Launching NOT MY AFFAIR - 8th December 2015

Aw, had such a LOVELY evening at my favourite little library, Parkstone Library, where I spent many hours of my childhood. I could not have chosen a better place for a launch and was made so welcome by the staff and the audience who were made up of family, friends (even one or two who were at school with me) and friendly strangers were so receptive. The talk I gave, the poem I had written for the occasion, and the segment I read from NOT MY AFFAIR all seemed to be enjoyed. And the books were eagerly snapped up so I'm looking forward to some feed-back.

BBC Solent Radio Interview today - 2 December 2015

Off to be interviewed by the lovely Katie Martin on BBC Radio Solent today between 2 - 3. Hair all done and dressed in my best (Yes, I do know it's radio but you have to make an effort and there might be photos taken! http://www.bbc.co.uk/radiosolent

NOT MY AFFAIR - Publication day!!!

Here it is at last – publication of NOT MY AFFAIR in hardback (e-book to follow).

And this is what it’s about - Just as Fay Ryan is about to break the news to her husband Jack that, at last they are about to become parents, he gives her a Christmas gift that is obviously intended for the mistress Fay knew nothing about – a mistress who is also Jack’s boss – but with the affair over Jack moves back home to take care of Fay. Odd things start happening. Complaints about Fay at work, a stolen item placed in her bag in a shop, dead flowers left on the doorstep, but it is only when Iona starts confronting Fay in person that they realise the woman has started a frightening campaign of harassment against Fay in her determination to win Jack back.

Author note: This novel is a slight change of direction for me in that there is an element of crime involved - though it is still the Contemporary Family Fiction that I am best known for.

I enjoyed writing NOT MY AFFAIR and I hope you enjoy reading it.

http://goo.gl/U7lwG2

SECOND BEST now available on Kindle

Saving your love for the right man is good advice - but what if it comes too late? 

Stacey Trent has just about given up on love when a whirlwind romance with the charming Nick Cable persuades her otherwise. Believing they are to be married she turns her back on home, career and friends to be with him, only to discover the promise of a future together is nothing but a tissue of lies.  Stacey finds herself left to the mercy of his older brother, Lex, who is less than sympathetic having had his fill of clearing up the trail of ‘weeping females’ Nick regularly leaves behind.  Circumstances force them together and there can be no denying the attraction growing between them, but will Stacey ever be able to convince Lex he is more than second best?

Previously published in hardback SECOND BEST is now available on Kindle £1.99,

http://goo.gl/qfELz4 

Blogging with Millie Vigor over on the Robert Hale website

Up the winding stair and an affair gone wrong: when love – or lust – becomes dangerous

Posted on October 7, 2015

by Pam Fudge and Millie Vigor

In this double author post, Millie and Pam talk to us about their upcoming books, The Winding Stair and Not My Affair. Both novels deal with the themes of obsession and a woman who is being harassed and stalked, either by a man who doesn’t know how to express his love in the right way, or her husband’s mistress who simply won’t let her lover remain with his wife.

NOT MY AFFAIR – Pam Fudge

Unsurprisingly, this is about an affair, an affair that comes to light on Christmas day because of a careless mistake on the part of the adulterer, Fay’s husband Jack. There are two ways forward for the couple at this point. They are that the affair heralds the end of the marriage or Fay and Jack can decide to work together and begin to repair the damage the infidelity has caused to the relationship but, of course, it is rarely that simple, and it certainly isn’t that simple in Not My Affair.

THE WINDING STAIR – Millie Vigor

Trying to get an anonymous suitor to stop phoning her and leaving her red roses, Ginny leaves her hometown for a short break, only to be found again. She returns home and is befriended by local librarian Curtis. When he invites her into his house, she discovers her trust has been misplaced when he traps her inside. Reminded of Mary Howett’s poem, ‘The Spider and the Fly’ in which the spider persuades the fly to walk up his winding stair, Ginny wonders if she’ll walk free or perish like the fly.

Millie Vigor: One of the questions an author is often asked is, ‘What inspired you to write that story?’ The inspiration for The Winding Stair came first from an item of news about a young woman who had gone missing without trace, and secondly from the content of a book I had read. ‘The Spider and the Fly’ by Mary Howett also plays a part. “Will you walk into my parlour, said the spider to the fly” and “the way into my parlour is up a winding stair”. That is just what Ginny had done; she had walked up the steps and into Curtis’s house to borrow a book.

Pam Fudge:  I think we’ve all met or read about someone who is quite scary in their determination to get their own way – no matter who gets hurt – so it was a compilation of remembered snippets from real life and fiction that were my inspiration. Not My Affair came to me, as my ideas often do, from the kind of problems that beset even the best of families. I knew that Jack’s affair was going to come to light right at the start – on the first page as it happens – but I hadn’t planned much more than that when I started to write. I am not a meticulous plotter, but like to see how the story and characters develop and I absolutely loved the way that Not My Affair really took off in ways that I hadn’t imagined.

MV: ‘What if?’ questions began. What if Ginny, my main character in The Winding Stair had been abducted and imprisoned by Curtis, a young man who had fallen in love with her and wanted her for himself? What if he lacked the social skills required and thought that if he locked her up, but was kind to her, that she would grow to love him? But what if the trauma in that young man’s early life had warped his mind to such an extent that his personality had split and divided into many others? What if he had developed Multiple Personality Disorder?

PF: The ‘what ifs’ that Millie mentions are such a great writer’s tool and it was a very early ‘what if?’ that determined Iona was going to be one mistress who had no intention of simply fading away. I didn’t so much choose Iona for the role she was to play, as have her present herself to me at quite an early point in the story and give an indication of what she might be capable of.

MV: I found the idea of a person morphing into another personality fascinating so to research the condition, I read all I could about it. Consciously or not, we all tend to present different faces to whoever we are with, but that’s where it stops. Not so with Multiple Personality Disorder. The condition is believed to be brought on by serious mental or physical abuse in early childhood. When Ginny defies her captor, Curtis changes dramatically into the violent character of Mikhail and she is forced to adjust her attitude towards him. Then Angel appears who says that she is the protector and that there are others. From then on Ginny never knows who will come through the door of her cell. In an odd sort of way this is a love story, for Curtis is genuinely in love with Ginny, but is mistaken in the way he pursues her and instead of drawing her to him he repulses her.

PF: I feel that reading Not My Affair would make women – and men, too – a lot more alert and aware of the possible dangers that can be the result of thoughtless actions. My research opened my eyes to what constitutes stalking/harassment and hopefully it will open the eyes of my readers, too, because some may be suffering in a similar way to Fay and realise there are laws in place to protect the innocent.

MV: I hope my readers will sympathise with both main characters. One was not given the guiding hand of loving parents as a child. The other did not look deeply enough into the character of her friends. The meeting of Ginny and Curtis was a recipe for disaster.

PF: After reading Not My Affair, I would like my readers to feel they have been on a journey that has kept them on the edge of their seat at times – though there are lighter moments, too.

MV: The message overall is to not be too quick to trust ready smiles and sweet words. Honey means bees and bees can sting.

The Winding Stair will be published by Robert Hale on 31st October 2015, and Not My Affair on 30th November 2015.

Pam's Interview on RNA Blog on 25 September 2015

Romantic Novelists' Association Blog

Friday, September 25, 2015

Pamela Fudge: Not My Affair

We are delighted to welcome Pamela Fudge to the blog today. Read about her varied career as she answers our questions below:

You are a prolific writer of novels and short stories. Did one follow the other or do you write them in conjunction?

After joining a creative writing class in 1983 I tried my hand at whatever the tutor set for us and quickly discovered that fiction was my passion. I was lucky enough to have a short story accepted for publication within four months of starting the class. Soon I was getting regular acceptances from the majority of women’s magazines and, more than happy with that, I had no real desire to try my hand at anything longer - until I started to feel left out when everyone in my writing group seemed to be tackling a novel. To my amazement my second attempt – a romance – was accepted for publication and, once my novels were being published regularly I concentrated on those. I’ve recently decided I can do both – so I am!

I understand you spent some years as a tutor of ‘Writing for Pleasure and Profit’. Tell us a little about the teaching aspect of your career.

I was ‘encouraged’ to take over the Adult Education class when the current tutor moved away, because I was already getting published regularly. I gained my teaching qualifications and had my first novel accepted for publication in the same year. What I loved most about teaching was building up the confidence of fledgling authors, and helping them to turn a good story or article into a great one. I still have the scrapbooks I filled with my student successes and I still hear from students who continue to get published.

Your latest book, Not My Affair, is due for publication on 30^th November. Not long now. Can you whet our appetites a little please?

I write contemporary family fiction and find plenty to write about from the ups and downs of family life. (Just generally, I hasten to add, not my own). Not My Affair (my 14^th novel) opens with the discovery of the husband’s affair – on Christmas morning. Jack finds himself out on the street – unaware that his wife Fay is pregnant after years of them trying for a family. With the affair over, Jack is desperate to save his marriage. However, his ex-mistress has other ideas and suddenly it seems that Fay could actually be in danger.

You are a member of several writing associations (the RNA for one) and organisations. How have these aided you in the past and are there any you would particularly recommend to our readers?

The RNA, and in particular the New Writers’ Scheme, played a big part in my transition from short fiction to novels. My first romance wasn’t accepted for publication, but the very positive critique I received from the NWS encouraged my belief that I could be a novelist, and my next attempt, Reluctant For Romance became my first published novel. I eventually re-wrote the original romance. It became Second Best and was published as a mainstream novel in 2009.

I see you have a dog. We like to know something about our guests, other than just their writerly pursuits. Without straying too far from the subject, are your walks a time of complete freedom from work or do you find yourself turning over ideas as you go?

I have a rescued Pomeranian dog called Honey (and also a 21 year old long-haired tortoiseshell cat called Ellie). I walk Honey twice a day on the heath behind my house. Mostly the walks are a time for Honey and me to socialise with other walkers and their canine friends. However, if I am stuck on any aspect of a novel – most often it will be finding the perfect ending – then a good walk and a good think usually has me rushing back to the keyboard.

Have you always been a writer or was there an earlier career? Or, indeed, do you hold down another full time job and write in your ‘spare’ time?

I was a Recruitment Administrator at Bournemouth University for many years, until I retired at the end of 2011, and it was during my time there – and after I had been widowed for the second time – that my career as a novelist really took off. At least one Pamela Fudge novel has been published each year since 2006.

Are you working on another novel? What can we look forward to after ‘Not My Affair’?

I have completed the first draft of another novel,Least Said, but gave most of this year over to bringing some of my back catalogue of published and unpublished novels out as e-books. It’s been a very different way of passing the time and I’ve enjoyed it – but I am looking forward to getting back to some ‘real’ writing again.

Links: 

Website

Amazon UK

Facebook

Reader Kate Hearn's Interview

 READER INTERVIEW

Pam Fudge talks to Kate Hearn about her reading preferences

What subjects or genres do you like to read?
Fiction – generally. Crime thrillers but any story I can really get my teeth into, I particularly like twist and turns and nothing too predictable. I also have a large library of non-fiction books relating to health and the natural energies within the body.

What attracts you to a book initially?
Simple covers usually and if the cover catches my eye then I turn it over to read the blurb on the back.

What would make you stop reading?
If I can’t get into the story or if the subject matter is particularly upsetting or frightening. I’ll then switch to another book. I don’t think I’ll ever stop reading. I’ll always have time for a book.

Favourite books?
Joanne Harris ’Peaches for Monsieur Le Cure’, ‘The Lollipop Shoes’ and ‘Blackberry Wine’.  I have a love hate relationship with this author as some of her books are awful. Playing the Jack by Mary Brown (I used to work with Mary), Second Best by Pam Fudge (I used to work with Pam, too).

      

Energy Medicine and Energy Medicine for Women by Donna Eden, Urban Warrior, Liberation, Dear Barefoot and The Man Who Drove With His Eyes Closed by the Barefoot Doctor.  Positive Energy and The Ecstasy of Surrender by Judith Orloff.  F**K It and F**K It Therapy by John Parkin

Do you have a preference regarding actual book or electronic?
Reading a book made of paper!  I love the feel and smell of a new book.   I am on the computer all day at work so really don’t want to use an electronic devise. To me that would not be relaxing.