# Please introduce yourself and your book(s)!
Hi there, I’m Alice Coldbreath, author of The Vawdrey Brothers, Brides of Karadok and Victorian Prizefighter series. I write mostly historical romance fiction, of the medieval and Victoria era.
My Medieval books are based in the fictional kingdom of Karadok, which is based loosely on Britain/ Europe in the Middle Ages and feature arranged marriages of mismatched couples mostly from the nobility.
My Victorian books are mostly focused on the working and middle classes rather than gentry. So far, they have been set in a Cornish inn and a fairground boxing booth.
# What inspires/inspired your creativity?
I write the kind of stories I always wanted to read. Relatable heroines who are NOT the tempestuous beauties I grew up reading in the eighties and nineties.
I always found myself wondering about the fate of the supporting characters who surrounded the peerless, violet-eyed female lead. (They always seemed to have violet eyes for some reason!)
The sensible, plain-featured friend, the plump sister or the cousin whose mother married into trade and always says the wrong thing. Where were their romances I always wanted to know? Now I take great satisfaction in writing their happy ever afters.
# How do you deal with creative block?
Usually when this happens, I find I have taken a wrong turn in my narrative and unpick the last couple of scenes. If they are fine, then I might skip ahead and write a scene that I know is happening later on in the book and that I am excited to write.
That usually gets my flow going again.
# What are the biggest mistakes you can make in a book? # Do you have tips on choosing covers?
Ooh gosh, covers are real pitfalls for self-published writers! I hope I have improved my covers over time, as in the beginning I had some real clunkers. It’s a tricky thing to gauge as I always had such a strong idea of what I wanted the cover image to be and if this image did not exist on stock sites, then I would try to find someone to draw/ produce it!
Now I try to keep my ideas looser and keep image boards of pictures that may be appropriate. I try to do this several times over the writing period and no longer leave it to the completion of a novel when I am frazzled, and my brain is fried!
# What were the best, worst and most surprising things you encountered during the entire process of completing your book(s)?
The best part is undoubtedly hearing from readers who enjoy your books and tell you they are re-reads for them. That gives me such a boost and I will never grow tired of hearing that! You receive the most wonderful, encouragement and support from people all around the world who have taken a chance on an unknown writer, and it amazes me each time.
The worst part I would say is the technical aspect of releasing books – eg trying different proofreaders, editing and formatting. As an independent you have to put on lots of different hats that don’t suit you half so well as that of novelist! I’m afraid that I fall down completely, when it comes to advertising. I cannot maintain a social media presence online for the life of me. I do have a website that I am proud of these days and manage to release a newsletter once a month. I am fortunate that lots of readers write reviews on places like Amazon, Goodreads and Bookbub and help spread the word.
# What are your plans for future books?
I have several more books planned for my Brides of Karadok series, although I have not yet decided the sequence in which I will be writing them. I also have at least two more Victorian Prizefighter books planned, and maybe more. Please check my website for updates. www.alicecoldbreath.com