PAULA'S PEOPLE: GRACE ELLIOT - HISTORICAL ROMANCE NOVELLIST

Grace Elliot is in my spotlight this week, her latest novel, Verity's Lie is now out!

Grace Elliot leads a double life as a veterinarian by day and author of historical romance by night. Grace lives near London and is passionate about history, romance and cats! She is housekeeping staff to five cats, two sons, one husband and a bearded dragon (not necessarily listed in order of importance). “Verity’s Lie” is Grace’s fourth novel.

Verity’s Lie - Synopsis      

Charles Huntley, Lord Ryevale, infamous rogue…and government agent.

In unsettled times, with England at war with France, Ryevale is assigned to covertly protect a politician’s daughter, Miss Verity Verrinder. To keep Verity under his watchful eye, Ryevale plots a campaign of seduction that no woman can resist– except it seems, Miss Verrinder. In order to gain her trust Ryevale enters Verity’s world of charity meetings and bookshops…where the unexpected happens and he falls in love with his charge.

When Lord Ryevale turns his bone-melting charms on her, Verity questions his lordship’s motivation. But with her controlling father abroad, Verity wishes to explore London and reluctantly accepts Ryevale’s companionship. As the compelling attraction between them strengthens, Verity is shattered to learn her instincts are correct after all – and Ryevale is not what he seems. So if Lord Ryevale can lie, so can she… with disastrous consequences.

BUY LINKS

Amazon .com http://amzn.to/13CxrN1

Amazon.uk      http://amzn.to/12aEqI6

Links:

Subscribe to Grace’s quarterly newsletter here:  http://bit.ly/V7T6Jd

Grace’s blog ‘Fall in Love With History’  http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.com

Website:          http://graceelliot.wix.com/grace-elliot

Grace on Twitter:        @Grace_Elliot

Grace’s author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Grace-Elliot/e/B004DP2NSU/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Grace-Elliot/173092742739684?v=wall&sk=wall

A Beautiful Analysis of my novel Sons of the Wolf by Lisl Zlitini

Whispers in the Wind: Sons of the Wolf



The above link is the most beautiful review I have ever read for a book. That it happens to be mine is by the by - but I am so grateful and lucky to have had this lady review my book for my IndieBRAG Blog Tour

Here are some highlights of the review

"In the course of the novel readers learn of other familial secrets, seamlessly revealed by Lofting in her characters’ dialogue–knots that smoothly reveal themselves–and sudden, dramatic actions and events. Like the tapestry depicting the lives and meanings of their ancestors’ world, Lofting skillfully portrays that of the Horstedes in scenes otherwise reminiscent of a typical day or evening, yet with so much meaning infused within. As Ealdgytha, Wulfhere’s beautiful but unhappy wife awaits his return,

[p]art of her was missing. Somewhere in her mind she had closed a door, locking inside the thoughts she did not want to think and the feelings she could not bear to feel.[. . . ] Then, at hearth time, she sat by the fire, chatting quite animatedly away to Gunnhild about her new pregnancy.

This scene sewn into a tapestry would reveal little to an examiner, for who can see into hearts embroidered into material? Like the multitudes of others we encounter in passing each day, these people we might see, but what lives in their hearts and minds lay unknown to us even sadly, when we blow off the dust and bring our open hearts to the examination. Or perhaps, like Ealdgytha, we see something we recognize but wish to dismiss and carelessly toss the remnants of our ancestors into coffers and chests."

And:

'Lofting has allowed us, too, to be passionate observers rather than passive ones, because she has brought to life an era shrouded in the mystery of the unknown. With such a distance as nearly a thousand years between “us” and “them,” we already sometimes echo the wretched Alfgar’s words of his own era, “What does it matter what she felt? [. . . ] as long as you are on the winning side [. . . i]n the end it is all the same.” And given the diversity of persona across the timeline, it can hardly be disputed there were some who treated even their own times thus. In diplomatic fashion, Lofting has given even such as Alfgar voice to speak to us, even at the risk he may be matted together with slave taking, “men so drunk they pissed where they stood” and “the torn body of a dead baby lying in the mud.” '

For more, click the link at the top. Its worth reading, even just to see Lisl Zlitin's genius!

http://www.bragmedallion.com/blog-tour/indiebrag-blog-tour for more dates.

If you would like to win a copy of Sons of the Wolf, email me @ sonsofthewolf1066@googlemail.com

Before the Second Sleep is Lisl Zlitini's blog, I highly recommend it.

PAULA'S PEOPLE: GUEST SPOT - CAROL MCGRATH, AUTHOR OF THE HANDFASTED WIFE

Hi Carol, welcome to my blog! 

Thank you very much for having me as a guest on your blog today, Paula. I hope to be interesting about my debut novel The Handfasted Wife and answer your interview questions with consideration for your readers. 

You're welcome Carol. am very excited to have you here. Here goes then! I believe this is your first novel, what inspired you to write a book about Edith Swan-Neck?

After university I was a history teacher in London so I assumed that I knew a great deal about The Battle of Hastings and The Norman Conquest. Tasks my students enjoyed were drawing their own vignettes inspired by The Bayeux Tapestry and reading ‘snippits’ from primary sources. I have always loved writing and was thrilled when I was accepted for the Oxford Diploma in Creative Writing, a two-year evening course.  I had a radio play to write as part of the course and a visit to Normandy with our village Twinning Association provided the material for the play. The short film supporting the Tapestry at Bayeux suggested that Edith Swan-Neck, King Harold’s common-law wife, identified his body parts after the Battle of Hastings. When I began to research I found out three other interesting facts.  Gytha, Harold’s mother, offered gold in return for his body(The Song of Hastings circa 1067/8). The Bayeux Tapestry showed a vignette of a woman fleeing a burning house with a child just before the battle scenes. Some historians think this could be Edith and her son Ulf who was taken as a child hostage into Normandy.Shockingly, I discovered that Edith Swan-Neck, recorded in legends as the great love of Harold’s life, was set aside in 1066 for a new political marriage. She was only a hand-fasted wife. My play was to be about Edith Swan-Neck’s experience of loss and disaster. This story haunted me so much that when I was accepted for a PhD in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London, some years later, I did not write the Dickensian novel I had planned, but instead returned to the royal women of 1066. I wanted to tell a woman’s story, to make her live and feel, and to provide readers with a sense of how battle, loss and change could have affected her life. 

Thanks Carol, that is a very moving thought. It must have been so traumatic to have to search for your man among the human carnage of battle. Although this is a work of fiction, it is based on historical fact. How did you go about your research?

Women were marginalised on the Historical Record. Royal women only get a few lines. These royal women had an interesting story. Since I was a research student I had access to The Bodleian Library in Oxford. There I was able to sit in my dusty corner day after day, exploring old chronicles, research papers, journals and a heap of secondary material on the subject of The Norman Conquest. My starting point was, in fact, The Waltham Chronicle, where I saw for myself the story that Edith identified Harold’s body parts by marks only known to her. I read everything I could in primary and secondary sources about Edith Swan-Neck, Queen Edith, Harold’s sister, and Countess Gytha. Academic conferences, in particular one on The Bayeux Tapestry at The British Museum, provided me with a wealth of information, analysis and understanding concerning this marvelous embroidery. I used to embroider myself. Equally, I read everything I could about life during this great period of change and,importantly, I kept organised notes.  As one experience and one book would lead to another I felt as if time paused as I was teleported into a past world. The more I learned the more I needed to explore further and so on. However, research for a novel is the part of the iceberg that lies below the surface of the water. It is the story that must take you, the readers, into the recreated medieval world, so you have the illusion that you are experiencing life as it might have been then. That is the magic of historical fiction.

Beautifully put Carol. Apart from Edith Swan-Neck are there any other important female characters in your book that you really like?

I love them all but especially Gytha, Harold’s mother because she stood up to William at Exeter and refused to hand over her dower city. What a presence and what strength! She is dynamic and shows it. I imagine her shaking a stick with an eagle’s head at her foes and ringing a little bell to summon her ladies.

Haha! Yes. I can imagine her being like that. What was the most enjoyable aspect of writing The Handfasted Wife?

I rise early to write and begin my day with an imagined world that I am creating. I find I am movingcharacters around in my head, eves-dropping on their conversations, feeling their sorrow and occasionally their joys too. The Handfasted Wife is an historical adventure brim-full of escape and pursuit and it was a lot of fun to write. Of course, I frequently burned the breakfast toast because I became so immersed in their world that I forgot our modern world.

Will we be hearing anymore about Edith in future books?

In a word, ‘Yes’.

How exciting!What are you working on now?

The Handfasted Wife is the first novel in my trilogy Daughters of Hastings. I am half way through a first draft of the second book, Countess of the North. This is the story of Gunnhild (Edith’s younger daughter) and her elopement from Wilton Abbey in 1075. It is rooted in the historical record and is a beautiful story to write. She is a very determined and feisty heroine. Watch out for her! She will be coming your way soon.

Thanks Carol, I really cant wait to read The Handfasted Wife

You can follow Carol  @carolmcgrath on Twitter

My blog is http://scribbling-inthemargins.blogspot.com

PAULA'S PEOPLE: Guest of the Month, author Michael Wills talks about his new release Three Kings - One Crown

Michael Wells

Hi Mike, welcome to my blog and thanks for coming along to answer questions about yourself and your current work Three Kings one Crown. Congratulations on being published. This must have been an exciting project for you to work on and I expect it has taken you years of research and hard work to get it all on paper and then in print.

Yes It has Paula, but first let me say thank you for inviting me to be a  guest on your blog.

·         How does it feel to finally hold your book in your hand and see it in lovely print?

A wonderful feeling. As regards the content, well others will judge, but as far as the cover is concerned, I think that it looks great!

·         What made you go assisted publishing and what led you to chose SilverWood books?

Well, when I finished my first book, I started sending query letters to publishers. It was a time consuming business. I could handle the disappointments, I had no unrealistic expectations, I was after all a novice novelist. However, not being a patient person, I quickly got frustrated. I have to confess that I am not exactly in the first flush of adulthood; I was impatient to get on with my next writing project. I thought to myself, “If you are confident that your book is good enough to be published, then prove it, spend some of your own money getting it out there”.

At the HNS Conference I attended a seminar at which Helen Hart was present. I was impressed by what she had to say. At that stage I had not heard of SilverWood. Subsequently, I noted that several writers whom I respect, were using the services of a firm called SilverWood. I checked out the company, and lo, the owner was Helen. I thought that their prices were reasonable, so I decided to place my manuscript for “Three Kings – One Crown” with them. A decision which I have certainly not regretted.

·         Also being a fan of this period in history I know why I am drawn to this time but I was wondering what it is about the 11thc that has inspired your story?

My primary fascination is with the Vikings. I suppose this is because I spent several years living in Scandinavia. As I hope my readers recognise, my writing style is very much concerned with interweaving the fiction with real events and recorded happenings. In preparing my manuscripts I concluded that it was impossible to research one aspect of the 11^th century in isolation, so I had a thoroughly enjoyable time trying to make sense of the complications of this incredibly turbulent period. It is an absolutely absorbing time in history. The challenge for a novelist is to be selective about the amount of historical detail to include, while retaining a story which relates credibly to “real” history.

So how did your characters develop and have you based them on anyone in particular?

I have wondered the same thing! With both books, before I started writing, I knew how the book would start and I had a precise plan about how they would end. The long bit in between and the people in it were the product of imagination, sleepless hours and research. So who were the characters? My main fictional protagonists are male and often they reflect the qualities and vices of people I have known. What I do is to take the characters from their secure, normal existences and force them into situations which are outside their experience. The way in which they react is decided by the role which I have created in my mind. This role is often dictated by the real person I am relating them to. For example, Torkil in Three Kings – One Throne, is initially selfish and idle. Then he has an unexpected experience which gives him direction and ambition. Unfortunately, his new enthusiasm is so strong that he is prepared to ignore other responsibilities to fulfil this ambition. I am sure that I am not alone in having met people like this.

·         Your book covers a wide area, Scandinavia, the Isle of Wight, much of England and Normandy and this is reflected in your descriptions of them in the book. Did you visit these places to get a feel for them as you wrote your book?

Yes, I think that this is very important to me in my writing. I visited all the places mentioned in the book together with my very patient wife, with the exception of Novgorod. I realise that I am privileged, as a retired person, to have the time and means to travel. Such places as Uppsala, Kiev, Istanbul and Roskilde really are inspirational. And I had many adventures on mountains, rough seas and in mosquito infested forests, but one of the most extraordinary experiences was to arrive on our boat at a harbour on a small island in Sweden and find that of all the hundreds of people there, we were the only ones not dressed as Vikings! It was the annual Viking Market.

 

·         Who is your favourite character in the book and why?

I am very fond of Ivar, the Danish boy slave. Despite his initial lowly status, through steadfastness, guile and unquestioning loyalty to his master, he survives to become a  wealthy freeman.

·         Who would be your least favourite character and why?

Undoubtedly Tostig, Earl Harold’s brother. This man was prepared not only to betray his brother, but even to facilitate a foreign king taking the English crown.

·         Tell us about Finn’s story, the novel that you wrote before Three Kings, One Crown.

Finn is the youngest of three brothers who lived in a small settlement in Lapland in the late tenth century. He was persuaded by the dominant older brother to abandon their parents and to travel south to seek a better life. They eventually reached the realm of King Erik, (a real character), and found themselves forced into slavery. Through the resourcefulness of the oldest brother they escaped and eventually reached Denmark where they embarked on a Viking expedition to Britain. All went well for them, though not for their victims, until through overconfidence they found themselves trapped by Anglo-Saxons.

·         What are you working on now and what do you have planned for the future?

I should be working on the third book in the Finn’s Legacy Trilogy, (Once more I know the beginning and the end, but not the middle!). However, I came across a story which was too alluring to resist. I have taken an excursion seven hundred years further on to the American War of Independence and the tragic story of the decimation of an English regiment. The book begins in rural Hampshire and ends in Vermont. I have written the English based first half of the book and I am going to Canada and Vermont in the autumn to do field research for the second half. Then, next in line is to return to finish the trilogy….but I have a longing to write a Viking story for teenagers, which is seriously threatening the planned order!

Thanks so much for coming along and giving us this great insight into you and your book. Best of luck for the future!

You can buy Mike's book Three Kings - One Crown here 

You can follow the rest of the tour at :

Jaffa Reads Too (Saturday 18th May)
Because this Girl Loves books (19th May)

PAULA'S PEOPLE: Guest of the Month, WWII Veteran Daphne Farrow

       

Today I'd like to welcome young Daphne Farrow who is only 91 years young to my blog as a guest Funny Things Happened to Me on the Way to Old Age. At first I was perturbed by this competition, after all, I had the privileged 'signing' table and thought that a little charming old lady would be more likely to win customers than I was going to. But soon my fears began to melt away as we somehow molded into a double act. If someone bought Daphne's book, I would look at them and smile and say, "Well, there's no point in me telling you about mine is there?" Instead of running up to the till in an effort to avoid me, I found that they would stop and ask me what I was selling and after giving them my carefully rehearsed spiel, they'd by one of my books as well! It may have had something to do with it being Christmas that both Daphne and I sold quite a few copies that day mostly as a tag team and we both struck up a lovely friendship.
 I met Daphne in John Pye's The Bookshop bookshop in the lovely Sussex medieval High St of  East Grinstead. I was doing a book signing in the week running up to Christmas and Daphne, who is a regular feature in The Bookshop, was there to hand sell her book,

Daphne's book is a collection of stories about her life. It is a fantastic insight into life in the 20's, 30's and surviving the Plymouth blitz and serving as a WAAF officer.I was so intrigued by Daphne and her story that I wanted to let my friends and readers know about this wonderful sweet lady who had put her fond memories of her experiences down on paper.In two years, Daphne has managed to sell over 600 copies purely through The Bookshop and I thought I would introduce her to a wider audience by inviting her to be a guest on my blog.

So please welcome the lovely Daphne Farrow!

So Tell me where you were born Daphne? 

I'm from Plymouth, a Devonshire lass. 

What made you decide to write your book Daphne?  

 My daughter Annie kept nagging me to and I gave in because I wanted to make people laugh. 

How would you describe your book?

Light-hearted and exact!

What was it like in the RAF?

I was a staff driver at HQ and later commissioned to become a technical officer.  I had to go on a 6 week course that would have normally taken 3 years! We had to cram a lot of learning into those 6 weeks.  There was a camaraderie and friendship and we all had one thing in common, the determination to survive and fightback. 

What was the most exciting moment of your life? 

Meeting my husband. I had always wanted to fly and he was a pilot and took out in a Halifax Bomber over the field and I was so worried we weren't going to get above the trees. He just told me to hang on to the compass so i didn't fall over! It was the most exhilarating, heart stopping moment of my life but it was wonderful as we flew above the trees!

What or who are your inspirations?

I love music, Big Band music like Victor Sylvester, Classical music : Mozart's piano concerto no 23 and I loved dancing to the music of Strauss. My husband used to teach ballroom dancing so I loved that sort of music.

What have been your favourite books?

I love Agatha Christie books, they keep you in suspense

What is your favourite part of your book?

Absolutely no question, the part where I tell about the day Clifford, my husband flew me through the Northern Lights. As we flew by the beautiful chiffon colours I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Not even the Queen could have done better! 

Me and the lovely Daphne in The Bookshop

Many thanks to Daphne for allowing me to interview her and tell the world about her wonderful book which can be bought on line here or on Amazon or The Bookshop


If you would like to know more about Daphne checkout her website at  http://www.funnythingshappened.co.uk/

PAULA'S PEOPLE: Guest of the month Dave McCall who writes as David Ebsworth

Please welcome David Ebsworth!

David Ebsworth is the pen name of writer, Dave McCall, a former negotiator and Regional Secretary for the Transport & General Workers’ Union. He was born in Liverpool but has lived for the past thirty years in Wrexham with his wife, Ann. Since their retirement in 2008, the couple have spent about six months of each year in southern Spain. Dave began to write seriously in the following year, 2009. His debut novel, The Jacobites' Apprentice, was critically acclaimed by the Historical Novel Society who deemed it "worthy of a place on every historical fiction bookshelf." But he's here today to launch his new novel, The Assassin's Mark.

Anyway, over to you, David.

Well first, thanks very much for welcoming me to the blog. It's a great privilege to be here. And especially today, as you say, to launch my second novel, The Assassin’s Mark.  It's set in 1938, towards the end of the Spanish Civil War, and follows the trials and tribulations of left-wing reporter Jack Telford, stuck on a tour bus with a very strange mixture of other travellers as he tries to uncover the hidden truths beneath the conflict. But, in the words of the synopsis, "Jack must contend first with his own gullibility, the tragic death of a fellow-passenger, capture by Republican guerrilleros, a final showdown at Spain's most holy shrine and the possibility that he has been badly betrayed. Betrayed and in serious danger."

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was researching a novel about the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War and came across a paper on the Battlefield Tours that Franco launched – mainly for British tourists – before the war was even finished. It was too good a story to ignore.

What genre does your book fall under?
Historical thriller with a generous amount Agatha Christie and a splash of Rick Stein, seasoned with a pinch of the picaresque.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I always picture actors in my main character roles anyway so, in this case, Christopher Eccleston as Jack Telford and Rachel Weisz as Valerie Carter-Holt.What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A Christie-esque thriller set on a battlefield tour bus towards the end of the Spanish Civil War.

Is  your book self-published or represented by an agency?
I spent a long time looking for agents and "traditional publishers" when I wrote Jacobites. A lot of people that I respect were very supportive about it but the agents I contacted were either too rude to even acknowledge me, or told me it wouldn't fit their lists, or liked it but weren't taking on any more new authors. Also, in meeting many other wordsmiths, I realised that there's a huge mythology about "traditional publishers". It's generally thought that, first, they pay their authors a generous advance; second, that they get your work automatically onto bookstore shelves; and, third, that they do all the marketing for you. It's a load of nonsense for all but a tiny minority. So, being passionate about my writing, and having market-tested a bit, I decided to go "independent", publishing with the help of SilverWood Books (www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk) and  using their high quality professional backing (registrations, typesetting, design, proofing, etc.) but using my own editor (the inimitable Jo Field) and jacket cover graphic designer (the indefatigable and innovative Cathy Helms). I’ve found it a fantastic way for a new writer to get published and I love the buzz of doing my own marketing.

 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I started to write in February 2011 and finished the first draft (180,000 words) in October that year – then travelled with it through all its locations in Northern Spain to check the “feel” and complete the first re-write (168,000 words). The final version is 152,000 words.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
C J Sansom’s Winter in Madrid; Dave Boling’s Guernica; Rebecca Pawel’s Death of a Nationalist; Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Long list, I’m afraid. Old comrades like Jack Jones and Frank Deagan from whom I first learned about the “real” experience of the Spanish Civil War. Spanish family friends who lived through the war and Franco’s repression that followed it. Wonderful historians like Antony Beevor and Paul Preston who’ve never lost sight of the Spanish Civil War’s significance for all of us. Professor Sandie Holguín who introduced me to the bus tours that feature centrally in the story.

 

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
The Spanish Civil War is badly neglected by English-language fiction writers so, at one level, I wanted the novel to be informative as well as entertaining. I’d like it to be a “must” for all those who already have an affection for Spain and maybe want to learn a bit more about the country’s history and culture – while still being able to sit on a beach with a good pot-boiler and need to keep “turning the pages.”

 

For more about David's previous novel, The Jacobites’ Apprentice, and other relevant information, you can visit his main website... www.davidebsworth.com

To Read my review of The Jacobites' Apprentice click here

Good luck Dave!

 

Author Spotlight: Zach Abrams talks sbout his book Ringed Fence

 Today I am highlighting  the work of Zach Abrams The following is an interview that Zach has allowed me kindly to post!

1 What is your book about?
My book tells the story of Benjanin Short in his various incarnations. Benjamin is a very complex character and compartmentalises his life to an extreme. His life is split into five different characters, each living under a variation of his name and the people in each of these lives have little or no knowledge of the others. The one common thread weaving each of his lives together is his obsession for music. There is an inevitability the divisions can not be sustained and the story deals with the unforeseen events taking place causing the divisions to become blurred with catastrophic results.
Benjamin is an anti-hero. Although each of his characters has some redeeming features, they essentially are all different aspects of Benjamin's self obsession. He is a sociopath constantly using other people to serve his own ends.
2 How did you come up with the idea for your book?
That's the strange part. I didn't have an idea for a book. I was sitting thinking about writing something and I had the idea for the character. He developed in my mind and I thought I'd start trying to write about him. At first I though it would make an essay or a short story. The ideas expanded as I tried to explain about the different aspects of his character and the story seemed to write itself. At no time did I prepare or think through a plot and I didn't know where it was going. Afterwards, when I read it through for the first time it was like reading someone else's novel.
3 Does your main character resemble anyone in your family or circle of friends?
I certainly hope not. True there are aspects of myself and of people I know but Benjamin is not based on any one person. To survive in modern society, I, like most people have to compartmentalise. Benjamin takes this beyond the boundaries of what is normal or reasonable. Each of Benjamin's lives are reasonable normal if taken in isolation - it's only when they are combined under the same character and obsessively ring fenced that they become pathological
4 Who is your favorite writer? Why?
There are many writers I love depending on my mood. One that I particularly enjoy is the British author Michael Dobbs (to confuse matters there is a US author of the same name). I became addicted to his books after reading 'House of Cards' where I adored his depiction of Francis Urquhart. His own political experiences make his novels knowledgeable, insightful and amusing.
5 How long did it take you to write your book?
Once I started writing 'Ring Fenced,' I was consumed by it and wrote obsessively. I completed the first draft within five weeks the needed a rest to draw breath. The first edit took me about four months and it was over another year before I was sufficiently happy with it to allow anyone else, outside family, to read it. I waited a further year or more to embark on another novel and I have recently competed 'Made a Killing.' It was less obsessively written but not by much and I hope to have it published quite soon
6 What strange writing rituals do you have?
I don't know if I'd go as far as calling them rituals but I prefer to write into a word document while having a couple of windows open in the background. I have one open to a dictionary /thesaurus and the other open in Google search. This way I can often research or confirm small details I'm writing about while the thought is in my head. Only recently, I've added a separate word document to the combination so I can make notes on my time line and characters as I go along.
I've recently noticed that I'm not too distracted by background noise so I don't have a problem with a television or radio being on while I'm writing. It's maybe helped by my partial deafness but strangely enough I've found afterwards that I have a reasonable awareness of what the programme has been about and it hasn't significantly affected my writing - except maybe a few more typos to correct.
7 What are your hobbies?
Hobbies? Are you serious? Where's the time? Seriously though, I still have a lot of work commitments and try to write whenever I can. This involves the associated requirements to edit and publish and to try to mutually support other writers that I know. Outside of all of this I enjoy reading, music travel and sports.
8 What are you reading at the moment?
Currently I'm reading 'The Invention of the Big Bang' by Fred Schafer. It has a very unusual style and is a compelling read with the author telling you someone's retelling of the main characters life story. It took a bit of effort to get into it but it's proving very much worth the effort, absorbing. I love reading Indie books, you find real originality while the mainstream mainly keeps churning out variations of the same thing.