I Wrote it My Way - Melanie Robertson-King

Now it is time to give another warm handshake across the pond, this time to Melanie Robertson-King - my third guest author who is here to tell us how 'she wrote it her way' and found her chosen genre.  It is so fascinating to see how different my author friends are, don't you agree?

Her biography makes fascinating reading - you can find it on her blog. 'The daughter of a Scottish national, who came to Canada as a ‘Home Child’ through the auspices of The Orphan Homes of Scotland ... Melanie is a native of eastern Ontario.' (A long way from Appley Green!)

Melanie says, 'After reading your first two features with Darlene and Janice, I knew I would have some pretty big boots to fill. I had just finished reading the first four books in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I love Scotland and all things Scottish so immediately fell in love with her books. One of my friends who had read some of my short stories (also a Diana Gabaldon fan) thought I could write something just as good and so I thought why not give it a go? And soon afterwards, the pre-cursor to A Shadow in the Past was born, all 16000+ words.

Back then, I thought chick-lit was likely the best fit but as time progressed, I came to discover a genre called YA Crossover. My heroine is nineteen, there's no graphic sex (a few references to, shall we say a lack of) and this genre is suitable for readers ranging in age from 13-25 and anyone else who is young at heart.

I love Chris Longmuir’s gritty, crime novels (I’ve known Chris since 2001), in addition to other Scottish crime authors (Ian Rankin and Stuart MacBride), Diana Gabaldon, Barbara Erskine, Harper Lee (loved To Kill a Mockingbird), Agatha Christie, Lois Duncan, and since getting an iPad with the Kindle app, I’ve discovered a host of other authors I never knew about that are now on my “favourite” list – Janice Horton, Juliette Sobanet, Bill Kirton, and now that I’m a member of loveahappyending.com I’m working my way through the books by our featured authors.'

A Shadow in the Past

When a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

When nineteen year old Sarah Shand finds herself in Victorian Era Aberdeenshire, Scotland, she has no idea how she got there. Her last memory is of being at the stone circle on the family farm in the year 2010.

Despite having difficulty coming to terms with her situation, Sarah quickly learns she must keep her true identity a secret.

Still, she feels stifled by the Victorians’ confining social practices, including arranged marriages between wealthy and influential families, confronts them head on and suffers the consequences.

When Sarah realizes she has fallen in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, she faces an agonizing decision. Does she try to find her way back to 2010 or remain in the past with the man she loves?

Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

@RobertsoKing on Twitter

I Wrote it My Way - Janice Horton

You may remember (it was less than a couple of weeks ago!) that I invited Darlene Jones to tell us how she decided on her chosen genre. It was fascinating to hear what inspired her. Now I am delighted to welcome my second guest! Come on in, lovely Janice Horton!

I met Janice at the Summer Audience, Love a Happy Ending eventheld in Tetbury. She lives in Scotland and, interestingly, was previously traditionally published but now writes as an Indie.

As described in her Author Bio, she 'writes Scottish set romantic novels with humour and heart.' This sounds like a special sub-genre! Rom-com but has to be Scottish!  Her new book 'How Do You Voodoo' does not actually sound at all Scottish, but you may have heard of her Kindle bestselling ebooks 'Bagpipes & Bullshot' and 'Reaching for the Stars'. I read the first and it certainly made me chuckle. You can tell from the title that this is going to be humorous as well as romantic, and it surely is.

Janice tells how she was drawn to write this kind of book.

'My favourite books have always been upbeat contemporary romance stories about love, life, and adventure. I want to escape into a book and to be whisked away to a place where amazing things can happen and love can always be found. Humour is such an important part of life that it is also an essential ingredient in the kind of books I love to read and in those I write. I enjoy reading about people and situations larger than life so you will always find interesting and eccentric characters in my novels too. The ideas for my stories are usually sparked by something that has happened in real life that has the effect of putting my imagination into overdrive!

My romantic and magical novella How Do You Voodoo? is being launched in October and is a fun contemporary story. It’s about a beautiful but lonely and loveless young woman, a top model, who starts to think being beautiful is a curse. But after a ‘spat’ with another passenger on a flight back from the Caribbean, after which her looks immediately begin to fade, she starts to believe she really has been cursed! How Do You Voodoo? is being launched on Friday 26th October. See my blog for more on how to take part in The Spellbindingly Fun Blog Party to celebrate the launch!'

Find out more about Janice and her novels:

Author Blog: http://www.janicehortonwriter.blogspot.co.uk
Follow her on Twitter: @JaniceHorton
Like her Author Facebook Page
Featured Author & Associate Editor at: Loveahappyending.com

Link to her ebooks on Amazon.co.uk

Link to her ebooks on Amazon.com

 

Thank you Janice. I wonder who will be my next author visitor and what kind of book they write - and why?