Jane Lythell's Blog: https://janelythellamwriting.blogspot.com/, page 2

My Writing Path and Writing Tips

As a child lying on my stomach in the garden or on the beach it was bliss to escape into a fictional world. We lived in Norfolk and as an early teen I read my way through the novels on offer at Sheringham library. I also tried my hand at fiction. When I was eight I wrote a story for my younger sister Caroline about Sally Dumpling. Sally was a fairy with curves who lived in a yellow rose and her best friend was a robin.
I studied English Literature at university so enjoyed three more years of intensive reading, novels and poetry. Writers were my heroes: Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

I started to write short stories. These were highly autobiographical and I never did anything with them though I think they were teaching me something about how to write. Then, from age thirty and for many years, there was no time for writing and a lot less time for reading. I was working in film and TV in the kinds of jobs that gave you very little empty time. You need empty time to be able to write. And I had my daughter and was a lone parent from when she was little.
But I had stories in my head which I wanted to tell. While I was at the Foreign Office, heading up their TV and Radio Unit, I started on my first draft of what would become The Lie of You. One of the things that helped me at this time was the Arvon Foundation which runs writing retreats. I went to two week-long retreats, one in Devon and one, a year later, in Scotland. These gave me a spur. I met other would-be writers as well as the two published writers who led the courses. This made me take my desire to write more seriously. I carried on with The Lie of You.


The next step in my writing path was blogging. In 2011 I started to write a novel in instalments which I called The Chronicles of Chloe Greene. It was set in the 1980s and centred on a young idealistic woman called Chloe Greene who lived in a run-down house in North London with two artists. Each week I wrote an 800 word instalment and would post this up on my blog every Tuesday. I tweeted the link and I began to attract readers. Readers would post comments on the instalments which I found thrilling. Blogging gave me two very good things: the discipline to write every week and the sense of reaching an audience, however small.
I took my draft of The Lie of You out of the drawer where I had stashed it and read it again. I felt it had something and I finally plucked up courage to ask my partner Barry to read it. Barry is a TV script writer and we hadn’t been going out very long! I asked him to be honest. Was it worth trying to redraft it or should I start again? Barry said it opened well and that the characters were interesting but that the last third of the book had lost direction. And it had.
This encouraged me to work on it again and I rewrote it and sent the first forty pages of the manuscript to the literary agency Sheil Land. I didn’t know anything about publishing and my finished manuscript was 57,000 words long.
I had the huge luck to be taken on by the literary agent Gaia Banks of Sheil Land. Gaia guided me. She explained that publishers expected a novel to be at least 80,000 words long. We discussed how the book needed new scenes to deepen the characters and the plot. And I learned that you never submit to a publisher until you have made your book as good as it possibly can be. A first draft is just that, a first draft. It is at the redrafting and editing stage where you can hone and polish your book.
Six months later Gaia submitted my now longer novel (87,000 words) and I was selected for publication by Head of Zeus which was a new publishing venture. If I could do cartwheels I would have done these all around the garden!


My writing tips: Read wide and read deepYou may need to write thousands of words before you find your voiceIf you can, attend a writing retreat led by a published authorBlogging is a good disciplineThe first draft is only that. Redraft, redraft, redraft then edit, edit, edit!
 My novels are published by Head of Zeus
BEHIND HER BACK


WOMAN OF THE HOUR


AFTER THE STORM


THE LIE OF YOU

Writing about the TV industry after working in it.

I had seen a full page newspaper advertisement for vacancies at the soon to be launched TV-am breakfast station. The ad said: Join us and make history.
I applied and three interviews later (really, it was a drawn out process) I was told I had a job as a junior features journalist at the station. I was thrilled to be part of the birth of breakfast TV in the UK.
Well, the reality turned out to be very different from my expectations. TV-am’s Good Morning Britain launched two weeks after BBC Breakfast Time began broadcasting. TV-am was highbrow, more Guardian and The Times, whereas BBC Breakfast Time was cosy and populist with Frank Bough in jumpers. The BBC did well and TV-am crashed in the ratings.
Our programme editors scanned the ratings every morning and the sense of panic was rising daily. Editors screamed at young journalists who would sob in the toilets. Other ambitious and thicker-skinned journalists responded by grabbing their chance to get in front of camera. Back-stabbing was rife. Established presenters were junked and new faces fought their way to the top. Live TV seemed to bring out the worst in people and loyalty counted for nothing.
This is the world of my main character Liz Lyon and the subject of both Behind Her Back and Woman of the Hour. So how is writing about the TV industry different to working in it?



The workplace is full of dramatic possibilities and throws up all kinds of ethical dilemmas, competitive behaviour, secrets and betrayals. Perhaps the biggest difference in writing about this world was the pace at which things happen in my novel. In telling Liz Lyon’s story I racked up the pace at which conflict and strife occurred so that Liz was under almost constant pressure.


Liz Lyon is both confidante and team leader. She is the person tasked with controlling the conflicts and tantrums that flare up off-air. She finds herself in situations where characters lie to her, or plot against her, and she has to overcome these challenges. Liz is the only person who knows the identity of the father of Fizzy Wentworth’s baby. Fizzy is the star of StoryWorld TV and the father is married so this is an explosive secret. Its revelation would cause a scandal for the station. This secret oppresses Liz throughout the book and culminates in a crisis. 
I loved writing the character of presenter Fizzy Wentworth. She is self-absorbed, frequently unreasonable and contrary in her behaviour. Fizzy is used to being in the limelight and this has accentuated her egotistical traits. For example she thinks the royal photographer should take shots of her baby son! I could see Fizzy’s house, her clothing, her taste in food and decor so clearly and it was a pleasure to write her. People have asked me whether Fizzy was based on any of the TV presenters I worked with. She wasn’t directly, but she was influenced by a number of on-screen presenters I had observed in my years in TV.
As for my heroine Liz, I wanted her home life with her daughter Florence to be a strong contrast to her work life. They live in a garden flat in Chalk Farm which is Liz’s haven. Whereas work-Liz is (usually) calm, capable and in control, home-Liz is far more emotional. I was keen to show both sides of her.

Television is a seductive industry. You feel you are at the centre of things because you hear of news and events before most people. I worked as a TV producer for fifteen years and was also a lone parent to my daughter. It was a pang to give this up. But it is a burn-out industry. You are expected to work until the show is ready. The hours are never predictable and this made it difficult for me as a lone parent. I left my career in TV when my daughter Amelia was nine-years-old because I knew I was not spending enough time with her.
But in Behind Her Back I really enjoyed writing about the TV industry as opposed to working in it. 
Behind Her Back 


Woman of the Hour 
                               This piece first appeared on the blog Swirl & Thread

Writing about the TV industry as opposed to working in it.

I had seen a full page newspaper advertisement for vacancies at the soon to be launched TV-am breakfast station. The ad said: Join us and make history.
I applied and three interviews later (really, it was a drawn out process) I was told I had a job as a junior features journalist at the station. I was thrilled to be part of the birth of breakfast television in the UK.
Well, the reality turned out to be very different from my expectations. TV-am’s Good Morning Britain launched two weeks after BBC Breakfast Time began. TV-am was highbrow, more Guardian and The Times, whereas BBC Breakfast Time was cosy and populist with Frank Bough in jumpers. The BBC did well and TV-am crashed in the ratings.


Our programme editors scanned the ratings every morning and the sense of panic at the station was rising daily. Editors screamed at young journalists who would sob in the toilets. Other ambitious and thicker-skinned journalists responded by grabbing their chance to get in front of camera. Back-stabbing was rife. Established presenters were junked and new faces fought their way to the top. Live TV seemed to bring out the worst in people and loyalty counted for nothing.
This is the world of my main character Liz Lyon and the subject of both Behind Her Back and Woman of the Hour. So how is writing about the TV industry different to working in it?
The workplace is full of dramatic possibilities and throws up ethical dilemmas, competitive behaviour, secrets and betrayals. Perhaps the biggest difference in writing about this world is in the pace at which things happen in my novel. There is certainly a feverish and high tempo atmosphere in a TV station that broadcasts live shows. I experienced this first-hand and saw how it breeds conflict and drama. However in telling Liz Lyon’s story I have racked up the pace even more at which conflict and strife occurs so that Liz is under almost constant pressure.
Liz Lyon is both confidante and team leader and the person tasked with controlling the conflicts and tantrums that flare up off-air. She often finds herself in a situation where characters lie to her, or plot against her, and she has to overcome these challenges. For example Liz is the only person who knows the identity of the father of Fizzy Wentworth’s baby. This is an explosive secret as Fizzy is the star of StoryWorld TV and the father is married. The revelation of this secret would cause a scandal for the station. This secret oppresses Liz throughout the book and culminates in a crisis. This is the stuff of novels and is what keeps the reader turning the pages, wanting to know how this situation will unravel.
I loved writing the character of Fizzy Wentworth. She is so self-absorbed and is frequently unreasonable and contrary in her behaviour. Fizzy is used to being in the limelight and this has accentuated her egotistical traits. For example she thinks the royal photographer should take shots of her baby son! I could see Fizzy’s house, her clothing, her taste in food and drink clearly and it was a pleasure to write her. People have asked me whether Fizzy was based on any of the TV presenters I worked with. She wasn’t, but she was influenced by a number of on-screen presenters I had observed in my years in TV.
As for my heroine Liz, I wanted her home life with her daughter Florence to be a strong contrast to her work life. They live in a garden flat in Chalk Farm which is Liz’s haven. Whereas work-Liz is (usually) calm, capable and in control, home-Liz is far more emotional. I was keen to show both sides to make Liz an authentic character.

Television is a seductive industry. You feel you are at the centre of things because you hear of news and events before most people. I worked as a TV producer for fifteen years and was also a lone parent to my daughter. It was a pang to give this up. But it is a burn-out industry. You are expected to work until the show is ready. The hours are never predictable and this made it difficult for me as a lone parent. I left my career in TV when my daughter Amelia was nine-years-old because I knew I was not spending enough time with her.
But in Behind Her Back I really enjoyed writing about the TV industry as opposed to working in it. This piece first appeared on the blog Swirl & ThreadBehind Her Back and Woman of the Hour are published by Head of Zeus.

Tanya Oliver: Woman of the Hour Interview

I am running a series of interviews with inspiring women I have met who are my Women of the Hour.
Please meet Tanya Oliver, writer and champion of the Lake District.

Tanya worked in a senior role in Local Government in Kent making public services easier to access and launching the ground-breaking Kent Film Office. With an underlying passion for the outdoors, Tanya spends much time climbing mountains in the Lake District and exploring the local countryside. Since 2012 Tanya has managed the conservation programme ‘Fix the Fells’ on behalf of the National Trust. This is a programme to repair and maintain the mountain paths in the Lake District. Tanya wrote  From High Heels to High Hills published by Step Beach Press in 2012. Tanya has two children who have changed her life and aspirations completely.
What was your favourite book as a child?
Watership Down- and it still is. I read it time and time again and it still makes me smile and cry. 
Name the one thing you would put in Room 101 and why?
Cruelty - in whatever form it takes.
Do you have a favourite place to go (in the UK or abroad) that restores you?
The Lake District. When I see those mountains a sense of calm washes over me. Whatever the weather up there I just love it - it is as mystical and eerie in the rain and cloud as it is beautiful in the sunshine. I am Member Secretary of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild and write for various outdoor magazines about walking and the Lake District.

Available here

What is your greatest fear now?
Something bad happening to my children.
Greek Myths or Grimm’s Fairy Tales and why?
Grimm’s Fairy Tales - purely from childhood memories of reading them and being part of a village acting group that brought some of the stories to life. 
Hansel and Gretel
Did you/do you have a mentor?
Yes - for many years my line manager Peter Gilroy. He was Chief Executive of Kent County Council for a number of years. He is still a good friend, even though our paths have diverged, and still mentors me. He has been simply brilliant. 
Westerns or Rom Coms and why?
Very hard to choose. Rom Coms on balance. I've had some wonderful evenings with my best friend watching these. Happy times. Although I was brought up on westerns - John Wayne amongst others as my mum is a fan so I have happy memories watching those too.



Who are your heroes?
My parents for many reasons. Also Emmeline Pankhurst and all the women and men who played such a vital part in the suffrage movement.


Emmeline Pankhurst

What do you consider the bravest thing you have ever done?

Having children - a real step into the unknown. Every day is amazing and a little bit scary too.
Thank you very much for answering my questions.

Woman of the Hour is published by Head of Zeus.

Gaia Banks: Woman of the Hour Interview

I am running a series of  interviews with inspiring women I have met who are my Women of the Hour.


Please meet Gaia Banks who is my Literary Agent and the best champion a writer could ask for. 





Gaia Banks has worked in publishing for 17 years: in translation rights at John Murray Publishers, joining Sheil Land as an agent in 2004. She looks after the agency’s translation rights as well as representing her own authors as a primary agent. She is a great believer in reading slowly.
Q: Your favourite book as a child?
Little Grey Rabbit’s Christmas by Alison Uttley.



Gaia's copy with her toddler handwriting on title page
Q: One thing you would put in Room 101?
Impoliteness. So much damage stems from it – intended and unintended.
Q: Do you have a favourite place to go (in the UK or abroad) that restores you?
The Greek island of Spetses, but the V&A works as a handier destination for regular pick-me-ups.




Q: Greek Myths or Grimm’s Fairy Tales and why?
Greek Myths – naturally, with a name like mine! Origin stories intrigue me and so much of Greek myth has permeated culture in other ways.
Q: What is your greatest fear now?
Compassion fatigue. There are so many tragedies unfolding around the world that I fear in the West we risk collectively losing the ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes.
Q: Do you collect anything?
Books (obviously!) Antique buttons; old post cards of the area in which I live.



Gaia's box of antique buttons
Q: Did you have a mentor?
I have several. My parents, my aunt, my first boss. All wonderfully decent, supportive and creative people.
Q: Westerns or RomComs and why?
Westerns. The lone champion, who sets things right and leaves just when others would stay for adulation. Honour and self-sacrifice above personal gain.




Q: Who are your heroes?My dad’s a (retired) comprehensive school teacher, as are several of my friends, but I’m going to widen this to people working in the public sector in general: in the NHS, social services, education, police, fire service, etc. From personal experience it’s only when you need their help that you realise how lost we’d be without them.  
Q: What do you consider the bravest thing you’ve done?
Having all four of my wisdom teeth removed in one sitting. It was gruesome and I’d never do it again – but then, now I don’t have to. There’s a moral in there somewhere.


Thank you very much for answering my questions.


Woman of the Hour is published by Head of Zeus.

Gaia Banks: Woman of the Hour interview

I am running a series of  interviews here with inspiring women I have met who are my Women of the Hour.


Please meet Gaia Banks who is my Literary Agent and the best champion a writer could ask for. 





Gaia Banks has worked in publishing for 17 years: in translation rights at John Murray Publishers, joining Sheil Land as an agent in 2004. She looks after the agency’s translation rights as well as representing her own authors as a primary agent. She is a great believer in reading slowly.
Q: Your favourite book as a child?
Little Grey Rabbit’s Christmas by Alison Uttley.




Q: One thing you would put in Room 101?
Impoliteness. So much damage stems from it – intended and unintended.
Q: Do you have a favourite place to go (in the UK or abroad) that restores you?
The Greek island of Spetses, but the V&A works as a handier destination for regular pick-me-ups.




Q: Greek Myths or Grimm’s Fairy Tales and why?
Greek Myths – naturally, with a name like mine! Origin stories intrigue me and so much of Greek myth has permeated culture in other ways.
Q: What is your greatest fear now?
Compassion fatigue. There are so many tragedies unfolding around the world that I fear in the West we risk collectively losing the ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes.
Q: Do you collect anything?
Books (obviously!) Antique buttons; old post cards of the area in which I live.




Q: Did you have a mentor?
I have several. My parents, my aunt, my first boss. All wonderfully decent, supportive and creative people.
Q: Westerns or RomComs and why?
Westerns. The lone champion, who sets things right and leaves just when others would stay for adulation. Honour and self-sacrifice above personal gain.




Q: Who are your heroes?My dad’s a (retired) comprehensive school teacher, as are several of my friends, but I’m going to widen this to people working in the public sector in general: in the NHS, social services, education, police, fire service, etc. From personal experience it’s only when you need their help that you realise how lost we’d be without them.  
Q: What do you consider the bravest thing you’ve done?
Having all four of my wisdom teeth removed in one sitting. It was gruesome and I’d never do it again – but then, now I don’t have to. There’s a moral in there somewhere.


Thank you very much for answering my questions.


Woman of the Hour is published by Head of Zeus.

Jan Thompson: Woman of the Hour Interview

I will be running a series of  interviews here with inspiring women I have met who are my Women of the Hour.


First off please meet Jan Thompson who is British Ambassador to the Czech Republic. 
Jan has worked in Germany; at the UN Security Council in New York and led work on the Balkan wars (1994-1997). From 2002 – 2005 Jan headed the UK department on Afghanistan. After the Asian tsunami she flew to Thailand to establish a temporary British office to help the victims.

Q: Jan, what was your favourite book as a child?
The complete works of Shakespeare. I was oddly obsessed with his plays and had my dolls act them out!

Q: Name the one thing you would put in room 101 and why?
War: such senseless pain, destruction and loss of life.
Q: Do you have a favourite place to go (in the UK or abroad) that restores you?
Scotland. Despite being English I (half) believe I’m the reincarnation of Mary Queen of Scots. I feel at home and a strong sense of connection whenever I’m there.


Q: I collect small lead figures of working people. Do you collect anything?
No. I’m averse to clutter.
Q: Greek myths or Grimm’s fairy tales and why?
Greek myths; more inspiring and less scary.


Q: What is your greatest fear now?
Physical and/or mental incapacity.
Q: Who are your heroes?My mother. Shakespeare. And people like paralysed journalist Frank Gardner who overcome adversity with such tremendous grace.


Q: Did you/do you have a mentor?
My mother. And very good friends, who keep me sane.
Q: Westerns or Rom Coms and why?
Rom Coms. Better escapism and less dirt.
Q: Finally, what do you consider the bravest thing you have ever done?
Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, even though I wasn’t prepared for it and nearly died. Btw it was also the most foolhardy thing I’ve ever done.




Thank you very much for answering my questions.


Woman of the Hour is published by Head of Zeus.

Ten Questions on Writing

The interviewer is writer and coach Sharon Zink: http://sharonzink.com/
Sharon: When did you realise you were a writer?Jane: When I was eight. I wrote a story for my younger sister Caroline about Sally Dumpling, a fairy with curves, who lived in a yellow rose and whose best friend was a robin. My sister loved it!
Are there particular symptoms you think people should look out for if they suspect they may be coming down with Writer Syndrome?  One definite symptom is lusting after nice notebooks and buying a new one at any excuse. I always buy a new notebook when I’m going on holiday and I have a shelf of half-filled notebooks. In one of these I had noted down details of my Central American holiday: the landscape, the food and the wildlife I saw. This became the setting for AFTER THE STORM.


Can you tell us about your latest project?I am putting the finishing touches to BEHIND HER BACK which is my fourth novel and is out 10 August 2017. It features Liz Lyon and the StoryWorld TV station from WOMAN OF THE HOUR. It was good to get an opportunity to develop my characters further in a second book but it also works as a stand-alone novel. Behind Her Back is about backstabbing colleagues at work!  A new Head of Sales arrives at the TV station and she joins forces with the News Editor, who hates Liz, to undermine her at every turn. Meanwhile at home Liz has started to date again but her fifteen year old daughter deeply resents the new man in her life. So there is lots of conflict which drives the story.

What inspired you to write it? Where do you generally draw your ideas from?What inspired both WOMANOF THE HOUR and BEHIND HER BACK was a desire to explore the pressures facing women at work. Many books depict women’s emotional and family lives but I’ve seen much less fiction about a woman struggling with the pressures of work. Yet that had been my life: a lone parent and a working mother, trying to keep all the balls up in the air, feeling conflicted about competing pressures.
The ideas for my four novels have come from different places but what unites them is a focus on strong women, who also have their lows and their vulnerable moments. They battle adversity whether it’s a jealous colleague at work or self-doubt or a holiday from hell!


What is your writing process? Are you very disciplined or are you more of a flying by the seats of your pants writer?My writing process has changed. My first book had a long genesis. I wrote it at weekends and when I was on holiday and so it grew organically. I did more planning with AFTER THE STORM. I created a sheet for each of the four main characters and thought about their back story before I started writing. I also had my holiday journal to draw on to help me create a vivid setting.With the two Liz Lyon books I was asked to submit treatments to my publisher Head of Zeus so I had to plan them out more, though still with plenty of room for the characters to take me in unexpected directions. You know a book is going well when a new plot line emerges that feels entirely in keeping with your character.
Do you write longhand or on a computer or both? Do you believe that writing method makes a difference to style?I do most of my drafting straight onto my laptop and I work standing up. I have rigged up a tray-on-legs on top of the desk to get my laptop high enough. If I’m away from my laptop I make sure I have a notebook or some sheets of paper in my bag so I can jot ideas and lines of dialogue down as they pop into my head. Does it make a difference which method you use? I’m not sure.
How do you deal with autobiographical elements in your work? Do you worry about offending people or baring your soul too much?I deal with stuff that has happened in my life but it is transformed when it is told through fictional characters and situations. That said, friends and family have said to me ‘oh you’re Liz Lyon and Flo is Amelia’ my daughter. This is not strictly speaking true but I certainly drew on the feelings I had when I was a stressed working mum.When it comes to other people’s lives I am more careful though I do get my revenge on people I don’t like by naming my bad characters after them!
What advice would you offer to writers just starting out?I would say that the most important thing is to create characters your reader will believe in. It doesn't matter if they dislike a character or adore them, but it does matter if your reader doesn't believe in them. And do not bend a character out of shape in order to deliver a dramatic plot twist. Stay true to how your character would behave.
Who has offered you the most encouragement and support in your writing career?Two people get large bouquets here. My partner Barry Purchese, who is a TV scriptwriter, reads my novels at draft stage and has given me masterly feedback plus lots of understanding. As a writer he knows I need to retreat from time to time. My agent Gaia Banks of Sheil Land has been immensely supportive from day one. She is the best champion I could ask for. I also have a wonderful writing buddy in the writer Kerry Fisher. We try to meet regularly to have a rant and or celebration of the ups and downs of the writing life.
Where can people find out more about you and your work?I love to hear from readers and have a Facebook account Jane Lythell Books where I write about what I’m reading and writing and stages on the road to publication. https://www.facebook.com/janelythellb... I am also on Twitter @janelythell and I write this blog - The Chronicles of Chloe Greene.

My novels are published by Head of Zeus.    
THE LIE OF YOU 
AFTER THE STORM
WOMAN OF THE HOUR 
BEHIND HER BACK

Casting Woman of the Hour

How would you cast the main characters in WOMAN OF THE HOUR as a TV series?  Here are my suggestions. Woman of the Hour is set in a London TV station that broadcasts a live morning show. The main character is Liz Lyon and she is a respected TV producer, a stressed out executive and a guilty single mother. She is a strong woman who spends her life trying to manage the many monster egos at the TV station. When she gets home she has to cope with a stroppy teenage daughter. She is 41 and I described her thus:

My hair is black and I’ve worn it in a short bob, without a fringe, for years. A bob is nice and low maintenance and I pay Ellen in make-up a small fee to cut it for me every two months. I peered in the mirror and saw a few more grey hairs at the parting. 

Now I think Suranne Jones would be perfect as Liz as she has the right mix of strength and contained emotion. Liz is controlled at work and emotional at home and Suranne Jones would do this very well.
The star presenter at the TV station is Fizzy Wentworth and I described her like this: Fizzy is a woman who sets great store by how people look. She is thirty-eight but she looks younger. She is pretty rather than beautiful, with her strawberry-blonde hair and pointed chin, more of a girl-next-door type who viewers can relate to, rather than drop-dead gorgeous.  I think Natalie Dormer would work brilliantly as Fizzy. She has the pointed chin and the face a camera loves. She is perhaps a little too beautiful to be Fizzy but hey I can live with that.


Liz’s boss is Julius Jones and he is clever, ruthless and can be a bully at times. Julius entered the room and there was a palpable change in the atmosphere. No one says anything until they’ve had an indication of which way he is going to jump. Sometimes you can tell what his mood is going to be simply by the way he sits down and spreads his arms on the table. Julius is handsome, though in a rather bland way. He looks clean-cut and preppy but he is unpredictable, a chameleon, and his face can change from pleasant to menacing in a moment. Even his name is a sham. He was born and raised Nigel Jones but changed his name to Julius Jones when he started working in television. 


My choice to play Julius Jones is Dominic West as he’s got the right amount of suppressed power under an outwardly attractive exterior.

Who would you choose? Woman of the Hour is published by Head of Zeus.

Jane Lythell Books on Facebook

I have set up a new Jane Lythell Books Facebook page and will be posting about what I'm writing, what I'm reading, what friends are writing and the stages on the road to publication.

I will also be running giveaways from this page from time to time.   Hope to see you there.

Jane Lythell Books on Facebook
My three novels are published by Head of Zeus.

WOMAN OF THE HOUR
AFTER THE STORM
THE LIE OF YOU