Be Inspired Award

Rosemary Gemmell has nominated me for the Be Inspired Award! Thanks, Rosemary, and may I say that your blogs have been an inspiration to me, especially Reading and Writing, and Flights of Imagination about writing your children's book, Summer of the Eagles which I really enjoyed, not having read many children's books for quite a while.
In accepting the award, I have to answer the following questions which I will base on my novel, Gipsy Moth.

What gave you the idea for your book?
I love Devon and wanted to set a romance there. However in doing my research, I found out about Haldon Aerodrome and Amy Johnson's solo flight to Australia, and the story, so to speak, just took off.

How long did it take to write overall?
Several years, but I started from scratch, and learnt to write as I went along. I also took out two years to concentrate on writing short stories.

What kept you going when you were half way through?
I kept going because I wanted to see my novel finished and on the shelf in a bookshop and possibly advertised on a curved wall on the London Underground!
Are any of your characters based on real people, even though you have to say they aren’t?
Not really, but Kathy represents the problems young women faced in the 1930s. Freedom to learn to drive a car, or fly an aeroplane, but not the freedom to raise a child on their own.
Did you ever wonder if you’d have the work published?
All the time, but I believed in the story: I still do, that was why I self-published. I wanted to share it with everyone. 
When you’ve had one book published, do you feel under pressure with the next one?
Yes, because I've learned such a lot that I want to try again and get another book published with a mainstream publisher.
Would you write in a different genre next time, or do you always stick with what you know?
My new book is still a romance, but set mainly in the present.
Do you prefer writing a novel, or short stories?
Both. I liked the variety of short stories. I entered the competitions in Writers' Forum and Writing Magazine each month, and although WF would accept any subject, WM prescribed what you should write about and that was quite a challenge. I did manage to get short-listed twice and came second in one of the WM competitions. Also I learnt a great deal from the feedback I got from Lorraine Mace at WF.
Do you use everyday happenings in your writing?
Yes, I use my experiences and adapt stories I hear and events I see. I think it would be very difficult to write in a vacuum.
If your book was to be on TV who would play the lead male and female roles?
I'm not sure, maybe I'd chose James McAvoy for Ben, and Keira Knightly for Kathy. They were fantastic in Atonement, even if they don't exactly match the characters I had in mind. 



I would now like to pass the Be Inspired Award and questions to:
Rebecca Emin, Angela Bell, Janice Horton, Debs Carr and Jen Black. I'm looking forward to reading your answers!

When Dreams Come True Launch Party!

Today is the launch party for Rebecca Emin's new novel When Dreams Come True about a group of thirteen-year-olds: Charlie, Toby, Max and Allie, and their friendship; a very relevant subject for young people who are reassessing their relationships with their friends as they grow up.
Told in a clear and direct style, and in the first person, you're immediately drawn into Charlie's world of school and family problems where she finds that she has very vivid dreams which seem to begin to come true. But what do they really mean and what effect will they have on her life?
I enjoyed it so much that I sat outside in the garden on Saturday, especially to finish it.
So hurry over to Rebecca's Facebook page where the launch and giveaways will take place, or visit her blog where you can find out more about her writing.

I'm actually more likely to dream about an event after it happens! After my daughter's wedding, my dreams were a hazy, lazy, flower-filled paradise; after my trip to Iceland, my dreams took place in a snowy half-twilight, and now after my trip to the Wild West, all the action takes place by rivers meandering through hot, sandy plains surrounded by high mesas. Not surprisingly, I generally dream about journeys, and there's usually a quest, or something to achieve.
I don't often have bad dreams, but in the last one, three secret agents wearing dark glasses, stood around my bed, trying to get me out. I struggled and eventually woke up. Shaking with fear, I asked my husband why he hadn't tried to save me, and he said, 'Oh, I thought you were having a lovely dream, and I didn't want to spoil it!'
Some dream! Let's hope it doesn't come true!
What sort of dreams do you have?

Summer of the Eagles is a Novel to be Enjoyed by Young Teenagers or the Young at Heart!

I first 'met' Ros Gemmell through the Romantic Novelists' Association,  when she helped me to set up the links from the cover of my book (that you can see to your right) to Amazon and Smashwords.
She is a busy Scottish writer who writes in may genres, and Summer of the Eagles is a mystical adventure for young teenagers, set on a Scottish island.
Thirteen year old Stevie, orphaned and injured in an accident, is taken to her aunt's on Cumbruach to heal both her body and mind, but here she discovers poachers out to steal eagles' eggs from the nest high on the island, and Karig, a mysterious boy, who watches over her.
It is told in a gentle style that brings out the beauty of the island, and describes how Stevie grows up physically and mentally during her stay there. Definitely a satisfying book to take on holiday. Especially if you are off to the Scottish Islands!
If you've been following my blog, you'll know that this is the third book I've read recently aimed at teenagers. I've enjoyed them all and it's been interesting looking at life from a different point of view.
Classic children's books have stood the test of time because they have been good reads for adults as well, and I hope that these books will be enjoyed by a wide audience for years to come.

The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

New Beginnings by Rebecca Emin

Lastly, I have read Summer of the Eagles and New Beginnings on my Kindle -  my first ever books! I have to admit that it hasn't been too bad. I still love real books though and I might just buy these two again in paperback because I loved them so!
Have you ever bought a book in paperback after reading it on your Kindle?

New Beginnings by Rebecca Emin is a touching novel which highlights the problems of being bullied at school.

After reading The White Darkness  by Geraldine McCaughrean last week, about a fourteen year old girl  being kidnapped and taken to Antartica, I have read New Beginnings by Rebecca Emin this week, about an eleven year old who is bullied at school.
I have got to know Rebecca through placing our books in the Wallingford Bookshop, and I probably wouldn't have come across hers if it hadn't been for that, but I was intrigued because it of the subject matter.
I don't think I've read many schoolgirl novels since Malory Towers, and I can't remember much bullying going on there as everyone was having such a "jolly good time".
However, I began to read this one on my Kindle, and soon became engrossed with the story about Sam Hendry, a girl starting at a new school on her own, as her primary school friends have all gone to another. This is bad enough, but then she is  picked on by Molly and her cronies who destroy her confidence.
The story is told in a style which is very accessible for girls in their early teens with lots of reference to High School Musical and JLS, and has a thread about Sam's drama class so they could identify with that too. I think that they would enjoy finding out how Sam resolves being bullied, and this would help any one who suffers in this way.
I think it would be ideal for mothers and daughters to read it (not necessarily together) then discuss any problems that the girls might have at school afterwards.
After reading two books for young people,  I have just downloaded Summer of the Eagles by Ros Gemmell, about thirteen year old Stevie on a Scottish island.
They say that everything comes in threes!
Have you read any of them?

Gipsy Moth in Wallingford Bookshop!

Here is my novel, Gipsy Moth, on the shelf at Wallingford Bookshop.
I have to thank Rebecca Emin for blogging about this wonderful bookshop which agreed to stock her children's novel, New Beginnings, and her anthology, A Knowing Look and Other Stories.
I contacted Rebecca, and she said that she was sure that Alison at the shop would like to see my book, so I took it along. I felt really nervous, and hardly looked around the shop the first time, but she was pleased to take two copies.
I went back last week, and although they haven't sold yet, it only takes two people to come in and and buy them, and then perhaps she will take some more.  

Good Luck with New Beginnings, Rebecca Emin, it's the Chinese New Year!

Today, in the Daily Mail, Jonathan Cainer, the astrologer, says that it's an auspicious time to start something new because the Chinese New Year corresponds with a new moon!

So I wish the very best of luck to Rebecca Emin for her Web Splash to launch the official publication date of New Beginnings.

About New Beginnings

Sam Hendry is not looking forward to starting at her new school. Things go from bad to worse as the day of truth arrives and all of her fears come true... and then some.

When Sam meets a different group of people who immediately accept her as a friend, she begins to feel more positive.

With her new friends and interests, will Sam finally feel able to face the bully who taunts her, and to summon up the courage to perform on stage?

Rebecca has been very kind to me in helping to get my book into a real book shop - The Wallingford Book Shop, in Wallingford (!) so, it's only fair that I reciprocate.  Join  us over on Rebecca’s blog Ramblings of a Rusty Writer to find all of the details of how she is planning to celebrate today, or you can read some reviews of the book itself on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

You may like to visit some of the other blogs helping Rebecca to celebrate today too.