Meeting Alex Dunn, whose debut YA novel has just been published

Hello Alex

It’s lovely to have you here on my blog today. Do help yourself to a slice of Christmas cake. I’ll just get the coffee on and then let’s talk about your lovely new novel for The Red Telephone Press: The Demon Magician.

Please tell us about the genesis of this novel – who or what inspired it?

AD: As you know, Margaret, I love to write, so when someone told me about NaNoWriMo - an annual internet-based creative writing project to complete a 50,000 word novel during month of November - I knew the only way I could do it was to write about something I knew well.  My parents, and my mother in particular, loved horror and she introduced me to that genre very early in life.  Some of my fondest memories are staying up late on Friday night to watch the Hammer Horror films, Mum reading Edgar Allen Poe to me, and listening to old radio plays (in particular The Man in Black). This, combined with some of my other passions: gothic music, fashion and a good-looking, charismatic demon with a wicked sense of humour, is how The Demon Magician came about. I simply wrote about what I loved, all mixed up with love, humour and lots of drama.

MJ: When and where is The Demon Magician set, and why?

AD: It’s set in present day, in a small town fictional town somewhere in the south of the UK. Ultimately, when writing horror, fantasy or science fiction, you have to ground the story in a reality your reader can relate to.  Hence a normal town, with normal shops and a girl-next-door heroine leading a normal life - that is, until she meets the Demon Magician…  

MJ: The book has a gorgeously spooky cover featuring cadaverous hands and a hooded creature with a single red eye. Did you play any part in its design? What does the cover say about the story?

AD: I did have a hand in the design so I’m glad you asked me this. I brainstormed several ideas with an online designer and ultimately agreed on the lone image of a dark magician because it was the most powerful visual that summed up the story. Jonathan is a magician gone bad.  He’s in servitude to Belphegor, one of the seven archdemons of Hell, and lives his life in the shadows.  The cover needed to show him because he is at centre stage of all the events. I especially loved the font that was used and I’m very proud of myself finding it using a font search tool.

MJ: Who is your ideal reader for this novel?

AD: It is being marketed as a YA Fantasy Horror and would appeal to anyone who loved The Demonata series, The Vampire’s Assistant by Darren Shan, Charmed, and my personal favourite Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That said, I’ve always read YA and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to a recent marketing survey, I’ve discovered I’m not alone because an increasing number of adults are now enjoying YA, which is one of the fastest-growing literary genres.

MJ: You’ve written the novel in the first person. Do you feel the first person viewpoint is the most appealing and do you always use it? Or was it merely right for this story?

AD: First person was right for this story. If it wasn’t written in first person, you’d have no sympathy with Ella when she knowingly takes a gift from a demon, or be able to experience the conflict with her on such a personal level when she realises she has to stop Jonathan who used to be the love of her life.  You need to hear her inner voice at all times – it’s what drives the story forward and sucks you into the magic underworld of demons and black magic.

MJ: You live in Hong Kong. Does Hong Kong inspire your fiction? Or, when you write fiction, are you escaping from Hong Kong?

AD: You can’t help but be inspired by Hong Kong.  It is amazing, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to be living here. We have ultra modern buildings, luxury shopping malls and spas built on top of and squashed between markets, temples, local medicine shops, lovely little tea houses and more restaurants per square foot than anywhere else on this earth, I’m sure of it. There’s also amazing countryside, beaches and some beautiful little islands, which are like stepping back in time – we’ve even got our own Gold Coast! It is a hundred different places in a relatively small surface area, with every nationality all somehow living in harmony. However, it’s the Hong Kong people’s spiritual beliefs and rituals that tend to inspire my writing.  They are a very superstitious people – 8 is lucky, 4 very unlucky (we have no fourth floor on any building).  When things weren’t going so well for me at work, one of my friends put curly bamboo on my desk to help change my luck and there are rituals to honour the dead.  What I really love is their temples.  You go there to pray for good luck, and if the prediction is bad, you burn it in the fires and leave all your bad luck behind, and if it is good – you take it with you.  You can’t lose!

MJ: What is next for Alex Dunn, fiction-wise?

AD: I’ve several other YA fantasy novels almost completed, but the one I am racing to finish is another demon story.  This time it’s about a demon who opens a spa and makes people thinner, younger and prettier in return for their souls.  It’s a lot of fun and quite topical given the obsession we all seem to have with outward appearance.  I’m also able to draw on my own diet experiences that are extensive and not all of them successful. J

MJ: You’ve successfully published your first novel. What advice would you give a new writer just setting out on the journey you took?

AD: Be patient, because getting a book to print is a marathon not a sprint.  It takes time to edit, time to make revisions, time to see if marketing strategies work – it even takes a long time to do fun things like the cover. Patience is a mandatory requirement for all authors.

MJ: Do you feel everyone has the potential to become a storyteller?  Or are storytellers born rather than made?

AD: I believe we all have it in us to write a story, but not everyone can tell one.  I listen to a lot of audio stories when I work out, and love listening to the likes of Stephen Fry, Rik Mayall, or John Hurt.  They perform the story. They make it come alive, and it’s the next best thing to reading the pages yourself.

Five Quick Questions

Do you prefer:

Animals or people?

Err, that’s a tough one, but I’ve never met an animal I didn’t like so I’ll have to say them, although that doesn’t mean I don’t like most people I meet, too.

City or country? 

City – I like convenience and excitement.

Company or solitude?

Solitude, but only because it’s a luxury these days.

Exercise or the sedentary life?

Sedentary – I go to the gym but I don’t enjoy it.

Ship or plane?

I really don’t mind as long as it’s first class. J

Thank you, Alex – it’s been great to chat to you! Good luck with this novel and with many more to come!

Alex Dunn Author - Young Adult Fantasy Books

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Demon-Magician-Alex-Dunn-ebook/dp/B017DS4XSG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1448817577&sr=1-1&keywords=the+demon+magician

Madness and mystery in Naples and Devon - chatting to Cathie Hartigan about her debut novel Secret of the Song

Hello, Cathie - welcome to my blog on this rainy morning! 

I'm delighted you've agreed to chat to me about your debut novel Secret of the Song, a time slip story set in Renaissance Naples and 21st century Devon.

MJ: What was the original inspiration for this novel?

CH: A few years ago when I was in a small choir we were given a song to sing by Carlo Gesualdo, one of the main characters in my book. I’d never heard of him. The music was difficult and we all got very grumpy. Although the music was written back in the 16th century, it sounded very discordant, almost avant garde. The choirmaster then told us about Gesualdo’s notoriety. When I did some research into his life, I was hooked.

MJ: What particularly attracted you to writing a time slip story?

CH: It was at the same rehearsal that I first wondered whether madness could be somehow transmitted in music such that it affected the musicians who performed it. When I think of those ‘maddening’ tunes that seem to go round and round in the head for days on end, earworms they’re called, then it seems quite likely. I thought I would write a contemporary novel about a singer finding out about Gesualdo and then wondering if a piece of music could be cursed, but when I read the witness statement by young Silvia Albana, I was so taken by her plight, that I decided to interweave her story. She was the seamstress and confidant to Gesualdo’s wife, a princess who behaved so recklessly that she endangered both herself and poor Silvia.

MJ: How do you work – are you a planner and are you most definitely in charge, or do you let your characters guide you into their stories and do you take your cues from them?

CH: I have a plan but it isn’t very exact, although I do know what the big questions are that I’m trying to answer. Writing a few chapters in order to really immerse myself in the world helps me too, and I get to know the characters more thoroughly. That’s usually when I pause and tighten up the plan.

MJ: As a classical musician and singer yourself, do you feel you have a mission to encourage more people to take an interest in classical music and – if so – was this one of your motives for writing this novel?

CH: I certainly felt I had a mission when I trained to be a music teacher but that was quite a long time ago. Now I think the best way to encourage anyone to do or enjoy anything is to be passionate about it. I absolutely love singing the sort of music I have written about and if I can enthuse my readers to go and listen to (or better still, sing) any Italian or English songs written during Tudor times, it would be fantastic.

MJ: Who is your favourite character in Secret of the Song?

CH: That’s very difficult because I’m so fond of several, but I think it’s got to be Mollie. She’s the precocious ten year-old daughter of Lisa, my contemporary heroine. There’s considerable negotiation that goes on between mother and daughter. There’s one particular scene I’m fond of where Mollie has a secret and Lisa is trying to find out what it is, even though she’s always told Mollie that secrets shouldn’t be revealed.

MJ: Do you have any tips for people starting to write a first novel?

CH: Ask yourself what your novel is about and keep asking until you can answer with confidence when someone asks you. Try practising on already published novels.

Think about your plot in terms of scenes. Start each one with intrigue and end with sufficient jeopardy (not necessarily life-threatening) to make your reader want to turn over.

Five quick questions

Do you feel more at home in a town or in the countryside?

I’ve lived in both and while I’m now more at home in a city, I do miss having the breathtaking beauty of the Devon countryside on my doorstep.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I love Devon so it would have be here, and I’m not a great traveller, but a small pad in London and perhaps the Dordogne, and somewhere near Florence, and maybe by the Med…

Who are your favourite composers?

I keep coming back to Bach when I play the piano, but I have a very eclectic mix of music on my phone. All sorts from the Renaissance period, but I also have Mozart, Brahms, Puccini, and quite a few albums by Pat Methany, the jazz guitarist.

Do you feel any other writers particularly influence your work?

I think all my reading has influenced me, but I remember loving a book by Barbara Trapido and thinking, she can turn the emotion on a pin. She could do funny and serious equally quickly and yet it didn’t jar. Could I do that?

What’s next on the writing agenda for you?

I have notes and a few chapters for two novels. One is a historical novel in which I revisit Renaissance Italy and it features one of the Catholic plots against Elizabeth I, and the other is a contemporary story about a restoring an old property in the face of considerable opposition. I’m not sure which novel will come first in my affection yet.

Thank you, Cathie - it was good to talk.  Many congratulations on the publication of this lovely novel, and here's to great sales now and in the future! 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Song-Cathie-Hartigan/dp/1517114284/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

Sophie Duffy talks about her latest novel

Bright Stars is Sophie Duffy's new novel, out this month and already twinkling in the Amazon skies! I caught up with Sophie yesterday when we had a coffee in the Debenham's cafe overlooking Exeter Cathedral, and we had a lovely chat about Sophie's story. It features four friends who were at university together and whose later lives don't quite work out in the way they might have expected - or planned. 

MJ: I see this novel is partly set at Lancaster University.  So were you a student there yourself and is this story based on any of your own experiences?

SD: Yes, I studied English there from 1986 to 1989 and I borrowed heavily from the landscape there at that time, both geographical and political. But the story and characters are most definitely fiction. I later got an MA in Creative Writing which I studied for by distance learning. It was strange going back for summer school and revisiting old haunts. Lancaster University is going from strength to strength and I think it’s quite a unique place to study. As long as you don’t mind wind and rain.

MJ: Where did the character of Cameron come from – did he walk into your head and say write about me, is he based on anyone you know?

SD: I wrote the first draft of Bright Stars in the third person from four points of view - Bex's, Tommo's, Christie's and Cameron’s. I wanted to show how four completely different people can become friends when they are thrown together in a confined space. But something didn’t quite work. Someone asked me whose story it was and that made me realise it was indeed Cameron’s story. So I didn’t set out to write in a Scottish man’s voice but that’s how it ended up.

MJ: How did you get into the mindset of a man?

SD: Cameron’s not a testosterone-fuelled man. He’s a sensitive soul. Doesn’t like sport or beer. He’s a little quirky and different and that’s the kind of character I like writing about, so I just went with it.

MJ: What’s your favourite part of the creative writing process?

SD: The last quarter of writing a novel, when it all starts to come together and makes a whole. I love it when that happens but it is a slog getting there.

MJ: Who are your own favourite authors and have any of them influenced your own writing?

SD: I love the Thomas Hardy and George Eliot – their use of flawed, complex characters has definitely informed my writing. I also love writers who use a sense of humour to show the extraordinary in the ordinary – David Lodge, Kate Atkinson, Barbara Pym are my favourites.

MJ: You’re a very successful contemporary novelist. Do you have any ambitions to write historical fiction?

SD: I would love to write an historical novel. In fact, my current work-in-progress begins in the 1920s, so I am creeping backwards… I would also love to write a ghost story and am mulling over some ideas.

MJ: What are you working on now?

SD: I’m writing about the life of a female undertaker – a profession that has always fascinated me. Not that I am morbid or anything.

MJ: As a prize-winning author who is also involved in mentoring and judging the work of other creative writers, do you have any tips for people just setting out on their creative writing journeys?

SD: 

• Do a writing class or join a writing group.
• Read lots of current books.
• Just write. Anything and everything. You have to write a lot of rubbish until something good bubbles up. 

MJ: Thank you, Sophie - it was good to chat!

When the weather outside is frightful, Christmas is so delightful...

What? It's only August! It's still high summer!

Yes, that's absolutely the case. But Christmas is coming and the CreativeWritingMatters team - that's Sophie Duffy, Cathie Hartigan and I - have been busy putting together an anthology of short stories, quizzes and puzzles for the festive season that we hope will make you feel all warm and cosy, whatever the weather.

We've written a selection of stories about all the aspects of Christmas that mean most to us. It's the season of goodwill, but at Christmas time there is often some tension in even the most loving families. What about those who have no families? Or who have been let down or hurt at the time of year when everyone feels it's their duty to be positive and happy? What does Christmas mean to them? We would like to share our thoughts with our readers.

As for quizzes and puzzles - we've done our best to make these sometimes easy, sometimes challenging, sometimes difficult and sometimes almost impossible. We hope there's something for everyone there - and, if you just can't get the final answer to the final puzzle, all is revealed at the end of the book.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Celebration-Stories-Quizzes-Puzzles-ebook/dp/B013ZZN6IE/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Valerie Holmes and I celebrate the publication of her new novel

Hello Valerie!

It’s lovely to have you here on my blog today.  Do help yourself to a cupcake. Chocolate or vanilla? I’ll just get the coffee frother going and then let’s talk about your lovely new novel for Endeavour Press: To Love, Honour and Obey.

Oh, a chocolate cupcake would be lovely!

 Please tell us about the genesis of this new novel – who or what inspired it?

The title conjured up the image of a man who had all three qualities, but the last one caused him inner conflict as he desired to be free to choose his own path in life. Beth, by contrast, has love  and life in abundance, but has been forced to obey. So it was one idea feeding into and evolving another.  

Where is it set, and why?

I often set my stories against the very beautiful and dramatic scenery of moor, dale, sweeping bays and the dramatic headlands of North Yorkshire, where I grew up. Great places for action and adventure. The region has a strong history of smuggling in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, which I find fascinating.  

You’ve written lots of short novels that have been successfully published.  This is a longer book.  How different was the writing experience?

It made a change to be able to take the storyline further and spend more time developing my characters. After having had 36 novellas published in print, which I have been uploading as eBooks, it made quite an enjoyable change and challenge.

I know you love history.  What is it about the past that’s so appealing?  Tell us about some historical novelists who have inspired you?  Whose readers do you hope will love your own longer stories?

I like to develop adventure wrapped around a romance or involving a love story. I have been inspired by many authors across the genres: Bernard Cornwell, Conn iggulden, Georgette Heyer, Daphne du Maurier, Diana Gabaldon and of course Winston Graham's Poldark. 

 What is next for Valerie Holmes, fiction-wise?

I am currently working on another novel The Ebton Legacy, which will be set within the North Yorkshire region, and also the second mystery in the Nick Penn series to follow Dead to Sin, called Dead Man's Pain. I also have an entirely new project beginning in 2016 and more titles to prepare of my backlist, so I have a lot more work in progress.

I also have a number of short stories on www.alfiedog.com

As the author of over thirty novels that have been published in paperback, large print and as ebooks, what advice would you give a new writer just setting out on the journey?

Study the markets by all means, but write what you feel passionate about and enjoy the experience. Be determined, dedicated and keep learning as you develop your craft. Keep writing and don't give up if you really want to make it through. 

You teach creative writing.  Do you feel everyone has the potential to become a storyteller?  Or are storytellers born rather than made?

There are many skills a writer that can be taught. However, the imagination and passion have to come from the person. So I believe everyone has the potential to be able to write a story. 

Five Quick Questions

 Do you prefer:

 Cat or dog? Dog

 Town or countryside? Coast :)

 North or south? Ooh - I enjoy both for different reasons. I live in one and enjoy visiting the other.

Present day or the past? Oh, that is easy - definitely the present. I love reading about the past, but prefer to have the creature comforts, technology and freedom of the present day.

Company or solitude? Company - friends and family are very important to me.

Thank you, Valerie.  It’s been great to talk to someone as inspiring as you.  Good luck with the new novel!

Thanks so much, Margaret, for inviting me and for your  support.

Love the adventure!

New book release - buy To Love, Honour and Obey on Amazon!

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RNA Conference 2015

The highlight of my year - or one of them, at least - is always the annual RNA Conference.

The Conference is held in various locations all over the UK. But this year it took place at Queen Mary, University of London, where I went to university myself 25 (ahem - well, I do make things up for a living) years ago. QM is to be found in the heart of London's East End and has always been an amazing place. While I was there as a student, I had a really good time. I got an education, too.

Conference organiser Jan Jones did a brilliant job once again and we're all hugely grateful to Jan. Who could ever take over from our lovely Jan and her sidekick, the indefatigable Roger Sanderson? Organising a conference for the RNA makes herding cats look like a breeze in a brewery. Yes, I love a good mixed metaphor!

It was great to see so many old friends again. These are people I've known most or even all my writing life, and with whom I keep in touch via private messaging and social media. But it's always wonderful to see them again, have a chat and a hug and (of course) a glass or two of wine. Hello again, Freda, Jane, Linda and Rhoda - looking good, ladies!

Some highlights of the Conference this year  - and this is the result of a quick poll I did at the Conference itself - were talks by various members of the RNA, particularly the sessions given by Julie Cohen, Rowan Coleman, Liz Harris, Sue Moorcroft and Pia Fenton. Below, Pia and Sue show us how to get inside our characters' heads and also inside some very gorgeous kimonos that Pia has collected over the years on her many visits to Japan.

It wasn't all work and chatting.  There was time for some leisurely walking and idling. I made some new feathered friends by the canal, which back in the day was full of coal barges and wasn't a pretty sight, but is now home to a wide variety of wildlife and a few houseboat people, too. Who would have imagined finding this almost rural tranquillity in the heart of London's old East End, which was bombed to bits during WW2 and was once home to some of the poorest, most disadvantaged slum dwellers in the UK?

The gala dinner on Saturday evening was wonderful. Perfect service, lovely food, a great atmosphere - who could ask for anything more? The last time I was in the Octagon Library I was revising for my finals, which was a far less jolly occasion. But it was time well spent. I got my degree.

What do writers need in order to be happy? One fabulous venue, to which we'll add a mix of industry gossip, general catching up and great food that we didn't have to cook ourselves.Then we'll all go home inspired and happy. My fellow Choc Lit authors and I were delighted to meet up for a group photograph and you'll see we scrub up really well. I think so, anyway!

See you all again next year!

A patchwork of history

What do writers do all day?

When they're not writing, they're imagining, and sometimes they go on outings to fascinating places, which is what a group of Exeter Writers did yesterday.

A group of writers prepares to boldly go...

We went to Poltimore, which some of you might remember from the BBC's Restoration series. Alas, Poltimore didn't win, so it's still waiting for a zillionaire with a stack of cash to happen along.

Do we need hard hats?

No, we're writers - we're hard enough!

As a nation, we're practically buried under the layers of our history. Devon is particularly rich in history, featuring the Jurassic Coast charting the birthdays of the world from aeons before human beings came along to, more recently, some astonishing buildings in various states of magnificence or - sadly - decay.

Poltimore House near Exeter is in a state of decay and needs millions spent on it. Well, if it's to be restored to anything like its former glory it does. When it was sold by the Bampfylde family in the early years of the 20th century, its decline had already begun, and its subsequent tenants did little to preserve its beauty. It became a girls' school, then a boys' school, then a private hospital, then an NHS hospital, and finally a private nursing home. But, as costs mounted, its resources diminished and  finally it was abandoned. The vandals moved in, stealing, stripping, looting, scavenging and burning. It's now home to a very vocal flock of jackdaws, lots of pigeons and a few bats. Some of its former magnificence still remains, however, and there are many features worth preserving.

The Tudor Tower and Courtyard

The Georgian Plasterwork

The Entrance Hall

Nowadays, several teams of volunteers, who are determined the place should be magnificent once again, are working on its restoration. We salute their efforts and can assure you Poltimore is well worth a visit. Anyone who is interested in volunteering to get involved in the restoration project can get in touch via Poltimore's website -  http://www.poltimore.org/

A feast of midsummer gorgeousness

Today, my special guest is Alison May, whose delicious romantic comedy Midsummer Dreams is published this June, appropriately enough at midsummer!

Welcome, Alison – come in, sit down, have a glass of something light and sparkly and some chocolate-coated strawberries?

Thank you kindly. *swigs enthusiastically*

These days, you’re making quite a name for yourself with your brilliant adaptations of the storylines from some of Shakespeare’s plays. What made you choose A Midsummer Night’s Dream as the inspiration for your new book?

Well obviously A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a serious and considered choice. What definitely didn’t happen was that I went to my first meeting with my publisher and panicked and said the first Shakespeare play that came to mind when she asked what I’d be working on next. That absolutely and categorically didn’t happen at all.

I think what did entice me about A Midsummer Night’s Dream was the way that it interleaves fairies and magic with the ‘real world’ characters. I write what I tend to call ‘rationalist romance’ so I knew I didn’t want it to be a paranormal novel, so the challenge was how to bring the magic in while staying in the ‘real’ world.

  

Tell us a little about the heroes and heroines of your story?

There are four main characters and they’re all a little bit broken at the start of the story, although I don’t think they necessarily know that themselves. Dominic and Emily have got their lives all mapped out. Alex has no plan at all, but thinks that suits him just fine. Maybe the fourth character, Helen, is the only one who realises that she’s stuck in limbo. Although I don’t think she has the smallest clue what to do to change her situation.

I like writing about characters who are trapped in some way, usually by their own flaws or failings, and all four main characters in Midsummer Dreams definitely fall into that category.

Did you have any input when it came to designing the gorgeous summery cover? What does it tell us about the novel?

The cover is all down to the genius of Berni Stevens. I think what it tells you about the novel is summed up by both the images and the tagline – Four people. Four messy lives. One night that changes everything.

I love the way the characters on the cover almost look like they’re penned in by the foliage around them. It’s beautiful but at the same time maybe a tiny bit claustrophobic? Mainly when I look at this cover though, I just jump up and down shouting ‘So pretty! So pretty!’

I hope you’ll be happy to share a little background stuff with me? Do you come from a family of writers or are you the family maverick? When did you first decide you wanted to write fiction, and what drew you to romantic fiction in particular?

I’m not from a family of writers, but I am from a family of readers. I remember trips to the library with my mum from a very young age, and I grew up in a house full of books and bookshelves.

I’m not entirely sure what drew me to romance. I do read a lot of romantic comedy and contemporary women’s fiction. I love writers like Marian Keyes, Mhairi McFarlane, Sarra Manning, Julie Cohen and Jane Lovering. So probably it just comes down to writing what I love!

Do your heroines take after you in any way? Or are they the kind of person you would like to be?

I seem to write two different ‘types’ of heroine. The ones that are outwardly confident – like Trix in Sweet Nothing or Helen in Midsummer Dreams, and the type who wear their neuroses on their sleeves – most obviously Henrietta in Sweet Nothing, but also the heroine I’m writing at the moment, Jessica. I’m probably more the first type myself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any neuroses; I just do my best to save them up and put them in a book!

Planner, vague outliner or planning phobic – when it comes to working out the storyline in a novel, who are you?

It varies. I seem to be becoming more of a planner as I get older and more haggard and world weary. For Sweet Nothing and Holly’s Christmas Kiss  I started with nothing but the vague plot idea, and then I wrote into the ether and hoped for the best. Now I tend to have at least a few notes and an idea of the shape of the book before I start. It almost always changes massively as I write though.

Five quick questions:

What is your best time of day for writing?

Morning. Or very late at night.

Who are your favourite romantic hero and heroine?

Benedick and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing. Closely followed by the Doctor and River Song from Doctor Who.

If you could interview any historical figure, real or imaginary, who would it be and why?

The Doctor. Because he’s the Doctor and, well just because he’s the Doctor. Failing that I would have loved to have met Terry Pratchett. I’m genuinely gutted that I’ll never get the chance.

Do you have any special non-writing ambitions?

To fly away in the TARDIS. Are you sensing a theme here?

What’s next on the agenda for Alison May? I bet it’s not updating Titus Andronicus…

Yeah – I’m going to do a rom com version of Titus Andronicus. Why ever not? Seriously, I’m just getting my third Christmas Kisses book ready to send off to my publisher. That story is all about Jessica, a woman who had the perfect first kiss but followed it up with a disastrous marriage.

After that, I’m not quite sure yet. There are certainly Shakespeare comedies I’d still love to adapt, but I might do something a little bit different first. Watch this space…

You can buy Alison’s novel here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midsummer-Dreams-21st-Century-Bard-ebook/dp/B00XJOEJTM/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1432994964&sr=1-7&keywords=alison+may

Four people. Four messy lives. One party that changes everything …

Emily is obsessed with ending her father’s new relationship – but is blind to the fact that her own is far from perfect. 

Dominic has spent so long making other people happy that he’s hardly noticed he’s not happy himself. 

Helen has loved the same man, unrequitedly, for ten years. Now she may have to face up to the fact that he will never be hers. 

Alex has always played the field. But when he finally meets a girl he wants to commit to, she is just out of his reach. 

At a midsummer wedding party, the bonds that tie the four friends together begin to unravel and show them that, sometimes, the sensible choice is not always the right one.

About Alison

Alison was born and raised in North Yorkshire, but now lives in Worcester with one husband, no kids and no pets. There were goldfish once. That ended badly.

Alison has studied History and Creative Writing, and has worked as a waitress, a shop assistant, a learning adviser, an advice centre manager, and a freelance trainer, before settling on 'making up stories' as an entirely acceptable grown-up career plan. 

Alison is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, and won the Elizabeth Goudge Trophy in 2012. She writes contemporary romantic comedies, published by Choc Lit. In addition to Midsummer Dreams, she is also the author of Sweet Nothing and the Christmas Kisses series.

You can find out more about Alison’s books at www.alison-may.co.uk/books/ or by following her on Twitter @MsAlisonMay

Self-published novelists - could you be our next winner?

It's been and continues to be a hectic time at CreativeWritingMatters HQ. But being busy is fun when you're doing something you love, and being part of the great team that is CreativeWritingMatters is certainly something I love.

www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk

These days, CreativeWritingMatters founder Cathie Hartigan, together with her loyal team consisting of Sophie Duffy and me, run lots of competitions for writers. We are happy to see the Exeter Novel Prize growing in popularity and international appeal, and to be supported by our wonderful local MP, Ben Bradshaw.

Last year, the prize attracted entries from every continent in the world except for South America. So this year - the third in the competition - we're hoping for some entries from Brazil, Peru, Argentina or even the Falkland Islands, although I know these still belong to the UK and aren't, strictly speaking, part of South America.

We've changes the rules slightly this year, so please have a look at our website for updates, even if you've entered the competition before. All self-published novelists, provided they are unagented and do not already have a commercial publishing deal that ties them to a specific commercial publisher, are eligible.

At the moment, the three of us are reading entries for the Exeter Story Prize, a new competition.  This is for an unpublished story up to 10,000 words long and there are lots of cash prizes and trophies to be won, including a special prize and trophy sponsored by Sunday Times bestselling novelist Trisha Ashley for the best humorous story.

It's a huge privilege to be among the first to see a novel or a story that could end up becoming a classic.  I'm having a great time reading my selection from this year's entries. Later this year, we'll be having an event in Exeter to celebrate the first Exeter Story Prize.  More details to come!

The Exeter Novel Prize 2014 - the final reckoning!

On Saturday 28 March 2015, the Lord Mayor of Exeter Councillor Percy Prowse, the Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw, our judge Broo Doherty, the CreativeWritingMatters team, the Exeter Novel Prize 2014 shortlisted authors, our families, friends and members of the general public all assembled in the historic Stephen's Church in central Exeter to find out who had won the 2014 award.

It was an exciting day for all of us. Last year, the Exeter Novel Prize attracted over 300 entries from all over the world, so to end up in the final six is a brilliant achievement, and we didn't envy London literary agent Broo Doherty, whose task was to choose a winner from those final six entries.

Broo was impressed by all the entries and spoke about the strengths displayed in each one. But there could be only one winner, and this turned out to be Clare Harvey, whose WW2 saga about three women who join the ATS to do their bit for king and country is a great read. The novel, originally entitled Cage the Minute but now retitled The Gunner Girl, won the £500 first prize and a trophy. It will be published by Simon and Schuster in October 2015.

Here's a photograph of Broo, Clare and the 2013 winner Su Bristow, whose now-completed novel Sealskin will be taken to the London Book Fair next month.

Left to right - Su, Clare and Broo

The other five finalists are Bert Tyler-Moore, Helena Fairfax, Derryl Flynn, April Hardy and Beverly Stark, left to right in the photograph below, who each collected a runner-up prize of £50 and an engraved glass paperweight.

You will soon be able to read an in-depth report on the day, together with Broo's assessments of all six novels, on the CreativeWritingMatters website at http://www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk/

Congratulations to all the six shortlisted authors. You are all stars and we wish you every success in your writing. We're sure we'll be hearing a lot about you in the future!

The 2015 competition will soon be open. Details will be on the CreativeWritingMatters website, together with lots of information about all the other things we do, so it's worth checking regularly. 

Anyone for Short Stories?

So - what have I been doing since I last updated this blog?

I've been very busy! My writing colleague Cathie Hartigan and I were much encouraged by the success of our first writing guide, The Creative Writing Student's Handbook, and last autumn we decided to follow it up with another writer's guide - this time to the bewildering short story market both internationally and here in the UK.

We're sometimes asked if we feel there is a need for yet more how-to books on the art of writing fiction. We don't write how-to books. We write guides for writers - guides that we hope will enable our readers to learn by showing these readers the way, not by making their journeys for them.  We hope to save them time, but we also hope that what we say will encourage them to research topics for themselves and to discover what kind(s) of fiction they really want to write.

This new guide to writing short stories is based on what we've learned by writing all kinds of short stories ourselves and also by organising and judging many short story competitions.  What do entrants get wrong? What do they get right? What sorts of stories win what sorts of competitions?  We suggest ways in which writers can give themselves the best chances in competitions of all kinds.

How can writers break into the lucrative world of magazine fiction? We don't try to second-guess what editors are going to like on any given day. We summarise and deconstruct the fiction that's currently being published in the magazines, explaining what kinds of stories are likely to appeal to editors and what kinds most definitely won't.

We also discuss 1,000 worders, flash and micro fiction. How short could the shortest short story be? What about three words?

As educators, this is what we try to do: to educate, to bring out what is already there in our students and readers, and to guide them towards publishing success. We can't give our students and readers a magic formula for success. We can't write their stories for them. But we don't need to do this because we can show them how to learn to write great stories for themselves.

Please click on the book cover on your right to take you to the relevant Amazon page, and also check out www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk for all the many and various writerly things we do.

Who will win?

The day for announcing the winner of the second Exeter Novel Prize is getting close!  We at CreativeWritingMatters chose the longlist back at the end of December 2014. It was a long and fascinating process but, as we settled on our final top twenty, we decided we were very happy with a great mix of novels and styles of writing. All the longlisted entries are openings of stories that are excellent in their own way.

But we were still more than happy to hand over the longlist to our judge, the London literary agent Broo Doherty, who has now selected the shortlist and who will announce the overall winner at a ceremony in Exeter on 28th March. This ceremony will take place in the historic St Stephen's church in central Exeter, and readers, writers and members of the general public are all invited. So, if you're in the city on that day at 2 pm, please come along.

The six finalists are all winners and will all take home a trophy and a cash prize.  We hope their writing careers will go from strength to strength and that being finalists in the Exeter Novel Prize will encourage them to believe they can be successful in their chosen fields. 

The Exeter Novel Prize competition for 2015 is not yet open, but we at CreativeWritingMatters are already making plans and will be accepting entries soon.

If you're not a novelist but you still fancy making your mark on an international competition, why not consider writing something for the Exeter Story Prize? Stories up to 10,000 words in length are eligible. So, long or short, the choice is yours! There are lots of prizes to be won! http://www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk/

Happy New Year - could it be Story Time?

I hope all my friends and followers reading this blog had a great Christmas and also that 2015 will be good to every single one of you.  May magic often happen and may all your wishes be granted!

What are your literary plans for 2015? At CreativeWritingMatters we are very excited about all the new projects we have in the pipeline. Today, the long list for the Exeter Novel Prize is published on our website and next up is the Exeter Story Prize, which closes on 30 April 2015. The first prize is £500 and there are prizes for the runners-up, too.

When we set up the Exeter Story Prize, we wanted to give those of you who find writing round about 3,000 words somewhat restrictive a break. Okay, your story concept wouldn't work as a novel, but it's too complex to explore in a mere 3,000 or so words.  We're offering you up to 10,000 words.

This is not to say the winner will need to have written a 10,000 word story. This is definitely not the case. Your entry should be as long as it needs to be. We'll be looking for a great story that engages us - that makes us care about the characters and about what happens to them.  We'll be hoping to read stories that offer us satisfying resolutions, too. We don't insist on happy endings. Some stories are never going to end happily.  But, if you can offer us a satisfying ending, we can guarantee we'll love your story.

Who are we? The CreativeWritingMatters team of Sophie Duffy, Cathie Hartigan and me.

We're very excited to have the bestselling novelist Trisha Ashley on board, too. Trisha will be awarding a special prize to the best humorous entry to the competition.  So, if you can do funny, here's your chance to shine and sparkle and impress a Sunday Times Top Ten megaselling novelist, too. Trisha will be coming to the awards ceremony in Exeter in October and she's looking forward to meeting entrants, organisers, friends, fans, readers and everyone else involved.

So - maybe get thinking about that story and entering it for what promises to be a great competition?

Happy New Year, happy writing and thank you for reading this. There's lots more information on the CreativeWritingMatters website at www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk .