Category:

Juliet B Madison - Book Buzz

9/24/2014

Today I'm pleased to welcome crime author Juliet B Madison to the Coffee House to tell us all about her new release Best Served Cold, the fifth book in the, not as successful as she might like, DI Frank Lyle Mystery Series.

Judging by the reaction to this latest release, I think Juliet might be surprised at just how popular this series is becoming!
See what you think...
Heres' the blurb for Best Served Cold - released 23rd September 2014

DI Lyle is about to get a glimpse into the murky world of political activism and hate crime; the murder of a prominent city councillor is just the tip of the iceberg.
The city of Ashbeck is on high alert when news breaks that convicted triple murderer and paedophile Bob Kenyon has escaped from custody.
Can DI Lyle and his team get to the bottom of this murky mess before another atrocity occurs?

Juliet advises that readers should be aware this book deals with some fairly adult themes such as revenge, paedophilia and neo-fascist hate crime, as well as containing M/M sex scenes so is therefore unsuitable for persons below the age of 18.

Juliet, perhaps you'd like to tell us a little more about 'Best Served Cold'

"When I wrote Heir to Misfortune, the second book in the DI Lyle series, I knew that being sent to prison convicted of a triple murder and sexual offences against minors was not the end of the despicable Robert “Bob” Kenyon’s story.

This book is somewhat darker than the previous titles in the series because of the subject matter it deals with. I wanted to give DI Lyle a new challenge and his biggest challenge in this book is keeping things in perspective. DI Lyle has some insight into the sick way Bob Kenyon’s mind works, but is the devil you know really easier to deal with than the one you don’t? This book gives DI Lyle and his team new issues to deal with. The book also deals with two important moral questions. The questions are, are criminals born inherently wicked or are they shaped through the circumstances of their lives and misfortunes? The second question is whether or not murder can ever be morally justified? Whatever your opinion on these issues, be prepared for them to be challenged through this story."

Best Served Cold is available to buy through this global redirect link

http://bookshow.me/B00MRIZQRU

You can catch up with Juliet B Madison

Blog: http://julietmadisoncrimeauthor.wordpress.com/

Twitter - @JulietBMadison

Facebook - There are a number of DI Lyle related pages on Facebook but here are a small selection.

https://www.facebook.com/servedcold/

https://www.facebook.com/Lylefanzunited/

https://www.facebook.com/JulietMadisonCrimeAuthor/

https://www.facebook.com/TheDIFrankLyleMysterySeries/

Please take the time to catch up with the DI Frank Lyle Series, and thank you to Juliet for dropping in.

Babs x

2 Comments

Frances Kay

8/20/2014

4 Comments

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

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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

George Polley

2/26/2014

8 Comments

I have to say, I’ve been so lucky to have some marvellous guests join me on the sofa since I opened The Coffee House doors. This week is no exception and I’m delighted to welcome George Polley to my little corner of Northumberland. George has travelled all the way from Japan to be with us today. He’s a writer, blogger and all round good guy and he’s been in the literary business for a heck of a long time, so I’m hoping he can give us all a few tips. He writes for the young at heart, regardless of age, and has a wonderful lyrical way with words. I’m looking forward to hearing more about George’s interesting life and learning more about his latest book, a novel set in Mexico City. So please, George, come in and make yourself at home.

GP - “Thank you, Babs, for inviting me. Cozy place you have here. This morning in Sapporo, Japan, it’s a beautiful, cold day and the snow is a brilliant white in the sun.”

1 – Now, George, this is where you get the opportunity to order up anything you fancy from the menu. And since you’ve come such a long way I’ll make sure you get double helpings.

GP - “Coffee (black) and a chocolate chunk scone if you have one, please.”

2 – I know you’re originally from the USA, George, but perhaps you’d like to spend a few minutes giving us a little more background about your life. Were you always a writer? Do you have a secret skill or hobby that we need to know about? And how did you end up in Japan?

GP - “I grew up in Seattle, then lived in several different places (Oregon, California, Illinois, Minnesota, then back to Seattle in 1984, where my wife and I lived until we moved to Japan in early 2008. I’ve been writing since the late 1960s, squeezing it in around a busy career in the mental health field as a clinical social worker. I retired from that at the end of 2007. Why Japan? My wife is from here, and wanted to go back home after I retired. So we sold our home, flew to her home town in Hokkaido, found a place in Sapporo, bought it, and moved. Couldn’t be happier.”

3 – What brought you to writing? What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it?

GP - “My 7th grade English teacher gave me high marks for a story I wrote for a class assignment, telling me that I had a talent for writing. That was in 1947. I didn’t do anything with it until the mid 1960s, when I was seized with the desire to begin writing. Things progressed from there. The first thing I had published was a short story, “Jonah’s Birth”, published in The South Dakota Review, a literary journal. Frederick Manfred, a well-known upper Midwestern novelist, read it and recommended that I send it to their editor, which I did. After that I wrote and published an article about Henry Miller’s work. Fred Manfred became my mentor and guide in those early years.”

4 – Are you a disciplined writer, George? 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? Do you have a study or place of solitude where you write, or are you the ‘back of an envelope’ kind of guy?

GP - “I write something every morning, usually focusing on one main project at a time, such as a specific book, poem or story. Right now, I’m putting together a short story collection which I hope to publish later this year. I’m also working on a nonfiction book on addiction and recovery, which is a carry-over from my profession and my personal life (I’m a recovering alcoholic; quit drinking 35 years ago). I also blog, which satisfies my desire to share my thoughts on issues and interests, poems, snippets, etc., with others.

“I’m fortunate to have a study here in our little home, as I did in our Seattle home. I don’t write well when I’m surrounded by other people talking and doing other things. This way I can also have a messy desk, and other essentials, like a place for pens, pencils, and books that I often reference for details and inspiration (I keep all of my poetry books nearby so I can read them when I feel the urge).

5 – Where do you take your inspiration from?

GP - “People, incidents, dreams. Life presents an endless supply of stories. My novella, “The Old Man and The Monkey” came from a dream I had in 2006 about a big Japanese monkey. Since I’d never had a dream about a monkey before, and hadn’t been thinking about monkeys, I wondered about the dream. So I “asked” the monkey why he’d dropped around. The result is the story about an elderly Japanese man and the big monkey that, much to the consternation of his wife and neighbors, becomes his good friend and companion. I listened, and he “told” his story. Once when I tried to expand the story, my mind went blank and nothing happened. Expanding it would have ruined it. I’ve learned to listen to my characters and allow them to tell their story through me. May sound weird, but, hey, I’m a writer, right?”

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

GP -“Interesting question, Babs. Prior to publishing my first two books (“Grandfather and The Raven” is the second), I’d never given a thought to genres. I just wrote books that I hoped people would find interesting. I suppose both books fit in “General fiction” or “literary fiction”, though both have been identified as “children’s literature. i see them as fables (especially the one about the old man and the monkey). A favorite genre? I don’t have one. I read what I find interesting in a broad selection of genres.

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

GP - “Sex scenes; I’m really awful at them. Attempts send my wife to rolling about on the floor holding her abdomen which is bouncing up and down as tears of mirth spill into her ears). Romance is another subject I’m not especially good at writing about, though there is a budding romance toward the end of a new novel about Mexico City, so perhaps I’m not totally hopeless on the subject.”

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?

GP - “What comes immediately to mind is Edgar Rice Burroughs series about John Carter and Mars. Couldn’t get enough of them. Read them again and again, to the point that, as a child, on a clear night when I could see Mars in the night sky, there I’d be in our front yard with my arms raised toward Mars waiting to be lifted up and planted on the Red Planet. I quit that when the thought dawned on me: “What if I can’t get back?” Horrors! That put an end to that (but not to reading those books.) I also liked historical fiction, especially those written by Louis Muhlbach about Napoleon and Josephine, Henry the Eighth, and so forth.”

9 – Promotion and marketing is the bane of most writers’ lives. I know you’re a successful blogger, does this help you reach your readers and promote your work? Do you have any particular tips that you can share with us?

GP - “Oh, my! Marketing is something I’m learning a lot about, I belong to several helpful Facebook groups and mine books and articles on the subject. Since I’ll be much more involved with marketing my new books, I’m taking tons of notes, being much more active in Facebook groups and Twitter, and paying attention to what I learn. My work there will sharply increase as my new books come out this summer and beyond.”

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

GP - “The Old Man and The Monkey.” This is a fable about friendship, about Genjiro Yamada and his wife, who live in a tiny village in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture. They have lived in the village for fifty years. Genjiro has a favorite place to sit that he calls his “sitting place,” a broad, flat stone on a little rise from which he can view and meditate upon the broad, lush valley and its river below and the mountains rising beyond. There is a forest nearby, in which a tribe of monkeys (not native to Hokkaido) are alleged to live. Legend has it that, whenever villagers have sought to go deep into that forest to dig for mountain potatoes and forage for mushrooms, the monkeys attack by throwing things at them from the trees and chattering ferociously. One day, while sitting and gazing out over the valley, a very large old monkey walks up, stands and gazes at him, then sits down on the stone next to him. Genjiro has never seen such a large monkey before, and is somewhat anxious, even though it is clear that the monkey means him no harm. After thirty minutes, the monkey gets up, looks Genjiro in the eyes, and leaves. This scene repeats itself several times a week. When Genjiro’s wife and the villagers find out about it, they are upset, especially when Genjiro names the monkey Yukitaro (“snow monkey” in Japanese). Friendships with such an alien creature is frowned upon. But when Yukitaro shows his kindness to his human friend and, ultimately, to the villagers, they are overwhelmed.

“Grandfather and The Raven” is about a Sapporo grandfather and the big raven that becomes his friend and companion. “Sir Raven” (as Grandfather calls him) is a bit of a comic figure who enjoys pulling Grandfather’s leg, chases away vicious dogs, and is a pretty likeable guy. The raven is one of my favorite characters. He almost always gets his way, he has a wicked sense of humor, and he’s quick to rescue people when called upon. Yep, Sir Raven’s my kind of guy!

11 – Can you give us a little hint at what you have planned next and when it might be available?

GP - “‘The City Has Many Faces: A Love Story About Mexico City” will be available late this summer. As the title says, it’s a love story about Mexico City, told through the lives of its citizens and history. I lived in Mexico City in 1973-74, fell in love with it, and the novel is the result.

“‘Bear, the story of a boy and his very unusual dog”. Previously published by Taylor Street Publishing, it will be published by Tortoise & Hare Publications sometime this summer.

A third book that I hope to have completed and published before the end of the year is a nonfiction book, “Returning to the World From the Crazy Land of Addiction.”

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

GP - “It’s ‘The Old Man and The Monkey.’ Having lived in the village for over fifty years, Genjiro and his wife Harue are respected elders. When a friendship develops between Genjiro and a very large monkey, everyone is thrown into a tizzy, except for one little girl, who’s convinced that the monkey is really a little old man dressed up like a monkey. When the monkey, whom Genjiro has named Yukitaro, shows up at their house and begins helping Harue with her garden, and brings them a huge long mountain potato that one villager mistakes for a club (“He’s going to kill them! I’ve seen him!”), the whole village shows up, ready for a fight. When they see that the “club” is really a huge mountain potato, they all laugh and go home. And then, one day, they really see what the gift is that Yukitaro has brought to them all.”

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

GP - “Yukitaro: he’s a shaman, a being that just comes along one day, says little but does much in spreading kindness around.”

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

Prologue

In a small park near one of the rivers that run through the city of Asahikawa, Hokkaido, there is a bronze statue of an old man and a monkey seated side by side on a wide flat stone looking out over the river and the mountains. The monkey is bigger than ordinary snow monkeys; the top of his head reaches to the old man’s shoulder.

Looking at the bags under his eyes, one can see that the monkey, like the man, is elderly. Affixed to the base of the statue is a bronze plaque that reads: “Genjiro and Yukitaro.” These two old friends sit and warm themselves in silence as the years and seasons pass.

As Long as long as the statue has been there, people passing by have paused, wondering how a monkey and a man could become friends because, as everyone knows, monkeys are pests and can be dangerous when humans get too close. Some people tell each other that such a friendship is unnatural, and that because it is unnatural, is impossible. Others believe that Genjiro and Yukitaro are characters that the artist made up. But everyone agrees that the statue is appealing, because the two old friends have such an air of tranquility and peace about them that people come and sit down next to it to enjoy their lunch, or to just sit quietly and look out at the river and the mountains, later commenting on how peaceful the experience was.

So it is that the old man and the monkey receive a constant stream of visitors who sit and enjoy their company in silence and take something of them away to warm themselves.

No one believes the old man and the monkey were real; but I know that they were because the old man was my grandfather, Genjiro Yamada, and Yukitaro was his companion and friend for the last five years of his life.

Now is the time for me to tell their story and reveal for the first time how an improbable friendship like that between a man and a monkey happened, how it was good, and how it ended.

Amazon.com

Amazon UK

George's Website

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

‘Oh, no, my pretty one! Too late for that!’ Then, quite suddenly, a great well of resolve rose up in her. “Not too late!” she heard herself shout; “Not too late, ye daemon!” With strength she didn’t know she had, she threw off his hand and pushed, sending him reeling back. Then, quick as lightning, she was through the door. Slamming the inner bolt into the locking mechanism, she looked wildly about the room. All she needed to do was find the key. But where? From the other side of the door came a growl: “Ye canna get away!” Then the door crashed down, and the furred beast was …

Thank you, George. It was a real pleasure to chat with you. What an interesting life you've led. I hope to see many more of your books in the coming months and wish you well with all of them.

Babs x

8 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

Elaine - Reader Interview

2/16/2014

17 Comments

This Sunday’s Guest Reader at The Coffee House is Elaine. Elaine and I are Geordie lasses who first met in high school and have shared so many memories and embarrassing moments I could write a book on it...ah there’s a thought. She’s a true bookaholic, the type who comes to visit, picks up your book, begins to read it and forgets that you’re sitting there too. We share a love of horses, guinea pigs and The Buble’ and once competed in the same Judo team ... I kid you not! It’s a real delight to have Elaine here today.

So without further ado and before you get sidetracked by my latest John Connelly book, Elaine, would you like to give folks an insight into who you are? i.e. job, hobbies, life in general, and tell us why you love books.

Ha ha, Babs, you know as much about me as I do! I live in the coquet valley in a small village but was originally a “Townie” born in Wallsend and living in North Tyneside most of my life. My husband’s family come from this neck of the woods. I met him while I was doing a part time job as a barmaid in a rugby club. I was working full time in the civil service but needed extra money to keep the horse I owned at the time. We have lived here for 20 years now so almost a local. I have a part time job in a residential home for Adult Males as a support worker. It’s never dull and more rewarding than the civil service although not half as well paid. I have become quite lazy as far as hobbies go, being very fond now of reading, (of course) I love to spend time with friends and family and in particular my 15 year old son although he is at that age where parents are definitely not cool. I also love opera and used to be very fond of drawing and intend to try and get back to doing this. I also absolutely love horses and have owned two, unfortunately not at the moment. I have a cat, a guinea pig and six fish, animal crackers you could say.

Can you tell us what your favoured genre is? Or are you an eclectic reader?

I have to say I will read most things although I suppose my main preferences are for Crime and Historical Fiction, but anything is fair game. I particularly like books with a kind of supernatural vibe so Bedlam is probably my favourite of your books, Babs. Books have always taken me to a different world. When I was young I remember sitting behind the settee at my Grans reading and everyone left for a train trip to the seaside, they had to come back for me when they got to the station and realised I was not with them. I was totally unaware that they had left and was still in the same place reading when they came back for me. I must have been about eight. I don’t read romance books of the Mills and Boon, Barbara Cartland ilk, though I sometimes I enjoy books written particularly for women (I hate the term chick lit, I think it demeans the content somehow) I won’t touch those tragic life books they just are not for me.

Give us your 5 favourite books if you can?

That is a really hard question as I have so many books I have really loved but if I am pushed I would say ‘Black Beauty’ by Anna Sewell, probably one of the first books ever written to make a social issue of cruelty to animals, and a great read for a pony mad youngster. (I might also say the ‘My friend Flicka’ books were a favourite as well)
‘Lord of the Rings’, I read that when I was about 11 and what a great journey that was! Although I have to say I skipped some of the poetry to get to the action. (I still have my original copy, a favourite of mine too, Elaine. Nothing at all to do with me being Hobbit sized!)
‘The Last Ride’ by Thomas Eidson, this is one you introduced me to, Babs. The story of a man estranged from his family, living as an Apache, who helps his daughter to recapture his lost granddaughter from Indians. A brilliantly written and almost poetic book I love it (and still have not returned it to you!) (Yes, I had noticed!)
‘Jack’ by Brian Carter, this is the original war horse if you like, but for adults. I bought this one as an out of print hardback from a cheap pile in a tent at an agricultural show and what a bargain it was. The story is of a young Irish lad living in Devon working on a farm. His favourite mare is taken by the army for the first world war. Jack joins up to try to find and be with his horse. Beautifully written and a real description of social values at the time. Unfortunately out of print but still obtainable on Amazon I think. I treasure this because it reminds me of the bond you can establish with a horse which until it is experienced is not really explainable, but this book does a fantastic job.
My last choice is ‘Tracks’ by Robin Davidson, which again I bought over 10 years ago as a tattered hard back from a church jumble. A true story of a woman who sets out to cross the deserts of the Australian Outback with 4 camels and a dog. It is both sometimes hilarious and also very sad in parts just like life, but what a story and what a journey.

Do you have a favourite author?

You are of Course!! (ha ha the tenner’s in the post) I also like Phillipa Gregory, Stephen King, George Shuman, James Patterson, Phil Rickman, and loads of others. I could actually more easily say which Authors I would not pick up.

What are you reading now?

Phil Rickman’s ‘The Remains of An Altar’ (part of the Merrily Watkins Mysteries)
The first book of Phil Rickman’s that I read was Candlenight, really atmospheric and a good story so I read his as I come across them. I found the one I am reading now in a charity shop.

How many books would you normally read in a month?

As many as I can! At least four or five I would say, but that is slow for me, I used to be able to read a book in a day, alas I do not have that sort of time now

Which do you prefer e-books or paperbacks?

I don’t mind at all but I have to say I would never buy a cookery book as an e-book, I do have a weakness for cookery books, especially the ones with some sort of narrative in them and I love to write notes in them because I am a devil for making changes and additions to recipes.

Do you have an e-reader, if so, which one?

I have a kindle and it is the devil’s work ha ha. I feel guilty at having so many unread books on it and then being sidetracked by a book I’ve bought at a charity shop or something.

Where do you usually buy books, online, bookshops or other?

I buy them anywhere, anyhow, I am not precious about it I have to say.    I do think that the good thing about the e-book is that authors who may not have been published are now easily and economically accessible which is great for readers and writers alike. Having said that I am still particular about what I download onto my device.

Do you use your local library?

I used to use the library a lot but don’t now because of a change in my lifestyle and the limited hours our library is open which makes it more difficult to visit.

If a book you wanted to read wasn’t available on your reading device what would you do? Download an app? Borrow from the library or choose a different book?

I still have my library card and if I wanted to read a book I couldn’t get hold of on my Kindle I would use the library.

What first attracts you to a book by an unknown author? Cover, Blurb, Recommendation? Are you influenced by publisher name?

The Blurb is the first thing I suppose, although it depends where you are choosing them. If I’m looking in a shop I will choose depending on cover, author, blurb or a combo of everything. Once I pick the book up I look at the first paragraph to see if it grabs me. Publishers don’t mean a lot to me, the book’s the thing.

What puts you off?

I won’t read about children being murdered or tortured which has put me off reading the sequel to The Shining, a book I really enjoyed. I am happy to read a book with a gentle pace if that is the right thing for the story but I do not like procrastination in books which should be moving along such as adventure or crime. Other than that I am not a fan of anything which is too graphic in either sexual or violence descriptions, I think authors should be able to credit their readers with some imagination

What do you think is fair price for a novel length e-book/paperback?

I balk at paying a lot of money for an e-book. They do not cost as much to publish so I think that publishers are sometimes making money that the writers do not see.   I might pay up to £3 if I don’t know the author and as for famous authors I usually wait and buy books from the charity shop. You don’t wait long these days before fairly new books are recycled.   If I was to buy a new paperback it would probably be about £8.00 before I had the internal conversation with myself as to whether I can afford it. (that’s over an hours pay for me)

After reading a book do you ever leave a review? Only when you really enjoy it? Only when you really didn’t enjoy it?

I would be very much more likely to leave a good review, often the enjoyment of a story is subjective, one man’s meat etc. I feel a bit guilty that I have really enjoyed some e-books and have not left a review mainly down to time it has to be said, I must fix that. I have left a couple of bad ones, but I have to say they really needed it! Both had lots of happy readers but I was not one of them so I did not feel too bad about saying what I thought (in the politest possible way of course) I admire authors and their imagination, I love to read and I am grateful that there are people who love to write.

Are you influenced by other reader’s reviews?

Not really although some of the reviews I have read have been better than the book! They may make me more likely to look inside the book if they are on an e-book platform but on the whole I like to make up my own mind.

Do you recommend books you’ve enjoyed to friends?

I do if I have enjoyed a particular book in a genre they enjoy, and I loan books to people (although only if I am fairly sure I will get them back) I also recycle a lot of books to charity etc as I don’t keep all those I buy.

Are you a member of any reader groups, book clubs i.e. Goodreads?

I have a Goodreads account but don’t use it very often.

Do you subscribe to any e-book promo newsletters? If so which ones?

I do get emails from the CRA (Crime Readers Association) but I have to say I see lots of promotions on Facebook via your page Babs and do download some of them although not all (back to the unread e-book guilt)

Thanks so much for dragging yourself away from Phil Rickman to join us today, Elaine. I must remember to borrow that book when you’re finished. I’m sure you’ll also welcome some further recommendations, so if anyone can think of a book that Elaine might enjoy, pop your suggestion in a comment.
I mentioned earlier that Elaine and I go back a long way and share many memories. Well here’s one ... Whitley Bay, late seventies. Happy days! And here’s to many more.

Babs x

17 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

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