Instant bestseller? I still can't quite believe it.

Officially, The Ghostly Father isn't due out until next month.  But Amazon appears to have released it early, and I've heard that some friends have already received their copies.

Last Saturday morning, I had an email from the publisher telling me that based on pre-orders alone, it was number 1 in the "Alternative History" bestseller list.

To everyone out there who has helped to make this happen, I’d like to say a heartfelt “Thank You” – I just hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The Ghostly Father materialises!

This morning the postman delivered this:

Yes, it's an actual, physical book! 

Was this what really happened to Romeo & Juliet? 

Officially due out on St Valentine's Day, but you can pre-order it here.

Happy New Year - Happy New Book

Greetings, dear friends!  And a very happy 2014 to you all!

I'm happy to report that progress on the book continues apace.  Here's a sneaky peek of what we can expect to see next month:

After Whorl: Bran Reborn - a guest post by Nancy Jardine

Today I have another honoured guest on my blog: fellow-author Nancy Jardine.  Nancy is here to talk about her latest novel After Whorl: Bran Reborn.

A very warm welcome, Nancy.  Good to have you here!

Hello, Sue. I’m very pleased to be here with you, so close to the launch of After Whorl: Bran Reborn, the second book in my Celtic Fervour series of historical romantic adventures, which will be published on Monday 16^th December by Crooked Cat Publishing. I’ve been trying to find something different to write about at all of the stops on my mini- launch tour. Therefore, today, I’m going to go right to the very top of the Roman ladder to talk about the ‘big boss’ who has affected what my characters do in After Whorl: Bran Reborn. I hope my topic isn’t too familiar and that your readers read something new.

It sounds fascinating!  So tell me - what have The Flavians to do with After Whorl: Bran Reborn? And who was this top ‘Roman’ dog in AD 71, the date at which After Whorl: Bran Reborn begins? 

When I wrote the novel, I had to research to be sure of my facts, my memory being a bit unreliable at times.

The Roman Emperor in AD 71 was Titus Flavius Vespasianus, a man who had risen from relatively humble origins of equestrian birth to eventually become emperor at the age of 60. It helped that his father had paid for his early career, gaining Vespasian entry to the army as a young man; his pater having accrued considerable wealth as a tax collector, elevating their family to patrician status along the way. Having entered the lower ranks, Vespasian was then able to progress through the general paths of becoming a military tribune during the reign of Tiberius, and then on to become a praetor during Caligula’s reign.

Do the early parts of his career have any bearing on your characters?

Not quite, but the next stages Vespasian went through did to some extent. When Claudius set to conquer Britannia in AD 43, Vespasian joined the campaign with his Legio II Augusta. In what is now termed the south of England, Vespasian distinguished himself with his use of siege weapons against the heavily fortified settlements of the indigenous Celtic tribes, capturing and subduing a good number of these substantial hill forts. When sent to the south-west of England it’s thought that his objectives may have been to secure the south coast ports and harbours, and to gain control over the tin mines of Cornwall and the silver and lead mines of Somerset. This fact is important since, in a way, it has influenced some of the plot of After Whorl: Bran Reborn and even more so in the third book of my Celtic Fervour series –After Whorl: Donning Double Cloaks - which is due sometime around March 2014. The importance being that Vespasian knew there were natural resources in Britannia which could swell the Roman coffers.

Having distinguished himself so well as Legate of the Legio II Augusta, in Britannia, Vespasian was well lauded on his return to Rome with triumphal regalia.

How did that early posting in Britannia affect the characters in AD 71 in After Whorl: Bran Reborn? 

It meant Vespasian had a good working knowledge of what the Celtic tribes of Britannia were like. He had experienced the climate and the customs of the indigenous people. Military manoeuvres and campaigns in Britannia would have been enhanced by his background knowledge. The fact that he set up legionary headquarters at Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) prompted me to add building works of forts and fortresses into After Whorl: Bran Reborn. I have more on Vespasian, and the Flavians, on my blog if anyone is interested in learning a little extra about this particular Roman ‘top dog and his family’.

Thank you for inviting me here, today, Sue, It’s lovely to visit other Crooked Cat authors so close to the launch date of 16^th Dec for After Whorl- Bran Reborn.

You’re most welcome, Nancy.  And thank you for coming!

After Whorl: Bran Reborn is available for pre-order in paperback from Amazon UK (http://www.amazon.co.uk/After-Whorl-Reborn-Nancy-Jardine/dp/1909841323/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_1_CEPA)

Facebook Launch Party **Giveaways**

For a chance to enter the draw for a ‘triquetra’ necklace and other prizes, join Nancy’s Facebook Launch party and look for details of how to win the prizes on offer.

Blog launch Tour **Special Prize**

A special Blog Tour ‘friend’ will WIN a mystery gift for the most commented visits to blogs during the launch tour for After Whorl: Bran Reborn. (i.e. most comments between 9^th Dec and 18^th Dec wins the prize)  To be sure you don’t miss any blog posts check Nancy’s Blog regularly between the 9th Dec and the 17^th Dec. http://nancyjardine.blogspot.com

Nancy Jardine lives in the fantastic ‘castle country’ of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with her husband. She spends her week making creative excuses for her neglected large garden; doesn’t manage as much writing as she always plans to do since she’s on Facebook too often, but she does have a thoroughly great time playing with her toddler granddaughter when she’s just supposed to be ‘just’ childminding her twice a week.

A lover of all things historical it sneaks into most of her writing along with many of the fantastic world locations she has been fortunate to visit. Her published work to date has been two non- fiction history-related projects; two contemporary ancestral mysteries; one light-hearted contemporary romance mystery and a historical novel. She has been published by The Wild Rose Press and Crooked Cat Publishing.

You’ll find Nancy at the following places: Amazon UK author page    Amazon US author page   Blog    Website   Facebook  Goodreads   About Me   LinkedIn   Twitter @nansjar  Google+ 

In addition, Nancy’s novel Topaz Eyes has been nominated for the People’s Book Prize 2014.  You can vote for it here.

After Whorl: Bran Reborn

Ravaged by war

…AD 71. After the battle at Whorl, Brennus of Garrigill is irrevocably changed. 

Returning to Marske, Ineda finds her grandmother dead, though Brennus is not. Snared by a Roman patrol, they are marched to Witton where he is forced to labour for the Roman IX Legion. 

Embracing his new identity as Bran, Brennus vows to avert Roman occupation of northernmost Brigantia. Ineda becomes his doughty spying accomplice, though sometimes she’s too impetuous. Trading with the Romans lends excellent opportunities for information gathering. Over time, Bran’s feelings for Ineda mar with  his loyalty to Ineda’s father. 

When she disappears, and cannot be found, Bran enters direct service with Venutius, King of the Brigantes.

Vespasian image- http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vespasianus01_pushkin_edit.png

Friendship Cemetery - a guest post by Adele Elliott

Today I have an honoured guest on my blog.  Adele Elliott is the author of FRIENDSHIP CEMETERY, which was published last month by Crooked Cat Publishing.  I had the privilege of working with Adele as editor of this truly fascinating novel.  Here is what she has to say about it:

Friendship Cemetery is a real place. It is a lovely burial ground that dates from before the Civil War. There is something about it that is not at all creepy. It is beautiful and, in many ways, a very comforting place to visit.

That is not to say that it is not haunted. Many ghosts walk along the shadowy paths, both at night and sometimes during the day. This is a place that is so inspiring that even the most unimaginative person would be moved to create a story or a poem or a painting. It is magical.

For several years I had a snippet of conversation between two girls floating around in my head. However, I had no idea how to turn that small bit into a novel. I had some success with short stories when I was in college, winning several awards. Something kept telling me that this should not be another short story, but I was not sure how it would become a full-length novel. So, it sat dormant for a very long time.

When I finally began to write, I thought it had promise. I sent the first three chapters to a friend who teaches teachers how to teach writing. Complicated, but I needed some feedback. His response was that he did not understand if this novel was about Emma Grace, or about the city of Columbus, Mississippi. He also said that I had big problems with syntax. I ran to look up “syntax”.

I was quite devastated and did not show it to anyone again. By the time Friendship Cemetery was finished (about seven months later), no one, not even my husband, had read it. At that time, I told my writer/teacher friend that I was finished. He said, “Now it’s time to re-write.”

Well, if I knew what was wrong with it, I would have fixed it the first time. I had no concept of how to begin a re-write. So, I just started sending it out.

I was astounded when I received an acceptance from Crooked Cat Publishing. I called my husband to read the email, still not sure if this was a real offer.

Laurence, at Crooked Cat, connected me with you, as an editor. I expected huge re-writes, and major changes. As it turned out, the process was quite painless. You caught many small problems that had slipped by me, but would probably have been discovered if I had let my editor-husband read it. I will not make that mistake again.

Friendship Cemetery is a work of fiction, set in the real city of Columbus, Mississippi. It is the story of Emma Grace Leigh, an 18-year-old, who wants to become a ghost hunter. When the novel begins, her father has been dead for eight months. She goes into Friendship looking for ghosts in general, and specifically for her father’s ghost.

The cast of quirky characters include a young Afro-American boy, a healer-woman, and Princess Kamara (nicknamed Pea), a dwarf-girl who makes folk-art sculptures from the detritus found in the cemetery.

It is a story about secrets, family curses, and hubris, all of which can be destructive.

The places in and around Columbus are real; the characters are fiction. I don’t want local readers to try to figure out who they are. They are not existent people.

           

Although the cover looks spooky, the book is quite funny. This is no Stephen King novel.  It is appropriate for adults & mature teens. There is no sex, or graphic violence, or explosions. 

The main theme of Friendship Cemetery is that truth is limited by perception and experience. In the beginning of the novel, Emma believes Pea to be a leprechaun, which, of course, she is not.

It is also about acceptance. Pea’s defects are obvious: physical deformities. Others’ defects are more subtle.  Flaws such as superficiality, blind judgment and hubris are less apparent, but still corrosive. The sins of our parents, although sometimes just as hereditary as the shapes of our features or the color of our hair, can be erased.

Friendship Cemetery is an easy read. There are no confusing words like “syntax”.

Thank you Adele! 

FRIENDSHIP CEMETERY is available as a paperback or as an e-book.

National Poetry Day (and a bit of shameless self-publicity)

Today is National Poetry Day in the UK, and I spent a pleasant few hours this afternoon at an event in Manchester organised in its honour. During the course of the afternoon I inflicted some of my drivel on a bunch of totally innocent people who never did me any harm.  I hope they will find it in their hearts to forgive me.

Whilst I was sorting out what I was going to read at this event, Better Half suggested that I should end my set with a plug for the forthcoming novel. In verse.  

A few frantic hours of scribbling later, this is what emerged:

WATCH THIS SPACE

Way back in the late fifteen-hundreds,

a playwright (Will Shakespeare by name)

penned a tale about two star-crossed lovers;

a story which brought him great fame.

A young man who gatecrashes a party

meets a girl who’s the love of his life.

They are wed, but both dead four days later;

‘tis the price of their families’ strife.

At the start of the twenty-first century

a rebellious author named Sue

took Will’s story and re-wrote the outcome;

coming soon to a bookshelf near you!

A New Chapter Begins

Well, actually it began a few months ago, when Crooked Cat Publishing announced that they were looking for new people to join their editorial team.  Here, I thought, is an excellent opportunity to channel the rantings of my Inner Grammar Geek into a force for good.  And if I can’t make it as a writer myself, perhaps I can at least be of some use to those who can.

To cut a long story short, I applied, and they were brave enough to take me on.

Then, last month, those lovely people at Crooked Cat showed themselves to be even braver.  They accepted my debut novel for publication.

The Ghostly Father is a retelling of the old Romeo & Juliet story, but with a couple of (I hope) interesting twists.  More details on publication dates etc will follow in due course.