Charlie Smithers: Adventures Downunder (The Charlie Smithers Collection Book 3) - a review by Diana Milne

Flashman never experienced anything like this, not even remotely!

Whether it’s because of his gift of the ‘sight,’ inherited from his dour old Hebridean mum, or simply a sorely battered noggin (a result of his master’s appalling aim)the Australias hold one of Charlie Smithers’ most intriguing adventures to date.
Pirates, great white sharks, mermaids, scorching deserts, cannibals and a small army of sadistic bushrangers are only part of the story. A mysterious gunslinging sheila with emerald green eyes, and a shocking vocabulary, is another adventure all on its own.

And throughout the tale there is the innocuous message from a ghost from Charlie’s past: “You must learn to forgive…”

Charlie Smithers, or should I say C W Lovatt? has done it again, bringing us the best adventure yet in the series about this remarkable and lovable character. Following a raid by pirates and a serious wound from the ever helpful, but sadly unskilled marksman, Lord Brampton, Smithers finds himself washed up and stranded in a place that he later knows to be Australia. The story follows his rescue and travels with a foul mouthed and enigmatic woman, who he comes to respect and love, and is held together by a tune that haunts him throughout the narrative.

Written in a friendly first person, the book grabs hold of its readers and lures them from page to page, tugging at the edges of the consciousness whilst one is not reading, urging one to go back. Lovatt’s skilled narrative and exceptional story telling ensure that no reader gets away without this book becoming a part of themselves. It is, to me, a mark of true genius, when a character becomes so important that the reader becomes slightly infatuated with them, and this is true of Charlie. I cared, and cared deeply, what happened to him.

The amount of research that the author has accomplished to ensure every facet of this story is accurate is phenomenal, ranging from the flora and fauna of the Antipodes, through Waler horses, to folk history, Aboriginal people and traditions and that most elusive of Australian native phenomenon, ‘Dream Time’.

Smithers is his usual very British, stiff upper lip self, where fair play rules, right is right and wrong is everything else. His sense of indignity when confronted by someone who did not play by the unwritten British rule book, is so funny, and yet not too out of the ordinary for a certain type of Englishman – (think Jacob Rees-Mogg or Boris Johnson!) :

“Well, something had to be done, and no error. This was really too bad, but there was nothing else for it. My defiant glare transformed into an indignant frown. 

Gasping, I managed to wheeze, “Hold on,” spluttering out a mouthful of the ocean, “this ain’t cricket!” 

When this failed to stop him, or indeed, slow him down one iota, my indignation became quite severe, let me tell you, and I declared, “You, sir, are not a gentleman!” 

No doubt your surprise is as great as mine, upon finding that this also produced no effect, and I could see that things were looking pretty grim. 

“But dammit, you’re British!” I cried. 

Then, with a final gasp, I took what little air that I could swallow into my poor starving lungs, and sank beneath the waves. I could hear his enraged fists pummelling the spot ...” 

In this adventure, Smithers, whether as a result of a greater maturity or as a result of a severe bang on the head, begins to experience the gift of ‘sight’, inherited from his mother, which has been touched on in previous works, but never thoroughly examined. In this place, where real time and dream time go hand in hand, he finds a perfect avenue to get to know this other side of his psyche and a lot of the book is about the metaphysical, within the context of Charlie’s own exploration and experience of the theme. This is a brave undertaking for any author and CW Lovatt accomplishes this with exceptional understanding and tact and manages to explain paranormal events in a way that the lay person can understand and which would also be recognisable to a practitioner.

Dream Time is an anomaly in the space time continuum that is experienced by Aboriginal people and it is a subject that I have tried to understand in greater depth since the 1970s. Although this quote comes from the previous book in the series, it more than sums up Charlie’s tentative grasping at the subject: "There was more to our existence than met the eye. Whether it was through some sort of deity, or something else, there was a force at work beyond our capabilities of reckoning, and it defied reason."

This book stretches Charlie as a character and stretches the CW Lovatt as an author, to new levels of greatness and storytelling, weaving a magic spell around Smithers and Mattie as they dance to their music of time, that maybe, just maybe, only they can hear. Charlie probably will never get better from the loss of his wife Loiyan, but he has become better at it and is now able to confidently move on and face his life in all its dimensions. 

With his exceptional use of words, Lovatt paints pictures of the mysterious and beautiful land that is Australia, getting under the skin of the country to its very soul and carrying the reader along in his wake. Whilst on the subject of the author's exceptional use of words, the book contains my favourite quote of all time:
"I bowed my head, wondering yet again, how something so pitifully shallow as my body, could endure something so deep as my grief, and yet live?" Every time I read this I not only relate to it, but get tears in my eyes. 

And in an after word, the author posits a possible explanation for the lilting music that Charlie hears throughout the adventure tying the story together very cleverly, combining fact, folklore and fiction, a skill at which Lovatt excels.

And did Charlie learn to forgive? Read the book and find out! You won’t be disappointed.

About the author:

Image of the author in Australia researching 'Downunder'.
(The image is shared with permission from absolutely no one, having been blatantly stolen by Diana from the author's Face Book page.)

CW Lovatt is the award winning author of the best selling Charlie Smithers Collection, the short story anthology, “And Then It Rained,” and the critically acclaimed “Josiah Stubb: The Siege of Louisbourg.” His latest release,“Interim,” is the second book of the Josiah Stubb trilogy.  
You may read his blog here at Story River
and do read even more about him in this wonderful interview 
Diana talks to CW Lovatt.

© Diana Milne September 2017

Diana Talks to Ann Victoria Roberts

Ann Victoria Roberts is a dedicated and much loved author who hit the headlines as 'The Housewife who wrote a Bestseller'. She is the  author of five historical novels, set mainly in the late 19th/early 20th C, featuring strong, passionate characters and vivid settings.

I caught up with her long enough to hear her views on a lot of subjects. It was a true delight to talk to her

Q: Marmite? Love it or hate it?

A: I can eat it, but...

Q: Coffee or tea? Red or white?

A: Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon. Mostly red wine after 6pm – but chilled white when the temperature soars!

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

A: For ‘Moon Rising’, it could only be red wine!

Q: 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!

Q: As a writer who has been traditionally published and is now working independently, how do I see the advantages?

A: There may be no guarantees with a traditional publisher, but they have whole teams of people to do the background work, which is invaluable, especially for the first-time author. A downside is that traditional publishers now expect their authors to do a lot of the publicity themselves, especially re social media, blogging, talks, etc.

Indie writers don’t have to work to a deadline, nor are they pressured to keep coming up with ‘similar’ books – they can write the stories they want to tell. On the other hand, the indie writer has to handle everything, from finding a good editor and cover designer, to making publishing decisions. And that big bugbear – marketing! The background work is time-consuming and can be costly. So indie authors who make it into Amazon’s top-selling categories have my heartfelt admiration.

Q: 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?

A: In the end it was a conscious decision, prompted by an incident that occurred in my teens. I was rooting through a stack of old books in Granny’s attic, when I came across the portrait photo of a handsome young soldier. The Australian uniform told me who he was – my grandfather’s brother, killed in Flanders in 1917. Moments later, from the same large envelope, his minutely-written WW1 diary fell into my hands.

Finding out why he’d gone to Australia, and how the places in his diary connected with the bigger picture of WW1, became something of an obsession – at a time when I was supposed to be studying for exams! I even started writing a story about him – never finished, but the idea refused to go away.

Marriage to a sea-captain meant that I was often at home alone for several months. While I was expecting our first child, I wrote a contemporary novel, which earned nothing but rejection slips. It was disheartening, but a few years later, at just the right moment, the WW1 soldier’s diary and photograph came into my possession.

I knew the chances of publication were slim, but by that time I felt driven to write the story anyway. Needing background, I started researching the soldier’s history in earnest, discovering quite a few skeletons in the family cupboard along the way. The journey was signposted by some very strange coincidences – taking me away from the soldier, and towards his parents’ generation. It was too much for a sketched-in background – it had to be upfront, a story in itself. So that original idea became two books.

Five years later, to my astonishment, everyone loved the first one. ‘Louisa Elliott’, set largely in 1890s York, became an international bestseller. At 700 pages, it’s a big book by today’s standards, with a triangular love story and closely-guarded family secrets at the heart of it. Very much a Victorian novel, but with surprisingly modern themes.

The follow-up, ‘Liam’s Story’, was based in part on the WW1 diary, but I found the only way to tell his tale was as a dual-time novel, with lovers in the present day tracking down the truth behind a tragic love affair in the past. There’s also a paranormal element to the story, which echoes the strange experiences I had while researching the two Elliott novels.

Q: What made you choose this genre?

A: History has fascinated me from childhood, probably because regular visits ‘home’ to see Granny in York, were full of excitement. There, history was all around me – and nowhere closer than in Granny’s attic, with its old books and bound collections of Victorian women’s magazines, full of serial stories and beautiful illustrations. Reading them kept me occupied while the adults were busy talking. It probably explains why I’m most comfortable writing about the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. While researching, I enjoy discovering what was going on in the world at the time, and how it might impact on my characters and the plot I’m constructing.

Q: 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: A good question. Even though my first two novels were marketed as romance, they don’t fit easily into the genre – they are darker and more realistic. I’ve always written what inspired me at the time, and with a creepy ghost story, a gothic romance, and a seafarer’s tale under my belt, I’d say all are cross-genre with character-driven plots, which doesn’t make them easy to market.

I’ve been editing and re-issuing my back list in recent years, ‘Moon Rising’ being the latest.  But my current WIP is the story of a 60-year-old widow, who is contacted by an old flame, asking difficult questions about the past. Not yet ready to say more than that!

Q: If ‘Moon Rising’ was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

A: Back in 2000, when it was first published, there was talk of a film with Liam Neeson – which sadly, came to nothing. Then, he would have been ideal. Maybe someone could suggest a younger actor, just in case we should need one now?

Q: How do you get ideas for plots and characters?

A: It’s always a flash moment, sparked by something I’ve seen or read – like the WW1 diary. Entries in the 1912 Southampton Dockmaster’s Log Book, inspired ‘The Master’s Tale’, my novel about Captain Smith and the Titanic.

‘Moon Rising’ began with an 1886 photo of a Russian sailing ship wrecked below Whitby Abbey, and the related newspaper report of a terrific storm. That set me on the trail of Bram Stoker and his novel, ‘Dracula’ – and Whitby’s legends, which seem to have inspired so much of the content. And so began a tale of passion & possession…

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

A: Must clear the decks if I’ve been away from writing for a while, so I can have an uninterrupted week or two with my characters. I write in silence, but play music at other times. Some classical, but I love old pop songs – certain lyrics are very evocative.  For instance, ‘The Power of Love’ by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Annie Lennox’s ‘Love Song for A Vampire,’ were great for ‘Moon Rising’!

Q: 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?

A: Family has always come first. I was virtually a ‘single mum’ while my children were growing up. Their Dad was away at sea, but then he’d come home for two or three months, so he wanted my attention too! Now I’m a granny, I try to put my characters first, but it doesn’t always work.

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

A: When I get the first inspiration, I know how and where the story starts, and usually I know how it ends – what remains is plotting the route to get there. After the first draft – lots of editing!

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

A: Bram Stoker’s letters – but after his death his wife burned them…

Q: 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!?

A: No, but I’ve often had to hold them back – they were too eager to take short cuts!

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

A: To me, facts are vital – like a skeleton supporting the flesh of fiction. So masses of research – and lots of research trips. Nowadays it’s easy to find the basics on line, but I never take anything as gospel unless I’ve checked it elsewhere. And nothing beats original documents – or indeed, a visit to the places where characters lived and worked. I was fortunate to be living in Whitby for three months while researching ‘Moon Rising’.

For ‘The Master’s Tale – a novel of the Titanic’, I had my husband on hand for the technical detail, and in younger days spent many months at sea with him. So I’ve had first-hand experience of how it feels to live within a small community of men, virtually cut off from the real world. As a writer I found that very useful when writing about my male characters!

Q: 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?

A: No – my ‘real’ characters have often been the mainstay of the story. Hence the need to get them right. But I have been known to kill off fictional characters to improve the plot!

Q: 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?

A: If a novelist is writing about real people, often there just isn’t enough beyond basic facts to make a rounded character. Depending on how much is known, it’s a balance between probability and possibility. My aim is to do them justice. Not to present them as flawless, but as human beings like you and me – doing their best but not always succeeding.

I took liberties with the family history to make both ‘Louisa Elliott’ and ‘Liam’s Story’ more compelling for the reader, but in portraying the main characters I stuck closely to what I’d been told about them. So it was as though I knew them even before I started writing.

With regard Bram Stoker, I read three biographies to get a balanced view of his life as lawyer and business manager to Sir Henry Irving, the famous actor – and also his work as a writer. Like my portrayal of Captain Smith in ‘The Master’s Tale’, I hope that in reconstructing real events – and interpreting their actions – I’ve cast light on both these men as human beings.

Incidentally, in ‘Moon Rising’ and ‘The Master’s Tale’, both Stoker and Smith are under pressure from their employers – and I think we can all identify with that. Captain Smith tells his own story, but we see Stoker through the eyes of the young woman he meets in Whitby – a woman whose life is also at a crossroads. She’s the one recounting the story of their relationship and its aftermath. So we see Stoker’s actions, but only through dialogue do we get an idea of his motivations.

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

A: Totally. In trying to ascribe character and motive to ‘real’ people, inevitably the writer is using life experience and/or observation of similar people and situations to make the story credible. And to move the plot forward.

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

A: I’ve had my moments of hating the ‘baddies’ – particularly Stoker’s employer, the actor, Sir Henry Irving. But I’ve always loved my main characters, despite their all-too-human faults. I even fell in love for a while with Robert Duncannon, the anti-hero of ‘Louisa Elliott’ (a sexy, attractive cavalry officer) and I loved Liam Elliott absolutely. After almost ten years of living with his presence through two books, I was heartbroken when ‘Liam’s Story’ came to an end.

Can’t say I loved Stoker unreservedly – he was a man in crisis through much of the story. But as for Captain Smith – oh, my goodness, deep, deep sympathy…

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

A: I still paint a bit between books, and I travel a lot, but really, writing is and always was my first love.

Q: What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

A: Mysteries, thrillers, detective stories both modern and historical – probably because I couldn’t possibly write one. Robert Harris is a favourite, also Val McDermid – and at the moment I’m enjoying Ann Swinfen’s historical mysteries.

Q: Last but not least... favourite author?

A: Difficult one – I read all the time and I’ve loved so many. When I was younger, my favourites ran from Thomas Hardy, through Mary Stewart and Daphne du Maurier to John le Carré. More recently, Patrick Gale and Susan Fletcher have caught my attention with the quality of their writing. But new authors are coming along all the time – if I ever retire, I’ll spend all my time reading!

 

Ann Victoria Roberts.

 

Born in York, Ann now lives in Southampton with her Master Mariner husband. The busy port with its historic associations provided inspiration for her fifth novel, THE MASTER'S TALE, in which Captain Smith of the TITANIC tells his story from beyond the grave. © Diana Milne January 2017 © Ann Victoria Roberts – 26^th March 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diana talks to... Jacqueline Reiter

Jacqueline Reiter has a PhD in late 18th century political history from the University of Cambridge. Born into a diplomatic family, she has long looked upon history as a fixed point of reference in a peripatetic life. A professional librarian, she lives in Oxford with her husband and two children.

Her exciting book about John Pitt has just been released by Pen and Sword books The Late Lord and is available from them now or is available to pre order from Amazon.

"John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham is one of the most enigmatic and overlooked figures of early nineteenth century British history. The elder brother of Pitt the Younger, he has long been consigned to history as 'the late Lord Chatham', the lazy commander-in-chief of the 1809 Walcheren expedition, whose inactivity and incompetence turned what should have been an easy victory into a disaster. Chatham's poor reputation obscures a fascinating and complex man. During a twenty-year career at the heart of government, he served in several important cabinet posts such as First Lord of the Admiralty and Master-General of the Ordnance. Yet despite his closeness to the Prime Minister and friendship with the Royal Family, political rivalries and private tragedy hampered his ascendance. Paradoxically for a man of widely admired diplomatic skills, his downfall owed as much to his personal insecurities and penchant for making enemies as it did to military failure. Using a variety of manuscript sources to tease Chatham from the records, this biography peels away the myths and places him for the first time in proper familial, political, and military context. It breathes life into a much-maligned member of one of Britain's greatest political dynasties, revealing a deeply flawed man trapped in the shadow of his illustrious relatives."

Hi Jacqueline, I am so delighted you have agreed to talk to me! and I am equally sure that you are tired of being asked the usual interview questions, so hopefully this interview is an interview with a difference and I have come up with some unusual questions!

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! Gosh. Ask the hard ones first, why don’t you? All right. Could you ever see yourself writing something other than history? – Honestly? No. I’ve always written stuff, but was pretty aimless and random until history dropped on me like a ton of bricks at the age of 11. I spent three happy years reading about the English Civil Wars and Charles II until I discovered, in quick succession, the 18^th century and political history. That was over twenty years ago (gah) and I frankly can’t see me moving on any time soon.

If your latest book, The Late Lord: the life of John Pitt, 2^nd Earl of Chatham (Pen & Sword History, 2017) was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role? It would have to be a documentary, unless someone decided to make a biopic á la “The Duchess” or “The Imitation Game”. Either way, Lord C would have to be played by someone tall, thin and dark. Matthew Goode would be a pretty good fit, if he is capable of playing “anti-hero” adequately. (Eddie Redmayne has been “cast” as Chatham’s brother William Pitt the Younger in my head for a long time now.)

What made you choose this genre? I’ve always written both fiction and non-fiction in tandem: I have written four dissertations over the past fifteen years (one 70k, two 30k and one 10k), all while attempting to hammer out a novel or two. When I finally finished my novel, I submitted it to a publisher at the recommendation of a friend. The publisher told me they liked it, but didn’t publish fiction: if I was willing to turn it into a non-fiction book, however, they would consider it. I wrote up a proposal, they liked that too, and the rest is – quite literally – history.

I often say I don’t think there’s much difference between good historical fiction and good historical non-fiction, apart from the referencing. Both should be built on the same sources, both should tell an interesting story, and both should be relevant and instructive. Both require leaps of faith and calculated guesses: the non-fiction may, however, use “perhaps” a little more often.

How do you get ideas for plots and characters? I read until something or someone grabs me by the lapels and shouts at me to write. I can’t really explain what it is that attracts me. I have to have that “zing” or it simply won’t work.

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’m quite happy to stick in the history non-fiction genre, and I have a list of subjects I’d like to work on as long as my arm. A return to historical fiction would be an obvious one here. Perhaps a timeslip novel: as someone with a foot in both present and past, I do feel an affinity with those.

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 already kind of answered this. Writing very definitely chose me. I can still remember covering reams of paper as a child and stapling them together into booklets. I wrote my first novel when I was 11. It was really, really, really bad. I tried to get a historical novel about Charles I published when I was 14, also pretty bad, although much better than the one I wrote when I was 11. My second attempt to get published was at the age of 18. I’ve finally got there at the age of 37.

Marmite? Love it or hate it? I’m indifferent. Wouldn’t choose it, but if offered a slice of bread with marmite on, I will happily eat it.

Do you have any rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’ piece of music...?? I have small children, so have learned to write wherever/whenever. I get up at 5, make myself a great deal of coffee, drink it, and write as much as I can till 7 or the kids get up (whichever comes first). On writing days I then return to writing at 9:30. I’ve learned not to listen when my muse tells me he’s not in the mood: I kick him in the shins and usually he then behaves. It can be a drag, but hey, I wrote a book like this, so it works. I have no rituals as such, but, when I’m editing, I mark up my MS in pink pen. That’s the only real ritual I have.

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 won’t lie – it’s always a wrench to tear myself away from the writing after I’ve spent so long immersed in another world. But if the house were burning down, I’d save the kids before my laptop. Probably.

Other than writing full time, what would be your dream job? Historical interpretation/living history. I’ve done it before and it’s so much fun.

Coffee or tea? Red or white? Both coffee and tea, although not simultaneously. By red or white, I presume you mean wine? I don’t drink, alas.

How much of your work is planned before you start? Do you have a full draft or let it find its way? With “The Late Lord”, I had to write up a synopsis and a set of chapter headings for my proposal. That was pretty much the only plan I had. I did sketch out each chapter before writing it though.

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

Imagine that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be? OH MY GOD. You can’t ask a historian this question. It’s cruel. If I must answer, then let it be Lord Chatham’s correspondence with his wife. I know it existed once.

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!? Not exactly, but I’ve often found Lord C saying and doing things he really shouldn’t be, according to the accepted historical record. Some of it I didn’t like much. Hey ho, the sources don’t lie (… or do they?).

How much research do you do and do you ever go on research trips? Research isn’t quantifiable, but as my biography is the first ever written of Lord Chatham, we’ll go with “I had to do quite a lot”. Research trips are the best thing about historical research. This particular project took me to archives all over the UK, including London, Belfast and Edinburgh. I spent a week in Gibraltar (take me back!), and cycled twice with my husband to Holland to visit relevant historical sites.

Have you ever totally hated or fallen in love with one of your characters? Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have totally succumbed to “biographer’s Stockholm syndrome”. (I hope I’ve been balanced in my writing though!) I refer to Lord Chatham as “John” or “my boy” and have stopped worrying about it now. When he was four, my son announced, quite seriously, “John lives in our house. He’s Mummy’s friend and he’s dead.” Am hoping he never told his teacher about this interesting domestic arrangement.

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure? Anything historical, really, either fiction or non-fiction.

What drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book? Lord Chatham would recommend claret or sweet sherry. I wrote it fuelled by coffee, so that might give you a better flavour.

Last but not least... favourite author? Sharon Penman, Lindsey Davis or Terry Pratchett.

 Jacqueline, I have really enjoyed this. Thank you !!

 

© Diana Milne January 2017 © (Jacqueline Reiter, 2017)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diana talks to ... Pam Lecky

I was luck enough to be able to chat with the lovely Pam Lecky. Pam had just had some fantastic news. Her book, The Bowes Inheritance, had just been shortlisted for the Carousel Aware Prize 2016 for Independent Authors.

All of us here at The Review and all of our followers wish you the very, very best for this, Pam and really hope you do well.

Hi Pam. I am sure that you are tired of being asked the usual questions that would be interviewers ask authors, so hopefully this interview is an interview with a difference and I have come up with some unusual questions!

If your latest book, The Bowes Inheritance, was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

Wouldn’t that be lovely! If I could have a say in the casting it would be James McAvoy to play the male protagonist Nicholas Maxwell – I think he could do the slightly tortured and brooding scenes very well indeed. As the heroine Louisa Campbell is Irish, I would love to see an Irish actress in the role. Sarah Greene has the right look and would be perfect for the independent and feisty Louisa.

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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 adore crime novels and one of my current projects is in that genre. I’m a huge fan of Anne Perry, Deanna Raybourn, M.R.C. Kasasian – who all write Victorian crime and I grew up on P.D. James, Dorothy L Sayers, Ruth Rendell, and Elizabeth George.

I am finding the genre very challenging and the writing has taken on a different style, purely because that type of story demands it. My WIP is called The Carver Affair and is set in 1894 Dublin. It is the story of a Detective Inspector whose career is on the rise when he takes on what appears to be a very clear-cut case. But the murder takes him on an unexpected journey and forces him to face up to the ghosts of his past. Solving the case almost destroys his career.

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

I have to be able to visualise a scene before I can write it and there is nothing better than the right type of music to help you do that.  It would be generally classical music I would listen to when writing. Music also helps me when I get stuck, mainly because it helps me relax and the ideas start to flow again. I also have a tendency to come up with plot/dialogue either just as I’m nodding off to sleep or waking up – not very convenient I have to confess.

Apart from that, and it’s my biggest downfall, I tend to drink a lot (and I mean a LOT) of … tea. (Ah, but there is a such a thing as 'too much tea' ??? Hang on. I need to get the kettle on!)

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

I’m not going to name it and I’ll tell you why. Now that I am an author I know how much goes into writing a book – the time, (the pain!) and often neglecting other areas of your life. You sacrifice a lot. I don’t post reviews for books I don’t like for that reason. You have to give the author the benefit of the doubt and maybe it’s just not my thing and others will really enjoy it.

However, if a book is badly written or is clearly an editor-free-zone, I will post a review - but it will be as constructive as I can make it. Too many Indie authors think that editing isn’t essential. Frankly, this baffles me. Recently I have been quite shocked to read traditionally published books that look as though an editor hadn’t been near them either. As an Indie author I know the cost of editing is high but I feel very strongly that if you are going to compete, you need your ‘product’ to be of a high standard and let’s face it; your reader deserves value for money too. Now, my rant is over J.

(I fully understand and empathise with everything that you say.)

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

I would probably pursue a career in horticulture which I studied with the RHS. I designed and built a show garden a few years ago in Bloom, the Irish equivalent of Chelsea.

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Coffee or tea? Red or white?

I think I have already answered the first one above! As for wine – neither just to be awkward – I prefer rosé.

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

As I’m Indie, I do have the choice. I generally use Garamond or Times New Roman in my POD books as they are easy to read. I use Times New Roman for Kindle as it doesn’t matter too much which font you use – the newer Kindles/Kindle apps let the reader choose the font they want. (As a seller of vintage type, this excited me so much when I first came across it!! A brilliant move forward!)

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

I actually did. My great grandfather’s shop and home were destroyed in the fires and looting in Dublin during the Easter Rising in 1916. I found his insurance claim to the Government in the National Archives. It was very detailed and gave a wonderful insight, both into his business and how they lived. It even included the very poignant item, ‘daughter’s trousseau’, listed as destroyed. The great aunt in question married a year later, hopefully with a new trousseau. Thankfully, the family was unharmed but it must have been a terrifying experience.  (Gosh!!!)

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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?

That didn’t arise in The Bowes Inheritance as all the characters were fictional. Some were based on real characters and real events drove the plot to some degree. I had to keep a balance between the politics and events of the time and the main thread of the story. It was important that the historical details didn’t swamp the main storyline which was a young woman’s struggle to be accepted in a new community that was predisposed to be suspicious of her.

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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 try not to. In The Bowes Inheritance I had to move one incident (time and place) to make the timeline work but everything else that happened was true to history.  I include the proviso at the beginning of the book that ‘Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously’.

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

So far that hasn’t been an issue for me as my characters tend to be fictitious with a background of real events. I have yet to include a real historical character in my work, other than in passing.

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

In one of my unpublished stories (that may one day see the light of day!) one character I conjured up was quite wicked but his back story was such that he could not have turned out any other way. He was enormous fun to write but I had to kill him off. It was such a difficult decision. I couldn’t write that chapter for about a week and when I did, I think I actually grieved for him. I moped for days afterwards – I was genuinely upset! (I understand. I never was able to carry on with one MS as I knew Piet had to die, but I could not bring myself to be the one to kill him.)

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What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

I tend to read a lot of historical fiction – crime and romance – that is when I have the time. Unfortunately, trying to write and working part-time, means I don’t have as much reading time as I’d like.

I also read a lot for research – either history in some form or other (books/blogs, etc.) or fiction of the time. For instance, I have just finished reading James Plunkett’s Strumpet City (an incredible book, by the way) to get a feel for Dublin in 1913 during the Lock-Out.

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

Curl up on a window seat with the wind and rain lashing against the window, a roaring fire in the grate and a nice (large) glass of Baileys close at hand!

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Last but not least... favourite historical author?

Georgette Heyer – she is unsurpassed for characterisation, attention to detail and humour. She is my writing hero.

This has been wonderful, Pam. Thank you very much. Shall we have that cup of tea now???

Biography: Pam Lecky originally hails from Clontarf, Dublin, and now lives in north County Dublin. A working mum with three children, a dog and two cats, her life is hectic. Pam studied horticulture with the RHS, loves music and photography, and has been an avid reader from an early age. A huge fan of historical fiction and crime, particularly when combined, she finally decided to set free the stories battling for release in her head. She has a particular fascination with all things 19th century, from food and clothes to architecture and social history. If there was time travel, she’d be the first to sign up and there are no prizes for guessing what time period she’d travel to.

The Bowes Inheritance is her debut novel, and is available as an ebook or paperback on Amazon. It has been shortlisted for The Carousel Aware Prize 2016 and was longlisted for the Historical Novel Society Indie Award 2016.

You can learn more about Pam, her book and follow her blog at Pam Lecky or follow her on Twitter @pamlecky.

 

© Diana Milne July 2016 © Pam Lecky September 2016

Diana Talks to Charlotte Betts

I was fortunate enough to catch up with Charlotte Betts in the lift at HNS16 - the Historical Novel Society conference that was held this year at Oxford. Charlotte was one of the people who were making everything run smoothly and enabling us to enjoy the conference, but she was kind enough to answer a few questions.

Charlotte is one of those enviable people who always looks immaculate and I could only admire how she always looked as beautifully presented however harried she must have been feeling.

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Charlotte Betts discovered a passion for writing after her five children had grown up and left her in peace. Demanding careers in hotel design and property force her to be inventive in finding time to write but she has achieved seven novels in eight years. One of her short stories was published in Scribble and others short-listed by Writers’ News and Real Writers’. She has won first prize in five short story competitions and wrote a regular column on interior design for The Maidenhead Advertiser for two years. She is a member of WordWatchers http://www.wordwatchers.net/ and the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Charlotte, I am sure that you are tired of being asked the usual questions that would be interviewers ask authors, so hopefully this interview is an interview with a difference and I have come up with some unusual questions!

If your latest book The House in Quill Court https://goo.gl/Lw4Ure was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

I had to think hard about this. I’d like Carey Mulligan or Lily James to play Venetia, though both have brown eyes instead of blue-green. The heroine’s spirit and personality is more important here than the colour of her eyes. Perhaps the actress could wear coloured contact lenses? Aidan Turner doesn’t have blue eyes either but would in all other respects be perfect as Jack, the hero. I’m sure you ladies will agree with me on this!
(Note by Diana: Does 'anyone' ever look at Aidan Turner's eyes???? :-) )

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 write a really dark psychological thriller. Alternatively, a series of detective novels about a quirky detective who lives somewhere exotic. I don’t have any particular plots in mind because, if I did, I’d become so involved with it I’d have to write the story. I don’t need any distractions at present from producing one historical novel each year!

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

I always have a bone china mug of tea at my side – I hate thick mugs! I prefer to write somewhere quiet, though I’ve learned to tune out of background noise, such as in a coffee shop or on a train. I rarely listen to music as it’s too distracting, though I have been known to put Sounds of the Sea on my i-pod to drown out conversation. My most important ritual is to daydream, usually when walking the dog or at the point of falling asleep. That’s when my plot gets sorted.

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

I couldn’t possibly comment! I would hate another author to quote one of my books as being the worst book they’d ever read so I’m not going there.

What makes a book unreadable for me it to find it full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Even if you tell a terrific story this sloppiness shows a lack of courtesy to the reader. It’s not hard to find professional editors who will correct these mistakes. Then there is waffle. I want a story written in clear, beautiful language that makes me look at life differently and teaches me something new. I dislike apathetic characters and improbable plots. I could go on …

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

I used to have my own interior design business, which was my dream job. I loved (almost) every minute of it. It’s necessary for my wellbeing to be creative in one way or another. I am incredibly fortunate to be able to write full time now and this satisfies that requirement for creativity.

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

I need tea, builders’ tea, on an hourly basis for the creative Muse to sit on my shoulder egging me on. I enjoy a glass of white wine sitting in a sunny garden and a glass of red by a fireside but, if I was forced to make a choice between tea and wine, then tea would win.

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

Any font that is clear and unfussy. I want people to read my story not admire the font.

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

The diary of someone who lived in whichever period I’m currently writing about. It could be written by a servant or a queen because both would contribute their own view of society at that time. A queen’s maid might give an insight into the lives of both.

Original sources are incredibly valuable to the author. Samuel Pepys’s diary was my bedside companion for years when I wrote three novels set in the seventeenth century.

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?

It is sometimes annoying when a real historical person won’t conveniently die to suit my plot but it’s up to me as the writer to create a story that fits the facts. The manuscript I’m currently working on has part of the plot revolving around Caroline of Brunswick. Her life events meant I had to make my fictional part of the story cover a much longer period than I’d have liked.  

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 always adhere to the facts. When I’ve chosen a particular point in time as the setting for my story I research the events carefully and write these out as the ‘skeleton’ of my story. Then I weave the story I want to tell through this, bending the fiction to fit the fact and never the other way around.

It’s important to me that my readers can be confident I’m not ‘messing’ with history. When I read historical fiction I like to learn about history and would be disappointed if I discovered the story wasn’t correct. Of course, facts can be subjective. For example, in the case of a battle, the story is often written from the victor’s point of view. A German soldier might have written a very different account of a WWII battle than that of a British soldier.

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

I spend a year or more thinking about and writing a novel and to make it real to me I daydream a great deal. Since I always identify with my heroine, after a while I feel as if I’m living a parallel existence. Sometimes I have to stop and think where I am! It’s as if I have a tiny television screen in my mind and I watch the story in all its detail but if something isn’t working I roll back the film and rewrite it. Daydreaming is a valuable and powerful tool for an author.

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

Always! If I don’t hate my villain and love my heroine it’s unlikely my reader will feel strongly about them.

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

Whilst I read historical fiction I also like mysteries and psychological thrillers such as those by Nicci French. I’m a sucker for recipe books as I love to cook. I re-read books I’ve had for years: Mary Stewart, Dick Francis, Robert Goddard and Jean Plaidy. I also get a buzz from whatever research book I’m reading. If I didn’t, I doubt I’d write historical fiction.

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

I should probably say a glass of negus or ratafia but the answer has to be, whatever the reader enjoys most. For me, of course, it would be a ginormous cup of strong tea. No sugar, please.

Last but not least... favourite historical author?

There are too many to mention but I shall begin with Tracy Chevalier, Philippa Gregory, Anya Seton, Elizabeth Chadwick, Judith Lennox, Diana Gabaldon …

Diana, thank you for inviting me to be interviewed for The Review. I’ve enjoyed answering your thought-provoking questions.

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Charlotte's latest book, The House in Twill Court, is available in both Kindle and paperback editions and has had some exceptional reviews

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© Diana Milne July 2016 © (Charlotte Betts August 2016)