I am absolutely delighted to welcome Mary Grand to Bloomin’ Brilliant Books today for this week’s instalment of Author Influences.

Which authors/books did you like to read as a child?
It was only as I started compiling a list of favourite reads as a child that I realised there is a theme running though them.
Initially there was ‘Tinker the Kitten’ by Lucienne Erville, the story of a black and white kitten that climbs over the garden wall and finds himself in a new scary world. I moved on to the “My Naughty Little Sister” stories by Dorothy Edwards, the very innocent exploits of a little girl which seemed to me very daring at the time. Finally there was of course Enid Blyton and the series I loved was called ‘The Naughtiest Girl in the School’
So I appear to have liked reading about children (and cats!) that enjoyed breaking the rules, being a bit rebellious. As an extremely conforming child I guess, like many children, I found in reading a safe way to escape the mundane, to know the thrill of going to new places and ways of living.

Were you good at English at school? Did you like it?
All through my childhood I went to the library every Saturday, firstly taken by my dad and then on the bus with my friend. I can still remember asking my dad what books I was allowed to borrow and he said ‘Anything Mary, you can read whatever you want.’ I couldn’t believe that I really could read any book I wanted!
However I didn’t really get into my stride with English in school until I went into the sixth form. Here I had the most wonderful English teacher, Miss Duffield. I remember her as being the only teacher in a large comprehensive that still had the class stand when she entered, and she would hang her Jaeger jacket on a coat hanger at the beginning of each lesson. She brought books alive to me; I loved everything she taught me from Orwell, to Chaucer, Shakespeare and Jane Austin.

What genres do you like to read? Have they had an impact on the
genre you write?
I like reading all sorts, depending on my mood. I think becoming a writer has made me more adventurous and I have been introduced to all kinds of genres by people I have met online and on courses. My main stays would be Women’s Fiction, Historical Fiction and Crime. Although I write Women’s Fiction I am sure I have been influenced by the amount of crime I have read and all my books have strong element of mystery to be solved.

If you were to write a different genre what would it be and why?
I would love to write a murder mystery one day. I love reading them and working out all the different twists and turns. I would also love to write a historical novel: I really enjoy research and escaping back in time.

Did any author’s work encourage you to pick up your pen and write?
And if so who, what and why?
I wouldn’t say it was one particular writer. However I had been reading a number of writers such as Jodi Picoult and Amanda Prowse who showed me you could write about difficult subject matter in a gripping and accessible way. In one novel, ‘Hidden Chapters’, I wrote about adoption, living with Deafness and also about addiction. The story was set in wonderful Rhossili Bay, and there are elements of romance and mystery added in. I think it makes sense to combine all these elements. Life isn’t just one thing; tragedy and heartbreak sit next to joy, wonder, and new life. There is also, of course all the stuff in between; the shopping, the picking the children up from school, it’s a rich tapestry.

Are there any authors who, as soon as they publish a new book, you have to get it?
Sarah Dunant is one of my favourite authors. She manages to combine great characters with gripping plot and seamlessly interweaves into this her extensive knowledge of renaissance Italy.

Which books have you read that have made you think ’Wow, I wish I
had written that’ and what was it about the book?
There are a quite a few books like that but I think I would plump for ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne Du Maurier. I love her development of character, plot, and her incredible skill in description and creating atmosphere. This is one of many quotes I love:
“When the leaves rustle, they sound very much like the stealthy movement of a woman in evening dress, and when they shiver suddenly, and fall, and scatter away along the ground, they might be the patter of a woman’s hurrying footsteps, and the mark in the gravel the imprint of a high-heeled shoe.”

Have any of your plots/characters been influenced by real life events/people? (Be careful, I don’t want you getting sued!)
My first novel ‘Free to Be Tegan’ is partly based on my upbringing in a religious cult. To create the main antagonist, Daniel, the cult leader, I used my own experiences of a number of teachers within my sect combined with a lot of research into the whole subject of cult leaders. One of the things that struck me was how often the fear I had known was used as a weapon of control. I also read that, like some of the people I had encountered, many cult leaders had charm and charisma I used all these elements in creating the character of Daniel. It was important to me that my protagonist Tegan not only left the cult but developed an understanding of what had happened to her. Her confrontation with Daniel is a pivotal point in her story.

Thank you for taking part, Mary. I really enjoyed reading your answers. 

Mary’s latest novel ‘Behind the Smile’ is out now and available to buy HERE. Here’s what it’s about:

An emotionally charged, totally gripping story that will keep you turning the pages late into the night. Lowri is pregnant, looking forward to a new life with her lover, Simon. But her plans are shattered. She finds herself alone, her face scarred, her future uncertain. Her estranged husband, Jack, proposes they “settle” for each other, and raise Lowri’s unborn child on the Isle of Wight, in the idyllic village of Elmstone. Lowri is befriended by Carina, the beautiful Italian woman living in Elmstone Manor, and Heather, the popular local café proprietor. However, she soon discovers that no-one is the person they appear. What dark secrets is Heather hiding from her family and from the village? Why is Carina desperate for Lowri to fail in her new life and prepared to go to increasingly desperate lengths to destroy her? As she confronts her own insecurities, and faces another devastating loss, will Lowri find the courage to be proud of the person she is hiding behind the smile? Will she find true love amid the confusion and intrigue?

About Mary Grand

I was born in Cardiff and have retained a deep love for my Welsh roots. I worked as a nursery teacher in London and later taught Deaf children in Croydon and Hastings.
I now live on the beautiful Isle of Wight with my husband, where I walk my cocker spaniel Pepper and write. I have two grown up children.
‘Free to Be Tegan’ was my debut novel. The second ‘Hidden Chapters’ is set on the spectacular Gower Peninsula. I have also published two short books of short stories ‘Catching the Light’ and ‘Making Changes’. ‘Catching the Light’ is also available as an audio book, narrated by Petrina Kingham.

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Website: marygrand.net

Welcome to another edition of Author Influences. This week my guest is the lovely Catherine Kullman, author of Perception and Illusion and The Murmur of Masks.

Which authors/books did you like to read as a child?
I read voraciously as a child. I had tickets for two libraries and went to both at least twice a week. Authors I remember include Susan Coolidge (What Katy Did and sequels), Louisa M Alcott (Little Women and sequels) Enid Blyton (Everything, but my favourites were the Adventure series), Rex Dixon (Pocomoto series—about an orphan boy brought up two old prospectors in the ‘wild west’), Elinor M Brent-Dyer (Chalet School series). I also read a lot of non-fiction, in particular biography. In my teens, I moved on to Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, Dickens, Trollope, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L Sayers, and Irish authors such as Frank O’Connor. I also read a lot of poetry and essays. I loved the romantic poets and the metaphysical ones such as John Donne and essayists such as Charles Lamb and Joseph Addison. Looking back, it is easy to see that I was laying the foundations for writing historical fiction set in the early nineteenth century.

Were you good at English at school? Did you like it?
I loved it and was very good at it. We had anthologies of prose and poetry at school and each year would study a different selection but I read them cover to cover. I also loved writing essays, whether relating to the texts we studied or on more general themes.

What genres do you like to read?
I love reading historical fiction but when reading for pleasure tend to look for eras and/or locations outside my own. I also like historical crime, especially set pre WWII. I would read more contemporary crime but find a lot of what is written today bleak and very violent. Favourite authors still writing include Sara Donati (historical), Susanna Kearsley (historical– dual timeline) Barbara Cleverly (Historical mystery) Margaret Maron, Wendy Hornsby ( both contemporary mystery). I also love Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, and Nalini Singh, all of whom write urban fantasy/paranormal romance.

Have they had an impact on the genre you write?
All of the above writers are excellent story-tellers and I am sure that I have learnt a lot from them.

I also read a lot of nineteenth century writing – novels, poetry, memoirs, autobiography, journals, magazines, children’s books etc. etc. Reading works that are contemporary to my period gives me an excellent insight into it and inspires me in so many ways.

If you were to write a different genre what would it be and why?
I am very happy where I am at present. If anything, I might experiment with a different form, such as a short story, or even poetry.

Did any author’s work encourage you to pick up your pen and write and if so who, what and why?
Every author who has gripped me and taken me into their world has encouraged me. Specifically, Jane Austen who transformed the English novel, bringing a deceptive lightness and ironic comedy to what previously had been overly sensational, moralistic or both, and Georgette Heyer who was the creator of the Regency novel as historical fiction.

Are there any authors who, as soon as they publish a new book, you have to get it?
All the ones mentioned in No. 3 above.

Which books have you read that have made you think ’Wow, I wish I had written that’ and what was it about the book?
Susanna Kearsley’s A Desperate Fortune. The two stories, those of Jacobite Mary who keeps a secret journal in the eighteenth century and modern-day Sara who is trying to decode it, are gripping, thrilling and touching. Mary and Sara are so different and so real, the characterization is wonderful and the treatment of Sara, in particular, very moving.

Have any of your plots/characters been influenced by real life events/people? (Be careful, I don’t want you getting sued!)
Not consciously, but as they all emerge from my subconscious, I am sure they have.

Thank you for taking part, Catherine. I really enjoyed reading your responses to my questions.

 

Catherine’s latest book, Perception and Illusion, is out now. Here is what it’s about:

Does a fairy-tale ending always guarantee Happy Ever After?

England 1814: Brought up by her late grandparents after the death of her mother, Lallie Grey is unaware that she is their heiress. When her father realises that he will soon lose control of his daughter’s income, he conspires to marry her off to his crony, Frederick Malvin in exchange for a share of her capital. But Lallie has fallen in love with Hugo Tamrisk, heir to one of the oldest titles in England. When Hugo not only comes to her aid as she flees the arranged marriage, but later proposes to her, all Lallie’s dreams have come true. She readily agrees to marry him at once.

But past events casts long shadows. Hugo resents the interest his three elder sisters take in his new wife and thinks they have turned her against him. And then there is his former mistress, Sabina, Lady Albright. As Lallie finds her feet in the ton, the newly-weds are caught up in a comedy of errors that threatens their future happiness. She begins to wonder if he has regrets and he cannot understand her new reserve. A perfect storm of confusion and misunderstanding leads to a final rupture when Lallie feels she has no choice but to leave. Can Hugo win her back? Will there be a second, real happy end for them?

You can get your copy HERE.

About Catherine

Catherine Kullmann was born and educated in Dublin. Following a three-year courtship conducted mostly by letter, she moved to Germany where she lived for twenty-five years before returning to Ireland. She has worked in the Irish and New Zealand public services and in the private sector. She is married and has three adult sons and two grandchildren.

Catherine has always been interested in the extended Regency period, a time when the foundations of our modern world were laid. She loves writing and is particularly interested in what happens after the first happy end—how life goes on for the protagonists and sometimes catches up with them. She is the author of The Murmur of Masks and Perception & Illusion. Both books are set against a background of the offstage, Napoleonic wars and consider in particular the situation of women trapped in a patriarchal society.

You can find out more about Catherine and her books at her website www.catherinekullmann.com where she also blogs about historical facts and trivia in her Scrap Album. Her Facebook author page is

 

Today I give a huge welcome to Iain Rowan as he joins me for this week’s Author Influences. Iain is a local-to-me author, so I’m thrilled to have him ‘visiting’ the blog.

Which authors/books did you like to read as a child?
Everything I could lay my hands on. Children’s fiction, adult fiction, you name it. I can still remain the day I got my adult tickets for the library, when I was 13. Was like the keys to the kingdom. I loved Alan Garner, still do as an adult, and his books made me see the world as a haunted, mythic place. Not fiction, but when my dad died and my mum asked me to take anything of his I wanted, the first thing was a book I loved more than anything as a child: Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain, a massive reader’s digest thing crammed full of potent and strange legends from all around the country, alternately fascinating and terrifying.

Although I don’t write sf or read much of it now, I crammed in as much as I could as a child, people like Andre Norton, and Jack Vance. Fantasy by people like Tolkien, Moorcock and Lieber because as that kind of bookish kid you do, don’t you. And the Moomin books because they were just much weirdness.

Were you good at English at school? Did you like it?
I have mixed views on English education. There was more emphasis in primary school on creativity, and in particular one teacher encouraged me to write (a long series of interlinked spy stories, if I remember right) and I loved it to bits. Then came secondary school, and: read Mayor of Casterbridge and Sons and Lovers. Now read it again. And again. And let’s discuss some really laboured points about imagery. To death. I did well enough, especially at A Level, but I can’t help thinking it’s like taking Art and finding out it’s all just theory and art history. There should be room in the syllabus for creativity, and creatively responding to what you have read via your own fiction, poetry, whatever. Maybe it’s changed since the 80s and there is now, but given the onslaught on creativity across the rest of the curriculum, I doubt it.

What genres do you like to read? Have they had an impact on the genre you write?
I’ll read most things – I tend to look out for reviews or descriptions of a book that for some reason push a particular button in me, and then read that, rather than pick by genre. I read a fair amount of crime fiction, because that’s what I write and I need to soak up what’s out there, but tend to steer clear of it when I’m really in the thick of writing my own. Am a sucker for a classic ghost story, and novels that make me feel like Alan Garner’s did – Michael Hurley’s The Loney and Devil’s Day are two great examples of that, as is the novel I’m in the middle of reading: Folk by Zoe Gilbert. Also, if your novel’s set in a run-down out of season coastal town, that’s me sold in an instant.

If you were to write a different genre what would it be and why?
As my answers to the previous questions probably show, I’d love to write a classic spooky, weird, mythic YA novel – a haunting folk fantasy that makes the reader shiver at the thought that there are huge and important and ancient things happening just out of sight, but that sometimes we catch an unsettling glimpse of them creeping out from around the edges of the real world.

Did any author’s work encourage you to pick up your pen and write and if so who, what and why?
A couple of writers in particular made me determined to write, while also putting me off writing because they were so good, what’s the point. Rupert Thomson is an amazing writer, who writes better prose than anyone else around. I thought: if I could be one tenth of the prose stylist he is, I’d be a good writer. The other is Michael Marshall Smith, for a long time a successful novelist, but I discovered him early on through his short stories which were weird sometimes-horror sometimes fabulist things, and they made me feel: I want to try and do this.

Are there any authors who, as soon as they publish a new book, you have to get it?
Donna Tartt, Rupert Thomson, Emily St. John Mandel and now Mick Herron.

Which books have you read that have made you think ’Wow, I wish I had written that’ and what was it about the book?
Hmmm. I think I’ve probably answered bits of this one already. Every one of Thomson’s novels for the sheer brilliance of style. The Secret History (my favourite novel) for making me think: I never ever want to leave these people. It’s my definition of a brilliant novel that when you finish it, you feel an almost visceral sense of loss. John Irving’s A Prayer For Owen Meaney for the way that all the plot he’s set up starts rolling out at the end like a machine. Annie Proulx’s The Shipping News for the compassion and warmth and the way it made me want to live there. Emily St. John Mandel’s Last Night In Montreal for being exactly the kind of novel I’d like to have written, in every way.

Have any of your plots/characters been influenced by real life events/people? (Be careful, I don’t want you getting sued!)
People who die in my books are generally thinly disguised versions of people who stood in front of me on an escalator and then got off and STOPPED right at the top. Also people who talk on their mobiles while someone in a shop is serving them. You’re all in there.

The novel I’m working on now is influenced by the undercover policing scandal which saw police going undercover for years – often in largely harmless parts of the environmental protest movement – forming relationships, fathering children, and then one day disappearing as if they never existed.

Years ago I kicked around a few ideas for a novel which I never really took forward. Was set amongst a (then) fictional group of people who were working hacking phones and reading bins for tabloid newspapers. I didn’t follow it through, and then a couple of years later…dear reader, if you are a writer and have a really interesting idea: write it now. Don’t be like Iain.

Thanks for taking part, Iain. I really enjoyed reading your answers and I’m pleased to have found another Finn Family Moomintroll fan. And The Secret History is one of my all time favourite books too.

Iain’s latest book, Sea Change, is out now. Here’s what it’s about:

“You owe it to yourself to discover Rowan’s fiction if you haven’t already had the pleasure.” (Jeff Vandermeer, two-time winner of the World Fantasy Award)

When John is sent to stay with his sister in a small fishing village on the North Yorkshire coast, his parents thought that it would give him a chance to get over the tragedy that happened at school.

But when John arrives in Saltcliff, he is threatened by a strange old man who has waited years for him to appear, he is followed by a mysterious black dog, and he learns that he has a part to play in an ancient legend that is older than the village itself.

Can John leave the tragedies of his past behind and find the courage to save the village? And most important of all, can he stay out of the mist…

Sea Change is a Young Adult novel.

Check out Iain’s Amazon author page for details of his other books HERE.

About Iain Rowan

Iain Rowan is author of the Bath Novel Award and CWA Debut Dagger shortlisted novel One of Us, as well as over thirty published short stories, and is represented by the Andrew Lownie Literary Agency. He is Creative Director for the Sunderland Festival of Creative Writing, and runs Sunderland writers’ group Holmeside Writers. Like a bad 80s metal band, he found himself unexpectedly big in Mexico.

website: iainrowan.com
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Welcome to this week’s Author Influences. Joining me for today’s bookish chatter is Beatrice Fishback, author of Bethel Manor and Bethel Manor Reborn among others.

Which authors/books did you like to read as a child?
I loved to read Victoria Holt and her gothic romance novels set in England. It was at that precise time that I fell in love with all things English.

Were you good at English at school? Did you like it?
No. I was dreadful with sentence structure and nearly failed my junior high class. Which makes the fact that I am now an author quite humorous.

What genres do you like to read? Have they had an impact on the genre you write?
I love to read cozy mysteries and have always been a fan of Agatha Christie. However, I generally prefer male authors such as James Patterson and Lee Child. With preference to crime novels and cozies, I guess it’s no wonder that I am drawn to writing that type of story. Dying to Eat at the Pub, a cozy that takes place in Great Britain was my first attempt at a full-length novel.

If you were to write a different genre what would it be and why?
Hmm. That’s a good question. I was challenged by an agent to write an inspirational, historic romance. I wasn’t particularly fond of that type of novel but I took up the dare and wrote two books: Bethel Manor and Bethel Manor Reborn. Through that experience I learned to enjoy historic romances and a totally different genre.

Did any author’s work encourage you to pick up your pen and write and if so who, what and why?
I’m very fond of Max Lucado who writes non-fiction and children’s books. He has an amazing way with words and has always inspired my own creativity. I also enjoy Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series. Once again, his magic with a story stirs my own desire to try and write something as imaginative and original.

Are there any authors who, as soon as they publish a new book, you have to get it?
I certainly keep my eyes open for anything by Alan Bradley.

Which books have you read that have made you think ’Wow, I wish I had written that’ and what was it about the book?
Mr. Bradley’s books always leave me with that impression. His stories flow with humor, a bit of suspense, a murder that his young sleuth must solve, and a great amount of detail about her interest in science and chemistry. It’s the rolling together of all these things that make such a great tale. Although they are probably intended for a younger audience, I appreciate the descriptions, sentence structure and his main character—Flavia de Luce comes alive and the reader is caught up in the every day drama she goes through.

Have any of your plots/characters been influenced by real life events/people? (Be careful, I don’t want you getting sued!).
Dying to Eat at the Pub was influenced by my husband and our relationship; the challenges and great fun we have as a mature couple who have had the privilege of living in Great Britain a total of twenty years. The basis of this book is about an American couple who retire to a small village in East Anglia, U.K., and the cultural and marital challenges that can create humor and misunderstandings.

Thank you, Beatrice, for taking part. I really enjoyed reading your answers. 

Beatrice’s most recent book is Winter Writerland: A Daisy McFarland Mystery and here’s what it is about:

A gruesome murder was inevitable, but how the death would unfold would be anyone’s guess. And the murderer’s identity? That would remain a mystery until the appropriate time…

Meet Daisy McFarland, an American spinster who has retired to England after teaching elementary school for thirty years. An aspiring novelist, Daisy looks forward to attending the Crime Writer’s Conference in Branick for the third year in a row.

The winter gathering provides a great excuse for Daisy to escape being alone and keep holiday blues away. It also gives her a chance to meet new people and reconnect with several British friends. Their lively spirits and enjoyment of a glass of wine spark Daisy’s creative juices—especially after she’s enjoyed a few drinks.

Teachers at the event are regular contributors, all specialists in law enforcement, forensics, crime scene photography, or pharmaceutical drugs. With such an intriguing lineup of classes, Daisy can scarcely choose which ones to attend.

Bitter weather keeps attendees indoors. But after a night of wine, joviality, and juicy gossip, a jaunt outside is exactly what Daisy needs to get her blood flowing. Much to her horror, she soon discovers that blood is also flowing in the lake.

Daisy had come to the conference to write about murder, not discover one. Who was the dead person floating facedown in the murky water, and who among them could have murdered this unfortunate victim?

About Beatrice Fishback

Beatrice Fishback, originally from New York, lived in the East Anglian area of Great Britain for over twenty years and traveled extensively in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. She is the author of Bethel Manor and Bethel Manor Reborn, Dying to Eat at the Pub, Loving Your Military Man by FamilyLife Publishing and, with her husband Jim, is the co-author of Defending the Military Marriage and Defending the Military Family. She has been published in various compilations, magazines and online websites. She and her husband have spoken to audiences worldwide and currently reside in North Carolina where scones are called biscuits and are topped with gravy, and tea that is served over ice.

Beatrice’s Amazon page: http://amzn.to/2ATzBup

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