Please join me today in welcoming author J.L. Merrow to Joyfully Jay.  She is sharing things she’ll do for a story, her book Wight Mischief, and a great giveaway.  Welcome J.L.! 

Research is a funny thing.  Every story requires it—even when, as with Wight Mischief, you’ve taken the lazy route and set it in your own back yard.  I grew up on the island; I even visited Marcus’s fort and, ahem, penetrated his tunnel, way back in the dawns of time before the site became a private residence.  I still ended up trawling the internet for info to supplement my hazy recollections—what was the layout of the fort? Why was the tunnel originally constructed, and when?

And then there are specific things that come up when you’re writing—what does happen when someone falls down a long flight of stairs?  Does he really go head-over-heels (an appropriate enough image in a book about love), or is there just a rather disappointing face-first splat? Ah, YouTube, how did writers ever manage without you?  (And isn’t it scary how many people have so-called friends who will set them up for a fall—and then film it and bung it on the internet? Not that I’m complaining, mind!)

Occasionally you get assistance from an unlikely source—the people in the Cambridge tourist information were unexpectedly eager to help when I contacted them while writing Camwolf to ask where a Cambridge werewolf might go for a run!

And sometimes, a writer just has to suffer for her art.  It was torture, I’ll admit, visiting all the pubs in Wight Mischief for lunches and drinks…

Wight Mischief 

A stranger could light up his world…or drive him deeper into darkness.

Will thinks a camping trip with his friend-with-benefits Baz will be a fun break from his usual job as a personal trainer. But the trip turns into a rollercoaster ride as he meets author Marcus – and Marcus’ mysterious guardian Leif.

Journalist Baz is supposed to be researching a book on ghosts, yet he seems curiously interested in secrets lying in the reclusive Marcus’ past. But these are secrets that someone’s determined they should let lie – and if they’re not careful, Will and Baz could end up adding to the Island’s ghostly population…

Product Warnings:  Contains perilous cliffs, elusive might-be ghosts, a secret tunnel, and skinny-dipping by moonlight.

Available now from Samhain and Amazon

COMMENT TO WIN THE WIGHT

Everyone who comments on any of my Wight Mischief blog posts will be entered into a prize draw for this sterling silver Isle of Wight charm (1″ wide; I’ve put it on black cord but it could also be worn on a bracelet)

I’ll make the draw on 15th November, 9pm GMT, so you have until then to leave your comments here on Joyfully Jay or any of my other blog stops. [Note: That translates to 4:00 pm here in U.S. EST.  Check here for a GMT converter to figure out what time the contest closes in your area.]

Thanks again to J.L. for stopping by, and don’t forget to comment for your chance to win!  

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