Blog Posts – valerie holmes, author

Regency Christmas celebrations

Published on December 13, 2022December 13, 2022 by valerieholmesauthorLeave a comment

Christmastide in Regency times was a prolonged period of celebration, compared to our modern holiday, for those who could enjoy it. Public holidays did not exist so for the working class it was not a given that the day would be given

It began on December 6th, Saint Nicholas’ Day. This was marked by exchanging small gifts.

Christmastide ended on January 6^th, otherwise known as ‘Twelfth Night’, marking Epiphany.

For those who could celebrate Saint Nicholas’s Day, it was a period for parties, suppers, and balls to be held. But for all who had them it was a time for family and friends.

This period did carry the feeling of ‘goodwill’ so it was expected that charity would be given to the poor, particularly on December 21^st, Saint Thomas’s Day when the widows of soldiers who had died in the Napoleonic wars would go ‘Thomasing’, calling at the kitchen doors seeking alms or food parcels.

On Christmas Eve holly and evergreens would be gathered and brought into the house to decorate and bring in the fresh small of nature. Garlands and wreaths would be woven with rosemary, bay, and laurel, and then embellished with apples, oranges, ribbons, and holly berries.

Mistletoe brought its own added spice to the festivities as kissing balls or boughs were made from it, a tradition that still lingers today. With each exchanged kiss a berry was plucked, once all the berries were gone then the kissing had to stop.

A candle was lit on Christmas Eve and the Yule log was brought in wrapped in hazel twigs and custom stated that it should be lit with a remnant of last year’s log. The fire would then be kept burning as long as possible and be at the heart of family gatherings; a small piece being saved for the next year.

On Christmas Day people attended church and then the gentry had a celebratory dinner of turkey, venison, or goose for the gentry, followed by plum pudding. Much of the seasonal food could be prepared ahead of time with a favourite being cold, brawn pies.

The next day, Saint Stephen’s Day, was a day for charity. Richer people gave servants and tenants their ‘Christmas boxes’, usually gifts of money, hence it becomes known as ‘Boxing Day’.

Finally, on the twelfth night there might be a party held with much dancing and singing. Hot spiced, mulled, wine was offered, and a special cake made to share amongst all the members of the household.

Games such as ‘bobbing for apples,’ and ‘snapdragon’ – a game where raisins were soaked in a brandy in a large shallow bowl, were enjoyed. A more challenging one involved candles being blown out and the brandy lit, people then had to try and grab a raisin and eat it without burning themselves – health and safety was yet to be implemented!

Men’s names were put into a hat so that ladies could then pick a name out to be her partner for the night.

A C17 yew wood wassail bowl.

A wassail bowl was often carried from house to house, filled with warmed ale, mulled wine, or punch, sometimes accompanied by the singing of carols.

The feeling of goodwill to all humankind was the message of the season. It depended on where you were on the social scale from impoverished to rich as to how much you could be a part of the tradition, but the feeling and love shared at this time was priceless then, just as it is today.

Merry Christmas and season’s greetings to all my readers!

Ellie encounters a handsome stranger, when escaping the claustrophobic presence of her widowed aunt, Mrs Hemming in The Old Hall. She is initially distressed and annoyed, until he introduces himself as Mr. Montgomery Cookson causing Ellie’s dark clouds to instantly lift, for she knows they will formally meet again.
Mrs Hemming homed the deserted Ellie, whilst bringing up her two cousins, Dorcas and Sybil, despite the ruinous reputation of her mother for deserting her husband and child.
Ellie had been shocked and scared, when infirmed she was expected to marry Mrs. Hemming’s own cousin, Mr. MONTGOMERY COOKSON.
But has Ellie met her match in Mr. Cookson?
Will her future be as grim as she envisaged?
When Fate has cast a shadow over her life for so long, can destiny shine a light into Ellie’s world?
Will Ellie finally discover who she really is?

Available on: iBook Kindle Kobo Smashwords

“Man traps, beware!”

Published on June 22, 2022June 22, 2022 by valerieholmesauthorLeave a comment

Micah, the charismatic hero of Secrets, encounters a man trap and saves a young lad from a terrible fate as the jaws snap shut.

These devices were cruel, vicious deterrents that were set in the ground and when the central plate was pressed the jaws clamped shut, maiming the unsuspecting trespassers.

“Micah swung a leg over a fallen tree trunk, but then, as the metal’s edge caught his eye, he froze. He saw the danger and the notion of his peaceful village suddenly dispersed – man traps, never before had he seen such things around Dibbledale. The woodland had always been open to all.”

Man traps have been used since the 18^th century as the amount of what had been common ground or shared woodland began to be increasingly enclosed by unscrupulous and greedy landowners.

Private landowners saw no reason to share the game that lived on the land with the ‘common folk.’ The 19^th century progressed but so did poverty – rapidly, and many families struggled. Large pieces of what had previously been common land, free for all to graze their flocks and hunt on had been enclosed into private estates.

The Napoleonic Wars with France had incurred huge costs which had been passed on through taxation and by raising the cost of basic foods. Men had left to fight so their homes, wives and children had to cope alone. These were desperate times.

Man traps were cheaper than employing additional gamekeepers and were perfectly legal. The only proviso being that signs should be posted about the traps, or anyone injured could claim compensation. However, this aspect was not widely publicised, and it was hardly affective when literacy was rare.

Hunger motivated poaching gangs, breaking the law to feed their own families, and selling excess on. This upscaling of illegal activity meant landowners were more aware of the losses than they would have been with only occasional rabbits or birds disappearing.

Man traps were an inhumane method of control, which could maimed and sometimes killed their victims. Easily disguised by putting leaves, twigs, or grass over them so that any foot, hoof or paw would spring the trap shut.

They generally had a central plate with toothed jaws that would be held back by a spring until triggered when they would come together with considerable force leading to a bloodthirsty and gruelling result.

They were made illegal in 1827. Following this ‘humane’ man traps were created. A hole was dug, and the trap placed in it. These were then covered with suitable undergrowth. They still had a central plate, but the jaws were no longer toothed. No doubt it was not without pain, but it did not maim as it would previously. These had to be unlocked by the gamekeeper who had the key, but I imagine, extraordinarily little sympathy was given to the poacher who was then caught and sentenced.

The Friends and Foes series, for lovers of romantic adventures is now available on Amazon and #KindleUnlimited. Just click here to take a peek!

Friends & Foes Book 1

Friends & Foes Book 2

The ‘Wise-Woman’ and her place in history!

Published on June 1, 2022 by valerieholmesauthorLeave a comment

In the days before communities were served through the NHS with a local doctor or even before that with a doctor who had to be paid for his services there existed ‘Wise-Women’ otherwise known as folk-healers, or what we would call early midwives.

These women became synonymous with ‘witches’ and many suffered after the renaissance through the persecution of witchcraft. This in part was justified by their use of lucky or healing charms, amulets and crosses made of Rowan, to ward off evil. Ironic really as they used natural, God-given cures that they should have been accused of dancing with the devil.

“…she never was a witch. She never traded potions, poisons, or spells; she was just a wise woman who knew how to survive off the land. She believed in a god, whether it was the God or a greater spirit, or a mother of all the earth, but her instincts were acute.” Mary Underwood in ‘Secrets’

However, ‘Wise-Women’ deserve a place of their own in history. They aided their communities since the Middle Ages and could often be held in some regard and notoriety. Which is perhaps why they were so heavily hunted by radicals in the Reformation. When their ‘patient’ died opinion could turn against them quickly. Mary Underwood describes her grandmother’s life in Ireland to her daughter Imogen:

“She lived in a small cottage with a peat fire. It was not as comfy as this one, but I loved it. She was full of tales, and she knew how to read the seasons, use the plants, see beyond the obvious and I so wanted to be like her. The local folk used her potions, asked about what they should do – she was wise and kind. She even knew her letters and taught me as I have taught you.” Secrets

Medicine, in its early development took place in cities and towns and was purely the province of men. The term ‘doctor’ was not used for people who healed outside of universities until the 19^th century.

In the rural parts of the UK, healing was down to these ‘wise-women’. They were people who would create remedies from things in the local landscape: plants, animals, water and minerals such as salt.

rowan tree cross

Hence, vicar’s wife Ruth Arrow’s comments, that lingered with her son Micah:

“Micah’s mother had forbidden him to ever go near the Underwoods, the ‘wise woman’ who used plants to heal. They were considered ungodly ways…”

Traditionally the cures were passed down from mother to daughter and the results shared with the local community.

As scientific knowledge of the human body was very limited, these cures sometimes became known as charms or spells. Terminology that later became very dangerous for these women.

Even when being a ‘doctor’ became a paid job, in the rural areas the citizens would still turn to the local ‘wise-woman’. She could be paid through a barter system and was trusted – until something went wrong!

old-wise-woman-

These practises continued into the rural areas until into the twentieth century and the advent of the NHS to varying degrees. The practitioners ran the risk of being turned upon by those they treated. This could mean being isolated or being physically attacked.

Just as in today’s homeopathic treatments, many of the old ‘cures’ would be able to help common ailments, particularly when diets were much more limited than they are today.

You can read Mary’s story in Secrets, available on Kindle and KindleUnlimited.

Friends & Foes Book 1

Friends & Foes Book 2

Creating Credible Characters!

Published on December 14, 2021 by valerieholmesauthorLeave a comment

https://nowastedink.com/2021/12/09/creating-credible-characters-by-valerie-holmes/

No matter what genre of novel a writer creates, a protagonist lies at its heart. Whether an alien, a mythical beast, or a human the reader will want to connect with them. Why else would they continue to read on to discover what path and challenges are ahead? In a romance it is the two main characters that take centre stage as their relationship forms, is thwarted but ultimately endures. In other genres the reader may follow a single protagonist to a satisfactory, if not, a happy ending.

The writer’s aim is to convince the reader to believe in these characters. The protagonist is at the centre of everything; they need to be credible and believable, even if they are not plausible in the realm of our own world.

Read the whole article here… https://nowastedink.com/2021/12/09/creating-credible-characters-by-valerie-holm

The beautiful abbey ruins of North Yorkshire…

Published on August 2, 2021August 2, 2021 by valerieholmesauthorLeave a comment

Now a ruin, but once a thriving community, beautifully set against the forestry with the moorland above.

The beautiful abbey ruins of North Yorkshire

Henry VIII is perhaps most infamously remembered for his treatment of his six wives. However, this king changed a nation by separating his country from the power of the Roman Catholic church and proclaiming himself head of the Church of England, in 1534. Two years later the Reformation in England took a more profitable turn for Henry as a destructive and brutal phase began with the dissolution of the monasteries.

North Yorkshire has many majestic reminders of the magnificent abbeys that once served and dominated local rural life: Rievaulx, Whitby, Fountains, Byland, Ampleforth and Mount Grace Priory to name a few.

These are fascinating ‘places of interest’. They inspired many during the years they were inhabited and – in a non-pandemic year – are visited by many people now who soak in their history and sense of peace that their lovingly tended sites exude.

Life in days gone by can be easily imagined; both harsh and cold and yet their lives encouraged selfless devotion whilst supporting their local community.

Often constructed in beautiful rural surroundings of agricultural land, woods and moors. They would grow crops and raise animals to feed themselves and create profit from a trade, the land they owned and tenancies. The monasteries owned a quarter of the cultural land within the country – a vast wealth and Henry was a man who needed to fund his own lifestyle and wars.

Their majestic ruins have influenced and inspired some of the scenes with in my novels such as Georgina’s escape in Betrayal, Beth’s and Willoughby’s earnest discussion under the arches of Whitby Abbey in To Love Honour and Obey or Wilson’s hiding place in Dead to Sin.

In my most recent novel ‘Betrayal’ Lydia Fletcher is part of a rescue of her friend within the grounds of one such building:

The monastery’s stone walls slowly emerged before her – a testament to their ancestors’ achievements and faith. This sanctified place once filled with holy praise, was now losing the fight against the ravages of time as they crumbled back to the earth. Encased within the lush undergrowth it had not been revered for centuries.

In the novel the ruins are being used by a band of smugglers who dress as the monks of old to keep the superstitious locals away.

Between the old arches of the ivy clad fallen parapets, moving smoothly through the distant mist, was the distinctive figure of a monk, the ghostly habit covered by a dark hooded cape. Kell looked to see what had caught Jeremiah’s attention.

“Souls of monks, long gone… they got no truck with us… so dig!” he ordered. Kell stared at him. Both Lydia and Jeremiah watched the monk disappear once more into the forest. The boy’s mouth hung open as the shovel fell from his hand.

The Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 consisted of 30000 strong rebel army from the north demanding that the abbeys be reopened. They were promised a pardon and a parliament on York, but once they disbanded their leaders were executed. In 1539 the larger monasteries also fell. Those monks who would not conform were also executed.

The abbeys were hugely important to the life of the people in the area. Their battered walls and fallen arches are now preserved for all to discover and admire.

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Meet Carole Matthews – winner of the RNA’s 2021 Romantic Comedy Novel Award.

Published on April 27, 2021April 25, 2021 by valerieholmesauthorLeave a comment

Welcome, Carole! Matthews summer days sea breezes author

How long has your road to success been from that first publication breakthrough?

I had my first book published in 1997, Let’s Meet on Platform 8, and since then I’ve written another thirty-three novels. I didn’t realise when I started that I’d still be around twenty-five years later.

SDSB cover

What has being a member of the RNA meant to you over the years?

Friendship and support. It’s lovely being able to mix with a group of like-minded people who are willing to share your successes and struggles. It’s a great asset for authors.

What was your reaction to firstly receiving the RNA Outstanding Achievement Award and now this one?

The Outstanding Achievement Award was wonderful. I shared the honour with Jill Mansell and we were both presented with our awards by Barbara Taylor Bradford which was amazing – what a woman! It’s very nice to be recognised by your peers. I received three nominations – two for Sunny Days & Sea Breezes, plus one for Christmas for Beginners which was a lovely surprise. To receive the award for Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year was such a thrill. Sunny Days & Sea Breezes has already proved to be one of my most popular books with readers and this feels like the ultimate stamp of approval.

Happiness for Beginners was inspired by a real animal farm helping people – how do you balance the harsher realities and issues of life with a lighter touch to convey a heartfelt and serious theme?

That’s something that I’ve tried to do with all of my books and I think they reflect life in general. It’s not all ha-ha-hee-hee, but sometimes we’re able to see the funny side in difficulties. While my books are romantic comedies, I hope they reflect real life too. With Happiness for Beginners, the real farm helps people with behavioural and mental health issues, so that created the darker side of the book. They also rescued troubled and damaged animals and they definitely provided the comedy element!

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Are you a detailed plotter or do you develop your work on the screen as you go and through revisions and edits?

A detailed plotter! As I’ve written two books a year for the last ten years, I don’t have the luxury of wondering what happens next – I need to know! I do, however, change and adapt as I go, but I start off with a definite beginning, middle and end. I spend about two weeks writing out character profiles and that helps me to get into their heads. Each morning, I start by editing what I’ve done the day before and then I have one final pass at the end. I do as little editing as humanly possible.

Your locations vary, keeping your work fresh and inspiring. Are there any that have been particularly memorable?

I have been fortunate to be able to base my books in some wonderful locations over the years. Part of With or Without You was set in Nepal and that was a very memorable trip. I loved every minute – the people and the culture are fantastic. I went to Swedish Lapland and stayed in the Ice Hotel as research for Calling Mrs Christmas and that was wonderful too. We had the most fabulous display of the Northern Lights – one of the highlights of my life. My latest, Sunny Days & Sea Breezes, is set on the Isle of Wight and I’ve fallen in love with the place and plan to visit time and time again. I must have described it nicely as many of my readers – and my editors – booked holidays there as a result!

You are a prolific author, but roughly how long does it take to do the research, writing, editing to final manuscript?

I’ve been doing a book every six months, so research, writing and editing all tends to roll into one. I’m usually researching the next book while writing the current one and editing the last one. I really wouldn’t like to see inside my brain!

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What is next for Carole?

Lots to look forwards to! The paperback of Sunny Days & Sea Breezes is out in May, so I’m looking forward to that. My publisher is re-jacketing and reissuing a lot of my backlist which is quite a job with thirty-odd books to do. The new-look Chocolate Lovers’ Club is out in eBook at the moment for 99p and the whole series will be reissued in paperback in August. This series of four books is among my most popular worldwide, so it’s nice to see them given a new lease of life. Later in the year – October – will see the paperback of Christmas for Beginners which was also nominated for an RNA award and sees another visit to Hope Farm.

Meet Shirley Mann – winner of the RNA’s 2021 Romantic Saga Award

Published on April 21, 2021April 20, 2021 by valerieholmesauthorLeave a comment

Welcome Shirley!

Mann bobby war author (1)

Huge congratulations on winning the RNA Romantic Saga Novel of the Year 2021!

Hello Valerie, thank you so much for asking me. In the last three years of my mum’s life, I suddenly thought I might like to see, after years of writing factual content, whether I could write a novel and my parents’ wartime romance was so fascinating, I couldn’t wait to get it down on paper. I never thought I could make a career out of it, but it probably came at the right time for me – I was making films for environmental organisations and was running out of enthusiasm for scrambling over stiles carrying heavy camera equipment but the transition has been gradual and completely unexpected. OK, the truth is, there was no conscious decision and there’s nobody more surprised than me about where this journey is taking me.

Romantic saga

Bobby's War cover (2)

Research is obviously something you are very used to doing and experienced in, but roughly how long do you spend researching and planning each novel?

Oh, the joy of writing your first novel when you have years to fiddle around with the words, visit endless museums and wander all over the country finding incredible women in order to get their personal stories to make sure the books are authentic. Now, novel #2 and so on, that’s a different story. I am basically doing one a year and that means I really have to get a move on. I start with a basic plot idea and then just get stuck in. Research can be overwhelming so I do the basics and then the rest takes place as I go through the book but I do get a tad obsessed. My background as a journalist means that I love the safety blanket of facts and I panic until I know that a scene I’m writing actually could have happened so I have to be careful that I don’t get completely side-tracked by research. I once spent two days finding out whether they had ginger spice in 1942 to make biscuits before it occurred to me that my character could make garibaldi ones instead. However, I am astounded how the story starts to unfold as soon as I begin to write. I once wrote the words: ‘She had to think fast’ without realising that ‘she’- my character- meant me. I had no idea where I was going next. So, a cup of tea and a strong talking to and eh voilà, it came to me- no idea where from.

Bobby’s War was inspired by strong women such as Mary Ellis, ATA pilot. Can you share with us some of the inspiration behind this and your other novels?

I was so lucky to get to meet Mary Ellis about two months before she died at the age of 101. I couldn’t help but come away inspired, awe-stricken and to be honest, with a little bit of a girl crush! She was just fabulous. My mum was my inspiration for ‘Lily’s War’ and I now realise how lucky I was that she was a WAAF in Bomber Command doing a glamorous job. The fact that my dad was in the 8^th Army meant I was able to use his war time experiences as inspiration as well to tell his side of the story. I like to learn something in books I read so I want to emulate that and love giving something in the books that is unexpected so I like to look at the war from the viewpoint of a Tommy in Africa and Europe for example, or explore the shadowy world of an enigmatic civil servant or maybe even ( plot spoiler) a German POW. However, when my parents died, in a panic, because I hadn’t asked them enough questions, I raced around the country to find other servicewomen including Land Army girls, explosive workers and plotters etc and every time, I just found myself completely overwhelmed by what they had achieved- and put up with- at an age when I was having fun in the Uni bar. I loved imagining walking down the street with them in the 1940s and finding out those little details that aren’t in the history books. It made me determined to help readers walk down those streets too and make sure the women’s legacy was recorded so it would inspire future generations.

Shirley Mann with ATA pilot, Mary Ellis

What tips would you give your younger self about becoming a novelist?

Don’t give up your day job! It’s such a slow burn to establish yourself, get people to know and hopefully, like your work at the same time as writing enough books to establish credibility. I’m in my 60s and I honestly don’t think I could have done this earlier when, of course, I needed to make a living and there are certainly no financial guarantees with novel-writing. Working for the BBC and running my own media company on top of having a family didn’t leave me much head-room to be able to think a story through, write it and deal with the social media and publicity to make my books stand out amongst all those other millions of books out there. I naively thought you just wrote a book! I think the one advantage I had at this age was that I wasn’t afraid to fail, I just wanted to see whether I could do it, so maybe the answer to this question is, certainly take the writing seriously but don’t take yourself too seriously and enjoy the ride.

What have been the highlights of your professional life: as a journalist and as a novelist?

I’ve been so lucky in my careers- I just didn’t mean to have this many of them. As a journalist, I’ve met a huge array of famous people and can out-bore any dinner party guest (when we’re allowed to have them again) with insider gossip but it was the real people who left me humbled, the ones who strove against adversity and triumphed quietly- like the woman who worked to help the mothers whose children had been snatched by estranged husbands or the family who moved to a remote hillside in India to try to save threatened tigers. I suppose the same applies with the novels. I still talk to my lovely servicewomen- now in their late 90s- who talk in matter-of-fact tones about how they were young women living every moment despite bombing raids, being constantly hungry and being asked to do things that would terrify a super hero. On days when I’ve been feeling sorry for myself because I haven’t been able to see friends or go on holiday, that common sense pulls me up sharply- these are the highlight moments of all of this for me.

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What has the RNA meant to you over the years?

I’m such a newbie at this, ‘Lily’s War’ was only published last year so I’m only just finding out what an amazing organisation the RNA is and how incredibly supportive it is of romantic fiction writers. I’m about to start a course with them to find out how to use social media to promote my books and my daughters, who are on a hotline Whatsapp group, are incredibly relieved that someone else is taking me in hand and teaching me what NOT to press. Added to that is the fact that the RNA has just amazingly given me an award for only my second novel, so hell, yeah, I think they’re incredible!

What is next for Shirley?

I’m just finishing Book 3 which ‘Hannah’s War’ about a Land Army girl and I did struggle with this to begin with because both Lily and Bobby were such strong characters doing exciting jobs and I wanted to make Hannah a different sort of girl, one who was shyer and less confident of her potential. I soon realised that these LA girls were every bit as heroic as the ones like Lily and Bobby. They toiled in all weathers, in all circumstances and often, deprived accommodation to feed the country. Hannah’s journey is perhaps even more admirable because, without the war, she was one of those girls who would have remained tied to their mother’s apron strings and would, I suspect, never have discovered how strong they really were. Then it’s straight onto Book 4, which is set in the Isle of Man where they had internment camps, housing everyone they didn’t know what to do with- so Germans lived alongside Jews, Conscientious Objectors, gypsies and Italians. What a fantastic melting pot for a novel! My parents lived their last years in the Isle of Man and are buried there. I love the island and as a next step, it seems a perfect way to complete the circle from ‘Lily’s War.’ I just need to be able to get over there to start the research.

Oh, and what else is next? ….I want to get my hair cut!

Celebrating: The Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel shortlist!

Published on February 28, 2021February 26, 2021 by valerieholmesauthorLeave a comment

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The Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel

Bestselling author Katie Fforde lives in the beautiful Cotswold countryside with her family and is a true country girl at heart. Each of her books explores a different profession or background and her research has helped her bring these to life. She’s been a porter in an auction house, tried her hand at pottery, refurbished furniture, delved behind the scenes of a dating website, and she’s even been on a Ray Mears survival course. She loves being a writer; to her there isn’t a more satisfying and pleasing thing to do. She particularly enjoys writing love stories. She believes falling in love is the best thing in the world, and she wants all her characters to experience it, and her readers to share their stories.

Every author has their own unique story to tell about how and why they came to be a novelist. Read on to find out the stories behind the talented authors shortlisted for the prestigious award, as they reveal them, and the inspiration behind their lovely novels.

Cow Girl – Kirsty Eyre

HarperCollins UK

Cow Girl was inspired by my mum, my friend and a herd of cows. Billie’s voice came first (my friend), then the setting (the smells and sounds of a dairy farm in Yorkshire), then the battle (my mum, like Billie’s dad, had a brain tumour). Misogyny. Romance. Homophobia. Charity pantomime cow races. The story is as much about female friendship as it is about romance, the herd a silent, reassuring feminist ally.

Eyre - cow girl cover Eyre cow girl author

The Bookshop of Second Chances – Jackie Fraser

Simon & Schuster

I’m usually inspired by a place – sometimes a building – or the idea of a particular kind of character or relationship. I started writing The Bookshop of Second Chances while on holiday in Dumfries and Galloway in the Scottish Lowlands, inspired by the little towns strung out along the A75. This gave me my setting, and I knew I wanted to write about older people and the challenges and opportunities of starting again in your forties.

Fraser bookshop second chances cover Fraser - bookshop second chances author

The Silent Treatment – Abbie Greaves

Century, Cornerstone

Like many authors, I’d always wanted to write a novel, but the problem was finding a story with the legs to walk 80,000+ words! When I read a newspaper article about a man who hadn’t spoken to his wife for twenty years, I became fascinated with the idea of a silence settling at the heart of a relationship and I knew there was enough there to sustain a whole book. THE SILENT TREATMENT was born.

Greaves silent treatment cover Greaves silent treatment author

This Is Not A Love Story – Mary Hargreaves

Trapeze

I have always found writing easy – that sounds pretentious, but I don’t mean it to; for me, putting the contents of my brain into written words is always easier than speaking them aloud. I spent my childhood and teenage years daydreaming and weaving new worlds in my imagination, and decided to finally bite the bullet and write This Is Not A Love Story when I was 23. It’s the best thing |’ve ever done!

Hargreaves not a love story cover Hargreaves not a love story author

A New Life for Ariana Byrne – Liz Hurley

Hera Books

Why I write? Well, oddly enough because someone asked me to. Or rather they asked if I knew anyone that could write a lifestyle column for the local newspaper. I own a bookshop so presumably they thought I knew loads of authors. I did, but not anyone suitable. So, I volunteered. And I loved it. I have always written letters and diaries, this was just an extension. From there it was an inescapable slide into fiction! And I’m loving the ride.

Why I wrote Ari

The idea for a story came fully formed with a whole series of adventures for each sister. I wanted something that just pushed the boundaries of everyday life but still actually plausible. It had to be happy and uplifting and I felt that inheriting a great big old house, a title and loads of money would be just the start. And of course I had to set it in Norfolk, the happiest place in the world. But then I’m a Norfolk dumpling, so I would say that.

Hurley new life for AB cover Hurley new life for AB author

The Authenticity Project – Clare Pooley

Bantam Press

My life, six years ago, appeared idyllic. In reality, I was grappling with a self-destructive addiction to alcohol.

I knew I had to quit drinking, and as therapy, started a blog into which I poured out the truth.

That act of authenticity transformed my life, and the lives of thousands of people who read it. Which made me wonder: what would happen if other people told their innermost truths to strangers?

And that was the inspiration for my novel: The Authenticity Project.”

Pooley authenticity project cover Pooley authenticity project author

The winner will be announced on the 8th March 2021.

Please feel free to leave a comment or like the post.

Celebrating: The Goldsboro Books Historical Romantic Novel shortlist!

Published on February 27, 2021February 26, 2021 by valerieholmesauthorLeave a comment

Goldsboro Books is the UK’s leading independent bookshop, specialising since 1999 in first editions, signed, collectable and exclusive books. Situated in Cecil Court in London’s West End, and – as of December 2020 – Brighton’s famous Lanes, it has gained a reputation for championing debut authors, as well as creating the UK’s largest book collectors’ club, and is influential in selling large quantities of hard-back fiction.

The Goldsboro Books Historical Romantic Novel

Heartbreak in the Valleys – Francesca Capaldi

Hera Books

The idea for Heartbreak in the Valleys came from a document I discovered on Ancestry.com. It was the WW1 record for my great grandfather, Hugh Morgan. It revealed that he’d enlisted into the Rhondda Pals but was discharged on medical grounds eight months later, with tachycardia, while still training. Wondering what he must have felt, with his pals off to war, and how it affected those around him, I came up with the basis of the novel.

The Coming of the Wolf – Elizabeth Chadwick

Sphere, Little, Brown

I wanted to write a story about how people of every culture coped after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and The Coming of the Wolf is the result, with a Cambro-Norman hero and an English heroine. I wrote the novel long ago, but dug it out to edit and put a few chapters online. My readers immediately demanded the rest and it was their encouragement and push that ultimately led to the novel’s publication and subsequent shortlisting.

Chadwick - coming of the wolf author (1)

Spirited – Julie Cohen

Orion Fiction

Daniel’s Daughter – Victoria Cornwall

Choc Lit

Daniel’s Daughter tells the story of a character who appeared at the end of one of my previous novels in the Cornish Tales series, The Captain’s Daughter. I always wondered what would happen to Grace should she discover a secret that would destroy her trust in everyone she loves. The books in the Cornish Tales series are stand-alone stories and can be read in any order, however writing Daniel’s Daughter brought closure to me as a writer.

The French Wife – Diney Costeloe

Head of Zeus

Encouraged by my publisher father, I have written stories all my life. In 1980 I entered Woman’s Hour’s romantic novel competition, and though I didn’t win, I was shortlisted and so I submitted my novel to Robert Hale. It was the beginning of my published career. I wrote ten romances for them and others before moving on to historical fiction, 19th century, WWI, WWII but always with a romantic element. That’s where I am now.

People Like Us – Louise Fein

Head of Zeus

As a child, I always had my nose in a book. I think I wrote my first story aged around six. It wasn’t until my youngest daughter’s illness forced me to give up work that I began writing seriously. I took a master’s degree and began working on a novel. That novel, the first I ever wrote, became People Like Us. It is beyond my wildest dreams to be published and shortlisted for this award!

The Lost Lights of St Kilda – Elisabeth Gifford

Corvus

The Lost Lights of St Kilda was inspired by the last families to live in Scotland’s most remote island who had to abandon their beloved home in 1930.

I was able to visit St Kilda with its magnificent scenery, and the abandoned village. I combined this with a story of a WW2 Scottish soldier who stays on the island as a student, and falls in love with an island girl. He is captured during the Dunkirk evacuations. His escape to get home to Chrissie was inspired by our grandparents’ stories of helping escapees to escape Nazi-held France.

Rags-to-Riches Wife – Catherine Tinley

Mills & Boon Historical

In Regency Romance, there is an emphasis on the world of high society. My own ancestors though would not have been aristocrats. We were farmers, tradespeople, servants. This was my chance to delve into the life of a regency servant. Jane is a lady’s maid, and is invited to stay with wealthy relatives. How will she manage as she wears silk dresses instead of cleaning them, as she is mocked for her chapped hands and lack of schooling, as she finds herself falling in love with a gentleman – someone above her social class?

The Skylark’s Secret – Fiona Valpy

Lake Union Publishing

I was travelling in the far north of Scotland and I came across the Russian Arctic Convoys Museum. I was astonished – it was a WW2 story that I’d known nothing about. Loch Ewe was chosen as the

muster point for ships braving the Arctic seas, running the gauntlet of Nazi U-boats and air strikes to keep the Russians supplied with food and armaments. The idea of this peaceful, remote crofting community suddenly becoming such a strategic focal point in the war inspired The Skylark’s Secret

The winner will be announced on the 8th March 2021.

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Meet Ian Logan and Jonathan Glancey, authors of Logomotive – Railroad Graphics and the American Dream.

Published on February 14, 2021February 17, 2021 by valerieholmesauthorLeave a comment

Meet Ian Logan and Jonathan Glancey, authors of Logomotive – Railroad Graphics and the American Dream; a delightful visual tribute to the heyday of US railroad graphic.

Welcome, Ian and Jonathan,

Your careers to date are as colourful as the posters in your beautifully crafted book. What was the spark that ignited your passion for this project?

Jonathan:

Ian’s photographs of US trains – their logos, liveries, if sometimes dishevelled appearances – before so many American railroads were either closed or swallowed up by less characterful corporate giants from the 1970s.

Ian:

I have had a love for visual decoration for as long as I can remember. When I was very young I would stand outside the tobacconist’s shop in my village admiring the wonderful designs on the cigarette packs and cards. I still have a large collection of the cards.

Then when I first went to the US and saw “Americana” and my first US train with “Rock Island” on the side I was in heaven!

Did your love of the marketing designs, created to sell the dream image, capture your interest first or did that come out of a passion for trains and the history of the railroads?

Jonathan:

A fascination with trains, their looks, sounds and their habitat – stations, goods yards, viaducts, distant hills and engine sheds – before uncovering the history of railways themselves and how their services have been created for and sold to the public over the generations.

Ian:

I have always loved machinery, especially steam locomotives. I was an apprentice in a company that made parts for the railways. I also have a love of old aircraft. For me it is the power, colour, speed, and visual excitement that is the passion.

3. Was it your mutual love of design, or for the actual locomotives and the networks, that brought you together on this project?

Jonathan:

Design, yes. I hadn’t known that Ian was quite so keen on trains and railways as I am. I was a regular customer of the delightfully eclectic design shop he ran near Smithfield Market in the City of London.

Ian:

Design is the inspiration, without doubt. I had read and knew about Jonathan from his articles and he used to come into my design store. He was the most obvious person to collaborate with.

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4. Do you still travel extensively on the networks and do have a favourite older locomotive that still operates in the US?

Jonathan:

I would love to travel again post-Pandemic! My favourite operational US steam locomotive is No 611, a very powerful, very fast and ultra-reliable glossy black, Indian red and gold-lined streamlined J-class 4-8-4 built in 1950 to pull Norfolk and Western Railway long-distance passenger trains like the Powhattan Arrow from Norfolk, Virginia to Cincinatti, Ohio. No 611 is as muscular as a heavyweight boxer yet as lithe as a marathon runner.

Ian:

I have travelled on the network and would love to travel again. It’s a sensational way to view the country.

I loved the designs of the GM. E and F unit diesel locomotives and their paintwork and liveries of the different railroads. I also have a love of the design functionality of modern US freight locos.

5. Do you have a bucket list of ‘must see, visit, or find’ regarding the trains, lines or graphics?

Jonathan:

I’d really like to ride with the engineer and fireman on the footplate of the Union Pacific’s “Big Boy” No 4014, as, freshly restored to service eighteen months ago, this compelling black and anthracite liveried mobile thunderstorm tackles the mountainous route between Utah and Wyoming, its mournful whistle resounding through twisting passes, its train ideally at least a mile long.

Ian:

I would love to ride in the cab of Union Pacific’s 600 ton 4-8-8-4 “Big Boy”.

I flew to LA before lockdown to see Big Boy while it was touring the western states for the Centenary of ‘The golden spike’. You could not but be in awe of the sheer size and power.

6. Do you have a favourite design – or designer’s work, that stands out for you?

Jonathan:

Henry Dreyfuss’s design of the New York Central’s peerless 20th Century Limited overnight express that ran from New York to Chicago from 1938, a masterpiece of cocktail-era Streamlined Modernism, and Paul Kiefer’s design of the cinematic silver and grey Class J3a locomotives that speared this supremely glamorous train between the two great American cities.

Ian:

There are a bunch of designers, illustrators and artists that I have admired over the years. Milton Glaser is way up there for originality and sheer inspiration. Pentagram design group for their original philosophy.

Raymond Loewy for his design styling of the Pennsylvania railroads S1 steam loco. And his design for the beautiful Greyhound Scenicruiser bus and logo.

7. How much has your own work and designs been influenced by this golden age?

Jonathan:

I’ve written about US locos and trains in my books Giants of Steam (2012) and The Journey Matters (2019). I show them in talks and lectures about architecture and design, too.

Ian:

Within the design group I had during the 60s to the late 90s it has always been there in the background.

8. Since John Bull trains have come a long way, do you find they have lost or gained appeal to you?

Jonathan:

Most contemporary trains, however efficient, are anodyne and all but generic in terms of design. They could belong anywhere. There is no sense of place about them. Steam locomotives, whether shunting wagons in small yards or racing with restaurant car expresses are never less than alive. They have an elemental quality, a rhythmical one, too, that has never been replaced, much less bettered by later machinery. They belong to the townscapes and landscapes they inhabit.

Ian:

There was a time when the competition created all different trains and that excited thousands of young boys taking their numbers on stations all over the country but now they all look the same!

9. Are there any designs that you have not managed to track down that you would like to collect? Do you collect originals?

Jonathan:

I’m not a collector. Over to Ian!

Ian:

I have a collection of English railway posters from the 1920s and 30s and love this period of art and illustration. There is one poster I would love to own. It’s part of a WW2 series illustrated by the great Frank Newbold titled ‘Your Britain fight for it now’. It shows a shepherd walking over a hill with his sheep and dog with the farm and sea in the distance. I also love the Batsford book jackets by Brian Cook depicting English country scenes.

10. This book is a first, like the first railroad it is a pioneering work. Will there be a ‘Logomotive 2’?

Jonathan:

I think this depends on how many people buy a ticket to ride with Logomotive 1!

Ian:

Jonathan’s answer!

Logomotive

Logomotive: Railroad Graphics and the American Dream by Ian Logan and Jonathan Glancey, published by Sheldrake Press.

Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm and insights for this beautiful project. I wish you both every continued success for Logomotive and all your future projects.

Thank you for being my guests!