Inheritance Books – Lynda Renham

Lynda Renham, author of books with hilarious titles, is visiting Inheritance Books today.

Hi Lynda, welcome to Inheritance Books. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Lynda Renham. I am the bestselling author of the romantic comedies Croissants and Jam Coconuts and Wonderbras, Pink Wellies and Flat Caps and The Dog’s Bollocks which is my latest novel. I also have a little ditty out titled The Confessions of a Chocoholic, which is a collection of short stories about my mad life.

I live in Oxfordshire with my second husband and our little cat Bendy. I have been writing for 25 years but only had success in the past three, when I decided to write comedy. I have a contemporary novel out titled The Diary of Rector Byrnes which is written under the pseudonym of Edith Waylen. It is very different to my comedy novels.

I love chocolate and music and need both when writing. I have talked on radio and written political articles before turning my attention mostly to novel writing.

I live in the country and absolutely love it. We take lovely walks through our village and I take many photos and share them on my Facebook page.

I love having contact with my readers and love to hear what they like about my novels and which ones are their favourites. I produce a monthly newsletter and anyone can subscribe to it by going to my web page athttp://www.renham.co.uk. I’d love to hear from you so please do contact me. I’m on Twitter as well as Facebook and you can always contact me via my website.

Oxfordshire is lovely. The countryside is so heartbreakingly beautiful in the summer.

Which book have you inherited from the generation above? Why is it special?

The book I have inherited and love dearly for many reasons is The Sea The Sea by Iris Murdoch. My mother bought it many years and gave it to me and so began my love and addiction for Iris Murdoch. I have all her books. And what makes this introduction so special is because twenty years later after being introduced to Iris Murdoch a wonderful film was made about her life based on the book written about her by her husband John Bayley. I discovered after seeing the film that Iris had lived in Oxfordshire and not far from me. I found out from a friend where it was and learnt that John still lived there. I found the house and popped a note in asking John Bayley if I could pop round for tea and see where Iris had written her books as I was such a big fan. The biggest shock was when he answered the note and invited me for tea. It was amazing. I saw Iris’s study and her home and met John Bayley and best of all John read my book The Diary of Rector Byrnes and said it was highly publishable. From a Professor of English that was praise indeed. That was one of the highlights of my life.

Which book would you leave for later generations? Why?

The book I would leave for future generations is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. It was recommended to me and is abeautifully written novel and so compelling. Absolutely beautiful and I want to buy a copy for all my friends. It is a book that has made me desperately want to go to India. I have many books recommended to me but this one was most certainly the best ever.

Thank you for sharing our Inheritance Books with us, Lynda. All the best with your books.

Lynda’s latest book The Dog’s Bollocks is out now. You can find out more about Linda on Facebook, Twitter or her website.

Right, folks, here’s something to brighten up your midweek. I am delighted to introduce to you my writer friend and romantic novelist, Lynda Renham-Cook – that’s if this lovely lady needs any introduction at all. Her latest novel, Croissants and Jam, has been described as ‘one of the best romantic comedies of our time’ Lynda did me the great honour of agreeing to an author- to- author interview, and I just loved her candid, quirky and thought-provoking answers…

Lynda Renham-Cook

What inspires you the most when writing?

Music without a doubt. I can’t write without it and every novel has its own theme music. Often, this means I can only then associate it with that particular novel. I always make sure I have my headphones nearby. This isn’t to say I can’t write without the music inspiration but I do find it harder. In fact a piece of music often inspires a whole novel. I’m sure in this I am not alone.

Paper or laptop?

A Lap top every time. At one time I used a rather tatty old notebook but I now have a lovely smart lap top that I couldn’t live without. I tend to have numerous documents open when writing as all my notes are on there also. I am a devout user of Drop box, if devout is the right word. My husband discovered it and it is a great way to make sure I don’t lose anything. This is something I am normally very prone to doing, I am ashamed to say… Paper doesn’t work for me. I write much too fast and then cannot read my illegible handwriting, so it is not very constructive for me to use paper.

Where do you most like to write?

I worked part time until recently, so I would get home from work, prepare some dinner and then dive into my summer house. A lovely cosy room which houses everything I need and there I try to write a thousand words a day. Although in the summer I am easily swayed from the word processor by the lovely birds that come into the garden. It is my chosen space. I live in a small village in the country and it is so peaceful to sit there with just the birds singing and the humming of the occasional lawn mower.

What is your biggest ambition?

I would love to write the screenplay for one of my books. That would be my writing ambition. I also have dreams of writing for TV. I love writing comedy. Personal ambition is to be happy and content. I think contentment is the key to everything and something I have not quite attained yet.

Do you have a disciplined approach?

I am only disciplined in that I make myself write 1000 words every day. Even if I am not happy with those 1000 words I still feel it is important to have written them. There is always gold to be found in that there dust… I truly believe that all writing is productive. Aside from that I am hopeless, frankly. I get side tracked very easily, especially by food and drink. Chocolate is my particular downfall.

What do you think about the whole marketing thing?

It takes away a lot of my writing time. I have a lovely hubby who does a lot of that for me. I am not good at promoting myself. I probably should do more. I tend to leave it to people who know what they are doing. That certainly isn’t me…

What do you like best about writing?

I’ve always enjoyed writing. My mother was fond of telling everyone that I wrote a good composition. I always was a good liar. I spent most of my teenage years living in my own little world. It is also a great way of expressing my quirky humour. I have a tendency to laugh at everything. I also think laughter is a great healer and a wonderful way to banish the blues. I love reading comedy also. It is a genre that gives me pleasure both reading and writing it.

Tell us about your latest book…

It’s titled ‘Croissants and Jam’…

Oh, can I let Blog critic Diane Morasco do that? She does it far better than me.

‘Croissants and Jam seized my heart of steel and barbwire… and melted it into a simmering pool of marshmallow and milk chocolate. Hollywood take note: Croissants and Jam is what heart-pounding and nerve-tingling romantic comedies are made of. Breathtaking. Intelligent. Magical. Mesmerizing. Pulse-pounding. Rip-roaring. Spine-tingling. Soul stirring. Unforgettable. Whimsical. I can go on and on and on describing Lynda Renham’s bewitching novel, but I want to cut to the chase so you can grab a copy and see for yourself.

Annabel “Bels” Lewis has just two days to get to her wedding in Rome but her trip is plagued with one catastrophe after another as destiny takes hold and casts its spin.

Enter Christian. A dashing and adventurous stranger she encounters along the way. Will Bels get to her wedding on time or will the mesmerizing Christian transform her life?

Croissants and Jam is without a doubt one of the best romantic comedies of our time — yep, including those on the screen. ’

I can’t believe there’s anyone out there who doesn’t want to make a dash for this page-turning romance so pop straight over to Amazon to grab yourself a copy and curl up with a glass of wine or maybe – given the snow and ice – a yummy hot chocolate. Find out more about Lynda, her novels, which also include Wedding Cake to Turin and The Diary of Rector Byrnes, on her Amazon page at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lynda-Renham/e/B004U1PWDU
Check out the latest on Lynda’s blog: https://lrcook.wordpress.com/

Thanks for the inspiration, Lynda – must go practise lying for my next novel!

Jae De Wylde, author The Thinking Tank: http://www.jaedewylde.com

The Thinking Tank is available on Amazon and in branches of Walkers and Waterstones