Today I’m thrilled to welcome Mick Arnold to my blog, talking about the setting of his novel, The Season For Love. Take it away, Mick.

Tell me about the setting for The Season For Love.

The best way to describe where 'The Season for Love' is just some generic village that's somewhere in my mind.


Was it inspired by a real place?

Following on from the above really.. Not really. My lady wife and I have had a lot of holidays in the UK these last few years and so have spent a lot of time in little, picturesque English villages, so it's an amalgam of all of those. Though I suspect there's an element of Midsummer Murders in there too (without so many bodies though).

Do you have a firm idea of the layout? For example, have you drawn maps or diagrams?

No. With hindsight though, that would be a good idea. If I ever write a sequel though, then I'd give it a go. I do know of authors who do do maps of their locations, sometimes including them in their books too. I know Milly Johnson did one in her last book, and I think Sue Moorcroft has one for herself of Middledip (one of my favourite places to lose myself by the way).


Do you have any special routine, visual aids, etc to get you into the right ‘place’ when writing?

I certainly have to be in the right mood. If I'm in a dark place, then the writing tends to be of the same tone, which can be useful, but if I want to write something light, I sometimes have to wait. However, I can't tend to write in the quiet. There has to be music of a film on in the background.


What’s the first book you read where the setting made a vivid impression?

Easy. When I was at school, we had to read 'The Silver Sword' by Ian Serrallier. It's a book about Jewish children refugees at the tale end of World War II/just afterwards and the descriptions were vivid and so powerful to a thirteen year old mind. It is a truly insipring book.


Have you ever chosen a book purely based on its setting? If so, what was it and why did the setting appeal?

Am I allowed to say Terry Pratchett's Discworld series? Is that a valid location? Well, that's what I choose. Now, I just need to develop his sense of humour!

About Mick:

Mick lives in darkest Northamptonshire with his Lady Wife and a psychotic cat, Drucilla, aka ‘The Anti-Kitty’. He’d been writing on and off for a number of years before deciding to give it a serious go in 2010, the final results of which remain safely locked away.

After discovering a belated love for romantic literature, he joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writer’s Scheme in 2013, graduating with the release of his debut novel, ‘The Season for Love’, in 2017.

He is an active member of the RNA and enjoys the various branch meetings throughout the year. A keen movie lover as well as writer, he finds a lot of his inspiration from various songs he hears on the radio and, subsequently (through there not being enough hours in the day), holds a grudge against Radio 2 for providing him with multiple story ideas.

In a previous life, Mick served in the Royal Air Force for fifteen years, seeing much of the world at HM the Queen’s expense; which worked out nicely for everyone concerned. He much prefers writing to working and looks forward to the time when he can call his writing desk his workplace.

Twitter - @Mick859
Facebook Author Page – M W Arnold Author

Extract:

You never get over a broken heart. You just paper over the cracks and try to keep going.

Goodnight Richie. I miss you.

Pressing a kiss to the picture she kept on her bedside table, she placed her diary down and turned off the light. Staring into the darkness, Chrissie could do nothing but wait for the tears to start. It had been the same routine each and every night since that terrible day eighteen months ago and tonight would be no different. So, drawing the duvet tighter, she succumbed to reliving the day that her husband had been killed. Drawing her knees towards her chest, she let the guilt and tears flood out until exhausted, she collapsed into the usual haunted slumber.

§ § §

The next day dawned way too early and through bloodshot brown eyes. Swinging her feet out of bed, Chrissie shuffled into the tatty pair of her husband’s slippers, tugged on her old fluffy white dressing gown and reluctantly made her way to the bathroom. She shrugged her shoulders and slid the mirror on the bathroom cabinet sideways. Looking at her reflection was not something that she wanted to deal with that morning. Ten minutes later, she’d tied her shoulder length auburn hair back into a pony-tail and pulled on a pair of black jeans, matching pullover and a pair of yellow Doc Martens that clashed horribly with the rest of her outfit. Everyone at school had been nagging her to add a bit of color to the predominantly black she’d taken to wearing and she’d found that Richie’s old boots fitted her perfectly; so long as she wore a thick pair of socks.

Working in the school’s IT Department had been her first job after she’d left university and it was where she’d met Physical Education teacher Richard Stewart. It so happened that they’d been starting on the same day and consequently, they’d spent the whole day trawling through the usual endless orientation and paperwork and found they’d gotten on like the proverbial house on fire. When they’d been introduced and he’d said, ‘call me Mr. Fit Guy or MFG for short,’ and she hadn’t either laughed out loud or slapped his face, an unspoken understanding had flashed between them and, as they left the premises later that afternoon, they’d wandered off to the nearest pub and spent until closing time talking about everything and nothing and loving every minute.

Grabbing her bag, Chrissie locked the car and trudged up the steps of Parkway Grange Primary School, through the still empty atrium and down the corridor towards her shared office. If she was lucky, she’d be able to settle at her desk before her boss got in. She loved Annie Suso, but though they were best friends, she was getting a little tired of starting each day by being asked how she was doing? Annie wasn’t saying the actual words these days, but Chrissie was finding it very annoying at how much you could put into a raised eyebrow!

As the door opened, she knew her luck was out, so she plastered on her most convincing smile and looked up into her friend’s emerald green eyes. The daily routine followed its expected course. Annie didn’t need to know that she’d rushed out of her cottage that morning because the stupid radio DJ had insisted upon playing “their song”.

Picking up the To-Do list, she scanned down it for the most mind-numbing job, quickly locating a teacher who’d been using his DVD tray as a cup holder. Grabbing her diary from her bag, she told Annie where she was going and that she’d see her later. One of the benefits of working with her best friend was that she had the freedom to do pretty much what she wanted, it being just the pair of them in the whole department. The children were just starting to arrive so hurrying along the corridor she nipped into the staff toilets, opened a cubicle door, sat down on the seat and took out her diary.

‘Hi Richie. Well, things are still the same as yesterday, and the day before and the day before that. You know, I visualize you watching over me, it’s the only comfort I have. Oh, I could sit here all day and talk to you, just like we used to in the common room. Do you remember how many times we were called in to see the Headmistress because I’d made you late for your classes? Felt very much like a kid, but I miss those times so much.

Right, sorry, got to go and see some idiot about a computer now.

Love you babe. I miss you.’

§ § §

Driving home that night, Chrissie wondered for the thousandth time why she didn’t change jobs and move away. Truth was she didn’t want to be too far from Richard’s grave. He’d grown up in Parkway Grange, been educated in the same Primary school, then the neighboring village’s Secondary and finally the College in the nearest town five miles away. He’d only been away to University to get his Physical Education Degree and then hot-footed it back when he’d lucked out with the offer of Physical Education teacher at the Village’s Primary school. Then, he had died in the village.

Automatically, she took a left turn before her cottage and parked up outside the cemetery. It was a typical late November evening so sighing resignedly she put up her umbrella as she got out of the car and, shielding her face as best she could from the rain, pushed open the gate and strolled down the pathway to the shade of an ancient beech tree. Sitting down on the bench, she leant forward, ignoring the dripping of the rainwater down her neck and brushing some leaves off the small granite headstone, focused on the most important words in the world:
See you in my dreams Richie. Forever, Your beloved Chrissie



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Not long now! I’m thrilled to announce that Bound to Her Blood Enemy will be released on Monday June 25th, and it’s now available to pre-order on Amazon UK and from the Wild Rose Press Catalogue.

Now that I’ve seen my very own book listed on Amazon, I’m starting to believe this is really happening. Maybe. I think I said the same thing when I first saw my cover. Basically, most days I find it hard to believe my book is being published. I get a brief blip of belief when something happens like seeing the cover art for the first time, then I dip back into this-can’t-really-be-happening mode. Maybe it will stick this time, or maybe I’ll only get it into my head when I hold one of my books in my own hands. Watch this space!

Pre-order links
Amazon (UK)
Amazon (US)
The Wild Rose Press Catalogue

I’m delighted to welcome Anne Harvey to my blog today. Thank you for taking part, Anne!

You’ve written two books so far, A Suitable Young Man and the follow-up novel Bittersweet Flight. Tell me about the setting for these books. Was it inspired by a real place?

That’s an easy one to answer. I based both the books on a real place, Horwich, a small former mill town in Lancashire. I’ve been told by writer friends that it’s always a risk to use a real place as people tend to see themselves as characters, even more risky if the character is flawed. For instance, I had to be particularly careful about naming my villain! He’s in both books and in the third book in the series, which I’m working on at the moment. They’re nostalgic tales of family, friendship, love, loyalty and loss set in 1950s Lancashire, a time when rock and roll first came to Britain and, hopefully, reflect the social attitudes of what was seen as a new Elizabethan era.

Which brings me to my next question, do you have any idea of the layout or maps?  

Well, Horwich is my home town and, although I spent much of my childhood with my parents living in domestic service, I spent my formative teenage years there. Because of this, the layout is imprinted on my mind, especially the places where we used to hang out as teenagers. As the timing is the 1950s, that’s how I remember it. During that period, it was a thriving, bustling sort of place, with the massive Locomotive Works and three cotton mills. It’s that vibrant period that I hope I’ve captured in the books. Now, with the Works and the cotton mills long since closed and a retail park built a couple of miles away, it’s mere shadow of its former self, though there are signs of new life, like the former butchers/abbatoir that is now a trendy coffee shop called, ironically, ‘The Cow Shed.’

The only visual aids I have are a reasonably up-to-date street-map of the town to refresh an ageing memory and an old street-map dating from the early 20th century. Obviously some things had changed by the 1950s but, because the first half of the 20th century wasn’t a particularly affluent period, not by that much.

Interestingly, part of my third book is set on an RAF base. Because of ongoing security problems, my base is completely fictional, though it is loosely based on a real RAF base in similar location. In this instance, I did lots of research on the internet and also obtained a couple of brilliant books about what life was like around that time for a serviceman’s wife. That’s been fun to do! The rest of the book is still centred around Horwich though, and yes, readers will be pleased to know that my villain does get his come-uppance.

What’s the first book you remember where the setting made a vivid impression?

Now you’re asking! At my advanced age, I must have read thousands of books so it’s hard to be specific. Having said that, one series that does stick in my mind for its setting is the ‘Clan of The Cave Bear’ by Jean Auel. That’s because it’s set in a pre-historic time and some of the descriptions of the various landscapes and the way of living are portrayed vividly. As one of my interests is archaeology, I found these books particularly fascinating.

What are you working on at the moment?

As I’ve said previously, it’s the third book in the series, working title In The Thick of It. I’ve written the first draft and completed an initial edit but it needs a lot more work before it will be ready for publication. Fortunately for me, I’m independently published and can work at my own speed. At my time of life, I don’t need the pressure of working to a deadline!

I’ve also been putting together a collection of short stories with the theme of everyday angels and I had hoped that this would be available for pre-order by the time your blog came out. Unfortunately, a problem with the cover has been discovered so that needs to be resolved first.

Looking into the future, my dearest ambition is to write a ‘real’ historical novel and I’ve already done lots of research. Again, and importantly, the setting will be Horwich but it will be in the 18th century when Horwich was a sleepy little village until a prominent Lancashire family, the Ridgways, decided to base their bleaching and dyeing business there. Although it will be fictional, much of the action will be around the Ridgway family and their influence on the town. And to whet your appetite, one of their descendants is a well-known ex-Prime Minister!

About Anne

Anne has written many family history articles and short stories published in national magazines. Having been unsuccessful in finding either an agent or a publisher, she took the decision to self-publish, a decision she has never regretted. She has published two family sagas, A Suitable Young Man ( www.tinyurl.com/qy9yth7) and Bittersweet Flight (www.tinyurl.com/zmnek57) and has enjoyed considerable sales success, not only in the UK, but also among ex-pats in the United States, Canada and Australia.

She has a memoir-based blog Passionate about the Past at www.annelharvey.blogspot.co.uk, is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Anne.Harvey.10 and on Twitter as @annelharvey1.

Today I welcome Crooked Cat author, Lynn Forth to my blog for the second in my series of blog posts on the theme of setting. Thanks for joining in, Lynn!

Tell me about the setting for Love in La La Land

Thank you, Tora, for asking about the locations of my novels as, in each one of them, the setting plays an important role in the both character development and plot. Love in La La Land, as the name suggests, is set in in the glamorous film world of Hollywood. My writer heroine,  Jane, a down-to-earth Yorkshire girl,  soon feels like  a fish out of water as she swims in the shark pool of Tinsel Town (Hmmn …is that a mixed metaphor …sorry).

In my next novel, Love Lies and Café au Lait, (spookily published this next Halloween), my heroine, Annie Roberts, swaps rain-swept Accrington for stylish Nice and has to find her feet there.

My current WIP is set on the Costa del Sol so I’m basking in the virtual sunshine there at the moment.   

Was it inspired by a real place?

All my novels are set in real places. As a reader I love to escape to sunny locations and imagine what it would be like to actually live there, so enjoy doing the same as a writer. I also like to challenge my heroines by making them face situations on their own, which happens when you are a stranger in a new place.
 
How did you research the area, and did you refer to maps or plans when writing the story?

Although I have been to San Francisco and a few other places in America, I have to confess I have never actually been to Hollywood, so for Love in La La Land I had to do a fair bit of research. But as you can do a virtual tour of stars’ homes and wander down the streets of L A on your computer, it wasn’t difficult to do. A lot of my reviewers assume I have in fact been there and have commented on how well I capture the atmosphere, heat and general atmosphere of L.A, which is rather pleasing.  

On the other hand, Nice, the setting for my second novel, Love Lies and Café au Lait, is one of my favourite places in France and I have been there often. The story was inspired by my first ever visit to Nice when, like my character Annie, I had an epiphany of delight at sitting in a café in the sun in such a wonderful place. I hope I have done justice to what an amazing location the Riviera is to explore.

Do you have any special routine, visual aids, etc to get you into the right ‘place’ when writing?

I like to wait till the afternoon to start actually writing. I have usually spent the morning warming up to it as I go about all the daily jobs, or exercising at Zumba classes or attending meetings etc. Then after lunch I feel the rest of the day and evening is mine to write the words that have been tumbling through my head all morning.  

What’s the first book you read where the setting made a vivid impression?

As a child I usually had two books on the go, an upstairs one and a downstairs one, so wherever I was I could snatch a few minutes reading time. As a small child I devoured a whole series of fairy stories from many different lands. Later I do remember loving the self-sufficiency of The Children of the New Forest as they survived on their own and evaded the dangers of the Civil War raging around them.

Have you ever chosen a book purely based on its setting? If so, what was it and why did the setting appeal?

I often choose novels books about places I am about to visit, for example Helen Dunmore’s The Siege before I went to St Petersburg and Girl with a Pearl Earring before I went to Amsterdam and Delft.  Also, prior to a recent big trip to Australia and New Zealand, I read lots of books set there, both novels and Bill Bryson’s excellent Down Under.

I’m hoping readers might want to save themselves a journey and choose my books if they want to be transported to faraway places or, like me, use them as inspiration to escape to distant sunny climes.

About the Author

I’ve had a lifelong fascination with words and people, leading me to study English and Psychology at University. Later, as a lecturer at a local College, I tried to pass on my love of words and learning itself, to students of all ages. Perhaps I succeeded a bit as, in 2007, I was thrilled to receive a National Star Award for Outstanding Teaching at a glittering ceremony in London. A very proud moment indeed.

As a word lover, I am obviously an avid reader and I have kept a book diary for decades recording personal critiques of all the novels I’ve read. And, related to this, is my love of discussing books, so I run two Book Groups. These are not the much- satirised posey wine drinking meetings, but are full of people as passionate about books as I am, so discussions are warm, frank, funny and always enlightening.

As you can probably tell from the title and subject matter of my debut novel, Love in La La Land, I also love films and belong to a local film club where we view and discuss a vast range of foreign and unusual films.   

As I like setting my novels in foreign climes, so I obviously need to travel to research various locations such as frequent visits to Nice and the Costa del Sol, the setting for my third novel. .
Although not a big exercise fan, I do enjoy dancing and music so combine the two enthusiastically in my twice weekly Zumba sessions.

I do like gardening as well. I’m a profusionist and love planting so many flowers that you can’t see the weeds.

Website: lynnforthauthor.wordpress.com.
Twitter: @lynnforth
Facebook Page: Lynn Forth
Author Page: Lynn Forth Author

My book is available as both eBook and paperback from Amazon myBook.to/LoveinLaLaLand1

Love in La La Land

In the city of stars, will English author, Jane Jones, come to earth with a bump? Or can she write her own happy ending?  

Excited to be in glitzy, glamorous Hollywood, Jane is thrilled by the prospect of seeing a scene from her novel being filmed and starring screen heart throb, Scott Flynn. Too bad, she is accompanied by the cynical Jack Clancy, the screenwriter who has ruined her story but seems totally unrepentant about all the changes.  

Both men seem intent on pursuing her. But do they have ulterior motives? Is Jane a mere pawn in a game between two fierce rivals?

In the sleazy world of La La Land’s glittering parties, hovering paparazzi, and powerful movie tycoons, Jane begins to feel adrift.

 She must quickly learn who can be trusted…and who can’t.