Please welcome two very special guests...

Sarah and Dougal

..fellow Crooked Cat author, Sarah Stephenson, and Dougal, the subject of a diary.

SS  Angela, thank you for inviting me on to your blog today, it’s a great priviledge.

AW  You are both very welcome.  So, tell me Sarah, how did Dougal's diary come about?

SS  I have to thank Sue Townsend, one of my favourite authors, for giving me the personality of my central character, Dougal.  My first book, Dougal’s Dairy, is printed as an ebook with Crooked Cat and will be out in print, any day soon.

I am often asked where the idea for Dougal came from.  Well, I have to confess it all started with a shower, in fact, two.  I was in the bathroom, smothered in shower gel, when my puppy Dougal, decided he had to go out for a pee in the rain.  As I stood in the garden; towel in one hand, brolly in other, I thought what a good picture it would make.  Actually, I lie.  My first reaction was, you bloody dog, followed by what if I…? Other incidents, such as Dougal covered from head to tail in mud, or Dougal shooting down a slide on a toddler’s lap, encouraged the idea; a small book of cartoons with captions underneath.

It was then reality struck.  I’d have to return to art classes and hone my skills.  This could take time.  This could take years.  Instead I began compiling lists.  From lists came daily jottings in a diary.  Unfortunately they were so tedious, I almost fell asleep on page one.  So I searched for inspiration from well-known authors and came across Buster’s Diaries by Roy Hattersley.  A true and delightful story, but not quite what I was looking for.

In despair, I turned to the human and more humorous diaries.  Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’

Dougal, covered in mud!

Diary.  Fun: men mad and always on a diet.  Not exactly Dougal but it gave me ideas.  His food obsessions, his desire to put on weight, his owner’s determination to keep him slim.

When I finally hit upon Adrian Mole; a developing male full of angst over girls, acne and the length of his penis, a seed was born.  I lifted bits of fact, mixed them with fantasy and turned Dougal into a fictional character.  Thanks to Sue Townsend, I found the tone of the book and the character of Dougal.

Just like Adrian Mole, Dougal is obsessed not with acne, but his weight and health. Is constantly misunderstood and a worrier: worried about elderly relatives, the NHS and Transport for London.  Unlike Adrian Mole, the nearest Dougal comes to getting his girl, is humping all dogs called Chester.                       

In some of the early drafts, Dougal believed he was so abused, I feared anyone reading it might report his owner to the RSPCA.  These had to be binned and the tone tempered.  It was important he was seen as a complete hypochondriac.

About the author...Sarah, who grew up in Bristol, now lives in South East London with two dogs.  She's had a chequered career as ballet dancer, cook, cleaning lady, salesgirl of outsize underwear in Littlewoods and actor.

You can find her book using the links below

Amazon UK
Amazon US

An interview with...

Photo of Sheila courtesy of Keith Hartley

…friend, author and radio presenter, Sheila North

  

AW   Hi Sheila, a couple of months ago you were telling us about Chagrin, Ohio, the Apalachians and a little about you and  it was clear from the number of hits that everyone wanted to know more.  And now, here you are being cross-examined by me!  Tell me, what is your current release?

SN   I have two: ‘An Harm It None’, which is a modern day, paranormal romance about witchcraft in North Yorkshire and ‘A Yorkshireman in Ohio: Five Tales of Paws, Claws, and Mystery’.  The latter is a collection of humorous short stories set in my alternative version of Doncaster, where a cat is a police sergeant, and there are sentient stoats, and weasels.

‘Yorkshireman’ is a sequel to ‘Koi Carpe Diem’.   Both ‘Yorkshireman’ and ‘Koi Carpe’ have lovely illustrations by the fabulous Tom Brown.

AW   What first got you into writing and why?
SN   When I was in 3^rd Grade, in the States, my teacher had us write sentences to show we could spell and understand certain words.  Miss Powell, the teacher, liked my sentences! It all followed from there.  Also, Mom was a children's librarian, so we always had access to good books, and were encouraged to read, go to the library, etc.  I still go to my local library, Doncaster Central, to attend a writers' group, borrow books, go to events, and write.

AW   You write romance, mystery, fantasy, comic short stories, and novels.  Is it all imagination or do you also undertake research?

SN   Even stories set in an alternative version of Doncaster require research.  For example, I have to decide where to place my imaginary pubs such as ‘The Squid and Quill’, and ‘Bird and Baby’.  I interviewed a policeman about police procedures for ‘An Harm It None’.  He was extremely helpful, once he got over his surprise.

AW   And what about other types of writing?  Have you ever dabbled with other genres?

SN   I wrote for a string of local newspapers in my home state of Michigan for around two years, worked in internal communications, including running an intranet, so yes!  I also write for the Doncopolitan magazine, a local arts, events, and social commentary publication, plus write reviews for a folk music magazine, and have my own blog.  I also write poetry, some of which has been published, including, many years ago, in an American cat magazine.  I have a pamphlet titled ‘An American in South Yorkshire’.

The author's writing space

AW  Famous authors, such as Roald Dahl and Dylan Thomas, had a special space for writing.  Do you have a writing ‘shed’ of your own?

SN   My ambition is a Tardis style writing shed in the back garden, but for the moment my rather messy, arty desk in an alcove of our house is acting as my shed.

AW  Finally, if you had a whole afternoon to yourself and could choose to spend it with any one individual, living or dead or a character from a book.  Who would it be, and what would you want to discuss?

SN   I would love to spend time with the American writer and humourist James Thurber, as I love his stories, and his writings have influenced me a lot, especially my short story collections.  I'd also ask him what he thinks of his appearance in the title story of ‘A Yorkshireman in Ohio’.  I'm hoping death has mellowed him a bit.  I'd also ask him for tips about how to be selected to be writer in residence in the Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio, as this is one of my ambitions.

About the author… Sheila was born in Detriot, Michigan.  This is not necessarily her fault.  She has been a stringer, newspaper editor, tolbooth attendant, comms assistant, journalism student, writers’ group leader and mental health worker.  She also bakes the best brownies in South Yorkshire.  Her interests include volunteering with her local community radio station, singing angst-ridden folk songs, falling asleep in front of the tellly and mangling the English language with her Mid-Western-Yorkshire accent.  Sheila lives in Doncaster with her husband David, a rat named Charles and a Dalek called Gerald.

Follow Sheila at sinefm.com  sheilanorth.wordpress.com  Amazon

Gillian Walker, author and friend joins me today...

... to talk about her latest book.  Welcome Gill and please tell us about...

Bill & Nora

The Butchers Daughter

Were you to be standing in London on a still late-summer's evening, exactly a century ago, you may well have heard the rumble of artillery fire drifting across the channel from The Somme.  The battle that began at the beginning of July still raged.  The prime of English youth was being slaughtered. There seemed to be no end in sight.

Deep in the Shropshire countryside, the war was casting its long shadow across the village of Eyton. Florence House, a specialist orthopedic hospital, now dealt with the casualties as every day shipments of dreadfully maimed and wounded young men arrived.  The early X-ray machines designed to diagnose deformities in children were now used to locate fragments of shrapnel in injured soldiers.  The womenfolk of the village helped care for them.  Their sons, lovers and husbands had long since gone to fight for king and country; some never to return.

Refused by the army through ill-health, Bill Smith is directed to work at the village post office.  He comes from a traveller family, and their arrival in Eyton is unpopular.  It is at The Methodist Chapel that he first spies Nora Snow, daughter of the local butcher.  John, her father, is a belligerent bully, highly protective of his daughter.  In his mind no man is good enough for her – especially the upstart son of a “no good tinker” like Bill Smith.

Set against the backdrop of WW1, this is the story of how, against the odds, Bill and Nora fall in love and eventually marry.  Despite the turmoil of the early twentieth century their story has a happy ending – a long happy marriage, a son and two granddaughters, one of whom is me!

About the author

When I retired from teaching I resolved that I was going to “write that novel”, and write it I did.  I joined the local writers' group where I met Angela.  She witnessed my early attempts at writing, giving constructive criticism and support all the way.

About the books 

My first book was Ada, the tragic story of a young woman who chooses the wrong man and has to face the consequences.  It has been well received with reviewers saying “Ada exposes an outwardly solid relationship as a betrayal of love and loyalty,” and “A fascinating story putting together the pieces of a puzzle... a vivid picture of how one woman stays true to herself.”

 The Butchers Daughter is my second novel. Based upon the true story of my paternal grandparents, it too has received good reviews.  “I think you write really well Gill- you have a wonderful sense of drama and pace and you evoke the period wonderfully.” ( Luigi Bonomi , LBA publishers, London)

Follow the links to find the books Ada  The Butcher's Daughter

Please welcome fellow author, Beatrice Fishback...

...who is visiting my blog today.  Beatrice has some interesting family history to share, so thank you for being here and the space is all yours...

Great-grandmother

My great-grandmother was an Iroquois Indian from upstate New York, and my father’s tales of her high-spirited nature enraptured me as a child.

There are two things I remember the most from his stories about this woman.  She smoked a corncob pipe — yes, just like in Western films; and my dad was often sent to the local store for her medicine, which turned out to be snuff, much to his surprise.

Simple clothing, and a daily routine of defending against animals in the great outdoors must have been a hard way of life.  Would she have carried a bow and arrow?  And, did she fall in love with my great-grandfather, or was their marriage one of convenience, arranged by others.

I often wondered what it would have been like to have met her, and to hear the adventures she had lived.  Like many ancestral stories, I’m sure her life held hard times as well as fascinating moments.

Old hotel in New York

If I could be a time-traveler, I imagine that New York would have been a rugged, bitter-winter landscape during the years my great-grandmother grew up.

Although I grew up in the region, there are many things that have changed in the past hundred years.  If great-grandmother could travel to the future, would she recognize the terrain where she once lived?  Malls and skyscrapers, campers and fifth-wheels traversing along four-lane highways are now the way of life.  Although she was a woman of strength, and apparently held a mean-streak, she probably would run as far away as she could from the noise and activity.

There must be a hint of my great-grandmother’s high-spirited ways residing within me, as I love to travel and explore worlds others only dream about.

Lake in upstate NY

And that is why writing can be so rewarding and I enjoy it so much.  Writers can create new places and entire breeds of people if they allow their minds to wander to unknown territories and pen those ideas for others to enjoy.  I have never been to the moon, or tried magic tricks with a wand.  But others have written about these possibilities and taken their readers to adventures beyond their wildest imaginations. Words are powerful.  We can travel to the past to the days of my great-grandmother, jet set into the future, and consider endless possibilities of other forms of life.

I hope my grandchildren are someday enraptured by the tales of my life and travels — imaginary and real.  Albeit, there will be no tales of a corncob pipe or snuff for them to hear about.

About the author...Beatrice Fishback is a Yankee who has traveled the world as a military spouse and lived in Europe for a total of twenty-years.  She is the author of Loving Your Military Man by FamilyLife Publishing and, with her husband Jim, is the co-author of Defending the Military Marriage and Defending the Military Family.  She has been published in various compilations, magazines and online websites.  Beatrice and Jim currently reside in North Carolina where scones are called biscuits and are topped with gravy, and tea is served over ice.

http://www.facebook.com/Beasattitudes

About her book...Bethal Manor, an inspirational romance, takes place during the Victorian era with engaging characters such as the wealthy Fredrick Shaw and his fiesty daughter, Clare.  Enjoy the rugged countryside as James Winthrop Blackwell travels across England.  Revel in the setting, a place of magnificence and style where servants know secrets and the owner is a man of property and integrity.  James Winthrop comes of age and searches for answers after being abandoned as an infant at Alpheton House Orphanage.  He must come to terms with the reasons for his abandonment and resolve how God can still use someone whose parents chose to cast them aside.  If you like Downton Abbey, you'll love Bethal Manor

And now for something completely different...

...today, friend and fellow author, Vasiliki Scurfield is visiting my blog and she has a challenge for you...

Writing at sunset

Well summer’s nearly at an end, holidays are wrapping up and whether we’re relaxed and suntanned or not it’s back to work and routine and, most likely in the not-so-distant-future dark days and cold weather.

Perhaps you’ve been slacking off on your writing?  Or perhaps you’ve been super good and have kept up with the daily word count throughout these summer months.  Perhaps you’ve always wanted to try your hand at writing and have never got round to it.  Whichever it is, I’ve got something to help focus you.

It’s a competition.

Yay! I hear you cry. (Well, perhaps I don’t really but I can live in hope.)

If you’ve been busy writing you may have something that is easily adapted which you can enter so why not set your writing free and see how it does?

If, on the other hand, you’ve been a little bit slack in terms of production then why not set yourself a target to enter?  That should get you back on track.

If you’ve never written?  Why not have a go anyway.  As it’s quite a short story it might be a good introduction to writing to a deadline and with a specific purpose.

Here are some things you need to know about the competition :

• The closing date is the 22^nd September.
• The theme is ‘Olive’.  This can be a name, a fruit, oil, or even an acronym.  It’s up to    you to be as imaginative as possible.
• It must have a happy ending.
• The total word count must be between 1200 and 1500 words. Short and sweet in other  words.
• The cost to enter is £3.50.

So in addition to feeling the satisfaction of finishing a good piece of writing and sending it off, what else do you get?

Well if you win the prize is £50 and £25 for each of two runners up.

Kosta's Olive Tree

The icing on the cake however, is the fact that all the proceeds got to charitable causes. The competition itself is memory of my son Kosta who lost his life trying to help free civilians from ISIS, and the charities and charitable causes I’ve chosen are ones that were close to his heart.  To keep all the proceeds going to the important causes, I’m donating the prize money myself. 

So even if you aren’t successful your entry fee will contribute towards making someone’s life better.

It’s a win-win situation.

Go on…what have you got to lose?

For full details of the conditions, how to enter and the charities and charitable organisations we’re supporting visit: Kosta's Olive Tree

And finally…if you don’t want to enter, you can always donate anyway… 

An interview with…

… Mills and Boon author Rachael Thomas.  Hello Rachael and thank you so much for agreeing to be cross-examined by me today.  I know your time is very precious so…

AW  What is your current release?

RT  ‘To Blackmail A Di Sione’ published by Harlequin Mills and Boon and I’m really excited about this book, as it is book three in The Billionaire’s Legacy.

AW   Congratulations on the book!  What first got you into writing and why?

RT   I was about eight when I first thought I want to be a writer after being told a short story I’d written at school was really good.  It was fifteen years ago, when my children were small, that I thought it’s time to chase that dream.

AW  You write Romance.  Is it all imagination or do you also undertake research?

Author on location!

RT   For the kind of character driven stories I write, I believe research is around me all the time.  I delve into the human emotions, happy or sad, and use them to bring my characters to life.

I do, though, enjoy the opportunity for a bit of setting research.  I have either set stories in places I’ve visited or even in the case of ‘To Blackmail a Di Sione’, made that trip after having written it.  In this book, a scene takes place at The Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, New York.  I had researched this setting online, but was thrilled to be there for real.

AW  And what about other types of writing?  Have you ever dabbled with short stories, for instance, or other genres?

RT   When I began seriously writing fifteen years ago, I was trying for the short story market, but my lifelong love of Mills and Boon books meant that focusing my attention there was inevitable.

AW  Famous authors, such as Roald Dahl and Dylan Thomas, had a special space for writing.  Do you have a writing ‘shed’ of your own?

Rachael's writing room

RT   I do have my own special place, but it’s not a shed.  It was once, the dining room but is better known by my family as the writing room now.  In it I have all I could need to immerse myself in my writing – except a supply of coffee from the kitchen!

AW   Hmm, I know what you mean about the coffee but that’s a lovely room.  And finally, if you had a whole afternoon to yourself and could choose to spend it with any one individual, living or dead or a character from a book.  Who would it be, and what would you want to discuss?

RT   I have just finished reading ‘Sleeper’s Castle’ by Barbara Erskine and, being fascinated by history and living in Wales, I’d love to go back to the early 1400’s and spend an afternoon with Catrin.  Although she is fictional, I would love to be able to find out all about what it was like then, when Owain Glydwyr was revolting against the English King in a bid to be proclaimed The Prince of Wales.

AW  How very interesting!  Thank you Rachael and if you want to know more…

Rachael's latest release

…about the author  Rachael lives in Wales, where she and her husband run a farm.  Writing romance has been a long held dream and she can't believe how lucky she is to be ale to escape into the glamorous world of her heroes and heroines as part of her job.  When she isn't writing or working on the farm, she enoys photography and visiting historic castles and grand houses.

You can find her books at : To Blackmail a di Sione  Mills and Boon

Visit her at : www.rachaelthomas.co.uk

Please welcome a very special guest...

I have royalty on my blog today - courtesy of friend and author, Jennifer Wilson

Hi Angela, and thank you for hosting me on your blog!

You're very welcome Jennifer, so what is this all about?

Today, 22^nd August, is the 531^st anniversary of one of the most decisive battles in British history – the Battle of Bosworth.  It ended, in just a few hours, the Wars of the Roses and the Plantagenet Dynasty, and marked the start of one of our most notorious dynasties – the Tudors, starting with Henry VII.

So, you might (fairly) ask – how does this link with Angela’s current theme of travel and living in a foreign country?

Well, monarchs have always been amongst the most travelled people, whether acknowledging or rewarding their loyal subjects, over-seeing their widespread houses and lands, invading to try and expand said lands, or, in the case of Richard III, heading into exile.

If we’re being pedantic, Richard wasn’t king whilst in exile, ‘merely’ Duke of Gloucester, but between October 1470 and March 1471, he escaped England with his brother, Edward IV, having just evaded capture by the Earl of Warwick’s forces.  During this time, Richard spent time in Veere, now a picturesque town, with sadly little left of what Richard would have seen during his visit, but one street is still named Warwijcksestraat, after a gate which was built in fear that Warwick would invade, looking for Plantagenet prey.  Richard subsequently travelled to The Hague, even then a centre of international politics.

Richard's funeral

But this wasn’t Richard’s first urgent Channel crossing.  Ten years earlier, aged only eight, he and his brother George (later Duke of Clarence, he of drowning-in-Malmsey infamy) had been sent to the Low Countries for their safety.  They returned only when their elder brother had claimed the throne, having spent time in Bruges, where much of the medieval town is still largely as they would have known it, including the grand market square.

Richard subsequently travelled throughout England in his various roles, and even invaded Scotland in support of his brother, but his last journey abroad was as part of Edward’s invasion of France in 1475.  Richard’s was the largest private contingent which took part, and he was with Edward during negotiations with the French king, Louis XI.

Time abroad, or travelling in general, has always been seen as an education.  Unfortunately for Richard, one man had fourteen years of such education: Henry Tudor.  Fourteen years of brooding, plotting and waiting for a chance to strike; on 22^nd August 1485, the two men met in battle.  And sadly (from my perspective, at least), we all know how it ended for Richard Plantagenet.

But still, Britain loves nothing more than an underdog, and of the two, Richard III is by far the better known, and certainly the one who has captured the public’s imagination, especially since his re-interment in Leicester.  He definitely captured mine, inspiring Kindred Spirits: Tower of London, and my current work-in-progress.

Therefore, on this, the 531^st anniversary of his death, spare a thought (and raise a glass) to Richard III!

About the author : Jennifer is a marine biologist by training, who developed an equal passion for

history whilst stalking Mary, Queen of Scots of childhood holidays (she has since moved on to Richard III).  She completed her BSc and MSc at the University of Hull, and has worked as a marine environmental consultant since graduating.

Enrolling on an adult education workshop on her return to the north-east reignited Jennifer’s pastime of creative writing, and she has been filling notebooks ever since.  In 2014, Jennifer won the Story Tyne short story competition, and also continues to work on developing her poetic voice, reading at a number of events, and with several pieces available online.  Her debut novel Kindred Spirits: Tower of London was published by Crooked Cat Publishing in October 2015.

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