Portobello Book Blog

I’m pleased to be joined by Katy Lilley who is joining me today to talk about the third in her Devon trilogy, What Maisie Did Next which is available in ebook format now. I read and very much enjoyed the first in the trilogy New Beginnings for Bryony Bennett and hope to get to the others very soon.

Hi everyone, Raven-Katy-Kera here. Do I see everyone going er, what? Sorry let me explain.

1          When I was first published, almost nine years ago (how time flies) my kids decided I needed a pen name. Partly because my ‘proper name’ wasn’t as one of them put it, a romance novelists sort of name, but also because the first book I had published was quite racy, and I think they wondered what their friends would say. (They all know and are fine with it.)

So, Raven McAllan was born. Raven because the Raven is the bird that brings news, and there was one in the garden just before I got my fist acceptance, and McAllan because it is a play on the name of probably the best whisky (Scotch hence no E) in the world, The Macallan. Her stories tend to be hottish (or hot 😉 )

Kera Faire came about when I wrote a darker series, set on an island on Loch Lomond, about a group of government-sanctioned killers. One of their favourite ways of killing traitors is to feed them to the pigs.

And so to my newest pen name Katy Lilley. I decided to have a go at writing rom com, and to my pleasure a three book series set in Devon was accepted. As it is totally different from the other books, my publisher and I decided it needed a new name so people knew what they were getting.

My maiden name is Lilley. That sounded good. Then we needed a first name. We toyed with Jo, (as my ‘real’ name is Joanne) and then decided on Katy. So hello, this is Katy writing today…

2          I find it helps me to have a different pen name for each type of romance book I’m writing. I put that ‘hat’ on to get into the correct mind-set. Well, it works for me.

3          I got my first book published just before the big ‘0’. The one in Scotland, (where I live,) when you get your bus pass.

4          Living on the outskirts of a village on the edge of a forest, I do use that bus pass sometimes.

5          I’m in the middle of making a free-hand (ie cheating) quilt for my daughter and her husband. As I haven’t made one for at least 25 years I’d forgotten how much material and how much time it takes. Enjoying it though, as well as trying my hand at baby clothes for a friend of theirs. I also do tapestry, can’t see well enough to do cross-stitch any more (I have to squint) and read. I’ve had a rereading session of Lucilla Andrews lately. Old fashioned but her books set in the WW2 do give you a good taste of what life was like. No, I’m not old enough to remember it, but I do remember my parents telling me bits. In fact one of my books, Bombers Moon is loosely based on things my mum told me.

6          I never take it for granted, that I was lucky enough to find a publisher who let me experiment. (The late and lamented Breathless Press) and that others have continued to do that. Thanks to BP, Totally Bound and Evernight Publishing, I got the chance to try whatever type of romance I fancied, so I’ve books from Regency to the present day, supernatural, hot, hot, and not so hot, sweet, darker. I’ve also got Regency books out with Harper Collins. And, recently, Manatee Books gave me a chance to try my hand at rom com, as Katy, and I’m loving it.

7          I’ve got a few ‘writery’ things on the go at the moment. Two books out in June. One from Evernight, called Cormican’s Lady, and one on June 16^th called Chasing Charlie from Totally Bound. That one is up for preorder on May 5^th (on the TB site and Amazon)

I’m nail-biting as I wait to hear about a few subs, (yes I do tend to have the dreaded London bus syndrome, nothing for ages then a few at once)

8          I’m lucky in that I’ve got a study to write in. (Although since he retired the lovely hubby has encroached—love that word though it reminds me of cockroaches, and he is nothing like that—each morning, after we’ve walked into the village and back. (Or into the forest, depending on the mood…and the weather.) It’s lovely that we do spend those few hours together, drinking coffee, doing the crossword (do not yawn) and seeing who gets most points on pop master. (For those of you not in the UK, it’s a weekday radio quiz).

The study overlooks the garden, and the lovely hubby has put up a bird table so I can watch them argue and fight over who gets what. We get so many different species it’s great.

9          I’ve got another rom com on the go, this one the first in a series set in Scotland, set in and around a posh hotel. Early days but hoping it will work out. And I have a Regency niggling.

10        My most recent book. What Maisie did Next, is the final romcom in my Devon Trilogy (the other two are New Beginnings for Bryony Bennett and Second Chances for Lottie Botte)

Maisie MacLean is pretty contented with life, until she finds out her long-term boyfriend has been cheating on her.

A vengeful—and fantastic—one night stand later she ups sticks, moves to Devon, and starts to rebuild her life…

What with a new job and a promotion, a beautiful cottage in a lovely village to live in, and close to her best friend Bryony, Maisie is finding that life without Stanley can be pretty perfect….until she discovers she’s pregnant, and has no idea who the father is.

Then her hot one night stand appears in the village, and he intends to stay…what will Maisie do next?

Buying links

https://amzn.to/2JvRGVM (com)

https://amzn.to/2JvRGVM (uk)