IT'S SAGA SATURDAY!! Please welcome back author, M W Arnold...

Hi Mick!

It's great to welcome you back to my humble blog! I hope you are well and the writing is coming along swimmingly - let's get started with my questions, shall we??

1.) What do you wish you’d known before you started writing?

Good one to start with! Perhaps how hard a profession it actually is to break into, especially if you wish to be traditionally published. Every dream you have is worth fighting for and during talks with various author friends, I’d say that goes double for this one. On the flip-side of the coin, that makes if doubly so if and when you finally get published.

2.) Is there one subject you’d never write about as an author? What is it?

Wilful violence against women. It’s something which is abhorrent to me and makes me quite sick if/when I come across it. It doesn’t matter if this is in a book or on film. Now, I’m perfectly aware that this happens in real life, but it doesn’t mean to say that I want to read or see anything to do with it. As a species, it simply goes to prove that we’re not as advanced or civilized as we purport to be. This is my opinion, of course.

3.) Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Definitely a panster, or as near to one as makes no difference. The nearest I get to planning is knowing the beginning and the end of a story, though I do occasionally have a few chapters worked out before I begin writing the actual manuscript. I’d imagine this sounds very strange to some of your non-writers as this, by definition, means I’ve no idea how I’m going to get from the beginning to the end. However, it seems to be working so far, as I finished another story a few days ago which ended up where I thought it was going to go, together with the right word count – don’t ask me how!

4.) If you could be the original author for any book, which book would it be? Why?

Without question, ‘Guards! Guards!’ by the late and very much great, Terry Pratchett! I used to read quite a bit of fantasy when I was younger and was most fortunate to stumble upon this author. If I’m upset or in a bad mood, I can pick up this book, let it fall open and immediately I begin to read, I’ll start to feel better. Now, isn’t that something you’d like someone to say about a book you’d written?

5.) What are you working on at the moment?

Well, I’ve just finished up a secret project I began before my ‘Broken Wings’ series got picked up. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it yet, but I’m very happy with how it’s come out. By the time with article is published, I’ll also be well into writing book 4 of the Air Transport Auxiliary Mystery Club. The war is moving on into 1944 now, and so are the girls. There’s plenty of adventure, romance and, of course a nice mystery for them to solve.

6.) Do you work on one book at a time? More?

If by this, you mean, do I write more than one book at a time? The answer would be, no. I’ve tried it and no matter how many post-it notes I have dotted around, I still get my characters names mixed up from one book to the other. That’s probably my biggest problem. Like most authors though, I do work on more than one book at a time, as I’m usually editing or writing one, at the same time as I’m promoting another. Believe me, and I know you will as an author, that’s a skill which takes some learning and is never as easy as it sounds.

7.) Do you have a favourite character in your latest release?

I’m afraid it’s still, overall, Doris. Our American aviatrix is still as feisty as ever and still loving her fish ‘n’ chips. Saying that, there are two characters who’re vying for that title in the latest, ‘I’ll be Home for Christmas’, which came out on the 20^th October. The first is Nurse Grace Baxtor, who actually made an appearance in the first book, ‘A Wing and a Prayer’, though if you blinked, you may have missed her. In this one, she plays a much more important role and, through her relationship with another new character, we’ll meet and learn much more about her in book 4. The other new bod? Betty learns she has a brother well, half-brother in this book! No, I didn’t see that coming either, but that’s what you get when you’re a panster. He’s not the first character who’s turned up out of the blue and I don’t expect him to be the last. Anyway, without giving too much away, he’s an RAF pilot, blooded in combat and already enamoured with Nurse Grace. I do Hope you’ll like them both.

I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

Blurb:

A mysterious key left by her murdered sister takes Air Transport Auxiliary pilot Betty Palmer on a journey of discovery and danger. Her estranged parents force themselves back into her life, motivated purely by greed and self-preservation.

Penny's life is unexpectedly turned upside down by a potentially life-changing situation that causes her wounded husband to question their marriage. No one seems safe in the turmoil of the middle years of the war, and some relationships face breaking point whilst others become stronger.

Kidnap, crashes, and dogfights, the women of the Air Transport Auxiliary Mystery Club have never faced such dangers before. To survive may not be enough. They must find the strength to rise above their most trying times yet.

Tagline - Kidnap, crashes and dogfights – oh my!

Author Bio:

Mick spent fifteen-odd years roaming around the world, courtesy of HM Queen Elizabeth II - gawd bless her - before becoming a civilian and realizing what working for a living really was.

He loves traveling, and the music of the Beach Boys, Queen, Muse, and Bon Jovi. Books play a large part in his life, not only writing, but also reading and reviewing, as well as supporting his many author friends.

He’s the proud keeper of two Romanian Were-Cats bent on world domination, and enjoys the theatre and humoring his Manchester United-supporting wife. Finally, and most importantly, Mick is a full member of the Romantic Novelists Association. I’ll be Home for Christmas will be his third novel with The Wild Rose Press.

Other books by M. W. Arnold from The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

A Wing and a Prayer

Wild Blue Yonder

Sales links:

Amazon Author Page - tinyurl.com/4smyzscp

Amazon universal link - mybook.to/IllbeHomeforChristmas

iBooks - tinyurl.com/j5b7373d

Nook - tinyurl.com/ym4udads

Social Media links:

https://www.facebook.com/MWArnoldAuthor

Twitter – mick859

Instagram – mick859