Author Interview: Carol Warham

Author Interview: Carol Warham

Today I am pleased to welcome Carol Warham on to the blog with a quick interview! She’s come up with some wonderful answers!

Q&A

What is your favourite thing about writing books?
When I started writing, which was mainly short stories and poetry, I discovered that I loved creating new worlds, characters and structuring plots around them. I have always been an avid reader, and to discover that I could also let my imagination run riot when creating stories has been great fun.

Who is your favourite character in your book and why?
That is such a difficult question. I suppose I should say one of the protagonists, the hero or the heroine. However the favourite character to actually create was the ‘baddie’ Steve. I could really get my teeth into him and let him be as nasty as I liked. I particularly like Maggie the housekeeper. She is an older lady, solid, dependable and friendly without judging. I think we all need a Maggie in our lives!

What is your favourite drink to consume while writing?
Tea…and plenty of it! I occasionally made myself drink glasses of water, but I’m an inveterate tea drinker. In fact I bought myself a half pint mug so that I could have more. There has been the suggestion that I should keep a flask on the go!

Do you have any bad habits while you’re writing?
I have two bad habits. The first is chocolate and eating it. If you put a bar in front of me I can’t stop until it’s all gone. I don’t mind if it’s dark, milk or white. Any sort of chocolate or chocolate biscuit will do! The second bad habit, like most writers I fear, is spending too much time on social media.

How do you research your books?
For Resolutions, research was easy, especially for the locations. The town of Yeardon is based on my local town of Holmfirth. The first thing I did was to go and photograph likely areas, so that I could describe them with certainty. Of course, google is an amazing resource as well. When I needed some medical advice I was able to get it from google but also from people who had suffered a similar problem. If I say what the advice I needed was I’ll be giving out a spoiler!

Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I’m definitely a pantser. I simply write as I think. The trouble with that is you can get mixed up and the time spent going over and correcting or editing could have been saved if I planned better. However I find planning a little boring, but maybe I should learn to do it, at least a little.

If you could live in any fictional world, which would you choose and why?
That is another difficult question. I have read most genres, from historical and crime to fantasy and romance. I’m not sure which fictional world I would choose. I think I’m better staying on this side of the paper and creating my own worlds instead.

If you could befriend any fictional character, who would you choose and why?
I love Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond series. If anyone doesn’t know them, they are set in Tudor times and the hero, Francis Crawford travels all over the world. Dorothy weaves incredible and intricate plots and characters throughout her books. I would love the opportunity to befriend Philippa Somerville, the main heroine, particularly of the later books. She is such a feisty but funny young woman, who I imagine would make a great friend.

About the Book

A few days before the New Year, Carly Mitchell returns home to the small town on the Yorkshire moors. Her intention for the short visit is to make her apologies and offer an explanation for her action. A year earlier, she fled, leaving her bridegroom and friends bewildered.

She’s met with mixed reactions, ranging from curiosity to open hostility. However, when an emergency arises, Carly agrees to change her plans and stay a little longer. Falling in love with the new local doctor, Ben Thornton, was not part of her original plan either. Especially when it appears his past is shrouded in mystery.

Complications and tensions increase during the town’s New Year celebrations and she begins to doubt whether she has done the right thing by coming home.

Can she find the resolution she needs to overcome the challenges facing her, or will she run away again?

About the Author

Resolutions is Carol’s debut novel and is set in a location close to where she lives.

Writing has been her love since childhood. She started by making small comics for her dolls, progressed to training as a journalist for a short while. Once the family had grown up Carol settled down to writing and published short stories, poems and holiday articles.

In recent years she has become a judge in the short story section for the HysteriaUK competition and also for the RNA’s romance novel of the year.

Carol lives in Yorkshire, surrounded by some beautiful countryside, which is ideal for her other passion of walking, often with a dog called Sam.

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Are you a tea addict too?