It’s Monday once more and the outside the rain is steady and persistent. I feel this winter has been particularly awful with very few light sunny days and so much wet, dark weather. We’re very lucky to live on the side of a hill even though we are probably only five hundred yards from a river – By Brook – which meets the River Avon on the edge of the village. No chance of flooding, which I guess, next to fire must be one of the most awful things a house owner can experience.
When I woke up this morning I realised we’d already reached January 15th – half way through the first month of 2018 already! I’m trying to keep up the positive vibe, pleased that I’ve secured Tuesday Talk interviews for February and March. That’s one less pressure. I’m also nearing the end of a very long writing journey. As no doubt I’ve mentioned many times in previous blogs, my current WIP has at times has taken to me to the edge of my patience…and sanity. It began really well last January and I thought that this, like all my previous books, would be finished by Christmas. Unfortunately not. This story has taken on a life of its own. I guess I could keep revising and improving until the men in white coats turn up to take me away. However, I’m glad to report I have one extra scene to write – something I feel needs to be included in the book – and then I’m done. Part of the reason I’m drawing a final line under this particular WIP is that a new story is knocking on the door. I’ve been gradually putting it together in my head as I’ve been doing revisions on The Boys of Summer. This has given me the boot up the backside I badly needed in order to get one project finished and another started.
Hopefully at the end of play today I’ll have written and polished that final scene and the whole thing will be winging its way to my editor for a final check and read through.
And the new project? Well currently I’m getting the cast together. The location? I’m still not there yet. It’s going to be either South Cornwall or North Devon I have a great love for both counties and the atmospheric backdrops they can provide so am finding it very hard to choose. As far as the plot goes, although there’s the central romance there will. as usual, be subplots woven through the book. I began as a saga writer and I guess I’ve never been able to shake off the need to write a story which centres on more than just two people. Strangely I’m not a great fan of soaps although I guess there is a slight parallel in my books in that it’s all about characters, families and communities. So what do you think?
SHOULD IT BE NORTH DEVON?
OR SOUTH CORNWALL?
In the time it’s taken to write this, the rain has stopped and then returned. A thoroughly miserable Monday but this writer has work to do. So now I’m off to sort out that very last scene. Wish me luck!
Hi Kathryn and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?
Jane has been shortlisted for several industry and reader awards. She is a Kindle bestselling author and a writer of authentic, passionate, and emotional stories, and she’s a sucker for a love story. “I love the feeling of falling in love and it’s wonderful to be able to do it time and time again in fiction.” She loves writing intense relationships and she is thrilled to be giving her characters life in others’ imaginations.
Good morning Lynda and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?
Silvia writes short stories and novels. She has an MA in Creative Writing and teaches at the Open University. Silvia was brought up in a seaside town on the south coast of England by her mother and grandmother; she now lives in Kent. Silvia has two daughters, two stepdaughters and three granddaughters. With an abundance of women and girls in her life, it’s not surprising that female relationships, family and friendship are frequently the focus of Silvia’s writing.
Pam Howes was born in Cheshire. She is a retired Interior Designer who began writing seriously in the mid nineties. The idea for her first novel, set in the sixties, was inspired by her time as a teenager, working in a local record store and hanging around with musicians who frequented the business. That first novel evolved into a series set in the fictional town of Pickford, based on her home town of Stockport. Three Steps to Heaven; ‘Til I Kissed You; Always On My Mind; Not Fade Away, and That’ll Be The Day, follow the lives and loves through the decades of fictional Rock’n’Roll band The Raiders. Pam is a big fan of sixties music and it’s this love that compelled her to write the series. A stand-alone true-life romance, Fast Movin’ Train, set in the nineties, was published in early 2012. A new series of Fairground Romances, set in the sixties, begins with Cathy’s Clown, to be followed by Ruby Tuesday early 2016. Pam is mum to three adult daughters, grandma to seven assorted grandchildren, and roadie to one musician partner. She still lives in Cheshire and is currently involved in raising awareness of her home-town’s musical heritage with campaigns to have Blue Plaques erected on the walls of local clubs, The Manor Lounge and The Sinking Ship, where the likes of The Walker Brother’s, The Who and Jimi Hendrix played; now closed, but still firmly in the hearts of Stockport’s recycled teenagers. All books are available in Kindle format, paperback, and Fast Movin’ Train is also available as an audio book.
Pam Howes’s hometown is Stockport in Cheshire. The working-class mill town has a strong musical background and is the inspiration for her first self-published novels – The Rock’n’Roll years series. Her first novel, Three Steps to Heaven, set in the sixties, was inspired by her time as a teenager, working in a local record store and meeting musicians who frequented the business. That first novel evolved into a five book series. Pam is currently involved in a campaign to have Blue Plaques erected on local clubs, now closed, but still firmly in the hearts of Stockport’s recycled teenagers.
JO LAMBERT 