Hi Susan! Welcome to my blog 🙂 I am really looking forward to getting to know you better and hear all about your latest release THE MAN IN THE PAINTING – this looks just my sort of book. I will check it out right now! Okay, let’s start off with my questions, shall we??
1.)
What genre do you typically read? Why?
I read historical or dual timeline books and very occasionally, contemporary novels. I love reading about the history as I am reading a book, and learning about the era the novel is set in.
2.)
Share a favourite childhood memory.
Winning a poster competition at aged 12 years when I had to paint a picture. Mine was of a mermaid swimming below the waves.
3.)
Do you have any shameless addictions? ie. Tea, Books,
Shoes, Clothes?
I love boots and I have loads of pairs, some of them are knee length winter boots, which are not even in fashion anymore, but I still like to wear them occasionally.
4.)
What do you think is the biggest challenge of writing
a new book?
The biggest challenge is starting the story, I do lots of research for my books and once I’ve finished as much of that as I can, I begin the book. But that is definitely the hardest part.
5.)
Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages a day?
No, I don’t – some days I do more words/pages than others. So long as I get some writing done each day, I know I’ve made progress.
6.)
What are your thoughts on writing a book series?
I don’t normally do a series as I like to write new books with new subjects, however, I have written a series of 2 books. The Amethyst Necklace (dual timeline, set partly in Brighton during WW2) is book 1 of the series, and Scarlett’s Story (set in Brighton and France during WW2) is the sequel to that book.
A novel spanning two centuries, set against the historic backdrop of the Jurassic coast, about a painting that links one family, the quest to solve a mysterious death and, ultimately, the search for love.
‘The windswept beaches of Lyme Regis conceal prehistoric jewels, awaiting discovery by those with ‘the eye’.
1824
After being struck by lightning as a baby, Mary Anning was gifted special powers. One of these gifts was uncovering dinosaur fossils in the cliffs near her home, setting the world of geology alight with her discoveries. However, surrounded by fierce prejudice in a male-dominated world, she was forced to watch as visiting geologists claimed her discoveries as their own.
When childhood friend George Hansome reappeared in Mary’s life and their mutual attraction strengthened, he vowed to fight for scientific recognition for her. But George’s actions put him in grave danger and led to a tragedy which Mary was powerless to prevent.
Present-Day
Ready to face her past, Marine biologist Eliza Valentine returns to Lyme Regis where her fiancé, Liam, drowned on a boat trip ten years earlier. But a forgotten painting, hanging on the wall of her mother’s teashop, triggers disturbing memories.
With the discovery that the man in the painting is an ancestor of local palaeontologist, Rafe Hansome, and as deeper feelings grow between them, Eliza and Rafe begin to uncover the mystery of George’s fate and his connection to Mary Anning. But Eliza’s obsession to uncover the truth causes her to ignore looming danger on the perilous shores of Lyme Regis where Mary once searched for fossils, putting Eliza and Rafe at risk of losing everything.
BIO
I live in East Sussex on the edge of the Ashdown Forest with my husband and a cat called Dave. I love writing romance with a mystery at its heart, and weaving secrets of the past with the present. I use my passion for history to research my novels, and am interested in how pioneering women in the past have managed to overcome adversity.
When I’m not writing I’m either painting a portrait of one of my children, singing with my local Rock Choir, or going for long walks in the nearby countryside.
My website can be found at http://www.susangriffinauthor.com/