I am delighted to be able to introduce author Catherine Tinley to the blog today to talk to us about her writing life and her latest novel, The Earl's Runaway Governess. There is also a great Giveaway for you- details on how to enter are at the foot of this post.
Welcome Catherine! Would you
like to start by telling us a little about yourself and how you started as a
writer?
Hi Marianne,
and thanks for having me! I’m Irish, from Newry, Co Down, which is N Ireland.
I’m married, with three young adult children, a dog and two cats.
When did you first realise you were
going to be a writer?
I never
really thought of myself as a writer, though I’ve written for pleasure on and
off for many years. I love Jane Austen (like you), and Georgette Heyer, and a
couple of years ago I got an idea for a Regency Cinderella with a twist, and
just started writing it to see if I could. 75,000 words later I was surprised
to find that I’d written a reasonably coherent story with a beginning, middle,
and end! That draft became ‘Waltzing with
the Earl’, my debut novel, which was nominated for two prestigious RITA®
Awards – Best Historical Romance (short) and Best First Book. I travelled to
Denver, Colorado last July for the awards ceremony, and was thrilled when Waltzing won Best Historical Romance. At
that point I was pretty sure I could actually start calling myself a writer.
If you didn’t write, what would you
do for work?
I have a
full-time job that I’m really passionate about. I manage a government-funded
project in an under-resourced community in Belfast. We have a wonderful team –
family support workers, childcare team, midwife, doula, lactation consultant,
speech & language therapist – providing free, responsive services to all
local families who have a child aged under 4 (including pregnant women). The
work of the team is genuinely changing people’s lives.
What are your interests apart from
writing?
I’m really
passionate about campaigning for improvements in maternity services, based on a
focus on the needs and rights of individual women, and founded on best
evidence. That means moving away from the ‘Too Much Too Soon’ level of medical
intervention, while of course being wary of doing ‘Too Little too Late’. These
are terms highlighted in the recent Lancet journal series on maternity, and
beautifully encapsulate the dilemma for maternity care providers. I chair two
local maternity committees at hospitals in N Ireland, and sit on numerous
committees and working groups within the health and care system. I also provide
voluntary 1:1 advocacy for individual women and their partners.
Locally, I
lead a group of volunteers and together we run a range of community activities,
including breastfeeding support groups, post-natal walking groups and,
recently, ‘Wee Ones meeting Wise Ones’ events, where parents with babies and
toddlers visit elderly residents of care homes.
My ‘fun’
interest is following Gaelic football. In Ireland, this is organised on a
county basis, so my local team is Down. I love going to games (usually with my
Dad and brother) and dream that one day we’ll win the All-Ireland Championship
again – last time was 1994.
What are your writing routines and
where do you do most of your writing?
I write in
the bedroom, and have a desk in front of the window. I love working in natural
light, but in winter that only happens at weekends, as I get home from work in
the dark.
How many hours a day do you write?
I do 1-2
hours most evenings, while at weekends it tends to be a feast or a famine. If
I’m busy with family and other commitments I might get next to nothing written,
while other weekends I can do 5-6 hours a day.
Tell us about your latest book
without giving the plot away.
My heroine
is called Marianne (a beautiful name, if I may say so), and the story opens
soon after the death of her beloved mother and stepfather. This leaves Marianne
in the guardianship of her stepbrother, Henry, who is not the sort of man who
should have access to any young woman. Marianne quickly realises that she is no
longer safe in her own home, and decides to run away.
She creates
a false name and secures a position as a governess in an Earl’s household. The
story focuses mostly on the love story, but of course, all does not run
smoothly, especially when her stepbrother Henry manages to track her down…
Here’s the
blurb:
Who knew living with an Earl…
…would lead to such temptation?
Marianne Grant’s new identity as a governess is meant to
keep her safe. But then she meets her new employer, Ash, Earl of Kingswood, and
she immediately knows his handsome good looks are a danger of their own!
Brusque on first meeting, Ash quickly shows his compassionate side. Yet
Marianne doesn’t dare reveal the truth! Unless Ash really could be the safe
haven she’s been looking for…
Can you give any hints about any
upcoming books you have planned?
I actually
have three in the pipeline! I’m currently working on a novella which will be
included in an anthology, due for publication in April 2019. The theme is older
heroines & heroes, and second chance loves. My story features Elizabeth,
the widowed mother of my heroine in The
Captain’s Disgraced Lady, who absolutely deserves her own story!
I’m also
working on a book linked to The Earl’s Runaway Governess, which focuses on
Marianne’s maid, Jane. It seems that Jane, although a serving maid, is actually
the daughter of a gentleman. The Regency aristocracy were so strict about their
rules that I love to play with them a little. That one is for Harlequin Mills
& Boon, and I don’t yet have a publication date.
Finally I’m
writing a romance set in Ireland in 1987, with the Irish conflict as the
backdrop. It isn’t a book about the
Troubles, it’s a romance – that’s important. I grew up during the Troubles, and
for us it was the backdrop, the context, for our lives – school, study, work,
love, loss, marriage, children. We all lived and loved as best we could, and
for those of us who were younger than the Troubles, we had no idea that life
could even be any different. So I wanted to show that in this book. My
characters go about their lives, agonise over their love lives, and eventually
find their happy-ever-after (or happy-for-now) while listening to news stories
about bombs and shootings, and seeing helicopters in the sky and soldiers in
the streets. It’s different to my usual Regency fare, so I’m really enjoying
writing it.
Thanks again
for having me!
It's a pleasure Catherine and I wonder which of your three books will be finished first!
About the Author
Catherine Tinley writes witty, heartwarming Regency love stories
for Harlequin Mills & Boon. She has loved reading and writing since
childhood, and has a particular fondness for love, romance, and happy endings.
Three winners will each receive a signed copy of The Earl’s
Runaway Governess, plus a mystery book by another romance writer. (Open INT) To enter, follow the link below and good luck!
2 x UK winners and 1 x International Winner
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box
below. The winner will be selected at
random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter
and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right
to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the
competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with
third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed
to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after
which time I will delete the data. I am
not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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