Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Welcome Chris Quinton/Blog Tour Stop



Welcome the lovley Chris Quinton to Dawn's Reading Nook Blog. The author of the first book in the Fitzwarren Trilogy. I hope you make her feel welcome and now onto business. :)

When did you seriously sit down, and say to yourself, I’m going to write a novel? - I was about 17, and I wrote this god-awful, dreadful, appallingly bad historical novel sent in ancient Rome, involving a vengeful Gaul who was really a Roman senator’s son stolen at birth and raised to hate Rome. It will *never* and I mean, *NEVER*, see the light of day.

If you were to start again, with the knowledge you have now, what would be the first thing you do? - Make sure my family know and understand just how important writing is to me.

Do you have the support of family and friends? – Yes, some more than others.

Do you have a book coming out? If so what? – Game On, Game Over has been accepted by Silver, but I don’t have a release date or a cover yet. My latest book is The Psychic’s Tale, the first part of the Fitzwarren Inheritance Trilogy, released a short while ago.

How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing? – None of my personality, I hope *g*. I do my damnedest to make my characters individuals in their own right. I might give them some of my likes and dislikes, but that’s about it. Life experiences? Yes, some of those are useful.

Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow? – Both, really. I try to keep to a schedule, but if the words are flowing, then I’ll stay with it as long as I can.

What do you have coming up? Any teasers you want to give us? - Well, there’s Game On, Game Over… Here’s the blurb: The Game is on – John Jones, aka Aidan Whittaker, a negotiator with MI6, is currently on assignment in Tajikistan, close to the Afghanistan border. Overtly on a University-run archaeological site, he’s covertly brokering a deal with local tribal leaders. His undercover mission is complicated by the arrival of a couple of Americans; journalist Brent Babcock and his photographer Scott Landon. The two men are there to document the ancient Silk Road, but when Babcock gets wind of a hot news story, he starts asking awkward questions.

Scott Landon is a different kind of trouble for John. Fourteen years John’s junior, gay and single-minded, he wants into John’s bed. Not being prepared to jeopardize his operation, John rejects him, despite being drawn to the younger man. But then events around them spiral out of control.
What is your writing routine once you start a book? – I have a rough idea of where I want the plot to go, I have the characters’ names, bios, appearances worked out, I’ve researched the settings and I have a title. Then I start writing. Ideally, I’ll be able to manage between 2000 and 4000 words a day, but the killer word is that *ideally*. 

Fill in the blank favoritesDessert – fresh fruit with yoghurt. CityValletta, Malta. Season – all of them [except when they have raw cold and snow]. Type of hero – complicated, charming and with lots of layers, maybe a bit of a bad ‘un as well *g*. Type of heroine – the same.

What are some of your favorite things to do, or your hobbies? – Other than writing and reading, I used to love reenacting. I belonged to a 15th century-based group until my Bloody Back wouldn’t let me do all the heavy lifting involved in travelling and setting up, or the camping out at the various venues. I love walking in forests and on shores as well. And knitting, quilting, embroidery, and I’d love to learn to sketch.

Who are some of your other favorite authors and/or genres to read? My favorites are C.J. Cherryh, Mary Renault, Michael Connolly, Harlan Coben, Terry Pratchett, Josh Lanyon, Richard Stevenson, Jonathan Kellerman, Rudyard Kipling...and the list goes on *g*. I like virtually all the fiction genres.

Which of your books has been the easiest to write?  The hardest?  The most fun? – They all start out easy until I hit a difficult patch about half way through, and they’re all fun to write.

Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting? – It varies from story to story.

If we asked your muse to tell us three things about you, what do you think they might say? – ROFLMAO – Chris procrastinates too much. She has a good sense of humour. She is as tough as old boots but melts over cats, dogs and horses.

What is your favorite season and why? – I like them all, but if I have to choose, then it’s Spring by a whisker. New life, new growth, everything fresh and glowing green – beautiful.

Congratulations, your novel was just picked up by a major Hollywood studio. They are letting you cast the characters. Name the book you would choose to be made into a movie and who you think would play those characters. – ARGH!! Strewth, that’s difficult… Um, Starfall, I think. As for actors… Um, would you believe I don’t watch a lot of films or TV so I don’t have a casting couch in my head, or a portrait gallery… The nearest I could come to Ash would be a young Johnny Depp, and Conn would be a younger Bruce Willis with hair.

If you could choose anywhere in the world to set up your desk and write, where would you like it to be? What’s so special to you about this place? – Another difficult question. It would have to be two places, I think. One for Spring, Summer and Autumn, an old stone house on the edge of Ullswater Lake in the Lake District, secluded but within walking distance of a town. I love inland waters, forests and countryside. For Winter – which for me would be from November through to the end of March, it would be a small house on the island of Malta, in or close to the fishing village of Marsaxloxx. Winters are a lot warmer there, and the history of the island is amazing and inspiring. The pace of life is slow and easy – and that suits me fine *g*.
 Sneak Peek into The Psychic's Tale, Book 1 in the Fitzwarren Trilogy
Available at Silver Publishing
The Psychic’s Tale – Part 1 of the Fitzwarren Inheritance Trilogy

Blurb - Four hundred years ago in rural England, a mob burned two men to death, but not before one of the victims, Jonathan Curtess, hurled a dreadful curse at the mob’s leader, Sir Belvedere Fitzwarren. The curse has followed the family through the centuries, bringing grief and loss to each generation.

Mark  Renfrew is a closeted psychic and openly gay. When his grandmother discovers a family link to a 17th century feud and a still-potent curse, she insists he investigates and do his best to end it. He travels to the village of Steeple Westford, and meets and falls for Jack Faulkner, an archaeologist. He also meets the Fitzwarrens, who are facing yet another tragedy.

Then Mark learns that the man who cursed them had twisted the knife by leaving three cryptic conditions that would lift the curse, and he knows he has to try to break the curse his ancestor had set.

Excerpt –
"Nice to meet you, Mark." Jack didn't seem to be in a hurry to let go of his hand. His smile widened a little, revealing a single dimple in his left cheek, and Mark's heart jumped a beat. Was that interest or wishful thinking on his part? It unnerved him a little that he couldn't be sure. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," Jack said, and Mark took his hand back with a jerk, feeling his colour rising.
"Okay," he said. "So what have you got here?"
"Look at these," Jack said, tapping the aerial photographs. They threatened to slide from the table to the floor, and he lunged to recapture the escapees. He anchored them with his empty beer glass and looked across at Mark. "These were taken during one of the hottest, driest summers in the last twenty years, and look at what they're showing. See these?" Mark automatically took out his glasses and slipped them on. Jack pointed to a series of marks in a brown field. They showed as dark and light outlines of what might be the floor plan of a building. "This could be a second century A.D. corridor villa, and these," he said, tracing curving lines that radiated away from and around the possible villa, "are probably ditches and banks that could signify an earlier British farming settlement. In case you didn't guess, I'm an archaeologist."
His enthusiasm seemed genuine, and Mark found himself suddenly at ease with him. "Well, the t-shirt was a clue," he said. "So you're going to excavate that?"
"Nope. Not me, unfortunately. I'm a freelance."
"Indiana Jones?" Mark suggested slyly. Jack rolled his eyes.
"If I had a pound for every Indie-joke, I'd be a bloody millionaire," he grumbled, his smile widening to a grin. "I take on short-term contracts anywhere I'm wanted. For instance, I've just spent a season on Crete, second-in-command of the excavation of a fourteenth century B.C. Minoan palace, and now I'm on a contract to find suitable training digs for the University of Bristol. Which means my bank account is healthy, I'm driving around the English countryside in classic Indian summer weather, and I'm finding some of the best pub grub and beer available. All in all, life is pretty good."
"Footloose and fancy free," Mark said lightly. That grin was blinding against the man's deep tan and gave his already handsome features a certain gypsy rover charm. The untidy mane of black hair falling around his shoulders added to the image, and Mark silently thanked God he was sitting down when his cock began to show an inordinate amount of interest in Jack Faulkner. Oh, please let him be gay…

2 comments:

DawnsReadingNook said...

Hi Chris...I love the premise of this and can not wait to read it.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to stop here on your blog tour.

Chris Quinton said...

Thank you, Dawn, this was a fun break from what laughingly passes as a routine. It was great to meet you!

Chris

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