Welcome to the third edition of CentreStage! CentreStage is a new feature on my blog that will showcase fantastic authors from across the world, introducing in particular my fellow authors in the Sapphire Star Publishing family, as well as fellow featured authors at loveahappyending.com. In this new, exciting feature, these authors might write for you about their lives, or their writing journey, or anything else that matters to them. Every feature will be different in format and flavour, so watch out for a variety of stories and tales.
Today, it is my tremendous pleasure to welcome lovehappyending.com featured author Anneli Purchase to this edition of CentreStage!
Anneli writes about the inspiration for her novel:
For the last thirty-three years, my husband has been a commercial fisherman. Having a troller gave us opportunities to see British Columbia’s beautiful coast in a way most people never can. When it wasn’t fishing time, we often used the boat to do camping trips. In and out of inlets and bays along the coast and among the islands, we had floating holidays.
Over the years we met many fascinating and unique personalities among the fishermen and other boaters. I wanted to use some of these rich experiences as a basis for a novel. None of the characters in my novel are real, but some of them are composites of people I’ve met, with a huge dose of imagination added.
I needed a naive woman to be my protagonist. Andrea fit the bill perfectly. In my book, The Wind Weeps, Andrea comes to B.C. to find adventure and love. She finds more than enough of both. From Comox on Vancouver Island, to Lund across the water on the B.C. mainland, and then up the coast to Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlotte Islands, Andrea gains a first-hand, in-depth look into the life of a commercial fisherman, all the while dealing with her personal relationships with the two handsome men in her life.
And then there’s the French-Canadian woman, who loves Andrea from the day they first meet. What’s to be done about Monique?
Andrea eventually finds herself in a situation where she fears for her life. She is no longer the naive girl from Ontario, but we wonder if her recently acquired survival skills will be enough to save her life? Read The Wind Weeps and find out.
Available now at amazon.com as a paperback and Kindle e-book and at Barnes and Noble for paperback and Nook. For all e-book formats, visit Smashwords.com.
About Anneli Purchase
Anneli Purchase works as a freelance copy-editor and writer. She has written three novels, and her articles on coastal life are published in Canadian magazines.
When she is not writing, she enjoys outdoor activities such as mushroom picking, gardening, fishing, and birdwatching. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and their springer spaniel.
For more information, check out Anneli’s website and blog. You can follow Anneli on Twitter and find her on Facebook. Or visit Anneli at her loveahappyending.com author page!
A big thanks to Anneli for coming CentreStage today, it’s a pleasure hosting you!!
Nicky Wells: Love & Thrills 
Thanks for a great interview. Recently, I have been looking at books by non-UK based authors and I shall certainly have a read of The Wind Weeps.
Sue
Hi Sue, isn’t it interesting what Anneli had to share? So pleased you could stop by and do come back when you’ve read The Wind Weeps to let us know what you think! XX
You’ll have a free trip up and down the west coast of Canada while reading a suspenseful story of Andrea and her rocky relationships.
It’s a fascinating life and existence, the scenery too just seems to jump out and embody Anneli’s story. Can’t wait to read it!
Isn’t it just amazing? I’m really looking forward to Anneli’s book. Thanks for stopping by! xx
I hope you’ll read the book one day. You’ll feel like you had a free trip to Canada’s west coast while meeting the lovely but naive Andrea.
Can’t wait to read the The Wind Weeps, and what an interesting life you lead in such a beautiful country.
I totally agree, Kit. Thanks for your comment! X 🙂
It is definitely unique in its setting, but we can all relate to the situations Andrea gets herself into, and hope it doesn’t happen to us.
Sounds like one for me! Looking forward to it.
and me too! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Mandy! :-)x
Thanks, Mandy. I think anyone who likes love and adventure combined will enjoy this book. You’ll forget about the dishes while you take the time to finish the book instead.
When you’ve finished reading Anneli’s book, you’ll realize that not only did you read a gripping story, but also that you learned a whole lot about the west coast of Canada and about fishing. As for the ending …! All I can say is that there had better be a sequel.
WOW! Darlene, what a cliff hanger! I really must get to this back as soon as I can. Thanks for commenting, hope all is well with you!
Thanks, Darlene. I hope to get a sequel written. It was fun to write the first one so I’m sure a second one would be as entertaining to work on. Sometimes my characters just took off and “did their own thing” before I could stop them. But it turned out to be interesting that way.
The Wind Weeps is a wonderful book. I’ve read it twice and each time I felt I was right there with the main character Andrea. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adventure, romance and drama all wrapped up in one fascinating book! Enjoy!
Sonja, hi! Very nice that you stopped by and it’s lovely to meet you. What a fantastic endorsement, I bet Anneli will be really pleased to hear you enjoyed her book so much. I can’t wait to read it myself! Thanks for your comment! 🙂 X
Thanks, Sonja. Nice of you to read it once, let alone twice.
Your story sounds very interesting and I can relate to your use of real people being the model for your books. All the best and I hope you have great success!!
Thanks for your comment, Gary–it really does sound a gripping story. Love that you could stop by today! X
The real people were just that – models – but nothing more. I didn’t use real people except for the ideas they gave me to make up composites of characters. Would hate to have someone think they were really the person in the story.
Sounds like a wonderful life Anneli. I bet some of the fact is better than the fiction! But the fiction sounds intriguing too. Am looking forward to reading The Wind Weeps and wish you lots of success and huge sales! x
whooop whooop! It does sound wonderful, quite my thing in fact. Thanks for your lovely comment, Sue! X
The fishing life on the west coast exposes you to a lot of colourful characters. Andrea meets some that turn her life around…and around!
Thank you all. I hope you’ll enjoy reading The Wind Weeps. I had fun writing it.
Hey Anneli, it sounds like everybody is really enjoying your work. I can’t wait to catch up with them! Thank for visiting my blog today and sharing your story, I’m very excited to have you here! You know what I always say at this point… ROCK ON! XX
I really appreciate being able to visit with you today. Thanks a lot, Nicky.
I’ve spent some time in that area but never explored by boat. It’s beautiful there. I’ll check out the book, sounds fascinating.
Hi Dana, thanks for stopping by–and I agree, it sounds absolutely fascinating. The seaside is my favourite environment so I can’t wait to get reading! XX
Thanks, Dana. Enjoy the adventure!
I so enjoy being taken away to far away adventures and The Wind Weeps sounds like a fabulous read. Great interview Nicky and Anneli. xx
Hi Janice, high praise indeed! Thanks for taking the time to comment. XX 🙂
Looking forward to the read, thanks to your hard work Anneli…was great to see you folks today! I know the gals that I purchased the other copies for will enjoy as well as we’ve all fished this beautiful coast… here’s to more time at sea & the wonders that it brings for us all… Love Raymond & Elise
A great big thank you to you, Raymond and Elise, for taking the time to stop by and comment. Exciting to hear that you’ve met with Anneli, that’s such a brilliant occasion for an author. Enjoy the book, and come back and tell us what you thought! XX
I hope you enjoy the read. I appreciate your confidence in buying books for your friends. I think books make a great present – pleasure that lasts longer than just a moment. Thanks again. Happy reading!
Loved the interview! One of my favourite pleasures is to learn about the author as well as about their writing. Anneli, we need to talk … I have several friends on Vancouver Island and my parents lived in Campbell River for several years.
Isn’t that amazing! They say everybody knows everybody else through the 7th degree of remove, or something… Thanks for stopping by, Patricia! X
It’s a great place to live. Maybe you should move back?
Enjoyed “The Wind Weeps” and then loaned my copy to friends and so …when ready for a re read I will have to wait a bit!
Now that spring is finally joining us here in the Pacific Northwest I am looking forward to just such a coastal trip up Vancouver Island..looking for Andrea and her tribe..of course.
Hi Dawn, thanks for stopping by and for your wonderful comment. It’s so great to hear how many folks enjoyed The Wind Weeps. Thanks for sharing! 🙂 x
Great to hear that you enjoyed The Wind Weeps, Dawn. Who knew that there was so much love and adventure on our own Pacific coast? Thanks for your comments.