Secrets buried like treasure in novels always tempt me. When I discovered Jan Baynham’s novel, Her Mother’s Secret, I wanted to find out more. Set in Greece in 1969, Her Mother’s Secret is the just the ticket to travel to glorious Greece. I invited Jan to tell me more about her debut novel and why she chose to bury a secret in the pages.
I have always been intrigued by family secrets and the fact that these sometimes do not come to light until after a person has died. I read of someone who was sorting through her mother’s things after her death and found a diary. In there, the young woman learned about a part of her mother’s life she knew nothing about. The ‘what ifs?’ started in my head and Her Mother’s Secret started to evolve. At the time, I’d been reading a novel where the rustling in the trees sounded like whispers and inanimate statues took on the form of ghosts of the people they represented. Perhaps the whispering could show the presence of a past family member. Always fascinated by the bond between mothers and daughters, this was basis for my story. Very often, the close relationship between mothers and daughters means that they would know things about each other no one else would. I wanted to explore how my character, Alexandra, would feel when she found out about her mother, Elin’s secret life. How could her mother have kept this from her? How would she feel? I needed Elin to have been able to keep her secret from everyone, even her own mother, until she died.
Having visited many times and being struck by the wonderful palette of colours seen in every landscape, Greece was my obvious inspiration
I decided that Elin would be an artist, having just finished art college. She travels to Greece to further her painting skills and while there, something happens that she never mentions again. I chose a setting where the colours would be more vibrant and intense perhaps than in her home country of Wales. Having visited many times and being struck by the wonderful palette of colours seen in every landscape, Greece was my obvious inspiration. Elin’s daughter, Alexandra, arrives on Péfka, a small island off the Peloponnese in Southern Greece, to follow in her mother’s footsteps to find out what happened there twenty-two years earlier. No wonder you loved it here, Mam. The colours alone make it an artist’s heaven, she thought. Péfka is purely fictional and is not based on one particular place; it’s an amalgam of areas I’ve visited – a beach or street here, a taverna or workshop there where I’ve met characters when getting out into Greek villages. Every holiday has inspired me with contributions to create characters and settings that are hopefully authentic showing the climate, the vivid colours of the sea and the flowers as well as the warmth of its people.
Every holiday has inspired me with contributions to create characters and settings that are hopefully authentic showing the climate, the vivid colours of the sea and the flowers as well as the warmth of its people
More about Her Mother’s Secret
It’s 1969 and free-spirited artist Elin Morgan has left Wales for a sun-drenched Greek island. As she makes new friends and enjoys the laidback lifestyle, she writes all about it in her diary. But Elin’s carefree summer of love doesn’t last long, and her island experience ultimately leaves her with a shocking secret …
An artist travelling to Greece in 1969 evokes endless opportunities for secrets. I can’t wait to escape to Greece with the promise of Her Mother’s Secret. I wonder what Alexandra, Elin’s daughter, will discover when she visits Greece twenty two years later…
Her Mother’s Secret will be published by Ruby Fiction on 21st April and is available to order now.
Jan Baynham
Meet Jan Baynham
After retiring from a career in teaching and advisory education, Jan joined a small writing group in a local library where she wrote her first piece of fiction. From then on, she was hooked! She soon went on to take a writing class at the local university and began to submit short stories for publication to a wider audience. Her stories and flash fiction pieces have been longlisted and short listed in competitions and several appear in anthologies both online and in print. In October 2019, her first collection of stories was published. Her stories started getting longer and longer so that, following a novel writing course, she began to write her first full length novel. She loves being able to explore her characters in further depth and delve into their stories. She writes about family secrets and the bond between mothers and daughters. Set in the last year of the 60s, ‘Her Mother’s Secret’ takes you to sun-drenched Greece, her favourite holiday destination.
Originally from mid-Wales, Jan lives in Cardiff with her husband. Having joined the Romantic Novelists Association in 2016, she values the friendship and support from other members and regularly attends conferences, workshops, talks and get togethers. She is co-organiser of her local RNA Chapter.
Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two children.
Claire Huston has been a friend of Books in Handbag for many years. I have enjoyed following her blog Art and Soul because she presents some lovely, simple recipes and she is always so positive. I was delighted to learn she has written a romance and wanted to discover more. I invited Claire to talk about her novel.
Claire: My debut novel, Art and Soul, is a cheerful modern love story.
There’s no problem Becky Watson can’t fix. Except her own love life…
An expert in solving other people’s problems, single mum Becky is hired to help artist Charlie get out of his creative slump. But when she starts falling for her client, she’s forced to wonder: will she be able to fix her own love life?
To add some extra sweetness to the slow burn romance, the story features several delicious cakes. As part of my ongoing baking adventures, I set myself the challenge of making all the cakes which appear in the book. Here are a few of them…
Old school sponge cake with white icing and multi-coloured sprinkles
A classic and the favourite cake of Charlie, the hero of the story. A generous slice of this light, fluffy sponge brings back fond memories of his school days.
Favourite cake of Charlie, the hero of the story.
Chocolate fudge cake with chocolate buttercream
This is Becky’s favourite cake. She enjoys scoffing a restorative slice while having a good gossip with her best friend, Ronnie, who owns a cake shop.
This is Becky’s favourite cake.
Cappuccino cake with caramel buttercream
With life-fixer work being thin on the ground, Becky has been making ends meet by working behind the scenes at upmarket weddings to prevent problems and make sure the bride and groom’s big day goes off without a hitch. This deliciously sweet coffee confection is the cake chosen by one of the happy couples Becky is hired to help.
This deliciously sweet coffee confection is the cake chosen by one of the happy couples Becky is hired to help
Make these cakes!
If you fancy making any of these cakes, you can find all the recipes and over a hundred more on my website: www.clairehuston.co.uk
Introducing Claire Huston
Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two children. Art and Soul is her first novel. A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as eating them. You can find recipes for all the cakes mentioned in Art and Soul at
Claire Huston has been a friend of Books in Handbag for many years. I have enjoyed following her blog Art and Soul because she presents some lovely, simple recipes and she is always so positive. I was delighted to learn she has written a romance and wanted to discover more. I invited Claire to talk about her novel.
Claire: My debut novel, Art and Soul, is a cheerful modern love story.
An expert in solving other people’s problems, single mum Becky is hired to help artist Charlie get out of his creative slump. But when she starts falling for her client, she’s forced to wonder: will she be able to fix her own love life?
To add some extra sweetness to the slow burn romance, the story features several delicious cakes. As part of my ongoing baking adventures, I set myself the challenge of making all the cakes which appear in the book. Here are a few of them…
Old school sponge cake with white icing and multi-coloured sprinkles
A classic and the favourite cake of Charlie, the hero of the story. A generous slice of this light, fluffy sponge brings back fond memories of his school days.
Chocolate fudge cake with chocolate buttercream
This is Becky’s favourite cake. She enjoys scoffing a restorative slice while having a good gossip with her best friend, Ronnie, who owns a cake shop.
Cappuccino cake with caramel buttercream
With life-fixer work being thin on the ground, Becky has been making ends meet by working behind the scenes at upmarket weddings to prevent problems and make sure the bride and groom’s big day goes off without a hitch. This deliciously sweet coffee confection is the cake chosen by one of the happy couples Becky is hired to help.
Make these cakes!
If you fancy making any of these cakes, you can find all the recipes and over a hundred more on my website: www.clairehuston.co.uk
Introducing Claire Huston
Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two children. Art and Soul is her first novel.
A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as eating them. You can find recipes for all the cakes mentioned in Art and Soul at www.clairehuston.co.uk along with over 100 other recipes. This is also where she talks about and reviews books.
You can also follow Claire’s baking and writing endeavours on social media: linktr.ee/clairehuston_author
Get the book
And if you’d like a copy of Art and Soul, you can get one here. This is also where she talks about and reviews books.
You can also follow Claire’s baking and writing endeavours on social media: linktr.ee/clairehuston_author
I was honoured when Gail Aldwin sent me a postcard about ‘The String Games’.
Presenting an author’s debut novel is one of the great privileges of blogging, and I was honoured when Gail Aldwin sent me a postcard about The String Games. This debut novel is to be published later this month by Victorina Press. Gail’s poetic style of writing is charged with emotion and appeals to me. I look forward to reading her debut novel to discover how she has painted the complex emotions involved in the challenging narrative.
Without further ado, I will hand over to my lovely guest, Dr Gail Aldwin.
I have long been a fan of Jessie’s writing (You Can’t Go It Alone is a super novel with memorable characters) and Jessie’s blog (always love being introduced to new writers) so I am delighted to be offered a post to celebrate the launch of my debut novel The String Games which will be published by Victorina Press later in May 2019.
When four-year-old Josh is abducted and murdered during a family holiday in France, Nim, aged ten, becomes an only child. To cope with the tragedy, Nim reinvents herself but continues to carry a burden of unresolved grief. As an adult she returns to France determined to find out more about the circumstances of Josh’s death. How will she deal with this new information and what are the implications for her future?
I love the variety of posts on Jessie’s blog and thought I’d take the opportunity to share an extract from the novel that brings food and unforeseen consequences together. Nim narrates the story of the holiday she shares with her brother and her mother, Jenny. Joining them at the caravan is Jenny’s lover Dee and her six-year-old daughter, Ella. In charge of the little kids, Nim takes them to the campsite shop to buy ice-creams:
When it was their turn to be served, Josh bashed his finger at the glass cabinet, pointing to the vanilla. It might be easy to read words in French but it wasn’t so easy to talk. Nim nodded at the lady and stuck three fingers in the air. It was easiest to order the same flavour but that didn’t stop Ella from moaning. She was lucky to have an ice cream at all, seeing as Dad’s money was meant for Nim and Josh. When the first cone was topped with a white wig, Nim passed it to Josh and the next went to Ella. When the last one arrived, Nim gave the lady the money.
‘Non, non, non!’ The assistant shook her head and wagged a finger.
Nim stood there. The little children licked their cones while ice cream ran onto Nim’s hand. What was the matter?
‘Zis English.’ The assistant spat the words.
‘Yes.’
‘Non, non, non!’
‘Is something wrong?’ It was a relief to hear an English voice. The man had a tanned forehead and lines showed on his cheeks when he smiled.
‘I don’t know,’ said Nim. ‘My dad gave me the money as a going away present.’
‘He should’ve given you francs. Never mind. Let me get these.’ He passed the assistant a brown note and returned the five pounds to Nim. ‘Save that for a treat when your holiday’s over – you can spend it back in the UK.’
‘I’m not sure.’
‘It’s not a problem. Let me do you a favour. Your dad would do the same in this situation, I’m sure.’
‘Hmm.’ Nim didn’t know what to say. She’d been told not to talk to strangers, but it was too late. Josh crunched the last of his cone.
‘What’s your name?’ asked Josh.
‘Shush,’ said Nim. Josh had been warned as well, but the man didn’t look like a stranger. He wore a shiny top, and Nim hoped Josh wasn’t going to say anything about football shirts.
‘I’m Geoff,’ he said.
‘What’s your job?’ said Josh. ‘And where did you get that shirt?’
‘Too many questions,’ said Nim.
‘Don’t worry. I know what boys are like. I’ve got nephews. They’re toddlers at the moment but I bet they’ll be the same as Josh one day.’
‘When I was little, I wanted to be a tractor,’ said Josh. ‘But now I want to be a policeman.’
‘Interesting career choice,’ said Geoff.
‘We live at Sank-on-Seas,’ said Josh.
‘Sank-on-Seas?’ Geoff repeated.
‘He means fifty-six in English,’ Nim corrected, but realising she’d probably said too much, she elbowed Josh. ‘We need to go.’
‘Goodbye.’ Josh scampered to the steps, where he turned.
‘You can come to my place any time you want ice cream. My freezer is full of it,’ said Geoff. ‘Just look for the caravan with the yellow door along the road from here.’
‘Okay.’ Josh skipped down the steps.
This is the postcard Gail sent me from Dorset. I’ll certainly take care if I ever need to walk on the bridge.
When Josh goes missing later in the novel, suspicions about Geoff are raised and Nim shoulders feelings of responsibility for bringing the two of them together.
The String Games takes hold of the reader and the juncture of the head and the heart and simply does not let go. With courage and tenderness, and an unblinking eye, Gail Aldwin explores the ways in which the loss of a child explodes a family. Treat yourself and read this one.
JACQUELYN MITCHARD, bestselling author of THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN
About Gail Aldwin
Gail co-writes short plays and comedy sketches that have been staged in Bridport, Brighton and Salisbury. She also performs her work at fringe festivals in the South-West.
Gail Aldwin’s published work includes Adversaries/Comrades, a poetry pamphlet (Wordsmith_HQ, 2019) and a collection of short fiction Paisley Shirt (Chapeltown Books, 2018) which was longlisted in the Saboteur Awards 2018. Gail co-writes short plays and comedy sketches that have been staged in Bridport, Brighton and Salisbury. She also performs her work at fringe festivals in the South-West. The String Games is her debut novel.
Gail’s anthology of flash fiction entitled Paisley Shirt captivated and moved me. In the future, I will blog the flash fiction Gail’s work anthology inspired me to write. I am excited to discover how Gail will stretch my imagination with The String Games.
When people follow their dreams, I must find out more. Having retired from a career in education, Jan Baynham recently gained a publishing deal with Ruby Fiction. I am delighted she agreed to chat to me about her writing adventure and offer the benefit of her experiences.
Jessie: When did you first dream of becoming a writer?
Jan: I came very late to the party! It wasn’t until I retired that I thought about writing fiction. As a teacher and latterly as a Teacher Adviser for English, I’d always enjoyed teaching writing and taking part in Shared Writing but had never thought seriously about writing for myself. To start, I joined a small writing group at a local library and from there I took a short story course at Cardiff University run by a published author. I began submitting my stories to competitions and several are published in anthologies and on-line. A themed anthology of those early stories, “Smashing the Mask and Other Stories’, will be launched by Black Pear Press on October 10th. Back then, unless they were Flash Fiction pieces – a genre that I love! – I found it harder and harder to keep to the word counts required for some of the competitions. It soon became clear that I preferred to write much longer stories with multi-layered characters, detailed settings and more involved plots. I undertook a novel writing course with the same tutor and that was when my dream of becoming a published novelist began. That was five years ago and enrolling on Lynne Barrett-Lee’s course was the best decision I ever made.
Jessie: Wow! I am impressed you retired from one successful career to embark on anotherchallenge. How did you feel when you secured a deal with Ruby Fiction?
Jan: At the beginning of May, I accepted and signed a contract with Ruby Fiction for three books. The first, ‘Whispering Olive Trees’, will be published in digital and audio in 2020. I was – and still am! – thrilled and still can’t quite believe it. I know there’s a lot of hard work ahead but working with my editor at Ruby is something I’m looking forward to very much. I shall give it my all.
Jessie: What is Whispering Oliver Trees about?
The view over the sapphire sea from the fictional island of Péfka where the novel is mainly set
‘Whispering Olive Trees’ started out as a short story that did quite well in competitions by being long-listed. After re-tweaking, it was eventually published as ‘Whispers in the Olive Trees’ on Alfie Dog Fiction. But I knew there was a longer, more involved story there and my characters were begging to tell me more. The novel is now completely different. Mainly taking place on a fictional island, Péfka, in southern Greece, in 1965 and 1987, the dual time-line novel explores the relationship between a mother and daughter, forbidden love – due to cultural differences – and a search for true identity. Alexandra, known as Lexi, is a young woman grieving after the untimely death of her mother, Elin who has bequeathed her diary to her. Through reading the diary, Lexi discovers secrets in her mother’s past and a part of her life she knew nothing about. She travels to Greece to find out the truth, and then understands why tension has always existed between her and her father. Once she knows who she really is, she can move on with her own life and find true happiness. I’m hoping the novel will appeal to female readers who enjoy family sagas and reading about relationships, the dynamics of family life, secrets, romance and a touch of crime. Having a Greek uncle and having made many visits there, I am passionate about novels set in Greece and the country itself. I hope that will come across to my readers.
Jessie: Intriguing to know you have a Greek uncle and this inspired the story. I adore stories with secrets. The novel sounds like a great escape and it is no wonder you wanted to write the novel. You have been determined to secure a publishing deal. I knew you would manage it. What process did you go through before you were successful?
Olive trees grow everywhere on the island. The whispering of the leaves in the breeze remind Lexi she is not alone.
Jan: Thank you for your confidence, Jessie. Yes, I was as determined as I could be. I think the main reason for the determination was that I didn’t have the confidence to self-publish and I am full of admiration for those writers who do so successfully. The first thing I did was to apply for a place on the RNA’s wonderful New Writers’ Scheme. I cannot praise the scheme highly enough. The three reports I have received from my readers so far have been very constructive, encouraging and detailed with helpful advice. Before submitting to any publishers, I have considered the points made and given my novels another thorough edit.
Wherever Lexi goes, she is met by an abundance of vibrant bougainvillea, tumbling over garden walls.
I took note of those publishers to whom you may submit directly without an agent. As each rejection came back, it was noticeable that instead of a standard ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ I soon started getting positive feedback with comments about what they liked about the writing and why they couldn’t make an offer. It was at this stage, the ‘nearly but not quite’ stage as one editor put it, I knew that if I took on board the advice I was getting, that maybe I would get published. A glimmer of hope! I hoped that each new submission was better than the previous one because of the help I was getting. That’s not to say I didn’t have self-doubt and wondered how long I should keep trying. That was where my group of writing friends, Sue, Catherine and Vanessa came in and gave me the kick start to begin submitting again!
Jessie: What advice would you give to fledgling authors seeking their first publishing deal?
Jan: Keep going! Get yourself a pair of wide shoulders, preferably with 80s style padding! I tell myself it’s a rejection of the writing and not of me as a person. I’m a ‘bottle half-full’ person and whenever I receive any written feedback, I have a little ritual. Especially with my NWS readers’ reports, I highlight all the positive comments and compliments in one colour and then do the same for the suggestions for improvement, criticisms, flaws etc. in another highlighter pen. We are notoriously bad at just focusing in on what’s wrong with our writing, aren’t we? If I agree with the points to correct or improve, I make them into a list and tick them off as I edit.
Choose to submit to publishers who are accepting submissions without an agent and who are accepting novels in your genre. Make sure you read the submission guidelines ‘to the letter’. They all vary. The same applies to the query letter. If you are submitting to an agent, however, maybe look for those who are building a list.
Even very experienced writers will say they are still learning. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned, and hopefully improved as a writer, from attending conferences, training days and workshops. Lancaster 2019 will be my fourth RNA Conference and as well as the organised lectures, workshops, the 1-to-1 industry appointments, the camaraderie of the other delegates, I’ve always come back enthused and ready to start writing again.
My last piece of advice would be to build your social media presence before you start submitting to publishers. It is often a question they ask and want to know how you will be able to promote yourself and your novels. My blog is now five years old and I started it when I started novel writing. It’s a way of sharing my writing journey and also supporting fellow authors by promoting their books and hosting guest interviews. On Twitter, for example, I’ve ‘met’ lots of supportive writers and we like and re-tweet each others’ news and books. It’s even better when we meet in person.
Jessie: You give lots of valuable advice, and I have now experienced the value of the Romantic Novelist’ Conference. I agree that social media is a wonderful way to communicate -it’s where I met you. Why is it important for new writers to meet up with other writers rather than only communicating on social media?
Jan: Although I’m an advocate of building up a presence on social media, nothing beats meeting up with other writers, face to face. Writing can be a very lonely occupation and I think it’s so important to get away from the computer to mix with other writers. I still meet up with two writing friends I met on the short story ‘Telling Tales’ course. We meet for lunch every few weeks and bring along Flash Fiction pieces to share and critique. Our Cowbridge Cursors ‘group of four’ meets up less regularly than we used to due to family, work and other commitments, but when we do it’s as if we’ve never been apart. Our RNA Chapter meets every month and through that I’ve met some lovely writers. It’s been so good to share a Writing Retreat Day and a Writing Workshop with them this year. We talk about our WiPs and I always come away feeling better about my writing.
Jessie: The Chapter meetings also give me a great writing boost. I am so pleased to be part of the South Wales and West Chapter. Aside from writing, I know you have a very interesting hobby. Can you tell me more about Eddie Stobard?
You’ve asked about my unusual hobby. It’s not something I broadcast for fear of being judged as a bit of an ‘anorak’. It all came out when I was coming home from my first Conference with my four writing buddies, the CCs. The M6 is a haven for Eddie Stobart spotters like me. Every time we came alongside one of the green, red and white beauties, I was busy making notes on my phone ready to transfer to my Eddie Stobart Spotter’s Handbook when I got home. Imagine the disbelief and ribbing I got! This year, I now have a brand new Eddie Stobart truck named after me – ‘Janet Eleanor’, H8529, Registration No. PX68ZKE.
Jan offers honest advice for authors seeking that first publishing deal, and I am sure her story will resonate with all authors. I look forward to the finished novel.Best of luck, Jan!
