Thank you so much for inviting me on your blog. I’ll tell
you a little about myself.
The Joy of Writing.
I accept that writing can be a difficult process. At the
start of my career when a book was rejected I would deal with drying my tears,
put on a pot of coffee, and stoutly concentrate on writing another book, taking
any criticisms into account. Persistence, patience and practise are three
essentials. I have no problem finding time to write, spending hours each day,
being a full time job. In the past when I was running a business, I would write
in whatever spare moments I could find, even behind the counter while waiting
for customers, or late at night. I did my first five novels that way. Then and
now, I’m forever thinking about a possible story and make sure that I know what
I wish to write before sitting down at the computer. I’ve such a long list of
ideas, I may not live long enough to write them all. But then I don’t write as
fast as I used to. Such is the reality of age and being much more fussy.
Now, despite having written 48 books, including historical
romantic fiction and biographical historicals, as well as more sagas, I
thankfully became a Sunday
Times Bestselling author. But panic can still sneak in on occasions, warning me that what
I’m writing could be complete rubbish. When I feel this, I remind myself that
it doesn’t have to be perfect in the first draft, as I will edit it later. Once
the foundation is built and I know where I’m going, I sprint to the finish, or
almost. I love to reach the end, although the final chapter might be a bit
rough at that stage, then I go back and revise the whole thing, a notebook
beside me to keep track of loose ends that need tying up, details to check, and
so on. Scenes may get rewritten or moved, and I go over the book as many times
as is necessary, till it is as polished and perfect as I can make it. This is a
method that works for me. But everyone has their own system. And the more I
keep faith in the story, the more I come to love it.
I was fortunate back in 2010 to get the rights of many of my
backlist reverted from a couple of publishers. Hearing about ebooks in the US I
set out to learn how to produce them, finally achieved that and regularly
self-published some. Sales began quite slowly, which didn’t trouble me as I was
also writing for another publisher. But once Kindles arrived in the UK in
Christmas 2011, I must say my sales shot up surprisingly well and I was amazed
by my success. As a consequence in 2013, I was contacted by Amazon Lake Union
for an interview, then later offered a contract by them. My first book with
them, The Amber Keeper, soon sold over a hundred thousand, and has now
sold more. Such a thrill. Selling ebooks is now much higher for me than print
books. My second book was Forgotten Women, which is also doing quite
well.
Now comes publication of Girls of the Great War,
which I loved writing too. I was always supported by my parents, but Cecily in
this story had enormous problems with her mother. And there was no sign of her
father, which was a great worry to her and her sister Merryn. Queenie was a
most difficult woman, refusing to speak of him. She also greatly objected to
her boyfriend and plan not to marry a rich man. Her attitude did not please
Cecily at all, particularly as the love of her life was currently involved in
the war. And when she lost him, she very much wished to perform for soldiers in
the Great War
Excerpt from Girls of the Great War:
Ewan Godolphin was tall and athletic with powerful shoulders and
long lean legs, dark brown eyes and gloriously good looking. His face had
appeared a little more rugged and tired than usual, as a consequence of all he
was suffering in this war. His expression was still filled with warmth,
compassion and love. Once he’d returned to
his battalion Cecily continued to write to him most days and received
regular letters in response. There were periods when she heard nothing at all
from him in ages, as had been the case recently. A quiver of fear would rustle through her until his next letter arrived.
‘That boy has little hope of ever earning a
decent living,’ Queenie sternly announced. ‘And do not assume for one moment
that I will supply you with the necessary funds if you do marry him. I have
quite enough expenses, not least dealing with the upkeep of this fine mansion
house. You need a man with money and status who can provide you with a
wonderful life.’
The irritating thing was that she seemed
perfectly content for Merryn to remain at home as her carer, while constantly
urging Cecily to marry a rich man with whom she could live her life elsewhere.
She’d no intention of obeying such ridiculous instructions, while Merryn was
most keen to marry.
‘Happiness in marriage is not about money,’ she
remarked dismissively, giving a little chuckle in the hope of lightening her
mother’s temper. ‘I really have no wish to be a domesticated, stay-at-home wife
with a man I don’t love. I fully intend to live the kind of life that suits me.
Ewan is not against my working for a living and proud of the job I do for the
electric trams. It’s not quite what I would have chosen to do, but with this
war on, I feel it’s right to do my bit. I accept it won’t be easy to find more
interesting employment once it is over, or earn sufficient money, particularly
as women do not get equal pay let alone the right to vote. That could change
with time, and I’ll find something that appeals to me.’
‘Why would you? A young woman’s job should end
once she marries.’
Cecily groaned. ‘You sound so Victorian, Mama.’
‘Nonsense! Once a woman is married, she must
devote herself to being a good wife and mother. I mistakenly did not do that.’
‘How brave of you to admit that, Mama. What was
it you did wrong?’ Cecily asked, surprised to hear her confess this fault.
‘There were times when I felt as if life was
treating me like a piece of rubbish. I encountered endless problems, not least
the lack of love from my husband. I have no wish to remember his dismissive
attitude towards me. You should do what is right and proper in order to find
happiness and prosperity.’
Cecily had constantly asked questions about
what sort of a man her father was and why he had left them and tragically
drowned, receiving no response. Both girls felt bereft at losing a father over
whom they had very little memory. There was no point in harassing her further
on this subject. ‘Please don’t assume that because your marriage failed, mine
will too. Ewan and I are happy together and will make a success of it. If you
made the wrong choice of husband, do tell me why?’
Giving a frown Queenie again turned away,
avoiding meeting her enquiring gaze. ‘Your father was not an easy man and I was
most thankful to see the back of him.’
‘If that is the case, why do I still find you
crying for him sometimes, even in your nightmares?’
‘I’m not weeping for him or longing for
his return. I’m merely furious at the mess he made of my life, which is why I
advise you to ensure yours is better. When I was young I was entirely
naïve and dreamed of a perfect marriage. Nothing worked out quite as I’d hoped.
Dean ruined my life and I was left feeling in desperate need of love and care.
As a consequence, I am extremely thankful for my success on stage and have no
desire to discuss this issue further, with you or anyone.’
Cecily stifled a sigh. Was that because her
mother had little patience with other people’s points of view, being obsessed
with her own opinions and insisting upon complete control of her life? She
suspected Queenie might have acquired the art of adjusting her life story by
making up false tales in order to avoid revealing certain heart-rending facts.
Cecily found it so frustrating that she refused to confide in them about what
went wrong with her marriage, and whether their father had suffered an accident
or killed himself.
Blurb
Cecily Hanson longs to live life on her own terms—to leave the shadow of her overbearing mother and marry her childhood sweetheart once he returns from the Great War. But when her fiancé is lost at sea, this future is shattered. Looking for meaning again, she decides to perform for the troops in France.
Life on the front line is both rewarding and terrifying, and Cecily soon finds herself more involved—and more in danger—than she ever thought possible. And her family has followed her to France. Her sister, Merryn, has fallen for a young drummer whose charm hides a dark side, while their mother, Queenie—a faded star of the stage tormented by her own secret heartache—seems set on a path of self-destruction.
As the war draws to a close
and their hopes turn once again to the future, Cecily and Merryn are more
determined than ever to unravel the truth about their mother’s past: what has
she been hiding from them—and why?
Buy links:
Amazon UK: https://goo.gl/vxjpKa
Amazon US: https://goo.gl/b4hY7W
My Bio
I was born in a small mill town in Lancashire. My mother comes from generations of weavers, and my father was a shoe-repairer. I still remember the first pair of clogs he made for me. After several years of teaching, I opened a bookshop in Kendal, Cumbria. And while living in the rural Lakeland Fells, rearing sheep and hens, I turned to writing. I wrote over fifty articles and short stories for magazines such as My Weekly and Woman’s Realm, before finding my vocation as a novelist and became a Sunday Times Bestselling author. I’ve now written over forty-eight novels, mostly sagas and historical fiction, my three latest books, including Girls of the Great War, out in May are published by Amazon Lake Union. I spend warm winters living in Spain, and the rainy summers in Britain.
I was born in a small mill town in Lancashire. My mother comes from generations of weavers, and my father was a shoe-repairer. I still remember the first pair of clogs he made for me. After several years of teaching, I opened a bookshop in Kendal, Cumbria. And while living in the rural Lakeland Fells, rearing sheep and hens, I turned to writing. I wrote over fifty articles and short stories for magazines such as My Weekly and Woman’s Realm, before finding my vocation as a novelist and became a Sunday Times Bestselling author. I’ve now written over forty-eight novels, mostly sagas and historical fiction, my three latest books, including Girls of the Great War, out in May are published by Amazon Lake Union. I spend warm winters living in Spain, and the rainy summers in Britain.
Website: www.freda@fredalightfoot.co.uk
Twitter: @fredalightfoot
My Blogspot: http://www.fredalightfoot.blogspot.com/
If you wish to be kept up to date on new titles and contests, sign up
on my website http://www.fredalightfoot.co.uk to subscribe to my Newsletter: I only send out
4 or 5 a year so your inbox won’t be flooded.
*****
GIVEAWAY!
Make sure to follow the whole tour—the more posts you visit
throughout, the more chances you’ll get to enter the giveaway. The tour dates
are here: http://writermarketing.co.uk/prpromotion/blog-tours/currently-on-tour/freda-lightfoot-3/
I was born in a small mill town in Lancashire. My mother comes from generations of weavers, and my father was a shoe-repairer.
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited by the way you accepted your failure. I have pretty big problems from this point, I always feel pretty bad and sad when something goes wrong (it means not by the way I wanted). That's why when I decided to change my field, I tried to find the best resume writing services to have a new resume and get a new job for sure. Maybe, that's my problem, but in some point that's my advantage. I always try to do my best!
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