What I learned while writing Poisoned Primrose?
1. To love writing again. And that was a doozy.
2. How to effectively use an outline as a pantser.
3. The importance of falling in love with your characters.
4. Finding that one character who fires up your soul to tell their story.
5. To keep notes on every detail of a character and the people around them for a book series.
Why did I agree to this?
And why didn’t I put on my coat or a thick jumper instead of this hoodie?
Motts pulled her mobile out of her pocket when it rang. She answered on the fourth ring. “Teo?”
“What are you doing?” He sounded angry, but his voice kept cutting out.
Motts walked up the steps a little way. “I can’t hear you. It’s really windy. What’s happened?”
“Go….Orchard….almost there….hello?”
Motts pulled her phone away from her ear when they were disconnected. She tried to call him back, but the signal wouldn’t go through. “Bugger.”
My favourite chapter from Poisoned Primrose is the one where everything finally comes to together. I included a spoiler free excerpt above. It was really hard to find a snippet that wouldn’t give anything away.
It’s where we discover *redacted* is the one to *redact.*
Ha!
It’s the chapter where all the little knots I’ve tied into my plot suddenly begin to unravel.
*Redacted* appears out of nowhere. They’ve been slithering around in the shadows. And if I’ve done my job, they’ll be a surprise to all of you lovely readers.
And yet, that’s not why it’s my favourite chapters. Well, not entirely, anyway. I love it because of Motts. She’s wonderfully epic and courageous.
I adore her.
And this chapter solidified it for me.
I’ve done introductions to a number of the characters in the Motts Cold Case Mystery Series. I thought it would be fun to share a few things about Polperro, Cornwall where Motts lives. There are a number of places in Poisoned Primrose that I made up. The Fish & Chip shop, Marnie’s shop to name two.
Here are real places to check out if you’re ever in Polperro. They are definitely on my bucket list.
Restaurants
The Kitchen – a quaint little restaurant with a great view
The Blue Peter Inn
Three Pilchards
An honourable mention to Talland Bay Beach Cafe which is close to Polperro (and mentioned in book 2 of the series.)
Locations
Polperro Heritage Museum of Smuggling & Fishing
South West Coastal Path, which also features in the series quite a bit.
Polperro Harbour and Headlands Walk
A lovely video of one of the walks –
(Also, please keep in mind when I pulled all of this together, Covid hadn’t taken over the world. Some of these places might have temporarily closed due to the pandemic.)
(Image by Volker Lekies from Pixabay)
Five gifts Teo and Motts (from Poisoned Primrose) would want:
1. Teo: Yarn
Motts: Origami Paper
2. Teo: Historical Books
Motts: Plants
3. Teo: Chocolate
Motts: Chocolate
4. Teo: Chocolate
Motts: Chocolate
5. Teo: Chocolate
Motts: Chocolate
(Image by Alexander Stein from Pixabay)
One of my long-term dreams as an author is to be able to afford a research trip to Cornwall. There so many places in the UK that I’d love to revisit. But, I can’t really remember going to Cornwall as a kid during the time we lived in England though I’m fairly confident we went at least once.
And many of my books are based in Cornwall.
In my dream trip?
I’d visit Fowey, Polperro, Plymouth, Whitsand Bay. So many of the places featured in both the Sin Bin and my upcoming cosy mystery series.
What food would I want to try (whether for the first time or to experience again)?
Kern – Cheese. Because. Cheese. I mean, Freddie would want me to try Cornish cheese.
Saffron Cake
Cornish Pasties
Honeycomb
What would I like to visit?
The Coastal Path
Tintagel Castle
King Arthur’s Great Hall
The Lizard and Kynance Cove
Boscastle Harbour
Bodmin Moor
What’s your dream vacation spot?
((Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay))
What was the most difficult part of writing Poisoned Primrose?
Waiting.
That’s it.
That was the only hard part of writing late year’s NaNoWriMo novel.
I had the idea for Pineapple Mottley almost a full year before I was able to write her story. I began creating the book bible (where I put research, plot notes, etc) long before I wrote a single word. It was the story I wanted to write.
I had to slog through three other stories first.
And they were a slog.
2019 was a hard year where each story seemed harder to write than the last.
When I finally got to Poisoned Primrose, it felt like the heavens opened and the angels were singing. The book was a joy to write from beginning to end. None of it was hard.
I didn’t have to push myself or struggle for what happened next.
It was bliss.
