Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll for 2013 is now open
Once again my publisher – 4RV Publishing – is nominated in the Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll in a number of categories. Voting is easy. Click on the link beside each category listed below, select the 4RV title/author/artist etc., then scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your name and email address. And to confirm you’re not a spammer, enter the author’s name in the box beside the thumbnail of the book cover that’s there. You’ll receive a confirmation email with a link in it. Simply click on it to confirm your vote. (My debut novel, A Shadow in the Past, finished 3rd in its category in the 2012 P&E Readers’ Poll.)
4RV Publishing is nomininated in the following Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll categories:
It would be great to see 4RV finish first in each category but in order for that to happen, they need your votes. Only one vote per category, too. The Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll closes January 14, so don’t delay.
Friends of the Brockville Public Library presented their firstmerrybookmas at the 1000 Islands Mall, 2399 Parkedale Avenue, Brockville – 14th December, 2013.
I always take a photograph of my table once I get it set up but as luck would have it, my phone didn’t have enough oomph left to take a photo. Tried hubby’s, his automatically shut down the battery was so low. However, all was not lost. I took my iPad with me (fully charged) which does have a camera in it.
This was the first event where I had to provide my own table. OH picked up a folding 4′ long one back in early to mid November so that I’d have it. It worked beautifully! Doesn’t my set up look great?
Also, the handcart he picked up was a dream to load everything on to wheel my table and boxes of books and other accoutrements in and out of the mall. We didn’t have to provide chairs, but we took our own anyway and I’m glad we did.
This was a first for, not just the Friends of the Brockville Public Library, but for me, too. This was the first time at any event that The Consequences Collection out sold A Shadow in the Past. I even had one couple who couldn’t decide which book to buy so they bought one of each – his and hers.
We didn’t stay stuck out here in the middle of the mall all day. We moved over in front of one of the closed storefronts so people could only walk by in front of us. I had visions of the table getting jostled and my display toppled or people trying to walk behind us to look at the store’s sale display would be bumping us all day. I don’t know if that was a good thing or not, but I felt more comfortable knowing people couldn’t walk behind me.
The final sales tally … 7 copies of The Consequences Collection and 3 copies of A Shadow in the Past.
Hi Joanna, and welcome to my little corner of Canada. I’m so glad you were able to come at this time of year. I’ve booked us tickets to tour the Fulford Mansion and in the lead-up to Christmas it’s gorgeous with all the Victorian era decorations. The lunch in the tea room is delicious and I heartily recommend you try the tourtiere which is a French-Canadian meat pie traditionally served at Christmas but yummy any time of the year,so we’ll start our visit with a bite to eat.
What is the title of your latest book? Is it a continuation of your Behind Blue Eyes Saga or are you introducing us to an entire new cast of characters?
My current WIP is called The Other Side of Morning and yes, it continues with the Little Court characters, moving on six years from Between Today and Yesterday (we’re now in 1996). Most of the original saga characters like Matt, Ella, Niall, Rachel and Jenny are now in support roles. Ella and Jenny’s daughters Lucy and Charlotte are central to the story as is Christian Rosetti who fronted the rock band Rosetti in Between Today and Yesterday. One of Niall and Rachel’s twins – nineteen year old Caitlyn (Kayte) also features. New characters include the glamorous D’Alesandro family who have recently moved into Higher Padbury Manor. Ex-model Thérèse is now a fashion designer and is about to open a bridal boutique in collaboration with Ella who has turned the manor into an exclusive functions venue. Thérèse’s daughter Felica has followed in her mother’s footsteps as a designer and stepson Gianmarco (Marco) manages the family’s European restaurant chain. Father Gianlucca is based in Milan where he runs his leisure empire of hotels, health spas and restaurants. This time I’ve written a love story but it’s lots of other things too – as always it is about conflict, family loyalties and deception and, of course, things do not appear as they seem.
This will be your fifth book? How do you balance your writing life with your working and home lives? And let’s not forget promoting your books.
I must admit it has been very difficult. Being a writer, as you probably know from your own experience, is a very lonely occupation. You have to hide yourself away and concentrate on the job in hand. Even reducing my working hours to half time, I had to balance writing with day to day claims on my time, socialising and not making my husband feel left out. Luckily he has a classic car which he has been rebuilding and that takes up a good deal of his time. Now I’m happy to say I am a full time writer and absolutely loving it!
As for marketing, well I don’t think I’ve given enough time to this mostly because of my work commitments. However now I’ve finished my 9 – 5 I will be able to concentrate on getting the books out there. All four existing books have received very good reviews on Amazon; it’s just a matter of building on that.
In one or two sentences, can you tell us what The Other Side of Morning is about?
This is the fifth book in the Little Court series but can be read as a stand-alone.
Charlotte Kendrick falls for beautiful Italian Marco D’Alesandro. Coming out of a bad relationship she is learning to trust again, but is he all he seems to be or is she being played for a fool again?
What part of writingThe Other Side of Morningdid you like the best? Least?
I absolutely love the writing; creating the characters, setting the scenes and blending them both into the plot. I also found the promotional video for Between Today and Yesterday fun to put together and quite easy with Windows Live Movie Maker – although the promo is being handled by Cathy Helms at Avalon Graphics this time. And the part I like the least? I think it has to be editing. It’s a long repetitive chore, however at the end of the day it’s essential. That first draft can be very deceptive. You think you’ve written a brilliant novel but it’s only when you go back and start reading through that you can see where things could be better. And it’s not just structure, the timeline and character descriptions have to be right as well. I’ve read books where eye and hair colour have changed. Although people may wonder how on earth that can happen I do sympathise, a book is a huge project and it is so easy for this to happen. Because of this the editing process, although maybe not as enjoyable as the writing, is equally important.
Who was your favourite character to write?
I think it has to be Ella. She has been in all four books and in the fifth she still features but in a less central role. I wanted to create a feisty heroine; she needed to be that for what she was to experience in the trilogy. Quite innocently she returned to live with her mother (Mel) wanting to get to know her and make up for lost years. Unfortunately she had no idea how manipulative her mother was and how she was about to be used to further her ambitions. She was tricked into marrying a good looking womaniser and kept from the man she really loved by deceit and lies. I created her as a calm, wise-beyond-her years character, although there were rare moments when she did lose her cool. However for the most part she coped extremely well with all I put her through. Main characters do have to be strong and by the time we had reached the fourth book and she inherited Little Court, she had become a woman very much in the image of her grandmother Laura: resilient, astute and very capable. It’s worth noting that many readers have also told me Ella is their favourite character. And for this new book Charlotte has proved a worthy successor to Ella’s crown.
When will it be available?
I’m on schedule with the edits at the moment so hopefully am looking for a publication date in early 2014.
Do you have your cover yet? Are you planning a big ‘cover reveal’ splash?
Yes, I have a cover designed as usual by Jane Dixon Smith who I have to say is totally brilliant! I actually approached her to create it before I wrote the book. The end result was something quite awesome – I think it’s the best of all my book covers. There was one moment of doubt when I thought I’d been rather hasty. My biggest worry was whether I could actually write a book good enough for that cover but I have to say I’m very pleased with how my WIP has turned out. As for a ‘cover reveal’ splash, well the cover has already been revealed but I will of course be promoting it nearer the publication date.
For those of you who may not have seen this fabulous cover before, here it is.
Is there anything you want to add that we’ve not touched on yet?
Only that I hope readers enjoy the Other Side of Morning as much as my other four books. Thank you Melanie so much for having me as a guest on your blog.
It’s been a pleasure to host you here today, Joanna. I hope you enjoyed your tour of the Fulford Mansion and our lunch in the tea room.
About Joanna:
Born and raised in rural Wiltshire, I’ve always been a country girl at heart. Currently I live on the eastern edge of Bath in a beautiful village set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Here I have the best of both worlds – there is Bath with its fabulous history and architecture, its cafes, restaurants, cinemas and theatre – and of course wonderful shopping! Then there is this village where within minutes you can he walking in open countryside with fabulous views.
I’m married, own one small grey female feline called Mollie (although I rather think she owns me!) and live with my husband and Bridget, his other woman a 47 year old white MG Midget – a fairly happy menage a trois!
Normally, since my husband is a Mallorytown native, he comes with me but this weekend I flew solo. Except for having to make numerous trips to and from the car to bring my loot inside myself, it wasn’t bad. Okay, so I didn’t have ‘eye candy’ at my table to attract the ladies. What can I say, he’s a flirt.
Still things went well. And I was no further than a Blackberry message away from my hubby all day so I could keep him apprised of my successes.
And at the end of the day my results were … drum roll, please …
3 sales of A Shadow in the Past
2 sales of The Consequences Collection
1 sale of the 2014 A Shadow in the Past calendar (images of locations in the novel)
and I was complimented on my display.
Although it was a great day for me, my mind was with the people in and around Glasgow who may have lost loved ones in a horrific helicopter crash on Friday, 29th November.
Melanie Robertson-King is the proud recipient of the prestigious SHINE ON Award in the ‘books involving her Celtic connections’ category.
I’ve been nominated for the SHINE ON award! In order to accept the honour bestowed upon me by fellow Ottawa Romance Writer, Maureen Fisher, I have to share seven random bits of information about me with you – my readers.
So without further ado,
Like my nominator, I’m an only child but both my parents came from large families. My mother was one of eight children and my father was one of twenty (his father was married twice and had 10 children with each wife).
I’m a first generation Canadian. My father came to Canada as a Home Child through the Orphan Homes of Scotland.
Not much of a surprise, but I love Scotland and all things Scottish and travel to the ‘auld country’ as often as possible, most recently this past August. I’m rather partial to a certain 18 year old Glenlivet single malt whisky and love haggis.
I’ve never lived any further away from Brockville than 15 miles. Before I started school, I lived in a winterized cottage on the shore of the St. Lawrence River.
I have a background in Computer Programming and work in payroll for an Eastern Ontario trucking company.
I’ve been a story-teller since I was a kid. My cousins and I would gather in the woodshed at my grandmother’s in the dark and scare each other silly with ghost stories.
I can live without chocolate. Yup, you read that right. If I have it fine and if I don’t, well that’s fine, too. Doesn’t say much for someone who writes romance.
The SHINE ON award is one that keeps on giving, so now it’s my turn to nominate the following worthy authors:
Nov 8th was Ladies Nite at Green Things Garden & Gifts and other participating merchants
In addition to Green Things where I set up, two other local businesses took part in the fun as well – Casual Living (who have been involved in previous years) and new comers Hall’s Apple Market (they have way more than just apples there).
This year I was set up in a different area than my first time out in 2012. It was extremely busy when I arrived so I rushed to get set up and it wasn’t until after I had everything out on the table that I realized I had forgotten my tartan throw that I use at most places. I had planned on using it as a topper over the red table cloth I had also been completely forgotten about until I saw it in the linen closet the other day and it begged “pick me! pick me!”. Still I think my table looked pretty good just as it was. What do you think?
My table at Ladies Nite
See my funky coffee mugs there? I’ve got one for A Shadow in the Past and one for The Consequences Collection – both of which had candies in them.
Of course my usual accoutrements came along – postcards, bookmarks, business cards, easel to display a book on but I had more loot this year! I had another book, plus my 2014 A Shadow in the Past calendars! Luckily for me, I had another photo easel at home that I pressed into service for my anthology since the acrylic book easels I have on order haven’t arrived yet.
All in all, it was an extremely successful evening – 3 copies of A Shadow in the Past, 1 copy of The Consequences Collection, and 1A Shadow in the Past calendar.
Keep watching my appearances page for where I’ll be next and if you’re in the area, drop in. I’d love to see you.
It’s a shame it rained on the Turkey Fair but that might have been a bonus for the authors gathered at the Writers’ Corner in the community room of the local library. We had a steady flow of people coming through most of the day, partly because of the rain, and partly to get their ‘passport’ initialed. By the end of the day, we were working with some pretty soggy paper.
Every author sold at least one physical copy of their book(s) and many of the customers passing through were thrilled to hear that some of us had e-book versions, too, with kobo being the e-reader of choice it seemed.
Other Eastern Ontario authors participating yesterday were:
Vicki Delany, who, in my opinion had the prime location for her table as she could see people as they entered the library. And can she work a room! Wow!
I first met Violette by attending one of her writing workshops and Vicki through attending the Scene of the Crime Mystery Festival on Wolfe Island. She, too, gives workshops and I’ve been to them when she’s come to the Thousand Islands Writers Festival.
with Violette Malanwith Violette Malanwith Violette Malan
I enjoyed myself immensely and I’ll be back next year (that is if they’ll have me). I’ve already marked the date in my calendar.
Since kobo seemed to be the e-reader of choice, does anyone know if there’s a way of tracking your sales through them similar to how novel rank works for amazon?
I’ve never been before so this will be a totally new experience for me. There’s lots going on and not just turkey stuff, although there is a lot of that, too.
I’ll be at the library with some other authors selling my novel, A Shadow in the Past.
Blurb:
Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself thrust back into the past. There she struggles to keep her real identity from a society that finds her comments and ideas strange and her speech and actions forward, unlike Victorian women. When Sarah verbally confronts confining social practices, including arranged marriages, powerful enemies commit her to a lunatic asylum. After falling in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, Robert Robertson, she must decide whether to find her way back to her own time or to remain in the past with him.
So, if you’re near Lyndhurst, Ontario this Saturday (Sept 21st) why not come to the turkey fair?
The idea of driving into Aberdeen didn’t thrill me even though I’ve done it on previous trips but not all the way into the heart of the city. It probably wasn’t so much the idea of driving as it was the idea of finding a place to leave the car relatively close to the library for the entire day without having to run back periodically and pay to stay longer.
Even before we left Canada, we had pretty much decided on driving from Earlsfield Farm to Insch and catching the train there.
The station isn’t manned but there was a self-serve kiosk outside where you could purchase your tickets (in 2000 we bought our tickets on the train) so we did then hung out on the platform while we waited for the Inverness to Aberdeen train to arrive.
Signal Box at Insch Station with Dunnideer in the background
If you look really closely at the mountain in the background, you can see the tip of the hillfort just poking up.
Platform bridge at Insch Station
The train arrived a few minutes before its scheduled departure time to allow folks already on the train to get off and those of us waiting time to board and get settled. It appeared that seats were at a premium because the majority in the carriage we were on had reserved tags inserted in the slot in the top of the seat back. We found a couple of empty seats reserved for stations the train had already passed through and took them. Who would book passage on a specific train then not turn up at the station? I know I certainly wouldn’t.
We passed by Aberdeen airport and as we did, a helicopter was landing. Seeing that sparked me to look for Bond’s headquarters (used in another manuscript in progress) as I had Google street-viewed them before. Knowing roughly where they were located and the colour of their building made it easier and I spotted it almost immediately.
The Central Library was a short walk up from the train station so we made our way there. I wanted to soak in some Aberdeen atmosphere and didn’t want to cart books about with us. I had already made arrangements to drop them off on our arrival.
Poster outside the Central Library
On our way to the library, we saw this street sign and I just had to take a picture of it. It would have been better with hubby in the picture, too, but this will have to do… for now. Besides with the steps and the railings, I’m not sure how well I could have framed the entire shot with him in it.
Donald’s Way Close near the Central Library
After relieving ourselves of the bag of books and using the facilities, we went on a short tour of Aberdeen – across Rosemount Viaduct, which changes names to Schoolhill (where it passes over Denburn Road, and latterly Upperkirkgate. Schoolhill and Upperkirkgate were streets I mentioned in previous drafts of my novel. Then it was down Broad Street in front of the magnificent Marischal College building (now home to the Aberdeen City Council). Even on the opposite side of the street, the building was so massive I couldn’t get all of it into the frame at once, not to mention we were on a bit of a time constraint to see the things I wanted to and photograph them and get back to the library on time to go on our lunch date.
Marischal College By TFDuesing (http://flickr.com/photos/tfduesing/457006873/) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsFrom Broad Street, we continued on Queen Street past the Grampian Police Headquarters then Shoe Lane where we reached King Street and turned right heading for the top of Union Street and the Castlegate.
The Salvation Army Citadel in the CastlegateThe Mercat Cross in the CastlegateThe Town House from the Castlegate
Aberdeen in the sunshine is a truly, beautiful place. The granite buildings sparkle. After this brief photo session, we quickly returned to the library via Union Street and Union Terrace, alongside the Union Terrace Gardens.
We were a bit late getting back to the library, but not everyone who was going out to lunch was available. Once everyone was gathered by the main desk, we set out to this as yet undisclosed location. I remember we walked up Skene Terrace then kept going at the end of the street. I’m pretty sure we ended up on Huntly Street at Mi Amore (confirm with library staff) a lovely Italian, Mediterranean restaurant.
When we returned, I was given a tour of the local studies department which was the area that helped me so much with my research and will also play a role in the sequel to A Shadow in the Past.
My friend, 2009 Dundee International Book Prize winner, Chris Longmuir, came up from her seaside town by train to be there for me. We had a wee natter and I signed the copy of my book that she had bought from amazon.co.uk earlier in the year.
Another of my online writer friends, Bill Kirton popped in, too. It was brilliant to finally meet him in person. We chatted briefly before it was “show time”!
Only ten people had pre-registered for the event with the library so I was well chuffed to see more like twenty people filling the seats. I chose what I hoped was an enticing segment from early in A Shadow in the Past and began.
Reading at the Central Library
When I was finished my reading, I fielded questions and answers related to A Shadow in the Past and my friends, Chris and Bill, encouraged me to write a book on Home Children – possibly from the child’s point-of-view.
Signing the copy of A Shadow in the Past for the libraryPresenting the signed copy of A Shadow in the Past to the library
As if I hadn’t already been treated like royalty by the library staff, they presented me with a tote bag filled with books from their Local Studies Department and two Waterstones giftcards.
Receiving a gift from the library
It was an amazing day. Everyone in attendance enjoyed by presentation but best of all, I sold and signed three copies of A Shadow in the Past.
When it was finally time to leave, Bill walked with us as far as Union Street where we said our goodbyes. Chris accompanied us as far as the train station where we parted company when she discovered there was a train home that she might be able to make.
Our train left shortly after Chris’s so we headed towards the platform and waited. It felt good to finally relax on the train and recall the day’s events. At the Insch station, we doddled about waiting for the car park to clear before we got in and headed for ‘home’ with a detour up to Huntly for a bite of supper (not that we needed it) so we grabbed a couple of sarnies and packets of crisps from the ASDA and a bottle of wine to replace the one mine hostess at Earlsfield cracked open when we arrived.
Later that evening, the guys cracked open mine host’s bottle of 18 year old Aberlour (after having our 18 year old Glenlivet the night before) and I carried on with wine. More than once, we toasted a successful day.
And before I forget… wait, I did forget… my bad. Anyway, better late than never, let’s play SEEKING SARAH SHAND!
If I may first thank you, Melanie, for being such a gracious host and sharing a little about my four book collection called Twig Stories with your friends. It’s exciting for me to know an author of Scottish descent who embraces her heritage the way you do, and learn more about your ancestors’ beautiful country, its history, and culture.
What made you decide to write children’s books?
A few years ago I first became aware of climate change impacting the wildlife and forests where I live in the Pacific Northwest in the US. My young daughter, Ali Jo, and I had recently taken a trip to British Columbia in western Canada, and witnessed entire forests dying from infestations by mountain pine beetles – insects which normally die off in the cold winters. The warmer temperatures now allowed them to multiply into swarms and attack trees by the millions. In 3rd grade Ali Jo also began studying animals in our region threatened with extinction due to a changing climate like the alpine pika, woodland caribou, wolverine, Kermode bear or ‘spirit’ bear, horned lark, and so many others. The effects of global warming were overwhelming for her and her young friends. We felt there must be a more personal approach to understanding it. We had always joked about tiny, stick creatures living in the old growth forest behind our house, and began to wonder how they might battle climate change. So we decided to create stories about these creatures we called Twigs. Naturally, we wanted to share the royalties with conservation nonprofits. It was just one way to contribute to their research and youth programs. It was very much a conspiracy of creativity by Ali Jo and me.
You incorporate environmental issues into your stories, is it difficult to do without sounding preachy?
Well, Twig Stories are primarily fun and thrilling fantasies about a boyish Twig named Leaf and his companions – other Twigs and creatures of the forest, glaciers, and prairies. There are underlying themes of caring for wildlife and unusual impacts created by climate change, but they are secondary to the exciting adventures of Twigs and animals in the wild. Any author who writes eco literature uses the natural world to tell their stories, and Twig Stories books offer this same approach. A reader’s concern about global warming and its impacts will grow only because of Leaf’s unexpected journeys into climate crisis. And if a young reader simply enjoys Leaf’s exploits without realizing anything about the underlying themes, then that is wonderful, too.
Do you write in any other genres?
No, writing children’s eco literature books keep me busy enough.
Are you currently working on a project? If so, can you tell us a bit about it?
I’m working on Leaf & Echo Peak, the fourth book in the Twig Stories collection. In this story global warming reaches its tipping point. The threatened eruption of Echo Peak warns of an extreme climate on the horizon. Yet, Twigs are resourceful and find new ways of living. Along with the plants and animals in the forest, they adapt. Echo Peak will be finished and published in 2014.
If your followers are interested, the Twig Stories books are:
Leaf & the Rushing Waters ~ An outburst flood from a melting glacier traps Leaf’s family in their tree-home, so Leaf and his friend Rustle search for goliath beavers to build a mighty dam. In reality, beaver dams are natural solutions to mitigate worsening flood and drought due to unusual climate shifts.
Leaf & the Sky of Fire ~ Leaf attempts a fool-hardy rescue of six Twig babes in the North Forest from swarms of mountain pine beetles, which in the real world have already destroyed entire forests in western North America. The dying trees infested by ‘barkbiters’ also create horrific wildfires.
Leaf & the Long Ice ~ Leaf must journey to the shrinking glacier of Echo Peak to find his runaway brothers, Buddy and Burba. During this wild, funny adventure we learn many rare creatures of the ice may go extinct without their alpine habitat. The loss of the glacier’s ice and fresh water is inevitable.
Thank you so much, Melanie. Wishing you the best of luck and great success with your exciting, e-book launch of your novel A Shadow in the Past. It’s wonderful to know you and your fans of Celtic Connexions!
Jo Marshall lives in the Pacific Northwest near volcanoes and rainforests. She spent seven years as a literacy tutor for young readers. In 1986, Jo earned a B.A. in German Language and Literature from the University of Maryland in West Berlin, and worked as a diplomatic liaison for the military command. From 1999 to 2006, she worked in D.C. for two nonprofits as their Legal Assistant to the General Counsel – the Paralyzed Veterans of America and Oceana. Jo is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, and many conservation nonprofits. She resides in Snohomish, Washington with her family.
My Scottish roots and writing by Melanie Robertson-King
