Nora Fountain: Blackthorn Child

A big hello to Nora Fountain who is our guest on the blog today.

Nora, you have written short stories for the women’s magazine market as well as novels. What would you say is your favourite form of storytelling?

I prefer to write novels. I’ve written lots of short stories and sold some of them but it’s not really my thing. I very much admire those who can turn out short, snappy stories. I like to get my teeth into a story, with the freedom to develop characters, and more than one or two of them. I like to get inside their heads and become that character. The first draft is the bare bones of the story, then comes the best part, editing and polishing, going through several times, the characters developing each time till I know them like old friends. As they develop they suggest little twists and turns of their own. In the end I love them all – even the baddies. They are me. I am them, and I’m sorry to have to say good-bye to them.

Would you recommend that those new to writing try their hand at writing long and short fiction?

If they want to. I don’t think it’s always necessary. I always wanted to write longer, more in-depth stuff. However, I didn’t really have a clue when I started Blackthorn Child, which began life as Downton’s Heir (!) and grew with every rewrite until it reached 180,000 words. Fortunately I’ve always enjoyed the art of précis but I’m now aware of the practicalities of producing such a long book. Publishers do not want to invest large sums in new writers.

I tried writing for M&B for a while, reading their authors voraciously. I loved writers such as Charlotte Lamb, Penny Jordan and Sara Wood. There was a seamless quality to their writing it is difficult to emulate. I did try, though, around a dozen times. On three occasions they read a partial and asked to see the rest. I was quite excited the third time but in the end it was turned down. I submitted one to Robert Hale, minus the steamy bits and it was accepted. Hurrah! They went on to take several more. These went into large print and translation in some cases. I carried on with full-length fiction and, to my delight, Thorpe bought Love Thine Enemy direct from me.

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading, Love Thine Enemy, Can we expect more historical novels from you with overseas settings?

I certainly hope so. Blackthorn Child went back and forth to agents and publishers till I changed tack and put it on Kindle. It soared to the top of three of their lists, occupying top spot for a while.

I am currently writing another historical set in Puglia where my youngest son lives, designing houses and teaching yoga. I have lots more research to do but I’m enjoying it. I’m also writing a contemporary romance set in Africa called Tropical Madness. It’s a year now since the accident that wrote off my car and broke eleven bones – a bit of a setback but I’m getting back in the saddle with interruptions for physio, etc. Perhaps I should write a hospital drama.

There are certainly a few health issues in Cupcakes and Candlesticks. This is my latest novella with a mature hero and heroine and set in the Dorset I love. When Rob announces he is leaving Maddy and their four children she is shocked but she picks up the pieces and forges a new life for the family out in the sticks. There she meets the gorgeous Guy Deverill, a landowner with angst of his own. I sold the large print rights to Cupcakes and Candlesticks to Thorpe and in the same week brought out the Create Space version of Blackthorn Child – or rather my son Basil did. He’s been a driving instructor for a couple of years but now has another string to his bow, offering services to novelists, formatting, putting on Kindle, etc. I’m no techie and couldn’t manage without him. My younger daughter played her part designing the cover for the paperback so it’s something of a family production.

Please tell us more about your five novels that are being reprinted by Samhain?

The American publisher Samhain have started a new line called Retro Romance. They’ve taken five of my novellas and given them gorgeous new covers which is all rather exciting. They can be viewed and are available on line from Samhain.

These days authors have to promote themselves on social media. How much time do you spend online? How does it help your work?

I probably spend far too long online, mainly Facebook where I have two pages, one an author page. I enjoy keeping up with news of my extended family- recently extended to include my first great-grandson, Alby Koa. Don’t ask. I’ve never heard of the names, either, but I do know he’s absolutely gorgeous with silky dark hair and eyes that will probably be brown. It’s great to hear news of other writers’ successes, too. I occasionally post on Twitter but I think I need lessons on using social media to the best advantage.

Nora Fountain is a professional writer and translator. Her short stories have been published by People's Friend, Yours, Australian Women's Weekly, Woman's Day and Fiction Feast, among others.
Her novels are mainly in the contemporary romance genre published by Robert Hale and My Weekly Story Library. Nora has also written historical romance. Her books are available on Amazon.
Five novels are currently being reprinted by Samhain as part of their Retro Romance series and are available from the publisher as ebooks.
Nora lives in Dorset and is a member of the Society of Authors and the Chartered Institute of Linguists, and is a committee member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Links:

 

Website

Amazon  

Thank you, Norah. It’s also good to hear you are well on the way to recovery after your accident.

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Why Write Young Adult?

Sixteen in my head, or Why I write YA?

Today Ruth Frances Long answers the question for us

Some years ago (not so many that I can excuse it all as a hazy memory, alas) my then-new boss asked my age. Obviously he shouldn’t have but the long pause that followed wasn’t from my shock at being asked this question. It was due to my actually having to stop, think and work out what age I was. Unfortunately for me, he realised what I was doing. “Don’t you know what age you are?” he asked in surprise. The answer to which, I blurted out without pause. “I’m sixteen in my head!” Because I am. I have been since I was sixteen in reality too.

I think everyone has an age they “are” in their head.  Most of my friends give an answer somewhere in the mid to late twenties, some in their thirties. One friend finds this idea seriously entertaining and has researched it thoroughly at this stage by asking just about everyone she meets what age they are in their head. She says she’s never met a man who will admit to being over twenty five (in his head). Draw your own conclusions on that! But me, I’m sixteen. The eternal teenager. 

On the outside I’m a (sometime) responsible adult, with a job and a family, a mortgage, a car etc. Inside however...

I think this is why I love to write for young adults. There’s something so interesting about that time of life. You’re always learning (even though you outwardly know everything already). You’re always looking forward to things. You’re the eternal optimist. Everything is about hope and growth.

When writing for adults there’s a certain expectation of seriousness, reality, of the grim consequences of time, its effect on life. Teens in adult books are often engaged in coming of age stories, the loss of innocence, the casting aside of childish things. Every theme connected with them seems to be about loss. If not, they are a flippant, annoying caricature, designed to display inexperience and silliness.

In YA fiction, it’s the opposite. Themes cover the discovery of self, of autonomy, becoming your own person, responsible for your own actions, making your own choices. Teens acquire knowledge and experience. They learn and grown in a way that often their adult counterparts don’t. It’s a vital part of their makeup.  A teen character is a changeable, evolving wonder, especially for the writer who is learning along with them.

As adults we desire to protect and nurture our children. But the teenager is all about breaking free of such constraints. They are “young adults” for a reason, the second word being the key one. They aren’t children anymore and it’s time for their independence to begin. Much is written about dark themes in teen books, about drink and drugs and sex, about death, illness and suicide, and whether books should deal with these things. Often writers are accused of glorifying or exploiting such themes.

But where better for the young teen to learn about them than safely between the pages of a book? Where better to have those adventures, to enter those conflicts, to feel that maelstrom of emotions, than a place where simply by putting it down and walking away, it can all stop in an instant. They might only do that for a moment, they might never pick that book up again—but, and this is key, it’s their decision. It is often a lot more difficult to have such control over events in the real world.

Writing for the young adult audience and reading books for the YA market is a rollercoaster. It’s an adventure. And it’s a joyous discovery.

 ---

 Ruth Frances Long writes young adult fantasy such as The Treachery of Beautiful Things (Dial, 2012) and the forthcoming A Crack in Everything (O'Brien Press, September 2014), the first in a trilogy set in the world of demons, angels and fairies that exists alongside our own in modern day Dublin. As R. F. Long she writes fantasy & paranormal romance such as The Scroll Thief (Samhain, 2009) and The Mirror of her Power (Taliesin, 2014). She lives in Ireland and works in a library of rare, unusual & occasionally crazy books.

Twitter: @RFLong 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RuthFrancesLong  
Tumblr: RFLong 

Website: www.rflong.com

A Crack in Everything by Ruth Frances Long

(O’Brien Press, 1^st September 2014, ISBN: 9781847176356, available to pre-order now)

She was a mistake. A crack in the order of the world …
When Izzy Gregory takes a wrong turn down a Dublin alley she stumbles into a shadowy, frightening world where magical beings, angels and demons hold sway. In this place where everything is strange, Izzy finds herself surrounded by danger, chased and threatened. Her only chance of survival lies with Jinx, who’s been sent to capture her. Jinx has known nothing but duty and cruelty from his own kind; Izzy is something altogether new to him – and to his world …
Falling in love was never in the plan, but it might be the one thing that can save them.

Waterstones, 
Amazon Uk, 
Book Depository

Thank you, Ruth. A child, or at least a young adult, at heart like the rest of us.

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