Writing Dual Timelines and Multiple Points of View with Vanessa McCausland
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Vanessa: [00:00:00] And I think if you've got those multiple voices, it's so much easier to go, okay, well I'll go into her brain for a while. It just gives you so many more options to keep the story going.
Pamela: [00:00:12] Welcome to Writes4Women, a podcast, all about celebrating women's voices and supporting women writers. I'm Pamela Cook, women's fiction, author writing, teacher, mentor, and podcaster. Each week on The Convo Couch, I'll be chatting to a wide range of women writers, focusing on the heart, craft and business of writing, along with a new release feature author each month. You can listen to the episodes on any of the major podcasting platforms or directly from the Writes4Women website, where you'll also find the transcript of each chat and the extensive Writes4Women backlist.
Before beginning today's chat. I would like to acknowledge and pay my respects to the Dharawal people, the traditional custodians of the land on which this podcast is being recorded along with the traditional owners of the land throughout Australia and pay my respects to their elders past, present, and emerging.
And a quick reminder that there could be strong language and adult concepts discussed in this podcast. So please be aware of this if you have children around.
This episode of Writes4Women is brought to you by Tanya Nellestein and her exciting new novel The Valkyrie’s Viking. So stay tuned at the end of the chat with Vanessa to find out more about Tanya's book and to hear an excerpt.
Now, let's relax on The Convo Couch and chat to this week's guest.
Writing stories has always been in a central part of Vanessa McCausland's life. She spent her early years setting up the magic of books and soon found provided a similar escape. Vanessa's stories, always feature a mystery and intrigue of some kind. And her last two novels The Lost Summers of Driftwood and The Valley of Lost Stories also explore the many issues women confront in their day-to-day lives.
The Valley of Lost Stories is a beautifully told story set in the Capertee Valley, west of Sydney. It features not only multiple viewpoints but a dual timeline. So I've invited Vanessa onto the podcast today to discuss the structural aspects for the craft of writing.
Vanessa, welcome to Writes4Women. It's great to have you back and for those who might be listening out there, this is our second chat in a month or so, because Vanessa's recording that I did with her was the only recording that I actually lost when my computer decided to crash. So we're back for round two, and doing it all again. So thanks for that, Vanessa.
Vanessa: [00:02:46] Thank you for having me again.
Pamela: [00:02:50] Let's get started. The Valley of Lost Stories is a beautiful novel about a group of school mums who venture off to a hidden valley on a getaway, but things do go wrong quite quickly for them. Could you just tell us a little bit more about that?
Vanessa: [00:03:04] Yeah, so these four women and the children are invited to a remote Valley, the Capertee Valley, three hours West of Sydney, and they don't know what to expect. There's nothing really there except for this beautiful restored art deco hotel and the crumbling remains of this mining town, which is now essentially a ghost town. So straight away these unlikely friends, cause they don't know each other that well, are in this really atmospheric setting and they discover that this is a place that's filled with secrets. So in 1948, a woman named Clara Black walked into the night, never to be seen again. And it's this enduring mystery that happened in the Valley. And then it slowly revealed that these four women have got secrets of their own. So Natalie is struggling in a failing marriage and Emmie is yearning for another child. Penn is struggling as a single parent and Alexandra is hiding in the shadow of this famous husband. And yet on the surface, they all seem very together, but all this stuff is happening under the surface. And then as the mystery of what happened to Clara Black 70 years ago unravels one of these women also goes missing in the Valley and these devastating truths begin to emerge.
So it's essentially a story about motherhood, about women's friendships, about the secrets we kind of keep from each other and ourselves. I would say sort of an atmospheric mystery
Pamela: [00:04:38] A fabulous description of it, Vanessa. It's just the sort of story that I love with all that richness about women's lives and beautifully written too. And you've got multiple viewpoints, you've got a dual timeline, and I'm just wondering was that your intention from the beginning to have all those different elements happening in the storyline, how did those parts of the story actually evolve for you?
Vanessa: [00:05:03] I'm a bit of a pantser. So I didn't sit down with a structure by any means. It was more a case of these four separate women's voices coming to me, and then realizing, okay this is each character's motivation, this is each character's flaw, this is each character's journey and then finding a way that I could puzzle them all together in a book exploring similar themes.
So I really started with the women and I can't even remember which woman came to me first, I think it might've been Emmy. And then I kind of realized, oh, okay, this is another voice and that's Natalie. And I write in a bit of an organic way where I think the actual writing is the thing that makes the story come to me rather than me thinking it all in my head and plotting it and then starting to write.
So when I think back on how it emerged, it's quite difficult to articulate exactly how it all happened. I mean, I'm not sure how you write Pam, but it's almost a bit of a mystery. When you think back, you think, how did these characters come to me? Where did they come from? But yeah, I do remember that there wasn't dual timeline, initially, there wasn't the 1948 storyline. It was just the four women. And then I decided to take them to this Valley. And when I actually went to visit the valley myself, and saw that it's really a ghost town and how atmospheric it was. And I thought, Oh, wow. I actually have to write a historic element to this. I have to do a 1948 or sometime in the 1940s, because that's when the actual mining town was at its peak in the forties. And then I went back and went, okay, how am I going to. Puzzle in this historic timeline with the four women.
And I must admit, I think I lost about 25,000 words at that point where I went, okay, now I've got to reconfigure everything. So that was hard, but I knew that it was a sacrifice that I had to make at that point. And I'm so glad I did. So, yeah, that's kind of how that evolved. And then I think I was writing the timeline, the past timeline and the contemporary timeline concurrently for awhile. And then I had to do the 1948 timeline and see how that ends. And then I sort of slipped it all back into the contemporary timeline. I think that's what happened.
Pamela: [00:07:44] Juggling. Even then the book hasn't been out for that long it's a while since you went through that actual process. So totally understandable that it's a little bit fuzzy and as you say there is that mysterious element, how these things come about. I'm actually quite similar to you in that I pants to a certain extent. I mean, I have a bit of a plot idea but then I get my ideas from the writing as well. I'm not someone that has a lot of ideas roaming around, up in my head. So like you, the ideas come to me as I write. I'll often think. Oh, you haven't got any ideas, you know, you're not really a writer. What's wrong with you. And then you start writing the ideas start to flow. So it must be some hand hand-brain connection or something.
Vanessa: [00:08:30] Yeah, it's weird. Isn't it? But I have heard authors talk that can plot out whole books in their head. And that definitely is a thing too. And I'm quite envious of that, but I can get ideas, but I can't formulate entire plots separate to the writing out process.
Pamela: [00:08:49] Same here. So Vanessa, you mentioned about finding this Capertee Valley when you were doing some research. Is that when you stumbled across this story about a woman going missing, and that's what enticed you to go and investigate the area itself?
Vanessa: [00:09:05] No, that's actually fiction. I made that bit up. There wasn't a woman that went missing in actual real life. But the ghost town aspect is true. So when you go into this Valley it feels like a long way from anywhere , and you literally drive down this unpaved street, and there's just these crumbling houses with only the smoke stacks leftover, there's a pharmacy with medicines that still date back to the 1950s in the window, just crumbling and rotting.
And, of course, nature has just taken over. There's just roots going through all the crumbling buildings and grass growing up, and it's just abandoned. I think they actually do tours on a weekend of the mine. I didn't get to go through the mine, but it's an entire crumbling, mine that is there with all this old rotting industry and metals and, as soon as I went there, I was just like, 'Wow, I didn't know about this place'. And so I had researched it online because I was trying to find somewhere that would be really great to write an atmospheric mystery. And what you want is somewhere with no reception, because it's so hard as you would know, to write a plot with mobile phones these days. And my first book, The Lost Summers of Driftwood was set in a place with no reception as well. And something that readers had responded to was the really strong sense of place.
So I was wanting to replicate that real atmosphere. And so I'd found this place online, where there was this deserted ghost town and I'm like, that sounds good. And so then I convinced mom and my daughter to go out there with me and they were just like, 'Okay, where are we going? Why are you taking us into the middle of nowhere?'
I think The Lost Summers of Driftwood hadn't even come out yet. And so they're just like, 'Yeah, you and your pie in the sky writing dreams'. So I think they were quite surprised in the end that it turned into a published novel.
Pamela: [00:11:21] That's fantastic. I love that story. Just getting back to the characters...so you do have the four main characters, Emmy, Natalie, Penn and Alexandra. They are all quite different. So, you are someone that learns about the characters and learns the story as you write it. Were any of those characters easier to develop for you? How did that process happen in developing those four characters and their storylines?
Vanessa: [00:11:44] I think probably the easiest one to write was maybe Alexandra, who is probably the most different to me. She's got kind of a bit of an acerbic wit and she's quite blunt and she's probably the most unlikable character of all four women. But I just found her voice came through so distinctly. I don't know if you ever get that with characters, Pam, but you're just like, 'this is so much fun to write this character and she's just there at the tip of my fingertips when I sit down. And yeah, it's weird cause it's not always the most likable character that is the easiest to write. In fact, I think it's harder to write the likable characters. And that will be sometimes feedback from my editor: ‘can we make this character a bit more likable' because I tend to really enjoy writing people's flaws and being really truthful about their struggles. And sometimes I think, yeah, I struggle to write a really likable character.
But having said that, I think there are two really likable ones, Natalie and Emmy. Or so , I've been told. So people that have read it have said that they relate to both of those women the most. And it's interesting, I don't always know until that book has had feedback who people will resonate with the most. I'm such an empathetic person. I empathize with all of them. I'm like, 'how can you not love all of them?' But yeah, do you ever have that surprise of which of your characters resonates the most or do you always know who's the most likable?
Pamela: [00:13:32] I think it's hard as the author because I guess, you know more about them even in your head than what's on the page, that comes out for readers. But I think it is that thing that you say that different aspects of characters resonate with readers differently. I remember my very first main character Eve who is a bit rough around the edges, she smokes and drinks and swears, and she doesn't pull any punches, you know. And I do remember having an email sent to me from a reader saying she really enjoyed the book, but did I really have to write characters that drink and swear. Well, I'm sorry if that offended you, but that's who she is. And there are people like that in real life.
Vanessa: [00:14:11] Absolutely. No. That's who this character is. I can't just change her.
Pamela: [00:14:14] I've written one novel that has multiple viewpoints. I've written a couple actually, but The Crossroads had three women, and it alternated around their stories. And I always thought that they were all the main character. And then I went to a Kate Forsyth writing workshop and she said, there's always one main character. Even if you think that they're all main characters, there's always the one whose story it really is. And when I thought about it, I realized who the character was in that book.
What about for you with these characters? Is there one character that you feel it's really her story primarily?
Vanessa: [00:14:52] Yeah. So I'm a bit like you, I would have said, 'no, it's all four of their stories, they're all the main character. But then yeah, when I really reflect on it, it would probably be Natalie because we open with her running away from her life and her struggle pulls all the themes and the plot through. And we're waiting to see, is she going to be strong enough to do what she needs to do? She's almost the archetypical mother as in the mother that sometimes we feel we're meant to be. She's beautiful. She's got an amazing husband, (a gorgeous husband) successful, amazing house, three beautiful children.
And yet we just scratch the surface and she's not coping at all. And everything below the surface is dark and messy. And I guess I just really wanted to explore that dichotomy and that expectation that women sometimes hold themselves up to that they need to be this certain way.
And none of us are. Life is dark and messy and difficult. And I really wanted to explore what all these women and mothers were going through really, beneath the veneer that they presented to the world, because I think we all do that and it's not our fault and we can't help it. It's sort of expected and you've got to hold it together. You know, you've got to get through life and you've got to get your kids to school and you've just got to keep going. But at the same time, when I talk to my really dear friends were talking about what's happening under the surface and we're talking about what's really going on in our lives.
And that's what I wanted these women to be able to do because I think by connecting on that really real level, that's where we're able to cope and connect and feel heard, and be able to just get through the difficult parts of being a woman and being a mother.
Pamela: [00:16:56] Yeah, absolutely true. And did you find Vanessa that in having the four different viewpoints to tell the story that that enabled you to go deeper into those particular issues? You know, all the women are experiencing slightly different versions of life and motherhood, quite different in some instances. And I guess having those stories told from their individual viewpoint, if that's allowing you to have that depth, doesn't it?
Vanessa: [00:17:20] Yeah, absolutely. And just being able to show how the women view each other, where they will perhaps look at someone like Natalie, who is so beautiful and seems to be so together and we're in someone's head, who's admiring her, and then we go into her head and she's a complete mess.
So it allows you to see the surface and then what's really happening. And so I think I do that a little bit, in going into each woman's head to see what's actually going on in her mind. And it's a really great way to progress the story and to increase tension. Because I think I was always thinking, 'okay, so should I go in now that is going to be most sort of under pressure in this next part of the story'. And then I'd go into their head because I know that would be coping the least sort of thing. So it's such a great way to amp up tension in your writing and to change things up for yourself, so you don't get bored and for your readers.
Pamela: [00:18:30] And did you have any difficulty at any point Vanessa differentiating between the voices of the four women? Was that something that in the revision process that you were really conscious of?
Vanessa: [00:18:42] Yeah, that's a really good question. I think, that the women all have pretty distinctive voices, that was one of the first bits of feedback I got from my editor. She said that that's actually, what's so important, if you're going to have that many multiple viewpoints, that having really distinct characters, voices, and sort of motivations is just imperative for the reader to not get confused. And I didn't actually have to do a lot of work on that. So I think somehow I was able to delineate the different women quite distinctly. And I'm not actually entirely sure how I did that. It was really easy with, as I said, Alexandra, who was more sort of wry and dark in her tone. And perhaps Natalie and Emmy are a little bit more similar. So that was maybe something I had to work on a little bit with the two of them and then Penn seemed quite different to all three of them. So yeah, it wasn't something I had to pay particular attention to, but I think that was the only reason that the story worked. Because otherwise you'd just get too confused as to who was who. So I'd say that's such an important tip for when you're writing multiple points of view that you just get those different character voices or even the language that they use or the dialogue has to be quite distinct one from the other.
Pamela: [00:20:12] It works so well because they are all quite different to each other. And what about in the historical timeline, Vanessa? We have Clara Black who appears briefly and the other character there of course is Jean. How did you go about developing her storyline? Was it along the same lines where you just let your imagination go and thought about what it would be like to be living in that valley back in the 1940s?
Vanessa: [00:20:38] Yeah. So I did some research after I'd been into the valley and seen, you know, the crumbling remains and felt the atmosphere there. I then went and found a really great resource by a woman called Leonie Knappman who had grown up in the valley as a child and written this kind of exhaustive account. It's called Glen Davis, A Shale Oil Ghost Town and it's almost like an encyclopedia of everything to do with the history of the valley. There's very little written online, so I had to search for this in like antique bookshops. Finally, I found it and I really researched into what it was like for a woman living in this remote valley in the 1940s, where it was freezing in winter, boiling in summer. There was no real fresh water. There were Bush fires; there were floods. When they first came to the valley, they were living in tents and things. I mean, it was so difficult. They had children there. And the men were all off working in the mines and the women were just trying to make do, in the middle of nowhere. And you just kind of think back to that and you think, gosh, Australian women are tough. Like, what they actually would have lived through during that time...
And so, having that helped me to come up with the character of Jean, but having said that, I'm not sure exactly where she came from. I just, again, started writing and there was this woman who was yearning for another life outside the valley, and she was feeling really trapped and...
I think what I start with, with characters is a feeling, like they're in some kind of turmoil and there's just this overwhelming feeling. And then I follow that feeling and the character sort of comes from that. I don't know, is that what you work with as well? Sometimes it's just a really vague feeling and you go with that and it sort of leads you somewhere.
Pamela: [00:22:44] Yeah, I think I do too actually. Because one thing that I've discussed a little bit on the podcast before is I think I've got a thing, I think it's called Aphantasia, where you actually don't see pictures in your head. So I don't get like a visual movie running through my head like a lot of people do, which is actually kind of annoying. I wish I did. But I still somehow see it, I don't know whether it's the sixth sense or the intuition or something. And I think I do go on feeling rather than that visual thing. I'm still able to describe things I think, but I don't actually get the movie. So feelings and emotions are really important for me as well.
Vanessa: [00:23:21] That's so fascinating. That's just really amazing. And when you're reading a book, you're not seeing it in your mind's eye?
Pamela: [00:23:31] Not really. I think I feel it. And yet when I dream, I see things really vividly in dreams, but then later I can't actually recapture those images in my head.
Vanessa: [00:23:43] Wow. That is so amazing. That's pretty fascinating. I feel like there could be a book idea in that.
Pamela: [00:23:50] Yeah. I think I might have to do a whole episode on it or something. But anyway, back to your fabulous book. The four women's stories and you've got the other story happening with Jean and Clara in the Valley happened in 1948, or in the 1940s... once you've done your draft of that, and you know that you've got these two different timelines, was there much work then for you in the revision process, in working out how to thread those stories together?
Vanessa: [00:24:17] I mean, I think there was a little bit of shifting around, but my first draft is fairly exhaustive. So I'm not one of these writers that bang out the entire first draft in three months, which I know some authors do, get the bare bones down. I don't do that. Once my first draft is done it's pretty much ready to send to my editor. I've got to go over it again, but it takes me a year if not longer. And yeah, I've tracked it all very much as I go. And so when I sit down the next day to write, I'll go over what I've done the day before. So I think the whole time I'm writing the first draft, I am piecing it all together. And I just write in Word, I don't use Scrivener, which I'm tempted to though because you're scrolling through hundreds of words to try and work out, 'oh, hang on, where did I put that bit where she goes and does that, you know, that needs to change to somewhere else'. And that's a pain.
, I write chronologically. I think that makes it a lot easier for myself. So I do see it as a movie in my head. And it's weird, I've got the worst memory on the entire planet. I can't remember anything ever, but I kind of can remember the entire details of a novel.
So yeah, I kind of have to rely on that, but it can be a pain I'll tell you.
Pamela: [00:25:50] So, you mentioned before Vanessa about how having the multiple viewpoints and having the dual timeline does allow you to build tension and suspense. Is it something that you're very conscious of when you are doing that first draft? That you think, okay, I need to stop this particular bit of the story here and then switch to the character who's got the most stake in the next scene? Is that how your brain works when you're doing that?
Vanessa: [00:26:13] Yeah, I think so. And I think it's probably something I probably learned instinctively through being a journalist, where you just know that you have to keep people's attention and you just have to keep the tension. I am a fan of, you know, the cliffhanger line at the end of the chapter.
And then you can flash back to the other timeline and then the reader's like, 'oh, but I wanted to know more'. That's a great way to keep the tension going. And it's interesting because I consider the way I write to be quite slow paced in some senses, but then people will say, ‘no, no, no, it wasn't slow, it kept the tension’. But I'm not even really aware that I'm overtly doing it. So I think it must be something that I've just internalized through years of writing as a journalist. Which is great because obviously that's pretty key to getting a book that people just keep wanting to read.
I've been reflecting on it. And I think because I don't go in with a big plot, the only thing I've really got is just that knowledge that I just have to keep pulling the tension tight because otherwise it's all going to fall to the floor because I don't really know where I'm going. If you know what I mean.
Pamela: [00:27:38] No, I do. And I love that image of you pulling the thread almost and pulling it tighter and tighter as the story continues. That's great.
So this device really of having multiple viewpoints and then if you want to throw in , an additional timeline as well, it is a really good way of keeping the reader interested and it's almost like you're holding your breath over one chapter while you wait to see what happens to that character that you've just read about. It is a really great device for developing tension and then creating that suspense for the reader.
Vanessa: [00:28:10] Absolutely. Yeah. And The Lost Summers of Driftwood was all from one point of view. I had a flashback to when they were kids and that was in one of the other characters minds, but I really only had the two. So yeah, this was an experiment for me and I'm not sure whether I'll be able to ever just go back to having one point of view again. Because I find it so much easier when you're writing a novel, you get to the middle and you're like, 'oh my gosh, where on earth am I going to take this now?' And I think if you've got those multiple voices, it's so much easier to go, 'okay, well I'll go into her brain for a while'. It just gives you so many more options to keep the story going.
Pamela: [00:28:55] Yeah, for sure. And even though you write intuitively Vanessa, I know that timelines are the bane of many writers existence, including mine: I'll just write it, I'll worry about the timeline later. And then of course, when I actually have to try and fix that up, it's a total headache. Did you have that experience or is it something that you were really conscious of keeping on top of as you wrote?
Vanessa: [00:29:15] Yeah, I think I kept on top of it as I wrote. But having said that yeah, I finished the 1948 timeline. I probably interspersed it for the first half and then I just thought, 'No, I need to just write the rest of the historical timelines, separate to the contemporary women'. Cause I was kind of getting a bit frustrated going between them. And I needed to know where the historical timeline was really heading. And so then I just wrote that, and then I fed that through the contemporary storyline. And I think that worked really well. Because it was getting a bit unwieldy. I just needed to finish that bit off. And I'm not sure how other people deal with that sort of timeline stuff. There must be some people that write the entire second timeline separately and then weave it through. But I think I just was really conscious of having a thematic link between the contemporary and the historical timelines. That I wanted it to mean something that there was this other timeline and because it plays into the mystery. I got to halfway through and I was like, 'hmm, how is this going to play for the mystery? I don't really know. I think I'd better work this out'. So yeah, that was a bit scary for a while there.
Pamela: [00:30:35] It always happens in that annoying middle doesn't it?
Vanessa: [00:30:38] Absolutely. The middle.
Pamela: [00:30:41] Well, we've already covered lots of things about multiple viewpoints and the dual timeline. But what specific tips would you give to people who are out there either writing multiple viewpoint writing dual timeline, or thinking maybe they should add another character into their narrative? What sort of advice would you give them?
Vanessa: [00:31:05] I think go for it. I don't think you're going to regret having that choice of where to take the story and whose head you're going to go into. And I think it's a really fun way to write. But I think as we discussed before, you have to really have your characters as being very distinct personalities from each other, otherwise the reader is going to get confused. And with the dual timelines, I just think you've got to really be aware of that thematic link. Why am I writing this other timeline? How is it going to weave into the contemporary or the other timeline to kind of have a thematic impact? That's something that was always niggling at me. It's a completely different time, completely different character, quite a different voice, Jean's voice. And even the writing around it, how to romanticism, and an oldie-worldy sort of feeling that was quite different to the contemporary one. And so I was kind of thinking the whole time, 'how is this playing together? And how is it all going to weave together?' You just do have to really be wary of that. But I think adding that dual timeline, I think it just enriches the writing and the book.
. The new book I just finished now has got 1960's, 1990s, and today. And once again, I really liked having all three timelines to play in. And it allows you to do a bit more research as well. I can't imagine writing another book without having that because I just find that it deepens the story and the characters. And I haven't mentioned the indigenous history, but there's a little bit of that timeline as well. I did a lot of research into the Wiradjuri people and some of the atrocious massacres that went on at first settlement. And I really, I wanted to weave that in as well because that again adds another dimension in terms of the natural history and the atmosphere and the haunting feeling in the valley. So yeah, I really think that having those multiple timelines, it gives that depth.
Pamela: [00:33:18] Yeah. That's a great answer. And just before we get onto our four curly questions, which we're going to talk about soon, one aspect of your writing - it's kind of related to what we've been talking about to the multiple points of view and everything but I think it's something that you are fantastic at - is your description of the setting. And creating this atmosphere where the women actually feel it as soon as they go into the valley, there's this almost haunted type place that they're in. And your descriptions of the natural world are beautiful. Is that something that you've always loved to do in your writing and something that you really enjoy as part of that whole experience of writing the novel?
Vanessa: [00:33:58] Oh, thanks so much, Pam. Yeah, I think that's the part of writing that comes more naturally to me. I really struggled with plot and story, but the actual description and the inspiration I feel about nature and immersing myself in terms of the smells and the whole feeling. Using writing to express the feeling of a place is something I just love to do. And it's interesting, when I wrote The Lost Summers of Driftwood, my editor was like, 'can we stop it with the smells? You have so many descriptions of smells in this book' and I'm like, 'but it smells like fish and it smells like river salt'. I did take some of them out, but I also argued to keep some of it, and then when the book came out, people really responded to that. They were like, 'I felt like I was right there on the river. I could smell it'. And I'm like, yep, 'there you go, take that'. J
Pamela: [00:35:01] Yeah, it does help bring it to life, I think for sure. Well, that's our main part of the discussion around timelines and multiple points of view, which has been fantastic. And I know there's lots of detail in there for people who are listening and people who are writing anything along those lines. But we're about to launch into our four curly questions, which is part of the extended edition for this particular episode, which we'll go out to the Patreon supporters at the Community level at Patreon. So if anybody is interested in finding out more about that, they can look it up on writes4women.com, the website, and go to the information about Patreon.
Well look all the best with the next one. I can't wait to read it and I can't wait to see it cause I'm sure it will have another beautiful cover. And thank you so much for taking the time again, to be on this craft of writingepisode.
Vanessa: [00:35:56] Thank you so much, Pam. It was actually really fun the second time.
Pamela: [00:36:01] I think we're more relaxed.
Vanessa: [00:36:03] Yeah, maybe.
Pamela: [00:36:05] This is going to be going out next Friday. So what's the date for the Mudgee writers' festival that you're going to be appearing at?
Vanessa: [00:36:11] The 28th of March Sunday, the 28th of March. And Mudgee is the area of the Capertee Valley. So it's really lovely. That whole area has embraced the book so much. It's really nice.
Pamela: [00:36:27] Oh, that's great. Well, enjoy that.
Vanessa: [00:36:29] Thanks, Pam.
Pamela: [00:36:32] This episode of Writes4Women has been brought to you by Tanya Nellestein and her brand new book, The Valkyries Viking.
Tanya: [00:36:39] She wants to rule the land and he lives for the sea. Is their love fated or cursed?
Hello, I'm Tanya Nellestein and I am the author of The Valkyrie’s Viking. Now this book has something for everyone. It has gut churning battle scenes, steamy romance, conspiracies, political intrigue, heroes and villains, rituals and sacrifices, blood lust, and just straight up lust.
And of course, a kick-ass heroine in the form of Brenna Ragnarsdotter or as she becomes known in this book and the rest of the series, The Valkyrie of Birca. I'm going to read to you today, an excerpt from the first battle. Now, Brenna and indeed the entire town of Birca have been roused from their sleep by the invading Sigurd The Black.
Excerpt:
"You!" She reached for a warrior stumbling back from the melee. "Get a message to the archers to fire on the enemy pushing into the village on the right."
He stared at her blankly. Brenna may not be the Yarl, but someone had to protect people. She must stop the slaughter. She yelled into his face, shaking the young Viking's shoulders until understanding registered in his eyes.
"They are burning the long houses and killing the women and children.”
"Yah, I'll go." The warrior, hardly more than a boy, ran towards the archers.
Sheathing her sword, Brenna retrieved her dagger running towards the closest of Sigurd's men. She plunged it into the neck of one, pulling it free and dispatching another man before he even knew she was there. With barely time to draw breath she caught sight of an invading warrior running at her. She ducked and stabbed in between the tires of his chest armour. Still, he did not fall. Desperate to win this fight and her life, she returned her dagger to the belt and drew her sword. Brenna hacked at the viking until he dropped. Relief flooded in with the oxygen she dragged into her body.
The metallic tang of blood permeated the smoke, suffocating the sea air. Two more warriors headed her way and she added her own war cry to the terrifying roar. She raised a shield to block the first blow, hacking her weapon forward. The intuitive rhythm of battle replaced conscious thought. Blood spatter painted her face as she worked her way closer to the long houses. Bodies fell on either side in a rolling carpet of death. The enemy was relentless. And so was she. As the sun crept over the horizon she finally saw Burka's archers taking their place on higher ground. "Take cover," she screamed. "Shield wall." Her cry was echoed amongst the warriors and in seconds, their shields covered them from the incoming arrows.
The thuds of men falling to the ground as metal rained on timber shields signaled the sudden attack from the air had hit their mark.
Now if you like the sound of that, if you like Vikings, or if you've never read a Viking novel, then I suggest you give this one a go. The Valkyrie’s Viking is available at all your favorite digital retailers, or you can head on over to my website, tanyanellestein.com to find out more information.
Buy links in podcast show notes.
Pamela: [00:39:47] Thanks for listening to Writes4Women. I hope you've enjoyed my chat with this week's guest. If you did, I'd love it if you could add a quick rating or review wherever you get your podcasts, so others can more easily find the episodes.
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