tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88433679964441058992024-03-04T21:22:28.828-08:00Mandy's MusingsMandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-58553001444580327702018-09-29T02:32:00.002-07:002018-09-29T02:45:00.235-07:00The Cornish RetributionOnly three days before The Cornish Retribution is out! This will be my fourth book published this year, and my tenth in total. Four books is the new record, and <br />
I doubt it will ever be repeated. I didn't write them all this year by the way!<br />
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It's been a great year both in my writing world and my day-to-day life. I have a fabulous new publisher - <a href="http://www.bloodhoundbooks.com/" target="_blank">Bloodhound Books</a>. And in my personal life, while last year was filled with death and illness, this year so far has been the opposite. I'm feeling well and I'm generally positive about things - thanks to my wonderful family and friends for their support.<br />
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I'm biting my nails of course and worrying how the new one will be received. I never get complacent about publication day. Every time one of my books goes out into the big world it's nerve wracking. Will people like it? Will they say nice or nasty things about it? Will it fly up the charts or sink to the bottom? In the end though, as long as some people enjoy it, that's all that matters isn't it? I'm not going to stop writing, because it's what I do. So I should just get on with it all and stop worrying, shouldn't I? Hmm, easier said than done. 😃<br />
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Here's the book if you fancy a look at it - just click on the link. And please cross your fingers for me for the 2nd of October. Thank you!<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cornish-Retribution-gripping-psychological-drama-ebook/dp/B07HNL9C2S/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">The Cornish Retribution</a></div>
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<br />Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-2475916927062209912018-07-30T03:39:00.001-07:002018-07-30T03:39:57.523-07:00The Calico Cat Chat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-59633367253205019202018-05-21T01:05:00.000-07:002018-05-21T01:05:46.989-07:00 Interview with Lucinda Lacey – Another Mother<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I’m sitting in The
Cornish Bakery on Fore street in St Ives. The smell of pasties and pastries
mingles with fresh coffee and my stomach is rumbling. Through the window I spy
Lucinda, or Lu, as most call her. She’s the protagonist in my book <i>Another Mother</i>. Lu’s looking both ways
before crossing the narrow street, her raven hair lifting on the breeze as she
walks. As she enters the bakery, her lively green eyes light up and her smile
reflects mine as she hurries over to my table. She looks self-assured comfortable
in her own skin. She’s come a long way, and that makes me happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Hi Lu, how are you?’ I
say giving her a quick hug.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘I’m
good, thanks. Really good.’ She smiles again and sits opposite. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘You
look it. Now, can I get you a pasty or a pastry?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Lu
looks towards the counter at the delicious food on offer, and then back to me
with a mischievous twinkle. ‘Hmm, can we be naughty and have both?’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I laugh, and we select a
pasty each and a delicious almond croissant too. Back at the table she regards
me thoughtfully over the rim of her coffee cup. ‘What brings you to St Ives
today then, Mandy?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Lu
always uses Mandy rather than Amanda. ‘To see you of course. It’s been a while.
Also, would you mind answering a few questions, so the readers of Another
Mother can get to know you a little more?’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘I’d
be delighted. Anything to help.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Great.
Okay, first question, how old are you?’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘You
know the answer, you gave me life after all.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘I
did indeed,’ I say from the corner of my mouth as it’s full of pasty. ‘But then
I know all the answers. The readers don’t though.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘I’m
thirty-one.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘And
what do you do for a living?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘I
run a café with my partner Rosie, just along the coast a bit.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘How’s
that going?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘We
are so busy, I had to rope Rosie’s mum in to cover for me today while I came.’
Lu blows on her pasty and takes a big bite. ‘I like busy though.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘You
sound happy, are you?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Lu
swallows and gives me a huge smile. ‘I have never been happier.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Couldn’t
say the same a year or so ago though, eh?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">A
dark cloud slips behind her eyes. ‘No.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I
feel guilty for dragging up the past, but if readers are to know Lu, we must
visit it. ‘If you’re okay to, would you mind if we went back to your childhood
for a bit?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">A
deep sigh. ‘I guess not. All that stuff’s all behind me now…all I can see ahead
is sunshine.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I
take a sip of coffee and plunge straight in. ‘So, you were adopted as a baby
but never really accepted it. You felt different and were bullied because of it
at school, weren’t you?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Yes.
Kids can be cruel. But because I felt rejected by my birth parents and betrayed
by my adoptive parents I kept it all a big secret. Then I confided in my so
called best friend and she told the school bully, Megan. Megan was a vile girl.
She haunted my dreams for years, even after I’d left school.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I
nod and give her an encouraging smile. ‘What do you mean by betrayed?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Well,
they didn’t really, I just saw it as that. They told me I was adopted when I
was seven. I couldn’t take it in, couldn’t believe that they weren’t my ‘real’
parents. Overnight I’d lost them and felt as if nobody wanted me. My birth mum
obviously hadn’t had she? I really
didn’t know who the hell I was anymore. Everything I had ever knows was false.
I was false. Unloved, unwanted. Or so it seemed back then.’ Lu dabs at her
mouth with a napkin and stares at her plate.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘But
they did love you really, didn’t they? Your birth parents?’ I put my hand on
her arm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She
looks at me and nods. ‘God yes. I couldn’t have wished for better parents.
That’ why I was so destroyed when my mum…’ She tails off and picks up her
croissant but doesn’t eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘When
your mum died?’ I pick my pastry up too and take a bite. She copies me and gets
icing sugar on the tip of her nose. I point it out and we laugh. The misery
lifts and she washes the mouthful down with coffee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Yep.
After she died I knew I needed to find my birth mother. I wanted to for years
but felt like it would hurt my birth mum. Make her feel like she wasn’t enough,
you know?’ I nod. ‘Dad totally understood, said they had expected that I’d do
it much earlier. He was fine about it, though he did miss me lots when I came
down here to Cornwall from Sheffield, my home town.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘This
is where your birth mother’s address was, here in St Ives?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She
gives me a withering look and yawns. ‘You know it was, you wrote the story.
This interview is a bit daft really. Can we talk about you for a change? I
never really got to know much about your life.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Er,
perhaps another time. Humour me.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Okay.
Yes. This is where I found her.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘You
were over the moon, finding her after such a long time?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘To
start with. Then there were a few let’s say, inconsistencies in her personality
that began to ring alarm bells.’ Lu swirls the last of her coffee in her cup
and drains it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Is
it safe to say that your dreams of finding your birth mother quickly turned
into a nightmare?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘It
certainly is. Once, we were on the boat and I—’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I
hold up my hand. ‘No, don’t mention that. In fact, I think we have enough now
to give readers a flavour of who you are and what your story is about.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Lu
shrugs her shoulders and pushes her plate to one side. ‘Make your mind up,
Mandy. First you want the low-down, then you want me to stop.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘That’s
because the story’s just waiting to be discovered. No point in giving the game
away before the readers have even opened the first page is there?’ I smile and
drain my cup too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Right.
Shall I fill you in with what I’ve been up to recently?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Best
not, because that might give too much away too,’ I say and shrug my coat on.
‘Let’s go down to the pub for a drink. The readers won’t hear us there. I’d
love to hear all your news.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Lu
grins. ‘Now you’re talking.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">We stand and I follow her
out of the café into the bright sunshine of St Ives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">If you have enjoyed finding out about Lu, you can get her full story <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-Mother-gripping-psychological-family-ebook/dp/B07BQ43R1K/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<br />Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-65636422754459271612017-12-30T02:56:00.000-08:002017-12-30T03:53:22.341-08:00Writing is Good for Your HealthWell, I haven't written a blog post since March....to be fair, I do tend to neglect this blog, but there has been rather a lot going on this year, most of it not good. As we are just a day or two away from 2018, I thought I'd just tell you about my year.<br />
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Last year around this time, I was worried about my dad who was having awful pains in his leg. He was generally unwell. My mum had her usual health problems and at 89 most of us would, but was mostly not too bad. The doctor was trying to find out what was wrong with Dad's leg, but of course everything shut down for Christmas. My daughter and I had to take Christmas lunch down to them as Dad couldn't walk.<br />
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By the 3rd of Jan, I think it was, Dad was worse and was taken into hospital. To cut a very long story short, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and secondary bone cancer. His thigh bone was fractured. He was given months rather than years, but they couldn't be more specific. Although Dad was 88, it was still a bit of a shock for us all and Mum, who had started to have much more than the normal memory lapses for her age, didn't really take it in - neither did Dad come to that.<br />
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Again, cutting to the chase, by the summer Dad had been home and then back in hospital after a fall, and the big shock - Mum had a fall and went to hospital. Six weeks later she died. That was on the 14th of June and then on the 23rd of July came the biggest shock for me personally, I had a heart attack.<br />
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I couldn't quite believe it to be honest. I'm not your average candidate - I don't smoke, don't eat much processed food, I was drinking quite a bit given the stress of Mum and Dad though. Stress is what they reckon caused it. There was so much to do during that time, involving sorting out my parents with carers and hospital appointments, rushing round there at 2am when one of them had fallen again, so, so much to worry bout. Anyway, just as I was trying to get my head around the heart attack and Mum's death, Dad died in August.<br />
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I can tell you I wasn't really in a good place after all that. My husband and family were wonderful, but in the end they couldn't really understand what I was feeling. Neither could I, so I just threw myself into writing. It wasn't a conscious decision, it just happened. Over the year I'd had quite a lot of interest from various agents asking for the full manuscript of a previous story, but in the end they all said no. So I decided to start a new one. Well, actually I was 2,000 words in, when a publisher said they's like to see the rest - that's when I was in hospital. Ten weeks later it was finished. Two weeks after that, I had a book deal with the brilliant <a href="http://www.bloodhoundbooks.com/" target="_blank">Bloodhound Books</a>. Rip Current will be out in April and Another Mother, will be out in June.<br />
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When I was writing, I didn't have to think about the real world and dwell on my heart attack. I was still having chest pains, which the consultant said was atypical and that nothing could be really done about it. He was satisfied it wasn't cardiac related. I still get them now, but not too often thank goodness. I have quite a few meds, which is all new to me too. Writing helped take my mind away from the death of my parents too for a time. I have always written - it's like breathing to me, but it is even more important now than it ever was. It got me through the darkest time I've ever had, and for that I am very thankful.<br />
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Right at the end of the year it all feels a bit surreal and I expect it will take a long time to process it all and eventually come to terms, but I do feel hopeful about next year. 2018 can't come soon enough, and I will do everything I can to make sure it's a good one. One thing's for sure it will involve writing as I'm convinced it is good for my health. Here's a picture of the Cornish coast not far from me - that's good for my health too. Here's wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2018!<br />
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<br />Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-82546225435986045182017-03-14T07:30:00.002-07:002017-03-14T07:32:08.309-07:00Behind the LieWell at last I can reveal that I have now signed with HQ Digital - an imprint of Harper Collins! How exciting is that? My new book will be out on the 21st of April 2017 and I'd thought you'd like to see the cover...It is a suspenseful read with a good many twists and turns and set in Cornwall and London. Anyway, more later :)<br />
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Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-83933335983011662442017-01-16T00:18:00.000-08:002017-01-16T00:18:00.983-08:00Come and meet Victoria Cornwall and The Thief's Daughter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Welcome to my
blog, <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Victoria</st1:place></st1:state>.
Please take a seat and would you like a glass of something? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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It’s a pleasure. And yes please. That Prosecco looks
inviting and we are celebrating after all aren’t we?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>We are indeed! I
can't wait to read The Thief’s Daughter, it sounds so full of adventure,
mystery and good romance of course. I'm sure those that love Poldark will be
very interested in Jenna's story! <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Can you tell me
where you got the idea for the story?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Yes, my husband and I were walking the coastal path of North
Cornwall and came across Pepper Cove. The strange name came from its murky past
as it had been used as a popular landing site for smuggled spices in the 18<sup>th</sup>
century. I wanted to write a story which was set near the coast and seeing the
cove reminded me of <st1:city w:st="on">Cornwall</st1:city>’s
smuggling history. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b> How much do you depend on Cornwall for your
inspiration?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Quite heavily, I think. The geology, its history, the
historic buildings, monuments and local industries, all inspire my writing. The
names I choose for my fictional villages are often formed from its old Celtic
language and I like to give some of the characters Cornish names.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>I love Cornish
names too. Did you have to do lots of research to make sure you had the right
setting and terms for 18th century Cornwall?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Yes, but I enjoy history and researching the past. The
internet is very useful for research purposes, although you have to be careful
and recheck the accuracy of the material. <st1:city w:st="on">Cornwall</st1:city>
also has several museums which feature the history of smuggling. I was able to visit
them and learn how goods were hidden until they were able to be collected, see
the implements the smugglers used as weapons and be reminded of how prolific
and well organised the smuggling operations were.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Fascinating. Who
is your favourite character in the book and why?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I love all of the main characters. Jenna is feisty and
shows great loyalty, but finds herself in a very difficult situation. The
mysterious, brooding Jack Penhale is on a mission, but he has a great sense of
humour which only Jenna can bring out in him. However, I think I enjoyed
writing the character of Silas the most. His behaviour is so outrageous that at
times I had to rein myself in as he had no intention of doing it for himself! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Isn’t it odd how
characters just do as they please sometimes? Is this your first book and if
not, are your others historical romances too?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The Thief’s Daughter is my first traditionally published
book, but in actual fact it is the third I have written. The first two were
self published historical romances which were both nominated for the
RONE Indie and Small Published Book Award in <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region>. The
second was also short-listed for the New Talent Award at the Festival
of Romantic Fiction in <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region>.</div>
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<b>Excellent! What
are you working on now?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I’ve just completed another book and am researching the
next one. I would love to tell you about them, but can say very little for now,
other than they are all set in <st1:city w:st="on">Cornwall</st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cornwall is the
best! I would say that though wouldn’t I? How long does it take you to complete
a book?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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It takes me between 8 to 12 months to write a book as I
also have a day job too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Where would you
like to be career wise in five-years?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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A few years ago I would have said where I am now, with a
traditional publishing contract. However, writers are terrible for moving the
goal posts and wanting more … an award … a best seller … enough money to give
up the day job etc. It would be lovely to have all of those things, but most
importantly for me I just want my books to be available to a larger audience,
for readers to enjoy my books so much that they recommend them to their
friends.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve always said that I would like to see my book in
someone’s grocery trolley, wedged between a tin of baked beans and a bottle of
ketchup, as it would mean my books are mainstream and a part of everyday life. I
think that wish, or perhaps I should say goal, still holds true today. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Oh I would love
to see that for mine too! One day I hope. Thank you so much for joining me today
and best of luck with The Thief’s Daughter!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Thank you for having me, I’ve really enjoyed it.</div>
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The Thief’s Daughter is out now. Grab one today! </div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b>Find out more about Victoria here:</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Website:</span><span class="ecxapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.victoriacornwall.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0068cf;">www.victoriacornwall.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Twitter:</span><span class="ecxapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">@VickieCornwall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Facebook:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/victoriacornwall.author/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0068cf;">www.facebook.com/victoriacornwall.author</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Instagra</span><span style="color: #444444;">m:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.instagram.com/victoria_cornwallx" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0068cf;">www.instagram.com/victoria_cornwallx</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Pinterest:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="color: #0068cf;"><a href="http://uk.pinterest.com/vickiecornwall/" target="_blank" title="http://uk.pinterest.com/vickiecornwall/
Ctrl+Click or tap to follow the link">uk.pinterest.com/vickiecornwall</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><b>Buying Links</b></span></div>
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Amazon: <a href="http://amzn.to/2iZedeX">http://amzn.to/2iZedeX</a></div>
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Kobo <a href="https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-thief-s-daughter-2">https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-thief-s-daughter-2</a></div>
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Apple iBooks:- <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/the-thiefs-daughter/id1173216412?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4">https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/the-thiefs-daughter/id1173216412?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4</a></div>
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Barnes & Noble:- <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-thiefs-daughter-victoria-cornwall/1125429999?ean=2940157615451">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-thiefs-daughter-victoria-cornwall/1125429999?ean=2940157615451</a></div>
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Google Play:- <a class="x_OWAAutoLink" href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Victoria_Cornwall_The_Thief_s_Daughter_Choc_Lit?id=kNHUDQAAQBAJ" id="LPlnk509901" target="_blank">https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Victoria_Cornwall_The_Thief_s_Daughter_Choc_Lit?id=kNHUDQAAQBAJ</a></div>
Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-71365082147828146972016-07-21T02:12:00.000-07:002016-07-21T02:12:12.257-07:00Lynda Stacey tells all about her debut - House of Secrets!<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-right: 23.25pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today I am chatting to Lynda Stacey about her debut released this week - <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Secrets-Choc-Lynda-Stacey-ebook/dp/B01H9961XY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469091191&sr=1-1&keywords=house+of+secrets+lynda+stacey" target="_blank">House of Secrets. </a>Great to have you
here, Lynda! Make yourself comfortable and can I interest you in a
Cornish Cream Tea?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Cream Tea?? Now
you’re talking, of course you can.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The blurb for
The House of Secrets is very intriguing. Can you tell me who
discovers the main secret, or will that give the game away?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">The secrets are
hidden within a diary that’s found by Madeleine and the hero of the story
Bandit. The diary belonged to the former owner of the house. The diary of Emily
Ennis begins when she’s just a young lady, and takes you through her life,
during which you find out the secrets that have been hidden for many years.</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ooh, sounds </span>intriguing! <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Can I ask who is your
favourite character and why?</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">My favourite
character, Wow, that’s a hard question. I love them all. But, if I had to
choose one, it would have to be Nomsa. She’s a lovely, happy-go-lucky Caribbean
lady, with a huge personality. She works at the hotel and becomes a mother
figure to Madeleine. She’s certainly someone I’d love to sit at the kitchen
table with, drinking gallons of tea. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Talking of which…. Do
pass a scone..!</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Of course, more cream too? Now, which character do
you like least and why?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Well… that really isn’t
a hard question. I’d have to dislike Liam O’Grady. He’s Madeleine’s ex-partner.
He’s cruel, nasty and terrifies poor Poppy, Madeleine’s young daughter. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">But they do say that
children are intuitive and Poppy is terrified for a reason. She’s managed to
work Liam out very quickly and he knows it.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I see. Not sure I like the sound of him either. So which scene did
you enjoy writing the most and which did you find the most difficult?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Gosh… I don’t think
any of them were easy. It’s like asking me to climb Everest and then asking
which step hurt the least lol.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">If I really had to
choose. I’d say that the most enjoyable, would probably be the one where
Madeleine first see’s Wrea Head Hall. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">It brought back all
the feelings I had when I went to Wrea Head Hall for the very first time. My
husband took me for my birthday, which is Christmas week. I remember driving
towards it and seeing it towering up before me, gargoyles and all. I loved the
way the amber lighting, along with the huge twenty foot Christmas tree shone
back at me through the grand window and the way the log fires brought a feeling
on ambience to each room. I remember the first moment I walked in through the
huge, gothic, arched front door, I could feel the history seeping out of the
walls. It was as thought the ghosts of the past were still there, but in a nice
way and I knew right then that the house needed a great story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">The most difficult
scene. That’s an easy one to answer, but I can’t. It would give away the story.
But, I will reveal that I was sat one night, tapping away on my lap top, writing
this scene, I almost threw it off of my knee. My husband looked at me in shock
and asked what was wrong, and all I could say was, “I have no idea where all
that came from, but if I don’t stop writing that scene now, I’ll give myself
nightmares.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Oh, I felt a shiver then... More tea? Okay, you have a dual
time-frame in your novel. Which time period would you most like to live in,
the present or the past?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">I’d just like to live
in a time when everyone got along. There’s so much hate in the world right now,
it’s awful and to be honest. I don’t get it. There’s absolutely no need for it,
everyone should be nice to one another. In my mind, it really wouldn’t and
shouldn’t be that difficult.</span><span style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Totally agree there! Can you tell me a
little of what your WiP is about?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">I’ve just finished
writing my 3<sup>rd</sup> novel and I’m researching my 4<sup>th</sup>. I was born a miner’s daughter, lived through
the miners strikes and left school at an early age to find employment, so our
family could eat. I thought it would be a good idea to write a time-slip, going
back to the miners strikes, to the times when communities looked after each
other and then, in the present day part of the novel, show how things have changed.
I guess you could say that I‘m kind of going back to my roots.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Oh, and of course,
there will be romance, and suspense, and probably murder…. But you’ll have to
wait and see.</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Can't wait! Where do you find
your inspiration? Is it always easy for you to come up with new
writing ideas?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">My problem is that I
have too many ideas. I think I have some kind of ADHD, my brain never stops. I’m
a very active person, which is why I work full time, run a home and write
books. Just watching television on a night would drive me insane. I think I drive
my husband mad by waking up in the middle of the night, thinking up and writing
down future plots. Or I get up at stupid o’clock on a Saturday or Sunday
morning to write. You’ll often see me logging onto Facebook or checking Twitter
before six in the morning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">At the moment, I have
a possible 7 different books that I could start.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">My inspiration comes
from life. I believe in romance, and in love, but I know from very personal
experience that life isn’t always that simple. I’ve had a very diverse life and
was married very young. My first husband was a narcissist, a very controlling
man who also suffered with autism. Nothing had a grey area with him and unless
you did things his way, he wasn’t happy and yes… I saw sense and eventually
left. But I did live through it for 3 years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I am similar to you regarding ideas - my </span>brain<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> won't switch off either! And yes, life experience good and bad brings great inspiration.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Which writers
influenced you the most?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Again, so many. I’ve
always loved so many genres and I think I’d miss someone out if I were to
choose. But I can say that I loved all of your books, especially the Stitch in
Time and the Cross Stitch, you can’t beat a bit of time travel. And what’s
more, I’m really looking forward to reading your new book, Summer in Tintagel.</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Oh that's so kind. Thank you! Did you have a
dream to become a writer when you were little as I did?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">I wanted to be an
author for as long as I can remember. My father was a strict m<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>an
and I would have to sit quietly for hours. Which is when I sat and wrote
stories. At the age of 14, my English teacher advised that I look for a job in
journalism, or followed my dream of being an author. But, just before leaving
school, I went to my careers advice officer and he asked me what I wanted to
do. I very proudly told him my ambitions and he rubbed his chin and said, “Have
you ever thought of being a shop assistant, I hear they’re taking on at Boots
the Chemist.” Hence to say, if I were to ever meet him again… I think I’d have
a word or two to say to him.</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Indeed. And where do you see yourself </span></b><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">in two years</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> in terms of your writing career?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: blue;">Well… I’d like to still be sat here
eating Cornish Cream Tea with you, but other than that, I’d like to think that
I could do something good. It would be amazing to win an award and to be called
an ‘award winning author’ or to sell so many books that I’d be able to put
‘best-selling author’ on the covers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: blue;">I’m very ambitious and if nothing else,
I already have my sights set on completing another couple of books in that
time.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And I'm sure you will achieve your aims too. Thanks so much for stopping by today and eating all the scones ... I mean sharing my Cream Tea! It has been lovely to chat! :)</span></b></div>
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Find out more about House of Secrets and Lynda below:</div>
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HOUSE OF SECRETS</div>
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Short Synopsis</div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A woman on the run, a broken man and a house with a
shocking secret … </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Madeleine Frost has to get away. Her partner Liam has become
increasingly controlling to the point that Maddie fears for her safety, and that
of her young daughter Poppy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Desperation leads Maddie to the hotel owned by her estranged father –
the extraordinarily <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>beautiful Wrea Head Hall in
Yorkshire. There, she meets Christopher ‘Bandit’ Lawless, an ex-marine and the
gamekeeper of the hall, whose brusque manner conceals a painful past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">After discovering a diary belonging to a previous owner, Maddie and
Bandit find themselves immersed in the history of the old house, uncovering its
secrets, scandals, tragedies – and, all the while, becoming closer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">But Liam still won’t let go, he wants Maddie back, and when Liam wants
something he gets it, no matter who he hurts …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Winner of Choc Lit & Whole Story Audiobooks
2015 Search for a Star competition.</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Author Bio</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Lynda, is a wife, step-mother and grandmother, she grew up in the mining
village of Bentley, Doncaster, in South Yorkshire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">She is currently the Sales Director of a stationery, office supplies and
office furniture company in Doncaster, where she has worked for the past 25
years. Prior to this she’d also been a nurse, a model, an emergency first
response instructor and a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor … and yes, she was crazy
enough to dive in the sea with sharks, without a cage.<span style="display: none; mso-hide: all;"><br />
</span>Following a car accident in 2008, Lynda was left with limited mobility
in her right arm. Unable to dive or teach anymore, she turned to her love of
writing, a hobby she’d followed avidly since being a teenager.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Her own life story, along with varied career choices helps Lynda to
create stories of romantic suspense, with challenging and unpredictable plots,
along with (as in all romances) very happy endings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Lynda joined the Romantic Novelist Association in 2014 under the
umbrella of the New Writers Scheme and in 2015, her debut novel <i>House of
Secrets</i> won the Choc Lit & Whole Story Audiobooks <i>Search for a Star</i>
competition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: Quattrocento; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">She lives in a small rural hamlet near Doncaster, with her ‘hero at home
husband’, Haydn, whom she’s been happily married to for over 20 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Link to Choc Lit</div>
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<a href="http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/house-of-secrets/">http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/house-of-secrets/</a></div>
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Link to Amazon</div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Secrets-Choc-Lynda-Stacey-ebook/dp/B01H9961XY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466448741&sr=8-1&keywords=Lynda+stacey">https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Secrets-Choc-Lynda-Stacey-ebook/dp/B01H9961XY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466448741&sr=8-1&keywords=Lynda+stacey</a></div>
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Facebook</div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/lyndastaceyauthor">www.facebook.com/lyndastaceyauthor</a></div>
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Twitter</div>
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<span style="color: #2e74b5; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">@Lyndastacey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Website</div>
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<a href="http://www.lyndastacey.co.uk/">www.Lyndastacey.co.uk</a></div>
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Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-41282461931595203922016-06-20T04:59:00.001-07:002016-06-20T04:59:44.967-07:00Summer in Tintagel - a sneaky peek!<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I'm so excited that Summer in Tintagel will be out in a few short weeks! The 14th of July is publication day and the Kindle version is available for pre-order now. You can't see inside yet, so I thought I'd give you a sneaky peek at the opening lines. Hope you like them! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcY02hD5sFJW5QG8JG-u1Xdyo7STIODzFa-MNNor3LdjnzC0sPly1bI61MKCim1lIVZOVg4hDlVrcdpHE5L62rGAveb6Yhirm8jPwOOU8L0BFFlYVwqxRyrCLodn_AVpaM451Eibirt9kr/s1600/12622539_639144006225025_1346684372159513664_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcY02hD5sFJW5QG8JG-u1Xdyo7STIODzFa-MNNor3LdjnzC0sPly1bI61MKCim1lIVZOVg4hDlVrcdpHE5L62rGAveb6Yhirm8jPwOOU8L0BFFlYVwqxRyrCLodn_AVpaM451Eibirt9kr/s640/12622539_639144006225025_1346684372159513664_o.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Chapter
One<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Rosa
kneels on the lawn. It is summer, but the grass is damp under her bare legs and
she wishes that she had taken the picnic rug that Mummy had tried to give her
just now. Mummy said that she was wilful and she’d have to learn by her own
mistakes. Rosa wonders what wilful means as she pours water from the plastic
teapot into a tiny cup and places it in front of Barney, her oldest teddy bear.
Wilful is perhaps the same as stubborn. Daddy often says she is stubborn.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> ‘Would you like tea too, Miss Jemima
Puddle-duck?’ <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">A
stuffed green and brown duck looks at her from its one glassy eye, but says
nothing. Rosa nods. ‘Yes, of course you would. You can have a biscuit too.’<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Rosa puts cups in front of all her
toys and looks back across the long expanse of grass towards her house. The sun
hides itself behind a cloud, but that isn’t the reason she has goosebumps
forming along her arms. She feels her heartbeat quicken and she tightens her
grip on a biscuit. It crumbles and leaves as sticky smear of chocolate on her
fingers. Rosa licks the chocolate, but her stomach rolls and she tries to blot
out a voice in her head. Daddy will be angry, very angry.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> A scream pierces the silent
afternoon. It comes from the house and it sounds like her mother. Rosa leans
her back against a tree and draws her knees up under her chin. She looks at a
grass stain on her white sock and her whole body begins to shake. A siren wails
up the valley and she knows that something bad has happened. Very bad.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> She has been under the tree what
feels like a long time, but then she sees Daddy burst from the house as if he
has been fired like a bullet from a gun. His hair is messy and he runs his
hands through it with wild jerky movements. Daddy’s tie is pulled to the side
and he doesn’t look at all neat. Being neat is something he is very proud of. Rosa
tries to make herself small, but he has seen her and runs towards her ... fast.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Daddy kneels beside her and puts his
big hands on her shoulders. He shakes her roughly. ‘This is all you fault!
Dabbling in evil always ends in disaster, do you hear me?’<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> ‘I ... I ... haven’t done anything
...’<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> ‘Don’t lie! All this mumbo jumbo
about ghostly old ladies appearing in my house and warning you to ...’ Daddy’s
face looks like a Halloween mask and his mouth twists down at the corners. ‘Never mind. You are going to your room and
staying there for the rest of the day!’<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Rosa’s arm hurts where Daddy is
squeezing it as he drags her back to the house. Her eyes fill, but she won’t
let him see. She is glad she is going to her room, because she doesn’t want to
know exactly what has happened; the bad thing that has made Daddy so angry.
Rosa has a good idea already and this makes her so sad that she can hardly
breathe...<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-90928435388465672222016-05-20T10:05:00.000-07:002016-06-01T14:38:50.727-07:00The Little Things<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know the new IKEA advert is quite sentimental, but the tag line stuck in my head. It is something along the lines of - enjoy the little things in life, because one day you will realise that they were the big things. Now, this won't make me rush out and buy IKEA products, but it has encouraged me to think more about the little things. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">My five-year-old grandson picked these for me today as we walked from his school. As we threaded through the crowds of children, he kept stopping and picking them from the verge even though his friends were around. His little face showed love and pride as he presented me with the tiny bouquet. He said, 'These are for you, Mimi.' </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you can imagine, I found I'd a lump in my throat. Not because he'd picked me daisys, buttercups and a dandelion, but because he was totally oblivious to the social pressures that some of the older children in his school would be aware of. In a few years time, it will be uncool for him to pick his Mimi flowers, or to do or say lots of other wonderful sweet and innocent things that he amazes me with on a daily basis.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I will treasure these flowers in their egg cup vase, because they are a symbol of the little things in life being the big things ... in fact, I'd say that they are bloody huge things.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span>Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-65922094688215402512016-05-02T03:11:00.000-07:002016-05-02T03:16:44.160-07:00Three Extracts Well it's May and the last post on here was February - I know, scandalous! So I thought you might like a look at three extracts from my latest works.<br />
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First up, Summer in Tintagel - out on the 14th of July, Cast Away Stones, finished a few months ago, and The Calico Cat finished just last week!<br />
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I am a bit of a writing machine at the mo, though I think I will have a rest now. The extracts are all very different from each other. I hope you like them! Oh, and if any talent scouts or Hollywood producers fancy getting in touch, just form an orderly queue...<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Rosa
kneels on the lawn. It is summer, but the grass is damp under her bare legs and
she wishes that she had taken the picnic rug that Mummy had tried to give her
just now. Mummy said that she was wilful and she’d have to learn by her own
mistakes. Rosa wonders what wilful means as she pours water from the plastic
teapot into a tiny cup and places it in front of Barney, her oldest teddy bear.
Wilful is perhaps the same as stubborn. Daddy often says she is stubborn.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> ‘Would you like tea too, Miss Jemima
Puddleduck?’ <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">A
stuffed green and brown duck looks at her from its one glassy eye, but says
nothing. Rosa nods. ‘Yes, of course you would. You can have a biscuit too.’<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Rosa puts cups in front of all her
toys and looks back across the long expanse of grass towards her house. The sun
hides itself behind a cloud, but that isn’t the reason she has goosebumps
forming along her arms. She feels her heartbeat quicken and she tightens her
grip on a biscuit. It crumbles and leaves as sticky smear of chocolate on her
fingers. Rosa licks the chocolate, but her stomach rolls and she tries to blot
out a voice in her head. Daddy will be angry, very angry.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> A scream pierces the silent
afternoon. It comes from the house and it sounds like her mother. Rosa leans
her back against a tree and draws her knees up under her chin. She looks at a
grass stain on her white sock and her whole body begins to shake. A siren wails
up the valley and she knows that something bad has happened. Very bad.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> She has been under the tree what
feels like a long time, but then she sees Daddy burst from the house as if he
has been fired like a bullet from a gun. His hair is messy and he runs his
hands through it with wild jerky movements. Daddy’s tie is pulled to the side
and he doesn’t look at all neat. Being neat is something he is very proud of.
Rosa tries to make herself small, but he has seen her and runs towards her ...
fast.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Daddy kneels beside her and puts his
big hands on her shoulders. He shakes her roughly. ‘This is all you fault!
Dabbling in evil always ends in disaster, do you hear me?’<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> ‘I ... I ... haven’t done anything
...’<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> ‘Don’t lie! All this mumbo jumbo
about ghostly old ladies appearing in my house and warning you about ...’ Daddy’s
face looks like a Halloween mask and his mouth twists down at the corners. ‘Never mind. You are going to your room and
staying there for the rest of the day!’<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Rosa’s arm hurts where Daddy is
squeezing it as he drags her back to the house. Her eyes fill, but she won’t
let him see. She is glad she is going to her room, because she doesn’t want to
know exactly what has happened; the bad thing that has made Daddy so angry.
Rosa has a good idea already and this makes her so sad that she can hardly
breathe...<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: blue;">CAST AWAY STONES</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Sunday morning in our
street looked the same as it did on every other day except that privet hedges
looked less green, the windows hid behind curtains, flowers in gardens seemed a
little more faded and the garden gnomes looked hung-over. It was though the
week had been so hard to deal with that the collective energy of houses,
humans, plants and gnomes alike had been reduced to emergency levels only.
Today being the first of August and the third of a heat wave added an extra layer
of apathy and inertia, unbroken even by the tolling of St Bartholomew’s bell
calling all parishioners, willing or reluctant to morning service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Adelaide closed our front door behind her and hurried
down the path towards me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘Right, I’m off to church and I have just popped the
roast in so it will be well on the way when I get back.’ She cocked her head
birdlike to one side and looked me up and down. ‘Now, don’t worry about
anything while you’re away. I’ll look after your dad. This is your time, go for
it, as you young ones say.’ Her lips twitched at the corners and then lifted
for at least two seconds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> There was an unexpected lump of emotion growing in my
throat, and before I could talk myself out of it, I stepped forward and put my
arms around her. She felt solid and dependable and I wondered what I’d do
without her. Adelaide said something that sounded like, ‘Awumha’ and patted my
back a little too hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> ‘I can’t begin to thank you for everything you’ve done
lately, Adelaide,’ I said looking away from her moist eyes, in case mine tried
to copy them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Adelaide
flapped her hand and looked into the boot of my car. ‘Nonsense, I did what any
good neighbour worth her salt would have done.’ She eyed the iron and frowned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">‘We
both know that’s not true,’ I said, closing the boot and leaning my hip against
it. ‘You made me realise it was time to cast away stones and that was the most
important thing ever.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Her
mouth twitched again and she nodded. ‘Good. I’m glad. And now I’d better pop
off or I’ll be late. Safe journey.’ She touched my cheek lightly and then I
watched her small figure hurry away down the street. As she passed each house, it
seemed to me that the privet hedges and flowers regained their colour, the
windows threw back their curtains and the garden gnomes stood to attention and
saluted her. Okay, perhaps the last bit was taking things too far...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"> <span style="color: red;">THE CALICO CAT</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">My sketch pad is at the ready for those wildflowers,
and maybe even a dolphin if we get up early enough on this holiday. Sunrise,
dolphins and ocean, who could want for more? I hug Algernon to my chest and
inhale the scent of wildflowers, ozone and banana and exhale a heart-swell of peace,
calm and happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36pt;">Happiness is funny
isn’t it? Elusive for some, taken for granted by others and unrecognised by
many. We are encouraged to think that happiness comes wrapped around a new car,
house, various expensive this that or the others, or maybe it is hidden in the
in arms of a lover – the Mr or Miss Right that we all must find.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">This soulmate has to
be everything we dreamed they would be, or if they are not, we pretend that
they are and hide our disappointment. To go through life without our ‘other
halves’ is to show the world that we have failed, that there’s something wrong
with us. Then, once we have found our soulmate and amassed our expensive this
that and the others, we need to make sure our success is passed on to future
generations. Children are the cherry on
the cake, the completion of our world - our happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I worry that while many
are in (often futile) pursuit of the all above, they might miss the delicate
and wondrous beauty of a wildflower, a butterfly, the scent of the sea, a sun
warmed stone, the feel of wet sand under bare feet, the taste of fresh baked
bread. Does that make me sound pompous? Self satisfied? I think it might, but I
don’t mean it to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I certainly don’t claim
to have all the answers, and I know I am very lucky not to have to worry about
the practical day-to-day, but I wish people would take their gaze from the
monolith of ‘happiness’ more often, slow its relentless build, and instead,
truly appreciate the daisy growing through the crack in its brickwork...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-75933153430387906122016-02-04T00:38:00.002-08:002016-02-04T00:38:47.228-08:00Summer in Tintagel out in July!This is the cover reveal of Summer in Tintagel! Isn't it fab!! I'm so excited and can't wait to see it in the flesh. Here's the blurb:<br />
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<em>We all have secrets……</em></div>
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Ambitious journalist Rosa Fernley has been asked to fulfil her grandmother Jocelyn’s dying wish. Jocelyn has also passed on a secret - in the summer of 1968, fleeing from the terror of a bullying husband, she visited the mysterious Tintagel Castle. Jocelyn wasn’t seeking love, but she found it on the rugged clifftops in the shape of Jory, a local man as enigmatic and alluring as the region itself. But she was already married, and knew her husband would never let her find happiness and peace in Jory’s arms. Now as her days are nearing their end, she begs Rosa to go back to Tintagel, but is unwilling, or unable, to tell her why.<br /><br />Rosa is reluctant - she has a job in London, a deadline that won’t wait and flights of fancy are just not in her nature. Nevertheless, she realises it might be the last thing she will do for her beloved grandmother and agrees to go.<br /><br />Once in Tintagel, Rosa is challenged to confront secrets of her own, as shocking events threaten to change everything she has ever believed about herself and her family. She also meets a guide to the castle, Talan, a man who bears a striking resemblance to Jory...</div>
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Will the past remain cloaked in tragedy, sadness and the pain of unrequited love? Or can Rosa find the courage and strength to embrace the secrets of the past, and give hope to the future?</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You can see my author page and more about Urbane Publications <a href="http://urbanepublications.com/books/summer-in-tintagel/" target="_blank">here</a>. I'll keep you posted!!</span></div>
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Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-16959440009909894052015-11-05T00:44:00.000-08:002015-11-05T00:44:21.769-08:00Win a Signed Copy of Cross Stitch!To celebrate the paperback publication of Cross Stitch, sequel to <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stitch-Time-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B00BNGXVTC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1363172915&sr=1-1" target="_blank">A Stitch in Time</a>, I thought I'd run a little competition :)<br />
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All you have to do is answer a simple question about A Stitch in Time, AND tell me, if time travel was really possible, (which it is of course ) which time period in history would you travel to and why?<br />
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Now for the question - What occupation does Sarah have in A Stitch in Time?<br />
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Leave your name and answers as a comment on this blog. If for some reason you can't comment,send your answers in an email to - mandykjames@hotmail.co.uk<br />
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I will announce the winner on Saturday 7th of November, which is the official publication day for Cross Stitch! Your copy is here in this box, just waiting for a home,...<br />
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Good luck!<br />
<br />
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<br />Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-79945277630334919182015-05-16T03:49:00.000-07:002015-11-05T00:15:26.355-08:00How Many Words Did You Write Today?At the beginning of the week I decided that I would write a thousand words a day, come hell or high water. I used to write at least twice that and sometimes more, but hell and high water have featured more than I would like in my life lately, so I thought I'd cut myself some slack. Now, when I say hell and high water, I don't want you to worry. I don't have a life-threatening illness or anything like that, just lots of little things keep going wrong and some big ones too. Things to do with my aged parents, problems with material things we own such as our old car, disappointment regarding finding a home for my latest book, that kind of thing. Anyway, things conspired against my thousand words a day and so I managed only three and a bit ( thousand of course, not single words) since Monday.<br />
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This morning I decided I would do those thousand words, but so far have only managed one hundred and thirty-one, but I have decided it doesn't matter. They are the first words of chapter six and I think they are pretty good words. I expect they might get swapped around, deleted or changed in some way, but I am happy with them. Isn't that what matters? Surely to have a few words that you are happy with is better than having lots of words that are just okay. Anyway, I thought I would share my one hundred and thirty-one words with you. Hope you like them too.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">July dawns were like
notes of hope. They reminded the days to be bright, fresh and summery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Sometimes the days forgot to read the notes,
or preferred to sit under rainclouds or hemmed in by thick walls of pollution. But
sometimes they paid attention. Today was a note reading day. I watched from my
window as the muted dawn-light revealed the purple shadows and sages of the
garden as a base coat, while gradually adding the bolder brushstrokes of
sunlight to transform the canvas into a kaleidoscope of dazzling colour. In
corner barrels, lupins boasted pink and blue, in hanging baskets, yellow
primroses glowed under the blush of red geraniums, and in the foreground, the huge
white rose bush Mum had loved presented a myriad of dew-covered buds, pregnant
with fragrance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-4828224022940906402015-04-03T00:27:00.000-07:002015-04-03T00:27:04.071-07:00Mandy’s Lovely Blog Hop<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">My fellow writer and friend, </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://livbet.webs.com/apps/blog/entries/show/43208204-liv-s-lovely-blog-hop" target="_blank"> Liv Thomas </a>tagged me in –
My Lovely Blog Hop – to talk about some of the things that have shaped my life
and writing. It is a great way to
discover new blogs too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">First memory<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">I have a few, but one that is most vivid is a holiday in Cornwall
when I was four. We stayed in Looe, in a rickety old chalet on top of a cliff
and my older brother Martin and I would run down a sandy path to play on the
beach every day. When it was time for breakfast, Mum would wave a red towel
from the window and we’d run back up. I thought that was very exciting. On the
same holiday we walked around the harbour and saw sharks hanging on hooks by a
fishing boat. There was a sign saying – Please do not touch the sharks as their
skin is rough, or something like that anyway. I decided I’d test that theory
and grazed my finger. There was
something about Cornwall that thrilled me even at the age of four and it stayed
with me ever since. I live there now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">Books<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">Like many people of my age I grew up with Enid Blyton. Not
literally of course. She was much older than me and came from a different
background. But I did read all her Famous Five books and the Malory Towers ones.
They were set in a boarding school for girls in Cornwall. Perhaps these books
reinforced my love of Cornwall. My brother bought me a copy of The Lord of The
Rings when I was thirteen and I devoured it. I was totally swept away in the
adventure and derring-do. I can’t remember if I read The Hobbit first, I think
I did, and later I tried The Silmarillion but was defeated a few chapters in.
Perhaps I should try it again now I’m a bit older. As a young adult I read
Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Koontz remains one of my favourite authors and
he’s a lovely man too. He actually found the time to answer my letters when I
wrote to tell him he’d inspired me to have a go at writing my own novel. This
man has sold over 450 million books, but he still found the time to write to me
in his own handwriting. I treasure those
letters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">Libraries<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">I love the smell of a library and the little cardboard
tickets. I know they don’t have little cardboard tickets nowadays, but when I
was a kid they did. I always felt calm browsing the rows of books and saw it as
a place to relax and take my time. When I was a student the library was a
necessity really rather than a place of relaxation, as there always seemed to
be a deadline to meet, and latterly I haven’t really used the library. I know.
That is really bad and I must get it sorted. Libraries are treasure troves and
must be protected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">What’s your
passion?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">Writing and walking by the sea on the cliff paths around the
Cornish coast. I get lots of writing ideas when I’m by the ocean. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">Learning<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">I left school at 16 and couldn’t wait to get out of there. I
hated school mostly apart from the social side of things. I didn’t like being
told what to do and when to do it – still don’t. The only subjects I liked were
English and History. The teachers of those subjects were great, which of course
made all the difference to my enjoyment of the lessons. I left school with a
Grade 1 CSE in both of these subjects – the equivalent of a C at GCSE nowadays.
The rest of my grades were pitiful. I wanted to be a hairdresser until I
actually became one. Enough said about that the better. I then worked in a factory
until I got married at the age of 18 and had my daughter aged 19. Life has a
funny way of turning full circle though and by the time I was 30 I was back at
school – this time as a teacher. It would take too long to explain how I came
to do A’ levels, a degree and a PGCE, but I did and ended up teaching history
for 17 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">Writing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">When I was eight I asked my parents if I could have a petite
typewriter for Christmas. Once I got it I never looked back. I wrote poems,
songs and short stories which I would read to friends and family. They said
they enjoyed them ... I never stopped writing after that. All time I was teaching
a little flame of hope flickered at the back of my mind that I would write on
day. I never really believed I would be published though. It was still a
massive achievement for me to have become a teacher, let alone a writer. I wrote
my first novel in 2001 and I eventually had a novel published in 2012. I now
have five novels published and a further four waiting in the wings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; line-height: 115%;">I hope you enjoyed reading this blog hop as much as I did
writing it, and now I pass the baton on to my friend and writer <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kellyflorentia.co.uk%2Fblog%2F4584218616&h=VAQHY0GB7" target="_blank">KellyFlorentia</a>. She will post her blog on Wednesday 8th April.<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-74536146127484956642015-03-03T01:22:00.000-08:002015-03-03T01:22:14.679-08:00Sharon Goodwin Writes a Fantastic Review for Cross Stitch!<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arvo, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">I would like to thank Sharon Goodwin for her brilliant review of my second time travel book - <i>Cross Stitch</i>. Sharon reviews so many authors and I am honoured to have such high praise for my novel. Her wonderful blog can be found <a href="http://jerasjamboree.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">here</a>. The review is below. At the end are links to both <i>Cross Stitch</i> and <i>A Stitch in Time</i> :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="apple-converted-space" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="apple-converted-space" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Cross Stitch</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> is the sequel to <i>A Stitch in Time</i> and while there is some backstory in <i>Cross Stitch</i>, to experience the uniqueness of the plot I would recommend you also read <i>A Stitch in Time</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Usually receiving a warning before travelling in time, on her wedding day Sarah receives no warning at all. This isn’t the only thing that is different (but I can’t say why – no spoilers!).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">While those at home are very concerned, Sarah has travelled back to 1939 and Veronica Roth. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Veronica plays a key part in the story. I really enjoyed her character development … we see her grow from lack of confidence and fear into quite a spectacular woman. Telling lies to get into the school where Sarah teaches results in mayhem in the classroom … and this isn’t the only chaos she causes in Sarah’s life!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">One of the choices that Sarah makes causes John to be angry (yes easy going John can be a monster when he’s fighting for what he believes in) and their relationship hits a rocky time. I agreed with both their opposing views so wouldn’t have made a good mediator, unlike John’s dad Harry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It’s not only their relationship under the spotlight in <i>Cross Stitch</i>, two more important people share a surprise too. The banter had me grinning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">There’s intrigue with John’s sister Lucy and her husband Corbin. I loved how this fitted in with the plot.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Totally involved with this story, I read it quickly - I couldn’t wait to see where Sarah would go next, the purpose of her being there or even if she would come back. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I loved the idea of the ‘Cross Stitch’ and how unpredictable time travel was (and the reason behind it!). <span class="apple-converted-space" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It’s hard to write a review where you really want to share something but you know that if you do, you’ll give a spoiler …<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Tension from the challenges faced on the time travel journeys, friendship, family and romance have made this a totally absorbing read for me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Highly recommended if you like your romances with something different!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Amanda James, you are a genius :)</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00QMW6JAU?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creativeASIN=B00QMW6JAU&linkCode=xm2&tag=jersjam-21" imageanchor="1" style="color: #f25860; margin: 0px 1em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAYQliQQtUZHL1yCh1Ix4irNZcRYzp8WopYQ6aqhELzK4jFzynl0X9GrJNvl_VTQWiHUsaN_wFYFpYMiUaVOlFvx7-6V1RflS-doUcfS-dNMPAGBzM_G3c8LNl4S7zlV7G-al4ioAA2KI/s1600/buy1._V192240163_.gif" style="border: none; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Stitch-Choc-Time-Traveller-ebook/dp/B00QMW6JAU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422116792&sr=8-1&keywords=cross+stitch+amanda+james" imageanchor="1" style="color: #f25860; margin: 0px 1em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9MyWVD3PgaGmnWf_zBGAyMOrF6W0Cb7Iz7zRdDO61Wu5D7r_Tdbx29BeJDnglnyzd1_mG7nt1EUaTMRRhjfNeh70K8hoQb6oTmyWYStMwRYUKJF1D2rlm_4HAdt1MyJBThNVnuWWqTg8v/s1600/Amazon+com.png" style="border: none; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I would like to thank the publishers for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-58874168962556550722014-12-08T10:55:00.001-08:002014-12-08T10:58:15.182-08:00Cross Stitch Release Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So excited to announce that Cross Stitch, sequel to A Stitch in Time is released today! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Fans of Stitch in Time will be happy that Sarah Yates will once again be up to her time travelling antics, despite the fact that she really only wants a quite life and to settle down with her true love John Needler. The past year has seen </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">Sarah whisked away to 1913 London and the suffragette movement, 1940 Sheffield during
the Blitz , 1876 Kansas to a grasshopper plague and finally to 1928 London and
possibly the biggest medical discovery of the modern world. So ... Sarah
figures she’s due some normality at last and is overjoyed that it is her
wedding day.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">However, Sarah and normality don’t
often spend much time together, and on that day of all days she is once again
hurled back in time to 1939. And if this isn’t enough, once there, she gets
entangled with a very disagreeable creature – Veronica Ratchet, an ‘old school’
school teacher who seems extremely reluctant to disentangle herself from
Sarah’s life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The
meeting with Ratchet leads to more adventures, thrills and spills than Sarah
can shake a stick at. It is exactly what she doesn’t want and about as far away
from normal as you can get. No, actually ... Ratchet and the 1970s Punk Rock
era is just that bit further.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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enjoyed writing this book, and I hope you will enjoy reading it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Cross </span><span style="color: blue; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Stitch</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;"> can be found</span> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Stitch-Time-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B00BNGXVTC/ref=pd_sim_kinc_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1CER9W62JBSGBNG35YBX" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">here</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> and A Stitch in Time </span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cross-Stitch-Choc-Amanda-James-ebook/dp/B00QMW6JAU/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1418064884&sr=1-2&keywords=cross+stitch" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">here</span></a><span style="color: blue;">.</span></span></span></span></div>
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Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-14737669072468993242014-10-17T11:08:00.001-07:002014-10-17T11:08:44.388-07:00A great montage of my books here!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-45231822328365596572014-07-15T04:14:00.001-07:002014-07-15T04:14:50.285-07:00Amanda James<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0-Kev_YAHRA" width="480"></iframe>Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-15574241347118069992014-06-09T00:04:00.000-07:002014-06-09T00:04:24.114-07:00Meeting My Main Character Blog HopThanks to the very marvellous <b>Chris Stovell </b>for passing the baton on to me. You can read all about Chris's main character, May, in her latest book <i><b>Follow a Star</b></i> which came out last week! I have a real live copy sitting on my table and can't wait to get my teeth into it. Of course I don't mean literally, what do you take me for? No, don't answer that ... right where was I? Oh yes, you can meet Chris and May <a href="http://homethoughtsweekly.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Writers like to burble on about their main characters and I am no exception. So without further ado, here goes. Actually there is one further ado. I need to tell you the title of my latest book and show you a picture of the cover. Here it is.<br />
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Actually the title is on the cover so I don't need to tell you it. Clever, eh? Okay let's get cracking...</div>
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<i style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">What is the name of the main character? Is she real or fictitious? </i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">Her name is Karen Ainsworth, but she might also have another name that I can't divulge here as it would spoil the surprise. And given that she is in a novel, I think it's a safe bet that she's not real. Having said, that she's real enough to me. She has bits of me in her,( not internal organs, but character) and bits of other people who I may, or may not have met. </span></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">When and where is the story set?</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">It is set in the present and in Cornwall not far from where I live.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;"><i>What should we know about Karen?</i></span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;"> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">She is slim, blond, thirty and very happily married to a doctor, Tristan Ainsworth who is the GP in a sleepy little Cornish village. Think Doc Martin but without the very scary Martin Clunes. Tristan is much nicer and much easier on the eye. Sorry, Mr Clunes if you happen to be reading this. Yes I know it is unlikely, but one never knows. For the record, I think Mr Clunes is a fantastic actor and probably very nice in real life. Karen has two children and a phenomenal singing voice. </span></span></span></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What is the main conflict? What messes up her life?</span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">Karen is not as happy as she would have us believe. Oh yes, she adores, Tristan, but since moving to Cornwall at Tristan's behest, she has become withdrawn, reclusive an secretive. She was fine when they lived in Swindon, so what has Cornwall to do with the change in her personality? Moreover she loves to sing, it lifts her spirit and brings untold happiness, so why does she now keep silent? Well, that would be telling wouldn't it? Can't say too much on this, but she does have issues with her past and that does tend to mess up a person's life. However her husband has one or two problems of his own relating to his past also. There is a dark secret that one of them has, and if that secret is divulged, their marriage, their family, and even their freedom could be at stake ... But what is it, and which of them is keeping it? Again, you'll have to read it to find the answer.</span></span></span></div>
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She wants a happy life and to enjoy singing in the choir and living by the sea with her husband and children. Is it too much to ask? </div>
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Blimey you have a short memory, it's called <i><b>Somewhere Beyond the Sea</b></i> and can be examined again <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Somewhere-Beyond-Sea-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B00IRHC6GY/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1396121087&sr=1-1&keywords=somewhere+beyond+the+sea" target="_blank">here</a> if you so wish.</div>
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Thanks again to Chris for passing on the baton. </div>
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I am now delighted to hand it over to the incredibly talented<b> Juliet Greenwood</b>. You can find out all about her books and main character <a href="http://julietgreenwoodauthor.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">here</a> I am dying to find out what she has to say and I'm sure you are too! </div>
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Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-7744983298903642652014-06-03T00:47:00.002-07:002014-06-03T00:47:56.832-07:00Guest Post - Alison Morton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today, my writing friend Alison Morton
launches SUCCESSIO, the third novel in her award-winning Roma Nova
series featuring sassy detective Carina Mitela. As writer and
broadcaster Sue Cook says, it’s a <i>“A real
edge-of-the-seat read, genuinely hard to put down.”</i><br />
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I know Alison as a RNA colleague and
Twitter friend. I’ve followed her progress and although I write time travel,
I’ve often wondered how different or difficult is was to write in an alternate
history setting. And just to complicate things, she adds a feminist twist, but
has plenty of love interest! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>So, Alison, Romans in the 21<sup>st</sup> century - how do you write
that?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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“Thanks, Mandy. All the usual good ‘craft’ rules apply:
cracking story, attractive and hopefully slightly quirky characters, emotional
pressure, dilemmas and conflict, snappy and purposeful dialogue and, of course,
a badly tangled love life.</div>
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The tools for writing alternate history are similar to
regular historical fiction, plus an over active imagination!<br />
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<b>My top tips</b>:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal">Identify the point your alternative timeline diverges from
the standard historical timeline and research that point thoroughly so you
can set the scene accurately;</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Anchor the divergence point story with references to
the past; </li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Use elements from the historic record carefully, but
not fearfully;<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Think through the setting that has formed your
characters;<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Make sure your characters
live naturally within their world including, and especially, seeking and
finding love.</li>
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<b>What’s SUCCESSIO about?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK1"><span lang="EN-US">Roma Nova – the last remnant of the Roman
Empire that has survived into the 21<sup>st</sup> century – is at peace. Carina
Mitela, the heir of a leading family, but choosing the life of an officer in
the Praetorian Guard Special Forces, is not so sure.<o:p></o:p></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52YgIKJUvWIvPPhyMs2Gj0uW9Ybts89FvER8XKzvvZJ6ju6jswMZpeDsohqS5e2QZAxkiPmJgecuZGTTErU9gkgbFQ469ncnO-Y00cFR7AIwq831KqVKiZF8NmX4iqPi_t3MzpDoMQyS7/s1600/SUCCESSIO+cover300dpi_520x800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52YgIKJUvWIvPPhyMs2Gj0uW9Ybts89FvER8XKzvvZJ6ju6jswMZpeDsohqS5e2QZAxkiPmJgecuZGTTErU9gkgbFQ469ncnO-Y00cFR7AIwq831KqVKiZF8NmX4iqPi_t3MzpDoMQyS7/s1600/SUCCESSIO+cover300dpi_520x800.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">She senses danger crawling towards her when
she encounters a strangely self-possessed member of the unit hosting their
exchange exercise in Britain. When a blackmailing letter arrives from a woman
claiming to be her husband Conrad’s lost daughter and Conrad tries to
shut Carina out, she knows the threat to her happiness is
real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Trying to resolve a young man’s indiscretion
twenty-five years before turns into a nightmare that not only threatens to
destroy all the Mitelae but also attacks the core of the imperial family
itself. With her enemy holding a gun to the head of the heir to the imperial
throne, Carina has to make the hardest decision of her life…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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And here’s a trailer with
some exciting music: <span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://youtu.be/B6Tr0VvKbJI">http://youtu.be/B6Tr0VvKbJI</a></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">SUCCESSIO is available through your <a href="http://www.booksellers.org.uk/bookshopsearch#http://www.booksellers.org.uk/bookshopsearch">local
bookshop</a> (paperback) and online as ebook and paperback <a href="http://alison-morton.com/successio/where-to-buy-successio/">at multiple
retailers</a>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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You
can read more about Alison, Romans, alternate history and writing here on her
blog at <a href="http://www.alison-morton.com/">www.alison-morton.com</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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or on her Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/AlisonMortonAuthor#https://www.facebook.com/AlisonMortonAuthor">http://www.facebook.com/AlisonMortonAuthor</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/alison_morton">@alison_morton</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Bio<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Alison Morton
writes Roman-themed alternate history thrillers with strong heroines. She holds
a bachelor’s degree in French, German and Economics, a masters’ in history and
lives in France with her husband.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A ‘Roman nut’
since age 11, she has visited sites throughout Europe including the <i>alma mater</i>, Rome. But it was the mosaics
at Ampurias (Spain) that started her wondering what a modern Roman society
would be like if run by women…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Both INCEPTIO, the
first in the Roma Nova series, which was also shortlisted for the 2013
International Rubery Book Award, and PERFIDITAS, the second in series, have
been honoured with the B.R.A.G. Medallion®, an award for independent fiction that
rejects 90% of its applicants. Alison’s
third book SUCCESSIO is being launched 3rd June 2014.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-28556214894901420622014-05-05T00:08:00.000-07:002014-05-05T00:08:39.701-07:00My Writing Process Blog Tour<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsM1-IBZCxcPP-4i4qQoJ-MXq7iaMIQhqut7y-bZNUL_qzCTnrHIZbGMKLSISLGf1CftAobxbbf7bwZ2ZfohhkmUZF7NBupYPgHnqSz6Hy1AIrn0nbgW4UAhW1J9YtUSRUikmwe_Ofea4I/s1600/10155505_10203507712444353_1443438553_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsM1-IBZCxcPP-4i4qQoJ-MXq7iaMIQhqut7y-bZNUL_qzCTnrHIZbGMKLSISLGf1CftAobxbbf7bwZ2ZfohhkmUZF7NBupYPgHnqSz6Hy1AIrn0nbgW4UAhW1J9YtUSRUikmwe_Ofea4I/s1600/10155505_10203507712444353_1443438553_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Thank you to my fellow Choc Lit author and wonderful friend, Chris Stovell for inviting me to take part in the blog tour. She has her new book due out in the summer and I for one can't wait! <i>Follow a Star</i> will be her third novel and I'm sure will be just as brilliant as her first two, <i>Turning the Tide</i> and <i>Move Over Darling. </i>You can find out more about Chris <a href="http://homethoughtsweekly.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/my-writing-process-blog-tour.html" target="_blank">here</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8y9bOb2KyWGgNMwMo-cqC4AsD712dx4FXF2sgwLkvgNxLlf-OI_7SVT2B-zPHSvVlLLly7eXauwSD8Phbad0OozAqavsilwfxYx1s4K9qh0kGGccVhkXSqKYGME-nrrJcMiIAJcxPwis/s1600/FAS_hirespackshot+_tn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Follow a Star (July 2014)" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8y9bOb2KyWGgNMwMo-cqC4AsD712dx4FXF2sgwLkvgNxLlf-OI_7SVT2B-zPHSvVlLLly7eXauwSD8Phbad0OozAqavsilwfxYx1s4K9qh0kGGccVhkXSqKYGME-nrrJcMiIAJcxPwis/s200/FAS_hirespackshot+_tn.jpg" height="200" width="156" /></a></div>
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I also need to say thanks to Sharon Booth who nominated me a while ago but for one reason and another, er ... things went awry! Sharon is a lovely lady who is always very supportive of my writing which means such a lot. She is currently writing book two in a series and you can find out more about Sharon <a href="http://sharonbooth.com/" target="_blank">here</a></div>
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<b>Okay, so what am I working on at the moment?</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQ8vUHtIeLfeIY8CFtPulS370O_gBUYkNlrfSz4t4knB4ArZudZEzR__-oOV3V4oaUwusX6YSiqGKshs7mySSaNXO5z_xyWnc3OKD6vBmcdOWjuj-GFhxDEyzj1lXNDn2vrKAFijCRewg/s1600/409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQ8vUHtIeLfeIY8CFtPulS370O_gBUYkNlrfSz4t4knB4ArZudZEzR__-oOV3V4oaUwusX6YSiqGKshs7mySSaNXO5z_xyWnc3OKD6vBmcdOWjuj-GFhxDEyzj1lXNDn2vrKAFijCRewg/s1600/409.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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This is a picture of part of the magical Tintagel Castle about half an hour from my home. I got some of my idea for my new work in progress <i>Summer in Tintagel</i> when I visited earlier this year and the rest from walking along the cliff paths near by. It will involve aspect of mystery, romance and the paranormal. It is in the very early stages but I think I like where it is going.</div>
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<b>How does my work differ from others of its genre?</b></div>
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I guess because I always like to have lots of often separate but interlocking threads running through my stories. I enjoy setting puzzles for the reader too and having a dialogue with them. As a reader I love to try and guess what is going to happen, or who has a secret. Therefore I try to write what I enjoy reading.</div>
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<b>Why do I write what I do?</b></div>
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I have always written. Well, not always. A new born baby writing would be very disconcerting wouldn't it? But since I was around eight-ish I wrote short stories and poems. It is in my blood as they say. I get jumpy if I have nothing on the go. I enjoy losing myself in the writing and creating new characters and situations from nothing. It is kind of playing make believe when you are a kid in a way. The thing is, I have never grown up and don't intend to. </div>
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<b>How does my writing process work?</b></div>
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I have no set pattern to my work in that I don't get up at a certain time, sit at my laptop (pictured above) and crack on with it. I tend to just do it as and when, but normally I do writing of some description every day for a few hours. Neither do I plan very much. I am not a post-it note and scene-by-scene type. I just write the title (can't write without one) and a few key points, hit return on the keyboard a few times so I have a blank page and then go for it. My books although are similar in some respects - they all have a love story within them and a few twists and turns, but they are very different too.</div>
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You can see them below:</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Somewhere-Beyond-Sea-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B00IRHC6GY/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=04DY44YWNBK87DT7A2RS" target="_blank">Somewhere Beyond the Sea</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dancing-Rain-Choc-Amanda-James-ebook/dp/B00IU0TGDO/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=05W2SKK9VEN10632ZS58" target="_blank">Dancing in the Rain</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Stitch-Time-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B00BNGXVTC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1398957543&sr=1-1&keywords=a+stitch+in+time" target="_blank">A Stitch in Time</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Righteous-Exposure-Amanda-James-ebook/dp/B0079MTJUE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1398957597&sr=1-1&keywords=righteous+exposure" target="_blank">Righteous Exposure</a></div>
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I am delighted to now pass the challenge on to fellow Crooked Cat author, David Robinson on the 15th of May. David is a phenomenally successful author and lovely with it. His 'cozy' crime Sanford Third Age Club Mystery series are always riding high in the charts. I think he has written thirteen books in total. If I'm wrong I am sure David will put me right :) You can find about more about David and his books <a href="http://networkedblogs.com/WrBUJ" target="_blank">here</a></div>
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Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-40839806647055846572014-04-09T08:39:00.003-07:002014-04-09T08:39:51.221-07:00An Exciting Week!I have had a very exciting launch week for <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Somewhere-Beyond-Sea-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B00IRHC6GY/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1RXB84TTZAP7KYDKER1Z" target="_blank">Somewhere Beyond the Sea </a>so far! On Monday I went to Radio Cornwall to guest on the very lovely Tiffany Truscott show.<br />
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Click on the link below if you'd like to listen to me on the show :<br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/1ju2UX2">http://bit.ly/1ju2UX2</a><br />
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And today I appear in the St Austell Voice :)<br />
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Can't wait for the joint launch with fellow Choc Lit author Angela Britnell. Her novel, Sugar and Spice will be launched alongside Somewhere Beyond the Sea in Penzance on the 20th of May.<br />
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It will be held at <a href="http://edgeoftheworldbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Edge of The World Bookshop</a> 6.30-8pm. Refreshments will be provided and all are welcome :)<br />
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<br />Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-63685563663714597752014-03-16T06:30:00.001-07:002014-03-16T07:03:15.300-07:00Yahoo! A Stitch in Time has a sequel!<span style="font-size: large;">Not only have I had two books out in the last few weeks, <i>Somewhere Beyond the Sea</i> and <i>Dancing in the Rain</i>, I am now in a position to announce that the sequel to <i>A Stitch in Time</i> will be out in December! <i>Cross Stitch</i> continues Sarah and John's story and introduces a few new characters. One in particular throws a spanner into the works to make Sarah's time travelling experiences as exciting as ever!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Can't wait for the cover now. If it is anywhere as fab as these and I'm sure it will be, I will be thrilled to bits. These are bookmarks by the way. <a href="http://www.cornishprint.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Cornish Print Company</a><u> </u>a local company in Newquay did them :)</span><br />
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Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-83683501302665844072014-02-28T00:06:00.000-08:002014-02-28T00:06:27.352-08:00Guest Blog - Tom Winter<div class="Default">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US">I am SO delighted to have the author of <i>Lost & Found</i>, Tom Winter, as a guest author on my blog today! </span><span style="background-color: white;">In August 2013<i> Lost & Found</i> was chosen as the Book of the Month by the Mail on Sunday's You Magazine book club. That summer, the Kindle edition was also a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon UK. I can totally see why. It is beautifully written and I howled with laughter one minute and was in tears the next. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.299999237060547px;">Hi Tom, thanks for being my guest today! I have just finished your clever, funny, poignant and all round fantastic book, </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.299999237060547px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Found-Tom-Winter-ebook/dp/B0090IB1C4/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393518050&sr=1-3&keywords=lost+and+found" target="_blank">Lost & Found</a></i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.299999237060547px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Found-Tom-Winter-ebook/dp/B0090IB1C4/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393518050&sr=1-3&keywords=lost+and+found" target="_blank"> </a> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.299999237060547px;">and can’t wait to pick your brains. No, not really – that would be really painful, (a bit like that joke.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US">The blurb on your book reads : <i>Meet Albert and
Carol, two lost souls, brought together by a series of unforgettable letters </i>...
Can you tell us a little about how you came up with such a unique idea?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">It all began in early 2010. I was at the
end of a rather messy five-year relationship</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">—</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">not the kind that ends in screaming and
smashed crockery, but rather the sort that slowly chokes itself to death after
stripping all the oxygen from the air. The experience made me want to write a
story about a woman who persisted in a marriage long after she knew it was
doomed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;"> As the character of Carol became clearer in my mind, it was obvious
that she</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">d got herself into this situation precisely because
she couldn</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">t express her feelings face-to-face, so it made sense
that she</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">d choose to put her thoughts in anonymous letters. Yet
she</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">s also reached the stage where she has a desperate
need to be heard (by someone, anyone), so writing letters alone wouldn</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">t have been enough for her. At first I
imagined her leaving the letters around her local park, perhaps tucking them
into tree trunks or leaving them on benches, but as I began to imagine the kind
of person who would find them, and why these anonymous letters might mean
something to him, I developed the character of Albert. From that moment on, the
story fell into place very quickly.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">Are any of the characters based on anyone you know </span>– <span lang="EN-US">or bits of them? I don</span><span lang="FR">’</span><span lang="EN-US">t mean like an arm or leg, but traits
within a personality.</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">The people in my life have probably been
wondering the same thing, though none of them have been brave enough to ask
yet! My writing draws on many thoughts and observations, so there are
definitely elements that I could trace back to certain individuals. Mostly,
however, the two characters are based on me; they are two very different
aspects of my personality.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Do
you think Max ever got over the flower incident, or do you think it tipped him
completely over the edge?</span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">No, I think it pushed him right over the
edge. I believe there</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">s a certain kind of bully who chooses to be mean to
people as a defence against his own brittle fragility. As soon as someone
fights back, he disintegrates. I imagine Max living out the rest of his days
with the living room curtains drawn tightly shut.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US">You have a cracking sense of humour. The bit about the
protective clothing to guard against exploding office workers had me in tears
of laughter the most. Are you a funny person in your day-t</span>o<span lang="EN-US">-day life?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">I suspect you</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">d find me very disappointing in real
life! I do like to make people laugh (though it</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">s easier said than done here in
Germany). I come from a mad family</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">—</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">mad in the classic, medieval sense of the word</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">—</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">so making people laugh was an important
skill to have as a child. Although I</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">m always thrilled when people find my writing funny,
in truth it</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">s the distillation of many hours spent staring at a
blank wall, which means I actually qualify as the most boring person you know.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ha! I doubt that very much!</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Lost & Found</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is your debut, have you always written, and how long
did it take to achieve your success?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">I</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">ve been writing since about the age of
four, when I took my mother</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">s diary and filled in many of the entries with
statements like </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">This is my snot</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">. Hopefully it was obvious to everyone
that these weren</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">t my mother</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">s words, least of all because I</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">d also decorated the pages with smears
of the real thing. </span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">In all the years since, I have always
imagined being a published novelist, but I struggled for a long time to find my
voice as a writer. A few years before <i>Lost & Found</i>, I wrote a very
different book which, after endless rejections, got me an agent in New York.
For a while I thought my career was taking off, but in retrospect I can see
that I had written the wrong book, and chosen an agent who wasn</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">t right for me. The experience was a
tough learning curve, but I finally got back on my feet and started all over
again by writing <i>Lost & Found</i>. Happily, that led me to the perfect
agent, Juliet Mushens at The Agency Group, who became a real champion of my
writing.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That kind of support is crucial, so pleased you found Juliet. And as I have just finished laughing again because of your 'snot' explanation, I am further convinced that you are NOT boring!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> <span lang="EN-US">Can you tell us a little about your next book, <i>Arms
Wide Open?</i></span><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">It</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">s about a brother and sister who
discover that their long-dead father may actually be alive. The only person who
knows the truth is their mother, who has succumbed to early-onset dementia, a
rare and hereditary form of the disease.</span><span style="color: #222222;"> Over </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">the days and weeks that follow, Jack and Meredith are
forced to consider both the past and the future: their memories of their
mother, their hopes for finding their father, and the fear of what</span><span lang="FR" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">s in their bloodline. As in <i>Lost
& Found</i>, I</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">ve used black comedy to lighten very difficult
subjects. The paperback is out in April.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">Cue a shameless plug: You may also like
to know that I</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">m currently writing my third book, <i>Days of Wonde</i>r,
which will be published next summer. But that</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">s another story (no pun intended).</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fantastic, I love the title! Will look out for that too. And </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Arms Open Wide</i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> sounds like another roller coaster</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> ride of tears of sadness one minute, and laughter</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> the next. Can't wait to read it. So, Tom, what is the one bit of advice you would give to
writers trying to get published?</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Never give up! Keep writing. Keep honing
your craft.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That advice is so important. I always say the same thing :) And can you tell us who is your very favourite author?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">I</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">m going to cheat and give you two. I
love Nick Hornby and David Sedaris. They could publish their shopping lists and
I would still buy them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.299999237060547px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Good choices! Thank you so much for taking the time to be a guest on my blog, Tom. It was great fun and can’t wait for <i>Arms Wide Open</i></span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">and </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Days of Wonde</i>r</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">!</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.299999237060547px;">J</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Here is the link for the paperback of <a href="http://amzn.to/1gF52Z7" target="_blank">Lost & Found</a> Click on the link above if you would like to purchase the Kindle version. I guarantee you will not be disappointed ... unless you have no sense of humour and/or are a very boring person. </span></div>
Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843367996444105899.post-17006034168044977542014-02-24T04:48:00.003-08:002014-02-24T14:12:53.561-08:00One Week and Counting!<span style="font-size: large;">I am VERY excited! A week tomorrow (March 4th) my e-book-version of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Somewhere-Beyond-Sea-Amanda-James/dp/1781891206/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393242733&sr=1-1&keywords=somewhere+beyond+the+sea" target="_blank">Somewhere Beyond the Sea</a></i> will go live, and on the Friday of that same week another e-book<i> </i><a href="http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/dancing-in-the-rain/" target="_blank">Dancing in the Rain </a>will be launched. YES - that's two! I can hardly contain myself. What actually does that phrase mean? How would one contain oneself - in a box? A trunk with a padlock perhaps, Houdini fashion... sorry I digress</span>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, they are very different books, though both within the romantic suspense genre. <i>Somewhere Beyond the Sea </i>is a mystery/suspense set in Cornwall, where all is not what it seems in the household of Dr Tristan and Karen Ainsworth. One of them has a dark secret that is at risk of exposure. But how far will the keeper of the secret go to protect it, and could their marriage survive if all the skeletons were to come tumbling out of the cupboard? I loved writing this book, because I found it a challenge to try to keep the reader guessing who has the secret <i>and</i> what that secret actually is. I hope I managed it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Dancing in the Rain, </i>as well as being a mystery/suspense also has a paranormal/spiritual aspect. It was the first adult novel I every wrote about eleven years ago. Needless to say it has been carefully edited and changed as I have learned so much about writing since then! It starts in England when our hero - research scientist, Jacob Weston's job and troubled dreams lead him thousands of miles away to Monument Valley Arizona. There, he finds answers to who he really is. His world is rocked by the realisation that his past has been built on a lie, but what is expected of him in the very near future is even more terrifying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As you can imagine, I am over the moon (another odd phrase) that this novel is now being published and I hope both of them will be well received. I am already getting second (and third) book nerves! After the success of my first novel with <a href="http://www.choc-lit.com/" target="_blank">Choc Lit Publishing</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stitch-Time-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B00BNGXVTC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1363172915&sr=1-1" target="_blank">A Stitch in Time</a>, I guess it's only natural that I wonder if it could be repeated. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, with a huge amount of excitement and a little dollop of trepidation, I'll carry on counting down the days ... </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Mandy K Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107477886064281756noreply@blogger.com15