Interview for the Lesbrary

I had a lovely Q&A session with Hannah this week. She’d heard about After Mrs Hamilton on C-Spot Reviews and asked me some great questions about that, Pennance and writing in general. The Q&A will be posted on the Lesbrary in a couple of weeks, but you can see it here first: http://hannahsnook.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/interviewing-a-writer-clare-ashton/

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

I’ve been tagged by Irish-Indian author RJ Samuel for the 25th week of The Next Big Thing Blog Hop.

The idea is to hop from blog to blog to discover exciting books we might not have heard about or that are still works in progress. Each author will answer the same ten questions, then list authors who will answer the questions on their blogs next Wednesday.

What is the working title of your book?

I’ll be talking about my just-published novel After Mrs Hamilton.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

From random late-night drunken conversations, mainly with a friend who used to visit prostitutes. Then mix in my love of twisting British tales, a weakness for older women and love of French actresses.

What genre does your book fall under?

I think intrigue-romance is probably the closest genre. I set out just to write a story and like to have elements of intrigue, suspense, a good dollop of romance as well as some dark moments too. I definitely aimed at a twisting page-turner for this novel though, and although readers may suspect some of the plot I don’t think (hope) they’ll spot every twist.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Now I know I never missed a vocation as a casting director because I find this one very difficult. The character of Fran was definitely inspired by French actresses Catherine Deneuve and Fanny Ardant. Who wouldn’t be inspired by these two:

Catherine Deneuve and Fanny Ardant in 8 Women

But after a while, no matter who the starting point may have been, my main characters become individuals in look, behaviour and background and I find it difficult to see them in any other way. Clo is very much just Clo.

Minor characters are easier. Judi Dench or Eileen Atkins as Clo’s grandmother Amelia. Perhaps Famke Janssen as the madam Marella. Miranda Richardson for Clo’s mother (I think she could pull off being unpleasant enough). John Hurt as Clo’s father. Kristin Scott Thomas as Susan’s aunt Anna (because why wouldn’t you want her in a film).

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Chance meetings trigger the unravelling of old secrets.

What is the longer synopsis of your book?

This the blurb for the book. (I don’t usually describe much more than this because the unfolding story and twists are such a large part of the book’s appeal.)

Clo leads a loveless life as an escort for older women. Laura is locked in a safe marriage, but longs to break out and find the parents she never met. Two women enter the lives of these friends and Clo and Laura’s secrets, and those of the generation before, begin to unravel.

Set in London and Oxfordshire, After Mrs Hamilton is an intricate tale of secrets, obsession and betrayal.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

This is my second self-published novel. Self-publishing is hard work but I love the freedom to write exactly what I want, and also choose the cover. (It’s available on Amazon and Smashwords.)

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I originally did the outline and a first draft in three months back in 2009. There were some critical issues with that first draft but I didn’t have the experience to put it right. I decided to attempt a simpler novel first (Pennance – another intrigue-romance-ish) and then came back to rewrite it this year (it was never going to let me go unless I finished it).

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I started writing in my twenties – short stories and an aborted attempt at a novel – but did very little again until my late-thirties. After the original idea (above) I started tentatively writing again and showed my partner whose reaction was “Oh. You can really write” and she wanted to know the rest of the story (she’s never forgiven me for having to wait for it to be written). Also, Diana Simmonds read an early draft of my rewrite and her feedback and lack of tolerance for short-comings was essential for me getting the story to work.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

What early readers have most liked is the twisting tale, intriguing characters, British setting, and an older woman in a romance.

Next Wednesday check these far-flung authors for the next big thing:

Diana Simmonds is an experienced journalist, writer, editor and theatre critic from UK/Kenya/Australia (she’s been everywhere). Her writing has such ease, wit and flair – I’m most envious of it. She has a new novel out next year.

UK author Cari Hunter‘s debut novel Snowbound had a gruesomely detailed account of a violent hostage situation with horribly precise descriptions of injuries. I was not surprised (and it was also a relief) when I learned she works as a paramedic. The excellent Snowbound also has a good dose of romance. Cari has a new novel out next year.

TT Thomas is the bright and funny author of short works such as The Guy in Frankie’s Hatbox and Two Weeks At Gay Banana Hot Springs. She lives in California and her first novel is out now.

New novel – After Mrs Hamilton

After Mrs Hamilton is the book that I had to write. It’s the kind of novel I wanted to read: an absorbing plot, intriguing characters and an irrestible romantic pairing. It was inspired by my love of twisting British novels, a weakness for older women, Catherine Deneuve and Fanny Ardant films and late-night alcohol-fuelled conversations with a friend who used to visit prostitutes.

Since outlining the story in 2009, I haven’t been able to completely forget about it. I did a draft back then, but it had a number of issues, and I turned my attention to a simpler tale (Pennance) to hone my writing skills.

A few months ago, I started rewriting the story. With essential feedback and input from an experienced author/editor, I heavily edited existing scenes and rewrote over half of the rest. I found it both more rewarding and harder work than I envisaged. It took a lot of nerve to throw away that amount of writing and be able to cut into a piece of work to that extent. I also found, after editing the sections that did work, that the blank page was that much more daunting. Somehow the blank page on a completely fresh draft is more inviting.

It’s been worth it though. I think the book now does justice to the story, which I still love.

Here’s the blurb:

Clo leads a loveless life as an escort for older women. Laura is locked in a safe marriage, but longs to break out and find the parents she never met. Two women enter the lives of these friends and Clo and Laura’s secrets, and those of the generation before, begin to unravel.

Set in London and Oxfordshire, After Mrs Hamilton is an intricate tale of secrets, obsession and betrayal.

After Mrs Hamilton is available as an eBook from Amazon and Amazon UK and Smashwords. Paperback to follow shortly.

Some tips on self publishing a novel

I’ve been asked a few times recently about how I went about self publishing Pennance. Even though it was only a few months ago I’d forgotten and it’s been a useful exercise trying to remember what I did as I’m publishing my next book in January. Here’s what I remembered and a few tips from what I learnt:

1) Prepare your novel as well as you can. Get feedback on your story and try to be brave and act on it. If someone finds a weakness in your story it’s likely someone else will too and mention it not too kindly in a review. Swapping manuscripts with other writers I’ve found to be one of the best ways to get decent feedback. And other writers can be very encouraging and offer support and suggestions when things get difficult. Online groups are a good place to try to find someone to give feedback on your work (some are listed in below). You can try following other authors’ blogs to get to know other authors – this is also a great way to find writing advice including about self publishing. A lot of authors are active on Facebook – including me as Tig Ashton and it’s a great way to get to know people especially in the lesfic genre.

2) Get someone else to copy-edit your book (correct style, grammar, spelling) – it’s difficult to spot your own mistakes. Readers are being increasingly critical of indie writers and poor quality publications.

3) A good cover is essential to catch the eye and give a good impression. A lot of writers pay someone to design a cover. Patty G. Henderson is an indie author who designs her own covers and for other authors too. So far I’ve been relying on my own photos, cheap photo libraries such as http://www.bigstockphoto.com/ and free software packages.

4) I initially published Pennance using Amazon KDP site which allows you to sell your book on Amazon for the Kindle only. Later I used Createspace (a publish on demand company) to publish a paperback again on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com (this also allows you to publish for Kindle too which I will try next time).

I’ve also made Pennance available on Smashwords which makes your book available in several formats for e-readers other than the Kindle. If you’re writing in Word, following the Smashwords Styleguide is a great way to get your document formatted well – so I would publish using Smashwords first. Barnes and Noble also provide a way to publish your novel as an eBook but I haven’t tried that yet. All these distribution methods are free.

5) Publicise your book. I’ve found this to be the difficult part as I have a very small budget for my books overall. Here are a few things I’ve tried:

- Created a blog and Facebook author page.
- Created an author page for both Amazon.com and .co.uk with a link to my blog.
- Announced the book on Yahoo newsgroups lesfic_unbound and The Virtual Living Room (lesfic groups)
- There is also a new Facebook (lesfic) group Authors etc. which I will announce my next book on.
- Asked for reviews from reviewers for the relevant genre – e.g. Terry Baker for lesfic – she can be found via The Virtual Living Room and Facebook.
- Added my book to the Goodreads site and announced the book in various groups – have a search around for groups that look relevant
- Made my book free for a short period when it was signed up to KDP Select – this is the Amazon Kindle borrowing service. I didn’t get many borrows from this service and you have to sign your book exclusively to Amazon for a minimum of 90 days so I probably won’t sign up for KDP Select next time.

It’s easy to spend a lot of time on Facebook and the newsgroups. One of the best pieces of advice to sell more books that I’ve seen was by R.E. Bradshaw who advised authors to write more! Contribute short stories to collections, try making a short-story available free on Amazon, get on with your next novel – all good ways to reach more readers and get known.

Seasonal Writing

Patty G. Henderson has been hosting a set of interesting guest blogs this summer and very kindly offered me this week’s spot. I talk a little about the seasonal aspect of my writing. Here’s the link.

Where are the new UK lesbian authors?

This article in The Guardian is doing the rounds at the moment.

The article describes how few of the entries for an LGBT debut author prize were from lesbians, for the second year running. The journalist puts forward the theory, that despite having lesbian authors who have had great success in the mainstream market (Sarah Waters, Jeanette Winterson, Stella Duffy, Val McDermid, etc.), the UK publishing industry still doesn’t see lesbian fiction as saleable. No-one is taking a chance on new authors.

Here’s my experience to add to the anecdotal evidence.

I initially submitted my novel Pennance to UK agents. I was told explicitly by at least one that lesbian stories don’t sell, and that I should get in contact if I wrote anything else. My novel, Pennance, has a mix of heterosexual, bisexual and homosexual characters. There’s no token straight friend. There’s no token gay friend. I wrote the novel to be as realistic as possible and I wanted it to be a tale that could have happened to a real person. Its mix of gay and straight people inhabiting the same world which I think UK novelists do well, and getting a UK agent I thought would be the best route to publishing it. I looked at US publishers to approach directly (compared with the US, there is very little in the way of lesbian publishing in the UK), but at the time didn’t find a publisher whose lists my novel sat comfortably on. (My novel does contain heterosexual content which can be off-putting for lesbian genre publishers).

I had enough compliments on my writing from friends and some of the agents I submitted to to have the confidence to self-publish. And I’m very glad I did. I’ve had some fantastic responses to my work and Pennance has been in the lesbian bestsellers on Amazon in the UK since its release. If you have a look at the list, you’ll also see Kiki Archer and Toni James – both UK indie authors.

Where are all the new UK lesbian authors? From the authors I know, they’re going to US publishers like Boldstrokes or self-publishing.

My Problems Writing About Sex

I’m thinking of including some sex scenes in a novel I’m writing, and I have to admit that I’m starting to get performance anxiety.

In a lot of my writing, I don’t necessarily need the sex scenes to be sexy. There’s usually something odd about the situation: the first encounter between two damaged characters, sex where one of the partners is reluctant, a scene of an affair observed by someone else. But in this book I thought the sex scenes should be sexy. I have attempted it before, but quite a lot of wine was involved.

I sit down to write and straight away I hit my first problem: what the bloody hell do I call everything? Let’s start with the vulva. (Should I have started slower? A kiss perhaps?). Shall I call a clitoris a clitoris? Too clinical. Should I call it a clit, bean, or bud? Guaranteed to pour cold water over someone. Berkshire hunt? Too crude for others.

Then there’s the added complication of different meanings for words between countries. This often causes me the odd confusion when reading US novels.

“She tore down her pants…”,
Oh, I missed her trousers coming off first. When did her trousers come off?Has she been walking around without them all this time?
“…and thrust her hand up her panties…”
How many pairs of knickers is this woman wearing?

Should I add dialogue? Because if a sex scene isn’t quite working for me, then sexy dialogue is almost guaranteed to make it like a really bad film scene. I start seeing Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally. Billy Crystal for Chrissakes! Sitting across from Meg Ryan saying “Do it to me Sheldon” and explaining how it doesn’t work.

Sometimes heterosexual sex is so much easier. At least men and women have different parts and are called “he” and “she”. It’s just much easier to keep track of things. In a long sex scene between two women (usually written in the third person) where “she kissed down her neck, and she began to gasp”, I get to point where I think “So, whose nipple is in whose mouth, and whose finger is up whose what?”

See, I’m already getting hot and bothered just thinking about writing about sex, and not in a good way.

Looks like I’m going to have to resort to drink, open a bottle of wine next to my computer, and sit back and think of England.