Friday 23 November 2012

The Next Big Thing: Authors Tagging Authors!


THE NEXT BIG THING: AUTHORS TAGGING AUTHORS!

I am really pleased to be taking part in The Next Big Thing: Authors Tagging Authors!
I was tagged by my really good friend, author Karen Aminadra and it's my pleasure to keep this going.

So, what I do is answer the questions below, tag a new set of authors, then they answer, tag authors, etc.

I’m answering questions about my novel, The Winchester Goose which will be available very soon in paperback and is also currently available through Amazon Kindle.

What is the working title of your book?
The title has always been The Winchester Goose. I did consider ‘Geese’ at one point, since there is more than one ‘Goose’ involved but I decided the singular had more impact.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
The Winchester Geese were prostitutes, living and working in Southwark who paid their rents to the Bishop of Winchester. I have studied medieval women for years and most of them have been depicted in historical fiction in one way or another, so I was delighted to find a social group that is largely overlooked. I began to think about how a prostitute from the lowest segment of society might have viewed the goings on at Henry VIII’s court.

What genre does your book fall under?
It's Historical Fiction with a dollop of romance and a hint of adventure.

What is the one sentence synopsis for the book?
Tudor women, high and low, living and loving beneath the shadow of King Henry VIII.


How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Drafting the first manuscript is the easy bit, it took about a year but the research took a great deal longer than that …and then the redrafting and the edits longer again.
Simon Woods to play Francis Wareham
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Alex Kingston to play Joanie Toogood

A movie! What a lovely thought. I am not very good at remembering the names of actors but I will give it a shot. Francis Wareham is very dashing and handsome but not very old. He would need to be played by someone like, erm …Simon Woods who was Mr Bingley in Pride and Prejudice, the Keira Knightly one. I think Alex Kingston would make a brilliant Joanie Toogood, the ‘goose’. She did a great job with Moll Flanders and I think she has all the necessary credentials. 
Rupert Grint to play Peter the Costermonger
Isabella and Evelyn Bourne are gentlewomen from court. Emma Watson (Hermione in Harry Potter) would be good as Eve, and the girl who plays Edith in Downton Abbey, Laura Carmichael, would make a lovely Bella. For Peter, who is a costermonger from Southwark it would have to be Rupert Grint – wonderful young actor who played Ron Weasley in Harry Potter. Henry VIII would not be played by Jonathon Rhys Meyers (as gorgeous as he is) I think the role is better suited to Steven Waddington who played Lord Buckingham in the Tudors. As to Katherine Howard and Anna of Cleves, goodness, I have no idea. I will leave that to the directors!


What other books would you compare this story to, in your genre?
I’m not sure. It is quite different coming as it does from the mouth of a prostitute. Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White is similar in theme although that is set much later in Victorian England.

 What else about the book might pique the readers’ interest?
It offers a new perspective on events in Henry VIII’s reign and looks at how the lower echelons of society might have viewed matters. It contrasts the rougher side of life in Tudor England with the glittering royal court.

The Winchester Goose will be available on Amazon Kindle before Christmas and in paperback early in 2013.

And for the authors I have tagged:

Helen Spring – Author of Memories of the Curlew, Strands of Gold and The Chainmakers.
Mary MiddletonRomance Author of  Vittorio’s Virgin, Come, Dance with Me and Where the West Wind Blows.
Cas Peace - Author of The King's Envoy and The King's Champion
Gregory House - Author of The Red Ned Tudor Mysteries
Anna Valentine -Romance Author of Love Torn

Over to you guys!

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