Never Waste an Experience

When my husband got tired of trying to kill himself in racing cars, light aircraft, helicopters and all the other stuff men turn to in their hour of mid-life crisis, he suggested that we try boating. We were at home in Andorra, up to our ears in snow and the heating was on the blink, so pretty pictures of sleek motor cruisers cutting through the calm, crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean seemed rather appealing. And safe. We fell for the hype and before we knew it, we were the owners of an ancient boat in need of a considerable amount of tlc.

For Andre, that was the start of an on-going love affair with the sea and all things nautical. For me it was more a hate-love-hate situation. When the sea is actually as calm as they make it out to be in those glossy ads then boating is a dream. But those days are few and far between. Most of the time you’re tossed about like a loose coin in a washing machine, feeling sick and wondering what the hell you think you’re doing.

Still, never waste an experience, that’s my motto, and one good thing to come out of hours of staring at endless expanses of sea was The Hunter Files, my series of marine crime mysteries. The first, Unfinished Business, was published by Carina Press last year, written under my other persona, W. Soliman.

Charlie Hunter is, like me, a Brit. He shares my husband’s passion for boating and, at forty, having taken early retirement from the police, plans to live aboard his trawler yacht in Brighton marina and spend his days restoring it to its former glory. Sound familiar? 

Charlie’s dream life doesn’t get off to a good start when a woman involved in one of his first cases as a detective accosts him, trying to persuade him to look for her missing sister. Charlie, a soft touch when a pretty woman turns on the tears, reluctantly agrees. Mind you, if he’d known his investigation would lead to a gang of ruthless Russians, leaving him and Kara fighting for their lives, he probably would have stuck to boating!

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Writing this book was a departure for me, since it’s in the first person, obviously from a male perspective. Andre came in useful here, both with technical boating issues and likely male reactions in given situations. Can’t say more than that!

Anyway, get a feel for Charlie by seeing how he reacts to his first sight of Kara.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for Charlie Hunter.”

The spanner flew out of my hand and clattered into the bilge. “Shit!”

“Hello there, is Mr. Hunter on board? I was told to ask on this pontoon.”

I swore again. The female voice responsible for breaking my concentration clearly wasn’t going anywhere. Bare-chested and bloody-minded, I hoisted myself out of the engine room of my motor cruiser and slowly wiped the oil from my hands on the rag protruding from the pocket of my jeans. I took a moment to shake the hair out of my eyes and rotate my shoulders to smooth out the kinks before turning to the woman, ready to let rip. One look in her direction and the words stalled on my tongue.

The policeman in me took stock of the evidence. Midtwenties was my guess. Tall, slim, curly red hair tumbling down her back, big green eyes, a dusting of freckles across her nose, curves in all the right places, no wedding ring. The man in me couldn’t help approving. She was just my type, or would be if I hadn’t sworn off all women as being more trouble than they were worth. Still, there was nothing to say I couldn’t indulge in a spot of window-shopping.

“I’m Hunter,” I said tersely. “Something I can do for you?”

If the woman was discouraged by my churlishness, she gave no sign. “My name’s Kara Webb, Mr. Hunter.” She introduced herself as though it ought to mean something to me.

“Congratulations.”

“You don’t remember me?”

“Can’t say that I do.” The name rang a vague bell but I was willing to swear I’d never had the pleasure. Kara Webb wasn’t the sort of woman a man was likely to forget.

“Is there somewhere we could go to talk? I could buy you a coffee, or something.” She nodded towards the café on the landside of the approach to the marina.

“Can’t see that we have anything to talk about.”

“Please, I—oh!”

She broke off as Gil bounded out of the boat’s salon, a growl rumbling in his throat, long tail wagging like crazy. Talk about mixed messages. I made a mental note to have a chat with my dog a bit later on about his duties. It would be useful if he could get into the habit of warning me of imminent intruders before they caused me to drop spanners in bilges.

“Gil!” Too late. He’d already leapt onto the pontoon and was jumping all over my lovely visitor. He’s a huge beast in an interesting variety of colours, and although I wasn’t about to admit that he’s a big softie, a lot of people were intimidated by his size. “Careful, he’s a bit edgy ’round strangers.”

“So I see.”

And then she smiled. I found myself silently repeating the words I’d said aloud when I’d dropped that spanner. Miss Webb, when she smiled, could put the sun itself to shame. It changed the whole tenor of her face and dispelled the air of despondency I’d sensed when first checking her out. Uh-uh, Charlie boy, I told myself severely. This looks like trouble. Don’t let that bloody smile influence you into buying whatever it is she’s come to sell.

Kara reached out a hand to tickle the dog’s ears. Gil, sensing a soft touch, had already rolled onto his back, ready to lap up any attention on offer.

“Gil,” she said, “that’s a strange name for such a handsome beast. Something to do with fishing?” She nodded towards the fishing rods attached to the roof of the cockpit.

“It’s short for Guilty.”

Stop by my website if you get a moment. It’s at http://www.wsoliman.com. You can read the entire first chapter of Unfinished Business and its follow up Risky Business, also published by Carina Press

Wendy

What Makes a Writer Tick?

I was asked the questions a while ago and thought they were worth reproducing here. Every author has a favourite book, don't they? Well, mine is A Class Apart. Find out why.

How long have you been writing?

I wrote my first novel when I was fifteen, so I guess I’ve always been drawn to words. I certainly live in a fantasy world most of the time! I wrote a second book when I was in my twenties and, no, I’m not telling you how long ago that was. It was just a long time, okay! Anyway, I took it up seriously about eight years ago when the circumstances in my life changed and I had the time for it. Incidentally, my third published book was based around the plot for the one I wrote in my twenties. Moral of the story: never throw anything away.

Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants?

Both. When I’m writing historicals or even contemporary romance I tend to start with a premise – a what if – and let the characters run with it. It’s amazing what they get up to and where they take me. For my series of marine crime novels that I’m writing for Carina Press I do need to do an outline and a lot more research but I never stick to it. My tendency to let the characters sort out their own messes is too deeply entrenched, I guess.

Tell me one thing about yourself which few other people know.

Well, I’m told I come across as confident but, let me tell you, my self-esteem is just about zero. Getting published was one of the few achievements that made me feel good about myself. It continues to do so every time another book gets accepted.

Describe your favourite book

My first five books were all Regencies. I guess coming from the Isle of Wight, with all those historical buildings littering the landscape, a sense of history seeped into me like osmosis. As I gained in confidence I decided to try something different and a ‘modern’ historical seemed like the logical step. England is still full of aristocrats but not all of them are as wealthy as they once were. What if a titled lady discovered that her ancestral home had to be sold and that a self-made upstart from the East End of London wanted to buy it to prove to the world that he’d made it? That’s the basis of A Class Apart, published by SirenBookStrand and available from Amazon. com http://amzn.to/Qg4wWH

What drew you to the subject of your novel, A Class Apart?

The class society in England fascinates me, especially the way the aristocracy it being forced by circumstances and society to adapt to the modern world. Even the Queen pays income tax nowadays – shock, horror! Unlike the Regency period that I first wrote about, modern Britain doesn’t turn its nose up at business men, especially successful ones, but it’s a concept  that my heroine Octavia in A Class Apart finds hard to accept. Game on!

Did you encounter any obstacles in researching it?

Not really. I learned a hard lesson when my first book was published. Part of it was set in Alexandria, Egypt two hundred years ago. I diligently researched the period to death and proudly put a lot of my findings into the novel, just to prove I knew what I was talking about. My editor put a red pen through the lot of it, telling me to cut most if not all. This is a novel, Wendy, not a history lesson. You’ll bore your readers. It was a bitter pill to swallow but I took the advice on board, mainly because I could see it was right, and now only do enough research for authenticity.

Where do you write?

We’re fortunate enough to divide our time between Andorra, a small principality high up in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain and west Florida. In Andorra, where I am at the moment, I have a tiny desk in my own room where I beaver away. In Florida we’re in the process of creating a study with fitted floor to ceiling bookshelves for my tomes. My dream come true!

What’s the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it?

Can’t remember the names of the books I wrote when I was a kid, (which is probably a good thing!). The first one I wrote when I took it up seriously eight years back was Lady Hartley’s Inheritance – yes, the one that had the setting in Alexandria! – and it was published by Robert Hale in England, as were the next four.

If you could ask readers one question what would it be?

What attracts you to a particular book? Do you indeed judge it by its cover? Is your interest piqued through blogs, review sites, promotion of any sort? Do you always favour a particular genre or take pot luck?

Wendy

Fun Facts to kick start your Monday

I’m feeling trivial today. Here are some silly things you might not have known. See if you can give me an answer to number 10.

    1.  The human body produces its own supply of alcohol naturally 24/7.

Hmm, mine must be the exception, which explains my need to give mother nature a regular helping hand. 

2.   The origin of the English world ‘orgasm’ derives from the Greek ‘orgaein’, meaning to swell, to become excited or lustful.

3.  Someone paid $14,000 for the bra Marilyn Monroe wore in some like it hot.

4.  Talking of bras, the average size today is 36C but ten years ago it was apparently 34B.

5.  Your tongue is apparently the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end.

I can think of another that no man I know would willingly part with.

6.  Jazz fans and gun owners are among the most sexually active people in America.

I totally don’t get that one. What’s the connection between the two groups? More to the point, how do they know this?

7.  According to statistics, Australian women are most likely to have sex on the first date.

8.  It’s impossible for most people to lick their own elbow.

Try it! Go on, I dare you.

  

9.  Fishing is the biggest participant sport in the world.

Probably wouldn’t be if fish had any say in the matter!

10.  Okay, see if you know this one. Which is the world’s best-selling book and also the most shoplifted?

Wendy

Topspin

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 

The Next Big Thing

Patricia Preston has tagged me to participate in The Next Big Thing blog challenge.  Here's how it works:

First: Answer the 10 questions below.

Then:  Spread the fun and tag 5 more awesome people to participate.

It's also nice to link back to the person

1.  What is the title of your book / WIP?

“The Sicilian Defence”

2.    Where did the idea of this book come from?

It’s the third in a series I’m writing for Carina Press, following the fortunes of the Forster family. Rob is a serious chess player, the heroine is from Sicily and The Sicilian Defence is a well known defence in chess circles.

3. What genre would your book fall under?

It’s a light Regency romance.

 4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Oh heavens, I don’t know. I’d be a dreadful disappointment to famous people because I hardly ever watch films and wouldn’t recognize Brad Pitt if I passed him in the street!

 5. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Is Electra a pawn in her government’s power struggle?

 6. Is your book published or represented?

Not published yet. Still being constructed.

7. How long did it take you to write it?

I usually take about three months to write a full length novel.

8. What other books in your genre would you compare it to?

I try not to read other books in the same genre so there’s no cross-contamination.

  

 9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always loved the idea of ladies in beautiful dresses and gents in tight breeches with beautiful manners, in public at least!

 10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest in your book.

It’s the third part of a family saga and readers get to find out what’s happening to the characters they’ve already met in previous books, as well as getting insights into future stories. I love that sort of thing and hopefully readers will too. The first in the series, Compromising the Marquess, will be published in December by Carina Press.

Wendy

 The Five Awesome Fiction Authors I'm Tagging –

Fenella Miller

Pauline Barclay

Maureen A Miller

Eliza Knight

Shirley Wells

Would you fly on a plane like this?

Kulula is an Airline with head office situated in Johannesburg . Kulula airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining.

 Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:

 On a Kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced,

"People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"

 ---o0o---

 On another flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said,

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."

 ----o0o---

 On landing, the stewardess said,

"Please be sure to take all of your belongings.. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have."

 ----o0o---

 "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane."

 ---o0o---

 "Thank you for flying Kulula. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."

 ---o0o---

 As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Durban Airport , a lone voice came over the loudspeaker:

"Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"

 ---o0o--

 After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in the Karoo , a flight attendant on a flight announced,

"Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."

 ---o0o---

 From a Kulula employee:

"Welcome aboard Kulula 271 to Port Elizabeth . To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."

 ---o0o---

 "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."

 ---o0o---

 "Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Kulula Airlines."

 ----o0o---

 "Your seats cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."

 ---o0o---

"As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.."

 ---o0o---

And from the pilot during his welcome message:

"Kulula Airlines is pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"

---o0o—

 Heard on Kulula 255 just after a very hard landing in Cape Town : The flight attendant came on the intercom and said,

"That was quite a bump and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."

 ---o0o—

 Overheard on a Kulula flight into Cape Town , on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain really had to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said,

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Mother City. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"

 ---o0o—

 Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: "We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."

 ---o0o—

 An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline". He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said,

"Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Why, no Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?"

The little old lady said,

"Did we land, or were we shot down?"

 ---o0o—

 After a real crusher of a landing in Johannesburg , the attendant came on with,

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we will open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.."

 ---o0o—

 Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement:

"We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today.. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you'll think of Kulula Airways."

 ---o0o—

 Heard on a Kulula flight:

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing.. If you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em

Wendy