Ask the Author: Merryn Allingham
Answered Questions (12)
Merryn Allingham
Hi Peter
I have to choose how many books I include on my website, otherwise it becomes too crowded and as I rarely write short stories, Through a Glass Darkly is a one-off. It's on Amazon, though at the moment I'm having a tussle with them. The book should be Free but every few months they decide to put a price on it! Hopefully, they'll return it to its Free status shortly.
Best wishes
Merryn
I have to choose how many books I include on my website, otherwise it becomes too crowded and as I rarely write short stories, Through a Glass Darkly is a one-off. It's on Amazon, though at the moment I'm having a tussle with them. The book should be Free but every few months they decide to put a price on it! Hopefully, they'll return it to its Free status shortly.
Best wishes
Merryn
Merryn Allingham
Hi Karren
So glad you enjoyed The Bookshop Murder - my first cosy crime novel!
I was actually going to send Flora and Jack to Cornwall next, but my editor thought they should stay in Abbeymead for a while. Flora needs to get the bookshop back on track and Jack has a novel to finish. Needless to say, it won't turn out to be quite such plain sailing!
I will get them to Cornwall, but not until Book 3. I hope you'll still be following their adventures and let me know what you think.
Merryn x
So glad you enjoyed The Bookshop Murder - my first cosy crime novel!
I was actually going to send Flora and Jack to Cornwall next, but my editor thought they should stay in Abbeymead for a while. Flora needs to get the bookshop back on track and Jack has a novel to finish. Needless to say, it won't turn out to be quite such plain sailing!
I will get them to Cornwall, but not until Book 3. I hope you'll still be following their adventures and let me know what you think.
Merryn x
Merryn Allingham
Hi Poppie. How nice to hear from you. Melstock was an entirely fictional village but I did live in Somerset for some years as a child, so perhaps that showed! I'm delighted you really enjoyed the book and do keep in touch.
Merryn Allingham
Hi Poppie
How nice to hear from you. I'm sorry to say there won't be a follow-on to Secret of Summerhayes. I did think of setting a third novel in the 1960s, but decided eventually to keep to the two world wars.
I've moved back a little in time and changed location for the novel I'm currently writing. It's set in Constantinople (Istanbul that was) in 1907, but it's the same mix of history, mystery and romance. If you'd like news of it, you can always sign up to my newsletter at www.merrynallingham.com. Your details will be confidential and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks again for getting in touch.
Merryn
How nice to hear from you. I'm sorry to say there won't be a follow-on to Secret of Summerhayes. I did think of setting a third novel in the 1960s, but decided eventually to keep to the two world wars.
I've moved back a little in time and changed location for the novel I'm currently writing. It's set in Constantinople (Istanbul that was) in 1907, but it's the same mix of history, mystery and romance. If you'd like news of it, you can always sign up to my newsletter at www.merrynallingham.com. Your details will be confidential and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks again for getting in touch.
Merryn
Merryn Allingham
A difficult one, but Bathsheba Everdene and Gabriel Oak in Far From the Madding Crowd are good contenders. Their love is the kind that builds slowly, but endures.
Merryn Allingham
Hi Joanna
The answer, I'm afraid, is that I don't know and can only apologise for the problem. I will pass your comments on to my editor and hope that she can throw some light on the matter. Coincidentally, I heard from a reader in Australia this week with exactly the same difficulty. I'll cross my fingers for a positive response, but unfortunately authors have little influence on marketing decisions.
Whatever the outcome, it was lovely to hear from you and thank you for your interest in Daisy!
all good wishes
Merryn
The answer, I'm afraid, is that I don't know and can only apologise for the problem. I will pass your comments on to my editor and hope that she can throw some light on the matter. Coincidentally, I heard from a reader in Australia this week with exactly the same difficulty. I'll cross my fingers for a positive response, but unfortunately authors have little influence on marketing decisions.
Whatever the outcome, it was lovely to hear from you and thank you for your interest in Daisy!
all good wishes
Merryn
Merryn Allingham
It might be a place, or an object, or a few overheard words. The trilogy that's due out next year, began with my parents' marriage certificate. My mother travelled to Bombay as it was then called, to marry my dad who was a soldier in the British Army in India. She hadn't seen him for six years and she travelled half way round the world to be with him. Romantic or what?
Merryn Allingham
It has to be the power to create a whole new world - apart from being able to spend the day in your pyjamas!
Merryn Allingham
I've just been given a contract for a three book series set in the 1930s and 1940s and spanning momentous events in both Britain and India during the period. The novels follow the fortunes of Daisy Driscoll, a working class girl from London, as she struggles to find romance, combat the dangers that threaten her and confront her own personal demons.
Merryn Allingham
Two things really. One is to hone your craft in every way you can - read books, attend workshops and writing conferences, join a local writing group. And the second is to keep writing despite the inevitable disappointments. Writers need perseverance and patience but if they're really determined to succeed, they'll get there.
Merryn Allingham
I just write - I concentrate on getting words down on the page, or rather on the screen. They're probably rubbish, but it doesn't matter because at least I'm writing. When I go back later and read over what I've written, I'll find quite a bit is rubbish (!) but amongst the dross, there will be little nuggets of gold that I can use. And I haven't stopped writing.
Merryn Allingham
I bought an original print of the Great Exhibition at auction some years ago. It was rich, colourful, very detailed, and showed the most amazing interior of what came to be called the Crystal Palace. I thought immediately it would make a brilliant setting for a novel - perfect for the mysterious, long-lost romance of The Crystal Cage.
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