The Cornish House - Liz Fenwick

Today is special for a wonderful friend of mine. I've 'known' Liz Fenwick for, I think, around four years online. We started off in a virtual online writing group of 40 - The Novel Racers. Part of being a member of the Novel Racers was at the beginning of each year we would race to get a first draft down or complete a work in progress. I'm sure that both Liz and I have worked on books during that time that have now gone on to be published - so be it in very different formats. Liz has a traditional two book deal with Orion. She has an amazing agent who works hard for her - the perfect team. The Cornish House was accepted as part of a two book deal and so far has sold in Germany, Holland and Portugal.

During the four years we've known each other, we've been to various writing events, book launches etc but always either one of us couldn't make it at the same time. So I was thrilled to see that if I attended Liz's book launch, well, obviously we'd be in the same place at the same time - at last!

I'm off to Crimefest tomorrow. Imagine my horror when I found out it was on at the same time as Liz's launch in London! Gutted was an understatement. So instead we tried to meet while I was in London for the Book Fair. We arranged a tweet up with a few more writers but Liz's flight meant she couldn't make it.

Then I had a text from her on the morning I was leaving London to say she was on her way to the book fair. Ohmigod, we might actually meet. But the downside of that was London Book Fair is huge so we might miss each other unintentionally.  I told her where I would be and had to put my phone on silent as I was listening to a presentation. I held it in my hand waiting for her to text me. Luckily I glanced down and it was ringing. I ran out of the room and eventually after a few more directions (the room we were in was quite hard to find) there she was. Man, she near squeezed the life out of me. It was so lovely to see her, even briefly as she had a meeting shortly afterwards.

Then as these things happen, as we were coming out of Earl's Court to head for home, there she was by the door. So we caught a tube with her and got to spend a bit more time together. Four years and then twice in one day... 

One of the things we've always chatted about was an interview on my blog - Liz has some wonderful shoes to show off too. I have a copy of The Cornish House to read and also was supposed to send a Q and A to Liz but due to a death in my family and that putting me behind with my work, I haven't found the time to read it - and when I did have time to send questions this week, it would hardly have been fair to ask her to reply to them without much notice. Also, because she's such a good friend, I find it hard to do reviews. I've stopped book reviewing because of this - I know so many authors now.

So, due to the fact that I shall be in Bristol this evening while Liz celebrates the publication of The Cornish House, I wanted to say congratulations here. And also to say thank you too. Liz has always been there for me in the background with emails of support and more recently congratulations - and she has great shoes. So, I'm sure she'll forgive me and agree when she's less busy over the coming weeks to have a star spot on High Heels and Book Deals...

The Cornish House is published by Orion and you can purchase it here. You can find out more about Liz at her website too. 

Best Shoe Forward with Catherine McNamara

A guest post by Catherine McNamara. Her first novel ‘The Divorced Lady’s Companion to Living in Italy’ was published in April 2012.

A NON-CAUTIONARY TALE FOR MOTHERS OF TEENAGERS, LATE BLOOMERS AND LOVERS OF THE COCKTAIL HOUR

Marilyn Wade, half-Hungarian divorcee and mother of unflinching teens, moves to Milan to remap her womanhood. But sexy glamorous Milan is as unfeeling as a Prada bag. The streets are full of mile-high models, immigrants and remarkable men in suits. Who will she meet as she downs espresso after espresso in bars and learns Italian in a room with George Clooney? Marilyn’s entanglements involve punishing grammar lessons, stolen D&G heels and kisses with astonishing views, a kinky Hong Kong benefactor and a stirring love scene set in Venice.

Will she ever find herself and a way to conjugate Italian verbs?

***

One of the main reasons for living in Italy has to involve being surrounded by beautiful shoes. Throughout the year gorgeous shoes displayed in shop windows – or better, newly slipped onto one’s feet! – can cause the heart to surge and one’s credit card to flutter.

I don’t care. I regularly ‘visit the shoes’ at change-of-season time. In February for the first teetering summer pairs; in September for the first thrilling winter boots. It’s probably a blessing to have other mouths to feed in the household rather than a carefree single’s existence. In my book newly-divorced Marilyn embarks on her espresso-scented transition in Milan. Her first hurdles involve underwear, fashion and heels.

Quite quickly Marilyn learns that Italians stare – they will scrutinise what you are wearing – and Milan’s immaculately groomed women collectively frown upon her dowdy, neglected state. Enter Fiona, sassy Australian TV producer selling her blockbuster survival series around the world. Fiona takes Marilyn on a classic shopping expedition around the glamorous city:

‘..Fiona selected a batch of five-inch heels. My jaw dropped. Surely I was tall enough already? I pointed out that not even Nicole Kidman went out of her way to be a giant, and that perhaps I should stay with a pair of flats à la Carla Bruni. But Fiona said, ‘This country glorifies tall people. All the aristocrats are tall. Milan is full of thirteen-year-old Russian models who are six feet tall, haven’t you noticed? If you’ve got it, tower!’

And in this way Marilyn learns to swank and totter and begin to regain some grace.

But do heels really enhance a woman’s grace? Think of how we walk, how along cobbled streets you must save your heels from getting stuck, how every grate is a potential trap, how one prosecco too many can set you lurching indecently. There are perils. Plus living in Italy means your strutting in centro makes you part of the communal unfolding drama of people-watching, one of Italy’s most developed sports.

Again, I don’t care what they think. I’ve always loved heels, investing in shoes, walking in heels. I can do uphill on cobbles; I’ve done ice in bronze Barbarella boots. For this writer who is in Uggs all winter or Dr. Scholls all summer at her desk, heels are escape and elegance!

I’ll parade my favourites:

Last summer’s purple plastic Melissa sandals for our annual country bash (I danced until 3am – even writers have to boogie!)

My steep Miu Mius (I always receive compliments for these)

 

My Ash cage shoes (à la Alexander McQueen but surprisingly comfortable)

My naughty Luxury Trash tronchetti (which I almost wore to my book launch last month… but for the shoe-destroying rain!)

A mix with a trick question: FIND THE ODD MAN OUT!

CATHERINE MCNAMARA grew up in Sydney and moved to Paris to study French, and ended up in Ghana running a bar. She moved to Italy eight years ago, where she translates for a WWI Eco-museum and skis fanatically. She has great collections of African sculpture and Italian heels.

Follow her blog http://thedivorcedladyscompaniontoitaly.blogspot.com

Facebook  #catinitaly

‘The Divorced Lady’s Companion to Living in Italy’ may be purchased at your local Waterstones or selected independent bookshops, or online:

http://www.indigodreamsbookshop.com/#/catherine-mcnamara/4561751985

www.amazon.co.uk

www.thebookdepository.co.uk

A Chat with Fanny Blake

Lou is married to a man who no longer loves her. It’s time to move on, to begin a new business venture and to start her life over. To celebrate her new-found freedom, she travels to India, where, in front of the Taj Mahal, she befriends Ali after taking each other’s photographs on ‘that’ bench.

Ali is a serial mistress. But when she returns home, she discovers her latest lover is not the man she took him for. She too needs a new beginning.

As Lou and Ali put their pasts behind them, they start to discover new possibilities for life and for love, until the shocking realisation that they have far more in common than they thought.

Hi Fanny and welcome to High Heels and Book Deals. Where did the idea for Woman of a Dangerous Age come from?

I wanted to write about that time of life when you ask, ‘Is this it?’ Does what you’ve got measure up to what you’d hoped for? And is it ever too late to change? Lou and Ali came in at that point. Lou has been a devoted wife and mother for years, but now her children have left home she decides the time has come for a new start. Ali is younger and single. When the novel opens, she has realised that, unlike Lou, she wants to settle down in a committed relationship at last. They become friends while on holiday, then return home to find they have more in common than they’d thought. And not in a good way …

What are the best and worst traits of your main characters, Ali and Lou? 

Lou is larger than life, flamboyant, feisty, who loves her children, makes friends easily and who’s not averse to the odd glass of white wine. Her worst trait is that she can’t quite let her husband go, even when she finds out how badly he’s behaved towards her. Ali is more reserved, a ‘cat who walks alone’, thanks to losing both her mother and her first love when she was young. Since then she’s protected herself from emotional involvement by becoming a serial mistress. She is a talented goldsmith, makes beautiful jewellery, but her personal life is a mess. It’s Lou who encourages her to sort it out.

Have you a set writing day? 

I work in a little room just off the kitchen. I sit down at my computer from about 9 until 5,with a break for lunch or to go for a walk maybe. Of course, I’m not always writing. I’m a past master at displacing on the internet and on Twitter, and I have my work for Woman & Home, reading and research to fit in too. Despite the temptations of the biscuit tin, I stay there till I’ve done my quota of words for the day. I aim at about 1,000 but don’t always achieve that. Will power is not my strongest point.

You're the books editor for Woman & Home Magazine and have to read and review 12 books a month. Do you have much time to read anything else? If so, what is your favourite genre?

Yes, I do have time to read more, though not much. However I'm lucky that being books editor of Woman & Home means that I can read a variety of fiction that I enjoy anyway. I'm not sure that I have a favourite genre. I love reading crime fiction, historical fiction and general fiction. I try to read as many debut novelists as I can, though it's hard to keep up.

What’s your take on the social media/building a platform debate for authors? Has it been good for you? 
  

It’s a gift being able to communicate with friends, other writers and readers as easily as we can thanks to the Twitter, Facebook and the other social networking sites. I’ve met new people and found fantastic support there. It’s also a great vehicle for promoting your books. On the other hand,  it can be a distraction that makes those writing targets much harder to achieve.

Do you think having an agent is a must nowadays?

For me, yes. I'm fortunate in having one who's a brilliant editor too.  She reads and advises, but also gives me confidence and sane advice when needed. She has found me publishers both here and in America, and has been involved all the way through the publishing process. I cant imagine having done it without her.

What/who is your favourite book/author?

My favourite author is Anne Tyler. She writes domestic dramas with such wisdom and wit. Everything is minutely observed, each detail speaking volumes. If I had to pick one of her novels. I'd choose Breathing Lessons, which takes place during one day in the life of Maggie Moran, when she and her husband drive to the funeral of an old friend. In fact it is a pitch-perfect portrait of their marriage that had me laughing aloud from the second page.

Lots of authors seem to be turning their hands to more than one genre lately. Do you think this is down to the changes in publishing or that writers wish to do more?

Some writers are much more prolific than others. I don’t think you can turn it on like a tap, however much you might like to write more. I’m not convinced that it’s a good idea to write something in response to what may or may not be happening in publishing. Perhaps it’s an old-fashioned view but I believe that writers should write what they are moved to otherwise it becomes a cynical exercise without any heart.

What is your next book about?

My next book, Other Women’s Husbands, is about marriage. I wanted to write about how impossible it is not only to understand other people’s marriages and what makes them tick but often how little we understand our own. When a bombshell hits a marriage, all sorts of surprises and secrets spill into the open, affecting all the characters. That’s about all I can say for now …

And finally, what’s your poison, high heels or flat shoes? 

You know I’m not a great shoe person, so feel a bit of a fraud coming on here – especially now I’ve seen the height of the wedges you wear every day (hats off!). But here’s a photo of my new favourite ankle boots. Not only are these the most expensive, they are also the most comfortable boots I have ever worn. I had a rush of blood to the head when I bought them, but I haven’t regretted it once. And check out the blue insides! 

Women of a Dangerous age is out today and you can get your copy from here. You can also connect with Fanny on Twitter @FannyBlake1 and through www.facebook.com/FannyBlakeBooks

 Good luck Fanny!

A Chat with...Sinead Moriarty

(I have a copy of Me and my Sisters to give away)

There's more than one way of being a modern woman, not that the Devlin sisters would admit it

Julie used to be the easy-going one. But now she is a mother of four boys under five, her marriage is under strain and she is struggling to keep sane. She needs support, but her sisters don’t understand. After all, their lives are perfect.

Louise has always been top of her game, with little time for family and even less for romance. But with a drunken mistake threatening everything she’s worked for, she may have to accept that she needs help to keep going.

Sophie has got everything she ever wanted: a loving husband, a beautiful, well-behaved daughter and a designer lifestyle. Her sisters consider her spoiled and shallow but she doesn’t care – that’s until her life is turned upside down and she realizes they may be right. Not that she’s going to let them know the trouble she’s in.

Hi Sinead and welcome to High Heels and Book Deals. Tell me about your journey to publication 

I tried – and failed miserably – to get my first two books published. I sent them out to agents and publishers on all four corners of the world – UK, Australia, USA and even South Africa. And they all said NO! 

I decided I needed some help. So, I joined a creative writing group at Maida Vale college in London and that was the turning point for me. I began to see how important it was to structure the novel before you begin and I got wonderful and very helpful feedback from my classmates and my tutor. It was during that course that I wrote The Baby Trail , Which is a bitter-sweet comedy about infertility. It was my first novel to be published.

Did you have a lot of rejection slips before getting your book deal? 

Honestly, I could have wallpapered my apartment with all the rejection slips. I had hundreds of them!

How long does it take you to complete the first draft and how many further drafts do you complete? 

Before I sit down to write I do a lot of research (maybe 2 months or so) and then I plot the book out and do a chapter by chapter breakdown. This involves writing about five lines under each chapter (I usually have about 35 – 40 chapters). So, before I start writing I know what’s going to happen and how the story is being moved along. I find this really helpful as it stops me going off on tangents or taking the story down a dead end. The first draft then is read by my editor and we’ll sit down and discuss it. Re-writes can involve as little as a few tweaks, or be as significant as they were for my fifth book, which had to be almost re-written completely….nightmare!

Can you tell me a bit about your typical writing day

With three small children I write during school hours. So, I try to be at my computer by 9 and write until 3 when I go and pick them up. I don’t usually work on Fridays as it’s my day off. And I try to keep the weekends clear for family time, but obviously if I need to put in an hour or two I can.

 

What book influenced you the most and made you want to write your own? 

Every book I’ve read has inspired me in some way. But as a child I adored Little Women and the character of Jo March was enthralling to me. I wanted to be her.

Are you a plotter or a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-panter?

I’m a plotter. But even with all the plotting I do, characters and storylines just come onto the page and take on their own life. I recently had a character turn up in my book, she had never been planned and I have no idea where she came from. She arrived in chapter four and she became a really important character in the book. I love when that happens, I think it really means you are in the ‘creative zone’!!

What is your next book going to be about? 

 

The next book, Sweet Child of Mine is about an 18 year old girl, Sophie who one day discovers that her mother, the mother she loves and adores, is in fact a stranger who abducted her 17 years ago. We then go back in time to find out why, how, where, when…

What is your best writing tip?

Sit down, turn off your phone and WRITE!

And your worst writing habit? 

Having a quick check for something on the internet….this usually leads to hours of web surfing and some purchasing, particularly high heeled shoes.

And finally, what’s your poison, high heels or flat shoes?  

The higher the better! I love high heels. I feel taller, stronger and strangely, more confident when I’m in my heels.

I love these because they can make any outfit, no matter how conservative, look a little more edgy.

I love these because they are comfortable and really high. The nude colour also matches everything and they look equally nice with dresses and trousers.

If you would like to win a copy of Me and my Sisters, please leave a 'pick me comment' below by the end of Tuesday 30 April. This competiition is open to UK and Ireland readers.  Good luck! 



You can also find more about Sinead here and Me and My Sisters can be found here.  Good luck Sinead.

World Book Night 2012

World Book Night is taking place today, Monday 23 April, when one million free books will be given away by 20,000 passionate readers to members of the public across the UK and Ireland as part of World Book Night. Now in its second year, World Book Night is also taking place in the USA and Germany, and aims to inspire reluctant readers to discover the joy of reading – building communities of readers who will support and motivate each other. There will be readings by candlelight across the country and a whole range of other events, giveaways and fun activities for adults and children of all ages to get involved with in their local bookshops, libraries and other venues across the UK and Ireland.

In addition to one million books being given away by 20,000 volunteers and distributed by charities in prisons, hospitals and schools in disadvantaged communities; World Book Night is also the date of Shakespeare’s Birthday, and will see tens of thousands of people getting involved in hundreds of free, public reading events taking place across the UK in libraries, bookshops, art centres and open public spaces. Here are just a few:

Southbank Centre Event

The World Book Night flagship event will be held at London’s Southbank Centre and screened for everyone to see via big screens in art venues and libraries around the country and on the World Book Night website.  Mark Billingham, Meg Rosoff, Iain M Banks, Andrea Levy, Martina Cole, Mark Haddon, David Nicholls, Jon Ronson, Elif Shafak, Lemn Sissay and the Hip Hop Shakespeare Company will take part in the event.

World Book Night Readings by Candlelight

For the first time World Book Night readings by candlelight will be taking place up and down the country. A selection of Shakespeare’s Sonnets are featured in the back of all World Book Night titles providing accessible and instant readings. Carefully selected by poet and editor Don Paterson, the chosen sonnets are themed as much as possible around each individual WBN title.

Julia Kingsford, World Book Night CEO says: “The simple power of telling stories and reading aloud have been mainstays for millennia and World Book Night will be celebrating that simple power by asking the 20,000 volunteer “book givers”, booksellers, librarians and other passionate readers to hold candlelit readings within their communities whether inside bookshops or libraries, at home with family and friends or in a local square or gathering place.

World Book Night events are being coordinated in association with The Reading Agency, Waterstones and the Booksellers Association.  

Key library events include: World Book Night author Maggie O’Farrell at Edinburgh Central Library; the unveiling of a statue of one of Shakespeare's characters outside the Theatre Royal Newcastle, followed by a 'meet the author’ session with Adele Parks; the launch of the Poetry Unbound series with George Szirtes at the Millennium Library Norwich; Patrick Gale at the Birmingham Library Theatre; Readings, poetry and live music at The Exchange Bar, Leicester in conjunction with Leicester Libraries & Waterstones and a London Tri-borough World Book Night Celebration, which will see World Book Night author Sophie Kinsella on board a routemaster bus, kindly donated by First and Transport for London, which will travel the Number 9 route taking in visits to Hammersmith Library, Kensington Central Library and Paddington Library.

Key events organised by Waterstones include a book signing with bestselling novelist Marina Lewycka at Waterstones Doncaster; a Sunset Book Walk with local historians David Rose & Martin Giles coordinated by Waterstones Guildford; a celebration of all things books in the company of local authors Adam Creed, Paul Farley, Kevin Sampson and Helen Walsh at Waterstones Liverpool; an evening of Shakespearean themed music and theatre at Waterstones Sheffield Orchard  and a host of World Book Night quizzes taking place at a number of stores including Waterstones Leicester Highcross, Carlisle, Wilmslow, Kings Lynn Norfolk, Huddersfield and Sutton Coldfield.

 

 

The World Book Night website at

www.worldbooknight.org 

has the latest details for all events.

LUCKY 7: seven lines from new works

Having seen a few of these posts going round and being tagged several times, I thought I'd join in. The idea is to go to your current WIP to page seven, sentence seven and copy the next seven sentences. Here's mine:

 

 Cupboards opened, the smell of chips wafted up the stairs and then silence as her dad and uncle settled down to watch the box.

She glanced at her watch: just gone midnight. 

She’d bet on her new trainers that her uncle John would come creeping in before half past twelve, with his sweet words and his stale breath, his roaming hands and his heavy body. 

But this time, there would be no more defenceless Becky. 

No more giving in until it was over. 

This time, she would fight for both of them. 

Her fingers gripped tighter round the knife handle as she recalled the first time it had happened.

I'm not going to tag seven people but if anyone fancies a go...

Read Laura and Rebecca 's Lucky 7s

99 Reasons Why - Caroline Smailes

I was so excited when I first heard about this book. I've loved reading all of Caroline's books. She is such a distinctive writer with a compelling and unique voice. I'm not a fast reader but she has a writing style that I like to devour in just a couple of sittings. Just beautiful.

99 Reasons Why left me wanting more...

99 Reasons Why has eleven possible endings. Nine of those are in the ebook. Another will be auctioned off for One in Four 

It is my great pleasure to reveal the other one.Here is the reason why I was worth only ninetey-nine quid.

99: the reason why I was only worth ninety-nine quid 

It’s been six days since the little girl in the pink coat went missing and me Uncle Phil’s in me bedroom.

We’ve been watching the little girl in the pink coat’s mam on the news. She was appealing to the public for witnesses.

‘Didn’t realise she had a mam,’ I says, looking at me telly.

‘Everyone’s got a mam, pet,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘She sold her story to The Sun,’ I says, looking at me telly.

‘Got a few quid,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

I nod.

‘She wanted nowt to do with that bairn before all this,’ me Uncle Phil says, looking at me telly.

‘Do you know where she is?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

‘Belle?’ me Uncle Phil asks me.

I nod.

‘She’s safe,’ me Uncle Phil says to me. ‘Your mam’s keeping an eye on her.’

‘Can I be her mam?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

‘No, pet, you’re a filthy whore,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

I nod.

‘Can you make Andy Douglas come back, Uncle Phil?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

Me Uncle Phil shakes his head.

‘I love him,’ I tell me Uncle Phil.

‘Andy Douglas is your brother, pet. You didn’t seriously think Princess Di was your mam, did you?’ me Uncle Phil asks me.

I nod.

‘You’re a cradle snatcher just like your mam,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

I nod.

‘Your mam miscarried when she found out I’d been banging Betty Douglas. Betty was expecting you,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

I don’t speak.

‘When you was born, your mam went mad and I ended up buying you from Betty Douglas for ninety-nine quid,’ me Uncle Phil says.

‘Ninety-nine quid?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

‘I paid a hundred but got a quid change for some chips for your mam and dad’s tea,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘You bought me?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

I’m a little bit sick in me mouth.

‘It was the right thing to do,’ me Uncle Phil says to me. ‘I got Betty Douglas pregnant straight away with Andy.’

‘I’m pregnant,’ I says to me Uncle Phil. ‘I’m pregnant with me brother’s baby,’ I says, and then I throws up on me purple carpet.

‘You’re a filthy whore,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘What am I going to do?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

‘You’re going to have the baby,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘Have me brother’s baby?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

‘Then I’m giving it to Betty Douglas to bring up,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘You what?’ I says to me Uncle Phil.

‘It’s the right thing to do,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘I can’t—’ I says to me Uncle Phil.

‘It’s either that or I’ll make you disappear,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

I don’t speak.

I’m thinking, they’re all a bunch of nutters.

99 Reasons Why on Amazon UK

99 Reasons Why on itunes 

Caroline Smailes