Diana talks to ... (wait for it!) ... herself!!

Hi Diana! What are you doing talking to yourself like this?

It is the best way I know to get an intelligent answer every time!!

I am indulging myself as it is fair to say that today is the birthday of one of the best loved and extraordinary people of all time.

((Sings Happy birthday to herself in off key contralto...))

It is also Shakespeare’s birthday!

Seriously, so many people have said, Di, you are everywhere around literary groups, but who are you? - some have not put quite it so politely! – so here is my attempt to let you all get to know me a bit better.

(Well. Not *all*. You know who you are! You know me quite well enough!)

First things first I am sure there is a question that you have always longed to be asked. Now is the chance. Ask your own question and answer it!

Not so much a question as an explanation of sorts. So many people query why I do not write, when I obviously love it and occasionally show an aptitude for putting words together and forming a series of sentences.

Many years ago I was young. This was not a unique experience as I find this is a stage of life that has happened to everyone.

Except possibly my Uncle Derrick.  But let us not talk about him ...

My first ambition when I was about three was to be a mummy ‘because the daddies had to go out and do work and I didn’t want to ever do work; I wanted to stay at home and drink tea all day and have fun messing around.’

Hmm. I wonder how that would have worked out for me???

Anyway, by the age of seven I had discovered reading and I mean discovered it big time. Every hour I was able, I buried myself in a book. It is fair to say that my childhood was mostly spent living vicariously on Kirren Island and in the Five Find Outers Shed! Ultimately, being a diffident and lonely child, I wanted to write my own adventure stories and, with ruthless efficiency, and a yellow plastic pen I loved, I created villains and heroes, buried treasure and lost dogs...

At last I felt I was living!I had friends. I had a life!

Then the time came for the careers talk with the headmistress. The other girls were going in and stammering, ‘Well, Miss, I s’pose I could work in Woolworth’s’ or ‘Can I cut hair, Miss?’ or, ‘I’m gonna get married and have lots of babbies like me mam...’

I knew what I wanted to do! My ambition was great! I was going to be an author!

I strode in and announced my dream to the formidable, black robe clad  figure.

She glared at me over her half moon glasses. ‘Don’t be silly, Diana. Authors are ladies of means who live in cottages in Cornwall. If you want to do something with the English Language, TEACH IT!’

Needless to say, I never wrote and I never, ever taught!

My ambition was extinguished with those words and only this past two years has it gradually reawaken.

Completely by accident about a month ago, following a chance humorous remark by author Paula Lofting, I began to write what was to be a one off excerpt... but it grew! It will probably never turn into a novel, but I am enjoying every second of this writing process.  So. Maybe one day!

If your series of excerpts (ahem) with the working title ‘Monkey Mating in the Andes’ was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

This lady is not an actress, but an exceptional writer. Manda Scott would play Helen so perfectly.

What made you choose this genre? How do you get ideas for plots and characters?

Um...I had to fit a plot around Paula Lofting’s comment about Monkey Mating! The rest just grew. I was very surprised when the whole thing got highjacked by an Ecuadorian drug cartel. I didn’t intend them being in the story!

If, as a one off, (and you could guarantee publication!)  you could write anything you wanted, is there another genre you would love to work with and do you already have a budding plot line in mind?

A vague idea. Prehistoric Cornwall; iron age trading routes between the continent and the Cornish tin mines.

Marmite? Love it or hate it?

Mmmmm. Love Marmite, but totally absolutely adore Bovril (though it is not quite so nice now the ingredients have been changed)

Do you have any rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’ piece of music...??

I’m too new to this to have developed any routine. When I am making research notes or writing notes for a review, I always use a pencil - may be because I can never find a pen! It is just a shame that I don’t keep all my notes in just one note book. They are spread between odd scraps of paper, the backs of receipts, about five notebooks (depending on which room I am in, the programme from the play I saw last February and (occasionally) on tissues and train tickets.

I promise I won’t tell them the answer to this, but when you are writing, who is more important, your family or your characters?

I live alone. Maybe the reason I live alone is that work to me is generally the most important driving force to me!

Hmm. I just realised! It could, however, be argued that if I did not live alone, I would not need the driving force of work!

Other than writing full time, what would be your dream job?
I do it! I run a business selling vintage printing equipment, mainly from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. I have done this full time for ten years now. I love it. Click here to find out more about my business, 'd.arcadian'.

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

Preferably the strongest possible coffee, all day every day, but as it no long seems to suit me I have about one cup every six weeks....So tea it is. I don’t drink alcohol, but I drink litres and litres of sparkling water with fresh lime juice.

If you had free choice over the font your book is printed in, what font/fonts would you choose? As my main job is as a Letterpress Seller (extraordinaire), one would think I would have an amazing idea up my sleeve. I have, but it is nothing to do with printing!

Imagine that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be?

My father’s will. Long story. Nuff said. ((Sad face))

How much research do you do and do you ever go on research trips? I am too new to writing to have gone on a research trip yet, but a year or so ago, I did begin to adopt the habit of a journalist friend of mine, who was doing a Creative Writing course. The idea was to make copious notes of every experience and trip so that when you needed to write a scene about *There* you had the back up notes already done.

Are you prepared to go away from the known facts for the sake of the story and if so how do you get around this?

No. I hate finding factual errors in a fiction book. It demeans the whole book and makes me view it all with suspicion.

Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred? In my life or in my writing? In my life, yes. All the time. In writing, no. I keep a very clear line between the two.

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure? Books, mainly. Condiment labels. Menus... Road signs.

Favourite living author?

CW Lovatt. His command of the English language and his mastery of primary, secondary and tertiary plots are exceptional. I am genuinely unsure whether MJ Logue comes joint first or a very close second with her extraordinary story telling ability and vivid characters

Now I have some questions sent to me by Review readers.

Gulp!

What do y’all look for in non fiction history/biography that make it a good one for you?

The author has to be able to make me care about the subject. Dr Ian Mortimer’s 1415: Henry V's Year of Glory, grabbed me on page one and kept me page turning right until the end. The book awoke a passion for discovering more about Henry V and this era that still exists.

Now a question from Angela: I would like to ask what makes you laugh, but your reply would be too long. lol x

It is easier to tell you what does ‘not’ make me laugh. Comedy! Comedic films. Sit com. Almost all stand up. Panel shows that are meant to be humorous and just seem to me banal.

Oh. One more. Mrs Brown.

I did, however, laugh like a drain at one of Aristophanes' plays when I read it in the original language. It was hilarious and totally untranslatable.

Perhaps I am a bit strange!

Jayne asked: what made you join the Review and take on this task?

I was in hospital at the time with a badly broken leg. I think maybe the morphine warped my thinking a little!
Strangely I decided voluntarily to start *Diana talks* and I love every second of it. It began by me deciding to go to HNS16 in Oxford. I wondered what I could do, that would be of value to the Review, with all these authors in one place at the same time. After I had ruled out the idea of the Bacchanalia on the grounds that it may not be of use to the Review, I decided to talk at them...

From Liz: Looking back from where you are now, what would you say to yourself when you didn’t think it was possible? Generally something like FFS. Get a grip woman!  Strangely, I was the last person to know what a strong woman I am.

Which fictional character have you liked the least.

Seargent Bell, in Josiah Stubb; The Siege of Louisbourg by C.W Lovatt. Most characters have redeeming features. Bell has no redeeming quality whatsoever.

Trust Paula to come up with this one!

Who lights your fire and who puts it out?

I have an open fireplace and a beautiful dog grate set into the hearth.

At the moment, my fire needs kindling and a nice, big stick. No further comment!
 

© Diana Milne April 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diana talks to Dianne Ascroft

Hi Dianne! Lovely to talk with you at last!!

If your latest book The Yankee Years Books 1-3

was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

Ruth Corey, a young Northern Irish woman, and Frank Longo, an Italian-American contractor who has come to Northern Ireland for a building project, are the leading female and male characters in the first 2 stories in the collection. I think Jason Behr, who starred several years ago in the American supernatural drama, Roswell, would be good as Frank. In the Roswell series, he had a calm, collected manner that would suit my character, Frank. I think an unknown actress would suit the role of Ruth. She is a quiet, unassertive character as the story begins and I think that someone who isn’t associated with any other role would play her best. I’m not really a great movie buff so I’ll leave it at that. I introduce two new lead characters in the third story in the collection but I won’t try to find actors for their roles. Maybe readers can help me out with that.

If, as a one off, (and you could guarantee publication!)  you could write anything you wanted, is there another genre you would love to work with and do you already have a budding plot line in mind?

Most of my writing is historical fiction but I enjoy reading the odd cosy mystery. So I might venture into the crime fiction genre for a book or two. I could even stay in the past and write an historical cosy mystery. As for the plot, I do actually have one in mind…

Do you have any rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’ piece of music...??

I don’t have any rituals as such, though it’s always good to have a big mug of tea beside me, and I do go back for refills. But, I do like to write early in the morning. I’m always the first one up in our house each morning so the house is quiet and I can write without any distractions, other than the cats clamouring for their breakfast (I do feed them before I start). In this atmosphere, it’s easy to gather my thoughts and put them on paper before my mind gets filled with the other tasks that I have to tackle that day.  Besides my day job, I also do admin work for a local writers’ group and I can easily get side-tracked with organising activities for the group if I don’t get the words on paper first.

What is the worst book you have ever read? What made it unreadable for you?

The Book of Paul by Richard Long is one of the few books that I decided I couldn’t continue reading. I can’t actually say it was the worst book I’ve ever read as the author’s use of language, development and understanding of character and ability to create tension in a plot was superb, but what made it unreadable for me was the incredibly graphic violence and one main character’s complete lack conscience. I felt that that the author included too much detail when he portrayed scenes of violence and torture, and I didn’t get a sense from the writing that these acts were deplorable. The scenes were written with a clinical eye for detail but no moral censure or emotional empathy for the victims and this disturbed me. Since I write wartime fiction, I also include some violence in my stories but I choose the details I reveal carefully. I want the reader to focus on the story, not only the violence. Reading The Book of Paul, what stuck in my mind was images of the violence and torture rather than the plot of the story. I’m afraid this type of psychological thriller isn’t for me.

Other than writing full time, what would be your dream job?

We live on a farm and I enjoy the outdoors so, after I leave the day job and when I’m not writing, I go for long walks and also spend time with our animals. My dream job would involve working with animals, especially goats. We had a pair of pet goats until recently and they are such amazing, intelligent animals and very individual characters. I could easily move to a remote hillside with just a herd of goats for company. Well, it might be nice if I could still get internet access there though. With a minimal amount of training, I’m sure the goats would be willing to post on Facebook and other social media sites for me. Wouldn’t that be an interesting marketing campaign? I could have my dream job and still have time to write.

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

Definitely tea. White wine. But if you have any herbal tea that has cinnamon in it, I wouldn’t say no to it either. Or hot apple cider (the non-alcoholic variety) wouldn’t go amiss. I love cinnamon!

If you had free choice over the font your book is printed in, what font/fonts would you choose?

I like Palatino Linotype for the main text in a novel. Font size 10 is about right.

Imagine that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be?

There isn’t one particular document I would choose but I wouldn’t mind rooting through the files of documents that are still classified pertaining to Northern Ireland during the Second World War. I’m sure they would provide lots of interesting material for future stories.

Historical fiction authors have to contend with real characters invading our stories. Are there any ‘real’ characters you have been tempted to prematurely kill off or ignore because you just don’t like them or they spoil the plot?

I haven’t really had to deal with many irritating historic characters because I’m particularly interested in ‘the little man’, the average person, rather than those higher up the social, political or military hierarchies so most of my characters are fictional. I sometimes bring one of them into contact with historic characters but, since they would not move in the same circles, the meetings are brief encounters for a particular purpose in the story. Even though I set my tales in real places, such as airbases, army camps and country estates that existed in County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, most of the characters that inhabit them are fictional. A couple important historic figures appear in a novel that I’m currently working on: U. S. Army General Patton and the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Basil Brooke. They both make brief appearances in the novel and I enjoyed writing those scenes. But there aren’t any historic characters with walk on parts in The Yankee Years Books 1-3.

Are you prepared to go away from the known facts for the sake of the story and if so how do you get around this ?

I am very reluctant to do this and only do so when absolutely necessary. And then, I would only alter very minor details. I wouldn’t alter the outcome of a battle, for instance, but might make minor alterations to the physical setting to fit action in a story. In one story (Allies After All) in another collection, Pearl Harbor and More, I have made a cave accessible to suit the plot when, in fact, the opening is too small for an adult to enter. But, if there’s a dearth of information regarding a fact or incident, leaving the details open to interpretation, I will then let my imagination have free rein.

Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?

As I’ve mentioned above, although I write historical fiction, I feel that historical accuracy is very important and I always try to put it first. I won’t alter key historical facts to suit my story. I have occasionally altered minor details of a setting to facilitate the plot of a story but not the historical facts. When I was plotting the stories for the collection, I referred to the timeline of World War II to keep the sequence of events during the war firmly in my mind. I also researched what was happening at the time in the locality where I set my stories. Then I chose relevant details from the local and broader picture to incorporate into the stories. In this way, I assure that the stories are true to what was happening when they are set and readers can be confident that they are stepping into a past that I’ve recreated as accurately as possible. I want them to believe that the story could have happened.

 

Have you ever totally hated or fallen in love with one of your characters?

I don’t usually hate any of my characters but I do make sure that the ‘bad guys’ eventually get what they deserve. I do get attached to some characters though. I develop favourites and rarely want to let go of them. Readers will notice that the first two stories in The Yankee Years Books 1-3 collection are about the same two main characters. After Ruth and Frank confronted the threat posed by a spy in their midst in the first story, The Shadow Ally, I had to see what happened to them next so I wrote the second story, Acts of Sabotage.  I’ve really got to like Ruth as she has developed and I think she has potential to be a bit of an amateur sleuth so I have further adventures planned for her and Frank in at least one more story that I will start work on soon.

 

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

I read a wide variety of fiction, contemporary and historical as well as some mystery and crime fiction. I look for stories that feature vivid, memorable characters and settings that nearly jump off the page combined with gripping plots. Since I write stories set during the Second World War, I also enjoy reading other novels set in the era. They are research and relaxation at the same time.

What drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book?

I think a caramel latte or cup of hot chocolate (with lots of chocolate!) might go well. But, then, those are two of my favourites. Or maybe readers should indulge in gin cocktails to get a flavour of the era.

Last but not least... favourite historical author?

That’s an easy one. Manda (M.C.) Scott is one of my favourite authors and has been for years. There is just something wonderful about her books. I love her writing. Her ability to breathe life into characters and unveil a complex story that keeps me on the edge of my seat, as well as her skilful use of language, is absolutely wonderful. I love stories, like hers, that come alive in my mind.  ((Note from Diana: I can relate to that. I not only heard her talk at the HNS conference in Oxford, I was fortunate enough to meet her. I LOVE her books. My only problem is that as they are so engrossing, I read them far too fast! ))

 

Dianne Ascroft biography:

Dianne Ascroft writes historical and contemporary fiction, often with an Irish connection. Her series The Yankee Years is a collection of Short Reads and novels set in World War II Northern Ireland. After the Allied troops arrived in this outlying part of Great Britain, life there would never be the same again. The series strives to bring those heady, fleeting years to life again, in thrilling and romantic tales of the era.

Her other writing includes a ghost tale inspired by the famous Northern Irish legend of the Coonian ghost, An Unbidden Visitor; a short story collection, Dancing Shadows, Tramping Hooves, and an historical novel, Hitler and Mars Bars.

Dianne lives on a small farm, in Northern Ireland, with her husband and an assortment of strong-willed animals. When she’s not writing, she enjoys walks in the countryside, evenings in front of her open fireplace and folk and traditional music. 

Media links:
Website and blog: www.dianneascroft.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DianneAscroftwriter

Twitter: www.twitter.com/DianneAscroft 

Newsletter signup: http://eepurl.com/bn_Bjz

Amazon book links:

US: paperback - https://www.amazon.com/Yankee-Years-Books-1-3/dp/1907530487

Ebook - https://www.amazon.com/Yankee-Years-Boxset-Books-1-3-ebook/dp/B01KG84NZ8

UK: paperback - https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Yankee-Years-1-3-Dianne-Ascroft/1907530487

Ebook - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yankee-Years-Boxset-Books-1-3-ebook/dp/B01KG84NZ8



 © Diana Milne July 2016 © Dianne Ascroft March 2017

 

 

 

 

 

Diana talks to - Manda Scott

 

It was a true privilege to have heard Manda Scott  talk at HNS16, when she spoke on a panel with Rory Clements and Antonia Hodgson about Writing the Historical Thriller: Methods and Approaches. It was an even greater privilege that she agreed to answering a few (?) questions for me.

Thank you Manda.

1: If your latest book INTO THE FIRE was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

I do have this in development for television but have not got near the casting.  The lead would have to play in both the contemporary thread as Captain Inès Picaut and in the historical thread as The Maid.  I’ve always thought that Archie Panjabi would be excellent in both roles, but I barely watch television, so I’m probably not the best person to decide that. That is amazinglygood news for the many, many fans of this TV genre!

2: If, as a one off, (and you could guarantee publication!)  you could write anything you wanted, is there another genre you would love to work with and do you already have a budding plot line in mind?

I do but I’m pitching it to my publisher just now and can’t talk about it. I’ve always written in an effort to move the great ship of society/culture.  Writing history was a chance to do this - the Boudica: Dreaming series were based on the premise that ‘this is who we were, this is who we could be’ (‘We’ being the peoples of the British Isles) but I am beginning to realise that the world is not about to drop 2 millennia of Roman thinking and return to something more sustainable. So I may look forwards instead. Exciting!

3: Do you have any rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’ piece of music...??

I have a very set routine. I wake and do a morning ceremony which is a bit like Tai Chi and then walk/run with the dog in the local hills/woodlands where I can practice a mindful/contemplative kind of walking on the way out and think about the book on the return journey.  I have my desk set up with ergonomic keyboard/mouse (Microsoft split keyboard and Evoluent left handed mouse, for those that are interested. I’m not left handed, but I do mouse with my left). I take endless breaks. I try not to read too much else that is fiction while I’m writing but read a lot in the evenings.  I write from mid-day to about 8 pm unless there’s a reason to stop sooner.  

4: Marmite: love it or hate it?

Love it, but can’t eat it - it brings me out in a bizarre rash. 

5: Other than writing full time, what would be your dream job?

Chancellor of the Exchequer. I’m currently taking a 6 month sabbatical to do an MA in Economics for Transition (to a sustainable way of living) and would love to be able to implement it. If not that, I’d be a journalist on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. 

6: Coffee or tea? Red or white?

None of these. I don’t do any of... tea, coffee, alcohol, chocolate or sugar. 

Total respect!

7: If you had free choice over the font your book is printed in, what font/fonts would you choose?

I genuinely have no idea. Whatever one is most readable. I’d ask my partner, who is a graphic designer. 

8:  Imagine that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be? The full works of Tacitus. 

9: Historical fiction authors have to contend with real characters invading our stories. Are there any ‘real’ characters you have been tempted to prematurely kill off or ignore because you just don’t like them or they spoil the plot?

Not so far.  I would like *not* to have had to see Boudica die at the end of the four books, but history is what it is… 

As a devoted reader of those four books, I would also have liked her *not* to die!

10:   Are you prepared to go away from the known facts for the sake of the story and if so how do you get around this ?

Not knowingly. The point (for me) is to work with the known facts and discover how and (more importantly) why they arose

 

11. Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?

Always.  

I’m not sure any of us knows ‘facts’.  

12:   Have you ever totally hated or fallen in love with one of your characters?

I love a lot of my characters.  The one I identify with most is Bàn, who becomes Valerius, though I was surprised the extent to which I really connected with a half Gaullish spy by the name of Sebastos Pantera. 

13: What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

I love it I read mountains of non fiction. I particularly enjoy books on ciphers and coding.  In fiction terms, I read anything that’s good.  Really, really good.  Hilary Mantel, Andrew Taylor, Antonia Hodgeson, Imogen Robertson.  There’s so much that’s outstanding.  I recently fell in love with a series of spy novels by Adam Brookes, a former BBC correspondent.  NIGHT HERON is outstanding. 

14: What drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book?

Skullcap tea.  It’s my current favourite drink and is amazingly uplifting, but you have to keep to small doses. One mug a day. 

15: Favourite historical author.

Tthat’s hard.  Actually, that’s really, really hard. For a long time, it would have been Mary Renault: her ‘Fire from Heaven’ was my Desert Island Book.  But then Wolf Hall came along. And then Andrew Taylor wrote The Ashes of London which is just a delight.  So… any of those, really. 

 

Biography:

Author, columnist and screenwriter, Manda Scott has written thirteen novels beginning with contemporary thrillers. Her first, Hen's Teeth; was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, No Good Deed was nominated for an Edgar Award in the 'Best Thriller' category.

Having served her writing apprenticeship, she went back in time to write the four novels of the bestselling Boudica:Dreaming series, followed by their direct sequels, the Rome series (as MC Scott), featuring the spy Sebastos Pantera.

Into the Fire was published in 2015: "A Masterclass in writing Historical fiction"

Both Into the Fire and the Boudica series have been optioned for television and are under development.

She is Founder and former Chair of the Historical Writers' Association. She writes reviews and columns for the Independent, the Express, the Telegraph and the (Glasgow) Herald. She writes television scripts, blogs and is working on two non-fiction books.

 

© Diana Milne July 2016 © Manda Scott September 2016