My Guest today... is Roger Barton

Please give a warm welcome to my guest Roger Barton.  Roger is taking part in the first UKIndie Book Festival being held in Bradford on the 23rd July.

"Waiting for the Rains, A memoir of Africa" is Roger's memoir of his life as an expatriate in  Malawi and Zambia in the 1970s, while working with the Government Printing Office.  Published by Dovetail Press, it is available from Amazon.

It is a story of being close to local life without the insulation of tour buses or taxis.
A confrontation with the heat, jostling, noise, smells and colour of the country. The lives of expatriates and missionaries; bars and markets; travelling by bus and train; corruption and border crossings; villages and townships are all part of the story. 

You can find out more about Roger by visiting his page on Facebook or come along to the UKIndie Book Festival and meet Roger in person. Tickets are available from Eventbrite and are free!

  

Welcome.... Angela Wren

I am delighted to welcome Angela Wren to my blog today.  Not only is Angela an actor and director, she is also the author of short stories and comic-flash fiction.  She very kindly agreed to take time out of her busy schedule to tell me a little about the background to her first novel, Messandrierre, which has just been released.  

First of all, thank you Victoria for allowing me the opportunity to write on your blog.  I hope your readers will find my little nuggets of wisdom - assuming there are some - interesting and useful.

I'll introduce myself as something of a scribbler and I've been doing that since I was about 8 or 9.  I even liked my creative writing homework.  And it's OK; you don't need to tell me how peculiar it is for a child to actually like homework, any homework!

I was first introduced to France as a teenager and, frankly, I've been hooked ever since.  My scribblings then centred on what I'd seen, where I'd been, the people I'd met.  Not that any of it came together as a story at that time.  How could it with the standard teenager's attention span!

Then grown-up life and work got in the way and I spent less time in France and more time in front of a computer writing planning and strategy documents as my life spiralled through a career in business change and project management.

My light bulb moment was my decision to escape the rat race.  I started visiting areas of France I'd never had the time to go to before; I stayed in places I'd just driven through in the past and I wrote more seriously.  But when you have scenery like this -

to look at for as long as you want, it is hard not to be inspired.

I visited the Cévennes and took my Stevenson with me and, over three weeks, I followed his route from Le Monastier to Allais along with my version of Modestine - a Landrover!  That journey took me across some stunning countryside, tiny villages where everything stopped for lunch and the family, through vast groves of walnut trees and along winding mountain passes. 

To this day I am certain that I stood on one hillside, looking down on a small farm and a few other houses, in exactly the same spot that Stevenson must have been to create a sketch I have in another book of his.

In a village in Burgundy, I happened across a two roomed museum dedicated to Renoir.  His studio was in an outbuilding and for a couple of euros I went to have a look.  Expecting only to be allowed to look through the windows, I was stunned to find that I could actually go inside.  So I have had the inestimable pleasure of treading in Renoir's footsteps!  And, it seems to me that there are lots of little places like this the length and breadth of the country - you just need to search them out.

Need I mention the cuisine?  Probably not, but I wonder who else has driven across the Puy de Dome and found a large farmhouse with French cars parked outside and a hand-written menu drawing-pinned to the door frame.  I walked in to discover a large room filled with trestle tables and benches and Madame made the people at the nearest table squeeze up to fit me in.  The food was simple, the taste phenomenal and the ambiance buzzing.

So, setting my first novel, Messandrierre, in France, seemed to me at least, to be a logical progression from those early scribblings.  My book is the first in a series of murder mysteries and features my investigator Jacques Forêt.  Messandrierre is the name of my fictional village in the Cévennes and the story begins in September 2007 because when I was there at the time, it snowed! 

Author Bio:

Having followed a career in Project and Business Change Management, I now work as an Actor and Director at a local theatre. I’ve been writing, in a serious way, for about 5 years. My work in project management has always involved drafting, so writing, in its various forms, has been a significant feature throughout my adult life.

I particularly enjoy the challenge of plotting and planning different genres of work. My short stories vary between contemporary romance, memoir, mystery and historical. I also write comic flash-fiction and have drafted two one-act plays that have been recorded for local radio. The majority of my stories are set in France where I like to spend as much time as possible each year.

You can learn more about Angela by visiting her website and blog;

Website : www.angelawren.co.uk
Blog : www.jamesetmoi.blogspot.com

 Sacrificing his job in investigation following an incident in Paris, Jacques Forêt has only a matter of weeks to solve a series of mysterious disappearances as a Gendarme in the rural French village of Messandrierre. 

But, as the number of missing persons rises, his difficult and hectoring boss puts obstacles in his way. Steely and determined, Jacques won't give up and, when a new Investigating Magistrate is appointed, he becomes the go-to local policeman for all the work on the case.

Will he find the perpetrators before his lover, Beth, becomes a victim?
Messandrierre – the first in a new crime series featuring investigator, Jacques Forêt.

Available from:

Amazon link : http://mybook.to/Messandrierre

Smashwords link : https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/598765

Featured Author Liz Harris

It is a great pleasure to welcome multi-published author, Liz Harris to my blog today.  Liz's latest book, Evie Undercover, has just been released by Choc Lit.

My friends in the Romantic Novelists' Association and those who follow me on twitter and Facebook will know that I go regularly to Umbria, a part of Italy that I love. And who could not love it? The scenery is stunning; the little medieval hilltop towns are a joy to visit; the food is fabulous; the people are warm and welcoming, and the area is completely unspoiled by tourism.

It was on one of my visits there that as I walked down the steps to the infinity pool, beyond which lay groves of olive trees framed by the distant hills, I glanced back at the 14^th century grey-stone tower house behind me and the abundance of flowers and fruit trees everywhere, and knew I just had to set a novel there.

Italy is known as the land of romance, wine and song, so my novel was going to have to be a romance that was very different in style from my Choc Lit-published historical romantic fiction novels, The Road Back, A Bargain Struck, A Western Heart and Golden Tiger, which comes out this October. 

I’d earlier set an earlier romantic novel, The Art of Deception, in Umbria, but for this romance I wanted some humour, too, and I knew I was about to write my first contemporary rom com. Ideally, too, I’d have occasion to use a little of the Italian I’ve been learning as the local people don’t speak English.

As for my hero and heroine, having gained a Law degree some years ago, I’ve always wanted to write a lawyer into a novel. This would be the novel, I decided, and successful Libel lawyer Tom Hadleigh was born. Tom was going to buy a 14^th century tower house on the side of a mountain on a whim. 

Since Tom wasn’t going to be able to speak a word of Italian, he’d have arranged for an interpreter to translate for him whenever he went to Umbria to meet with his Italian surveyor, but for the purposes of my story, that interpreter was going to be unavailable for the week’s visit he urgently had to make in order to buy furniture for the house. Enter enterprising Evie Shaw, ostensibly an agency interpreter, in reality the newest reporter for the gossip magazine Pure Dirt.

While Tom’s thoughts were going to be focused on his house, resourceful Evie’s were going to be focused on Tom and the exposé she was going to have to write about him, or lose the first job she’d been offered after months of fruitless searching.

I put finger to keyboard, and Evie Undercover came into being. The paperback was published in July, and I was thrilled to learn soon after that Evie Undercover had been named Book of the Month for August by Radio Marlow (97.5 FM), who described it as a ‘deliciously romantic novel’. They’ll be discussing the novel on Radio Marlow Book Club at just after 11am on Friday, 7^th August.

Bio:

Liz Harris is the author of THE ROAD BACK (US Coffee Time & Romance Book of 2012), A BARGAIN STRUCK (shortlisted for the RoNA Historical 2013), EVIE UNDERCOVER, THE ART OF DECEPTION and A WESTERN HEART. All of her novels, which are published by Choc Lit, have been shortlisted in their categories in the Festival of Romantic Fiction. Her next historical novel, GOLDEN TIGER, set in SW Wyoming in the 1870s and 1880s, comes out in October, 2015. In addition, she has had several short stories published in anthologies. Liz lives in south of Oxford. Her interests are theatre, travelling, reading, cryptic crosswords. 

For more information visit Liz's Website:  www.lizharrisauthor.com or her author page on 

Amazon, Facebook and Twitter

SANTA CAME A LITTLE EARLY

Those of you who follow this blog will know that my novel, Ring of Lies, has been turned into an audiobook. Narrated by Michelle Ford and produced by Dave Giorgio,  it is now available from Audible and Amazon, and will soon be available from iTunes too.

Even though I regularly listen to audiobooks, and had read the book countless times myself, I hadn't realised how much work goes into making a really good listening experience.  It is an art form in its own right.  A good narrator must also be a skilled actor, and 'play' all the roles in the story, giving each character a different voice.  Just reading the words on the page is not suffice.  The narrator has to bring the characters to life so that you feel their happiness, their anxiousness, and even their pain. Those of you who have read the print version know that the story crosses International borders and includes characters from the UK, America, and Mexico.  Michelle handled the accents beautifully.

I must also thank Dave Giorgio of BookRite Books, for his sterling work in producing not only a crystal clear recording, but for also liaising with Audible to make the recording available in time for Christmas.

Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to wish all my readers and everybody who has attended one of my events and their families a Merry Christmas.  I appreciate all the support you have given me in 2013 and wish you a Happy and Prosperous 2014.

Victoria

HELP ME CELEBRATE....

The audiobook version of my novel, Ring of Lies, is now complete.  Produced by Dave Giorgio and narrated by Michelle Ford, it will be available shortly from Audible, Amazon and iTunes.  

You can listen to a sample here:  Ring of Lies Audiobook  

I recently interviewed Michelle and asked her, among other questions, whether she made the conscious decision to become a voiceover artist or did she have another career path in mind as a teenager. 

I was always focused on working in the media.  My first job was with the BBC in London as a secretary and then as a production assistant for Radio 1.  I spent the next several years working in public relations for Disney theme parks - can't tell you how much fun it was introducing cynical journalists to Mickey Mouse and seeing them love Disney despite themselves!  When life took me overseas to live in America someone told me I had a 'cute accent' and suggested I think about voiceovers.  A ton of training later..... and I couldn't choose a more perfect job!

Did you attend a stage or drama school? Have you undertaken any voice training?

I didn't go to drama school but I've been involved in amateur dramatics for a long time.  Once I decided to pursue voiceovers I really went for it and I've been lucky enough to train with amazing teachers in Philadelphia and New York.  From an audiobook point of view I honestly think reading daily with my three children when they were young and doing all the characters and voices made me love telling stories.

Do you schedule a specific time each day to record?

That's so hard to do.  Working from home has huge benefits but family comes first and often my kids don't think my 'job' is a real one - in as much as they think how hard can it be to narrate stories all day!  So I'm still doing multiple school runs, involved in community groups and cooking dinner.  However working from home does mean I can be very flexible.  Often I'll work all morning, stop to get kids and have a cup of tea with them after school then start again as soon as dinner is over, recording until midnight (or until my voice gets tired and croaky, whichever is the sooner!).

I note that you have your own studio.  Are there any distractions with working from a home studio? 

Yes!  Although my studio is acoustically treated and as soundproofed as possible, I can't tell you how my heart sinks when I see landscape gardeners pull up on our street to blow leaves or see a sign up nearby saying a new house is to be built.  I know nearly everyone with home studios has these issues.  But again, as I'm flexible with my hours, I just adjust.  When I can hear a chainsaw I just go and do laundry or get started on dinner then pick up later when it stops.
After Superstorm Sandy (I live in New Jersey), every single day the noise was unbelievable for weeks - and that was once we finally got power again after 10 days.

When reading for an audiobook how do you achieve the author and character’s voice?

Well to start with I read the entire book and make notes about each character as I go.  Your book Ring of Lies is a good case in point.  It was not until the last five pages of the book that Salazar was revealed to be Eurasian with Chinese/Portuguese parents!  If I hadn't read through to the end undoubtedly I would probably have given him more of a Spanish accent.  As it was I tried to mix it up a bit so he just sounded unplaceable European.
Once I have a more rounded idea of the characters I can give them their voice which I really think comes from the author.  I try to always 'tag' the character with a certain pitch, tone, speed of talking and be consistent.  Of course, for a female narrator, the men are the hardest but I try to avoid going too deep and pantomime with them.  Sometimes its enough to drop my voice just a little to distinguish from others in the scene.

How do you feel when you hear your own voice on a recording?

Eek!  It sounds so different from how I think I sound.  There's magic in that microphone - talk to me on the phone and I sound about 12 years old!

You’ve recorded books for a variety of publishers, is there any one book or genre that stands out?  Do you have a favourite?

I must admit I really enjoy a good thriller with a bit of romance thrown in.  My voice suits Regency romances but I spend half the time recording with a permanent blush when there's more 'plundering' than I feel totally comfortable with!
I was privileged to narrate Fay Weldon's book The Hearts and Lives of Men earlier this year and, as part of my research, I got to Skype with her and talk about characters.  Such a great author.
Also narrated a Bridget Jones/Sophie Kinsella-style book recently called Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan.  That character would totally be me if I weren't happily married!

What kind of books do you like to read for pleasure? 

I'm in a local book club so I'll read whatever is on the menu for that.  Recently I read What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty and that really resonated with me.  Literally sat on my sofa at the end and bawled (but not because it was sad - my friends had a similar reaction). Unfortunately it was all based in Australia and my Ozzie accent just wouldn't cut it otherwise I'd be banging on the door of that publisher desperate to record it.

Since June though I just haven't had the time to read almost anything for pleasure.  Definitely time to schedule some reading.

Do you have a regular fan base?

I wish!  Not really sure.  I occasionally (nervously) dip into the reviews of books I've narrated and fortunately there seem to be readers who seek me out.  My fragile actor ego gets hurt sometimes (Carolyn from Newark, you know who you are!! and btw I did my best with a Scottish accent).  Its really only in the last 18 months that I've been doing audiobooks nonstop.  Prior to this and in between, I record lots of e-learning material, commercials, corporate work, websites and so on.

Thank you, Michelle, for taking time out of your busy day to talk to me.

You can find out more about Michelle by clicking on the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/BritishVoiceovers

http://www.michelleford.net

To celebrate the release of the audiobook, I am giving away a Kobo Mini ereader.  All you have to do is sign up to this blog or my website http://www.victoriahoward.co.uk to enter.  The draw will take place on the 20th December.