Today is a real treat for Patricia’s Pen with my special guest, Ankh Spice, all the way from New Zealand. Ankh’s come along to chat about writing so without further ado, it’s over to Ankh.

About Writing

Ankh Spice

Sitting down to ‘write about writing’ and all I can think about is how defiant an act it is to create. How weirdly human it is to unspool visions out of a black box balanced on a spine. How lucky we are, if we find our thing and take up our tools of conveyance: words, paint, sound, movement, and out the other end, new art coalesces and converses with other people’s visions, a sort of chorus of those-who-persist-in-hope through their time. And I include in that chorus those who make to observe, document, witness, creations driven by even the most cynical academic commentary, by trauma, or sprung from what appears to be the depths of absolute not-hope. I can’t help thinking that daring to add to the world in such a conscious, vulnerable way while you’re smack bang in the mess of it – means to gather up a sense of self as something more than a complicated tube existing to subtract and consume. To say some stuff persists. We are not yet lost.

And I know, I know, we keep on proving we’re a selfish, divisive species. My own work shoulders deep consciousness of our evolutionary roots as ape-troupes, constantly figuring out who is the Us and who is the Them, always using each other for social currency in one way or another. I’m not saying no-one is creating for the pure I was here that goes with all this, but it’s also an offering, a sharing, a grasp at common threads. Even selfish art is bigger than itself.

I’m sorry-not-sorry to get so diverted – here’s where I say I’m a poet, not an essayist. This probably should have been a tidy vignette about why I write, a once-upon-a-time, but the world‘s quivering from hit after hit, this pandemic, a hundred wars, climate disaster and ever-growing rifts between us all. Time is so short, and personal history laid out that neatly feels too pat, so this is for you in the same way that my own acts of creation, even the really personal ones, mean to extend beyond the envelope. I put all of this, and all of that, into my collection, and will be grateful for the rest of my time here to have found a publisher in Femme Salvé who understood why.

The Water Engine is my defiance and my offering, and my appeal to you to find your way of seeing, and your way of adding, maybe by recognising where we all converge. Its pages are open hands full of what I’ve managed to learn and translate – from ape-awareness, from the black-box; feeling, witness, observation, trauma, healing, mess and just plain awe that we keep doing what we do. I’ve spent my life so far trying to give voice to the mesh of internal and external world we all move inside, that convergence that drops a million dazzling secrets a second in plain sight, but which we each see uniquely. All our fountains take from the source. Keep making of that what you will – just keep making. Float whatever you create past your blockages and up into the air, saying: in your face, darkness. Even if we’re wrong, all this hope thing? It was worth it.

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About Ankh Spice

Ankh Spice is a queer, sea-obsessed poet from Aotearoa New Zealand, and the author of The Water Engine (Femme Salvé Books, 2021). His work is widely published in online and print journals, with eight of his poems nominated for the Pushcart Prize and/or Best of the Net. His poem ‘New Cloth’ was joint winner of the Poetry Archive’s WorldView2020 competition. He co-edits at IceFloe Press, and is a poetry contributing editor at Barren Magazine.

He’s usually found out on the coast of Te Whanganui-a-Tara, but you can catch him online at:

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It gives me great delight to introduce author Mick Arnold to Patricia’s Pen. Mick is here to chat about his writing. Without further ado, it’s over to Mick.

My Writing

Mick Arnold

First, my confession, I have not always wanted to write. Phew, I feel so much better for getting that off my chest, I only hope you’re still reading this!

After I’d recovered from this illness, I became interested in writing after I’d read the book, ‘the Xmas Factor’ by Annie Sanders. This was the first ‘chick-lit’ book I’d ever read, as before I’d been into sci-fi and/or fantasy, though not hard-core. My first love was and still is, the late and unsurpassed, Terry Pratchett. He’s still the one author I’ll go to if I need to get into a good place. Anyway, I only read that book after being urged to by my lady wife. After reading this, I got up the next day and before I knew what was happening, I’d begun to type.

I didn’t know what I was doing and certainly I had no intention of beginning to write a book. Somehow, I was still sat there at midnight and by the same time the next day, somehow, I had the first few chapters of what ended up as my first completed book done. That’s still in the bottom of a metaphorical drawer.

After I managed to get this published came the panic. Oh heck! What do I do for a follow up? Fortunately, I’m a bit of a history buff and there’re plenty of stories out there which I need to tell about these girls. Family comes in strange packages and these girls are now mine.

~~~

About Mick Arnold

Mick spent sixteen years roaming around the world, courtesy of HM Queen Elizabeth II – gawd bless her – in the RAF.

He loves traveling, and the music of the Beach Boys, Queen, Muse, and Bon Jovi. Books play a large part in his life, not only writing, but also reading and reviewing, as well as supporting his many author friends.

He’s the proud keeper of two Romanian Were-Cats bent on world domination, and enjoys the theatre and humouring his Man Utd-supporting wife.

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My guest today is author, Carmen Radtke who has come along to Patricia’s Pen to chat about her writing, so without further ado, it’s over to Carmen.

My Writing

Carmen Radtke

I’ve always written, since I discovered that I could use a pen and paper to make up poems (when
you’re seven, any rhyme will do) and stories (the hamster and the stolen diamonds could’ve become a classic had I but known about the concept of a second draft).

Then I became a newspaper journalist, sticking to facts and deadlines so tight I rarely got to explore the concept of a second draft. I covered police beat and politics, small town scandals and serious affairs, feel-good human interest and history, sometimes all on the same day.

Most reporter want to write a novel one day, lavishing time on crafting one immaculate sentence after another and following in the literary footsteps of Ernest Hemingway. Me too. Which is why, with impeccable timing, my first novel was partly written under my desk, while I typed away like a woman obsessed between earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The Case of the Missing Bride is set in 1862 and tells the story of a group of young, impoverished
Australian women, travelling half-way across the world, to marry prosperous Canadian miners. When one of the brides is missing after a stormy night, it’s thought of as an accident, but one girl knows better and embarks on a secret mission to find a killer.

These women really existed – I found a short paragraph online, during an idle research into imported brides while looking for a story idea for the local paper I wrote for then. The brides set out in high hopes from Melbourne, but when they reached San Francisco for a stopover, they vanished without a trace. I can’t imagine a world where this would have ended well for them. Maybe that is why I couldn’t let it go.

In the next book, Glittering Death (soon to be re-titled The Prospect of Death), I give them some of the happiness the real life did not hold in store for them.
Because I’m endlessly fascinated by history, my other series is set in Australia in the early 1930s,
during the Great Depression and comes complete with a plucky heroine, a dashing nightclub-owner, artists and crooks.

I’ve only recently taken the plunge and dived into contemporary mystery. It’s fun, it takes a lot less research, but then I do love discovering quirky or astonishing details about the past. As a reader I’m polygamous, voracious and insatiable. I love historical fiction, mysteries, grittier crime, comedy, romcom, thriller, some fantasy and science-fiction … After moving half-way around the world twice, I still have the complete works of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Rex Stout, Ngaio Marsh, plus Janet Evanovich, Dick Francis, Terry Pratchett, Tony Hillerman, Elizabeth Peters, and many more. Life changes, but we’ll always have stories. Including poetry, although I no longer write it. It’s for the best; believe me.

Dig your own Grave will be published on 8th March 2022 but is available for preorder now – Click HERE to read the blurb and preorder your copy.

About Carmen Radtke

Carmen Radtke has spent most of her life with ink on her fingers and a dangerously high pile of books and newspapers by her side. She has worked as a newspaper reporter on two continents and always dreamt of becoming a novelist and screenwriter. Her debut novel, The Case Of The Missing Bride, was a finalist in the Malice Domestic competition in a year without a winner. Since then she has penned several more cozy mysteries, including the Jack and Frances series set in the 1930s. Carmen now lives in York, UK, with her human and her four-legged family.

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House of Grace, Book 1 in my family saga trilogy, is on offer with Amazon Kindle at 99p /99c but the offer is for one week only.

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She was born into nobility. But with times changing, will she be allowed to marry beneath her station?

Brighton, England, 1950. Grace Granville has grand ambitions. So after finishing boarding school, the naive sixteen-year-old manages to convince her aristocratic father to allow her a short adventure to Lancashire. But her sweeping plans to become a fashion designer take an unplanned turn when she falls in love with a handsome coal miner.

Will Grace tempt fate and spoil her own future?

House of Grace is the enthralling first book in the House of Grace family saga trilogy. If you like strong-minded women, social conflict, and stories vividly told across fascinating eras, then you’ll adore this 1950s / 60s saga.

All three books of the trilogy are FREE with Kindle Unlimited

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But hurry – the clock is ticking…

Today on Patricia’s Pen I’m delighted to introduce Poet, Camilla Downs, who has come to chat about how walking inspires her writing. Without further ado, let’s go over to Camilla.

Inspirational Walks

Camilla Downs

Just as a cool glass of water slakes my thirst on a scorching hot day, going for walks quenches the thirst of my heart and soul to know my true self, to heal, to release, to allow joy, and to be at peace. Walking guides me in the loving way to process life, to fulfill life, to let life be, and to take action.

During the years of 2010 – 2019, I took a deep dive into healing myself, learning and practising mindfulness, meditation, and emotional connection. I left a 10 year marriage in December of 2006, becoming a solo parent to my two kids who were 1 year old and 5 years old at the time.

There was much I needed to process having to do with that, along with experiences of childhood, youth, my teenage years, and early adult life.

My way of processing life was (and is) to walk and write about what I am experiencing. During those years of healing I would write about what I was experiencing, ending the writing with asking ‘What do I need to know?’ I would then free-write a response, almost always a writing that soothed my soul, or set forth steps I may want to take.

For the past 20 years I have been going for walks. The meaning and depth of the walks have shifted throughout the years. What started as an activity simply to satisfy my desire to be active, bloomed into a walking practice. A practice to process healing, to release, to discover my authentic self, and to connect with nature.

Going for a walk at least three times a week has literally kept me going when I felt I could not carry on, and propelled me into bliss in times of joy. Each time I walk I have a different experience.

At some point my writings combined with my walks and nature photography. Nearly every day when I returned from my walk, I would swipe through the photos I took, paying close attention to how my body felt. When moved, I would choose a photo, and ask what I was to share. Poetry would flow from that. It was really quite amazing for me to experience.

In the beginning of 2019, I decided I was ready to put forth another book. As I sat looking through my writings, the free-verse poetry kept coming to the forefront. I realized that I had been writing poetry for six years, with a knowing that the poetry was to be the next book.

Words of Alchemy was published in December 2019. I’ve been on a sabbatical from writing since that time, as I felt I needed a break. I feel sure that once I’m moved to write again, the words will eventually flow.

May you be inspired to explore how walking could create a shift in your life; whether that be ever so small or ever so big.

~~~

About Camilla Downs

Camilla Downs is a bestselling author, indie publisher, volunteer, and mom. She has four published books, two of which she co-authored with each of her kids. Nature and life experiences are a constant source of inspiration for her writing. She enjoys living a minimalist lifestyle, reading, going for walks and swims, and capturing nature’s essence with photographs. Camilla is the founder of MeetingtheAuthors.com and lives in Northern Nevada, USA with her two kids.

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I’m delighted today to feature Author, Liz Martinson, who has come along to ‘Patricia’s Pen‘ to tell you about ‘Why she Writes.’ Without further ado, it’s over to Liz.

Why I Write

Liz Martinson

I’ve always loved reading stories. I used to love playing games of pretend when I was small. I think those games of pretend went from being imaginary to being written, first to entertain myself, then later, to entertain my school friends on the bus, on the way home, when I handed round a daily chapter of trash, loosely based on the spy television series popular in the 1960s.

As well, I think as a teenager, I explored the concept of love, often as crushes, and writing helped me make sense of the world and my emotions.

Throughout school, free writing was my preferred lesson. It filled me with pure delight to be told I could write a story about anything, and I was off. This eventually led to longer and longer pieces of work until I found I could create novels.

Not only that, but they weren’t too bad, and when handed round to friends, which I now understand is the equivalent of beta readers, my friends also thought they weren’t too bad.

It was extremely hard work and involved multiple re-reads to check for errors and plot problems, before formatting, checking everything again, publishing and finally promoting.

I love creating stories and finding background materials from my own experiences of the outdoors. I’ve sometimes gone back to one of my books and recognised interactions between characters as ones I’ve observed and apparently remembered. My husband has certainly complained he recognises characteristics of the heroes, but who else do I take as my role model? Why create a new hero when you have one ready to hand?

One thing I should emphasise for anyone thinking about writing a novel themselves (and I hope you do). Once written, I know for definite my novel isn’t finished. Not by a long, long way. Writing is work, hard work, at that. It needs leaving for a few weeks before re-reading, to ensure the plot runs smoothly and the characters are right. Once written, it needs editing, not once, or even twice, but multiple times. It’s amazing how misspelled words, extra words, missing punctuation and typing errors creep in and lurk.

To be honest, these days, everything from a Booker prize winner and traditionally published books, down to a new author’s Indie contribution, usually ends up with a few errors, despite everyone’s hard work.

I’m now with a publisher, Next Chapter, so I no longer have to create covers or format… but I still have to do all the rest!
I hope you try one of my books – and if you do, I’d love a review, even if just one line.
Thanks for reading!

About Liz Martinson

Liz Martinson is an author of several novels, short stories and poetry, who uses research and her own extensive experiences to fuel her writing. With a romantic thread running through all her novels, Liz includes life events and adventure to make them page-turning, enjoyable and engrossing. Readers often say they haven’t been able to put them down.
Recently taken on by publisher Next Chapter, Liz has one book, Belonging, out under their label. Ullandale, now revised, is due out within a week, with a new cover.
Her other two, Counterpoint and Takeover, are available as ebooks, and are also being revised and re-issued. Belonging and Ullandale are receiving excellent reviews.
Having taken part in a Creative Writing course at the University of Lancaster, Liz completed it with a Distinction. In the past she has also been a runner-up in the Good Housekeeping Short Story competition, and has had several short stories accepted and published in anthologies.
In her spare time, Liz enjoys a wide range of activities, which include cycling, reading and landscape photography, as well as cooking, music and travel. She has also had extensive experience as a hill-walker and has kayaked on rivers, lakes and sea. Living in the Yorkshire Dales, Liz spends her spare time with her husband and two cats, her twin sons having long flown the nest.

~~~

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Congratulations to Eilín de Paor and Damien B Donnelly on the publication of their poetry conversation In the Jitterfritz of Neon published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press. Don’t you just love that cover?

Something a little different today on Patricia’s Pen, in so much as rather than have one guest poet, I have two. Co-authors, Eilín de Paor and Damien B Donnelly, of In the Jitterfritz of Neon have come along to chat about their new release. Firstly, without further ado, it’s over to Eilín.

Jitterfritz of Neon

Eilín de Paor and Damien B Donnelly

From Eilín

In the Jitterfritz of Neon is a conversation in poetry, sparked by stories shared between Damien and myself, over a number of in-person and Zoom catch-ups during 2020/1. We met for the first time at a poetry event in 2019, so ours is a fairly new friendship. As we got to know each other, though, we soon discovered that, even though our lives to date have been quite different, we share a lot of interests and a compatible world view.

One of the things we found we had in common was how much we both really miss socialising as it was before the pandemic – the adventure of the unplanned and unscheduled. The theme for this pamphlet grew organically out of those conversations. Of course, the fact that Mark Davidson from The Hedgehog Poetry Press announced a pamphlet competition specifically looking for conversations gave us the impetus we needed to turn our germ of an idea into words on a page. We are very grateful to him for the nudge.

Damien and I had such fun writing these poems. We look forward to sharing them and hope some of the joy their writing brought to us will chime with others.

From Damien B Donnelly

Covid brought every past night out that we’d ever experienced down on top of our distanced solitude. Lights of dancefloors that had been packed tightly away in a box labelled ‘dump’ suddenly found themselves opened up and turned on again, in the middle on an empty living room demanding recognition.

The joy of swapping these memories with Eilín and being inspired to find ones that related was such an organic process and was really a lovely, honest way of getting to know a new friend. I think identity has a deep place in the memory and when we share, we show parts of who we are, who we were and who we want to become without actually knowing it. I think we both know so much more about each other now, more than we would have found out pre-pandemic.

This is a journey we will look back on and be proud of what we achieved together, in a time that asked us to stay apart.

~~~

Buy a copy of In the Jitterfritz of Neon

Launch of Jitterfritz of Neon – Watch Recording Here

Too entertaining to miss

About Eilín de Paor and Damien B Donnelly

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I’m delighted to feature Mary Schmidt on Patricia’s Pen. Mary has come along to chat about her co-authored children’s book Davy’s Dragon Castle. Without further ado, it’s over to Mary.

Davy’s Dragon Castle

Mary Schmidt

In my new book, Davy’s Dragon Castle, children learn to get along with others no matter the colour of their fur or skin. It’s important for children to learn the concept of, and how not to be racist, and toddlers are a great age to start the teaching. Anti-racism education in elementary school starts with students’ awareness of themselves, of others and of how those interactions play out. All social and emotional learning helps children to express feelings and be tuned in to the needs of others. This teaching contributes to the development of all children.

Additionally, children are introduced to a character that wears a prosthetic leg, giving children a chance to learn and understand how prosthetics work and if it does/does not limit abilities. Acceptance and inclusion are important in social learning from an early age.

The opportunity to interact with your child/children in a positive environment, such as the castle in this story, illustrates the importance of a positive environment in aiding children with learning social skills with other children and adults.  Davy’s Dragon Castle helps parents and teachers to reinforce positive behaviors in an imaginative setting of imaginary dragons, castle, and town. Learning and sharing are essential for social development in all children.

The illustrations were a joy to design, and I feel this book will be significant in the days and years to come.

About Mary Schmidt

Mary L. Schmidt writes under the name of S. Jackson along with her husband Michael, pen name A Raymond. Books were her thing, her escape to new worlds. After retiring from nursing, she began writing as a second career, and more than 30 books in various genres have been published.

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It gives me great pleasure today to welcome author Val Penny as my first guest for 2022 on Patricia’s Pen. Val’s returned to Patricia’s Pen to chat about her new release Hunter’s Rules. Without further ado, it’s over to Val.

Hunter’s Rules

Val Penny

Thank you for hosting me on your blog today. It is always a pleasure to visit.

My family has been moving between the U.S.A. and the U.K. for generations. It is always a bit of a lottery as to where you end up! As for me, I have been moving East all my life. Born in Northern California, I attended high school in the Mile High City of Denver then worked in Virginia before crossing the pond and marrying a Scot.

I write crime thrillers and started writing in this genre because that is what I enjoy reading. I firmly believe that to be a good author, you must first be an avid reader and it is due to my love of reading and story-telling that I began to write novels.

Hunter’s Rules is the sixth book in my Edinburgh Crime Mysteries series and there are many more to come! Although the books form a series, each works as a standalone novel, so readers can join the stories at any point.

The books are set in the beautiful city of Edinburgh which is the capital of Scotland. I chose it because it is a relatively small city and people from different walks of life and backgrounds are known to each other. That allows me to have some fun with my characters and storylines.

I am particularly proud of this book because, although the story is complete within itself, the concept follows on from a short story that I contributed to a charity anthology, Dark Scotland. The story, which is again a standalone piece, is the prequel to the novel. I hope those who read both will enjoy the conceit and those who read either will be absorbed by them.

Blurb for Hunter’s Rules

A bloody scene brings Hunter and Meera’s romantic plans to an abrupt end.

A young woman was attacked in a hotel lift. She has life changing injuries, but she is alive. Hunter notes that her wounds are like those inflicted on two women who previously died.  

Can Meera keep the injured woman alive long enough for her to identify her assailant? Is the same person responsible for all three crimes? When Hunter is identified as a suspect in the crime, can he establish his innocence and lead his team to solve the crime and keep Edinburgh safe?

About Val Penny

Hunter’s Rules the sixth book in The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries series of novels. Val Penny’s other crime novels, Hunter’s Chase Hunter’s Revenge, Hunter’s Force Hunter’s Blood and Hunter’s Secret form the rest of this bestselling series set in Edinburgh, Scotland, published by darkstroke.

You can also start at the beginning of The Jane Renwick Thrillers with The First Cut.

Her first non-fiction book Let’s Get Published is also available now and she has most recently contributed her short story, Cats and Dogs to a charity anthology, Dark Scotland.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland with her husband and their cat.

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Find out more about Val Penny and her books on her Amazon Author page HERE

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Hi Everyone, I hope you enjoyed the festive period, whatever you celebrate. Not long now for 2022 and let’s pray that will be a lot more positive than the last two years.
I’m honoured to have been invited over on the Meet the Author blog, run by author Camilla Downs, for an interview. Why not pop over HERE and take a read?