Author Interview – Hannah Fielding

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Today I present to you Hannah Fielding . She writes romantic novels.

Hannah Fielding

My interview with Hannah:

What is the title or working title of your current book?

The title of my current book is Burning Embers, published by Omnific Publishing.

Burning Embers

Please provide us with a brief synopsis of your book.

Coral Sinclair is a beautiful but naïve twenty-five-year-old photographer who has just lost her father. She’s leaving the life she’s known and travelling to Kenya to take ownership of her inheritance–the plantation that was her childhood home – Mpingo.

On the voyage from England, Coral meets an enigmatic stranger to whom she has a mystifying attraction. She sees him again days later on the beach near Mpingo, but Coral’s childhood nanny tells her the man is not to be trusted. It is rumored that Rafe de Monfort, owner of a neighboring plantation and a nightclub, is a notorious womanizer having an affair with her stepmother, which may have contributed to her father’s death.

Circumstance confirms Coral’s worst suspicions, but when Rafe’s life is in danger she is driven to make peace. A tentative romance blossoms amidst a meddling ex-fiancé, a jealous stepmother, a car accident, and the dangerous wilderness of Africa.

Is Rafe just toying with a young woman’s affections? Is the notorious womanizer only after Coral’s inheritance? Or does Rafe’s troubled past color his every move, making him more vulnerable than Coral could ever imagine?

Set in 1970, this contemporary historical romance sends the seemingly doomed lovers down a destructive path wrought with greed, betrayal, revenge, passion, and love.

What genre does your current book fall under?

Burning Embers is a romantic contemporary historical novel set in 1970s Kenya.

Do you always write for the same genre?

Yes, I always write romantic novels. I am an incurable romantic, a passionate and imaginative dreamer, in love with the beautiful places that I visit on my travels; and because that is also the genre I enjoy the most reading, I think that for the time being I should write about what comes from the heart: ROMANCE.

Who or what motivates or inspires you to write?

Without a doubt my French governess and my father were the first motivators of my writing. Both were intelligent, charismatic, and flamboyant. They encouraged me to read, to travel, and to be inquisitive and interested in everything around me, which helped nurture and stretch my imagination. So now writing is my life.

Anything that touches me, creating an emotion, whether happy or sad, can trigger my imagination; but I think that environment and atmosphere are the most important elements for me. I believe that the setting in a romance novel is essential for establishing a romantic mood and transporting the reader to the fantasy world I am creating, to capture not only their attention but also their emotions. The reader must be able to see, feel, taste, hear, smell everything my heroes and heroines are experiencing, and I call upon all the senses to render an authentic ambiance. So it would be fair to say that countries have been my main source of inspiration. For me every country I visit is a new and exciting backdrop for the plot of a novel. I draw on the richness of its people, its sceneries and all it has to offer in the way of cuisine, language, and customs to create fabulous places where my characters can meet and fall in love.

Tell us about your writing background.

Stories and writing have always been part of my life. My father was a great raconteur and my governess used to tell the most fabulous fairy stories – I could listen to them for hours. When I was seven she and I came to an agreement: for every story she’d tell me I would invent one in return. That is how my passion for storytelling began.

At school I consistently received first prize for my essays and my teachers often read them aloud in class. As a teenager I used to write short romantic stories during lessons and circulate them in class, which made me very popular with my peers (but less so with the nuns!). In addition, since a young age I have kept some sort of a diary where I note my feelings, ideas and things that take my fancy (or not).

My grandmother was a published author of poetry and my father published a book about the history of our family, so writing runs in my veins. I guess I always knew that one day I would follow in those footsteps and forge my own path in that field – a subconscious dream which finally came true.

How long does it typically take you to write a first draft?

I research my work thoroughly so it takes me almost a year to write my first draft.

Do you employ an editor to assist you in your writing process?

No, I do not employ an editor to assist me during my writing process. When I am writing I cannot be distracted by an editor. The editing comes afterwards, once the work is done. That is what happened with Burning Embers.

Are you self-published or represented by an agency.

I am neither self published nor am I represented by an agency. When I had finished writing Burning Embers I submitted the manuscript to a few publishers and I was very lucky to have Omnific Publishing respond positively to my request.

Do you have future projects we can look forward to?

I have written a passionate, fiery trilogy set in Andalucia, Spain, spanning three generations of a Spanish/English family, from 1950 to the present day.

I have also just finished writing a touching, deeply romantic novel that takes place in Venice and in Tuscany, Italy in 1979/1980. It opens with the Venice Carnival that has returned after a cessation of almost two centuries.

I so enjoyed researching these books (what better excuse to visit Venice), and they are in the pipeline for publication.

I am now in the process of researching my next historical romance trilogy, which is set in Egypt and will take my readers from 1945 to the present day, and a standalone romance set in Greece.

I still have many stories in me!

Do you have any tips or advice to offer fellow writers?

First and foremost, write from the heart. Be true to yourself and don’t compromise to please the market. Markets change, fads come and go; your work will remain.

Research your facts thoroughly. A writer today has no excuse for not getting his/her facts right. Use all the tools available to you. Travel, internet, books, films, documentaries: they’re all there to enrich your experience and make your writing journey easier.

Plan your novel down to the smallest detail. This will make your writing so much easier and therefore so much more enjoyable. A plan is your map. Would you set out on a long journey by car without a map?

Read, reread and reread. Edit, edit, edit. Go through your manuscript again and again and edit it. I know that it will break your heart to delete a phrase or even one word you have spent time agonising on, but sometimes less is better than more. Not easy advice to follow, but in the long run it does work. If you can leave the manuscript alone for a few weeks and revisit it at a later date, reading it as if it were someone else’s, than that’s even better.

Do not get discouraged. Continue to write whether you think your work is good or bad. There is no bad writing. There are good days and bad days. The more you write, the better at it you get.

Is there anything else you would like to share with your potential readers?

I very much value feedback from readers, so if any readers would like to post a review of the book or email me with comments, that would be gratefully received. I also run regular giveaways of Burning Embers, so if you’d like to read it, but are feeling the pinch of Christmas, do take a look at my Goodreads page and website.

Tell us how we can connect with you in the world of social.

I am always happy to hear from my readers. You can find me on:

Website www.hannahfielding.net

Twitter @fieldinghannah

Facebook #/fieldinghannah

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5333898.Hannah_Fielding

e-mail: fieldinghannah@yahoo.co.uk

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  1. findingourwaynow says:

    How fun. Her story/novel sounds intriguing. I love her advise. Even though it's what we've heard many times before I like the fact that she isn't shy about saying again. We do need to hear it many times to make it stick, huh. :-)))

  2. Makes me think of Karen Blixen and Denis Finch Hatton in Out of Africa. Loved both the book and the film with Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. So most likely I would like Burning Embers as well.

  3. Hi Cheryl: I enjoyed your interview with Hannah. I don't read fiction, but certainly love Spain, Italy, and Greece, so am sure I would enjoy her books. Happy Holidays!

  4. Dan Meyers says:

    Great advice – although I think my wife would be more likely to read her novels than I :). I like the advice to not get discouraged and continue to write… when I read back on some of my old posts, I know I've improved!

  5. Susan Oakes says:

    This looks like an easy and interesting read Cheryl and I like her tips for writers.

  6. Jeannette says:

    I agree with Dan – She gives some great advice for writters. I only write blogs, I don't think there is a book in me right now, but I did publish my Uncle's book. And can't agree more to edit, edit, edit. After editing the book at least 12-15 times, once published I be darn if I didn't notice 2 more typo's!_Nice site you have here too. Elegant and simple.

  7. JeriWB says:

    I can definitely relate to how travel can inspire stories. Thanks for the introduction to Hannah's work.

  8. My big takeaways that you demonstrate is consistency and persistency with your writing. You obviously have a strategy and a plan and then you work it…good advice for all of us.

  9. Geek Girl says:

    I agree this was a great interview. Thanks everyone. 🙂

  10. namirusso says:

    Wow, Cheryl – another fabulous interview. I liked her Governess' tactic of procuring a story in return for every one told. I might just try that with my guys. And the "Plan your novel down to the smallest detail" is priceless. There's nothing worse than a bunch of loose ends. Loved this!