Over to Margaret:
I feel we writers are a very privileged lot. Okay, most of us don’t have our own islands in the Caribbean or a fleet of Rolls Royces – although this doesn’t mean I don’t I live in hope – but we’re so lucky to be able to do what we love. I don’t know where the desire to create stories comes from, or why we writers are not satisfied with just the one reality. But I do know I’ve needed to make stories ever since I was a little child, even though I didn’t get round to writing them down until I had children of my own. Maybe having incubated those additional brains spurred me on and made me seriously creative, whereas I’d just been playing at being creative before?
My own novels are mostly set in the recent past – I write about my parents’ and my grandparents’ lives. The social history of the two world wars fascinates me and, since this is a huge subject, I don’t suppose I shall ever get tired of it. The courage (and there are many kinds of courage) of ordinary people in terrible situations motivates, moves and inspires me, and makes me want to tell their stories. 
If you’d like to read a story of mine set during the First World War, please leave a comment and you could win a copy of my novel The Silver Locket, which is the first in a trilogy about the Denham family and is set in Dorset, London and France. I’ve recently brought the Denhams’ story up to date and my next novel is a romantic comedy set in the present day – but that, as we say, is another story!
You can find out more about Margaret James at her website http://www.margaretjames.com and her blog at http://www.margaretjamesblog.blogspot.co.uk
Or talk to her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/margaret.james.5268
8 comments:
Lovely blog Margaret. I do love your covers! Those sepia photographs of long ago are so evocative aren't they? Good luck with your writing too! Caroline x p.s I loved your comment about Kate's next 50 books. Knowing Kate, and her productivity rate, I'm sure that won't be that long away - LOL. ;o)
Thank you so much for inviting me to take part in your celebrations, Kate. It's great to be involved!
Thank you so much for inviting me to take part in your celebrations, Kate. It's great to be involved!
Just reading book fifty and enjoying it, Kate. Margaret I agree with Caroline, your book covers are fab. I also enjoy reading your monthly column in a well-known writers' magazine.
The books sound intriguing.
Hello Margaret, you are definitely an author on my 'must read' list. I love Choc Lit books and find them really satisfying. It must take a great deal of research and just talking to people who lived in the time you're writing about, but it's great that many people of the period you write about are still around. NOT that it necessarily makes the writing any easier - but at least the source is there for you to tap into.
Kate, I confess I haven't read any of your books yet either - but I'll put that right very soon!
Lovely to have you there, Margaret! And I agree, your covers are so evocative :)
First name drawn from the hat for ‘The Silver Locket’ – Lizzie Lamb. Please contact me kate(dot)hardy(at)btinternet(dot)com with your details, and I'll get everything sorted :o) Thanks for taking part!
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