posted every Friday
#IndieBragNovConv
To be a little different from the usual 'meet the author'
let's meet a character
Gwenna
from
Q: Hello, I’m Helen the host of Novel Conversations, please do make yourself comfortable. Would you like a drink? Tea, coffee, wine – something stronger? You’ll find a box of chocolates and a bowl of fruit on the table next to you, please do help yourself. I believe you are a character in Vicky Adin’s novel Gwenna The Welsh Confectioner. Would you like to introduce yourself? Are you a lead character or a supporting role?
A: Hello Helen. My name is Gwenna of the title, and I thank you for inviting me to have a chat and a nice cup of tea.
Q: What genre is the novel and what is it about?
A: It seems I am the subject of what is termed historical fiction. But for me, life is now as it happens at the turn of the 20th century. I live in Auckland, New Zealand having emigrated from my native Wales. There are freedoms here but also difficulties. Auckland is growing and while many of the class prejudices have been left behind we are still British and women are expected to conform. I’m not good at conforming.
Q: No spoilers, but are you a ‘goodie’ or a ‘baddie’? (Or maybe you are both!)
A: I hope I’m the ‘goodie’ as you put it. It is thanks to me we have a business to run and a family who cares for one another, but it’s been a struggle.
Q: Tell me about another character in the novel – maybe your best friend, lover or partner … or maybe your arch enemy!
A: My family is complicated. Too many deaths, too many misunderstandings and too many heartaches. I battle through thanks to the indispensable Hugh who is my right hand man in the business. And my dear sister Tillie and her husband Tom who are my strongest supporters now my step-brother Elias has turned against me. He nearly brought my father’s business to ruin, but I wouldn’t let him. I promised Pa before he died I wouldn’t let my dream go.
Q: Is this the only novel you have appeared in, or are there others in a series?
A: I do appear in another novel due for release by mid-2019. My best friend Jane is the main character. She is the costumier at the Opera House. It’s a bit different to my story because it’s a dual-timeline and stretches from the early 1900s to 1950 looking at it from recent times.
Q: What is one of your least favourite scenes you appear in?
A: I have definitely been put through the mill and suffer through scenes of physical violence, emotional upheaval and downright despair but I think the worse scene was after I fell ill and was confined to the house. I had far too much to do and believed the success or failure of the project rested solely on my shoulders, but no one would listen to me and I was forced to do as I was told. They were right, of course. But I hated it.
Q: And your favourite scene?
A: I’m happiest when I’m making lollies and sweets. I love the process of kneading and stretching the sugar and turning it into something delicious and desired, so my greatest delight came when I eventually hung up the sign outside the shop with my name on it.
Q: Tell me a little about your author. Has she written any other books?
A: Vicky loves history and genealogy and always writes about families. The ups and downs of daily life come alive through her words. So much happens both within the family and through the cause and effects of events in the greater world. No one is ever completely happy nor completely sad. As in real life there is good and bad in everyone, every day. There’s five family sagas so far.
Q: Is your author working on anything else at the moment?
A: She’d editing furiously to polish her sixth book – The Costumier’s Gift. The story spans the first half of the 20th century. Jane has grown up to become the talented but unsung costumier at Auckland’s Opera House where she hides from her memories and keeps her secrets to herself. I can’t wait to find out how my life fits in with Jane’s and how Jane’s story ends. Generations later, Katie will be the one to discover Jane’s history and all it entailed through the myriad of photographs in her grandmother’s room.
Q: How do you think indie authors, such as your author, can be helped or supported by readers or groups? What does your author think is the most useful for her personally?
A: Support groups are an essential part of being a writer never mind what stage they are at. Authors rely on groups to help hone their writing or plan their marketing and promotion. No one likes marketing but you can’t sell a book without it. We need to help each other as much as possible. That’s why readers are so vital. Every author writes a story they want to share, so feedback is the life blood of an author. It’s a lonely life sometimes lost in another world with only the people inside the author’s head to keep them company. If readers would follow the author on social media, sign up for newsletters, comment, recommend and leave reviews, authors would feel rewarded. Readers, please let the authors know they have added something to your life experience even in the smallest way.
Q: Finally, before we must bid adieu, the novel you appear in has been awarded a prestigious IndieBRAG Medallion, does your author find this helpful, and is there anything else she would like IndieBRAG to do to help indie authors receive the recognition they deserve?
A: On behalf of myself and my author can I say we are honoured to have received two IndieBRAG medallions and I’m delighted my author has been included. She promotes IndieBRAG as a sign of quality and assurance, which means her stories meet the standard expected and can be enjoyed by many readers.
Helen: Thank you Gwenna it was a pleasure talking to you. Would your author like to add a short excerpt?
Gwenna: Thank you for the opportunity, Helen. I believe the opening section where I walk down the street sharing my thoughts has been included.
Helen: well, while the excerpt is sorted out... would you like a another cup of tea?
Gwenna: Many thanks Helen, I’ve appreciated our little chat but I haven’t time for more tea. I must rush off and visit Jane in The Costumier’s Gift and see how she is doing.
Helen: well you take care, and here’s to being a successful Brag Medallion Honouree!
EXCERPT
Auckland, New Zealand
1899
For the moment, she felt free – deliciously free – only too aware the illusion would pass soon enough.
Gwenna Price hurried along busy Karangahape Road towards Turner’s, the greengrocer. Her boots crunched along the hardened grit as she swung her basket and called a cheery good morning to shopkeepers preparing for the day ahead. She loved watching them sweeping footpaths, cleaning windows or winding out the shop awnings, unless they were lucky enough to have a fixed verandah. Other merchants set their wares out in doorways and along their shopfronts, seemingly indifferent to the rattle of trams and clink of harness, or the clomp of horses’ hooves and bicycles whirring past.
Gwenna delighted in these sounds as the day came to life, exhilarated by all the hustle and bustle. She waved to the girl changing the window display in the milliner’s shop and stopped to pat a horse munching on oats in its nosebag, wishing her life could be as contented. In the distance, the sails on Partington’s Mill slowly turned in the breeze.
One day, she promised herself, she would be a part of all this busyness. One day.
She continued down the street, mentally ticking off her shopping list, thankful for the wide-brimmed bonnet shading her face. Her cool dimity blouse and pale grey skirt swishing around her ankles were a blessing in the warm air on a cloudless autumn day.
She pushed the niggling worry of her ailing half-brother Charlie to the back of her mind as the far more pressing worry of the charming and persistent Johnno Jones entered her thoughts. She was tempted to give in to the young man’s pleas, if only to escape life at home, except for one troublesome detail – his father, Black Jack Jones.
CONNECT WITH VICKY ADIN
Website www.vickyadin.co.nz
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Vicky-Adin/e/B006JTB0VE
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6543974.Vicky_Adin
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/VickyAdinAuthor/
Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicky-adin-82b74513/
Pinterest https://nz.pinterest.com/nzvicky/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vickyadinauthor/?hl=en
Twitter @VickyAdin
INDIE BRAG LINKS:
from
Q: Hello, I’m Helen the host of Novel Conversations, please do make yourself comfortable. Would you like a drink? Tea, coffee, wine – something stronger? You’ll find a box of chocolates and a bowl of fruit on the table next to you, please do help yourself. I believe you are a character in Vicky Adin’s novel Gwenna The Welsh Confectioner. Would you like to introduce yourself? Are you a lead character or a supporting role?
Q: What genre is the novel and what is it about?
A: It seems I am the subject of what is termed historical fiction. But for me, life is now as it happens at the turn of the 20th century. I live in Auckland, New Zealand having emigrated from my native Wales. There are freedoms here but also difficulties. Auckland is growing and while many of the class prejudices have been left behind we are still British and women are expected to conform. I’m not good at conforming.
Q: No spoilers, but are you a ‘goodie’ or a ‘baddie’? (Or maybe you are both!)
A: I hope I’m the ‘goodie’ as you put it. It is thanks to me we have a business to run and a family who cares for one another, but it’s been a struggle.
Q: Tell me about another character in the novel – maybe your best friend, lover or partner … or maybe your arch enemy!
A: My family is complicated. Too many deaths, too many misunderstandings and too many heartaches. I battle through thanks to the indispensable Hugh who is my right hand man in the business. And my dear sister Tillie and her husband Tom who are my strongest supporters now my step-brother Elias has turned against me. He nearly brought my father’s business to ruin, but I wouldn’t let him. I promised Pa before he died I wouldn’t let my dream go.
Q: Is this the only novel you have appeared in, or are there others in a series?
A: I do appear in another novel due for release by mid-2019. My best friend Jane is the main character. She is the costumier at the Opera House. It’s a bit different to my story because it’s a dual-timeline and stretches from the early 1900s to 1950 looking at it from recent times.
A: I have definitely been put through the mill and suffer through scenes of physical violence, emotional upheaval and downright despair but I think the worse scene was after I fell ill and was confined to the house. I had far too much to do and believed the success or failure of the project rested solely on my shoulders, but no one would listen to me and I was forced to do as I was told. They were right, of course. But I hated it.
Q: And your favourite scene?
A: I’m happiest when I’m making lollies and sweets. I love the process of kneading and stretching the sugar and turning it into something delicious and desired, so my greatest delight came when I eventually hung up the sign outside the shop with my name on it.
Q: Tell me a little about your author. Has she written any other books?
A: Vicky loves history and genealogy and always writes about families. The ups and downs of daily life come alive through her words. So much happens both within the family and through the cause and effects of events in the greater world. No one is ever completely happy nor completely sad. As in real life there is good and bad in everyone, every day. There’s five family sagas so far.
 |
| Vicky |
A: She’d editing furiously to polish her sixth book – The Costumier’s Gift. The story spans the first half of the 20th century. Jane has grown up to become the talented but unsung costumier at Auckland’s Opera House where she hides from her memories and keeps her secrets to herself. I can’t wait to find out how my life fits in with Jane’s and how Jane’s story ends. Generations later, Katie will be the one to discover Jane’s history and all it entailed through the myriad of photographs in her grandmother’s room.
Q: How do you think indie authors, such as your author, can be helped or supported by readers or groups? What does your author think is the most useful for her personally?
A: Support groups are an essential part of being a writer never mind what stage they are at. Authors rely on groups to help hone their writing or plan their marketing and promotion. No one likes marketing but you can’t sell a book without it. We need to help each other as much as possible. That’s why readers are so vital. Every author writes a story they want to share, so feedback is the life blood of an author. It’s a lonely life sometimes lost in another world with only the people inside the author’s head to keep them company. If readers would follow the author on social media, sign up for newsletters, comment, recommend and leave reviews, authors would feel rewarded. Readers, please let the authors know they have added something to your life experience even in the smallest way.
Q: Finally, before we must bid adieu, the novel you appear in has been awarded a prestigious IndieBRAG Medallion, does your author find this helpful, and is there anything else she would like IndieBRAG to do to help indie authors receive the recognition they deserve?
A: On behalf of myself and my author can I say we are honoured to have received two IndieBRAG medallions and I’m delighted my author has been included. She promotes IndieBRAG as a sign of quality and assurance, which means her stories meet the standard expected and can be enjoyed by many readers.
Helen: Thank you Gwenna it was a pleasure talking to you. Would your author like to add a short excerpt?
Gwenna: Thank you for the opportunity, Helen. I believe the opening section where I walk down the street sharing my thoughts has been included.
Helen: well, while the excerpt is sorted out... would you like a another cup of tea?
Gwenna: Many thanks Helen, I’ve appreciated our little chat but I haven’t time for more tea. I must rush off and visit Jane in The Costumier’s Gift and see how she is doing.
Helen: well you take care, and here’s to being a successful Brag Medallion Honouree!
Auckland, New Zealand
1899
For the moment, she felt free – deliciously free – only too aware the illusion would pass soon enough.
Gwenna Price hurried along busy Karangahape Road towards Turner’s, the greengrocer. Her boots crunched along the hardened grit as she swung her basket and called a cheery good morning to shopkeepers preparing for the day ahead. She loved watching them sweeping footpaths, cleaning windows or winding out the shop awnings, unless they were lucky enough to have a fixed verandah. Other merchants set their wares out in doorways and along their shopfronts, seemingly indifferent to the rattle of trams and clink of harness, or the clomp of horses’ hooves and bicycles whirring past.
Gwenna delighted in these sounds as the day came to life, exhilarated by all the hustle and bustle. She waved to the girl changing the window display in the milliner’s shop and stopped to pat a horse munching on oats in its nosebag, wishing her life could be as contented. In the distance, the sails on Partington’s Mill slowly turned in the breeze.
One day, she promised herself, she would be a part of all this busyness. One day.
She continued down the street, mentally ticking off her shopping list, thankful for the wide-brimmed bonnet shading her face. Her cool dimity blouse and pale grey skirt swishing around her ankles were a blessing in the warm air on a cloudless autumn day.
She pushed the niggling worry of her ailing half-brother Charlie to the back of her mind as the far more pressing worry of the charming and persistent Johnno Jones entered her thoughts. She was tempted to give in to the young man’s pleas, if only to escape life at home, except for one troublesome detail – his father, Black Jack Jones.
Website www.vickyadin.co.nz
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Vicky-Adin/e/B006JTB0VE
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6543974.Vicky_Adin
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/VickyAdinAuthor/
Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicky-adin-82b74513/
Pinterest https://nz.pinterest.com/nzvicky/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vickyadinauthor/?hl=en
Twitter @VickyAdin
Gwenna The Welsh Confectioner:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Universal link
INDIE BRAG LINKS:
Website: https://www.bragmedallion.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Indiebrag/
Twitter: @IndieBrag
HELEN HOLLICK:
Website: www.helenhollick.net
On Amazon: http://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
Subscribe to newsletter: http://tinyletter.com/HelenHollick
Twitter: @HelenHollick
Thank you for the opportunity, Helen. It was great fun.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Vicky!
DeleteThank you Vicky for your kind words to indieBRAG. It is books like yours that keep us marching on- really good books that deserve attention! Thank you Helen and Gwenna for sharing your lovely conversation. I think Gwenna represents the good hearted, hard working women that made many countries in the "new world" work as well as they have-
ReplyDelete