I’ve been taking part in the IHeartSapphfic Reading Challenge this year…offering my books as part of the weekly giveaway draw as well. This week (starting 4 November) one of the categories is BDSM. So my book, Changing Perspectives, is featured.
For this week’s challenge, I also provided an interview – talking a bit about writing this book. I’m often asked if the subject matter in this book came from personal experience. The answer is ‘no’ – I had to do a lot of research. My main motivation in writing this story was to find out if two very different people could make their relationship work.
If you’re not sure you want to read a book like this, I would say it’s not too heavy duty. I categorise it as BDSM-Lite.
I’ve never written ‘The End’ on the final page of any of my novels. My feeling is that it’s not the end of the story unless all the characters have died. As I’m writing romances there is always a happy ever after, or at the very least, a happy for now. Both of those options leave the story open for a continuation.
In March I joined two of my Affinity colleagues on their podcast…Triple A Storytelling…to discuss series and spin-offs. Both Annette Mori and Ali Spooner have written many more of these than I have. But we had a good discussion and I talked about The Starling Hill Trilogy, which began as a one-off story. It soon became apparent that other characters needed their stories told, so books two and three took off from there.
Changing Times, published in 2022, was a spin-off from Changing Perspectives which gave me the chance to explore the development of a new generation of characters – as well as revisiting the old ones. The first book was set in 1993, so I moved the story on thirty years. The younger people inhabit a different world. In the early nineties, not everyone had personal email accounts or mobile phones. The now all-pervasive social media didn’t exist.
In Changing Perspectives, Dani Barker is a graphic designer for an ad agency. She creates storyboards manually, but computers are starting to take over. I included a scene where she tries to familiarise herself with some design software. (She’s not convinced it will ever catch on!) In Changing Times, the ad agency is now a mixed media company run by Dani’s niece, Holly.
The best part of writing sequels and spin-offs is that the settings and characters are familiar, giving me the chance to delve deeper into their stories.
My next book, due out in August, is a one off. (For now.) Title and cover reveal coming soon.
Some words about my two October releases…my first published novel and my twelfth (I don’t want to say ‘my last’ as I hope I still have another book or two inside me). This is my muse, Colin the Chameleon. He sits on top of a cabinet looking down at my computer screen. I think he’s hibernating at the moment as not many words are reaching the blank page. But I’m thankful for the ones that have emerged to produce books 1 through 12.
Starting Over will always have a special place in my heart. I started writing it during the summer of 2013. Newly retired, with more time on my hands, it was the ideal opportunity to fulfil a lifelong ambition to be a published author. Sitting in my garden writing random thoughts in a notebook about characters’ names, ages, occupations, I somehow knew that one of the MCs was a potter. This led me to researching pottery online. I came across a pottery place in Bardon Mill, Northumberland. This led me to check out Vindolanda. I discovered that I could volunteer to excavate at this Roman site near Hadrian’s wall. The story started to take off after that and I knew that archaeology would have a large part to play in the storyline.
Changing Times developed in a very different way. I already had a cast of characters from Changing Perspectives (story set in 1993, published in 2017). But the main characters would now be of retirement age. So, although I wanted to revisit them, the focus of the narrative for this book was on the younger generation. Setting the story thirty years on meant that Dani’s nieces were now in their thirties. My task then was to find out what Lucy and Holly were up to. They inhabit a world that has changed somewhat since 1993 and I tried to express the impact on them through their different life experiences.
Social media update:
I’ve now joined Blue Sky Social – connect with me there: @jenjsilver.bsky.social
I had high hopes for this book which was released on 1st October 2022 by Affinity Rainbow Publications. As a sequel to my most successful book, Changing Perspectives, it seemed a good prospect. However, this story set thirty years on, hasn’t lived up to that anticipated expectation.
I thought readers would be interested in meeting the original protagonists as they have matured…Dani and Camila…now moving into late middle age…65+. And then introducing the younger generation, Dani’s nieces, Luc and Holly.
Five months later…the best laid plot looks doomed to failure with only 75 sales.
So, was this just a bad idea, or a badly executed one? I don’t have the answer. Not many people have read this book, and apart from the two 5 star reviews on Amazon, it looks like those who have read it either really disliked it, or feel they can’t give it a positive review.
New year and many new books to read. Thanks to TB Markinson and Miranda MacLeod for pulling together a fantastic range of books and authors in this year’s I Heart SapphFIC Reading Challenge. Lots of prizes to be had with authors giving away ebooks, audio, and print copies.
One of my books is featured in one of this week’s (16 January 2023) categories: Reporter/Journalist.
Although Carved in Stone is the third book in the Starling Hill Trilogy, I feel it can stand alone. There’s an Author’s Note and a Prologue to start things off so readers are able to jump right into the story.
Coming up on the w/c 30 January, Changing Perspectives is featured in the Butch/Femme category.
Many thanks also to Jae for setting up another Sapphic Book Bingo. There are two categories to complete a book bingo card…Main and Unicorn. Check out all the details here.
Here are some of my books to fill some of the bingo card categories.
Links to all my books, including audio, are available below.
My debut novel, Starting Over, was published on 1 October 2014. So it seemed auspicious that my 12th novel was released on 1 October 2022. It’s also fitting that Changing Times begins in October…the start of the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” (as observed by John Keats in his poem, To Autumn).
Changing Times is set in London 2023 and has a cast of characters ranging in age from 20s to 70s. It is something of a family saga, with the older folks from Changing Perspectives interacting with the younger generation. The focus is mainly on the lives and loves of Holly and Luc Barker.
Back in 1993, Holly and Luc were very young, aged four and six. And several of the other young people who come into the story weren’t yet born. That’s why I think of the book as a family saga. The older generation are dealing with the changes taking place in their bodies and minds as they age. And the younger ones are now in the front line of a rapidly changing world.
But the one thing that doesn’t change, regardless of age, is the quest for romance and the recognition that long-term loving relationships are possible. I hope readers will enjoy this story as the family dramas play out with dysfunctional families and families of choice.
During lock-down months of inactivity over the last few years, you would think I had loads of time to write. Instead, I felt a kind of inertia. Trying to write new books took longer than usual. I could have spent the time planning, if writing wasn’t happening. But that didn’t manifest itself in any way.
Book number twelve finally started to take shape in my mind, albeit slowly. It has its roots in the one I started writing over thirty years ago. Changing Perspectives was eventually finished and published in 2017. I was happy with the end of the story. It seemed a good place to leave my characters. A sequel wasn’t even a consideration back then. With all my books, though, I’ve never actually written ‘The End.’ My thinking on this is that unless they do a Hamlet where everyone dies, the characters carry on with their lives.
Towards the end of last year, it occurred to me that a lot will have happened to those characters whose story was set in 1993. There were children, some not yet born, who would now be adults. What kind of lives did they lead? What would they be doing now? As for the older generation…now in their late sixties, early seventies…how did they fare?
So, from these seeds, a story idea began to grow. The result is Changing Times.
Thirty years on from when we first met Dani Barker and Camila Callaghan in Changing Perspectives, they’re enjoying marriage and semi-retirement in a luxury flat near London.
Dani’s niece, Holly, runs their mixed media business, now gaining a foothold in the highly competitive online games market. Holly’s older sibling, Luc, influences people to take action on climate issues with their website, Gaia One: One Earth, One Chance.
Romance has been in short supply for both Holly and Luc. Immersed in her work, Holly’s dating life is non-existent. For Luc, family prejudices stand in the way of a relationship with the love of their life.
Can Holly and Luc succeed in making the changes necessary to achieve their own happy ever afters?
I certainly enjoyed revisiting the older characters who are, after all, closer to my age. It was also fascinating to discover how the younger generation developed through the intervening years. Although Changing Times is a sequel, I think readers will be able to appreciate the story without having read Changing Perspectives.
I only started listening to audiobooks about four years ago. Up until then I hadn’t seriously considered having any of my books narrated. However, listening to books that I’d already read gave me an insight into how the different medium could enhance the story. With the right narrator, the words gained new life.
I was lucky to find the ideal narrator living almost on my doorstep, only a few miles along the road. We met for an initial discussion about how she worked and I didn’t need much more convincing to take the plunge. I gave her my two latest books to look at. Not long after that she sent me a sample of a scene from Changing Perspectives.
That was the game changer. I was sold on making the commitment to have the book recorded. Nicola Victoria Vincent is a wonderful voice actor. Hearing her treatment of different character voices gave the story a whole new depth. (It also showed up some of my writing glitches.)
Anyway, that was the start of my journey into audio. Nicki’s now produced two more of my novels – Starting Over and Darcy Comes Home. I’ve funded the productions myself and I’m not likely to break even on the costs. But it’s worth it to me to have my stories out in this format.
Only recently, Bella Books has taken the steps to have all of Katherine V Forrest’s books recorded. Daughters of a Coral Dawn is one of my favourites which I’ve read many times over the years (first published in 1984 by Naiad Press). The audio version is sensational though and it’s almost like experiencing the story for the first time.
So, every month is now Audiobook Appreciation Month for me. I know this is true for many other audio book converts. Long may it continue.
For this year’s Audiobook Appreciation Month, Jae has set up a fantastic giveaway with 23 authors taking part. I’m offering three US/UK Audible codes for Darcy Comes Home. To enter, just fill in the form on Jae’s blog:
You would think having all this free time would be ideal for a writer. No visitors, only going out if absolutely necessary, grocery and takeaway deliveries, etc. Some authors have taken advantage of this and are producing books without pause. For me, however, it’s like that part of my life has taken a time out of its own. I’ve tried a few times to get some words down – but it’s not happening.
I’ve learned not to force it. With ten books published since the first one in 2014, there really isn’t any need to panic. So why not just enjoy the space for reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, listening to audio books, solitary walks, and sitting out in the garden with a cold drink (weather permitting).
Looking back to last August’s blog, it’s full of photos from different places we visited, playing golf in Scotland, taking part in an archery competition at another club, a full programme of Happy Valley Pride events.
So far this year, we’ve had one outing…a few days away at a hotel on Lake Windermere at the end of July. It was a wonderful time – enjoying different scenery, meals cooked by someone else, conversation (socially distanced) with other people. We felt safe and well looked after. There was a one-way system through the public areas, hand sanitiser stations at strategic points, well spaced out tables in the restaurant. Plus some good weather for enjoying walks by the lake and just sitting watching the ever-changing scene. Overall, fantastic!
Food and drink was left on a service table and we served ourselves from there. (Note the hand sanitiser station by the table behind)
Activity on the lake
Early morning view of geese on the lawn – from our bedroom window
A final view of the lake
Will I look back on 2020 as a lost year, or just a time out from normal activities?
I’ll let you know in January.
Taking time out to read or listen to books? Here’s where you can find mine:
Is it January already? Time for another blog. A dreary January day seems ideal for a reflection on the wonderful time we had over Christmas. We’ve spent a few Christmases at Lake Windermere. This year was lovely, as it always is, regardless of the weather. Christmas Eve and Boxing Day were both wet days, but Christmas Day the sun came out.
This was a contrast to the same place ten years earlier when we made snowbears by the lakeside.
Clare Lydon invited lesbian fiction authors to take part in a Festive Lesbian Book Club Podcast. I was happy to answer her questions and this was the result with myself, Jae, Clare Ashton, Melissa Tereze, Lise Gold, Jody Klaire and SR Silcox answering the following questions: First, favourite lesfic of the year. Second, favourite festive lesfic ever. Third, what we’re hoping for from Santa. Fourth, what we like to eat & drink at Christmas. Finally, our publishing plans for 2020. Clare also added her own answers to the questions.
Thank you to everyone who took advantage of Affinity’s December sale and bought copies of Christmas at Winterbourne, as well as the other books on sale during the month. Always worth checking out the Affinity Raingbow Publications website for free books and special offers. Subscribers to their newsletter can also benefit from the monthly flash sales.
2020 is starting out slowly for me. But it will be picking up speed in the next few weeks. I’ll be doing edits for my book due out in March – Country Living. Nicola Victoria Vincent has started recording Starting Over which will be the second one of my books to make it into audio. And I’m working on a new novel!
So let’s get on with more happy writing, reading, and listening this year!
jenjsilver 