Margaret Tanner: The Act of Selection

I’m so happy to have Margaret Tanner back again.

Major kudos to you, Margaret, for winning the 2010 Reader's Fvaorite Award! Wish I could have been in Las Vegas to cheer you on as you accepted this wonderful, well-deserved honor.

Handing the blog over to you...


THE ACT OF SELECTION
by Margaret Tanner

In Australia the 1860/61 Land Act allowed free selection of crown land. This included land already occupied by the squatters, (wealthy ranchers), who had managed to circumvent the law for years. A similar scheme apparently operated in the US as well, (nesters against the ranchers).

The Act allowed selectors (small farmers) access to the squatters’ land, and they could purchase between 40 and 320 acres, but after that, the authorities left them to fend for themselves. Not an easy task against the wealthy, often ruthless squatters who were incensed at what they thought was theft of their land.

The Act of Selection was intended to encourage closer settlement, based on intensive agriculture. Selectors often came into conflict with squatters, who already occupied land. The bitterness ran deep for many years, sometimes erupting into violence.

Steele Rudd (a pseudonym for Arthur Hoey Davis 14.11.1868 – 11.10.35), an Australian author wrote a story On Our Selection. He based it on his father’s experience as a selector struggling to make ends meet on a small parcel of land. It started out as just one chapter published in a magazine in December 1895 and eventually became the basis for Dad and Dave, a popular radio series which ran from 1932 – 1952.

Henry Lawson 1867 – 1922, was born on the gold fields of NSW. Many believed him to be the first poet to capture the Australian way of life. After a childhood ear infection, he was totally deaf by the age of 14, and he grew up to be bitter about his poverty and ill-fortune.

In 1888 he started publishing his stories and poems.

The Fire at Ross’ Farm, was a classic poem about selector versus the squatter.
Robert Black, the squatter’s son, loved Jenny Ross the selector’s daughter.

When Robert tells his father about the bushfire (wild fire) threatening the Ross farm, his father said, and I quote these couple of lines from Henry Lawson’s poem, which I feel epitomise the extent of the hatred and mistrust between the squatters and the selectors.

Then let it burn the squatter said, I’d like to see it done
I’d bless the fire if it would clear Selectors from my run (run is an old, no longer used, Aussie term for ranch).

Frontier Wife, my latest release from The Wild Rose Press, is set against this tumultuous background.

The heroine’s uncle selected 80 acres for his farm on Adam Muno’s 40,000 acre property.

FRONTIER WIFE - BLURB
Tommy Lindsay arrives in colonial Australia to claim the rundown farm she and her brothers have inherited.

Hidden behind her fragile English rose beauty, beats the heart of a courageous young woman. She will need all this strength to survive the unforgiving heat, and the dangers lurking around every corner. Lost in the bush, capture by a feral mountain family, raging bushfires are nothing, compared to the danger she faces if she gives her heart to wealthy squatter, Adam Munro.

EXCERPT
Adam Munro scowled as he rode along. What an absolute waste of bloody time going down to see those lawyers in Melbourne. Henry Lindsay's stubbornness had been a thorn in his side for years. He wanted to buy the property back when the old man died. No one could call that unreasonable. I’d have offered them a fair price, damn it. To find out the relatives in England not only refused to sell, but wanted to settle here and start up a horse stud enraged him.
He cursed under his breath at the sheer insolence of those Lindsays. Imagine having the gall to take out an advertisement in the local paper and stick up notices in the general store? His lips curled contemptuously. He had ripped down every notice he saw. Warrior. What kind of name was that for a stallion? Probably some broken down old hack.
They would get no credit anywhere, he made sure of that. How dare they hog water he desperately needed for his stock to survive a prolonged drought. He would do everything necessary to scare off those wretched interlopers.
I’m not prepared to stand by and let any animal suffer while Henry Lindsay’s relatives play at being farmers. If they get in my way I'll trample them into the dust. His hands clenched on the reins.
Soon he would be home. He hated the hustle and bustle of the city. A week down there proved more than enough for him. Of course, he combined business with pleasure. Just thinking about the women whose company he had enjoyed caused him to grin. Good to be coming home, though. If only he could get rid of those wretched Lindsays, it would enable him to focus all his attention on the other problem plaguing him.
He needed a wife capable of bearing him two or three healthy sons. At thirty-five he did not want to leave it much longer. Unfortunately, he didn’t have many choices.

Margaret's bio: I am an author who loves delving into the pages of history as I carry out research for my historical romance novels. I take pride in being historically correct. No history book is too old or tattered for me to trawl through. I have tramped through cemeteries, spent hours in museums. I visited an old jail once and went into the little stone cell, and although it was a hot day, inside the cell it was bone chillingly cold. I wanted to know what it was like to be incarcerated in such a place, as the heroine in one of my novels, was thrown in jail for a crime she did not commit, and yet another heroine was sent to Australia as a convict.
I am a member of the Romance Writers of Australia, the Melbourne Romance Writers Group (MRWG) and EPIC.
I live in Australia and I am married and have three grown up sons and a gorgeous little grand-daughter.

In the Author Spotlight: Margaret Tanner

Cate: Please welcome Aussie author Margaret Tanner. Margaret, will you please share a short bio with us?
Margaret: Hi Cate, thank you so much for inviting me to your blog.
BIO: Margaret Tanner is a multi-published Australian author. She loves delving into the pages of history as she carries out research for her historical romance novels, and prides herself on being historically accurate. No book is too old or tattered for her to trawl through, no museum too dusty, or cemetery too overgrown. Many of her novels have been inspired by true events, with one being written around the hardships and triumphs of her pioneering ancestors in frontier Australia.
Margaret is a member of the Romance Writers of Australia, the Melbourne Romance Writers Group (MRWG) and EPIC. She won the 2007 and 2009 Author of the Year at AussieAuthors.com.
Her novel Frontier Wife has just won the best historical romance novel at the 2010 Readers Favorite Award.
Margaret is married and has three grown up sons, and a gorgeous little granddaughter.
Outside of her family and friends, writing is her passion.

Cate: Major kudos on the award! Well deserved. :) Tell us about Reluctant Father and where it's available.
Margaret: Reluctant Father is published by The Wild Rose Press. It is set against the background of the Vietnam War.
Available from The Wild Rose Press, Amazon, Fictionwise.

Cate: I'm in the middle of reading it and am having trouble putting it down!
Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.
Margaret:
Blurb: Jordan Stamford is allergic to babies. At the height of the Vietnam war, this jet-setting playboy, whose motto is ‘money can buy anything,’ arrives in Sarah Watson’s seaside home to redevelop a disused factory complex. Sarah is the only child of an elderly minister of religion and adores her bay side home. She yearns for a loving husband and babies. Will Jordan’s shameful family history, and Sarah’s desperate longing for a child, be an insurmountable barrier for them to overcome?
Excerpt: Lewis Inlet Annual School Bazaar.
The loud crying of a baby erupted in the surrounding crowd, and Jordan Stamford baulked just inside the school gates. Instinctively his hands moved to cover his ears and block the noise, but he was able to stop them at the last second. People surged around him, cutting off retreat, and his stomach muscles clenched, his pulse rate escalated—he was trapped.
The wailing grew worse, reverberating inside his head until his brain felt ready to explode. Teeth gritted, he pushed his way through the crowd. He could get away. It wasn’t like when he was sixteen and trapped on a train with some screaming baby. By the time the train pulled into the station and he could get off, he had been on the verge of hyperventilating.
Taking several shuddering breaths, he fought to get himself under control. This crying baby had resurrected the phobia he’d thought buried years ago. What kind of sniveling coward would go to pieces at the sound of a screaming child? Why should it still bother him so much after all this time? For years he had religiously avoided going anywhere near children. For God’s sake, what had made him drop his guard and come to a school bazaar, of all places?
He didn’t mind making regular donations to charities that looked after neglected children, as long as he didn’t have to present the checks in person. He feared having kids. With his family history, he was genetically predisposed to reject his offspring. No way would he risk bringing a child into the world to suffer the same fate as he had.

Cate: That is just the most adorable cover. What inspired you to write about the theme?
Margaret: I like the 1960’s era because I was a teenager then. I can clearly remember all the controversy of the Vietnam War. Peace marches, anti-war demonstrations, hippies, not to mention the beehive hair-dos, and the tons of hair spray we had to use to keep it in place, the mini skirts and stilettos. Oh, and not forgetting the old manual typewriter I had to use at work. Hardly a day went by that I didn’t come home with black carbon streaked on my blouse. Then there was the black ink under my finger nails because I had to change the typewriter ribbon. Beatle concerts, I could go on and on, but you get the picture. I have very fond memories of the era.

Cate: The Sixties definitely shaped me also. How do you develop your plots and characters?
Margaret: I really can’t say because I never plot a story. It just happens. Characters just pop into my head, and they bring their stories along with them and I start writing. I always write my first draft in long hand because the words just flow out of me that way. When I finish it I type it into the computer.

Cate: Do you feel as if the characters live with you as you write? Do they haunt your dreams?
Margaret: I wouldn’t exactly say haunt, but yes, my characters do invade my dreams. In the daylight hours they seem to dog my every footstep until the story is finished, then they leave me in peace.

Cate: What's next for you?
Margaret: At the moment I am in the process of writing a long historical (in excess of 90,000 words). My tag line for it is – Wuthering Heights in Australia.

Cate: Oh, that sounds wonderful. Any other published works?
Margaret: Yes. I have ten novels published now. Three with Whiskey Creek Press and seven with The Wild Rose press

Cate: Wow, impressive. Describe your writing in three words.
Margaret: Dramatic, memorable, emotional.

Cate: What’s the most challenging aspect of writing? Most rewarding?
Margaret: For me the challenge is to find time to write. As for most rewarding, holding my book in my hot little hand, turning the pages, inhaling its perfume and worshiping the cover. And the greatest thrill of all? Reading MY book on the train, waving it around a little, letting out deep sighs so fellow travelers will think – wow, that must be a great book.

Cate: Great strategy! :) What’s the most interesting comment you have received about your books?
Margaret: An elderly man wrote to me once and said that he picked up my Whiskey Creek Press book, Devil’s Ridge, after his wife left it on a chair and he read it. It is set during the 1st World War, and it brought tears to his eyes because the battles and places I mentioned in France, were the same ones that his late father had fought in. That really touched me.

Cate: How lovely. Who are some of your favorite authors and books? What are you reading now?
Margaret: I have just finished reading Erin’s Rebel by Susan Macatee and loved it. Prior to that I read and enjoyed Ginger Simpson’s terrific western, Sarah’s Journey. The next novel I plan to read is The Texan’s Irish Bride by Caroline Clemmons, which has received some fabulous reviews, so I can’t wait to start on it. Another of my favourite authors is the talented Cate Masters

Cate: *blushes* You are too kind. Though I agree about the other authors, they're wonderful!
Where can readers find you on the web?
My website is: www.margarettanner.com
My page at TWRP: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/margaret-tanner-m-281.html
I can be found at Whiskey Creek Press: www.whiskeycreekpress.com

Cate: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Margaret: Does the fact that my stories are all set in Australia, turn you off reading them or does it make you want to find out more?

Cate: Readers, Margaret is giving away an e-copy of Reluctant Father to a random commenter... so start commenting. Margaret will draw the winner’s name notify the winner and post the winner’s name here.

Thanks so much for being my guest Margaret! Best of luck with all your projects.

In the Author Spotlight: Margaret Tanner

Cate: I’m so happy to have Margaret Tanner back in the Author Spotlight. Margaret, Please tell us something about you and your books.
Margaret: I am an author who loves delving into the pages of history as I carry out research for my historical romance novels. I take pride in being historically correct. No history book is too old or tattered for me to trawl through. I have tramped through cemeteries, spent hours in museums. I visited an old jail once and went into the little stone cell, and although it was a hot day, inside the cell it was bone chillingly cold. I wanted to know what it was like to be incarcerated in such a place, as the heroine in one of my novels, was thrown in jail for a crime she did not commit, and yet another heroine was sent to Australia as a convict.
I am a member of the Romance Writers of Australia, the Melbourne Romance Writers Group (MRWG) and EPIC.
I live in Australia and I am married and have three grown up sons and a gorgeous little grand-daughter.

Cate: Are there any new authors who have grasped your attention?
Margaret: I love reading Ginger Simpson's books, she is a great writer and multi-published now. I also read your novels, Cate, and they are incredibly exciting and well written.

Cate: Thanks so much for your kind words! It's an honor, coming from such a well-respected author as you.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Margaret: Yes. Follow your dream of publication and never give up and you will eventually succeed.

Cate: Wonderful advice. What’s your latest book about?
Margaret: My latest release from TWRP is called “Wild Oats” which is the prequel to The Trouble with Playboys.” Both published in the Vintage section of TWRP.

Cate: What a great idea, writing a prequel! I love that they're interconnected. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Margaret: Anywhere and everywhere. The Trouble With Playboys was inspired by my late father’s war time experiences in Malaya and Singapore. He was engaged to my mother at the time, and wrote many letters to her, and she kept all of these, so I had access to first-hand information so to speak. Shattered Dreams (TWRP), Wild Oats (TWRP) and Devil’s Ridge (WCP), which are set against a background of the 1st World War were also inspired by the deeds of my forebears. Hard to reconcile the frail old men, who told us kids stories of their time in France in 1916, to brave young soldiers who sailed halfway across the world to fight for England. I also had access to a diary written by one of them. I also used the local library extensively. Also, most importantly, I had the honour of visiting the battlefields in France and Belgium. A truly poignant experience. I couldn’t believe I was walking on the ground that these old men (old when I was a child, and long deceased by the time I made it to France), had fought over more than 90 years ago.

Cate: What promotional ideas can you give to other beginning authors?
Margaret: My flippant answer to this question, and I use it quite often is – I’d do anything, that isn’t criminal. I’d strip if I had to, (anyone who knows me, knows this is a barefaced lie). With a figure like mine, fat legs, big bum and hips and saggy boobs, I mean come on, I’d frightened any potential buyers away.
The real answer is – do whatever, and however much, you are comfortable with.

Cate: What advice would you give to somebody trying to get a literary agent?
Margaret: The same as with getting a publisher, check out their credentials, make sure they handle your type of writing, then send them your best manuscript, polished to within an inch of its life, and keep your fingers crossed.

Cate: Is there anything you would like to say to other aspiring writers?
Margaret: Yes, follow your dream. Work hard at it and never give up until you reach your goal.

Cate: Excellent advice! As a child what did you want to do when you grew up?
Margaret: An author.

Cate: As a reader, I’m so glad you followed your dream!
As a writer and published author how do you feel about e-publishing?
Margaret: Well, being an e-pub author, I really believe it is the way of the future. And I think it is going to grow. I do worry that the smaller publishers who started this phenomenon might get pushed aside, now that the big publishers, who ridiculed e-books in the beginning, are starting to jump on the bandwagon and have their books electronically published as well.

Cate: Please give us a list of all of your books currently available.
Devils Ridge – Whiskey Creek Press
Savage Utopia – Whiskey Creek Press
Stolen Birthright – Whiskey Creek Press
Cardinal Sin – The Wild Rose Press
Holly And The Millionaire – The Wild Rose Press
Shattered Dreams – The Wild Rose Press
The Trouble With Playboys – The Wild Rose Press
Wild Oats – The Wild Rose Press
Frontier Wife – July release from The Wild Rose Press
Reluctant Father – September release from The Wild Rose Press

Cate: Wow, what an incredible lineup. How long does it take you to do research on the books you write?
Margaret: A few weeks. Depends on which era I am writing about.

Cate: How do you give credit to any research you do?
Margaret: I don’t, because I only use the information as a general background and to check historical dates, so it isn’t necessary, my stories are all romances, which is the major part of the book, so the historical research I do is mainly for me to get a feel for the era.

Cate: What inspired you to become a writer?
Margaret: I read many stories as a child from two Australian authors, Ethel Turner and Mary Grant Bruce and I wanted to write the same kind of stories as they did. Their stories weren’t particularly romantic, but they were set in the Australian bush and they based their stories on things that had happened to them in the younger days – 1880’s onwards. I was hooked.

Cate: How did you go about getting published?
Margaret: Now that was hard. It took me many years, heaps of rejections and buckets of tears, I thought I wanted to write for Harlequin Mills & Boon, but after a time, I realized that they didn’t publish the kind of books I wrote. I tried some of the large publishers, who didn’t want me boo hoo, then I started researching the small press/e-pubs who published the kind of stories I wrote, and after that it didn’t take long for me to get an acceptance.

Cate: What stories do you like to write about?
Margaret: All my novels, except for Holly And The Millionaire, are historical. The main part of my stories are always set in Australia. We have a dark and bloody history, having been founded as a penal colony for English convicts. We overcame the convict stain when free settlers started to pour in, and these people tamed the savage wilderness, gold was discovered and the country prospered. This is what I like to write about, ordinary people, doing extra-ordinary things and in the process finding their soul-mate.

Cate: Where can readers find you on the web?
Margaret: My website: www.margarettanner.com/
The Wild Rose Press – www.thewildrosepress.com
Whiskey Creek Press – www.whiskeycreekpress.com

Cate: Thanks again for being my guest, Margaret! Best of luck with Wild Oats.

Welcome guest author Margaret Tanner!

Cate: Please welcome special guest Margaret Tanner. Margaret, will you please share a short bio with us?
Margaret: I’ve had numerous short stories published over the years, but writing Historical romance novels is my passion. My favourite historical period is the 1st World War. Not only have I painstakingly researched this era, but was fortunate enough to make a poignant pilgrimage to the battlefields of Gallipoli (in Turkey), also France and Belgium.
I live in Australia with my husband and have three grown up sons, and one grand-daughter. I recently reduced my working hours as a medical typist to concentrate on writing.
I’m published with Whiskeycreek Press and The Wild Rose Press.

Cate: Tell us about your latest release, The Trouble with Playboys, and where it's available.
Margaret: The Trouble with Playboys opens in 1938, when a wealthy Englishman, Paul Ashfield, travels to Australia in search of the birth-mother he thinks deserted him. He meets and falls in love with Daphne Clarke. Upon meeting her parents, Paul is horrified by the possibility that they have the same mother. He departs the scene quickly, believing he has slept with his sister.
Amidst the turmoil of WW2, Paul and Daphne meet again in Singapore, where they discover the truth – they are not siblings. They marry as the Japanese pour into Malaya and Singapore teeters on the brink of invasion. In the chaotic aftermath, each believes the other has died during the bombing. Heartbroken, Paul returns home to England and agrees to an arranged marriage.
After a daring escape from Singapore, Daphne finally reaches England, only to find out that Paul is about to wed another woman.
The Trouble with Playboys is available April 24 from The Wild Rose Press.
The Trouble With Playboys, is particularly close to my heart, as my late father served in Singapore and Malaya during the 2nd World War, and as he was engaged to my mother at the time, he wrote frequently, and she kept all his letters, so I was able to gain a lot of insight into those traumatic times from his writing. He didn't speak about the war much, but I remembered the things he did tell us as children, and coupled with what my mother and her sisters told me about how it was for the woman left at home, I feel confident that I have captured the era well.

Cate: I understand you’re working on a prequel to this novel. Can you share a little bit about it?
Margaret: Yes, the prequel to this novel has the title of "Wild Oats" and it will be released by TWRP in 2010.
Wild Oats starts with Sir Phillip Ashfield (Paul's father), arriving in Australia as a young man in 1914 to sow some wild oats. His betrayal, and the tragic consequences that follow, have the power to ruin the lives of the next generation.

Cate: Your list of awards is very impressive! Tell us more.
Margaret: I’ve won or been commended in competitions on several occasions. In February 2008, I won the Australian Author of the Year Award from aussieauthors.com. My unpublished manuscriptStorm Girl was a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest in 2008. My World War 1 novel, Devil’s Ridge, from Whiskeycreek Press, finished in the top thirty in the 2007 Preditors and Editors poll.

Cate: At what age did you discover writing?
Margaret: I have written short stories since childhood, but ventured into novel writing when my children were small. My husband worked night shift so I used to sit up late and write to fill in time.

Cate: Describe your writing in three words.
Margaret: Emotional - Dramatic - Sensual.

Cate: Do you have a writing routine, or any special system that helps you, such as organization techniques?
Margaret: No, I just write when and where I can. I always carry a notebook with me to jot things down in.

Cate: How do you pick the character’s names?
Margaret: They just pop into my head of their own accord.

Cate: What’s the most challenging aspect of writing? Easiest?
Margaret: Finding the time is the most challenging, Thinking of ideas is the easiest.

Cate: What’s the most rewarding aspect?
Margaret: Receiving feed back from my readers.

Cate: Do you feel as if the characters live with you as you write? Do they haunt your dreams?
Margaret: Oh yes, they certainly haunt my dreams.

Cate: What’s the most interesting comment you have received about your books?
Margaret: An elderly man wrote to me and said how he enjoyed reading my 1st World War stories, Devil's Ridge and Shattered Dreams. He picked the first book up and started reading it when his wife left it on a chair. Then he went out and ordered the second book himself. He said that his father had served in the 1st World War and my stories rekindled the memories of his father. I was really touched.

Cate: Wow, and what a great tribute.
Who are some of your favorite authors and books? What are you reading now?
Margaret: Ginger Simpson, Tricia McGill and there are several TWRP authors who I enjoy reading, including a certain Cate Masters. I am just about ready to start reading a story from Linda Swift, which I know I am going to enjoy.

Cate: What's next for you?
Margaret: I am working on a family saga set in Australia during the 1860's.

Cate: Where can you be found on the web?
Margaret: My web site is www.margarettanner.com/.

Cate: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Margaret: I don't think so, except to thank them for their support. I would also like to thank you for having me on your blog Cate, I've really enjoyed chatting with you.

Cate: My pleasure, Margaret! Best of luck with your release!
Readers, you heard Margaret. She's giving away a copy of The Trouble With Playboys to a random commenter... so start commenting. She'll pick a winner on Monday, April 27, and announce it here, so be sure to check back!

Pop over to Popculturedivas with me Friday, and visit here with a special guest

Come on over to Popculturedivas on Friday to weigh in about the new mashups being released.

Plus, tomorrow I'll have a special guest here on my blog - award-winning author Margaret Tanner, whose latest release is titled The Trouble with Playboys. Because it's releasing tomorrow, she'll hold a weekend-long contest and select a winner next week. You won't want to miss it!