Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in England, up north as we say, where it’s very cold and usually raining. I come from a very arty family: painters and musicians. My tendency always ran towards patchwork and flower arranging, but I’ve always loved making up stories.
I started writing my first book, about a girl at boarding school, twenty-seven years ago, but I didn’t get very far. Life, consisting of three husbands and three children, got in the way. However, I never gave up the dream that, one day, I would write a full book. Five years ago, my urge to write couldn’t be quietened, and I started A Brush with the Moon. Just for me. Just to see if I could actually finish a story. I wrote it in secret because I didn’t want my family laughing at me. Now, I have eight books published, I guess it’s not so much of a secret anymore!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is the fourth in my contemporary romance series. After four years of living in a fantasy world, I needed to take a break from demons and monsters as I was starting to believe they were real! So I wrote about normal people with real world problems, and guess what? Now I can’t wait to start making up fantastical creatures again!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn’t say unusual, but I like to be alone with an appropriate movie, of the genre I’m writing in, playing in the background, to get me in the zone. Oh, and of course, copious amounts of tea.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
This is really cliché, but if I’m being really honest, it was the Twilight books that finally made me put pen to paper again. Although I loved them, they frustrated me too. I wanted more heat and scarier werewolves, but it gave me the kick I needed to write the kind of book I wanted to read.
What are you working on now?
I’ve started work on a spin-off series from Foxblood. It will probably take a couple of years to come to fruition, but I’m really excited about it.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promotions work best when stacked. Line up a big site, if you can, and organise lots of smaller ones in the days before and after it.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
It’s a tough business. Keep writing and don’t give up. Success could be just around the corner. (I’ve poked my head around, but there was a scary-looking guy with a hammer guarding the entrance.)
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Develop a thick skin. You can’t make people like you.
What are you reading now?
Believe it or not, the Harry Potter books…for about the tenth time! I’m such a Potter fan. I was getting withdrawal symptoms from not reading them for a couple of years.
What’s next for you as a writer?
After publishing a book a month for the past three months, I’m going to snuggle up for the winter and just write until the warmer days return.
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?
Is there an omnibus edition of Harry Potter? No? Well, I’d need something large to keep me occupied. Perhaps it would be the perfect opportunity to try War and Peace? Of course, I’d have to pack Pride and Prejudice and something humorous, like Jilly Cooper’s Riders, and a favourite from my childhood, Anne of Green Gables.
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