Hi Angela and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?
Thank you for inviting me to stop by for a chat! I grew up in a small village in Cornwall, in the far south west of England, and joined the Royal Navy when I left school because I wanted to expand my horizons. I couldn’t have imagined where that choice would lead until I was assigned to a small NATO HQ on the Danish Jutland peninsula where I met Richard, then an American US Naval aviator – my very own tall, dark handsome stranger. At 6’ 6” they don’t come much taller. We were engaged within 3 months and married the following spring. We traveled around with his job from Denmark to Sicily, California, Maryland and London (having three amazing sons along the way) before he retired for the 1st time and accepted a job in Tennessee. He’s always been hugely supportive of my writing and is now retired for the 2nd time allowing us to spend more time travelling again and being besotted grandparents to Franklin, Jemma and Sophie.
When did you decide you wanted to be a writer and how did you begin?
I didn’t really decide as such it sort of happened! I’ve always been an avid reader and would read the back of the Cornflakes packet at breakfast because my mother wouldn’t let me bring a book to the table. It never occurred to me that ordinary people wrote the books I loved but a few years after we moved to Tennessee I saw a creative writing class offered locally and the idea of 6 evenings away from my noisy little boys sounded appealing. I loved it from the first night and at the end of the classes knew I had to keep writing although at that point the idea of getting published never entered my head. My writing tutor encouraged me to expand a short story I’d written and that went on to became my first full length novel. Thankfully that one is lost in the mist of time now but the next novel I completed was Truth and Consequence – I can still remember the overwhelming joy and shock when a small Nashville publisher offered me a contract.
What makes a good hero?
My heroes always have a good sense of humour, although because of circumstances it might not be obvious at first, because I can’t imagine spending a day, let alone a lifetime, with someone who can’t make me smile on a regular basis. Good looks aren’t important (says she with more than a touch of guilt for drooling over Aidan Turner) but integrity, honesty and trust are crucial because in my mind no self-respecting person can truly love without them.
What is the most romantic place you have visited?
That’s a difficult question – I narrowed it down to three – Cornwall, Florence and Vienna but I’ll settle on Vienna because we went there on our honeymoon and it’s such a romantic city.
What would your advice be to new writers?
Don’t sit around and wait for some mythical muse to strike but try to write consistently because no one can edit an empty page. Read a wide range of writing books, go to workshops and meet with other writers – take notice of the advice they give and experiment in order to discover what works best for you.
And finally, you are planning a year away from it all on a desert island. What four ‘must haves’ would you take with you and why?
I assume you can’t take your family with you? If I’m there alone I’d definitely need the ability to make a cup of tea, plenty of books, a supply of Cornish pasties and wine!
What if you had nowhere to call home for Christmas?
When Fee Winter books a winter break at the remote Black Cherry Retreat in the small town of Pine Ridge, Tennessee, it’s with the idea that the peace and quiet will help her recuperate from her hectic life as a photographer.
But what she didn’t bank on was meeting Tom Chambers and his huge, interfering yet lovable family. With them, could Fee finally experience the warmth and support that’s been missing from her own life – and maybe even find a place to call home in time for Christmas?
Out on 3rd December, 2018, currently available for pre-order
BUY LINKS
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ABOUT ANGELA
Angela grew up in Cornwall, England and returns frequently from her new home in Nashville, Tennessee. A lifelong love of reading turned into a passion for writing contemporary romance and her novels are usually set in the many places she’s visited or lived on her extensive travels. After more than three decades of marriage to her American husband she’s a huge fan of transatlantic romance and always makes sure her characters get their own happy-ever-after. Over the last twelve years she’s been multi-published and sold over 25 novels. She also writes short stories for women’s magazines. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Romance Writers of America and the Music City Romance Writers.
Hi Tommy and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?
Victoria Cornwall grew up on a farm in Cornwall and can trace her Cornish roots as far back as the 18th century. It is this background and heritage which is the inspiration for her Cornish based novels.Following a fulfilling twenty-five year career as a nurse, a change in profession finally allowed her the time to write. She initially self-published two novels, Old Sins Long Shadows and The Gossamer Trail under the name B.D.Hawkey. In 2016, award winning publisher, Choc Lit, acquired both books as part of a four book deal. Old Sins Long Shadows is now published under the new title, The Captain’s Daughter, and The Gossamer Trail is now titled, The Daughter of River Valley. Victoria is married and has two grown up children. She likes to read and write historical fiction with a strong background story, but at its heart is the unmistakable emotion, even pain, of loving someone.
Hi Angela and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?
About five years ago I visited the martyred village of Oradour-sur-Glane in France. I was incredibly moved by what I saw there that I decided there and then to tell the story from a survivor’s point of view. It wasn’t so much of a thought – more of a compulsion to write an historical novel telling the story of when the Germans visited this small town on 10th June 1944. Charles de Gaulle once declared that the ruins must be left untouched, so now French officials are panicking that Oradour won’t survive for another seventy-four years of hot summers and freezing winters. I thought that, in some small way, I could help to keep the memory alive.
Morton lives with her husband, two sons and Lily, the tiny white dog, in Worcestershire, U.K. She has been reading and writing fiction for as long as she can remember, penning her first attempt at a novel aged fourteen. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Society of Authors.
Kirsty is from the North East of England and won the English Heritage/Belsay Hall National Creative Writing competition in 2009 with the ghostly tale ‘Enchantment’.
June Tate was born in Southampton to a seafaring family. She trained as a hairdresser and spent several years working on cruise ships, including the Queen Mary and the Mauritania meeting Hollywood actors and VIP’s on her travels. After her marriage to an airline pilot, she lived in Sussex, Hampshire and Portugal. June has two adult daughters and has since returned to Sussex.
JO LAMBERT 