Meet the Author – Kate Kenzie Writes

As you are aware September is dystonia awareness month which makes having my next author to meet on my blog more exciting. Karl Kiddy is a writer and dystonia advocate who published Warriors of Dystonia which I’m proud to have my story so far in.

Meet The Author: Karl Kiddy

Photo of author Karl Kiddy — Author Karl Kiddy

A huge welcome, Karl. Please tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Karl and I am a Welshman living in Belfast, with my two amazing daughters, my wife and a cat named Willow. I have been an artist since I was a teenager and have dabbled in everything from Pyrography (burning pictures into pieces of wood), to photography, blogging, video editing and production, to writing, and dipping in and out of podcasting. I’m a heavy metal music fan, as well as having a passion for horror movies and pretty much anything in that genre when it comes to comics and books too. In my spare time, I as the whole reading and project thing, I am a gamer, and would play a lot of Xbox, I also love cooking and would do just about all of the cooking for myself and my ladies. I have self-published five books, with Warriors of Dystonia being my most recent book and project. Only one of my other books have been written under my name, with the rest of them, as well as many of my other projects, being done under a pseudonym due to the shamefully juvenile humour that I use throughout. About 14 years ago my journey with Dystonia began.

Q. The book released is a compilation of the stories of people with dystonia, what made you decide to raise awareness to this little known condition?

It’s difficult to really narrow this down as I believe that Warriors of Dystonia had been bubbling under the surface for a long time. Having dystonia myself and knowing that due to very little being known or understood about the disorder I had been plunged into a few scenarios where I struggled and I was left feeling humiliated. A combination of this and having to say that I had Parkinson’s for people to consider my limitations made me think, “enough is enough.” I want to be able to live in a world where we can say, “I have dystonia,” and for people outside of our community to have some sort of an idea of what it is that we are talking about. I knew that there was no way I would be alone with wanting this and so I thought about using one of my favourite mediums, writing!

So, my goal was to make a book where fellow people who have dystonia can see they are not alone and that they can handover to a person and say, “this is my world!”

Q How easy was it to get people together to share their experiences and bring it all together.

As a whole, it was hard work. I wanted the book to feel like you were having a conversation with the person or perhaps you were sitting in on a chat that they were having. No matter what anyone tells you, we are a nosy bunch us humans, and we are naturally very interested in the ins and outs of the lives of others. I’d originally been thinking of ways of directing the content that was share with me, but I am glad I gave everyone free reign now!
Getting people to share their stories was the easy part. I won’t go into too much, as I will probably use the same methods again, but it snowballed to a point where I had to close the original submission date three months earlier than I planned. At that point, I had so many and at that point the book was four hundred pages! The hard part was the admin behind the scenes. I needed to set up a form which logged the names and details of everyone who contacted me either sharing their story or offering to share a story. The editing of the book was difficult. I had a file which was a mass of various length stories, terms, medications and treatments that I had never heard of and I then had to work out how I was going to compile it. This was before I even started to then format the thing!

Q. You are an active campaigner to raise awareness of dystonia, how do you fit it in with other aspects of your life?

Anyone who knows me will know that when I have my heart set on something I will do it. Whether it is work related or a new artistic venture I want to try, if I want to give it a go then nothing will stop me. Then, once I have set my mind on it, I will invest everything in it. For as long as I can remember, I have never really slept for long and so I work on Warriors of Dystonia in the early hours of the morning. It would also be these early hours that I would squeeze in some of my other passions too. By the time my girls get up for school I have probably already got a few hours of my actually job done, an hour on the Warriors of Dystonia or perhaps I have been out and taken photographs of the lovely sunrise. As I start my job so early, I often have a bit of time in the afternoons to work on my projects too. Then there’s the weekends, where I will still be getting up and out of bed at some ungodly hour of the morning!

Q. Lots of stories must have been overwhelming to hear, do you have a support network around you?

Yes, absolutely. I have to be honest, when I knuckled down and began to really read the stories back-to-back I was struggling at times. Reading the book is different and there’s a bit of a barrier or distance between the reader and the storyteller. I was interacting directly with every single person in the book. Many of which we were in back-and-forth correspondence. Going through the story and knowing that person and talking with them was a very different experience. However, with that being said, it also made me so proud to be able to do this. There were a few people who I spoke with who have dystonia so bad that this book was their first opportunity to tell the world what it was that they were battling and dealing with every single day. The sheer determination was inspiring.

I’ve always been very open with my feelings, so have no problems of just saying, “I am having a crappy day.” You know, that feeling when you wake in the morning and you think to yourself, “I don’t know why, but it’s going to be one of those days.” I just warn everyone. That way, it isn’t a great shock to anyone if I am not my self.

I have a great support network in my wife and daughters. Just having a cuddle from them or listening to their stories about their little lives is priceless. I love going for walks, so I would often go for a long walk with my wife and talk at her about whatever it is that is going around in my head at that point.

Q. Have you found this project has impacted your life more than you expected?

Yes, definitely. I have made so many new friends and my faith in humanity has been restored thanks to the dystonia community being full to the brim with some of the most lovely and sincere people I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with. Absolute warriors and so inspirational! From the very start of working on the book, I was exposed to a whole world of forms of dystonia that I had not only not heard of, but wouldn’t have ever stumbled across if it hadn’t been for the work I was doing. It showed me that dystonia awareness is not only vitally important outside of the dystonia community, but within it too. Finally, I guess what I almost selfishly planned to be a one-and-done in regard to this project has lead to me wanting to champion and awareness as much as I can whenever I can. Warriors of Dystonia continues to grow, and I am proud to have started it.

Q. You are also a self-published author, can you say a bit about this or is it top secret?

Being a complete control freak means that the self-publish route suits me just perfectly. Whenever I have written a book, the formatting, layout, cover art and pretty much every other aesthetic as well as the writing must look exactly how I want. There’s a method and plan behind my madness! The downside is that you discover that writing a book is easy, it’s the getting it out there into the public eye that is difficult. Although it would be fantastic to see Warriors of Dystonia in books shops, the word Dystonia isn’t something that you just stumble across, so I would expect that most people who are looking for a book about dystonia will stumble across my book when scouring the internet.

Anyone going down the self published-route needs to be prepared to have a plan of how they will release their masterpiece onto the world, and this needs to begin before the date you plan of unleashing it. You need to drum up interest, use all of the tools the internet gives you, put yourself out there so that people get to know you and then talk to your audience. Warriors of Dystonia the book didn’t exist in January 2020, but by the time it was released, everyone who had been following the project knew exactly what it was that I was putting together, when it was coming out and knew a lot about me. Once the book is released, you must keep up that momentum. This is where I struggle, because I keep thinking that any time that I am investing in marketing could be time spent writing or working on a new project!

Q. What is your next project?

I have been writing under a pseudonym for many years and my plan is to continue something I started many years ago under that alias. When it comes to writing, my passion is in surreal, off-the-wall comedy and horror. As well as that, I have drafted a plan for a podcast that I will be hopefully starting this year, it will be another one-man-show, and will be a mix of reviews, random stories of the week and probably a lot of swearing.

These are regular questions I ask everyone, but you may want to skip some if you don’t want to discuss your other books.

Q. What is your favourite book?

The Pilo Family Circus and the Skulduggery Pleasant Series. Pilo Family Circus is one of the most unique horror stories I have ever read.

Q. Who is your favourite author?

Derek Landy, bit that’s because I absolutely love the Skulduggery books.

Q. Is your writing influenced by the books you have read?

I would say not really. My writing is a messy amalgamation of influence from films, comics, music, with a splash of books. One of my biggest influences is life and the characters I meet along the way.

Q. Where is your favourite place to read or write?

I enjoy reading in my living room with movie soundtracks or instrumental music playing in the background. If I have music on that has lyrics my brain tends to start drawing me to the music.

Q. When did you begin writing and how did being published come about?

I have been writing ever since I was a young teen, but I really got into it after I wrote a controversial short story about my secondary school, a killer bear and the carnage that ensued when that bear got to the school. It was over-the-top, completely inappropriate comedy mixed with horror; a printout of the story started to circulate around my school and I became a legend! I absolutely loved hearing about how funny people found the story. Years later, at university, I wrote a series of stories about my life and once again I found it fantastic to see people reading my work in the workshops and laughing. In 2006 I completed Nanowrimo and at the end of it I put the transcript into a book. Seeing an actual physical copy of the story in this way made me want to put more out! I then created my first writing alter ego and haven’t looked back.

Q. If you have a genre you write, how did you begin writing in this style?

I love writing comedy that is mixed with horror, occult and it always tends to be quite surreal and totally unpredictable. Some of my inspirations would be the unpredictable comedy of Reeves and Mortimer, the surrealness of Monty Python and the crude, horror-tinged shock tactics of League of Gentlemen. I also love to listen to paranormal and conspiracy podcasts too as they offer a writer such a diverse pallet of characters and stories!

Thank you so much for joining me for a natter and all you do for the dystonia community. More information on Karl’s book follows.

Warriors of Dystonia by Karl Kiddy

Blurb

“Dystonia is the third most common movement disorder behind essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease, yet hardly anyone has heard of it. Little is known about the condition or what causes it, but what is certain is that it can affect anyone at any age, at any time, any part of the body and has no cure. Whether directly having dystonia or caring for someone who has it, Warriors of Dystonia shares the candid, emotional journeys and experiences of people from all over the world whose lives are affected by this chronic neurological condition.”

Warriors of dystonia
Website – https://warriorsofdystonia.wordpress.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WarriorsOfDystonia/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/warriors.of.dystonia/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEFh6BtXWlE8BYM_T7AC6cw

Purchase book: https://warriorsofdystonia.wordpress.com/

More information about dystonia: https://www.dystonia.org.uk/

Thank you again Karl for joining me and good luck in your next project.

An update on my challenge for Dystonia Around the World, migraines and dystonia attacks have meant I’m slower than normal but I’m now on book 5 of my readathon to raise awareness and fundraise for dystonia UK. I will be updating my page here

Happy reading and writing!

Love

#DystoniaAroundTheWorld Challenge, All about Books, Dystonia Around the World Challenge, Guest post

Guest Post: Cured or Dead by A.G Parker

September 9, 2021 kakenzieblog

Like many I was glued to the Paralympics in the last couple of weeks especially the swimming as I followed fellow dystonian, Tully Kearney. What an achievement to get a silver and gold! Channel 4 did a wonderful job at presenting the Paralympic games and it was great to see disabled people in the limelight on mainstream television which was not limited to just those competing which had happened in years previously. I only hope the representation of disabled people continues and not downgraded until the next games. Representation matters. It gives people, who are normally forced into the shadows, a voice, shows them they are not alone and what can be done if given the opportunity but also shows that we are like everyone else with our own stories. Representation is also important in publishing and books. I’m excited to pass over my blog to A.G Parker, author of Twisted Roots, to discuss this further.

Image: graffiti of two people in wheelchairs about to kiss

Guest Post: Cured or Dead by A.G Parker

“If in the first act you see a disabled person, by the end they must be cured or dead.”*

Don’t look at me, that’s what Chekov said.

Ok, he didn’t, but that’s my version of Chekov’s gun, and after eighteen months leaning on escapism – oftentimes being at the mercy of whatever’s on, in stock or wedged in the shelves – I can tell you it sadly rings too true. From romance to science fiction, fantasy to crime, disabled people are rarely anything but plot devices to make an able-bodied protagonist look good/bad/kind/sadistic. Disabled characters aren’t given the nuance or the opportunity to represent the disabled community authentically. Heck, we’re not even given agency or a personality half the time.

And the fact is, we can see all too clearly just by looking at our pandemic statistics how art and popular culture influence life and vice versa. In the UK, 60% of deaths in this pandemic were disabled people†. The mechanism by which this was allowed, even pushed for, goes thus: Society is sold a story, saturated with multiple stories, actually, which depict disabled people as, as a certain government phrased it, eaters – a drain on the precious economy, offering little in the way of contribution. The public, already operating under fear because pandemic, follow the brutal logic that herd immunity and prioritising the economy over disabled lives is the right course of action. Because, despite ¼ of us being disabled, most people absorb the stories they’d fed rather than rely on evidence. Even if they don’t consciously believe it, information shared this way goes in. It’s one of the most vital and effective ways of sharing knowledge. But at the moment stories, along with politicians, aren’t doing us any favours. Internalised ableism – as a result of media, politics, literature, society’s perception of us – was one of the main issues I had with being disabled. Because aren’t we all wheelchair-bound, benefit cheats and scammers? Isn’t our disability as a result of sin? Either that or we’re inspirational.

Ableist storytelling is nothing new. It’s a ripple from decades past which has gathered strength – political manifestos and the media and literature ricocheting off each other – until finally, at the peak of the crescendo, the wave breaks and we’re left with 80,000 (disabled people) dead to a virus, and no-one is even asking for the government to be held accountable.

So how do we change that? How do we stop disabled people, too, believing the narrative that we are ‘less than’, others. How do we eradicate the deadly ableism?

We have to be represented.

Simply put, we have to change the narrative perpetuated by media, politicians, economists, and fearmongers. We have to push for representation which authentically shows the disabled community as it is. We need protagonists and side-kicks, background characters and entire casts who are disabled.

(We don’t need more disabled villains.)

We need disabled characters whose raison d’être is disability-focused, and we need others whose disability is incidental. And we need to imagine futures where there is equality for disabled people. That mainstream speculative fiction and fantasy haven’t achieved this yet makes me incandescent with rage. You’re literally writing about made up things; if you’ve got a talking dragon or a hat that can see into your soul and choose which school house you belong to, you can damn well envisage a disabled person being a hero. We do not deserve to be side-lined or sideshows.

I won’t list the abundance of ableist nonsense I’ve read, watched or heard in the past two years, but I will say, I read a SFF book about a deadly pandemic where NO DISABLED PEOPLE SURVIVED, but suddenly, fairies appeared. Another book where the MC sampled multiple versions of their life and in none of them were they physically disabled. You can guess how that affected my mental health.

But.

I’ve also read S. L. Huang’s Zero Sum Game, which has a badass disabled character who doesn’t die and even, how dare he, remains steadfastly disabled and badass until the end. No cure or desire for one in sight.

I read apocalyptic fiction where a bunch of disabled people banded together and lived.

I watched Ryan O’Connell’s Special and loved it.

I read Stephen Lightbown’s The Last Custodian. (And cried.)

I watched disabled burlesque performers.

Saw a disabled stand-up act.

Read books with protagonists working through mental health crises.

Attended an exhibition about eugenics put together by disability activists.

Connected with other disabled writers and talked about disability representation in literature and other media, and listened to poetry written by other people in our community. There’s work out there. We just need more of it.

Luckily, somewhere along the course of this pandemic, I remembered I’m a writer. So, in the last year or so, I’ve written and performed spoken word about disability, queerness and politics. I’m 40,000 words into a SFF where two of the main characters are disabled. I’ve written essays and articles and been interviewed by the FT about disability. In short, I’m being LOUD. Because that’s what our community deserves – more authentic voices telling our own stories, reminding the non-/not yet-disabled people that we are just like them. Deserving of life, and all the wonders of creation.‡

Author Biography

A. G. Parker is a London-based writer, editor, and Best of the Net nominated poet. Their debut dark fantasy novel, Twisted Roots is now available to buy, and their poetry, fiction, and essays have been featured in various publications, including Mslexia, The F-Word, Elevator Stories, The Feminist Library, Prismatica, Ogma, Sufi Journal, Sage Cigarettes, Earth Pathways, and more. Their craft essay about disability representation in fiction features in Human/Kind Press‘ anthology Musing the Margins. They are the English Language Editor for Angeprangert! and a staff reader at Prismatica Magazine. They run mindful writing workshops that encourage people to explore and develop a connection with Self through creativity; Sacred Anarchy will run from September 2021. As a pansexual, genderqueer and disabled writer, they hope their work offers readers an inclusive perspective. Will read your tarot for a price.

Purchase link for Twisted Roots

Instagram @a_g_parker

Twitter @amara_gparker

Website amaragparker.wixsite.com/agparker

Thank you for popping by A.G Parker and can’t wait to catch up with your book, Twisted Roots which I have been recommended to more than once.

Happy writing and I’d love to know your favourite book with disabled characters. Please comment below.

Love

P.S Currently reading book 5 on my reading challenge for #DystoniaAroundTheWorld challenge. More info can be found here.

All about Books, Meet the Author

Meet the Author: Christina Courtenay

July 19, 2021July 18, 2021 kakenzieblog

It’s Monday! This means one thing – it’s time to meet an author and I’m excited to introduce Christina Courtenay, author of Whispers of the Runes to my blog, who is loved by myself and those who visit the Enchanted Emporium’s bookshelf.

Meet the Author: Christina Courtenay

Welcome Christina, I’m so excited you are here to chat about Vikings and your heroes. Over to you

The word Viking is one most people recognise and it instantly conjures up thoughts of fierce men, hellbent on plunder, rape and violence. But that’s not what I think of when I hear that word, because the majority of the Vikings were not like that. They were determined, courageous and adventurous, and totally fearless. They also had a well-developed justice system that was as fair as it was possible to be. Some totalitarian states of today could learn a thing or two from them!

With my Runes series, I wanted to show a different side to them. That yes, they did go plundering, but not all of them were bad people. They were just like us – some good, some not. And some of the things we think of as bad weren’t necessarily so to them. Also, those people who fell foul of their attacks weren’t really much better – in fact, some of them were far worse in many ways.

The hero of the first book in the series, ECHOES OF THE RUNES goes “a-Viking”, ie. he sets off on a journey with the sole purpose of bringing home thralls and treasure. Yet, he’s not your average marauder because his heart isn’t in it. The only reason he does it is to prove to his wife that he’s not a coward (she’s a horrible woman who knows how to push his buttons). And with the other books, especially WHISPERS OF THE RUNES, I wanted to highlight their intrepid travels across oceans and continents, all thanks to the amazing longships they developed, and their curiosity and sense of adventure. Setting off across the north Atlantic in an open ship, filled with supplies and even cattle, took true courage!

So I guess what I’m really saying is, I wish people would stop giving the Vikings such a bad press and really look at all their amazing achievements, rather than the small percentage who decided to terrorise Western Europe for a while. It would take nearly a thousand years before women in Scandinavia (and elsewhere) regained the sort of rights Viking women had, because once Christianity arrived, they became chattels. And whatever we think of them, an awful lot of us are descended from them because they spread far and wide. So beware what you say – you might be talking about one of your direct ancestors!

Your Runes series is based in the times of the Vikings, what attracted you to write about this time in history?

I’m half Swedish so the Vikings have always been part of my heritage, and of course at school there the teachers paid special attention to that era. There are reminders all around the country – runestones, graves and artefacts in museums – and as I was a history buff from an early age, I also read all the Norse sagas when I was quite young. They made a huge impression on me. Besides, there is something very romantic about Vikings, wouldn’t you say?

Your novels are highly detailed and blend fact with fiction seamlessly, how do you tackle research?

Thank you! Like any author writing historical fiction, I research the background and history in general first, then study particular aspects more in depth. I read lots of factual books, watched TV programmes, visited museums and attended events like the Jorvik Viking Festival. I also travelled to some of the places the Vikings were known to have occupied, and I went to outdoor museums where there are reconstructed houses and/or ships. I try not to get too bogged down in research as I’m always impatient to get to the actual story, which to me is the most important thing, but obviously I try my best to get all the facts right as much as possible.

What inspired you to write time slip novels? Do you write other genres?

Ever since I read one, I’ve wanted to write timeslip myself – it’s my favourite sub-genre. I think it was Barbara Erskine’s Lady of Hay that really tipped the balance for me – it was just such a great story and I loved the premise of having two timelines that intertwine. I have written other genres – pure historical romance and also contemporary YA – and currently I’m writing time travel which is slightly different. (It’s not a dual timeline, instead the protagonist from the present actually physically travels back in time). Timeslip is my preferred sub-genre though and I’d like to continue with that.

Rurik and Sara are your latest protagonists in Whispers of the Runes and Rurik also appeared in a previous book. Did you always intend for him to have his own novel or did the idea develop later?

He was always going to get his own book as I had planned a trilogy for the three brothers. Also, I really liked him as a character. I had to force myself not to let him steal any of the spotlight when he appears as Hrafn’s brother in THE RUNES OF DESTINY because otherwise the heroine might have fallen for him instead. That would have been awkward!

I have a bookcase full of books I will keep forever and regularly reread them. Do you reread books, or do you only read them one?

There are some books I reread occasionally – Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion for one as it always makes me laugh – but mostly I only read them once. There are just so many wonderful stories out there and only so much time, and I wouldn’t want to miss the next amazing one.

What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading four or five books per week, so it’s a mixture of romance sub-genres. Among them Nicola Cornick’s The Last Daughter, Kylie Scott’s Fake, Kirsty Greenwood’s Big Sexy Love, Sarah Morgan’s The Summer Seekers and Loretta Chase’s Ten Things I Hate About the Duke. A mixture of timeslip, contemporary and Regency this week 😊

If you could go back in time, which era would you go to and why?

Obviously, I’d like to visit the Viking era to see if I’ve portrayed it correctly in my books, but I would also quite like to visit the haut ton of the Regency. Only if I ended up in a very rich household, of course, and not as someone’s scullery maid!

What is your favourite book?

Favourite ever has to be Cotillion by Georgette Heyer

Who is your favourite author?

I can’t really choose just one again, but if I must, Georgette Heyer again

Is your writing influenced by the books you have read?

I suppose we are all influenced by everything we read but I hope by now I’ve developed my own style

Where is your favourite place to read or write?

Anywhere I can sit with lots of cushions behind me (I have a bad back)

When did you begin writing and how did being published come about?

I began because I wanted to be a stay-at-home mum to my first daughter and not have to go back to work and leave her at day care, so I decided to try my hand at writing. As it turned out, getting published was a lot harder than I thought so it wasn’t until she left home, aged 21, that I finally made it into print! Good thing I’d been bitten by the writing bug and didn’t give up. I got my first book published following an introduction to an editor at an RNA (Romantic Novelists’ Association) party.

You can discover more about Christina Courtenay’s new release Whisper of the Runes here.

Purchase link: https://smarturl.it/WOTRCC

Author biography

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. Whispers of the Runes (time travel published by Headline 24^th June 2021) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Social Media Links

Website: http://www.christinacourtenay.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinacourtenayauthor?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PiaCCourtenay

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ChristinaCourtenayAuthor/

Thank you so much Christina Courtenay for popping by and chatting about all things Vikings, books and writing. Good luck in your next project.

Have a wonderful week and take care!

Love

All about Books, Meet the Author, The Enchanted Emporium's Bookshelf

Meet the Author: Amanda Larkman – Witches, Magic and Favourite Books

February 23, 2021February 23, 2021 kakenzieblog

Recently, I found a book that immersed me into the story from the start with an outspoken, waspish centenarian witch who reluctantly takes a woman under her wing. This is one thing I’m grateful to Facebook for as it kept popping up on my newsfeed making it impossible to resist. Today I am very excited to have The Woman and the Witch’s author Amanda Larkman popping in to to talk about her book, magic, reading and writing tips. My review for her book can be found here.

The Woman and the Witch Blurb

‘I see the wood first. A knitted shawl of green and black tossed across the shoulders of the ancient hills. I take a great gulp of breath, my lungs no longer compressed by cages of contorted bone. I want to drink the cool air like water, scented as it is with earth and starlight.But as I drift close to the house, I falter. Something is wrong. I will myself on, ignoring the whispers of pain beginning to curl up from my bed-ridden body. A ball of dread is growing in my stomach; it is so terribly black and heavy it slows me down. My hands shake. The light is gone.’Nothing ever changes in the village of Witchford until the day a hundred year old, bad-tempered witch falls and breaks her hip, and a fifty year old cleaner decides her life is over. Both are haunted by ghosts, but can Frieda help Angie to find out what her long dead father is trying to tell her? And can Angie help Frieda fight off the wolf who circles ever closer?

The Woman and the Witch https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B086K184T8

Airy Cages and Other Stories https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KRJYZZT

Meet the Author: Amanda Larkman

**Hi Amanda. I am thrilled you could join us today. Your book The Woman and the Witch bring together Frieda a 100 year old witch and Angie, who is in her 50s. They are two very different characters, do you share any of their traits?**

I very much identify with Angie. The loss of her child was the way in which I processed the loss of my first son, James, who was stillborn at 42 weeks. But more generally, I wanted to explore a character who had ended up limping along in a marriage that died many years ago. At 50 she has resigned herself to a dull, unloved life that won’t change, her adventures are behind her. Meeting Frieda (as well as her husband’s affair) opens Angie’s eyes to everything she was capable of, getting rid of her self-limiting beliefs.

Frieda is a character I really enjoyed creating, very much based on my grandmother who I looked after for a short time when she was in her mid-90s. Absolutely uncompromising and not interested in pleasing anyone. She was very different to me – I hate upsetting people! – so I had a whale of a time having her go round being rude to people. She’s brave, strong and (despite her outward appearance and behaviour) kind. I hate the way our society overlooks and dismisses elderly people – especially women – and I wanted to explore a character who doesn’t give a stuff about ‘proper’ behaviour, and has the power to back it up, righting the wrongs she sees around her.

Angie is a character I connected to from the start, but she isn’t the young apprentice associated with books where a witch takes someone under her wing. Was this a conscious decision?

Both Frieda and Angie didn’t go down the path they were supposed to. Frieda absolutely rejected the idea of taking on a young apprentice and suffers because of that decision. Because of her father, Angie never discovered what she was capable of until she met Frieda. I supposed I subverted the young apprentice trope as I wanted to celebrate women no matter their age, while passing on and reinforcing the idea that it is never too late. Despite what society tells us, life doesn’t end at 29.

Her story gave me a boost to stop procrastinating and continue to follow my dreams. Frieda is a complex character and not the nicest person making her a joy to read when she gets her revenge however small on people by magical means. What came first the characters or the plot?

Definitely characters. The idea for the book sprang fully formed into my head when I pictured a plumber in a kitchen with a bent over, wizened old woman sitting smiling sweetly in the corner zapping him with invisible darts and making his tools fall to the floor whenever he reached for them. The idea made me laugh and got me wondering what else she could do.

The story deals with magic and ghosts. Have you ever had any supernatural experiences and if so, did this influence your storytelling?

Not really. I think of the magic in the book as being very real. I have read many studies that prove the power of nature, walking in the woods can lower your blood pressure, hugging a tree can help with anxiety… as well, of course, the recognised benefits of herbs and flowers. So. what I did with The Woman and the Witch was to take this to the next level and find a woman who could somehow harness the power and energy of the natural world.

Where did you get the idea for this book?

I think a combination of remembering my grandmother, reading articles on the restorative power of nature, and hitting 50!

What is your favourite book?

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.

Who is your favourite author?

Oooh impossible to choose! The ones on my list whose books I automatically order without even knowing what they are about (in no particular order) are… Marian Keyes, Sophie Hannah, Nicci French, Jilly Cooper, Kate Atkinson, Jenny Colgan, Liane Moriarty, Maggie O’Farrell, and Lisa Jewell.

It is a cruel question because it is hard to choose a favourite but some of my go to authors are on your list too. What are you currently reading?

I’m teaching Chaucer at the moment, and the whole pandemic nightmare has meant I am finding reading anything challenging really hard. So, I am currently working through Marian Keyes’ back catalogue (again) and am looking forward to re-reading ‘Rachel’s Holiday’.

Is your writing influenced by the books you have read?

Yes, definitely. I read all the time and have to work hard to not let someone else’s style leak into mine. I think I’ve only just found my voice or style and it took my thirty-five years!

Where is your favourite place to read or write?

Bed! And if my family won’t let me stay there, the kitchen table.

When did you begin writing and how did being published come about?

I’ve got drawers stuffed with terrible novels I’ve written every few years since I was about 15. I’ve spent thirty years sending them out to agents and never had any luck. I felt ‘The Woman and the Witch’ had an important message, so I spent three years making it the best it could be. Most of that time was chucking great chunks of it out and re-writing the damn thing! With a full-time job and two demanding children it was very hard to find the time and I had to be terribly selfish.

When I was finally happy with it (and I was really sick to death with it by the end!) I sent it off to agents again. Most didn’t even reply, but a couple said they liked it but as it was difficult to categorise they didn’t think it would sell well to publishers.

This time instead of giving up I thought ‘sod it, what would Frieda do?’ and decided to publish it independently. I was expecting to sell a handful of copies and for it to sink into obscurity, but people seemed to have liked it and I’ve had some lovely reviews that have sent me over the moon! I am so happy people have enjoyed it as well as being kind enough to come and tell me they liked it.

I loved it as you can see from my review here. Do you reread books or do you only read them once?

Re-read old favourites all the time.

Quite a lot of people have decided to write during lockdown. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

I can only say what worked for me; everyone is different, so it’s all about finding what works for you. Marian Keyes has put together a series on becoming a writer on YouTube and its brilliant and FREE!

Write every day – I aim for 1,000 but sometimes life gets in the way. But it does get you into the groove. Even if putting a word down feels like climbing a mountain, just keep putting one foot (or word) in front of another. Eventually the brakes will come off and you’ll write a great whoosh of thousands that will tumble out of you. The next day you might be back to one word every ten minutes, but the whoosh will come back.
Get a first draft down. Even if it’s utter rubbish, get the draft down. It’s much easier to work on a rubbish draft than it is a blank page.
Don’t let anyone see it until you finish it. You need to get what is in your head down first and then tweak it. People will interfere and make you lose confidence, which is death to anything creative. Wait until your draft is pretty solid before exposing it to the cold eyes of a beta reader!

I agree with Marian Keyes series, it is wonderful and she is so open and natural in her approach. It can be found here for those wanting to give writing a try or need some advice.

Thank you Amanda for joining me today, it has been great chatting to you and I hope to read some more of your work in the future.

Author Biography

Amanda Larkman was born in a hospital as it was being bombed during a revolution. The rest of her upbringing, in the countryside of Kent, has been relatively peaceful.

She graduated with an English degree and has taught English for over twenty years. ‘The Woman and the Witch’ is her first novel.

Hobbies include trying to find the perfect way to make popcorn, watching her mad labradoodle run like a galloping horse, and reading brilliant novels that make her feel bitter and jealous.

She has a husband and two teenage children, all of whom are far nicer than the characters in her book.

Social Media links

Twitter https://twitter.com/MiddleageWar

Website https://middle-agedwarrior.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amanda_larkman/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MiddleageWar/

Have you read Amanda’s book? Do you have any writing tips? I would love to know your thoughts below.

Take care and stay safe.

Love

All about Books, Guest post, Meet the Author

Meet the Author: Kate Ryder Author of Beneath Cornish Skies

January 6, 2021January 6, 2021 kakenzieblog

Today I am excited to be chatting to Kate Ryder, the author of Secrets of the Mist, and her new release Beneath Cornish Skies and is on my TBR pile. So grab a coffee or tea and cake if needed and discover more about the person behind these books.

Hello Kate, thank you so much for popping by. Your books are based in Cornwall, what draws you to this setting for your novels?

Three of my four published novels are set in Cornwall, which is such an inspirational county for the writer/artist in me. As a Piscean I’m drawn to the sea, and Cornwall’s natural, ruggedly beautiful coastline always gets my creative juices flowing!

Did any of your inspiration for novels originate from your own real-life experiences?

Secrets of the Mist (interestingly, the only novel I’ve set in a different county) was inspired by renovations to our 200 year old cottage during which a time capsule was discovered, secreted away by a previous owner. Its contents were fascinating and it had me contemplating previous occupiers of our cottage and the dramas it may have witnessed. Readers took the novel to heart and it achieved #1 best seller in Time Travel Romance on Amazon UK, Canada and Australia.

I loved the cottage in Secrets of the Mist. Is this based on a real place?

The setting for the cottage is real – Walditch, in Dorset – but the actual property doesn’t exist. It’s purely from my imagination. However, the internal stained glass divide between the sitting and dining rooms and the ghostly presence were inspired by a conversation with someone who told me about an old Dartmoor cottage she once owned that she’d shared with a ghost.

I have a bookcase full of books I will keep forever and regularly reread them. Do you reread books or do you only read them once?

I have bookcases full of books (at least our old stone cottage is well insulated!). I do reread books but tend to put several months between subsequent readings.

What are you currently reading?

Several reviewers comment that my books remind them of Barbara Erskine’s writing. What a wonderful compliment! I’m currently enjoying the audible version of her novel, River of Destiny. It’s a terrific adventure, which the narrator has done justice to.

I would agree with their assessment, Secrets of the Mist did have the atmosphere of Barbara Erskine novels. River of Destiny is a great book and will now have to add it to my reread pile. Do you have any tips for would-be writers?

Remember that writing is a long-game. Smile and enjoy the journey!

Secrets of the Mist and your upcoming release are time slip novels with elements of the supernatural threaded through them. Is this a genre you always wanted to write?

In my late childhood/early teenage years, I was spellbound by Alison Uttley’s A Traveller in Time. The mix of history and timeslip seemed so believable. The story has remained with me through the intervening years, although I wasn’t aware this was a genre I would write. Summer in a Cornish Cove (and its standalone sequel, Cottage on a Cornish Cliff) is a contemporary romantic suspense novel that verges on psychological thriller, although (she laughs) there is a tiny smattering of the other side coming through!

What is your favourite book?

Frenchman’s Creek.

Who is your favourite author?

Daphne du Maurier. However, during lockdown I discovered several terrific authors that I’d not read before, including Christina Courtenay, Georgia Hill, Nicola Cornick and Susanna Kearsley. All historical dual-timeline/timeslip writers… funny that!

Is your writing influenced by the books you have read?

Definitely. When aspiring to being a good writer you should read a varied subject matter and as many books as possible.

Where is your favourite place to read or write?

During 2020 – the strangest of years – I did a lot of reading in bed; probably because it felt safe and warm. I write in my office, which is in the eaves of our three-storey Cornish cottage. Being on the top floor, it feels like an eyrie, tucked away from the distractions of the rest of the household.

When did you begin writing and how did being published come about?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can recall, and I’ve also worked in publishing. However, it took a certain milestone birthday to motivate me towards turning my dream of becoming a published author into reality. I joined the Romantic Novelist’s Association New Writers’ Scheme and submitted a manuscript for a professional critique. Taking on board my reader’s comments, I tweaked the manuscript and sent it to several publishing companies. There followed the inevitable rejections (par for the course) but Aria responded and offered me a four-book contract.

Blurb

Beneath Cornish Skies

To an outsider, Cassandra Shaw‘s life looks perfect. She lives in a beautiful, luxurious house in the English countryside, with a handsome, wealthy boyfriend who insists she needn’t do a day’s work in her life. But Cassie knows that something is not right. Her boyfriend has grown colder, treating her more like a housekeeper than a future wife. And her time feels empty and purposeless.

Cassandra has always been riddled with insecurities and self-doubt, but, just for once, she decides to take a chance on a new beginning. She answers an advert for a live-in nanny, dog walker, cook and all-round ‘Superhuman’ for a family living in a rambling manor house on the rugged North Cornish coast. The work is hard and tiring, but Cassie has never felt so fulfilled.

As Cassie learns to connect with the natural beauty unfolding around her, Cornwall starts to offer up its secrets. Soon, Cassie starts wondering if she was drawn to this isolated part of the coast for a reason. Why was she guided to Foxcombe Manor? What are the flashes of light she sees in the valley? Is it her imagination or does someone brush past her? And who is the mysterious man living deep in the woods?

A beautiful romance with a hint of ghostliness, Beneath Cornish Skies is for anyone who has ever longed to start their lives again.

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/364FTKy

Author Biography

Kate Ryder is an award-winning, Amazon Kindle international best seller who writes timeslip and romantic suspense in a true-to-life narrative. On leaving school she studied drama but soon discovered her preference for writing plays rather than performing them! Since then, she has worked in the publishing, tour operating and property industries, and has travelled widely.

Kate is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors. In 2017, she signed a 4-book contract with Aria (digital imprint of award-winning independent publisher, Head of Zeus).

Summer in a Cornish Cove, a contemporary romantic suspense set on the Lizard Peninsula, gained her a nomination for the RNA’s 2018 Joan Hessayon award, while its standalone sequel, Cottage on a Cornish Cliff, reached the heady heights of #2 in Kindle Literary Sagas.

‘Secrets of the Mist’, a mysterious timeslip romance, not only achieved #1 Kindle best seller flags in the UK, Canada and Australia, but also reached #49 in Amazon UK Paid Kindle. In the original, self-published version (The Forgotten Promise) it was awarded the first Chill with a Book “Book of the Month”.

Originally hailing from the South East of England, today Kate lives on the Cornish side of the beautiful Tamar Valley with her husband and a collection of animals.

Social Media Links –

Author website: http://www.kateryder.me
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KateRyder_Books
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kateryder.author
Instagram: @kateryder_author

Thank you so much for joining me for a natter. I wish you luck in your new release and can’t wait to read it.

Happy writing, reading and keep safe!

Love