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The life of a writer (or at least the part-time life of a part-time writer) is an odd one: you spend hours and hours alone, talking only to the people in your head, and then you realise that, in order to sell books, you’re going to have to communicate with other people.  And some of the friendliest you can meet are other authors.  I had a whale of a time a fortnight ago at the Alderney Literary Festival, where I found that other – professional – authors are so generous with their time and their expertise and their suggestions.  And now, for the whole of April, I am joining another community of authors via Helen Hollick’s A-Z Blogging Challenge.

This A-Z Blogging Challenge has been running since 2010, and in short bloggers are challenged to blog every day in April (except Sundays) on an A to Z theme.  Helen Hollick is a prolific and wonderful blogger on the theme (among many others) of historical fiction – she’s an author herself, so knows whereof she writes.  And she has taken up the A-Z gauntlet this year by asking her writing friends to allow their leading characters to be interviewed by her.  I’m involved because she chose Sam to be interviewed for the letter C (“The Man in the Canary Waistcoat”).

Today is the big launch day, and Helen’s first post – letter A – is an interview with Aurelia, the title character from the novel by Alison Morton.  It’s not a book I have read, but Aurelia sounds a hoot and I’m off to buy it right now!  Tomorrow it will be… well, I can’t give away all of our secrets, can I, but the letter B will be much in evidence.  Helen will take a well-deserved rest on Sunday, and then on Monday, it’s Sam’s turn to be grilled.  He’s more used to asking the questions, so this will be quite an experience for him.