Today The Blonde Plotters met up with Terri Nixon, author of Penhaligon’s Gift. Thanks for popping by to visit us, Terri.
Thank you very much for having me.
Please can you tell us a bit about your Penhaligon Saga series and the inspiration behind it.
Penhaligon’s Attic, the first book in the series, was conceived on the road in 2010, somewhere between New York and Ohio. In its earliest form, that is. I was on a road trip with my best friend and we were brainstorming ideas, and for the first and only time, the title came to me before the book. It began life as a ghost story, and by the time I was advised that those don’t sell, I’d already developed some of the characters and the main plot, and didn’t want to say goodbye to them. So a few years later I re-worked it, and gradually the story emerged as it is now: a family saga and community-driven drama. I kept the original backstory, and it’s now the subject of the gradually-emerging history of the town, and its biggest, darkest secret. The Penhaligon Saga does centre on two main families, the working Penhaligons and the wealthy Battens, but their actions have repercussions on the mining town, and nature has a way of making everyone equal, too. There’s a full cast of characters adding to the story, and I love it like that.
Are you traditionally published, a hybrid, or an indie?
I’m a hybrid, at the moment, though out of contract with my most recent publisher.
What are your favourite aspects of being a hybrid, and what would you change about it?
I love the fact that I can take what I’ve learned from the traditionally-published side of things and apply it to my indie work; that I’m not constrained by genre or expectation; that I can see both sides of the ‘which route should I take’ question, and make my choices with each new idea. I don’t think there’s anything I would change, to be honest. I’ve been lucky enough to have this route opened to me, and while it’s not for everyone I feel I have the best of both worlds and would very much like to continue in them! But that’s not a decision I can make, it’s up to the publishers.
Can you tell us a little about your route to publication?
My debut novel, Saturday’s Child (which became Maid of Oaklands Manor) was just something I wanted to try; although I’d always said I’d never write historical fiction. It was inspired by my maternal grandmother, who has a secondary role in the story, and I’d finished writing it just before Julian Fellowes announced a little Edwardian TV project called Downton Abbey. I was quite cross, to be honest! This wasn’t an era you saw much of then, and the family name, the characters and the situation were so similar I thought he was hiding under my desk! Anyway, without any idea of where to sub it I came across a competition run by Piatkus Entice, part of the Little, Brown group. It was the last day for entries, and entry was free, so I just sent it off… because why not? Rambling story short, it won, and the prize was e-book publication. I contacted the person who was co-ordinating the competition on Piatkus’s behalf, (Kate Nash, of the Kate Nash Literary Agency) and she became my agent.
What have you learnt that you wished you’d known when you started writing and what would be your biggest tip for a new writer?
I wish I’d known there was such an amazing and supportive network of writers out there. To be fair, there was no internet when I began and it would have been harder to find them, but they were still all out there, somewhere! I wish I’d joined more writing groups instead of locking myself away, convinced I had to go it alone. Face-to-face groups, where you can critique others’ work, and have the favour returned, would have been so valuable, but I didn’t make the time.
My biggest tip for a new writer would be to seek out these groups now. They’re all over Facebook, you have a huge pool to choose from, and if you choose the right group for you, you’ll get so much support. You’ll learn tons of things you never even considered, and when you get your first deal you’ll have people ready to hold you up on their shoulders and cheer you on. Don’t for one minute feel you’re not ready to belong to a writers’ group because you’re just starting out: if you’re creating something, you belong.
Great advice, Terri!
Bio
Terri was born in Plymouth in 1965. At the age of 9 she moved with her family to Cornwall, to a small village on the edge of Bodmin Moor, where she discovered a love of writing that has stayed with her ever since. She also discovered apple-scrumping, and how to jump out of a hayloft without breaking any bones, but no-one’s ever offered to pay her for doing those. Terri Nixon is the author of The Oaklands Manor Trilogy, the Lynher Mill Chronicles, and The Penhaligon Saga
She now lives in Plymouth with her youngest son, and works in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Plymouth University, where she is constantly baffled by the number of students who don’t possess pens.Â
Book Blurb: Penhaligon’s Gift. Penhaligon Saga book 3. Piatkus Books 06/12/18.
Cornwall, 1911. Freya Penhaligon is eagerly awaiting the return of her beau, the historian Tristan MacKenzie, but the surprise arrival of her mother on the same coach brings uneasiness and suspicion to more than the Penhaligon family.
When Tristan proposes marriage to Freya it feels like the beginning of a new life for her, and an excuse to shake off their troubled past; but not all his family are pleased with the news, and Freya finds herself viewed with hostility and mistrust.
Meanwhile the Batten family is launching an ambitious new building project, but, faced with financial difficulties, and family secrets coming to light, they discover that station and privilege are no barriers to intrigue and disaster.
When Freya finally discovers the truth behind Isabel’s return, it shakes her to the core and makes her look at life with new eyes. Life in Caernoweth is on the cusp of change, but can she embrace what lies in store?
Buy Penhaligon’s Gift by Terri Nixon
Links
Website: www.terrinixon.com
Twitter: @TerriNixon
Facebook: www.facebook.com/terri.authorpage
