To Begin With... Getting Started

Beginning a book is a daunting prospect because, let's face it, people may not judge a book by its cover, but they certainly judge it by the first page. At the start of the year I attended an Xpo North event at which we were told starting a book with the weather was a bad idea. Problem. That's my default. It's true that the weather is a cliche introduction, but it's also quintessentially British and an instant scene-setter. Beginning with speech, as he suggested, is also a problem for me, as I like to know the character who is talking to me - and yes, I do see them as talking to ME.

So here's what I decided. Avoid speech, avoid the weather, and avoid anything that can be in any way subjective. My historical novels each begin with a statement of fact:

In a country at peace, men of war are confined to their homes and families.

       - Beneath Black Clouds and White

Petrovia Lodge was all that could be expected of a country house for a family of a not inconsiderable income.

       - Day's Dying Glory

War is so often solely about man’s desire to fight with man.

        - To Reason Why

Why? Because in this statement the writer can establish for the reader exactly the type of place or person they are about to meet. It's as though the reader has begun a cross-section of the character's world, and it is a world the writer has to hope they'll connect with.

So, just for fun, here are a few first lines from a handful of classic books I've drawn inspiration and encouragement from since I began writing. See how many you can recognise (all the answers are listed in the labels).

Feel free to add a comment of your favourite opening line - I'd love to know some of your favourites.

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Play the game (Ex Libris is a fantastic game of first and last lines. A chance to exercise your imagination as well as your bookly knowledge)

A Room to Relax - A Writer's Room

Our house is currently on the market. Last week a family came to look round and the little girl announced at once: "This is a boy's room".

Well, I'm not a boy but I invite you to have a look at a few of the objects adorning my room to see if you share her viewpoint. This is the room in which I do most of my writing. There are a few less antiques than last time, and a lot more yellow!

The Avengers Shelf - Mr Men meet Marvel!  A combination of two great franchises.
This shelf was made by my brother and has a secret compartment (currently empty, I'm afraid).
At the moment it is housing the books I have no intention of sharing!

Meet the Watcher Bears - Eight teddies dressed and equipped as the immortals
from my fantasy novels. These were clad as a gift from my youngest sister,

Growing up in Orkney no room is complete without a Jane Glue picture. We have one
in almost every room of the house. The Northern Lights were a source of magic and
mystery to me, and Dad was photographing them long before digital cameras were around.

My first piece of fan art! This is the family featured in "Beneath Black Clouds and White"
available here. This is the prequel to my first novel.

A cupboard of keepsakes

Without doubt one of my favourite books of all time! Here are D'Artagnan and
Athos (my ideal hero) - in Toby Mug form - from The Three Musketeers.

A pair of bejewelled tiger boxes - I have never seen any quite like this;
with their stands designed to look like coins and aggressive stance.
I'd love to know their provenance before I picked them up at an auction.

Inscription in a 1824 publication of Byron's conversations with Thomas Medwin.
I am left wishing my signature was as impressive as this one.

As close as I can afford to owning anything written by the man himself!
A facsimile of a letter from Byron to Hobhouse.

The Black Knight
This chap looks amazing when I turn the Tetris lamp on beside him!
This is a signed and framed engraving - also bought from the local auction!

My typewriter - still waiting for a new ribbon!

And a couple of books which stay on my desk. Great for dipping into for
inspiration, research and wit.

Every morning, from May through to August,
I am woken up by little rainbows from this.
This makes having to get up far more bearable.

A print of the Eynhallow Hoxa Tapestry. Eynhallow is an island in Orkney,
seeped in mystery and folklore. It sits in one of the most unpredictable and
perilous stretches of water in the world. The story of Thorodale was taught to us in
Primary School and has stuck with me ever since. This was a gift from another sister.

One of 500 prints of Lord Byron in Nottinghamshire. Not quite how I
imagined him to look, but a cute Boatswain and an insight into how
other people viewed the world and times of Byron.

My door signs.
V for Virginia, Team Snowman (which was the winning
partnership in our Table Football Competition two years ago - very cutthroat event!),
and a sign with my alter-ego that my brother made . 

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A Room to Inspire - The Living Room

As most of you who have read any of my previous blogs will be able to attest to, I am prone to lots of writing. So this time, I'm sharing a pictorial blog of inspiration. In fact, except for this paragraph and a pretty-please-buy-my-book paragraph at the end, I'm only going to use pictures and captions of a room which has inspired me. It's my living room and, as you might imagine, it has a lot of books in it. So here are some of the books and some of the decor that have helped inspire my writing.

There is something truly inspiring about trees in winter, and this picture
always makes me wonder where the bridge leads to and from. The other
picture was discovered in the loft of an East Yorkshire barn. It is clearly an
illustration of some kind, hand painted on a wooden panel, but I'm not sure
whose story it is telling (only it appears to be a 17th century one).

An 18th Century hand-coloured engraving of Captain Cook landing at
Tanna hangs over our little bookcase.

A picture which fascinates me. At first glance it is understated in
mediocrity, but the closer you look, the more you are drawn in.

Proud sister moment here - no apologies!

A selection of books, some of which were my Granddad's when he
was a child, and my copy of The Three Musketeers, one of my
absolute favourite books!

Elinor's notebook. A unique and greatly treasured find from an
auction. This is a sketchbook from the early 20th century of a
girl who illustrated day-to-day life and stories she loved.

My Great-Granddad's pipe and a tobacco tin. This is not his
tobacco tin, but it fits nicely with his pipe. The care and
affection that this object inspires is incorporated in "To Reason Why",
my novel set during the Crimean War.

Antique Belgian tapestry, depicting a desert scene, hangs over the fireplace.
These were produced on industrial looms, but there are now few of them left.

A plaque commemorating the little known
"Battle of Flamborough Head" in 1779.
My great-great-great-great-grandfather
(quite a way back!) was the coastguard there.

A statue of General Napier which we bought for a pittance
at auction after he failed to sell for several weeks. He was
then incorporated into my novel (it is at his house where
the two balls are held). Behind him is a stick with an
'orse's 'ead 'andle, a reference to Marriott Edgar's Albert.

An old tea chest whose three panels were painted by Holly.
It is now full of antique music.

One of a pair of double handed vases. Not being terribly
conventional they are on completely different shelves.

A tankard in the style of a Toby Jug. This was a gift to Dad, because
it looks like him! He hates boats, though, so the fisherman part
doesn't work quite as well as the beard!

My Dad's dad, who I never knew, and the calendar
our lovely German friend made for us.

A German chalice, gifted to Judith from her friend, and a skilfully
repaired figurine stand on one of the poetry shelves. Not sure how
the Gibbons's stamp books sneaked on there...

A pair of elephants which my parents bought for each other. This is as
close to symmetry as our house comes, and the tusks are deliberately
not matching. On the shelf above is my great-great-grandmother's moneybox
in the shape of a house. There is something which rattles in there, but I
don't want to open it to find out what. I like the mystery.

The runic grave marker, and assorted Harry Potter books.

"Easter Island Dad" created by Alex

The second deer vase in front of my university books.

A hand painted bud vase by Clemency in front of two series of
books which inspired me as a child.

A Scunthorpe tankard. A random find, but topical
for Dad who grew up there.

A fairing - a prize given out at travelling fairs in the days before
teddy bears and neon bracelets. Much cuter, I think.

Mum's Great-Grandmother and her children, At the extreme left of the
picture is a nursing chair which is now upstairs in our house.  At the time this photograph was
taken, the father, Reuben Temperton, was fighting in the Boer War with the Lincolnshire Regiment.

A Ukrainian folk doll bought at the Nuremberg Christmas Market
and a rose-entwined horseshoe made by Judith.

A candle holder with a fairy tale theme in front of
a collection of German books

Another vase on the railway shelf, with another uncomplicated
scene depicted. Creeping into the shot is a red panda snow globe -
we're proud adopters of the red pandas at the Highland Wildlife Park.

Signed edition of Alfred Gilbert's book, complete with a working sketch.
Gilbert is most famous for creating the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountian
(more often known as Eros) in Piccadilly Circus.

A 19th Century collection of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Novels.

Winter landscape of a country road, beehives
in shady summer glow, and the market square of
Weissenburg where I visited in 2013

A collection of antique stamps from across the world.
This selection was also bought at auction.

So many of these little things - and there are a lot more I haven't pictured! - which seem insignificant on their own, have inspired my writing. Some are more easy to follow than others, sometimes it is an emotion, sometimes an actual object, but they have come together to create a room in which I love to write. I love having objects that relate back to the time I write about. Being able to handle antiques, whether they are worth pennies or pounds, can transfer me back in time as easily (and far more safely!) as the Tardis!

Want to see what these inspired? Find it here for eBook or here in paperback.
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