Guest post written by A Cornish Christmas at the Farmhouse Bakery author Linn B. Halton
From interior designer to author, when Linn B. Halton’s not writing, or spending time with the family, she’s either upcycling furniture or working in the garden. Linn won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award; her novels have been short-listed in the UK’s Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book Awards.
I’ve just finished drafting my thirty-third manuscript and the number one question people ask is, ‘Where do your ideas come from?’
I write under my real name, Linn B. Halton, and also under the pen name of Lucy Coleman.
As Linn, I now focus on stories featuring small communities, mostly set in Cornwall: heart-warming stories – home is where the heart it.
As Lucy, it’s more of a travel adventure: heartwarming characters and beautiful locations.
My ideas come from a rather large folder that has grown over the years. The years spent raising a family and following two extremely diverse careers. Two decades as a finance manager and three years as an interior designer. It wasn’t really a surprise to friends and family when in 2009 I gave up work to become a full-time author. Taking a risk is a part of life’s wonderful journey, as they say.
But from a young age, I always knew that one day I would write and every time an idea popped into my head, a one-liner that could inspire a whole novel, I wrote it down.
So, back to the original question and how do I know which scrap of paper to take out of my folder when I’m about to start on a new work-in-progress?
The answer to that is I write intuitively. It doesn’t matter whether that little scribble has been tucked away for ten years, or ten days. The moment I write ‘The End’ to one story –in my head, of course, as it’s rare to see that now on the final page – one of those one-liner ideas quickly follows those two infamous words.
Then I search through my file to find it and as I begin preparations to start a new, and exciting book journey, I focus on creating a working title. Next, I determine the names of the two main characters. The process begins all over again, but each time it’s different.
A couple of years ago, when my editor asked if I was interested in writing a three-book series set in Cornwall, I instantly said ‘yes’. I went in search of an idea I’d noted down a long time ago, about a small community helping and supporting each other. From that grew the Penvennan Cove trilogy, and from that grew a second series set at the fictional Renweneth Farm, in the Escape to Cornwall trilogy.
What I love about writing these novels is that when I type the last page of any story, I always feel the first question the reader will ask is, ‘But what happens next?’, and that’s only natural. Sometimes it weighs so heavily on my mind, that I’ll include an epilogue.
When I’m writing about a small community, there tends to be a much wider cast of characters, and each has their own story. I don’t need to grab something from my ideas folder, as when I start writing the second book in the series, it’s simply answering the question of what actually happened next.
And that’s the fun of it. When I’m writing, I enjoy escaping with my characters – it’s my happy place. I’m simply the typist as each one tells me about their hopes, and their dreams.
I type that final page with mixed emotions. Jubilant, because it usually leaves me feeling happy and uplifted, but in another sense… bereft. If it’s a one-off story, I know that I’ll never spend time with any of the fictional people I’ve come to know so well, ever again. It’s tough to say goodbye because I will miss them. With a series it’s completely different.
In the Escape to Cornwall trilogy, my latest release is the second in this series. While each book can be read as a standalone novel, as I give a little background, this one features two new people joining the Renweneth Farm community. They aren’t total strangers, as they’re friends of the new owner, Jess Newman, whose story is told in Summer at the Cornish Farmhouse.
A Cornish Christmas at the Farmhouse Bakery celebrates the way people band together to support each other. Yes, there are tensions and misunderstandings, but when everyone has a common goal, the seemingly impossible can be achieved.
If you care about people, they will care about you; and that’s what embodies the spirit of a small village as it becomes a burgeoning community. And at Christmas, when the snow threatens to throw the lavish celebrations planned at Renweneth Farm, off course, that team ethos kicks in and will, hopefully, save the day.
Thank you SO much for inviting me to come along to talk to your readers.
Here’s hoping everyone has an awesome Christmas! May it be filled with hugs, laughter and love.
A big ‘hi’ to your readers and thank you so much for inviting me along to chat. Have a wonderful Christmas, all!