A BIG Hello to Rachel De Vine!
Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Rachel De VIne to my blog to talk about her new book, That Day at the Lake, and being a writer in general. Over to you Rachel.
Thanks Jane. First, let me show you the cover for my book. I hope you like it.
Can you tell us about your new release. My most recent release is That Day At The Lake. This is a story of a young boy and girl, whom fate threw together in Naples Italy, when Nico’s father rescued Adriana from her mother’s abusive boyfriend, and they grew up together, almost like brother and sister. One day, however, when Luca is 16 and Adriana 14, they were swimming in the lake together, when they realized that the feelings they had for each other were not those of a brother and sister. Within days, however, they are torn apart by circumstance and do not meet again for ten years. The book tells their epic story of the struggles they had to be together, and the trials and tribulations they had to face.
I'm going to be a little cheeky but can we get a little sneak peak? Pretty, pretty please?
Sure: When we arrived back at my apartment, and she took off her coat, I thought again how amazing she looked. Now she didn’t even have the protection, albeit miniscule protection, of a pair of panties, given that I had ripped them from her, and my cock hardened again. She smiled at me.“I hope you are not going to make me go home in the morning dressed like this. That really would be a walk of shame.”
I leaned against the back of the couch, my arms crossed, slowly taking in the view before me.“You know, you really deserve a thorough spanking, going out dressed like that.”
“Well then you had better give me one. Spank me Luca.”
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
I liked the part when Adriana’s best friend, Naomi, takes Adriana back to her native Italy, to allow her to lay to rest some of the ghosts of her past. Naomi is the good and loyal friend that we all need in our lives. Then, of course, I also enjoyed the part where Luca and Adriana eventually get together and have a lot of fun!
Moving on to reading and writing in general, what books have influenced your writing most?
Two books that I have read recently, which I think are amazing, are Katie in Love by Chloe Thurlow, and The Summer of 71, by Rebecca Branch. They are both such excellent writers, and I hope that I can learn from their writing style.
What inspires you when writing? I am inspired by strong, independent women, who succeed in life, no matter their original circumstances. And I am inspired by the many writers I have met through Facebook groups over the last two years, most of whom are so supportive and go out of their way to help other writers. It’s good that we can help each other.
So are you working on a new book at the moment? Can you tell us a little about it? I am part way through an historical book, called The Artist, in which a 19th century artist meets a woman who has been thrown out on the street by her husband, and offers her work as his artist’s nude model. In the course of painting her, the artist begins to feel affection for the girl and they become lovers. The girl’s husband tries to kidnap her back, and in the struggle, the husband is killed. The two lovers have to flee the country and they go to live in Florence, Italy, which is where I am in the story at present. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? Finding the time to write is always a problem. I look after my ageing father, which takes up a lot of time. Plus I am trying to restore an old house, as well as run a part-time business. I tend to write late into the night, which means that I don’t find it easy to get up early in the morning. Do you have any advice for other writers? I think that the main advice I would give to writers is to trust their own judgement. There are a lot of people out there with advice on the best way of writing a book, but in the end I would advise writing in the style and manner that suits you, rather in a formula recommended by others. This is not to say that you can’t learn things from other people. We can all learn from each other. But in the end, do what suits you. The only other advice I would give is to enjoy your writing. I get thoroughly involved in my stories and in the different characters, and I am quite sad when the book is finished and I have to say goodbye to them. I love doing what I do.
Is there anything you do particularly to help you get in the zone to write or to inspire yourself ( eg listen to music or search for pictures that look like the characters)? I am very fortunate in that I have been a ‘storyteller’ since I was a small child. I have always had an active imagination and was making up stories for my sister from the age of about five years old. So once I have made a start on a book, I rarely run out of ideas. If I do come to a halt and lack inspiration, I tend to put the story to one side, and return to it later. Sometimes I leave the story for weeks or months, and start other stories in the meantime. At present I think I have about ten stories in various stages of being written. I write better when there is silence, so I only tend to listen to music when I have finished for the day, or when I am reading other people’s books.
Thanks for joining me today Rachel and I can not wait to hear more about The Artist.
