With the US Open just a week away, is this a good time to
talk about tennis? Glad you said yes because
my latest novel, Topspin, is released by Musa Publishing today.
I ruled the roost at a local tennis club for years in
various capacities and as a writer I don’t believe in wasting experiences.
Soooo, I invented the Porchfield Country Club on my native Isle of Wight, threw
a dichotomy of members into the mix, shook it all up, stood well back and
waited for the explosions. The wait was a short one.
Well, you know how it is when just one common interest throws a group
of strangers together. There’s always someone out to make trouble, someone else
who thinks they know it all, etc. etc. Porchfield is no exception, but I don’t
want you to think that I’ve drawn these characters from real life experience.
We definitely didn’t have a reformed gangster in our club, and I’m certain we
didn’t have respectably married women having affairs with complete strangers…well,
not of the ménage variety, anyway. Takeover bids were unheard of, as were
mothers of twins running away from their past. Allow me a little fictional
licence here, please!
My hero Jack Regent is a tough ex-gangster looking for a
quiet life. Women love him, he leaves them, which seems like a perfectly satisfactory
arrangement to him. No one will get close to him since his wife Tania, the love
of his life, cheated on him. He never expects to see her again, but when their
paths cross in the most violent of circumstances, Jack discovers that his feelings
haven’t changed, He already knows he’ll do just about anything to keep her
safe, even if it costs him his own life. After all, that’s how he lived for
years. But re-examining their past relationship and trying to decide if some of
the blame might actually rest with him, isn’t so easily accomplished.
Topspin from Musa Publishing. Available now just $1.99
http://bit.ly/OpGQdT
Wendy
Not often I hear of the IoW as literary inspiration. I spent a couple of childhood holidays at Bembridge (loved planes ever since). Do you ind it easier to write male or female characters, or is it just a case of getting to know them first?
ReplyDeleteThe Island is like a time warp, thirty years behind the rest of the country, which can be restful and frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI can write male or female. In fact I've written an entire series in first person from a male VP.
Thanks for stopping up.
Alas, I know nothing of tennis except that there's a racket, a ball, and an infuriating net involved. What an interesting cast of characters you've described here, Wendy. I guess I'm not the only one who gets tangled in that net.
ReplyDeleteHa, ha. I sometimes wish I didn't know anything about it. It brings out the worst in most people, but that's where us novelists get our inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by.
I'm betting this is a really good read, what with your background in the tennis world with a bit of added intrigue. Nice post.
ReplyDeletePatti
Thanks so much for your kind comments, Patti.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your release! Tennis? I've never played, but the plot sounds interesting. Good luck!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rita.
ReplyDelete