Good morning Lynda and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?
Hi there, and thank you so much for hosting me.
There’s not much to say about me, I’m a very normal person. I’m a wife, a step mother and a grand-mother. I get up daily and go to my job as the Sales Director of a stationery and office furniture company, and I tend to come home, make tea and then on the nights when I have just a little energy left, I tend to write. On my weekends I have housework to do, I hate doing ironing and use my writing as an excuse to get out of it, which means I normally always have a huge ironing pile.
How big a part has the RNA played in your writing career?
I’d say that being a member of the RNA played a huge part in my career. It was through going to the RNA Conference each year that during a 1-2-1, I met my publisher. I really believe in ‘people buy people’ first and without meeting a publisher face to face, you’re just another manuscript on their desk, of which they get thousands.
Who are your favourite authors and have any of them inspired your writing in any way?
My favourite authors, wow, I have so many.
Both Lesley Pearce and Jill Mansell were my ‘go to holiday reads; for years. I’d always head for the book shop on the airport and treat myself before flying out. I loved both authors and knew that I wouldn’t be disappointed in what I’d chosen. As for inspiration, I could write a list a mile long, so many authors inspire me in different ways.
Of all the characters you have created so far, have you a favourite?
Ohhh that’s like asking if I have a favourite child. But if I were pushed, I’d probably say Nomsa. I dearly love the Caribbean people, I’ve spent many holidays in that part of the world and created Nomsa in House of Secrets as a fun loving, warm Caribbean lady. She’s literally the heart of the house and spends her days cooking and baking for everyone. I’d love to have a Nomsa in my life, she’s amazing and whatever happens, good or bad, she puts the kettle on and makes the tea. Albeit, if she were in my kitchen daily, I’d need a whole new wardrobe of bigger sized dresses.
Would you ever consider writing something other than romantic fiction? If so what would that be?
I tend to write romantic suspense. I have no idea why I’m drawn in that direction. I honestly don’t think that everyone has an easy life. My life certainly wasn’t easy, but saying that I wasn’t stalked by a serial killer either.
So, I guess the answer is no… not sure I could write in a different genre, even if I wanted to.
Are you able to tell us a little about what you are working on at the moment?
Yes, of course. My next novel is a story of obsession.
The story begins with my heroine, Ella Gray lying in a field, clinging onto life while she watches the minutes tick by on her watch, that lays in the field beside her. She has no idea what happened, all she remembers is going out on a date with Rick Greaves, but she can’t remember how she got there. All she does remember is the violent attack that left her broken and unable to move. She vows that if she survives, she’ll do everything she can to find out who did this to her, and is determined that whatever it takes, she’ll put Rick Greaves behind bars.
And lastly, you are planning a dinner party. If you were able to invite four famous guests (living or dead) who would you choose and why?
Oh, what a great question, but so hard to just pick four… okay, here we go..!
Firstly, I’d love to invite author Milly Johnson, she’s a good friend, a great laugh and she’d most probably help do the pots after dinner.
My second guest would have to be Spike Milligan, I mean, come on who wouldn’t want to spend an evening listening to this man. His dry sense of humour was amazing and just being in the same room would have you laughing right from the first minute.
My third guest would be Freddie Mercury, he was an amazing person, and his music was totally ahead of its time. It would also be fantastic if we could get him playing the piano and singing. How perfect would that be for after dinner entertainment?
And finally, … I’d have to say, Dawn French. She has a fantastic sense of humour, she’s absolutely on my wave length and I just know she’d be great fun to be around.
This year we’re just going to have a nice, normal Christmas…
Last year’s Christmas at Wrea Head Hall didn’t quite go to plan which is why Jess Croft is determined this festive season will be the one to remember, for the right reasons. And she has plenty of reasons to be hopeful, she’s going to marry the man of her dreams, Jack Stone, seven days after New Year’s Eve.
However, as family secrets are revealed in hidden letters and two unexpected guests turn up on the doorstep, Jess is left wondering whether her life will ever be the same again.
Can Jess and Jack still experience a peaceful festive season that they had imagined or are there some problems that e
HOUSE OF CHRISTMAS SECRETS
https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Christmas-Secrets-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B07771T7S5/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Ebook at: GetBook.at/ChristmasSecrets
Facebook www.facebook.com/lyndastaceyauthor
Twitter @Lyndastacey
Website www.Lyndastacey.co.uk
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.
Christina Jones has written all of her life (as well as having millions of Proper Jobs including factory worker, secretary, nightclub dancer, blood donor attendant, barmaid, waitress, civil servant and fruit picker) Christina first had a short story published when she was just 14 years old. She has written for teenage and womens’ magazines fiction and non-fiction for a number of years, had her own humour column in The Oxford Times, and has contributed to national newspapers.
writing. She and her husband worked with management of musicians, singer-songwriters, and record producers, rubbing shoulders with the great and glamorous all over the world. With time to herself at last, Jane s experiences in the music industry have kickstarted her writing career. She and Christina Jones have been friends since the Swingin’ Sixties.
Good morning June and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?
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.
Adrian 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.
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Having worked as a head teacher, Ros has been used to writing policy documents, essays and stories to which young children enjoyed listening. Now she has taken up the much greater challenge of writing fiction for adults. She writes both historical sagas and contemporary romance; perfect for lying by a warm summer pool or curling up with on a cosy sofa
JO LAMBERT 