I’m delighted to welcome Natalie Normann to my blog.
Natalie Normann - Author
Hello
Natalie – I’ve been looking forward to hosting you on Arabella’s Blog and Chit
Chat, and I’m eager to learn some of your writing secrets. But before we
discover more about your latest paperback release, Summer Island, here are a few questions which will hopefully give
your readers and followers an insight into some of the things that matter to
you.
Arabella: We all love the creativity of writing – otherwise we wouldn’t spend hours at a keyboard pounding away in the hope someone will read and enjoy our novels. But what do you like most about our craft?
The editing and
proofreading, the author/reader relationship, promotional book signings, or is
there something else that has you hooked to the world of books?
Natalie: I do love finishing a book, there's that. And
few things are better than having people tell me that they loved one of my
books. But more than anything I love working on the story. I love starting a
new manuscript, with a few ideas that might be good, but very often isn't, a
character or two, usually without a name, and then at some point, it all seems
to fall together and I can see the bigger picture. I even love the editing most
of the time. At some point, I had to come to terms with the fact that I'll never
get it right the first time, and that editing is something I could hate or
love. Or moan about some times.
Arabella: Who or what inspired you to write your latest release, Summer Island?
Natalie: My book, Summer Island, is inspired by
Norwegian summers. The success of Nordic Noir makes everyone think Norway and
the other Scandinavian countries are forever grey and drab, and it's really
isn't like that. Norwegian summers are
wonderful, full of light and life. Even when it rains, I promise. Maybe it's
the contrast from winter that makes it so special. It's like you come out of
your door one day, and spring happened. It's awesome.
Arabella: Some authors cannot work without a business planner, others cannot write without an editing app… Are there any “essentials” you need to help your writing move forward?
Natalie: I need my computer, of course, and notebooks
where I can keep track of progress. Lots of writers use post-its on their wall,
and I tried that, but I would always loose notes. So, instead, I use a pencil,
so that I can erase what I don't need, and also jot down ideas that come as I
work. And I have a few notebooks, since I have one for every project. In the
notebook, I have ideas for characters, different names, a rough outline of the
story, new ideas that come as I write. I would be lost without it.
Arabella: If the person of your dreams, (husband/wife/partner/or superstar), were to take you out for the night, where would they take you and what would you do?
Natalie: Oh, that's easy. If they were clever, they
would take me to a bookstore, then the movies and finally to an Italian
restaurant. I love pasta!
Natalie: I see so many new writers stressing over the
right title for the book they haven't written yet, or they get caught up in the
“perfection-trap” and keep polishing the first chapters until they lose the
story and get disheartened. And I always say forget all that. Just write the
story you have, throw everything in there, and don't worry about grammar or
style, or story building, point of view, or any of those things. Accept that
your first manuscript is going to be really bad, but finish it anyway and have
fun doing it. Because finishing your first story will feel great and then you
have a whole book to polish. You need that feeling of accomplishment to develop
your writing mojo.
Thank you for sharing some of your writing experiences, Natalie. I’m also an avid fan of notebooks to keep track of ideas and things yet to be done. Wishing you all the best for your paperback edition of Summer Island
Arabella
About Natalie Normann
Natalie Normann - Author |
Natalie Normann grew up in a shipping town on the west-coast of Norway and always wanted to be a writer. Actually, she wanted to smoke cigars and drink whiskey like Hemingway but settled for chocolate and the occasional glass of Baileys.
Her writing journey started with short stories in women’s
magazines until her first book was published in 1995. She has by now published
60 books.
Summer
Island is her first romance written in
English.
Social Media
Instagram:
natalienormann
Twitter:
@NatalieNormann1
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/NatalieNormannAuthor
Book Blurb – Summer Island:
He never meant to stay.
He certainly never meant to fall
in love…
Summer Island off the coast of Norway was the place London chef
Jack Greene should have been from. He’s an outsider in the community that
should have been his family, and now he’s setting foot on the strange land he
has inherited for the first time.
Ninni Toft, his nearest neighbour, has come to the island to
mend her broken heart. With her wild spirit and irrepressible enthusiasm, she
shows city-boy Jack the simple pleasures of island life – and what it means to
belong. To a place. To a people. To one person in particular…
Home is where the heart is, but is Jack’s heart with the career
he left behind in London, or on the wind-swept shores of Summer Island, with
Ninni?
BUY LINKS
Amazon
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0008362688/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tu00_p1_i0
Amazon
US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0008362688/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tu00_p1_i0
Summer Island paperback will be published on September 17th. (The e-book has been out since June 24th.)
Thanks for being a super guest, Natalie.
ReplyDeleteI hope you had fun answering the questions!
Wishing you all the best for your latest paperback release - Summer Island.
Arabella
Really interesting to get insights about other writers Natalalie. Thanks for sharing and I wish you success with your Nordic book. Norway is a place I would love to visit. Your book no doubt conveys that far away, wonderland feel that I imagine most of us yearn for. I was intrigued by your impressive advice for new writers. It's a scary business writing and even scarier sharing it with others. It scares me and I've sold many novels and short stories. Even so, I don't share my writing before sending it to my editor as I take criticism very badly. As you say finishing that first book and getting your writing mojo is crucial. Best of with Summer Island.
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