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Happy Tuesday my darlings! Today I have the pleasure of sitting on the spotlight and interviewing the lovely Raven McAllan and her fascinating new novel, Secrets Shared. Please give her a very warm welcome!
Welcome
to In A Dream Beyond, Raven! It’s
always a great pleasure to have you here! You’re starting a new series with Secrets Shared. Where did the
inspiration come from?
Firstly
can I say how much I enjoy visiting with you. You make me think, which is a good
thing, and let me share some secrets. This time about Secrets 'snigger'. So where did the idea come from?
Well I was driving past the entrance to an old ruined castle near me, and
remember thinking it would be a great setting for a book. And for once it
wasn't a Regency that sprang to mind. I'd just written a series about a BDSM
club in Glasgow (The Dance Studio series), and I thought how an exclusive club
in the castle (rebuilt) might work. Once I started writing I realized it was
more than just BDSM or romance. There was a mystery or two involved, and more
than one story to tell. After all the castle is called Diomhair, which is as
best I can write it phonetically is pronounced 'Jeever', and is Gaelic for
secret.
Luckily Totally Bound wanted a series, and now I'm over half way through
writing book three of six.
 |
| Raven in front of the 'real' Diomhair |
You’ve
written several series in your writing career such as, The House on Silk
Street; Ladies of London; or Dance Studio:
What attracts you about writing series?
I think
it's because I'm nosy. I write a secondary character, and want to know more
about them. Or the setting intrigues me, which as I choose the setting—well as
much as my characters let me—I suppose is natural. I rarely think I'm going to
write a series, (except with Diomhair which I knew it would be) , but the
characters have different ideas.
Tell us
something about Secrets Shared that
we won’t find in the blurb.
I use
places I know for the settings, just maybe not exactly where they are in real
life! Although the castle for Diomhair is roughly where it exists the
countryside has been altered.
What, in your opinion, are the most important
elements of writing?
Telling
the story, in your own words. Write as you can, not as you think you should.
It's your voice, no one else's. And getting the words down. Because if you
don't write them you can't tell your story. Even if it's 'word vomit'. You can
edit later as long as they are written.
What is
the hardest part of writing for you? Resisting chocolate.
What
advice would you give a new writer just starting out? Really what I said about
the important elements of writing. Your voice, your words, and write it.
**April
Showers bring…**
What do April
Showers bring? (be as creative as you like ;-) ) Jumping in puddles, time to
write and not want to be in the garden, an excuse for the fire to be lit.
Walking in
the rain through the forest, with my friend and her dogs. A nice hot shower…
Dh moaning
because he can't get into the garden… the cat refusing to go into the garden…
Wondering if
summer will ever come… Although why I do that I have no idea. Summer in
Scotland is usually two days in May.
A book to
read this month— Well, I'm reading the first book of M.M. Kaye's autobiography,
The Sun in The Morning, about growing up in pre war India. I loved her
thrillers ( the Death in… series) and her historical novels.
Raincoat or
umbrella?
Raincoat
because holding an umbrella up hurts my fibro.
Do you like
your handwriting? I don't not now. Fibromyalgia in my case means it hurts to write for long,
and even I have trouble reading it.
What are you
listening to right now?
Would you
believe the London Marathon? It's on TV and I'm listening to the commentary
with one ear.
Have you ever
played an April Fool’s joke on anyone? What was it?
Probably when
I was a child, but I really can't remember. (It was a few years ago lol)
About Raven:
A multi-published
author of erotic romance, Raven lives in Scotland, along with her husband
and their two cats—their children having flown the nest—surrounded
by beautiful scenery, which inspires a lot of the settings in her books.
She is
used to sharing her life with the occasional deer, red squirrel, and lost
tourist, to say nothing of the scourge of Scotland—the midge. As once she is
writing she is oblivious to everything else, her lovely long-suffering husband
is learning to love the dust bunnies, work the Aga, and be on stand-by with a
glass of wine.
Such a boring favorite drink, but NOT the way I make it
