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The Ropewalk series #1
The North of England, 1831.
The working class are gathering. Rebellion is stirring, and the people are divided.
Beatrice Lightfoot, a young woman fighting her own personal rebellion, is looking for an opportunity to change her luck. When she gains the attention of the enigmatic Captain Hanley, he offers her a tantalising deal to attend the May Day dance. She accepts, unaware of the true price of her own free will.
Her subsequent entanglement with Joshua Mason, the son of a local merchant, draws all three into a destructive and dangerous relationship, which threatens to drag Beatrice, and all she knows into darkness.
Now, Beatrice must choose between rebellion, love and survival before all is lost, and the Northern uprising changes her world forever.
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Q&A
When and where do you prefer to write?
I tend to wake around 5am most mornings, when the house is still and there are no distractions. I grab a large cup of coffee and take a seat at my little writing nook, which is covered in post-its and notebooks.
Do you need peace and quiet when you are writing?
When it comes to writing the first draft of the novel, I need general stillness around me. Not to be pulled out the world I’m creating every 5 mins by a small child. However, when I’m editing, I have learnt to do it with some distractions, unless I need to re-write a chapter.
If you had the chance to co-write a book. Whom would it be with?
There are a handful of historical fiction writers that I admire and have inspired me to become a writer. But to be honest, I think I would struggle to co-write a book with anyone; I think it would disconnect me away from the characters.
Say someone asks if they can use your name in a book. Would you rather be the ‘good one’ or the ‘bad one’?
I’d rather be a ‘good one’ but not perfect, no one is perfect, including myself.
Who would you like/have liked to interview?
There are the obvious people, Jane Austen; to ask her how she came up with the concepts of her novels. Charlotte Bronte, how she wrote about the darker side of life. Elizabeth I, I have always been fascinated with her. But really, for myself it more about the period rather than the one person. To walk the streets of Ulverston with Beatrice Lightfoot in 1831, to see for myself the world I imagined.
As for a modern-day person, I am struck and in awe by the writing style of Diana Setterfield and how she wrote ‘Once upon a river.’
Where can I find you when you are reading?
From a young age, I fell in love with audio books, I would fall asleep and listen to the words as they created images in my mind. How the characters and the setting became real, as if I was re-living a memory. Even now, that is how I mostly read. I always have a book on me, whether it’s on a kindle or paperback, stealing a moment here or there. Sometimes, after I have finished a draft, instead of writing in the early morning, I am reading instead.
Where can I find you wen you are not writing/reading?
When I am not writing, I am either looking after my little one or working part time as a teacher in a Scottish prison.
What goes through your mind when you hold your new book in your hands for the first time?
When I first held Ropewalk in my hand, it was as if a dream. All these years and lack of sleep had built to this moment, to hold the book, to smell the book, made it all worth it and a sense of accomplishment.
How do you come up with a title for your book?
Book 1 was harder than book 2 in the series. I played around changing it for a while. It was first going to be ‘The ropemaker’s daughter.’ But it got changed to Ropewalk as it symbolises various aspects of the novel. Then the subtitle, Rebellion, Love, survival are the three elements of the character Beatrice needs to choose.
How do you pick a cover for your book?
The covers for the Ropewalk series are designed by the amazing Aimee Coveney over at Bookollective. She was referred to me from a fellow writing friend and we worked together to develop the overall look of the books.
Thank you, H D Coulter and The Coffee Pot Book Club
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About the Author
Hayley was born and raised in the lake district and across Cumbria. From a young age, Hayley loved learning about history, visiting castles and discovering local stories from the past. Hayley and her partner lived in Ulverston for three years and spent her weekends walking along the Ropewalk and down by the old harbour. She became inspired by the spirit of the area and stories that had taken place along the historic streets.
As a teacher, Hayley had loved the art of storytelling by studying drama and theatre. The power of the written word, how it can transport the reader to another world or even another time in history. But it wasn’t until living in Ulverston did she discover a story worth telling. From that point, the characters became alive and she fell in love with the story.
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Author Links
Website: https://hdcoulter.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/coulter_hd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hd.coulter/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hdcoulter
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Book Links
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08MKZW4S5
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08MKZW4S5
Universal Link to other bookshops: https://books2read.com/u/bxjlQd
on promotion during the tour at 0.99 and signed copies of the paperbacks will be available on the author’s website
Book 2, Saving Grace; Deception. Obsession. Redemption. has gone up on preorder.
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08YWBZRQY
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08YWBZRQY
Universal Link to other bookshops: https://books2read.com/u/38QrBV
B for Bookreview 