Hi Breathless girls! Thanks for inviting me to be your guest today.
Do you remember the video for this Basement Jaxx song? Scientists experimenting on super-clever monkeys and everybody going crazy at the end! Creepy and intriguing, with a fiendishly catchy tune. Seems a suitable soundtrack for the madness that’s engulfed us all over recent months.
I’ve spent the last few months discovering that my head wasn’t where I thought it was! Back in March, I sat down to write a heart-warming novella for an anthology of Christmas stories that I’m participating in at the end of the year. But outside the warm shelter of my house in Caloundra in Queensland, the world was going mad, with horrific figures emerging from the US and Europe detailing the death toll from the Corona virus.
Turns out my head wasn’t with a charming Christmas romance after all. Instead it was with a rather hard-edged, intense story about two people seizing a forbidden chance for happiness and succumbing to a passion that threatens everything they hold dear. No mistletoe in sight.
As I wrote this story, I kept saying to myself I’d fix it up in the edits, I’d fill it with Christmas cheer, I’d make it sweet and lovely. Until I reached the point where I realised that these characters had their own agenda and seasonal goodwill wasn’t on the list. Turning Selina and Brock’s love affair into a charming bonbon would distort what this story had to offer on its own terms – tumultuous emotion and some very steamy love scenes.
I should have realised I was veering off-piste when I set the events in an isolated hunting lodge where my hero and heroine are snowed in. Wonder where that came from in these days of lockdown and social distancing!
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| Image courtesy of giphy |
So I had a good think about things and changed my plans. Now I have an end of June release called The Highlander’s Forbidden Mistress – not a sniff of a Christmas title, you’ll notice. It’s book 7 in my Lairds Most Likely series. I should have a cover and buy links by the end of May. And clearly my head is in a less fraught place now, because I’m currently at work on my light-hearted Christmas story. I must have got all the angst out of my system!
So what are the lessons I drew from this series of events? Firstly, I’m glad I’m an indie writer these days. One of the joys of working for myself is that I can turn on a sixpence when I need to adjust to the market or, in this case, the vagaries of inspiration. Secondly, sometimes I have to go where the story takes me, despite best-laid plans meant to guide me in another direction entirely! Thirdly, in the words of John Donne, “no man is an island.” Or woman either! Real life has a tremendous influence on what we write and often, that’s a very good thing. So I guess I’m just saying sometimes when you’re a writer, you need to be flexible!
Hoping you’re all getting through this mad situation and that we all have better times ahead.
In my news, my most recent release is The Highlander’s English Bride. All platforms including Amazon Australia.
You can find me on social media at:
Website: www.annacampbell.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaCampbellFans
Twitter: AnnaCampbellOz
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/anna-campbell
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Campbell/e/B002NKV1HQ
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Hi Anna! Ooh! Love the sound of The Highlander's Forbidden Mistress. I'm sure it will be filled with the wonderful emotion and fabulous love scenes that you do so well. Must admit I hadn't heard of the song Where's Your Head At by Basement Jaxx so I checked out the video. See what you mean about creepy and crazy - just right for these times.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn, it's kind of horrible but kind of compulsive, isn't it? And as you say, perfect for the Zeitgeist! Thanks for those kind words about the writing - it was actually rather nice (if rather inconvenient considering best-laid plans!) to get my teeth into something dark and sexy!
DeleteLoved your post, Anna! This book authoring business throws up some weird things sometimes. I've had a similar experience where a book I wanted to be bright, funny and happy absolutely refused to behave that way. Sometimes you just have to follow where it takes you.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading The Highlander’s Forbidden Mistress!
Thanks, Cathryn! Glad you're looking forward to the next one. I kept telling myself I could make it Christmassy in the rewrites but it got to a point where I doubt Tolstoy could have made it Christmassy in the rewrites. I'm lucky I had the luxury of time to change my mind!
DeleteSo much to consider in this post. We are very much affected by our surroundings and our information intake. I understand why some people just stopped watching the news in the early days it was just so scary. However, you have made this story, and in some cathartic way it has given you an outlet for all those emotions, and now I can't wait to read this story, especially knowing it's back story.
ReplyDeleteCassandra, what a lovely response! What struck me as interesting with what I went through is it took me so long to realise what was happening in my brain! It's like when you're inside the forest, you can't see it - you have to step outside and climb the hill and think, "Ah, that's where I was!"
DeleteAnna, I think the world was sort of holding its breath collectively as March relentlessly marched on and the news became grimmer world wide. Suddenly there were 'comfort reads' blogs all over the place (including my own, here), and feel-good stories were the go. Sort of like a virtual or booky hug for the tough times. Now, I think, people are venturing forth and are a bit braver. For writers, I have absolutely no doubt that intensity of this virus hitting us all will take root in a wave of take-no-prisoners fiction, romance and otherwise. Tough and bold, there will probably be some TAKE THAT! (to COVID-19) fiction, and survivor stories for the world to hang on to. Incredibly difficult to write warm and fluffy when Christmassy when things are so precarious. So, wow, it's great you've done it and we're all going to enjoy it tremendously, of that I have no doubt. And be inspired, another thing I have no doubt about. Thanks for sharing with us on the blog!
ReplyDeleteMiranda, it's so interesting how this has affected people, isn't it? I thought I was pretty much sailing through it because I stay home most days and write anyway. But clearly that wasn't the case. I must say my head is in a better place since I've restricted my news for 5 minutes on the radio first thing in the morning! I think you're right that Covid is going to have a long tail, even when things go back to "normal."
DeleteHi Anna,
ReplyDeleteYou really do have to go where the characters and story takes you sometimes, and it is equally true that our writing is affected by what is going on in the world and our lives. Great post.
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it. I think you're right - one of the things I've learned over my many years of writing is that my subconscious is often my best guide and my subconscious was nowhere near a heart-warming Christmas story when I was writing this one.
DeleteTrue that Anna, and truthfully, sometimes it dares us to break a few rules and that can be totally innovative.
DeleteEffie
Hi Anna. Yes, adverse events really do affect our writing. The story that you couldn't write as you wanted to but as it wanted to be written has certainly got my attention. Can't wait to read The Highlander's Forbidden Mistress.
ReplyDeleteHey, cool, Enisa! I'm hoping it's a really emotional read. That's certainly what it felt like when I was writing it!
DeleteThanks for being on the blog, Anna. It's always great to hear from you and I think that the fact that your stories are character-driven makes them all the richer. People who aren't authors often raise their eyebrows when I say that I sit down with a clear outline for what I'm going to write in the day and then my characters take me in a completely different direction, but I know you completely understand so I'm not completely crazy!!
ReplyDeleteI'll look forward to reading this title. Love all your stories.
Alyssa, I've stopped saying at talks that I hear my characters in my head - they always look at me like I'm crazy. But I DO!!!! I firmly think there's an alternative universe where all these people actually exist and they just let me hang out with them for a while. Thanks for the kind words about the books!
DeleteAm a bit late to this post - but it's probably exactly what I needed to hear as I sit here at the desk. For me, the events of 2020 (and, personally, end of 2019) have really impacted my ability to focus. On the flip side of that, I am kind of excited to see what sort of work is produced as we move through these crazy times! Looking forward to reading about your Highlander and his mistress!
ReplyDeleteKristine, so glad this post was helpful to you. I think you're right that there's going to be a different feel to a lot of the stuff that comes out over the next 12 months. Good luck with your work. Not surprised you weren't feeling focused - I've heard a lot of people say the same thing.
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