Tag Archives: CentreStage

CentreStage with Sue Moorcroft ~ The Attractions of Feet

Posted on November 7, 2012 | 12 comments

Welcome to CentreStage!

CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world. These authors might share with you stories about their lives, their writing, their books, favourite anecdotes or inspiring disasters (yes, we’ve had those too!). Today, it is my greatl pleasure to welcome outstanding novelist and fabulous friend, Sue Moorcroft!

The Attractions of Feet

When I was considering what to write about in this post I thought: feet.

Then I thought: nobody wants to read about feet.

Then I thought: I hope they do! Because I’ve made the heroine of Dream a Little Dreama reflexologist …

Liza Reece has been a reflexologist for a while because she was in All That Mullarkey, the sister of the heroine, Cleo. When I decided to give Liza her own book, because she was just too naughty and fun to leave in Secondary Characterland and readers had asked about what happened to her, I had to choose whether to keep her as a reflexologist or retrain her for a new career. It seemed easiest to do the former but I wondered whether I could make reflexology interesting/fun.

Then I thought about doing the research – i.e. having reflexology treatments – and my mind was made up. Reflexology it was.

I contacted a local reflexologist, Joan Innes of Moulton Therapies, and booked some treatments, during which she would help me with my research. It tested my powers of concentration! I love reflexology treatments and kept finding myself drifting away on passing clouds as Joan worked, having to forcibly remind myself that I was there to learn what Liza needed to know, and how my hero, Dominic Christy would react to having his feet done. Particularly by Liza.

I ended up developing a strategy of going in with a list of questions or emailing them after because during the treatments I really did … just … let … go.

As a footnote – ho ho – after my first treatment, Joan told me that she picked up a reflex in my right eye. I shrugged it off and said I’d had damage in my left eye but she repeated that she’d picked up the right. Months later, it was discovered that I had a haemorrhage in the back of my right eye …

I decided that reflexology could be a very cool career indeed. I gave Liza a practice in the grounds of a posh hotel (which didn’t work out quite as she’d planned), battling to introduce pamper sessions, hen nights and various whizzy ideas that horrify stodgy centre manager, Nicolas. Reflexology suits Liza as she’s a girly girl and likes being in girly environments. She likes seeing people come in looking tense or flustered and float out after their treatment laid back and floaty. Reflexology suits Dominic a lot less, because he doesn’t really care for having his feet touched. Until he meets Liza. Then, suddenly, he’s a regular client.

The other feet-based research I did for Dream a Little Dream was to have a fish pedicure. For anyone who hasn’t tried this, you put your feet in a tank of fish and let them eat the dead skin off. So I booked a session, paid my £10 and put my feet in the water – and it was weird! My instinct was to yank my feet back out and count my toes because the fish (garra rufa) pounced as if they hadn’t been fed for a year. But it wasn’t as if they were piranhas and once I got used to the tingly, tickly, electric shocky feeling, it was quite nice – in a sort of, ‘I don’t think I’ll bother with this again’ way.

For quite how ‘feet fish’ come into Dream a Little Dream … I’ll leave that to you to find out.

Thank you, Nicky, for letting me take Centre Stage.

Thank you, Sue, for visiting CentreStage and for sharing this amazing context around Dream a Little Dream. I am a bit sceptical where reflexology and such like come into play, but your story has me totally intrigued. As for the fishy pedicure… I nearly had one last week but I chickened out at the last minute! I really enjoyed your visit and hope to welcome you back again soon. Meanwhile, best of luck with the launch of Dream a Little Dream!!

Dream a Little Dream

What would you give to make your dreams come true?

Liza Reece has a dream. Working as a reflexologist for a troubled holistic centre isn’t enough. When the opportunity arises to take over the Centre she jumps at it. Problem is, she needs funds, and fast, as she’s not the only one interested.

Dominic Christy has dreams of his own. Diagnosed as suffering from a rare sleep disorder, dumped by his live-in girlfriend and discharged from the job he adored as an Air Traffic Controller, he’s single-minded in his aims. He has money, and plans for the Centre that don’t include Liza and her team.

But dreams have a way of shifting and changing and Dominic’s growing fascination with Liza threatens to reshape his. And then it’s time to wake up to the truth …

Ooh, me again, sorry to interrupt! I have Dream a Little Dream on my Kindle and I am eager to get reading ~ sounds just like my cuppa and I quite often dream a little dream myself.  If you want to have a look-see, find the book here!

About Sue Moorcroft

Sue Moorcroft writes romantic novels of dauntless heroines and irresistible heroes for Choc Lit. Her last book, Love & Freedom, won the Best Romantic Read Award 2011 at the Festival of Romance and her most recent, Dream a Little Dream, is out now. She’s a Katie Fforde Bursary Award winner.

Sue also writes short stories, serials, articles and courses and is the author of Love Writing – How to Make Money From Writing Romantic and Erotic Fiction (Accent Press). She’s the head judge for Writers’ Forum fiction competition.

Check out her website and her blog ~ and you’re welcome to befriend Sue on Facebook or Follow Sue on Twitter.

Now then, folks: hands up (or should that be feet up) who’s had a fishy pedicure?
And what’s your little dream? We’d love to hear it! 🙂 xx

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CentreStage with Susan Buchanan ~ Even professionals seek professional help in The Dating Game

Posted on November 6, 2012 | 12 comments

Welcome to CentreStage!

CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world. These authors might share with you stories about their books, their lives, their writing or anything else that takes their fancy. We’ve had picture posts and music posts, interviews, guest posts and all manner of exciting things. So grab a cuppa and a slice of cake as I welcome the fabulous Susan Buchanan!

Susan has just launched her second novel, The Dating Game, and she is chatting with her main character, Gill McFadden, about… well, the dating game. Take it away, ladies!

Taking the plunge… going dating the professional way!

S: *makes sweeping hand gesture to introduce her guest* Today we meet Gill from The Dating Game. She has just taken the plunge and joined a dating agency for professional people.

S: Hi Gill, and thanks for joining us

G: Pleasure

S: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I believe you work in Recruitment?

G: That’s right. I have my own agency, in Glasgow, which specialises in Engineering and Sales and Marketing roles.  I set it up about 3 years ago.

S: That sounds exciting, but I’ve heard it’s a very cut-throat industry. How are you coping with the recession?

G: It is a very difficult industry to be in and now more than ever with 40 candidates chasing every opportunity. It’s very disheartening when you see good candidates fail to get employment.  But on the flip side it’s very rewarding when I place a good candidate in the right role.  It is, however, the bane of my social life. I set up the agency just as the recession started and the job situation, as you know, has only got worse and worse. That means I have to work more and more hours to make a success of things.

S: I imagine that must be difficult when you’re in a relationship, or trying to find a partner.

G: *sighs deeply* Yes, that’s about the long and short of it. Most guys can’t live with the hours I’m putting in. They want all my attention focussed on them and quite frankly, that’s when you meet a good one.  I thought New York was the city where it was meant to be difficult for single women, but Glasgow must come a close second. Plus, the very idea of having time to try and meet someone is just laughable. By the time I’ve finished work (I am here from 7am to 9pm most days) all I want is a hot shower, dinner and bed. Although it would be nice if there was someone to share the bed with.

S: That doesn’t sound a very satisfying an existence…

G:  *gives an ironic laugh* You’re telling me! In more ways than one, I can tell you! The problem is because I don’t have time to go and meet guys in the normal way; pubs, night classes, rambling clubs, even work colleagues (although I don’t recommend that) the only dates I’ve been on in the last few years are blind dates set up by my friends, Lisa, Angela and Debbie.

S: Oh right, so how have those worked out for you, and what did you think of the whole blind date experience?

G: Well, I think the fact that I’ve just joined a dating agency speaks for itself. But generally they consisted of men who spoke about themselves all night, didn’t ask anything about me; were more interested in their appearance than anything else and bitched about their past relationships/wives. And those are the ones I’m not too embarrassed to tell you about!

S: Okay. So, did you ever think ‘stuff this, I’m better off just being single’?

G: Sure, loads of times. And for the most part I do like being single. I don’t need a man in my life.  I make good money, have a nice flat, lovely car (Audi)  great friends and am very close to my brother and his family.  But sometimes, just sometimes, I wouldn’t mind having someone that I could tell about my day when I come in from work, that I could laugh at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival with or who would go to a classical music concert with me. Plus, there’s the physical side of things…

S: So would you say it was the ‘physical side of things’ that led you to join Happy Ever After?

G: No, although if I meet the right person, I’m not ruling that out, at all! It’s been so long since… I mean, it would be great just to be shown some male affection.  I do miss that. But I’ve thought long and hard about it, and I want a relationship.  I don’t necessarily want kids and marriage and all that, but I do want to be with someone that enhances my life.

S: So, tell us about the dating agency? How does it work?  Is it expensive?

G: *looks a fraction uncomfortable*  Well, I saw the ad on a bus. It’s really expensive actually. £400 joining fee.

S: Four hundred pounds?

G: Yes, and that was a half-price offer. Then it’s £40 a month direct debit.  They say you should expect 20-35 introductions in a year for that.

S: I should think so, at that price!  That will certainly weed out the time wasters.  I must ask, did you tell the complete truth on your dating profile?

G:  *hesitates* Well, mostly.  Everyone likes to present the best side of themselves, don’t they?  I didn’t put I spoke fluent French or anything, but I may have exaggerated a few things. Doesn’t everyone?

S: Hmm, interesting. So, what’s the state of play now?

G: I’ve received three profiles. Two look great, the other, I’m not so sure. I’m meeting my friend Debbie later to go over them.

S: Well, Gill, I wish you the best of luck. Three sounds quite promising. Hopefully you will find your ideal date in that lot.

G: Yes, well, I’m going to reserve judgment until I decide whether to meet them or not, although one in particular I have to say, is definitely my type.  Fingers crossed, but I don’t want to get my hopes up just yet.

S: Will you come back and tell us how you got on?

G: Of course. I just hope it’s good news.

S: I’m sure it will be. Good luck and thanks for agreeing to this interview

G: You’re welcome and I think I’m going to need that luck!

Nicky says: Wow, good luck, Gill, and I look forward to reading about your dating experiences!! 🙂

About Susan Buchanan and The Dating Game

Susan Buchanan lives in Central Scotland with her partner, Tony. The Dating Game is her second novel, released 2nd Nov 2012. Sign of the Times, her first novel, was published in Mar 2012. She will shortly start work on her third novel, due for release Spring 2013.

Here exclusively is Susan Buchanan talking about The Dating Game:

The idea for The Dating Game came from a friend who had joined a dating agency for professional people in Glasgow. Although none of the escapades or experiences Gill has in The Dating Game are those my friend had, the seed was sown! How does a busy, career-oriented woman in her late thirties, find a guy, and not only a guy, but the right guy? I wanted the relationships she had had and the dates she would have, to be as realistic as possible. As I love travelling, I always incorporate at least one foreign country into my books. You’ll have to read The Dating Game to find out where it is!

When I read, I love to read books about foreign parts that I have visited – it immerses me more in the story. I wanted to do the same in my own novels. I love reading, always have – romantic fiction, crime, contemporary drama, pretty much everything.

Visit Susan on Twitter @susan_buchanan or on Facebook, or check out her blog. The Dating Game is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com; Sign of the Times is also available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. Happy reading!

 Susan has a fantastic launch give-away going on her blog; you could win one of 54 Kindle books by 54 different authors (including yours truly! 🙂 ) so it’s well worth checking out. Visit Susan’s launch party  for details!

Now then. Dating. How did you find your perfect match? Or if you’re looking where are you looking?

And just to take the awkwardness away, I’ll go first. I met my other half singing in the choir ~ go figure!

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CentreStage with Janice Horton ~ Visiting the City of the Dead

Posted on October 31, 2012 | 25 comments

Welcome to CentreStage!

CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world. These authors might tell you about their lives, their writing, their favourite shoes or their workspaces. In short, about anything relevant to their inspiration and happiness. Today, it is my tremendous pleasure to welcome back the one and only Janice Horton!

Only last week, this blog took part in Janice’s Spellbindingly Fun Blog Party in honour of the launch of Janice’s latest work, How Do You Voodoo? And today, Janice has promised to let us in on some of the nitty-gritty of her research… Take it away, Janice!

Outstanding Bravery in the Name of Research: Get Ready to Be Spooked!

Hi Nicky and Happy Halloween – or should that be Spooky Halloween…?

Hi Janice, and a Happy Spooky Halloween to you to! It’s so exciting to have you back here today telling us all about your very daring research for How Do You Voodoo! Hats off to you, I don’t think I’d be this brave! (I’m easily spooked!)

*Janice laughs*  There is nothing better than a good spook, is there? I’ve popped along today to tell you about my romantic and humorous Halloween novella How Do You Voodoo? and to tell you about the spooky time I had writing it. You see, a central scene in the story takes place in a very spooky place, the Necropolis in Glasgow – a cemetery otherwise known as The City of the Dead!

Nicky says: Is this the bit where I get spooked?

The City of the Dead is the burial place of over five thousand people, mostly from the Victorian age.  In those days, when Glasgow was a very important and wealthy port, the rich merchants were basically trying to outdo each other in death as well as life, by commissioning hugely expensive and architecturally fancy mausoleums and monuments as their gravestones. Now, all these years later, they are mostly neglected, wonky, covered in lichen and in a bad state of disrepair. This of course, together with a hanging Scottish mist, all adds to the spook factor!

Nicky says: I bet it does. Did you say something about showing us for real?

*Janice whips out a stack of photos and slithers them nonchalantly across the table.* These are some of the photos I took there while researching a scene for How Do You Voodoo? See what I mean!

Nicky says: Goodness, I wouldn’t want to go there at night-time! But the photos look stunningly eery and haunting (not to say haunted), the perfect backdrop for your story. Fabulous, thanks for sharing. Now tell us more about How Do You Voodoo?…

About How Do You Voodoo?

How Do You Voodoo? is a humorous contemporary story about a loveless fashion model called Nola Nichols, who thinks being beautiful is a curse; that is until she is cursed and her looks begin to fade just a week before the most important photo shoot of her career. Nola rejects all rational explanation on what might be causing her lost looks and decides she has to find a way to get uncursed. This imaginative quest takes her from the Caribbean to Glasgow’s own City of the Dead. Along the way, she finds herself taking part in a rather unconventional funeral, involved in a voodoo ritual, reveals one or two unrests in her own past and falls madly in love with a doctor. Erm, that would be a witch doctor, right…?

Nicky says: Awesome. I have this on my Kindle and can’t wait to get reading!

About Janice Horton

Janice Horton lives in Scotland and writes contemporary romance with humour. Her novels ‘Bagpipes & Bullshot’ and ‘Reaching for the Stars’ are both Amazon Kindle bestsellers. Her latest title ‘How Do You Voodoo?’ is a romantic novella for Halloween and is out now for Kindle at just 77p or 99c!

Visit Janice’s Author  Blog; Follow her on Twitter @JaniceHorton; or Like  her Author Facebook Page

Janice is a Featured Author & Associate Editor at Loveahappyending.com

Find her ebooks on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

So, dear reader: How Do YOU Voodoo? Has this totally captured your interest? Brilliant!

Have you considered writing a novella? And what excites you about reading them?

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CentreStage with Jen Tucker: Journaling is totally the way forward!

Posted on October 30, 2012 | 16 comments

Welcome to CentreStage!

CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world. These authors might share with you stories about their lives, their writing, their books, their characters (the ones in their books, I mean!) or anything else that takes their fancy.

Today, I have a very special guest indeed. We have never met (YET ~ and that’s only because we live on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean!) but we have clicked in a most dramatic fashion. We hang out in the social networks together, and we share a love for music (especially of the rock variety), hanging with the stars (oh yeah, baby, my guest today had a *very* special moment meeting the one and only Seal!), and we adore children, family life and writing. Oh, and reading. Give it up for the amazing, adorable and outrageously funny… Jen Tucker!

Journals, Life-Lists, Action!

YAY!  I’m on CentreStage!  *Jen curtsies in dramatic fashion* Thank you, Nicky, for giving me the spotlight today on your blog.  I’m so honored and I appreciate you more than you know.  For those friends here that I am meeting for the first time, Nicky and I are sisters from other mothers from across the ocean.  It’s my mission to knock on her door one day, totally uninvited, and watch the squeals commence.  I love this girl to bits!  Again, my heart wells over to be here with you today.  Thank you, Nicky.

Nicky says: ‘Sisters from other mothers across the ocean…’ I couldn’t have put it more beautifully, Jen. Awesome.  Mwah, I love you to bits too! Please come and visit soon! Or… I’ll come and see you? But I am interrupting already, so sorry. *slaps own wrist, lightly* Please, go on! 🙂

The Beauty of a Journal

I’ve kept journals from time-to-time in my life.  Mostly in a drawer, or collecting dust on a shelf.  It defeats the purpose of documenting events if you never crack the spine, doesn’t it?  I’ve made journaling part of past New Year’s Resolution lists; to break that baby out and write daily.  I reached epic fail by January 5 each year of said resolution.

Perhaps I just needed a little more inspiration to keep a diary of my thoughts!  Maybe a prettier journal, decked out in pink paisley would make me more apt to jot down thoughts, right?  What if I just dedicated one as love notes to my children?  To my husband, Mike?  Again…epic fail.  I’ve always felt so much pressure to peel the pages apart and write something monumental, or of self-discovery that would bring me total enlightenment.    Instead, I found my mind drifting towards my errand list, or that I forgot the bake sale last Tuesday at school, and even wondering if I remembered to give the dog a heartworm pill.  So I’d close the notebook, set my pen aside and promise myself that I’d try again tomorrow.  Those tomorrows never came.

This past April, I had the privilege of meeting and taking a workshop from Karen Waldron.  If you are not sure who Karen is, please take some time to check her out when you are finished at CentreStage today.  It is no small thing for me to tell you she changed my life, yet she has no clue of the impact she made upon me.  Well, maybe a sliver.  I kinda emailed her—babbling—psychotically eviscerating myself about what my hour and a half with her at The Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop meant to me.  I’m afraid that after I verbally gushed all over her that I’m on her stalker list.  Anyhoo, the heart of Karen’s workshop was finding your creative edge in writing.  She introduced me to mind-mapping (not hocus pocus, I promise) creativity through photography and journaling, and making a life list (another person’s bucket list) full of the everyday and extraordinary adventures you might long to partake in, in this lifetime.  This class billed as creative writing impacted me.  It slowly unraveled before my eyes that I was immersed in a creative living course.  It fueled me.

What Karen didn’t know when I took a seat that day is that I was in a rut creatively.  I had a manuscript awaiting edits I had no desire to make.  I had been mulling over a shift in my career; to go indie and leave my publisher.  I was drowning in several works in progress, yet felt like I lacked the time and energy to make them happen.  My life was busy, manic, overwhelming.  That’s because I chose to make it that way.  I was stuck in several time-sucks; things that were not moving me forward.  Karen helped me see that.  I was too busy worrying about what I wasn’t doing with my career, that I wasn’t doing anything to propel it forward.  That’s not a great place to be in life, is it?

The idea of journal writing became demystified to me in this class.  Karen taught me to not keep it so sacred that you feel only foundation cracking items can be written betwixt the pages.  Write your thoughts, your to-do list, or even paste those silly fortunes from the inside of cookies in there.  Use your pretty pink pens.  Glue photos and thank you notes inside that are clogging up your desk.  Give those things a place.  Write down quotes and ideas that inspire you.  For God’s sake, doodle in there too!  Make it yours.  Make it a part of your every day, several times a day.  Get thoughts out of your head.  Then turn those thoughts into action.

I sit before you now a gal who since Monday, April 23 of this year (the first day I dedicated myself to journaling daily), that has filled 4.7 journals.  Yowza, right?  I made it a commitment.  I made it a part of my daily routine; my life.  Make journaling a habit and it will repay you tenfold.  It has helped me align important things in my life.  Inspired me more than you can fathom.  Journaling has also been a BFF when I just wanted an ear to bend about my troubles and tears.  The springboard to creative wells.

My life list is contained here too.  I’ve listed things like making a huge apple pancake, taking a train ride in a private car, and spending an entire day never looking at a clock.  All do-able things, right?  Well, that last one is a real stretch, but can be done.  Journaling could be all this and so much more for you too.  Just give it a try, for five to ten minutes a day this week.  I don’t care if you just draw smiley faces and write down your grocery list.  Just write.  Carry your journal with you too.  You never know when inspiration, frustration, or determination may hit and need documenting.  I cannot wait to hear what wonderful things happen for you all because you picked up a pen today and wrote.

Bless and be blessed,

Jen

Nicky says: *clears throat cautiously, feeling as though commiting a verbal crime speaking up after such a beautiful discourse* Jen, thank you. I don’t really know what else to say other than thank you for sharing this part of your journey and inspiration with us. I’ve got a stack of empty journals here. I will be using them forthwith! 🙂

About Jen Tucker and her work

Jen Tucker has never met a gluten free cupcake that she didn’t like.  A former teacher and educator, she has worked with children in school, hospital, and enrichment settings. In her years at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, it was Jen’s job to bring the “hands on fun” into the visiting exhibitions in the galleries.  Jen broke away from writing children’s books and thematic units in 2011 with her memoir, The Day I Wore my Panties Inside Out which was a semifinalist in the humor category in the 2011 Goodreads Book Awards. She is a monthly guest blogger at the website, Survival for Blondes where she marries humor with preparedness. Jen lives in West Lafayette, Indiana with her husband, Mike, and their three children. 

You can purchase Jen’s latest book, The Day I Lost My Shaker of Salt, here.  You can also find her on Twitter, Facebook, her blog or on her website at Princess with a Pen.

Nicky says: Fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. I recently finished reading “The Day I Lost My Shaker of Salt” and I absolutely adored it. I identified with it, I felt like I knew Jen-the-person, and Mike, and a certain rock star and it was just an enchanting experience to be welcomed into Jen’s life. Thank you, Jen!

So, my friends… Journals, do you keep them? Lists, do you make them (I know I do)? What do YOU make of Jen’s way to harness inspiration and ideas?

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Cover Reveal! Mandy Baggot shares the cover for #SECURITY!

Posted on October 25, 2012 | 6 comments

Before Bond, meet Regan…Nathan Regan

The new Bond film, Skyfall launches tomorrow – but why wait until then for a military intelligence hottie? Let me introduce you to the lead male in Mandy Baggot’s new romantic thriller, Security, and reveal the eye-catching 007-style book cover!

First of all… here’s Nathan Regan. Hello, handsome!

And here’s the gorgeous book cover… are you ready?

Security

Lies hurt, but the truth can get you killed

Autumn Raine is a pop vocalist at the very top of her game. She’s a style icon, the paparazzi’s darling and everyone wants to be her friend. But when her safety is threatened, her whole life starts to unravel.

Enter Nathan Regan, an ex-elite soldier who is assigned to protect her. He’s a good man doing bad things but what drives him? Passion? Madness? Or grief? Demons from his past are threatening to consume him. Can he win the fight alone or will he have to admit he needs help?

As the threat deepens, Autumn starts to find out who she really needs in her life. Is there still room for personal assistant Janey or rapper boyfriend Rockweiler? When everyone around her is feeding her lies, how does she work out the truth? Does her record producer know more than he’s letting on? What is her mother, the British Foreign Secretary’s involvement in the situation? And can Autumn put her faith in a forty-something Jamaican woman who handles an automatic weapon as expertly as she cooks?

Eluding kidnap and trying to stay alive, can Autumn find the strength to be the person she longs to be? And can two people, poles apart, forge something strong enough to survive anything?

Security is coming from Sapphire Star Publishing on 4 April 2013! If you can’t wait until then to find out more here is the teasing trailer!

Fantastic, Mandy! Where can we find YOU?

Find out more about Mandy’s books at Mandy’s website  or check out her author page with Sapphire Star Publishing. Mandy is on Facebook and on Twitter (of course!), and she has author pages on amazon.co.uk, amazon.com and Goodreads.

Cover Reveal Competition!!!!

And to up the fun a bit more, Mandy is offering a great competition right here, right now. 

FIVE paperback copies of Mandy’s novel Strings Attached are up for grabs! All you have to do is collect the Bond films. On each of the websites featuring the Security cover reveal, there  will be Bond film mentioned (NOT Skyfall).

Once you have all the  titles, drop Mandy an email mandybaggot@sapphirestarpublishing.com and you  will go into the draw for one of the books! Easy ~ you have until November 1st! Here are the website  links you need:

Mandy Baggot

Kim Nash

Stephanie Keyes

Melanie Robertson-King

Nicky Wells ~ THUNDERBALL

Sharon Goodwin (Jera’s Jamboree)

Rachel Lyndhurst

Carol (Dizzy C’s Little Book Blog)

Sheryl Browne

Bonnie Trachtenberg

Richard Holmes

Kate (Me, My Books and I)

Sue Fortin (Love Reading, Love Books)

Lindsay Gentles (TTP Book Reviews)

Eve Chong (Eve’s Chicklit Reviews)

Pauline Barclay

A L Jackson

Loveahappyending

Louise Graham

Trashionista

GOOD LUCK, and congrats to Mandy on a fantabulous Cover Reveal Party!!!

Join the Twitter Fun: #SECURITY

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CentreStage with Tracie Banister: Girl Talk with BFF Heroine, Sara Reade

Posted on October 23, 2012 | 14 comments

Welcome to CentreStage!

CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world. These authors might share with you stories about their books, their lives, their writing or anything else that takes their fancy. We’ve had picture posts and music posts, interviews, guest posts and all manner of exciting things. So sit back and enjoy today’s rocking feature as I welcome my good friend and American novelist extraordinaire, Tracie Banister.

Tracie and I met quite randomly on Twitter, as you do. We got chatting and liking and haven’t looked back.

Welcome, Tracie! **Waves frantically across several thousand miles of Atlantic Ocean**

Introducing: Tracie Banister and her BFF heroine, Sara Reade

It’s a pleasure to be featured on CentreStage today.  Thanks so much for having me, Nicky!  I thought it might be fun if I shared the spotlight with one of the characters in my recently released Chick Lit novel, In Need of Therapy.

Model-turned-swimsuit designer Sara Reade is the best friend of my heroine, Latina psychologist Pilar Alvarez, and I’ve been told that she’s a pretty entertaining character in her own right.  Unlike Pilar, who’s always diplomatic and sensitive of other people’s feelings, Sara is a no-b.s., calls ’em like she sees ’em kind of gal.  She is fiercely loyal to Pilar and doesn’t like to see other people take advantage of her, which she thinks everyone from jobless Izzy (Pilar‘s younger sister) to the perpetually-cheating Victor (Pilar‘s ex) does.  As Sara is on the verge of debuting her first swimsuit collection and was too busy to leave work for our interview, I agreed to meet her late in the evening at her “office” aka a small warehouse in the Miami fashion district.

Tracie:  I appreciate you taking time out of your hectic schedule to chat with me about Pilar.

Sara: *Distractedly examines swatches of fabric*  Anything for my best friend.  Who knows her better than me, right?

Tracie:  Right.  Can you tell me how the two of you met and became friends?

Sara:  Sure, yeah.  Are you a Summer?  *reaches across the table and holds a green-colored swatch up to my face*  Ew, no, this shade makes you look ill.  You must be a Spring.  *flips to a swatch that’s a brighter green and places it next to my cheek*  Better.  Definitely better.  *scribbles some notes on a pad of paper*

Tracie:  You were going to tell me how you and Pilar met . . .

Sara:  Huh?  Oh, yeah.  My friendship with Pilar – how it all started.  Freshman year, UM, that’s the University of Miami for anyone who’s not a Hurricane.  Pilar and I sat next to each other in the world’s most boring Anthropology class.  To keep ourselves entertained while the professor droned on and on about evolution and cultural dynamics, we would pass notes and drawings back and forth.  Pilar would make observations about the other students (Who had the hots for who, why the guy in the third row was acting twitchy, which girl had obsessive-compulsive tendencies.) and I would sketch out new wardrobes for everyone (Most of our classmates were in dire need of a fashion makeover!)  Pilar and I had so much fun together that we started to hang out after class and soon we were inseparable.  Sophomore year we became roommates at the dorm, and the rest is history!

Tracie:  So, the two of you have been besties for over 10 years now.  Have you ever had a fight?

Sara:  *guffaws*  Pilar get into a fight with someone?  No way!  She’s all about managing problems and avoiding crises.  If there’s an issue, she’ll want to sit down and have a calm, rational discussion about it, then find a mutually satisfying resolution.

Tracie:  So, she knows how to keep a cool head in difficult or emotionally charged situations?

Sara:  Yeah, well, she got good practice growing up in the Alvarez household.  There are some strong personalities in that family.  I, personally, get a big kick out of Pilar’s mother, Luisa, but growing up with her had to be exhausting for Pilar.  Luisa acts like she’s starring in her own telenovela 24/7.  It’s high drama all the time with that woman.  Dios mio, we’re out of milk!  What did I ever do to deserve this?  Why am I being punished?  If I don’t have my daily glass of milk, my bones will get brittle.  What if I fall?  I could break a hip!  Not that anyone would care!  I could be lying on the floor of this condo all day, writhing in agony, and none of my daughters would even think to call or stop by to check on me!  So ungrateful, so lacking in sympathy for their poor mamá, and after all I’ve done for them, all the sacrifices I’ve made!

Tracie:  *snickers*  Your Luisa impression is spot on!  Hysteria laced with a not-so-healthy amount of passive-aggressiveness.

Sara:  Thanks.  I can do Pilar’s sisters, too, but I’m going to need to grab something to eat first.  I skipped dinner and I am starving!  You hungry?  *I shake my head ‘no’ before Sara hops off her stool and sashays over to a table that has a grocery bag sitting on top of it.  She pulls out a can of Betty Crocker frosting and a Toblerone bar, then returns to her seat.  I watch in fascination as she dips the candy bar into the dark chocolate frosting and takes a bite.*

Tracie:  That’s your dinner?

Sara:  *shrugs*  Chocolate’s made from dairy, which is one of the four basic food groups, and you’re supposed to have 3 servings of dairy a day, right?

Tracie:  Well, that’s one interpretation of the FDA’s dietary guidelines.  Now, about Ana and Izzy?

Sara:  *digging the frosting out of the can with her fingers now*  Worthless, both of them.  They clash as badly as chartreuse and tangerine, and Pilar’s always stuck in the middle of their petty squabbles.  Ana’s totally uptight, which is what happens when you get married young and set up camp in the ‘burbs.  And Izzy is a major brat who thinks the world owes her.  For what, I have no idea.  She’s just been spoiled by her family her whole life and now she expects to be handed everything.  Izzy plays Pilar like a conga drum, always making her feel guilty and responsible for her.  I keep telling Pilar to cut the apron strings, but she’s too damn nice.

Tracie:  And you see Pilar’s niceness as a flaw?

Sara:  Mmmm, not a flaw per se, but it definitely blinds her to the faults in others.  That’s why she needs me to clue her in sometimes.

Tracie:  Do you give her advice on her love life?

Sara:  Of course!  That’s one of my duties as her best friend.  Not that she always listens to me.  I warned her about that creep Victor repeatedly.  I knew he was bad news the moment I met him and that feeling was validated a few weeks later when he cornered me at a party and tried to put the moves on me.

Tracie:  What?!?!?!?  Victor hit on you when he was with Pilar?

Sara:  Yeah, and I shut him down so fast that I probably set a Guinness record for the world’s speediest and most emphatic rejection.  He tried to play it off like he was drunk and had just been kidding about his fondness for threesomes, but I knew better.  Ugh, such a sleazebag!  I debated telling Pilar the truth about what happened that night, but I thought it might be best for her to come to the conclusion that he was a cheating jerk on her own, which she did not too long afterwards.  She might trust too easily, but in the end, my girl is a smart cookie.  Mmmmm, cookies.  I wonder if I still have that box of Girl Scout cookies around?  I could go for some Thin Mints.

Tracie:  Do you think there’s any chance that Victor has changed?  He’s been trying to convince Pilar that he has, that he really loves her and wants her back.

Sara:  *snorts*  And I’ve got some gator-infested swampland in the Everglades to sell anyone who believes a word of that.

Tracie:  So, if Victor’s not the one for Pilar, who is?

Sara:  Your guess is as good as mine.  It seems like there’s something wrong with every potential soul mate she meets.  I tried to hook her up with a friend of the guy I’ve been seeing . . .

Tracie:  And how’d that go?

Sara:  One word – disaster.  I can’t bear to relive that evening again, so you’ll have to read the book if you want all the gruesome de– <her phone beeps>  Sorry, let me check this . . . Uh oh, 911 from Pilar.  Izzy’s pulled another one of her crazy stunts, and Pilar needs help with damage control ASAP.  Where’s my purse? *looks around frantically*

Tracie:  Hanging on the end of that clothing rack. *I point to the other side of the warehouse.*

Sara:  Oh, you’re a lifesaver!  *grabs her purse and one of the swimsuits off the rack*  I hate to chat and run, but hopefully, you got everything you need for your interview.  Here.  *tosses a leopard print bikini in my direction as she races past me towards the door*  That’ll look fab on that petite bod of yours.  Help yourself to the rest of that Toblerone if you want it.  Ciao!

Nicky says: A-mazing! I’ve listened with open-mouthed fascination in between bouts of belly laughs, but now I’ve got to say something. I LOVE Sara. Where can I get a best friend like her? I totally adore her sense of humor and her pragmatic outlook on … uhm.. well, men.  Awesome. *And* she dispenses glorious dietary advice and gives out free clothes!

Thank you, Tracie, for bringing Sara along today, I had the best time!

Many thanks to the lovely Nicky Wells for letting me (and Sara) drop by her site today!  If you’d like to take a fun, romantic trip to the sunny beaches of Miami this fall, I invite you to pick up a copy of my novel, In Need of Therapy.  It’s now available in e-book and paperback ~ links below.  Happy reading!

In Need of Therapy

Lending a sympathetic ear and dispensing sage words of advice is all part of the job for psychologist Pilar Alvarez, and she’s everything a good therapist should be:  warm, compassionate, supportive.  She listens, she cares, and she has all the answers, but how’s the woman everyone turns to in their hour of need supposed to cope when her own life starts to fall apart?

While working hard to make a success of her recently-opened practice in trendy South Beach, Pilar must also find time to cater to the demands of her boisterous Cuban family, which includes younger sister Izzy, an unemployed, navel-pierced wild child who can’t stay out of trouble, and their mother, a beauty queen turned drama queen who’s equally obsessed with her fading looks and getting Pilar married before it’s “too late.”  Although she’d like to oblige her mother and make a permanent love connection, Pilar’s romantic prospects look grim.  Her cheating ex, who swears that he’s reformed, is stalking her.  A hunky, but strictly off-limits, patient with bad-boy appeal and intimacy issues is making passes.  And the sexy shrink in the suite across the hall has a gold band on his left ring finger.

When a series of personal and professional disasters lead Pilar into the arms of one of her unsuitable suitors, she’s left shaken, confused, and full of self-doubt.  With time running out, she must make sense of her feelings and learn to trust herself again so that she can save her business, her family, and most importantly, her heart.

In Need of Therapy is available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble. What are you waiting for?

About Tracie Banister

An avid reader and writer, Tracie Banister has been scribbling stories since she was a child, most of them featuring feisty heroines with complicated love lives like her favorite fictional protagonist, Scarlett O’Hara.  Her work was first seen on the stage of her elementary school, where her 4th grade class performed an original holiday play that she penned (Like all good divas-in-the-making, she, also, starred in and tried to direct the production.)  Her dreams of authorial success were put on the backburner when she reached adulthood and discovered that she needed a “real” job in order to pay her bills.  Her career as personal assistant to a local entrepreneur lasted for 12 years.  When it ended, Tracie decided to follow her bliss and dedicate herself to writing full-time.  Her debut novel, the Hollywood-themed Blame It on the Fame, was released in January, 2012.  And she’s following that up with the Miami-set Romantic Comedy, In Need of Therapy.

Where you can find Tracie…

Tracie has an amazing blog which is well worth checking out. She does rather live on Twitter so you’re bound to find here there… or follow her on Facebook, too!

Wow. Isn’t Sara an astounding character? Everyone should have a Sara in her life. She would get on famously with Sophie’s best friend Rachel, she of the acerbic tongue and the wicked sense of humour.

Thinking back to all the novels you’ve read or written, and taking Sara and Rachel as incumbent number 1 chart toppers here, who is YOUR favourite BFF?

 

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CentreStage with Elle Amberley: Music and Books, English and French, Lyrical yet Tough…

Posted on October 17, 2012 | 38 comments

Welcome to CentreStage!

CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world. These authors might talk to you about their books, their writing, their writing process, their likes or dislikes, their inspiration… or anything else that takes their fancy.

Today it is my tremendous pleasure to welcome the talented Elle Amberley. Elle shares my love for music and writing, so she’s written a very powerful, very intriguing post for my blog today. Give it up for… Elle Amberley!

Music and books, a never-ending love story

Books and music saved me from childhood despair, uplifting me and carrying me to a universe of my own. Marry this with an imagination often rebuked by adults, is it any wonder I became who I am today. An author who doesn’t like neat labels, who likes to experiment and write whatever bubbles up at the back of an overactive brain. I’m still looking for the pause button, the one to still my mind when I lay in bed unable to sleep despite extreme fatigue. When the fire rages on, the only way is to let the words pour out.

Words have saved me as an adult too, allowing me to part with a painful past, to clear my mind of all the negativity. Talking about dramas, small or bigger, is a powerful way to break away from all the vicious circles and help others. When I experienced profound grief a few years ago, music brought back the bubbles and so did French. I found myself able to express what I couldn’t in a language I picked up as a child, the start of my rebirth.

Being reminded of who I once was helped me to fight back. If you’ve survived once, you can do it again, my inner child screamed at me. So I found myself picking up Natasha’s story, a novel laying dormant in a corner of my mind. Natasha is a fighter, too proud at times, too independent, even if she’s longing for someone to love her and be there for her.

A British teenager, she travels to California, desperate to escape her only too real ghosts. In Nowhere Left to Hide, she finds herself and love, but refuses to take the easy way out. We catch up with her years later in Lost in Your Time. Heartbroken, she survives only for her children’s sake. But is this one battle too many?

Can she keep saying no to the handsome French rock star she is drawn to? She tells him it’s impossible. “Impossible is not a French word,” he counters back. Ah, she’d forgotten this old French saying. If only it was that easy.

All these years ago I let my mind wander reading stories and listening to music. Imagine my joy and emotion the first time a reader wrote to me to tell me how they had been transported to a better place, moved by my words. This is always the most precious compliment anyone can pay me, the thought that somehow I helped someone whom I’ve never met through a dark hour, or two. I do get a lot of mail from my readers, I never share the private messages, but they always touch me. This is something I feel very strongly about, respecting the privacy of my readers. As I wrote this post my publisher emailed me a review of From Me to You. I posted it further down, you will see why it made me smile, and no, I never get tired of hearing from my readers. Indeed, I feel honoured. Thank you to all who take the time to share a little bit of their lives or just want to say hi from time to time.

Years ago I wrote a few songs, I thought it was just for fun. Well, it turned into a bit more than that. And yes, I’m also writing songs in French. An anthology of my French poems has also been released recently.

I relish the challenge of writing in both languages, it sparks new ideas and broadens my style, twisting words in a different way. My style is different in French, sometimes more edgy. This edgier streak can be found in some of my poems too. Dark Tales, my next collection of short stories, follows this pattern and will soon be up for release.

So there you are, a little bit of me. Thanks for reading me and I hope to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and the likes.

Do I have more novels laying dormant at the back of my mind? You bet!

Awesome ~ This is such a powerful post and it puts your novels into context (musical and otherwise) beautifully. I, for one, can’t wait to see what you come up with next. Thank you for sharing, Elle! Now let’s take a look at the official Elle Amberley.

Introducing Elle Amberley and her work

A prolific author, Elle Amberley writes Women’s Fiction, Literary, poetry, short stories and features under different pen names.

Elle’s particular strength is writing positive stories with a strong theme of being lost and finding yourself again. Although she broaches difficult subjects in her novels, the characters turn out to be fighters, not victims. Every emotion is conveyed and her style has been described as “lyrical” and appeals to a wide age group, which is a rarity.

Having overcome many obstacles in her life, including a very difficult childhood, she chose to reconstruct her life. Rather than writing a memoir like many abuse victims she prefers to marry fiction with some of her own experiences.

LOST IN YOUR TIME  

Ah, the dangers of the internet! We’ve all been warned, but do we take notice?

When Natasha clicks on a link, her whole life is turned upside down. A flash from the past, a chance meeting with a gorgeous French rock star…

A chance to start over and forget the pain and misery from the last two years.

But can Natasha let go? Will she accept this new twist in her life?

Will she regain her “joie de vivre”? Or will the sparks fizzle out?

Cover blurb, courtesy of Jae De Wylde, author of The Thinking Tank.

Rock star or husband – which would you choose?

Elle’s chatty and engaging style invites us in to share Nat’s thoughts and feelings as she comes to terms with another of life’s twists. Will she choose happiness or duty? Or are they one and the same?

NOWHERE LEFT TO HIDE

Natasha has fled her home many times. When she’s offered the chance to go to California, she can’t wait. Thousands of miles to free herself from her past. She might even find love if she can shed her last fears.

Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes romantic, a story of hope, fighting against the odds & the determination to do the right thing.

“A heartfelt tale, told with a deft touch.” Rowan Coleman, author

“Lyrical from start to finish, Elle Amberley embraces the essence of women and friendship in Nowhere Left to Hide. Natasha, a young poet and writer, is wise beyond her years, as she lets us accompany her on her year long journey from England to the sunny coast of Southern California as she finds courage, her true calling and love.” ~ Ana Lewis, Founder, WomenontheVerge.net

FROM ME TO YOU

Elle says: This a review my publisher found on Amazon. Thank you so much to the lovely reader who took time to post this, it brought a smile on my face and makes it all worthwhile.

Elle Amberley’s new collection of poetry is an honest, emotive and sometimes gritty depiction about life and love and evoked a variety of emotions in me, particularly ‘I Knew You Already’ which describes the strong bonds of motherhood even through pregnancy, sickness and fear, right to that moment when you finally hold your infant and you do indeed recognise them.

There are glimmers of humour in her work and a great deal of empathy and honesty. The short sharp sentences bring home the pains, joys and angsts of self hatred, falling in love and a changing troubled world, giving plenty of food for thought.

No matter how you feel you will find a poem that suits your mood in this excellent collection; from the very serious Mad World to the tongue in cheek Express Yourself.

These are poems that will stay with you and have you re reading them and finding something new to ponder over or smile about each time.

A delight to read and consider and I look forward to reading future collections.

Wow, Elle: what an endorsement. Congratulations!!

And finally… here are all the place where you can find Elle:

Elle Amberley Author; Elle Amberley Blog ; Elle Amberley Facebook; Elle Amberley Twitter; Elle Amberley Amazon UK; Goodreads profile; Mood boards for Elle’s novels

So… a lyrical writer with fighter heroines tackling difficult issues; an author versed in French and English and associating different moods and experiences with each. What an intriguing post! 

Do let’s talk about heroines. Do you prefer fighters, or damsels in distress? Do you write fighters, or damsels in distress? Or both?

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CentreStage with Stephanie Keyes: The Ultimate Star Child Playlist

Posted on October 16, 2012 | 28 comments

Welcome to CentreStage!

CentreStage features wonderful authors from around the world. These authors might share with you stories about their lives, their books, their journeys or anything else that inspires them. Today, it is my tremendous pleasure to welcome fellow loveahappyending.com and totally-up-for-impromptu-singing-sister, Stephanie Keyes. Are you ready? Hold on to your seatbelts, here comes a rockin’ post!

The Star Child Music Playlist

As you all know, one of the great things that the lovely Nicky Wells and I have in common is our love of music. So I thought I would talk about that very thing today. I had some great music on my playlist for The Star Child, so let me walk you through some key parts of the book and share the music that influenced me.

Kellen Meets Calienta

Into the Fire by Thirteen Senses

Kellen and Calienta have known each other for almost all of Kellen’s life, but it had only been in dreams. Until Kellen meets her face-to-face and she pulls him into a world of magick and mystery in a fight to save the world and themselves. As they fall deeper in love is as if they’re walking straight into the fire.

 Kellen and Stephen

Caring Is Creepy by The Shins

Kellen goes to visit Stephen after his graduation and finds him oblivious to the fact that Kellen even graduated on that day. Kellen makes a conscious effort after that point not to care about Stephen and seeks only a measure of “closure” in visiting him.

First Kiss

You Are Mine by  MUTEMATH

Stuck in a thunderstorm of Lugh’s making, Kellen and Calienta run for cover and share their first kiss.

Kellen’s Confession

Postcards From Far Away by Coldplay

After sneaking into Faerie under the cover of night, Kellen confesses his love to Calienta.

The Trooping Faeries

Night of the Hunter by 30 Seconds To Mars

With the Hounds of the Hill after him and a troupe of Trooping Faeries not far behind, Kellen finds himself on a run through time to find Calienta and save his love. There was no better song to embody the section than the 30 Seconds to Mars hit.

Gharda

Go Do by Jonsi

As Gharda’s powerful wings carry Kellen through dimensions of the Faerie world and back to Calienta, Jonsi’s pure voice embodies flying through the clouds.

The White Stag

Sonata for Two Clarinets by Richard Stolzman

Kellen and Calienta move through the birch tree forest in search of the White Stag, the only one that can lead them to The Upside-Down Ocean. As they move through the ghostly trees, the haunting melody of the clarinet seems to embody the journey.

Kellen’s Sacrifice

Fix You by Coldplay

The White Stag, having reclaimed Kellen’s soul, fights the unforgiven as Kellen fights his way towards his love. Oooh! If you could only see the picture in my mind here!

If you’ve picked up your copy of the book, you also know that I wrote music for the book itself (check out the last pages 309-310). As I write this, I haven’t had the time and resources to have that recorded, but hope to one day.

In the meantime, enjoy these popular tunes and thanks to Nicky for hosting me today!

Stephanie, you are so very welcome. How could I resist a post like this, with all this music? (But, **whispers** where’s Bonnie? Total Eclipse? That song?? Just kidding)

Are you intrigued, my friends? You can listen to Stephanie’s amazing playlist in its entirety here. 

About The Star Child

The world is about to be cloaked in darkness. 
Only one can stop the night.

Kellen St. James has spent his entire life being overlooked as an unwanted, ordinary, slightly geeky kid. That is until a beautiful girl, one who has haunted his dreams for the past eleven years of his life, shows up spinning
tales of a prophecy. Not just any old prophecy either, but one in which Kellen plays a key role.

Suddenly, Kellen finds himself on the run through a Celtic underworld of faeries and demons, angels and gods, not to mention a really ticked off pack of hellhounds, all in order to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time?

You can buy the book here…

About Stephanie Keyes

Stephanie Keyes holds an undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems as well as a Master’s in Education. A seasoned, facilitator, Stephanie worked in Training and Development for an international telecommunications corporation for twelve years; spending the first eight years of her career as a Software Trainer and Technical Writer and the last four working in Human Resources and Employee Development.

In May of 2012, Stephanie left the corporate world to focus on her family and her writing full-time. She also operates a freelance graphic and instructional design business, Sycamore Road Design.

Inkspell Publishing released her first novel, The Star Child, on September 21, 2012. The Fallen Stars, the second book in The Star Child series, is slated for an April 2013 release, also with Inkspell Publishing. She is currently at work on the third book in The Star Child series.

Stephanie lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two children, and Riley the dog.

Visit Stephanie on her website or at loveahappyending.com. Stephanie is on Facebook and Twitter, too!

So… over to you! Do you have a favourite among Steph’s songs? What about your own playlist ~ do you have one?

 

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CentreStage with Melanie Robertson-King: of portraits, mansions and stone circles…

Posted on October 3, 2012 | 24 comments

Welcome to CentreStage!

CentreStage features fantastic authors from around the world. These authors might write for you about their lives, their writing, their books or any other experience that they’d like to share. Each feature is different, each feature is unique. Today, we’re off to Canada to meet with fellow loveahappyending.com featured author, Melanie Robertson-King. Welcome, Melanie!

A Shadow of the Past… How did your first novel begin its life?

My novel didn’t start out as that. It was an overgrown short story that I wrote a number of years ago (1999/2000) after a friend of mine said I could write something every bit as good as a ‘famous’ author. I pondered the idea for a while then it came to me. I would centre my piece around a portrait, a derelict mansion, and a stone circle.

A portrait, a derelict mansion and a stone circle ~ You got me hooked already. Why these things?

The inspiration for the portrait came from a photo I got from one of my cousins of my grandfather and his first wife taken in 1876 to commemorate their marriage (I’m a romantic; I don’t actually know if that’s why they had their picture done or not, but it sure sounds good). In the beginning my characters were the mirror image of the couple in the portrait.

So, I needed a house to hang the painting in. I fell in love with this spooky old derelict mansion in 1993 when I visited the area of Aberdeenshire where my father was born.

Two down, one to go. What would a novel set in Scotland be without a stone circle? And since this one was in the same area and on the farm at the B&B I stayed in.

Once I had these items, the words flowed from my fingers onto the page. I marvelled at my creation as it came to life before my eyes. I thought to myself, Wow, I’m an author!

That sounds… easy! I bet it wasn’t as straightforward as that?

Another friend came across a creative writing course in a newspaper I didn’t subscribe to and brought me the ad. I took the plunge and signed up.
A number of knock backs, set backs and the like with the short story (that I thought was fab) and I gave up on writing fiction. I turned my hand to non-fiction articles and had success with them.

But you didn’t really give up?

I had a wonderful instructor back in the days of my creative writing course, and with his coaching and encouragement, turned that short story into a novel.
That piece, known back then as Sarah’s Gift, underwent a number of changes over the years, including a new title. A Shadow in the Past as it now goes by is far more evocative.

Before I pitched to my current publisher back in October 2011, I had revised my ‘masterpiece’ a number of times. And since landing the contract, well, I’ve revised it many more times but now I can say, and with authority, I AM an author!

You definitely are, Melanie: congratulations. It’s wonderful to hear how you came up with the ideas behind your masterpiece. A portrait, a derelict mansion, and a stone circle: magic ingredients, indeed. Thank you for sharing the backstory behind your novel. Now tell us more about the book itself…

A Shadow in the Past

When a contemporary teen is transported back in time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

Nineteen year old Sarah Shand finds herself in Victorian Era Aberdeenshire, Scotland and has no idea how she got there. Her last memory is of being at the stone circle on the family farm in the year 2010.

Despite having difficulty coming to terms with her situation, Sarah quickly learns she must keep her true identity a secret. Still, she feels stifled by the Victorians’ confining social practices, including arranged marriages between wealthy and influential families, and confronts them head on then suffers the consequences.

When Sarah realizes she has fallen in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, she faces an agonizing decision. Does she try to find her way back to 2010 or remain in the past with the man she loves?

A Shadow in the Past is widely available from these sources: 4RV Publishing, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk,  Barnes & Noble and ChaptersIndigo.

Don’t forget to visit Melanie on her website or her blog, Celtic Connexions; or follow Melanie on Twitter as @robertsoking. Melanie is on Facebook and she also has an author page at loveahappyending.com!

So Melanie had a constellation of very precise objects that inspired a story, and a whole novel. How do you get started on your ideas?

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CentreStage with Amanda Egan: Without a sense of humour, you’re sunk

Posted on September 26, 2012 | 4 comments

Welcome to again to CentreStage!

CentreStage features amazing authors from around the world, allowing them to shine a spotlight on their books, their lives, their writing or anything else that takes their fancy.

Today, it is my tremendous pleasure to welcome a Mummy Misfit. Yup, that is her Twitter handle, and that is totally what got me intrigued about the lovely Amanda Egan to begin with. We got chatting, and I couldn’t help but read Diary of a Mummy Misfit shortly after, feeling an intense familiarity with the story as though it was part of my own life. That kind of bond between a book, an author and a reader is wonderful, and I’ve admired Amanda for pulling this off ever since.

Amanda talks today about her son, sense of humour and a little bit about the daily life in the ‘Misfit’ household. Take it away, Amanda!

Making Them Laugh…

My son turned seventeen this month and as I look at the HUGELY handsome young man he’s turning into, I get that typical ‘mumsie’ bubble of love and pride swell within me.

Anyone who has followed my story, on my blog or author page, will know that he hit a tough time at the age of eleven.  The transition to secondary school was not an easy one for him and ‘school phobia’ set in. He struggled with this condition for three years, which meant many missed hours of education and socialising with his peers.

Nicky says: That sounds tough. But together, you got through it and he didn’t give up, right?

No, he didn’t. Despite all of that, he kept on top of his studies and, more importantly, retained his fantastic sense of humour.  Last year he gained A’s and B’s in GCSE’s and this year achieved B’s in AS levels.  But if there was an exam for making people laugh, he’d sweep the board.

Nicky says: What with educational reform under way, maybe we can suggest a GCSE (or whatever they’ll call it) in Humour and Laughter, it’s a true life skill. 🙂 Has he always shown a GSOH?

Indeed! It’s a talent he was clearly blessed with and it was apparent from a very early age.  No mother can keep a straight face when their three-year old looks at them and then at his Linda McCartney veggie sausage and says, poker faced, ‘Why did you put a poo on my plate?’

Nicky says: Sorry to interrupt, but you caused me a belly laugh. What on earth did you reply, I wonder? But I digress, sorry…

And to this day, no matter how miserable I may be feeling, he can always manage to make me laugh.  As he matures his humour is becoming sharper, more topical and sometimes pretty obtuse – but his comic timing is always perfect.

Making people laugh is a gift.  I grew up in a house of one-liners and jokes, as did my husband.  Maybe we’ve passed that gift to our son – who knows? – but I truly believe that without a sense of humour, you’re sunk.

Nicky says: Hear, hear, I am with you 100 per cent of the way. Life’s too short not to laugh about it.

Even during the really bad times, a giggle may be just the thing you need.  I speak from experience here, trust me.  It’s been a tough few years in the Misfit Household but we always know that we can laugh together – sometimes laughing through tears, but it still helps.

Maybe that’s why I choose to write books with a humorous edge.  There’s enough misery in real life!  Open my pages and be tickled!

Nicky says: Your pages do tickle! But I think I may have already mentioned this…

So I pray that my gorgeous boy will always bring a smile to people’s faces and that, one day, his own children will inherit his wit and carry on the family tradition.

Nicky says: I bet they will. You’ll be reading about it in his very own Diary of a Granny Misfit! Thank you for sharing this nugget of your life with us today, I am honoured. Now tell us a bit more about your latest masterpiece!

Completing the Puzzle

Middle aged and middle-of-the-road, Fee Crawford has been drifting through life in a passionless marriage and hurtling towards the menopause.

With her twin boys grown up and needing her less, why does she still feel incomplete?

Coping with her elderly dad, increasingly distant husband and flighty best friend, Cordelia, her life seems to be spiralling out of control.

Will a chance meeting with a handsome vet be the missing link to make everything fall into place?

 From the author of the ‘Mummy Misfit’ books comes:
‘COMPLETING THE PUZZLE’
A tale of families, love and mid-life crisis.

Nicky says: Wow, I can’t wait to get stuck in! Lastly, tell us something about YOU.

About Amanda Egan

Born and bred in London, Amanda trained professionally as an actress and is now a humorously perceptive chick/mummy-lit writer.

A voracious reader of the genre herself, she began focusing even more on her writing soon after her son developed school phobia at the age of eleven and she had to physically remain in the background at his school for nearly three years until he regained his confidence. Much reading, observing and writing ensued from her confined quarters in the school car park.

The resulting debut novel, ‘Diary of a Mummy Misfit’, was a tongue-in-cheek look at the easily recognised types of self-obsessed mums you can find at prep school gates the world over – “the Meemies” – and follows the journey of Libby, an ordinary mum who discovers the chasm between the Haves and the Have-nots. ‘The Darker Side of Mummy Misfit’ followed and June 2012 saw her venture into romance with ‘Completing the Puzzle’.

Follow Amanda’s news and discussions with her readers on Facebook page “Diary of a Mummy Misfit”, her blog “Diary of a Mummy Misfit Blog” or follow @Mummy_Misfit on Twitter.

You can buy all of Amanda’s books via Amazon.

Thanks so much to Amanda for visiting here today and sharing the importance of laughing with and at life. I thoroughly enjoyed your feature!

So, dear friends. Laughter through the tears, taking the rough with the smooth: what’s your philosophy?

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