#AuthorInterview by Lou with Candi Miller about her book Salt & Honey, Africa, Culture, Charity and more… @Gobblesbooks

Author Interview
With Candi Miller

Interview conducted by Louise (Lou)

Let’s welcome Candi Miller to Bookmarks and Stages. Recently I interviewed her about her writing, her books, what readers will get from them, her travels to Africa, a little known group of people and a charity. Her answers are fascinating!
You will also see links to where you can find out more about her/follow her at the end of the Q&A. First, let’s find out about her book – Salt & Honey.

Blurb

Koba is a bushgirl, a hunter-gatherer from an ancient living culture.
She’s a survivor.

She escapes death from white hunters when her family are murdered; she fends for herself in a hostile land.

Now she’s in the greatest danger she’s ever faced: she’s falling for a white boy in Apartheid South Africa, where love across racial divides is brutally punished.

Book 1 of this fast-paced saga introduces a unique character into romance-writing, offering readers a fascinating glimpse into a forgotten way of life and into recent black history.

Without further ado, onto the Q&A to discover more…

Who or what inspired you to write books and to travel?

Koba, a (fictional) kick-ass orphan inspired me to write novels. She’s a unique character – an indigenous girl who’s abducted, who survives by using her hunter-gatherer skills, who breaks taboos, argues with ancestral spirits, gains healing power and who knows she risks everything if she stays with the boy she is falling in love with.

To write her I had to find her. That meant travelling to one of the most remote regions in Africa, the Kalahari desert.

In brief, what are your books about and where will they lead readers to?

My books are about loss and love, about racial discrimination and defiance, about growing up as the only one of your kind in a hostile world. Readers’ hearts will race when they find themselves in bush where grass grows high enough to hide lion, where rogue elephant crush cars, and a brutal regime punishes interracial sex.

I hope the books will lead readers to an interest in a little-known (outside of anthropology) culture, whose people are the descendants of the first people of the world. (Yes, really! Koba’s group, the San or Bushmen, have the oldest known genetic signature, according to the latest studies. It’s millennia older than even the most ancient cultures we traditionally study at school.) Imagine all the things they have to teach us!

You say you want to give something back to people. How do you personally do this and what does that phrase giving back mean to you?

My decades of research into San culture have taught me many things: – about gender-equality, conservation, storytelling and shamanism, and most of all, about generosity. The San give freely of their wisdom to any who ask. It seems right to put income earned from novels inspired by them, towards the self-stated needs (reading-writing literacy) of these remarkable people.

You met the Ju|’hoan people in a remote part of Africa, how did that come about and what was it like meeting them in the knowledge of you being amongst the last band of southern African hunter-gatherers?

Though I’d grown up in Africa and lived through the painful Apartheid years, I was resident in the UK when Koba’s story tapped me on the shoulder whispering: ‘Tell people; it’s important.’ Using the family savings (bless my long-suffering spouse) I set off on a sometimes-scary research trip into the semi-desert dodging raging veld fires and charging bull elephant.

The semi-nomadic San were difficult to find in a vast wilderness area with no roads, let alone signposts. (Actually there was one; warning of elephant. Should have heeded it.) One hot day, under a baobab tree, there a small band of Bushmen sat. I didn’t want to intrude so heart thumping I drove on and made camp elsewhere. Eventually they came over. They wore a mix of western and traditional clothes but still lived in grass huts and carried bows and arrows. In time, they mooted the idea of me being their guinea pig for an eco-tourism idea they had. I leapt at the chance. They took me tracking, showed me how to harvest bushfood and how to use fire sticks. Best of all, they let me sit in on their folktale telling sessions around the camp fire at night. And so, I met people who were to become central to my life.

You are known for helping the Nyae Naye Village School(s) with a Feeding Scheme. How was this set up and how does it help the school community?

While doing fieldwork in the Kalahari desert, I realised that getting to school is very difficult:- no transport; long, long walks; elephants, snakes and occasional lion. Parents prefer their children to stay over in hostels. But the hostels have insufficient food.

I started the Village Schools Feeding scheme in 2017, raising money by organising various events in the UK. With my co-founder, I then delivered the food to the remote schools. Today the scheme is incorporated into a development fund that is replacing the tented schools with brick buildings and providing food and toiletries for boarders. Progress has been made, but consequently, school attendance is up, so more money is needed.

What [How] do you personally help the charity [now]?

I am self-publishing my novels (production costs for the ebook and audiobook coming from the beleaguered family savings again!) so maximum profit goes towards helping these children become reading-writing literate. What their elders call “paper people”. I hope to see the day one of these Village school children writes a novel.

How and where can people assist the charity, if they would like to?

That would be greatly appreciated. First option, please pre-order the ebook here https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CBHG8ZWH or the buy the audiobook here….(link tbc)

I will donate my royalties to the Ju|’hoansi Development Fund to be used in their school food supplementation programme. By my calculation, (a guess – Amazon is not transparent) every book sold will give a child 2 meals for two days. So please consider gifting a book to a friend too, if you think they’ll enjoy reading it.

Secondly, readers can make a direct donation via this link: https://kbfus.networkforgood.com/projects/54313-j-kbfus-funds-ju-hoansi-development-fund-na You can read about the good work of this fund here: https://www.villageschoolsnamibia.com/news/

Finally, if any readers of this blog can help with marketing opportunities, please let me know. I want to build a buzz for these books so I can sell more and feed those Kalahari kids.

What will you be doing next?

Aha! That’s up to the readers of these books. If there is enough interest in what happens to Koba next, I’ll write book 3. (This was always meant to be a series, but when my traditional publisher went under, just months after the launch of Book 2, Kalahari Passage, all marketing effort ceased and the books slid into obscurity. I never got to finish the trilogy. I’d love to.) Koba and her family have been in my head and my heart all this while.

9. Where can people find, follow you and buy your novels?

Salt & Honey for Kindle is available for pre-order now at a special launch price. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CBHG8ZWH

The audiobook launches soon on Spotify, Audible and other platforms.

My free newsletter with updates about the launch of book 2, how the feeding fund is progressing, and interviews, news and reviews can be accessed here: https://substack.com/@candimiller?utm_source=user-menu

I’m Candi Miller @Gobblesbooks on Twitter and @candimillerauthor on Insta.

Visit my Facebook author page here https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092417402759

And my website here: https://www.candimiller.co.uk

#Interview By Lou with Robert McNamara @SCENATHEATRE presents a #play based on #ReportToAnAcademy by #FranzKafka @WhatsOnTheatre @EdFringe #FillYerBoots

Interview with Robert McNamara Actor and Artistic Director
Interview conducted by Louise Cannon at Bookmarks and Stages

Recently, I interviewed actor and artistic director – Robert Mcnamara at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the biggest of its kind in the world, where many people arrive with their shows or arrive with as visitors to watch them, from all around the world.
SCENA Theatre presents Report to an Academy by Franz Kafka, part of the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, showing August 4-13, 15-20, 22-27 (20:10 BST).
Robert McNamara returns to the stage in a riveting one-man show.

Robert Mcnamara and I met in a small bar at the venue – The Zoo Southside, where he is currently performing his play ‘Report to an Academy’, based on a story by Franz Kafka, where the main theme is survival. Discover what the play is about and then I will commence with the interview. I asked 7 questions and the answers are fascinating about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, how his career in acting and directing began, Franz Kafka and his current play – Report to an Academy and what it’s like to play an ape evolving to be more human-like, the universally important themes and more… After the interview, you can find a link to where to purchase tickets.
Please note, I am not affiliated in any way.

Synopsis

Discover the missing link
An ape evolves to behave like a human and presents his story of survival and the vile details of his captivity to a scientific Academy in this wild tale by the existential master, Kafka.
Based on the classic short story by the master of existential and absurdist storytelling, Franz Kafka (author of The Metamorphosis). Acclaimed German theatre director Gabriele Jakobi has adapted the classic short story, Report to an Academy, into a powerful, provocative drama featuring actor/director Robert McNamara.
The play centres on an intelligent ape named “Red Peter” who was captured in a West Africa hunting expedition and sent to Europe on a ship. To effect his survival, Peter learns to mimic and imitate the ship’s crew from his cage. By evolving to behave like a human, he devises an escape. Ultimately, Peter presents his fascinating tale of transformation—and the horrid details of his former ape life—to a scientific Academy. McNamara’s performance brings a shocking parable to life and
compels patrons to ponder the issues of free will, animal rights, and vegetarianism. Report was first presented to sold-out houses in DC’s 2014 Capital Fringe Festival and was later staged in Europe at the Prague Fringe Festival and at the English Theatre Berlin.

Please join me in welcoming, all the way from the USA – Robert McNamara on to Bookmarks and Stages.

We spoke about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival . He has an illustrious career. I, however wanted to know what his experience was so far at the festival. He said this:

“We had a show years ago called Sister Mary Explains It All For You, performed in a technical college. I was there for 4 weeks and SOLD OUT and had a great experience. We’ve done Kafka in all kinds of places, last year was The Old Red Lion in Islington, London, Finland and then the National Theatre of Nairobi before that in Berlin, Prague and Washington.

Speaking of the festival he says:

“I think it is a wonderful worldwide address to showcase your work in and is also going to give us a lot of energy for the show. It’s The cultural event and probably globally in the month of August and you can’t really say you’ve hit all the festivals without really coming to – as they say in Iraq – “The Mother of Them All”. The Edinburgh Festival, which I believe was established in 1949 as the first beacon of hope after World War 2, culturally speaking. It has always been on my radar – London and Edinburgh.

I used to have a theatre company in Dublin called Dublin Stage One Theatre, so I’m offay with the theatre system in the UK. I was educated in Dublin in Trinity College, so it was always very close to some of my origins.”

It turns out Dublin Stage One Theatre played a vital role in Dublin and was set up by Douglas Kennedy and Robert Mcnamara. Its purpose was setting up new and eclectic shows Ireland had not seen before.

How His Career Began in the Acting and Directing Role:

“Basically I was an actor in Washington DC in student productions in Georgetown University. Then when I graduated, I ran away to France to become a writer and lived in a monastery for 5 months, L’Abbie Sénanque. I had a job there as assistant director and I had no intention to act or direct or do any of that, then I was in Trinity in Dublin and I always loved the theatre first and foremost, so I was walking through the front gates at TCD and I saw them doing some plays by William Butler Yeats called the Cuhulain Cycle, which on one ever does except for me, I did them just recently in America. I said I’d read for that. So I went in and read for it and that changed the course of my life.

I was just acting in Dublin pursuing a couple of degrees and then found that I was acting all the time, but they were running out of directors.”

He kept asking actors if they could direct this and that and they said no, so he ended up directing himself.

“I did a lot of things like ‘The Caveman Cometh’ by John Henry Jones, a play by Henry Fielding – a satire called ‘Tom Thumb the Great’, which is really funny, very rarely done and dates back to the 18th century. Then I did ‘Agamenon’ by Aeschylus, translated by Louis Mcniece. Then I performed in a company called Dublin Stage One Theatre and the rest is history.

Favourite Theatre Shows:

“At the end of your life, the middle and beginning, you’re only going to see 10 performances that you really cared for. I was fortunate enough to see A Midsummer’s Night Dream at Peterbrooke in the 70’s when I was a kid in Georgetown, Washington.

The second – a production by Samual Beckett of Waiting For Godot, which he saw in the Abbey Theatre on a Sunday night.

The third is anything directed by anything directed by his wife, Gabriele Jakobi- Berlin based German director one being – Cigarettes and Chocolate by Anthony Minghella.
Gabriele Jakobi won Best Director of the Year for “Theater Heute” Magazine for her direction of “Penthesilea” by Heinrich von Kleist,

The fourth is Rick Cluchey in Krapp’s Last Tape directed by Samuel Beckett.

Live theatre comes and goes and the things that really resonate, there aren’t that many.

Report to an Academy and the Interest in Franz Kafka’s Works

“He’s (Kafka) always writing about outsiders trying to integrate into society and being presented with insurmountable obstacles and after that, all that heaviness Kafka has, certainly, I like his humour and it appeals to me, very, very much. His humour is really off the scope. He throws adjectives and he throws around obscure outsider, alienation and existentialism. He likes people, believe it or not. The humour in his voice is shocking and his accuracy in portraying people in an existentialist crisis is shockingly accurate, absurd and funny and there’s a kind of macabre humour that you find in any Stanley Kubrick film for instance.
He has done a lot of Kafka, including in The Trial, by Kafka directed by Berkhoff. I heard him do a bit of this and it sounds fantastic! The acting ability and to perform off the cuff is outstanding!

Robert Mcnamara then went off to do workshops all the time at the Czech Embassy (the Czech-Slovak Embassy) on Spring and Freedom Street in Washington DC. He also imparted to me: “That’s what he called it after The Velvet Revolution. He went onto say: “We did an evening of Czech literature and we worked on the small pieces, the really obscure parables that are almost like Jewish religious paradigms. Then we did The Castle Das Schloss, which is really funny and I did a version of his play ‘American’.

“We did The Metamorphosis and certainly the Metamorphosis which everyone claims to have read is just like No Exit, you’ve either read it in high school or college for your leaving certs. People say I’ve read it, but of course they’ve never seen it. The thing is with The Metamorphosis is the the tale of Gregor Samsa waking up one morning and finding out he’s a dung beetle or a cockroach and this is of course the inhumanity that comes from his family. This is a paradigm for the holocaust that Kafka foresaw because of wisdom and insight and vision.

The play Report to an Academy or in German is Bericht en eine Akademie, is the companion piece to The Metamorphasis, where Gregor Samsa becomes a non-human, a bug. In Report to An Academy, the ape becomes a human-being to survive.”

Playing the Central Character in Report To An Academy

The central character, as you say, is an ape called Red Peter becomes human like to survive. He is a survivor and philosopher. I asked him about his research and experience to convey the emotions and what did he bring of himself to do this. Interestingly he imparted that he doesn’t usually talk too much about himself, but would be honest about his answer, so it was an honour to hear what he had to say. He said this:

“Usually when I’m acting and directing at the same time… This isn’t my direction, this is my wife’s direction – Gabriele Jakobi.” – Award winning director mentioned previously.

Basically it’s a short story, so when we sat down at a table in the early readings (much like how we were sitting at a table). He discussed playing this guy like a broken down vaudevillian and felt how it could be played differently, instead in a tuxedo or tails and waistcoat to reach the truth of the piece.

“Red Peter is performing in a circus or a shabby vaudeville, so is taking a leaf from the page of the entertainer John Osbourne. Basically the point of view is turning off what I know in my mind and trying to be almost like a child, like an ape, a person comes from another environment and being tossed into another environment, where it’s life and death and if he gets it right or wrong or he could stop eating or stop willing to live. I had to explore this whole range of emotions about what’s not – what’s not possible, also when you have to accommodate yourself in a situation where you have no power to control things. Normally in rehearsals I want to be solving the problems and to have to open up as an actor to be vulnerable again, to also be conscious of very small things, almost like a child. You have to go back in time, when you were unformed and it was your parents fighting or your mum yelling at you or something that blew your mind. The ape is walking on dynamite sometimes because he’s doing a balancing act. If he shows he understands the whole thing is rigged, they’re going to put him in a cage in a zoo, but if he gets out…

Originally it wasn’t a play, so the adaptation was by Gabriele Jakobi , who made it into a play, with music with underscores, voyage… it is a voyage. The ape is kidnapped in the west coast of Africa, he’s shot twice. So, in the movement category he took a leaf out of midnight cowboy by Dustin Hoffman, who plays Ratso Rizzo (at which point he imitates him to show he’s quite in your face.) ” The ape has an attitude, but he’s also king of the jungle.

Themes

Going into themes of survival, animal rights, free will, the ape has a choice between going between going to the Zoological Garden or the Music Hall and of course he goes to the music hall, I wondered what was thought of the ape’s choices and decisions made.

Matter-of-factly, Robert said: “Survival! Survival because he figures he would die inside the cage, because your heart would be broken you know. They always have these ASPCA ads (equivalent to RSPCA and SSPCA in the UK) with poor dogs or cats in a cage, can you imagine an ape in a cage? It was a small cage. His face is turned towards the locker. The locker and made up the fourth side and the whole construction was too small for me to stand up in and to narrow to sit down in, so I had to squat, with my knees bent and trembling All…The…Time!
He’s being tortured all along the way and he’s smart and he’s “playing the system”, but he also makes the decision, and this is the crux of the piece, not to be free. He’s not “Borne Free”, He’s Borne Free on his terms and he doesn’t want human freedom. Again, it is Kafka being sharp, saying this is freedom in society, and you get to run around in some sub-standard job until the day you die and when you’re dead you pay for it and they bury you and that’s it.

He had a PHD in law, has a legal mind and is a German speaking Jewish, Czech and a citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and basically he had different identities; so the ape, following in his master’s footsteps has different identities, so I’m a shape-changer in the play, while I’m trying to communicate his story. There’s a moment of self-realisation passes about the emotions, where he realises he’s living a lie, he’s a ‘freak’. He’s not human, he’s not an ape anymore. He’s taken away to a place called No Way Out! He’s in No Man’s Land and he’s trapped! He got out of one trap and into another trap. That’s like people in life, they think: I’ll do this job for a while and they end up staying for 40 or 50 years, or I’ll just stay in this relationship for a while because I won’t bluff for anything better because I don’t want it. I’m comforted by the level of misery that I’m operating in. So, the ape is a thinker. He’s like your primeval philosopher King of the Jungle, but he’s also a lot of fun.

Franz Kafka is relevant for today’s audiences, so I gave space to allow Robert to say what he hoped people would take away from the play. Instantly, he answered – Pathos, Understanding, A Love of Kafka and hopefully A Love of The Play.
To Think of Other People. To realise in the times we live in, close to post-apoloyptic, with Covid, shut down theatres for two years, people dying, but hope they would take away a Sense of Compassion, To Think of Other People. To realise in the times we live in, close to post-apoloyptic, with Covid, shut down theatres for two years, people dying, but hope they would take away a Sense of Compassion and FUN!

The problem is, you’re also laughing whilst disapproving, so if I’ve done my job, it’s to make you think about things. People are loving the show and says there are generous audiences in Scotland. I used to live in Scotland in Prestwick”.

He then injected even more humour by saying “my family was here (in Scotland), my brother got put back a grade in America for having a Scottish accent award, they couldn’t understand a damn word he was saying. Robert then went onto live in Ireland for 8 years and says “Your rain here in Scotland doesn’t fool me. I’m used to it.”

He divulged that by the time he’s finished at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he would have performed this play close to 100 times.

After Edinburgh, he is taking the play to Ukraine.

He would like to return to Scotland with a bigger show.

SCENA Theatre – Washington DC’s International Theatre over 35 years producing 100’s of plays around the world and we’d love to make Edinburgh one of our temporary homes, having performed in Denmark, Poland, Germany, Bahrain, Vienna, Former Yugoslavia, Zahrib and many, many other places in Europe and he would love to be here in Scotland again.

Click the Link to Buy Tickets https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/report-to-an-academy

#Interview – Q&A By Lou with Anne Cater and her #RandomThingsTours as part of Celebrating Blog Tour Organisers @RandomTTours #ReadingCommunity #WritingCommunity #Publishers

Interview/Q&A with Blog Tour Organiser and Blogger –

Anne Cater of Random Things Tours
By Lou at Bookmarks and Stages

As part of the lead up to my blog becoming 5 years old, I am celebrating various people from authors to actors to blog tour organisers. Today I am celebrating Anne Cater, a blog tour organiser of her highly successful and prominent company – Random Things Tours in the form of a Q&A session that gives you all an insight into what a blog tour is, what inspired her to go in this direction and how she goes about doing things, including what an average day looks like for her and the ups and downs. The answers are illuminating and highly interesting. Her route is unusual, and I rather like this, since so is mine. You will also see where you can find Anne Cater and what she offers below.

Anne Cater is the second blog tour organiser who took me onto her list of bloggers, way back when I first started blogging, which I am always grateful for with the review opportunities with great books from various publishers that still come my way. I will say, from a blogger’s point of view for what is required from being on her list, everything runs professionally. smoothly, fairly and she is approachable and it remains a pleasure doing business with her.

Without further ado, let us commence with the Q&A.

What or whom inspired you to become, not only a book blogger, but also a blog tour organiser?I always think of myself as a reviewer/blogger first. That’s how I started and I will never stop reviewing books and blogging about them.My route to becoming a blog tour organiser was a little unusual.Around seven or eight years ago I was at a book event in Nottingham organised by No Exit Press. I’d been reviewing their books for years. The publicity manager approached me and asked me if I’d consider organising a blog tour for them. It wasn’t something that I’d ever considered, but I have a background in Admin and knew that it was something that I’d like to try. That tour was a success and I’ve been organising tours for No Exit ever since.

I’ve worked with Karen Sullivan, the owner of Orenda Books since before Orenda was born, when she worked for another publisher. Karen asked me if I’d like to take over the organisation of the Orenda Blog Tours and I jumped at the chance. I’ve been doing those ever since too.

I didn’t intend to branch out but was asked by Judith O’Reilly to organise a blog tour for her independently published book. I had no idea what to charge and just plucked a figure out of my head. The tour was a success and Judith is now traditionally published.

That’s how it started, and I now organise around 30 – 40 blog tours each month for publishers and also directly for authors.

For those who don’t know, what is a blog tour organiser?

A Blog Tour organiser is exactly what it says on the tin! We organise a tour that focusses on one book (or a series of books). The book will appear on a number of blogs for a set amount of time.

Our job is to ensure that we get the right bloggers for the book. We make sure that the bloggers receive a copy of the book, create a schedule and then send out a media pack. We also share all of the blog tour posts on every tour.

What does a typical day look like for you?

When I first started this job, I already had another job, so blog tour organising was usually done later in the day/evening and at weekends.
In October 2020 I went full time as a blog tour organiser.
My average day begins at around 8am.

Every day I will share the blog tour posts for the day, and any that were posted later the previous evening.
I will go through to find any missing posts and contact the individual blogger with a reminder that they agreed to post on that day.

The remainder of my day is dealing with hundreds of emails. Creating new tours and sending out invitations. Sending out quotations to publishers and authors etc.

I try to finish by 6pm each day.

What are the benefits of going to a blog tour organiser for both author and publisher and for a blogger signing up to be part of a tour?

I think that the big publishers find it really convenient to be able to use blog tour organisers. Publicists have a massive job to do, and a blog tour is just a tiny part of the publicity machine, but for a blog tour organiser, it is their main focus, so they will get a truly dedicated service.

Blog tour organisers know most of their bloggers really well. They know what time of day they will post their slot on the tour, they know their genre preferences and they know if they will read digitally.

An author or publisher can hand over the whole thing to the organiser, without having to worry about getting the bloggers to take part, the organiser will do all of the work.

I think bloggers all have different reasons for signing up for tours. Everyone is different. I know some bloggers feel incentivised to read a book that they may already own by having a particular date to post, that’s certainly one of my main reasons for taking part in a tour as a blogger.

I also know that some bloggers really dislike blog tours, and that’s absolutely fine too. There’s room for everyone

Why should people choose you in-particular?

I do find this question quite difficult! I work really closely with some other organisers, especially Rachel Gilbey, Zoe O Farrell, Tracy Fenton and the Bookouture team. They are all fabulous at what they do.

I’d suggest that authors and publishers should look at tours that I’ve already done, to see if I cover the genre that they want to tour.

Every single tour is treated in the same way by me. It doesn’t matter if it’s a debut self-published author, or an author who has had multiple best-selling novels, they all get the same service.

What are the upsides and downsides of being a blog tour organiser?

The upsides far outweigh the downsides!
What I love best is that I am my own boss. I choose when I work, and who I work with.
Working with books, and being a tiny part of a book’s journey is an honour and a pleasure. It’s something that I always dreamt about, but never ever imagined actually doing.

The positive feedback from authors and publishers is wonderful too. Helping to launch a book is a fabulous thing to be involved with.

I’ve made a lot of friends whilst doing this job, that’s such a bonus too.

Downsides few, but very frustrating!

Occasionally, I am not able to pull together a blog tour, for various reasons and I hate having to let an author know this.

I am fortunate to work on some hugely popular books and having to tell bloggers that the tour is full is one of the things that I hate the most. Some books are so popular that I have to turn away 40 or so bloggers and every time I send that ‘sorry’ email, I am sad.

Chasing bloggers who don’t post on their date is another time consuming job that I really hate. I’m really approachable, I think most of my bloggers know this and a little advance warning of a non-post, or late post is welcome
Over the years there have been bloggers who’ve arrived, committed to a tour, taken a book and then disappeared, never to be seen again.
I HATE this. It looks so bad, for me and for bloggers in general and I really wish it didn’t happen.

Oh, spoilers! Spoilers in reviews are a huge no-no!

Where can people find you?

Twitter @annecater

Email : anne.lcdp@hotmail.co.uk
https://randomthingsthroughmyletterbox.blogspot.com/p/services-to-publishers-authors-blog.html

Thank you Anne for your time in giving an interview to me – Lou at Bookmarks and Stages.

#Interview with a #BlogTourOrganiser By Lou with Kelly Lacey @KellyALacey #CelebratingBlogTourOrganisers

Interview with A Blog Tour Organiser
With Kelly Lacey
Conducted by Lou

I am celebrating various authors and actors on my blog in individual blog posts, until September, when my blog turns 5 years old. Part of my journey in blogging is also joining blog tours. I recently had the opportunity to interview Kelly Lacey who founded Love Books Tours. Find out more below, and then onto the Q&A.

Blog Tours! Lots of you will see this as a tag on social media or an intro before a review, thanking a particular organiser. I join in on quite a few, as do lots of other bloggers. I am aware this can be a bit of a mysterious world for some. So, I wanted to uncover for what this really means and what a day in the life of one looks like. Discover all of this from a Q&A I conducted with Kelly Lacey from her company – Love Books Tours, who, incidentally, along with Wendy H. Jones, who I wrote an article about recently, encouraged and persuaded me into starting a blog. Also discover Kelly was inspired to start a blog and then become a blog tour organiser, how to sign up if you are a blogger and how she can assist, if you are an author and some of the recent blog tours she has organised, including one I joined.

So, without further ado, let’s welcome Kelly Lacey, the founder of Love Books Tours onto my blog for 6 questions and her 6 informative, fascinating answers, plus links to social media and website at the end.

1. What or who inspired you to become, not only a book blogger but also a virtual book tour organiser?

Back in 2017, Joanne from Portobello Book Blog inspired me to become a book blogger. I remember sitting with her during lunch as she explained everything. After that day, I knew that I had to create my own blog. Through my journey as a blogger, I found myself connecting with a lot of authors. After my mother had experienced a number of strokes, I needed to find something I was good at that I could do from home. I realized my next step was to delve into book publicity. In 2018, I decided to take a leap of faith and started Love Books Tours.

From the get-go, LBT has always supported both indie and traditional authors. Not only do we work with big publishing houses such as Marvel, Penguin, and Canelo, but we also work with smaller publishing houses such as Fledgling Press. I am proud to say that we have really taken off, and it has been an incredible journey thus far.

2. For those who don’t know, what is a blog tour organiser?

As a virtual book tour organiser, LBT offers the perfect solution to promoting books and helping them reach a larger audience. With our 7, 10 and 14-day campaigns.

Our LBT tour hosts are amazing and during the campaign period, they will read and review your book and provide constructive feedback every day. We pride ourselves on the honesty of our reviews as we believe that this is an integral part of improving and promoting a book.

But wait, there’s more! A book can have multiple tours, not just one at the time of its release.

Virtual book tours are an excellent way to breathe new life into your book, creating a buzz and generating interest among your target audience.

At LBT, we understand the effort and hard work that goes into writing a book. Hence, we make it our priority to provide a hassle-free experience and help your book achieve the recognition it deserves.

3. What does a typical day look like for you?

As a tour organiser, I stay busy with six to ten tours scheduled every week, along with a one day campaign and our beloved read-along service.

My mornings start bright and early at 6 am with the task of tackling emails and social media. There is a lot to do on social media, from sharing posts to choosing review quotes that best fit our client’s needs. I also have to regularly connect

with clients over video calls to ensure they have the best possible book package.

4. What are the benefits of going to a blog tour organiser for both author and publisher and for a blogger signing up to be part of a tour?

The benefit for my author/publisher clients is delivering a successful campaign with a high reach and the bonus of all the reviews. Their satisfaction and approval is my top goal.

For book bloggers, applying to be a tour host is a great way to support authors.

With LBT we work with new and established authors. I have created a small family of hosts on our Whatsapp chat who are amazing. We also have our super supportive host team. With over 2000 book bloggers signed with us and more applications each day, we love to build up the bookish support.

If you are considering starting book blogging or bookstagramming you can apply here. We work worldwide with all genres.

5. Why should people choose you in particular?

Embarking on a virtual book tour can be daunting, but luckily, the UK boasts a few reliable tour organisers. The key is finding the perfect fit for your unique needs. It’s crucial to select an organiser with an established presence and reach. Before deciding, read their testimonials and review the quality of their work. If you’re looking for someone who’s passionate about your success and will handle your campaign with the utmost professionalism, look no further than me.
I am dedicated to crafting a tailored tour that resonates with your readers and drives traffic to your platform. Let’s work together to bring your book to the masses!

6. What are the upsides and downsides of being a blog tour organiser?

The upsides are plentiful, all the amazing love for each book on tour is very satisfying. The feedback I receive after sending my client report after each tour always makes all the hard work worth it. Supporting the book community fills me with pride.

When it comes to the disadvantages of organising the tours. The only hiccup is the occasional book blogger who may take advantage of the situation by signing up for tours and not delivering on their end of the bargain by not posting their review. But fear not, as these delinquent bloggers are quickly caught and barred from any future opportunities. So, there’s really no need to worry about any major downsides when it comes to receiving a quality experience.

7. Where can people find you?

https://kellylacey.com/love–books–tours/

https://www.facebook.com/LoveBooksTours

https://twitter.com/KellyALacey

https://www.instagram.com/lovebookstours/

#Interview with Author of Claimed By The Viking Chief By Sarah Rodi @sarahrodiedits @MillsandBoon #ClaimedByTheVikingChief #BlogTour

Today, as part of the last day of the blog tour, I have an interview with author of Claimed By The Viking Chief –Sarah Rodi. Thanks to Rachel’s Random Tours for inviting me onto the tour.
Now, let’s welcome Sarah Rodi to my blog. First, check out the blurb and then onto the interview where we talk inspiration, the themes of her book, libraries, what she does on publication day and more… There are some really fascinating answers to gain lots of knowledge from…

Blurb

She can be his lover

…but never his wife!

Forced into servitude, Wren is quietly miserable…until Jarl Knud arrives at her settlement, seeking an alliance through marriage. Despite their initial sizzling attraction Wren despises everything the Jarl represents—and he needs a high-status bride to save his people, not a servant like her. As Wren uncovers the man beneath the fierce Viking chief she’s tempted to claim one forbidden night of passion…but will it ever be enough?

What or who inspired you to write historical fiction and in-particular, the Viking
period?

I’ve always loved reading Mills & Boon novels – you can lose yourself in them completely. It’s because I’m such a fan that I’d always dreamed of being published by them one day. I live in Cookham, a village on the Thames in Berkshire, and in the 8th century, the river here divided the territories of Mercia and Wessex. Cookham was built around a Saxon monastery and many names in the area are still linked to the Vikings, after they rowed up the river in 870. This fascinated me, and a spark was lit. I now write passionate romantic stories based in the Viking times of the 9th century. And now every family holiday is based around a different ‘Viking’ location in the UK! Sutton Hoo in Suffolk or Viking Bay in Kent, the Jorvik Viking Centre in York, the Holy Island in Northumberland, where the Vikings first invaded England… I use these historical settings to help inspire me and I can then ground my characters in a time and place and I get lost in the romance of it all.

In your bio you talk about devouring books from the library, what purpose do you think libraries serve today and how important do you think they are?

Libraries will always have a huge part to play in our communities. Not only are they a valuable source of information and a place to go to seek sanctuary and read, nowadays our libraries are often the hub of our towns and villages, hosting festivals and events to bring people together.

Claimed By the Viking Chief talks about servitude and, in turn, class when it comes
to marriage status. What drew you to this?

I loved writing Wren and Jarl Knud’s story – these two characters are made for each other, even though their stations in life couldn’t be more different! I can’t imagine anything worse than having your freedom taken away. My heroine, Wren, was taken captive in battle when she was just a girl. She was torn from the arms of her mother. Gifted to the enemy chieftain’s daughter to be her companion and thrall, she has lived a life of servitude. Jarl Knud knows he must make a marriage alliance with Earl Ingrid to keep his stronghold safe from attack, yet deep down, he doesn’t want to, and he ends up falling for her servant girl instead… This is a rags to riches, enemies to lovers, forced proximity story, but most of all, I wanted it to be about forbidden romance. Knowing they can’t be together because of all the constraints of their society gives their passion so much more depth, and their backstories and their journey to their happy ever so much more worthwhile.

Do you feel class, in-particular when it comes to marriage, still exists today?

Hopefully nowhere near as much as it did back then. Although I love writing about Viking times, I’m pretty glad those rules of society don’t exist like that today.

How do you celebrate your publication day?

I usually have a little dance around the kitchen when my book first comes through the door and I get to hold it in my hand. Publication day will be about spreading the word on social media that it’s now available to buy, and then hopefully having a few bubbles on the evening to celebrate it being out in the wild.

#AuthorInterview By Lou with Margaret Amatt – author of Just Friends at Thistle Lodge @AmattAuthor @rararesources #BlogTour

Just Friends at Thistle Lodge
By Margaret Amatt

Interview By Louise – Bookmarks and Stages

As part of closing the Rachel’s Random Blog Tour, I have a Q&A with Margaret Amatt, the author of Just Friends at Thistle Lodge. It is with great pleasure I welcome you onto my blog. Discover what inspires her to write and how her Glenbriar series came about, why she sets her books in Scotland and what she has to say about some of the characters as well as what she is reading and working on just now. Firstly, discover a little about her latest novel and then we will commence with the Q&A below.

Blurb

Just Friends at Thistle Lodge

One romantic getaway. Two friends. Seven days just pretending…

When Nina Copeland’s mates try to match her with the guy next door, she needs a plan. Because Matthew’s just a friend, and Nina has a secret she doesn’t want him to discover – not until she’s tidied her messy life.

After his divorce, physics teacher Matthew Gilchrist has kept his heart locked safely away. So why do people keep pushing him to date his chirpy neighbour? He and Nina are fine just as friends. Aren’t they?

Nina hatches a solution to get everyone off their backs: fake a relationship at a family reunion, then stage a break-up so life can go back to normal. What could go wrong?

Stuck together at a romantic highland lodge, new feelings lure them out of the friend zone. But if love is to find a way in, Nina must confront her past, and Matthew put his heart on the line.

Without further ado, onto the Q&A style interview.

1. Who or what inspired you to write books?

I’ve always written in some form or another and lots of things inspire me – people, places, life events, news stories, pictures… Pretty much anything really! I don’t think there was one specific event that started me writing; it’s just part of who I am.

How did this Glenbriar series, a spin-off series to your Scottish Island Escapes come about and how do they crossover?

It came about because I had three side characters from the Scottish Island Escapes series that I really wanted to write stories for but none of them really fitted an Island story. Initially, I thought I might just write a few standalone stories to go alongside the series but when I started writing, I needed a town and I decided to invent Glenbriar. Almost as soon as I started writing, I saw the potential for more stories, so I decided to make it a series.

The characters who appear in the Glenbriar Series who have already had minor appearances in the Scottish Island Escapes series are: Nina in Just Friends at Thistle Lodge, who is the little sister of Troy, the famous footballer, in A Striking Result (book 8 in Scottish Island Escapes); Cha who appears as a side-character in Just Friends at Thistle Lodge was also featured in A Summer Sanctuary (book 3 in Scottish Island Escapes) and she will feature in her own story later in the series where she goes back to the island for a visit!

Gavin, who is Holly’s ex-boyfriend in A Festive Surprise (book 10 in Scottish Island Escapes) will star in his own story later in the series too!

What inspired you to set this current series in Scotland?

I live in Scotland and Glenbriar is loosely based on three small towns close to where I live: Pitlochry, Dunkeld and Aberfeldy. It has elements from all of them in it including lochs, a river, hills, forestry paths, whisky distilleries, hotels, coffee shops, upcycled furniture stores and a campsite (to name a few). Because it’s an area I know so well, it’s easy for me to imagine the scenery and the backdrop for the stories.

Your character – Nina, has, as you say, a messy life. What do you think appeals and draws readers into someone’s life who is a bit complex and perhaps with secrets?

Nina is such a lovely person in the story and like so many people she projects that happy front, when actually everything isn’t always rosy. She’s had tough times in the past and she’s doing her best to get on with things without much support or guidance. I think we can all relate to people like that as many of us have felt like that at some point in our lives.

Your central characters stage a romance, how easy or difficult do you think this would be in reality and what inspired this direction?

I always say real life is stranger than fiction! Some of the scenarios in this book are loosely based on family gatherings I’ve attended. I tried to imagine how I would feel in Nina and Matthew’s situation when surrounded by my extended family. It was inspired by an article I was reading about real life friends and how they’d stopped people badgering them about dating when they were perfectly happy the way they were. They said they’d pretended to date for a week then told everyone it hadn’t worked out and no one was cruel enough to suggest it again. It made me wonder how it would be if one – or both – actually had a secret crush on the other. How easy would the deception be then? What might go wrong? These questions were the start of this book.

Are you reading anything at the moment and how do you celebrate your book’s publication day?

I’m reading an ARC of Always Beth by Louise Hudson – she’s a new author and it’s a great book!

I celebrated the publication of Just Friends at Thistle Lodge with a day canoeing on a nearby loch! It may sound crazy but my family and I really enjoy doing it and it just so happens there’s a canoeing scene in the book. It was so much fun taking pictures of the book from the canoe! I then had a wonderful lunch in a local café afterwards and treated myself to a very tasty cheesecake!

Are you writing anything at the moment or have plans to?

I’m working on more books for the Glenbriar Series. I currently have drafts for the next four at various stages of editing. I’ve told myself not to write anything new until I get these drafts in good shape… We’ll see if that works!!