Pam Howes's Blog

Hi everyone. Sorry it's taken me so long to write another blog.  Life's been getting in the way and sometimes I find it easier to compose another novel! However, I'm here now and ready to catch up. Please feel free to leave comments, I don't bite and I'm always happy to answer any questions you may have. All the novels in my series are now available in paperback from Amazon, but if anyone would prefer to buy a signed copy direct from me then please get in touch at pam.waltonhowes@btopenworld.com .
I think it's time I told you a little bit about myself and how I accidentally became an author. It wasn't in my life plans. I can't lie and say I loved writing at school and yearned to be the next Enid Blyton. I enjoyed her books, what kid didn't in the fifties? All that fun with Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin and trips to Kirrin Island with Timmy the dog, not to mention the lashings of Ginger Beer!   But then I left school and wanted to do something more exciting, like working in a recording studio. Making coffee for the stars at Abbey Road would have been enough. But it wasn't to be. Girls didn't do that sort of job in the mid-sixties. So I never got the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Phil Spector or George Martin and produce Rock'n'Roll records. 

Instead, I did the next best thing; I got a job in my local record store. From that day my life took on a whole new meaning. Books were put aside in favour of the New Musical Express and Oh Boy and Roxy magazines and the latest top ten charts. I got to hang around with the lads who'd started bands on leaving school. I helped scribble down the lyrics of hit songs for the groups of boys craving stardom. And I was also lucky in being given free passes to the clubs in the area, not to mention the cinemas. Going out hardly cost me a penny so I could afford to keep up with all-important fashion trends and makeup. I saw many a top group, including The Who, The Small Faces, The Walker Brothers, The Yardbirds, Jimi Hendrix, an extremely young and leggy Rod Stewart and a serious chubby guy with glasses named Reggie Dwight, who played keyboards for Bluesology, a 60s UK R&B group. Reggie later became known as the one and only Elton John!


Anyway, all this hanging around with the groups and music-minded people was to be my inspiration when I had a mid-life crisis. The Interior Design career I'd chosen in my thirties was abandoned in favour of attempting to write fact-based articles for music magazines. This idea somehow grew into THREE STEPS TO HEAVEN, the first novel in what has since become a best-selling series of Rock'n'Roll Romances. I've been completely overwhelmed by how readers have welcomed my stories. The many wonderful reviews, comments and messages from my readers bowl me over. My greatest thrill is being compared to two of my favourite authors, Lesley Pearse and Joanna Trollope and to have rubbed shoulders with them in the Amazon sales rankings knocks me out. My fictional band The Raiders has taken over my life in a way I never thought possible. All I planned was one book. No way did I expect another to come flying out of the pen, never mind a third and fourth as well as a prequel and a short story anthology.

In 2011, during another personal crisis, and amongst producing all this Rock'n'Roll stuff, I wrote a stand-alone that's very close to my heart. FAST MOVIN' TRAIN was published in early 2012 and is a sensual romance based on a true story. For my book titles I always pick song titles that have a special meaning; each one carefully chosen to match the book's content. I'm currently working on another stand-alone love story. CATHY'S CLOWN is all about the relationship between an unlikely couple, student nurse, Cathy Lomax and Wall of Death rider, Gianni Kandola. I'm also in the throes of plotting two further Raiders stories. Will let you know the publication dates nearer the time.

Choosing to be an Indie Author might not suit everyone, but for me it's perfect. I have a great editor and a fabulous cover designer and between us I think we produce some good looking books. I choose my own working pace and I don't have to fit in with anyone's house-style. My genre of writing doesn't exist, apparently. It's a made-up one! I love the marketing side of things and I'm part of a great Facebook group of authors. We go by the name of Writing Kindle Books or, WKB.

To any new authors contemplating going down the Indie route, I'd say go for it. You've nothing to lose, no waiting around for years, only to have someone tell you that you don't fit their lists. There's no rejection letters to paper your office walls with, and you just might have an awful lot to gain. Until next time, all the best, Pam.

THAT'LL BE THE DAY: ON SALE FROM TODAY

  It's a while since I've done a blog due to writing commitments. So I'd like to wish you all a very Happy Easter and hope you enjoy the break from work and school and eat lots of chocolate I'm very excited today as the prequel to Three Steps to Heaven takes to the virtual bookshelves of Amazon in both the UK and the US. Later this week it will be published to Smashwords and will also be available on Apple, Sony, B&N and Kobo.

This morning I organised a Book Launch on Facebook and this was attended by many supporters. Thanks to all who joined in and for the lovely messages. And what better day to do a book launch- the sun is shining, the sky is blue, but it's still cold. Hopefully spring is just around the corner.

I've really enjoyed writing That'll Be The Day as it took me back to my early teens and the angst of first love, black leather, and rock'n'roll. There's no sweeter combination. I always feel a bit lost when I've just finished a book, missing the characters and their antics. No doubt it won't be too long before I start another. I'm planning the next one already - a stand-alone romance, set in the mid-sixties, between a student nurse and a fairground wall of death rider! Okay, I know it's usually nurses falling for doctors, but I like things to be a bit different. The working title, which will probably stay, is Cathy's Clown. I'm looking forward to starting it. I've also got the seeds of a new Raiders story in my head, hopefully in time for a pre-Christmas release. To all who downloaded That'll Be The Day, hope you enjoy and look forward to reading your comments/ reviews. Bye for now. Pam.

It's time I did a new blog. Sorry it’s been so long but I wanted to save this for a significant date and today is that day. February the 3rd. The day the music died. The 54th anniversary of the deaths of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens who perished in a plane crash. I've been busy writing the next novel in my series of Rock'n'Roll Romances which will be dedicated the lives of these young men. "That'll be the Day" is a back to the future tale, but you won't be getting Marty McFly to entertain you. Instead you'll be getting Eddie, Roy and Tim, on the cusp of leaving school, and forming The Raiders.

"That'll be the Day" is a step back in time to those seemingly more innocent days of black and white TV with a choice of two channels, the BBC Light Programme with few popular songs played except for the odd one or two on Sunday lunchtime's Two Way Family Favourites. It's no wonder teenagers were restless and desperate for change. The war was long over and rationing was a thing of the past, when the sounds of Rock'n'Roll music drifted across the sea from America. Exciting changes were afoot. Young lads, fed up of school, began to form groups. Influenced by the sounds of Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and of course Elvis Presley, they exchanged school uniforms for tight jeans and leather jackets.



In 1957 a certain young rocker from Liverpool formed a skiffle group, much to the disproval of his Aunt Mimi. He called the group The Quarrymen, after his school, Quarry Bank High. One afternoon the group was invited to play at the Woolton Church Fete. An impressionable young lad in the audience was later introduced to the young rocker. After proving his worth by playing a faultless version of Eddie Cochran's Twenty Flight Rock on a borrowed guitar, the young lad was asked to join the group and the world famous partnership of Lennon and McCartney, and the beginning of The Beatles, was born.

In 1958 three teenage boys from Cheshire saw Buddy Holly and The Crickets perform at The Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, and so began the birth of my fictional band The Raiders and my song-writing duo of Mellor and Cantello.

I thought it would be a nice idea to take my readers back to the beginning, to the group finding its feet and learning to put on a show, and also the start of their relationships with their girls.

I aim to have this novel finished for springtime publication. Meantime you can have a sneaky preview of the cover, designed by the talented Jane Dixon Smith, which features Eddie Mellor and his young girlfriend Jane Wilson. As readers who are familiar with the series know, Eddie and Jane are a long-term, happily married couple, but their road to happiness in the first few years was a rocky one.

In the last few months I've had some fabulous comments on all my novels. Thank you so much to everyone who has purchased, left reviews, messages on my FB page and author website. It means such a lot to know so many people are enjoying reading my stories. Until next time, and I promise it won't be as long, take care, happy reading, Pam.

Three Steps to Heaven is proud to be part of the Tears of Crimson Halloween Celebration. It's 1961 and Eddie Mellor and Jane Wilson are in love. Eddie's group, The Raiders, is about to make it big. They have the world at their feet and an exciting future to look forward to. Then in walks Angie Turner... The first novel in a series about The Raiders, spanning 50 years. If you enjoyed this book, you might enjoy other's that are part of the celebration for example:Kimi's Secret by John Hudspith; The Baptist by Ruby Barnes; Shattered by Karl Jones and Michelle Hughes. Find all the books participating in the Tears of Crimson Halloween Celebration by following the Listmania list http://www.amazon.com/lm/R28WDNNKZF6OAV/ref=cm_lm_pthnk_view?ie=UTF8&lm_bb

Been so busy lately catching up with many projects and getting to grips with further chapters of  the fourth novel in my series - NOT FADE AWAY - that I've fallen behind with blogging. So to help me out my favourite character has offered to lend a hand by answering a few questions, on the proviso you treat him gently.

 

PAM: Roy, welcome. It's a privilege to have you as a guest. Would you like to tell the readers what's been happening in your world since the end of ALWAYS ON MY MIND?

 

ROY: It's my pleasure to be here. As you know, I re-married my wife Sammy a short time ago and we're kept busy bringing up my young sons and sharing joint custody with their mother, Livvy.

PAM: Well that's a job and a half! Are there any plans in the pipeline for another Raiders tour?

ROY: Yes, Eddie and I are currently working on a batch of new songs for the next album. We'll be in the studios in September and the tour will start with a show in our home city of Manchester around Christmas. It's our annual charity gig to raise funds for Leukemia research.

PAM: A very worthy cause and one I know that is close to your heart. I'm sure all your fans will look forward to that.

ROY: I hope so. It all really depends on what you have in store for me in Not Fade Away. All I want is a quiet life with Sammy and the boys. But I guess there's little hope of that!

PAM: I'll do my best not to give you too rocky a road to travel this time around.

ROY: Well whatever you decide, keep me out of Livvy's clutches and don't make it too hectic.

PAM: I'll try. I've a few things up my sleeve for you. You'll have to wait and see. Now tell us about the first gig The Raiders performed and a little bit about the band in its early days.

ROY: We started playing together after seeing Buddy Holly and The Crickets at The Liverpool Philharmonic in March 1958. My dad took me, Tim and Eddie as a treat. He had an ulterior motive. Des O'Connor was one of the support acts and Dad was a fan. We came out of that show full of enthusiasm and big ideas. We were gonna form a trio and get famous. Later that year my dad bought me a pink pre CBS guitar. Tim made a tea chest bass and Eddie's mum and dad bought him a drum kit for his birthday. That was it, we were rolling.


We listened to all our favourite songs over and over and wrote down the words. We worked our backsides off to learn them. We skipped school and got into loads of trouble, failed all our exams, but it was worth it. We played a few youth club dances and one at Pickford Town Hall and then Mario, the owner of the coffee bar we used to hang around in, which eventually became The Roulette Club, gave us our first gig there and we became the resident group.

 

PAM: And how did you decide on your name - The Raiders?

ROY: We were called Roy and the Raiders at first. It was my dad suggested we drop Roy and stick to The Raiders. He said it sounded snappier.

PAM: You were introduced to the girls at one of your gigs. Was that the first time you met Sammy?

ROY: Yeah. I'd seen her hanging around Pickford with Jane and Pat, but couldn't pluck up the courage to talk to her. Thought she was out of my league. She was a stunner even at fifteen. Hair down to her waist and legs up to her armpits! Then I was introduced to her and it turns out she fancied me too. Think we fell in love that first night.

PAM:  You must really regret what happened with Livvy.

ROY: I do. I regret hurting Sammy and I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to her. But one thing I can't say I regret is my children; Harley and Roy Jnr and of course little Danny, Livvy's son by her late husband, who I've brought up as my own.

PAM: Losing your eldest son Nick must have been a very difficult time for you and Sammy.

ROY: It was. And finding out that Livvy was expecting my child was also hard for Sammy. It couldn't have happened at a worse time.

PAM: I know it tested your love for each other, but would you say that it also strengthened your relationship with Sammy?

ROY: Definitely. Sammy's one hell of a woman. It hurts me to hear people say she was weak to take me back. It takes strength to do that and forgive. Unless you've walked in similar shoes, you can't possibly make assumptions on someone else's life. Call me all you like, world's worst cheating hero etc, but leave Sammy out of it. And to the woman who called me a hippie, get your facts straight, Mrs! I'm a rocker through and through. Never been a hippie in my life.


PAM: Talking of rockers, apart from Buddy Holly, tell me about your other musical influences.

ROY: There have been many. Eddie Cochran, Elvis, Jerry Lee, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison. And Ed and I have often been likened to The Everly Brothers; the harmonies in our duets, I guess.

PAM: Why did you decide to stop being a trio and become a four piece band?

ROY: We had this mate whose group had folded almost before it began. He was a looker, a bird magnet and he played a mean guitar. Ed thought it would give us more depth so we auditioned him and that's how Phil Jackson joined The Raiders. And then of course we decided to ask Carl on board and became a five piece, same as we still are today. One of Ed's grandsons, Nathan will be working with us on the next tour. He's a great guitarist too.

PAM: Well, Roy, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to me.

ROY: My pleasure. Until we meet again.

As announced last week, my new box set is now available on Amazon at a very special price. Three full length novels from my rock'n'roll romance series, spanning forty years from the sixties onwards, for the price of two. Hope you enjoy. Pam.  

UK Amazon Links. http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-RocknRoll-Romance-Series-ebook/dp/B008FYA8NW/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341010495&sr=1-6

USA Amazon Links. http://www.amazon.com/The-RocknRoll-Romance-Series-ebook/dp/B008FYA8NW/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341050718&sr=1-7&keywords=pam+howes

Here's an accompanying trailer to get you in the mood to dance and take the trip down memory lane. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT0-8Dc4JYc&feature=youtu.be

As announced last week, my new box set is now available on Amazon at a very special price. Three full length novels from my rock'n'roll romance series, spanning forty years from the sixties onwards, for the price of two. Hope you enjoy. Pam.  

UK Amazon Links. http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-RocknRoll-Romance-Series-ebook/dp/B008FYA8NW/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341010495&sr=1-6

USA Amazon Links. http://www.amazon.com/The-RocknRoll-Romance-Series-ebook/dp/B008FYA8NW/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341050718&sr=1-7&keywords=pam+howes

Here's an accompanying trailer to get you in the mood to dance and take the trip down memory lane. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT0-8Dc4JYc&feature=youtu.be

As announced last week, my new box set is now available on Amazon at a very special price. Three full length novels from my rock'n'roll romance series, spanning forty years from the sixties onwards, for the price of two. Hope you enjoy. Pam.  

UK Amazon Links. http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-RocknRoll-Romance-Series-ebook/dp/B008FYA8NW/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341010495&sr=1-6

USA Amazon Links. http://www.amazon.com/The-RocknRoll-Romance-Series-ebook/dp/B008FYA8NW/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341050718&sr=1-7&keywords=pam+howes

Here's an accompanying trailer to get you in the mood to dance and take the trip down memory lane. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT0-8Dc4JYc&feature=youtu.be

Hi folks and followers. I'm very excited at the moment. On July 1st there will be an issue of an e-book box set containing the first three novels in my Rock'n'Roll Romance series. This box set will be offered at a very special price - a sort of buy two get one free - offer. The fabulous box cover has been designed by the wonderful and talented JD Smith http://www.jdsmith-design.co.uk/  It features the wrap-around juke box from the cover of Three Steps to Heaven. I'm thrilled with it and have had some fab comments from author friends. I'll post a preview picture on this blog and would love to hear what you think.


Also, at the moment I'm toying with the idea of having a rock'n'roll CD to compliment the stories. If my partner and I manage to pull this off, the CD will be available from my website and I will post details if and when it happens. The plan is to feature the originals of all the songs mentioned in the books from Sam Cooke, Arthur Alexander, Chuck Berry, Elvis and many more. There will also be three original Mellor and Cantello songs written especially for The Raiders, including My Special Girl. As you can imagine this all depends on copyright and permission to use the original songs. It's all in the very early days of planning as I write so I will keep you informed.


I'm making good progress with the writing of Not Fade Away, the fourth Raiders novel. Hopefully this will be ready for publication by September and you can read the first chapter on here in the previous blog.  I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everybody for their purchases, wonderful support, fabulous reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, emails, comments on Facebook and my blog. I couldn't wish for nicer readers and fans. I'm deeply indebted to you all. I wish I could say have a great summer, but for us in the UK it came and went the other week and I think that might have been it. Since Jubilee weekend it's been a washout apart from a couple of days.

This morning the Olympic Torch was carried up the main road near my home and there was a good turn out of supporters, clad in wellies, raincoats and carrying brollys. That's the Brits for you. We don't let the rain dampen our spirit of patriotism.  

I have a new author page on Facebook if you'd like to "like" it I would love to see you on there. The link is:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pam-Howes-Author/260328010709267     

Until next time, thank you once again. Pam. :-)

Hi folks and followers. I'm very excited at the moment. On July 1st there will be an issue of an e-book box set containing the first three novels in my Rock'n'Roll Romance series. This box set will be offered at a very special price - a sort of buy two get one free - offer. The fabulous box cover has been designed by the wonderful and talented JD Smith http://www.jdsmith-design.co.uk/  It features the wrap-around juke box from the cover of Three Steps to Heaven. I'm thrilled with it and have had some fab comments from author friends. I'll post a preview picture on this blog and would love to hear what you think.


Also, at the moment I'm toying with the idea of having a rock'n'roll CD to compliment the stories. If my partner and I manage to pull this off, the CD will be available from my website and I will post details if and when it happens. The plan is to feature the originals of all the songs mentioned in the books from Sam Cooke, Arthur Alexander, Chuck Berry, Elvis and many more. There will also be three original Mellor and Cantello songs written especially for The Raiders, including My Special Girl. As you can imagine this all depends on copyright and permission to use the original songs. It's all in the very early days of planning as I write so I will keep you informed.


I'm making good progress with the writing of Not Fade Away, the fourth Raiders novel. Hopefully this will be ready for publication by September and you can read the first chapter on here in the previous blog.  I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everybody for their purchases, wonderful support, fabulous reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, emails, comments on Facebook and my blog. I couldn't wish for nicer readers and fans. I'm deeply indebted to you all. I wish I could say have a great summer, but for us in the UK it came and went the other week and I think that might have been it. Since Jubilee weekend it's been a washout apart from a couple of days.

This morning the Olympic Torch was carried up the main road near my home and there was a good turn out of supporters, clad in wellies, raincoats and carrying brollys. That's the Brits for you. We don't let the rain dampen our spirit of patriotism.  

I have a new author page on Facebook if you'd like to "like" it I would love to see you on there. The link is:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pam-Howes-Author/260328010709267     

Until next time, thank you once again. Pam. :-)