Margaret Mayo Romance Author

I’m nearing the end of my Australian book, thank goodness, so if you don’t hear from me for a few days you’ll know I have my head down. I re-wrote the beginning of this book a few times before I was happy with it, and if there’s a good thing about re-writing it’s that I already know my hero and heroine. The first time round I had to get to know them – but after a few false starts, after a few thousand words of writing, I got to know them intimately.

Some authors, I know, learn everything about their characters before they begin to write, but I don’t do it that way. I know a few details, obviously, but not too much. It’s like meeting someone for the first time and gradually getting to know their likes and dislikes, their family, their thoughts and ideas.

Even Cade didn’t start off as Cade. He was Joshua. But it didn’t work, it didn’t suit him, it’s perhaps why I was having problems. Once he became Cade he was a much stronger man. And he changed my heroine’s name. I forget what I called her originally but one day Cade called her Simone, and that was it. I think names shape characters. Does anyone agree with me?

We’re in a middle of a thunderstorm and I’m wondering whether to turn off my computer. A couple of years ago, a thunderbolt hit a house a few doors away and blew my computer and the telephone line. Along with dozens of others in our village. Ever since then I’ve always unplugged everything if there’s a storm, or even if we go away and the forecast’s not too good.

I actually don’t mind storms. I find them exciting. It’s nature at its best. They remind me of HMB heroes. Larger than life, making itself felt in a way that only it knows.

Gosh, that was a loud clap.

When my father was alive he used to tell me that he’d been hit by lightning on two separate occasions. He was very lucky, hardly hurt at all. I think he’d sheltered under a tree (?) and it hit his bicycle clips.

Talking about weather, here’s an incident that happened many years ago when I was writing one of my books. My hero and heroine were out at sea in a little boat in the fog when my daughter phoned. (If you’ve read my bio you’ll know that I used to write at the office) She’d finished school and wanted to know if she could come to see me. ‘Don’t be silly, I said, it’s foggy.’ ‘It isn’t foggy here, Mom,’ came her answer. And when I looked out of the window the sun was shining. I was living my story! Which has to be the most fantastic feeling in the world!

I watched on TV the other night a re-run of Dragons’ Den. For those of you who don’t live in the UK and may not have seen the programme it’s where a panel of multi millionaires listen to applicants dreams of going into big business with their inventions, in the hope of persuading one or more of the panel members to invest in their ideas.

My interest in the programme is the multi millionaires – potential hero material! My favourite is Peter Jones- in my opinion the most handsome of the group. He became an entrepreneur at a very early age and is incredibly successful. He’s even written a book on how to become a tycoon. Definitely my kind of man.

We went poppy hunting at the weekend. I’ve been asked to do a poppy painting and when we saw a brilliant red field of poppies from the motorway I made the driver (my husband naturally) take the next turning off and backtrack until we found it. Lots of narrow lanes and wrong turnings!! Thank goodness he likes driving – and more especially country lanes. Many years ago (before sat nav) he’d always try to get us lost! We never could; we always came to some sign or landmark that we recognised. Anyway, I ventured into the field and took lots of photos and downloaded them on to my computer on Sunday night, finally picking out the ones I thought I could use.

When I went to bed at something past midnight (doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun?) all I could see when I closed my eyes was poppies. Millions of them. It’s something that often happens to me when I’ve been looking at a subject for a long time. The odd thing was when I began writing on Monday morning and closed my eyes to think – which incidentally I always do when I’m conjuring up a scene – what did I see on the backs of my eyelids. Still more fields of poppies!

Maybe they’ll find their way into a future book!

I’m a nine to five girl, that is I write from nine to five, five days a week – give or take an hour or two either side!! The beauty of writing is that you can do it whenever you like. I’m not an early morning person like some writers and sometimes other interests take up my time. And weekends I like to spend with my long-suffering husband.

It seems like a million years since Friday and my first job is to read through my last chapter to get myself back into the story. Poor Cade and Simone must be feeling very neglected. When I left them they were out sailing so perhaps they’ve had a good time in my absence. Let’s hope so.

We’re having such gorgeous weather here in England at the moment that it’s almost a pity to sit indoors. Except that when you enjoy writing as much as I do it’s never a hardship.