Only last month in my March Round Up I was writing how spring has arrived, flowers are in bloom and everything was looking hopeful. Now in Norfolk the wind bites into me whenever I’m out walking the dog, my washing keeps getting soaked and any hint of sunshine and warmth is fleeting… which is why this month’s blog post is about reluctance.
It finally feels like spring is here. Daffodils in bloom, rooftops swarming with starlings, pigeons and doves, and most writers are now getting stuck into their latest projects.
I’ve recently had
an acceptance for a short story inspired by St Bartholomew’s church in Brisley,
which will probably appear in a few months. I’m also waiting to hear on a
larger submission, so fingers crossed for that one.
My main goal for spring
is complete or at least it will be when the 2nd of April arrives 😊
Writing News ?
My highlander romance novella, previously titled The Rogue Redcoat when it was published by The People’s Friend, is available for pre-order on Amazon. This is my original version as the People's Friend pocket novel is now out of print and the large print Linford Romance edition is only available via UK libraries.
The Redcoat’s Honour is set during the Highland Clearances in 1816, the Year Without Summer. The beautiful cover art is by Marcia Dye. Pricing is £2.50/$2.99.
Thank goodness for leap years! I’m frantically writing this today. I got so caught up with planning out my latest work in progress that I forgot what side of the month we’re on.
Writing News ?
Last month, I mentioned I was finishing up my serial. It’s a
Norfolk countryside to coast family drama with countryman’s favours and
mustard. The story is all finished up now. I actually received an acceptance
for the final part straight after January’s blog post 😊
My newest serial is still in the proposal stage. This one
will be set in Suffolk (and from earlier posts you’ll guess where) with spooky
goings on, an attempted murder and a goat cart ride that goes horribly wrong.
My author copies for The Rogue Redcoat also arrived 🩷 This large print edition is available in UK libraries.
As for the kindle edition, here is the gorgeous cover created
by Marcia Dye. Now all I have to do is add the title.
As it’s a leap year, here’s a scene where my leading lady
decides to take the reins.
By Odin, she was stunning. He felt a stir within him. And
yet she was a nun, a woman wed to her Christian God, forbidden and untouchable.
It made her even more appealing.
“When I was at prayers,” she told him, “a vision came to me.
I must come to this heathen place and offer myself as your bride. And convert
you to the true faith.”
A held breath of silence, then the hall roared with outrage.
Grimulf hoped desperately she spoke the truth. His curse
hungered within him, snarling and pacing, whispering all were out to get him.
One night he might snap and kill them all.
This woman offered salvation. If she spoke true, he would
get on his knees and worship her.
– The Bride Who Rode in With the Storm, published by Satin Romance
WRITING TIPS @
This month’s writing tip is how I get inspiration for my story locations. It’s a hoarding problem I should probably curb, but I like to collect free maps and leaflets, particularly when Norfolk's Heritage Open Days are near. Often these will have little snippets of historical places of interest. I like to use them as a checklist for short story locations.
Local newspapers are another source of inspiration, even
just scrolling through their websites, particularly the nostalgia section. I
recently read about The Maritime House, which was known as the Sailors' House. It was a place where shipwrecked sailors would stay back in the late 1800s and it's definitely going to be the setting for a future Great Yarmouth story.
For my mustard serial, one of my scenes was directly
inspired by a card that I stumbled upon while desperately searching for a
notebook (and couldn’t find so I had to use said card to write in – I’ll share
it when the serial comes out).
When writing shorter stories, imagery is a great way of
creating a vivid scene in the reader’s mind. This doesn’t just apply to
historical stories. A modern story might have great characters and an emotional
connection, but might still need something else so it stands out. A unique setting could be that extra ingredient.
And, most important of all, get out and enjoy wandering
around that location (or stalking its streets on Google maps).
See you in March!
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| About the Author |
Kitty-Lydia Dye wanders the beaches for inspiration with her dog Bramble. Her historical fiction has been influenced by the local myths roaming the haunting landscape of the Norfolk marshes. Many of her short stories have appeared in The People's Friend magazine. She has also released a collection inspired by Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. She enjoys knitting dog jumpers, gazing at the waves at night, exploring church ruins as well as taking part in amateur dramatics (and played the part of an evil flying monkey!)
Hello to the new year, although I’m guessing that feeling has finally sunken in as it’s the end of January 😊
Writing News ?
Did you make any
resolutions? I sort of did. Even with a house move several years ago, I still
managed to take loads of clutter with me, so I’m hoping to tackle it.
This also includes my ten shelves, one box and two moving bags of books, so I
do wonder if I’ll be in my fifties when I do finish them!
The new year for a writer also means deciding what goals to prioritise. Currently, I’m doing the finishing touches on the last part of The People’s Friend serial I’ve mentioned in past blog posts. I think I’ll feel adrift once it’s sent off, as I’ve been working on this for nearly half a year.
Hopefully I’ll be able to start a new one, perhaps
set during the summer.
Alongside fleshing
out ideas for several short stories, I’m planning on putting more time into my
timeslip fantasy novel. So far, the working title is just Robin. My goal is to
start approaching agents with the finished manuscript either by the end of this
year or the beginning of next.
Now, how about some more recent news?
PUBLICATION NEWS #
Back in October
2022 my highlander romance, The Rogue Redcoat, was released as a pocket novel
by The People’s Friend. On February 1st it will be re-released by Ulverscroft for their Linford Romance series as
a large print edition available in UK libraries.
When Tabitha Wynmere’s younger brother is kidnapped, she steals his spare uniform and braves the wild beauty of the Highlands. What she doesn’t expect is to have a knife held to her throat by a handsome, battle-scarred Scotsman hiding in the woods.
However, Hamish is more
involved in her brother’s disappearance than she realises.
I can’t wait to get hold of my author copies. As well as large print, I myself will release a digital version under its original title, The Redcoat’s Honour, in a few months’ time, so look out for another fantastic cover by Marcia Dye!
Also, I’ve recently had some ratings on Goodreads and Amazon. Five stars on The Wherryman’s Daughter and four stars on The Howl of the Hessian Hound. Thank you! I’m always ecstatic when I get good news like this. A lovely review or rating is a great present for a writer.
Preview !
It’s the year of
the wood dragon, so here’s a little scene from a past People’s Friend short
story, Here Be Dragons.
A
light entered his eye. “You’re after the dragon as well, aren’t you?”
Tilly
leaned forward, Jacob grunting as he slid on her lap. “Tell her the story,
Father.”
Mr
Ramworth stuck his legs out to dry. Harsh lights flared over his face as he
struck a match.
“That
dragon was a menace. The beating of its wings was mightier than any storm. When
mists crept across thick as snow, it was like a strand of night broken free,
slithering through fields to blacken crops and poison wells.
“But
one girl knew the dragon loved music. She lured it underground with her fiddle
and a millstone was rolled into place. Some say her music can still be heard
wandering the tunnels.”
I
blinked away the bright spots shimmering from the intensity of the fire. Flames
roared, quick and huge, yet cold crept into my bones.
“Peace came,” the story continued, “but that was long ago. Stone and earth soon erode. That shadow you see gliding through the marsh water might not be mere riverweeds.”
WRITING TIPS @
For this month’s tip, and as I’m working on my final serial part, I’m sharing how I approach magazines with a serial pitch. All publishers have their own guidelines, so always keep that in mind first.
So far, I’ve had four serials published with The People’s Friend and the fifth will be appearing later this year.
My submission email is normally quite brief and will include three .doc files. This is normally the opening, a synopsis which breaks down each individual scene and a character guide detailing characters’ backstories/development throughout the course of the story and any extra info.
They’re about fifteen pages long altogether, so I’m just going to include a small sample. Perhaps I’ll upload the entirety later on if enough people are interested.
Here’s an example of my pitch for Sabotage At The Big Top (The Wherryman’s Daughter pitch is lost as that was back when submissions were mailed in) as well as the first page for both the synopsis and character bible for The Wherryman’s Daughter.
Pitch - main points are time period and genre:
Sabotage At The Big Top would be a historical romance and family drama set around a Victorian travelling circus, would this be of interest to you?
Synopsis:
Part One.
Scene One: Charity is out at night, following her father as he sails the Marsh
Lady. He hides smuggled brandy in the water. She is forced to return to the
Copper Rose Inn in the hopes she can figure out a plan to stop him from getting
it to the smuggler.
Scene Two: The next day, the
local customs officer, Josiah Thiske, questions Charity about strange noises in the
night. She manages to distract him and can begin setting up breakfast for the
guests. Charity encounters Tom Sparrow with his dog, Bramble. Tom wishes to go
on a wherry but, as her father is with her aunt and the local squire, Charity
offers to take him with her cousin Alf.
Scene
Three: At the back of the inn, Aunt Mariah, Owen and Lord Rosewood are arguing
about Mariah and Augustus’s relationship. He believes they have been seeing one
another again, which they strongly deny. Owen ends up storming off. Mariah and
Augustus then begin to argue. He wants her to admit to everyone that they are
together, but she is afraid of what her brother will do if he knows his
suspicions are correct.
Scene Four:
Meanwhile, Alf is trying to unsuccessfully fix the fencing around the inn. As
he gets more frustrated, he tries to placate himself with the thought that soon
he’ll have everything he needs. Charity and Tom arrive, and he goes with them
to the Marsh Lady. As they sail the wherry, Charity notices Josiah watching
them. Upon Charity and Tom leaving, Josiah approaches Alf, who is struggling to
read a letter sent from Amelia. He helps him with this, once Alf agrees to tell
him about Tom and what Charity thinks of him. Alf is worried about what he
hears in the letter, as Amelia is afraid that her father plans to force her to
marry a man she does not love.
Scene Five: Night arrives, and Charity is about to sneak out, planning on dragging up the casks and hiding them. However, Bramble stops her from leaving and begins to bark. Someone comes down the stairs.
Character file:
The
Wherryman’s Daughter begins in the early 1800s in a village in the Norfolk
Broads. Twenty-four-year-old Charity is spying on her wherryman father, Owen,
as he mysteriously takes the Marsh Lady wherry out in the middle of the night.
Wherries, being small,
almost graceful, were used to navigate the Broads, carrying timber, coal and
ice to cities. This time, Charity’s father is carrying smuggled brandy casks.
She is horrified that he is
doing this, as smuggling carried with it hefty sentences if caught, and so has
to find some way of stopping him. The local customs man, Josiah Thiske, has
been attempting to court Charity, and she is worried he will notice what her
father is up to.
Charity and her father have
been staying and working in the Copper Rose Inn with her widowed aunt and
cousin, because of Charity’s mother passing in the winter from illness.
Since his wife’s death, Owen
has been fading away. Charity is desperate to get back the father she knew, and
knows the smuggler is using her father’s troubled state of mind to manipulate
him.
💮
It's almost been five years since The Wherryman's Daughter was first serialised, but it can still be read in my anthology series, which also includes several of my other People's Friend short stories.
See you all next month <3
Kitty-Lydia Dye wanders the beaches for inspiration with her dog Bramble. Her historical fiction has been influenced by the local myths roaming the haunting landscape of the Norfolk marshes. Many of her short stories have appeared in The People's Friend magazine. She has also released a collection inspired by Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. She enjoys knitting dog jumpers, gazing at the waves at night, exploring church ruins as well as taking part in amateur dramatics (and played the part of an evil flying monkey!)
