Phoebe and her brother, Thomas, have to flee the evil regime of Benjamin Bladderwell when an accident results in them being labelled machine breakers. Hunted with nowhere to run, the mysterious Matthew saves their lives.He is a man of many guises who Phoebe instinctively trusts, but Thomas does not. Their future depends upon this stranger, unaware that he is also tied to their past.
It is 1820: Miss Laura Pennington is the wilful daughter of self-made man, Obadiah Pennington. Having risen from being a humble fisherman’s daughter she is still adjusting to her new position in society. Caught trespassing on private land, fate crosses her path in the person of Mr Daniel Tranton. Together they come to the aid of a mill runaway. Neither realise that the men hunting him are also set on hurting Daniel until his future depends on Laura’s quick thinking and action.
Set in my Ebton, based on Saltburn, North Yorkshire, England.
Experiene Laura’s adventure! Available on Amazon now at only 99p!
Felicity’s temper is sparked when she needs to defend her honour against the owner of the Hall where she is serving as a maid. She is hastily found a new position by her friend, the housekeeper. Mr Lucas Packham, a surgeon, is opening a home for the sick at nearby Marram Hall and he agrees to meet and take her with him.
Felicity is surprised that he already knows details about her past, including the fact that her father, Squire Josiah Moon, is imprisoned in Gorebeck gaol. Together, they visit him, but Felicity is to be shocked, yet again, when she discovers that her father is alarmed at her change in fortune and also with the information she shares with him about where she is to live with Packman.
Upon arrival at Marram Hall, Felicity is charmed by the house on the cliff, and equally by their first client. She is drawn to her new employer as he shares his plans and dreams for this new venture and helping the poor. She also thrives on the responsibility he entrusts to her.
However, Felicity becomes aware that she is regarded with suspicion by some of the staff that were already in residence. Unusual events occur around the Hall, particularly in the old cellars, that she cannot ignore. She begins to mistrust the people around her including Mr Lucas Packman.
Her father shares his daughter’s fears, unbeknownst to her, and takes drastic action because of his concerns for her safety.
Will the dubious actions of her father’s past mar Felicity’s future? Can she act upon the growing tenderness she feels for Mr Lucas Packham? Or is he another man who will let her down again? Felicity determinedly seeks the truth – whatever the cost.
It is my pleasure to introduce Roger Sanderson as my guest author this month. Roger is a prolific romance author and assistant organiser of the fantastic RNA Conferences along with Jan Jones.
Welcome, Roger, and thank you for giving up your time to do this interview.
When and why did you break into the world of romantic fiction?
For many years I lectured in English at a Further Education College, and as everyone knows, all English teachers really want to write novels – so when I retired, I decided to give it a go. I was already writing Commando comic scripts. While waiting at the publishers one day, I picked up their matching romance line STAR, so started with that. I went on to write for Hale, then M&B and am now with Accent (as Gill Sanderson) and Desert Breeze (as Roger Sanderson).
The RNA is a very supportive organisation. When did you first discover and join it?
I was a member of a local writing circle run by the late Sheila Walsh. She was on the committee of the RNA at the time and suggested I join. I am very glad she did!
Did your previous experience of writing scripts for Commando Comics influence the way you plot and write your novels?
They both demand a tight plot and extra care dealing with characterisation because there isn’t the room to over-develop the storyline. You have to focus. Possibly the experience of writing Commando scrpits has left me with a liking for a ‘big finish’. Of course, in a Commando, the hero shoots the enemy. In a romance novel the hero kisses the heroine. An important difference.
You are a prolific writer. How many titles have you had printed by Mills & Boon?
I think I wrote 44 or 45, all of which have now been re-edited and republished by Accent Press. It’s great to know these new digital editions are reaching a second audience.
You must have researched so many medical books and procedures over the years for your medical romances that I wondered if part of you had a leaning towards actually being a doctor or physician. Or do you prefer to stay away from the actual blood?
The latter, definitely! However three of my children are in the medical profession (Mark is a consultant oncologist, Adam is a dispensing nurse and Helen was a midwife for many years) so I have a wealth of research at the end of the phone.
I know many people ask you about writing as ‘Gill Sanderson’, but as many women writers create male protagonists I find this natural and refreshing. Did you choose to adopt a female pseudonym or was it advised?
It was very strongly suggested to me that I write under a female name. At the time the perceived wisdom was that when reading romance, women preferred a female name on the cover.
You have a love of the outdoors and hiking. Do you use this time to switch off from writing or to ponder and plot?
Originally I mountineered at the weekends to counteract the pressures of the staff room. The habit of outdoor exercise never leaves you, even if these days it’s more of a long daily walk by the sea. I rarely switch off from writing. I use walking time to think about the current book and also mull over ideas for future ones.
What is the best piece of advice you could offer to an as yet unpublished writer?
One: read as much as you can. Two: aim to write at least 500 words a week. Some weeks, this might be all you manage, some weeks it might be 5000 words. The important thing is to write something.
What do you like to read to relax?
Anything! I have very wide reading tastes.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing a sequel to my light-hearted romance LIVERPOOL TO LAS VEGAS (Desert Breeze Publishing), which features an ex-PE teacher and a documentary film maker and is one of my US-published novels under my own name.
What is next for Roger?
I had a major heart operation last year which is taking me a lot longer than I hoped to recover from. My goal at the moment is to get back to full health and keep on writing!
London barrister and gentleman, Jerome Fender, has just returned to England after five years as a Captain in the killing fields of the Napoleonic Wars.
With the harrowing scenes of battle still haunting his every thought, he sets out to start a new life and to find a wife who will share it with him.
Meanwhile recently orphaned 21-year-old Miss Parthena Munro has also arrived at a North Yorkshire market town.
She has been sent away by her scheming sole relative, cousin Bertram, to be governess to a local family, only to find that the family has already moved away from the area.
Left stranded far from home with no job and no place to stay, Parthena encounters Mr Fender outside an inn, where she takes a chance to steal his money in a witless moment of desperation.
She whispers a promise to return the money one day and makes off across the wild Yorkshire moors.
But it’s not long before Fender catches up with her.
However, on learning of her plight they set out on a plan to seek justice against the wrongs plotted by Bertram.
With Jerome’s help, Parthena returns to her home to the great surprise of Bertram, who, thinking that Parthena, the rightful heir to the estate, was now out of the way, was about to clear his debts by selling the family estate.
Jerome endeavours to hatch a new plan to thwart Bertram, but Parthena’s rightful inheritance can only fall to her if she marries within the month.
Parthena and Jerome discover the flame of love has been kindled between them, but is it already too late?
I am delighted to welcome Jan Jones as my guest this month. Jan is not only an amazing writer of romantic fiction but the organiser of many successful Romantic Novelists’ Association Conferences.
Hi Jan – thank you for taking the time out of your hectic schedule to complete the interview. This year’s conference at Lancaster University was, amazing, as usual. The speakers were from all sections of the industry. How have you seen the event change and grow since you became the organiser?
Hi Val,
Since 2005 when I took over as organiser, the conference has grown from just over a hundred residential delegates to over two hundred. We’ve also increased the number of choices, added extra Sunday afternoon sessions and offer a Thursday pre-conference arrival.
The Romantic Novelists’ Association is a very supportive organisation. When did you join it and make your first break into print?
I first joined during the 1980s when I was writing magazine stories, took a break, rejoined in 1994, then made the breakthrough from NWS to full in 2005.
Your career began in mathematics and computing, so when did you realise that you were a writer at heart?
Oh, I’ve always known that, but I also knew I wouldn’t be able to live on it. Computer programming was a much more bankable skill.
Do you prefer to write long or short fiction, YA or adult, historical or contemporary?
All of them. I have a dreadfully low boredom threshold. I like the variety and challenge of writing different forms and genres. As to length, I think when you first get the germ of an idea, you know what sort of size the story will be. When writing serials I have to squash the story into a few compact episodes, so it is an immense relief to then expand it to the length it always should have been and self-publish it.
Do you have a strict writing regime and work ethic?
Erm, no. I’d like to, but life keeps getting in the way. I just write whenever I can. Late at night is good, because everything is quiet and I don’t have the sense of having left chores undone. I try to only have one project on the go at one time, but I generally have two or three in various stages. There are very few points during the day when I’m not thinking about whatever the current piece of work is. The worst time for me is during RNA Conference preparations. I can’t keep a book in my head as well as all the conference arrangements, so I have to completely stop writing at the end of April and not pick the book up again until July. The upside is that by then, I’ve forgotten how much I hated it!
That is a long time for preparation. No wonder the conferences are such a success. What was the best piece of advice you were given as a new writer?
That everyone has something useful to teach you and that you never stop learning. What I worked out for myself was to believe in my own voice, to dare to be different, and to never give up.
What inspired The Penny Plain Mysteries?
I came across a strange jigsaw when I was clearing my mother’s bungalow that gave rise to the first Penny Plain story, but as for where the characters came from, I have no idea. I think all writers have people lying dormant in their subconscious, just waiting for the right setting.
What are you working on now?
I have recently got the rights back for the three Regency novels published by Hale, so I am revising them ready to self-publish. I am enjoying it tremendously – it’s just like meeting old friends and falling in love with them all over again.
I love that description. So what is next for Jan?
Keep on keeping on! At the last count I had something like nineteen projects waiting for my attention, ranging from finished novels to be done-something-with to tantalising germs of ideas with half-a-dozen lines of notes to anchor the thoughts in place.
Good luck and I wish you every success with them. Thanks for sharing some of your writing experience and world.
Laura’s story begins fifteen years after the fire that nearly destroyed Ebton in To Love Honour and Obey. 1820 Ebton, England.
Laura Pennington’s parents think it is time for her to marry, but they are concerned. She likes to take long walks by herself, and doesn’t quite fit in. Laura’s father, Obadiah, thinks local mill owner Daniel Tranton is the perfect husband for Laura, so he suggests marriage to Daniel while working on a business deal.
Daniel is not keen, but does not want to lose Pennington’s business. He is not sure what to do, as he has his hands full with disgruntled mill workers. Daniel has always treated his workers well, but that is the exception, not the rule.
A new problem arises, when Jeb, a young boy who works for Daniel’s cousin Roderick, runs away from the mill where he works. Daniel, not wanting to see him captured and beaten by the local louts who enforce the law, tries to track him down. He finds Laura hiding Jeb, who she stumbled upon while out on one of her walks.
Roderick has his henchman Mr Bullman hunting for Jeb as Laura hides him at her father’s boat house.
Checking on him one morning, Laura sees the boat is gone, but it’s seeing her father stepping out from the hotel he owns that shocks her the most.
For all his efforts to make Laura a lady, it seems Mr. Pennington is not a gentleman.
With the hint of revolution in the air, will Daniel and Laura find a love worth fighting for?
Laura’s Legacy is a historical tale of romance and family strife in a past world.
If you love the adventure with mystery combined then download A Stolen Heart from Amazon today.
Miss Ruth Grainger’s coach jolts to an abrupt halt when it is stopped by a highwayman.
Fearing for her life she is surprised when this highwayman seeks only to retrieve papers carried by a fellow traveller, her guardian, Mr Robert Grentham’s business associate, Mr Archibald Upton.
Ruth abhors thievery, but she is even more disgusted by the cowardice of the man, Upton, as he uses her as a shield.
Released unharmed, she is haunted by the dark blue eyes of the stranger.
What is his connection to Upton? And what is in the papers he was so intent on stealing?
Ruth returns to Grentham’s home, and along with his silly, young wife Eliza, prepares for an upcoming ball.
Little does she know that Grentham is orchestrating events so that the despicable Upton will become her husband.
As Ruth starts to suspect the truth, another stranger steps into her life, and once more she is bewitched by a pair of blue eyes …
Headstrong and independent Ruth is determined to marry for love, and on her own terms.
But everyone around her has other ideas …
Will Ruth be forced into a match she doesn’t desire?
Or will she end up with the man who has stolen her heart …?
A Stolen Heart is a charming regency romance about mistaken identities, and following your heart’s true path.
Six years ago, Willoughby Rossington’s father was murdered while searching for the kingpin of a smuggling and spy ring. Taken under the wing of his uncle, who is running a counter-intelligence operation against Napoleon’s spies, Willoughby is assigned to take up his father’s last mission—and, hopefully, in the process find who killed his father and bring them to justice.
He encounters a young woman, Beth, who works at the local inn. Her spark and resilience against her master’s attempts to break her will strike a chord in him and he, albeit reluctantly, takes her with him when he leaves town.
As they begin to talk, he finds out that her master is more involved in the ring that could have been thought. She overheard things and knows things about the seedy side of villages that could be helpful to him and his mission.
Though Beth hasn’t had the opportunity for education, she’s smart and quite cunning while still maintaining a child-like wonder. Even as Willoughby makes plans to set her up with a family in order to protect her from the perils of his mission, he finds himself a bit melancholy at the thought of losing her company.
Beth is having none of it. She knows she can be of help to Willoughby and isn’t going to be left behind now that she’s found someone nice. Part on purpose, partly because of fate, their two lives become intertwined as they race against the villains that plot to destroy them both.
Will they uncover the truth behind the smuggling ring and find who is responsible for Willoughby’s father’s death?
I am delighted to welcome two successful writers and tutors of creative writing to my blog this month, Margaret James and Cathie Hartigan.
Margaret has been a shining light to me and many unpublished authors as she was the New Writers’ Scheme Organiser for the Romantic Novelists’ Association when I first became published. Cathie is a prolific writer, lecturer and founder of CreativeWritingMatters.
Welcome!
Hello, Valerie –thank you for inviting us to chat with you! It’s lovely to be here.
You are both successful writers so my first question must be where did your own writing journeys begin?
Margaret: I started writing short stories while my children were still babies and eventually I began selling them to women’s magazines.
Cathie: I was a hobby writer until about ten years ago, but after a foundation course with the Open College of Arts, I began having success in short story competitions. Since then I have taken my hobby much more seriously.
CreativeWritingMatters is the inspirational name of the business you founded along with Sophie Duffy. I love the logo. Could you tell us about CreativeWritingMatters and how it came into being?
Cathie: CreativeWritingMatters came into being when I left teaching in mainstream education. The flexibility of being freelance meant we could offer workshops and short courses on all aspects of writing. The competitions came later following the success of a flash competition that we ran for our students.
The name came about because of a conversation I had, during which I became rather too vehement about the importance of creative writing. ‘Creative writing matters,’ I heard myself shriek. Our logo features Sophie’s cat, Henry, the star of her story in our Cat Walks ebook. He’s perky and forward-looking, just like the three of us!
You have jointly written an excellent handbook and a workbook on aspects of creative writing so obviously have a great working relationship, but how do you set about working on a non-fiction joint project as opposed to your independent fiction?
Margaret: I first met Cathie when she joined my local writing group, Exeter Writers. I loved her short stories and she was kind enough to say she liked my own writing, too. We collaborated on producing an anthology of members’ work and found we got on very well. We both teach creative writing (Cathie teaches face-to-face while I teach online) and, after we’d finished editing and producing the anthology, we decided to write a guidebook for our students.
When we wrote The Creative Writing Student’s Handbook, we wrote alternate chapters and then we swapped files and edited these chapters. It all seemed to work well! But when we wrote The Short Story Writer’s Workbook, Cathie wrote the whole of the first draft and then I did a heavy edit, making the second draft twice as long as the first. This approach worked very well, too. We find our non-fiction writing styles are very similar. A few months down the line, we often can’t remember who wrote what.
Will there be more in this series?
We enjoy working together so we intend to produce a handbook for novelists and we have other projects in the pipeline, too. We hope to produce some more anthologies featuring either our own work or that of other people.
You are both very experienced tutors so I would like to ask:-
Margaret, what three tips would you give to an aspiring unpublished novel writer?
Plan your story and know roughly how you want it to end. But don’t be too rigid in your planning. Be prepared for the story to change and grow while you write.
Your reader should want to spend time with your characters. So don’t write about people you don’t actually like or don’t find very interesting yourself. Your characters ought to be your friends.
A novel is a big project. So whenever you get tired or disenchanted – which you almost certainly will – take some time out to reflect and to think about how and where you want this story to go.
Cathie, what three tips would you give to an aspiring unpublished writer of short stories?
Use vivid and specific details that tell a lot, rather than generalisations. If a character puts up an umbrella, we don’t need to be told it’s raining.
How much time you have to set up your story depends on the number of words that have been stipulated by the competition or magazine. Your story needs to develop and reach its resolution without a sudden rush at the end. Once finished, check the balance of set up, development and resolution, then be prepared to cut ruthlessly at the beginning.
Use dialogue and gesture to reveal character rather than word-hungry narrative.
The Exeter Novel Prize is going from strength to strength, what inspired this, and how do you see it evolving?
Margaret: The Exeter Novel Prize came into being because it filled a gap in the world of novel-writing competitions. It’s open to previously published and also self-published novelists. There is more information here: http://www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk/2015-exeter-novel-prize.html
Will there be a CreativeWritingMatters short story competition in 2016? If so, what advice would you give to entrants?
CreativeWritingMatters runs lots of competitions for both short and longer fiction, so here is some general advice.
Read the rules.
Abide by the rules.
Start your story as something interesting happens.
Round off your story with a satisfying ending.
Read Cathie Hartigan’s story, Making the Grade!
What is next for Cathie and Margaret, jointly or independently?
Margaret: I’m about to start the second draft of a novel and to plan a new non-fiction project that has nothing to do with writing.
Cathie: My debut novel, Secret of the Song will be out later this year and there will also be another collection of stories by the three of us at CreativeWritingMatters. Right now, the characters in my next novel are twitching for me to get on with it.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and advice with my readers.
Thank you for inviting us! It’s been great to talk to you.
I am delighted to welcome Jan Jones as my guest this month. Jan is not only an amazing writer of romantic fiction but the organiser of many successful Romantic Novelists’ Association Conferences.
CreativeWritingMatters is the inspirational name of the business you founded along with Sophie Duffy. I love the logo. Could you tell us about CreativeWritingMatters and how it came into being?
Will there be more in this series?
valerie holmes, author 