... makes a very welcome return to my blog this week. Jennifer, thanks for making time to be here and great to have you visit the blog again.
JW Hi Angela, and thank you so much for inviting me!
AW I understand you have a new book due out on the 31st - and I can't wait to hear about it...
JW My new release, Kindred Spirits: York, is set,
unsurprisingly, in York. At only half
an hour down the line from Darlington, where I grew up, York is the closest to
home of the Kindred Spirits locations so far, and it was lovely revisiting
places I had known well as a child, and discovering some stunning new locations
for my ghosts to inhabit throughout the novel.
AW York! Fabulous city and a favourite place of mine to visit too. But I'm interrupting, tell me more...
JW I knew early on that my four main leads would be
Harry Hotspur, Dick Turpin, Guy Fawkes, and Richard Plantagenet 3rd
Duke of York (yes, the father of my usual favourite leading man!). Given that these were four adventurous and
active men, I wanted York to have the largest geographic coverage of any of the
books so far, and travel across the city, rather than staying fairly close to a
single building or area. That gave me
free reign to research all the various haunted buildings, streets and pubs of
the city, seeing who might be interesting to interact with my main story arc,
that of looming chaos within the community.
Some are obvious, for example, I had to revisit the
glorious York Minster, which I hadn’t been inside since I was at school,
alongside Clifford’s Tower, and big tourist traps such as the Shambles. But it was down the Shambles that I
discovered, thanks to my fabulous editor Sue Barnard, St Margaret’s Chapel (and
St Margaret herself, if I’m honest). If
you find yourself wandering the Shambles, do take a closer look in this beautiful
little haven amongst the busyness of the rest of the city.
There are other treats too, such as the park behind
the Minster, where the Bishop’s Palace was located. For whatever reason, I’d never taken the time to wander through,
and relax on the grass for a while, making notes about what I had visited
already. Given that we were at the
start of the 2018 summer heatwave, I wasn’t the only one enjoying the fresh air
and shade of the trees.
I’ve said so many times that for me, getting under
the skin of a location is the most important thing, in terms of my
writing. For two of my settings,
Edinburgh and York, I thought I already knew them pretty well, and that the
research would need just a couple of specific points being checked, nothing
more. I was completely wrong, and
actually quite glad about that. I found
so many new places (and people) of interest, and really re-connected with York
and its history. After not having visited properly for so many years, three
trips in six months was wonderful, and I’m planning another one for a couple of
weeks’ time, to keep the exploring going!
AW I know exactly what you mean about fully understanding a location you want to use as a setting.
JW I’d love to know whether readers think I’ve managed
to capture the city.
AW And I will certainly do that for you. I just want to get my hands on that book asap! And here's a link to buy the book : Kindred
Spirits : York
What do a highwayman, an infamous traitor, and two hardened soldiers have in common? Centuries of friendship, a duty to the town, and a sense of mischief – until they realise that someone is trying to bring chaos to their home.
Joining forces with local Vikings, the four friends keep an eye on the situation, but then, disaster strikes.
Can peace be restored both inside and out of the city walls?
…about the author Jennifer C. Wilson is a marine biologist by training, who developed an
equal passion for history and historical fiction whilst stalking Mary, Queen of
Scots on childhood holidays (she has since moved on to Richard III). Enrolling
on an adult education workshop on her return to the north-east of England for
work reignited her pastime of creative writing, and she has been filling
notebooks ever since.
In 2014, Jennifer won the Story Tyne short story
competition, and has been working on a number of projects since, including
co-hosting the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle.
Her Kindred Spirits novels are published by Crooked Cat Books and her
timeslip novella, The Last Plantagenet?, by Ocelot Press.
She lives in North
Tyneside, and is very proud of her approximately 2-inch sea view.You can follow Jennifer on Amazon Facebook Instagram Twitter and on her Website
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