Two down (or up?), seven to go!

Paula’s novels are being re-released – gradually!

Last April, I received the shock news that my publisher, Rebecca J. Vickery, was closing down due to ill-health. Of course I understood why she had (very reluctantly) made this decision but I was still devastated. I’ve been with her for over 5 years, and she and her team have been the most supportive and friendly people any writer could ever wish to work with.

My major problem, of course, was what to do with my books. Several people encouraged me to self-publish them, but for various reasons I didn’t want to do that. My first reaction was to try a British publisher and I sent two books to them. However, when I discovered it could take up to a year for each one to be re-published, I withdrew them. No way was I going to wait for up to nine years for all my books to go online again!

To cut a long story short (including three months of uncertainty - and despair at times), I was over the moon when, with Rebecca’s help, I linked up with a new publisher. It was still a sad day when all my books were taken down from Amazon on July 19th, prior to being transferred to their new home with Fire Star Press, an imprint of Prairie Rose Publications, but I received a wonderful welcome from Cheryl, Livia, and Kaye.

They decided to re-publish my Irish novels first, as the ‘Mist Na Mara’ series. Anyone who has read the novels will know exactly what Mist Na Mara is! A flurry of activity followed, and I’m thrilled to report that the first two books in the series went back up online yesterday, with stunning new covers designed by Livia.

The cover of the third in the series is already done, and the fourth will follow. My other five books will be phased in after this – and at least it has given me the opportunity to do some re-editing – I can never resist tweaking and tightening, although without changing any of the actual stories.

So I am entering a new chapter in my writing life. I will always be grateful to Rebecca, who became a friend as well as a publisher (and we’ve both said we will continue to keep in contact) – and I look forward now to working with Cheryl, Livia, and Kaye.

My books are currently featured on the Fire Star Press blog https://firestarpress.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/new-release-irish-inheritance-and-irish.html (please pop in and leave a comment for me!)

and if you find my photo on the Prairie Rose website and click on the Q&A, you’ll see my answers to Livia’s interesting questions: http://prairierosepublications.com/

G is for Guy Sinclair

Paula introduces you to the hero of Irish Inheritance.

I have no idea where the name came from. It was one of those that just popped into my head when I started thinking about the story, and I had no problem picturing him in my mind. When I was about half way through the story, I saw a photo someone had posted on Facebook, and immediately thought, ‘That’s Guy!’

He’s an American artist who is working as a sign writer. When he hears he has inherited money and a half-share of a house in Ireland, he knows what he wants to do:

He had no idea what the house might be worth but, with a bit of luck, there’d be enough for him to employ someone to look after his father’s sign painting business for a few months. Then he could take some time out and forget the clients who ignored his advice and insisted on their own ideas for signs. Forget, too, the computer programmes, which had taken over from the old skills of sign painting and forced him to sit in front of a screen instead of an easel.

Instead, he’d concentrate on the subjects he longed to paint. The panhandler, the street musician, the pushcart peddler, and all the wonderful images he saw every day in New York City. People, real people. Not signs advertising auto sales, or cafes, or tattoo parlours. Maybe he could even rent a small gallery to exhibit his work…

To begin with, Guy is only interested in the money, but Mist Na Mara, the beautiful Victorian house in Connemara, captures his imagination, especially when he and Jenna open the locked bedroom, and find out more about the original owners of the house.

When he discovers Jenna is an actress, he’s wary because of a past experience with an actress – and he and Jenna have a few other problems to resolve before they get their HEA ending!

Guy only plays a small part in Irish Intrigue, the second of my Irish books, as this centres on Charley, Jenna’s best friend, but he has a more important role in the third book, Irish Secrets (released 3 days ago!). Kara, the heroine of Irish Secrets, is Guy’s cousin, and by the time she arrives in Ireland, Mist Na Mara is well-established as an Arts Centre.

Here’s the info about Guy from the POV of Ryan, the hero of Irish Secrets:

In his mid-thirties, the owner of Mist Na Mara Arts Centre retained the appearance of a bohemian artist with his youthful features and longish dark hair that reached the collar of his polo shirt, but Ryan had heard enough locally to appreciate the fact that Guy Sinclair was an astute businessman who had worked hard over the last few years to build up the reputation of the Centre.

Surely he wouldn’t risk all that by becoming involved with a stolen goods racket? Unless he needed the money and was receiving a substantial pay-off for allowing his premises to be used? Ryan made a mental note to ask Declan to check the financial status of the Arts Centre.

I’ll leave you with that teaser!

C is for Connemara and Clifden

Paula loves writing about her favourite part of Ireland.

When I first had the idea for Irish Inheritance, I deliberated where to set the story. It needed to be somewhere I knew well, because I’m not comfortable using locations with which I’m not familiar, and it didn’t take me long to decide on Ireland. More specifically County Galway, and even more specifically the western area of County Galway, known as Connemara.

 

On my first ever visit to Connemara about eight years ago, I was fortunate that it was a beautiful autumn day, and I fell in love with the wild countryside, the dozens of small loughs (pronounced like the Scottish ‘lochs’), and the Twelve Bens, a range of steep-sided bare mountains.

Although I’ve been to many other areas of Ireland since then, Connemara was the place that captured my heart, and I’ve visited it several times in the last few years. Most times I’ve been very lucky with the weather, except for my visit in May this year, when there was usually more cloud than sun, and a lot of rain too- as you can see here!

Clifden, on the west coast, is the ‘capital’ of Connemara. It’s a small town with a population of about 2,500 which is swelled by tourists, hikers, cyclists, and water sports enthusiasts during the summer months. It has two main streets which are lined with shops, cafes, and of course lots of pubs!

 

A short drive out of the town takes you along a scenic drive above Clifden Bay and to the end of a narrow peninsula with a  view of the wide expanse of the Atlantic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Historically, Clifden’s main claim to fame is twofold: in 1907 Marconi set up a radio station near Clifden, transmitting wireless signals to a receiving station in Nova Scotia, and in 1919 John Alcock and Arthur Whitten-Brown landed their biplane near the Marconi station, after completing the first non-stop transatlantic crossing. The ‘green field’ in which they thought they were landing turned out to be an Irish peat bog, and the plane ended up ignominiously nose down in the boggy ground. One of the pubs in Clifden has a fascinating display of photos and copies of newspapers from this time (which I mentioned in 'Irish Inheritance').

When I was writing Irish Inheritance and Irish Intrigue, I had to rely on my memories and my photos (and Google streetview of course!), so it was fantastic to return to Connemara and Clifden this year. Mentally, I was imagining where the veterinary surgery was, as well as Mist na Mara House, and of course I had to revisit the pub that I called 'Murphy's' in my stories.

 

For those who have asked me where the village of ‘Skelleen’ is (which featured in ‘Irish Intrigue’), you won’t find it on any map, as it’s a figment of my imagination, or rather an amalgam of several small villages. Here is one of them, which some visitors to Connemara might recognise.

 

And this is 'Connolly's' Bar in the middle of 'Skelleen'.

 

I’ve loved setting my stories in Connemara because it allows me to re-live my visits there. Another bonus has been that a shop in Clifden actually offered to stock my books!

 

I is for Ireland (of course!)

Paula’s second Irish novel is published.

 

This is perfect timing for the letter I, as ‘Irish Intrigue’ was released last week.

 

Charley Hunter returns unwillingly to Ireland to complete the filming of a TV drama series. She still hasn’t come to terms with the tragic loss of her husband there two years previously, and the last thing she expects is an instant attraction to an Irish veterinary surgeon.

 

Luke Sullivan’s life is full as he tries to balance caring for his two young children with his busy rural veterinary practice. After the break-up of his marriage, he vowed to leave women well alone, but now finds himself drawn to Charley.

 

While Charley struggles with the re-awakening of her emotions, Luke faces a series of unexplained crises at his clinic, as well as an impending custody battle with his ex-wife.

 

They grow closer as their initial interest in each other develops into mutual support and then into love. But how can an English actress and an Irish vet reconcile their different worlds? And will their relationship survive when Luke believes Charley has endangered his children’s lives – and then betrayed him?

 

‘Irish Intrigue’ is a stand-alone story, not a sequel, but some of the characters in ‘Irish Inheritance’ do make a reappearance, as does Mist Na Mara House, now an Arts Centre under the leadership of Guy and Jenna, the hero and heroine of my first Irish novel.

 

One new character is Alice Vernon, an elderly actress, who gives Charley some sound advice. In my personal blog last week, I wrote about the small incident that sowed the seed for this character. You can read this at: http://paulamartinpotpourri.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/a-signature-in-guestbook.html

So far, everyone who has read ‘Irish Intrigue’ has said how much they love Alice, and I’m already wondering how I can bring her into my third Irish novel, which I’ve just started.

 

And here to whet your appetite, are some photos of the beautiful Connemara countryside in which both novels are set.

 

 

 

 

An interesting couple of days!

Paula reflects on a series of (almost) unrelated events.

 

Last month, I was invited by an indie publisher in Ireland to take part (as one of the hosts) in a St. Patrick’s Day Extravaganza on Facebook, as she knew I had recently had an Irish romance novel published. That was amazingly generous of her, as I’m not one of her authors, so many thanks to Kemberlee for inviting me!

Also, my own publisher (at my request) put ‘Irish Inheritance’ on sale at 99 cents (or 77 pence in the UK) on Amazon for the St Patrick’s Day weekend.

I spent most of Monday at the computer i.e. over 12 hours barring a couple of short breaks (I did have to eat at some point!)

I hasten to add that I wasn’t advertising my book non-stop, although I did post one cliff-hanger excerpt and, from time-to-time, posted the Amazon link about the special St. Patrick’s Day offer for my book.

The rest of the time I spent uploading photos, sometimes to illustrate the beautiful Irish scenery, especially in Connemara, sometimes with quiz questions attached (e.g. which American’s ancestral home was this?), and sometimes with a bit of information attached (e.g. about the Christopher Columbus memorial in Galway). All that actually took far more time than promoting my own book. 

I also responded to many of the other participants and visitors (over 200 in total) to the event, including spending an inordinate amount of time trying to guess where someone’s photo had been taken in Ireland!

Okay, I had a blast – and I thoroughly enjoyed the day.

The results? Well, quite a few downloads. Not enough to take me into the higher echelons of Amazon rankings, but hey, that’s just a dream, isn’t it? Certainly more than I’ve sold before in one weekend (although that’s not really saying much!)

More importantly, I’ve already heard from a couple of people who downloaded the book saying how much they are enjoying it, and how they find it intriguing. One person ‘complained’ she couldn’t put it down even though she had jobs to do!

Today I posted a thank you (on FB) to those who had bought it, and was delighted when about a dozen people shared this on their own FB pages (thank you, Jen!)

One of the messages I received was from a FB acquaintance who lives in the Lake District. Never one to miss a chance(!), I told her about ‘Fragrance of Violets’ (which is set in the Lake District), and I think she may buy it too.

Another contact I made as a result of the event was a friend of a friend, who lives in Dublin, and who has said she will ask around in Dublin and also in Galway (where she has some family/friends) about possible book signing opportunities. Actually the best book signing would be in the bookstore in Dalkey (near Dublin) as my hero and heroine go into that shop in the story! Whether any Irish book signing opportunity will arise is in the lap of the gods, of course (or maybe in the lap of the ‘little people’!) but I can hope.

So, all in all, Monday was a good day! Obviously, I couldn't spend each day doing this kind of networking/promotion of myself or one of my books, otherwise I wouldn’t have time to do any of my own writing, but once in a while it is real fun to do.

Today, as a footnote to all that, I had a phone call from a friend who has bought all the paperbacks of my novel, saying that her daughter wanted to buy all the paperbacks too. The daughter has read all my books on her Kindle, so I was quite surprised. But when I emailed the daughter to thank her, she said she wanted the signed copies on her book shelf –so she can show off to her friends that she has books signed by the author!

Oh, and another friend who has recently bought ‘Her Only Option’ sent me a message saying, “One night I am happily cruising the Nile and then BANG all hell breaks loose, and I don't know who the baddy(ies) is/ are. My poor old brain is suspecting nearly everyone!”

I think my main feeling today is, ‘At least some people are reading my books!’ It's a good feeling. J

'Irish Inheritance' - the front cover!

Paula considers what front covers should show.

 

Following on from my post last week about bare chests on book covers, and what they seem to suggest about the content of the book… Last week, I had to make some decisions about the cover of my new release, ‘Irish Inheritance’.

 

Emails flew back and forth between my cover artist, my publisher and her assistant, and me, once Katrina (the artist) produced the first draft. It seemed we all had our own views!

 

We all loved the upper half of the cover which reflected the ‘inheritance’ part of the story, but the title font and the lower half of the cover involved more discussion, and more searches of the stock photos online.

 

I was so happy when I found ‘my’ couple. If the hero or heroine are going to appear on the book cover, then I want them to look something like I imagine them! In this case I hit lucky.

 

There are many Irish coastal and/or mountain scenes in the stock photos, and the one we finally chose shows a wonderful rocky Irish coast with the hills in the background – and also a house (which is important in the story). I’m sure someone will eventually tell me where it is! It might not be Connemara (where the story is set) but maybe that doesn’t matter.

 

In the end, I think we got a cover that looks interesting and also reflects the story.

 

Here’s the blurb:

 

English actress Jenna Sutton and American artist Guy Sinclair first meet when they jointly inherit a house on the west coast of Ireland. Curious about their unknown benefactress and why they are considered as ‘family’, they discover surprising links to the original owners of the house.

 

They soon unravel an intriguing tale of a nineteenth century love affair. At the same time, their mutual attraction grows, despite personal reasons for not wanting romantic involvements at this point in their lives.

 

A local property agent appears to have her own agenda concerning the house while other events pull Jenna and Guy back to separate lives in London and America. Friction builds over their decision about the house and its contents.

 

Will their Irish inheritance eventually drive them apart — or bring them together?

 

And here's the cover!