My new novel, THE LEGACY OF MR JARVIS, has more than one setting, but the most important, crucial place that dominates the narrative is clearly indicated by the cover image: the south east coast of England. And not the contemporary south coast that you might visit these days. My protagonist, Mary, is recalling the events of her life from late childhood through adolescence in the last years of the 1960s and into the early 1970s. Anyone who grew up at this particular period of the 20th century will hopefully immediately recognise in the novel the culture and norms that were...
2709/2019November 8, 2020
THE LEGACY OF MR JARVIS
Publication date of my next novel has been brought forward to November 28th – which is great news since I will be attending three book fairs in November and will have copies with me to sell. In fact, although formal release date is not until the end of the month, I expect to have the actual published novel in my hand by October. When the first copies of ‘Counting the Ways’ reached me in February 2017, I remember being terrified even to peep at the first page. Other writers tell me that this sensation is common – for some crazy...
2109/2019November 8, 2020
CRAFTY WOMEN CRAFT FAIR
On Saturday 7th December I will be at Winchester’s Guildhall with two other local writers – Helen Matthews and Katharine Johnson – on a stall selling our novels. Amidst all the craft items and products and a lot of clever, crafty women, I hope we will be spotted and that people will come over and talk books and, hopefully, buy some! Winchester weekends are very busy and congested indeed once the Christmas market and ice rink arrive in late November so the craft fair will offer people an escape from the crowds in the warmth of the majestic Guildhall building....
1809/2019November 8, 2020
COVER REVEAL!
Finally, I can reveal the chosen cover for my next novel, THE LEGACY OF MR JARVIS. It’s taken quite a while to come up with something that felt right and reflected the content and tone of the novel appropriately. It is very easy to point out what is wrong and why an image fails to suggest a faithful idea, but far harder to sum up what is needed. It’s also alarming how easy it is to get it wrong: simply a font that is too casual/lively/jazzy can represent a different genre entirely. And that way, a reader would feel cheated...
1209/2019November 8, 2020
AUTUMN BOOK FAIRS
November is proving to be a busy month – two book fairs just six days away from each other! On Sunday 17th November, I will be in Henley in Arden – the heart of Warwickshire – at their book fair for independent writers. Henley in Arden seems to be a very vibrant arts-orientated place: it has just hosted a highly successful music festival and already holds an arts festival. The Book fair, a new event this year, is going to be central to an annual Literature Festival so it is certainly somewhere sympathetic to artistic endeavours. And considering its proximity...
0609/2019November 8, 2020
78 DERNGATE
Sometimes, carrying out research for a novel seems the best part of writing! My third novel which is set in London concerns three main characters who all move into flats in a converted Edwardian house. One of these three protagonists is a woman called Catherine Wells who works in a small museum in Clerkenwell. The museum is entirely fictitious and it has been so interesting ‘inventing’ and ‘creating’ a place that I would, if it actually existed, really like to visit! Called the Harriet Howe House Museum, it focuses principally on the life and times of the eponymous Harriet, who...
2308/2019November 8, 2020
CHILTERN VOICE!
On Monday 4th November, I will be a guest on CHILTERN VOICE FM’s morning programme about all things books! Antonia Honeywell is the presenter of this weekly programme which runs from 10.00 am until noon and I am so looking forward to meeting her, talking about reading, writing, authors, stories et al – and choosing music for her programme. As this takes place shortly before the release of THE LEGACY OF MR JARVIS, I will no doubt find a chance to mention my new novel too! Based in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, CHILTERN VOICE FM has a particular significance for me. I...
1908/2019November 8, 2020
TALKING ABOUT NOVELS …
The other day, I was talking to someone about a recent discussion that had taken place at her book group. The novel under discussion was written about 20 years ago and was a remarkable success story at the time, going on to launch the writer’s notable literary career. I remember loving it when I read it soon after it came out. This friend from the book group, however, commented that other members said they found the book ‘challenging’ – ‘not easy to get into’ – ‘too slow – things move more quickly these days and we’re used to a faster...
2907/2019November 8, 2020
A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words …
…which is why getting the cover right for a book is so important. It is, after all, the very first hook for a potential reader or, alternatively, an immediate sign that the contents is of absolutely no interest to them. When I published my first novel, ‘Counting the Ways,’ the few sketchy ideas that I gave the cover designer produced something I instantly liked and felt captured exactly what I was trying to suggest about the story and its tone. Job swiftly, easily done! ‘The Legacy of Mr Jarvis,’ however, my second novel coming out at the end of the...
1207/2019November 8, 2020
PODCAST
At the Self-Publishing conference in late April, I was interviewed by MATADOR – my publishers – about aspects of writing my novel, COUNTING THE WAYS and about the use of social media as a marketing tool. I finished writing that novel early in 2016, publishing it the following year, and since then have fully re-drafted and edited an earlier, first novel and am half way through novel number 3. It was, therefore, quite a strange experience trying to remember influences and recall inspiration for particular settings, characters and plot devices for a novel that I started some 5 years earlier....