Introducing Rachel McMillan, Author of the Herringford and Watts Mysteries

Two weeks ago Rachel McMillan shared a provocative post with us about writing where you know. I thought it would be great for us to meet Rachel and so I posed her a few questions which she was happy to respond to.

Tomorrow is a very big day for Rachel. The first novella in her 6-part Herringford and Watts Mysteries series (3 novellas, 3 novels) launches. It’s titled: A Singular and Whimsical Problem.

With that in mind, let’s welcome Rachel to ICFW with a big hurrah and hello. Over to you Rachel:

In a few words tell us a little about yourself.

I am a lifelong bibliophile who lives in Toronto, Canada. I work in Educational publishing by day and scribble at night. I love to travel and I love, love, love live theatre. I recently became an aunt for the first time and my little 6-month-old niece Maisie is my entire heart these days!

Huh, books, travel and theatre, my three favourite pastimes, well alongside following a certain English football club.

How many years have you been writing and is this series your first production or are there other manuscripts stored away on your computer waiting to be launched on the world?

I have always been writing. I have been writing since I was 7 years old; but was too scared to show people. No critique groups for me. Before this series I had completed one 3 book series, 1 straight historical and 1 historical romance alongside several other unfinished projects.  The only one that made it out into the world was my historical romance, which landed me an agent and was my first shopped manuscript in the CBA market (though it was rejected at every publisher we sent it to) I started pursuing writing for publication 3 years ago. I signed an agent almost immediately after that but it was about 2 years before I signed a contract.

Be interesting if the historical romance gets a different reaction in a year or so.

This series, Herringford and Watts Mysteries, has such a great premise. Could you give us a sneak peak into your two detectives? What sort of crimes do they investigate?

They kind that solve everything! From murder to missing pocket watches.  But women, of course, didn’t pursue such dastardly things as murder investigations in the Edwardian time period so they disguise themselves in bowler hats, vests and trousers when in pursuit of a case.  

The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder has them working to solve the deaths of young Irish immigrants in Toronto even after the police have given up, the second book A Lesson in Love and Murder takes them into an anarchist group wanting to bomb Roosevelt’s Democratic Convention at the Chicago Coliseum (they go state-side for that one). 

In the third book, set in 1914, Canada is on the brink of war ---and men are found murdered with white feathers on their chests even before the enlistment sheets go up.

They try to use Sherlockian methods but they are amateurs who sometimes stumble into the solution.  The fact that there are a few eligible young men in their vicinity: including a dashing police constable, a muckraking Italian reporter and a Royal Northwest Mounted Policeman make things even more complicated.

Can’t wait to start reading their adventures.

I know from FB you're a Sherlock fan so what was your inspiration for the characters and the series?

 

As I mentioned, I had a book out on submission that was a straight historical romance and my agent was having no luck with it. She called one day after meeting with editors who said that romantic suspense was getting a lot of buzz and traction and she suggested I use my love for Sherlock Holmes and think about a female Sherlock. I’ve been a Sherlock Holmes fan since I was a little kid so that was definitely something fun to play with. I also loved the idea of introducing strong, independent women who shirk domesticity. While there are romantic elements to the story, theirs is the central relationship in the series.

Bit Rizzoli and Isles. Oops, excuse me, Rach … but I really like that show.

It's also set in 1910. Tell us a little about the research you had to do to discover the life and times back then? 

I have always been passionate about Toronto history so I had a good starting point. Once I decided that I was going to pursue this I gave my agent a bit of a timeline for a draft and met with editors at ACFW giving them a bit of a tease. In some cases, we sent the first five chapters to them.  All the while, I was spending every weeknight and weekend in the Toronto archives or at the library reading everything I could about the time period, Toronto politics, journalism, the major onslaught of immigration, social reform and what career options were available to unmarried women.  I also read a lot about the wave of working women called “bachelor girls” not to mention etiquette and slang books. I really immersed myself: all the while plotting out mysteries for a proposal that would find us a contract. When you work full time, you squeeze in writing opportunities when you can :)

We can only imagine some of the peculiarities you discovered in all that research.

The introduction to the series launches tomorrow - a novella: A Singular and Whimsical Problem. What's the launch schedule for the rest of the series look like?

Did I mention I work full time? Let’s just say I eat a lot of dinners at my desk!

• The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder releases March 2016
• Of Dubious and Questionable Memory (novella) releases Summer 2016
• A Lesson in Love and Murder releases October 2016
• Conductor of Light ( novella) releases Winter 2016
• The White Feather Murders releases February 2017

(fun fact: the novella titles are all taken from Sherlock Holmes stories pertinent to the cases the girls are solving)

Last one, which authors are your must reads?

I am such a voracious and eclectic reader! So this is tough.  Patrick O’Brian is an all-time favourite. I love his Aubrey-Maturin series.  I am a huge fan of the Victorian period (my specialist degree in University) so Dickens is a favourite. In mystery I love Ian Rankin, Martha Grimes and Reginald Hill. In the CBA, I never miss a book by Billy Coffey or Christa Parrish or Katherine Reay! My 3 favourite books are Great Expectations (Dickens), Les Miserables (Hugo) and the Blue Castle (L.M. Montgomery)

Rachel, thank you so much for sharing with us all. Congratulations, once again, and all the very best with tomorrow’s launch. Enjoy these next few firsts you'll experience over the next few weeks!

And ICFW crew, why not grab a copy of A Singular and Whimsical Problem, it’s priced less than a cup of coffee and it’s bound to be a lot of fun.

Rachel McMillan is a keen history enthusiast and a lifelong bibliophile. When not writing or reading, she can most often be found drinking tea and watching British miniseries. Rachel lives in bustling Toronto, where she works in educational publishing and pursues her passion for art, literature, music, and theater.

Rachel can be found on the web at:

Website: www.rkmcmillan.com

Bookish Ramblings: A Fair Substitute for Heaven

Twitter: @rachkmc

Instagram: @rachkmc

Facebook: rachkmc1

Introducing … Melissa Tagg

It’s my pleasure to welcome Melissa Tagg as a guest to the ICFW community. I first heard Melissa speak at ACFW in 2012 when she shared a devotional to the entire conference. She was instantly engaging in her passion for Jesus, her sense of humour and willingness not to take herself too seriously.

Three years ago, Melissa was an aspiring novelist. Now she is a published author, having released three romantic comedy novels and a couple of novellas. And she holds down two jobs. I’m in awe of her productivity.

Melissa just launched novel number 3, the first in a new series, From the Start and she was kind enough in her busy launch schedule to answer a few questions I posed.

Without further ado, please welcome Melissa Tagg.

Describe yourself in a few words.

I’m writing and working at my nonprofit day job and soaking up each and every minute of family and friends time I can. I’m still crazy about classic movies and traveling and oh, I’m an aunt again! That’s new! So I’m on the road more than ever visiting family.

This is a global community, and I know you've travelled. Where's your favourite overseas destination and why? And where'd you like to go next?

Yay traveling! I’d have to say my favorite (excuse me, favoUrite) destination so far is London simply because I have so many wonderful memories there. I studied there for a short time and have been back several times since. The friends I made there are just incredible and tend to tug on my heart much more than any landmark or historic site.

But if I was planning a future trip and none of those friends were going to be around, then I’d probably go someplace new. And right now, it’d probably be a toss-up between Italy and Australia or New Zealand. 

We’d love to host you when you make it down under, Melissa. You’ve published 3 novels plus some novellas in less than two years. Please give us a little insight into how you do this plus hold down 2 jobs?

You know what, if you’d asked me this question a year and a half ago, I would’ve said I managed to do all that by scheduling verrrry carefully. But something has become incredibly clear to me over the past year and that’s this: Even the most perfectly color-coded calendar and all the organizational tools in the world are no match to God’s help. My 2014 was chock full of “I have too much going on!” moments … and yet, God prodded and tugged (and in some cases, kinda dragged, I think!) me through each one. J

That said, one of the perks of my main job—I’m a grant-writer and communications coordinator for a nonprofit—is that it’s a Mon-Friday daytime job. I rarely work weekends or evenings. So I’m able to write early in the morning, late at night and on Saturdays. I also scheduled a few long writing weekends throughout the year, which is when I did the bulk of my novel-writing. And I found writing some shorter stories last year—a novella and an e-short—actually energized and exercised my writing chops in a way I hadn’t expected. Got me more fired up to write, I think, than if I’d just gone from novel to novel.

I’ve also learned to let go a little in the past year. I don’t force myself to blog three times a week anymore. Sometimes I even take a week or two off. The great thing about that is after a time away, I usually start missing the blog and am excited to get back to it. I don’t force myself to follow all the marketing and social media rules out there either—that way social media and staying connected with readers feels more relational and fun, something I want to do instead of something I have to do.

Now to your latest novel, released last week: From the Start. Tell us a little about it.

This is the first full-length book in my new Walker Family series. (There’s also a free e-novella prequel called Three Little Words.) I’ve been pretty open online about how much I struggled through writing this new book, but now that it’s all done and out there on bookshelves, I’m able to look back at it with a little less emotional drama. LOL!

This story takes place in a made-up town in Iowa and features the second oldest Walker sibling—Kate. She’s a jaded writer of romantic Hallmark-esque movies…and she feels like she’s not making a difference in the world. She wants to do something more “important.” And then there’s Colton Greene—an injured, ex-NFL quarterback who’s lost both his career and the woman he thought he was going to marry in one day. It’s written in the same banter-y style as my first two books, but does delve deeper into some issues—including Colton’s painful past, foster care, cancer and broken dreams.

I love this quote from an interview you did with Cassie Baker in this month's Family Fiction: "All the while, God is there, saying, 'Give me the paintbrush and you'll see what a beautiful picture I can paint with your life.'" Share with us a little more about how you weave this in the novel and why you chose to use this theme when writing FTS?

Sure thing! Well, honestly, by nature I tend to be a “take charge” sort of person. I love to plan and prepare and feel like I’m in control. And that’s not always a horrible thing. But so often life doesn’t go according to our plans. Both Kate and Colton end up in that place in the story—they both had such a clear picture of where their life was “supposed” to go. And when things turn inside out, they’re stumped…much like I am. Life and the picture I thought I was painting with it can feel blurry and smudged when that happens.

But God…God is awesome. And the picture he’s painting with my life is just so much better than anything I could do on my own. And it’s just so, so much better when I stop trying to paint on my own.

What's up next for you? The second in the Walker Series?

Yep! I turned in the first draft of the second Walker book last month and my editor has already given me rewrite notes. So I’m excited to dig into that story and make it prettier. I had so much fun with this next story. It’s called Like Never Before, features reporter-turned-political-speechwriter Logan Walker and editor Amelia Bentley, and it combines my love of small-town reporting and my fascination with Charles Lindbergh.

Summer is on its way in Iowa. What's something you really love about an Iowan summer?

As much as I love the warmth and sunshine of Iowa summers, I reeeeally love summer rain. Rainy summer days are just my favorite! And I’m excited for this summer in particular because I’m going to have the opportunity to see so many long-distance friends, travel almost every other weekend AND see my favorite band in concert. J

Thanks Melissa for sharing with us at ICFW and wishing you every success with From the Start.

A great way of trying Melissa’s work is by reading the prequel, Three Little Words. It’s free and is a fun read that touches on the themes in From the Start.

Also, check out Melissa's blog. Her blogs are full of grace, humour and reader engagement.

A little more about Melissa

Melissa Tagg is a former reporter, current nonprofit grant writer and total Iowa girl. She writes romantic comedy for Bethany House, and is also the marketing/events coordinator for My Book Therapy, a craft and coaching community for writers. When she’s not writing, she can be found hanging out with the coolest family ever, watching old movies, and daydreaming about her next book. Her newest book, From the Start, is out now. She blogs regularly and loves connecting with readers at  http://www.melissatagg.com.

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Sydney, Australia. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

Interview with Catherine West

Cathy is a friend to many of us at ICFW. Having first met Cathy via the ACFW Beyond Borders group I was fortunate to meet her at the Conference in Dallas two years ago which was a treat. We’ve stayed in contact ever since.

Cathy resides in Bermuda, which I’ve always found fascinating for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it’s a tax haven (hey, I'm a finance guy by trade!) and secondly some of my favourite Aussie tennis players of yesteryear have called it home for a few seasons of their careers.

Cathy’s writing journey is one that many of us can relate to. But in recent months Cathy’s made some significant changes that I thought would be of interest to the ICFW community.

Cathy was kind enough to respond to some questions I posed her and so without further ado, please give Cathy a very special ICFW welcome.

ICFW: Firstly, tell us a little about your writing journey to date.

CW: Well, I began writing seriously with the goal of publication quite a few years ago! Once my kids were in school I had more time to devote to the task. After I was offered representation, then I really knuckled down and wrote pretty much full time. My first published novel was released in 2011, the second in 2012. 

ICFW: You've recently obtained the rights to your previously published novels and have re-released the first one: Yesterday's Tomorrow. What led you to make this decision? Could you tell us a little about the thought process you worked through regarding producing & marketing them yourself.

CW: Unfortunately sometimes things don’t always work out the way you plan. My agent and I made the decision to obtain my rights back early in 2014. The process usually takes about six months, so during that time I worked with a freelance editor, Mick Silva, had Dineen Miller design a brand new cover, and we’ve really tried to make the book even better the second time around. 

Going Indie was an exciting prospect, but there is lots involved. Fortunately I was able to work with my agency, Books & Such, who handled all the formatting and liaising with Amazon, so all I needed to worry about was the content of the book itself, which is an easy way to go for me. I have great respect for the authors who can do everything themselves. I think I’d be a little out of my depths!

ICFW: Okay, so tell us a little about "Yesterday's Tomorrow." It's set in Vietnam during the war? What led you to explore that?

CW: Yes. The story is about a female journalist who goes to Vietnam to cover the war and finish the story her late father started years ago. She meets a mysterious photographer whom she quickly decides might just hold the key to getting her the story of a lifetime.

I’ve always been fascinated by that time period. I read about the young female journalists who’d leave everything at home and travel over there to cover the war and I thought it might make for a great story. The characters began to come alive, and as I started to research the war, I realized there would be so much more to this story than I ever imagined. It sounds a little cliché, but it really was a life-changing experience for me.

ICFW: What are some of your future plans re: re-releasing others on your backlist and new material?

CW: I definitely have more books to share with my readers. There are some things in the works right now that I will hopefully be able to discuss in the near future, so I’m afraid I’ll have to get back to you on that one! J

ICFW: Narelle Atkins recently wrote a post about the exotic locations some of our novels are set in. I reckon Bermuda sounds pretty exotic. For those of us who know nothing about Bermuda, other than celebrities live there (including at one time two great Aussie tennis players Pat Rafter and Pat Cash) for tax purposes, tell us 2-3 interesting facts about the country.

CW: We’re small: 24 sq miles long and 6 wide. But I’ll say we have the most beautiful beaches in the world. Our climate is temperate and we don’t really have cold winters at all, which makes Bermuda an ideal location for sports fans. We’re also a tax haven and we’re fortunate to have many big re-insurance companies make their home base here.

We’re about an hour flight from New York, two from Boston and three from Toronto, so easy to get to! Come visit!

Love to visit, Cathy. One day. Even though there will be many of us in ICFW that will challenge you for the title of “most beautiful beaches in the world.”

Thanks for sharing with us and wishing you well as you continue your writing journey.

Cathy's Bio

Catherine West is an award-winning author who writes stories of hope and healing from her island home in Bermuda. Her first novel, Yesterday’s Tomorrow, released in 2011 and won the INSPY for Romance, a Silver Medal in the Reader’s Favorite Awards, and was a finalist in the Grace Awards. Catherine’s second novel, Hidden in the Heart, released in September 2012, was long listed in the 2012 INSPY’s and was a finalist in the 2013 Grace Awards.

When she’s not at the computer working on her next story, you can find her taking her Border Collie for long walks or tending to her roses and orchids. She and her husband have two grown children. Catherine is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America, and is represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary. 

Catherine loves to connect with her readers and can be reached at Catherine@catherinejwest.com

Where you can find Cathy on the Web

Website – http://www.catherinejwest.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CatherineJWest

Twitter - https://twitter.com/cathwest

GoodReads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4715219.Catherine_West

Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/cathwest/

Google + - https://plus.google.com/u/0/108781711729974539211/posts

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Catherine-West/e/B004RWZUHK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Amazon Buy Link for Yesterday’s Tomorrow - click here

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Sydney, Australia. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is now available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

Introducing Heather Day Gilbert

G’day ICFW clan, Ian from Sydney here. Heather and I met earlier this year when Heather won a copy of Angelguard via a guest posting gig I did. We’ve continued to correspond on our publishing and writing journeys.

Heather is in the launch cycle of her recently released debut novel, God’s Daughter, an historical Viking romance.

Please welcome Heather to the ICFW global community.

Heather, firstly could you share a little about yourself.

Well, let's see. I'm a West Virginia gal, just recently moved back to my home state after many years living elsewhere. As far as writing, I'm passionate about having married main characters, something I don't see often in Christian fiction. I also like realistic characters who don't always know the right thing to do or say (like most of us!). I'm passionate about a variety of other topics, but I tend to work those into what I write.

Talk us through your writing journey. Why did you start & when? Where did the interest in Vikings come from?

I could go back to that first essay contest win in fifth grade...or my fascination with words from the time I was small. After dabbling around with poetry and short stories all my life, I finally completed a book for NaNoWriMo in 2009. After finishing a book, I guess you could say the writing bug bit me. The interest in Vikings actually sprang pretty organically from my interest in my heritage--I'm allegedly related to Eirik the Red on my dad's side. So I bought the Icelandic Sagas, started reading, and found this character, Gudrid, who was a Christian Viking and sailed with her husband to North America. I had to tell her story.

Amazing to think part of your family heritage is related to the Viking. You've chosen to self-publish God's Daughter. Can you share a little about this novel's gestation and why you chose the self-pub route?

Let's just say it's a long story! A story full of long waits, that is. This was the second novel I completed, and I thought it would be an easy fit in the Christian book industry, since it was a historical. Obviously I hadn't read enough CBA historicals to know that Medieval is not a popular time period, and married main characters do not qualify as romance. That was two strikes against me.

However, an agent signed with me who believed in the novel and we shopped it for over a year. The feedback was always positive about the writing, but publishers consistently felt they couldn't market it. During that time, I worked hard on my platform and met lots of wonderful Christian writers (like you, Ian!). So by the time that final rejection came in, full of glowing praise on the writing, God had changed my view of how it needed to get out to readers. I knew the interest in Vikings was there, and I finally became willing to take on the mammoth task of marketing/editing/preparing my novel for self-publication.

You've also got another manuscript doing the rounds with publishers. Is it another Viking adventure?

Ha! Nope--I learned my lesson during that extended wait on the Viking submission, so I wrote a contemporary Appalachian mystery in the interim. That's what's out on submission right now. I do have a married main character in that novel, as well--it's just something that seems to come most naturally for me. I feel like married Christian readers need heroines/heroes who are dealing with the same issues they are--children, in-laws, marital strife--you name it.

I love that you have a passion for writing stories about married couples. BTW, Heather is one of the 3 editors of Married with Fiction. Tell us about God's Daughter. What would you love readers to take away from it?

I would love for readers who don't care one whit about Vikings to read it and feel they've gotten a mental image of that time period in a very natural way. I don't like ladening my historicals with details, like Wikipedia or something. I prefer a historical like Girl with a Pearl Earring, where you're in this main character's head, just walking with her through her daily life in that world. I write first-person POV--and present tense--so I really think it brings that sense of immediacy to the story. I have lots of other layers and things I'd like readers to ponder--it's been great to see my early readers picking up on those underlying themes.

The ICFW is a community of writers. What's one key learning that you gained on your journey that may be of encouragement to fellow travelers?

I have just learned that if you know you're supposed to write, you can't give up. You have to keep thinking toward the future. There was a time when I was ready to stop writing my passion and write an Amish romance, just to get in the door--nothing against those, but it's not something I read or have interest in writing. There've been times along the way when I could've chopped up my stories, changed my MCs to singles, and possibly gotten picked up faster. I think you have to maintain that internal sense of the integrity of your stories. Along those lines, you need to find a critique partner who gets your voice and doesn't try to change it--who challenges you in areas where you're weak. I am so thankful God brought my crit partner into my life at just the right juncture in my career.

And I'm so thankful that in this day and age, we can self-publish our novels, without having to sacrifice what we're passionate about. Yes, you have to put in all kinds of hours if you want your book to look/seem competitive. You have to read up on marketing and be able to come up with innovative ways to get your book into readers' hands. But it's so satisfying to have that control over the finished product and get it out there faster.

Thanks so much for having me visit, Ian! All the best to this international community of writers!

Thanks Heather for sharing with us at ICFW and we wish you well in your writing endeavours. May the global reading community enthusiastically adopt God’s Daughter.

Introducing God’s Daughter:

One Viking woman. One God. One legendary journey to North America.

In the tenth century, when pagan holy women rule the Viking lands, Gudrid turns her back on her training as a seeress to embrace Christianity. Clinging to her faith, she joins her husband, Finn, on a voyage to North America.

But even as Gudrid faces down murderous crewmen, raging sickness, and hostile natives, she realizes her greatest enemy is herself--and the secrets she hides might just tear her marriage apart.

Almost five centuries before Columbus, Viking women sailed to North America with their husbands. God's Daughter, Book One in the Vikings of the New World Saga, offers an expansive yet intimate look into the world of Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir--daughter-in-law of Eirik the Red, and the first documented European woman to have a child in North America.

A little more about Heather:

Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Sixteen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as ten years spent homeschooling her three children. Heather is the ACFW West Virginia Area Coordinator.

You can find Heather at her website, Heather Day Gilbert--Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. Her Viking novel, God's Daughter, is here on Amazon and Smashwords now, with a soft-cover version slated for release later in November.