Author Archives: Jane Cable

HOW AUTHOR LOUISE MUMFORD TURNED FORTY AND CHANGED HER LIFE

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Guest article by Louise Mumford to celebrate publication of her debut thriller

You haven’t turned forty until you’ve turned forty at the start of a lockdown during the outbreak of a worldwide pandemic. It certainly added a level of drama: I started a new decade and the world stilled.

Forty is a milestone birthday, whether you get to party with a massive group of friends in your favourite pub or not. For me, it was doubly important because I’d made a promise to myself a few years before: by forty my life would be different.

It was a promise I kept.

I have never been able to sleep well. Insomnia has been my constant companion since I was a child. When I was young, I didn’t really see the point of sleep. Why would people do that and miss out on all the marvellous things that could happen whilst they were dozing? I couldn’t understand it. Fast forward a few years and I would be the one at house parties who would still be awake at 4 a.m. tidying up the kitchen and flicking through the books in an unfamiliar bookcase to keep myself entertained whilst everyone else slept. Now I’m much older I watch the way my husband drifts off to sleep within minutes of putting his head on the pillow and, to me, it is a magic trick I will never learn.

I’ve always thought that this never really affected my day-to-day life. I thought I coped. I was wrong.

In the opening chapter of my new book, ‘Sleepless’, the main character, Thea, has a car accident after yet another poor night’s sleep. They say write what you know. Well, I know that car accident very well. It is mine. I had got through my first day back in the new term as a teacher, a job I’d been doing for around ten years or so, and in the car I’d been congratulating myself about how well I’d coped, despite the lack of sleep. I was smug.

That was when I realised the car in front of me on the dual carriageway slip road had stopped. I crashed into it and another car crashed into me. Miraculously, nobody was badly injured. My own car was a crumpled thing and smoke wreathed around the twisted metal like a bad Eighties pop video. I remember sitting in the ambulance listening to the radio announce major tailbacks because of me and knowing that I had to change my life. I gave myself the deadline of turning forty to accomplish it.

I have always wanted to be a published author. So, I took a deep breath and left my teaching job, a job that was slowly eating away at me due to the early morning starts. My body clock eventually found a rhythm that had probably always been its own, but which modern working life didn’t allow for: a much later bedtime and a later morning. I’m a night owl at heart and, though the early bird apparently catches the worm, I’ve got myself something else, much better. I concentrated on writing and that book will be out on December 11th this year: ‘Sleepless’. I didn’t have to look far for inspiration.

Life begins at forty, so the greeting cards say, and my whole new life has just begun.

 

Louise’s debut thriller ‘Sleepless’ will be published on 11th of December as ebook and audio. Ebook is currently 99p on Amazon, Kobo and Apple. Paperback to follow in February.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MULTI-TALENTED WOMEN’S FICTION AUTHOR CAROLINE JAMES ON MENTORING

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I first started writing eight years ago and one of the biggest things that hit me was how lonely a business I’d chosen. Sitting on your own, hour after hour, day after day, was the most isolating thing I had ever done. I had a very busy time in my ‘other working life’ with lots of travel and constant client meetings. Motivating myself to work alone wasn’t easy, combined with internal fears that anything I wrote wouldn’t be good enough and no one would want to read it. It took me a year to write my first novel and as many authors know, the task of submitting with high hopes and expectation soon becomes humiliation. The manuscript was rejected by agents and publishers time after time.

In those days self-publishing was very new to me and I had to learn fast. It became the life-line that ultimately connected me to the publishing world. But I still found it a lonely experience in cyber space. How I longed to be part of publishing a team with meetings, mentoring and lunches and all the fun that other authors seemed to be experiencing once they’d signed that golden contract and committed to a book deal.

Sitting on your bum feeling sorry for yourself achieves nothing, as my mother always told me, so I decided to do something about it. My debut novel had done surprisingly well and reached #3 in women’s fiction on Amazon. This gave me confidence to contact other authors in my area via social media. We set up a group and met every month and the kindness and help I found there was like being wrapped in a warm writing blanket. My life changed and I moved away but I consider two of those authors as very close friends and we still meet to help each other.

The years have moved on and several novels later I am now both traditionally and self-published and during this time I have mentored other authors, who like me in the beginning, hadn’t a clue where to start. Little did I know the huge importance of for example, editing or of having a social media profile and the zillion things that a savvy author in 2020 needs to get a grip of.

It began with a couple of authors, through Facebook, asking for advice. The hand-holding process began and it felt good to be able to give something back and watch the blossoming process develop as they realised their writing dream and ultimately produced their very own novel. Now, I have put together a group of other like-minded writing professionals who want to give something back and through a small business community we mentor, motivate and give of our time to help authors who are in the very same position that I naively found myself in when I first started writing. It does surprise me that with all the information freely available on the internet that this is something that is in demand. But I know how it feels to be on your own, wondering if you are good enough to write and if you can trust your instincts. Having a comforting virtual hand on your shoulder saying, ‘Yes, you can and this is how you can do it,’ is a very empowering process and I am hugely humbled to be in a position where I can offer help to anyone who asks and has the determination to achieve their writing dream.

 

Find out more about Caroline at https://www.carolinejamesauthor.co.uk/

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES’ GUEST: MORTON S GRAY ON WRITING AS A MUM AND A CARER

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Today I’m joined by author friend Morton S Gray who writes romance with a mystery to solve for Choc Lit all set in her fictional seaside town of Borteen. The better I get to know Morton, the more we seem to have in common, but I am frankly in awe of her daily regime – it’s an absolute inspiration!

I often hear people say that they could write a book, but they’re too busy. So, how do you fit writing into a busy day? I thought I’d give blog readers an idea of how I personally do it. Don’t get me wrong, there are days when I don’t manage a word, but here is an example of a good day!

When I started to compose this post, I realised how important thinking time contributes to the number of words I manage to get down.

Alarm sounds at six o’clock, ten minutes thinking time about latest work in progress, book seven, a Christmas novella for November 2021 publication. Continue thinking in the shower where ideas really begin to flow stimulated somehow by the scents of the shower products. Dressing, I jot down ideas from the shower so I don’t forget, e.g. “dancing on the beach scene” “shock event near the Christmas tree”.

Drive son to station and on way back mull over how to write on from my earlier writing prompts. Breakfast, sit at pc and type. I’m now so ready to write that I can produce about 800 words really quickly.

Tidy house, washing, dishwasher. Early walk with homeworking hubbie. Maybe float a few ideas about my plot to see what he can add. He works in IT but can often give a different and male perspective. We once outlined a complete murder mystery on our walk, but I’m yet to write that one. Other ideas often come to me when walking too.

Back to computer and write. Around 400 words this time.

I visit my mother who has dementia every day after lunch. Sort out problems, shopping and tablets. Mom is a surprisingly good sounding board for my writing too. She’s usually reading one of my books and the plots are always new because she can’t remember the stories.

Once home I tackle admin, phone calls, tweeting, Facebooking and emails. If I’m lucky another quick writing session, let’s say100 words.

Back to station to collect son, listen to music on the way back as lyrics will jump out at me to use as writing prompts. I’ll make notes on my phone waiting at the station, but little time to write until after our evening meal.

Usually add another 300 words in the evening with my laptop on my knee and one eye on a television programme. After writing from notes on phone, I’ll review what I’ve written so far, add extra words and description.

So, by bedtime I should have an extra 1,600 words to show for my day. If it’s a good day sometimes nearer 2,000. Off to bed, but crucially before I turn out the light, I think about any sticky points in the manuscript and often have an answer in my head by morning.

Sleep and repeat.

Morton S Gray’s fifth book, Christmas at the Little Beach Café, was published in November. You can catch up with Morton, her blog and her books on her website www.mortonsgray.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES’ READING ROUND UP: NOVEMBER

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Kitty

Our Story – Miranda Dickinson

How I loved this book and Otty and Joe. Miranda Dickinson writes with such heart that it spills over into her characters and I fell a little in love with both of them, was desperately willing them to get together and getting a little cross when they were making poor decisions. I love reacting this way, it means the author has completely pulled me into her world. Our Story is a wonderful novel to escape with. Fun, empathetic and engaging, it was delightful reading and an absolutely perfect rom-com.

Christmas Island – Natalie Normann

I have been so excited about this book. I read Summer Island earlier this year and fell in love with Natalie Normann’s writing style and the setting and could not wait to read this second in the series (which can easily be read as a stand-alone). As with the first, this book truly delivers on the cosy or Koselig and as Holly and Tor’s romance builds from their first meeting the reader is taken on a whirlwind tour of Norwegian Christmas food and traditions. I loved so much of the detail of this book and it provided me with the perfect Christmassy escape.

The Single Dad’s Handbook – Lynsey James

This book is the story of Evan – a widower bringing up his small daughter – and how his grief has, understandably, upended his life. He discovers a book of letters written by his wife before she dies to help him deal with the issues she anticipates once she is gone. The letters are poignant and witty, which is a fair summary of the book itself. I read it very quickly, fell utterly in love with Evan’s daughter Violet and thought the way that Lynsey James manages to combine this story of loss with comic moments and the hope that a new romance can bring was very skilfully done.

 

Susanna

The Ferryman’s Daughter by Juliet Greenwood

Wow! What a book. I was utterly caught up in this enthralling family saga set in rural and coastal Cornwall in the early part of the 20th century. In Hester, Juliet Greenwood has created an exceptionally strong and appealing heroine and I loved and admired her as she fought to follow her dream in spite of numerous setbacks that occurred thanks to the conventions and expectations of the day. This is a thoroughly engrossing and satisfying book, packed with drama and emotion and enhanced by a strong sense of time and place, all served up by a gifted writer.

 

Jane

Glynis Peters’ The Forgotten Orphan is about as far away from a traditional orphan story as it’s possible to be. For a start the protagonist, Maisie, is an older teenager, and secondly, she is in the middle of a world at war. That said, it is a story of friends, family and loves lost and found, and it doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of life and death in World War Two.

From a personal point of view I loved the fact the book was set in Southampton, a city I know well. It was well researched and well written, with a host of characters I came to care about. Family saga, wartime tale, love story – this book was all of these and so much more than the sum of its parts.

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCING NORTH NORFOLK JEWELLERY DESIGNER, CLAIRE HOWARD

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I make delicate, simple jewellery in a beautiful corner of North Norfolk. I make the kind of jewellery I like to wear, everyday pieces which are elegant and made from quality materials at affordable prices.

​I come from a very crafty background, I dabbled in a variety of crafts until gifted a course at the London Jewellery School and then jewellery making became a hobby which gave me space to create and wind down from a busy teaching job.  I was frustrated that simple jewellery from the high street was made from low quality silver which made me itch and changed colour so I bought a lot of jewellery from a local maker, Richard, who I commissioned to make me some pieces until he said to me – why don’t we make this necklace together? CHJ started to gather steam and momentum, I moved away from beads and on to soldering, stone setting and texturing through sitting beside Richard, attending courses and practising again and again and again.   I have not looked back!

I’m passionate about wearing timeless but well-made jewellery – uncomplicated pieces which are practical enough to be worn during the day but special enough for night!  To me, it doesn’t matter if we are on a school run, working in a school of small children or out for pizza and prosecco for £12 (my local treat), jewellery should be pretty and well crafted – that’s what matters to me.

From my workbench in North Norfolk, I take inspiration from being outside.  We are so lucky in this county to have beautiful beaches, woodlands and a hill or two (Yes we do!) where I flourish being outside with the dog walking and enjoying some space and time.  Being outside lifts my spirits and enables me to focus on the simple things in life – I put these in my jewellery – accents of little delicate bees and daisies, hearts and droplets of gold.

​Texture is really important in my jewellery too.  I love to be able to clasp a piece of jewellery and run my fingers over the stamped lettering or image and feel the dimples in the hammering, or the beads of the beaded wire.  I love that jingle jangle you get when two pieces of silver clink together.

​As for romance – this quote pretty much sums it up for me… Draw a circle, not a heart around the one you love because a heart can break but a circle goes on forever. (Danny Kaye)   Circles feature a lot in my jewellery, small, hand crafted, perfectly round and often interlinked.

My website is found at www.clairehowardjewellery.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

CELIA ANDERSON ON CELEBRATING ROMANTIC FICTION

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When I was approached back in 2016 with a view to taking over the organising of the Romantic Novel Awards from Nicola Cornick, I have to admit my knees began to shake. Nicola followed a long line of equally super-efficient coordinators, all of whom had helped the system to grow and develop in different ways. It’s been a fascinating few years though, learning the ropes, meeting hundreds of writers, agents, publishers and avid readers online and experiencing the amazing diversity of romantic fiction as it is today.

These RNA awards are unique in that eight of them are completely reader-judged by up to 300 volunteers who are passionate about reading romantic fiction. Every spring, the regular panel of judges are re-recruited with some additions, and once the books begin to flood in (all ebooks now, which has been a blessing in this year of being extra-aware of passing on germs) the organiser is responsible for allocating batches of books to readers for a set period. We close for business on September 30th or when the cap of 500 entries is reached, whichever comes first, but allocation and judging continues way into the autumn until every book has been read and scored.

In addition to this, my hard-working colleague Laura James will be publicising and collating votes from librarians, book bloggers and book sellers as they nominate their favourite book of the year for the Popular Fiction Award which is presented at the same time as the other category prizes for Contemporary, Romantic Comedy, Debut, Fantasy, Shorter Romances, Historical, Saga and Thrillers. We endeavour to promote diversity and inclusion so that romance in all its forms is fully represented.

The results are strictly confidential until careful moderation of the judging process by a panel of experts has been completed, after which short lists are consolidated. Even then, only those on the lists are notified and asked to keep the secret until the announcements are formally made in February. In early March at a glittering ceremony and party in the heart of London, the final results are revealed and the trophies presented by a different celebrity each time. The final presentation is always the Outstanding Achievement Award, won in 2020 by the wonderful Milly Johnson who brought the house down and reduced everyone to tears with her moving and encouraging speech.

This showcase event is an ideal way to promote all genres of romance, to give members the chance to mingle with publishers, agents and fellow authors and to highlight the fact that romantic novels become more popular with every year that passes and that writers of romance should be celebrated for bringing much needed joy into the world of books. In this time of pandemic troubles, the format for the 2021 event will need to be carefully considered but rest assured, the winners and short-listees will still be celebrated with as much pomp and ceremony as we can safely achieve. They are all stars.

 

Celia Anderson was a primary teacher and assistant headteacher before deciding to leave it all behind to write full time. She has been an enthusiastic member of the RNA since 2011, having graduated through the wonderful New Writers’ Scheme and made many good friends along the way. With Harper Fiction she has recently published The Pengelly Series (59 Memory Lane and The Cottage of Curiosities). There are more to come…

 

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES: JANE CABLE ON THE START OF A NEW ERA

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This will be the last time I sharpen my pencil to write a Sister Scribes article for Frost. There is no great drama, and next year will bring an exciting new group of writers to the magazine, but for now Sister Scribes has run its course.

When we started two years ago our writing careers were in very different places. Not all of us had publishers or agents, although some of us had indie published very successfully. We all had the luxury of a little more time. Now we find ourselves working on multiple projects, often for more than one publisher, and even with five of us in the team, producing a weekly article just isn’t tenable.

Of course it doesn’t mean we won’t remain friends – the connections between us are too strong for that. We have been through the best and worst of times together, and that forms incredible bonds. As we have said so many times before, writing can be a lonely business unless you have buddies.

I don’t think our positions are unusual. Everywhere I look around me, there are writers juggling tasks, deadlines looming over them, professional reputations on the line. It seems to me that once you are lucky enough to break down the doors to the publishing world, you can quickly become in great demand, while equally talented writers who perhaps don’t have the confidence, or the perseverance, or the luck of the right book landing on the right desk at the right time, look on from the outside, waiting for their turn.

But enough of this philosophising. We are close to the end of a year that has been frankly terrible for many, so let’s look forward. Let’s be positive and hopeful as we stare down the barrel of 2021.

Sister Scribes will be replaced in Frost by two elements, brought to you by the same team. Our ever popular monthly Reading Round Up will become Cariads’ Choice, and fortnightly we will bring you Welsh Writing Wednesdays.

The team is broadly the Cariad Chapter of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, with a few other Welsh writers, or writers based in Wales, added for good measure. Although I live in Cornwall, because I am from South Wales, Cariad feels as though it is my natural chapter, and lockdown has made attending events so much easier; just a quick link onto Zoom rather than a three hour drive.

I met my first Cariads, Sue McDonagh and Jan Baynham, at the RNA Conference in 2017 and two years later they shared a flat with the Sister Scribes. I knew Jill Barry by email, because we were both signed to Endeavour at the time, and added Evonne Wareham to the list when we did a library talk together in Cardiff. Former Frost ‘Take Four Writers’ contributor Lucy Coleman is also a member, as is Sister Scribe Kitty Wilson, as she only lives just over the border in England and has become a Cariad too.

We have a private Facebook group and monthly Zoom meetings, and through this I have come to know the other members of the chapter, and I am sure you will enjoy doing the same next year. The articles pledged will be wide ranging, but inevitably landscape will feature more than once, as will Dylan Thomas. And I just know you are going to enjoy them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Books That Changed Me By Yousra Imran, author of Hijab and Red Lipstick

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Roxy van der Post for Myosotis Film & Photography

Headscarves and Hymens by Mona El Tahawy

“The most subversive thing a woman can do is talk about her life as if it really matters.” This was the line in Headscarves and Hymens that gave me the affirmation I needed to use my passion for writing to talk about the subjects that mattered most to me and not to feel a sense of “shame” for writing openly about life experiences. This was the first time I read a book which spoke so closely to my own thoughts as a Muslim Arab feminist, and I was nodding along every page of the way. Headscarves and Hymens is feminist journalist Mona El Tahawy’s first non-fiction book, and an in-depth look at the multi-faceted injustices women face across the Middle East.

It’s Not About the Burqa by Mariam Khan

It’s Not About the Burqa is an anthology of essays written by a long list of female British Muslim writers including BBC journalist Saima Mir, Jeremy Vine on 5 co-presenter Salma-El Wardany and award-winning author Sufiya Ahmed. They write unabashedly about their own experiences and on a range of topics people think Muslim women aren’t interested in – sexuality, feminism, politics, the law and queerness to name a few. This is a life-changing read because it proves that Muslim women are not a monolithic and there is no “one type” of Muslim woman. It also proves that we are extremely successful and have made incredible contributions in British society. Everyone needs to read this book.

Two Women in One by Nawaal El Saadawi

As well as being a famous Egyptian feminist, Nawaal El Saadawi writes novels and her husband has translated most of them into English. She writes about everyday Egyptian women, including working class women and women in rural areas. My favourite novel of hers is Two Women in One, probably because I can resonate with the protagonist Bahiah. Bahiah is a medical student in Cairo who is trying her hardest to reconcile the two women she is: the quiet, studious, obedient Bahiah at home, and the shameless, strong Bahiah who wears trousers, stands with one leg up on her stool in the lab and experiences intimacy outside of wedlock. The book is set in the early ‘80s, yet little has changed for women in Egypt today.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I read Little Women for the first time when Mum bought it for me as a gift when I was 11 years old, and until this day the part where Beth dies makes me blubber like a baby. Reading it again as an adult I can see that Alcott was a feminist – it wasn’t something that I digested as a young girl. If I was to do a postgraduate degree in feminist literature I would probably choose Little Women for my thesis, as there are just so many references to gender injustice. Marmi is a feminist and so is Jo March. I had thought Jo March was based on Alcott but I recently read Alcott had based Jo’s youngest sister Amy on herself.

The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot 

The Mill on the Floss was the 19th century novel I studied for my English Literature A-Level. It was a complete eye-opener, particularly as a teenager living in the Arab Gulf. I remember underlining so many passages in the book and telling my teacher that Victorian society was just like Qatari society; it was mad that the customs were so similar despite the 150-year gap! I could also see myself in the protagonist Maggie – the internal struggle between wanting to be pious and modest, but also be passionate and love and be loved. As an adult I now know I can be both – I don’t have to choose one or the other.

About the Author

Yousra S Imran is an English-Egyptian hybrid who works and lives in West Yorkshire. She has been writing from the moment she learned how to hold a pen and works full time in marketing and events in the education sector.
Yousra grew up between the UK and the Middle East and has a BA Hons in International Relations. She is passionate about women’s rights and gender justice. Yousra lives with her husband in Bradford, Yorkshire.