Trace Your Roots with @mvnortham

 

Today I am thrilled to host my old friend, Maureen Vincent-Northam, who is here to tell us about her excellent genealogy book, Trace your Roots.

Trace your Roots is released as an e-book on 19th June 2015, an exciting day for me. I’ve even been allowed to change my shift day at work so that I can be around on Facebook all day for the launch party. Why not come and join in the fun? https://www.facebook.com/events/859146140799078/

 

Trace your Roots will be my first book with Crooked Cat Publishing and their first English language non-fiction title. Previously published with another house, this is a completely revised and updated version with a spanking new, and quite quirky, cover image, which I love.

The idea for the book came about several years ago when I was a family history researcher, working for clients worldwide whose ancestors originated from Herefordshire, where I live. There were plenty of good books around on genealogy but far fewer for those who came up against a brick wall, as often happens when researching family history.

Through trial and error I found certain things worked very well for me – a case of thinking outside the box sometimes – and which helped to successfully move the research along, and these are the tips I wanted to share.

Although genealogy is a serious subject, with some people dedicating many years to researching their family tree, I wanted a book that was accessible to everyone. Trace your Roots offers hundreds of tips in an easy to follow way. As well as the serious stuff, I’ve injected a little light-heartedness into Trace your Roots because a hobby should be fun too. I hope this will encourage more people to discover their own roots.

Please join me on my genealogy blog, I’m always happy to post other people’s stories: http://trace-your-roots.blogspot.co.uk/

Maureen’s wonderful book is available on Amazon worldwide by following this link: Trace your Roots

Author bio

Maureen Vincent-Northam has written seriously ever since Father Christmas left her a Petite typewriter. Author of Trace your Roots, she also wrote the children’s novel, Black Dog’s Treasure, and co-authored The Writer’s ABC Checklist.

An editor with Crooked Cat Publishing, her work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online. She has tutored workshops, judged online writing contests and was winner of The Writers’ Advice Centre for Children’s Books competition.

Maureen works part time in a residential home, is rubbish at cooking and, when not burning dinner, can usually be found surrounded by empty chocolate wrappers.

Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Humour Verse
and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions

Getting to know … Maureen Vincent-Northam

What genre would you say your novels fall into, or do they defy classification?

My writing may defy classification but I love writing for children from ages five up.

What made you choose that genre?

I believe you have to enjoy reading in your chosen genre. Children’s books make me laugh, make me think and the artwork in many books for the very young is stunning.

How long does it take you to write a book?

This is so embarrassing. One of my uncompleted children’s books has left two young lads trapped in a castle dungeon for several years now. So long, in fact, they’ve probably started shaving. Another, a psychological thriller aimed at YA readers (fantastic story, this one) has also been ‘in progress’ since Noah was a lad. Other, more successful, stories (the ones I’ve finished) often don’t take too long once I get going.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I’m meant to have a schedule? I have to fit in writing between my other work – I’m a freelance copy editor, an editor with Crooked Cat Publishing, write short story critiques for Writers’ Forum magazine and also work in a residential care home.

Where do you get your ideas for your books?

Certain names will jump into my head. Betsy Fudge and the Big Silence won The Writers’ Advice Centre for Children’s Books competition a few years back and Betsy arrived in my head fully formed. Ideas for the stories generally come from the characters; the books I enjoy reading most are character led. I enjoy mysteries too, so like to include that element when I can.

 
When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I was about ten and it was before I’d heard the term plagiarism. I wrote something Enid Blyton would have been proud to put her name to. Don’t remember the title but it probably included the word ‘adventure’.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Mostly I read, listen to music, or visit somewhere peaceful.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

That writing for children isn’t as easy as it looks.

How many books have you written?

I’ve begun about a twenty but completed around half that.

Which is your favourite and why?

I have a great fondness for Betsy Fudge and so would like to include her in other stories.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

I wanted to be Enid Blyton. Either that or be married to Billy Fury.

What are you working on now?

Two books. One involves two young boys trapped in a castle dungeon. The other is a YA psychological thriller (fantastic story) for young adults.

Bio

Maureen Vincent-Northam has written seriously ever since Father Christmas left her a Petite typewriter. An editor with Crooked Cat Publishing, her work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online. She’s tutored workshops and judged online writing contests.  Rubbish at cooking, Maureen works from her home office when not burning dinner, and can usually be found surrounded by empty chocolate wrappers.

Website

www.maureen-vincent-northam.co.uk

Writers blog

http://writerschecklist.blogspot.co.uk/

Genealogy blog

http://trace-your-roots.blogspot.co.uk/

Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maureen-Vincent-Northam/e/B00325GU54/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/MaureenVincentNortham

Twitter

https://twitter.com/mvnortham

The Writer’s ABC Checklist

Trace your Roots

Black Dog’s Treasure

Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Humour Verse
and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions

Learn to Earn from your Writing

Making money from writing is not as difficult as it might seem, providing you target your work to fit the market. The Writer’s ABC Checklist Workshops, held on Saturday 19th May 2012, will help you to do exactly that, with a non-fiction session in the morning and a flash fiction session in the afternoon.

Cracking the County Magazine Market covers: analysing your market, finding unique ideas to fit your county, interviewing subjects, quotes and how to use them, the value of photographs, creating an arresting outline and writing a winning query letter.

That Elusive Flash of Success covers: the art of condensing a complete story into 500 words, tantalising titles, attention grabbing opening paragraphs, effective use of dialogue, characters to believe in, tiny touches to bring settings to life, satisfying endings and originality — old themes given a unique slant.

Places on the course are limited. The cost is £135 per person, which includes both workshops, hotel accommodation, lunch and a barbeque on Saturday, plus a full English breakfast on Sunday. Knowing how tight money is at this time of year, we have arranged an option to spread the cost over five months.

For more information, visit the website: http://writersabcworkshops.lorrainemace.com/

The Writer’s ABC Checklist
Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition
Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition

Getting the most from a critique

Maureen Vincent-Northam, my good writing friend and co-author of the The Writer's ABC Checklist asked me to guest post on her blog. I gave some advice on getting the most from a critique. You can read it here: Critically Speaking

The Writer’s ABC Checklist
Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition
Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition

Don't Know? Look it Up

Today my guest post is from my very good friend and research guru, Maureen Vincent-Northam. Her advice is invaluable for all writers, whether researching for an article, non-fiction book or even fiction.

Don't Know? Look it Up

Some words have a certain writery ring about them: muse, reflection, creativity, contemplation. Others are less inspiring: tedium, frustration, research.

Okay, let’s leave tedium and frustration at the bottom of the pile – like frilly shirts and fitted sheets when we do the ironing – and take a closer look at research. Not everyone’s cup of tea, I grant you, but stay with me here.

When Lorraine and I wrote The Writer’s ABC Checklist, we carried out a whole heap of the stuff. As authors of a guide to professional presentation, it was vital that we got our facts right; there were many things we had to check (and we checked out many sources and took advice from publishing professionals) before we were satisfied we’d got the correct information.

But research isn’t confined to reference books. Even in works of fiction, a reader will expect your facts to be spot on – there’s always some clever dick ready to point out that, actually, your hero couldn’t have used Morse Code in 1786 and your heroine may have been pioneering and avant-garde but she wasn’t flogging teabags in her corner shop in 1902.

When writing stories, where an overview of a particular period is all you need, the children’s section of your local library is a hard act to follow. Books covering the Romans, Tudors, Victorians and just about any other era, will tell you how they lived, what they wore, and whether or not they sold teabags.

Tracking down info for any work, be it a novel or a non-fiction book, an article or a short story, can be time consuming. The secret is to prioritise and break down your search into practical and workable chunks.

• When using the Internet, look for websites run by associations, societies and official fan clubs of the people or subjects you’re covering, as these will have the most reliable data.

• Use primary sources rather than secondary ones. A primary source is the original – the secondary has been written using the original source in some way. And a transcript of an original document may contain errors.

• Gather info from more than one book if you are researching this way and check the bibliographies to ensure the writers haven’t taken their information from the same source, thus perpetuating inaccuracies.

• Gather the views of more than one expert to lessen the risk of biased data and personal opinion over facts.

• Be very careful that you are not citing old facts and figures, as newer research may mean this material has become obsolete.

A final, and pretty darned clever, tip. When even reputable sources differ on dates or measurements, you don’t need to risk getting it wrong; it’s still possible to be correct without being specific. For example: The church was built in the latter half of the 13th century or the limo was twice the length of two average family saloons.

MaureenVincent-Northam has been published in newspapers, international magazines and on the Web, contributing regularly to markets aimed at writers. She is the author of Trace your Roots and co-authored The Writer’s ABC Checklist. She won The Writers’ Advice Centre for Children’s Books 2008 competition and her short stories and poetry have appeared in a number of anthologies. Maureen is also a freelance editor, has judged online writing contests, and tutored writing workshops.

www.maureen-vincent-northam.co.uk

The Writer’s ABC Checklist