Wednesday 30 October 2019

Welcome to Historical Author - Trisha Hughes



I'm delighted to welcome Trisha Hughes to the blog.



Hello Trisha - I'm so pleased you were keen to appear on the blog. And it's always a pleasure to make contact with a fellow author when it comes to sharing news about books. But before we discover more about your latest release, Victoria to Vikings – The Circle of Blood, here are some questions which will hopefully give your readers an insight into some of the things that matter to you. 


Arabella: Authors can release books, making them available to readers in various ways…via an agent, or working directly with a traditional publisher, or they can even go the self-publishing route. Which method of publishing do you prefer, and why?
Trisha: In the past, I’ve gone down the traditional publishing road, without an agent. My first book, my best-selling memoir ‘Daughters of Nazareth’ was published traditionally by Pan MacMillan Australia and reached the number one spot in Australia, surpassing the current Stephen King book that was on the shelves at the time. That’s because traditional publishers have vast resources for marketing. My next three books, my Historical fictions based on British Monarchy throughout the ages that I call my V2V trilogy, were also published by a UK publisher and have had a great deal of success. Although it feels rewarding to have a publisher, because let’s face it, it feels like a pat on the back, control of your book and the marketing of it is out of your hands. It also takes up to nine months from signing the contract to release date and being the impatient sort, the time drags for me. Not just that, but the royalties are quite low. This time, with the help and insight of some wonderful friends who are self-published authors, I plan on self-publishing my next book, the first in a mystery / crime series based in Australia I call ‘Dragonfly’. It’s been edited and the cover is on the way. I’m feeling quite excited about this new adventure.

Arabella: A slice of Chocolate Cake, a piece of Fruit, or Burger and Fries?
Trisha: I’m a foodaholic. There is nothing quite like a burger and fries with a pint on the side. And show me a person who doesn’t like chocolate cake and I’ll show you a lunatic. So for me, I can squeeze in all three in one day. Does that make me an overachiever?



Arabella: Who or what inspired you to write your latest release, Victoria to Vikings – The Circle of Blood?
Trisha: It all started quite innocently five years ago. I was sitting in a car on the way to the beach with my 13-year-old grandson trying to find a way to grab his attention away from his Facebook page. Like any grandmother, I asked him about school. What did he like best? What subjects did he take? And I perked up when he said one of his subjects was history. I’ve always liked history and I was happy to have something to chat to him about. I asked him, ‘So you know all about Henry VIII then?’ Because basically, doesn’t everyone? His blank look stunned me because well, this is Henry VIII we’re talking about. So for the next half an hour I told him the story of a charismatic eighteen year old who eventually turned into an obese tyrant. I told the story to him in a way that would engage his interest and he laughed at all the right places and was shocked at all the right places. It started me thinking. Why don’t we know more about our history? History not only provides us with a glimpse of how things used to be, but its lessons can teach us things that are important for life today. History can be the richest of stories, the saddest of stories and the most shocking of stories. That was the day I decided to write a book on past kings. Two years of research later, I knew I had too much information for just one book.

Okay...I know it sounds academic but it's actually not.  Sure, it's based on facts but it's told as a rambling narrative and is written in a way that's easy to read. Rudyard Kipling once said, ‘If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.’  And that's what I've tried to do. I turned my books into a trilogy of stories about the kings of England. The first book is called ‘Vikings to Virgin – The hazards of being King’. The next is ‘Virgin to Victoria – The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen’ and the latest release just a few months ago is ‘Victoria to Vikings – The Circle of Blood’.



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?
Trisha:  I currently live in Hong Kong with my husband so if I had a ‘dream date’ with him, he’d have to take me to Paris.  My heritage on my father’s side is French and I feel a tug every time I see a picture of the Eiffel Towel. I’ve been to Paris a couple of times and it never loses it’s magic for me. I love the cobble stone streets, the history, the museums, the quirkiness and the old-worldliness. Did I say I love the magic?


Arabella: Currently, what is your most favourite T.V. programme, and why?
Trisha:  Juggling everything doesn’t leave a lot of time for watching television but when I do, I love watching shows like Vikings, Game of Thrones, Outlander and Kingdom. And now I’ve discovered crime. And I love it all. My husband observes me closely when I watch ‘How to get away with Murder’ and call it research.

Arabella: When writing a book or chapter, which do you concentrate on first: plot, character, or setting?
Trisha: Although I like to think I’m an organised person, I’m a messy writer. I jump around all over the place. I always believe ‘Write what you know about’ so with my trilogy, I researched until my brain was almost mush. With my new upcoming mystery novel, I had my home town in mind as the setting. I knew the area and I knew the climate, so the ‘filler’ part came easily.  I also thought I had a terrific beginning and an ending that no one would guess. What I didn’t have was the middle part and a character. But that was the fun part. My main character became a sort of Harry Callahan with a sense of humour. The rest just fell into place.

Arabella: How do you research your novels and characters?
Trisha: That was easy for me with my historical V2V series. The characters were already there in history books and online. The first books I read were a series written by Sir Winston Churchill called ‘History of the English Speaking People.’ It was tough reading with quite a lot of uninteresting political information that I didn’t want in my books. But it gave me a basis of where to start. I soon realised that what I needed to do was give these kings and queens a personality. That was the hard part. Because all the characters were unique in their own way, I had to have them express themselves in different ways. I had to combine the vast number of physical signals with the individuality of each character and I had to do it without propping myself up with dialogue. The only way I saw to do that was with emotion.

Although the books are factual, adding emotion is why the books are in the ‘historical fiction’ category. I had to delve deep to find out what each character was like and describe what I thought would be their emotional response. And that’s where the serious research came in. These characters didn’t live in bubbles. They interacted with the world around them. All I had to do was create a valid emotional response for each individual while keeping the historical setting in order. To do that, I visited all the historical castles that I could. I soaked up the atmosphere and I found that each site had endless sources of information. I thoroughly enjoyed the research.

Arabella: What advice would you give to someone who is starting out on their writing journey?
Trisha: My best advice is to never give up. Wisdom comes to us in the unlikeliest of sources, and a lot of times it comes through failure. When you hit rock bottom, remember this…while you’re struggling, rock bottom can be a great foundation on which to grow and build. A person who picks themselves off the floor and keeps going is the person who will continue to grow and improve.

In my youth, I was always told to blend. But over the past few years, I’ve ignored those words. I’ve refused to listen to them. I tell myself every day to shoot for the stars. That good enough is NOT good enough. What you do is stand tall and you keep on standing. No matter what, you never give up. Anything is possible.

Arabella: Thank you for sharing some of your writing secrets with us, Trisha. It was an eye-opener to see how much time was needed to research the history behind your books. And I totally agree, there is a certain "magic" to Paris that is almost indescribable...it has to be captured at the moment and felt with the heart.
Memories... 💖💖💖
All the best for your latest release, Victoria to Vikings – The Circle of Blood
Arabella Sheen



About Trisha Hughes:

Trisha is an Australian author currently living in Hong Kong.  She has lived in many countries all over the world and loves to travel. She divides her time between writing books, writing articles for a local magazine and mentoring children in creative writing. For the past three years, she has been one of three judges in the Hong Kong Young Writer’s Competition, helping to encourage children’s imagination. Although previously a historical fiction author, she is now embarking on a new adventure in mystery and crime series based in her home country of Australia.


Website and Social Media Links:





BOOK BLURB  - Victoria to Vikings
To the victor goes the spoils and nowhere is this truer than in the history of the British monarchy. There are kings who ruled for just a few months and there are some who ruled for over fifty years. There are some who should never have ruled at all. They include the vain, the greedy and the downright corrupt. There were adulterers, swindlers and cowards and their stories span over 1500 years full of lust, betrayal and heroism. Yet this group also share one thing in common. In their own lifetimes, they were the most powerful individuals in the land and they weren’t shy about letting their subjects know.

Virgin to Victoria is a powerful story travelling through time, beginning with Henry VIII’s daughter, Elizabeth I, as she stepped up to the throne as Britain’s new queen. Her sister Mary had ruled before her but that queen was dead and Britain’s future lay in the hands of this bright-eyed intelligent woman who promised a magnificent future for everyone. It continues through the unsettling times of the Stuarts and moves from Oliver Cromwell through to the ferocious Hanovers and finally ends with Queen Victoria ready to accept her sceptre at the age of eighteen after the death of all her childless uncles. This book is written as a story and brings these monarchs alive to show them as flesh and blood characters who actually lived and died, not just vague names in history books.

Trisha Hughes is a best-selling Australian author who now lives in Hong Kong. Trisha attends workshops for children’s creative writing groups and is a mentor of a yearly young writers competition. Her first book was published 18 years ago, a best-selling autobiography called Daughters of Nazareth. Trisha has recently published the first book in this historical trilogy, Victoria to Vikings.

Amazon links:




Wednesday 23 October 2019

Getting Dressed in Regency Times


I found some fascinating YouTube videos that I just had to share. For all fans of anything and everything Regency, I hope you enjoy...

(You can watch these videos by clicking on the arrow or the YouTube link).


GETTING DRESSED IN REGENCY -1816





DRESSING  UP  A  REGENCY  LADY




Wednesday 16 October 2019

Welcome to Romance Author - Ros Rendle


I’m delighted to welcome Ros Rendle to my blog.


Hello Ros – And thank you for joining me on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat today. It was lovely to connect with you through the Romantic Novelists’ Association. From personal experience, I’ve come to realise the RNA is a great place to find supportive authors and affiliate members with whom to share the writing journey. But before we discover more about your latest release, Flowers that Shattered Stones, 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: Are there any organisations, writing, or reader groups, you belong to? And, how do they support or help you in creating such wonderful, inspirational novels?
Ros: I have been very active as part of the Deepings Literary Festival committee since its inception in 2016. The library there was in deep danger of closure but following a major petition that went to Downing Street, we managed to save it and it’s more thriving than ever.
I’ve also just started to organise a ‘Read Dating’ event in my local town. You will have heard of Speed Dating. . . well, my event is matching readers with local authors and should also raise some money for our historic Town Hall for its refurbishment.
Until recently I organised and ran a creative writing group, but I’ve handed that over to someone who has come on miles, which is gratifying. I shall be running some courses for an Arts Trust in my local community.
I have received back so much inspiration, especially when I’m feeling it’s a lonely task to be a writer. There are some very talented people out there who are scribbling away for their own pleasure. Through the Litfest, I’ve met several A-list authors as well as many others who are published, which makes them A-list in my view. They, too, are motivating and influential.

Arabella: Where do you read? Sofa or bed or ____?
Ros: Bed – although it’s a guilty pleasure on the sofa during the day. I also read at the hairdresser, dentist, on trains, anywhere really. That’s why I love my Kindle app on phone and iPad. It can go anywhere with me.


Arabella: In your latest release, Flowers that Shattered Stones, who is your favourite character and why?
Ros: Whichever book I’m writing I love the heroine. However, in this book – Flowers That Shattered Stones there are two, one just before and during the Cold War and one in 1975. This is the third book in the Strong Sisters series and Izzy (Iris) is the youngest of three sisters, but she goes from aged 25 to aged 80s through the book. Heather is 25 and works, by necessity, in the Care Home in which Izzy finds herself and through her we learn Izzy’s story. However, Izzy helps Heather to develop and get her life in order. The other two books in the series are Flowers of Flanders and Flowers of Resistance

Arabella: When writing a novel, how do you work? Are you a plotter or pantser?
Ros: Like many, I’m a bit of both, but I certainly don’t plan in detail. I have a couple of sheets of paper with chapter numbers; main plot points; maybe a sentence against some chapters.  I keep a small notebook in which I write salient details of characters, so I don’t forget names, eye colour, etc. It also contains the keyboard shortcuts for French and German accented letters which has been invaluable.

Arabella: Which would you prefer to do: 1) spend a morning vigorously working out at the gym, 2) be pampered from head to toe at the spa and beauty salon, 3) indulge and pile on the pounds with a romantic dinner for two?
Ros: Probably the dinner for two. I’m certainly not a gym person and pampering doesn’t appeal at all. All that touching and rubbing and poking… no! If I have the dinner, I’ll be careful, for a couple of days, walking faster with the dogs, dancing ballroom and Latin an extra couple of sessions.


Arabella: Which do you prefer to wear: beach shorts and top, a long evening skirt and blouse, pyjamas and slippers?
Ros: From that choice PJs and slippers. I don’t tend to dress up unless going to a dance. I do then and enjoy it. Normally, every day it’s jeans and a top. In the summer it’s cut-offs.

Arabella: We all have a long list of books we keep meaning to read but never have the time for --- which book is a must read for you this winter?
Ros: I owe a couple of indie published friends. There’s some real talent there, e.g Julie Stock, Lizzie Lamb and others, too. I must read Another You by Jane Cable. Oh, and there’s some Milly Johnson awaiting my attention. I do enjoy a good who-dunnit, too. I hear Ann Cleeves has a new series started.

Arabella: What about your future plans? Any books or series in the making?
Ros: I’m awaiting all my books to come out with my new publisher, Sapere Books. I’m so pleased to have joined them. I do have paperbacks available through my website.
I stopped writing a contemporary romance set around a ballroom dancing school, in order to complete the Flowers book for which the publisher is asking. It will be great to get back to it. I think some of my time will be taken up with editing shortly, though.


Arabella: Thank you for joining me on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat, Ros. Like me, I’m sure your readers enjoyed discovering a little bit more about your personal life. And I hope you find the time to devour that long list of books you are planning to read.
Good luck with your soon to be released, Flowers that Shattered Stones
All the best, and wishing you lots of happy-ever-after writing.
Arabella


About Ros Rendle
Having worked as a head teacher, Ros has been used to writing policy documents, essays and stories to which young children enjoyed listening. Now she has taken up the much greater challenge of writing fiction for adults. She writes both historical sagas and contemporary romance; perfect for lying by a warm summer pool or curling up with on a cosy sofa.
Ros is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and the Historical Novelists' Society.
She has lived in France for ten years but has moved back to the UK with her husband and dogs. While there, she gained much information which has been of use in her books. They are thoroughly and accurately researched.
Ros has two daughters and four granddaughters with whom she shares many heart-warming activities.

Social Media Links:

Website:


Blurb for: Flowers of Flanders (Part 1 of The Strong Sisters)

Flowers of Flanders, Ros Rendle’s drama is set before and during the First World War.
Rose rivals her beautiful, mercurial sister for Michael’s love but calculated lies and misunderstandings alter the young peoples’ course. War breaks and Michael is as eager as the others to go.
Maybe Rose will settle for second best with Thom even though she cannot get Michael out of her soul.
Does a man need the grace of serenity to rediscover his own or is it frivolity and seduction he craves when he has been through the darkest places of war? Michael’s experiences in the trenches gradually alter his perceptions.

This is a story about deceit and loyalties, complex relationships and loves developing from youth to adulthood during a cataclysmic time in history.


These are all available as paperbacks via Ros Rendle's website: www.rosrendleauthor.co.uk but will soon be re-released by Sapere Books in e-book form. The last in the series, Flowers that Shattered Stones will be available soon.

Wednesday 9 October 2019

Welcome to Romantic Suspense Author - Kate Ryder


I’m delighted to welcome Romantic Suspense author Kate Ryder to my blog.


Hello Kate, I’m always excited when a Romantic Novelists’ Association member steps up to the mark and is willing to delve into their personal and working life in order to share some of their inspirational experiences with readers. But before we discover more about your latest release, Secrets of the Mist, here are a few questions which will hopefully give your readers an insight into some of the things that matter to you.


Arabella: Authors can release books, making them available to readers in various ways…via an agent, or working directly with a traditional publisher, or they can even go the self-publishing route. Which method of publishing do you prefer, and why?
Kate: I don’t have an agent.  Before being traditionally published I was an indie author and there are pros and cons to both.  As an indie you have full control over the finished article and, being a creative soul, I loved this.  However, marketing is tough and this is where having a publishing house behind you comes into its own.  I am happy to say that Aria’s marketing department ensures my books reach a far wider audience than I could ever hope to.


Arabella: Who or what inspired you to write your latest release, Secrets of the Mist?
Kate:  A few years ago, my husband and I moved from Sussex to Cornwall to restore a 200-year-old cottage.  We ended up having to gut it and take it back to four walls – I lived on a building site for 4 years!  During the extensive renovations we discovered a time capsule, hidden by a previous owner, which sparked my imagination and made me consider past occupants and the lives they may have led over the preceding two centuries.  The seeds were sown for Secrets of the Mist during a chance conversation with an acquaintance who told me about a Dartmoor cottage she once owned that had an unusual internal stained-glass window and unaccountable cold corners.  At the time, I was a member of a local writers’ group and I wove all these elements into a short story, which I read out to my fellow writers at the next workshop.  They were all eager to find out what happened next, so I decided to see where the story took me.  Three months and 85,000 words later I had a novel!

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?
Kate:  Not necessarily the person of my dreams (although he is gorgeous, just way too young… sigh).  I would like to spend time with Aidan Turner in Dublin.  Not only is he generous with his time with his fans (so far) but also pleasingly easy on the eye and eloquent!  I’ve visited the city twice but I’m sure he’d show me interesting areas I haven’t discovered.  We’d spend the day together while he showed me his city of birth, progressing to early evening drinks at his favourite watering hole.  Then we’d move on to a discreet restaurant where we’d enjoy fine dining while discussing his suitability as the lead character in my novels, Summer in a Cornish Cove and its sequel, Cottage on a Cornish Cliff.  We’d finish the evening off visiting his apartment in Dublin (I’d be sworn to secrecy not to divulge its location) where he’d show me his paintings and present me with a signed original.  I’d say I couldn’t possibly accept such a generous gift, but he’d insist, pointing out that if he was going to be the lead in the screen version of my books I would have to accept.  I mean, how could a girl refuse?
  
Kate…
Just for you (and your readers), I went on Wiki and pinched a photo of Aidan Turner. I hope everyone's hearts are throbbing with passion. :)   


Arabella: A slice of Chocolate Cake, a piece of Fruit, or Burger and Fries?
Kate:  Definitely Chocolate Cake.  I try to eat healthily (most of the time) but a girl has to have the occasional indulgence… and preferably one that looks like this!


Arabella: Currently, what is your most favourite T.V. programme, and why?
Kate:  My life is one huge juggling act and I don’t often watch TV.  However, I am viewing Series 5 of Poldark.  This series focuses on the years between Winston Graham’s seventh book, The Angry Tide, and eighth book, The Stranger from the Sea.  I’m intrigued to find out how screenwriter, Debbie Horsfield, will combine the various elements of social and political history of the time in this missing period of Ross and Demelza Poldark’s continuing story.

Arabella: When writing a book or chapter, which do you concentrate on first: plot, character, or setting?
Kate:  I envy those writers who are plotters because I definitely fall into the pantser camp.  Cornwall is a setting that speaks to me and never fails to provide massive inspiration.  However, once in the creative flow, the characters tend to take over and write their own stories… despite futile attempts to rein them in!

Arabella: How do you research your novels and characters?
Kate:  I thoroughly enjoy researching a novel.  So many doors open, which tend to lead to yet more opening doors, and I find it a highly satisfying source of learning.  I like to spend time in the actual setting, if possible, absorbing the atmosphere and getting a sense of place.  Then I check its history to discover any elements that could be woven into the story.  Once back at my desk, I use Ordnance Survey/Google to double-check that my characters’ actions/journeys are possible.  For instance, in my current WIP, I had the heroine watching surfers in the sea from her car in the public car park, but when I visited the setting I found that wasn’t possible – a building blocks the view of the beach.  I rewrote the scene and the heroine ended up sitting at a table in the beach café, which enjoys uninterrupted views of the sea, while indulging in coffee and cake.  She didn’t complain!

Arabella: What advice would you give to someone who is starting out on their writing journey?
Kate:  To believe in yourself and never give up – the only failure is abandoning your dreams.  Publishing is a huge journey and when starting out you tend to be impatient for results.  My advice is to take a deep breath and keep the bigger picture in sight.  If you write romance, join the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme, which offers invaluable advice and support.


Thank you so much for joining me on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat, Kate. You've been a fabulous guest and really entered into the spirit of things. Oh...to have been in your shoes when you discovered that time capsule whilst renovating your house. A priceless moment, I'm sure.
And about your evening with Aidan Turner – (apart from saying: “please stand in line to get to him”), I hope your day (and night...) together fulfils your every dream.
Wishing you the best of luck in signing Aidan for a starring role in the film adaptation of Summer in a Cornish Cove and its sequel, Cottage on a Cornish Cliff.
Good luck with your latest release, Secrets of the Mist.
Best wishes and happy writing…
Arabella Sheen


About Kate Ryder

Originally from the Home Counties, Kate now resides in the diverse and inspirational county of Cornwall, which provides a glorious backdrop for much of her writing. Her career has encompassed travel, publishing and property, and she currently divides her time between selling fabulous country piles that she can't afford and writing romantic suspense.  Together with her ever-supportive husband, a gorgeous Arab horse and a newly acquired 'rescue' cat, Kate lives in the beautiful Tamar Valley in a 200 year old cottage that she and her husband painstakingly restored and which provided the inspiration for her third book with Aria.


Website and Social Media Links:

Amazon link:  https://amzn.to/2KCSY1J



Blurb: Secrets of the Mist:

A gorgeous timeslip romance for fans of Kate Mosse, Diana Gabaldon and Barbara Erskine.
Maddie is restless in London. She has friends, a job and a sort-of boyfriend, but something in her life is missing. Then she visits the ancient village of Walditch, deep in the Dorset countryside. Something stirs in her, and on a whim she buys a centuries-old cottage and moves there three months later. Her friends think she's crazy, but for Maddie it feels like coming home.
Late at night in the cottage, Maddie hears strange noises and sees mist gathering indoors and out. When she starts investigating the cottage's history, she becomes drawn into the tragic story of a family who lived here 400 years ago. Meanwhile, Maddie starts to fall in love with a local carpenter – but he has a relationship already...
Can Maddie solve the riddle of the past? What is her connection with the family that lived there so many years ago? And can she and her true love ever be together?

Previously published as The Forgotten Promise.

Buy Link: Available for PRE-ORDER on Amazon  https://amzn.to/2KCSY1J

Release Date:  19.09.19

Forbidden Stowaway - Arabella Sheen - EXCERPT 2

   Chapter One - Excerpt 2 Olivia was taken to the back of the tavern, where the landlady pulled aside a dark velvet curtain to reveal a ro...