Category Archives: Writing

SUNDAY SCENE: ADRIENNE CHINN ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM LOVE IN A TIME OF WAR

Posted on by

In 1914 the youngest Fry sister, Etta, is thrust into the bohemian world of the Bloomsbury Group through her lover, the Italian artist Carlo Marinetti. They attend a weekend at the Sussex home of Virginia Woolf, and the conversation turns to the war.

 

Etta sits in a canvas lawn chair on the stone patio behind the house, where the group has clustered on lawn chairs amongst the roses and honeysuckle trailing over trellises … She looks over at Virginia’s husband, Leonard, and watches him make notations in a black-covered notebook in his lap.

‘Mongoose, whatever are you listing now?’ Virginia says to her husband. ‘The spoonfuls of sugar we’ve consumed in our tea?’

‘If you must know, my dear mandrill, the cost of John Teasel’s cream has gone up by three pence. I must keep abreast of these things or we shall be living in penury before you know it.’

‘We already live in penury, Mongoose.’

Virginia’s sister, Vanessa, sets down the canvas she is embroidering with roses and playing cards. ‘Why on earth are we talking about the cost of cream? War has just broken out. Why is no one talking about that?’

by Unknown photographer, vintage snapshot print, July 1915

Roger Fry spoons a dollop of strawberry jam onto a scone. ‘What is there to say, Vanessa? There will be a few skirmishes over on the Continent, exactly like what happened in the Franco–Prussian War, and everyone will be home for Christmas, which is fortunate as we shall have a fully stocked shop for the holidays.’

Etta sets her teacup down in the saucer in her lap. ‘The train station in Brighton was heaving with soldiers leaving on trains for London. I almost missed the train to Glynde because of them. They were all very jolly, like they were going off to a party, singing songs and everything.’

Virginia’s long, serious face brightens. ‘Really? What were they singing?’

‘It was all about Tipperary. Quite a jolly song.’

Leonard slams shut the notebook. ‘It’s all senseless and useless. It’s absolutely ridiculous to solve political disagreements by violent force. Italy has the right idea. Staying neutral.’

Roger brushes a crumb from his lip. ‘Hold on. Wasn’t Italy signed up with the Austrians and the Germans in the Triple Alliance before the war broke out? Shouldn’t you be on the other side, Carlo?’ He taps his lips. ‘Maybe we ought to watch what we say around you.’

Carlo leans back in the lawn chair. ‘The war in Europe is none of Italy’s, or my, affair. If anyone steps onto Italian soil, this, of course, will be another matter.’

Virginia sets down her teacup with a rattle. ‘War is just a preposterous masculine fiction. The chief occupations of men are the shedding of blood, the making of money, the giving of orders, and the wearing of uniforms. I have had quite enough of it already.’ She turns to Duncan, who is scribbling doodles in a scrapbook. ‘Duncan, tell me, who are you sleeping with this month? Anyone here?’

 

Visit the Sussex home of Virginia Woolf’s sister, artist Vanessa Bell: https://www.charleston.org.uk/

Caption for photo: L to R: Lady Ottoline Morrell, Maria Nys, Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell at Charleston House, West Sussex. Photographer unknown.

 

 

Catherine Yardley My Writing Process.

Posted on by

As a little girl my nose was always in a book. I would even read a book a day when I was ill. I loved Enid Blyton and Judy Blume. I started writing song lyrics because I was in a band when I was younger and then I changed the song lyrics to poems. I sent them off and one of them ended up in an anthology when I was eleven. It was the start of something for me. I also had a very good English teacher who really encouraged me and told me I could be a writer. All a young person needs is for someone to believe in them.

I have been writing since I was in single figures but I let it slide for a few years to go off and work in the film industry. I started again when I had children and I am so glad I did. I got taken on by one of the first agents I contacted and then I got a traditional publishing deal too. All from the first batch of submissions I sent off. I got offered two different publishing contacts for Ember and I decided to go with Pegasus. They have been amazing. I cannot recommend them enough.

What you have written, past and present.

I have written non-fiction in the past, as well as a lot of articles and such. I have been a travel writer, a restaurant critic and a theatre critic. Ember is my debut novel.

Ember, Catherine Yardley, author.

What you are promoting now. 

Ember is a story about a family who’s father left them on Christmas day when they were kids. Thirty years later the younger sister is getting married and that brings their father back into their lives. The story revolves around Dr Natalie Holmes and her boyfriend Rob in the present day, and her parents Tim and Jacqueline in the past.

Natalie goes off the rails when her younger sister gets married and pregnant before her, and her father comes back into their lives. She dumps her boyfriend on the side of the road and drives off in his car. The book is about love and family. A part of the book is about whether or not we should allow family in our lives if they have been left wanting. Can a family that has been torn apart ever heal their wounds? Will Rob and Natalie get back together? Read it and find out!

Here is the blurb:

A family torn apart by their father’s infidelity are forced to confront the past thirty years later. As Natalie’s younger sister, Amanda, prepares for marriage and impending motherhood, her plea for the family to reunite uncovers pent-up tension and animosity. Can they forget the past and become a family again?

Natalie’s life begins to unravel as their father starts to creep back into their lives and family tensions resurface, affecting her relationship with her boyfriend, Rob. Will the couple find their way back to each other, and can a family that has been torn apart ever heal their wounds?

Can you ever walk away from someone you love, or do some fires never die out?

A bit about your process of writing. 

This was my first novel which I wrote simultaneously with another novel. I would wheel my son around in his pram until he fell asleep and then I would write 2000 words on my iPhone. I always try to write the first draft as quick as possible. I like to keep up the momentum and the same energy. I do 2000-3000 words a day. Editing is always tough but I am as relentless as the editing. Ha.

I have three kids so I have to write whenever I can and focus on it. Having kids has trained me to be ruthlessly efficient when I need to.

Do you plan or just write?

I just write. Total panster. You need an idea and a handle on the character. Then just let yourself fly.

What about word count?

I do 2000-3000 words a day.

How do you do your structure?

My agent, Susan, says I have a great sense of structure and it is one of the nicest things anyone has said about me. I think it is because I read so much. I am with Stephen King. To be a good writer you need to both write and read a lot. Reading teaches you to be an excellent writer.

What do you find hard about writing?

Finding the time.

What do you love about writing? 

Everything.

Advice for other writers. 

Get on with it. Don’t give up. Write and then rewrite. Submit endlessly. Don’t let the rejection get you down. You have to be able to take rejection if you want to be a professional writer. Just take the feedback on board, edit and then send away somewhere else. You can do it!

Ember is out on the 31st March and is available from WH Smith, Waterstones, Amazon and The Book Depository.

SUNDAY SCENE: KATE RYDER ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM BENEATH CORNISH SKIES

Posted on by

I’m thrilled that Beneath Cornish Skies was shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel Awards 2022 in the Fantasy Romantic Novel category. By now, the winner will have been announced! It’s too hard to choose a favourite scene so I’ve chosen an extract from the prologue:

To outsiders, Cassandra Shaw’s life looks perfect but her reality is very different to people’s perceptions. Insecure and suspicious of her good-looking, charismatic, businessman boyfriend, this is a recurring dream she has.

Before me lay a thick, impenetrable forest stretching as far as the eye could see. It was dark and foreboding and I shivered with apprehension. In the distance, a firefly darted towards me through the trees and as the pinprick of light grew closer, it hovered at the edge of the woodland… beckoning. I knew I had no choice but to enter and though fearful of the unknown, I took a tentative step. Pushing aside the undergrowth, I followed the beacon of light and drifted through the foliage like a spirit, twisting and turning through the trees. As I glanced up at the dense canopy that inhibited any natural light, I found my body rising through the branches, without control over speed, until high above the forest I gazed down upon a wild, rugged landscape shrouded in darkness.

Photo credit: Nigel Kivell

     On the wind I detected a scent of the ocean and raising my eyes to the heavens, I watched dark cirrus clouds scudding across the night sky to reveal a wash of twinkling stars and planets. A halo of light surrounded the moon, its inner edge tinged red; the outer an altogether bluer hue. Gazing earthwards again, I noticed the thick tree canopy stretched for miles – like a spill of ink across the landscape. All at once I was descending and as I plunged through the roof of the forest I closed my eyes, bracing myself against the scratch and claw of twig and branch. But, unscathed, I floated gracefully to the forest floor.

It’s a landscape Cass doesn’t recognise and as the dream continues, she follows the firefly through the forest until reaching a gypsy encampment.

And then, through the flickering firelight, I saw you sitting on a log on the far side of the camp, deep in conversation with the man beside you. No one had noticed me and, moving closer, I took the opportunity to gaze at your face in wonder. You were not like the others; you shared none of their darkness. Prone to curls, your dark blond hair framed a genuine, open face that was teasingly familiar, and yet not. As your lips formed silent words I studied you: the slant of your brow; the sharp angle of your cheekbones; the shape of your nose; the tight line of your jaw. And I noticed the way your eyes crinkled when you laughed. Suddenly you smiled and I gasped, as intense, stirring sensations took hold deep in my belly.

     From out of the corner of my eye I saw a man approaching. He requested a dance but, impatiently, I brushed him away, and when I turned back you were looking directly at me. Your gaze asked a question, and for a heartbeat I stopped breathing. I no longer had the ability to drift and cautiously, as if in experiment, I placed one foot in front of the other and stepped uncertainly towards the fire. But the heat was too fierce and I glanced at you in confusion. Had I misunderstood?

      In a voice soft and tender, you encouraged me. ‘You can do it. Follow the path.’

 

Connect with Kate: https://www.facebook.com/kateryder.author

 

 

 

 

 

SUNDAY SCENE: KATIE GINGER ON HER FAVOURITE SETTING FROM THE LITTLE LIBRARY ON CHERRY LANE

Posted on by

I don’t think there’s a writer out there who doesn’t love libraries. Honestly, we just do! And it’s not just because we write books.

In an age when books are constantly pirated and stolen, borrowing books from your local library helps an author financially as we get a small payment for every book of ours loaned out (it’s currently about 10p, I think). But we also love them because we know the power of stories in bringing people together.

Books help us to feel less alone whether its diving into another world for some escapism when our own lives get rough or reading about an experience that we too have been through before, books give us a sense of connection and hope. But there’s also a lot more to them that sometimes goes unnoticed. Whatever your reading tastes or reason for visiting, libraries are crucial to our communities and my latest novel The Little Library on Cherry Lane is basically a love letter to these fabulous institutions, illustrating all the things they do aside from lending books.

Not only do stories connect with us on a personal level, but libraries bring people together. They help alleviate loneliness and give us an opportunity to connect with others. You only have to see the rise in parent and child groups, or community groups like ‘Knit and Natter’ to see how much people need to forge communities and friendship groups at a time when so much of our lives are lived online. For many older people, they are a lifeline and the only time they speak to people during the day.

In my novel, the local library in the tiny village of Meadowbank is under threat when a developer wants to buy the land and turn it into a housing development. Of course, there’s romance because that’s what I write but the setting simply had to be a library and Meadowbank library, like many others is at the heart of the village’s community.

My favourite scene comes quite early on when the new housing development is revealed to the local community, and we see the reaction of the village. There’s complete outrage from all those who love the library and even Elsie, the shy, quiet librarian can’t stop herself from speaking out (much to the chagrin of our handsome hero). She sees the value of the place for more than just the books it lends. The village is shocked by her visceral reaction but for the most part agrees wholeheartedly with her. There are of course a few people who disagree because otherwise there wouldn’t be any tension in the story!

I absolutely loved writing the back and forth between the two main characters where they’re batting away each other’s arguments. She’s surprised at herself and our handsome hero can’t help but find her attractive even though she’s trying to scupper all his plans.

If you haven’t taken a trip to your local library in a while, please do as soon as you have the chance. They’re wonderfully welcoming and I’m sure you’ll see for yourself just how many people use them to connect with others. Books are important, but so are the places that house them, and we must do everything we can to ensure that future generations get to visit these amazing places too!

 

 

If you’d like to know more about me or my books, you can find me here: www.keginger.com!

 

SUNDAY SCENE: LAURA R LEESON ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM THE VALENTINE RETREAT

Posted on by

Twenty years ago, I spent time in California. As a naïve Brit, it was equal parts amazing and terrifying, and I remain fascinated by the diverse and nature of a society surprisingly different to our own. When it came to choosing a setting for my debut novel, Los Angeles seemed a natural choice – because rather like me, I wanted ex-pat Megan to find herself struggling to discover her place in an unfamiliar, challenging world.

Added to which, Megan is a survivor of a controlling relationship – what began as a fairy tale marriage to a high-profile, successful businessman has already disintegrated, so when she meets Jim on a weekend away at The Valentine Retreat, the last thing she thinks she’s looking for is romance.

The setting for a pivotal scene – where Megan tentatively looks to the future and begins to believe she might want it to include Jim – takes place in the hotel bar:

 

The pianist was in full flow as Megan entered the bar. His fingers moved across the keys with the kind of confidence only a seasoned professional possessed. The music he produced was quiet and understated, which was more than could be said for his shirt. The vibrant duck-egg blue and plum check of the fabric was highly visible under his beige linen suit, open at the neck and unapologetic.

Megan smiled. For the first time in such a long time, she felt a spike of anticipation about this evening.

The room was less populated this evening, the weekend buzz replaced by mellow groups seated at some of the low tables, visible through the waving fronds of the potted plants as she took a seat at the bar.

‘Hi.’
There was no need to turn, she recognised the voice. ‘Hi, Jim,’ she said as he shrugged his way out of his leather jacket. She looked more closely at his face. ‘What did you do?’
Jim’s hand travelled up, his fingers tracing over a small patch of damaged skin. ‘Would you believe me if I told you there were five of them and I took them all down single-handed?’
‘Um, no. Not really.’ Trying to appear serious, she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth twitching in amusement.
‘Damn.’ He grinned. ‘Cut myself shaving.’
‘Does it hurt?’
‘It didn’t, until I put aftershave on without thinking.’ He pulled a face then shrugged. ‘A bit of pain reminds me I’m still alive.’
‘Do you need reminding?’ She kept her tone light, but it was a genuine question. She had spent months wondering if she was still alive.”

 

After living a lie for far too long, and desperate for honesty from others, this is the moment when Megan begins to believe in Jim. However, Megan’s past hasn’t finished with her, the hotel is not all it seems, and Jim is harbouring more than his fair share of secrets. Secrets which may cost them both a great deal more than their happiness.

In the time-honoured tradition of romantic suspense, The Valentine Retreat is a fast-paced and twisty novel, but at its heart lies the story of two people who just want to find someone to rely on, and trust with their deepest emotions.

 

For more information – please visit my website www.laurarleeson.com or search for me on social media @laura_R_Leeson

Matt Bell’s March craft book, REFUSE TO BE DONE: an accessible, practical guide to writing and revising a novel—for writers of any genre and level

Posted on by
“I can’t imagine anyone setting pen to paper, or fingertips to keyboard, who won’t want to keep this book permanently close at hand.”
—Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times bestselling author of Dreyer’s English
 We all need help to be the best writer we can be. This brilliant book from Matt Bell not only does that, but it also teaches you have to be efficient, something that is a must as writing becomes a career. I loved this book and I cannot recommend it enough. I will definitely keep it close to hand. — Frost editor, Catherine Balavage.
Acclaimed author Matt Bell draws from years of writing and teaching experience to deliver an accessible, direct, and concise guide to novel-writing full of concrete tips meant to guide writers of any genre, at any stage of their career, from first to final draft.
Matt Bell | Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts | Trade Paperback Original | $15.95 US/$21.95 CAN |
ISBN: 9781641293419 | ON SALE: March 8, 2022 | Soho Press
Refuse to Be Done is intensely practical, focusing always on specific tasks, techniques, and activities for writing a novel, from the first draft all the way through final revisions. Divided into three main sections—each containing numerous subheadings and detailed items—the book is easy to use at any and every stage of the writing process, whether one is starting from scratch or already has a full draft to revise. Concrete examples from published fiction and media, as well as Matt Bell’s personal experiences, bring further meaning to the tips included, showing how they were developed and how they come to fruition in existing works.

In the first section, Bell shares a bounty of tactics to get through perhaps the most daunting stage of novel-writing: actually writing the book. Intended to push writers through the initial conception and get words on the page, this section includes strategies for process (such as how to regiment one’s writing and track progress), the writing itself (e.g. how to develop characters and determine which scenes to write next), and overcoming writer’s block.

Next, with a complete draft in hand, the second section focuses on reworking the narrative through outlining, modeling, and rewriting. This includes such tasks as fleshing out characters, scrutinizing the plot, and reshaping a manuscript into a more polished form.

The final stage captures Bell’s philosophy to “refuse to be done,” encouraging writers to stay in their novel for as long as they’re able by working through a checklist of revisions. In this layered approach, writers fully work through the text multiple times, focusing on a specific, achievable task through each pass. Whether it’s revising the prose or scrutinizing the structure of each scene, every pass brings the manuscript closer to accomplishing the writer’s ambitions and becoming the greatest it can possibly be.

Written for novices and veteran writers alike, Matt Bell’s accessible, practical guide to novel-writing offers an abundance of strategies to motivate writers and invigorate the revision process, empowering novelists of all genres to approach their work with fresh eyes and sharp new tools to produce their best work yet.

Tim Sullivan My Writing Process

Posted on by

tim sullivan the patientI’ve always written. I wrote and directed my first short film at university and the writing followed on from there. I began writing screenplays with some success, starting in the late eighties with an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust starring Kristen Scott-Thomas, James Wilby, Judi Dench and Alec Guinness. This was followed by an adaptation of EM Forster’s Where Angels Fear to Tread starring Helen Mirren, Helena Bonham-Carter and Judy Davis. I then wrote and directed Jack and Sarah with Richard E Grant, Samantha Mathis, Ian McKellen, Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins. This led to a screenwriting career in America where I worked with many producers including Ron Howard, Scott Rudin and Jeffrey Katzenberg. I spent a year writing the screenplay for Shrek 4 before the studio decided to go in a different direction with the movie. My last two produced movies were Letters to Juliet starring Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave and last year My Little Pony – A new generation. I’ve always wanted to write novels, specifically crime and finally found the time. My series centres upon DS George Cross a socially awkward and sometimes difficult but brilliant detective. He is based in Bristol and has the best conviction rate in the force. His third outing The Patient is released by Head of Zeus on March 3rd.

tim sullivan the patient

What is your writing process?

I’m a morning writer. I find I get my best work done then. Ideas seem fresher and I have the energy to get going. I tend to re-read and edit in the afternoons.

Do you plan or just write?

With screenplays I definitely plan. You have to. But with crime novels I start knowing who has died and who’s done it, but I have no idea how to get there. This can make things complicated and it’s easy to lose faith when you’re not sure which way to go. But I think it means that George Cross, the audience and I are all discovering things at the same time. I think this gives the narrative a more convincing and interesting path.

What about word count?

This varies enormously. I write everything long hand in fountain pen before it gets anywhere near a computer. So, a minimum of 500 words and a maximum of around 2500.

What do you find hard about writing?

The beginning of a book is hard. Until I’ve reached 20,000 words I’m not really sure whether it’s going to be a book at all. I enjoy it a lot more after that. I find it hard not to write long meandering sentences but thankfully I have an eagle-eyed editor who keeps me on the straight and narrow or should I say within the margins.

What do you love about writing?

I used to find the solitary nature of it hard but now it’s possibly what I love about it the most

I love creating characters and relationships. Writing things that move me or make me laugh. 

It’s amazing how many times as a writer you can surprise yourself.

Advice for other writers.

Find the confidence to do it and sit down and write. Write for yourself before you write for anyone else. Sketch down ideas and scenes. Write clutches of dialogue as they come into your head. Don’t sit down and try and write a complete project. Play around a little.

And enjoy it. Everyone writes better when they enjoy what they’re doing.

www.timsullivan.uk

Instagram @timsullivannovellist

Twitter      @timjrsullivan

Facebook   @timjrsullivan

Tim Sullivan is the author of The Patient published by Head of Zeus 3rd March, £18.99

Caroline Corcoran: Five Books That Changed my Life

Posted on by

Nearly ten years ago, I started keeping a notebook of every book I read. It’s incredibly geeky, totally pointless (turns out no one has ever wanted to know what book I was reading at Christmas 2015) and I don’t care at all because I love it. 

five days missing , Caroline corcoran

I love being able to look back and see what I read when the Big Life Events happened (I literally have zero memory of the first book in there I read after giving birth. No idea what it is. Not even vaguely). It also means I can revisit and see sometimes what I didn’t see at the time: how the books I chose related to what was going on in my life at the time. Still, <changing> your life is a big ask. I believe books are up to the challenge though. Here are five that did it…

Dear Nobody, Bernie Doherty

Context: I was a very dramatic teenager. If I broke up with someone I went out with for two weeks, I listened to Lionel Richie on my walkman and wept. I kept endless diaries where I wrote my pretty mundane teenage existence into what I see now was the prototype of a novel. I was fascinated by – and still am fascinated by – the depiction of human emotion at its edges. Only one thing to do: seek out the true drama in fiction. I loved a book with heartbreak and chaos and teenagers suffering loss and pain and grief. God, I loved all of it. But I loved none of it like I loved Dear Nobody, where teenage Helen writes letters to the baby she is pregnant with. It was award-winning and groundbreaking and I must have read it fifty times, easily.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

“What do you like reading?” asked my then English teacher. I had moved on from that mega nineties shelf of joy in WH Smith – Judy Blume, The Babysitters Club, Saddle Club, every other club you can imagine etc – but I hadn’t figured out yet where to go next. She was a teacher that stayed with you, that English teacher, because she was the first person I had met (barring my chief book buddy Vic) who loved books like I did. Vic and I nodded in wonder when she passed on a list of recommendations to us for real grown up books (I could recite that list even now; it was a holy grail for me) and over the next few years, I read them all. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings though, was the first and the best. I read it over and over, and I read everything else I could get my hands on by Maya Angelou, this incredible, life-changing woman. She was the first author who showed me what books could do: enunciate thoughts you didn’t know you had, make sense of the world by telling the most vivid truth and teach you about – not to mention transport you to – worlds so far away from your own. More than anything though, Maya Angelou made me fall in love with the unrivalled, crazy beauty of words.

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

Somebody pointed out to me recently when I posted about writing this piece that when people speak of books that changed their lives, they usually quote books they read in their teens and early twenties and I think they are right. All but one in this list, I read before I turned 25. I suspect that’s because those years are when we are forming ourselves and books – as well as music and film – help us to do this. They show us who we are, who we want to be and what possibilities there are in the world. I would go on to read so much more Margaret Atwood (and to stare at her like she was a pop star heartthrob when I saw her being interviewed once) but this one got under my skin and kick started something in me. 

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

I think this was the first proper psychological thriller I read and the start of me uncovering – unbeknown to me at the time – the genre I would eventually write myself. Unreliable narrators, multiple points of view, twists… I adored the whole, all-encompassing experience and after Gone Girl, I read back-to-back psychological thrillers with barely a break for much else for years. Many were brilliant, but this was the masterclass. I still hold Gone Girl up as that holy grail and the most annoying thing: the book I would have <loved> to have written myself. Grrr.

Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Most of the time, my reading pattern is based on instinct: when I finish a book I know where I need to go next whether that’s a move to something gentler, contemporary, a classic, some short stories, something funny… Every now and again I read a book and all I know is that next I have to read <every single book that author has ever written>. It happened recently with Taylor Jenkins Reid after I read Daisy Jones and the Six, and I did the same with Tana French. But never has it been so mesmerising as it was in the summer of 2014 when I picked up a book I kept hearing about: Americanah. I barely came up for air. I’ve never read a love story like it; I’ve never felt such a strong sense of place, and I spent that summer hovering up everything else she had written. It tracked all the way back to Dear Nobody: I love reading (and writing) about human emotion, and nobody does it like the inimitable Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Five Days Missing is out 17 February (Avon, Harper Collins)