Patricia M Osborne

Congratulations to Anna Shenton on the publication of Maggie’s Secrets. I’m delighted to invite novelist Anna Shenton back to Patricia’s Pen. Anna joins me to share what inspired her to write this novel. Without further ado, it’s over to Anna.

Maggie’s Secrets

Anna Shenton

Hi, hello everyone, I’m delighted to be here on Patricia’s Pen once more. I know what a fab place she has created, welcoming her friends into this wonderful warm, comforting place. It’s a delight to be here. Huge thanks Patricia, for this fabulous opportunity.

Love the theme of inspiration for this blog slot, it leaves me with an array of things to talk about within Maggie’s Secrets, my new release for today, February14th, 2023, and more.

What inspired me to write a Family Romance Saga? I ask myself. Firstly, I wanted to go back in time to 1962 and what better place to do it, no other than where I grew up. Remembering the times we lived in, has aroused so many special childhood memories. The clothes we wore, the food we ate, music we loved, games we played, family life, where we had very little, but were short of nothing.  

Like Maggie Foster, I spent a few years in a council house in Dovecliff Crescent. “Yes, Maggie, this is the perfect setting for you to tell your story.” Nothing like mine, but descriptions, scenes and ambience for a beautiful, sometimes scary, small village all came flooding back, like yesterday.

Secondly, my protagonist, Maggie, has had so much to contend with. She deserved a great setting to unburden herself from the past. I don’t know how she coped with what life’s thrown at her, but believe me, she is a supper strong, compassionate, selfless woman, who does everything in her power to keep her eighteen-year-old, fatherless Son, Gavin, happy and safe, even if she hasn’t been totally honest.

Thirdly, a family saga, genre, can take you almost anywhere in the writing world. I wanted that freedom to let my characters act out their individual lives, be who they wanted to be and lead the way in some strange, controversial, yet wonderful places.

Inspiration is a kind of lifeline, waiting to be snatched – something we all experience yet sometimes lies dormant, we can’t force it, but we can sense it lingering, and need to bring it to the forefront of our lives. Okay I’m happy with that. Like many fellow author friends, my time, and your time, will come. Every day of our lives will piece in like a jigsaw puzzle. Live your life, whatever it is, and inspiration will find you.

Blurb

Maggie’s Secrets have haunted her for years. She sets off on a reconstruction to try to unburden herself, from the day her Son, Gavin, was conceived in a church by a stranger, that disappeared.

To her surprise, Maggie is met with an elderly lady, Rosa, who claims to be Gavin’s Great Grandmother, who has been longing to meet him one day. 

Gavin, eighteen, knows nothing about his father. Maggie promises to tell him the truth one day, living in hope, it won’t destroy her relationship with the only family member she has contact with.

Moving into the last council house in Dovecliff Crescent, Maggie and Gavin face torment by gossiping neighbours when they hear Maggie is a single mum.

When the police arrive on Maggie’s doorstep she is horrified to hear Gavin has been accused of taking advantage of a young woman, Cheryl Patterson.

Is she telling lies? Can Maggie find out the truth and prevent history repeating itself.

BUY YOUR COPY ON KINDLE

(Paperback to follow shortly)

About Anna Shenton

Anna Maria Shenton from Staffordshire, World Poetry Day Prize Winner 2015 at Vind & Vag Publishing House.

Her boys flown the nest, Anna took a home study course which led to publications in various  magazines, including Writer’s Forum. Anna’s flair to write continued into fiction where she enjoys creating many wonderful characters and story plots.  Family life experiences are her book of inspiration, often creeping into her stories. She independently published her debut novel, short story collection, writing for beginners and novella series.

Anna loves to write from home and in her caravan when enjoying travels with her husband.

LINKS

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