Celia Micklefield: On Writing

Hello to all you lovers of books. And a big thank you to Barbara for giving me this opportunity to reach more of you through her website and tell you a little something about my work.

Celia Micklefield is my maiden name. I thought it was a good idea to use it as my pen name. I hoped it would be more memorable than Smith. I didn’t realise what problems it could cause fitting it across the front cover of my novels.

I come from West Yorkshire. My home town, Keighley was an industrial town full of factories and textile mills. There were enough pubs for every day of the year and a population replete with memorable characters. Some of those characters have found their way into my novels and short stories.

In my first novel, the dual timeline Patterns of Our Lives, I used a mix of Keighley and its neighbour, Bingley in my creation of Kingsley, a northern town at the outbreak of World War Two. The main character, Audrey Freeman was a ten pound Pom. When she returns to England she discovers family secrets she was never meant to know.

All my work is character-led. Whether I’m writing a family saga or a darkly satirical short story I have to know my characters inside out and upside down. How else would I be able to give them authentic dialogue? I prefer to know my settings well, too. I can conjure up the sights, sounds and smells as I’m writing.

A Measured Man is set in Norfolk where I live now. With main characters in their fifties, it’s a battle-of-the-sexes comedy aimed at the older reader. The Sandman and Mrs Carter is set in Wiltshire where my sister lives. It’s a psychological mystery, a mind-bending kind of novel.

I lived abroad for nine years and set my second novel, a dual narrative Trobairitz – the Storyteller in the part of France I’d come to love. Trobairitz were female troubadours who brought news and sang songs about current affairs, tradition, romantic love and the role of women in society. I made my own lady troubadour a contemporary female truck driver whose problems echo those of her medieval sisters. A sequel, Trobairitz – her story continues, my latest release, was published in November.

I struggled describing the genre of this series. I think the relatively recent ‘up-lit’ or ‘ideal for book clubs’ classification would suit it quite well. The very first agent I approached with Trobairitz offered me a contract but it didn’t work out. I was so disheartened I went ahead and published myself as I had with Patterns of Our Lives. I’ve been self publishing on my own ever since.

I’ve never enjoyed having to classify my work into a genre. I understand the reasons for the need but I don’t want to limit myself with formal literary boundaries. I like variety in what I choose to read and in the stories I write. But in my books you can always expect ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances with complicated problems to face.

I used to write short stories for women’s magazines but I always longed to delve into more complex themes. I still love the craft of short story writing where every single word has to earn its place and I’ve published two collections: Arse(d) Ends, stories inspired by words ending in the letters a.r.s.e. with endings to surprise and/or amuse, and Queer as Folk with a mix of themes reflecting the ups and downs of life experience.  A third collection of shorter reads is on the back burner for next year. I also have plans for more novels.

I’m a dedicated planner. My outlines are the bare bones of the story. They support my main themes but still leave enough soft tissue space to shape the flesh and muscle of the narrative as I write. Characters provide the story’s heart and soul. They are the blood supply. They feed the nerve endings and touch readers’ emotions and intellect. Whether the background is cold and comfortless or warmly seductive, my settings provide the sensual details, bringing extra colour to the narrative.  I guess this dedication to planning comes from all the years I spent planning English lessons.

I’m happy to be in Norfolk now. I’m at the age where I enjoy a quiet life so the surrounding countryside, the Broads waterways and my garden are enough. I have a neurological condition called CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) which developed after I was hit and knocked down by a careless driver. My bones mended but nerve damage causes constant pain. It’s why I’m slow at most things which unfortunately includes writing. On bad pain days I have to take medication and then I wouldn’t be able to write a shopping list never mind the next chapter.

I’d like to be more involved with writers’ groups and have more energy for marketing my work but I have to accept it’s just not possible. I stick to my own, slow pace and do what I enjoy most: my writing. I hope you enjoy it too.

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My website is www.celiamicklefield.com

I have a Celia Micklefield author page on Facebook and I’m on X(Twitter) @CMicklefield.

Do, please pop in and take a look, or better yet, Like/Follow my page. That way you’ll see when I run promotions on my books which are all available on my Amazon Celia Micklefield author page.

Trobairitz: her story continues (Trobairitz the Storyteller Book 2)

The TransAngelus haulage company is undergoing changes and needs more drivers. Weed is looking for a new home and a fresh start. Relationships develop at the overnight truck stop where she continues telling the stories about the characters in
Montalhan sans Vents where there is scandal and more confrontation, a wedding and a funeral.