My Writing Corner : A Trip to the Past

We're getting to the beginning of the Holiday Season, and to me that is a perfect opportunity to do some holiday book shopping. It's also a good time to look for that new author to read or even try reading in a new genre. What better way to spend those long winter nights than curled up with a good book in front of the fireplace or sitting by the window watching the snow fall?

To me that means looking for new authors or going back and re-visiting some authors whose books always entertain. Today's guest in My Writing Corner, L. B. Griffin, has visited with us in the past, but her books are great to keep in mind as you either select books as gifts or to read during your own holiday vacation.

L.B. Griffin was born and raised in Bath UK, and she says she absolutely loves writing fiction. She is happily married and surrounded by her family in Wiltshire. She has always written around the full-time paid job and pays tribute to everyone she has taught and met. They have been her inspiration to write.

Whilst her stories are a complete work of fiction, they touch upon social issues, the reality of life. They are filled with gentle hints of romance. Her women are strong, courageous, they are survivors. Though they don't necessarily see themselves that way, they certainly are. Her debut novel, Secrets, Shame, and a Shoebox was released world-wide mid-2021. It immediately received rave reviews. The sequel, The Twenty-One-Year Contract, also a standalone, also continues to receive excellent reviews. These are complete works of fiction.

Tell us about your road to publication.

I don’t think it’s that unusual to find authors writing around the full-time paid job. This is what I did, for years. I’d get up at silly o’clock, before flying out the door to do the work that paid the bills. Then I retired.

I’d never been confident enough to submit my work, However, I continued to write as my imaginary friends always start yammering away when I’m trying to sleep. They tell me what to write, what to say, and how important their stories are. I have to listen, and I have to share their stories, after all, who am I to argue? 😊

Then one day, not so long ago, a friend, who turned out to be an editor in our critiquing group, suggested I should get my story out there before ‘I popped my clogs.’ Yes, that blunt! I think it was the push I needed. Three months later and I was offered a contract! I’m still stunned. Of course, there is more to this than I can share right here, but all I’m saying is if I can do it, then I urge you to try before it’s too late!

How do you come up with your plots?

My imaginary friends are to blame for the plots. I just write what they tell me to write.

How do you develop characters?

I have a characterization sheet. It’s on my blog. www.wifeinthewest.com but I guess you can find one on the net easily enough.

I used to use this as a starting point to get to know them better. To know what’s in their fridge maybe, even though I might not use it in the story. I want to know what makes them tick. Now it feels more natural just to go for it as I’ve had a bit of practice. If I’m stuck I will check the list and see what I might have missed.

What is your latest book and how did you come up with the idea to write it?

My latest book is called The Twenty-One-Year Contract and although standalone, it is the sequel to Secrets, Shame, and a Shoebox.

My books reflect all the layers of life. It comes from a lifetime of experience, and working with all walks of life, from cleaning to teaching. Each person I have met has taught me to listen, not to judge, but then I carefully reconstruct those stories into fiction. They are my inspiration. I write about the survivors. They are my hero’s. I admire them the most. However, it never fails to surprise me how my bullies tend to shine, because they are the people you love to hate.

I also encapsulate coincidence because life is full of it. Ask yourself, have you ever walked down a street and bumped into someone you haven’t seen for years and would never have expected to meet again? I’m sure you can think of a strange coincidence of your own. It has happened to me, so many times, and in so many extraordinary ways.

BLURB:

1950s London. Who would have guessed a contract, a friend, and a simple shoebox would hold life changing secrets…

Kathleen Gray—talented, a little wild, at times rebellious, but always popular—has a fun, easy life in rural Somerset, with a doting family.

Suddenly, they are gone, everything is changed, and she has only Uncle Jack. Try as he might, he cannot be father and mother to her—he has a business to run and his own life to manage.

Kathleen takes a chance and becomes Kate Westfield, fending for herself in London, with a new life built on her hopes and dreams and new friends. She could hardly have imagined that one of those friends has a shoebox full of answers.

EXCERPT:

The more Kate understood, she didn’t like, and a niggle of doubt grew. Then one evening everything seemed to slot into place. Girls came and went. It hadn’t been obvious, at first, but why she’d missed it to begin with she couldn’t understand. One party they were there, the next they had vanished, and new girls replaced them. Kate couldn’t work out who they were, where they came from, or why they disappeared. Forever curious, she just had to find out, and tonight was the perfect time. A young girl caught her attention. She was on a much older man’s arm. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence, but soon after a few drinks she looked wobbly on her feet, and slightly distressed. He could have just been helping her to the bathroom, but Kate doubted it. She decided to follow them at a discreet distance, stopping when necessary, looking at paintings hung on the wall, still watching the girl who, by her walk appeared inebriated. Before long, the couple arrived at a door marked private. They went in. Worried, more for the girl than her own safety, she turned the knob.

What are you working on now?

Work in progress. Contemporary romance with lots of tongue in cheek humour. Maybe, dare I say, a more rounded Brigit Jones. No more on that subject. Lots of work to be done. 😊

What advice do you have for beginning writers?

There is no right or wrong way to begin writing. The best bit of advice I can give is write whatever comes into your head, fact, or fiction. Ask yourself what makes you tick? What gives you that buzz when you think about it?

This is what you should start writing about. It will give you the motivation, the drive to keep you going because it is something you know and love.

I would also suggest you join a critique group and/or a creative writing course. Writing is a lonely occupation. It is important and good to have the support of like-minded people around you.

Here are the Buy links for her books:

mybook.to/twentyone

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781509239733

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Here are her Social Contacts:

LBGriffinAuthoruk

mybook.to/twentyone

Where silence turns to courage, survival and happiness

https://fb.watch/b3c2bZPyRF/

www.instagram.com/lynngriffinauthoruk

www.Facebook.com/lynngriffinauthor/