Wednesday 30 August 2017

Fair Stands the Wind by Catherine Lodge - Blog Tour, Guest Post and Giveaway


Fair Stands the Wind by Catherine Lodge - Blog Tour
Today I am happy to be able to welcome debut author Catherine Lodge. I have heard good things about Fair Stands the Wind and am very much looking forward to reading it. From the cover (which is gorgeous, by the way) I had assumed it was a story inspired by Persuasion, but although it has a nautical hero, that is not the case. Let me share the book blurb with you and then I'll hand over to Catherine for the guest post. Please note, there is a giveaway too!


Book Blurb:

We all know that in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mr Darcy is proud and prejudiced because he is a wealthy landowner who believes himself above his company; and that Elizabeth Bennet can afford to be proud and prejudiced because she believes she has the freedom to make choices for herself.

But what if Mr Darcy is the second son, sent to sea at a young age? What if Elizabeth is trapped by circumstances, with an ill father on one side and an understandably desperate mother on the other?

Meet Captain Darcy of the Royal Navy, a successful frigate captain, with ample prize-money and a sister he needs to provide for while he is at sea. Meet Elizabeth Bennet, who needs a husband and is trying to resign herself to Mr Collins, the worst “least worst alternative” in the history of literature.

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Guest Post from Catherine Lodge - Guerrilla Writing

I've never written a Guest Post before, so of course I agonised about it for days when what I ought to have done is apply Old Mother Lodge's Patented Guerrilla Writing Technique - The Nervous Writer's Friend

Are you like me?  Daunted by all the writers' blogs and articles where they say that they have to write, that it's a compulsion.  Personally, I find it really difficult to make myself sit down and even start.

It's not the story-telling, I've always told myself stories, ever since I was a little girl.  As a chronic insomniac as a child, I spent hours lying in bed - my parents had very decided ideas about suitable bedtimes for children, probably because there were five of us and they wanted some peace and quiet - telling myself stories, often the same stories over and over again, looking for just the right word or combination of events to describe the action.  For years I had a rambling epic in my head, which contained all the clichés you find in bad stories on Fanfiction.net - twins, tragic love affairs, a huge dynastic war in which all the parties had about fifteen names - each.  No, it's not the story-telling that's difficult, plots are easy.

But plots I want to actually write, are much more difficult to find. The first JAFF I wrote first came to mind when I was stuck on a country road behind a car changing a wheel because there wasn't room to pass.  There are a lot of roads like that those round where I live.  I started daydreaming about what it would have been like in the early 19th Century and got the idea for the cart accident that forms the opening chapter of A New Beginning, a book I am hoping to bring out next year.  The idea for Fair Stands the Wind arose out of the afternoon I spent packing my books into boxes so they weren't ruined when the builder removed the kitchen roof.  As I packed a shelf full of CS Forresters and Patrick O'Briens and Alexander Kents, I had the idea for Captain Darcy and the rest is history, or rather novel.

So, not the story-telling, not even the plotting, no, it's the writing down I find difficult.  It's the choosing the right word from amongst all the not-quite-right words - then once I've chosen it, persuading Microsoft that it actually exists!

Then, even once I've found the right words I have to stop myself deleting them. My style is instinctively very spare and whenever I try to make myself write more expansively, it comes out sounding all phoney.  I think it's because I'm not a very visual writer, I don't make pictures in my head.  I rarely describe scenery or places, except in a very minimalist fashion.  No, what I go for is what I call rhythm, not just of the sentences but of the scene.  I can't describe how I write or how my method works (if it does).  I just know when something seems "unbalanced" or "rushed", when a conversation doesn't have enough contributions from all of the participants, when a scene has gone on too long.

Frankly, it's all rather unsatisfactory.  I wish I had a more objective standard, some rules so that I could sit back and say, "Ah yes, that has A,B,C and just a soupcon of K.  Next chapter I'll add the D, E and F, a sprinkling of L and some T and it will be just right."  Instead I sit, poking the screen, thinking, "I wonder what's wrong with that sentence, because I can see something is, I just can't tell what."  So I sit for an hour or so, moving the works round.  Adding a comma there, changing an adjective here, until eventually it looks right.  Or as near to right as possible.

Which is why I invented "Guerrilla writing", the art of posting things EVEN WHEN THEY'RE NOT QUITE RIGHT.  For years I'd let myself be frightened by the idea that something I'd written wasn't perfect.  I found out the other day that's called "Letting the perfect be the enemy of the good".  The idea that, just because you haven't reached some (probable unreachable) standard of perfection, you shouldn't write at all.  With Guerrilla Writing, you do your best, you don't agonise and you post it the same evening you finish it. Hit and run writing. All the fiddling in the world only serves to delay without making any appreciable difference to the product.  Very liberating it is too.

So - ladies and gentlemen - do you have a half-realised idea in your head, in a binder somewhere or lurking in an almost forgotten corner of your hard drive? Try Guerrilla writing.  It's good for what ails you.

Well, that's enough talk about me.  Let's talk about you.  What do you think about me?

Sorry - I've always wanted to use that line.

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Author Bio:

Author Catherine LodgeCatherine Lodge is a semi-retired lawyer and lecturer, living in Yorkshire–a part of the UK even more beautiful than Derbyshire. One of five daughters, although by birth order regrettably the Jane, she found 19th Century literature early in her teens and never looked back–even if that meant her school essays kept coming back with “archaic!” written in the margin next to some of her favourite words. She still thinks that “bruited” is a much nicer word than “rumoured.”

After years of drafting leases and pleadings, she finally started to write for fun in her forties and has never stopped since. Much of this will never see the light of day, having been fed to the digital equivalent of a roaring bonfire, but “Fair Stands the Wind” is the first book she thinks worthy of public attention.

She spends her day fixing computer problems for friends and family, singing in her local choir, and avoiding the ironing

Connect with Catherine:

FacebookGoodreads

Edited to Add: Buy links will be added as soon as they are available. Unfortunately, due to a previous instance of piracy of Catherine's book (boooo!), Amazon have not yet added it for sale on their site for kindle, though it is available to buy in paperback on Amazon US. You can also add it to your wish list on Barnes and Noble. I am sure you will join me in hoping that this is resolved very soon and wishing Catherine the very best of luck with Fair Stands the Wind.

Giveaway Time

Book Cover: Fair Stands the Wind by Catherine Lodge
Meryton Press is offering a giveaway to accompany the blog tour. To enter, please use the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule:

This is the first stop on the blog tour, so you haven't missed anything so far. Why not follow the tour to find out more about the book including reviews, and excerpts and further chances to win.

Fair Stands the Wind by Catherine Lodge - Blog Tour
08/30 Aug   Babblings of a Bookworm;  Guest Post or Vignette, GA
08/31 Aug   My Vices and Weaknesses; Character Interview, GA
09/01 Sep   Austenesque Reviews; Vignette, Excerpt, GA
09/02 Sep   Interests of a Jane Austen Girl; Review, Excerpt, Giveaway
09/03 Sep   Darcyholic Diversions; Author Interview, GA
09/04 Sep   Half Agony, Half Hope; Review, Vignette
09/05 Sep   Of Pens and Pages; Review, Excerpt, GA
09/06 Sep   Diary of an Eccentric; Guest Post, Vignette, Giveaway
09/07 Sep   From Pemberley to Milton; Guest Post or Vignette, Excerpt, GA
09/08 Sep   So little time…; Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway
09/09 Sep   My Love for Jane Austen; Vignette, GA
09/10 Sep   Margie’s Must Reads; Review, Excerpt, GA
09/11 Sep   My Jane Austen Book Club; Guest Post, Excerpt, GA
09/12 Sep   Just Jane 1813; Review, GA



57 comments:

  1. I love this Guerilla Writing concept, Catherine. My high school writing teacher taught me the same, but he didn't have a nifty name for it. :) Great getting the background for the new book, too. Looking forward to reading about a sea-faring Darcy.

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    1. I told someone about it once and they wanted to know what giant apes had to do with writing. Sigh

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    2. Hi there Sophia. It's a great name for the concept, isn't it, although it does conjure up an interesting ape-y mental image :)

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  2. Hi Ceri and Catherine,

    Must say that I really enjoyed this post!!

    The Guerilla Writing sounds very clever and practical, and yes,I can see how the perfect would hijack the perfectly fine and delay the writhing process indefinitely.

    Love the premise of this book-it's certainly different!!

    Looking forward to reading it and discovering what befalls this sea faring Darcy and Lizzy.
    Wishing you the best of luck with its launch!

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    1. Thanks Mary, I'm equally excited and terrified

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    2. Glad you enjoyed the post, Mary. I love the premise too :)

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  3. This is what I love about you authors - the sheer dedication and determination! And especially the imagination. I don't appear to have any of the above!
    I love the idea of this book, it will be interesting to see how not being a wealthy landowner will affect Darcy's reaction to Elizabeth (and how her desperation to avoid Mr Collins will affect hers to Darcy!)
    Can't wait to find out.

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    1. Hello again, Glynis.

      I deny all accusations of dedication etc, if it wasn't fun, I wouldn't do it. I found I liked writing something, giving it a polish, checking the spelling (does anyone else have terrible trouble with Georgiana?) and then putting it out for people to chat about.

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    2. Ah! Well that's where I would come unstuck! I don't like polishing! (In fact I'm not fond of any type of housework!)�� Good luck with this book ����

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    3. Hi Glynis. I don't think I could come up with an original story idea at all, like you I am full of admiration for people with more imagination than me. I am very interested to see how Darcy's drop in status will change him; part of the reason that he is as proud as he is in P&P is the fact that he's a huge catch and very much sought. I would think that Captain Darcy would be less attractive to the Miss Bingleys of this world than his elder brother!

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  4. Welcome to the blog tour Catherine. I look forward to following you [shamelessly] through parts of it. So if you see a nefarious looking creature skulking about... I'm... um... she is harmless. Blessings on the launch and success of your book. I look forward to reading it.

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    1. I'll keep a weather-eye out for you, matey, watch out for the Pressgang and no lollygagging in the rigging.

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    2. Let the blog skulking commence, Jeanne! I hope you enjoy following the tour :)

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  5. Love the post. I am quite curious about your Darcy. Look forward to reading.

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    1. It's an interesting question, isn't it? What is essential Darcy and what is merely the product of his upbringing.
      Hope you enjoy it when it finally escapes Kindle's clutches

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    2. Hi Becky, I'm curious to meet him too! Like Catherine says it'll be interesting to see what is learned and what is innate Darcy.... and would he have another first name if he's no longer the first son?!

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  6. I think my husband writes the same, - it's a draft, doesn't have to be perfect, just need to be able to write The End

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    1. I'm not saying you have to fling any old tat at the reader, just that you can spend too long fiddling with it, until you've lost all sense of whether or not it's any good. I have been known to spend a day agonising over a comma and not being satisfied with my end choice.

      Pish and tush, I say, write it and show it off.

      Mind you, if people had said, "What a load of balderdash, I might well have gone back to agonising."

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    2. It must be a lot easier to agree with this concept than put it into action. The more you look at something, the more you'd find to change, and by the end of it some spark of it might be lost, so it's certainly a skill to know when not to fiddle with something!

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  7. Carole in Canada30 August 2017 at 16:22

    Congratulations on the launch of your debut novel Catherine! Thank you Ceri for hosting her! I'm looking forward to reading this variation very much. The cover alone is gorgeous! As for your 'guerilla writing', what a great way of looking at it. Put your thoughts down and don't agonize over them! Enjoy your travels on the blog tour!

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    1. Whereabouts in Canada? I've been to Ottawa/Montreal/Toronto and loved it there. Might have considered emigrating if it hadn't been for the weather (you know somewhere has terrible weather if the English type is a better bet).

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    2. Hi there Carole! Isn't the cover a beauty. In one way I feel sorry that I read on kindle as this would be a lovely object in itself. But then I remember how much I have on my kindle and how I need to have space for my children in the house, not just books and I am glad my reading material takes up so little physical space :)

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    3. Catherine, I live south of Ottawa in Prince Edward County (45 min. west of Kingston). My son lives in Ottawa and we use to live just outside of Toronto. Prefer where I am now though! Weather is usually very lovely with the odd snowstorm thrown in in the winter. I like the 4 seasons so no complaints from me.

      Ceri, I know what you mean about space and I too am thankful I have my Kindle, but a beautiful cover and great story are so hard to resist...

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  8. Catherine, I was like you, the little girl (and teenager) in bed or in the backseat telling stories in my head. Your guerilla writing voice is marvelous, and I cannot wait for everyone to read this amazing story.

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    1. I'm just glad there was no fanfiction.net when I was a kid, or my magnum opus (it was huge by the end) would have been out there for all to read: complete with tragic marriages, kidnapped babies, drunken fathers, mad mothers, a siege,and a medical school collapsing and trapping our heroes (who were, of course identical twins because they always are) in the corpse cellar.

      I had a very lurid imagination as a child

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    2. Hi Jan. Catherine's description made me think of Anne Shirley's stories in the Anne of Green Gables series of books, particularly when the girls make a story club to share their drama-filled tales!

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  9. I enjoyed the insight into your guerilla writing style. I look forward to your book.

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    1. Let me know what you think, please. There's more where that came from and I need to know what I'm doing wrong. I always suspect editors etc of "Being Kind".

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    2. Hi Jean. I am glad you enjoyed the post, and hope that you enjoy the book when you read it.

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  10. Ooh, Captain Darcy.. I. Can't. Wait! :D

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    1. Steady on there, one hand for the ship and one for yourself.
      And you know what's daft? Persuasion never once crossed my mind.

      Actually except once and that had nothing to do with matters naval.

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    2. Secretly, me too, Maria. My inner Lydia loves a man in uniform!

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  11. Enjoyed your post on guerrilla writing. I love the premise of Darcy being a second son. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I've always thought that a lot of his problem was being the first born. I bet Mrs Reynolds never heard a cross word because no one dared thwart the son and heir.

      Don't worry, I knocked some of his edges off.

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    2. Thanks so much Darcybennett. It's a good concept for a story, isn't it!

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  12. I think you've made a hit with your guerrilla writing! I like the idea! It would work for lots of writing. Congratulations of the book release! I hope you enjoy the 'tour'! You have many of us intrigued with a Captain Darcy!

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    1. Of course, having invented Guerilla Writing, I can now worry that I'm not worrying enough.

      It's hard word being this anxious, I can tell you!

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    2. Hi Janet. Thanks for all your work organising this blog tour!

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  13. I love the guerilla writing tool. 😀 Congratulations on the release of this book. It sounds so interesting and the cover is beautiful.

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    1. Isn't it though. I just hope the book lives up to the cover!

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    2. Hi Kate. I agree with you, love the premise for this book :)

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  14. I love what comes out of your guerrilla writing, but I'm afraid I'm the procrastinate and perfectionist type. What do I think about you? I adore your twisted sense of humour, and look forward to every single post on this blog tour. I also look forward to the book because even though it's dramatic, it has that black humour edge of yours just lurking around the corner every so often to lighten the shadows. Congratulations on an excellent first guest blog post!

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    1. Hi Suzan. I'm glad to hear there is humour in this book, I am very partial to that :)

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  15. Catherine, I am also like you... trying to come up with suitable words for my book review. It happened almost every time. Maybe I am a perfectionist and you put it best in this quote "Letting the perfect be the enemy of the good". I will take your suggestions to heart the next time I am stuck. Btw, I admire those who can write effortlessly.

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    1. That's a good quote isn't it, Luthien. I know the feeling of struggling to find words too. I used to think perfectionism was both a blessing and a curse but now I'm coming to the conclusion that I should be trying to be satisfied with good enough instead.

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  16. Hey! Like the rest, I love your guerrilla writing. I am so looking forward to reading your final product. Thanks for forging ahead with publishing. I know this book will do well. Jen Red

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    1. Thanks Jen. I have heard such good things about this book. I didn't read it on any forum but I know that it was popular. Hopefully Amazon will allow it to be released soon so that people can start enjoying it.

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  17. Congrats on your release! The premise is definitely intriguing and I'm looking forward to reading it!

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    1. Hi Dung, it's an interesting premise isn't it. I hope you (and I!) will enjoy the finished project.

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  18. The first time I read this story online it almost took my breath away. I loved it that much. I've also recommended it to a vast multitude of readers so I am certainly looking forward to getting my paperback, which I've already ordered, in the mail. I hope the Kindle situation is cleared up soon so JAFF readers can be as enthralled as I was. Best wishes!

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    1. BTW, the dialogue preceding their first kiss is SWOON-WORTHY.

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  19. I love the concept of "guerilla writing". I now have a picture in my mind of words floating around somewhere just above a page, then Catherine carries out a sneak attack on them and sets them all in order! OK, I know that's not really how the concept works but that's the image that what passes for my brain first came up with I saw the phrase.

    The cover is beautiful and I love the concept that you've come up with, Catherine. Darcy as a second son, and in uniform too, coming to the rescue of an Elizabeth who sounds in dire need of rescuing from the "worst 'least worst alternative'" conjures up some womderful images that I'm looking forward to having satisfied!

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed the post Anji. I'm really looking forward to reading this one too :)

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  20. This is one I would also like to read - reading a lot about it on blog tours.

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    1. Me too, Sheila, this is definitely one I'd like to read.

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  21. I really love this book and cannot wait to own my own copy. I'm glad you decided to publish it!

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    1. I am always pleased when a story on the forums that so many people rate gets published for a wider audience to enjoy, and I am particularly pleased that Catherine has managed to get this published, because it's been a real struggle.

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