By Invitation: Carol Hedges and her novel, 'Fame & Fortune'

I’m delighted to welcome the highly successful author, Carol Hedges and her superb Victorian detective novel, ‘Fame & Fortune’ to Writers at the Gate.  

Read on to find out more…

 About the book… 

London, 1867. When the body of a man is discovered hanging from a Thames bridge, Detectives Greig and Cully, two of Scotland Yard's finest crime-solvers, are called in to investigate the mysterious circumstances of his death. Their inquiry will lead them into a world of extortion, robbery and human trafficking, and at its centre, the Black brothers, Munro and Herbert, London's most evil and ruthless individuals, who will stop at nothing to keep their position at the top of London's criminal underworld.

The eighth outing for the Victorian Detectives entices the reader once more along the shadowy gas-lit streets of a city peopled with endearing and eccentric characters, where vice and virtue rub shoulders, and rich and poor find themselves unexpectedly thrust into the limelight. 

·         Publisher : Independently published (21 Aug. 2020)

·         Language : English

·         Genre : Historical Fiction

·         Paperback : 242 pages

·         ISBN-13 : 979-8676496197

·         Dimensions : 15.24 x 1.4 x 22.86 cm

 

'Fame & Fortune' is available from Amazon HERE 

 

 About the author…

Carol Hedges is the successful UK writer of 18 books for Teenagers/Young Adults and Adults. Her writing has received much critical acclaim, and her novel Jigsaw was long-listed for the Carnegie Medal.

Her YA ebook Jigsaw Pieces, which deals unflinchingly with many of the problems that beset today's teens, is available on Amazon as is her Dystopic Fantasy The Last Virus

Carol is also the writer of 'The Victorian Detectives' - a series of novels set in 1860s London and featuring Detective Inspector Leo Stride and his side-kick Detective Sergeant Jack Cully. 

All eight books in the series and her other novels can be found on Amazon HERE

Carol's Blogsite

Carol on Twitter @caroljhedges

Brief Interview… 

When did you start writing your new book?  

As I write a series, I aim to produce a book a year, published in book/Ebook formats, and uploaded in August.  The ninth book is currently out for editing. I generally start panicking about it in the first quarter of the following year, having spent the previous months publicising the new one, resting and telling myself I probably won't manage to produce another one. By June, I am writing, with the previous caveats still in place. I try to get the first draft finished by Christmas, mainly to convince myself that I am able to write a whole novel. It is HARD work, mainly mentally! Imposter syndrome lurks around every corner. Plus, I get lured into doing *research* on the internet and can spend days down various rabbit holes that are not germane to the plot, but very interesting. 

The Victorian Detectives came from my love of Victorian literature (especially Dickens and Wilkie Collins). I studied the period extensively at university.  By the time I moved genres, I'd given up writing YA - the market was saturated and many publishers were focused on 'celebs' who needed little publicity to sell lots of copies. Meanwhile, I noticed that the mid-Victorian period wasn't covered - Conan Doyle and Ripper-lit focused on the late 1870s; Dickens etc on the 1830s. Thus the idea of setting a book (it was only meant to be one book originally) in 1860 London seemed commercially as well as historically achievable.
 

Can you describe your route to publication from concept to completed novel?  

So, I write the first draft, which takes about 6 - 8 months. Then I leave it for a couple of weeks, before re-reading and drafting. Then it goes to my first editor, who does amazing plot charts to make sure there are no holes (there frequently are). After working on his changes, it goes to a second editor for a final check. A re-read and tweak, and then we're into formatting for Amazon. And that's the path.
 

Which publishing services (if any) would you recommend?

I have experienced many forms of publishing. From big mainstream publishers (OUP/Usborne) to small ones (Crooked Cat). I have had an agent, and not had an agent. When I started out, the ONLY way to avoid being ripped off by the publishing industry (because it does, believe me) was to pay for publishing. It was called 'vanity publishing. There was no Amazon when I started out, no Ebooks and no way to self publish professionally. Now, there is. For me, (or Little G Books, as my imprint calls itself) I prefer self-publishing. I like the control, the ability to work with a cover artist, the choice over platforms, and I love fiddling around behind the scenes with keywords and categories.

I emphasise that this is a personal choice, and if you, my fellow writer, want to take a punt at a mainstream or small publisher, or an agent, then go for it. Be prepared for rejection, be prepared to fight your corner, but be happy in your choice. I have made mine. And ALWAYS, remember: you are the writer; you are the creator and you are the master of the words. Good luck!

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