Interview with Mary Rensten author of Letters from Malta

Today I am delighted to welcome Mary Rensten to my website. Mary is a Vice President of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists and the author of Corazon’s new release, Letters from Malta.

Mary, you have many years’ experience of writing for magazines and newspapers – how long have you been a Vice President of the SWWJ? Perhaps you could give me an insight into what the position means to you?

I’ve been a Vice-President since the 1990s – I can’t remember the exact date, but I know that it was just after I’d steered the Society through its Centenary year 1994. The honour was bestowed upon me, I was told, for all the work I had done to make our celebrations the success they were. We had so many big events that year… Looking back it’s hard to believe we did so much: a major literacy campaign, a reception at the House of Lords at which we honoured exceptional women of the year, a national Biography competition, a national library programme with SWWJ speakers in libraries up and down the country… and lots more. Lady Longford was our Life President and Nina Bawden our President. I am very honoured to be a V-P of such a prestigious writing organisation. Although it is now 120 years old, it’s bang up-to-date. Do have a look at the new website www.swwj.co.uk

Was it difficult making the change from journalism to writing fiction and what inspired you to write Letters from Malta?

No, not really difficult. I am also a playwright and there was always dialogue in my magazine interviews, so writing a novel was a case of combining the skills, for want of a better word, that I had been using in my other work, including creating a good plot, of course!

As to what inspired me to write Letters from Malta … it was visiting the military cemetery at Intarfa on my very first trip to Malta. My husband and I came across it quite by chance. It was so different from other military cemeteries I had seen; no serried ranks of white crosses, just weathered stone slabs and headstones, a worn path and cypress trees with fallen cones around them. So peaceful, so very like an English country churchyard. I looked at the graves of soldiers and airmen, even the graves of children, and wondered about their lives, and how the British boys had come to die and be buried so far from home. There had to be a story here!

Had you visited Malta previously, before you even thought of writing the book, or was your research trip your very first experience of the island?

This was my first trip, and it was purely a holiday – but since when did writers not make use of a holiday in a new place, even if only to store up mind-pictures for a possible future piece of writing! The research visits came later, including a major one in 1995, the year in which the book is set.

What was the reaction of the Maltese people to your research – were they helpful? Were you able to speak to people who had lived on Malta during World War II?

Oh yes, very helpful, one person sending me on to another – ‘He will know, he was here in the War.’ ‘Her father worked at one of the airfields.’ So much information, some of it you wouldn’t find in the official records, poignant family stories.

Which sparked your interest first, the period in which Letters from Malta is set, or the island itself?

The island. Definitely. Of course, I knew a bit about Malta’s part in WWII, the George Cross and all that, but being there was such a revelation. You know, meeting people, hearing their stories, seeing where the airfields had been, the amazing harbour at Valletta … also things like the birds and the wild flowers … and the prehistoric stuff, ancient cart tracks and stone altars … and the Blue Grotto and … You’ll have to stop me; I could go on and on!

Have you been back to Malta since completing the book?

Yes, once. I’m hoping to go there later this year.

I am always interested in how other writers plan their writing days. Do you have set times in which you write – or, like me, are you easily distracted by other demands on your time?

I plan, yes, but the plan doesn’t always work out! But if it does, it’s 10am to 1pm, with a quick break for coffee, and then, again if there’s no distraction, another hour in the late afternoon for revision. I don’t always enjoy this bit – everything might look wrong, and I’d have to start again. On the other hand, it might be okay, and then I can go straight ahead the following morning!

Do you need a special place to write; a room of your own, a desk, or just the corner of the dining room table, and do you jot down ideas on paper first, or write directly onto a PC or laptop?

I have a study/office, and my computer is there … and there’s no phone unless I choose to take it with me. There’s quite a lot of ‘thinking writing’ time - the process in my novel that my heroine’s husband doesn’t understand. Mine did. - with jottings in a notebook: a time line, characters’ ages and background, etc. and an outline of the plot, which every now and then becomes a full chapter with dialogue, or a scene in a play. Time for the computer now, just a rough document, full of typos, but at least it is down! Then it’s back to the note-book, unless I’ve got carried away on the computer and found myself well into the next chapter or scene. Nice if it happens, but it’s not often.

How long did the research for Letters from Malta take? Did you make more than one trip to the island? I know that it is possible nowadays for some research to be done without leaving home, but your novel gives a real sense of place that I recognise from having visited Malta myself.

Thank you for that. The research took a long time, but like many writers, I enjoy doing it. Once I knew I was going to write this book there was plenty of research about the war years I could do in the UK, and of course there were letters! This all started pre-Google, so the correspondence I had, via SAGA Magazine, with dozens of ex-service personnel who had been stationed in Malta, was invaluable. For the 1990s part of the book, which is totally fictional … well, I simply had to go back to the island! Especially as I now had friends there, friends I had made doing research in the cemetery at Imtarfa: I couldn’t have known what the interior of an old |Maltese house was like if I hadn’t been invited into one.

Thank you so much Mary, for sparing the time to speak to me today and I wish you every success with Letters from Malta, an intriguing and most enjoyable read.

Thank you for inviting me. I am so pleased you liked the book.

Letters from Malta by Mary Rensten

When Jane Thornfield finds an envelope hidden in her mother's bedroom drawer it heralds the beginning of a journey of discovery. Long buried family secrets are unearthed and Jane is forced to question her very identity.

Jane's search for the truth takes her to Malta, where she learns about the harsh realities of life during the Siege of Malta in the Second World War. But her attempts to unlock a fifty-year-old secret are met with suspicion and a wall of silence.

Letters from Malta is about a woman's quest to make sense of her present and her past. The setting of Malta is brought vividly to life in this moving, perceptive tale of love and loss.

www.amazon.co.uk/Letters-Malta-secret-kept-years-ebook/dp/B00YCKQVO8/

The Photo Shoot!

When Laura from Reader's Digest emailed me to arrange a photo shoot at my home for the beginning of March, informing me that their Art Director, Yvey, would accompany Chris, the photographer, I was puzzled. I had expected them to want a small photo of me to accompany the story, but an Art Director? I was even more puzzled when, a couple of days later, I received another email requesting photos of my living room. I began to get nervous - especially when it was followed by a request for a photo of my kitchen! Don't get me wrong, I love my home, we've lived in it for over 52 years, but it's 'comfortable', not glamorous. Were my home-making skills about to be judged as well as my writing? At the time, our two eldest granddaughters, aged 11 and 9, were staying with us and were given strict instructions that the living room was out of bounds, no scattered Lego etc, until Grandad had taken the requested photos and emailed them to Laura.

Having received the photos, Laura explained that Chris just needed to see how much daylight came into the house - our living room is fairly small but has a large window with curtains that draw right back to let in the maximum amount of light.

As the day for the shoot drew nearer, I became very nervous, Yvey and Chris were to arrive at 4pm on Monday, 2nd March, and would be with us for about two hours. What would they be like - would they be friendly - would we get on? Jim had already commented, 'I'll only be in the way, I'll make myself scarce'. In the event, far from being in the way, his furniture-shifting, curtain-hanging, etc, skills were in great demand!

It says a lot for Yvey and Chris's friendliness, as well as their professionalism, that within five minutes of their arrival, I felt relaxed and ready to enjoy the experience, although Yvey's remark that my living room looked 'pristine' didn't hold true for long as Chris staggered in with what seemed like a whole studio's worth of photography equipment. And Yvey unwrapped a pair of very large net curtains! Rather than a straightforward photograph, a scene was to be set to illustrate my story and we would have to wait for dusk to fall. Time for Jim to get the stepladder out and improvise as he attached the net curtains to our curtain rail with bulldog clips. The next problem was we have two sofas in the living room and the photograph called for me to be sitting in an armchair. Luckily, we have one in the dining room which Jim was able to manhandle into place. Then the room was too crowded - there was now a generator in one corner, and two large pieces of lighting equipment - the three-seater sofa was in the way! 'No problem,' said Jim, 'I'll stand it on end against the wall.' Chris must have seen my look of absolute horror as he hastily said that wouldn't be necessary. It was pushed to the end of the room, blocking the doorway, meaning it had to be moved each time Chris went in and out to his car for yet another piece of equipment. Did we have a table lamp? Yes, there was one in the bedroom. A small coffee table? Yes. Jim was kept busy and things were coming together. But the best was yet to come.

A blue flashing light - to represent the arrival of the police car - was to be set up outside the house as dusk fell. It was first balanced on top of Chris's car, but this was too far away to have an impact. Cue the stepladder again as Jim and Yvey positioned it on the path outside the window and placed the light on top. All this preparation had taken what seemed like, and probably was, hours. I can't imagine what the neighbours must have been thinking - our front door open, cables and wires snaking from various pieces of equipment outside the house into our hall and living room, and bright flashes from Chris's camera every couple of minutes as he tested the lighting for my 'pose'.

Eventually, the scene was set and I sat in my armchair for 'A Quiet Half Hour', reflecting on what I'd done, and ready to accept the consequences, Chris took dozens of photographs and at 7pm, it was 'a wrap'. Is that the correct terminology? We were all exhausted, I had a headache from the camera flashes, but I was 'buzzing'. At 75 years of age, I'd won a national writing competition and taken part in a photo shoot. My late parents and in-laws were subscribers to Reader's Digest and we've kept up the tradition, but none of us could have foreseen that one day I'd actually be featured within its covers.

When it was all over, the net curtains taken down and all the equipment packed away, Chris set off for his four-hour drive home. Yvey was catching the London train so we gave her a lift to our local station. It wasn't until she arrived home that she realised she'd left her personal camera in the back of our car. We sent it off to her by special delivery the next morning with Jim's comment, 'You could have left the net curtains behind!'

Thank you, all you lovely people at Reader's Digest; the judges who voted my story the winner, Laura, Sub-Editor, Yvey, Art Director, and photographer Chris. You gave me a day to remember - and the prize money funded a family history research trip to Santiago de Compostela. But that's another story...
www.readersdigest.co.uk

Winning the Reader's Digest 100 Word Story Competition

Sometimes – and it must be said that in later life this happens very rarely – you experience a period when exciting things happen – events which are so unexpected that you have to pinch yourself to prove you’re not dreaming! March this year was such a period for me; a month of exciting personal success.

The chain of events began in January, the deadline for the Reader’s Digest 100 Word Story Competition was fast approaching, should I enter? Since coming to writing late in life, I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of writing a story in just one hundred words. I’d used it as an exercise in my U3A creative writing group, finding it hard work but enjoying the challenge. This time, there was a story already in my head, begging to be written. The idea came from a Victorian painting by L C Henley called A Quiet Half Hour; but my imaginary ‘quiet half hour’ was very different to the cosy Victorian image depicted in the painting. Yes, I would take a chance and submit it as I knew there were a number of prizes, two runners up and a further story chosen each month throughout the year.

I’d had some success during 2014 when submitting articles for magazines, but this was a totally different challenge. For a magazine article, you can do the research, know exactly what type of article will appeal to a particular readership – and you usually have between 1,000 and 1,200 words to develop your piece of writing. Now I had just 100 words in which to bring the story to life.

Over the following weeks, I was mostly successful in putting the competition to the back of my mind. I expected the judging process to take some time and knew that due to the number of entries they would receive, I wouldn’t hear from them if my story wasn’t chosen. What happened next came as a complete surprise.

It was mid-February, I’d had a busy day and it was late evening before I had a chance to sit down, laptop on my knee, to check my emails. I was alone in the house; my other half was at Anfield watching an LFC mid-week home game. Only one email – but it was from Reader’s Digest! Before opening it, I stared at the subject line; ‘Re your 100 Word Story entry…’ Wow! I must be a runner-up… I clicked to open and read the first sentence:

Dear Joan, Many congratulations! After a long and difficult judging process, you’ve been declared the winner of this year’s 100-Word-Story Competition in the Adult Category and will receive the £500 first prize…

Anyone watching me over the next couple of minutes would have thought I was completely deranged. The laptop almost fell to the floor. I turned into a human windmill, arms flailing, as I jumped up and down, rushing from living room to hall, hall to dining room. At the same time, shouting, ‘Oh my God…Oh my God…’ And there was no-one to tell! I thought I would burst, unable to physically contain my excitement – was it too late to phone my sons, at least the two who live in this country? No, I felt justified at disturbing them; I knew they would be thrilled at the news, as Jim was when he returned home – after initially thinking my excitement was because Liverpool FC had won their match!

The following morning, after a sleepless night, I had calmed down enough to email Laura at the Reader’s Digest with the personal information she had requested. The wait until the story appeared in the May issue of the magazine would seem endless, but in the meantime there was more excitement to look forward to. Laura’s email had also said:

‘Our art department will contact you in due course about setting up a photo shoot…’

A photo shoot! It would be arranged for early March – but that’s another story…

My story is in the May issue of Reader's Digest, which is out now.

In conversation with Mary Wood

Mary, welcome to my website. Your writing career has recently taken a very exciting turn, but before I ask you about that, I would like to begin with your earliest memories of writing.

I know that you began your love of writing in childhood – how difficult was it to find the time and space to pursue this love coming as you did from a very large family, and did any of your siblings share your creative talent?

I think it was more a question of a love of reading as a child, and any writing was confined to school work. When asked to write compositions and given a title I wrote reams. One teacher used to become annoyed at this and always gave me an instruction that he required one page and one page only, not a novel! However, his successor encouraged me to write as much as I liked, saying he enjoyed my stories and thought one day I would become an author. It took a long time, but when I did achieve it, I contacted him and he was delighted.

Finding space for yourself amongst all the comings and goings of a large family is not as difficult as it would seem. I am the thirteenth child of fifteen. Sadly three had died before I was born, so our family numbered twelve at that time. And the age-gap factor, meant some older siblings had left home by the time I needed my own space. My earliest memory is of living with nine of them. And, although we were extremely poor, I was rich in love as my elder brothers and sisters spoilt me.

My mother came from an upper middle-class family, her father was a bank manager and part-time musician with his own orchestra. When she fell in love with my father, an East-End barrow boy, and wouldn’t give him up, she was thrown out of her family and went from living in a big Victorian house where her mother had maids, to my father’s home – a very poor dwelling in London.

A remarkable woman, she coped with all that was thrown at her. A legacy from her earlier days was her love of reading, and her books – shelves of all the classics – my dream shelves. Encouraged by my mother, I read everyone and loved them.

My proudest memory is that mother often said I took after her grandmother, my great-grandmother, Dora Langlois. Dora was a published author in the late 1800s, early 1900s. Recently I had a eureka moment, when researching her I found that her book is still listed on Amazon – and I have obtained a copy! I am so proud and happy.

I have two sisters who are writing novels at the moment and give them all the encouragement I can. Also, another sister who writes poetry. And I am very proud of two of my nephews who have written and published their own life-stories. Both have been through adversity and come through the other side stronger and with a will to help others. Their books are inspirational works.

As a child, were you encouraged to read, either through visiting your local library or being given books as Christmas or birthday presents? If so, did any book have a special impact on you and encourage your dream of becoming a writer?

As above, yes, I was encouraged to read, and though I have mentioned the classics, my mother’s hunger for books meant she belonged to a book club and every month new ones would arrive. These were a variety of genres, from Agatha Christie to Georgette Heyer. Of these, I had a time when I craved Agatha’s books, but Georgette set me on the path to my love of historical novels. But none of these were the ones who really inspired me. I was married before I had the urge to write a novel of my own and that was triggered by my sister-in-law lending me a book like no other I had ever read – The Dwelling Place by Catherine Cookson. For the first time, I wasn’t just lost in, and enthralled by, the story of others’ lives, I was dragged into them. I was the young girl trying to bring up her siblings in a cave. I experienced every emotion she had. Suddenly, I wanted to do that. I wanted to write. And, I wanted my readers to get into the skin of my characters. I wanted to be Catherine Cookson.

Was there a long spell when, due to work, marriage and children, your love of writing had to take a back seat, or did you keep a journal, write short stories, enter competitions etc, whenever you could snatch a spare moment?

After the initial awakening of my desire to write, it was a long time until I did. I dreamed of doing so rather than getting down to do it. Whether that was due to bringing up my own family of four and fitting in jobs around that, I cannot say. I did enter a phase whereby nothing but Catherine’s books satisfied my reading habit. Luckily she turned out so many I was never left wanting, but I look on this period as a learning curve of what was to come, as unconsciously I stored her techniques – or thought I had. I believe they are in play now, but in the beginning, I could not master them when it came to writing my first novel.

The writing of this happened in 1989. I was nursing my mother in her last months. I needed a distraction from such a traumatic task. By now only my son lived at home as he is our youngest. So, when Mum slept in the afternoon, I began to put pen to paper – literally as I did not have a typewriter. My story flowed from me as if I had known the characters when they were alive. I thought I had written the next best-seller and block-buster film and was going to be rich beyond my dreams. That manuscript still languishes in a drawer after many knocks to my ego and dreams, as rejection after rejection piled up. But I had tapped into the real me. I had found the writer in me and she was never going to give up.

Now you have fulfilled your dream of becoming a full-time writer, can you give the readers a glimpse of your writing day? Do you have a ‘writer’s room’ and if so does it contain any objects of personal significance – for example, photographs, mementoes of family holidays etc? Do you write directly onto a PC or laptop, or do you begin with handwritten notes? And how much time do you spend researching the periods in which your books are set?

I live partly in Spain and partly in Blackpool and do not have a room in either home that I have claimed as mine. I would love one, and do have one that is suitable in my Blackpool home, I just need time to set it up. My ideal would be a room with the old cliché of walls lined with books. It would have rich old furniture and many windows. One set would be French windows that opened onto a private terrace overlooking wonderful views. In reality, I use my bedroom in Blackpool as it is never warm enough outside at the time of year I am there. I lay on the bed with mounds of pillows to support me and my laptop on a tray and off I go. In Spain, I do have the terrace and the view. There, I sit on the balcony in a relaxing chair, with a backdrop of mountains, and laptop on a tray on my knee. This is my favourite writing spot.

Research is something I do on the run. I write from my heart, until I come to a situation where I need ‘real’ information. Then I look it up. I have gone further than this in the past. I visited a working mine and went into the bowels of the earth in a quest to know what it felt like. And I went to a ‘living’ war museum in Leeds to try to get the feel of war. I really want to visit Beamish Village. I managed to get to the gates once on the only day they were closed!

At present I am fascinated by women’s roles during the wars. This was triggered by a holiday in Normandy. Though it wasn’t for research, we did visit all the war memorials and places of interest linked to the war. This seemed to clothe me in many stories I wanted to write. I now want to follow a route from France to Belgium and take in all I can of battlefields, memorials and concentration camps. I want to feel I was there at the time.

My writing day varies. I mostly begin work as soon as I wake, still in bed with a cup of tea supplied by my darling, and very supportive husband. When it gets to breakfast time I am also served that. Then I do my socialising online – a time I love – more about this later. After that, I answer emails and tend to anything else I have to do – accounts, promoting, etc… Everything is based at home at the moment, though promoting will take to the road soon. Then after lunch, it is back to my writing. I cannot live a day without writing and aim for a minimum of 2000 words a day. If I achieve this, I can have a rough draft of a full novel ready in 50 days! That is when the hard part of editing begins.

The gritty realism of your novels, such as The Breckton Trilogy, often make disturbing reading. Although your books are set in the past, did your career as a probation officer have any influence on the way you write?

I was a Probation Service Officer, which meant I held cases that were not classed as high risk. The Probation Officers held these. However, when on office duty I became involved in many cases of murderers and rapists and paedophiles. Also, in my early career with the service when I was an admin officer, I had to type up pre-sentence reports, so was seeped in the background of these heinous crimes. Always it struck me how easy it is to read of a rape, or child abduction for the purpose of sex, or a murder etc… in the paper and then turn the page to the footie or celeb page and forget all about it. The real impact of these crimes isn’t in the papers. I wanted to show how it really is. I have a desire to shake up the world and say, ‘hey, this is happening in a street near you!’ That does come through in my writing.

I know, through reviews, that for some I go too far. I accept this, there are always those who bury their head, or, maybe my writing is too near the mark for them or they are sensitive souls, we are all different and I respect this. But, there are a lot of people out there living these issues every day of their lives and they deserve a voice. That doesn’t mean I am on a mission, either to shock or to make people sit up and take notice. It just means that something in me needs to treat an issue as it is in reality, in all its raw state. I cannot pussy-foot around it. I would let too many victims down if I did.

You have acknowledged that you have a team around you, including your son James, who assist with editing, proofing, cover design, etc. but I’m particularly interestedin what lay behind your great success as a self-publisher. Had you first tried the traditional route of finding an agent and a publisher or did you decide to ‘go it alone’ from the beginning? For the benefit of those many thousands of self-published authors who are now putting out their work as e-books, perhaps you can sum-up in a few sentences what it takes to actually become a success!

Yes, I did go down, and want very much, the traditional publishing route. At the time there was nothing else anyway. But I was always writing the wrong thing. By the time I had finished An Unbreakable Bond, which is now a bestseller on Kindle, no one wanted historical sagas. There was of course this genre on offer, but publishers were not looking for any more authors of them. Martina Cole and Fantasy were happening. Then we entered, an ‘only celeb’ phase, then Harry Potter etc…

When Kindle arrived, I shied away for a long time, though other authors kept encouraging me to have a go. When I eventually did, in 2011, nothing happened for the first five months, except I felt freed from the book that had been my focus for such a long time and could begin to write another. Freed except for the promoting side of things, that is.

I did like others, I tweeted, I Facebooked, and joined this site and that one in order to get myself out there. Then at Christmastime of that year, after only selling around 20 copies a month, I suddenly sold 80! I thought I had arrived!

It grew from there, so mostly was word-of-mouth, and the sales increased and increased until I was selling over 2000 a month and readers were asking for more. I was in author heaven and held the number one spot in sagas.

How it happened is not something I did differently on the promotion side as I did nothing different from anyone else. I wish there was a magic formula that I could spell out to other authors. It is as much luck as anything else, and writing what the readers want – Downton Abbey made them crave Historical Sagas – I was writing that genre.

But, I would say the most important tool for success is writing the very best book you can. ‘Learn your craft’.

One of my brothers-in-law read a draft of An Unbreakable Bond and said to me, “You tell a good story, but you need to learn the craft of writing.” I was most put out and argued with him asking, ‘what did he know?’ He gave a very wise reply: “Think of it like this: A DIY man can make a good table fit for purpose, but would probably need a cloth on it all the time to cover the imperfections. A time-served carpenter can make a better table, with good, neat joints and able to stand in a dining-room and be admired. But, a craftsman can make a table that is a thing of beauty with carved legs and bevelled edges. Its polish will be so deep it will reflect your image and it will be sought after and he will be commissioned to make many more – you should aim to be that craftsman in your own field.”

I argued no more. I went away and read every how-to there was. I know I haven’t achieved that ‘craftsman’ status and still strive for it – you should see my editor’s work on my books!!! But, I know I have grasped a great deal of it and feel this has helped in my writing books with the potential of being well received. It works – don’t skip this stage of your writing career.

My success led to reviews, and me wanting a page on Facebook where I could interact with readers.

This page, Books by Mary Wood, is now a great source of love and support for me. My lovely followers do all they can to make every new book soar on launch day. They are involved at every stage. I seek their help on names for characters, bits of research that I cannot find, I have competitions for the best cover, (though this is out of our hands now as the publisher sees to this) and theme weeks, and I invite authors my readers enjoy to come along and spend a day interacting with them.

It is more than a page, it is where my readers, who are all very dear to me, hang out.

Now I have a following it is a big responsibility and keeps me on my toes so as not to let them down. This means I strive even harder to write each book better than the last.

And now I’d like to ask you about the recent exciting development in your writing career. You are in the enviable position of having been taken on by Pan Macmillan and a date has been set for the release of the first of a seven-book deal! This recognition of your success as a writer must be a source of tremendous pride and pleasure to you; are you able to tell the readers how it came about?

In a word, Kindle. My success on there led to my editor at Pan Macmillan seeing my book whenever she went on to check those books she was responsible for. She began to wonder who I was and why a self-publisher had this success. She decided to start by downloading my book and reading it. That particular book was Time Passes Time. The editor loved it and contacted me. (I have been told that Kindle is the new slush pile.)

Time Passes Time was written about one of the characters from the last book in the Breckton Trilogy. I wanted to take her forward and explore her story more. Up until now she had been one of the baddies that readers love to hate and yet, have a sneaky admiration for.

At the end of the book she has her comeuppence in a very sad way. I knew that could be a changing point for her and as the timeline had reached the war, I knew she had the kind of character that could do good or evil – whichever she chose she would do well. I wanted her to do good – become a war hero, and so make amends for all the evil she had spread. But there were many threads she had woven and these would come home to roost. It is a powerful story of love, heroism, hate and revenge.

It was the war aspect that really interested the editor, and she asked me if I intended to write more like it, or to continue with the northern sagas. I nearly blew my chance, as I had plans to start another trilogy and had already put up the first of the series on Kindle. The editor told me she had a writer in this genre and with the same setting and wasn’t taking another on, but if ever I did write more along the lines of Time Passes Time, to get in touch with her. I replied by return.

Not only did I say I did have plans, but I sat and wrote an outline of a book there and then to include it in the email. She loved it and asked for a 100 pages in novel form so she could judge how it would work. So, a book I had no intention of writing five minutes earlier was to be my testing ground for getting a publishing deal.

In the meantime a manager of a large print publishers had also spotted my books and approached me. I told her about Pan MacMillan’s interest and sent her my books. After a week she rang me and said she would be doing me an injustice if she bought the large print rights as I should be published, and she would spoil my chances if I did not own all the rights when approached. But, being an author herself – she is the wonderful Diane Allen, whose first two novels are soaring high in the charts – she told me she had an agent and she would introduce me to her. The agent loved my work and a sort of auction followed. To my delight Pan MacMillan came up with the best deal.

The last few months have been a journey I never expected, but am very grateful for. Now I cannot wait, though the process has been a learning curve, to see my book on the shelves.

Pan MacMillan are publishing Time Passes Time on May 22nd, and my next book, Proud of You, in the autumn. And now, I am working on a new book which I have to deliver by December. A new world of deadlines and directions I never had before, but I am loving it and feel very privileged. What has happened for me, I hope happens for all self-publishing authors out there, only long before they reach the grand old-age of 68!

Thank you so much, Mary, for taking time out from a hectic schedule to be my guest today. Your many thousands of readers will be delighted to know that there are more of Mary Wood’s novels to look forward to; I wish you every success with your forthcoming release and far into the future.

I have really enjoyed it and would like to thank you in return for giving me this opportunity. I am honoured to be part of your blog which features great writers like Freda Lightfoot and Pam Weaver. And very grateful to you for inviting me. Much love to all.

About Mary

Mary writes historical fiction books. NEW BOOK DUE ON 22/5/2014! CHECK OUT YOUR KINDLE AND ALL BOOKSHOPS FOR, TIME PASSES TIME - A MOVING STORY OF LOVE AND COURAGE DURING WORLD WAR TWO. Published by PAN MACMILLAN.

MARY'S best selling trilogy 'The Breckton Saga' - Book One: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND  Book Two: TO CATCH A DREAM, and Book Three: TOMORROW BRINGS SORROW & her fourth book. 'JUDGE ME NOT' - A Cotton Mill Saga, are Available From:

UK Link  http://amzn.to/marywoodbooks

USA link http://amzn.to/MARYWOODBOOKS-USA

Time Passes Time by Mary Wood published from May 22nd 2014

A writing day with Pam Weaver

On Saturday, March 22nd, I spent a very interesting and informative day on a writing course run by Pam Weaver, whose family sagas include There’s Always Tomorrow, and Better Days Will Come, published by the Avon division of HarperCollins.

The venue for the day was The Roundstone Room at Haskins Garden Centre near Worthing, where we were very well catered for; coffee, tea and cold drinks to hand all day and their excellent ‘Regal Lily’ buffet at lunchtime.

The day began at 10am when fourteen keen writers – including just one brave gentleman – introduced ourselves to the group, with a brief explanation of our experience and aspirations. I love attending this type of day course, it’s a step into the unknown to find oneself in a room full of strangers with whom you have only one thing in common – the desire to write. Some want to write down the bedtime stories they tell to their children or grandchildren; some are keen to write a memoir, not necessarily with the goal of publication but for family members; some have already had magazine articles and/or short stories published. But if your dream is to be a successful, best-selling author then who better to advise and guide you through potential pitfalls, than someone who has already travelled that road and reached her goal?

Pam had created a ‘Plan for the Day’ which, briefly, involved advice on creating good characters (with a ten point check list); plot, pace, theme, point of view – and the all-important ‘hook’.

We were given advice on what agents and publishers really want, and crucially, what they don’t want! This included useful guidelines on how to write a synopsis of your novel to accompany your submission.

A fun part of the day for me was the class exercise. Pam asked us to take a wander around Haskins during our lunch break and pick out an interesting character, observe them discreetly (she didn’t want any of us to get arrested!) then return to the meeting room to write a paragraph about them. As well as writing about what we had actually observed, we were to use our imagination and include something about them which we couldn’t know just by looking at them. I found myself weaving and dodging around the various gift, household and clothing displays following a couple on their search for a Mother’s Day present. At least that’s what I surmised they were doing; and it looks as though someone’s mother will be getting scented candles!

All in all, it was a very enjoyable day. The programme Pam had put together and the way she worked through it was both useful and encouraging – thank you, Pam – and it’s also good to spend time with other writers – they’re such friendly people!

Pam Weaver’s latest book, For Better For Worse, will be published by Avon in July this year.
  

Sanctuary from the Trenches

During the First World War, not enough hospitals were available to treat the vast numbers of injured soldiers who were returning from the trenches and Dunham Massey Hall was one of the 3,244 auxiliary hospitals created within large houses, schools and other buildings. Lady Stamford, its owner, offered the Hall to the Red Cross in 1917 and by February 1919, 282 soldiers had been cared for within its tranquil surroundings, Lady Stamford acting as commandant and her daughter, Lady Jane Grey, training as a nurse. To mark the centenary of the outbreak of war, parts of the Hall have once more been transformed into the Stamford Military Hospital and if you are in this beautiful part of Cheshire it is well worth a visit.

Although the visitor facilities, the gardens and the deer park are open every day, the Hall itself is closed on Thursdays and Fridays. We visited early on a Tuesday morning in beautiful spring sunshine, collected our timed tickets and joined the queue to enter the Hall. I was surprised just how many visitors there were on a weekday morning – the recreated hospital has only been open since the beginning of March and will, no doubt, get even busier at weekends and during school holidays. Groups enter at ten-minute intervals, which is essential in order to give visitors time to read all the information and view the exhibits before the next group follow on your heels. Patience is needed when there are two or three people standing between you and what you want to read!
After passing through an ante room which contains the background information about the hospital, you enter the saloon, temporarily stripped of its valuable furniture and paintings and recreated as the main ward. A case note is tied to the foot of each iron bedstead, giving the soldier’s name, his injury and a brief account of the treatment being given. These are actual details taken from the hospital records and the injuries include gassing, trench foot, shrapnel wounds and shell shock. Some of these men would have been sent back to the front as soon as they had recovered. These personal, horrific, details relating to real men – photographs of some of them are displayed in another room – make passing through this ward a very moving experience. One of the beds was occupied, a young man in hospital uniform sitting up reading a newspaper. A tobacco tin and a small plate with a slice of bread and jam lay on the locker beside his bed. Later we saw him at the piano in the rest room exchanging banter with a young nurse.

The recreation of the operating theatre is very oddly situated underneath the main staircase; necessary because of the proximity to the toilet in the nearby billiard room.

I don’t want to spoil any potential visitor’s experience by giving too much detail here about the stories of the individual soldiers; you can follow their fate as you make your way through the Hall. This auxiliary hospital has been faithfully recreated from letters, artefacts, and photographs, along with entries from Lady Jane’s scrapbook, and I would thoroughly recommend a visit to anyone who is in the area over the coming months. It brings the horrors of war to life by small, personal details, and also shows the remarkable spirit of selflessness of Lady Stamford, Lady Jane Grey, the doctors, nurses and other staff who helped make Stamford Military Hospital a ‘soldiers’ sanctuary’.  

In conversation with Pam Weaver

Welcome to my website Pam, and congratulations on the success of your latest book, Pack Up Your Troubles.

What do you find particularly interesting about the period of history in which your books are set?
The era is a little before my time but I grew up on the war time stories my mother used to tell and I loved them. She repeated them time and time again and now I realise she was unwittingly teaching me about the art of story-telling as well. Her stories had pathos, pace, anticipation, humour and a good punch line. Those austerity years were difficult times. War scarred and weary, people were trying to pick up the threads of a normal life again whilst still facing privation and hardship and yet they came through triumphantly. I so admire people like that.

Your novels are set in and around an area which you are very familiar with, are any of the characters based on people from your own family background?
Oh yes, yes and yes! Some have come completely from my imagination (I’ve never met anyone like Reg Cox from There’s Always Tomorrow thank goodness) but most of the characters are composites of people I grew up with. Their names? That’s a closely guarded secret.

Do you have a favourite amongst your characters?
I suppose I’m a little fickle because I love the characters in my books as I write them and then move on quite quickly, but I have a lasting relationship with Mary Prior, Dottie’s friend who comes to the rescue in There’s Always Tomorrow, and I think I fell slightly in love with Eugène Étienne in Pack Up Your Troubles (but please don’t tell my husband).

All of your book covers are very attractive. Do you have any input into the design?
I have no input at all into the design or even the title of the books, so if you like them, it’s hats off to HarperCollins Avon.

Could you give readers a glimpse of what your writing day is like? Do you have a favourite place, or time of day, and do your books start their life with pen and paper or directly on a PC or laptop?
I use the small bedroom as my office. It’s a bit chaotic  as I work but as soon as I’m knee deep in papers I promise you I have a clear out. I write at any time, even getting up in the middle of the night if I have a good idea. I am ‘working’ all the time in my head and I use long hand and the computer to get it down. I have to print it off the computer to read as paper copy in order to spot mistakes and I’m a great believer in reading aloud so that I get a good rhythm in my work.

On your website, you mention your strong Christian beliefs, what part, if any, do these play in your writing life?
I hate unnecessary swearing in a book and so although my characters might use the occasional swear word, comparing my work to some other writers, it’s all very mild. It’s become a challenge for me to find a way of expressing frustration, anger or jealousy without resorting to the f-word.

Would you would like to tell readers something about the writing courses you run; how important do you think it is for aspiring writers to learn from more experienced, successful authors?
My writing courses have been on hold for a while since my fall in March when I shattered my right ankle. (moral of the story, don’t put the bins out, leave them for your hubby!) Having said that, a writing friend and I are planning a writers’ day in Worthing in March 2014. I spent perhaps five years making very obvious mistakes when sending out manuscripts and so I try to give the wanna-be writer some basics which will help them attract the eye of the editor/publisher. I LOVE encouraging writers and so my writers’ days are a lot of fun as well. Best of all I love it when I get letters and phone calls from ex-attendees who can’t wait to tell me they’ve now been published!

What is the first book you remember reading and what are you currently reading, or planning to read?
The first books I read for myself were Enid Blyton’s Famous Five. Later I devoured Jean Plaidy, Daphne Du Maurier and more recently, JoJo Moyes. At the moment I’m reading Lesley Pearse’s Till We Meet Again.

If you could have only one book with you on a desert island, which would it be?
The Little House by Philippa Gregory. The book which can teach you all you need to know about characterisation.

Which is the best book you have received as a gift?
That question has made me realise that people don’t generally give me books as a gift. I shall amend my Christmas list immediately!

Are you working on another novel at the moment?
I have just written The End on a book called For Better For Worse which will be published next year.

Thank you Pam, I’ve really enjoyed talking to you. One last thought – if we’d been able to have this chat over a coffee, where would your perfect venue have been?
I would have asked you if we could have swapped coffee for afternoon tea somewhere posh. How about South Lodge Country House Hotel near Horsham. Shall I book us a table?

Visit Pam Weaver's website

Pam Weaver's books on Amazon

In conversation with Freda Lightfoot

Freda, I’d like to begin by asking what prompted you to become a writer – did you write as a child?
I used to scribble stories in a little red book, the stories generally bearing a strong resemblance to whatever I’d recently been reading: The Chalet School stories, the What Katy Did series, Malcolm Saville adventure books, and Secret Garden my all time favourite.

What is the first book you remember reading?
Little Grey Rabbit. Still have it somewhere. Must look for it.

I’m fascinated by your journey from Oswaldtwistle, to winters spent in a Spanish olive grove, via the Lake District! Is there anything you miss about England when you’re in Spain, and vice versa?
Ossy, as we called it, was a wonderful place to grow up. A friendly Lancashire town with a fabulous history. Home of James Hargreaves, inventor of the spinning jenny, and the Peel family of Robert Peel fame who started the police force. My parents had a shoe shop and I loved nothing more than chatting with people, somehow aware I’d write about all of that one day. David and I brought up our family in the Lakes, then rather bad arthritis drove me to become a snow bird and live in Spain in the winter. But we have a holiday home in the UK for the summer, so enjoy the best of both worlds.

Where do you do the majority of your writing – in Spain or England?
Anywhere and everywhere. Makes no difference to me, I’m an addict.

Do you think that at some point in the future one of your family sagas will be set in Spain?
I’m already planning one, but for now it still sits on that bookshelf in my head. I just need to live long enough to write them all.

Your family sagas and fictionalised biographies are set in very different eras – how do you plan your research, and how much time does it take up before you can sit down to the actual writing?
The fictionalised biographies take the most time as you can’t change the facts or someone’s character so every detail has to be investigated. It’s rather like being a detective searching out reasons and motivations. For the family sagas I love to interview old people who can tell me how things used to be. What treasured memories they have. Then I check all the facts to get the feel of period from my substantial library. With the sagas I try to do just enough to get started, then research what I need as I write. The story always comes first. 

You have said that your first mainstream saga – Luckpenny Land – was inspired by personal memories. What do you think your ancestors’ response to your novels would be?
I have used many family memories in my stories, including the one of my great aunt Hannah who pawned all her furniture during the depression to buy second hand carpets which she cut up and sold on the market in order to survive. I fictionalised this for Polly Pride, and I would think she’d love it, although her own husband was much more supportive than Polly’s. But then this is fiction and we need plenty of conflict.

The covers of your novels are very attractive – do any of them depict members of your family?
Yes, my mother is on the cover of Polly Pride, walking down the street with her aunt. And I am on the cover of Daisy’s Secret looking like a waif and stray.

Apart from the biographies, which comes first, the characters or the setting?
Always the characters. They drive the plot, determine the setting, everything.

Alongside a successful career with a mainstream publisher, you must be delighted with the success of your e-books – has this surprised you?
I’m totally amazed and thrilled. And so grateful to my many fans who have supported me for years. Where would I be without them? We chat on my Facebook page, which is great. I still love talking to people.

I found the article on self-publishing on your website very informative – and also realistic about the amount of work involved in creating a profile. You state the advisability of involving outside agencies for editing, proofing, cover art, promoting, etc; did you take this route from the outset or did you learn by ‘trial and error’?
I was fortunate in that all my books that I have published so far were previously  published with Hodder & Stoughton, so they are professionally edited. I did cut them a bit, and soften the Lancashire speech, but that’s all. Were I to put up a new book, then I would hire an editor. You really can’t spot all your own errors. I also do much of my own cover art, which I love doing, although if I don’t have time I do use a graphic artist. As for promotion I think building a relationship with your readers is the best way, and I do send out a regular newsletter.

And finally, Freda; is there a book by another writer you wish you’d written?
Oh, wow, what a question. There are so many writers and books I admire. But I would choose Rebecca, which is surely the best book ever written. Every time I read it I find something new in it. Daphne DuMaurier wrote beautiful prose and the most amazing stories in every genre.

Thank you for taking time out from your busy schedule to answer my questions, and every good wish for your continued success.
Thank you for having me. It’s been a pleasure. I’ve loved chatting with you.

Visit Freda Lightfoot's website

Freda Lightfoot on Twitter

A chat with Janet MacLeod Trotter

Today, I am talking to Janet MacLeod Trotter, successful author of family sagas and historical novels.

Janet, having just read, and very much enjoyed, No Greater Love, I see from your website that the ending has been changed from when it was originally published and I wonder what prompted this?
This was a new edition for the centenary of Emily Wilding Davison (the suffragette martyr who was trampled to death by King George V's horse at the Epsom Derby) who inspires my fictional heroine Maggie Beaton. As I was revisiting the story, I decided it would be interesting to take the action a little bit further than in the original, so it's more of an addition than a complete change. Also my daughter has always wanted a different outcome, so it was partly to please her!

I found some passages very disturbing. Given what the suffragettes went through to gain women the vote, what do you think about the low turnout of voters for local and general elections?
It upsets me when women don't exercise their right to vote. Three of my own great-aunts and my great grandmother (also called Janet) were very actively involved in the campaign for the vote, and I'm humbled and proud that they marched, sold newspapers and took part in civil disobedience to achieve emancipation. If they were prepared to risk their liberty and careers, then turning up at the polling station is the least we modern women can do.

What is it about the period this book is set in that you find particularly interesting?
I find the Edwardian era fascinating. Coming on the heels of the Victorians, changes were happening for some women such as greater education, travel and careers, yet they were still having to battle the constraints of class and strict social conventions. Then comes the world-shattering experience of the First World War, which throws both men and women's lives into turmoil – grist to the mill for a writer!

How much historical research do you have to do, and how do you go about it?
A lot! I spend several months reading and researching a topic or an era that intrigues me – for example suffragettes or Italians living in Britain through the Second World War – and from this the ideas for the plot and characters grow.

Is there a period you haven’t yet visited in your novels but would like to tackle?
I would love to do a novel based on the Scottish heroine Flora MacDonald, which would take me to 18th century Scotland and also America. My MacLeod ancestors were living on the Isle of Skye when Flora was helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape after the Jacobite Rising, so perhaps one or two of them could sneak into the novel!

In your own reading, is historical fiction your favourite genre, or are there others?
When I was a teenager, historical novels were my favourite, but I'm happy to read a whole range of different novels – contemporary, mystery, foreign novels – and I also enjoy non fiction, especially travel. I'm in two reading groups, so am often introduced to novels that I wouldn't have tried otherwise.

What real life characters have interested or inspired you?
Well I have to say Emily Davison, don't I?! I might not have her courage but she certainly inspired me to write No Greater Love. My Jarrow Trilogy is inspired by the life of Catherine Cookson – she was such a complex and interesting person who rose from her impoverished background to be a great observer and writer about the people of North East England. Another Edwardian!

I was interested to learn that you use photographs of women from your own family for your book covers, what prompted you to do this?
Because they are such interesting women! I re-branded my historical novels when they were published as ebooks and wanted strong images of real women on the covers, so I raided the family archive. My mother was an actress in her younger days and so I've used her lovely photos on more than one cover – it's just a pity she never lived to see her latter day fame.

Have the real lives of these women influenced characters or events in your books?
Not specifically, but the novel I'm researching now is set largely in India and the background is based on my grandparents experience there in the 1920s and 30s, expressed through old diaries and letters from my grandmother to her parents back in Edinburgh.

You have had incredible success with your e-books. How did the journey start – and did you have any idea in the beginning of how popular your novels would prove to be?
I've been writing for many years and published originally by a traditional publisher. But the ebooks I have done myself and it's such a thrill that my novels are being enjoyed by a whole new generation of readers all over the world. The most satisfying thing is receiving emails from readers and hearing their stories. People like to relate to the women in the novels and many have said how the stories bring the past alive for them.

How much of the publishing process for your own novels are you involved in, for example, design, formatting and marketing.
I'm very involved but do bring in professional help with graphic design, ebook conversion, copy editing and newsletter production. My husband is also a co-director of the publishing company and helps with business strategy and marketing. It's a family business – our daughter and son have honed their proof-reading and researching skills – and my daughter appears on two of the covers!

Many thanks, Janet, for taking take time out from what must be a very busy schedule to talk to me. One last question: is the surname ‘Trotter’ particularly associated with the North East, I’m thinking of Catherine Cookson’s ‘Tilly Trotter’? 
The name Trotter is a Scottish Border name – one of the wild Reiver clans who rampaged around the Scotland-England border for centuries – so it's not surprising that some Trotters  ended up in the North East and that Cookson should choose the name for her character. I was born a MacLeod (of Viking descent) and acquired a Trotter on marriage – so our children have inherited some feisty genes!

Visit Janet MacLeod Trotter's website.

A chat with Philip Whiteland author of Crutches for Ducks

Philip Whiteland is a university lecturer and writer, and author of Steady Past Your Granny's and Crutches for Ducks.

What inspired you to write Steady Past Your Granny's and Crutches for Ducks?
I’m not sure that I was exactly inspired as such.  What started it all off was when our local Ottakar’s (as it was then) ran a competition for articles about Burton’s past.  All of the articles were to appear in a book and there would be a prize for the best article.  I wrote “The Wreck” for this.  It didn’t win but it did engender some interest, and I went on to have further articles published in Times Gone By, a local nostalgia quarterly magazine (now defunct).  When the Daily Mail ran an offer to Print Your Own Book in 2005, I gathered all of my articles to date together, wrote a few new ones, and had 20 copies of Steady Past Your Granny’s printed.  This prompted me to publish a print edition of my own, which did ok, and this eventually led to the Kindle edition which has done far better than I could ever have expected.  Crutches for Ducks is the next collection of everything I’ve written in the meantime, and there’ll be a new collection out soon called A Kick at the Pantry Door.

Can you give us an example of the nostalgic observations in your books?
I like to think that it’s not just nostalgia, which can get pretty wearing, but a combination of nostalgia and comedy that I’ve termed ‘nostagedy’ because ‘comalgia’ sounds like an unfortunate medical condition.  I’ve written about ballroom dancing at school (to be avoided), my trials and tribulations with woodworking classes, getting drunk as an adolescent and disgracing myself at Christmas dinner...by and large, it’s about recalling embarrassing incidents from the past and reliving them in the hope that others will nod and think “Yes, I remember that feeling”.  It seems to work Winking smile

What reactions do you get from readers about your collections and their own memories and nostalgia?
You would have to look at the very kind reviews I’ve received.  For example, I’ve had “The author shares his memories,but in doing so,magically draws you into his tales.” and “wonderful trip back to a happy time. very funny and honest. i clearly remember the slot meters and tellies. i also recall how cosy i was with my dad's overcoat on my bed in the winter and frost on the inside of windows each morning. we were healthy, hardy, loved and very happy.” amongst many others.  I’m just pleased that my stories ring a bell with people.  It’s quite comforting to know that it isn’t just me!

Could you tell us something about your first full-length work?
Ah, you’re referring here to my one foray into humorous fiction, ‘Jambalaya’.  The story behind this is that I wrote it in 1999/2000 (which seems like a lifetime ago now), after I was made redundant from a job I’d held for 20 years.  As it was my first ever experience of being ‘between jobs’ in my working life, I decided to take the opportunity to ‘write that book I’ve always been meaning to write’ – by the way, I do not advise anyone to do this, get your next job first!  Anyway, ‘Jambalaya’ is the result.  I would probably write it in a somewhat different style if I was to revisit it now, but I still think it has some worth and some pretty funny scenes.  I had put it away in a drawer and forgotten about it, but I put an extract on my blog just out of curiosity and it was very well received, so I decided to give it a chance as a Kindle edition.  Unfortunately, it got pretty well savaged by a reviewer within a few days of publication, and has never recovered since.  I’m not sure what its future is, but we’ll see.

Do you have a favourite literary character?
There are many, but I guess my current favourite would be Commander Sam Vimes from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.  He’s very human, moral (in his own terms) and devoted to his wife and young son.

Is there a book by another author that you wish you had written?
Again, anything by Terry Pratchett.  I’ve been reading some of his short stories across his whole career, and it’s depressing to note that he was a far better writer at 17 than I am now!

What is the first book you remember reading?
Probably something by Enid Blyton.  I was addicted to her Famous Five and Secret Seven stories.  The ones that I remember being engrossed in at Junior School were the Sherlock Holmes stories.

What are you currently reading?
Oddly enough, the Complete Sherlock Holmes stories!  Wonderfully written and you can see where all the CSI etc stuff first started.

If you could only take one book with you on a desert island, which would it be?
The P..P..Penguin Patrick Campbell.  It reduced me to tears of laughter the first time I read it, and still does now.

Who would be at your dream dinner party (living or dead)?
Oh gosh!  It would be quite a crowd.  Starting with the writers, I would like Terry Pratchett, of course, Alan Coren and his daughter Victoria, Keith Waterhouse, Groucho Marx and Spike Milligan.  Also both Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise and, from the current crop of comedians, Miranda Hart, Milton Jones and Tim Vine.  I’m sure there are loads I’ve not thought of, but that would be quite a fun crowd, I think.

Visit Philip's blog.
Philip's Amazon page.

A chat with Jan Moran author of Scent of Triumph

Jan Moran is a writer, entrepreneur, and beauty expert. She is the author of two novels, Scent of Triumph and Hostile Beauty. Her nonfiction books include the Fabulous Fragrances series.

Why did you want to become a writer?
As a child, I was an avid reader. Writers were my rock stars! Books were my passport to exotic locales and fascinating characters.

What are some of your favorite locales, objects, or activities that a reader might find in your books?
I often include my favorite locales. Paris, New York, Grasse, London, Hong Kong, and California are among my favorite places that I like to write about, and perfumery and fashion are twin passions. I’m also a strong advocate of the entrepreneurial path, especially for women.

Who are your favorite authors and books?
A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford was an early inspiration. Also love Shanghai Girls by Lisa See and The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory. And who can forget Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, or War and Peace - the best Russian soap opera ever!

Is there a message you want readers to take from your books?
Hope, triumph over adversity, appreciation of other cultures, belief in your own abilities.

What inspires your writing?
Travel always inspires me - I love to explore new cities, countries and cultures that I can share with readers. Strong female protagonists and entrepreneurs who forge their own paths to success are also a source of inspiration. Finally, I like to learn something fascinating along the way, about history, unusual careers, or interesting people.

Where did the idea come from for your books?
Most of my ideas stem from my personal experience, although my books are not autobiographical per se. But in both Scent of Triumph and Hostile Beauty you will learn about places I’ve lived and traveled (such as Paris, Beverly Hills, New York), the work I’ve done in perfume and beauty, period fashions, history, and more. I don’t like to drop designer names or labels simply for the sake of doing so, but I will when it’s germane to characterization, setting, or historical reference. I also like to include details about what it’s like to create a product, run a business, and obtain funding – key aspects of any entrepreneur’s experience. My characters are quite entrepreneurial, and I suppose that stems from my own experience as well.

Tell us about Scent of Triumph in one sentence.
Scent of Triumph is one woman’s journey, a journey filled with courage and creativity, with love
and loss, and at the heart of it all, a relentless will to survive, to triumph on her own terms.

Why is it a must read?
Scent of Triumph is a character-driven story set against a tumultuous time of history - World War II. The  protagonist, Danielle Bretancourt, is the kind of modern young woman that you really want to know, and, despite her mistakes, that you can root for. She’s a hard worker, cherishes her family, and longs for a partner. She’s wonderfully creative and has a sense of innate sense of style - even I envy her for that!

What was the inspiration behind Scent of Triumph?
Scent of Triumph was initially inspired by my love of perfumery, but the main character quickly took charge and began building a business, despite her many setbacks. I was inspired by female entrepreneurs from the early part of the twentieth century, such as Elizabeth Arden, Coco Chanel, Madame Gres, Nina Ricci, Estee Lauder, Eleanor Roosevelt, and many others in the beauty and fashion industries. Family is also vitally important in this story; Danielle’s love and devotion to her children is really the root of her ambition, as it is with many female entrepreneurs who wish to create a better life for themselves and their children. She is an ordinary woman, who achieves extraordinary things. Like any one of us can.

Is Scent of Triumph only for female readers?
Not at all! If you visit Amazon or Goodreads, you’ll see reviews from many of my male fans. Scent of Triumph resonates with both genders. Entrepreneurial struggles, family, love, and World War II are topics that both men and women can relate to.

www.janmoran.com
https://twitter.com/janmoran
http://www.facebook.com/janmoranbooks
Scent of Triumph on Amazon UK