romance – Anne-Marie Ormsby

Forest Dancer - Susan Roebuck(1)

Sticking with my look at romance novels, and how woefully ill informed I am on them, I had the great pleasure to chat with author Sue Roebuck about her latest novel, Forest Dancer, a romance set in Portugal (somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit).

Tell us the basic premise of your novel?

It’s about overcoming self-doubt and having the courage to take life by the horns if necessary.

This is a short blurb: Forest Dancer is set in the magical forests just outside Lisbon, Portugal. Classical ballerina with a London company, Flora Gatehouse, has just recently lost her father, but she has also suffered a devastating blow in her career: her failed audition that sees her moving to a small cottage in Lisbon, Portugal, the only inheritance left to her by her father. She embraces the life of a small village with its dark secrets, and falls for the forest ranger, Marco. But the questions are can she totally become part of this little hamlet and can she ever reconnect with her dream to become a principal ballerina?

What was your main inspiration for the story?

I live close to Sintra (which is about twenty kilometres south west of Lisbon). ( Find out more about this gorgeous locations here ) Being British, I’ve always appreciated how cool and green Sintra is in the boiling hot summers of Lisbon and I’ve often been to ballets and concerts which are held on summer evenings at one of the many monuments in this magical place. Mind you, it was so misty one night that the ballerinas kept slipping about all over the damp stage.

I also love trees and forests (Sintra has its own national park) and I wanted to portray the beauty of them – and their mystery.

I have a thing about trees too…..(endless scary forest scenes in Purgatory Hotel)

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

The answer’s going to be what all writers say: Always! When I was fourteen I entered a writing competition and won! Goodness knows what was going through my head but the little novelette was set in World War II (of which I knew nothing) in a small village in England. The inhabitants hated the fact that the army had built a training barracks on their land and were trying all sorts of ways to get rid of them. Sounds quite ambitious, doesn’t it? One day I’ll have to read it again. I think my brother gave me a bit of help – he gave me names for the characters, one of which was called Willy Wormtongue.

I’d love to read that!

If you could spend an evening in a Portuguese cottage drinking wine and eating good food, with any famous people – alive or dead- who would you choose?

Well, Byron visited Sintra and I think he would have to be one of the guests. We’d have a riotous time, I think, and drink all the wine that was on offer. Another guest would be Vasco de Gama who was the first explorer to navigate from Europe to Asia. I might have a go at him about his treatment of the natives he came across. Then I’d invite Saint Anthony of Lisbon because I like him and I think he and Byron would have a great discussion. And, also for Byron, I’d invite one of Portugal’s most famous poets and writers. I’d eavesdrop on their conversation for hints.

Ah Byron, I’d love to meet him, can I come too?

What are you working on next?

On another in the Portuguese series (the first one was called “Rising Tide” and set in the Alentejo region of Portugal – which is between Lisbon and the Algarve – in a small fishing village that time and most of Portugal has forgotten). “Forest Dancer” is the second. The next one is called “Joseph Barnaby” and takes place in Madeira. Joe is a farrier who prevents the favourite steeplechaser to run in the Grand National because he believes the horse isn’t fit enough to race. The aftermath of hate-mail, death threats and blackmail send him whirling into a deep depression and all he wants is to go to the end of the world. He finds just the place in Madeira.

Thank you so much for stopping by Sue!

You can get Forest Dancer from Amazon here

Keep up with Sue online and find out more about her here:

Links:

blog: http://www.susanroebuck.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SusanRoebuckauthor/?ref=bookmarks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sueroebuck

Final Cover Soulweaver

This week I’m very excited to be talking to Australian author Heidi Catherine about her new novel The Soulweaver.

I’ve always had a fascination with the afterlife and the concept of reincarnation, and they are major themes that I have kept coming back to in my own writing. Everyone feels differently about the idea of an afterlife and everyone has a different idea of what it might be like. (If you have read Purgatory Hotel you will know my own vision is a bit unpleasant for those that deserve it.)

When I read the synopsis of Heidi’s novel I was instantly intrigued – I had found a kindred spirit! So I was quite eager to pick her brains about one of my favourite subjects and learn more about her own thoughts that had inspired the novel.

Tell us the basic premise of your novel?

The Soulweaver is a story about a girl who’s haunted by memories of having lived before. As these memories sharpen, she has to choose between the man she loved in her past life and the man she loves now. I was fortunate enough for this book to win the Romance Writers of Australia’s Emerald Pro award, which was a huge honour.

What or who inspired you to become a writer?

My mum has always loved to write and had a children’s book published when I was in my early twenties. This was great inspiration for me to turn my own love of writing into something more, as I could see what was possible with hard work and persistence. Mum is now my biggest fan and reads all of my first drafts. Her very unbiased opinion is that they’re all brilliant…

Are your locations based on real places?

The Soulweaver is set in Australia, Hong Kong, London and New York, which are obviously all real places. But there are also scenes that are set in ‘the Loom’, which what most people would call heaven or hell. It’s described in the book as “a place where reward and redemption are rolled into one”. If we do go somewhere after we die, I’ve always thought it would be the one place. I can’t see how it’s possible for the universe to be so black and white that one soul is considered good and another evil, when there are so many shades of grey. I really enjoyed being able to explore this concept as I wrote the novel.

Did it take a lot of research for your locations and do they hold any real life significance to you?

The story is told in parts, with each part taking place in a different city from the point of view of a different character. I’m Australian so the scenes set there didn’t require too much research and I’ve spent time in Hong Kong and London so could also draw on my experiences there. I’ve never been to New York, so those chapters required a little more research. Google is a writer’s best friend! I really liked how changing the setting gave each part of the book a distinctive feel. As for the Loom, that required a whole lot of imagination rather than research, which I always find far more enjoyable.

There’s a supernatural feel to the story, and obviously a lot of it is based around reincarnation, is this something you believe in?

The idea of reincarnation has always fascinated me and I would very much like to believe it’s real. I’ve heard some incredible (and very convincing) stories about children remembering their past lives, with these memories fading as they’ve grown older. I’ve also met people who I’ve been certain I’ve met before. In the first chapter of The Soulweaver, Hannah sees Reinier for the first time and is overwhelmed with the feeling she’s seen him a million times, yet she’s seen him never. It’s a feeling I’m sure many readers will relate to. Reincarnation makes a lot of sense to me, and although nobody can be completely certain as to what happens to us after we die, I’m positive that something happens. The Soulweaver is just one of a billion possibilities.

Tell me an ideal set up for a day of writing – where are you, is there any music etc?

I mostly write at home when my kids are at school. We moved house about a year ago and I claimed one of the living spaces as my writing room. I’ve filled it with books and have a desk in the corner near the window. Usually I’ll light a candle, put on some music and read my angel cards. Then I’ll get stuck into it. If the words don’t flow, then I’ll take my dogs for a walk and try again. My dogs are big fans of writer’s block.

What are you working on next?

I’m working on Books 2 and 3 of The Soulweaver series, which follow my characters into their next lifetimes. I also have a couple of crime novels and a middle grade novel sitting on my computer, which I’d like to revive. And I’ve recently published a prequel novelette to The Soulweaver series, which is called The Moonchild and available for free on Amazon.

The Soulweaver is out now on Amazon – Buy The Soulweaver on Amazon

Book 2 of the Soulweaver series The Truthseeker is out through Crooked Cat Books on 19^th March 2018.