Handing over to Rachel Lyndhurst...

... because it's half-term, and I have 3 children and a 3ooo words a day habit to feed. And, unlike some lucky people, no gorgeous new book to celebrate. Hope everyone's having a nice half-term (especially if you don't have kids - that would be ideal, really) - here's Rachel!

Friendship and Inspiration - How a Book was Born

Please allow me to introduce myself. The name’s Lyndhurst, Rachel Lyndhurst, debut author of Storm’s Heart, an Embrace Books launch title.

I owe India Grey so many favours I’ve lost count, but I just never seem to get round to cleaning her oven and fridge like I say I’m going to. So, as a down payment on my debts of gratitude, I’ve given India the day off and leant her Rufus Sewell to rub her feet all day and feed her a box of Hotel Chocolat. I‘m still working on Jeremy Clarkson for the school run ...

So what’s the deal with India, I hear you say? Well, the eternally youthful goddess of romance has had a great influence on me as a writer. It all began in 2007 with her debut novel, The Italian’s Defiant Mistress.

I was starting to learn, scribbling my first ever effort at a category romance, and took a pile of new Mills & Boon Moderns on holiday with me to ‘study’ (hard work, honest!). I couldn’t put The Italian’s Defiant Mistress down, it simply sparkled and India’s ‘voice’ rang so true. Inspired, I nervously emailed her on my return and that, as they say, was the start of a beautiful friendship.

And now down to specifics, the inspiration. Here’s a picture of Spanish Aristocrat, Forced Bride luxuriating in thehot sand of Lindos, Rhodes, the main location of Storm’s Heart.

With double inspiration of this calibre, how could a romance novel not be born? Sun, sea, romance, it was perfect.

Then India introduced me to the music of Dashboard Confessional when she put Vindicated on her playlist for Mistress: Hired for the Billionaire's Pleasure. The song struck a chord (bad pun, toyed with changing it – didn’t), and I bought a few of their albums. Their song Rooftops and Invitations blew me away and formed the next layer of inspiration – there’s a lot of rooftop living in Lindos and the book opens with an explosive invitation … You can listen to it and read the lyrics here

And then do you know what India Grey did next? The gorgeous creature read Storm’s Heart and endorsed it!

“As refreshing and sharp as a G&T on a summer’s day, Rachel Lyndhurst is a sparkling new voice in romantic fiction.”

—INDIA GREY

So, in a way, I feel that Storm’s Heart is almost as much India’s as it is mine, and I will love her forever for her support and encouragement.

India Grey also makes a cracking pot of tea.

Thanks for having me, India! And, er, you’d better add ‘tidy cupboard under the stairs’ to the list.

Storm’s Heart is available as an eBook or paperback from:

Amazon.UK

Amazon.com

Salt

You can also find out more about Rachel and Storm’s Heart here:

(Thanks for babysitting the poor, neglected blog, Rach! Any chance you could take the children off my hands for a couple of days too? xx)

The Society Wife

I thought that, while I'm busy emptying out the contents of my brain and conducting a fingertip search on them to find the missing link in my current book, I'd do a little mini-post about the book I have out in the US this month. It's called The Society Wife, but if the people on the cover look oddly familiar it's because this is The Book Formerly Known As Spanish Aristocrat, Forced Bride, which came out in the UK in September 2009. Ages ago! So, if you're reading this on the other side of the Atlantic and have only just come across the story, you can read a bit about how it came to be written here.

I've mentioned lots of times before about how I always write to music (sorry, neighbours) and I think part of the issue I'm having with my current winmp (that's 'work in not much progress') is that I just can't seem to find songs that create the right mood. I didn't have that problem with Tristan and Lily. I loved the music I listened to when I wrote that book, and it seemed to work its way right into the story. This was the first song on my ipod soundtrack, which really influenced the mood of the first chapter.

This song was also on my playlist, and by some happy coincidence, when I watched the video on youtube I discovered it had been shot in the Barcelona square outside the church where Tristan and Lily get married, and the hotel where they stay on their wedding night. The children in the video made their way into the book.

Other songs on the list included Enigma's Gravity of Love (which mentions both towers and doves - both of which are significant in the story - and has a very saucy video) Remember when it Rained, which made me think of Lily remembering her night with Tristan, This Woman's Work by Kate fabulous Bush, which so beautifully summed up Tristan's regrets when Lily is in hospital. I have to say at this point, it's not the most cheery book, and that's definitely reflected in songs like Sia's Breathe Me, which I listened to a lot, and 9 Crimes by Damian Rice. I love this song, and when I listen to it now it always makes me think of Tristan and Lily.

Now, if only I could find similar magical musical inspiration for what I'm writing right now. The way it's going at the moment perhaps Dead in the Water by David Gray might be a good place to start. Does anyone else find music is an essential part of the writing process? And (slightly pleading voice) have you got any top song tips?

If I ignore it, maybe it'll go away. (Oh, and a competition question)

The only thing I’ve written this week is a poem for daughter #3 to perform in the Christmas talent show at school. As creative output goes this is undeniably rubbish. Like the poem.

PTA Christmas dinner last night, and daughter #2’s carol service in church this evening, followed by pub with fellow mums and members of the 'Victims of Christmas Support Group'. In my life this is what passes for what, in magazines they call ‘The Party Season.’

Anyway, back to Powerful Italian Penniless Housekeeper, and Tuscany where it’s warm and there are no queues in the supermarket. Looking back at the soundtrack from the book on my ipod I’m reminded of something I probably should have mentioned last time because it occupies such a central place in the story, and that’s the recurring symbol of the moon. This was there from the earliest stages of the idea, when for some reason I decided that Sarah’s five year old daughter would have a bit of a fascination with all things lunar (Long before I started writing the book I scribbled down a couple of lines of dialogue on a dinner money slip while sitting in the school car park . ‘Mummy, when I grow up I want to be an astronaut.’ ‘And I want to be a rich man’s plaything, but life doesn’t always work out how we want it to.’ This made a brief appearance in various chapters at various times but never quite fit properly and so didn’t end up in the final book, but Sarah and Lottie’s characters, and their relationship, were built around it.) When I came to thinking about the film Lorenzo had just completed it made sense to bring the astrological/lunar theme into that as well, and without really thinking too hard it seemed to weave its way into the fabric of the story.

And the music, of course. This is a song with which I became very,very familiar during The Laura Ashley years because it was on one of the compilation CDs they played in a constant loop. I still like it though, and for obvious reasons it definitely needed a place on this playlist. Other astrology/moon related songs were Sleeping Satellite by Tasmin Archer (you can see an orrery in the video, which is something I also put in the book), Moon River (REM rather than Henry Mancini) and Song to the Moon by Dvorak. I used the Katharine Jenkins version, which is in English, and the spirit of which definitely inspired the Venice-at-nighttime part of the book.

Sour Times by Portishead was the first song on the playlist. For me this summed up the bad place Sarah was in at the start of the book, with her seven-year relationship with Lottie’s philandering father at an end and her self-esteem in tatters. I also discovered this beautiful song by Natalie Merchant which I played to death but never got tired of.



The lines ‘I’ve been treated so wrong I’ve been treated so long As if I’m becoming untouchable’ seemed to be very true of Sarah, and the poignant atmosphere of resignation absolutely sums up her outlook on life and her low expectations for her own happiness.

Try a Little Tenderness, by Otis Redding was, I suppose, Lorenzo’s response to that. And it is such a GREAT song.


As the book was about an Italian film director it was a great excuse to listen endlessly to the soundtrack to Cinema Paradiso, one of the best films ever. (Here’s Josh Groban giving the love theme his treatment.) I also admit that the final scene in my book was very much inspired by the ending of the film…



(Although since getting my author copies I’ve spotted a copy-editing error which, to me, totally ruins the big emotional climax! There’s supposed to be a page break in one of the final pages, which balances the pace or something crucial like that and without it it all feels a bit rushed and tensionless. My fault for not going through my proofs carefully enough. Shall have to go into shops and hand-correct as many copies as possible.)

Talking of author copies I have some to give away. As this is a simultaneous release in the US and the UK I have both Presents and Modern editions, so I'm giving away three of each. If you'd like a copy just email me via the website (still not updated, but it's on my list of things to do, after lose a stone, climb Everest and train the daughters to work the dishwasher) with the answer to this question and I'll pick the winners in my usual random fashion:

Which sixteenth century scientist is the subject of Lorenzo's film? *

*(There's a good introduction to him here. Never let it be said this blog isn't educational.)

On that intellectual note I'm going to go drag myself around the supermarket. Did I mention that daughter #1, AKA the Teenage Drama Queen, somehow managed to persuade us to let her have a party? Tomorrow? As if Christmas wasn't stressful enough.