More about Priest Hole from Jane Anstey

The first part of the story that came to me was the one contained in the rector’s diary for 1915/16, which forms a running element across the book, providing the end section of each chapter.

This has been running around in my head for years, with a clear connection to a priest-hole in a Cornish manor-house. It was only more recently that I found myself wanting to write about the experience of the first UK lockdown, in spring 2020, before it faded too much from my memory.

I had only to place the Swanson family (minus Liz, who has remained at her post in Oxford) in Cornwall in 2020, and the story more or less wrote itself. The addition of a more nuanced portrayal of Olivia Landry, a minor character in the first two Jeremy Swanson mysteries, and a larger role for the Swanson children, particularly Lorna, made it all the more satisfying to complete.

More about The Pact from Lisa Darcy

I am passionate about writing fiction, typically stories centred around women navigating friendships, careers, romance, and ultimately triumphing over adversity.

With The Pact, I wanted to write about sisters. I made them doubles tennis champions to amplify the usual sibling issues and then explore their professional partnership and personal relationships—similarities, differences, motivation, competition, abandonment, and grief—and how they each respond to the stress of constantly being under the media spotlight.

What happens when, at the pinnacle of fame, it all falls apart? With dreams shattered and egos destroyed, how do they cope?

I had a lot of fun writing this story and hope The Pact resonates with readers, even if they don’t play tennis or know much about the game!

About Jeanne Howard

Poet, essayist and novelist, Jeanne Howard’s work has expanded over the years to include women’s fiction.

Jeanne holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in counseling psychology. In 1973, she was co-founder of a successful group of weekly newspapers, which she continued to operate until 1994.

A resident of southern New Jersey, Jeanne worked as director of communications for two large school districts. She retired in 2008 and spends her time as executive editor for Wings. She and her husband Howard dote on their rescue kitty, Selma.

Q&A with Sherri Fulmer Moorer

My name is Sherri Fulmer Moorer. I write because I’ve always loved to do it, and ebooks allowed me to share those stories with readers. The purpose of my writing is to redefine reality and experience the adventure of ordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances.

I write in a variety of genres because I can’t be pigeonholed into one area, and I’m many other things in addition to being an author. I work full-time in professional licensing, which is great for keeping me in touch with people and reality and, in turn, inspires me to write more.

I’m married and live in the woods with two parrots that keep our hearts, home, and lives filled with joy and silliness that most people find strange. I’m a social media rambler and borderline introvert/extrovert whose kindred spirit, according to online quizzes, is somewhere between a Sith Inquisitor from Star Wars and Scooter from The Muppets.

Visit me online at:

Website: http://www.sherrithewriter.com

Facebook: at http://www.facebook.com/sherrithewriter

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1099515.Sherri_Fulmer_Moorer

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SherritheWriter·         

What challenges did you face while writing your latest novel? A challenge I’m facing with my current work-in-progress is reconciling that I’m working through a recent diagnosis of anxiety disorder through my fiction writing. I was diagnosed with it last summer, and my therapist recommended working through the issues in my writing. Mental illness is a theme in this evolving novel.

How do you balance writing with your personal and professional life? How do you deal with writer’s block or creative slumps? By accepting it and looking to things that have inspired me. Writer’s block is going to happen because you can burn out on anything, even things you love. I get to my other hobbies like reading favorite authors and books, watching TV and movies, listening to music, various workout routines, meditation, and counted cross stitching. Sometimes I even stretch out into genres I don’t usually read and write for additional inspiration.

Do you play music while you write? If so, what's your favorite? I don’t listen to music while I write, but I am attentive to what I listen to during my writing spells. I was a “grunge era” teen and young adult, so my favorites are the grunge and nu-metal music that were popular in the '90s and early 2000s. My favorite bands are Cold (which I saw in concert in September 2023) Alice-In-Chains, and Metallica.

What are some books or authors that influenced your writing style or genre? When I started writing fiction, I was heavily impacted by Christopher Pike, the teen author, and I believe that influence shows in Blurry. My science fiction work is heavily influenced by Blake Crouch and Emma Newman’s Planetfall Series.

What are you working on next? I’m working on a sci-fi novel tentatively titled Singularity. The survivors of an epidemic are trying to reactivate their Artificial Intelligence, only to find signs that the AI might have caused the epidemic.