Thank you Larisa Villar Hauser for asking me  to join the Writing Process Blog Tour – and apologies for being a day late .[ I blame the Easter Hare]

1. What am I working on?

I’m editing a middle grade historical fantasy provisionally called Stonespeaker – with help from the lovely Nicki Marshall of the Golden Egg Academy.

Regency tomboy Georgiana has to deal with an over-ambitious mother, a twin brother who wants to run away to sea – and gargoyles that speak to her. There are shipwrecks and a greedy Mayor, not to mention The Myrmidons.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I don’t think there are many Jane Austen era stories involving living stone. I could be wrong.

3. Why do I write what I do?

I love history – and I relish the freedom that fantasy gives me to play with ideas. I can get close to the emotional bone and yet shields myself from certain triggers. It’s a way of getting a  necessary protective distance from the underlying themes – sometimes quite serious beneath all the adventure and escapades.

Besides, I could no more write realistic contemporary drama than knit my own sandals from lentils.

4. How does my writing process work?

On a good day, it means rolling out of bed with new ideas champing at the bit to be off. They sidle and yearn to gallop off in the shower. I hold them back just long enough to open my yWriter5 project – and then they’re off. I have to type like a mad thing to keep up – over the course I have already drawn up.

There are hurdles and water features and ditches ready for me and my characters to tackle. We fly over them all and I have no idea what time it is. Some of the best moments come from unexpected detours – and my poor husband and house are neglected.

On a bad day, I have a swaybacked old nag of an imagination which won’t go anywhere. Stupidly, I look round  – on Twitter and so forth. Everyone else is cantering to the finish line before I’ve got one hoof lifted from the turf. I sulk, convinced that I am too old/too weird/ too boring/too cliched – whichever is my maunge of choice.

I still try to get some sentences down, though – even if it takes a crack or two of the whip. You can edit rubbish. You can’t edit a blank screen.

EMPTY SPACE ALERT

Insert neat head shots and short appealing bios of other writers here.

Bother, I haven’t got any – everyone else seems to have done it/been nabbed already – unless YOU  know otherwise!

BTW do read the other blog tour pieces like Nicky Schmidt’s here ,and  Kathryn Evan’s here – it’s fascinating how different we all are.