Diana talks to JB Nichols, author of young adult books.

Hello! I am delighted to welcome you to Diana Talks…

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!

* Am I going to make a difference for the better to anyone's life? My rock of a husband has Asperger's syndrome, and I know I'm good for him

If your latest book ‘Loveupmanship’ was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

* I think a young Mayim Bialik; someone not wildly good looking but enormously self possessed, could play Lynne Jones

What made you choose this genre?

* I'm a young adult at heart

How do you get ideas for plots and characters?

* They were all around me at school; the good, the bad, the beautiful and the redeemable. And the villain was based on a close relative

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'd like to do a murder story. And yes, I always have plot lines. My problem is with keeping plot lines at bay

Was becoming a writer a conscious decision or something that you drifted into (or even something so compelling that it could not be denied?) How old were you when you first started to write seriously.

* I always had a story to tell. From the first stories my mother ever enthralled me with, I wanted to get on the story creating band wagon

Marmite? Love it or hate it?

* Love it. Pile it on thick

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

* No rituals, no distractions, no music; nothing that would interfere with the sounds, smells and pictures in my head

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?

* My characters. They consume me. I can temporarily switch them off absolutely if I have to though

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

* If not providing an entertaining escape route and guiding anyone who cares to switch on into a different take on the world, I my limit free,  no holds barred dream job would be - ach! I was going to say a pimple popper! But who am I trying to kid? Writing full time is the only dream, because wherever I am, whatever I'm doing, it's all experience to be stored up until it escapes through my finger tips on the keyboard

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

* Coffee. And red wine

How much of your work is planned before you start? Do you have a full draft or let it find its way?

* I usually have an end in mind shortly after doodling with a beginning, otherwise the doodle doesn't get any further. I let it go its own way until I need to steer, and sometimes let my original ending get derailed for a better one

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

* Any font that doesn't distract; Plantin, Times Roman, possibly Arial. I once put comic sans on my phone when fiddling around, exploring what could be done. It nearly drove me crazy quite quickly because humour in a font is rarely appropriate and I couldn't  recall the moves I'd made to put it on in the first place. Got there in the end though. It's back on Arial

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

* What? Only one? I would probably waste it on something to do with religion, and I'd expect to be disappointed

Have any of your characters ever shocked you and gone off on their own adventure leaving you scratching your head??? If so how did you cope with that!?

* Yes, often. I have to remind myself that they’re my invention, or at least an imagined creation based on observation, so I have to take some responsibility. Sometimes I've had to abandon them to their own devices as they might not go away until I've let them have their head

How much research do you do and do you ever go on research trips?

* I never have gone on a research trip because I mostly stick with what I have experienced naturally. Having said that, I've done voluntary work with the disadvantaged and with victims of crime, and this involves delving into dark minds and dark circumstances which are way beyond my personal experience and stretch my capacity for shock and sadness. It's involved speaking to police officers, lawyers, psychologists and fellow volunteers with their caseloads.

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?

* No, so far I've managed to dislike with understanding. Actually it's not even real dislike.  Actually I can't really remember disliking anyone real imaginary. I've hated people, but that's quite different

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, it irritates me when the laws of physics are broken, or historic certainty is overturned - unless a key part of the fiction is explaining why. I would lose trust for an author who did it through ignorance and expected me to go along with it

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

* Of course

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

* I'm currently in love with Steve Raven, a kind, considerate psychopath I'm writing about now. And I was a little in love with Lynne Jones in Loveupmanship too. An ugly girl with inexplicable, magic charima a and sex-appeal - I loved her so much it made me cry

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

* Garrison Keillor's short stories

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

* Coke zero

Last but not least... favourite author?

* Anne Tyler

About Loveupmanship:

Funny and feelgood. A south Wales community is stirred up when Lynne Jones brings Miles, her aristocratic boyfriend home for the summer. The gossips have a field day. Not everyone is pleased - from the murderous Mrs Price to lost, lonely little Mandy. Yet it is a summer of hope, redemption, love and laughter - and everyone gets a magic wish.

© Diana Milne January 2017 ©

The Sixpenny Tiger by Jeanette Taylor Ford - a review by Diana Milne.

 The author is generously giving away a traditionally printed copy of the book and if the winner lives in the UK, it will be signed by the author! To be in with a chance of winning, simply comment on the blog (below) or comment on the Review or Review Blog Facebook page. It is worth winning!

If you are not fortunate enough to win it, you can buy it here  The Sixpenny Tiger

About the book:

When Sally Golding achieves her dream job, to work caring for children in a 'home', she becomes deeply involved with the children. One in particular, Davey, touches her heart. The older brother to John, he is often blamed for John's misdeeds by his housemother, Marjorie, who seems to have taken a great dislike to him. Davey's problems become much worse when Marjorie marries his father, Tony Adams and the boys go home to live with them. Marjorie subjects Davey to violent abuse; Davey dreams of finding Sally and her becoming his mother.

But Sally has problems of her own. Now in an abusive marriage, she needs all her strength to cope. And Joe, who is in love with Sally, is struggling to keep his life together having lost her to Evan, her husband.

However, fate has things in store for all of them. Will Davey manage to escape from his personal hell? Will Joe finally achieve his dream to be with Sally? And what of Marjorie - what is it that happened in her life to make her the way she is with Davey?

This story shows the great power of love - and that of forgiveness.



It is always a puzzle to me why Jeanette Taylor Ford's writing is not better known and more widely read. With her brilliantly thought out storylines and believable characters she should be topping the Indie charts every week. This book, The Sixpenny Tiger, is no exception and gripped me from page one, conjuring in me every emotion known to the human psyche. Any book that can raise genuine feeling for a character has to be considered by me to be story telling at it's best.

The story is prefaced by a beautiful and meaningful poem by the author, another discipline in which she excels.

The book reads easily and freely and makes the reader keep the pages turning. Although the style at times seems almost lightweight, this seeming naiveté is deliberately used - the book is in the third person so consequently the simplistic style and language mask, as intended, the horror and fear the boy endured and keeping it as 'his' story. Using her unique style, Taylor Ford vividly describes the pain of a child, Davey, who feels he is to blame for the actions and failings of his or her adults and the words "he felt as if he was dead and nothing mattered" so accurately sum up the utter desolation of a child after abandonment. Unfairly accused of things his younger brother has done and even more unfairly charged by his father of looking after the younger child, a burden with which an older child is often lumbered by a well meaning but misguided adult, Davey suffers silently and copes as best he can.

The description of the back ground life and times of the era, late 1960s and early 1970s, are very well researched, realistically portrayed and accurate forming a reliable backdrop on which we can see the story unfold. Wait till you get to the description of a loaf of bread! The 'golden brown and crispy' top of the cottage loaf will have your mouth watering! I could almost smell it!

Adult emotions and lives are equally as well described and the characters very well portrayed. Without giving too many spoilers, by the end of the book, the reader understands why Marjorie acted the way she did and throughout this charming book, a feeling of hope persists, even in the darkest moments.

I think this quote, near to the end of the book, sums it all up perfectly:

“Well love, you will be with me until you grow up and leave to live a life of your own. But the tiger will remain with me for ever because it will always remind me of you and how I love you and you love me, even when I am very old! That tiger represents how love can help us overcome our problems; we just have to believe.”

What other people said:

By Sue Harris on 21 Sept. 2015. Format: Kindle Edition         

"The Sixpenny Tiger is a real page turner, but be warned, you will need a box of Kleenex at hand.
At the core of the story is the sensitive issue of child abuse, where the main character, young Davey finds himself an innocent victim of a sustained and unjustified campaign of physical abuse.
Jeanette takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride of emotions, with unexpected twist and turns. Davey remains positive, believing in the love and compassion of the one person in his life who he knows can, and will, help him. A deeply moving read with a highly charged and complex story-line, delivered with skill and empathy.''

About the author:

"Jeanette Taylor-Ford is a retired Teaching Assistant. She grew up in Cromer, Norfolk and moved to Hereford with her parents when she was seventeen. An undiagnosed Coeliac, Jeanette was a delicate child and missed great deal of schooling, but she had a natural ability to write good stories, even at the tender age of nine or ten. When young her ambition was to be a journalist but life took her in another direction and her life’s work has been with children – firstly as a nursery assistant in a children’s home, and later in education. In between she raised her own six children and she now has seven grandchildren. Jeanette took up writing again in 2010; she reasoned that she would need something to do with retirement looming, although as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, she is kept busy. She lives with her husband Tony, a retired teacher and headmaster, in Nottinghamshire, England.

In Jeanette's words: I am a born story teller. From my school days I have loved making up stories. One teacher I had said he always left my work until last to mark because he knew he would get a good read from me after he'd ploughed through all the bad work! I loved doing bedtime stories with my children and, in my last position as a Teaching Assistant, from which I am now retired, my favourite thing was reading to the children when I got the chance, also helping them to make up stories of their own. Those who have read my stories have enjoyed them, so I finally decided to inflict them upon the world in general. Some of them are ghostly tales, combined with loveable characters and interesting situations which make them ghost stories with a difference. However, I also write children's stories and other genres, which are not yet published

Click on this link for Jeanette Taylor Ford's other books please.

You may read my 'Diana Talks' interview with Jeanette Taylor Ford by clicking here: Diana talks to Jeanette Taylor Ford

© Diana Milne, March 2017

Diana reviews: The Green Ribbons by Clare Flynn

The Green Ribbons: Clare Flynn

Please comment on the blog to be in with a chance to win an e-copy of this wonderful book.

How far will she go to save her marriage? How far will he go to keep his promise?

1900. Eighteen-year-old Hephzibah Wildman's world is turned upside down when she loses her parents in a tragic accident. Homeless and destitute, she must leave the security of the Oxford college where her stepfather was Dean, to earn her living as a governess at Ingleton Hall.

Befriending Merritt Nightingale, the local parson and drawn to the handsome Thomas Egdon, she starts to build a new life for herself. When she attracts the unwanted advances of her employer, the country squire, Sir Richard Egdon, she makes the first of two desperate decisions that will change not only her own life but the lives of those around her

 

This book is marketed in the categories of Romance and Women’s fiction, not genres that I would normally chose, so it was with a degree of resignation that I agreed to read this for the Review, but I was in for a pleasant surprise. The story is gritty and realistic and captured me within the first ten minutes and kept its hold throughout

The story is told from two main points of view, that of Hephzibah Wildman, an orphan who accepts a position as a governess in desperation, and that of Merritt Nightingale, the clergyman of the parish in which she finds herself, a former student of her late Professor step father.

The characters are finely drawn and believable and in the case of the squire, rather larger than life and full of his own importance (as often seems to be the case with such figures).

The author shows a remarkable sense of understanding of the psyche of these people and what makes them ‘tick’ and must be a great student of human nature.  Her verbal depiction of a person in the first stages of love are so very realistic that  it makes the reader yearn for those bittersweet days.

The level of research that Flynn has done to accurately portray the revolt of 1830 and life in a poorhouse is reflected in her words and her love of nature and keen observational skills are shown by a description of a kingfisher so beautiful that I could see it in front of my eyes.

Being a lover of literature, I particularly appreciated the beautiful and very apt quotes that are at the beginning of each chapter. They both added to the tone of the chapter and hinted at what was to come and what was past.

Dialogue is rich and believable and at times, humorous. I won’t give any spoilers, but the conversation about sexual relations between the Reverend Nightingale and a Mr Carver had me smiling really broadly.

Here is an excerpt, not the Mr Carver conversation, but one between the two main characters:

"I was rash and impetuous in marrying Thomas.’ She gulped and buried her head in his shoulder. ‘I should have waited. I would have realised in the end that I love you, wouldn’t I? You would have made me realise it. I am such a stupid fool, blind and shallow. How can you possibly love me, Merritt, when I have been so foolish?’

‘Blame me, not yourself, Hephzibah.’ He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. ‘I was too slow to declare my feelings.’ He shook his head. ‘No, worse than that. I didn’t declare them at all. We might have gone through life without ever knowing what we could mean to each other if you hadn’t asked me to do this.’

She sat up. ‘Oh God! Do you believe I asked you to do this as an excuse to seduce you? What must you think of me?’

‘Of course I don’t think that. I know you were surprised at what we feel for each other,’ he said.

‘It’s not just about doing this, though. About making love,’ she said. ‘This is the way it is only because there was already a strong feeling between us. I just hadn’t realised it. I have always loved being with you, Merritt. Our walks in the woods and by the canal. Our conversations. The work we did together on the lending library. Whenever you tell me anything I’m fascinated. I could listen to you talking for ever."

The final chapters were a surprise. Whether this was a good surprise for Hephzibah or a bad surprise , well, I will leave that for you to judge when you read the book!

About the Author:

Clare Flynn writes historical fiction with a strong sense of time and place and compelling characters. Her books often deal with characters who are displaced - forced out of their comfortable lives and familiar surroundings. She is a graduate of Manchester University where she read English Language and Literature. After a career in international marketing, working on brands from nappies to tinned tuna and living in Paris, Milan, Brussels and Sydney, she ran her own consulting business for 15 years and now lives in Eastbourne where she writes full-time – and can look out of her window and see the sea. When not writing and reading, Clare loves to paint with watercolours and grabs any available opportunity to travel - sometimes under the guise of research.

What other people say:

“If you like historical fiction with well-developed characters and a vivid sense of time and place, you'll love The Green Ribbons.’’

By Mrs PAB on 9 May 2016

Format: Kindle Edition

“I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review. What a pleasure to read, perfect for those long leisurely days on a sunbed, or any other opportunity to relax. Whenever I needed to put the book down it was easy to pick it up and continue reading without having to go back several pages to remind myself of the story and its players. Descriptions were mini stories themselves, pulling the reader into each scene and bringing each character to life. A story of a young girl's change in circumstances after the tragic loss of her parents, how she finds employment, avoids advances from her employer and finds love. Sounds predicable, not with the Clare Flynn writing this story. An unusual request with a surprising result together with and an unexpected twist in the final pages, a perfect easy-read. My only regret is the name of the main character - Helphzibar (sic) - despite her name appearing on practically every other page I still cannot pronounce it! I thoroughly recommend this book if you are looking for an enjoyable read.”

The book is available in both paperback and Kindle Edition from: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Ribbons-Clare-Flynn-ebook/dp/B01EVIFWP4

and

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Ribbons-Clare-Flynn/dp/0993332420

Reviewed by Diana Milne, letterpress seller extraordinaire and author of a series of shopping lists.

© Diana Milne August 2016.

 

 

 

 

And Then It Rained - C. W. Lovatt

Comment on the blog or on our Facebook page to be in with a chance to win a copy of this truly memorable and beautiful book.

The draw for the prize will take place on 6th September.

Reading is one of the great joys of my life. Deprived of a book I will read the sauce label and the microwave instructions, the small print on an insurance document - anything so that I can feast my eyes on the printed word. Reading so much, one could be forgiven in thinking that I have a whole arsenal of unforgettable books in my head, books that will stay with me forever, but no. I had four, and now I have five. ‘And Then It Rained’ will never leave me, tugging at heartstrings, making me smile, making me want to cry, to laugh, to live.

The book is from C.W. Lovatt, the best-selling author of the Charlie Smithers series and the much acclaimed Josiah Stubb. It is an eclectic collection of award-winning short stories, a genre in which Lovatt excels. (Saying that, I have not yet found a genre in which this incredible author does not excel.)

I first came across C.W. Lovatt’s work by accident, finding a compelling ‘flash fiction’ short called ‘Baggage’ in an unrelated Google search – unrelated unless, of course, ‘Baggage Allowance Finnair’ is considered related! The story is entirely in dialogue, no ‘he said’, ‘she said’ and it works so well. I read it and re read it and eventually printed it out, framed it and hung it (levelly) on the studio wall.  It is still one of my favourite pieces of writing and I was delighted to find it included in ‘And Then It Rained’.



'Baggage' on my studio wall.

The most incredible thing about this collection of stories is the ‘voice’.  Each story has such a different subject matter, such different characters and is written in an entirely different voice,  not in the way of some lesser author, struggling to find their personal  ‘voice’ and testing out various approaches, but with the confidence of a writer of extreme merit who knows his place in this world. I use the word confidence, but never does Lovatt’s writing become arrogant and somewhere, deep underneath the compelling penmanship, coming out through some of his characters, we spy an engaging humility and deep sense of humanity.

The nearest simile I can use to describe the power behind the ‘voices’ is to liken it to method acting -
“a technique of acting in which an actor aspires to complete emotional identification with a part”. The emotions and personae are so accurately portrayed it would seem that the author has

taken on the emotion of that particular character for the duration of the story.

The timing is perfect, whether used for comedic effect or for a dramatic twist, the laughter or the gasp of horror from the reader is guaranteed. Dialogue flows easily and naturally, as can be seen in this excerpt from the first story in the book, Sean’s Lament, a delightfully funny story about the gullible Sean who can never quite believe that the love of his life could be cheating on him:

"Then she snuggled up to me, her breast – done with flirting – had decided to get down to business and flattened itself against my chest. I almost heard the ‘prong’ as a tent pole sprang up halfway down the covers. Her voice was warm and moist in my ear when she asked, “But you want to know the best part?”

“What?” I shivered, fumbling for the light switch.

Her hand drifted beneath the covers until it found me and took hold.  “Boy-oh-boy,” she giggled, low and husky, “you is hung! "

I found myself enchanted by the miniature perfection of each and every story, marveling in them in the same way that I stare in rapt enchantment at the miniature portraits of Hans Holbein the younger.

Margaret Roper by Hans Holbein the Younger

I cannot read the stories fast. Each word needs treasuring. Every word has so much weight, import and value that every word needs savouring and valuing. Throughout the whole of the book, throughout everything that I have read of this major wordsmith, each word is there because it has to be there, in perfect partnership with the words before it and the words after it, balanced, weighed, carefully positioned and counter balanced.

Here is an example of that total perfection, balance and symmetry: "There she lingered to my heart’s content, every moment even more rapturous than the unparalleled one from before, until at last – while the world around me shattered into erupting volcanoes, and torrents of tsunamis washing away entire civilizations – she had supped her fill."

Lovatt has a remarkable way of making the reader be able to picture perfectly the physical appearance of the main character, but without lengthy descriptive passages.

How? This is a total mystery to me. I have read and reread several of the stories searching with a fine tooth comb for the answer, but to no avail.

I have to conclude that it is either magic or another mark of the total genius of the man.

One example of the author  summing up the whole of a space with a few choice words is found in the story that lends its title to the book, ‘And Then It Rained’, a heart wrenching short that had me damp eyed: "He entered into a clean but aging kitchen.  An ancient refrigerator sagged against one wall, emitting a long-suffering groan. A well-used stove crouched patiently next to it, surrounded by plain wooden cabinets, with a counter of chipped and stained Formica. A stainless steel sink completed the triangle: it was a habit that his eye could never quite relinquish after forty years in the trades – and he noted that the sink was too far left, slightly off-centre to the window overlooking the driveway. Mrs. Woodson ushered him into the living room...”

The final story, ‘A Word’, is the most beautiful thing I have ever read and it was with a real sense of sadness that I closed the book at the end. It will take a while before I can find something to enjoy as thoroughly as I have enjoyed this.

The description on Amazon says: ‘’Rain, that natural wonder, so natural, in fact that often it comes and goes scarcely noticed. However, metaphorical or otherwise, there are times when rain brings with it great change, causing the breath-taking beauty of rainbows or the cataclysmic destruction of floods, with equal indifference. This collection - an eclectic mix of humour, drama, and fantasy - is about those uncertain times. Dark clouds are forming, so you had better be prepared for the coming storm.’’

What other people thought:

Incredibly good writing

by Bookworm
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase “Lately I’ve been reading a number of short story collections and anthologies. I find it a great way to discover new authors and new genres.
In ‘And then it Rained’ I’ve discovered an author who has the enviable knack of evoking laughter and tears within the same pages.
Witty and with perfect comedic timing, the first story ‘Sean’s lament’ follows the antics of a young man who, in the name of love, endures all manner of alarming escapades. Visual and very funny, the tight writing keeps you on your toes until the final punch-line.
In complete contrast, my favourite of the collection ‘Tin Whistle’ is a Gothic ghost story with lyrical prose. Quite beautiful in its simplicity, the tale of much loved and much missed Emily is incredibly poignant and emotional.
There are many more, equally diverse in style. What they all share is incredibly good writing.

”The Winnipeg Review  - “C.W. Lovatt possesses incredible talent, and it is my unreserved opinion that Josiah Stubb: The Siege of Louisbourg deserves a prominent place on any history buff’s bookshelf.”  

C. W. Lovatt lives in Canada where it's quite cold. If you wish to find out a little more about him and his life, read the hilarious non-fiction story in ‘And Then It Rained’ entitled ‘The Thing About Pantyhose’. This venture into autobiographical non-fiction is a departure from the norm for Mr Lovatt, but it provides a wonderful snapshot of the twelve year old boy.

© August 2016 ~ Reviewed by Diana Milne, letterpress seller extraordinaire and author of a totally unnoticed ‘wish list’ on Amazon.