Category: Writer’s Journey

Posted in Author Promotion, TUESDAY TALK, Writer's Journey, Writing

Tuesday Talk Welcomes Author Rachel Brimble

Posted on by Jo Lambert - Author

Today, I’m pleased to welcome author Rachel Brimble onto my blog to talk about her writing journey – and what an incredible one it has been…

Almost Fifteen Years And I’m Still Going Strong…

When my first novel, a contemporary romantic suspense called Searching For Sophie was published by The Wild Rose Press in 2007, I had not thought much further than writing this first book. It had been my dream to become a published novelist since I read Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven series when I was about eight or nine, so I was ecstatic when my very first attempt at writing a novel was accepted by a publisher.

Within a month or two of the book’s release, I became aware that the writing bug (or curse!) had got me. I was desperate to get back to the keyboard and start writing my next book! Of course, I didn’t know anything about the publishing industry, how it worked or just how much more an author needs to do than actually write! The next book was published in 2008 (Reluctant Witness) and I knew then that writing was now a big part of me, and it wasn’t going away anytime soon.

Being the newbie I was, I did not promote these two books AT ALL, wrongly assuming that my publisher would take care of the marketing/selling side of things, leaving me free to get on and write the next book. Of course, that is not the case at all and so with book three (The Arrival of Lily Curtis) came the additional job of learning about promotion/social media/bloggers etc, but all too soon I was on my way and striving to become a bona fide author who actually sold a few books!

Which I can happily call myself today having had 28 novels published to date as well as magazine articles and founding my First Chapter Critique service for aspiring romance and women’s fiction authors (https://rachelbrimble.com/first-chapter-critique-service/ ). Which, I have to say, is one of my proudest achievements to date. Helping writers achieve a dream that I understand only too well is just an amazing blessing and hearing of their successes makes me so, so happy!

The publication of Victoria & Violet is a huge triumph for me as it is the realisation of a long-held ambition of writing a novel that included real people and events. Even though the idea for this book (and series) had been in my mind for a while, I was just too scared to start writing it. Why? I was unsure how much I could or was allowed to fictionalise and couldn’t help but worry than I would be criticized by the many readers who love the Victorian age and British royalty.

But it was hopeless to keep fighting this huge wish inside of me to write a book set in a young Queen Victoria’s court and I am so glad I took the leap! I adored writing this book and especially the scenes with Queen Victoria. She became a huge part of my life and consciousness for six months and this book will always be very special to me. The reviews so far have been fabulous so – fingers crossed – I’ve got the storytelling just right…happy reading!

VICTORIA AND VIOLET

It should be a dream come true to serve the Queen of England…

When Violet Parker is told she will be Queen Victoria’s personal housemaid, she cannot believe her good fortune. She finally has the chance to escape her overbearing mother, a servant to the Duchess of Kent.

Violet hopes to explore who she is and what the world has to offer without her mother’s schemes overshadowing her every thought and action.

Then she meets James Greene, assistant to the queen’s chief political adviser, Lord Melbourne. From entirely different backgrounds and social class, Violet and James should have neither need nor desire to speak to one another, yet through their service, their paths cross and their lives merge—as do their feelings.

Only Victoria’s court is not always the place for romance, but rather secrets, scandals, and conspiracies…

BUY: https://geni.us/u0GmS5

ABOUT RACHEL:

Rachel lives in a small town near Bath, England. She is the author of 28 novels including the Ladies of Carson Street trilogy, the Shop Girl series (Aria Fiction) and the Templeton Cove Stories (Harlequin). Her latest novel, Victoria & Violet is the first book in her new Royal Maids series with the Wild Rose Press and released 17th October 2022.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association as well as the Historical Novel Society and has thousands of social media followers all over the world.

To sign up for her newsletter (a guaranteed giveaway every month!), click here: https://bit.ly/3zyH7dt

Website: https://bit.ly/3wH7HQs

Twitter: https://bit.ly/3AQvK0A

Facebook: https://bit.ly/3i49GZ3 Instagram: https://bit.ly/3lTQZbF

Posted in Cornwall, Costal Romance, MONTHLY UPDATE, ROMANTIC SUSPENSE, Writer's Journey, Writing

JULY UPDATE…

Posted on by Jo Lambert - Author

Another month over and a milestone reached. Yes, at last I’ve arrived at the point in my writing where I can finally type THE END.  At just over 103,000 words, it’s the smallest book I’ve written so far. And it has been one of the toughest. Some books almost write themselves. This one hasn’t. Part of the problem has been I’ve had one or two health issues. They have been irritating rather than worrying ones but nevertheless distracting enough for my writing to go into stop-start mode.  Not a good thing when you have a timetable to keep to.

This month has seen another trip – a mid-week break to Alderminster, just outside Stratford Upon Avon. The Bell is a favourite stop over of ours. I can highly recommend this as a place to stay if you’re planning to visit Stratford. Not only is the accommodation first class, it has a really good restaurant if you fancy staying put for the evening.  And if you want to leave the car behind, there’s a good bus service into Stratford with a bus stop right outside the pub.

We had a two night stopover, giving us a whole day to ourselves. Deciding to make use of our National Trust membership, we decided on a trip to Coughton Court, near Alcester (about 12 miles away). A Tudor Country house with extensive grounds and gardens, we spent a few hours there before returning for a late lunch in the pub garden.

 

Book News – The manuscript has left the building, which you would think leaves me with a huge amount of time on my hands. Not so. In fact I seem to be busier.  As a great fan of period drama, I managed to get some chill out time watching Jane Austen’s Emma and Persuasion. I loved Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role of Emma Woodhouse and Bill Nighy did a great job as her father.  Netflix and Persuasion not a good mix. Not only was this my set book for English Literature ‘O’ level, the action takes place in Bath (my home town) and Lyme Regis. That means I’ve always had a special affection for it. I’ve also carried with me my own idea of what Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth should look like – which as any reader knows is dangerous once a book finds its way onto the screen. I have seen two previous versions, one with Ciaran Hinds (1995) and the other with Rupert Penry-Jones (2007) taking the role of Captain Wentworth.  Although Hinds was quite imposing as a senior naval officer, I preferred Penry-Jones (far more handsome), and was keen to see how this twenty first century version compared.  Unfortunately, all I managed to watch was 33 minutes then sadly, I gave up.  Maybe my expectations were too high, who knows? The whole thing simply didn’t work for me, particularly having Cosmo Jarvis as Frederick Wentworth.  

JULY BOOK REVIEWS

And finally, when I next post, I will be including a cover reveal for my new romantic suspense novel Secrets That We Keep. It is the third part of my Cornish Estuary series set in the fictitious town of Kingswater. When I finished the first book Shadows on the Water I had no plans to turn it into a series. However, with three young women featuring, I soon saw the potential for two more stories. What happens next? Well, that’s all in the lap of the gods at the moment. We’re staying in Fowey during September so perhaps I’ll pick up those Cornish vibes and return home with the inspiration for another book. Who knows?

Until next month, take care and enjoy August…

Posted in Cornwall, TUESDAY TALK, Writer's Journey, Writing

TODAY TUESDAY TALK IS IN POLDARK COUNTRY TALKING TO AUTHOR ADRIAN MARTIN ABOUT HIS LIFE, WRITING AND DESERT ISLAND MUST HAVES…

Posted on by Jo Lambert - Author

Good morning Adrian and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?

Good morning, Jo and thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here. I am very lucky to be able to say I live in a very beautiful part of the country, down here in Cornwall. It’s a place filled with inspiration for every genre you can think of. I live here with my wife and four children. A couple of years ago I had to make a decision, which has led me along a completely different path to the one I was travelling. It resulted in me returning to full time education and embarking towards a career in teaching. While it would be a dream come true to write full time, I am focused on becoming an English teacher at secondary school level. For me this is the next best thing and I currently get to read and write all day. I am in the second year of my English Literature with Creative Writing Degree at Falmouth University here in Cornwall.

When did you first decide you wanted to write and how did you begin that journey?

I first began to write in about 2000 after being given a word processor. I had no idea what I was going to write, so I just began to type. I was in the army at the time and myadrian novel writing was sporadic, but I had the start of a novel. I can’t help but look back now and think how naïve I was towards the process. It is only in the last three years or so that I have really begun to understand how it works. While I began to write, I didn’t have a finished manuscript until several years later, which I completed while on my second career as a long distance lorry driver. I must admit, I thought it was going to be much easier to get it published than it was in the end. I knew no one, and nothing of the industry, only how things like television romanticise the life of a writer. However, the book I started in the year 2000 was eventually published in 2016 by Crooked Cat Books. It underwent many transitions and countless rewrites, but with perseverance it got there. It is now unrecognisable as the book I started, but it has taught me a lot.

Universal link: myBook.to/HellandReckoning
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Helland-Reckoning-Adrian-Martin-ebook/dp/B01FB8NVSI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467027689&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Helland+Reckoning
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Helland-Reckoning-Adrian-Martin-ebook/dp/B01FB8NVSI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467027743&sr=8-1&keywords=the+helland+reckoning

Who are your favourite authors and have any of them inspired your writing in any way?

At the time I began writing I was heavily into Dean Koontz, and I think I can safely say that is where the inspiration came for me to write dark material. I was later influenced by British horror writer Shaun Hutson, who is probably still the only horror writer I read when he releases a new title. I think all authors have certain other authors who have inspired them to write, how would we know what we want to write if we didn’t? I certainly think that the philosophy of write what you enjoy is more prevalent that write what you know or read. Just because you know something doesn’t mean you enjoy it…

You began as a thriller writer but have now switched to romantic fiction. What was the reason for this?

I did and I have. When I finished The Helland Reckoning, I began another horror novel, but by the time I had got to 45k words I realised it wasn’t working, and actually began to fall out of love with the genre. While I have huge respect for horror writers, I no longer felt it was the place for me. Perhaps I was in a dark place when I began writing, or maybe it was the influence of what I was reading at the time, but more than likely a combination of them both. However, it wasn’t until I did a series of workshops with Man Booker long lister, Wyl Menmuir that I was forced to announce what I was working on. The truth was I had nothing and no idea, so blurted out that I am writing a romance! Many a frown faced me at the unexpected announcement. I think I said it as I was getting to know a lot of romantic writers, and most were ladies, so, I thought I am going to have a go. Nothing like being put on the spot though! And my wife also declares me the least romantic bloke she knows, so it came as a bit of a shock when I told her I was going to write a romance novel. The funny thing is, I don’t feel out of place in this genre, and may look to join the Romantic Novelist Association at some point as I will most definitely be staying in this genre, and will look to publish in the years to come.

Are you able to tell us a little about what you are working on at the moment?

Of course. I am currently 40k words into the aforementioned romance novel, and I can safely say I have never enjoyed writing so much in my life. The working title for the book is: The Little Hotel on the Cliff, which is set here in Cornwall, down near Sennen Cove. It centres around a widower and a rather obnoxious lady from London. There are several other twists, including a tragic turn of events, but it also has many fun scenes thrown in. Since starting the book, the characters have become my friends and I have a great relationship with them (They talk to me a lot – something I guess only writers can understand?). I have no intention of publishing this novel as it began as project for me to put my new learnt skills into practice before I write something else later on. But who knows what the future holds? Having said that, I already have an idea for a follow up book, but told from the point of view of an entirely new character. Never say never, I guess? I am also working on two short stories, one of which, is in a different genre (drama) and will be turned into a screenplay (although never into a short film as it’s an assignment for University). The other, titled: Year of the Daffodil is a romance, but holds a much more tragic tone. I hope in the future to put together a collection of short stories, but not yet. As I am under no contractual obligations to publishers, I am able to write with freedom, and enjoy the process.

And lastly, if you had to spend a whole year on a desert island, what would your ‘must haves’ be and why?

My family, despite how crazy they are I couldn’t be without them. We would have an absolute blast. Also my laptop, for obvious reasons, and plenty of books. What else would you need to be happy? Oh, and ice cold beer! I’m sure I would get over my social media withdrawals pretty quickly – going cold turkey on a desert island, I think I’d soon forget about the rest of the world!

 Adrian’s Social Media Links:

Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/Adymartin177/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/adymartin63

Author Biography

unnamedAdrian lives just outside of Newquay, Cornwall with his wife, Lisa, and four children. He began writing while serving in the British Army, starting with (bad) poetry written on blueys (blue sheets of paper that fold into envelopes) as he was on a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. After leaving the army, he tried being a security guard, but found walking around the supermarket for fourteen hours a day somewhat monotonous, so decided to give long distance lorry driving a go. It was whilst doing this he began to pen “The Helland Reckoning”. The novel was inspired by the small hamlet of Helland, where Adrian stayed with a friend as a child. It had remained in his thoughts for many years, so it became the natural setting for the book. After five years of tramping around the U.K and Europe, he decided it was time to be home more, so began driving fuel tankers around Devon and Cornwall. After breaking his ankle playing football, Adrian was made redundant so set to work rewriting the manuscript. However, Adrian’s last job, working for a portaloo company (which was actually a lot of fun) made him want to change his career, so in September 2015 he returned to full time education studying English Literature with Creative Writing at Falmouth University, where he is currently in the second year of his degree. His hobbies include spending time with his family, writing, football, skiing, walking and Facebook! He is also part of the training team for the Duke of Edinburgh Award at Newquay Treviglas school, so if he looks lost out on the moors, please feel free to point him in the direction of the nearest pub! Feel free to hunt him down and chat.