Interview with Martha Dunlop by Kathryn Cottam

Welcome to The Story Cave everyone.  I am here today with gothic author Kathryn Cottam, who has come to ask me all about my new paranormal novel, The Starfolk Arcana. So today I am on the other side of the interview coffee table, answering the questions. Welcome Kathryn! 

Hello Martha! 

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
I would tell myself to seek expert input sooner. It would have made the learning process a lot faster! I worked on the same book for a long time before finally sending it to a structural editor for critique. That was when the real learning started. 
 
What’s your favourite under-appreciated novel?
I adored A Thin Slice of Heaven by P.M.Terrell, which is a Romance, and a ghost story that delves into reincarnation. Is set in a wonderfully atmospheric Irish Castle. I’ve just treated myself to a signed paperback of this, and am looking forward to re-reading it soon. 

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Review of the Starfolk Arcana by Internationally Acclaimed, Award Winning Author, P.M. Terrell

I am blown away by this amazing review of The Starfolk Arcana by one of my favourite authors.  Do watch the video or read the Amazon review below.  Watch the Video Review on YouTube HereBuy The Starfolk Arcana in the UKBuy The Starfolk Arcana in the USFind out more about The Starfolk Arcana Facebook Comments Box

The Starfolk Arcana: Book 1 of the Starfolk Trilogy

The Starfolk Arcana is book one in a brand new paranormal trilogy which has psychics, tarot, ghosts and more.  Scroll down to find the trailer, or to listen to me reading the first chapter. The Starfolk Arcana is available on Amazon, as well as through Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners Lending Library. It will shortly be available to order through bookshops and libraries.  They’ve spent lifetimes being pulled apart. This time, they’re ready to fight.After years of hiding her psychic abilities, Beth meets Jonan – the man with the violet eyes – and starts to feel like she belongs for the first time. Jonan has waited lifetimes to be with the woman who haunts his dreams. Drawn together by deeply buried memories from before birth, they try to make sense of a soul connection that opens windows into both their histories and their destiny.But when a woman from Jonan’s past starts weaponising their emotions and stirring up hate, distrust and a fear of the supernatural, Beth and Jonan find themselves targeted in a wave of suspicion.Only they can see what she is doing. But can they hold out against her bombardment and be true to who they really are, or will they allow The Fear to tear them apart?   Watch the Book Trailer Here: Author Reading: Chapter 1Find The Starfolk Arcana on AmazonSubscribe to Receive Book News FirstFind me on Facebook Facebook Comments Box

Book Trailer for The Starfolk Arcana: Watch it Here

The book trailer for The Starfolk Arcana, the first book in my new Paranormal Trilogy, is now live. The Starfolk Arcana is my debut novel. It will be released on 13 September 2020 and will be available in ebook and paperback formats from Amazon. You will also be able to order it from your bookshop or library.

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The Phantom’s Curse: A Cosy Chat with YA Author Shelley Wilson

At the heart of the Phantom’s curse is this mysterious and unseen creature who terrorised our characters in the past. In the Prologue, you talk about how leaders thought they could control the Phantom and use it to increase their power, but every time it was too big and powerful to control and it ripped through the country causing chaos and destruction. Does this image have something to say about our current political situation?

I’d be lying if I said the political landscape didn’t influence me. When I was writing TPC, my newsfeed was flooded with stories from Syria and how certain factions were turning away those in need. The divisions in society (and life) have travelled through the centuries with us. Some changes are being made, but on the whole, we all find our ‘place’ and get on with it. I saw this in the characters who live in the Link. The inner city elite ignores them, but they are stronger than anyone realises – if they can only learn to work together for the greater good.

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Under an Evil Star: A Cosy Chat with Author, Jane Holland

Under an Evil Star is a thriller based on horary astrology. What led you to choose this as a topic?

Since astrology is such a big part of my daily life, I wanted to extend that into my fiction. But how? Last year, eager to write for radio, I listened to Alastair Jessiman’s great radio plays about a Scottish psychic, The Sensitive, and kept thinking throughout, I need to use my esoteric knowledge in my fiction in the same way. Then I hit on the idea of making an astrologer my main character. But obviously, you need to know who the villain is to study their birth chart. But with horary, a much wider field of possibilities becomes open to you.

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A Struggle for Independence: A Cosy Chat with author P.M.Terrell

P.M. Terrell is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning author of more than 24 suspense, historical and non-fiction books. She is the founder of Book ‘Em North Carolina and The Novel Business and a columnist for Southern Writers Magazine.
A Struggle for Independence is a historical novel set around the Easter Rising in Ireland. A lot of your characters are based in fact, but are your main characters, Penny and Nicky, based on real people or are they entirely fictional?
Thank you for inviting me here today, Martha! It’s always a pleasure to visit with you. Penny and Nicky are fictional characters, though they interact throughout the story with historical figures such as Michael Collins, Countess Markievicz, and others.

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The Serpent House: A Cosy Chat with author Bea Davenport

Twelve-year-old Annie is invited to Hexer Hall to work as a servant for the mysterious Lady Hexer.  Carvings of snakes are everywhere and when Annie touches one, she travels back in time to when the Hall was a leper hospital run by a sinister doctor with a collection of terrifying serpents.  Annie never wants to return, but Lady Hexer demands she finds a way to steal the doctor’s book of magical cures. She promises it will rid the world of disease, including tuberculosis, which killed Annie’s mother. Summoning all her courage, Annie travels back in time again … The Serpent House is aimed at Middle Grade age children, although I loved reading it as an adult too. Bea DavenportBea Davenport is the writing name of former BBC journalist Barbara Henderson. Bea’s debut crime/suspense novel In Too Deep was a runner-up in the annual Luke Bitmead award and published in 2013 by Legend Press, who also published This Little Piggy (2014) in the same genre. Her first children’s novel, The Serpent House, was written as part of her Creative Writing PhD. It was shortlisted for a Times/Chicken House award before being published by Curious Fox (2014). My Cousin Faustina (2015) was originally written as an interactive e-book for reluctant readers and is now published in paperback by ReadZone Books.  The Misper, Bea’s novel for teens/YA, was published in 2018 by The Conrad Press. Bea teaches journalism and creative writing and lives in Berwick upon Tweed. What inspired you to write a time slip?The story of The Serpent House actually came about because of the place where I live, which is called Spittal. It got its name from a medieval leper hospital which used to be there. It fascinated me that somewhere under the pavements where I walk every day, there are the remains of this hospital. I also wanted to write something in a sort of tribute to my three great-aunts, who were maids and cooks in large houses in Newcastle and Cumbria at the turn of the twentieth century. So a timeslip idea linked the two periods together – the Victorian maid Annie was able to travel back to the medieval leper hospital. Also, I really love timeslip novels – Tom’s Midnight Garden is one of my all-time favourite children’s books. The more timeslip novels I read, the more exciting I realised they could be.Why did you choose to write about leprosy?It started with that local history about the leper hospital that used to be in the village where I live, but when I did research I realised it was not really covered often in children’s historical fiction (unlike the plague, which is covered quite a lot!). Although leprosy has died out in the west, it’s still a problem in developing countries. The charity Lepra helped me a lot with my research.What do the plants that start to take over the garden mean? Are they actually from the past?Yes! I was very inspired by a visit to a medieval herb garden in France and I realised that lots of the plants had snake-like names and qualities.So I wanted …