Thursday, July 29, 2021
Guest Blogger - Morton S Gray
A warm welcome back to Morton S Gray. Morton has a new book, Summer at Lucerne Lodge, and she's here to talk about some of the inspiration behind the story.
Life Defining Moments
As a writer, I find I think a lot about what makes individuals exactly who they are. I ask
myself questions. Why is that man always frowning? How did that woman get that scar on
her lip? Why do that couple never speak to me, even though I say hello to them almost every
day?
We are all on the same earth, but our experiences of this life are vastly different. Part of that
is due to the circumstances of birth and the way your parents bring you up. Some of it is in
your genes. The part of a person I find myself drawn to as a writer is the part determined by
life defining moments. I love nothing better than to give my characters at least one of these
defining moments in their backgrounds, one of those episodes in a lifetime that can make or
break you, an instance that can change the way you feel and exist in the world. Those
instances which can make a person wither and never fulfil their potential, or else even more
determined to succeed and prove any critics wrong.
I recently tried to write a list of these defining moments, but I can’t claim for it to be in any
way complete, more a start, so if you can think of any others then please comment on this
post. The idea being that the event or happening changes the way you see the world and react
to others in your life.
Loss – this might be the death of a child, parent, friend or sibling, a miscarriage, the door
closed on a dream, crippling debt, or finding out someone isn’t who you thought they were.
Luck – an unexpected windfall, everything falling into place, being at the right place at the
right time.
Witnessing Something – death, a murder, an accident, knowing a secret, prejudice, bullying
or violence.
Love – falling in love, falling out of love, experiencing unrequited love, falling for the wrong
person.
Hate – hating your job, your boss, your family, your lifepath, or wanting to murder someone.
Making a Mistake – accidently killing someone, betraying a friend, losing money, causing
someone to lose something.
All of these things have a multitude of variants, but each one can cause you to live your life
differently after the experience.
If I look at my own life, I can cite some of my own life defining moments, my dad being
made redundant when I was a teenager caused me to fear being short of money, going to
university showing me new ways of living, getting divorced when I had a small child making
me more self-reliant, resilient and determined. I could go on...
What are your life defining moments? And next time you read a book look out for what
makes a character react in a certain way.
Summer at Lucerne Lodge is available from: HERE
About Morton S. Gray
Morton lives with her husband, two sons and Lily, the tiny white dog, in Worcestershire,
U.K. She has been reading and writing fiction for as long as she can remember, penning her
first attempt at a novel aged fourteen. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’
Association and The Society of Authors. You can find her on Facebook or Twitter or instagram
Thursday, July 01, 2021
Trouble in Paradise
Regular readers will remember that umpteen years ago I had a book called Animal Instincts. It won the RNA's Love Story of the year. Well, exciting stuff! It's back with a new title - Trouble in Paradise and a rather lovely new cover. If you missed it first time around then why not check it out.USA
Here is the blurb!
Clodagh Martin has enough problems right now.
Her beloved animal sanctuary is facing financial ruin, her celebrity sister has just announced she's coming for an extended visit, and her foul-mouthed parrot Dave is, well, foul-mouthed.
Combined with a troubling wave of vandalism on her property, Clodagh feels that the whole world is against her and her animals.
And if that wasn't enough, property magnate Jack Thatcher has been sniffing around her struggling business.
But when Jack begins to show an interest in Clodagh as well, there really is trouble in paradise...
You'll see too that it's now joined my Helena Dixon collection although it is a contemporary.
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