Diane Bator's Blog, page 37
November 19, 2021
Round Robin Blog Fest November 2021 Flawed or Evil Characters
I'm back for yet another Round Robin Blog Fest!
October was a bit hectic since I was packing to move to a much nicer place than the one I'd been living in for the past 5 years. This one is above ground, has lots of windows, and my cats and I LOVE IT!! My office new office actually has heat!
So, all pleasantries aside, what are we discussing this month? Describe a flawed or evil character you have or might use in a story. How did they become so flawed? What part will they play in the story and what will happen to them?
In general, a good character should be flawed. It’s hard for a reader to root for a “perfect” character than one who has taken their share of hard knocks. When it comes to evil characters, the opposite is true. They can’t be all bad or they become stereotypes and unbelievable.
https://books2read.com/All-That-Shines In mystery novels, a good “bad” character needs to have redeeming qualities to throw off the reader and created a series of red herrings. As readers get to know the suspects and weigh the good and bad of each, they see motives and opportunities appear.
One of my favorite flawed characters is the victim in “All That Shines”, book two of my Glitter Bay Mystery series. Sebastian Hayward the Third ends up dead in the middle of Vintage Sage, a vintage boutique owned by Sage Miller. Here is how the reader is introduced to Sebastian and his protégé, Hamlet.
The front door opened behind us. Before we even had time to turn around, a man groaned. “That is the most hideous shade of yellow I have ever seen.”
I bit my lip. Hard.
The man in the doorway was slim, but of average height with a short, black Liza Minelli wig and pasty skin that, judging from his sharp incisors, probably hadn’t seen sun since the early 1500s. His pointy face reminded me of a hairless gerbil. He wore a loose white shirt, a pair of tailored, knee-length pants, and yellow, three-inch heels covered with sequins. I raised my eyebrows. His lips were pinker than my sister’s cheeks. At least his handbag matched his shoes.
“Oh, dear.” The larger figure who strolled in behind him was taller and wore hot pink, tailored pants. His broad shoulders and hint of a belly stretched his yellow dress shirt to its limits. His fingernails resembled short daggers painted the same hot pink as his pants. He wore a platinum bobbed wig and bore the hint of a five-o’clock shadow.
I tossed Laken a worried glance.
She cleared her throat. “Sebastian. You’re early.”
“No way.” I gasped. “Seriously?”
It was a good thing the furniture was already in place. From the waif-like look of Sebastian, we would have had to move everything on our own if we’d waited for his help. While his sidekick might have been more helpful, he probably would have worried about breaking one of his nails.
Sebastian shot her a dramatic look. “What are you talking about, darling? We said noon. I’m here at noon. Good thing, too. This place is a complete disaster.”
“What disaster, it’s your furniture?” I snorted.
“It’s already noon?” Laken scowled. “No wonder I’m hungry.”
“Hungry?” Sebastian handed his handbag to the man with the pink nails to hold before he strutted closer to give my sister air kisses. “Darling, you’re a model. Hunger is a perpetual state of being.”
While the reader sees a flawed, self-important, pompous figure, we are reminded of his goodness later on. He helped Sage’s sister Laken get into the modeling industry then later to get out of a bad marriage to a B-list actor. He remained her friend long after others in Hollywood shunned her.
To Sage, he's someone who can't be trusted.
To Laken, he's one of the nicest people she knows.
So where does the truth lie? In that fuzzy gray line down the middle. Right where it should.
In the end, it's Sebastian's own actions that lead to his demise and not even his friends can save him. But they can help solve the mystery of his death.
Let's do some blog hopping and see what the rest of the gang thinks!!
Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-2ue
Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com
My last word today comes from Sebastian's protege who is in mourning:
Need a Holiday Gift Idea for a Writer? By the Book is featuring The Muse Box
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By the Book was rose out of the ashes of COVID when owner and founder Carla Howatt finally had time to devote to her passion - writing. She was already publishing as By the Book Publishing, but she wanted to expand so that is just what she did. With something for everyone, from a subscription box, a webinar on how to write a non-fiction book or book coaching, By the Book is a safe place for writers at every stage and was founded on the values of respect, compassion, joy and vulnerability.
To find out more: www.NourishTheWriterInYou.com
The Muse Box - https://by-the-book-publishing.cratejoy.com/
November 18, 2021
To Fight Fire with Sun a debut novel by D.A. Andrews
To Fight Fire with Sun
An incredible debut by D.A. Andrews
To Fight Fire with Sun is a chapbook of poetry that dives into the experiences of love and loss. From conception, we have known love (or the lack thereof) and have grown to understand how this experience makes us the humans we are today. Loss comes in all forms. Whether through a friend, lover, or ourselves, we seek to find some method with which we can understand this pain and heal from it. To Fight Fire with Sun is just that- a queer girl's exploration into how one can love, lose, and heal through the power of words.Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Fight-Fire-Sun-D-Andrews-ebook/dp/B08QMFLX45/
A bout D.A. Andrews
D. A. Andrews was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. Throughout the years, she has developed wide interests in various aspects of life, such as coffee, weddings, books, and psychology. She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus with a BSc. in Marine Biology and Psychology (Honors) and is currently pursuing her MBA. She considers herself a nomad at heart and has changed cities and apartments quite as often as she changes her clothes. She is currently resting her head in Brunswick, Georgia, with her black cat (and familiar), Luna.
To request additional review copies or an interview with D.A. Andrews, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: Mickey@CreativeEdgePublicity.com | 403.464.6925.
We look forward to the coverage!
November 16, 2021
They Canceled the DJ a new novel by radio personality Freddy Cruz
They Canceled The DJ
The stunning new novel from one of radio’s top mainstream personalities, Freddy Cruz
Released on October 27 th in Print and ebook by East 26 th Publishing
When a hotheaded DJ is caught in a viral web of vengeance, it’s unlikely he’ll find the wisdom to quiet his inner critic.
Radio jock Aubrey Cortes cares way too much about what others think. After he humiliates himself in front of a listener-turned-love interest, he’s horrified when the explosive episode goes viral. But, after the disaster turns into a first date, he celebrates with a barrage of search-and-destroy tweets aimed at torpedoing his online critics.
Thrilled when his newfound viral fame lands him a nationally syndicated show, he uses his connections to arrange a backstage pass to meet his new squeeze’s legendary musical idol.
Cue mayhem.
Aubrey’s heart is cruelly betrayed on centerstage, and blows up big time. Again.
And now he wants payback.
Can Aubrey eat humble pie and take a Zen lesson or three, or will he go down in a fiery fit of revenge?
A riotous romp, They Canceled the DJ is an outrageous standalone dark comedy caper packed with over-the-top antics, satirical commentary, and humorous twists.
Amazon.com: They Canceled the DJ - Kindle edition by Cruz, Freddy. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com
Amazon.ca: They Canceled the DJ: Cruz, Freddy: 9781955077507: Books - Amazon.ca
PRAISE FOR THEY CANCELED THE DJ:
About Freddy Cruz
Freddy Cruz is the long-time radio personality of the daytime show on the world famous KRBE in Houston, TX. He is also an author, philanthropist, lover of new music and old books, and the host of the Book This with Freddy Cruz podcast.
Fueled by coffee, laughter, a shared delight in his community, and love for his family, Freddy often marvels at his luck in being able to spend his days filling the buckets of all the things he values most in life.
You can learn more about Freddy on his website at www.thefreddycruz.comor follow him on Instagram (@thefreddycruz) or Twitter (@radiofreddycruz).
To request additional review copies or an interview with Freddy Cruz, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: Mickey@CreativeEdgePublicity.com | 403.464.6925.
We look forward to the coverage!
November 13, 2021
Author Jenna Greene introduces Winston the Well-dressed Wombat
The Well-dressed Wombat
A new direction for Award-Winning Young Adult Fantasy Author, Jenna Greene
Winston the Wombat loves to share what he knows, how to clothe all his friends wherever he goes.
Take a fun little journey with Winston to see, all the dressing suggestions he gives out for free.
Amazon.com: Wiggers the Well-Dressed Wombat: Greene, Jenna, Zieroth, Emily: 9781645830535: Amazon.com: Books
MORE FROM JENNA GREENE :
REBORN
Seven times marked. One way out...
From birth, Lexil is counted among the marked, souls who have lived before and must now serve those who are on their first lives. Which means she’s doomed to a life of slavery with its hard labors and brutal punishments. A life she’s learning to endure.
But when the marked child she’s befriended is faced with a fate worse than death, Lexil decides to fight back. No matter the risk, no matter the cost.
Her only hope is to flee to the Wastelands with the one person she trusts, Finn. As he leads them through the deadly lands, she realizes that there are only two classes of people in the dangerous wilds, the hunters and the hunted. And among them, those who carry the knowledge of what it truly means to be a Reborn.
But to get to that truth and escape the barren lands alive, Lexil must face challenges that will test everything she thought she knew--and everything she thought she was…
RENEW
Haunted by memories of those left behind, Lexil and Finn are forced to venture back into the Wastelands.
The Unclaimed Cities are not the idyllic setting Lexil, Finn, and Ceera thought it would be. This new land has challenges of its own – which they soon discover. When Lexil and Finn return to the Wastelands, they are accompanied by Kaylen, someone they can’t decide is a friend or foe. As they retrace their path, they meet up with old allies and enemies, and encounter other treachery embedded in the Wastelands. The trio are then forced to face their own assumptions, prejudices, and fears.
And in the end, to change her fate and alter the destiny of all other Reborns, Lexil must decide what she is willing to risk...
Of both herself and others.
About Jenna Greene
Jenna Greene is a teacher and author, whose hobbies include dancing, dragonboating, and napping. Her novel, Reborn, won the 2019 Moonbeam Children’s Book award. She is the co-host of “The Hot Take” which is part of the Author Library Network
Further information about the book and Jenna can be found at: JENNA GREENE - Jenna Greene
To request additional review copies or an interview with Jenna Greene, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: Mickey@CreativeEdgePublicity.com | 403.464.6925.
We look forward to the coverage!
November 11, 2021
Shadowpaw Press releases Shapers of World Volume 2
Anthology from Saskatchewan publisher features short fiction by
bestselling and award-winning science fiction and fantasy authors
For the second year in a row, Regina publisher Shadowpaw Press (www.shadowpawpress.com) has produced an anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories that includes works from multiple bestselling and award-winning authors from Canada, the United States, and Australia.
Edited by Regina author Edward Willett and releasing November 2, 2021, Shapers of Worlds Volume II, a sequel to last year’s Shapers of Worlds, features new stories from Kelley Armstrong, Marie Brennan, Garth Nix, Candas Jane Dorsey, Jeremy Szal, Edward Willett, Bryan Thomas Schmidt, Lisa Foiles, Susan Forest, Matthew Hughes, Heli Kennedy, Helen Dale, Adria Laycraft, Edward Savio, Lisa Kessler, Ira Nayman, James Alan Gardner, and Tim Pratt, plus reprints from Jeffrey A. Carver, David D. Levine, Carrie Vaughn, Nancy Kress, Barbara Hambly, and S.M. Stirling.
All of the authors were guests during the second year of Willett’s Aurora Award-winning podcast, The Worldshapers (www.theworldshapers.com). Among them are winners of and nominees for most of the world’s most prestigious awards for science fiction and fantasy literature.
Like the “cabinets of curiosities” created by collectors of the sixteenth century, Shapers of Worlds Volume II displays a varied array of thought-provoking delights: tales of humour and sorrow, darkness and light, and hope and despair that are full of adventure, full of life, and sometimes full of regret. There are stories set in alternate histories, in possible futures near and far, and in the here-and-now, taking place on Earth, on distant planets, or in fantastic realms. All arise from the innate need of human beings to create, to imagine . . . to shape worlds.
Willett is himself an award-winning author of more than sixty books of fantasy, science fiction, and non-fiction for readers of all ages, including eleven novels for New York’s DAW Books. His twelfth novel for DAW, the humorous space opera The Tangled Stars, will be out in 2022. His most recent release is the young adult outer-space adventure Star Song (Shadowpaw Press). In The Worldshapers podcast, Willett, a former newspaper reporter and editor and radio and television host, chats with other science fiction or fantasy authors about their creative process.
Both Shapers of Worlds and Shapers of Worlds Volume II were Kickstarted, with each raising approximately $16,000 CDN in pledges. Like last year’s anthology, Shapers of Worlds Volume II is available through all major retailers as well as directly from Shadowpaw Press.
Edward is available for interviews, media appearances, speaking engagements, and/or book review requests. Please contact mickey@creativeedgepublicity.com by email or by phone at 403.464.6925
November 9, 2021
Artifact Space, a new release from Miles Cameron
ARTIFACT SPACE
THE NEWEST NOVEL BY CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR,
MILES CAMERON
A fresh and zingy space opera for fans of Revenger by Alastair Reynolds, The Expanse by James S. A. Corey and The Lost Fleet novels by Jack Campbell
Out in the darkness of space, something is targeting the Greatships.
With their vast cargo holds and a crew that could fill a city, the Greatships are the lifeblood of human occupied space, transporting an unimaginable volume - and value - of goods from City, the greatest human orbital, all the way to Tradepoint at the other, to trade for xenoglas with an unknowable alien species.
It has always been Marca Nbaro's dream to achieve the near-impossible: escape her upbringing and venture into space.
Amazon.com: Amazon.com: Artifact Space eBook: Cameron, Miles: Kindle Store
Amazon.ca: Artifact Space: Amazon.ca: Cameron, Miles: Books
“With all the thrills and intrigue of classic Space Opera served with a very modern heart, Artifact Space is a wild and hugely entertaining story” - Edward Cox, author of THE RELIC GUILD
“Now I've read Artifact Space I know what it's really going to be like serving aboard an armed interstellar merchant ship, with a smart lead character as my companion. Can't wait for part two.” - Peter F. Hamilton, author of The Night’s Dawn Trilogy
ABOUT MILES:
Miles Cameron is a full-time writer who lives in Canada with his family. He also writes historical fiction under the name Christian Cameron.
His works include both the critically acclaimed Chivalry and Tyrant series. Artifact Space is his newest novel.
More information can be found about Miles at: My Books • Christian Cameron (christiancameronauthor.com)
To request additional review copies or an interview with Miles Cameron, please contact Mickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: Mickey@CreativeEdgePublicity.com/ 403.464.6925.
We look forward to the coverage!
Gollancz
November 6, 2021
Barbara Trendos writes about her father's war experiences in Survival
Welcome to Canadian author Barbara Trendos!
Barb Trendos is Toronto born and raised, although now living in Uxbridge with her husband and bunny. She became a writer quite accidentally, starting out as an avid reader. She spent many Saturday morning hours as a child with her mom and sisters in the 'reading pit' at the North York Public Library discovering Charlotte's Web, Paddington Bear, The Children of Green Knowe, Pippi Longstocking to name but a few.
The seeds of inspiration for Survival were first sown in Barbara in the 1980s when her father, Albert, casually shared the contents of an old file folder he had discovered amongst his mother’s belongings after she passed away. To Barbara, it was a treasure trove: fragile letters that Albert had written home while he was a prisoner of war; official Air Force telegrams and correspondence that variously reported Albert as MISSING, then as a POW, and finally LIBERATED; dog-eared black and white snapshots that begged identification of people, time and place.
Barbara was hooked, and realizing that she knew only the highlights of Albert’s wartime story, naively undertook to fill in the gaps, to what end even she didn’t know.
Website
Most difficult piece written and why
The piece in my World War II based book that I found most challenging to write was the chapters on the two forced marches that took place in early 1945 during the final months of the war in Europe. The Russian army was closing in and the writing was on the wall for Germany. It was a stressful and dangerous time to be a prisoner of war. Even though the men (my dad included) were Allied officers and somewhat protected by the Geneva Convention, desperate times called for desperate measures, and the German authorities in charge of Stalag Luft 3 were indeed desperate men. Rumours abounded and ranged from the Germans abandoning the camp and the prisoners to save themselves, to the Germans killing all the Allied prisoners.
To me, the two forced marches, January 27, 1945 to May 2, 1945, were, and still are, one of the least known aspects of World War II. Many of the stories from this period are heart-wrenching and undocumented: the men were evacuated from the camp at short notice in the middle of the night, on foot in one of the coldest winters on record; the men could take only what they could carry (food included); the men were hungry from the get-go due to cut rations in the preceding months; the Germans had made no provision to feed the men or accommodate them at night, so sleeping in ditches, huddling together for warmth, eating crusts of frozen bread, and secretly bartering with the local folks were the norm. Worst was the constant fear and often reality that all their years in a prison camp were going to end in death before they could be liberated.
My research
- interviewing my dad extensively
- listening to my dad speak about his wartime experiences through the Memory Project, an insightful educational initiative that offers veterans and Canadian Forces staff an opportunity to share their service experiences with students, communities, and anyone who wants to hear
- reading transcripts of talks my dad had given
- networking with other ex-prisoners of war
- extensive reading
- visiting my dad's wartime air force squadron in Cold Lake, Alberta
- Library and Archives Canada
- talking to researchers at Pier 21 (Canadian Museum of Immigration) regarding Dad's transport overseas in 1942, and home after liberation in 1945
Fave books/authors
During the time I was writing my book (and still), many of my favorite books tended to be either historical novels or memoirs set in World War II that told well-researched stories from different perspectives:
The Occupied Garden: A Family Memoir of War-Torn Holland, Kristen den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski
The Nightingale, Kristen Hannah
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
Key supporter
Allyson Latta, a writer, editor and workshop/retreat organizer. I met Allyson locally in Markham when I attended one of her writing workshops. She later invited me to attend one of her annual writing retreats, this one in Tucson, Arizona, where I met and exchanged ideas with other writers, shared my work and process, gained confidence. Once I had a draft manuscript, Allyson introduced me to a group of Beta readers who offered me valuable feedback and insights, many of which sent me back to the drawing board to revise, revise, revise. Everything they contributed made my book better, albeit often with a lot of extra work from me (but it was good to have the kick to do it).
Strengths as an author
- Plain language writing, once I decided my book audience would be targeted to young people/high school students
- Tenacity for getting to the bottom of my dad's memories. By that I mean getting beyond his "remembered truth". After all, he was well into his eighties by the time I was writing his story, so I forgave his memory lapses. Or, the things he simply thought he remembered, when he had in fact only read them, being a voracious reader of all things World War II, RCAF, Stalag Luft III (the prison camp in Germany), The Great Escape
- Attention to detail for accuracy (honed while I was writing corporate communications during my career)
Writing Routine
Nothing structured, perhaps because when I began writing my book, I didn't know it would actually become a book. (I didn't know HOW to write a book!) Also, I was still working full-time and could write only in my spare time, of which, oddly enough, there never seemed to be enough. Once I retired, I was able to commit to more "regular" writing, albeit still a hodge podge.
SURVIVAL: My Father’s War as an Air Force Gunner and POW is Flight Lieutenant Albert Wallace’s wartime story, uniquely written in the style of a journal, by one of his daughters, with his collaboration.
They weren’t all flying aces or famous escapers or tunnelers. And they weren’t all decorated for heroism or distinguished military service either. Most were simply ordinary heroes: sons, brothers, husbands, fathers, friends. Young men (and women) who felt strongly enough about doing the right thing to voluntarily sign up to defend their country’s freedom and democracy against the unthinkable evil of World War II. And against the odds, lived to tell about it. Albert Wallace, a Canadian young man from Toronto, was one of the lucky ones.
Book cover and BUY link
https://barbaratrendos.com/order-the-...
November 4, 2021
Need a Christmas idea for the writer in your life? Check out The Muse Box from By the Book
THE MUSE BOX
Quality Box for Amateur and Professional Writers
Just in time for Christmas 2021!
By the Book is a place where amateur and professional writers can nourish themselves.
We offer a subscription box called “The Muse Box” which is designed to inspire and encourage you as a writer. With a minimum of five unique items in each box, you will find something for all your senses. Whether it is interesting pens, useful notebooks or decadent chocolate, The Muse Box is sure to delight!
By the Book was rose out of the ashes of COVID when owner and founder Carla Howatt finally had time to devote to her passion - writing. She was already publishing as By the Book Publishing, but she wanted to expand so that is just what she did. With something for everyone, from a subscription box, a webinar on how to write a non-fiction book or book coaching, By the Book is a safe place for writers at every stage and was founded on the values of respect, compassion, joy and vulnerability.
www.NourishTheWriterInYou.com (there is a link to the muse box)
Direct link to The Muse Box - https://by-the-book-publishing.cratejoy.com/
Inspiration and Motivation in a Box
Your wait for a beautiful, quality writer's box is finally over! The Muse Box is designed to inspire, motivate and encourage both the amateur and the professional writer. Inspiration comes from all your senses; smell, taste, touch, hearing, and sight. So immerse yourself in inspiration.
A minimum of five items per box. Something for each of your senses in every box: smell, taste, touch, and sight. One box per season. High quality content. Each item designed to provide creative inspiration for your writing!
The Muse Box ships worldwide from Canada four times a year: December 4th, March 4th, June 4th, Sept 4th.
Click HERE to purchase a Box subscription for yourself or a loved oneNovember 2, 2021
Victoria Dowd launches The Supper Club Murders
Welcome to one of my favorite authors! Victoria Dowd is truly making a name for herself in the mystery genre - especially if you like a good whodunnit!
Victoria is a crime writer and winner of the People’s Book Prize for fiction 2020/2021 with her debut novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder. It was also named In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel’s Book of the Year 2020. The second book in the series, Body on the Island, is also long listed for the People’s Book Prize for fiction this year and is nominated for the TCK publishers Readers’ Choice Award 2021. Book 3 in the series, The Supper Club Murders, was released on 16th September. Her books are a modern, darkly comic take on Golden Age crime fiction.
Victoria is also a short story writer and was awarded the Gothic Fiction prize for short fiction in 2019. She was the runner up in The New Writer’s writer of the year award and long-listed for The Willesden Herald International Short Story Competition. Her work has been published in many literary journals and magazines. She also writes the Adapting Agatha series, focusing on TV and film adaptations of Agatha Christie and regularly speaks at various festivals on this subject. This year, she appeared at the International Agatha Christie Festival.
Originally from Yorkshire, she studied law at Cambridge and was a criminal law barrister appearing at the Old Bailey for many years but hung up her wig in favour of writing about crime. She is now co-convenor of the London chapter of the Crime Writers’ Association.
twitter Victoria Dowd (@victoria_dowd) / Twitter
FB https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=625505478
Instagram Victoria Dowd (@dowdvictoria) • Instagram photos and videos
What is your latest release?
My latest book is The Supper Club Murders. This is the third in the Smart woman’s mystery series which follows the Smart family. They are classic whodunnits with a lot of dark humour and a touch of the supernatural. Ursula Smart and her mother are invited to a supper club at Greystone Castle on the edge of a picturesque Dartmoor village, along with their ever-adventurous book group.
But as the dinner party begins, festering resentments begin to surface. As midnight strikes, someone is found brutally murdered and the Smart women find themselves investigating another perplexing crime. It’s an impossible crime and a locked room mystery with a difference at the very heart of it. There are murders by cannonball, priest hole and ducking stool. The phones are out. The roads have flooded. There’s no way in or out. And the murders have begun.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on Book 4 in the series which will follow the members of the Smart women who survive The Supper Club Murders. This time they are invited to a crime writers’ convention as a result of the increasing popularity of Pandora’s blog, Death Smarts, which details all their previous near death experiences. The book opens on the first day of the murder trial of one of the people who attended the event who it would appear has very definitely murdered her husband. But as we are taken back to the scene of the crime, all is not as it would at first seem.
Was there a person who encouraged you to write?
Many people! Primarily, my wonderful family who encourage me and support me all the time. I would find it impossible to do this without a lot of encouragement. I’ve written stories my whole life and, originally, it was my English teacher who inspired me to think that I could do this. It’s been a very long journey and, like most writers, many people have helped along the way.
What would you say are your strengths as an author?
I think diligence and hard work, really. I go over everything again and again, making sure it works and there are no holes in the plot. I also read a lot around my genre and love the Golden Age of Detection that inspires me.
How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?
I have a very strict routine. I start work around about 9am and don’t really leave my desk until about 3pm. Most days I work for about six hours solidly. I write every day except for weekends and holidays. I have to be very strict about also factoring in time for reading and relaxing otherwise I have a tendency to work all of the time!
Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?
I’d really like to continue the series and see it expand into different areas. It’s been fantastic hearing the audiobooks come to life and seeing the books come out in other languages. I have so many ideas for how Ursula and the Smart women are going to progress. That’s the wonderful thing about writing a series, the story arc can be enormous. I also have plans for a more gothic, standalone book that I’ve been thinking about for a while but finding the time is the key! Oh, and I have a historical fiction book that I began and really want to finish. So, in five years I’d hope to have a lot more books out and still be loving every step of the way.
THE SUPPER CLUB MURDERS
The phones are out.
The roads have flooded.
There’s no way in or out.
And the murders have begun.
Ursula Smart and her mother are invited to a supper club at Greystone Castle on the edge of a picturesque Dartmoor village, along with their ever-adventurous book group.
But as the dinner party begins, their hosts Lord and Lady Black begin to reveal festering resentments. Lord Black, who actually bought his title, looks like he’s having an affair with the maid.
Then as midnight strikes, someone is found brutally murdered and the Smart women find themselves investigating another perplexing crime.
On this dark and stormy night, with the castle cut off by flood waters, who will be the next to die?
AN IMPOSSIBLE LOCKED-ROOM MURDER MYSTERY WITH A TOUCH OF DARK HUMOUR.
Buy link https://geni.us/supperprefbt
ALSO BY VICTORIA DOWD:
