Roger Bray's Blog, page 3

An exclusive interview with Amy Miller- Author interview

I had the pleasure to be talk with Amy Miller, who uses the nickname AEM to sign her books. She […]

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Revisiting the Chamberlin Conviction: Unraveling the Lindy and Michael case.

The case against them was eventually disproved beyond doubt but one piece of forensic ‘evidence’ still has me shaking my head.

The post Revisiting the Chamberlin Conviction: Unraveling the Lindy and Michael case. appeared first on Roger Bray Books.

Inside the writer’s mind: Exclusive author interview with John Mayer

The best way to introduce John Mayer is for him to introduce himself: Hello and thanks for asking me to […]

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Carol Thomas

Today I am talking with Carol Thomas who writes for both adults and children: Her contemporary romance novels, have relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads; while her children’s books have irresistibly cute, generally furry characters young children can relate to.

Could you tell us about yourself?

I live on the south coast of England with my husband, four children and Labrador. I was a playgroup leader, and primary school teacher, before dedicating more of my time to writing. I have a passion for reading, writing and people watching, and can often be found loitering in local cafes working on my next book.

When did you first decide to write and what got you started?

I did a little creative writing in college and kept notebooks as a result, but it wasn’t until a friend published her first book that I felt inspired to start my own. I was taking a break from teaching in 2012 and decided to seize the opportunity to take the time and write.

Which is your favourite genre to write and why?

I write contemporary romance and romantic comedy. These are also the genres I predominantly read; I enjoy the escapism. There is enough gloom and uncertainty in the world, and so it is good to spread a little happiness.

Motivated by my years of teaching and my desire to encourage early reading skills, I also write for children. I have four children and two grandchildren; it is always a pleasure to snuggle up to share a good book.

Do you have any inspirations for your writing? Other authors / people / events?

I am inspired by Mhairi McFarlane’s ability to sum up a situation in a single sentence aptly. I enjoy Tracy Bloom’s sense of humour, and I adore Sarah Morgan’s ability to create perfect heroes, and settings that make me wish I could live in the world she has created. I am inspired by snippets of life and single sentences that make me stop and think, laugh out loud, or shed a tear.

What is the best part about writing, and the worst?

The best is when it all comes together, when you are writing with a smile on your face and you are lost in the moment.

The worst is when you are wracked with self-doubt, and the ideas aren’t flowing (usually about the thirty-thousand-word mark for me) I know it happens and so have to push through.

Tell us about your most recent book “Maybe Baby”  – great title

Susanne Haywood

Susanne Haywood was born in Austria and lived in Scotland, England, Australia and in the United States before returning to southern England, where she lives with her husband and a variable number of adult children and pets. After a career in higher education, she now devotes her time to writing — unless the sun shines, when she can be found outside, walking the dogs and digging in the garden.

Could you tell us about yourself?

I grew up in Austria, but after my undergraduate degree in English and French I moved in Glasgow, Scotland for my first job. I understood very little there for the first few weeks. Even the radio defeated me right from the start: the first programme I ever tuned into was the shipping forecast! I did, however, manage to join a Scottish dancing club, where I met my husband. We moved to the South of England so I could understand people and because the climate is milder there. We had three children before we decided to emigrate to Perth in Western Australia. That was where Tigger the ginger tomcat joined our family. More about him later. After five years in Perth, during which the children attended primary school and I completed a Ph.D., my husband received a tempting job offer from the USA and we moved to Southern Maryland, just outside Washington D.C.

We spent two years there, and as I was classed as a ‘dependent alien’ I wasn’t allowed to work. This gave me the chance to publish my Ph.D. thesis as a book with a German publisher (really well received and resulted in lots of citations) and to make a first, tentative start on a novel set in Australia. We were just finding our feet when the company announced they wanted someone to work for them from Australia, so back we went, to Melbourne, where we stayed for over ten years. I worked at the University of Melbourne in International Relations, travelling far and wide, building research bridges with universities in China, Japan, Korea, the Americas and New Zealand, while gathering lots of airmiles at a time when they were still worth gathering. But I also joined my first Writers Group, which was incredibly encouraging and helpful to me in honing the craft I’d always loved. My creativity was further fuelled by the fact that we lived the Australian dream in a lovely, rural area outside Melbourne on a small farm with lots of gum trees, horses, sheep, dogs, and a small, white kitten in addition to the well-travelled Tigger. There were plenty of kangaroos, echidnas, wombats and snakes, too.

Around the time when our eldest graduated from university and our youngest from high school I received a job offer from the University of Surrey in Guildford, which provided an excuse to move back to England, to the small West Sussex village where we are still. I am now retired and should theoretically have lots of time to write. Sadly, I find it hard to say an emphatic ‘no’ to the many (unpaid!) community involvements on offer, to the effect that I seem to be busier than ever.

Tigger, Tammy the little white kitten and the two dogs came with us from Australia, but all except Tammy have passed over the Rainbow Bridge since our return. We have adopted another cat, Bilbo the ginger tomcat, but haven’t the energy to commit to more dogs. Our three children are all married now: we have acquired Canadian and Australian sons-in-law and a Slovakian daughter-in-law, to continue the cosmopolitan theme in our family. In January we became grandparents, and the next grandchild is due at Easter, so my priorities are shifting once again. The plan is to reduce the community involvement, increase family commitments and keep my writing on an even keel. Wish me luck!

When did you first decide to write and what got you started?

I’ve always loved reading and knew all my children’s books by heart by the age of four, even to the point of knowing exactly where the pages had be turned. At school, I loved writing stories to amuse my teachers, and when I was 13 I wrote a novella which I now recognize was dreadful, but at the time considered pretty brilliant. My parents were wary of my literary aspirations, encouraging me instead to get a proper job, which almost succeeded in keeping me from writing for pleasure for the best part of 30 years. But not quite.

 

A highly entertaining read and good for both the young and old as well as non animal and animal lovers alike

Amazon Reviewer


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In Maryland, with a growing number of friends all over the world, the annual Christmas card battle began to get out of hand, so we started writing annual newsletters instead. Each family member wrote their own column, and it occurred to me that Tigger should have his own column also. It turned out that Tigger’s column was by far the most popular, and before long he received more mail back than the rest of us. In Melbourne, while I was working part-time for a couple of years, I began to write up his Christmas columns as a continuous memoir. The rigorous feedback by my Writers Group helped me find Tigger’s voice and point of view. I sent the manuscript to a small number of publishers, but received no joy, and once we’d moved to the UK I decided to self-publish Tigger: Memoirs of a Cosmopolitan Cat, which has been well-received. It sold well over 1000 copies (real and electronic) and won the 2017 Bookangel Award for books featuring cats of distinctive character.

What is the best part about writing, and the worst?

The best: creating a new world and filling it with characters of your own imagination, who (mostly) do what you planned for them. Receiving positive feedback from a professional. The feeling that you can do this.

The worst: getting stuck in your plot and falling out of love with your characters. Receiving a rejection from an agent or publisher, even if it is kind and provides useful feedback. That sinking feeling: why on earth am I bothering?

Tell us about one of, or your most recent book?

My most recent completed book is a book club novel about crime and its emotional fallout, set in Australia ten years ago, during a period of devastating bushfires in the area where we lived. It’s a woman’s story, set against the backdrop of the temperate rainforests of Victoria, a wilderness that can delight as well as destroy.

This is the novel I started in the 90s in Maryland, so it has been a long time coming. I finally completed it a couple of years ago and have since fine-tuned it several times over. Leaving it for a while and getting back to it with fresh eyes helps me recognize its strengths and weaknesses. I’ve had some interest from agents and publishers, but a deal has so far eluded me. I shy away from self-publishing because I absolutely hate promoting and marketing. I know I’d still have to do that with a traditional publisher, but I’d like to think I would have the collective know-how of a professional team behind me and not have to do everything by myself.

What are you currently working on? How long before release?

At the moment I am working on a World War II historical novel based on the two distinctive voices (in first person singular) of a soldier and the girl he will eventually meet and fall in love with. Unlike most war stories written in English, this one is set entirely on the German side of the conflict – he is Austrian, she Silesian. My aim is to give readers an idea of the great diversity of attitudes and opinions among the people that made up the Third Reich.

The idea for this story has been germinating for a long time. I wrote my Ph.D. on the ideologies underpinning German middle-class morality during the 1920s and 1930s and wanted to put some flesh on the bone of my theoretical study. A few years ago, I inherited my father’s war diaries, which provided wonderful insights into the day-to-day life of a soldier in the Wehrmacht. His account helps me get those all-important details right, even though my story is not his, and largely fictional.

I’m about half-way through this novel now.

When you have finished writing the book – what do you do next? By that I mean, do you edit the book yourself? Do you design your own book cover? Do you prepare a project plan to market your book?

I begin by editing a book myself, by which I mean going over it and removing unnecessary clutter, checking I’ve chosen the exactly right words to express what I want to say, hunting for typos and clichés, that kind of thing. I will then pay for an editor to read the manuscript for style, plot, characters etc. This can be incredibly useful.

For my Australian novel I used an editor chosen by the Writing Magazine, but committed the (common, I’m told) mistake of filing it in the wrong genre, as a crime story. They gave me a crime writer editor, who actually didn’t quite get what I wanted to do. It was only later that a publisher suggested what I had was book club fiction (as described above). Which goes to show how important it is to correctly label your manuscript. However, this was all part of the learning curve, and the overall comments I received were still valuable for me. If nothing else, they showed me that I had by no means finished my novel and needed to do a lot more work to make it competitive in the market place and attractive to agents and publishers. My first 3 chapters have since been shortlisted for a number of quite prestigious prizes (I was runner-up for the Cinnamon Prize last year), which shows me I’m on the right track, at least with my beginning!

The book cover for Tigger’s story was designed by Matador, with whom I published the book. I loved the design straight away, as it expresses the quirkiness of the story and the aloofness of the author. I’ve had many compliments about it, too.

For my sins, I did not make a marketing plan for my book. I actually didn’t know how to. I tried various avenues, some successful, some less so, got stuck into social media, and was generally frustrated by the opaque nature of the whole thing: it is so often impossible to know which marketing strategy gets you sales, because they so often occur way down the line. I’d like to think I’d do better next time, but I’m not entirely sure!

What is the best piece of advice you could give to someone starting out on a writing career?

Write, write, write! It’s the only way to grow as a writer. And secondly, to manage the difficult balancing act of firmly believing in yourself and your great genius while remaining humble enough to be open to constructive criticism and going back to the drawing board whenever necessary.

What are you currently reading?

Elizabeth Taylor: Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. Chosen by a discussion group I belong to and not something I thought I would naturally gravitate towards. I started it recently while on holiday and realized on page 2 that I’d already read it years ago! It is very well-written and so wise, I find myself reading some passages several times over. An unexpected treat; I liked it better than last time.

Who do you count amongst your favourite authors?

I have so many, I don’t know where to start! For crime novels, I really enjoy reading Tana French. I’ve read all her books. I love Philippa Gregory’s historical novels. They are the ideal standard I aspire to with my own historical novel. I completely admire Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies. Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and several of Clare Francis’ books are my models for the kind of psychological woman’s story I want my Australian novel to be. But my all-time favourite is A.A.Milne, both for Winnie-the-Pooh and for his poetry for children. Unsurpassed in psychological insight and rhythm of language!

How important do you think social media is for an author?  What advice would you give to make the most of social media?

My advice is to strictly limit the time spent on social media each day, perhaps to 20 very targeted minutes. It is too easy to waste hours on Facebook and Twitter, and I am not convinced they bring overwhelming results. For anyone not sufficiently computer-literate, social media may well be something they can do without. They may do better spending the time on activities that come more easily.

But for those who are comfortable with the concept, social media are an excellent platform for spreading the word far and wide in a way that would be hard to do in any other way. I created a page for Tigger (Tigger Haywood), managed by, but independent from my own personal profile, which works well. I rarely actively market on it, but I post little stories, cat jokes and photos, which has resulted in a loyal following. I have used Facebook for paid ads, but was unimpressed with the result, and there were additional charges I had not anticipated, so I don’t do it any more. My Amazon ads have been more successful, and I like the way you can add hundreds of key words to appeal to more people.

My involvement on Twitter has brought some interesting and quite unexpected results: I created an account not for myself, but for Tigger

Rosemary Noble Updated

Another one of my favourite authors returns again to bring us up to date with her latest release, plans and general goings-on in her world.  Welcome back, Rosemary Noble.

Hi Rosemary, welcome back.  What has been happening since we last spoke?

Thank you for asking me back. I’ve had an incredibly busy year. Why did I think retirement would be a time to relax? I finished the third book in my Australian trilogy, Sadie’s Wars, which launched on Sep 29th, two days before I flew to Australia for a six weeks break. While I was touring NSW, Victoria and with a quick hop over to Tasmania, I managed to talk to lots of lovely potential readers. Last year, I also helped to write and edit a Ghost Tour of Littlehampton for the local festival. I am now in demand conducting ghost tours- that’s something I never imagined.

...a well-written historical novel with touching insights about surviving despite adversity. Sadie is a great heroine to root for!

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We would love to hear more about your latest release “Sadie’s Wars”?

While fiction, it’s based loosely on the life of the daughter of Joseph Timms, an Australian railway contractor and pastoralist of the early 20th century. Sadie grew up in great luxury in the Yarra Valley in Victoria, the only daughter, amongst a brood of sons. Her entrepreneurial father, a partner of Sir Sidney Kidman, spent most of his time away chasing his fortune. When the Great War intervened, everything began to go wrong. Eventually, Sadie left Australia to go begin a new life in the ‘Old Country’ bringing her three sons up alone until they enlisted as pilots in WW2. It’s a novel about betrayal, endurance and forgiveness. I’m so pleased with the reviews which have all been positive.

I understand you have made a few trips down under! Can you tell us a bit more, for instance what was the purpose, where did you go, what did you see?

My husband is half-Australian, descended from convicts, but we lost touch with all the family down under once his mother died. Through my books I have been re-making those contacts. One cousin we met this time, in Windsor NSW, wrote to me a year ago to say she was reading one of my books and her grandfather was the illegitimate son of Joseph Timms. I nearly fell off my chair in excitement. A new scene was written that evening. Each time we visit, we meet new cousins, make new friends and I do research. My hop over to Tasmania was to attend the Female Convicts Research Seminar in Hobart. I met three lovely ladies who told me their ancestors were sent out from Sussex, a few miles from where I now live. One of them I had actually researched during my time as a volunteer for the organisation. The connections between our countries are many and very close to home.

Speaking of Australia have you picked up any Aussie slang or eaten some of our unique food?

I love the quality and variety of the food you have, whether it be barramundi, roast lamb, raison toast, Aussie pies from the Beechworth bakery. (Robertson, Yatala – all great pies. A good pie is a thing of beauty) We ate out mostly and I have to say I had the best breakfast ever in a café in Wodonga, fabulous food in Melbourne’s China town, and Asian fusion south of Wollongong. I adore Gippsland yogurt – that’s reason alone to return to Australia. I’ll pass on vegemite though; I’m no fan of Marmite. (Weirdo!)

As to the lingo – I had to use some in my books, so I do know a fair bit but I’m always listening for more.

Yes, I know I just can’t seem to get past the Aussie questions! I’ll try to make this the last one, is there any one place here that you wished you had visited or spent more time there?

I want to go back to Queensland and maybe Darwin, because I’ve never been there. However, if I could make my home in the Yarra Valley, I would. The drive there through the Christmas Hills is out of this world. It reminds me of the Suisse Normande in France, and I can understand why so many Swiss settled there. The family vineyards at Chateau Yering, St Hubert’s and what is now Domaine Chandon, draw us back each time. I always leave something undone, some place which gives me reason to return.

OK, so I lied your books are set in Australia after all [image error]

AngelaPetch_Update

Back on my site today I am delighted to be talking again to Angela Petch, author of the acclaimed novel Tuscan Roots and supporter of aspiring writers through her writers’ workshops.  Angela has had a great year and I invited her back to share some of the exciting news she has.

Firstly, can you tell us a bit about yourself for all the readers for whom this is their first dance with you?

Thanks for having me back – I’m so glad to know I didn’t behave (too) badly last time. Hic!

I’m a lucky lady because I live a bi-life… meaning six months by the seaside in England, near our five tiny grandchildren, and the other months in the hills of Tuscany. My husband and I run a small holiday business in Italy, renting out our converted watermill from May to October and, basically, I’m a Mrs Mop out there. But I do love looking after our guests and many of them have become friends. In fact, three lots have bought houses near us, falling in love with our unspoiled, “real” Italian corner.

And in between, I write: mainly historical novels set in Tuscany, but also short stories published in PRIMA and The People’s Friend (very supportive of new writers). Recently I published “something completely different”, as per Monty Python… (see below)…

Since we last spoke you have published another novel but it is not a straightforward telling of a story?

Mavis and Dot took me over twelve years to write. The story is about two eccentric ladies of a certain age who retire to the seaside and then find they are lonely. Despite being very different, they form a friendship and lots of adventures and mishaps start from there.

It’s a book I was compelled to finish. It started off as a short story I wrote for my best friend, who was very ill. I wanted to make her smile with my silly tale of Mavis and Dot – because they were our invented personae… we used to love hunting around auction houses and charity shops together and we called each other Mavis and Dot.

Someone and something close to your heart.  But, you couldn’t finish it at the time, when she was ill?

No, her illness progressed and she passed away from ovarian cancer in 2006. I shelved the story.  Some time later I read it out to my writing class. And they laughed. So, I wrote a few more and then compiled a novella, which I self- published in December 2018. Despite being asked to submit it to a couple of publishers (Harper Impulse and Bookouture), it didn’t fit in with my brand (Tuscan novels).

BUT, I’m relieved to have gone it alone. It’s a very personal tale and I wanted to be in control of its production. My friend had drawn a sketch of Mavis and Dot and I found a local artist who illustrated my novella in the same “postcard” style.

And I understand you are passing all profits from the book to charity?

Yes, all profits are going to Cancer Research.  That was another reason I decided to self publish it would have been too complex a deal to have organised with a mainstream publisher.

(Does it sound like I’m inventing excuses for being rejected???) Er, no!

Jena Henry

Jena C. Henry describes herself as an active, high energy gal who is a wife, mother, non-profit volunteer and bon vivant.  She created the fiction book series, The Golden Age of Charli, to encourage, entertain and share her joy of living and laughing. 

She holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Akron School of Law. Now retired, she and her husband, Alan, live in tropical Ohio where they enjoy their two adult children and extended family, friends and darling dog. 

Jena presents writing workshops to help creatives achieve their dreams of writing a book and publishing it.

Could you tell us about yourself?

I have lived my entire life in Ohio, USA. So, that about sums it up!
“O-H!”

Long pause…

“Roger, you are supposed to say ‘I-O!’”

Ok, it’s an Ohio State football thing.  (Football you say?  Sorry, trying not to laugh )

When did you first decide to write and what got you started?

I first decided to write when I was about 7 years old and every week we had to turn in a book report at school. (I thought all homework was going to be that much fun.) (yeah, growing up can be, well.., disappointing!)

My second epiphany was when I went to the public library and the librarian noticed I was running out of books to read, and she took me around the corner to the books for the bigger kids and before my eyes were books in a series! I could keep reading and reading about Sue Barton, Student Nurse or Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. I could write a series!

I wanted to major in creative writing at college, but my parents told me I had to have “something to fall back on.” Although my Dad did remember a friend of his who had a job writing the product descriptions in the Sears catalogue. Maybe I’d like to do that? I dropped the writing idea. Of course, if I had been reading women’s fiction and romance back then, I would have realized that I should have left my home and family and pursued my dreams.

Through the years, filled with various careers and raising a family, I still longed to write a book. I finally started officially writing about five years ago when my husband reminded me that time was running out. He’s a charmer, isn’t he?

Tell us about one of, or your most recent book

I’m glad you asked! I am so proud of my books and me. I wrote a three-book fiction series, The Golden Age of Charli. I love all my books because they are just what I wanted them to be- fun, positive and encouraging. My books are loosely based on my experiences and the experiences of about 50 million other women! The third book in the series, The Golden Age of Charli- GPS has a lot of humor and love.

 

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Great dialogue. A fun, enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to the next Charli novel. Highly recommend it!

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Do you have an office or ‘space’ where you write from and is it at home, or elsewhere? Are there any special pieces of art, furniture around you that also inspires you?

Yes, I have a space in a loft area at our house that looks over our great room- so I can be away, but still accessible when the people in my house can’t find things. In the summer, we spend time near Lake Erie, and I write in our sunroom and gaze out at our boat, Forever Young. At both places, I have postcards and greeting cards displayed from authors I have become friends with- I smile when I see their friendly and encouraging greetings.

If you could sit down with any author dead or alive, who would that be and what would you chat about?

Author Daphne DuMaurier. She wrote so many commercially successful books, and at least six were made into popular films. I believe she has written the greatest opening line ever, “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” from Rebecca. Rebecca has never been out of print.

I love to chat, so I would encourage her to tell me any stories of her creative life. I’d also like to know if she would have had fun with a blog, website and social media channels. If we were getting along well, I might be brave and ask her about the plagiarism charges she faced.

How important do you think social media is for an author?  What advice would you give to make the most of social media?

Unless you are writing for the joy of it, for yourself or family, marketing is always important. When I read historical non-fiction, it’s fascinating to read about marketing and promotional practices from a hundred or even hundreds of years ago. Pass the snake oil!

My advice is to enjoy social media and be true to your brand. My brand is based on my books- so Staying Golden and positive are values I promote. I spend time each day on Facebook and Twitter. I have dabbled with Instagram and YouTube. I have made a few podcasts and I am contemplating starting my own podcast series!

I have made many friends in the writing world on social media and I have learned from these opportunities. I met you on social media, Roger and I am glad I did. If you are reading this post and you don’t know me, please look me up on social media.

Getting to know authors on social media led me to my current writing interest, which is reviewing and featuring books on my blog. I am a passionate reader and I love to write- so book reviewing is a perfect fit for me. I review for Rachel’s Random Resources, NetGalley, WaterBrook Press and Thistle Publishing, and upon request.

Which brings me to your next question.

Could you tell us what you have been up to with Jessie from ‘Books in my Handbag’ I believe the blog is called Jena’s Golden Chapters :)?  Can you tell us how authors can become involved?

I met Jessie Cahalin online. I had seen posts that talked about a “Handbag Gallery” involving books…and purses…and posts about authors? How wonderful I thought- and I wanted to learn more about the site and its creator. Jessie encourages writers by showcasing their photos of their book with a handbag. As we shared thoughts about writing, and books we had enjoyed, and laughed over a few differences between American and the UK (it’s cookies, not biscuits! American football is the “real” football!) we knew we wanted to do even more for readers and writers.

One day, Jessie was singing and chatting with her book characters as she arranged new books and handbags in her Handbag Gallery. One of her characters tapped her shoulder and pointed to a new and glowing handbag on a top shelf. Jessie had discovered the Golden Handbag. She peered inside and found that the handbag was filled with Golden Chapters.

Who would read these Golden Chapters?

Me!

And that’s how we started the feature “Jena’s Golden Chapters.” We review the first chapter of a book to tempt readers to want to read the whole book.

Authors who are interested in a Golden Chapter review should contact Jessie and submit their photo and book information and indicate that they would like to be considered for a Golden Chapter review. If you have any doubts at all about the value of social media- please get to know Jessie Cahalin- she is a true supporter and friend. (And witty and a good writer!)

No shameless self promotion here

Val Penny

Val describes herself as a writer and poet who likes to exchange views on her blogs.  Her interests include include reading, writing and travelling.  She confesses a love of going to book festivals, concerts, the theatre, to the movies and to visit friends and family.  Her favourite books include thrillers, crime novels and mysteries. However, she also enjoy reading biographies, classic novels and other genres if the novel, short story or poem is well written.

Could you tell us about yourself?

I am an American author living in SW Scotland. I have two adult daughters of whom I am justly proud and live with my husband and two cats. I have a Law degree from Edinburgh University and an MSc from Napier University. I have had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, lawyer, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer. However, I have not yet achieved either of my childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store. Until those dreams come true, I have turned my hand to writing poetry, short stories and novels. My crime novels, ‘Hunter’s Chase’ Hunter’s Revenge and Hunter’s Force are set in Edinburgh, Scotland, published by Crooked Cat Books. The fourth book in the series, Hunter’s Blood, follows shortly.

When did you first decide to write and what got you started?

I have written stories and poems all my life. However, when I was being treated for breast cancer, I had little energy to do anything but read. As I recovered, I began to review the books I read. It was after this my husband challenged me to write a novel. (Would it were that simple!)

What is the best part about writing, and the worst?

For me, the best part of writing is sharing stories with my readers. The worst part is the vast amount of editing and re-writing that goes on behind the scenes before I have anything worth sharing,

Do you have any inspirations for you writing? Other authors / people / events?

I listen and watch constantly. It is amazing how an overheard comment on a train or sight of somebody in a restaurant can give a nudge to a scene in a novel.

Tell us about your main characters. Are they based on real people or a product of the imagination?

My characters are strictly imaginary. However, some of their names are pulled from a collection of interesting names I have heard over the years.

What are you currently working on? How long before release? I am working on the publicity for my third novel, Hunter’s Force, and am writing the fourth book in the series of The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries right now: Hunter’s Blood will be out at the end of 2019.

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Val Penny is up there amongst the Best Crime writers. Loved the characters and the Edinburgh setting.

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When you have finished writing the book – what do you do next? By that I mean, do you edit the book yourself? Do you design your own book cover? Do you prepare a project plan to market your book?

I am so lucky, my publishers, Crooked Cat Books assign me an editor, their in house design team puts the cover together and they guide me through the marketing. I think to self-publish and be responsible for all of this would be so daunting,

What is the best piece of advice you could give to someone starting out on a writing career?

Always carry a notebook! (You never know when you will hear or see something interesting and if you don’t make a note of it, you’ll forget.

As of late, more and more authors are becoming despondent with their marketing efforts! Any advice on how and what to do to get results?

Get others on board to help you market. Authors are very generous to each other and that support is invaluable.

What are you currently reading?

I am reading ‘I Am Death’ by Chris Carter. It is deliciously gruesome. This author has a most individual voice.

Who do you count amongst your favourite authors?

To keep the list manageable is my only problem! Still, they must include Erin Kelly, Katherine Johnson, Linwood Barclay and Michael Jecks.

If you could invite three people from history to a dinner party. Who would you invite and why?

Winston Churchill – the conversation would flow.
Martin Luther King – to help guide through our issues today.
Florence Nightingale – to get her views on hospitals today and the NHS.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing, marketing, or being involved with your book business? Do you have any hobbies?

I love to travel: that is my favourite hobby. It has been said I would go to the opening of an envelope! I swim regularly, knit and spending time with family and friends is always precious.

Any fun facts about you that you would like to share?

I am only 5’1” tall and my husband is 6’4” – so when we go shopping he gets the things from the high shelves and I bend down for the things on the low shelves!

You run three websites, your author website, a book review website and a Hotel and Restaurant review website, WOW! I must admit I have stalked all three and they are fantastic. Can you tell us how it came about having three on the go and can you give us an idea of what to expect when people visit your sites?

I think the websites came about by accident. When I was ill, I started the book review website to try to share my interest in reading. The hotels and restaurant website came about because of my love of travel and my publishers need me to have an author website!

Thank you for inviting me to your blog today Roger. I enjoyed answering your questions.

And thank you Val for taking part and sharing your thought with us.

You can catch up with Val on social media and find her highly reviewed books on Amazon

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Hanne Holten

Hanne Holten was born in Denmark and grew up in a scholastic family with Croatian, Swedish, and German ties. She learned to read and played several instruments before starting school and has worked in all wakes of life, starting as a ground hostess in the Copenhagen Airport. Her reading habits are both inspiring and educational, something she regards as decisive when she started to write diaries, poetry, and other observations. Eventually that sparked her interest in composing a full-scale novel. Her family history presented the setting and influenced the story line of ‘Snares and Delusions’.

Could you tell us about yourself?

First, I’d like to thank you for inviting me to this chat, Roger.
What should I tell you about me? I was born in Denmark where I finished my education as an opera singer. Not long after that, I decided to move to London. I had no connections and didn’t imagine what it would be like to move countries. It turned out to be harder than I thought. I started working for Pizza Hut but, eventually, I got several jobs with good drama schools as well as some private students. During this time, I painted and composed music, as well as writing for fun.

When did you first decide to write and what got you started?

It isn’t easy to put a date to this: I wrote short stories as a kid but didn’t think too much about it. My family was ‘musical’ and my singing was the ‘big issue’, although I also played the violin and the piano. Maybe I should add that reading was my hobby: there was nothing like going to the library when I was a kid. My writing was out-of-focus until I moved to the UK, but, from then on, there was no stopping me. It took a long time before I thought that my writing could go somewhere though.

What is the best part about writing, and the worst?

The best part of writing is getting caught up in the characters and the story line. When that happens, I forget everything around me. It’s a bit like music: you become part of the flow. The worst is looking at a blinking cursor and thinking what am I doing? Where am I going with this. . .?

Such a wonderful book. I really love Hedda. She is such a lively character. But the story has so many interesting characters. People you really feel like you just know. And the drama of it all was truly moving.

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Do you have any inspirations for you writing? Other authors / people / events?

It depends. When writing poetry, my inspiration can come from art, from history, or from something I’ve felt or experienced personally. When writing prose fiction, inspiration comes from the period around both the world wars and the time leading up to them. Not only that: my family history plays a part too. That leads me to the next question, if my characters are based on real people. In a way they are, but my family was secretive about many things. Also, I don’t want to expose people, I may or may not have known. That means, that I’ve used their history, as far as it’s known to me, but invented the characters freely, to suit my ideas. Maybe I should clarify this: I know about certain locations, like Sweden or Japan, where some of my family either came from or went to, but I have no idea what happened to them.

What are you currently working on? How long before release?

I’m working on a novel, set in The Great War and the aftermath, leading up to Hitler’s rise to power. The locations span from Denmark and Northern Germany to China and Japan, where one of the characters becomes a POW. The other protagonist lives in Copenhagen. My two protagonists, Ellie and Hans, meet when he returns to Denmark. I hope to publish later this year, but it depends on my work schedule when I can finalize the manuscript. Should I add the working title? It’s Woes and Wonders

When you have finished writing the book – what do you do next? By that I mean, do you edit the book yourself? Do you design your own book cover? Do you prepare a project plan to market your book?

I did everything myself the first time. In other words, I edited and edited (for years), designed my book cover, and did the marketing too. Not an easy task. I don’t know what I might do this time. Perhaps, I’ll draw on my experiences. On the other hand, there are some interesting independent publishers, and I might test the waters . . . although I like to be independent.

What is the best piece of advice you could give to someone starting out on a writing career?

Write every day. Be dedicated, and don’t let anybody stop you. Get advice from people who have published already. Join a writing group and find some good beta-readers. Trust your ideas but be open for critique.

What are you currently reading?

Let me think. I’m reading a book about Leonora Christina, daughter of Christian the Fourth of Denmark, by the Danish author Helle Stangerup. Also, The Bastard Princess, by Gemma Lawrence, and Up at the Villa, by Somerset Maughan.

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Who do you count amongst your favourite authors?

That’s a hard one. Among the nineteenth century authors, I’d say Dickens, George Elliot, and Thomas Hardy. Moving forward to the twentieth century: Somerset Maugham, AS Byatt, and Doris Lessing. Also, I must add that there are so many new and promising authors to read, like SS Bazinet, Karl Holten, Charles Peterson Sheppard, Ellie Midwood, and – yourself – Roger. (And all fine choices Hanne