I've taken the plunge!

I've taken the plunge and one blog leads to another...
I've joined Author Central, Amazon, and you can now
find me on the Author Pages...

Now looking forward to receiving shortly Who Stirs The Porridge in the Pot? (Dales paperback/Magna) - Diane Allen sent me the JPEG of the cover! Just like my dresser at home - apart from the wedding photo -
keep mine in a safer place! We also have little fairies and elves peeping round our cups and plates - the family seem to think they suit me!!

All best, Sheila

Review of A most Rebellious Debutante

I had a lovely review of my hardback novel, 'A Most Rebellious Debutante' from much acclaimed historical saga-writer Freda Lightfoot. She wrote:

"Well, that was delicious fun. A perfectly relaxing Sunday by the pool with a good book. A spirited heroine and a courageous and honourable hero engaged in an adventure while they fall in love - and a delightfully disapproving family. I really enjoyed it. I hope it does well."

Another great review for Death is the Cure

This lovely review is from Mystery Women's Magazine: thank you to reviewer Jennifer S Palmer.

Death is the Cure : Review in Mystery Women magazine, July 2010

Charlotte Richmond made a very successful detective in her first adventure and this second outing confirms her skills. In 1858 she visits Bath with her friend, Elaine Knightley, who is to go a startling new medical treatment. The whole atmosphere of Victorian Bath is cleverly evoked – the stuffiness of polite manners, the centrality of illness and the apparently petty concerns of the town’s inhabitants.

The genteel behaviour that Charlotte had expected from the other guests at Waterloo House is not really what she finds. The atmosphere is one of unease with dark secrets hinted at behind elegant facades. The people staying at the guesthouse include a French family whose oldest member appreciates Charlotte’s depths of character, and an American who sees in Charlotte a fellow observer of the world. All the people at the table for each meal show signs of agitation as they receive various comments which seem innocent. These characters develop as we learn more and more about them.

Charlotte returns to the house one day and falls over a corpse on the cobbled mews outside. Shockingly, this is the stabbed body of one of her fellow guests and she feels impelled to ask questions about this even. She uncovers family secrets of both personal and political concern, imperilling her own safety in the process.

Again Nicola Slade has given us an exciting story peopled by memorable Victorians and involving a riveting mystery.

New Direction?

Yesterday I made the decision to split with John Hale. I have pondered long and hard about the success, or lack of it, of my thrillers because of the route they take; straight into the libraries. There was never any chance of my books going into paperback (John Hale told me that a few years ago), and despite all my efforts at trying to persuade agents and paperback publishers, it turned out John was right. He was willing to publish my latest MS, THE BOY FROM BERLIN, which he received last Monday, but because of my sales figures and the "deteriorating situation" (his words), he could only make me a very, poor offer. This was the push I needed, so I turned the offer down and asked him to release me from my final, contractual obligation, which he agreed to do. So now I'm a free agent. My next step is to have my first novel, NORTH SLOPE (1980) published by Acclaimed Books Ltd. It's a cooperative of which I'm a member, and the their books are POD and will also be available as e-books. It represents a new challenge (as they say), and the marketing and promotion will be my responsbility along with the cooperative. So, wish me luck; I'm going to need it!

Spanish Eye

My collection of crime short stories, Spanish Eye, was published as an e-book on 29 June by Solstice Publishing.

Its first review can be found on amazon.com: ‘First, I have to confess, I am totally biased. I had the opportunity to work with Nik Morton in an editorial capacity on this collection of private eye stories. The manuscript was a pleasure to read. His voice is so unique, and his stories are as thought provoking as they are entertaining. There are beautiful moments in the prose that never get purple or fluffy. He masters the art of taking an adventure and condensing it into short shots.

’If you enjoy short stories, you'll love this collection featuring the same character and exotic settings. I am a total Morton fan now and waiting anxiously for his next release!’ – D Thorne.

Available on Kindle for $6.89 at:
http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Eye-ebook/dp/B003UNKYW8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=A317O7WZ1CN6AQ&s=books&qid=1278601323&sr=1-1

Available as a pdf file for €2.96/$3.99/£2.01 to read on your computer at:
http://solsticepublishing.com/spanish-eye-p-111.html

Blurb:

Leon Cazador holds back the encroaching night of unreason

Private Investigator Leon Cazador is half-English, half-Spanish and wholly against the ungodly. His connections run wide and deep, which is to be expected of a man who served in the Spanish Foreign Legion, liaised with Japanese police, and was a spy. Dive into his fascinating stories, based on real events. Glean insight into his past and the people with whom he rubbed shoulders. Cazador translated into English means hunter. He is indeed a man driven to hunt down felons of all kinds, to redress the balance of good against evil.

Sometimes, Cazador operates in disguise under several aliases, among them Carlos Ortiz Santos, a modern day Simon Templar. Join him as he combats drug-traffickers, grave robbers, al-Qaeda infiltrators and conmen. Be witness to the dodgy Spanish developers and shady expat Englishmen who face his wrath. Traders in human beings, stolen vehicles and endangered species meet their match. Kidnappers, crooked mayors and conniving Lotharios will come within his orbit of ire. Even the vengeful Chinese and indebted Japanese are his friends—and enemies.

In his adventurous life, he's witnessed many travesties of justice, so as a private investigator, he will use his considerable skills to right wrongs in the most clever and unexpected of ways. Leon Cazador fights injustice in all its forms and often metes out his own rough justice. It’s what he does.

(Ross Morton/Nik Morton)

Library Cuts

I had a thought about the government's intention to bring about cuts of up to 40% in all departments, and wondered how this might affect Public Library finances. I am about to submit my next MS, THE BOY FROM BERLIN to John Hale and hope that he ignores all government plans and agrees to publish (if he likes it!).

Reviews for FLOATING GOLD by Hale author Margaret Muir

FLOATING GOLD, published in hardback by Hale Books, has been well received by age-of-sail enthusiasts. To order a copy go to Hale Books (UK) or The Book Depository (world-wide postage free). Lending copies are also available from your local library.

Here are excerpts from some of the reviews:

FLOATING GOLD is a wonderful blend of classic Georgian naval fiction, a mystery/thriller and a grand treasure hunt. A rousing tale, well told. It's a well-paced and vividly drawn tale of adventure in the high latitudes and on the high seas. Highly recommended.
http://www.oldsaltblog.com

When you have read as many naval fiction novels as I have, the first challenge a new author and book has to meet is - do the story and characters seem fresh? This is a challenge Floating Gold achieves from cover to cover in a pacy narrative which held my attention.
Would I like to read more of Captain Quintrell, Lieutenant Parry, Acting Carpenter Will Ethridge and their adventures? I certainly would.
A book I recommend.
http://www.historicnavalfiction.com

FLOATING GOLD is a nautical thriller that involves a well-plotted treasure hunt. Other nautical heroes too have been chasing treasures on the high seas and in exotic locations, most often Spanish galleons loaded with gold, but none of them – to my knowledge – have ever been chasing a treasure like the one that is featured in this book.
It is an innovative and entertaining tale, rich on detail about England and life at sea, and a tale that is very well told.
FLOATING GOLD is an excellent nautical fiction debut by Margaret Muir. I hope she continues to write about Quintrell – a character that I feel has a lot of potential.
If you like historical fiction, salty sea tales or clever adventures, FLOATING GOLD is a book you should get hold of – it is very entertaining, well written and intelligently plotted! http://www.navyfiction.com

With this positive feedback, author, Margaret Muir, is planning to write a sequel to this maritime adventure.

The Poplar Penny Whistlers

Just received from Hale the 'rough' for the jacket of The Poplar Penny Whistlers. The artist's interpretation is just as I imagined the picture myself - I am thrilled to bits! The artist is Barbara Walton. I am told the book will be published next February - it seems a long time to wait, but par for the course, as they say... Meanwhile the latest work is gaining momentum! May be it the same for all of you. Sheila Newberry

THE CONDOR’S FEATHER – Large Print edition

There is something very special about Patagonia and the tall Tehuelche Indians who once roamed the Pampas. The magic of Patagonia was one thing which inspired me to write The Condor’s Feather.

Inspirations also came from the real-life adventure of a bold young English aristocrat, Lady Florence Dixie who, in 1878 at age 21, embarked on a ride across the largely unexplored Pampas with her brother. Based loosely on that concept, combined with the carnage of an actual prison mutiny, what better background for a story?

And how could I ignore the magnificent scenery, the snow capped Cordillera, the gorges and raging rivers, and the sunsets...

Thia and her brother clinked their imaginary glasses as the sun finally slid behind the mountain peaks and the night folded down like a concertina curtain - layer upon layer, pink on mauve, purple on blue, grey on navy. Dropping slowly. Pressing every ounce of pigment into the final few inches of sky in a fiery display of burnt orange. Polished mahogany. Burnished gold. The rich colour reflected in the skin of the Tehuelche Indians.

The large print edition of The Condor’s Feather by Margaret Muir was published 1 June by Ulverscroft and is available from The Book Depository post free.

Scandal at the Dower House was published in January 2010. I had written it over a year before, then in February 2009 we moved house, into an apartment called The Dower House. Our new neighbours were amused! I suspect this apartment was added to the old Georgian mansion as a Granny Flat.

It's not at all like the bijou house tucked away in the grounds of the Grange that my heroine Caterina moves into when her elderly husband dies. The new Earl Nicholas comes to take possession of the estate, and, naturally, sparks fly. Then Caterina's young sister Joanna arrives, distressed and pregnant after being tricked into a fake marriage. Their mother was Portuguese, so they leave to visit her relatives, then go to Lisbon to await the birth. Meanwhile, back at the Dower House, there are problems and Nicholas cannot get in touch with Caterina. When he does, when she finally returns home...

Sheila Newberry

June 15th - Sheila Who? Some of you may well be saying. I realised, after reading Marina's introduction that I haven't given you any personal details - sorry! So here goes: a potted history! I arrived in a hurry after a drive from Surrey to Suffolk in an Austin 7 - my mother ate half a pint of shrimps on the journey and I guess that's why I am allergic to shell fish.
I have been writing since the age of 3 and never stopped story telling and scribbling (with illustrations) thereafter until my husband staggered home to our smallholding in Kent with a long-carriaged typewriter and told me to get something down in print! By the time we had seven children (result of too much dreaming, in my mother's opinion) I was being published, in my early thirties. Articles, short stories, stories for the American children's bible belt, and hopefully humorous look at family life for women's magazine, continued to this day in my memoirs for Magna Dales. Two more children and I got into my stride, with romantic short stories for the now sadly defunct Woman's Realm. Sally Bowden, the editor, said I should write novels, well, my first book took me seven years to write, Tilly's Family, but did very well. That was in 1996 and I haven't stopped since... I have had the pleasure of writing for Hale
for some years now and feel part of the Hale family of writers.

I am now grandmother to 23 spirited grandchildren, who inspire me!
There are always children in my books. I write about WW2, of the days
when I was a small evacuee - about the music hall (my grandmother was a theatrical landlady) and love all the research for the late Victorian era and the 1920's. In a talk once I heard myself telling the audience, "I'm a tender writer, shall I say..." I do write from the heart and I never know the end of a story until I reach that point, and often surprise myself.

Shall I admit that I have also written village pantomimes, and for my sins, have appeared in them too? More an ugly sister than Cinderella!
A few years ago I loved to tap dance and sing as well as act - but I am
becoming what my dear Mum, who is 102 and can still manage a high kick (though from a sitting position nowadays) discrepit. It's a telling
local expression...

Probably your eyes have glazed over at this point. I have eighteen books under my belt and more waiting to burst forth, like all of you. Keep writing - and so will I. Sheila

Sheila Newberry

The Poplar Penny Whistlers is my eighth book for Hale and has just been accepted! Set in the late Victorian era. My heroine, Hester, becomes a nurse at the old Poplar Hospital where the rules are strict - nurses may not become romantically involved with patients is one she finds paticularly hard to follow, when she unexpectedly falls in love. Her sister Polly, one of the family Whistlers, is not averse to turning cartwheels down the market and showing her drawers - she is destined for the music hall. Other characters who jostled for centre-stage, are Granny Garter, Big Peg and a performing pug called Puglet, with an explosive sneeze.

Previous novels for Hale: The Spirit of Millie Mae
Our Cousin Rosanna
The Little Train Home
Bicycles and Blackberries
Hot Pies on the Tramcar
The Gingerbread Girl
The Watercress Girls
Out in large print and now in audio - Magna.

Audio cds arrived!

Today's post brought my author copies of Woodland Daughter in audio cds!

I've never had one of my books done as in audio before. The cover of the audio case looks wonderful.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel hearing someone say my words, but I need not have worried. Anne Dover, the reader, has done a fantastic job. I'm so pleased.
After listening to it for a while I even forgot that the story was mine and became engrossed in the story! So funny.
Woodland Daughter in audio (varying formats) is available from Amazon.co.uk and can be ordered in by your local library.

Introducing Marina Oliver

This is my first post, so it's rather long and really just an introduction! I tend to agree with Mick Parker about the value of blogging, twittering and so on. Writing, editing, and living take up my time, and doing all the rest would stop me from doing what I really enjoy, writing novels. Keeping my website (www.marina-oliver.net) up to date is enough for me, but this blog is different. It's a showcase for all Hale authors.

My 55th novel will be published in August. It's a Regency, but I've also written other historicals, mainly set during the English Civil War and Restoration, twentieth century sagas, contemporary romances and crime. I've also written half a dozen non-fiction books (Writing Guides on novels, romantic and historical fiction, and Local History, including a history of my old school), and sometimes write articles. The New Writer magazine is publishing two at the moment on how historical fiction has changed in the past 50 years. This is to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Romantic Novelists' Association.

I've been Chairman of the RNA and am now a Vice-President. I have lectured in America and on Cunard cruise ships, and I run many writing courses and workshops as well as an Appraisal Agency, StorytrackS. I have also edited magazines, and novels for a couple of small publishers.

This year has been busy. I've been editing as well as writing. My Regency, Scandal at the Dower House, was published in January. The large print edition of Supervising Sally, which is set partly in Brussels on the eve of Waterloo, is out in June, and two of my very early Hale Regencies have appeared as e-books on www.Regencyreads.com I'll post more about all these another time.

Review of The Killing Trail

My Black Horse Western novel The Killing Trail, scheduled for release on June 30, has been reviewed by Ron Scheel. Read the review here.

Free preview

Scribd eBooks store have a free preview of my novel A Policeman's Lot HERE

DUELLING IN BRITAIN IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

Once challenged, one could not refuse to meet one's challenger to a duel. Refusing meant loss of honour (unless of course one was the Duke of York. He was persuaded that because of his royal status, he could not possibly accept a challenge). Apologising was the safest way to avoid a duel. Of course pride and stubbornness often meant that an apology was neither sought nor offered.

There were many reasons for duels - a slight given, (oral or written, and often imaginary), political disagreement, religious disagreement and of course, love and adultery.

General Thornton was found guilty of cowardice and had to resign his commission, all because, at a party, (when they were no doubt all in their cups), the editor of the magazine John Bull insulted the general and the general did not issue a challenge. So you could be just as unpopular if you did not issue a challenge as when you refused a challenge.

Daniel O'Connell, the Irish political leader struggling for Catholic emancipation, fought a duel in 1815 that affected him emotionally all of his life. A minor political figure, d'Esterre, took offence at O'Connell's description of the Dublin city government as 'beggarly'. Why the man constructed that as a personal insult, only he knows, but it should be noted that d'Esterre was a well-known duellist. No doubt the Protestant expected to get rid of the Catholic thorn in their side. O'Connell killed d'Esterre (it took the man two days to die), and O'Connell was devastated. In 1835 he 'insulted' Baron Alvanley and was challenged to a duel but declined. For the sake of the family's honour, his son took up the challenge. Shots were exchanged. No-one was hurt and honour was satisfied.

Even the Duke of Wellington fought a duel with Lord Winchilsea (over Catholic emancipation). It is interesting to note that according to the seconds the Duke missed, although history has it that he deloped (fired wide) and so did Winchilsea.

The object of the duel was not always to kill or wound one's opponent. Duels were about honour. The code duello was a set of standardised duelling rules used in Britain and Ireland. (These rules were also employed in the United States).

Juries did not convict duellists for murder into the 1840's. Up till then it was considered acceptable for those of the upper classes. Prior to the 19th century, duels were often carried out by swordsmen, but with the advent of the duelling pistol, pistols became more common.

Because duelling was 'illegal', the seconds (those who 'stood up for' the duellists, usually their friends), had to work secretly to set up the duel in an isolated place, usually at the crack of dawn while nobody was around. Hence the phrase 'pistols at dawn'. And what a business it was to load the flintlocks. You poured powder into the barrel and shoved a wad on top (usually made of paper) and dropped the ball on to that. Then you needed another wad to hold the ball in place. Then you flicked the frizzen to open the pan and poured a little powder into that just beside the touch-hole and closed the frizzen.

When you fired you pulled back the cock (trigger). The flint flew forward hitting the frizzen which shot forward creating sparks as it did so. As it dropped into the pan it set off the main charge. All very well if you prepared the pistol beforehand. Pity the poor soldiers who had flintlock muskets. Some soldiers became adept at loading and reloading and were able to do it twice a minute while under enemy fire.

A Policeman's Lot available now

I have just made my entry into the eBook arena with A Policeman's Lot - HERE

Think you know the Jack the Ripper story?

Think again!

Inspector Frank Parade carries out his daily duties in the Welsh industrial town of Pontypridd, duties complicated by the unprecedented presence of 500 members of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show encamped outside the town, not to mention the thousands attending the show every day. A series of depraved murders quickly makes things even more complicated. Buffalo Bill stands squarely in his path when Parade tries to investigate the likely possibility that one of the hundreds of show members is involved. And soon enough Parade’s own superiors are blocking his inquires, too. Still more deaths occur as Parade sifts through the thin evidence available and finds a trail that may lead to the perpetrator of the most heinous crime of the 19^th Century—London’s “Ripper” murders.

Shocking revelations come thick and fast.

The greatest criminal mystery in history is about to be solved by a Welsh copper and an American Legend.

The Killing Trail

Robert Hale Ltd. informs me that The Killing Trail, my sixth Black Horse Western, will be published on June 30, 2010.

The Dylan brothers ride high in Ouray, Colorado, until they bully a drifter who leaves three of them dead in the street. Nat Dylan, the youngest, swears to hunt down the drifter, Jared Carter, and avenge his brothers. Carter’s trail leads into Arizona country where Dylan meets Wagonwheel owner Colonel Alton Jackson and hires on to kill Jared Carter. But the more he learns of Carter and Jackson, the more he finds himself on the wrong side. He meets Carmen Vasquez, who sees him as an honorable man, and he feels the mutual attraction. Still, on his honor he must call out Jared Carter, but can he survive a gunfight with the man who killed three Dylans by himself?

Would anyone like to review this book? Contact me if you do.

CTW

The Saxon Tapestry / A Saxon Tapestry

I thought I would let you all know that there is life in an old dog - never despair and believe that books die. They can be resurrected.

In the eighties I wrote a novel called "The Saxon Tapestry" that was published by Robert Hale Limited. Since the rights have reverted to me, I decided to publish again in e-book (and perhaps paperback format). I did some work on the book but the story is much the same and it will be published next week as "A Saxon Tapestry"
I am not sure why I altered the title, just one of those things that flew into my head. I like to think that The/A/Saxon Tapestry is still a Hale book - the copy is sitting on my shelf even now, and in pristine condition. Although I do rather prefer the new cover, which is beautiful and just a little mysterious.

Cheers!

APRIL AND MAY

The cover of my new story [published on 31st May] shows sunset over Constantinople.
It is May 1804 and Tom Hawkesleigh is engaged on urgent secret business for the Sultan. The last thing he needs is for three English ladies to arrive at the embassy, demanding help, especially when he finds that one of them is Rose, the girl he has been trying to forget.
Rose is no better pleased to meet up with Tom, the man who abandoned her.
But life in Constantinople is bewildering and dangerous. And the Sultan's chief minister, Kerim Pasha, draws Rose into the secret plan. Danger follows even when Rose returns to London. Tom is desperate to help but she remains fiercely independent. Yet, underneath, as she discovers what drove Tom away four years previously, all her barriers come down. But by this time it may well be too little too late...

Istanbul [as Constantinople is now called] is a magical city and one I've been visiting for over forty years. One day, while crossing the Bosphorus in an 'ordinary' ferry boat, I saw a small wooden caique with red and gold cloth draped over the cabin and being rowed by a dozen sturdy young men in traditional costume with sleeveless red jackets. It's a tourist attraction and costly, but it must be a wonderful experience to glide from Europe to Asia in such a way. Of course, I had to make use of a caique in my story.

Having a Turkish husband, I've been fortunate to experience much hospitality in many homes and many different regions of Turkey. I've tried to convey the sheer kindness of the welcome they give to visitors.

Lady Farquhar's Butterfly

My latest Regency Historical, Lady Farquhar’s Butterfly will be published on May 31.

You can read the synopsis below.

Falsely branded an adulteress and separated from her child by her vengeful late husband, Lady Olivia Farquhar unexpectedly discovers a deep and mutual love for her son's guardian, Max Atherton.

But happiness with Max can never be possible when Olivia is blackmailed into a union with her late husband's confessor. Unaware of the sinister motives behind the reverend's desire to make her his wife, or of Max's efforts to clear her sullied name, Olivia is bereft of hope. Can Max turn things around in time?

Where will it end up?

There has been some interesting facts and figures emerging about e-books, self publishing, self promotion and the possible demise of small publishers if they don't respond to the so called 'revolution' in publishing, that it leaves me wondering if the web is little more than overkill, and the promised revolution will not happen. Like many of us, I presume, I have tried to use the web to promote my books. I've joined Squidoo, Twitter, Facebook, International Thriller Writers and set up my own website (three different sites at different times) plus my own blog. Result? The only people who regularly write to me are the spammers! Everything else turns out to be a damp squib. In the last eight months or so, I have had about five, genuine contacts through my web page and blog. When I look at the Hale Blog, the last entry was April 10th. It's now May 6th. This leads me to think that we are suffering from web fatigue. So will the web revolution take off and leave small publishers like Hale to suffer the consequences? And if we authors embark on self publishing and self promotion on the web, will we really make any difference? It would be interesting to know what others think. After all, we're all in the same boat.

Interview with Hale's nautical fiction author Margaret Muir

Astrodene's Historic Naval Fiction is pleased to have obtained an interview with Margaret Muir, author of FLOATING GOLD which will be released on 31 May 2010 and is already available for pre-order.
I am sure you will find some of the answers very intersting.

What can you tell us about FLOATING GOLD, without spoiling the plot for readers?

The year is 1802 and Captain Oliver Quintrell is frustrated at being land-locked. However, when he is granted a commission, he is cynical that his vessel is a mere frigate. But Elusive is a sound ship and with a seemingly loyal crew he sails from Portsmouth. On entering the tropics, he discovers the purpose of his cruise and from Rio he heads south into the inhospitable waters of the high latitudes beyond Cape Horn.
But the secret orders he has been entrusted with are veiled in mystery and the chances of success seem near impossible. Murder, treason, enemy ships, ice, and the near loss of his ship are but some of the problems to confront him. His mission is to retrieve a valuable cargo and return it to England and Captain Quintrell intends to succeed no matter what the cost.

What made you decide to write your first book in the historic naval fiction genre?

Several things. My love of the Horatio Hornblower series. Inspiration after stepping aboard HMS Victory in Portsmouth. Experiences at sea sailing aboard replica vessels such as Captain Cook's HM Brig Endeavour and the tiny Colonial Brig Lady Nelson. Several voyages on a sail training vessel and a voyage across the Atlantic in a (latter day) barquentine.

What things in particular inspired you to write this book?

Two things. Firstly a visit to the Antarctic Peninsula a few years ago – what a remarkably unforgettable place that is! And secondly reading an article about a lump of ambergris being found on a beach in South Australia.

How did you undertake your research for the book?

My research is mainly through reading, but not fiction (that came earlier). And I tend to read factual seafaring accounts such as Cordingley’s, Billy Ruffian, Taylor’s, The Caliban Shore, Bergreen’s, Over the Edge of the World, besides reference books such as Goodwin’s, Nelson’s Men o’ War and similar. I read almost anything which is related to the days of wooden sailing ships. Obviously I also use the internet and where possible view primary source material of ships’ logs, reports or personal letters.

Where did your interest in the sea originate?

I don’t know. Perhaps from a model fully rigged wooden sailing ship which always graced the sideboard when I was growing up.
Then in the late 1990s I took my first tall-ship sailing adventure – a 12 day voyage as trainee crew on a barquentine, STS Leeuwin. Sitting on deck on bow watch one night while in the Indian Ocean, I was amazed to see the marine luminescent particles sparkling in the bow wave. At the time I didn’t know what this phenomenon was. I called these flashes of light illusive diamonds (they reminded me of the illusionist’s magic dust) and Illusive Diamonds was the proposed title for my first book. I was later advised that title would never sell so I changed it to Sea Dust which is less inspiring but possibly more marketable.

What drew you to write your first novel?

As I said, my first novel, Sea Dust (2005) was a sea story – a historical fiction story with a female protagonist. Set in 1856 in Whitby, Yorkshire it tells the tale of a young woman who escapes from England by stowing away on a cargo vessel and sailing to Australia. In retrospect, I think the story epitomises my own fantasies to run away. (I did leave Yorkshire many years ago and emigrated to Australia but my passage was on a Boeing 707)

Do you plan your stories before starting to write?

No. I don’t have a pre-conceived plot. If a particular setting or a person or action grabs me, that is where I begin and I let it flow from there. Sometimes the idea I come up with might be midway through the story (as with Sea Dust onboard ship). I then have to thread a beginning to it. Sometimes the most amazing things crop up as the story progresses which surprises even me.

Are your books available?

My previous four titles are available in Large Print only as they never went into paperback after the hardback edition sold out. The Condor’s Feather (2009) – an equestrian adventure set in Patagonia – is still available from on-line bookshops in hardback. FLOATING GOLD can be ordered on-line from The Book Depository, Hale Books or any on-line bookstore.

What intrigues you about the period in which the book is set?

I love the sense of adventure, heroes, challenges, hubris, courage, loyalty, tenacity and ingenuity; of man against man, and man against the elements.

Are you planning to write further naval fiction books set in the age of sail?

I had started writing the sequel to FLOATING GOLD, before I got sidetracked on a book about Tasmanian bushrangers. To complicate matters further, this year I embarked on more university studies. However if FLOATING GOLD is well received there will certainly be a sequel. Originally I had plans for a series of sequels and possibly a prequel.

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

Writing is a lonely experience and authors get little feedback about their work - either good or bad. Without any follow up it’s hard to know what readers really want. I’m always happy to take on board any comments, feedback, suggestions or offers from publishers to take up the paperback rights.

My thanks to the Historic Naval Fiction Blog for this interview.

To read more about the book, go to www.squidoo.com/floatinggold

Interview with Margaret Muir - written by Astrodene

This is me

Just a quick note to everyone at the Hale authors' blog. I'm Charles Whipple, a resident of Japan, and a Black Horse Western author since Vulture Gold was published in 2005 (as I remember). Since then, Revenge at Wolf Mountain, Trail of a Hard Man, and Guns of Ponderosa have been published. The Killing Trail stands in the wings with Hell Fire in Paradise to follow that. I'm active on the Black Horse Westerns group on Yahoo and belong to Jon Franklin's WriterL list.







I'm a native of Arizona and grew up there when cowboys were respected and looked up to. My grandfather came to Arizona in 1876 after two years of making charcoal to use in refining silver in Nevada. I rode a horse before I could walk, I think, and a horse was my mode of transportation to my first part-time summer job as well. I milked cows morning and night, took them to pasture, helped brand the calves, and generally grew up as a country bumpkin.

While I love westerns, I'm not an addict. I'm trying to get a gumshoe novel off the ground (it needs major revision right now) and I write quite a bit of non-fiction under my own name, magazine articles and a few books.

It's good to be a part of the Hale Authors Blog. Thanks for the invitation.

You can read my blog on things western here.