Love Bytes says welcome to author Anne Barwell who visits us today to talk about her new release “Shadowboxing”.

Welcome Anne 🙂

Where’s My Pen?

Thanks for hosting me today.

Although I type my manuscripts on the computer, notebooks, pens, and sticky notes play a big part of my writing process. I love stationery, and it’s great to have an excuse to buy it.

When I’m planning a story, or a series, I start a new notebook for it. I use it to jot down ideas about the plot, characters, how everything fits together. Often I’ll get a scene or a bit of dialogue and that will go into the notebook too. When I’m writing something like Echoes Rising, my WWII series, which needs a lot of research, bits of information I think might be useful later are added to the notes. I also have a bibliographic list at the back of that series notebook, not only because it’s handy to have it all in one place if I want to refer to those sources again, but when the publisher asks for my resources I’ve already got the list to share.

It’s especially important to be organised when I’m writing a series as I need to make sure I can access my notes quickly as I’m constantly checking continuity between books.

Why not do it all on the computer instead?

Often ideas that I want to jot down come when I haven’t got my computer open, or I get them when I’m not at home. I don’t own a smartphone and my tablet is too old to have a good relationship with the internet. It’s easier to put the ideas on paper—I carry around a notebook in my handbag for that reason. I have two notebooks on the go at present that aren’t series or story specific. One sits on my desk and has Batman and Robin on the cover, the other lives in my bag and is titled ‘Plans for World Domination’. Both were gifts from one of my beta readers; she knows me well. I used to have lot of pieces of paper scattered around my desk, but as pieces of paper tend to do, they got lost, or I couldn’t find them when I needed them, so it’s easier to grab a notebook.

Lunch with beta readers often turns into a brainstorming session. We’ve also choreographed fight scenes with plush sheep, bunnies, and minions, and it’s important to draw diagrams of these scenes. Photographs are great but they need to be backed up by notes with the specifics as to which plushie is which character. Out comes the notebook.

I’m also a little old fashioned when it comes to hardcopy, and I don’t trust computers to keep the information I need intact. Online storage is well enough but I had a couple of months last year when I couldn’t access it, and a bit of panic because I’d done something different and kept my up to date ideas document online. Eep. So back to ye olde hardcopy I went.

When I host authors and say I’ll mark my diary, I wonder how many of them realised that’s exactly what I’m doing? Each year I buy a new hardcopy diary, and it has to be one page a day, and a month by month calendar at the front—last year one of my betas and I went through all the diaries in the shop to find the right one. Everything goes into that diary, and I mean everything. I’d be lost without it.

Last year I was introduced to the wonderful invention of erasable pens. I loved them! Unfortunately they aren’t cheap and I soon realised that I couldn’t afford to feed my addiction at the rate of one pen a month. *Sigh* So I’m back to normal pens, but in saying that, I have standards. They need to write smoothly and be nice to write with.

Sticky notes are also a wonderful invention. It’s so much easier to find the page I’m looking for in not only my notebooks but in the books I’m using for research. One of the local stationery shops had a sale on little packets of cute sticky notes with plenty of room to write on just before Christmas. Needless to say, I stocked up.

One drawback with loving stationery and all things hardcopy is that my workspace can become a little crowded at times, especially when I’m working on more than one book at a time like I am now. However, I aim to clear my desk and start again as I finish each book. In the meantime as long as I can find everything, thanks to my treasure trove of all things stationery, all is good.

Blurb:

Berlin, 1943. An encounter with an old friend leaves German physicist Dr. Kristopher Lehrer with doubts about his work. But when he confronts his superior, everything goes horribly wrong. Suddenly Kristopher and Michel, a member of the Resistance, are on the run, hunted for treason and a murder they did not commit. If they’re caught, Kristopher’s knowledge could be used to build a terrible weapon that could win the war.

For the team sent by the Allies—led by Captain Bryant, Sergeant Lowe, and Dr. Zhou—a simple mission escalates into a deadly game against the Gestapo, with Dr. Lehrer as the ultimate prize. But in enemy territory, surviving and completing their mission will test their strengths and loyalties and prove more complex than they ever imagined.

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The light on top of the confessional blinked off, and an old man walked out, a dazed expression on his face. He muttered something under his breath too low for Michel to hear, glanced behind him, rapidly made the sign of the cross, and then repeated it. He then, to Michel’s surprise, prostrated himself in front of the altar and called out in a loud voice, “God, I beg your forgiveness for leading such a boring life.”

Someone snorted. Michel turned in time to see the brunet he’d observed earlier roll his eyes. Whoever was in the confessional masquerading as the local parish priest had an interesting sense of humor. He wondered idly who was in charge of this mission. The brunet certainly didn’t seem surprised by what had just happened.

Michel tentatively opened the now-empty confessional and entered, wondering what he was getting himself into. Whatever the priest had said to the old man, it was definitely atypical of the penance Michel remembered receiving in the past, courtesy of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Surely they couldn’t be condoning this behavior, although he was sure Father Johannes would have agreed for someone to temporarily use the confessional as a meeting place. He’d helped the Berlin Resistance on more than one occasion.

Playing the part of a priest would be the safest way of doing this for the person on the other end of the confessional, especially if he were caught. Father Johannes too, despite his protestations, knew to deny knowledge of anything or anyone if that happened. He would do his people more good here than in a Gestapo cell or a camp.

Michel knelt as the priest opened the small mesh window dividing the two compartments. Searching his memory for the correct phrasing, Michel spoke the precursory words for the sacrament. Confession might be good for the soul, but in his occupation, some things were better left unsaid, even to a priest.

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned,” he began. “It’s been two years since my last confession and—”

A bored-sounding voice interrupted him. “Just get on with it, will you? I hope your sins are more interesting than the last person’s. I damn well hit my head when I started to drift off….”

The priest paused to catch his breath, and Michel spoke quickly, before the man could continue his tale of woe. “I’m homesick, and I’m often tempted to click my heels together and say ‘there’s no place like home.’”

There was a moment’s silence, followed by what sounded suspiciously like a very loud sigh of relief. “The answer to your problem is to follow the yellow brick road.”

Michel arched an eyebrow in the half darkness. Was this his contact? “Toto?” he asked.

“In the flesh. What took you so long? You’ve no idea what I’ve been through in here.” There was another moment of silence. “How can I help you, my child?” The man snickered. “Sorry, I’ve always wanted to say that.”

A loud creak was followed by the sun streaming through the now open confessional door. Michel blinked rapidly at the sudden change in light. The “priest” standing in front of him proffered his hand in greeting, although he was careful to keep his voice low so they couldn’t be overheard. “Matthew Bryant. Matt.”

“Gabriel.” Michel considered giving his name rather than his codename, but he didn’t trust this man or his team that far as yet.

Anne Barwell lives in Wellington, New Zealand. She shares her home with two cats who are convinced that the house is run to suit them; this is an ongoing “discussion,” and to date it appears as though the cats may be winning. In 2008 she completed her conjoint BA in English Literature and Music/Bachelor of Teaching. She has worked as a music teacher, a primary school teacher, and now works in a library. She is a member of the Upper Hutt Science Fiction Club and plays violin for Hutt Valley Orchestra. She is an avid reader across a wide range of genres and a watcher of far too many TV series and movies, although it can be argued that there is no such thing as “too many.” These, of course, are best enjoyed with a decent cup of tea and further the continuing argument that the concept of “spare time” is really just a myth.

Anne’s books have received honorable mentions four times and reached the finals three times in the Rainbow Awards.  She has also been nominated twice in the Goodreads M/M Romance Reader’s Choice Awards—once for Best Fantasy and once for Best Historical.

Blog: http://anne-barwell.livejournal.com/

Website: http://annebarwell.wordpress.com/

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Dreamspinner Press Author Page:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/AuthorArcade/anne-barwell

DSP Publications Author Page:

https://www.dsppublications.com/authors/anne-barwell-49