Tag Archives: Kitty Wilson

SISTER SCRIBES’ READING ROUND UP: FEBRUARY

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Susanna:

The Mermaid’s Scream by Kate Ellis

Famous author Wynn Staniland is as well-known for having turned into a recluse after his wife’s suicide as he is for the high-brow books he wrote before the tragedy. Now he has agreed to let Zac Wilkinson write his biography, but what are the startling facts Zac claims to have unearthed? When Zac is found murdered, DI Wesley Peterson’s investigation reveals a series of secrets in a mystery that successfully blends the present with the past.

Kate Ellis deftly handles the multiple threads in this story. As well as being intriguing and drawing the reader further in, the complexities of the plot make it impossible to predict what’s coming next. It is an engrossing, confidently-written story, featuring well-rounded characters.

I listened to the audio version published by Isis Soundings, read by Gordon Griffin, whose narration is in no way showy or intrusive, but who invests each character with their own voice and creates a quietly suspenseful atmosphere.

 

Kitty:

This month I finally finished Penmarric by Susan Howatch – it took ages but allowed me to wallow in adolescent nostalgia, always a favourite activity.

I have started to read Circe by Madeline Miller which I’m loving, my degree was in Classics so I love reading anything that features the Gods, heroes and myths of antiquity and this is beautifully written. She makes everyone so vibrant, I am quite in awe.

I also read Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane which had me giggling on nearly every page apart from those that made me hold my breath as I raced through. I shall definitely be reading more of hers.

Finally, I have to mention Rachel Burton’s The Pieces of You and Me, a love story so honest, brave and uplifting that I fell deeply in love with it and will keep it forever.

 

Jane:

Although I hadn’t intended to read another Sapere book quite so soon, that’s exactly what happened. I was emailing with Amy Durant, the editorial director, with an idea for a timeslip novel for them and we fell to discussing the structure. As she felt it was something Alexandra Walsh had done particularly well in The Catherine Howard Conspiracy she emailed me an early review copy.

It’s the sort of book you don’t want to say too much about in case you inadvertently slip in a spoiler, but the timelines are split between present day and the early 1540s – not surprisingly, given that was when Catherine Howard was married to Henry VIII. I had expected to enjoy the modern part of the story, but I was completely captivated by Alexandra’s depiction of the Tudor court and the way she brought the historical characters to life.

The book kept me on edge from beginning to end. It was reasonably clear who could be trusted in the historical story but far less so in the contemporary strand and I just had to keep turning the pages. Not only that but the teasing out of an alternative historical truth was done so well that I even ended up almost believing it. The book is everything a classic timeslip should be and I’d thoroughly recommend it. It’s available for pre-order now.

It was when I was in Truro library tracking down local history books for research that I came across Winston Graham’s Poldark’s Cornwall. I’d been hunting for this book for some time and it didn’t disappoint with beautiful photos and the links – real and imagined – between Ross and Demelza’s world. It also contained a couple of pages of useful advice for authors. Most pertinent to me seemed: “…risk of becoming too preoccupied with history… But novels are about life.” I think I should pin that up on my wall.

 

SISTER SCRIBES READING ROUND UP: JANUARY

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Jane:

I’m the first to admit I’m not the greatest reader. It’s not that I don’t want to be – I love reading – but in recent years time has been my enemy. In 2019 that is set to change as I kick my other business commitments into touch to become a full time writer. Surely there will be time for reading as well?

Many of the books I read at the moment are either for research purposes or to help out other authors, mainly so I can give reviews. I used to laugh at my father for reading only books by people he knew, but now I understand.

First off the blocks was Sapere author Gail Lindenberg’s He Wrote Her Every Day. It’s the story of her GI father’s Second World War, told mainly through his letters, and I chose it partly for research, partly so I could review it and partly because I knew I would enjoy it.

It was a fascinating insight into the life of an American soldier, both training before traveling to Europe and in the final push across Belgium and Germany. Because it was based on Jim’s letters home there are no gory details, but it’s an accurate historical account of one soldier’s war as well as the love story of the early days of his marriage.

With broadening my horizons in mind I’ve joined a book club at my local pub. At my first meeting we spent most of the time chatting about life and books in general, rather than about Wolf Hall, which had been their book for November/December. Very few people had managed to finish it, not because of its quality, but because of its length. I think we were all rather relieved that January’s book was a slim volume, My Uncle Silas, by HE Bates. Although beautifully written I found it rather dated for modern tastes and I’ll be interested to hear what the others make of it.

 

Kitty:

I always have a huge pile of books on the go at the same time, so my flittergibbet butterfly mind always has something to keep it hooked. At the start of this month I promised myself that as well as reading copious amounts of romantic comedies, which are always a pleasure but also help me keep apace of the market, I would begin to revisit some of the books I loved as an adolescent and revel in the stories that helped shape my notions of romance.

I’m pleased I’m doing it and I’m loving it, although some of those epic sagas I used to devour very much reflect the time and attitudes of when they were published. I raced through Hardacre by C S Skelton and adored it as much as I ever did and am currently half way through Penmarric by Susan Howatch which is being remade for television as I type and is chock full of dark brooding Cornish heroes that probably deserve to be locked up!

I’ve just finished Margaret James’ new thriller, The Final Reckoning which had a twist I didn’t see coming at all and The Wedding Shop on Wexley Street which was my first by Rachel Dove but won’t be my last, made me roar with laughter and was exactly my kind of humour. I’ve also just finished Sophie Duffy’s Betsy and Lilibet which is a perfect example of her feelgood women’s fiction which always leave me warm and smooshy on the inside. And on a more serious note, I’ve started reading Empire of Cotton – A global history by Sven Beckert which is a non-fiction book all about, obviously, the cotton trade and appeals to my inner history geek. It’s been a busy old month.

 

INTRODUCING SISTER SCRIBES: KITTY WILSON

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Sister Scribe number three is Kitty Wilson. You know with every group of friends there’s always one who’s outrageously funny. Well that’s Kitty. Funny and clever and warm. It’s little wonder she writes romcoms – and that they’re hilarious.

 

Hello! It’s so exciting to be able to collaborate with some of my best writing friends as Sister Scribes and keep you updated with all our news and views, so a big thank you to Frost Magazine for hosting us.

I’m Kitty Wilson and I write contemporary romantic comedies; my current series is set in the fictional village of Penmenna and is based around the school there. I used to be a primary school teacher myself and absolutely loved being part of such a strong community.

Having been both parent and teacher, I know what goes on both sides of the school door and really wanted to use a school as a setting and then fill it with some larger-than-life characters. I feel very lucky to be able to do this and often find myself giggling away as I invent some of the more outlandish antics of Penmenna’s PTA.

When my parents first suggested moving to Cornwall I was furious, and vowed I would never set foot in the place. I failed to win that battle so would wander around the lanes, sulky look on my face and a book tucked in my pocket, desperately waiting for a romantic hero to come and rescue me. These days I’m glad I wasn’t bundled into a car by a passer-by but it felt as if my heart would break with disappointment back then.

I lived there for twenty-five years, only moving away a few months ago to have a taste of life in the city. However, the sea is in my soul and I do head back to Cornwall regularly to get some beach time. Cornwall provided me with so much inspiration it made sense to set my books in the county and writing about it now makes me feel as if I’m still there.

Nine years ago, I was devastated when prolonged ill-health meant I had to give it teaching.  After a couple of years, I decided that I would chase my dreams instead until I could return to the classroom. I started to write.

When I had finished the first novel, I began the second, having heard you needed to write a fair few to learn all the things that make a book work. When I put that through the NWS which is a scheme run by the Romantic Novelists Association (the most supportive professional association in the world and one that actively encourages new writers and helps them build a career. It’s also responsible for me meeting my Sister Scribes) I was encouraged to submit the book to agents and publishers. I did this and couldn’t believe it when I had an offer. When I ran to tell one of my closest friends, laptop in hand and tears streaming down my face unable to get any words out, he made me hot sweet tea and sat me down, assuming all the emotion meant a close family member had died!

I used that publication offer to secure myself an agent who then immediately found me an alternative deal to consider. I never had dreamt I would be in the position of choosing a publisher, to this day I can’t quite believe that happened. I am loving writing them and there will be five Cornish School books in total, I have just finished the third and will be starting number four next week.

I am so looking forward to keeping everyone up to date with its progress through Frost magazine and introducing you to some of the women within the writing industry whom I admire. We’re going to have a blast!

Follow Kitty on Twitter @KittyWilson23

WRITING IN THE NEW

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Jane Cable sets out her plans for Frost for 2019…

Much as I’ve loved hosting Business of Books over the last couple of years, it’s definitely time for a change. Two changes in fact, but more of the second one later.

Readers with very good memories may recall that in the autumn I went on a mini retreat with four writer friends. It was a comment from Kitty that started it – just as we were leaving – she said we’d become sister scribes. So I began to ponder what that could mean.

The world over women are particularly good at giving other women support. We excel at cooperation, collaboration, sharing the champagne and handing out the tissues (or the gin). We celebrate, we commiserate, we coax, we cajole – in short, we are there for each other.

So this year I’m sharing my Frost columns with my Sister Scribes. Over the next few weeks everyone will introduce themselves, and in the coming months we will all introduce other sisters from the world of words; women whose contributions to our writing lives are important to us. Women who want to share their passion for writing for, by, and about women.

So, the Sister Scribes are:
Cassandra Grafton has her roots in Austen-inspired fiction and is a Jane Austen Literacy Foundation ambassador. Published by Canelo from this year.
Jane Cable is a long term contributor to Frost. Indie author published by Sapere from this year.
Kirsten Hesketh’s first novel landed her an agent. Hopefully a deal will follow soon.
Kitty Wilson walked straight out of the RNA New Writers’ Scheme into multiple offers. Writes hilarious romcoms for Canelo.
Susanna Bavin writes elegant, well-researched sagas. Published by Allison & Busby.

We met because we are all members of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, but that doesn’t mean the columns will all be about romance as our network of contacts spreads far and wide. Within the genre we cover a broad church, from sagas to romcoms and a great deal in between. There will be plenty of interest for readers and writers alike, with our first guests including my own long time buddy Carol Thomas on marketing collaboration and Cassandra’s co-author Ada Bright on what it’s really like writing together.

So that’s the first change. The second is an additional column on the last Wednesday of every month to replace the popular Take Four Writers. I will miss Angela, Claire, Jackie and Lucy but it’s time to offer a different perspective and I’m delighted that Sapere Books has offered to provide it.

Every month one of the Sapere team will give an insight into their publishing year. Editorial Director Amy Durant is as delighted about it as I am: “I am very excited to be offered this chance to give readers and writers a unique perspective into what life is like at Sapere Books. We are still a very new publisher and we have lots of exciting projects and developments launching this year – including publishing two of Jane’s books – so there will be plenty of news to share. As a small team we have the flexibility to change strategies at the drop of a hat, if something interesting pops up, so even I don’t know yet what I’ll be writing about in six months’ time, but I hope you will enjoy reading about Sapere Books’ journey in our second year of trading.”

So what will I be doing with all this extra time? I’m hoping I’ll be able to review more books for Frost and even branch out into travel and history related articles. Plus, as Amy has reminded me, I have two books out this year…

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: RETREAT OR TREAT?

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Retreat or treat? When five writers arrived in Bath last month, we didn’t really know how it would pan out. We intended to work, but it was the first time we’d seen each other since meeting at the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference fifteen months earlier, so would there be too much gossiping going on? Or even a frosty silence as we realised we didn’t actually like each other that much after all.

We certainly started being very polite. Cassandra Grafton (no stranger to Bath with her Austen-esque novels) found an enormous Georgian house we could rent from Bath Boutique Stays and there was quite a bit of ‘after you – no, after you’ as we chose our bedrooms.

It soon became clear that our centre of operations would be the kitchen with its windows either end and huge table. We had no plans to cook, but Kitty Wilson and I had raided M&S on the way (she is one serious snack shopper) and what with our booty and all the wine, the fridge was filled to bursting point. But did we open a bottle straight away? No – we made a nice cup of tea.

So the first myth was busted open – we were not destined to spend our three nights drinking ourselves into a stupor. A drink with dinner (we tried a variety of local restaurants, culminating at the amazing Aqua) then another one or two afterwards was about our limit and while the vodka bottle was hit pretty hard (you know who you are, ladies), the gin went almost untouched and only two half bottles of Prosecco from our stash were consumed.

We did drink on the second morning though as we celebrated the launch of Kitty’s second book. Champagne and cake well before the sun was anywhere near the yard arm, flowers smuggled into the house and hidden the previous day, and a gift from us all. Of course, before we could touch any of it we had to stage a photo or two for social media. And then spend a great deal of time sharing them to all our followers.

Second myth – we had no real intention of doing any work. Wrong again. Susanna Bavin wrote more twenty pages in longhand towards the trilogy of sagas she’s working on. I completed the structural edit of the second book of my Sapere deal. Kirsten Hesketh was busy reworking the draft of her second novel while Kitty focussed on guest posts for her blog tour (not to mention keeping up her daily word count) and Cassandra worked her way through her ‘to do’ list following the announcement of her contract with Canelo.

But more than anything we supported each other in ways small and large. I helped Kitty with her guest blogs (I’ve done so many of them) and she and Susanna critiqued the outline I’d prepared for Sapere. Kirsten’s agent had started to send her manuscript to publishers and had received a few initial rejections – and there always are rejections – but that doesn’t mean they hurt any the less. I like to think we were all there for her.

The two days and three nights flew past, mainly because we were in the company of other writers. It’s a profession where you have no colleagues, no daily water cooler moments and just to be around each other and chat authorly things was utter bliss. Noone understands writers like other writers – the highs, and the lows, and the mundane bits in between.

We left Bath on the Friday morning with the firm resolve to do it again. But something else had happened along the way; bonds had been formed and friendships deepened. We’d become, as Kitty put it, sister scribes.

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: READING AWAY

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Jane Cable catches up on some reading

Those of you who follow this column will know that I struggle to read while I’m writing, so holidays are the best time for me to catch up with the books I’ve been squirreling away on my Kindle. My recent trip to the US was good in that there were long flights, but bad because once we were there we had such a busy schedule it was hard to squeeze in too many pages.

Nevertheless, I did manage to finish a few, mainly those by authors I know (you make promises and fell obliged – in a good way, of course). Others like screenwriting bible Save The Cat deserve an article all of their own, but here are some thoughts on the fiction I managed to chomp through.

The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen by Ada Bright and Cassandra Grafton

It clear to see that this is a book that was written for fun, with many personal quirks and touches and as such it’s very much a tale of female friendship which reflects the real one between the co-authors. But it’s much more than that; it’s also a romance with a mystery to solve and the history surrounding Jane Austen is impeccable researched.

Set in modern day Bath at the time of the annual Jane Austen Festival the plot revolves around the time-travelling author who gets stuck in the twentieth century – with serious – and hilarious – consequences. I’m delighted to say that the book has just been acquired by Canelo and will be re-issued next year.

Sadie’s Wars by Rosemary Noble

I’ve known Rosemary for a number of years through Chindi Authors, but I have never before got around to reading one of her books. Sadie’s Wars is her latest – and technically third in her Currency Girls saga – but don’t let that put you off because it works well as a standalone novel.

The book goes back and forth between Australia before and during World War One and England during World War Two. Although both eras are beautifully drawn I found I related to the English story far more and it is a truly beautiful one. Rosemary captures the privations of the era so brilliantly and the love story Sadie finds in her later years is warm, real and lacking in sentiment.

The Cornish Village School – Breaking the Rules by Kitty Wilson

I’m not always the biggest romcom fan, but Kitty Wilson’s writing genuinely makes me laugh out loud. It’s the small observations, the turns of phrase – the genuine frustrations people feel when faced with contrary small children and difficult adults. And of course I was drawn to these books, not only because Kitty is a friend but because they are set in Cornwall.

Although inhabited by the cast of characters necessary to create romcom chaos and alchemy, the village of Penmenna itself feels pretty real. It’s not a tourist trap, it’s the Cornwall I’ve come to know and love since I’ve been here, with scruffy pubs full of genuinely eccentric locals who later career home down tiny single-track lanes and by some miracle get there unscathed.

The book is the first in a series and last week the next one – Second Chances – appeared. And it’s even better than the first.

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: THE KITCHEN CLASS OF 2017

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Jane Cable catches up with RNA friends

There is a tradition at Romantic Novelists’ Association conferences that the really important stuff happens in the kitchens of the shared accommodation. And for me (and I’m sure I’m not alone) the really important stuff was making friends with other writers. Almost a year later most of us have kept in touch and there have been many successes to celebrate. To be honest, I haven’t had the best year of my writing career but being able to cheer on my new friends had been a pleasure which has kept me going.

Jan Baynham, another writer from my home city of Cardiff feels the same: “No exciting publisher or agent news from me, I’m afraid, but I’ve been delighted to read about others’ successes this year. There’s been so much to celebrate! I’ve spent the time since the Conference submitting my first novel to publishers. Two recent rejections have given me very encouraging feedback and spurred me on. One editor said my novel fell into ‘the nearly-but-not-quite’ category, telling me why, but said she would be happy to consider further submissions from me. A second was even more complimentary about the quality of the writing and has asked to see my second mother-daughter saga that’s partly set in Greece. I’m working hard to get Whispering Olive Trees ready to submit to her.”

Jan’s travelling companion last year was Sue McDonagh whose debut novel has just been published by Choc Lit, but it hasn’t always been an easy road. “I wrote, learned and submitted until that magical ‘Yes’. There was joy – until the edits came in. Christmas to February, Writing Boot Camp, I rewrote almost every word, hacked back rookie errors of over-blown baddies and plot lines that went nowhere. My timeline was a joke.  I despaired that the ending would ever work. I couldn’t do it. I could, and it did, miraculously. I painted the front cover, another highlight. Published five days ago, Summer at the Art Café is already earning a slew of 5* reviews. I’m still learning – it’s a steep curve!”

Another kitchen compatriot discovering the joy of a publishing deal was Cornwall based Kitty Wilson. “My writing life has been a whirlwind since we all sat around the kitchen table at the RNA conference last year. I have gone from wannabe novelist used to micro-expressions that flashed sympathy and suggested delusion to fully fledged author. By January I had landed myself my dream agent, had to choose which publisher to go with and spent a lot of time pinching myself – it was all so dreamlike. With my first book coming out next month, the second nearly completed and a whole series to write, 2018 is going to be a very busy, but very happy, year.” The cover of the first of her Cornish Village School books has just been revealed, ready for publication next month.

When we met last year Susanna Bavin already had her deal with Allison & Busby, and her writing career is going from strength to strength: “It’s been a year of dreams coming true for me. My debut saga, The Deserter’s Daughter, has been published in hardback, e-book, audiobook, large print and paperback. My second, A Respectable Woman, will appear in the same formats; and I have a contract for another two. The best moment? Out of a year of ‘best moments,’ the very best was listening to The Deserter’s Daughter as an audiobook read by Julia Franklin. I’ve listened to audiobooks for years and Julia is one of my two favourite readers, so having her as ‘my’ reader is wonderful.”

Last but not least, Kirsten Hesketh feels she’s on the verge of something big too: “What a year! The main thing I have learned over the past year is not to submit your work too early to agents! After a round of ‘good’ rejections last September, I spent the next few months editing, restructuring, polishing and then getting a critique from the marvellous Alison May whose advice made all the difference. Then I did it all again!  The result is …. I now have an agent! I am thrilled to be represented by the wonderful Felicity Trew and have just had the excitement of having my book taken to the London Book Fair. Fingers crossed!”