This post was inspired by a sign spotted at a steam railway station in Wales
Whenever I’m embarking on a major project, from weeding the garden to writing a novel, I draw strength from helpful mantras such as “Eat the elephant one bite at a time”. This graphic mental image can make any daunting task seem so much more manageable, unless of course you’re a vegetarian.
This post introduces the cover of my next novel and shares the story of my long-term working relationship with its cover designer Rachel Lawston.
I’m delighted to share Rachel Lawston‘s new cover design for my next novel, Artful Antics at St Bride’s. This fourth book in my Gemma Lamb Cozy Mystery series will be published by Boldwood Books on 29th July, and the ebook is already available to preorder online. To whet your appetite, here’s the official blurb:
Continue reading “New Novel, New Cover – and a Peek into the Design Process”
Although I’ve never driven a Mini, as a child of the Sixties, I can’t help but be charmed by this iconic car design, with its distinctive personality. That’s why I chose it to take Juliet Morris on her life-changing journey in my romantic comedy novella, Mrs Morris Changes Lanes.
Writing that story also made me curious about why so many of my author friends have chosen to drive a Mini, hence this occasional guest post series in which one of them tells the story behind their Mini.
Today I’m pleased to welcome Lizzie Lamb, whose romantic novels are based in the Scottish Highlands, a setting close to my heart too. Over to Lizzie…
***
Hello Lizzie and welcome! Please tell us, why and when did you buy your first Mini?
My/our first Mini wasn’t a Mini at all. It was a Wolseley Hornet (posh Mini) which my husband’s family bought him when he went to teacher training college in 1969. The reason I was attracted to him was because he was one of the few students who had a car. (Just kidding). I stayed with him long after the car went to the scrap yard and spent most of my grant keeping it on the road. So, it must have been love. LOL.
Our second mini we saw advertised in a newsagent’s window. Its elderly owner had passed away and it was free to a good home. We took it home, looked after it and then sold it on to an enthusiast years later.
My car then was a Golf VR6 Automatic – a rare beast, and went like a rocket.
Our third Mini is mine, all mine.
We bought it from a dealership in the Fens and it cost £2,500. I wanted a Mini Cooper with all the bells and whistles but couldn’t afford a Cooper-S. This fitted the bill.
Please describe it in as much detail as possible.
The only extras were Mini mats and a shoulder strap to stop the seat belt from rubbing on my collar bone. It came with two electric sunroofs, CD player, climate control, CD stacker and somewhere to plug in our cool box when we go off for picnics. My husband likes tinkering with cars so he got the climate control, door locks and reversing sensors working properly.
Due to the massive hike in petrol prices, we now go everywhere in my Mini and keep his Nissan El Grande for towing the caravan and his Triumph Stag for high days and holiday when the sun comes out.
Many Mini drivers seemed to feel compelled to name their Minis, as if they have a personality of their own. What was yours called?
As a writer of romantic fiction, I felt compelled to name mine: Jilly Cooper.
I met Jilly in 2018 at an RNA awards ceremony and she was everything I hoped she would be, she signed my book and wished me well. #fangirl
What is it about Minis that makes most owners feel so attached to them?
I think because they are iconic, steeped in history and great to nip about it. They are reminiscent of The Italian Job, the Swinging Sixties and models learning to get out of them without showing their lingerie to all and sundry.
Mine is an automatic and, should I win the Lottery, I would probably upgrade to a Mini Cooper-S or a Countryman.
What do you most love about your Mini?
Oddly enough, two of our neighbours have almost identical Minis to mine and we kept saying that we’re going for a burn up on the A6 before we get too old.
What drives you nuts about it?
Where did your longest journey in your Mini take you?
It was in our Wolsey Hornet, actually. As students, we drove from Grantham to Fort William, stacked to the gunwales with camping equipment and two passengers in the back. Happy days.
What was your most exciting trip?
Our trip round Scotland, because of how far we travelled each day and the sights we saw: Edinburgh, Loch Ness, Inverness etc. I love history and the fact that we were able to visit Marston Moor, the site of a Civil War battle, en route to Scotland made the trip for me.
Did you ever have any accidents or any scary trips in your Mini?
We bought my Mini from a dealership on the Fens. When we took it for a test drive, we pulled into a layby to check out the controls etc.
A blacked-out Range Rover pulled alongside, a man lowered the window and offered us drugs. That’s what being in a Mini will lead to . . .
Once, when we travelling along a dual carriageway and yanked on the handbrake, it came off in our hands, and we hurriedly had to pull in to a layby.
Also, I have a huge phobia about wasps and that’s why I can’t drive a convertible. Even so, a queen flew in through the open sun roof and I nearly crashed the Mini in my panic to escape from it.
Who was your favourite/most interesting/most difficult passenger and why?
My most interesting passenger was our parrot who went everywhere with us in a large ‘cat box’. He would chatter away nineteen to the dozen and join in with the music I played on the CD stacker. Not real words, naturally, although he did sing along with ‘What you gonna look like with a chimney on you’. I don’t know why that song appealed to him but it did.
My most difficult passenger is someone I used to give lifts to. However, she was never on time and was often horrendously late, making me late in the process. In the end I stopped giving her lifts because, as a very punctual person, I found her behaviour disrespectful and highly irritating.
What car do you drive now?
I still drive my Mini Cooper. I bought personalised number plates when I had my VW Golf and I’ve put those on my Mini. LI7 VWG almost looks like Liz, right?
What would be your dream car if money were no object?
If you’ve read Mrs Morris Changes Lanes, what did you think of her Mini and of her adventure?
I really enjoyed it. I’ve never read Magical Realism before. I preferred her magic Mini’s sat nav to mine (I use Google Maps on my iPhone).
Her Mini was a dream and I’d quite like one of those.
I also fancy a purple mini as it would match my novel covers. My favourite part was at the end of the novella. I love second-chance love stories.
What most surprised you about your Mini?
The fact that most people seem to have a soft spot for Issigonis’s classic and are keen to share their Mini stories with me.
Lizzie, thank you for sharing YOUR story of many Minis with me!
For anyone interested in sampling Lizzie’s romantic fiction, all set in Scotland (perhaps inspired by her favourite trip in her Mini!), Scotch on the Rocks is a great starting point.
Ishabel Stuart is at the crossroads of her life. Her wealthy industrialist father has died unexpectedly, leaving her a half-share in a ruined whisky distillery and the task of scattering his ashes on a Munro. After discovering her fiancé playing away from home, she cancels their lavish Christmas wedding at St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh and heads for the only place she feels safe – Eilean na Sgairbh, a windswept island on Scotland’s west coast. When she arrives at her family home – now a bed and breakfast managed by her left-wing, firebrand Aunt Esme, she finds a guest in situ – Brodie.
Issy longs for peace and the chance to lick her wounds, but gorgeous, sexy American, Brodie, turns her world upside down. In spite of her vow to steer clear of men, she grows to rely on Brodie. However, she suspects him of having an ulterior motive for staying at her aunt’s Bed and Breakfast on remote Cormorant Island. Having been let down by the men in her life, will it be third time lucky for Issy? Is she wise to trust a man she knows nothing about – a man who presents her with more questions than answers? As for Aunt Esme, she has secrets of her own . . .
To order your copy of Scotch on the Rocks, click here.
Find out more about Lizzie Lamb and her books, click here.
To order your copy of Mrs Morris Changes Lanes, click here.
In my last blog post of each month, I interview an author friend on a fun topic that’s currently caught my imagination.
At the moment my topic is anecdotes about their Mini cars, in honour of the magical Mini that features in my recent novella Mrs Morris Changes Lanes. This month’s guest is Alison Morton, author of Anglo-French thrillers and the Roma Nova historical novels.
Regular readers will remember Alison’s previous interview here last year about Roma Nova, the alternative post-empire Roman nation in her historical novels.
I imagine the heroine of Alison’s new series of Anglo-French contemporary thrillers, Melisande des Pittones might be comfortable in the driving seat of a modern Mini, especially if it was a souped-up version!
Hello, Alison, and welcome back to my blog. I think you’ve owned more Minis than anyone I know!
Yes, I’ve owned seven Minis – four originals, one ‘supermini’ and two new BMW ones. My first was Little Grey Min in 69 when I learnt to drive and my second (new!) was a purple Mini.
How much did it cost and how much did you sell it for?
Little Grey Min cost my mother £350. It was a beautiful car that had had ‘one careful lady owner’ for two years. The family friend who owned the dealership had sold it to her originally and knew the car.
Purple Min was brand new and cost £995! I bought it when I started work in the City of London. Yes, it was s possible to drive and park a car in London in the 1970s.
How long did you keep them and why did you sell them?
This is all a bit fuzzy, but when I wanted to upgrade. People did in those days, usually every two years. I had a red Mini Cooper at one stage and then ended up with a yellow ochre 1275 GT. That could really move. It had what we called ‘wellie.’ I think it was quite expensive, even though I bought it second hand.
I replaced the 1275 GT with a new red MG Metro – a ‘supermini’. That was a lovely car with a lot of flashy bits and pieces (It was sold as a sports model; 0–60 mph in 10.9 seconds, top speed 103 mph) but very comfortable.
Then I got married and a year later, all the paraphernalia of baby equipment became a challenge… There was an interlude with sensible cars such as Maestros, Allegros and Rovers.
Then BMW revived the Mini brand. Not the same, but lots of nostalgic features.
Yes, I queued up with all the other baby boomers with a printout from the online design tool on the first day that ordering opened in the local dealership.
My first new one in March 2002 was British Racing Green with a white roof (swoons at the memory), then a few years later a dark metallic blue one again with a white roof.
Please describe it in as much detail as you can remember.
Little Grey Min had dark red seats, sliding windows that stuck in the damp, a cable hanging in the door to open it and a floor button starter. It was my beloved first car, but it did need watching for rust.
The BMW Minis were at the other end of the scale, as the photo shows!
Many Mini drivers seemed to feel compelled to name their Minis, as if they have a personality of their own. Do they have a personality of their own? What was yours called?
They ALL had personalities, but I unimaginatively called them by colour plus Min.
What is it about Minis that makes most owners feel so attached to them?
They are cute, cuddly, easy to park, cheekily different and FUN. Also quite trendy…
What did you most love about your Mini? What drove you nuts about it?
Rust.
Where did your longest journey in your Mini take you?
Little Grey Min went with me to Leeds then France and Germany and finally back to Leeds when I was a student. Purple Min went to the South of France with a couple of friends. The others went on several trips to the north of England.
What was your most exciting trip?
After I passed my driving test in Little Grey Min in 1970, I collected my mother from the test centre where she’d been waiting and dropped her off home. Then I had to drive back to school through the middle of Tunbridge Wells at lunchtime BY MYSELF!
What most surprised you about your Mini?
That I was allowed to have such a wonderful car!
Did you ever have any accidents or any scary trips in your Mini?
Winter in Germany in minus 20C was ‘interesting’. Poor Little Grey Min had to wear snow chains for a few weeks. Boy, did they clank!
Accidents? Some fool bashed into the back of Little Grey Min when I was waiting at a roundabout. He was drunk. I had terrible whiplash later, but at the time, I jumped out of the car, stared at the huge dent in the boot door and burst into tears. Then I swore at the drunk driver, but his car was a worse mess.
Who was your favourite/most interesting/most difficult passenger and why?
The test examiner. No further explanation needed.
What car do you drive now?
I am a Mini person through and through, and I’d buy an electric Mini tomorrow, but it would be a vanity at 35,000€.
I share a VW Touran with my husband. We really don’t need a car each now we both work from home. But it’s very big (and a little bit dull…)
What do you miss about your Mini?
The fun, the cheekiness of it. The French have a lovely word for it – espièglerie.
In Mrs Morris Changes Lanes, what did you think of Mrs Morris’s Mini and of her adventure?
Ha! Minis always open up opportunities and alternatives. The adventure was before you and, of course, you had the wonderful Mini on your side. Go, Mrs Morris!
Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her nine-book Roma Nova series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the ancient Roman Empire has survived into the twenty-first century and is ruled by women who face conspiracy, revolution and heartache but with a sharp line in dialogue.
She blends her deep love of France with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history. Alison now lives in Poitou in France, the home of the heroine of her latest two novels, Double Identity and Double Pursuit. Oh, and she’s writing the next Roma Nova story.
Connect with Alison:
On her thriller site: https://alison-morton.com
On her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AlisonMortonAuthor
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/alison_morton @alison_morton
Read Alison’s latest thriller, Double Pursuit, the sequel to Double Identity.
One dead body, two badly injured operatives and five crates of hijacked rifles.
In Rome, former French special forces intelligence analyst Mélisende des Pittones is frustrated by obnoxious local cops and ruthless thugs. Despite the backing of the powerful European Investigation and Regulation Service, her case is going nowhere. Then an unknown woman tries to blow her head off.
As Mel and fellow investigator Jeff McCracken attempt to get a grip on the criminal network as well as on their own unpredictable relationship, all roads point to the place she dreads – the arid and remote African Sahel – where she was once betrayed and nearly died. Can Mel conquer her fear as she races to smash the network and save her colleague’s life?
Buying link for ebook: https://books2read.com/DoublePursuit
Although I’ve never owned or even driven a Mini car, it seemed the perfect choice for the heroine of my recently-published novella, Mrs Morris Changes Lanes, in which an unusual loan car takes the heroine on a lifechanging journey.
Even prior to publication, as soon as I shared the wonderful cover design by Rachel Lawston, showing a purple Mini driving down a Cotswold lane, friends began to tell me how much they missed their Mini.
I couldn’t resist finding out more about the reason for their brand loyalty to the iconic little car. I was sure it must be different from Mrs Morris’s. I invited them to share their experience in a new series of guest posts, which began just before Christmas, with historical novelist Anita Davison. (Click here to read it if you missed it.)
My second guest is US author Amie McCracken, currently based in Germany. Like me, Amie enjoys a touch of magical realism. She is an editor, designer and author. Her latest novella is Leaning into the Abyss, set in the US and Mexico, which starts with the startling premise of Rhea’s fiancé falling off a cliff to his death on their wedding day.
The story of Amie and her Mini is less dramatic! Over to Amie to tell us all about it.
Hello, Amie! To start with, please tell us why and when you acquired your first Mini.
On Christmas Day 2013 in fact. I had been on the lookout for one and thought I would fly to the UK since they are cheaper there, but a friend found one near me in Germany that was pristine and I couldn’t pass it up.
How much did it cost and how much did you sell it for?
I bought it for 4,000 Euro in Germany and sold it in the US for 8,000 dollars.
They were never manufactured in the US, so they are a huge novelty.
And our buyer happened to be Austrian so she could read the German manuals and receipts!
How long did you keep it and why did you sell it?
I sold it in 2017 because it made sense. The plan had been to restore it, completely decked out in TARDIS style (the US plate we had on it said GALIFRY). I had even used it in a video announcement of my pregnancy and brought my son home from the hospital in it.
But we found an interested buyer and I knew it just wouldn’t work to bring the car back to Germany again. It was the right time, though I still miss her.
Please describe it in as much detail as you can remember.
A 1989 Mini Mark IV, none of that BMW crap. It had been repainted, so it was a glistening black. The interior was gray, and the driver’s seat dug into the middle of your back terribly. The heater never worked, so when it rained we had a sponge on the dash to wipe away the condensation. But the car ran when I needed it most. At least, most of the time.
Many Mini drivers seemed to feel compelled to name their Minis, as if they have a personality of their own. (Do they have a personality of their own?!) What was yours called?
Foxy. My plate in Stuttgart was FX 1989.
What is it about Minis that makes most owners feel so attached to them?
I think it comes down to the history.
They are a classic, and most classics come with the history of their entire model.
A Mustang is more than the metal and rubber it is made of, but is the smell of burning tires and speeding down a straight track.
A Mini is an everyday car that putts along with personality and carries a twinge of cheekiness.
I know mine liked to break down at the most inopportune moments, but when I was really in a pinch she stepped up and did the job.
What did you most love about your Mini?
I loved feeling so tiny yet safe. She handled like a Formula 1 car.
What drove you nuts about it?
But without the heater working rainy days and cold days were the absolute worst.
Where did your longest journey in your Mini take you?
The car moved with us across the ocean from Germany to the US.
But the most memorable trip was from Coburg to Berlin to catch a flight, stuck in European summer traffic, with plenty of time to spare and yet still needing to reach speeds beyond the 140 km/h the speedometer could read. We reached the airport with seconds to spare, but as we watched the plane board from the other side of the empty security line, and had the security officer tell us that digital tickets were not accepted, we gave up and got back in the Mini to drive home.
What was your most exciting trip?
See above…
What most surprised you about your Mini?
How well a car seat fit in the back!
Did you ever have any accidents or any scary trips in your Mini?
No. Even when we drove next to American semis and SUVs, I felt safe.
Who was your favourite/most interesting/most difficult passenger and why?
My son on all counts. He was never a fan of riding in the car when he was a baby, so it was always an adventure! Plus, trying to maneuver him into the back seat with a rear-facing infant car seat while he was asleep and without waking him—that was a true challenge. Part of the restoration plans involved adding a third door.
Was your Mini a one-off buy or did you stay brand loyal and buy more Minis later?
I have not bought more Minis, though I believe I will one day. Always the classic versions. Never a BMW.
What car do you drive now?
Now it’s a 1973 VW Type 2 camper! (Also called a Bulli here in Germany.)
What do you miss about your Mini?
The novelty of owning a fun and classic car.
What would be your dream car if money were no object?
A Koenigsegg. Or maybe a Lamborghini Diablo. I like to go fast. Which, admittedly, the Mini does not satisfy.
In Mrs Morris Changes Lanes, what did you think of her Mini and of her adventure?
I loved it. The Mini is certainly a magical car, and the perfect one to bring someone back to their roots. It is a mischievous car, one that I could see yanking a person out of their intended path to create a little bit of chaos and stir things up.
Thank you, Amie, for sharing your fond memories, anecdotes and photos of your beautiful Mini!
by Amie McCracken
The world was in chaos around me. I sat in the eye of the storm, glass of water growing heavy in my hand, every now and then feeling a kiss on my cheek or the pat of a hand on my shoulder. Dad sat in his own separate world in the far corner, ensconced in his wingback chair, waiting for the rest of us to leave. His house was the closest to the hotel, and the largest, so we had convened here to understand what was going on.
To find out more about Amie and her books and services, please visit her website: www.amiemccracken.com
Have you ever owned or driven a Mini? Amie and I would love to hear about yours!
