I am excited for you to get to know her and her work a little better - let's get things started...
1.) What genre do you typically read? Why?
Although I write romcoms, I tend to read crime – preferably based in the UK.
My favourite crime novels have Victorian settings and are often slightly gothic in tone. I’m particularly fond of the novels written by Oscar du Muriel (the Frey and McGrey series) and Kate Griffin, (The Kitty Peck Mysteries).
I find the Victorian period of history fascinating, but I don’t have the knowledge needed to write novels set in that time period. This makes reading about it in a fictional capacity even more enjoyable – a real step away from the day job.
I’m also very fond of the Morse novels by Colin Dexter and Peter Robinson’s excellent police procedural – DCI Banks – series.
Why crime? I love the escapism of it – and the puzzles. The more crime I write myself (as Jennifer Ash) the more I find I work out the endings of other people’s crime novels before I finish them – but not always! The books that leave me surprised by the outcome are very much the best.
Beyond crime, I’m a big lover of Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series (especially the Guards and the Witches) and anything and everything written about Robin Hood.
2.) Share a favourite childhood memory.
When I was 14 years old, I saw an episode of Robin of Sherwood on television for the first time. It was love at first watch. I was captivated – I swear my eyes never left the screen for a single second. Within an hour, I was utterly addicted to all things Robin Hood – that joyous sixty minutes (including adverts!) changed my life forever.
I became so obsessed, that I did my A Level History project on the subject, and then a PhD on medieval crime. This passion for an outlaw of legend has overflowed into both my script writing and my crime novels.
3.) Do you have any shameless addictions? ie. Tea, Books, Shoes, Clothes?
Cream teas. I love them! There is nothing like a country walk which ends up outside a coffee shop or café that serves scones with cream and jam (in whatever order you like!) As I dislike tea with a passion – my cream tea is always served with black coffee – pure bliss.
4.) What do you think is the biggest challenge of writing a new book?
Writing it!
I heartily dislike writing the first draft of a
book. I find the section from 10,000 words to 70,000 words particularly hard.
(As my books as generally only 95,000 words long – that doesn’t leave much that’s
straight forward to write!)
On the other hand, I love rewriting them. Shaping the draft into something worth reading is a labour of love which makes up for the agony of getting the first words on the paper.
5.) Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages a day?
I aim for a chapter and a bit every day. The ‘bit’ is because I’m afraid of blank pages, so I write a complete chapter, and then the first 500 words of the next one. That means I never have a page with no words on it.
6.) What are your thoughts on writing a book series?
I love writing series. I’ve got six series to my name (names!) so far – including the Mill Grange series and Another Cup of Coffee series.
Frost Falls at The Potting Shed – released two days
ago – forms the first book of a brand-new series.
The joy of a series is that we can engage with the characters at a deep level – we follow their emotional and physical journeys through so many pages, that they have the capability to become friends.
It is technically quite hard to write the second book of a series, as you need to keep the plots fresh – not repeating the information you have given in the first book – while at the same time, having enough information about the situation/location/characters, so that folk who haven’t read the first book can do so without feeling cheated. However, by book four, you – as an author – are so at home with characters, the words simply flow – even during that pesky first draft!
Frost Falls at The Potting Shed will be followed by Bluebell
Season at The Potting Shed in March 2023, and then Forget Me Not at The
Potting Shed in September 2023.
Blurb
It has always been Maddie Willand's dream to
take over her father’s plant nursery. But after his sudden death, she is
devastated to discover that she might lose The Potting Shed forever.
Maddie’s bossy older sister, Sabi, is joint owner of the nursery, and
she’s convinced that the best thing for both of them would be to sell up.
Determined to keep the business going, Maddie can’t afford any distractions, but staying focused might be harder than she thinks. Especially when a major garden centre chain puts in an offer for the land – and her search for legal advice throws her into the path of attractive lawyer Ed…
As frost begins to fall over The Potting Shed, will Maddie find the strength to save her father’s legacy and open herself up to new beginnings?
Buy Links
Amazon UK - Frost Falls at the Potting Shed eBook : Kane, Jenny: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
Amazon.com - Frost Falls at the Potting Shed - Kindle edition by Kane, Jenny. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Kobo - Frost Falls at the Potting Shed eBook by Jenny Kane - 9781801101998 | Rakuten Kobo United Kingdom
Waterstones - Frost Falls at the Potting Shed by
Jenny Kane | Waterstones
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Bio
‘I love Jenny Kane’s writing.’ Katie Fforde
From the comfort of her cafe corner in Mid
Devon, award winning author, Jenny Kane, wrote the contemporary women’s fiction
and romance novels, Frost Falls at The Potting Shed, (Aria, 2022), Winter
Fires at Mill Grange (Aria, 2021), Spring
Blossoms at Mill Grange, (Aria 2021), Autumn
Leaves at Mill Grange, (Aria, 2020), Midsummer
Dreams at Mill Grange (Aria, 2020), A
Cornish Escape (2nd edition, HeadlineAccent, 2020), A
Cornish Wedding (2nd edition, HeadlineAccent, 2020), Romancing Robin Hood (2nd
edition, Littwitz Press, 2018), Another Glass of Champagne (Accent
Press, 2016), and Another Cup of Coffee (Accent Press,
2013).
(Bluebell
Season at The Potting Shed will be published by Aria
in March 2023)
Jenny has also written 3 novella length
sequels to her Another Cup of... books: Another Cup of Christmas (Accent Press,
2013), Christmas in the Cotswolds
(Accent, 2014), and Christmas at the
Castle (Accent, 2016). These three seasonal specials are now available in
one boxed set entitled Jenny Kane’s
Christmas Collection (Accent, 2016)
Jenny is also the author of quirky
children’s picture books There’s a Cow in
the Flat (Hushpuppy, 2014) and Ben’s
Biscuit Tin (Hushpuppy, 2015)
Under the pen name, Jennifer Ash, Jenny has
also written The Folville Chronicles
(The Outlaw’s Ransom, The Winter Outlaw, Edward’s
Outlaw, Outlaw Justice - published by Littwitz Press, 2016-2020), The Power of Three (Spiteful Puppet,
2020) and The Meeting Place (Spiteful
Puppet, 2019). She has also created five audio scripts for ITV’s popular 1980’s
television show, Robin of Sherwood.
The
Waterford Boy, Mathilda’s
Legacy, The Baron’s Daughter, The Meeting Place and Fitzwarren’s Well were released by
Spiteful Puppet in 2017/2018/2019/2020.
Jenny Kane is the writer in residence for
Tiverton Costa in Devon. She also co-runs the creative writing business, Imagine. Jenny teaches a wide range of
creative writing workshops including her popular ‘Novel in a Year’ course. (www.imaginecreativewriting.co.uk)
All of Jennifer Ash’s and Jenny Kane’s news
can be found at www.jennykane.co.uk
@JenAshHistory
@JennyKaneAuthor
@Imagine_Writing
Jennifer Ash https://www.facebook.com/jenniferashhistorical/
Jenny Kane https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011235488766
Imagine www.imaginecreativewriting.co.uk
Huge thanks for having me over to your lovely blog x
ReplyDeleteA wonderful post Rachel and Jenny. Such fun to learn a bit about a writer's creative process and what shaped why they write, what they write. Always have words on a page, I love that. Congratulations on the new release, Jenny! All the best. Cheers
ReplyDelete