Angela Petch's Blog, page 7
December 13, 2020
I do like to be beside the seaside…
Why are we so in love with our seaside? I asked an author friend who recently published her latest story set in the fictitious resort of Borteen. Let me introduce you to Morton S. Gray.
Angela asked me to talk about the series of books I have written based in my fictional seaside town of Borteen.
Everyone asks me if Borteen is based on a real place and I can truthfully answer that it isn’t. Borteen and it’s surrounding area are just a figment of my imagination, albeit after writing so many books set there, it seems very real to me. I can walk down the streets and go into the shops, pubs and cafes in my imagination vividly. I have now published five stories set in Borteen, the sixth is with my publisher and there are at least another three books in various stages of completion.
I have a map of Borteen in my study, with pictures of the buildings stuck on to it and I also have a document called The Borteen Bible, which details all of the inhabitants and buildings I have used in the various books.
I love to see how other authors work.The reason for choosing a seaside town is that I live in Worcestershire which is about as far from the sea as you can get in England, but my happy place is definitely by the sea. I love nothing better than walking along a beach and collecting stones and sea glass as I go. So if I can’t be at the seaside in reality, I can be there in my writing life all of the time.
Angela asked if I prefer the British seaside or somewhere abroad. I don’t get on particularly well in hot climates, so I am perfectly happy holidaying in the UK. My favourite seaside destinations are Bamburgh in Northumberland, Woolacombe in Devon, Llandanawg and Llanbedrog in Wales. Having said that, I have enjoyed some wonderful beaches abroad in the past, notably in the Bahamas and Australia.
Morton tells us that The latest story about Borteen to be published is Christmas at the Little Beach Café and she can think of nothing better than being at the seaside at Christmas. She’s never managed it yet, but maybe one day.
I have read and enjoyed Morton’s latest book. I won’t give too much away, but the hero (gorgeous, I will add) does not like Christmas very much – for reasons you can find out if you read this seasonal book. I’ve met a lot of people who hate the festive season, but I am not in that clan.
Even when it’s cold and grey outside, the sea always fascinates me. My indie book, Mavis and Dot http://mybook.to/MDot is set in the fictitious 
November 14, 2020
Parting is such sweet sorrow…
We came to Italy in July, crossing France, Switzerland and Northern Italy with trepidation. Once here in eastern Tuscany, isolated in this unspoiled corner, we felt very safe. We were able to go on long mountain walks, make a long-awaited trip to Venice, which was eerily empty, but perfect to visit without crowds. Some of our children also visited, which was a wonderful bonus. An Italian friend showed us how to use the pizza oven that my clever hubby built and, for a few weeks, we have lived in a bubble.
[image error][image error][image error]I can’t resist the freedom of walking in the Tuscan Apennines
[image error][image error][image error][image error]Pizza, pictures and little people
We have found our Italian friends to be very careful about wearing masks and distancing but, suddenly, the numbers of Covid-19 cases are scarily high and so we are returning to England. We are driving today when Tuscany goes into the red zone (level 3 equivalent), and we hope that all our paperwork will be in order for us to travel.
Who knows when we will be able to return to our Italian home?
I am not usually political on social media, but Brexit will have kicked in by then and… what a mess that will be. It has already impacted on our life here. We will no longer be able to stay for longer than 90 days (in 180); we will not be allowed to drive a car with British registration after a certain period. My phone network will not include Roaming in my contract; our medical cards (EHIC) will probably not be valid… the days of only being permitted to bring back two bottles of wine through customs will probably be the rule… so many inconvenient changes. But, of much more importance: I wonder if people who voted to leave properly thought through all the financial impacts that will result from Brexit? In this time of huge uncertainty in the world, I feel that we Europeans should stick together and not hanker after a Britain that used to exist. It is all totally embarrassing. It is poo.
Anyway, enough of negativity. Thank heavens for the gifts of these past four months. I have been able to concentrate on my next book – to be published in spring. No title as yet. But watch this space. I fitted in research too – socially distancing on a visit to the partisan museum in our nearest town of Sansepolcro. (Our first gelato in the piazza felt wickedly decadent and tasted delicious too).
[image error][image error][image error]
[image error]
Fingers crossed our journey today goes smoothly. We will be very careful. I shall try to stay calm and remember our wonderful break in Venice.
Stay safe, my friends.
[image error][image error][image error]Beautiful Venice in September
October 20, 2020
One step at a time
Autumn is my favourite season. Where we live in the Tuscan Apennines, at the dying end of summer, colours are on fire. The weather suits me better. There are still sunny days with blue, blue skies and the mountains call to me to walk.
[image error]
The way my writing schedule has worked out over these past couple of years, autumn is also when I receive my structural edits.
And just as with the latest news of the virus, I struggle a little, because for a while I seem to take one step forwards and two steps back.
[image error]
I am very lucky to have a loving, helpful partner and he understands when I need to hide away to write. But he’s also available for brainstorming.
So, our conversation last Saturday when we climbed up to Monte Carpegna at 1,400 metres will have sounded strange to anybody who didn’t know what we were up to.
‘I have to kill off somebody,’ I tell him ‘and another probably needs to go mad. That evil female needs to get the chop too. What do you think?’
‘Why don’t you?’ he goes. ‘What if? Perhaps you could…’
And so on. Oh, the power!
Walks in autumn have become a kind of allegory.
[image error]
A break from the desk helps me gain perspective and I can see clearer. When I walk, there are smooth sections, but there are steep climbs to navigate and I need to slow down. At the summit, observing the view spread below me, I see the better parts of the landscape, the least picturesque. And so it is with my draft. Back in my writing cubby hole, I begin to edit.
Walking, my lovely editor at Bookouture, plus my favourite creative writing course book from the university of East Anglia are my saviours as far as structural edits go. Unfortunately, this text is out of print at the moment, but grab a second-hand copy if you can:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Writing-Coursebook-JuliaBell/dp/B002MTI9C8
In this book, Paul Magrs advises me to try to be as objective as I can about my writing.
[image error]
So, armed with a summary of my chapters, and using coloured post-its to show my main characters and events, I can see whether my story is balanced, and move scenes around or, indeed, cut them.
“You have to clear your mind somewhat to do this. You must regard the writer as someone who isn’t you.”
David Lodge stresses the importance of reading my work: “When you read yourself you should be trying to assess the effect your writing will have on your readers”.
James Friel tells me that John Steinbeck’s practice when redrafting was to ‘become’ three people. “One speculates and one criticizes and the third tries to correlate. It usually turns out to be a fight but out of it comes the whole week’s work”.
Friel also says; “Let the unconscious mind solve problems, too.” I take that to mean I should take breaks and allow the ideas to come to me when I’m not hunched over the laptop. Hence the long walks.
So, onwards. There might be a few more walks needed in the next ten days before I submit my redrafted novel to my editor. But I’m not complaining.
As we are into our last month here in Tuscany, those walks will be in our beautiful mountains. Bring them on.
[image error]
October 12, 2020
It’s beginning to look a lot… But, remember! A dog is not just for Christmas…
I first met Carol when I was an indie author with CHINDI AUTHORS. We joined the RNA and recently I was invited to join her with https://www.facebook.com/ApricotPlots , a group of romance authors passionate about writing smart, fresh romance for the twenty-first century.
A mother and teacher, Carol also writes books for children and I chatted with her about her latest and, if you want to get ahead for “C” – (yes, I’m mentioning that word already), and buy a stocking filler for a child – then here you go! Tick it off your list.
I’ve read your lovely book, Carol, but for those who haven’t, please tell us a little about it:
Thank you for having me on your blog, Angela. Being a Friend at Christmas is the second in my Little Pup series of books – though each book can be read and enjoyed as a standalone story. In this book, Little Pup is looking forward to his first Christmas in his new home. But he remembers the dogs he has left behind in the shelter and wants them to have a happy Christmas too. He has a plan, but he needs Father Christmas’ help to make his wish come true.
It’s an absolute pleasure. I wish you all the best with your new publication xx
[image error][image error]And Carol illustrated this new book too. How clever is this lady!
The book is aimed at under 7s, how have you made it appealing to its young audience?
The text is rhythmic and rhyming so children can anticipate words and phrases. The illustrations are bright and colourful. And the main characters, a puppy and a boy are relatable to young readers. I am a teacher, a mum of four (with three school-aged children) and a grandparent too, so I’ve had lots of help and guidance, in hopefully, getting it right.
As well as being able to discuss the thoughts, feelings and actions of the little pup in the story, at the end, readers are asked to think of their own Christmas wish. I like to write children’s books that can be shared and inspire a conversation as well as a smile.
I am certainly looking forward to sharing Being a Friend at Christmas with my five grandchildren over the festive period and wish you every success with it.
Thank you. I hope you all enjoy it. With the unusual year we are having, I released it a little early thinking parents and grandparents, like me, might want to be prepared and shop early.
At least, as Father Christmas has been in isolation in the North Pole all year, children can rest assured he’ll be fit and well come December!
About Being a Friend at Christmas (Little Pup book #2):
Little Pup’s looking forward to Christmas
and he knows just how lucky he’s been
because some dogs are still in shelters,
a warm home and best friend yet a dream.
Hoping a small gift of kindness,
will help them feel loved, not alone,
Little Pup has a wish that might come true,
when Father Christmas visits his home!
“A lovingly illustrated, and beautifully written, Christmas story you’ll want to share again and again!”
View the book trailer: https://youtu.be/q8Yhj7AfwPE
Purchase link: http://getbook.at/BAFAmazon
Also, by Carol Thomas:
Finding a Friend (Little Pup book #1).
When Little Pup finds himself at the shelter,
he doesn’t know quite what to do.
Big dogs all around, feeling lost and alone,
Little Pup needs a friend… but who?
“A delightfully written and wonderfully illustrated picture book, with a heart warming ‘tail’ of friendship.”
View the book trailer: https://youtu.be/66ypEpoNTd8
Purchase link: http://getbook.at/FAFAmazon
About the author:
Carol Thomas lives on the south coast of England with her husband, four children, guinea pig, two hamsters and lively Labrador. She has been a playgroup supervisor and has taught in primary schools for just over twenty years – but we don’t mention that as it makes her feel old!
To find out more about books by Carol Thomas:
https://facebook.com/carolthomasauthor
https://twitter.com/carol_thomas2
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/carol_thomas2/
https://www.instagram.com/carol_thomas2/
September 20, 2020
A change is as good as a rest…
It’s been a difficult time for everyone. I began to feel guilty about taking time out and travelling to Venice for a couple of days. Would it be safe? Were we keeping to guidelines? Then, a local shopkeeper, listening to my fears, told me that if everybody thought like I did, then the economy would grind to a halt. So, with facemasks and hand sanitiser packed, we set off.
[image error]My mask was upside down, but no matter…
It was partly in order to finalise research for my next book which will be published in spring 2021, but mainly because we were ground down and needed a change.
I hadn’t visited Venice since I was eleven. To tell the truth, the only image I remember from all those years ago is my parents holding hands in a gondola. It was the first time I had seen them do this and it made me giggle. But Venice is a romantic city and umpteen years later, as we wandered around the calli and took the vaporetto (instead of riding in a vastly expensive gondola), I held my own husband’s hand as Venice worked her charm.
[image error][image error][image error][image error][image error]Wandering around Venice
It was an excellent time to visit. Venice was not busy and we managed to find a little guest house that looked on to the Gran Canale. We packed a lot in but it was details that captured my interest: the reflections in the murky water, the strange Spanish influenced names of squares and courtyards, the carnival masks and the feeling that this magical place belonged in a story book. I shivered as we passed by the dungeons and crossed the Bridge of Sighs. In the Ducal Palace, I wondered how many citizens had posted information about their neighbours into the mouths of the stone lions that served as secret message boxes. Today, I listened to BBC Radio and the news that if our own citizens do not follow new isolation rules, hefty fines might be incurred and neighbours might report on those who do not comply. Nothing changes…
[image error]
[image error][image error]
We moved on to Trieste. A very different Italian city that was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for more than five hundred years. What a complicated history. I spent time in a bookshop (after being asked to wear gloves AND to use sanitiser on top), and I have a few more ideas for stories brewing in my head. We were told that people of Trieste do not like staying at home and we spent a couple of evenings with them in the piazza, people-watching while we drank aperitivi. I tried to talk to James Joyce (who loved this city), but he didn’t reply…
[image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error]
Our final stop was the beautiful city of Padua, known as Padova in Italy. I have fallen in love with Giotto (1267 – 1337). His amazing work is over seven hundred years old; the characters in his paintings are so real. I imagine that in ordinary times we would have had to queue for our fifteen-minute slot but that was not the case for us. I would happily return and return to the Scrovegni Chapel to sit and drink in the images on the walls and ceiling. If anybody can be bothered to read my books in ten years’ time, I will be ecstatic. But seven hundred years later???? I don’t think so.
[image error][image error][image error]
I’ve only dipped into our five-day adventure and this is rather a “photographic blog” . We saw far more than I have described , including the ruins of the Roman town of Aquilea, which is reputed to be one of the largest cities of its era.
[image error]
There is so much to discover in this world of ours, so many more stories to tell.
We were physically tired on our return, having walked miles in 33 degrees, but the trip inspired me and I am ready to put pen to paper again (and fingers to keyboard). The cobwebs are gone.
[image error]
September 6, 2020
A writer in lockdown…
I haven’t checked in for several weeks, so I thought I’d catch up with you. Lockdown has given me plenty to lock into, if you’ll forgive the overuse of the verb.
[image error]
I needed to finish a new book and send the first version off to my editor by September 1st. I can’t give too much away but it is another World War 2 novel, set in a different area of Tuscany and, a departure from the Starnucci family featured in my first three Tuscan novels. We will leave them to live their lives unobserved and in peace for a while, poor characters
July 26, 2020
Chatting…
Today I chatted with a writer friend about how my love affair with Italy started.
Here is the link: https://t.co/wu99ZpQrHq?amp=1 if you would like to read what we spoke about.
[image error]
This is the invitation that my Italian mother-in-law used to get into a dance organised by the British army who were in Urbino in 1944.
She was not officially invited but tagged along with another young girl and met her future husband: Captain Horace Petch of the 8th Army. He was not supposed to be there either. It was out of bounds for him.
They fell in love and he crossed mine fields to visit and court her. It worked!
Love knows no boundaries. He didn’t speak Italian and she didn’t speak English but they managed 
July 14, 2020
Chatting to author-friend Vicki Beeby
Let me introduce you to Vicki Beeby – an author I have had the pleasure of meeting on line recently. We have a couple of things in common: she used to teach in a school in Suffolk where I also taught for a while (small world). She’s also published a new novel set against the Second World War and as you may already know, I am fascinated by this period in history. Probably because my own parents were only nineteen when the war broke out and experienced those six terrible years. They didn’t talk about it much and research since then has uncovered so much about their war. I wish they had spoken personally about it, but maybe it was too painful for them. I feel it is important to write ordinary people’s stories before they are forgotten.
Anyway – back to Vicki. I have to admit that I haven’t read her new book yet. It’s waiting on my kindle. But I chatted to her about it.
[image error]
1. Vikki, I love this cover. I feel I want to talk to those three girls. What do you think you would have done as a young woman at the start of the war? (i.e. would you have thought about enlisting? What would have been an ideal job for you?)
I think I would have enlisted. Most likely in the WAAF (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force) because they had the best uniform! I’m sad to say I doubt it would have been from any noble sentiment of serving my country but because I had a bad case of wanderlust in my late teens and early twenties. I would probably have seen enlisting as a way of seeing new places and meeting new people.
I would have loved the same job I gave to my heroine, Evie – working in a fighter station operations room. Like Evie, I love maths, so I would have been best suited to one of the jobs that required a good mathematical ability like plotter or filter plotter. I would have loved to have been at the sharp end of the action, although I’m less sure how I would have coped under bombing.
2. Interesting! It’s hard to know how we would have reacted, isn’t it? When we haven’t been in that situation. Can you show us where you write and tell us a little bit about your writing routine.
I usually write on my laptop, so I take it to whatever room happens to be warmest—normally my bedroom! I either sit in this chair in the bay window or, if it’s cold, sit on the bed and wrap up in a blanket.
Because I do other work during the day, I have to make an effort to carve out writing time. As I’m a morning person, I get up at 5am and do my day’s writing between 5 and 7.30. When I’m writing a first draft I try and write a thousand words a day, so if I don’t hit my target in the morning, I pick it up again later in the afternoon. Oddly, if I don’t write first thing, I find it very difficult to write later on, but I don’t have a problem if I already have words down.
[image error]
That looks very cosy and comfy. I think I might nod off if I wrote like that. I love that we are all so different.
3. Tell us why you chose to include Czech pilots in your fictional Battle of Britain squadron?
Both my brothers have Czech wives. My older brother lives in the Czech Republic, and I usually visit at least once a year. One of my sisters-in-law recommended I watch the film Dark Blue World about Czechs who flew with the RAF during the war. Coincidentally this was when I was starting to research The Ops Room Girls. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to include Czechs in my fictional squadron, to honour the contribution made by the Czechs which, sadly, has been largely forgotten.
The Ops Room Girls Blurb:
When Evie’s dreams come crashing down, she’s determined to still make something of herself in these trying times…
It is 1939 and workingclass Evie Bishop has received a scholarship to study mathematics at Oxford when tragedy turns her life upside down. Evie must seek a new future for herself and, inspired to contribute to the war effort, joins the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force as an Ops Room plotter.
Posted to a fighter station on the Sussex Coast, Evie befriends two other WAAFs – shy, awkward May and flirty, glamorous Jess. Faced with earning the approval of strict officers and finding their way in a male dominated world, the three girls band together to overcome challenges, navigate new romances and keep their pilots safe in the skies.
But the German bombers seem to know more than they should about the base’s operations, and soon Evie, May and Jess are caught up in a world more dangerous than they ever imagined…
Thank you so much for dropping by, Vicki, and I wish you every success with this new book. It sounds fascinating, can’t wait to read it. Good luck!
Links:
Amazon: Mybook.to/OpsRoomGirls
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ebook/the-ops-room-girls
July 10, 2020
Travelling with Covid…
We set off for Italy, with a little apprehension, on Monday morning, very aware of safety. It was a legal obligation to wear face masks on the ferry from Dover to Calais and we took our own food and flasks of coffee for the journey.
But how wonderful was it to be relatively free after weeks of lockdown. I drank in every little sight in France – the vines covering the slopes, the little churches, the view from our bedroom window of the pretty hamlet of Zellenberg and its domed church shining in the evening sunlight. After hours of being folded into the car, we took a stroll around the village and came across a war monument. My author-mind wanted more time to research. Alsace was coveted by the Germans in WW2 and I will read up about what went on when I have more time. Next morning we enjoyed breakfast on the geranium-decked terrace, a woodpecker singing in the background and the sun warming up the vineyards. The hotel owners had gone to lengths to be Covid aware and we generally felt very safe.
As you can see our car was jam packed. I think I’ve said it before, but one year I shall sling my leather valise on to the back seat and roar off without all the STUFF that we load ourselves up with for our stay in Italy. Talk about taking coals to Newcastle. You can see the geraniums in the boot – well, I couldn’t leave them to die in England, could I?
[image error][image error][image error][image error]It’s not all work…
Our garden is a tangle and the house hasn’t enjoyed being closed up for eight months, but we will get there slowly and steadily. We have decided not to have any guests this summer – in view of the virus, so there will be more time to ourselves. And there will be more time to write. Back to my WIP tomorrow, but a dip or two in the river Marecchia will be taken as well.
Arrivederci – a presto! I’ll be in touch again soon.
June 14, 2020
Every dog has its day …
I’ve recently been invited to join a friendly group of authors called Apricot Plots https://www.facebook.com/ApricotPlots/ . At the moment we are running a competition based around our canine friends, so if you are short of reading matter at the moment during lockdown, then check out the link above.
Although this is the first time in my life that I haven’t owned a dog (CHECK: I think that should be the other way round
