As the season changes from summer to the beginning of autumn, I always think back on my old days at school. I was one of those crazy kids who always enjoyed the start of a new school year. Strangely enough, to me it meant not only a return to class but a return to the school library and a chance to see what new books might be available (yes, I loved reading from an early age, thanks to my mother). This week's guest in My Writing Corner is author Jane Greenhill and it sounds as though she ran into the same sort of situation in her family. Let's hear all about it directly from our guest author. Her new book is The Leprechaun's Curse. Take it away Jane...
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Passing on a career in journalism to work at a police service, (who wants to report the news when you can have first hand knowledge). I guess all those Nancy Drew mysteries put a bee in my bonnet.
Fast forward 15 years, when I saw an article in our local paper about a romance writing workshop. I attended the workshop, went home and wrote 75,000 words over a long weekend. Put together a synopsis and sent it off to a publisher. The next week I heard back that she wanted to read more. Well this is easy, I thought.
That's when I realized how little I knew about writing. So I took numerous courses, and after countless rewrites, I got the email.
The Wild Rose Press wanted to publish my little story.
I got the bug.
What do you enjoy about being an author?
The writing, I’m a pantser, so I let the characters lead me.
What do you find is the most challenging part of being an author?
The self-promotion.
How do you develop characters?
I let them dictate the story. They let me know what their character flaws are, but at the same time, I observe people and their mannerisms, and jumble them together.
How do you come up with your plots?
The story dictates the plots and where they go and what they do. With my story, The Leprechaun’s Curse, it was fun to see what trouble my Elmville could get into when he didn’t have a coin to balance his yin and yang.
Tell us more about your road to publication.
I saw an advertisement in the local newspaper to attend a class with an editor who had been with Harlequin. I attended came home and wrote 75000 words the following week. Then I realized how little I knew about writing and joined writing groups. That was almost 15 years ago and still learning. Sent it off to agents and actually heard back from one. I submitted at the same time to Wild Rose and heard from them.
What is your book that you will feature today and how did you come up with the idea to write it?
The Leprechaun’s Curse. My dad’s family is from Ireland and to be honest, I don’t know where the idea germinated from, it just took root and almost wrote itself. My husband and I are travellilng to Ireland and it will be fun to see the places I wrote about. For example, Newgrange was built 500 years before the pyraminds.
Elmville, a mischievous leprechaun, is desperate to retrieve his long-lost gold coin. Without it, his delicate balance between good and evil within him becomes skewed. But the elusive coin has fallen into the hands of the Tobin family, and Elmville will stop at nothing to get it back. Through the centuries, he’s relentlessly haunted the Tobin descendants, leaving a wake of destruction and death in his path.
Meanwhile, Kitty and her mother, Annie, arrive in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, modern-day tourists with their own emotional baggage. Neither has a clue about the curse, nor do they believe in leprechauns.
After centuries of searching, Elmville’s desperation has reached a fever pitch as he grows even closer to his ultimate goal. Dun Laoghaire is filled with Tobins.
Will Kitty and Annie and their newfound Tobin friends survive Elmville’s wrath, or will his nefarious ways threaten to claim yet another victim?
Did you know there is over a gallon of blood in the human body? Elmville actually went to a library and checked in an Encyclopedia the first time he killed someone. (Encyclopedias for those who are too young to know it was the first method of searching, where you actually had to get off your butt and go to a library instead of sitting on your comfy couch and typing.) Well, not at the time did he venture out. I mean, he had some other things on his plate, so to speak, but immediately afterward when his adrenaline came back down to normal and he was drinking his after-kill drink of peppermint tea with a touch of honey. Yumm. Though he did favor cotton candy and candied apples, which just depended on the time of year and the degree of celebration. I have to say he didn’t kill needlessly, and he did save a dog. Not everyone deserves killing, but in this instance…. Not to say he acted as a judge and jury or executioner, but let me tell you his story and I’m sure you’ll agree. So, put the kettle on, get out your tea, and if you want a biscuit, ’cause chocolate biscuits always go well with a spot of tea. Put your feet up on that comfy ottoman, not forgetting the blanket your great-grandmother crocheted for you, and let’s get the show on the road, so to speak. I’ll start at the very beginning—a very good spot to start. Now I’ve given you an earworm, we’ll commence.
What’s your next project or what are you working on now?
Fate Worse Than Death—what if your Guardian Angel is a Serial Killer?
What advice do you have for beginning writers?
When you’re writing, think what’s the worst that can happen, and then ramp it up.
Here are Jane's buy links for The Leprechaun’s Curse and her social contact information.
Buy Links:
Wild Rose Press:
https://wildrosepress.com/product/the-leprechauns-curse/
Amazon:
Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-leprechauns-curse-jane-greenhill/1145602126?ean=9781509256303
Social Media Tags:
Website: janegreenhill.com
Facebook:authorjanegreenhill
Twitter:authorjanegreenhill
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