28 Aug 2017

Catherine Lodge: Fun Facts

category Blog Tour, Catherine Lodge, Fair Stands the Wind, Interview | 5

Fair Stands the Wind by Catherine Lodge goes on blog tour in a few days on August 30th.

For those of you who haven’t met her yet, we asked her to answer a few fun questions which she graciously did.

In three words, describe yourself as a writer.


Slow, pedantic and shy – no one in my family has read what I’ve written.  I always think that  novels reveal more about the author than I’m comfortable revealing to anyone who already knows me.  The neighbour of one of my sisters wrote a book with a main character with a name one letter away from his own, who teaches a subject adjacent to his own, who gets a girlfriend half his age – I have visions of being the same sort of laughing-stock!

 
What is your Jane Austen (or Pride and Prejudice) fandom origin story (in other words, how did you come to the world of JAFF)?

 

A friend asked me to look at something she’d written on Fanfiction, net and I found the Jane Austen section (as it was then) and hoovered up vast swathes of it over a long weekend.  Some of it was very good but some of it made me think, “Hmmm, I could do that.”  So I did and some kind soul commented that I ought to post it to meryton.com and the rest, as they say, is history.  Everyone was so kind and complementary about my story, I felt I had to finish it for them.
 
Describe your ideal writing space.

 

My kitchen/diner.  I have a dining table, an adjustable chair, my books, counter tops to spread my Shorter Oxford Dictionary out so I can check for anachronisms, easy access to the kettle and a couple of bookcases full of examples of people who actually finished!  One of the bookshelves is a built-in, made my my late father whom I still miss.
 
What’s the hardest thing about writing?

 

Starting
 
What’s the easiest thing about writing?

 

Stopping
 
Who are your top 3 favorite authors of all time besides Jane Austen?

 

Dickens, I wish I could write Dickensian fanfic but I don’t think he’s left room for anyone else in that world.
GK Chesterton, I like the paradoxes and the word play – you just have to steer clear of his less enlightened views
Terry Pratchett – need I say more?
If you could sit down to tea with anyone from the world of Austen, be they historical or fictional, who would it be and why?

I’ve always felt that Mrs Bennett would be a hoot to have tea with, I also feel sorry for the poor lady so perhaps I could calm her nerves long enough to have a proper chat.  Or perhaps Captain Wentworth, I could ask him if I’d got the Naval stuff right in Fair Stands the Wind.

5 Responses

  1. Glynis
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    I’m looking forward to seeing more of this book. It is a unique concept as far as I’m concerned.
    I enjoyed reading how Catherine first started writing. I would love to be able to write but unfortunately the only times I think ‘now that’s a great idea for a story!’ Is when I read a book!! 😢😢.
    Luckily there are so many people who are willing and able to share their love of Darcy and Elizabeth. I spend so much time reading them all that I wouldn’t have time to read anyway 😊😊
    Thanks for these fun facts.

  2. Glynis
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    !!!!! That should have said – I wouldn’t have time to WRITE anyway! 😐😐

  3. Catherine Lodge
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    Have a go, Glynis! You never know how good you’d be until you try. I’d be willing to bet good money you’ve sometimes thought, “I could do better than this.” I bet you could too.

    • Suzan Lauder
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      It could be hard to do better than “Fair Stands the Wind,” but there’s plenty of room for more JAFF books, and hearty readers make the best writers, Glynis.

      Catherine, I’m glad you took the plunge into writing and then into publishing my fave JAFF book. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on it when it comes out. Best wishes for lots of fun on your blog tour!

  4. Catherine Lodge
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    Thanks Suzan. I have to admit to more than a little trepidation but also more than a little excitement too.