Hello, lovely readers and welcome to Friday Chats & Drinks With... Jenny Kane!
This month I am welcoming the wonderful Jenny who is a hugely busy author and writing tutor as well as being a very good friend of mine after we met many moons ago through our writing.
Okay, settle in your favourite chair with your favourite drink and let's get started with my questions!
Hi Jenny,
Rachel: Can you tell me what book genre you typically read and why?
Jenny: My genre of choice, as a reader, is crime – usually Victorian crime based in the UK. I particularly love Kate Griffin’s, Kitty Peck series and Oscar du Muriel’s Inspector Grey and McCray novels. Not only do I enjoy the intrigue and page turning quality of such tales, but I love the locational and period backdrop. I’ve always been fascinated by Victorian England; if I hadn’t been obsessed by Robin Hood and become a medieval historian, I would have studied the nineteenth century.
I also read contemporary crime. I’m a big fan of Val McDermid’s Karen Pirie series and Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse novels.
I love the way crime is written. The jigsaw puzzle of putting it all together is a real challenge, and it fascinates me how other writers do this. It’s great when I can’t work out who “did it”.
Over the past couple of years, as Jennifer Ash, I’ve turned my hand to
crime writing. It’s a very different discipline to writing romances – and I’m
loving it!
As we ambled along,
trying to decide which flavour of ice cream we would eat – sneakily, without
telling my parents (as big deal at the age of eight!) – when we passed a man creating
a stunning oil painting. I fell in love with the picture immediately. It drew me
in – it told me stories. I still don’t know why it affected me so much at such
a young age when it’s certainly a grown up picture, but as I stared at it, I swear
I could see the people in the church in the far distance, and hear the children
chatting, and the unseen insects in the grass going about their business.
Two months later, I
went to stay with my grandparents for a long weekend. The now finished painting
was hanging in the living room. I remember not being able to speak while
hugging my grandad like my life depended on it.
Now that picture hangs in my hallway. I still love it.
My grandparents were a huge part of my life, and I credit them with being the influence for several of my novels. The Abi Carter duology (A Cornish Escape and A Cornish Wedding, HeadlineAccent), were written just for them; as one set of my grandparents came from Cornwall, while the other set… well, they were Stan and Dora…
Jenny: I most certainly do – several – but I’ll only confess to the coffee
addiction! It’s a brave soul who would come between me and my first Americano
of the morning!
As with so much of my life, I’ve shamelessly stolen this addiction and given it to the character of Kit Lambert in Another Cup of Coffee – she’s even more dependent on black coffee than I am!
Rachel: Haha! I don't think you're alone with a coffee addiction - what do you think is the biggest challenge of writing a new book?
Jenny: Ploughing through the first draft.
I find coming up with ideas easy. I love getting the first three or four chapters on the page, but then the slog starts. I have to force myself to put the words on the page, and I get frustrated with how long it takes.
When my novels are drafted, however, I’m hit with a heady rush of adrenalin. That’s when the fun starts – it’s rewrite time! I love working my draft into something worth reading. It’s the most fun!
Rachel: Ditto! This is exactly the same as me with my novels - first draft, slog, second draft, fun!
Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages a day?
Rachel: Hear, hear! I am about the same - my chapters are around 1.500 words
What are your thoughts on writing a book series?
The first book is
generally straightforward, but when the sequels come along, you need to make
sure you feed in enough information from the previous novels to inform new
readers of who’s who, without giving spoilers to the previous books in the
series – while also not boring those who have read the books, or giving away
too much backstory.
Most of the novels I’ve
written form part of a series, and although it can be tough to get the balance
right between backstory and intrigue, it’s also extremely satisfying to write a
story that spans a long period of time, while creating characters that our
audience wants to keep reading about – characters who, hopefully, can become
reading-time friends.
Thank you, Jenny! It's been lovely having a drink and chat with you - please share your bio, a book blurb and links with my lovely readers...
There’s great excitement when a previously undiscovered Robin Hood ballad manuscript, Robin Hood and the Carter, turns up in the same town as the Robin Hood Club’s latest fan convention.
But the Robin Hood Club’s special guest – Harriet, “Hari”, Danby, writer and creator of the hit TV series, Return to Sherwood – can’t help thinking the discovery is rather too coincidental.
With her best friend, Dot, at her side, Hari finds herself taken out of her quiet writing life and catapulted into a world of enthusiastic fans, actors egos, and jealous fellow authors.
As the Robin Hood Club event gets underway, speculation about the new ballad grows… and then Hari notices that one of the Robin Hood Club’s most devoted followers has gone missing…
‘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, Summer at Sea Glass Cove, (Aria, 2024), Misty
Mornings at The Potting Shed, (Aria, 2023), Bluebell Season at The
Potting Shed, (Aria 2023,), 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 (HeadlineAccent,
2016), and Another Cup of Coffee (HeadlineAccent, 2013).
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).
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 written Manuscript Mysteries at The Robin Hood Club (KDP, 2024), and The Folville Chronicles (The Outlaw’s Ransom, The Winter Outlaw, Edward’s Outlaw, Outlaw Justice - published by Littwitz Press, 2016-2020. She is also the chief audio script and novel writer for ITV’s popular 1980’s television show, Robin of Sherwood. (AUK LTD, 2017- 2025.)
Jenny Kane 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
Thanks ever so much Rachel xx
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