After a long-buried secret tears her family apart, Jess Hayden moves to the South Devon village of Lynbrook to live with her uncle. Rufus owns the village pub, The Black Bull, and having visited before, Jess knows the villagers well…especially one of them.
Talún Hansen has a reputation, making him the kind of man no decent girl should get involved with. Jess, however, has been under his spell from the moment they first met. Although they always seem to bring out the worst in each other, there is no denying the attraction that simmers between them – an attraction Jess knows she needs to keep under control after repeated warnings from her uncle.
As she settles into village life she begins to learn more about this wild, dark-haired gypsy with the compelling eyes, and realises their lives hold many similarities. Despite her uncle’s warnings, she begins to spend time with him. For Jess, the coming summer holds passion; for Talún the hope that he has at last found someone who truly cares for him.
But as autumn approaches, a dark shadow from Jess’s past returns, bringing far-reaching and unwanted changes for both of them.
Today I’m part of the blog tour for Joanna Lambert’s new book, Summer Moved On – available for kindle in the UK and US. It looks like a book I’d really, really enjoy – sadly no time to read it at the moment, but I’ll certainly be putting it on my kindle to catch up with later. Jo hasn’t held that against me at all, and I’m really delighted to welcome her to Being Anne with a guest post on her personal long and winding road. Over to you Jo…
I guess every writer’s journey is different not only because of the subject matter, but also the way in which they undertake the task. I can only comment from my own perspective but yes, for me, it is a long and winding road, full of twists, turns and the occasional pothole!
BEGINNING THE JOURNEY
I think as far as I’m concerned the worst part of the writing process is that time in between. It’s the moment when one book has been completed and published and the idea for the next is still floating up there in the ether somewhere. There is always that little niggle – what if there isn’t another book there? What happens then? And so it’s a great feeling when that new plot eventually reveals itself and the writing can begin again.
I do admire writers who have a host of plots lined up to turn into novels. It’s an enviable position to be in, but sadly it doesn’t work like that for me. It’s all about now – grabbing that spark of an idea and letting it marinate for a while to see whether it has potential. It’s a bit of a daydreaming moment I guess, working the story out in your head like scenes from a movie. Is it plausible? Will it be entertaining enough? Do the characters feel right and interact well? If I’m sufficiently happy with all of this I then run with it, building the story by adding in other characters and sub-plots; seeing whether there is enough there to turn it into a full blown novel.
The other thing, of course, is detailed plotting. I don’t think I’ve ever written something that’s been thoroughly plotted. It must be lovely to be able to do this; to be familiar with every part of the story from start to finish and know all you need to do is sit down and simply write. I usually start with my characters, an opening chapter, a few key scenes and an idea of how the book will end. What happens in the middle is a bit of a no-mans-land. I know it’s there but it will only reveal itself as I write. It’s a bit like taking a journey without sat nav. You know where you’re going but the exact route is something that can only be worked out on the way.
DETOURS
Another of my early habits which I’ve actually managed to wean myself away from now, is writing scenes as they come into my head. In the past this could be quite disruptive. If something hit me, it was a case of stopping where I was in the story and working on this particular scene until I had at least the bones of it put together. I do know holding an idea long term in your head isn’t good because when you do eventually find time to sit and actually write, the moment is lost. Conversely leaving the main manuscript to capture a new idea can also be detrimental to the process. So now it’s a halfway house – if inspiration does strike I reach for a pen and pad and bullet point my thoughts ready for a time when I am able to give it my full consideration.
PIT STOPS
AKA writer’s block. Yes, it’s a thing each and every writer suffers from at one time or another. There’s no predicting when it will strike or how long it will hang around; it goes when it goes and you simply need to be patient. If I do find myself in this situation I’ll take myself away from the office for a while and completely distract myself from writing. I go shopping or I cook, or get out in the fresh air and walk. And sometimes if he’s very lucky, I even take my OH out for lunch. There’s a method in my madness here, because although not a writer, he’s actually a great sounding board and can be quite helpful for moments like this!
JOURNEY’S END
I’m afraid typing ‘The End’, although a great place to be, is not the end at all. It’s merely the completion of the first part of the journey. The next is editing and that’s where the hard work begins. Polishing that first draft – tightening prose and dialogue, picking up typos, tweaking scenes you’re not quite happy with – until you are satisfied it’s in good enough shape to hand over to your professional editor. And for those of you who are currently on your first writing journey, yes you do need one of those – they are absolutely essential!
Thank you Jo! And with thanks to Brook Cottage Books, I can also offer the opportunity to win two e-copies of Jo’s lovely book (available internationally). Here’s the rafflecopter for entry…
Jo Lambert was born and brought up in rural Wiltshire in a small village on the edge of Salisbury Plain. She has spent most of her working life in Senior PA or Admin Management roles both in the private and public sectors. Her love of reading soon spilled over into writing and her first novel When Tomorrow Comes was published in 2009. Four other books – Love, Lies and Promises, The Ghost of You and Me, Between Today and Yesterday and The Other Side of Morning followed. They formed a series following the lives and loves of four Somerset families. Summer Moved On, her sixth novel, is the first part of a two book love story set in South Devon.
Jo lives on the eastern side of the Georgian city of Bath with her husband, one small grey feline called Mollie and a forty eight year old white MG Midget called Bridget. She loves travel, red wine, rock music and cooking for friends. Jo can be found on Twitter, has a Facebook author page, a website and a blog.
Thank you for featuring me on your blog Anne xx
A great pleasure Jo – and I'll even be entering the competition, your book looks thoroughly lovely! x
A very interesting post by Joanna and the books sounds very good. Thank you for the giveaway
I'm loving the sound of this, Jo. It's definitely one I'll be catching up with. Your raise an interesting point about detailed plotting. I have tried writing a blow by blow outline. Sadly, it stole my spark! I think a beginning, middle and end is a good place to start – and then just go with flow, accepting the minor (or major) detour) en route, of course. Pesky characters. I do wish they'd behave. Great interview, ladies! Thanks for sharing, Anne. 🙂 xx
They do have a life of their own Sheryl. I've always found no matter how you decide the direction of the plot, as you write other ideas crop up so it's best to go with a very loose idea of how it's all going to work out.