August Round Up

A few bits of good news for this month! To start with, my six-part serial, A Countryman’s Favour, is in The People’s Friend weekly magazine, which is available in most UK supermarkets and newsagents and on the Readly app for overseas readers.

Illustration by Sailesh Thakrar

A Countryman's Favour is a romance family drama following the lives of the Rose sisters as love and tragedy takes them across Norfolk, from Wheatacre to Great Yarmouth and Norwich. The story’s plot was heavily inspired by the county’s mustard history and methodism, when itinerant preachers, known as ranters at the time, would spread the word on Norfolk's village greens.

I’ve also heard back on my New Year short story, The Mystery of the Ruby Necklace, and it was accepted! The Sweetest of Dreams was also submitted last week. Hopefully I’ll hear something soon 😊

That just leaves, as mentioned last month, The Gingerbread House and Follow the Stars. Follow the Stars has actually grown a few extra limbs, with the main character’s family demanding more page space, so I might end up turning this into a longer piece.

Writing Inspiration

I believe a writer’s style is heavily influenced by what they’ve read as a child. Here are a few of the books I used to love and how they influenced my own writing.

Anything by Beatrix Potter

The chocolate box countryside aesthetic so beloved in Beatrix Potter books features a lot in my People’s Friend work. Most of my stories, such as In Fields of Corn and The Fen-Nightingale, use the landscape and harvest as a backdrop to the overall story and themes.

My favourite book was The Tale of Samuel Whiskers/The Roly-Poly Pudding. I also loved the cartoon series that was on during the 90s.

A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket

Now, this was the book series that got me hooked on reading when I was seven. Vivid characters and descriptions, fairytale-esque themes and a conversational writing style that felt as if the author was truly speaking to me. I learnt so much - facts about animals, new words to write - from reading these books. Inspired by this, I try to include a few historical details my readers might not have read before.

The audiobooks are fantastic as well. They're narrated by Tim Curry.

The Bartimaeus Sequence - Jonathan Stroud

I still dip into this series. The characters are engaging and I love the back and forth between Nathaniel and his demon. This book was what got me into reading first person perspective (and it's the point of view I use the most for my short stories 😊) as it gets right to the heart of the characters and their experiences throughout the story. Another part I love is the appendices scattered throughout the book. I hope to include something similar for a future (probably sci-fi) story.

Nancy Drew – Carolyn Keene & Point Horror Series - Various

As I got older, I adored mystery and horror. Both of these series were quick to capture my attention. Chapters always ended on a cliff-hanger – a clue revealed, a kidnapping, a sudden noise in an empty house – which is what I rely on for my serials and pocket novels to keep the momentum going (and if you've read my serials I always turn to fire ;D).

Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth – Xiaolu Guo

This is a book I read multiple times in my early teens and still have on my shelf.

“I couldn't believe a mother and her daughter could have so much to say to each other. In my family, no one talked. In my family, people lived like insects, like worms, like slugs hanging on the back door of the house.”

Xiaolu Guo has such a personal, gut-wrenching way of writing and the prose is simply beautiful. Growing up, I wanted to write in a similar style and I think it shows in my science fiction story, The Dream and the Weaver, which was heavy on descriptions and nature themed similes/metaphors for a metal world.

There are plenty more books I'd like to add, but these are the ones which come to mind quickest - though often my brain goes blank when someone asks what my favourite books are! I'm sure everyone gets that.

Have you read any of the books I've mentioned? What books do you think inspired you?