Jo Lambert Archives - Jessie Cahalin Writes

I love to celebrate authors who have connected with me over the years. Jo Lambert lives east of Bath, and she has written an impressive seven books. Books are a destination for readers, and Jo creates a powerful sense of place in her romantic suspense novels. I invited Jo to tell me about the inspiration for the sense of place in her writing.

A SENSE OF PLACE – Pure imagination, reality or a little of both – what’s best for you?

As an author it’s not only about developing the plot and creating the characters, it’s also getting the setting right. Whether you are writing a psychological thriller or contemporary romance set in the city or the suburbs – or maybe like me, using a rural/small town community – creating the perfect backdrop can occasionally throw up some problems. That is why personally I’ve always found it easier to base my fictional locations on actual places.

My first novel When Tomorrow Comes was set in rural West Somerset. For this I used my own experiences of village life. Of course it’s not just using familiar places, it can also include buildings such as houses, pubs and hotels. They can all be used to help the writing process. In Summer Moved On and Watercolours in the Rain, set in South Devon village of Lynbrook, The Bull Inn is actually based on a local village pub I still visit. Similarly Lynbrook Hall is a real place about five miles away from the pub. It was for sale while I was writing and the on line estate agent’s photographs were a bonus in helping create my fictitious manor house.

Set in Cornwall Shadows on the Water is a story of family ties, lost love and tangled loyalties

My current novels are set in Cornwall. For A Cornish Affair, I used a hotel I’d seen while staying in Richmond. It was totally right for the one central to the book which sat on a cliff overlooking a small coastal fishing village. And for my latest novel, Shadows on the Water, I’ve taken parts of Fowey and Dartmouth and blended them into the estuary town of Kingswater.

Another useful aid is Google Map. In one of my novels my character was in Verona, a place I had visited several years before. During her stay she had gone on walkabout in the city. Apart from The Arena and Juliet’s Balcony I had a very hazy memory of our day trip there. Luckily Google Map came to the rescue. It enabled me to ‘walk’ in her footsteps and describe the things she was seeing, giving the whole scene a far more authentic feel.

In the end, of course, it depends very much on individual preference. Some writers are happy to use their imagination while others set their stories in real places. And then there are those like me who ‘borrow’, taking reality and remoulding it to suit the story they are writing. It’s all about what works best for you really.

I also enjoy the freedom to create a new village based on places I have encountered in my travels. The place wraps itself around my characters and listens to their hopes, dreams and sadness. Jo Lambert has recently released Shadows on the Water. Set in Cornwall Shadows on the Water is a story of family ties, lost love and tangled loyalties. I look forward to visiting Jo’s destination.

Jo Lambert is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors. She has been writing since 2008

More about Shadows on the Water

After the tragic death of her fiancé, Ava Warren is slowly rebuilding her life. She has a supportive family, great friends and a job she loves, managing holiday letting company Estuary Escapes in her home town of Kingswater. Another relationship is the last thing she wants or needs. Until one evening she meets Alex Penhaligon.

Alex’s father Sam owns Heron’s Gate Vineyard and Alex has recently returned from California, where he has been working for the past five years. A case of mistaken identity gets them off to a bad start. But discovering his error, Alex is anxious to make amends and soon persuades Ava that he’s not quite as arrogant as she thinks he is. As their friendship begins to turn into something much deeper, Ava wonders whether she can at last put the past behind her and make a new future with Alex.

But someone is watching. A man who not only thinks Ava should be his but also holds a long term grudge against Alex. And he’s determined to get his own way irrespective of the lengths he has to go to or who gets hurt in the process.

Social Media Links –
Website: http://jolambertbooks.com
Blog: http://jolambertwriter.blog
Twitter: @jolambertwriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jolambert185
Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jo-lambert-6 4644530
Instagram: jolambertwriter185

Please see all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and also my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

Which songs did Jo enter into her writer’s jukebox to evoke the emotions and inspire the tension in A Cornish Affair, her debut novel with Ruby Fiction?

Author, Jo Lambert, celebrates music in her regular blog feature Life Playlists. Music is an inspiration for Jo, and during the writing process music helps Jo to tease out the emotions in her romance novels. I imagine a vintage jukebox playing in the corner of her writing room. Which songs did Jo enter into her writer’s jukebox to evoke the emotions and inspire the tension in A Cornish Affair, her debut novel with Ruby Fiction?

At its heart A Cornish Affair is romantic fiction but it’s also wrapped around a modern day saga. Alongside the ‘will they-won’t they’ going on between Cat and Luke there’s a host of other things – murder and a cantankerous great aunt to mention just two. But this book could never have been written without the music. Like Jessie music has always been a huge part of my life and it’s played an important role in all my writing. With two exceptions, all my books have had their titles taken from songs. And to help the writing process, I create a playlist of tracks; a musical backdrop to writing different scenes.

But Carrenporth is about to experience far bigger scandals than the return of Luke Carrack – and the secrets unearthed in the process will shake the sleepy seaside town to its core …

So this is in Jessie’s words a ‘Books in my Handbag Jukebox’ post. A taster of the music I used for this particular novel.

TITLE TRACK

The Boys of Summer – Don Henley. As this was the working title of the book, the song was a ‘must have’

ROMANTIC TRACKS

Emotional – Whitney Houston

Stay with Me Till Dawn – Judy Tzuke

CAT AND LUKE’S BREAK UP

Johnny Hates Jazz – Shattered Dreams

Hall and Oates – She’s Gone

Jo’s playlist offers a clear insight into the narrative and the emotion. I wanted to discover more about this author.

Jo Lambert lives on the eastern edge of the city of Bath. In 2008 she published her first novel When Tomorrow Comes. This was the first of five books which became known as the Little Court series, following the lives and loves of four girls growing up in the 1960/70s in the West Country. In 2015 she published Summer Moved On, a contemporary romance set in South Devon. A sequel, Watercolours in the Rain followed in 2017.

In June 2018 Jo signed to Choc Lit. Her debut A Cornish Affair, set on the North Cornish coast, was published in June under their Ruby imprint. She is currently working on her next coastal romance.
When Jo isn’t writing she reads and reviews. She also has an active blog – A Writer’s Journey. She loves travel, red wine and rock music and takes the odd photograph or two. Jo is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors

More about A Cornish Affair.

In the close-knit community of Carrenporth in Cornwall everyone knows everyone else’s business. Luke Carrack is only too aware of this. He’s been away for two years but nothing has changed – from the town gossips who can’t see past the scandal of his childhood, to the cold way he is treated by some of his so-called family.
The only person who seems to understand is local hotelier’s daughter Cat Trevelyan, although even Luke’s new friendship with her could set tongues wagging.
But Carrenporth is about to experience far bigger scandals than the return of Luke Carrack – and the secrets unearthed in the process will shake the sleepy seaside town to its core …

Tag: Jo Lambert

Jo Lambert on Creating a Sense of Place

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A Writer’s Jukebox in my Handbag with Jo Lambert

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