Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a British author living in the north of England. Besides writing, I also work as a freelance editor, so my life revolves around books. I have the job I’ve always dreamed of!
I’ve written four contemporary romance novels, a romantic suspense called In the Mouth of the Wolf, and I also put together, edited and published two anthologies about a wonderful character called Miss Moonshine, with stories by myself and eight friends from the Romantic Novelists’ Association.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Besides my contemporary romances, I’ve also written a non-fiction social history called Struggle and Suffrage in Halifax: Women’s Lives and the Fight for Equality. This is part of a series of books set in towns across the UK, which was put together for the centenary in 2018 of the first women getting the vote in the UK.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a rescue dog who suffers from separation anxiety hates to be parted from me. I write every day with her beside me. She’s sitting next to me right now!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, that’s a really tough question. I love Marian Keyes, and also Helen Fielding, Sophie Kinsella, Paige Toon, Jojo Moyes, Mhairi McFarlane… I could go on!
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a follow-on to Felicity at the Cross Hotel. It’s set in the Lake District, in the north of England, and the story revolves around a wedding dress designer.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Amazon ads quite a lot now, but other than that I don’t really do much promotion. I have quite a few followers on Facebook and Twitter and for my blog and newsletter. I like to speak to readers directly through those outlets.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Writing is hard work, and getting your book published and in front of readers in many ways is equally difficult. My advice would be not to be discouraged. Keep trying, and don’t let rejection and disappointment get you down. It’s the writers who persevere who succeed!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading Date with Death, by Julia Chapman. It’s a cosy crime set in Yorkshire, where I live, and I’m loving the setting of the Yorkshire moors and the dales.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To finish my novel!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Oh, this is so hard, too! I’d take Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen; one of Georgette Heyer’s – perhaps The Quiet Gentleman; The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas; Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens. That should keep me going!
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