stick with me and I never felt it worked as a short story. Bailey, the MC had a lot more to tell, and I always wanted to go back to finishing her story. When I joined Wattpad in July last year, it gave me the opportunity I’d been waiting for, and after writing a chapter or two a week it soon became a 60,000 word book. So after lots of feedback and editing, I decided to publish it. I got quite a few reads on Wattpad, over 10,000, and lots of positive feedback so I thought, why not. It was my first attempt at contemporary romance, a genre I love to read, so I took the plunge two weeks ago, and now it’s my first self published book.

                                                                                Jacoba on Wattpad

3. How did you first come up with the idea?

JD - Oh, gosh, I really don’t know the answer to this question. I suppose I love the unrequited love scenario, and I love a good romance with lots of angst. Quite frankly I didn’t want to write another graphic romance novel, there are a tonne of those around, and not sure I’m cut out for writing those scenes. Anyway, I wanted to go back to the basics of a good solid romance, where the to and fro, of the love interests are what keep you turning the page. I adore Jane Austen stories for that reason. I don’t think she ever put kissing or … red rooms of pain (ha ha) in her stories, yet they are still adored and loved world wide.

4. Bailey is a wonderful character with a lot of complications in her life. Was it difficult to write her story?

JD - No, she kind of stuck in my head and the words flowed as though she was whispering in my ear, telling her story. A couple of her traumatic scenes were a bit tricky to write, and made me sad, but it all fit in with her decisions in the end, and why she decided to return to her hometown and try to win Cam back. I truly think our life experiences have a huge impact on the characters we become as we grow up, and I wanted to capture that with Bailey.

5. Personally I love the way Bailey’s story is revealed through her best friend ‘therapy sessions’ it’s a quirky way to bring in back story that works so well. Was that part of your overall plan, or did that evolve as you wrote?

JD - I love Bailey’s best friend, Gerry, and it was a good device to use to give back story, I wanted to drip feed that in, as the present day story progressed. I’m very fortunate to have some lovely friends and sisters in my life, who I engage in “therapy” with, now and then, and just telling another person is so therapeutic. I’d much rather that, than a person I don’t know. Though I understand sometimes people need to seek professional advice and expertise, depending on their problems. I think if Bailey hadn’t turned to Gerry she would have sought out professional therapy. But by choosing her friend to confide in added a level of intimacy to the story, so I could reveal her background slowly and it also showed how caring and compassionate Gerry is. I’m hoping to have more of her character in another book in the series. I had a lot of people comment on Wattpad about how much they really liked her.

6. Can you give us a short excerpt? Something that will give us all a flavour of Heartbreaker. (About 300 words)

JD - Would love to, though it is always hard to choose. This extract is when Cam and Bailey meet up again, officially, after she returns home…

“Mom, you moved that damn table again,” Cam says, nudging through the door, hopping on one bare foot, the other being rubbed by his large beautiful hands. My eyes are trained on them for a moment, as I recall those very same hands touching me. Shit. I’m not supposed to be thinking about that. I’m here for other reasons. To move on. Then his gorgeous blue eyes land on me and I forget all that. All I see is him and me. Me and him. No past. No lost two years.

God I want him so bad right now.

“Bailey, what ... what ...” he splutters, placing both feet on the ground and stretching to his full six foot height.

I don’t know if I have a voice right now, but I need to say something. His mother is looking between us, like she’s waiting too.

I swallow down a lump. “Hi, Cam.”

He doesn’t say anything just continues to stare at me, then he blinks and looks at his mother who now has her eyes firmly set on him. There's worry there. Concern for him about seeing me, I guess.

Hello. Maybe I do matter.

That thought makes me a feel a little better, even though I know it shouldn’t. Even though I know I’m horrible and to blame and stupid and I hurt him. I still want to smile and latch on to that one thread of hope.

There’s an uncomfortable silence, with so many silent conversations going on right now.

Then I let my eyes trail over him. I swallow an even bigger lump. My brain registering, he doesn’t have a shirt on, his worn jeans hanging from his hips, his brown hair scruffy and messed. Bed hair. His arm pressed with red creases. Then I realize where those creases have come from. Jennifer Jaimeson's head has been lying there. Wrapped in his arms. The realization of knowing who he got that messy bed hair from, and who made those marks, crashes me back to earth and the bile rises in my throat. I swallow for the third time.

Hold it together, Bailey.

7. I know you’ve had a massive response to the books on Wattpad. Did that feedback help to identify your main readership and your decision to extend the series?

JD - Yes, if it had been a complete flop, and I got booed off stage, I would have dropped the idea of self publishing. But the response on there was pretty genuine. It’s not like some writing sites, with the ol', I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine, so you don't always know if the feedback is genuine. There are a lot of readers on that site, who do say what they think. And some comments led me to tweak things here and there, and hopefully made it a better story. In total I probably had about three to four hundred readers who read the whole book, so that boosted my confidence in choosing to release it. And readers asking me to write from other's POV made me consider writing a series of books.

Sweet Cheeks
Blurb:
Jennifer Jaimeson's life isn't turning out exactly how she planned.
But plans change, and she is nothing, if not adaptable.
Now after four years out of High School, things are looking up. Well they were, until Bailey, the ex girlfriend of the guy she's been rooming with and lusting after, arrives back in town.
And once Cam and Bailey rekindle their romance, Jennifer is on the outer once more.
But Bailey has a secret. A bad secret. One that Cam knows nothing about.
Jennifer may have just discovered the opportunity she's been waiting for, and is set to put her new knowledge to good use, when an old High School friend of Cam's, Tanning, comes to stay,
He's hot with a capital H, and nothing like the geek she remembers being mean to in High School.
Her explosive lustful feelings for Tanning are soon confused with her residual warm feelings toward Cam, and the life she planned to have with him.
And that's just the beginning.
When the father of her unborn baby, Travis, and her childhood crush and tormentor, Jason, come back into town, things are going to get a whole lot more complicated.
Jennifer's life is about to spin out of control, and no matter what she does, or how she tries to adapt, she will be completely powerless to fix her messed up life this time.

Amazon .com Amazon.co.uk

8. In the second book Sweet Cheeks, bad girl Jen takes centre stage. She’s a minx there’s no doubt about that, but I have to admit, she’s my favourite character...so far. I ranged from wanting to wring her neck, to wanting to give her a big hug. How did you come up with her character?

JD - Oh boy. This sounds weird, but I literally woke one morning, and had the idea of Jen’s checklist, which is now the start and end of the book. And that morning instead of dragging myself out of bed, I literally leapt, and started writing my ideas down, and Jen’s story grew from there. I knew a few popular girls in High School, who really got on my goat. We didn't have the clichéd cheerleader, prom queens, in Australia, but those girls could be mean if they wanted to … Goodness, I hope they don’t’ ever read this, I'm sure they're all lovely now … anyhow, I thought it might be cathartic to write from a mean girls point of view and redeem her somehow. I think sometimes those self absorbed characters are the most interesting. And it was so much fun to write from her head.

9. You touch on a number of issues that are relevant to young people today, bullying, drugs, lone parenting etc and your characters often have hard decisions to make. Did any of your life experiences help you to portray these scenes in such a realistic way?

JD - As I said, I’ve read a lot, and in my forty odd years, seen a lot, and yes, experienced some of the things I’ve written about. And I do touch on issues that unfortunately a lot of young people have to face, at an early age. To remain true to the current generation, you’d be almost ignorant as a writer to skip all that, and just focus on the romance, and make everything all happy families, because, well, life isn’t like that. You are constantly thrown curve balls at every turn, and you have to learn to dodge and weave your way through. I also think not enough kudos is given to young mothers who choose to go it alone, it's a hard decision and not an easy road for a lot of them. And I truly think they are unsung heroines. I know how hard having kids can be, and I honestly don’t know how I’d cope if I was a single parent.

10. Can you give us a little taster of teaser Jen? (about 300 words)

JD - There are so many 'Jen' moments, as I like to call them. But her first impressions when she meets up with Tanning again, after being mean to him in High School were really fun to write. So here’s one…

Ouch. Stupid spade. I have another go and this time I put all my muscle into it, which doesn’t seem to help. I’m about to pound the spade into the dirt again, when I hear a deep husky voice say, “You’re not doing that right.”

It's Tanning, and he’s close behind me. So close, I can feel the heat of him, and I shiver involuntarily. I grip the handle tighter and count to three, before I turn around with my best smile.

“Care to show me how it’s done then?”

“Not really. I only came back to grab a change of clothes. I’m going to play golf.”

“Oh.” I sound like I'm disappointed, and I want to kick myself.

I shrug instead and turn, looking at the crappy hard ground. Now I’m more determined than ever to plough through this stupid garden patch. I don’t need his help anyway.

Leaning on the spade I wait for him to leave. I don’t want him hanging around, laughing at me and being an ass.

He sighs long and hard, and I clench hold of the handle.

Why isn’t he leaving?

“Give it here,” he commands.

I narrow my eyes, I don’t want to give it to him, but if he wants to think I’m a helpless female, he can. It's a good image for me.

I stand with my fake smile pasted in place and pass him the spade. It actually hurts to have that stupid smile on my face. I’m usually so good at keeping up the act, but I’m struggling today. He’s making me struggle.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” I say all sweetness, wanting to puke at my own insincerity.

He grunts, and starts to shovel away the dirt and weeds in record time. My god, he is so powerful and strong, I think I could watch him work like that all day, every day. By the time he’s finished there isn’t a weed left standing and the ground is all dug up. The sweat is dripping off his forehead and his t-shirt is drenched. I’m finding it hard not to sweat along with him, just thinking about all that hotness, leading to a whole bunch of naughty thoughts.

11. Who’s next to take centre stage? What plans do you have for the next in the series and how long do we have to wait for it?

JD - Well funny you should mention that. I have started writing Bennett’s story, and also plan to write Travis’s story. I’d like to release them at the same time, the way I’ve released Bailey and Jen’s story at the same time. That probably won’t be till early next year, but if you want more details, I’ll add snippets to the Heartbreaker facebook page, so if any readers want to give me a like you can stay tuned that way.

Facebook

12. And finally, do you have any other projects up your sleeve that you think we should know about?

Blurb:
A dead princess.
A drunken prince.
A darker forest, further away...
Where you'll meet Savath.
A large hearted hero ...
Picking up the pieces in this dysfunctional fairy tale.
Happily Ever After-a distinct improbability!

JD - Good question. Yes I do. As you know, Babs, I have a funny little fellow called Savath, who is just bursting at the seams to get his name in neon lights. I am hoping his wee little tale, will be released next month. He’s been waiting a good while now. It’s called Cold Grey, and it’s a twisted take on the classic fairy tale, Snow White. I have the links to the facebook page listed below, where you can find out its release date.

Facebook

JD - Thanks a billion for having me. It's been lovely to spend my morning chatting with you. Cheers, she says, and chinks her very nice bone china coffee cup.

Jxx

The pleasure is all mine, Jacoba. It's been a delight having you visit and chat about your fabulous books. One day soon I hope to be popping in to your house to share a coffee with you for real!

Babs x

3 Comments

Glenn Muller

3/19/2014

0 Comments

In case I haven’t mentioned it before, my little corner of Northumberland was recently voted one of the darkest skies in Europe. For the uninitiated amongst you, this means it’s a super place for stargazing, which is rather appropriate as this week’s guest at The Coffee House, Glenn Muller, is a keen astronomer. He’s also a cracking thriller writer, but hey, don’t take my word for it, just wait till you read the excerpt from Glenn’s thriller Torque. Slick writing, my kind of read, so much so, I’ve just downloaded it... review to follow.
I’m delighted to have you here today, Glenn, please make yourself and if the skies are clear tonight, who knows what you might glimpse.

1 – First up, Glenn, I like to make my guests welcome so what are you having? Name your poison. Are you an Earl Grey or a Latte man? Can I tempt you with a slice of chocolate cake or a helping of apple crumble?

GM - Well, since you're boiling water, Babs, I'll have some green tea and a bit of that lovely apple crumble.

2 –Mini bio time -Let’s get to know a little bit more about how you ended up here on my sofa, Glenn. Are you a full time writer or do you have an additional occupation or interesting hobby that drags you away from the keyboard. Let’s get an idea of what makes you tick.

GM - I guess you could call me a full-spare-time writer since I maintain a 9-5 gig as a bookkeeper to stay solvent. My interesting hobby would be astronomy. My wife and I have several telescopes and our own observatory in the backyard.

3 – How did you get into writing? What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it?

GM - I got into writing the same way artists get into drawing and dancers find their way onto the stage. It's a creative need that has to be acknowledged and catered to. The first thing I had published that actually brought in money was a book review for an astronomy magazine. It was so nice to have my writing validated in that way that I almost framed the cheque instead of cashing it!

4 – Are you a planner, Glenn? Do you plot your novels out in advance or just go where the characters take you?

GM - I like to have a general idea of the main plot line before I start typing, and spend a long time just thinking of the possibilities. Once I have the framework in mind, I'm quite happy to let the characters take over and see where they lead me. That's one thing I enjoy about writing; even as the author I never quite know where the story might go.

5 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why?

GM - The genre I'm most comfortable with is the thriller because you can really set the reader up for a surprise. Plus there is plenty of opportunity for action which keeps the story moving at an entertaining pace. I also like to mix in elements of crime with a law enforcement chaser just to keep everything accountable.

6 – Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

GM - From a writing standpoint, I'm not big on horror – too much gratuitous bloodshed. If a scene requires an animal to be the victim I find a way to gloss over it in a sentence or two, and I won't write anything that involves the abuse of children. My bad guys can be nasty without resorting to that sort of thing.

7 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

GM - I started reading when I was four and, though I was read to, I often liked to do the reading. Since I spent my early years in England, the Biggles books were a favourite. In fact I still have them in my bookcase alongside tales of Robin Hood, and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

8 – Promotion and marketing is the bane of most writers’ lives. How do you reach your readers and promote your work.

GM - I would like to say telepathically – that would certainly make things easier – but there really is no substitute for blog posts, maintaining a Facebook page, Twitter'ing, setting up book signings, and generally blowing your own horn. I'm still feeling my way around the whole marketing thing so any support from friends, peers, and readers is always appreciated.

9 – Tell us a little about the book you've brought with you?

GM - Torque is a thriller with an excellent set of characters. The protagonist, Chas Fenn, is an average guy who unwittingly gains possession of a street drug formula. The antagonist is a ruthless vixen, called Brittany Reis, who will stop at nothing to get it back. When writing Torque I put all the elements into it that I like to find in a book – action, suspense, mystery, police procedures, technical data, a bit of romance, and plenty of humour.

10 – How do you develop your characters? Pick your favourite and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

GM - Brittany Reis surprised me the most. Not bound by social morays or morals, one reader said that “Reis springs off the page at you!” and I would certainly agree.

11 – Can you give us a little hint at what you have planned next?

GM - I have a short story written that will be part of an anthology due out this Spring. I'm also working on the sequel to Torque.

12 – While I top up your tea would you like to read a short excerpt from your book?

GM - I'd love to. To avoid spoilers, I'm going to give you the first part of Chapter 5 in which the main character here is an aging con man whom Reis wants to recruit to retrieve the formula.

Torque - Chapter 5

The Stockport Lounge was busier than normal for a Wednesday. Fall’s crisp calling card had arrived and the office crowd was feeling cozy. Located on the mezzanine of Hanlon Place, a hybrid of office tower and luxury hotel, the bar’s hospitality beckoned to those who disembarked soundless elevators opposite the rain-specked brass and glass street exit.

       Chatter ebbed and flowed around small round tables, cresting occasionally into laughter then receding to choppy conversation. Over bobbing heads, new arrivals caught the eye of the bartender. He nodded while slicing limes for the ever popular Mai Tai and Daiquiri. He couldn’t see the TV but listened, as he worked, to the news anchor’s summary.

        “The Bank of Canada is forecasting yet another rise in interest rates, and the body of a second youth has been discovered in Hamilton. More details in a moment.”

         The station switched to a commercial and the barman changed the channel. Stark reality was not good for the tip jar.

         “You don't mind?” he said, indicating the large screen to the only patron who might have an interest in it.

          The heavyset man on the barstool shook his head.

          The Stockport Lounge wasn't exactly Stanislaw Svoljsak’s kind of place. Next to a beer at home he preferred a street corner tavern where the drinks were cheap and the patrons talked about hockey or fight clubs. The two-for-one cocktail hour was okay, though. He raised his glass and drained the amber dregs of a double scotch.

           “Another one, sir?”

           Svoljsak assented, and armed with the plastic miniature spear he sat hunched over the drink like an Inuit at a seal hole. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. On the side with the goose, written in fine blue marker, was the name of the lounge and the date and time he was expected. It was a novel way to get his attention, though a mere C-note wouldn’t keep it for much longer. Now twenty minutes past the allotted time his patience was already evaporating with the alcohol.

            He took a sip and stole a glance at the segmented mirror behind the bar. The view was obscured by the bottles in front so he hitched around on his stool and casually panned the room. Most of the suits and skirts were there on his arrival. A mixed group in a large booth appeared to be fanning the flames of an office romance between two of their co-workers.

         His scan had nearly reached its unobtrusive limit when he caught the pale sheen of white flesh in silk stockings. He took a quick mental snapshot then turned back to the bar as if he hadn’t noticed.

         That woman hadn’t been sitting there when he'd arrived. Nor had she entered after he'd found a stool at the bar, he could see the doorway and wouldn’t have missed legs like that coming in. She must have followed him from the lobby. That could just be a matter of timing, but in Svoljsak's line of work timing was important.

          There was a motion beside him, a hint of perfume, then a flash of silk-clad thighs being crossed on the next stool over.

“Thank you for coming, Mr. Svoljsak. I'm sorry for the delay, but one can never be too careful.”

Blurb:

After nine years on the road, Chas Fenn knows how to avoid accidental death - it's the intentional kind that gives him trouble.
The intentional kind is the seductive Brittany Reis, who plans to carve a niche in the street drug trade with a new hallucinogen. When her lab technician suddenly dies, Reis is forced to partner with an aging con man who sees the opportunity as a last chance for a big payoff.
There is dishonour among thieves, and the formula is misdirected to Fenn who's main ambitions are to win at darts, and get a raise. And maybe get laid. Now, with Reis and her thugs hot on his tail, Fenn’s life takes a dangerous detour where the normal rules no longer apply.
In the background, Detective Inspector Evan Lareault's case load of two homicides, a fatal overdose, and a fraudulent funeral home appears unrelated until Fenn discovers a family connection to the formula, and turns from hunted to hunter.
Torque is a high-action tale with powder-dry humour and a sexy villain you won't soon forget.

Torque is available to buy at:

Amazon .com

Amazon.co.uk

And all the usual e-book retailers, Kobo, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble .

13– And finally a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this? Your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on:

“The foul tasting water seeping into her lungs and she knew in this drowning moment that this was not a dream…this was real....Something was definitely wrong with the holo-deck. She'd dialed in #65 – mad scientists, werewolves, and freaks – and the danger level was only rated as 3. Drowning on the other hand was a 9 and she didn't have clearance for that. Why does it always malfunction on my shift, she thought, and hit the KILL switch on her ring. The shackle fell off, and the water stopped rising but instead of receding just sat there. The crap from the dungeon must have clogged the drain. With lungs ready to burst she dove down but what she found on the bottom was another nasty surprise.

Thanks so much for dropping by Glenn. Love your addition to the story and I'm looking forward to reading Torque. Best of luck with the sequel.

Babs x

0 Comments

Sue Yockney

3/12/2014

3 Comments

This week I’m delighted to welcome a very special guest to The Coffee House. As a first round judge for The Yeovil Literary Prize, Sue Yockney discovered my entry ‘Mrs Jones’ and championed it all the way to second place. That was back in 2011 but I didn’t actually get to meet Sue until much later at the Brympton Festival. Sue, and Liz Pike (Prize organiser) made a Northern lass so welcome down there in Somerset and were incredibly encouraging to me as a new writer. This year’s Yeovil Literary Prize is open now for submissions and I’d recommend it to all. Sue has just released her first two YA dystopian novels and I’m thrilled to finally have her here on the sofa to chat about books, writing and her work with the Yeovil Literary Prize. So, without further ado, hang up your coat, Sue, and make yourself at home.

1 – Finally I get to share some North East hospitality after being so well looked after by you and yours in Yeovil. What can I tempt you with, Sue?

SY - I’m delighted to be here at the Coffee House, Babs. Thank you so much for inviting me. I’d love a latte with a sprinkling of cinnamon on top and a warm almond croissant, please. Mmmm, nice!

2 – I’ve already touched upon your fantastic work for The Yeovil Literary Prize, but perhaps you’d like to tell us about your background and what you do when you’re not pounding away at a keyboard. Do you have an additional occupation or interesting hobby that you’d like to share with us?

SY - I was born in London and describe myself as almost a Cockney, my birthplace being just out of earshot of the Bow Bells! After studying art at Central St Martins, I went on to qualify as a chartered librarian and eventually became a School Library Advisor. My writing career began when, as a member of an amateur dramatic group unable to find suitable material to perform, I decided to produce something myself and ended up writing and directing three murder mystery plays. After that, I concentrated on writing short stories for many years. In 2013, I published my debut novel Happy Deathday and its sequel Resurrection. When I’m not writing, I enjoy, reading, cinema and contemporary jazz. My husband and I love to travel and prefer ‘adventure’ over relaxation. We’ve been to Alaska twice, using the local ferries to travel the Alaskan Marine Highway and did a five week road trip of New Zealand. Our most exciting and challenging trip to date, was driving the Dempster Highway (the Ice Road Truckers road) up to and beyond the Arctic Circle - in the summer… doing it in the winter, would just be suicidal! Wow! Sue, I’m impressed by your travelling adventures, and to think I had trouble navigating the London Underground.

3 – How did you get involved with The Yeovil Literary Prize? What is your role within it and how much of your time is devoted to this each year?

SY - 2011 was my first year as one of the three novel short listing judges. I was asked if I would help out with the online novel submissions and I said I’d give it a go and have been doing it ever since! It is very time consuming process with each submission consisting of a synopsis and opening chapters (combined maximum 15,000 words). I usually start in March, when the competition has been open for a couple of months and go on until July. You can’t do too many in one sitting as it is pretty mind-boggling! When we’ve each got our shortlist we meet up and thrash out which ones will go to the designated novel judge for that year. The other two categories, Short Story and Poetry have their own shortlisting judges but follow a similar process.

4 – Do you get carried away with the latest project to the exclusion of everything else, or do you flit from one to the other as the mood takes you? Are you a planner, or happy to go where your characters take you?

SY - I’m a planner initially but do let the characters guide me at times. Often I’ll see or hear something during the course of writing and incorporate that into the story but I do tend to stick to my original outline. I can only work on one thing at a time!

5 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why?

SY - I too, like to genre hop and have tackled pretty much everything in my short story writing, including horror, supernatural, crime, historical and humour. I do have a particular passion for Sci-fi, so I suppose that it was inevitable that my debut novel would be in that genre.

6 – Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

SY - I have a problem with the Fantasy genre. I don’t know what it is but I just can’t get a feel for it, although a lot of my stories do have a supernatural element.

7 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

SY - I devoured Enid Blyton as a child but was always rather disappointed that my family holidays did not involve dastardly criminals, giving me no opportunity to thwart their plans with my cunning detective skills! I remember being read stories at primary school, in particular, The Water Babies. It upset me so much, I was haunted by it for years! Fortunately, it didn’t stop me developing a love of books and reading but does show that you need to be careful to read the right book at the right time, to a child. Having said above that I do not like Fantasy, I have to say that, one book that I’ve recently read, has gone a long way in changing my mind and that is Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway. What a fabulous read! I’m currently reading Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier.

8 – Promotion and marketing is the bane of most writers’ lives. As a newly published writer how are you reaching your readers and promoting your work? Have you had any particular marketing successes?

SY - P & M is my nemesis and takes up so much time! But there’s no getting away from it, you have to get out there and do it. I’ve been helped a lot by friends and fellow authors but it doesn’t come naturally to me. I suppose the thing I am most proud of, as a self-published author, is getting my books in stock at my local branch of Waterstones.

9 – Tell us a little about the books you currently have published.

SY - Happy Deathday is set in an underground breeding colony constructed to save the Human Race from extinction, by a gamma ray explosion that destroys the Earth’s ozone layer. The story is told by the two main protagonists, Jonathan and Sarah in a dual narrative. Both of them have had their eighteen years in the Colony and their Deathdays are fast approaching. One is born every day; one dies every day. That is the way of the Colony. Like Jonathan, Sarah has successfully completed her breeding programme, a soulless clinical procedure and is ready to re-join the Colony and prepare for her Deathday - a time of celebration when, the contribution each colonist has made to its mission, is fulfilled. It’s all they have. This is your destiny. That’s what they’ve always been told…

10 – Can you give us a little hint at what you have planned next?

SY - It’s in the very early stages but my next novel will be a satire set in the not too distant future and will involve a very creative solution to a problem threatening national stability!

11 – And tell us even more about the one you’ve brought with you.

SY - The novel starts with a seemingly innocuous accident, where Jonathan loses a week’s supply of the Supplement, he’s been required to take since he was nine years old and that he believes contains only vitamins and minerals. Without its influence, he begins to experience all the signs of puberty. He starts noticing things that he’s never noticed before, in particular Sarah. With his body no longer under his control, Jonathan struggles with his attraction to her and his growing sexual awareness. He also notices Zack, a Security Response Unit officer and two things become apparent. One that Zack is becoming an increasing threat to the Colony. And two, Zack has designs on Sarah. Fuelled by love, jealousy and the hormones his body’s been denied for years, Jonathan takes him on. The third main, ever present, character in the novels, is Time itself. It’s there at the beginning of each chapter, reminding us of how little of it, Jonathan and Sarah, have left. The Happy Deathday duology is a crossover novel targeted at the 14+/Adult age range.

12 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

SY - Jonathan, like Sarah, displays great bravery as he battles against, not only a de-humanising environment but also, his own body.

13 – While I top up your coffee would you like to read a short excerpt from your book?

Putting my used tunic in the recycling chute, I press the dispenser button for a clean one. I have already checked my shoes and they will be fine for another few days before, they too, will be recycled.

I exit my hygiene cubicle, cross to the food dispenser and press the button. A packet drops down onto the metal counter. Straight away, I see that it is smaller than yesterday. Opening it, I stare at the contents - two rice balls and a small pile of bean shoots. Raising the packet to chin level, I pick up one of the rice balls between my thumb and forefinger, put it whole into my mouth and swallow. I feel every centimetre of its journey, as it is pushed down into my growling stomach. A spasm of pain grips me under the ribs, as my gut muscles clench hold of it. I wipe away a trickle of saliva that creeps from the side of my mouth, with the sleeve of my tunic top then gobble down the rest of the contents. Spotting a grain of rice caught in the fold of the carton, I hook it out with my fingernail. Then, placing it on my tongue, I work it to the back of my throat and gulp it down.

I glance up at the time display on the COMSET and see that I must leave at once. I have lost track of time and hurry towards the door.

‘Remember Jonathan that your Pre-mortal course is scheduled for tomorrow at 14.00 hours. It is essential that you are carefully prepared for your Deathday ceremony.’

Perhaps it is the lack of food, but I have forgotten all about my Pre-mortal course and this troubles me a great deal. Ashamed at my oversight, I reach the door deep in thought and wave my hand over the console. But it remains closed. I freeze for a moment, unsure of what to do then hear a click behind me.

‘Jonathan, you have not taken your Supplement.’

Shocked at another mistake in my morning routine, I rush over to the dispenser and push the button. Nothing happens. In my haste, I have not applied enough pressure. I push it again, hard and for several seconds this time. But instead of one tablet, seven shoot out of the nozzle and bounce, one after another, off the metal shelf. I try and catch them with my knees but they fall onto the floor and I watch, in horror, as they clatter down the air vent in the floor by the wall. Standing quite still, I wait for the COMSET to respond. Nothing. I pour a little water into a plastic cup and pretend to take a tablet. I dare not look at the Eye behind me. After a few seconds, I walk over to the door again and wave my hand over the console. It glides open and I step out into the corridor.

I have lost a week’s supply of Supplement. The Supplement, I have taken every day of my life since my 10th Deathday.

Happy Deathday and its sequel, Resurrection, are available in Kindle and paperback formats from:

Happy Deathday

Amazon .com

Amazon co.uk

Resurrection

Amazon .com

Amazon co.uk

You can catch up with Sue at:

Twitter @SueYockney;

Facebook

Goodreads.

14– And finally a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Sue, can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this? your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on:

She was chained up in the castle basement as the flood waters began to rise... The dark, encroaching liquid crept up her naked body, shocking her with its chill. She expelled a terrified scream from the back of her throat, the sound ricocheting around the slick stone walls of the basement. No-one would hear her cries. She was quite alone. As the water reached her neck then her chin, she struggled to free her chained leg but it was held fast to the floor. Then her nose slipped under the surface, the foul tasting water seeping into her lungs and she knew in this drowning moment that this was not a dream…this was real.

Thanks so much for coming, Sue. I wish you much success in all you do and hope all your plans come to fruition. Do pop back and let us know how you get on with your next travelling adventure.

Babs x

3 Comments

Julie Ryan

3/5/2014

2 Comments

Well, we’re into March and The Coffee House garden is resplendent with snowdrops and aconite. Touch wood, we’ve escaped the worst of the winter weather and both of our greenhouses and the kitchen windowsills are filled with seedlings. I’m looking forward to the weather warming up and serving refreshments on the lawn. But I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s still a bit too parky to be out and about without a warm coat, so this week’s guest can be assured of a spot by the stove. Please join me as The Coffee House welcomes Julie Ryan. Julie released her debut novel in 2013. She’s a regular contributor to Goodreads and Facebook groups and a regular reviewer.

We’re pretty easy going here, Julie, so please make yourself at home. Feel free to sprawl on the sofas or grab a chair by the stove. Dogs are very welcome, biscuits supplied.

1 - So first up, Julie. What are you having? Name your poison, or in this case the hot beverage and tasty treat of your choice. The chef is very accomplished with a whisk and a rolling pin.

JR - Thanks so much for having me and what a lovely welcome! I love a nice cup of coffee in the morning, milk and one sugar please. As for a treat, I’d choose a ‘pain au chocolat’ being a bit of a chocoholic. (Mmmm chocolate ... )

2 – Mini bio time. Let’s get to know a little bit more about how you ended up here on my sofa. Are you a full time writer, Julie, or do you have an additional occupation or hobby that drags you away from the keyboard?

JR - I wish! Like many writers, I can’t afford to write full time so I run our local village post office in the mornings. The rest of the day I’m a distance learning tutor, teaching English over the phone to French companies. I write in between whenever I can. The good thing about working from home is that I’m never far from my keyboard or a coffee!

3 – How did you get into writing? Perhaps you’re lucky enough to be a member of a writer’s group. Or maybe you just fell into it by accident.

JR - I’ve always written, even as a small child but my dream of one day writing a novel was just that until I started working from home. One day I bumped into fellow writer Linn B Halton and her writing journey inspired me to dust off my notes and get cracking. ‘Jenna’s Journey’ was the result and I haven’t looked back since. Together we set up a ‘Book Club’ and their support has also been invaluable.

4 – What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it? Did you run the gauntlet of the query letter or decide to self publish? How do you promote your work?

JR - My goal was ultimately to write a novel and the fact that you can self-publish on Amazon was very attractive. I am a bit of a control freak so wanted to keep the novel in my own hands and didn’t approach publishers. That’s something I may consider in the future but for the moment I’m busy building up a reader base and interacting with people on Facebook and Twitter. For all the faults of social media, I’ve ‘met’ some lovely people that I wouldn’t have done otherwise. I also set up my own blog site so that I can help publicise other writers’ work. Hopefully by spreading a bit of goodwill, it’ll make the online writers’ community a better place.

5 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why?

JR - I didn’t plan my genre, rather it chose me. At first, I only had an idea of writing about Greece where I spent some time in the 1980s. I knew it wasn’t quite chick-lit, nor was it a real thriller but I love the fact it embraces several genres. I call it a romantic mystery but in fact the only thing it’s missing is a steampunk vampire! I guess we write about what we enjoy reading and as I enjoy contemporary women’s fiction, thrillers and suspense mixed with a bit of historical fiction, it’s not surprising that my first novel has ended up as a crossover.

6 – Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

JR - I love a good story so for me almost anything is permissible if it allows the story to flow. Just recently though, I’ve noticed a tendency for very steamy sex scenes in lots of different genres. I don’t mind the odd scene if it’s well written but after six or seven such scenes in one book, I found myself thinking ’just get on with it. I want to know what happens next.’

7 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

JR - I was an absolute Enid Blyton fanatic as a child and my greatest pleasure was shopping with my mum on Friday evenings. She’d leave me in the book aisle happily reading while she did the shopping and then I got to choose which book to buy. That most definitely developed my love of books. Nowadays my choice is much more eclectic. I don’t have one favourite author but amongst my top choices are Philippa Gregory, Anne Zouroudi, Sara Alexi, Kate Moreton, Kate Mosse, John Fowles, Ken Follett

8 – Tell us a little about the books you currently have published and what you have planned next.

JR - My debut novel, Jenna’s journey, tells the story of a young woman who flees to Greece to escape her failing marriage. It’s a voyage of discovery as she works out what she wants. On the way she gets caught up in a drug smuggling ring, There are lots of twists and turns but it’s only when her daughter returns to Greece twenty-five years later that some of the questions are answered. There’s also a romantic interest in the form of Nikos the hotel manager. It’s a bit like ‘Sliding Doors’ meets ‘Shirley Valentine.’

At the moment I’m working on my second book in the series. It’s called ‘Sophia’s Story’ and although it’s set on the same island, it isn’t a sequel. One or two of the characters from’ Jenna’s Journey’ do appear though. After I’d finished the book, they just wouldn’t leave me alone.

9 – And tell us even more about the one you’ve brought with you. I did explain about reading an excerpt later didn’t I? Oh good. Don’t think you get coffee and cake for nothing.

JR -‘Jenna’s Journey’ touches on several themes such as domestic abuse, love and romance, motherhood and I hope gives the reader pause for thought. It is set against a backdrop of Greece, a country that I came to think of as my second home so is an ideal beach read if you’re looking for something more than boy meets girl, conflict stops the path of true love, boy and girl live happily ever after. I like to leave the reader guessing and you’ll have to wait and see if love wins out in the end.

Blurb:

‘Jenna’s Journey’

When Jenna decides on a whim to go to Greece, she’s trying to escape her failing marriage. Will Greg let her go so easily though? Can she make a new future for herself and how did she get involved in an antiques smuggling ring? Is fellow holidaymaker Tom all he seems and will it be happy ever after with Nikos? It’s not until twenty-five years later that some of the questions are finally answered.

Available from:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

10 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

JR - I became extremely fond of ‘Jenna’ – sassy, fun-loving yet vulnerable ; she’s had her spirit knocked out of her but finds love when she least expects it.

11 – While I top up your coffee would you like to read a short excerpt from your book?

                                                                                                ............

As she stepped off the plane, she felt a rush of excitement and anticipation flood over her. She wondered if her mother had felt the same when she arrived in Greece almost twenty-five years ago. She knew that there must have been many changes during that time. Instead of flying direct to the island, her mother would have had to fly to Athens first and then taken a boat to the island as direct flights to the island had only started up a couple of years ago. She stood in line waiting to clear customs, feeling guilty even though she had nothing to hide. Just walking through the green channel she could sense hidden eyes watching her every move. This automatically made her act suspiciously and then breathing a sigh of relief she was through and out into the bright Greek sunshine. Squinting to read the address on the scrap of paper, she hailed a taxi and the driver sped off towards the hotel.

“Hi, I am Leo,” the taxi driver said, introducing himself in fluent English.

“Allie,” she replied.

She’d been anxious about being ripped off or being taken on a wild goose chase, but there was no need to worry. Leo seemed to be the exception to her stereotyped image of Greek drivers. Although he drove fast, he negotiated the roads with great skill. Driving up narrow tracks, he tooted his horn to let any other drivers know he was coming. She wanted to ask him about the austerity measures that had recently been imposed on them in order to meet their euro deficit obligations. She had been quite shocked at the effects that the cutbacks had had on ordinary people. Last year the government had introduced a kind of surtax cunningly collected through the electricity bill. If you refused to pay or couldn’t pay, you were cut off – simple! People had struggled to keep warm through the winter, as many couldn’t afford oil any more. The news had shown piles of rubbish in the streets thanks to the refuse collectors going on strike because they hadn’t been paid. Allie remembered seeing pictures of Piraeus on the news with rubbish piles as high as cars. She wanted to ask Leo more about how ordinary people had coped but when she pressed him for more details he shrugged and smiled,

“Greece is not only Athens, you know. Here, sure, life is tough but we survive. Maybe we spend a little less, complain a little more but life is good. You are in the most beautiful place in the world. If you have the sun and the sea and a few vegetables – what more do you need?”

Looking around at the idyllic scenery of the island, Allie thought that this was a far cry indeed from the sensationalist pictures of Athens that she’d seen on the TV. They finally pulled up in front of a traditional-looking but freshly painted hotel. Allie took the well-thumbed photo from her bag for comparison. Whilst the land around had all been eaten up by new developments, the hotel itself looked remarkably similar to the photo. It had been extended at the side but there was no doubt that this was the place. Maybe now she would get the answers that she’d been waiting for all this time? She wanted answers that her mother couldn’t or perhaps wouldn’t give her.

“Here we are,” said Leo, taking her holdall from her and escorting her up some stone steps. Allie added a few euros to the fare, partly in relief at having got here in one piece and also because Leo had been so charming. She knew from the guidebook she’d read on the plane that it wasn’t necessary to tip, but Leo accepted gracefully, handing her a card with his number on it in case she needed his services again. If what he’d told her was true, Allie guessed that meant his family could eat that night.

She walked up to the reception desk and seeing no one about, rang the bell. She was quite surprised by the interior. Whilst the hotel looked traditional on the outside, the inside had been renovated in a very contemporary style. She was sure it was the right place, but she really didn’t know where to start to get the answers she’d come all this way for. She was in the middle of reading the notice above the desk which advertised free Wi-Fi access for hotel residents when a man in his late forties or could be early fifties – Allie wasn’t much good at telling people’s ages – came out of a room at the back. His skin was lightly tanned and he was wearing a light blue chambray shirt, which set his tan off perfectly. He must have been good-looking in his youth, thought Allie.

The man stopped in his stride and she watched the colour fade from his face in disbelief.

“My God, it can’t be,” he whispered.

“You must be Nick,” replied Allie. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost!”

                                                                                                        .........

12- And let us know where we can find you, Julie.

Twitter: @julieryan18

Facebook

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13– And finally a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this? your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on:

Then the door crashed down, and the furred beast was . . .
...upon her. She tried to push it off with all her might but it was simply too strong for her. She could smell its rancid breath in her face: a mix of stale fish and something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She was trapped now. There was no way out and nobody to save her. The furred beast had a horrible rough tongue which she could feel on her cheek. It opened its maw wide and out came a pitiful ‘miaow’.
“Get off me, stupid cat, “ she cried and as she fell back asleep, the dream changed again. This time she was chained up in the castle basement as the flood waters began to rise.

Thanks so much for coming, Julie. I wish you much success with your books.

                                                                                                                                                                                Babs x

Thanks Babs and compliments to the pastry chef - yum

2 Comments

Gerry McCullough

2/19/2014

27 Comments

This week I’m excited to welcome the very talented Gerry McCullough to The Coffee House. Gerry is a Belfast writer with a commendable list of thrillers, short story collections and magazine articles to her name. Her fabulous book Belfast Girls was an Amazon best seller. In addition to her own writing, she’s a tireless supporter of fellow Indie authors and I’m delighted she’s found the time to stop by for a coffee and a chat. I know she has a busy life so I’m hoping she’s going to share more about what she’s been up to recently and of course about her books and future projects. So, without further ado, Gerry, come in out of that awful weather, hang up your coat, and make yourself at home.

1 – Before we get started, Gerry, what can I get you? Name your poison and I’ll see if the chef can rustle it up. If it’s an Irish delicacy then you might need to roll up your sleeves and give a hand.

GM - You’re very kind, Babs! I think, since it’s a special occasion, I could forget my diet for once (or is it the millionth time?) and have some strawberry pavlova – or hot pancakes with raspberry jam – or a cherry scone – or hot chocolate – or – or – oh, you decide!

2 – Okay, mini bio time -Let’s get to know a little bit more about how you ended up here on my sofa, Gerry. I know you’re a successful writer but do you have an additional occupation or interesting hobby that drags you away from the keyboard.

GM - Well, Babs, I was born and brought up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where I went to school and later university. I married as a student and we moved to the Co. Antrim seaside village of Whitehead. My first husband died while he was still very young, leaving me with two little boys aged four and five. A few years later, I met and married my present husband Raymond, who’s been a real blessing to me and the boys, and we moved to Bangor on the other side of the Lough, not too many miles from Belfast. Then we had two more children, both girls. Two per husband, I think that’s fair, isn’t it? So to answer the second part of your question, Babs, since I have four adult children and nine grandchildren, keeping up with their lives (and, for example, their birthdays!) is enough of a hobby for anyone, I should think. And, yes, it can be a major distraction!

3 – How did you get into writing? What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it?

GM - I’ve always loved writing, Babs, since I was a very small child, and for years I tried hard to get published, but like 99% of authors, famous or otherwise, I gathered up enough rejection slips to, as PG Wodehouse said, ‘paper the walls of my office.’ The breakthrough came when an Irish magazine accepted one of my short stories, A Tale of a Teacup, (my first Tale of Old Seamus), and then went on to publish a whole series of the other stories I wrote about the same character. A few years later, I won a prestigious Short Story Award. I really thought I had it made! But it was several more years before Someone accepted one of my full length books. That came to nothing (Irreconcilable differences, as they say in the divorce courts.) But not long after that, Night Publishing accepted Belfast Girls, and since that I haven’t looked back.

4 – I usually have two or three projects on the go at the same time. How about you, Gerry? Do you get carried away with the latest project to the exclusion of everything else, or do you flit from one to the other as the mood takes you? Are you a planner, or happy to go where your characters take you?

GM - They say women are multi-tasking. I can only say, I’ve never been. (Which reminds me to stop talking for a moment and eat some more of this marvellous pavlova!). I need to concentrate on one thing at a time, and finish that, before going on to something else. At the moment, I have the problem that there are at least three things I should be writing. Firstly, adapting Belfast Girls to make a play. A local theatre is very interested in this project, but since way before Christmas it’s been dead slow and stop with it. Secondly, I’ve planned for some time to lengthen one of my more literary short stories, set before, during and after the First World War, into a full length novel. I’ve got up to 33,000 words. But every time I’ve thought of writing some more (and I’ve lots of ideas for new scenes) I think I should really be working on the play, and nothing happens. Then, I really want to write another book in my Angel Murphy thriller series, and I have ideas for two more, but I don’t know whether to go ahead with them or finish one of my other projects first. I really need to get my head together on this.

5 – I like to listen to music when I’m writing and depending on what I’m writing, the music will differ. So, for my Mrs Jones series it’s got to be Michael Buble’, Wildewood is Sting and Bedlam is definitely The Stereophonics. How about you, Gerry? Do you have a particular musical influence while writing?

GM - Well, no, Babs. I love listening to music when I’m doing nothing else. But I suppose it follows on from what I’ve said above, I can’t listen to music, or to someone talking, or anything, while I’m trying to write. I just doesn’t work for me.

6 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why?

GM - Yes, I’ve written Belfast Girls which is labelled as Literary Fiction / Contemporary Romance; Danger Danger and my two Angel books which are thrillers with a bit of romance thrown in, Lady Molly & the Snapper, which is a YA Time Travel adventure, a collection of the first 12 of my Old Seamus stories (The Seanachie – which means storyteller in Irish) and a so far unpublished book which is a Terry Prachett-like comic fantasy. (This was the book accepted by another publisher which I mentioned above.) So I’ve genre hopped and enjoyed it. I actually believer books shouldn’t be labelled as one genre or another. No one labelled Dickens or Jane Austen as of one particular genre – but who am I to challenge the now established system? The problem with genre hopping is that readers are trained to expect a certain sort of book from an author. If you write something different, you have to start from scratch building up a new audience. Far too much work, I’m afraid.

7 – Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

GM - Yes, I would never write anything upsetting about a child being hurt in any way. I don’t read this sort of thing either. Or extreme horror, or extreme erotica. That’s about it. I’ll happily write or read almost anything else.

8 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

GM - I never know what to answer to questions about my favourite book. Mostly, I have favourite authors, and I’ll read and reread everything that author has ever written. As a child, I read a lot of E. Nesbit, Nancy Breary (intelligent girls’ boarding school stories) Geoffrey Trease (historical fiction). But I also read adult writers like PG Wodehouse, Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen – the list is endless and I’ve probably left out some real favourites. One of my sisters used to read to me, and was also responsible for taking me to the children’s library and getting me enrolled. My mother recited poetry to me, my father sang – oh, I was brought up in a very cultured family. For which I’m very grateful. I can never understand writers who don’t read. If I stopped reading, I think my creativity would die the death very soon. Currently I’m rereading J.B. Priestley’s The Image Men, a book I couldn’t recommend too heartily to anyone reading this.

9 – Promotion and marketing is the bane of most writers’ lives. How do you reach your readers and promote your work? Do you have any particular tips that you can share with us?

GM - The usual advice is to build an internet platform. Facebook, Twitter, a bog, a website. I’ve done all that. The Kindle Select Programme, where you are allowed to make a book free for 5 days out of every 90, worked very well for me at first. Nearly two years ago my second book Danger Danger, published by Precious Oil Publications, had 21,000 free downloads followed by over 2000 actual sales, which put it into the overall top hundred on Amazon. Then because Danger Danger had a chapter of Belfast Girls at the back, and a link to buy Belfast Girls on Amazon, Belfast Girls in turn sold around eleven thousand in a few months, was in the top hundred overall for some time, and was #1 in its genres. Around then I switched Belfast Girls from Night Publishing to my new publisher, who put it up free on Kindle Select, and it similarly had around 21,000 free downloads followed by 2,300 actual sales, and went back into the overall top hundred again. Alas, Kindle Select no longer works like that, since Amazon changed the goalposts. Free downloads are no longer followed by actual sales, or not by many. Facebook and Twitter are less useful than they were, I think. And the new Countdown programme is of doubtful value. The emerging thing seems to be paid advertising, especially on sites with an established following, like BookBub. Unfortunately this is hard for a new writer since they won’t accept a book unless it has a large number of reviews. And how do you get reviews before people have read the book? It’s a bit of a vicious circle.

10 – Tell us a little about the books you currently have published.

GM - I suppose I’ve already covered this pretty well! I have six books published. Belfast Girls is about three girls, friends since childhood, growing up in the new post conflict Belfast where drugs, wealth and fashion have become important; and of their lives and loves. Danger Danger is a romantic thriller about twin girls separated at birth whose lives nevertheless follow strangely similar patterns, as the lives of twins seem to do. Both have a relationship with a dangerous man who draws them into trouble. Angel in Flight introduces Angel Murphy, a Belfast Girl emerging from a broken marriage and learning, while on holiday in Greece, to stand up for herself and deal with the villains she comes across. The second Angel book, Angel in Belfast, shows Angel tracking down another villain who has driven a well loved pop star to the brink of death. I’ve already mentioned Lady Molly, the YA Time Travel adventure, and The Seanachie: Tales of Old Seamus.

11 – Can you give us a little hint at what you have planned next?

GM - I’ve too many pots on the boil, as I said above. As a matter of fact, I decided last week to simply put all these aside, turn off the gas as it were, and relax into writing, as I used to do long ago, just what I feel like writing. I’ve started what might have been a short story, but seems to be developing into a novel. It’s a mixture of Georgette Heyer, Vanity Fair, and Jane Eyre – a historical romance, in fact – and I’m enjoying writing it. Whether it will ever get finished or not I’ve no idea. The whole point is not to push myself, but to get back to writing purely for enjoyment.

12 – And tell us even more about the one you’ve brought with you.

GM - Well, I’ve decided on Belfast Girls. The three girls in this book each have their own stories, but because they are friends the stories are intertwined. Sheila, beginning life as an ‘ugly duckling’ grows up to be a supermodel, and is kidnapped at one point in the book. Her one desire is to heal her broken relationship with her former boyfriend John Branagh. Phil is deeply in love since her teens with Davy Hagan, who is involved in dealing drugs. Phil, because she won’t give Davy away, is herself accused of dealing and sent to prison at another point. The third friend, Mary, starts as a wild child, with underage drinking and drugs. But when she almost dies from an accidental overdose she has a spiritual awakening and her life is turned around. And that’s just scratching the surface of the book!

13 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

GM - Sheila seems to have everything – beauty, success as a model. But all she really wants is John, who despises her.

14 – While I top up your coffee would you like to read a short excerpt from your chosen book?

Sheila stared at herself in the mirror and saw a cool, beautiful woman, the epitome of poise and grace. She knew that famous, rich, important men over two continents would give all their wealth and status to possess her, or so they said. She was an icon according to the papers. That meant, surely, something unreal, something artificial, painted or made of stone. And what was the good? There was only one man she wanted. John Branagh. And he’d pushed her away. He believed she was a whore – a tart – someone not worth touching. What did she do to deserve that?

It wasn’t fair! she told herself passionately. He went by rules that were medieval. No-one nowadays thought the odd kiss mattered that much. Oh, she was wrong. She’d hurt him, she knew she had. But if he’d given her half a chance, she’d have apologised – told him how sorry she was. Instead of that, he’d called her such names – how could she still love him after that? But she knew she did.

How did she get to this place, she wondered, the dream of romantic fiction, the dream of so many girls, a place she hated now, where men thought of her more and more as a thing, an object to be desired, not a person? When did her life go so badly wrong? She thought back to her childhood, to the skinny, ginger-haired girl she once was. Okay, she hated how she looked but otherwise, surely, she was happy.

Or was that only a false memory?

The evening was almost at its climax.

To the loud music of Snow Patrol, Sheila half floated, half danced along the catwalk, her arms raised ballerina fashion. This was Delmara's spring look for evening wear and she could tell at once that the audience loved it.

With one part of her mind Sheila was aware of the audience, warm and relaxed now, full of good food and drink, their minds absorbed in beauty and fashion, ready to spend a lot of money. Dimly in the background she heard the sounds of voices shouting and feet running.

The door to the ballroom burst open. People began to scream. It was something Sheila had heard about for years now, the subject of local black humour, but had never before seen. Three figures, black tights pulled over flattened faces as masks, uniformly terrifying in black leather jackets and jeans, surged into the room. The three sub-machine guns cradled in their arms sent deafening bursts of gunfire upwards. Falling plaster dust and stifling clouds of gun smoke filled the air. For one long second they stood just inside the entrance way, crouched over their weapons, looking round. One of them stepped forward and grabbed Montgomery Speers by the arm.

“Move it, mister!” he said. He dragged Speers forcefully to one side, the weapon poking him hard in the chest.

A second man gestured roughly with his gun in the general direction of Sheila.

“You!” he said harshly. “Yes, you with the red hair! Get over here!”

Blurb:
The story of three girls - Sheila, Phil and Mary - growing up into the new emerging post-conflict Belfast of money, drugs, high fashion and crime; and of their lives and loves.
Sheila, a supermodel, is kidnapped. Phil is sent to prison. Mary, surviving a drug overdose, has a spiritual awakening.
It is also the story of the men who matter to them –

John Branagh, former candidate for the priesthood, a modern Darcy, someone to love or hate. Will he and Sheila ever get together? Davy Hagan, drug dealer, ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’. Is Phil also mad to have anything to do with him?

Although from different religious backgrounds, starting off as childhood friends, the girls manage to hold on to that friendship in spite of everything.
A book about contemporary Ireland and modern life. A book which both men and women can enjoy - thriller, romance, comedy, drama - and much more ....

Buy at - Amazon

Catch up with Gerry at:

Blogspot
Website
Twitter
Goodreads
Facebook
Amazon Author Page

16– And finally a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Gerry, can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this? Your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on: You can catch up with the whole story so far Here.

Oh my God nightmare! ...Rose twisted and turned in the damp sheets. Her fever increased. No more of this horror throwing her from one awful situation to another! Where was the castle where her dream started? If she could get there, a prince on a white horse would come and rescue her. There was the kitchen! Rose heard hooves thudding in the courtyard outside the door. She must open it! She wrestled in vain with the heavy bolt. A hand grasped her shoulder. A hand covered in grey fur. And a voice said in her ear, ‘Oh, no, my pretty one! Too late for that!’

Thanks for inviting me in out of the cold, Babs! It’s been great – especially the strawberry pavlova.

And thank you so much for coming, Gerry. It's been lovely to find out a little more about your life. I wish you continued success in all you do and hope all your plans come to fruition. Do pop back and let us know how you get on.

Babs x

27 Comments

David Menon

2/5/2014

7 Comments

This week I’m very pleased to welcome David Menon to The Coffee House. Not only has David written a number of books, he’s also well travelled and I’ve been genuinely interested in his online persona. I’m hoping he’s going to tell us a little more about his life as a writer and of course about his books. So, without further ado, hang up your coat, David, and make yourself at home.

1 – First up. What are you having, David? Name your poison, or in this case the hot beverage of your choice and seeing as how the weather is so awful out there, I think an extra portion of cake is on the cards.

DM - I’d like a flat white coffee, please. I first discovered these in Australia where the name for a white coffee with hot milk is a flat white. They do them in Costas here now which has broken my addiction to cappuccino. I don’t see the point of a latte – too much milk. And as for cake, can I have a slice of lemon cheesecake, please? I don’t often eat cake but that’s my poison when I do.

2 – Okay, mini bio time -Let’s get to know a little bit more about how you ended up here on my sofa, David. Are you a full time writer or do you have an additional occupation or interesting hobby that drags you away from the keyboard?

DM - I would really like to be a full-time writer! I’m certainly doing my best to work towards that. In the meantime though I teach English to foreign students, mainly Russian teenagers from a school in St. Petersburg. Normally I go to Finland where they take the kids to activities camps and we teach English each morning. Some of the camps are deep in the forests and I’ve been greatly inspired by these places. In summer it doesn’t really get dark which is a nightmare for trying to sleep, but for a writer it’s like heaven. My short story collection ‘Kind of Woman’ which largely written there over a four week period in summer 2012. As for hobbies, well I don’t know if I should describe it as such, but I’m a member and volunteer activist for the Labour party.

3 – How did you get into writing? What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it?

DM - I always knew I wanted to write but for a long time I didn’t really know how to go about it. I’ve always written stories since I was a child but when the company, British Airways, where I’d been working for 24 years, offered a voluntary severance deal in 2009, I decided to take it and therefore throw the cards in the air. I went from earning a very good salary to earning nothing overnight but I had to take that risk. I felt compelled to. My first book was called ‘The Wild Heart’ which is a thriller about a love affair set against the background of the Northern Ireland troubles and someone whose identity was changed when he gave information about his paramilitary comrades. I published it initially through a vanity publisher but I wouldn’t do that again. ‘The Wild Heart’ is now published through Amazon and I’m much more comfortable about that.

4 – I’m a terribly disorganised writer. I write when the mood takes me and usually have two or three projects on the go at the same time. How about you, David? Do you plan your novels out in advance or just go where the characters take you? Do you have a particular musical influence while writing? If so, you can either hum it...or I’ll pop the track on and we can all get in the zone.

DM - Babs, I am totally disorganized! I scribble on the back of bus tickets, train tickets, the front pages of newspapers, napkins in restaurants, anything I can lay my hands on when the spirit moves me! But I also have a couple of notebooks that I use to write stuff down and then when I’m at my laptop actually writing I have all these scribbles near me and they almost all end up in the book somewhere. I never fully plan a novel. I have the basic idea, the basic plot when I start out but I then let the characters lead me through it. I let them put the meat on the bones. I also don’t write several drafts. I correct things every three or four chapters and keep going until I feel instinctively that the story is now told.

Do I have a particular musical influence? Oh yes I do. Her name is Stevie Nicks and she has a thirty years solo career as well as being a member of the legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac since 1975. I call her the ‘poet in my heart’ and the ‘voice of my inner world’. I listen to her songs at least once every single day and in fact, I name all my books after the title of one of her songs and there’s always an oblique reference to the lyrics of the song on the dedication page of the book. The book is never about the meaning of the song but somehow the title seems appropriate. As for popping a track on, I was going to be cheeky and ask for several! Ha! The Fleetwood Mac tracks are amongst those that Stevie has contributed to the band. Fleetwood Mac ‘Sara’, Fleetwood Mac ‘Sisters of the Moon’, Fleetwood Mac ‘Landslide’, Fleetwood Mac ‘Gypsy’, Stevie Nicks ‘Edge of Seventeen’, and Stevie Nicks ‘Moonlight’. The link I’ve chosen is the video for the Fleetwood Mac song 'Gypsy', written and performed by Stevie Nicks of course, and it really captures the emotional ebb and flow of Stevie, her poetry and sheer magic.

5 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why?

DM - I write in the crime genre because I find it’s the most fascinating and the most interesting for me. I can write about historical events that come home to roost in the present day or about purely contemporary issues. I can go into people’s motivations and I like to see what ordinary people are capable of doing when they’re pushed into extraordinary situations. I also like to see people get their own back on those who’ve done something against them. Forgiveness is an over-rated virtue. I don’t see why people shouldn’t get their revenge if they can.

6 – Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

DM - Not specifically but I do avoid being too graphic about situations of sexual or physical abuse. I don’t think you need to be too graphic about these situations and not only would I be uncomfortable about writing those kind of scenes, I actually think it’s more skilful as a writer to suggest horrific situations and therefore it has a more powerful impact on the reader. You know what I mean?

7 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

DM - I didn’t grow up in a very ‘bookish’ family, no. In fact, I don’t remember anyone around me reading books when I was a child. But my father who sadly I never met was apparently an avid reader, particularly of poetry. So it must be in my genes.

8 – Promotion and marketing is the bane of most writers’ lives. How do you reach your readers and promote your work.

DM - Marketing is the thorn in the side of the indie author as we all know. I could spend all day on it but I’m a writer and I want to write. So I’ve now brought it down to doing interviews like this and using facebook and twitter to ‘spread the word’. I may try different things this year but I haven’t decided yet.

9 – Tell us a little about the books you currently have published.

DM - Well, I have the DCI Sara Hoyland series of ‘Fall from Grace’, ‘Beautiful Child’, and ‘Outside the Rain’. Sara is a Manchester-based detective who is single, likes men and wine, and I’ve given her crimes to investigate that have a very political flavor to them and tackle big issues like the support of the British upper classes for Hitler during WW2 in ‘Fall from Grace’, the forced migration of orphaned children to Australia in the 1950s and 1960s in ‘Beautiful Child’, and the definition of just who is a terrorist in ‘Outside the Rain’ which involves an attack on Manchester’s Piccadilly station. There’ll be a fourth Sara Hoyland book over the next year or so. I’ve now started another series featuring a Manchester detective called Detective superintendent Jeff Barton. Jeff is a single Dad after his wife died and I wanted to explore the work of the single working father as he investigates some pretty vile murders across the city. The first one is ‘Sorceror’ for which there are links here and I’m busy writing the second one which is called ‘Fireflies’. These are ‘straightforward’ murder detective cases and I have high hopes for the series. Then there’s my collection of short stories called ‘Kind of Woman’ which are all about women in various situations and all have a macabre twist at the end like Roald Dahl’s ‘Tales of the Unexpected’. Then there’s ‘Gypsy’ about a middle-aged man who returns to the small country town he grew up in to try and finally solve the murder of his best friend thirty years ago, and ‘The Wild Heart’ in which love leads someone into a very dangerous and exposed situation and questions how far you’d go to protect the one you love from those who are trying to kill him.

Don’t ask me to choose a favourite. I have my own personal favourite but I’m not telling.

10 – Can you give us a little hint at what you have planned next?

DM - The next release will be the second in the Jeff Barton series called ‘Fireflies’ and will be out about April/May. I’m also working on a second book of short stories called ‘The Highwayman’ and they’ll all be about men and the situations they find themselves in and all, of course, with a macabre twist at the end to companion ‘Kind of Woman’. I’m also developing the third ‘Jeff Barton’ book and the fourth ‘Sara Hoyland’ plus two more ‘stand alone’ books, both in the crime genre but with little twists that take me in a slightly different direction.

11 – And tell us even more about the one you’ve brought with you. I did explain about reading an excerpt later didn’t I? Oh good. Don’t think you get coffee and cake for nothing.

DM - Well ‘Sorceror’ introduces Detective Superintendent Jeff Barton who is a Manchester based detective investigating murder across the city. The story begins with the discovery of three bodies, including one of an infant, in a house that used to be a care home for teenage boys. Jeff is a widower who has to balance a highly demanding job with being a single Dad to his son Toby and he relies on his brother for childcare because of an estrangement from his parents. Meanwhile, as the investigation proceeds it comes down to one former manager of the home and his wife who are not only involved in a paedophile ring right across Europe but have some devastating family secrets to expose. Jeff begins to work out that a former resident of the home who was a victim of the abuse is seeking to get his revenge against those who abused him but once he’s cracked that Jeff and his team need to run fast before justice is taken out of their hands.

12 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

DM - Detective Superintendent Jeff Barton – A devoted father, an effective police officer and a good bloke.

13 – While I top up your coffee would you like to read a short excerpt from your book?

DM – An excerpt from ‘Sorceror’.

SORCEROR ONE

Pembroke House had once been a care home for boys until it closed in 1993. Since then the building had fallen into what local people thought had been terminal decline until a local property developer had recently bought it having seen its potential in a prime location close to the main Manchester university campus. They sent a team of builders in to excavate it and turn the twenty rooms into apartments for the student market. But the work had been abruptly stopped when the house gave up some grisly secrets.

Detective Superintendent Jeff Barlow of the Greater Manchester police received the call and dropped his son Toby off at school before driving straight over to what had now been closed off as a crime scene and where he met his deputy Detective Sergeant Rebecca Stockton.

‘Morning Becky’ said Jeff after he’d got out of his car.

‘Morning, sir’ said Rebecca. She didn’t let many people call her Becky but Jeff was one of them. ‘June Hawkins is waiting for us inside’.

‘The builders must’ve started early’ said Jeff as they headed for the front door. ‘It was just before eight when I got the call’.

‘Well I was staying over at my Mum and Dad’s last night and they only live at the other end of this road so I was able to get here quickly’.

‘How are they?’

‘They’re good, thanks’ said Rebecca.

‘And how’s Toby?’

‘He walked into school holding hands with his little friend Emma this morning’ said Jeff, smiling. ‘It was so sweet’.

‘He’ll be breaking hearts one day’.

‘Yep. That’s my boy’.

The pathologist June Hawkins had a phenomenal reputation amongst the Greater Manchester force and worked with many of Jeff’s colleagues. She was decked out in her usual plastic zip-up suit covering her normal clothes. She’d set up a temporary laboratory on the ground floor of the building with large square bright mobile lights illuminating a long table. What was on the table wiped the smiles off Jeff and Rebecca’s faces instantly.

‘This used to be a little baby’ said June, her voice more solemn than usual and looking down at the skeleton that was clearly that of an infant. ‘It was found by one of the builders and he’s still in shock. He said it reminded him of his grandson who’s only a few weeks old’.

‘Why couldn’t they have left it where it could’ve been discovered alive?’ wondered Rebecca in a mixture of frustration and sorrow. ‘Why did the poor little sod have to die?’

‘Well that’s for you to find out, honey, but I estimate it’s probably been here a while’.

Rebecca flinched. ‘Where was … it found?’

‘In the same place as the other two skeletons that have already been sent over to the lab’ said June.

‘They’re not babies as well?’ asked Jeff.

‘No’ said June. ‘Although one of them is a child of only about seven or eight years old. The other is an adult male. Now come with me’.

Blurb:
The remains of three bodies, one of them an infant, one of them a child, are found in an old house close to Manchester University. The house used to be a care home for teenage boys and Detective Superintendent Jeff Barton and his team uncover a horrific period of brutality and abuse that took place there. Their investigations lead to the former manager of the care home and his wife who are traced to a villa in Spain. The secrets and lies of the family are exposed and the line of victims starts very close to home but Jeff, who is a single Dad following the death of his wife and balances a demanding job with the care of his five year-old son Toby, begins to see what nobody else can. A determined and audacious plot by a former resident of the home, a former victim of the abuse, who is now hellbent on revenge. And if he's right then Jeff and his team have to act quickly before justice is taken out of their hands.

Amazon Uk

Amazon .com

You can catch up with David on:

Facebook

Twitter - @ifanyonefalls

By email - [email protected]

14– And finally a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. David, can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this? your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on:

‘You found me,’ said the greyness, wrapping the girl in soft fur...
'Yes' said the grey fur with one hand firmly on his hip. 'I mean, what did you expect? I don't clip and I don't wax so if you don't like men with fur on them you'd better read Martina Navratilova's autobiography and see if the other side of the stamp is more appealing to your tender tongue. Anyway, it's that Marcus I want to see. Let's just say we had an intimate encounter at a wedding. He was the groom but he had issues and I tried to help him work them out in the gents toilet. Wait a minute though, weren't you the bride? Oh my God nightmare!'

Thanks so much for coming, David. I wish you much success in all you do. Please drop in again with your next book.

Babs x

7 Comments

Jean Gill

1/22/2014

9 Comments

Today The Coffee House welcomes Jean Gill. For the benefit of those who don’t know, Jean and I met on Authonomy some years ago with a shared interest in Historical Fiction and have remained in contact through a writing group, which I shall refer to affectionately as The Hysterical Fiction Group. Jean is the author of many bestselling books. She’s also a superb photographer and a fellow dog lover. She lives and writes from an idyllic spot in France and when she’s not writing, researching her historical novels or undertaking photography assignments, she can be found walking with her two wonderful dogs in the countryside around her home. She has enjoyed a very successful writing career and is a very busy lady so I’m especially pleased that she’s found the time to drop in for a chat and share some of her tips with us. So, Jean, make yourself at home. Hang up your coat and kick off your shoes. Feel free to sprawl on the sofas or grab a chair by the stove.

1 - First things first. What are you having? Name your poison, Jean, or in this case the hot beverage of your choice. Are you a latte or a lemon tea? A shortbread or a chocolate cake? Or perhaps you have some local French delicacy in mind?

JG - Cheesecake and a strawberry milkshake please, seeing as this is a special occasion. I love dairy products!

2 –Let’s get to know a little bit more about how you ended up here on my sofa. A quick bio if you please m’dear. Feel free to shock and entertain us with your exploits to date.

JG - My mother would certainly be shocked to know that I spend a lot of my time talking to strangers and sometimes meeting up with them, in the name of ‘marketing’ and ‘training’. Thanks to the Internet connecting like-minded spirits, I have three friendship networks at the heart of my creative world; our hysterical fiction group J dog forums and photography forums. I didn’t hesitate to accept a lift from an online Slovenian friend to get me from Salzburg Airport to a small village in Austria for a photography workshop with a group of total strangers. As expected, we all got on just as well in person as online.

Before moving to France and expanding these three passions – writing, photography and dogs – I taught English in Wales. My claim to fame is that I was the first woman to be a secondary Headteacher in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire and although there were many difficult aspects to the job, it gave me great satisfaction. However, Wales is wet and I needed time to write so, when my husband retired, we headed for Provence and sunshine.

My life has been crazy-busy with five children, who are all very tolerant of my oddities; I grew one baby myself from a seed and accumulated the others along the way, as teenagers.

3 – How did you get into writing and which came first, the photography or your novels?

JG - University studies of English Literature stopped me writing for a few years. Writers were ‘great men’ and I was a very ordinary woman. Who was I to think I could write? Then a need to express myself led to poetry, and to shaping that poetry for others to read. I turned to prose at 40 J Maybe, as Wendy Cope says, I wasn’t miserable enough for poetry J

Moving to France in 2003 turned me into a photographer. I started sending a regular album to family and friends as a sort of diary, then I had articles on lifestyle and food accepted by France Magazine so I had to shoot the accompanying images. For my cookbook ‘A small cheese in Provence: cooking with goat cheese’ I created the recipes and shot all the food images. My husband grew used to being told ‘Your meal will be on the table in 10 minutes; I just have to shoot it’. The book mixes local landscapes, some shot by my husband, with cheese-related quotations and of course, all the info and recipes for goat cheese. I still love shooting food and my photos have appeared in cookbooks and magazines, which gives me a big kick.

I’ve worked hard, learned from the pro friends I’ve been lucky enough to meet online and my photography balances the writing perfectly. Photography gets me out and about, living in the moment and I get instant gratification. A novel takes two years to complete, including all the historical research. Also, I now earn money from my photography, more than from my writing.

4 – What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it?

JG - I sent my poems away to Johnathon Clifford, Editor of the National Poetry Foundation, and he collected a few at a time until there were enough he considered worth publishing in ‘With Double Blade’ 1988. I owe Johnathon thanks for the quality of his editing and support, not just for being my first publisher.

5 – From your experience do you have any tips for those not yet published?

JG - Good editing is rare and essential. Regardless of whether you seek a traditional publisher or self-publish, find a good editor! Nowadays, publishers expect a typescript to be polished and well-edited so forget any idea of an editor turning your rough diamond into a gem – those days are gone. If you don’t know any editors, I can recommend Famelton Writing Services These are people I trust and their prices are up-front.

6 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why? Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

JG - I am the Queen of Genre-Hoppers with 15 books published, including historical novels, military history, autobiography, poetry, translated books on dog-training and YA. I love all my babies but it is especially pleasing to see ‘Someone to look up to’ in amazon uk’s top dog books because it’s based on the true story of a rescue dog.

7 – Promotion and marketing, most writers see this as a necessary evil. What do you do to try and make sure your work reaches your readers?

JG - Last year was an experiment in marketing methods and it says it all that my amazon No 1 bestseller had no marketing at all! You just never know what you did right so it’s worth trying a variety of Internet approaches – goodreads, giveaways,ebook promotions. Smashwords has a useful free guide to book promotion. This year I have a novel to write and I will only do the marketing I enjoy and that allows my readers to reach me. I like blogging Here and I love chatting over coffee with other writers and readers J. I also love hearing from readers and always reply.

8 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

I remember ‘Listen with Mother’ on the radio as a special time with Mummy when I was about six, and ‘Five Minute Tales’ was the obligatory book at bedtime, so yes, I think my parents started and encouraged my habit. ‘Jean always has her nose in a book’ was just a fact. I discovered Kipling’s ‘The Jungle Book’ at my grandfather’s house and knew at once that my real parents were a black panther and a bear.

I can’t imagine not being in the middle of a book and always feel a sense of loss when I finish one that really gripped me. I have hundreds of favourites, too many to mention, but I do like a good, complicated but coherent story. I feel flattered that reviews have compared my historical novels to those of Dorothy Dunnett. I love her Lymond and Niccolo series.

I’ve always read a lot of non-fiction for research, and for pleasure, everything from popular maths to evolutionary theory. I’ve just finished a great book on ‘Night Photography’ by Lance Keimig and I’ve started a biography by Carolyn Burke. ‘Lee Miller, both sides of the camera’ is about an amazing American photographer, who was also a very beautiful model, born in 1906. I was hoping for inspiration but the start shows how traumatic her young life was so I’m re-thinking!

9. – Can you give us a hint at what you have planned next?

I’m deep in the 12th Century again for my third novel about the Troubadours, Dragonetz and Estela. I spent last year on research and letting the story stew in my imagination and am happy with all the possibilities in my head, the politics and romance, dangers and settings. Although I have a vague idea of the story, the characters will determine what actually happens, within the constraints of historical fact. This is why I need to be steeped in the history of the time so I know what is possible and what isn’t. It’s a very challenging genre and my readers will pick up on any mistakes, not only in the history but also in continuity from the earlier two books. The fans of my historical novels definitely keep me on my toes!

I do play music while I write and thanks to your recommendation Santa bought me Sting’s ‘If on a winter night’, which is perfect. In each Troubadours book a different song of the period has been a motif re-appearing throughout the story and the new one will continue this pattern. I can reveal here that ‘the song’ for my Troubadours book will be ‘O Ignee Spiritus’ by Hildegard von Bingen, an amazingly talented 12thC physician and composer, abbess of an Alsace convent. I do play medieval troubadour songs while I’m writing and this is a superb recording of Hildegard’s work, including the key song for my novel. For the lyrics quoted in English in my books, I translate from French and Latin, and for the Occitan I work from the French, English and Occitan versions. I also confess to a weakness for heavy rock and if you call round while I’m writing, I might not hear you ring the bell because I’m playing Metallica at full volume. My musical tastes are as wide as my writing!

10 – And tell us even more about the one you’ve brought with you. I did explain about reading an excerpt later didn’t I? Oh good. Don’t think you get coffee and cake for nothing.

JD - I’ve chosen ‘How Blue is my Valley’ because it’s my bestseller and because it’s likely to be the only autobiography I’ll ever write. Imagine me with a laptop, in the only corner of an old French house that isn’t being demolished by workmen in the name of renovation, with no idea of the plot because I’m writing what happens, as it happens, and you can imagine how stressful it was writing this book. For some reason that makes people laugh J

12 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

JD - He’s big, independent and would fight to the death to protect someone he loves; Sirius, a dog you won’t forget. (the Pyrenean Mountain dog in ‘Someone to look up to’)

12 – While I top up your coffee would you like to read a short excerpt from your book?

How Blue is my Valley (autobiography about moving to France)

It is true, however hard to believe; I am wishing for rain. I am a changed person after four months without the wet stuff (unless you count a few drops which didn’t even change the colour of the paving stones).

We play out the scene in ‘Jean de Florette’ where the townie shakes his fist at departing thunderclouds which have passed by his garden yet again. We use all our old standard guaranteed rain starters. We hang out the washing, John waters the garden, we walk the dogs… nothing works. The air steams with humidity, our shirts run with sweat, we snap at each other as we wait for the storm that doesn’t come. It is like going through labour without giving birth. We are exhausted by two complete days of nearly-about-to-rain-honestly-perhaps-well, maybe not. Then the sun comes out again and we get on with our rainless lives.

It is August so all roadworks are suspended while the council workers holiday. Even my optician is shutting up shop and I won’t be able to get my new varifocals until he comes back, by which time I will have thought of a way to raise the required cash. If you live in Dieulefit, where do you go for your holidays? My optician is off to … Ireland.

When he heard I was from Wales, he sniggered, then apologised. I asked him to explain, He said, ‘No, I shouldn’t say,’ I said, ‘Go on,’ and eventually, he did. He had just watched a film about a mountain in Wales, no, he corrected himself, about the mountain in Wales. Did I know how high it was? I did. He laughed, ‘And they are proud of it.’ I told him that if he only had one mountain, he’d be proud of it too.

I ask about Ireland to distract myself from the pain of the estimate, barely eased by having a pair of prescription sunglasses thrown in – for that price I should be getting a cute guide dog thrown in. My optician is looking forward to the countryside, the culture, the people, the unspoilt beaches, the swimming… The swimming? Ireland is a lot like Wales, I tell him, gently, and it might not be as hot or as sunny, as it is here. I don’t tell him that I remember the swimming all too well … every time I opened my back door.

When I walk out of his shop, I can see the encircling mountains, the ridge of Dieu Grace, the St Maurice range, Mielandre … all of them around a thousand metres or more and considered nothing by the locals, who live within an hour of the Alps.

It finally rains, with cymbals and drums that send Sensitive Dog into a frenzy. She has almost got over her fear of men in yellow jackets, thanks to the daily immersion therapy provided by Dieulefit council; she’s no longer scared of ambulances and fire-engines as she now sings along - the particular note in French sirens has taught her to howl for the first time in her life; she has not had a recurrence of the blue-balloon-in-the-sky trauma; fire risks have led to a fireworks ban so we are spared that bout of hysteria; but the natural bangs in the sky turn a dog, supposedly of the only breed capable of taking on a wolf, into a hyperventilating, shaking, whining Mummy’s girl.

14- And let us know where we can find it?

AMAZON

SMASHWORDS

'Laugh out loud in many places, this autobiography from Welsh writer and photographer Jean Gill tells the tale of her first year in Provence - complete with challenging situations and thought-provoking musings. Jean takes readers on a tour of the beautiful Drome area, painting such a vivid picture of the fields of lavender, sunflowers and olive trees that you could almost be there with her.' Living France Magazine

Blurb...

The true scents of Provence?
Lavender, thyme and septic tank.
There are hundreds of interesting things you can do in a bath but washing dishes is not one of them, nor what writer Jean Gill had in mind when she swopped her Welsh Valley for a French one. Keen to move out of the elephant's stomach, that stew of grey mists called weather in Wales, she offered her swimming certificate to a bemused Provencale estate agent and bought a house with good stars and its own spring-water. Or rather, as it turns out, a neighbour's spring-water that is the only supply to the kitchen, which, according to the nice men from the Water Board, is emptying its dirty water directly and illegally onto the main road... and there's worse ...
But how can you resist a village called Dieulefit, `God created it', the village 'where everyone belongs'.
Discover the real Provence in good company ...

You can find out more about Jean at the following places :

Website
Blog
Twitter @writerjeangill
Facebook
TvTropes

15– And finally if you’ve been paying attention to previous posts we’re playing a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this? your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on:

JD - I always give 101% so I’m afraid it’s 101 words J

His gimlet-eyes spotted a figure standing in the gaping maw of the alley…
The figure was indeed grey but no woman. In the flickering lamplight , he saw grey fur, oddly matted and sticky. Balefire eyes pinned him to the pavement; invisible claws ripped into his most private thoughts.
‘Rose,’ the gruffness invaded his mind seeking something, someone… ‘Rose, come back…’ and his elfness melted, turning, returning with a stab of pain to her own Rose self. ‘They turned the power up too high,’ a voice pawed at her, sheathing its claws in velvet.
‘I had to find you,’ Rose said, remembering.
‘You found me,’ said the greyness, wrapping the girl in soft fur.

Thanks so much for joining me at The Coffee House today, Jean. It's been great fun and a privilage to learn a little more about your life. Good luck with all your future endeavours.

Babs x

9 Comments

Alfie Robins

12/18/2013

5 Comments

Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.... That’s not quite right, seeing as it’s the week before Christmas and the creatures in question, namely moles, are very much stirring ... all over The Coffee House garden. A whole bleedin’ metropolis has moved in and they’re merrily hanging their stockings. Bah humbug... it’ll be lumps of coal for the velvety critters if I have anything to do with it. Anyway, enough of that, it is indeed the week before Christmas, the third candle is lit and I have cinnamon biscuits and spiced apple crumble on offer for this week’s guest. I’m delighted to welcome a great Hull crime writer, and all round canny lad, Alfie Robins. I’m hoping he’ll reassure us all that the streets of his fair city are not overrun with the criminal elements that populate his gritty, crime novels and give us an insight into why he thinks Hull won City of Culture. Well done Hull!! I’m also hoping he’ll tell us about his latest book, and who knows, he may have a few tips re my aforementioned mole infestation. So let’s get to it ... and give a warm Coffee House welcome to Alfie Robins.

1 – Let’s get you fed and watered before we begin, Alfie. Have a shufty at the menu and state your poison. Healthy or unhealthy? I’m afraid the healthy option is restricted to half a carrot, the other half being reserved for Rudolph.

AR - To be honest with you I think I’ll have a cuppa soup if you have any, and a bread roll, it was nithering being kept waiting out there with moles. What’s with the candles, has your electric been cut off? Cuppa soup! Ahem, only homemade scrummy stuff on these premises, Mr Robins.

2 – Alfie, I’ve already let slip that you hail from Hull, but I’m sure everyone would like to know a little more about you and how you know so much about criminal types and dodgy goings on. Are you a full time writer with a good imagination or do you have a stripey jumper and a bag marked swag in the bottom of your wardrobe? If you have a secret skill or hobby we want to hear about it...we really do, as long as it’s legal!

AR - I can’t really answer the first part of the question, on grounds that I may incriminate myself. Let’s just say I was brought up in a part of the city where the people were tough and so was life, beside I don’t want a hit squad looking for me. As for the stripey jumper, I’ve never worn one. I always preferred the black jumper, trousers, shoes and never went on a job without a balaclava, you know the type with just the eye holes. Apart from being quite an expert in Lee Style Tai Chi, my main hobby is grifting, can’t beat pulling off a good con. Full time writer? Well if you call being retired enabling me to write full time then yes, but earning enough to get a decent income from it then no.

3 – How did you initially get into writing? What does your family think of your writing and all the time you devote to your fictional characters? As you already know, Alfie, I love your writing, with its black northern humour and twisty plots, but who in your family is your biggest fan?

AR - At school I was not what you could call very academic, I was always better at athletics, it came in handy being a fast runner on Hessle Road. In later life, In 1994 I went back into education as a mature student and took a degree, Special Economic & Social History at the University of Hull. I think that encouraged me to take more of an interest in writing. A few years later, after I suffered a work injury and had quite a lot of time on my hands was when I thought maybe I could write fiction, in-between my evening job of breaking and entering. All of my family have been a great support in my writing, but none more so than my son Lee, who is learning disabled and who loves being a character in two of my books, he’s always asking when he’s getting promoted from Detective Constable!

4 – Can you remember the first thing you had published? Did you run the gauntlet of the query letter? Enter a competition or decide to self publish?

AR - I’ve never been one for entering competitions and oh yes, I did the usual trawl of agent and publishes. I gathered quite a selection of, “thank you, but no thank you letters”. Then I approach Tim Roux, who at the time was running the social network site Night Reading and fortunately for me he agreed to publish my first novel “Reprisal”, which I am pleased to say reached the dizzy heights of No 8 in the Amazon UK kindle charts. Well done! I think we’d all like that kind of success.

5 – From your own experience as a writer do you have any tips for those not yet published? Is there anything you would do differently with the benefit of hindsight?

AR - I think the best advice has already been said in previous interviews, never give up and never be afraid to ask for advice from your peers. To be honest in answer to the second part of the question, I wish I’d started creative writing years ago. But saying that, maybe the time wasn’t right for me then.

6 – I know you write police procedural, crime fiction, and you certainly know your way around the nick, does this entail much research and if so, how do you go about it? Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

AR - I have to be honest, the bulk of my research comes from reading, the television and my own experience of the police interview room from the wrong side of the table. However, a book I would recommend is, “The Crime Writer’s Guide To Police Practice and Procedure” by Michael O’Bryne. I have that book too. I was fortunate to meet with Michael at last year’s Yeovil Literary Festival. He certainly knows his stuff.

There is no way at all that I could write a romance or love scene. I’d be too embarrassed in case my wife read it and then I would be for the high jump.

7 – Where does your inspiration come from, Alfie? Do you listen to music while you write? Is there a song or artist that you feel is significant to your writing.

AR - Yes music plays a big part in my writing, I’m not a music snob I listen to nearly everything. Country, classical and throw in a bit of Elvis, but the sixties music still takes some beating, I suppose that’s because I’m an old git.
I think the following youtube link sums me up! You’ll probably agree. Very apt, Alfie!

'They're coming to take me away'

8 - Were you brought up in a house full of books, or did you sneak off to the library at every opportunity as I did. As a child which was your favourite book? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

AR - Books have always been important to me. My father was a fisherman, away at sea for three weeks at a time with only books and the radio for company when they weren’t working, the fishermen would listen to the American forces stations transmitting from Iceland, hence my liking for country. When he came home there was always a bag full of paperbacks, “The Saint”, Dennis Wheatley’s black magic and Raymond Chandler, whose character name Philip Marlowe who I pinched! There used to be second-hand book shops along Hessle Road were you could do a swop, I was always swopping. At present I’m having a change from the usual and reading an autobiography, ‘My Life’ by David Jason, cushty.

9 – I’d love you to tell me a little about the books you currently have published.

AR - Reprisal, a straight forward police procedural was the first. Featuring the above mentioned Philip Marlowe, only this time he’s a DCI not a PI. Reprisal may have been the first but it isn’t necessarily my favourite, this has to be Just Whistle, published by the leading British crime publisher Caffiene Nights Publishing. Ok, it’s still a crime novel but it’s out of the ordinary and has a surreal twist. Snakes and Loser is the third, this time once again featuring DCI Marlowe and its out now as am ebook, the paperback should be available early in the New Year. Must admit, Just Whistle is my favourite, if you haven’t read it folks, I‘d highly recommend it if you like crime with a twist.

10 – If it’s not a closely guarded secret, and won’t spoil the plot, can you give me a hint at what you have planned next? I won’t tell anyone...promise.

AR - Then next planned novel is Funeral Rites, a follow up to Just Whistle but that’s a closely guarded secret at the moment and hopefully should be published in the second half of 2014. However I am also working on something different, there’s still the crime element but also it’s a bit spooky, at present the working title is The Dead Talk Back. Sounds like my kind of book.

11 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

AR - DS Harry ‘H’ Blackburn, easy going, dry sense of humour, good at his job and like a drink or two, just like me.

12 –Please introduce the book you’ve brought with you, Alfie, and while I go and top up your coffee, would you like to read a short excerpt?

AR - No problem, Babs, I’ve brought the new one with me Snakes and Losers, featuring DCI Philip Marlowe and his team. I hope you’re not squeamish.

Disclaimer – The following excerpt does contain adult language and a rather gruesome scene. If you’re of a nervous disposition, or easily offended ... please look away now. If you like your crime gritty ... please carry on.

Fatty heard the Range Rover door open and close again. Keane came back inside carrying a large heavy canvas hold-haul. He set the bag on the floor and locked the stable door behind him. The bouncer watched with interest, the bag was unzipped and Keane took out what was inside.

‘Oh no, you must be fucking joking! I’m not having any of that! For fucks sake Chainsaw Massacre ain't for me, I’m off.’ He started to unfasten the suit; this was not what he’d signed up for.

‘No you fucking don’t, you’re already in this up to your bloody neck, and what does it matter he’s FUCKING DEAD! Not going to be bothered is he!’ If Keane was honest about it, he wasn’t really relishing the task himself. He’d already had a similar conversation with his Uncle and was told he’d do “as he was feckin told”.

‘Well I’m not using the fucking saw.’

‘For such a tough looking bloke you can be a right tart at times. Just get the fucker down while I see how this thing works.’

The bouncer looked at the limp figure dangling like a marionette at the end of the rope and shook his head. ‘It was your own bleedin’ fault,’ he said to the corpse as if expecting an answer. He adjusted the plastic sheet until it was centrally placed underneath the swaying figure. He walked to where end of the rope was tied fast, unwound it from the cleat and took the weight. The pulley fixed to the roof rafter squeaked as it was placed under the duress of the full weight of the body. ‘Shit,’ the bouncer called out as he lost his footing on the shiny plastic sheet and let go of the rope and the body dropped to the floor in a broken heap.

13- Can you let us know where we can find it?

Amazon UK

Amazon .com

14 - And let us know where we can find you, Alfie.

Facebook

Alfie Robins Blogspot

Caffeine Nights

Eastcoast crime fiction

15 - Finally before you leave, a test for your imaginative, story weaving skills. We’re playing a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this last line from Juliet B Madison? Your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on: (the story so far can be found here)

...darkness overwhelmed her and she sank to the floor in a dead faint...

When she regained her composure, Isabella looked up, it was gone. She couldn’t believe it, who would do such a thing? It was a dastardly thing to do. On hands and knees she checked everywhere, under the sofa, behind the television, it wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
The more she thought about, the more obvious it became, there was only one person she knew evil enough to do such a thing.
She stood, hands on hips and shouted at the top of her voice. ‘You bleedin’ little elf, bring back my fairy, the Christmas tree looks naked without it.

Right well, that’s certainly added a twist to the story. Let’s see what the next guest does with that! Thanks so much for stopping by, Alfie. It’s been a pleasure to chat with you and find out more about you, your unique brand of humour (breaking and entering indeed...) and of course about your books. Snakes and Losers is a great read and as it’s hot off the press, I’d recommend it to all you crime buffs.

Babs x

5 Comments

Juliet B Madison

12/11/2013

15 Comments

The second candle is now lit, and for those who may be a little concerned at the safety aspect of my homemade, advent extravaganza, rest assured I’ll blow out the candles when I close up for the evening. My little corner of Northumberland has seen some wintry weather over the past week, so I’ve stoked up the wood-burner and in addition to the usual calorie laden treats; I have homemade soup and crusty bread hot from the oven and the obligatory mince pies (with cream of course). This week at The Coffee House I’m delighted to welcome Juliet B Madison. Juliet is another tireless supporter of Indie authors and the author of a new UK crime fiction series which is proving very popular indeed. I’m looking forward to hearing more about what makes Juliet tick. So without further ado...let’s get started.

1 – First things first, Juliet. Lots to titillate your taste buds in The Coffee House today, are you a sweet or savoury person? May I take your order please?

JB -I’ll have a latte with two sugars please, Babs, as well as the soup and crusty bread. I like sweet things but, on account of having had Type 1 Diabetes since childhood, I have always tended to choose the savoury option. I can NEVER resist tiramisu though. Oh dear, that must be difficult. Soup coming up, sorry, no tiramisu I’m afraid.

2 – Juliet, I’m sure everyone would like to know a little more about you. Where are you from? Are you a full time writer or do you have to share your time elsewhere? If you have a secret skill or hobby or if you moonlight as something particularly exciting we want to hear about it...we really do!

JB - I wish I could afford to write full time, Babs, but sadly I can’t so I have a mind-numbing evening office cleaning job. I come from Reading in the Thames Valley (between Oxford & London). My fictional city of Ashbeck is located between Oxford and my hometown, Reading, so the action sometimes spills over into either or both locations if needed. Mind numbing jobs are perfect for thinking out plots, though.

3 – How did you initially get into writing? I know you’re a prolific writer, Juliet, so I’m interested in how you discipline yourself. Do you have a daily word quota, or just write when the mood takes you? What does your family think of your writing and all the time you devote to your fictional characters?

JB - When I was a kid I would fill exercise books with stories. I write when the mood takes me, but DI Frank Lyle has free rein so he often runs away with the story. My Mum and my Gran have read all the DI Frank Lyle books to date, apart from the one I’m here to talk about today. But my mum doesn’t like the Lulu.com site so she waits until they get on Amazon, although she DID read the second DI Frank Lyle book Heir to Misfortune on the Kindle app on her ipad.

4 – Can you remember the first thing you had published? Did you run the gauntlet of the query letter? Enter a competition or decide to self publish?

JB - I had a few poems published in anthologies during my teens and twenties. I had a less than pleasant experience with a small publisher a couple of years back, after which I decided to take the self-publishing route.

5 – From your own experience as a writer do you have any tips for those not yet published? Is there anything you would do differently with the benefit of hindsight?

JB - Never give up on your dreams of being in print; it is easier now than when I was in my teens. All the things I might have done differently with hindsight would have involved money I just don’t have. Other advice is NEVER pay anyone for an honest review and you need to grow Rhino hide i.e. be able to take constructive criticism. Someone may offer you a winning plot twist under the guise of criticism after all. That’s a very good point, Juliet. It’s hard for us all to accept criticism, but another person’s constructive insight can be a valuable thing.

6 – I know you write police procedural, crime fiction, does this entail much research and if so, how do you go about it? Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

JB - A lot of my research comes from crime novels and TV crime drama, I learn loads from that. I sometimes ask our good friend Paul Trembling about scene of crime issues, and I use the Howdunnit writers guide series a lot, especially for autopsy scenes and injuries. In the first book, Second Chances, I had a Hindu character so I asked Malika Gandhi tons of questions about their beliefs etc so that he came across as authentic. There was also a Diabetes related aspect to both the first two books which of course came from 34 years experience of living with the condition. I would avoid any storylines directly involving the death of a young child because I have chosen not to have kids and I don’t think I could be accurate enough about the emotional fall out associated with such a tragedy.

7 – Where does your inspiration come from, Juliet? Do you listen to music while you write? Is there a song or artist that you feel is significant to your writing?

JB - In 2013 DI Frank Lyle would be 70, so long retired. I see myself as a sort of chronicler of his most testing cases, rather like Dr Watson is to Sherlock Holmes, so I let him dictate and his memory is what inspires me as well as reading his old case notes.
I more often have the TV as background rather than music, but DI Frank Lyle is a fan of Joan Baez. So here is a link to her song Diamonds & Rust, which often features in the stories. It’s scary to realise that song is as old as I am. DI Lyle likes to listen to her in the car (tapes because the DI Lyle series is set in the 1980s and early 1990s so prior to in car CD players.)

8 - Were you brought up in a house full of books, or did you sneak off to the library at every opportunity as I did. As a child which was your favourite book? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

JB - I was encouraged to read as a child. I read far too many books to have a real favourite (I was a young child pre-Harry Potter) I don’t recall having an absolute favourite book as a child, but when I was in my teens I discovered "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4" by Sue Townsend and have bought every Adrian Mole book since. I’ve seen him grow from a gawky teenager into an only slightly less gormless adult. I can’t really say I have favourites now, although I am very fond of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. At the moment I’m reading Good Deed by Indie crime author Steve Christie. (No relation as far as I know lol)

9 – I’d love you to tell me a little about the books you currently have published.

JB - Second Chances was the first DI Lyle book and it was set across 5 years and featured the one case that haunts him to this day because it had a high cost to him both personally and professionally. Heir to Misfortune is about blackmail, murder and corruption among prominent members of Ashbeck society. Modern forensic medicine was really only in its infancy then so they had a lot to learn about DNA swabbing and blood spatter patterns, which is why I chose to set them in this time period.

10 – If it’s not a closely guarded secret, and won’t spoil the plot, can you give a hint at what you have planned next? I won’t tell anyone ... promise.

JB - The next DI Lyle book Murder in the Wings will be centred on a theatre group in Ashbeck and feature professional jealousy, emotional blackmail and murder, but I haven’t written a word yet so there is nothing to give away. I am also putting together an eBook box set which will feature Second Chances, Heir to Misfortune and Unholy Alliance plus a short “Coming soon” excerpt from Murder in the Wings; this should be ready to release in the spring.

11 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

JB - DI Lyle is a man dedicated to truth and justice; committed to his family and compassionate towards victims of crime.

12 –Please introduce the book you’ve brought with you, Juliet, and while I go and pop another log into the stove, would you like to read a short excerpt?

JB - Unholy Alliance is the third DI Frank Lyle novel. It is centred on the murder of a curate, Reverend Martin Hayes, during an ecumenical conference. The victim seems to have had a troubled past, but what DI Lyle and his team discover is rather shocking. Will a little knowledge prove to be a dangerous thing?
This excerpt comes from Chapter 15 of Unholy Alliance and is narrated from the POV of DC Jayseera Lyle, DI Lyle’s Indian wife, who has come back to work part-time six months after having their first baby. Rice, is Canon Thomas Rice, a former police officer, who has been called in to help the police owing to the case’s church connection.

About ten minutes later there was a knock at the door. Frank opened it to admit Jim Cox and two of his SOCO team.

“Jesus Christ,” he exclaimed.

I glanced at Rice, hoping he wasn’t offended, but he did not appear to be. He was a former cop after all, which meant he would have been used to such language.

“I presume you have Hayes’ prints?” Frank looked at Cox who nodded.

“We’ve all got gloves, but I need you to dust in case there are prints here that do not belong to Hayes.” Frank said, “Meanwhile we have to look out for anything that might give us a clue to the man himself.”

“I don’t envy you,” Cox said.

Frank, Rice and I began leafing through the papers.

“This might be of interest,” Rice said after about ten minutes. He was holding a bundle of torn papers, which looked like letters. Frank supplied him with a sealable evidence bag. I admired the fact that Frank was always prepared; he carried evidence bags and gloves almost everywhere with him.

“It would be good if we could find a diary or something,” I said, “But that would be asking too much.”

“In this bombsite anything’s likely, DC Lyle.” Rice said.

He began leafing through some torn photographs, most of which were grainy and badly exposed.

“Whoever took these was no David Bailey.”

He carried on looking.

“Look at this, DI Lyle,” he said suddenly. Frank walked over to him and I peered in.

It was a grainy age-distorted snapshoot taken on a pier of some sort. It had been torn in half but the halves clearly matched. It showed a younger Hayes and his mother with a child, aged about five or six, wearing a pair of trunks and a towel around his shoulders. It was posed, none of them looked especially happy. I realised that, in order to find the key to the mystery, we would need to know who the child was.

“Did Hayes have any younger brothers, kids of his own or a nephew?” I asked, suddenly excited by this discovery.

“No to the first and third, he was an only child,” Rice said, “As to the other, well a definite don’t know.”

Suddenly we heard a piercing scream from upstairs and a muted, “Oh my God.”

Frank dashed into the hallway. DC Fox was halfway down the stairs, his face ashen.

“What is it?” Frank’s tone was urgent.

“Guv, I really think you need to come and see this.”

Frank and I ascended the stairs, Rice close behind. WPC Mahon was stood in an open doorway, tears streaming down her pallid cheeks.

13- And can you let us know where we can find it?

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

KOBO

LULU

14– And some links as to where we can find you.

Website

Twitter @JulietBMadison

Authorgraph

Facebook - Juliet B Madison Crime Author

Facebook - Unholy Alliance

Facebook - DI Lyle Mystery Series

Facebook - Asbeck CID

15 - And finally before you leave, a test for your imaginative, story weaving skills. We’re playing a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this last line from John Holt? Your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on: You can catch up with the story so far Here.

There on the wall was a painting of a lady, a lady dressed in grey, but the face was that of Rose herself...

Rose was horrified to see this. What on earth did it mean to see her face on an old picture?

A thousand scenarios and explanations ran through her mind but none of them seemed remotely plausible. She felt acrid bile rise into her mouth and throat, which she valiantly attempted to choke back down.

She thought about the famous line from Sherlock Holmes about eliminating the impossible, but the trouble was it all seemed impossible so she was unlikely to find the remaining improbable and with it the truth.

The shock was proving to be too much and with a cry Rose remembered nothing more as darkness overwhelmed her and she sank to the floor in a dead faint.

Thanks for stopping by Juliet. It’s been great to find out more about you and of course about DI Lyle and his team. Good luck with the series.

Babs x

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