Category Archives: Writer Interviews

DAVID LEDAIN EXAMINES GENDER DIVERSITY IN HISTORY AND CULTURE

Posted on by

David Ledain is the author of Gay Dad – Ten True Stories of Divorced Gay Men with Kids, Living in the UK Today. Ledain, divorced himself and with two grown up sons, lives in Chichester, West Sussex. His latest book; This Forbidden Fruit: Male Homosexuality – A Culture & History Guide explores what it means to be gay; to live an authentic life when there are little or no references to base it upon.

Our culture provides heterosexual men and women with a vast tradition and depth of lore about what it means to be straight. Women grow up with the myths of Eve, Gaia and the Virgin Mary, while men have Adam, Mars, Zeus and the great religious prophets to identify with. Imagine a world for instance without the representation of women anywhere; a fictitious world in which there are no positive images or examples of women in the church, in government, in film, books or on TV, or indeed of playing any meaningful role throughout history. It is unbelievable, yet this is the way homosexuals have lived, without any gay male archetypes. Because of this lack of backstory, every new gay-themed film, TV show or book that appears, every new celebrity or politician who comes out, is so significant to our collective gay story that we jump on it voraciously. Often, this causes a backlash and straight people can be heard saying things along the lines of ‘They’ve got equal marriage, they can join the army, there are no anti-gay laws anymore, what more do they want? Why do they have to keep harping on?’

Growing up without proper foundations of myth, gender diverse references or role models, is not equality, so every single gay story is as important today as it ever was, even when we have come so far. Story-telling is a fundamental building block of any society. It is what makes us human – passing on our traditions, our wisdom, our folklore and myths from one generation to another. And that is true for homosexuals as well.

This Forbidden Fruit reveals the facts and legends; from Homosexuality in Literature to Coming Out in the Forces; from the First World War – Homosexuality Under Fire to David Bowie 1972; and why, against all odds, homosexuals exist at all.

One possible reason for the evolutionary existence of homosexuals is a means to defend their mothers and siblings by bringing special skills to the family unit that might otherwise be lacking in the other sons. Research shows that another factor in the propensity to bear a gay son might be due to a traumatic event endured by the mother during pregnancy, thus creating the correct hormonal environment for the unborn male foetus to develop more caring, nurturing traits that would be necessary to safeguard the mother’s future well-being. These scenarios require the son to have good caring and nurturing skills, and also to be a character who can negotiate and reconcile situations when for instance, food and resources essential to the family are in limited supply. Homosexual men, though often portrayed in the guise of the stereotypical drama queen, the self-centred narcissist or the vitriolic one-line bitch, more often than not possesses the antitheses of these less desirable character attributes, with softer, more compassionate and supportive qualities. Drawing people together, reconciling, co-operating, and understanding opposite points of view, is familiar to the homosexual character. It is this mythos we need to explore, refine and tell.

 

 

You can follow David on Facebook & Twitter @Davidledain

And visit his website www.gaydad.co.uk for more information and his blog.

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES GUEST: CAROL THOMAS ON COLLABORATION

Posted on by

It’s my absolute pleasure to introduce Carol Thomas, my long time Chindi Authors partner in crime and one of the best collaborators I know. Carol’s contemporary romance novels have relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads; while her children’s books have irresistibly cute, generally furry characters young children can relate to.

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller

At the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference in July 2018, Sam Missingham made the point that as writers, even writing within the same genre, we are not competing. Readers read books, lots of them and generally in a preferred genre. Working collaboratively on promotion means a group can be greater than the sum of its parts. Her point was well made and, from experience, I have to agree.

After self-publishing my first novel, Crazy Over You, I reached the point where I didn’t know what to do next. Fortunately, I heard about Chindi Authors – a local group of self-published authors, working together to promote their work. Writing in a range of genres, they had amongst them a wealth of knowledge about self-publishing and promotion.

I joined and learnt a lot, not just from the others, but also through what I achieved from being an active member of the group. My confidence grew, my author platform improved. When it came to pitching my next novel, The Purrfect Pet Sitter, to Choc Lit, all that I had learnt was invaluable. I successfully gained a contract under their imprint Ruby Fiction.

While I remain an active member of Chindi Authors, following Sam Missingham’s advice, I have also recently joined forces with fellow romance writers Caroline James, Angela Barton, Morton S Gray, Julie Houston, Jane Cable, Tora Williams and Mariam Kobras to form Apricot Plots.

We are all passionate about writing smart, fresh romance for the twenty-first century – stripping away out-dated conceptions of romance and romance writers. We are loud and proud about our genre.

Covering the sub-genres of contemporary, historical, mystery, suspense, comedy and more, together we offer something for every romance lover. And we enjoy interacting with our readers, offering competitions and giveaways too. Together we reach more readers and can keep our presence active. If one author is having an off day, the others can take up the slack.

And while our public persona as a group is important what is also invaluable is the private group we share. Behind the scenes, we can talk about issues with our writing, plots, edits and so forth, as well as the general things, positive and negative, that get thrown at us in life. We are there for each other, ready to listen, supportive and encouraging.

When you write within the romance genre, you soon learn that you are part of a very supportive and collaborative community of writers – especially if you become a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. But, as my experience with Chindi Authors proved, I don’t think this is necessarily genre specific. Writing itself can be a solitary affair, connecting with other authors is important and when you work collaboratively, it can be beneficial too.

Three top tips for working collaboratively:

1) Take a little time to find your way, but also be prepared to step up. Somewhat obvious but … the key to collaboration is collaborating.

2) Be prepared to compromise. Working as part of a group will require it at some point.

3) Be actively supportive of others; you’ll get more from it than you might think. Rightfully so, when it comes to working in a group, you tend to get out, what you put in.

 

Find Carol on Twitter @carol_thomas2 and on other social media here:

http://facebook.com/carolthomasauthor

http://www.pinterest.co.uk/carol_thomas2/

http://www.instagram.com/carol_thomas2/

Website / Blog Link:

http://carol-thomas.co.uk/blog

 

 

 

INTRODUCING SISTER SCRIBES: JANE CABLE

Posted on by

This isn’t an easy post to write. If you’re a Frost regular, then you probably know who I am. On the other hand our readership is increasing all the time, so you could well never have heard of Jane Cable.

The first thing to say is I’ve recently been given the role of Contributing Editor at Frost and I’m feeling a bit of a fraud. If anything, having dragged my Sister Scribes on board (not that all of them were kicking and screaming) I’ll be ‘contributing’ even less this year. But it will allow me to spread my wings a little and write more about some of the other things I love… like history, travel, food and drink.

I’m also feeling a bit of a fraud about describing myself as a full time writer, because the reality is I generally spend about half the time writing (or marketing, or all the other bits and bobs associated with it) that I would do if I had a genuine full time job. But actually I want to enjoy life too.

I’m in my fifties (and proud of it… prouder than I am of the parentheses which are plaguing every paragraph) and my OH and I have worked really hard in the corporate world and in our own business since we graduated. Rather than continue at such a pace we decided to kick back and in 2017 we downsized to Cornwall and it was the best thing we ever did.

I’m a total advocate of the lifestyle down here. Not the part holidaymakers would necessarily see, but the everyday world of the everyday people. Very few live to work – most work about enough to live. Nobody’s bothered what you do or what sort of car you drive. As long as you say thank you when they give way to you. And once you sink back into the ‘manana with breaks for pasties’ timescale of anything getting done then it’s a dream.

So where am I in my writing career? I brought out two books independently with a reasonable degree of success, but after a false start with a publisher that went bust I now have a two book deal with Sapere. They are a joy to work with (saying that, I haven’t had my first edit notes yet so time will tell), collaborative and co-operative. They also do their best to bring their authors together, and I’m a great one for that.

Little did I know how influential attending the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference in 2017 would be in terms of finding writer friends. For me by far the most valuable part of the weekend was time spent with other authors and through social media we kept in touch. I was delighted to find that Kitty Wilson lived in Cornwall (although the rat bag has since moved to Bristol) and when Cassandra Grafton came here on a research trip we all met up.

From this meeting the idea of organising our own mini retreat/girls’ break was formed. We invited along Susanna Bavin and Kirsten Hesketh (who’d we also met at the RNA conference) and the rest, as they say, is history and after four days in Bath we’d become Sister Scribes.

There are probably a few other things you need to know about me that sometimes surprise people. I used to freelance as a cricket writer and I love the game. I’m Welsh by birth and fiercely proud of it. And if I couldn’t write it would feel as though my hands had been cut off. Actually, it would probably be because my hands had been cut off…

Follow Jane on Twitter @JaneCable

 

INTRODUCING SISTER SCRIBES: SUSANNA BAVIN

Posted on by

Despite her concerns about sounding showy-offy that’s the last thing Susanna Bavin is. She may be the quietest of the Sister Scribes, the most softly spoken, but that does nothing to hide her keen intellect and enquiring mind. Most definitely her own woman.

There is something scary about being asked to introduce yourself on a magazine page. Will it sound showy-offy? But my fellow Sister Scribes have all introduced themselves, so now it’s my turn. Here goes.

I am living proof that dreams come true. There! How’s that for showy-offy? Not to mention being rather a grand claim. But it’s the simple truth. As a child, I dreamed of one day living in North Wales – Llandudno, to be precise – and six years ago, my husband and I found a beautiful house here, threw caution and jobs to the winds, and moved here. Best thing we ever did. One question we get asked by people who would love to live here (it seems that almost everybody who comes here on holiday dreams of living here) is, “Is it different when you live here? Less special?” and the answer to that is a resounding No. We love it just as much, if not more, and that feeling of “Wow! We really live here” has never gone away.

So that’s one dream. The other, of course, is that I have finally become a published writer. I say ‘finally’ because, although I was a child-writer and have been writing all my life, for most of that time I didn’t submit anything to literary agents. As a matter of fact, I got rather hooked on getting feedback and worked with a writers’ advisory service for some years. Then I decided to aim for publication, so I joined the RNA (Romantic Novelists’ Association) with the intention of writing four books, so as to have a body of work to offer a literary agent.

In the event, after I had written three, I became aware of other new writers getting their books published, which made me feel left behind, so I decided that the size of my body of work was perfectly adequate at three books and started submitting to literary agents. I was lucky enough to be signed up by Laura Longrigg at MBA.

The books I write are sagas. To date, I have had three published – The Deserter’s Daughter, A Respectable Woman and The Sewing Room Girl. The fourth, The Poor Relation, follows in May. The books are set in the part of Manchester where my family has lived for several generations and where I grew up.

I was a saga writer before I knew what sagas were. As a teenager, I lapped up Victoria Holt’s novels and started writing gothic stories, but these naturally grew and became what I later found out were sagas. For me, this was just the natural development of my writing style. I was delighted when, as a reader, I found out that other people wrote this kind of story too!

What do I like about sagas? The historical setting, for starters. I love to see the characters having to tackle their problems within the social and legal context of the time. I also enjoy the glimpse of social history, which is a great interest of mine. Clothes, meals, furniture – I love all those domestic details especially costume. It’s no coincidence that my forthcoming book, The Sewing Room Girl, involves the making of lots of clothes!

Follow Susanna on Twitter @SusannaBavin

 

 

INTRODUCING SISTER SCRIBES: KITTY WILSON

Posted on by

Sister Scribe number three is Kitty Wilson. You know with every group of friends there’s always one who’s outrageously funny. Well that’s Kitty. Funny and clever and warm. It’s little wonder she writes romcoms – and that they’re hilarious.

 

Hello! It’s so exciting to be able to collaborate with some of my best writing friends as Sister Scribes and keep you updated with all our news and views, so a big thank you to Frost Magazine for hosting us.

I’m Kitty Wilson and I write contemporary romantic comedies; my current series is set in the fictional village of Penmenna and is based around the school there. I used to be a primary school teacher myself and absolutely loved being part of such a strong community.

Having been both parent and teacher, I know what goes on both sides of the school door and really wanted to use a school as a setting and then fill it with some larger-than-life characters. I feel very lucky to be able to do this and often find myself giggling away as I invent some of the more outlandish antics of Penmenna’s PTA.

When my parents first suggested moving to Cornwall I was furious, and vowed I would never set foot in the place. I failed to win that battle so would wander around the lanes, sulky look on my face and a book tucked in my pocket, desperately waiting for a romantic hero to come and rescue me. These days I’m glad I wasn’t bundled into a car by a passer-by but it felt as if my heart would break with disappointment back then.

I lived there for twenty-five years, only moving away a few months ago to have a taste of life in the city. However, the sea is in my soul and I do head back to Cornwall regularly to get some beach time. Cornwall provided me with so much inspiration it made sense to set my books in the county and writing about it now makes me feel as if I’m still there.

Nine years ago, I was devastated when prolonged ill-health meant I had to give it teaching.  After a couple of years, I decided that I would chase my dreams instead until I could return to the classroom. I started to write.

When I had finished the first novel, I began the second, having heard you needed to write a fair few to learn all the things that make a book work. When I put that through the NWS which is a scheme run by the Romantic Novelists Association (the most supportive professional association in the world and one that actively encourages new writers and helps them build a career. It’s also responsible for me meeting my Sister Scribes) I was encouraged to submit the book to agents and publishers. I did this and couldn’t believe it when I had an offer. When I ran to tell one of my closest friends, laptop in hand and tears streaming down my face unable to get any words out, he made me hot sweet tea and sat me down, assuming all the emotion meant a close family member had died!

I used that publication offer to secure myself an agent who then immediately found me an alternative deal to consider. I never had dreamt I would be in the position of choosing a publisher, to this day I can’t quite believe that happened. I am loving writing them and there will be five Cornish School books in total, I have just finished the third and will be starting number four next week.

I am so looking forward to keeping everyone up to date with its progress through Frost magazine and introducing you to some of the women within the writing industry whom I admire. We’re going to have a blast!

Follow Kitty on Twitter @KittyWilson23

INTRODUCING SISTER SCRIBES: KIRSTEN HESKETH

Posted on by

The second Sister Scribe I have pleasure in introducing is Kirsten Hesketh. Actually, she’s done a fab job of introducing herself… except she’s failed to mention that she’s kind, generous, funny and super-bright… and two glasses of sherry and a limoncello generally put her under the table.

 

Hello!

My name is Kirsten Hesketh and I am a novelist living in beautiful Henley-on-Thames. I am absolutely delighted to be part of Sister Scribes and I’m very excited to see how the project unfolds over the next weeks and months.

In fact, between you and me, I’m also feeling a twinge of Imposter Syndrome as I am the only one amongst our number who has yet to be published. Shhh … maybe they haven’t realised! Seriously, though, I hope my dispatches from the querying trenches will be interesting and entertaining: after all, isn’t it as much about the journey as the destination?

Anyway, a little about me.

My debut novel, Another Us, is the – hopefully! – poignant and funny story of a marriage at breaking point. Emma and Daniel’s son Jack has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and Emma is horrified to discover that 80% of such marriages fall apart. I am neuro-typical – if there is such a thing! – but one of my children was diagnosed with mild Asperger Syndrome when he was ten. My book starts pretty close to where we were as a family at that time (with an extra child added in for good measure) but quickly moves into ‘what if?’ territory – exploring the impact of the diagnosis on the family and the marriage.

I wrote the book in fits and starts, slotting it around my day job as a marketing consultant. I made every writing mistake possible – trying to get it right before getting it written (painstakingly polishing passages that didn’t even make the final cut) and sending it out to agents as soon as I’d finished the first draft. I don’t think it really had a plot. Let alone a narrative arc!

About this time, I joined Twitter and started to discover that fellow writers really are the most generous and lovely bunch. Twitter led me to the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) New Writers’ Scheme, which in turn led me to the RNA conference.  The RNA conference led me to delightfully raucous kitchen parties, sore head … and the other Sister Scribes. And along the way, I have met some truly inspirational women writers and poets and I am very excited to be introducing some of them to you in due course …

Once I had worked out what Another Us was really about. I redrafted and polished it and I started pitching to agents again. That was nerve-wracking, but once I’d received the first couple of rejections, I started to enjoy the process. I was lucky enough to have a little flurry of interest and I chose to sign with Felicity Trew from the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency who, interestingly, I had heard speak at the RNA conference. Felicity is advocate, enabler, co-conspirator and therapist all in one and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

I’m now working on my second novel – affectionately titled Muddy Milly – which is set on an archaeological dig and is about a woman facing up to traumas in her past. My hubbie and I are heavily involved in a Roman dig near where we live in the Chilterns and I absolutely love it – the excitement, the camaraderie, the gentle exercise, the beautiful woodland. I’m really looking forward to March when the season starts again …

I’m a proud member of Reading Writers and am currently their treasurer and I’m still a member of the RNS New Writers’ Scheme. I am very much looking forward to the conference in the summer (although my liver is not).

I’m very much looking forward to meeting you all over the coming weeks and months.

Kirsten xx

 

Follow Kirsten on Twitter @Kirsten_Hesketh

INTRODUCING SISTER SCRIBES: CASSANDRA GRAFTON

Posted on by

The first Sister Scribe I have pleasure in introducing is Cassandra Grafton. Cass currently splits her time between Switzerland, where she lives with her husband, and England where she lives with her characters. She loves travelling, words, cats and wine, and the Sister Scribes love the Swiss chocolate she so generously shares with us.

Hello! I’m delighted to be part of this exciting new venture with my Sister Scribes here at Frost Magazine!

A proud bookworm since childhood, I try to write the sort of stories I love to read – heart-warming, character driven and strong on location. Having moved around extensively and lived in three countries, I find places inspiring and the setting of my novels often becomes as much a part of the story as the characters.

I’ve been reflecting on the writers who have influenced both my reading habits and writing inspirations, and most of them have been women. My early years were spent devouring the novels of Enid Blyton, especially her boarding school stories. I’ve never been to boarding school, but it all seemed such fun, with midnight feasts and lashings of ginger beer! I think what also drew me to her stories was that she gave her lead characters some flaws, and I took comfort from the fact that sometimes it was okay to get it wrong.

When I reached my teens, romance took over, from the wild passion of the Brontës to the more gentle romance of Mills & Boon, all of which I consumed avidly. I fell in love with Mr Darcy and Captain Wentworth. I moved onto that early pioneer of chick-lit, Jilly Cooper, loving the humour she brought to her stories, then to Marion Keyes and Anna Maxted – real laugh out loud stories that also moved me to tears, turning occasionally to Daphne du Maurier for a dash of suspense. The final influence on my tastes came a little later, in the form of JK Rowling and her Harry Potter series.

It was both the latter and my love for all things Austen that eventually led to turning my long-held dreams of being a writer into reality.

I met a Californian (Ada Bright) on a Forum online and we both decided to try our hand at co-writing fan fiction, firstly around the Potter universe and later dabbling with Austen’s characters – it was fun, rewarding and a great way to hone our writing skills.

Eventually, I decided to publish some of these endeavours before Ada and I settled down to co-write The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen, which has since been picked up by Canelo Digital Publishing and will be released in September, with a sequel following in November.

It’s true to say that Jane Austen has, therefore, been the biggest influence of all those women writers. It feels apt that Chawton House in Hampshire, located in the village where Jane Austen was living when she published her first four novels, a secondary home of her brother, Edward (Austen) Knight, now houses a library dedicated to early editions of works by women, mostly within the period 1600-1830, a unique collection of women’s writing.

The historic setting of the house brings to life the context within which women writers lived and worked. The diversity of women’s writing during this period is displayed through novels, poetry, drama, published letters and memoirs on a whole range of subjects including history, travel, medicine, botany, cookery and more.

I’m looking forward to working with my fellow Sister Scribes over the coming year as we share our thoughts and experiences with you and introduce you to some of the key women writers in our lives.

Source: Chawton House website (https://chawtonhouse.org)

 

Follow Cassandra on social media @CassGrafton on Twitter or on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/cassie.grafton

WRITING IN THE NEW

Posted on by

Jane Cable sets out her plans for Frost for 2019…

Much as I’ve loved hosting Business of Books over the last couple of years, it’s definitely time for a change. Two changes in fact, but more of the second one later.

Readers with very good memories may recall that in the autumn I went on a mini retreat with four writer friends. It was a comment from Kitty that started it – just as we were leaving – she said we’d become sister scribes. So I began to ponder what that could mean.

The world over women are particularly good at giving other women support. We excel at cooperation, collaboration, sharing the champagne and handing out the tissues (or the gin). We celebrate, we commiserate, we coax, we cajole – in short, we are there for each other.

So this year I’m sharing my Frost columns with my Sister Scribes. Over the next few weeks everyone will introduce themselves, and in the coming months we will all introduce other sisters from the world of words; women whose contributions to our writing lives are important to us. Women who want to share their passion for writing for, by, and about women.

So, the Sister Scribes are:
Cassandra Grafton has her roots in Austen-inspired fiction and is a Jane Austen Literacy Foundation ambassador. Published by Canelo from this year.
Jane Cable is a long term contributor to Frost. Indie author published by Sapere from this year.
Kirsten Hesketh’s first novel landed her an agent. Hopefully a deal will follow soon.
Kitty Wilson walked straight out of the RNA New Writers’ Scheme into multiple offers. Writes hilarious romcoms for Canelo.
Susanna Bavin writes elegant, well-researched sagas. Published by Allison & Busby.

We met because we are all members of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, but that doesn’t mean the columns will all be about romance as our network of contacts spreads far and wide. Within the genre we cover a broad church, from sagas to romcoms and a great deal in between. There will be plenty of interest for readers and writers alike, with our first guests including my own long time buddy Carol Thomas on marketing collaboration and Cassandra’s co-author Ada Bright on what it’s really like writing together.

So that’s the first change. The second is an additional column on the last Wednesday of every month to replace the popular Take Four Writers. I will miss Angela, Claire, Jackie and Lucy but it’s time to offer a different perspective and I’m delighted that Sapere Books has offered to provide it.

Every month one of the Sapere team will give an insight into their publishing year. Editorial Director Amy Durant is as delighted about it as I am: “I am very excited to be offered this chance to give readers and writers a unique perspective into what life is like at Sapere Books. We are still a very new publisher and we have lots of exciting projects and developments launching this year – including publishing two of Jane’s books – so there will be plenty of news to share. As a small team we have the flexibility to change strategies at the drop of a hat, if something interesting pops up, so even I don’t know yet what I’ll be writing about in six months’ time, but I hope you will enjoy reading about Sapere Books’ journey in our second year of trading.”

So what will I be doing with all this extra time? I’m hoping I’ll be able to review more books for Frost and even branch out into travel and history related articles. Plus, as Amy has reminded me, I have two books out this year…