Tanith Davenport's Blog, page 12

Book setting you'd like to visit and why

 This topic from Long and Short Reviews was a tough one. I read a lot of historicals which, much as I enjoy them, don't tend to be settings I would actually want to visit. The royal court may have been attractive in Henry VIII's time but you could still catch a raging case of the sweat.

The setting I eventually came up with was from a short story of Isaac Asimov's called "Gold". 

Why? It's set in a time where films can be made using perfect CGI and heavy subliminal imagery to add depth to the performance. In the first half of the story our lead character is working on the perfect version of "King Lear". I would absolutely value being able to experience Shakespeare in an era where filmed performances could be enhanced that way.

So where would you like to visit?

Tell us something about a pet

 Like a lot of pet owners, I could talk about mine all day. The difficult part is deciding what exactly to tell. My two cats Dash and Spot are a bonded pair (a brother and sister duo) and absolutely inseparable.

This is about as happy as Dash ever gets. She is extremely moody and is just as likely to claw you as she is to accept stroking. She will never be a lap cat, but when she's in the right mood she loves to be petted on her head and at the base of her tail. She is also extremely skittish and has never left our garden, not even to follow her brother.

Spot is our little house panther; he loves to roam the neighbourhood and often brings random food items home to eat (I would love to know which of our neighbours routinely leaves a carcass of chicken out for him to steal). He likes to sit on my lap while I work, which is adorable if inconvenient to type round his head.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing everyone else's pets.

Favourite book genre and why

 You might reasonably think that because I'm an erotic romance writer, my favourite genre would be erotic romance, or maybe just romance in general. It's certainly true that I enjoy romance, erotic or otherwise, and I'm always open to reading a new one. You might also think that because I love horror films I would love horror novels. However, when I have spare time, I have other favourite genres I turn to.

For fiction, I'm a great fan of historicals. I'm particularly keen on Anne O'Brien and Philippa Gregory, although I tend to stick to the ones based on true stories - I'm less keen on alternative histories. I like to look up the true history behind each story as I'm reading it, since I'm well aware that as writers we have some license to elaborate.

As for non-fiction, I love biographies and autobiographies. I've read a lot of the autobiographies of the cast of "Little House on the Prairie" and quite a lot of other actors too, such as Burt Reynolds and Miriam Margolyes. I also discovered the writer Gavin Maxwell through a very well-written biography by Douglas Botting, which was impressive considering I knew nothing about him before picking it up.

I think I just love reading about people, past and present, and finding out the truth about them. I'm currently working through some new biographies of the Bronte sisters and those are always fascinating as opinions change year after year.

So what are your favourite genres?

VALENTINE’S DAY CHOCOLATE GIVEAWAY

 

Feb 1st-14th

Goodies Given Away Every Day Totalling Over $150

https://ellenmint.blog/valentines-day-countdown-giveaway/

Cupid‘s brought you a magical box of chocolates. Every day, the heart-shaped box reveals a new treat. Take a bite to discover both what flavor is lurking inside the tempting chocolate shell and a new giveaway.

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The giveaway is sponsored by these wonderful authors:

Ellen Mint • AE Lister • Tanith Davenport • N.J. Adel • Jordyn Kross • Aurora Russell • Kara Kendrick • Megan Slayer • January Bain • Jennifer Wilck • Sue London • Seelie Kay • Angela Addams • Kerry Blaisdell

My theme song for this year

 It's hopefully going to be an interesting year, so which song or songs would I use as a theme?

My first thought on reading this was "definitely not Aerosmith", purely because the concert in July that I've been looking forward to for a year has just been cancelled because of covid. Typical that it should happen just as things over here are starting to open up again.

So instead I'm going to take a writing angle.

I'm currently working on edits for my new novella Hyperventilating, which is the first in my new series "Rock My World". So the first song I'd use for this year would be "Hyperventilating" by Peppercorn - it charted low but I've always thought it was a classic.

And I'm also working on the next in the series, which has the working title The Start of Something - so I would also use "The Start of Something" by the Stone Gods. 

Why yes, I do name a lot of books after the songs that inspired them.

So what would be your theme song for the year?

Best book or movie from 2021

 The original topic included TV shows, but I've deliberately ignored that one as I don't watch TV series that often. Books and movies, on the other hand... absolutely.

Of course, the tricky part is in remembering which ones actually came out in 2021 and which I just got round to in that time. I had to check a few release dates before posting.

In terms of books, my favourite two were "The Storyteller" by Dave Grohl and "The Man Who Died Twice" by Richard Osman. I love autobiographies and Dave Grohl has proved to be a great writer, being able to evoke passion in his stories while always holding the reader's attention (which is definitely not the case for some of the autobiographies I read last year). As for Richard Osman, I loved his first book and the sequel definitely didn't disappoint. He creates great characters in his elderly crimefighters and I wanted them to win from the first page.

Films? Probably "The Matrix Resurrections" and "Black Widow". I'm not going to include the newest Spider-Man film because I didn't really like the direction that went in, although many would disagree. However, I love Florence Pugh and would watch anything she was in. As for "The Matrix Resurrections", while I'm hoping they don't turn it into a new trilogy - I think it's better as a stand-alone - I enjoyed every minute.

So what were your favourites of 2021?

What inventive ways do you have to keep warm?

 This one is particularly appropriate at the moment. Here in the UK there is panic about energy bills rising by up to 50% and it's also extremely cold, meaning that if we don't want to turn the heating up full blast all the time, we have to come up with ways to keep warm.

And by that I mean realistic ways to keep warm. Two energy companies have already been attacked in the press after they sent their customers socks in the post and suggested they eat porridge and leave the oven door open. A little tone deaf, I think.

One of the suggestions they made, however, was something I've incorporated by accident. I have a fluffy blanket on my couch which I wrap myself up in of an evening - nicely warming to start with - but I discovered that when I have this blanket across my knees, the cats can't resist it. They're not lap cats most of the time, but they will sit on it and pretend I'm not underneath it.

And cats are warm.

Couple that with an oversize fleece I've picked up for emergencies, and that should keep me going through the winter.

So what inventive ways do you have to keep warm?

Books I want to read in 2022

 One of my longstanding new year's resolutions is to read one new book every month (along with watching one new film and trying one new food). Last year I managed 40 books and have set a Goodreads challenge at 35 for this year. However, I discover new books I want to try all the time, so I don't have a full list yet.

I'm in the middle of "Bright Lights, Prairie Dust" by Karen Grassle (Ma Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie) and "Murder Isn't Easy" by Carla Valentine (about the science behind Agatha Christie's crime novels). I'm also working my way through Kate Andersen Brower's nonfiction books about the US presidency - a little niche I admit, but I'm enjoying them so far.

As for future plans, I have Richard Osman's as-yet-untitled new novel on pre-order for this year and am planning to read some shifter and menage stories, as I'm thinking about trying my hand at writing some and need some inspiration. I've also downloaded a sample of Xio Axelrod's "The Girl With Stars In Her Eyes" after it was recommended to me as a worthy successor to "Daisy Jones and the Six", which I read last year and loved (and as I'm currently working on a series about rock stars, it's quite appropriate).

So what do you have on your reading list for this year?

My goals for 2022

 I think a lot of us made plans for 2021 in the hope that things would be different and were slightly disappointed. I certainly was, and with Omicron I'm not sure how different 2022 is going to be yet. I'm still not convinced I'll get to go on holiday. However...

My writing goals? I've just signed a three-book contract for a new series called Rock My World, and the first in the series, Hyperventilating, is due out in June. So I'll be working on edits for that in January and also on finishing the second in the series this year.

I'm also working on a standalone piece called When I Look In The Mirror, and we'll see how that goes.

For personal goals, I want to finally go abroad again (in February with any luck) and finish seeing all of Shakespeare's plays in theatres. I have several tickets, so fingers crossed things don't shut down again.

So what are your goals for 2022?

Funniest book I've ever read

 I had to think about this topic from Long and Short Reviews, because I've been reading a lot of nonfiction lately, and autobiographies don't always lend themselves to humour. I have been reading Michael McIntyre's two autobiographies which are quite funny, since he apparently uses episodes from his life in his comedy, but I wasn't convinced that counted.

Then I remembered these two.

This Is Going To Hurt and Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay. Two compilations of stories about his time as a hospital doctor, these are occasionally wince-inducing but mostly hysterically funny. Quite educational, too - I had no idea, for instance, that steroid cream can make the skin thinner, which is not ideal if you're using it as a genital enhancer.

If you haven't read them I definitely recommend getting them this Christmas. You'll collapse laughing.

So what's the funniest book you've ever read?