It’s officially autumn. Where I live and walk daily, the trees on the Malverns are just beginning to change colour. Frequent hill mists are creeping in; the days are quickly shortening. We can resolutely turn our backs on the summer that never really happened, and settle into enjoying what this season offers. For me this means brisk hillside walks through drifts of colourful leaves; longer cosy evenings by the fireside; and, best of all, a new book to plan.
If you follow my social media (see my Linktree below), you may already have guessed where my next Roman Britain mystery will take Quintus, Tiro and Julia. As it happens, not far at all compared to the previous two books (Gaul and Rome, and York, north to Tayside in Scotland, respectively.) At the end of The Loyal Centurion, I trailed the suggestion that Governor Aradius Rufinus would shortly have another foreign diplomatic mission for the boys, but before then, intrigue, murder and large-scale crime intrude onto their home turf.
Yes, we’re back in louche Aquae Sulis, (modern Bath) where luxurious hedonism mingles with devout religion, and a surprising number of low-lives operate at every rank of society. In the midst of murder, racketeering, and curses tossed into the sacred spring of goddess Sulis Minerva, a deeply-buried secret emerges for one of my regular characters. But which one?
That's enough teasers for today, but I’ll be sharing more about my research and planning for the fourth Quintus Valerius Roman Britain mystery, working title The Bath Curse.
Now for a real treat: an interview with prolific bestselling romantic saga novelist, my good friend Lynn Johnson. Lynn is the popular author of the Potteries Girls series, and a very busy lady. I caught her between books, to ask her about her writing, her characters, and why she chose to set her WWI books in the Potteries region of England.
Interview with guest author Lynn Johnson
Welcome to my blog, Lynn. Thank you for sparing the time to join us as you launch the audio version of your fast-selling fourth Potteries series book, A New Day at Paradise Pottery.
Although you have lived in Orkney for many years, you are yourself a native of the Potteries. How did your knowledge of the area inspire you to begin the series?
First of all, thank you for inviting me on to your blog today, Jacquie. I’m glad to be here. In answer to your question, I and my family are natives of the Staffordshire Potteries although I have lived in various places in England and Scotland over the years. My husband and his family are from the area too. Between us, we bring a lot of knowledge and memories which comes in very useful when writing a saga. I began to write short stories after researching my family tree. I felt that there was so much information I could pass on to my family to give them a flavour of times past and how life had changed. Each book is about a strong girl who grows up to be a strong woman within the confines of the working-class world she was born into. Of course, each had a lot of learning to do before that actually happens!
What is the starting point in writing each of your books - is it the characters, or the setting/plot that comes first?
The setting for my books will always be the Potteries but, apart from that, I will always be drawn into writing by the characters. I was compelled to write about Ginnie but in doing so, a character named Connie introduced herself and she became the protagonist of the second book. To get to know the character I then interview her and so the plot begins to develop. That has happened with each book – and that tends to be link that holds each novel together with the next. It’s exciting to get to know characters in this way and it works for me.
As a historical fiction author myself, I’m always fascinated by how my colleagues in that genre do their research. Do you have a system for researching the backgrounds to your WW1 books?
No, I am not systematic, I have to confess, although I am attempting to rectify this. As a writer, I preferred to let things develop, with the consequence that I did a lot of writing and research along the way. I am trying to become more of a plotter and decide what I need to know before I start writing. I read factual historical books to pick out what I need to be aware of but I do spend time reading the contemporary local newspapers to find out what people of the time were actually told about the war. I find it adds so much more atmosphere and I often find little snippets of information I can use. In A New Day at Paradise Pottery the band playing at the Floral Hall was real – and in The Girl from the Workhouse, Christmas Day was celebrated in January!
Moving onto your characters, I know the main character of your first Potteries book, The Girl from the Workhouse, has a very special resonance for you. Can you tell us a little about her, and how you developed her story?
During the time I was working on my family tree, I discovered my Grandma was sent to the local workhouse when she was eleven years old. I couldn’t believe it. That happened in Victorian society, didn’t it? I was doing research in the Stoke-on-Trent City Archives and saw Grandma’s name on a registration list. I remember staring at the wall in front of me, hardly able to take it in for the emotion it aroused in me. She was the same age as Ginnie in Girl from the Workhouse. The downside of writing about someone real is how true to their life you feel you must be, because that impacts on the story you tell. I had to give myself permission to write a fictional story based partly on facts I had discovered, and that’s what made the difference.
Your new book A New Day at Paradise Pottery was inspired by the story of a particularly famous figure from the Potteries, Clarice Cliff. What additional challenges did having such a celebrated ceramic artist in your mind cause you, as you developed this latest enchanting story? How true to Clarice’s life did you need or want your fictional character, Martha, to be?
I think this is linked to the previous question, Jacquie. I had written about the hard life that came with working ‘on the pots’, and I wanted to write a story about a working-class girl who enjoyed the life she was creating for herself. Clarice Cliff was a true inspiration and showed how it was possible for girls to have ambitions in the industry. The actual story was completely fiction but Martha’s desires for showing her creational side was a truly great experience for me.
Finally, can you share with us where your writing is going with future books? Will they also be set in the Potteries?
I can’t see myself writing about anywhere other than The Potteries, to be honest. We haven’t heard the last of them just yet. I can tell you there will be two more books in this series coming in 2024 and 2025.
Thank you, Lynn. It’s been wonderful hearing about your best-selling books.
More information about Lynn Johnson, and details of where to find her Potteries book are below.
Lynn’s Bio
Lynn was born and raised in the Staffordshire Potteries and, although she has lived away from the Potteries for over 20 years, she still feels a close affinity to the area. Her husband is also from the area, and her sisters and their families still reside there. Novel writing is her retirement career and she enjoys nothing more than to get to know her characters. She enjoys her life in Orkney with her husband, and their six cats who make a point of interrupting her creative flow to order meals - at the appropriate time.
You can buy her new book (and all Lynn’s Potteries Girls sagas) here, in paperback, audio book and for Kindle. Audio and large print versions can also be ordered from Waterstones and the Reading House, and on request from public libraries. Ebooks are also available from Kobo and Apple.
My October News
My Youtube channel is now updated with a full set of videos filmed in York and Scotland, showing snippets from my research for The Loyal Centurion. I’ve got 26 little videos in total now for all three books, plus some extra Roman stuff you might also enjoy. Don’t miss the magnificent Ermine Street Guard strutting their stuff in Wroxeter last summer!
I’m going to be in the Crime Readers’ Association News in December. My piece on how I developed a major new character for The Loyal Centurion will be appearing in their Book End feature. It’s free to sign up to join the CWA Readers, where every month you’ll get all the latest news and features about crime/mystery/thrillers and their authors.
If you’re interested in the downside of field research in a Scottish winter, I’ll be guest blogging about that and other tribulations, on fellow crime author Val Penny’s site on 28 October.
I was chuffed to appear on 17 October, on Youtube, in a live chat with Steph Marie Yates, the founder and host of the Butterfly Princess Show on Youtube. Steph is a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, and a wonderfully sassy and well-informed host. If you’ve read The Loyal Centurion you’ll understand why this interview has a special resonance for me, and why I was so delighted when Steph contacted me. [The video is a little erratic, but do persevere as the audio is fine throughout.]
Also this month, the talented Tudor novelist and popular blogger, Tony Riches, published my guest post about the inspiration and research behind The Loyal Centurion . Tony hosts regular historical fiction writers on his blogsite, The Writing Desk. Well worth checking out.
Book Review: Billy Summers by Stephen King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I try to squeeze the odd book review into my newsletters. This one is well overdue, so forgive me. Stephen King won’t mind, I’m sure.
Billy Summers is an ex-marine sniper, turned paid assassin. Despite that, it is obvious from the get-go that as well as being an intelligent man who loves the classics, Billy is a good man. He only kills bad men, and when we meet him, has just decided to take on his last big job before retiring.
We follow him as he prepares and executes in immaculate detail his final shooting. But then events take on a life of their own, and Billy loses control.
I have long admired how Stephen King tackles huge existential themes in his writing, and this book is no exception. But even as Billy explores his own humanity and capacity for love, despite seeing clearly the jaws of a deadly trap opening, we discover that this book is King’s richest exploration yet of the heights, and depths, of the human soul.
For my money, his best book yet. Highly recommended. Just watch for the final twist, and have the tissues ready!
[Jacquie’s latest Roman mystery, The Loyal Centurion, is out now in ebook and paperback. You can also follow Jacquie on social media, watch her videos, and read her non-fiction articles at her Linktree.]
Thank you so much for inviting me along to your amazing blog, Jacquie. There is so much to look forward to when it drops through my in box too!