Pam Lecky's Blog, page 36
March 29, 2016
Ludwika reaches over 150 reviews
Thanks to all the kind-hearted readers who took the time to leave a review for Ludwika. Since writing this blog post yesterday another nine new reviews came in. I’m thrilled to bits.
Reviews are so important on Amazon to be visible; they are also great feedback for the author and guidance for other readers. I appreciate all of them!
5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ
B yJoJo on March 28, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
This book just gets better with every page. Just when you think you have figured out the next plot, you turn the page and find out that you are wrong.
4.0 out of 5 stars Takes one into the times that we need to remember …
By jimbo on March 28, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Takes one into the times that we need…
View original post 731 more words
March 26, 2016
A Conversation with Author Francis H Powell
This evening in the Library we have Francis H Powell, who has dropped in to say hello and to share some insights into his life as an author.
You are very welcome, Francis, please introduce yourself:
Born in a commuter belt city called Reading, (England) like many a middle or upper 
class child of such times, I was shunted off to an all-male boarding school aged eight, away from my parents for up to twelve weeks at a time, until I was 17. While at my first Art college, I met a writer called Rupert Thomson, who was in the process of writing his first book, Dreams of Leaving. His personality and wit resonated, although I have long lost contact with him. Later I lived in Austria, and in 1999 I moved to Paris. During my time in Paris I met Alan Clark, who had a literary magazine called Rat Mort (dead rat). I began contributing and got hooked on writing short stories. My book, Flight of Destiny, is a result of this obsession. I also write poetry.
Did you read much as a child? Are you an avid reader now? Do you prefer books in your own genre or are you happy to explore others?
I would like to read more than I do. I read quite a bit as child, I used to like historical books. I like all kinds of books, including non-fiction. If a book really grabs me then I will read it intently.
Are you self-published or traditionally published?
I am traditionally published.
Which genre do you write in and why?
First and foremost I write short stories. They have been described as being Dystopian. They are dark, but there is an element of wit in them. I fell into this style, almost by accident. I really like the format of short stories.
Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?
I read a book as a child by Roald Dahl called, Kiss Kiss; this book has remained with me over time. I liked this book because each story has a dramatic twist at the end.
Has your country of origin/culture influenced your writing?
Yes for sure. I would say my stories are very British in character. There is a lot of social criticism and making fun of the British establishment.
What part of the writing process do you find most difficult? How do you overcome it?
Piecing together stories. I think a lot about my stories, working out which direction they are going, how they are going to end.
Do you have a favourite time of day to write?
Not really. I guess I generally write in the evening, but if an idea pops into my head, I could be on a bus or a train, in which case I reach for my trusty black book and scribble down my ideas.
What is the best thing about being an author? And the flipside – what is the worst?
I just love writing stories, inventing characters, plots in my head. I love using a rich vocabulary. The flipside, selling books, and making a name for oneself.
Is social media an essential chore or something you enjoy? Which forum do you prefer?
I have been using the social media for quite a while. Doing a lot of co-promotion, re-tweeting other people’s tweets. You can’t really tell what impact you are making. It becomes a daily chore …
If you weren’t an author, what would you be up to?
Any other creative activity. I went to art school … I still paint … I have an exhibition on the go at the moment. I also write music. To earn my bread and butter, I teach.
It’s the last day and the earth is facing oblivion – what book would you read?
How to survive an oblivion, perhaps. I think in that situation I am not sure I would be able to focus enough to read a book.
Please tell us about your latest published work.
My latest published work is called Flight of Destiny. It is a collection of short stories about misfortune. They are characterized by unexpected final twists that come at the end of each tale. They are dark and surreal tales, set around the world, at different time periods. They show a world in which anything can happen. It is hard to determine reality and what is going on in a disturbed mind. People’s conceptions about morality are turned upside down. A good person can be transformed by an unexpected event into a bad person and then back again to their former state. The high and mighty often deliver flawed arguments, those considered wicked make good representations of themselves. Revenge is often a subject explored. I have had a few interesting comments from reviewers. “They’re a little Ray Bradbury, a little Stephen King, but with Powell’s own unique twists.” I hope to start work on the follow up, next year. Flight of Destiny is available on Amazon
If you would like to know more about Francis and his work, click on the links below:
March 25, 2016
Easter 1916
Demolition of 27 North Earl Street“An elderly man stands utterly bewildered. Before him, his business and home are smouldering, black smoke billows from the skeletal remains and an acrid smell pervades the April air. Beside him, his wife and daughters stand, staring in horror. They have lost everything. All that remains of their home is a gable wall with fireplaces hanging grotesquely in mid-air. All is dust. Black and twisted remnants of their lives are the only signs that they had ever lived there. Too traumatised to even cry, they stand, silent and uncomprehending.”
North Earl Street, April 1916The family referred to above is mine, the gentleman my great grandfather. Easter week 1916 claimed his business and home. His once thriving tobacconists at 27 North Earl Street (close to the corner, across from the GPO) and his cigar stall in Westland Row station, were looted and wrecked. When the guns in the grounds of Trinity College were trained on Sackville Street, in an effort to oust the rebels from the GPO, the ensuing inferno destroyed blocks of businesses and homes in the surrounding area.
Afterwards, he tried to salvage his business but his creditors refused to provide new stock, and his insurance did not cover the extent of the damage. His claim for compensation to the British government took months to be processed and when paid was a pittance. Sadly, the insurance claim lists all of their belongings, including most poignantly for me, the wedding trousseau of my great aunt. But they were the lucky ones – they were unharmed. The family left North Earl Street and never returned. My great grandfather died three years later, his wife in 1920.
The centenary of 1916 will be celebrated in Dublin and everywhere around the world where the Irish are gathered this 
weekend. There is no question that this was a turning point for a nation. It is sad, however, that it was written in the blood and anguish of so many. Five hundred people lost their lives during the Rebellion, including innocent civilians, unarmed policemen and British soldiers.
In the frenzy of nostalgic, and sometimes rose-tinted remembrance, it would be nice to spare a thought for those families who were thrown into the darkness of grief and despair, regardless of nationality or political belief. I will leave it to others to eulogise the men of 1916. I’d rather remember the forty families who lost their children during Easter week. I cannot begin to imagine what their pain must have been or that they found any consolation in the fact that their children died as innocent bystanders in the fight for Irish freedom.
It is right to commemorate the birth of an independent nation; I just wish it had not cost the lives of so many. I’ll leave you with the words of Tolkien.
March 19, 2016
A Conversation with Author PJ Connolly
Today in the Library we have PJ Connolly, who has dropped in to say hello and to share some insights into his life as an author.
You are very welcome PJ, please introduce yourself:
A child of the forties I was born before the outbreak of the Second World War and one of my earliest memories is the drone of German bombers over Dublin and the terror of my parents as they watched the night sky lit with flames. Later I fled the moral dangers of the world, hiding away in monastic silence while I trained for the Catholic priesthood.
When I abandoned that dream I settled into a lifetime of counselling, working as careers advisor in a convent school just outside Dublin.
It was only following my early retirement that I took up fiction writing.
Did you read much as a child? Are you an avid reader now? Do you prefer books in your own genre or are you happy to explore others?
Oddly enough I read little or no fiction growing up. I read the books put into my hands by adults attempting to influence my development along strict religious lines. Later in life I preferred books of popular science, history, philosophy, astronomy and so on.
Are you self-published or traditionally published?
Both. My first novel, The Priest’s Wife, was brought out by Wings ePress in the U.S.
With my recent novel, Children of Isaac, I made the decision to bypass the long lead-in periods of the publishing houses. It was important for me to get the book out in time for the 1916 commemoration.
Which genre do you write in and why?
Fiction set in recent times. Children of Isaac, set in the early decades of the twentieth century, could reasonably be described as Historical Fiction.
Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?
James Joyce has been an undoubted influence. I’m an admirer of Margaret Attwood and was influenced to some extent by James Plunkett’s Strumpet City.
Has your country of origin/culture influenced your writing?
Without a doubt. So far I’ve clung to the adage, write about what you know.
What part of the writing process do you find most difficult? How do you overcome it?
Coming up with a plot. My approach is to start writing at random and allow the plot to develop later.
Do you have a favourite time of day to write?
Ideally I would write late at night when my brain is most active. In practice though, the way to get time to yourself, is to get up early when the house is asleep. When I’m immersed in a novel I get up at six am to write.
What is the best thing about being an author? And the flipside – what is the worst?
Best thing is the incredible buzz of sharing with God the power to create and destroy people.
The flipside is that the time spent promoting your books could be spent in making a start on the next one.
Is social media an essential chore or something you enjoy? Which forum do you prefer?
Facebook I enjoy. Twitter I find a bit more impersonal.
If you weren’t an author, what would you be up to?
Growing tomatoes in the greenhouse.
It’s the last day and the earth is facing oblivion – what book would you read?
Teach Yourself to Survive Armageddon.
Please tell us about your latest published work.
My recently published novel is set against the backdrop of the 1916 Rising, a short-lived attempt to overthrow English rule in Ireland.
Set in inner-city Dublin, it reveals the tensions in a marriage torn by religious and political differences as Protestant Isaac and Catholic Annie raise their four children against a background of deceit and subterfuge.
Available for download on Amazon.co.uk or in paperback direct from me (email childrenofisaac@gmx.com) or through the publisher’s website, Choice Publishing.ie
If you want to know more about PJ or his books please click on the links below:
March 10, 2016
A Conversation with Author Eric McFarlane
Today in the Library we have Eric McFarlane who has dropped in to say hello and to share some insights into his life as an author.
You are very welcome, Eric, please introduce yourself:
Hello Pam and thanks for the opportunity to take part in your interview series. I trained as a chemist and worked for too many years in the pharmaceutical industry before succumbing to an attack of redundancy. A few other similar jobs followed before I decided to turn a hobby into an opportunity and set up an on-line business selling stamps to philatelists. That’s how I now make a few pennies, not from my writing – at least not yet.
Did you read much as a child? Are you an avid reader now? Do you prefer books in your own genre or are you happy to explore others?
As a child I read everything I could find. I liked adventure, Famous Five, Secret Seven, Just William, Biggles and others in that vain, but much else too including some of the classics. I had an upstairs book for reading in bed and a downstairs book. When a little older I turned to PJ Wodehouse and Science Fiction (Asimov, Clarke and others).
Now I always have a book in hand and feel uncomfortable if there aren’t a few in the queue to follow. My tastes mirror my childhood. Crime/thriller/spy, humour, SF, but also much that wouldn’t fall into these genres. I’ve blogged about my love for the writing of Thomas H Cooke. The only requirement is that there is story. I dislike books that exist to show off the writer’s mastery of the language and most books where the protagonist is a writer – get a life guys! I’ll mention no names.
Are you self-published or traditionally published?
Earlier this year I was thrilled to have my humorous novel, A Clear Solution, published by Accent Press, one of an increasing number of independent publishers. It was a long hard road with many rejections but all the sweeter when it came. I’ve also self-published a collection of humorous short stories, Seline’s World. It was an experiment to see how the process worked. As far as I can see there’s little difference in the effort that the author has to put in for sales and promotion.
Which genre do you write in and why?
I’ve completed thriller, science fiction and several humorous novels. With the publication of A Clear Solution, I’m naturally concentrating on humour now although, if I’m honest, the work I’m best pleased with is the SF novel, Soul Rider, which I hope will find its way out there sometime. As you can see genre mirrors my early reading interests, perhaps not surprisingly.
Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?
For humour it has to be PJ Wodehouse and Tom Sharpe, both such fantastic, quirky writers. There are many other writers I love but for influence on my own writing it has to be those two.
Has your country of origin/culture influenced your writing?
Yes, in the sense that my writing will always be from a UK perspective. I would be uncomfortable writing from the pov of another culture, even a European one, and don’t think I could other than as a visitor or tourist. Having said that this is where SF comes into its own. Make up your own culture.
What part of the writing process do you find most difficult? How do you overcome it?
I guess that would be dealing with the first draft. I’m a seat of the pants writer. I get an idea and let it fly with little or no planning. I’ve no idea when or how the story is going to end. Result – a mess. Getting there was great but moving on is stressful. All the dead ends have to be dealt with and somehow engineer a coherent story. It sounds awful. Why don’t I plan? Well, I have tried but any work which I feel to be any good at all has been produced in this way, whether short story or novel.
Do you have a favourite time of day to write?
No, not really. I’ve written morning, noon and night. But not on the same day.
What is the best thing about being an author? And the flipside – what is the worst?
The best thing, knowing that something you’ve conjured into life and that wouldn’t exist if you didn’t, has been enjoyed by others. The worst is the bits of the writing life that don’t involve writing. Whether that’s searching for an agent/publisher or, these days, social media.
Is social media an essential chore or something you enjoy? Which forum do you prefer?
In general, see previous answer, however, I’m not totally negative about social media. Facebook is a great tool for keeping in touch with relatives and friends you know in person. I’ve also now got to know some fellow writers who I’ve never met in person but would love to if chance arose. Twitter? Like a starling I’m sitting on the fence. It’s both good and bad. I’ve enjoyed #1linewed – post a line from a work in progress. Put up your best oneliners and read lots of great ones. But please, please don’t constantly tweet about your wonderful new book. You will be ignored. Best to interact with people. If somebody likes you they may look for your book.
If you weren’t an author, what would you be up to?
Tricky, but mostly what I’m up to at the moment only more off it. I play fiddle with a small group, offering entertainment locally, collect stamps and postcards, love old books, interested in astronomy – sometime I’ll fulfil my childhood ambition to have a really good telescope, photography, walking … I guess that explains why the days don’t have enough hours.
It’s the last day and the earth is facing oblivion – what book would you read?
This was quite easy. I don’t think I’ve ever re-read a novel before but if it’s your last day, well, you don’t want to be disappointed, I would re-read Thomas H Cooke’s The Fate of Katherine Carr. Probably my favourite novel. An astonishing book both in the quality of the writing and in its conclusion which is really in its beginning. For me it would beat anything on the last Booker shortlist but the author is considered a crime writer so will never appear there.
Please tell us what you are working on at the moment.
Currently working on a humorous, as yet untitled crime novel about a woman with a gap in her memory, a gap that unfortunately covers the time frame of her boss’s murder.
A Clear Solution can be purchased from Accent Press or from Amazon or my Website
If you would like to know more about Eric and his work please click on the links:
March 3, 2016
A Conversation with Author Jessica Norrie
Today in the Library we have Jessica Norrie, who has dropped in to say hello and to share some insights into her life as an author.
You are very welcome, Jessica, please introduce yourself:
I studied French at Sussex University and then trained as a teacher and translator. I still do a bit of both, though I’m hoping to leave schools behind me soon after many years at the chalkface. I live in NE London with my two grown up children, one a translation trainee, the other a teaching assistant (so I must have done something right). I’ve published textbooks and teaching resources, and written a few short stories and thoughts, but “The Infinity Pool” is my first completed novel.
Did you read much as a child? Are you an avid reader now? Do you prefer books in your own genre or are you happy to explore others?
I read everything as a child. Couldn’t be prised from the back of the cereal packet at breakfast and read under the covers at night. It helped hugely that my father ran a large bookshop in London, we were members of children’s book clubs (anyone remember the Puffin Club?), and, with no internet or even videos, we had lots of time to read. I still read a lot now, although I’m more critical – I often get a sense of déjà vu. I seem harder to please nowadays! I like fiction, travel writing and the occasional biography or historical account.
Are you self-published or traditionally published?
To my disappointment, self published, although via an agent’s programme which seems to be more favourable in terms of royalties and which has an unexpectedly personal service from Amazon. After 18 very constructive and polite rejections, my agent and I just decided to get on with it! I was asked by Amazon if they could have an exclusive on the ebook for a year, but from July 16 rights will be available again.
Which genre do you write in and why?
Literary fiction. I tried crime, but I’m just not bloodthirsty enough. I hugely admire the plotting skills of thriller writers, but personally I’m more interested in characters and themes, and a really complicated plot would have got in my way. If you add a lifetime of reading to a lifetime of marking, you get a pretty fastidious user of language, so the prose quality matters as much as the action to me – although of course you have to keep the reader turning the pages or it’s all pointless.
Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?
I like the sardonic wit and sadness of Katherine Mansfield and Dorothy Parker. More recent writers I admire are AL Kennedy, John Boyne (for “A History of Loneliness”), Kate Atkinson and Deborah Moggach, also Linda Grant. Ian McKewan, Julian Barnes. I thought “The Sense of an Ending” was a wonderful book.
Has your country of origin/culture influenced your writing?
Well, I’m British and I write in English. But my degree was French Literature in the wonderful school of European Studies at Sussex, so I’ve read a lot of French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Russian fiction too. I like the clean, spare quality of French prose. I’ve always lived and worked in multi cultural cities and I can’t imagine writing something that didn’t refer to a spread of cultures with all the sympathies and tensions that arise between them. The more the world gets embroiled in conflict, the more important that seems.
What part of the writing process do you find most difficult? How do you overcome it?
I can be a bit long winded. My sentences go on and on, and I paraphrase and get bogged down. And I often need help with working out a plot, in the early stages.
Do you have a favourite time of day to write?
Morning, in theory, or whenever an idea comes.
What is the best thing about being an author? And the flipside – what is the worst?
It’s wonderful because you can escape to the world you’re creating. For “The Infinity Pool”, it was a beautiful Mediterranean island in summer, so I was effectively on holiday when I was writing it. And I loved seeing the good reviews and realising people see things in my story that I didn’t even know were there, or when they refer to tiny details so you know they’ve read it thoroughly and it was worth being so specific. Getting stuck is discouraging, having down days when you think your writing isn’t any good – and aching backs/fingers/wrists from too long at the computer. And thoughtless one star reviews that just say “boring” – I wish Amazon had some quality control over reviews.
Is social media an essential chore or something you enjoy? Which forum do you prefer?
Facebook is quite fun. I’ve certainly “met” some fantastic people and sold more books through FB than I would have without it, but it’s easy to get addicted and waste hours. I find Twitter very annoying, but I’m told that’s because I don’t use it properly. I do tweet, but I’ve no idea whether it’s sold any books for me or not. And the blogs vary – some are very funny, informative and helpful. Like people really!
If you weren’t an author, what would you be up to?
Teaching, translating… No. I’d be a famous soprano opera singer or a pianist who could move everyone to tears.
It’s the last day and the earth is facing oblivion – what book would you read?
Anything by Laura Ingalls Wilder! She’s so constructive, determined and beautifully written. I think it might be hard to concentrate on anything denser than that.
Please tell us about your latest published work.
I’ve been asked by a few people for a sequel to “The Infinity Pool”, so I’ve decided to continue the story of Maria, the young local girl who got so enmeshed with the strange foreign visitors to her island. But she’s grown up a bit now, and is still just as spirited. She’ll need to be, as I’m giving her some tough demands. We’re not in paradise now!
If you would like to know more about Jessica or her work, please click on the links below:
Links to book including an audiobook version (French and German translations on the way):
February 29, 2016
My Writing Heroes: Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849)
“Thady begins his memoirs of the Rackrent Family by dating MONDAY MORNING, because no great undertaking can be auspiciously commenced in Ireland on any morning but MONDAY MORNING. ‘Oh, please God we live till Monday morning, we’ll set the slater to mend the roof of the house. On Monday morning we’ll fall to, and cut the turf. On Monday morning we’ll see and begin mowing. On Monday morning, please your honour, we’ll begin and dig the potatoes,’ etc.
All the intermediate days, between the making of such speeches and the ensuing Monday, are wasted: and when Monday morning comes, it is ten to one that the business is deferred to THE NEXT Monday morning. The Editor knew a gentleman, who, to counteract this prejudice, made his workmen and labourers begin all new pieces of work upon a Saturday.”
One of my writing heroes, Maria Edgeworth was an Anglo-Irish author who was friends with Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott, was wooed by a Swedish Count and was friends with the wife of the Duke of Wellington. Her love of Ireland, and in particular the family estate in Longford, coloured her writing and gave it a unique flavour.
Her Life:
Maria was born in Oxfordshire on the 1st January 1767, the second child of Richard Lovell Edgeworth (who eventually fathered 22 children by four wives). Her mother, Anna Maria Elers, passed away when she was five and she continued her schooling in England up to age 14. When her father married his second wife, Honora Sneyd, in 1773, she went with him to his estate, Edgeworthstown, in Co. Longford, Ireland. She took charge of her many younger siblings and was home-tutored in law, Irish economics and politics, science, and literature by her father. Honora, her step-mother and friend (there was only a few years between them), died in 1775 and her father married his sister-in-law, Elizabeth, which would have been considered shocking at the time.
Maria became her father’s assistant in managing the Edgeworthstown estate. She observed and recorded the details of daily Irish life, later drawing on this experience for her novels. Both Maria and her father were in favour of Catholic Emancipation, agricultural reform and increased educational opportunities for women. She particularly worked hard to improve the living standards of the poor in Edgeworthstown. In trying to improve conditions in the village she provided schools for the local children of all denominations.
In 1798, General Humbert landed in Kilalla, Co. Mayo, took Castlebar and marched for the Midlands. Maria and her father went to Longford town with a corps of infantry to help to defend it against the French. After the news of the French defeat at Ballinamuck, the jubilant mob turned on Edgeworth for suspected rebel sympathies and stoned him. After visiting the battlefield, Maria and her father returned to Edgeworthstown to find windows in the house smashed but no other damage done.
She travelled to England and Europe with her parents on many occasions. They met all the notables, and Maria received a marriage proposal from a Swedish courtier, Count Edelcrantz, which she refused as he would not come to live in Ireland and she would not leave it. She never married. On a visit to London in 1813, Maria met Lord Byron whom she did not like. She entered into a long correspondence with Sir Walter Scott after the publication of Waverley in 1814, in which he gratefully acknowledged her influence, and they formed a lasting friendship. She visited him in Scotland at Abbotsford House in 1823, and the following year, he visited Edgeworthstown.
After her father’s death on 13th June 1817 Maria travelled to London, Paris and Geneva before returning again to Edgeworthstown in 1821. By this time her European reputation as a writer was secure, she was warmly received in literary and social circles and had many great admirers of her work including Jane Austen, with whom she had a somewhat unusual friendship.
Maria was in her eighties when she witnessed the worst of the famine in Ireland. She was untiring in her attempts to help the distressed tenants she saw all around her and even influenced admirers in Boston to send food for the poor and starving Irish tenants. This gained her much respect and love within her locality. Unfortunately, she was not destined to see Ireland restored to the relative tranquillity of the post-famine era. The deaths of both her brother Francis in 1846, and sister Fanny in 1848, along with bouts of illness tried her severely. She died on 22nd May 1849 and was buried alongside her father in the family vault in the Churchyard of St. Johns in Edgeworthstown, where Isola Wilde, sister of Oscar Wilde, is also buried.
Her Work:
Her first literary output came in 1795 with the publishing of Letters to Literary Ladies, which was a feminist essay pleading for the reform of women’s education. Much of her earlier work was in collaboration with and heavily edited by her father, and had a didactic style as a result. But in 1800, her masterpiece Castle Rackrent, was anonymously submitted without her father’s knowledge and published by the London bookseller and publisher Johnson. It was not until it was in its third edition that she had the courage to put her name as author to the book. The novel portrays the Irish people and the social conditions which they endured at the time, in a very realistic and at the same time unhostile manner. The Irish author Padriac Colum remarked: “One can read it in an hour. Then one knows why the whole force of England could not break the Irish people.”
Her fictional but realistic characters, and the manner in which she portrayed a dignified peasantry and way of country life, was new in the literature of fiction. Where she led many were later to follow. It is mainly on this point that the literary reputation of Maria Edgeworth rests.
Although in her lifetime she would have witnessed the American revolution, the French revolution, the rise and fall of Napoleon and the suppressed revolts of 1798 and 1848, it is her memories of the famine years, and the abuse of the Irish peasants under cruel Landlords that had most effect on her and these issues that surface most in her work.
Her novels, Belinda, Helen and The Absentee, are firm favourites worldwide and in no small way contributed to her reputation and earned her the respect of both fellow authors and critics.
Partial list of published work:
Letters for Literary Ladies– 1795 ; Second Edition 1798
An essay on the Noble Science of Self-Justification – 1795
The Parent’s Assistant – 1796
Practical Education – 1798 (2 vols; collaborated with her father, Richard Lovell Edgeworth and step-mother, Honora Sneyd)
Castle Rackrent (1800) (novel)
Early Lessons– 1801
Moral Tales- 1801
Belinda – (1801) (novel)
The Mental Thermometer- 1801
Essay on Irish Bulls– 1802 (political, collaborated with her father)
Popular Tales– 1804
The Modern Griselda – 1804
Moral Tales for Young People– 1805 (6 vols)
Leonora – 1806
Essays in Professional Education- 1809
Tales of Fashionable Life– 1809 (first in a series, includes The Absentee)
Ennui – 1809 (novel)
The Absentee – 1812 (novel)
Patronage – 1814 (novel)
Harrington – 1817 (novel)
Ormond – 1817 (novel)
Comic Dramas– 1817
Memoirs of Richard Lovell Edgeworth– 1820 (edited her father’s memoirs)
Rosamond: A Sequel to Early Lessons- 1821
Frank: A Sequel to Frank in Early Lessons- 1822
Tomorrow– 1823 (novel)
Helen – 1834 (novel)
Orlandino- 1848 (temperance novel)
February 28, 2016
A Conversation with Author Wendy Lou Jones
Today in the Library we have Wendy Lou Jones , who has dropped in to say hello and to share some insights into her life as an author.
You are very welcome, Wendy Lou, please introduce yourself:
I was brought up on the south coast of England, trained to be a doctor in Birmingham and settled in Herefordshire, where I now live with my husband and 2 boys.
Did you read much as a child? Are you an avid reader now? Do you prefer books in your own genre or are you happy to explore others?
I read very little growing up and only really took to it in earnest with the advent of the e-reader. I read historical romance, contemporary romance and some women’s fiction. Not very adventurous, I know, but that’s just what I like.
Are you self-published or traditionally published?
I self-published in the start, but have my first 3 novels published under an imprint of HarperCollins now.
Which genre do you write in and why?
I write contemporary romance, mainly because I’m rubbish at history!
Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?
I think Lisa Kleypas was the one who got me into reading big time, so it’s probably her I have to thank in part for the transition from reader to writer.
Has your country of origin/culture influenced your writing?
I do mainly write settings from my life, so I guess, yes, it has.
What part of the writing process do you find most difficult? How do you overcome it?
Coming up with the new idea for a novel I find stressful. Once I’ve got something, I can play around with it to my heart’s content. I tend to write a book ahead of what people want, so I’m never under pressure to produce. There’s always a story waiting.
Do you have a favourite time of day to write?
I would prefer first thing, but unfortunately that time is filled with kid chores, so night time is my most productive time of day.
What is the best thing about being an author? And the flipside – what is the worst?
The best is connecting with someone. Finding out that someone actually got your writing, that’s the best. The worst? The insecurity of the job. You’re only as good as your last book and the next one might be pants!
Is social media an essential chore or something you enjoy? Which forum do you prefer?
I’m a Facebook girl at heart. I’ve got into twitter, but the pace and potential to miss so much doesn’t work for me.
If you weren’t an author, what would you be up to?
My previous goal was to be a forensic pathologist and without marriage, kids and writing, that would be what I’d do.
It’s the last day and the earth is facing oblivion – what book would you read?
None. I’m too slow. That’s the time to live your own life, not someone else’s.
Please tell us what you are working on or your latest published work.
My last book published was The Summer We Loved. It’s a love story set around a hospital and centred on a nurse and an anaesthetist. It’s medical, Jim, but not as you’d know it!
If you would like to know more about Wendy Lou please click on the links below:
www.facebook.com/escapeintolove
A Conversation with Author, Wendy Lou Jones
Today in the Library we have Wendy Lou Jones , who has dropped in to say hello and to share some insights into her life as an author.
You are very welcome, Wendy Lou, please introduce yourself:
I was brought up on the south coast of England, trained to be a doctor in Birmingham and settled in Herefordshire, where I now live with my husband and 2 boys.
Did you read much as a child? Are you an avid reader now? Do you prefer books in your own genre or are you happy to explore others?
I read very little growing up and only really took to it in earnest with the advent of the e-reader. I read historical romance, contemporary romance and some women’s fiction. Not very adventurous, I know, but that’s just what I like.
Are you self-published or traditionally published?
I self-published in the start, but have my first 3 novels published under an imprint of HarperCollins now.
Which genre do you write in and why?
I write contemporary romance, mainly because I’m rubbish at history!
Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?
I think Lisa Kleypas was the one who got me into reading big time, so it’s probably her I have to thank in part for the transition from reader to writer.
Has your country of origin/culture influenced your writing?
I do mainly write settings from my life, so I guess, yes, it has.
What part of the writing process do you find most difficult? How do you overcome it?
Coming up with the new idea for a novel I find stressful. Once I’ve got something, I can play around with it to my heart’s content. I tend to write a book ahead of what people want, so I’m never under pressure to produce. There’s always a story waiting.
Do you have a favourite time of day to write?
I would prefer first thing, but unfortunately that time is filled with kid chores, so night time is my most productive time of day.
What is the best thing about being an author? And the flipside – what is the worst?
The best is connecting with someone. Finding out that someone actually got your writing, that’s the best. The worst? The insecurity of the job. You’re only as good as your last book and the next one might be pants!
Is social media an essential chore or something you enjoy? Which forum do you prefer?
I’m a Facebook girl at heart. I’ve got into twitter, but the pace and potential to miss so much doesn’t work for me.
If you weren’t an author, what would you be up to?
My previous goal was to be a forensic pathologist and without marriage, kids and writing, that would be what I’d do.
It’s the last day and the earth is facing oblivion – what book would you read?
None. I’m too slow. That’s the time to live your own life, not someone else’s.
Please tell us what you are working on or your latest published work.
My last book published was The Summer We Loved. It’s a love story set around a hospital and centred on a nurse and an anaesthetist. It’s medical, Jim, but not as you’d know it!
If you would like to know more about Wendy Lou please click on the links below:
www.facebook.com/escapeintolove
February 20, 2016
A Conversation with Author, Christoph Fischer
Today I am delighted to have Christoph Fischer in the Library who has dropped in to say hello and to share some insights into his life as an author.
You are very welcome, Christoph, please introduce yourself:
I’m a German ex-pat living in West Wales with my partner, dogs, fish, birds and sheep. An avid reader and fan of the arts, I used to work in museums, libraries and the British Film Institute. Only when my employment with an airline provided me with spare time in transit or hotel rooms did I start writing myself.
Did you read much as a child? Are you an avid reader now? Do you prefer books in your own genre or are you happy to explore others?
I always loved reading, from childhood on until this very day. Although my tastes have changed a lot throughout the years, I tend to read the kind of books that I write. I also love comedies but I yet have to try and write one myself.
Are you self-published or traditionally published?
I am self-published. A friend persuaded me to accompany her to a self-publishing course in London where I heard a lot of terrible stories about the degrading experience of looking for an agent. So I decided to go it alone.
Which genre do you write in and why?
I write historical fiction, contemporary family dramas and thrillers. Books with cultural or educational components, novels set in a different culture or about a specific topic that I know little of are my favourites and those are the type of books I try to write.
I’m an impulsive writer and would find it hard to stick to just one genre. My thriller “The Healer” started out as a novel about alternative medicine but then I saw the potential for a thriller and rewrote it.
Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?
Some of my German literature school teachers. Since then it would have to be my editors and beta readers.
Has your country of origin/culture influenced your writing?
Without a doubt. You can take the boy out of Germany but not Germany out of the boy; even after 25 years in the UK. Several reviewers have picked up on it.
What part of the writing process do you find most difficult? How do you overcome it?
To know when to let the story go. A part of me wants to re-write and re-edit every book ‘one last time’ and then another time… I take advice from the beta readers and my editors and remember that in my own critical eye, none of my books will always be ‘perfect’ or ‘finished’.
Do you have a favourite time of day to write?
In the middle of the night or very early in the morning when the world is quiet and I can write without interruptions or feeling guilty for not doing something else that I should be doing.
What is the best thing about being an author? And the flipside – what is the worst?
The best thing is creating an entire new world, where everything is possible. It can be an escapism from the real world or an enrichment of it.
The worst thing is the enormous amount of time that it consumes, and that is just the writing. Let alone the marketing.
Is social media an essential chore or something you enjoy? Which forum do you prefer?
It is a necessary evil and a very mixed blessing. I’m enjoying some parts of it because I get to meet wonderful people whom I otherwise never would have had the privilege to know. On the other hand it takes too much time from other things and the ‘real world’. I have a soft spot for twitter but blogging on wordpress is my favourite platform.
If you weren’t an author, what would you be up to?
I would be a dog walker and dog breeder, a librarian, Reiki healer or run my own B&B, fitness studio or record label.
It’s the last day and the earth is facing oblivion – what book would you read?
”Satan Wants Me” by Robert Irwin
Please tell us about your latest published work.
I recently published “Ludwika”, a historical novel about a Polish woman in Germany during World War 2. Ludwika Gierz, a young Polish woman, is forced to leave her family and go to Nazi Germany to work for an SS officer. There, she must walk a tightrope, learning to live as a second-class citizen in a world where one wrong word could spell disaster and every day could be her last. Based on real events, this is a story of hope amid despair, of love amid loss . . . ultimately, it’s one woman’s story of survival.
Ludwika is available here: http://bookShow.me/1519539118
Christoph has written several other novels which are in the later stages of editing and finalisation.
If you would like to know more about Christoph and his work please see the following links:
Website: http://www.christophfischerbooks.com/
Blog: http://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6590171.Christoph_Fischer
Amazon: http://ow.ly/BtveY
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CFFBooks
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/christophffisch/
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/106213860775307052243
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=241333846
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WriterChristophFischer?ref=hl
