Today I am very happy to have Lorraine Wilson on the blog, fresh off her new release! Lorraine, please introduce yourself ...
I live in Wiltshire, England, with my husband but love to
travel and have lived in four continents. From playing amidst Roman ruins in
Africa as a child to riding a Sultan's racehorse in the Middle East as a teen,
I’ve many
experiences to draw on for the stories I’ve been writing ever since I can remember. When I’m not writing you'll find me
listening to audiobooks while I sew or design handbags, usually with a rescue
terrier or two curled up on my feet!
Lorraine, when did you first think about writing for
publication?
I wrote a book that tackled the subject of bullying when I was fifteen
and definitely thought about publication but didn't have the confidence to
submit anything to a publisher until I was in my thirties.
Tell us one thing about yourself that you think might surprise
us.
I once touched a
hippogriff! I used to work at one of the Inns of Court in London and the
Prisoner of Azkaban launch party was held there. The Tudor hall was turned into
Hogwarts with 'floating' candles suspended from the ceiling and the shops from
Hogsmeade. All the props were kept on the floor I was working on and I couldn't
resist having a root through!
So you have a lot of news this month, your short story “Chalet
Girl Plays Cupid” was released last week, and
the fourth novella in the associated Chalet Girl series, “Rebellion
of a Chalet Girl”, comes out March 26th. Congratulations! Tell us a bit about the series and the
inspiration behind it.
I spend a lot of
time in Switzerland and absolutely love it. The mountain landscape is a perfect
dramatic backdrop and it's the perfect setting for romantic stories- it
has snow, hot tubs, luxury and roaring log fires. Even if you don't like skiing
there's still the aprรจs ski to soak up. My stories are meant to be fun and little bit escapist but I
like to tackle more serious subjects in the stories too. I write about the kind of emotional
baggage a lot of people carry around with them but rarely talk about.
Readers can try
the series for free with 'Chalet Girl Plays Cupid' - http://hyperurl.co/chaletgirl1
Are you planning future installments or do you have something
else in mind?
Ah, now that
would be telling! There is one more novella planned but there are also some
longer projects in the pipeline that I'm super excited about :-)
If there is one character that you’ve written or are writing that you would really
like people to meet, who would it be and why?
I think most
people would like to meet Sophie. In fact I'd quite like to visit Bar des Amis
myself and hang out there with Sophie, Luc and their scruffy rescue terrier
Max!
What about the book industry in general has most surprised
you?
The amount of
work there is to do after you write the book! I suppose I assumed you
sent your book off and then got on with the next one. The amount of time needed
to spend marketing and on social media was a bit of a shock, although there are
aspects of it that I love, like chatting to readers.
Is there someone you can point to as being your biggest
encouragement in moving forward with writing?
My English
teacher told me when I was thirteen years old that I had the talent to be a
writer. She planted the seed in me that I might be good enough and I'm very
grateful to her for that.
Then I suffered
a brain injury five years ago and was told by my neurosurgeon I'd never be able
to write a book. I almost gave up but my support worker, a speech and language
therapist, refused to let me and taught me to use speech to text software.
What do you do to get fired up to write? Do you have a ritual or a particular
inspiration?
Tea and
chocolate. I'm very English!
Is there a particular genre other than contemporary romance
that you might like to try someday?
I'd love to
write historical fiction. I read history at Oxford University and do have several
novel ideas but I know they'll take a lot of research that I'm probably not up
to, health wise, just yet.
What other things do you have bouncing around in your head for
the future?
Again, that
would be telling ;-)
To close the interview, I have ten questions for you, plus
one. Here they go!
- What is
your favorite word? Mutt.
- What is
your least favorite word? Pain.
- What turns
you on? My imagination!
- What turns
you off? Feeling ill.
- What sound
or noise do you love? A running stream.
- What sound
or noise do you hate? Traffic.
- What is
your favorite curse word? Hell.
- What
profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Seamstress/Dress
designer.
- What
profession would you not like to do? Shelf stacker.
- If heaven
exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly
gates? Lovely to see you!
- What
question have you never been asked, that you wish someone would ask you? What
do you want people to get from your books? I hope readers will get enjoyment,
entertainment and a bit of escapism from my stories. Also I'd like to think
that by tackling real life problems in a realistic but hopeful way I might be
able to help someone dealing with the same issues.
Lorraine, thanks so much for spending time with us. Can you let us know where to follow you, and
where we can go to purchase your books?
You can find out
more about the Chalet Girl series and any new releases via my Facebook author page.
You'll find buy
links for my books on my Harper Impulse author page.
You'll also find
me on Twitter.
To celebrate having two releases this month I’m running a special
competition. Enter for a chance to win a Lorraine Wilson Design Shoulder Bag
made with novelty magazine cover fabric, a Chalet Girl book bag complete with
signed copies of all 4 Chalet Girl Paperbacks!
