Debut Author Lynda Stacey joins me to tell all about her ‘ House of Secrets’.

Posted by Violet Fields on Jul 23, 2016 in Author interview, Blog, House of Secrets, Lynda Stacey | 0 comments

Today I’m absolutely delighted to welcome fellow Yorkshire based writer Lynda Stacey to my blog; her debut novel ‘House of Secrets’ has been released this week. Hi Lynda and thanks for popping over to answer a few questions about your new book and writing in general.

First of all let me say that I’ve read ‘House of Secrets’ and it really is a scorcher. It is set against the backdrop of Wrea Head Hall in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Do you remember why you first decide to set your novel there?

Hello and thank you for reading my novel. As you say, it’s set with the backdrop of Wrea Head Hall, I remember walking into the hotel the very first time I went to stay there and immediately stopping in my tracks. I could feel the history in the rooms, it literally seeped out of the walls and I could imagine the people that had walked those corridors before me.

Wrea Head Country House Hotel, Scarborough
http://www.wrea-head-hotel.co.uk/

You were the well deserved winner of the publisher Choc Lit’s Search for a Star competition. What do you think particularly appealed to the judges, to Choc Lit and their tasting panel about ‘House of Secrets’? What do you hope that readers will enjoy about it?

I hope the story appealed. It took quite a bit of working out, with the time slip and the other elements that create the twists and the intrigue. It really was a labour of love and I hoped that Choc Lit would love the fact that I’d written from both the heroine and the hero’s point of view.

What motivated you to become a writer and how did you manage to keep persevering until you reached your goal?

I’ve always been going to write, it’s been one of those things I’ve always reverted to and has been a hobby of mine since being very, very young. When I was just a small child, I’d pick up books and read. I always loved getting lost in the story, and writing is no different.

Which genre or sub genre would you say ‘House of Secrets’ falls into and why?

I’d say that ‘House of Secrets’ is a Romantic Suspense with a parallel time frame. It goes between present day and the 1940’s and has been described as Fatal Attraction meets Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

What was the best or most enjoyable thing about writing it?

Having to go to Wrea Head Hall lots of times. I had to go, it was research,(she says laughing). I love every minute of my stays there and it really was fun going and exploring the corridors, the grounds and with the help of the owner, the cellars.

And the most difficult?

The most difficult part of writing is letting go. It’s the deciding that it’s ‘good enough’ and that you’re ready for the world to read it.

Has the work of any particular writer/s influenced or inspired you, if so, why ?

As I said earlier, I’ve always read and I read quite widely. I don’t think I can say that any particular ‘one’ author has inspired me, I’d say that they all do. Especially now I know how much work goes into writing the books in the first place.

Can you write anywhere or do you have a favourite place to hideaway and write in?

No. I can’t write anywhere. I always write at home. It’s the only place. I like my home, I feel very safe there and my house is practically in the middle of a field. I get lots of peace there and all I can hear while I’m writing are the birds.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Yes. Never stop. Keep writing, do it every single day. And join an organisation like the Romantic Novelists’ Association. I can honestly say that if I hadn’t joined the RNA, I still wouldn’t be published and the support I’ve received has been immeasurable.

And finally Lynda, what next? Can you reveal anything at all about your work in progress?

I’ve written two other books. The next one is with my publisher right now and I’m hoping they will publish it… so, fingers crossed.

Thanks so much Lynda for joining me here today, I’m sure readers will love ‘House of Secrets’ as I did and I really hope your publisher will want your new book, as I’d love to read it !!

A woman on the run, a broken man and a house with a shocking secret …

Madeleine Frost has to get away. Her partner Liam has become increasingly controlling to the point that Maddie fears for her safety, and that of her young daughter Poppy.

Desperation leads Maddie to the hotel owned by her estranged father – the extraordinarily beautiful Wrea Head Hall in Yorkshire. There, she meets Christopher ‘Bandit’ Lawless, an ex-marine and the gamekeeper of the hall, whose brusque manner conceals a painful past.

After discovering a diary belonging to a previous owner, Maddie and Bandit find themselves immersed in the history of the old house, uncovering its secrets, scandals, tragedies – and, all the while, becoming closer.

But Liam still won’t let go, he wants Maddie back, and when Liam wants something he gets it, no matter who he hurts …

Winner of Choc Lit & Whole Story Audiobooks 2015 Search for a Star competition.

All About Lynda

Lynda, is a wife, step-mother and grandmother, she grew up in the mining village of Bentley, Doncaster, in South Yorkshire.

She is currently the Sales Director of a stationery, office supplies and office furniture company in Doncaster, where she has worked for the past 25 years. Prior to this she’d also been a nurse, a model, an emergency first response instructor and a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor … and yes, she was crazy enough to dive in the sea with sharks, without a cage.
Following a car accident in 2008, Lynda was left with limited mobility in her right arm. Unable to dive or teach anymore, she turned to her love of writing, a hobby she’d followed avidly since being a teenager.

Her own life story, along with varied career choices helps Lynda to create stories of romantic suspense, with challenging and unpredictable plots, along with (as in all romances) very happy endings.

Lynda joined the Romantic Novelist Association in 2014 under the umbrella of the New Writers Scheme and in 2015, her debut novel House of Secrets won the Choc Lit & Whole Story Audiobooks Search for a Star competition.

She lives in a small rural hamlet near Doncaster, with her ‘hero at home husband’, Haydn, whom she’s been happily married to for over 20 years.