What’s your one line pitch or teaser for the book? Grab a
reader’s attention with one line.
Two boys. A castle in a Highland loch. The science of magic. So many adventures.
Tell readers a little about your main character or
characters?
The main character in Honour’s Rest is Pendragon Devon, who only ever thinks of himself as being “Pen”. In fact, he doesn’t really like his full name at all, holding it against his parents that they hadn’t considered the potential impact on their son when they named him. At the start of the book, Pen thinks that his name is the only unusual thing about him but, by quite early on, it’s clear that isn’t the case…
The second main character is the wonderfully-named (if I do say so myself!) Marley Shipperbottom. I named him after Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol who is, I believe, the greatest friend in literature: he saves his friend with no hope for improvement in his own situation. My Marley’s a bit like that too: he always tries to be what Pen needs and tends to forget about himself in the process.
The final member of the Main Character Trio in Honour’s Rest is Napier: Pen’s uncle and mentor. Of all the characters I’ve written, Napier is the one I fell in love with. He’s all damaged and well-meaning but there’s a backstory which means he’s not able to express himself effectively. He personifies my love of the quintessential gentleman but also highlights how the “stiff upper lip” isn’t always the best approach.
Where do you like to write? Do you have an office or
writing nook?
I don’t have any strong preferences about where I write. My family and I have just moved into a beautiful neo-Gothic house in an area of Scotland which is officially described as “Extremely Remote” and I can’t wait to start writing here. There’s a summer house in the garden and I love the idea of writing in there, but the conservatory and drawing room both have tables and are probably a bit warmer!
What I really like is to write with my sisters, Virginia and Clemency. My most prolific (if not best!) writing comes when we have our Story Days. We gather around the table and bring out the Inspiration Box, put on the Inspirational Playlist on Spotify, and begin to write. In the evening, we have drinks and snacks and read each other’s stories. Bliss!
What is one of your best marketing tips for other
authors?
This is a tough one. I’m pretty bad at self-promotion because I like to make sure I’m always honest to myself.
Wearing my other hat (Crowvus) I think I would say: always consider your audience. By all means, cut and paste bits of emails to potential reviewers, but always check whether they read that genre or whether they have a specific submission guidelines. It always gives me a warm feeling inside when it’s obvious that an author or publisher has actually read our reviews.
What websites or tools have you found that offer the best
results?
I absolutely adore Scrivener as a software for writing, but my sisters always tell me that I’m using it all wrong!
I also love the Writing Community on Twitter. I’m always amazed that I don’t meet more authors in real life because my social media is full of them. Then I realise that’s because of the people I follow!
Any advice for aspiring writers?
As an author: read and find out what you love. Then write what you would love to read.
As a publisher: all of the above. Then redraft, re-redraft, edit and re-edit.
Either way, the love of writing needs to come first or the hard graft of editing isn’t going to be survivable!
Thank you so much for hosting me and asking all these
interesting questions – it was a great way to get me thinking about my writing!
Excerpt Two (815 Words):
Pen wished he would never have to think about the Guardians’ Room again, but it wouldn’t leave his thoughts until he left Honour’s Rest and returned down to England to spend Easter with his parents, who were both relieved and overjoyed to see him again. However, he was irritated when he discovered that Napier had been in touch with Jarvis to make a demand which Pen guessed was punishment for what had happened. It was his mother who told him of Napier’s insistence that Pen went into the school to take full responsibility for what had happened to Justin Murchison a year earlier.
“That hardly seems fair,” Pen had snapped, as he sat on his bed plucking the guitar strings. “Am I supposed to tell him exactly what happened?”
“Your uncle thinks it will do you good to accept responsibility, however you choose to do so,” his mother replied. “You know, Pendragon, I think he’s right. You know it was you, so the only lie you’ll be telling will be that you told a lie in the first place.”
“But that’s just it, isn’t it? I haven’t told any lies so far.”
However, the last day of term found him sitting outside Mr Carling’s office again, this time in casual clothes and with the knowledge that he was working for a greater good which his old headteacher couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
“Pendragon Devon.” Mr Carling beamed as he opened his office door and saw the boy, who got to his feet and smiled. “Well, look at you. You’re a young gentleman now. Your parents must be proud.”
“Thank you, sir,” Pen said with a slight bow of his head. The old-fashioned mannerisms he had picked up from Napier seemed to jar with the surroundings, but his ideas of etiquette had changed while he had been at Honour’s Rest. “Perhaps we could discuss things in your office.”
He indicated to the door, and Mr Carling looked at him strangely for a moment. Pen could hear his thoughts, wondering what could have happened to the boy he had known to make him so altered. There was surprise there, amusement and, much to Pen’s annoyance, an element of pride. Unaware that the boy before him knew exactly what he was thinking, Mr Carling opened the door and led Pen into the office where, a year ago, he had sat crying at the thought of being excluded.
“Your parents tell me you’ve been living in Scotland? With your uncle?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And have you enjoyed that? Is he a good teacher? Do you miss people your own age?”
For a moment, Pen wasn’t sure whether the headteacher had spoken or whether he had just heard the questions as they had passed through Mr Carling’s mind. Still, he knew they all needed answering to maintain politeness, so Pen attempted to do so with the fewest possible manipulations of the truth.
“I love it,” he said. “The house is like something out of a novel, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have the company of a great friend who is my age. My Uncle Napier isn’t a bad teacher, but he believes in the importance of self-directed study. I’ve also had the opportunity to travel and, well, have adventures.” He felt his thumb rub absent-mindedly along the thin scar on his hand and wondered what the man in front of him would think if he told him exactly what had happened.
“Good, good,” Mr Carling said. “It was a shame about what happened, Pen. You were an excellent student and you’re missed by all the teachers. And most of the pupils as well.”
“That’s kind of you to say,” Pen said with a smile, bowing his head again and this time enjoying the puzzlement on the headteacher’s face and the sheer confusion in his mind. “But there’s one thing in particular that I came here to say.”
“And what’s that?”
“I should apologise for what happened. It was me who pushed Justin.”
“Don’t be silly, Pen,” Mr Carling said, with a nervous laugh. “Haven’t your parents told you? A couple of girls were taking pictures outside the library that day, and you were in the background.
You couldn’t possibly have done it.”
“All the same,” Pen said, trying to hide his annoyance at his mother for not telling him the truth,
“I was responsible.”
It was a great pleasure to know that the tables had been turned so, at the end of the conversation, it was Mr Carling who was nearly reduced to nervous tears, which wasn’t made any better when Pen accidentally answered a question which had not yet been spoken. It was only when he left the school with a smug sense of achievement and satisfaction that it occurred to him why Napier may have made the demand, and it had more to do with affection than punishment.
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