Guest Post With Johanna Cogbill
Johanna, welcome!
1. Please tell us a little about yourself and your writing.
With a name like Johanna Cogbill you probably wouldn’t expect to find that I am born and bred Rhondda Valley. I lived in Porth until I was 22 and have lived in Tonypandy ever since. My latest obsession is genealogy and I have gone back to 1700s on my maternal grandmother’s side and those ancestors were also all born and bred Welsh. An interesting fact is that my maternal great-great grandmother was named Jenny Lind (John) after the Swedish singer Jenny Lind, and also named her daughter Jenny Lind. Her other daughter (my great grandmother) named her first daughter Jenny Lind too. On Googling the singer Jenny Lind, I found her real name was actually Johanna, spelt like my name, a lovely fact and family connection, I think.
I have always enjoyed writing and was forever writing little poems and stories throughout my school life, even winning a Creative Writing prize at the school Eisteddfod.
I always felt the pull to write a book. It was just one of those things that I knew one day that I had to do. I had no idea what I was going to write about but I just knew that I had to write one.
On my 50th birthday, I was handed a present and when I unwrapped it, there was my book, my Ciao Cariad in paperback and hardback. WOW! My daughter had edited and self-published it and said, “It’s available on Amazon to buy!” I was over the moon, I never ever thought I’d see my book published, and the rest, as they say, … is history.
I feel that the stories I write are straight from my head. If I wrote about actual people, I honestly think that no one would believe it! I have known some real characters throughout my life and maybe one day they will feature in a book. It would be like a modern-day Under Milk Wood. I’m chuckling just thinking about it!
2. How do you write? Computer? Pen and Paper?
I write straight onto my laptop. I feel that if I wrote on paper first, I would be doubling my work, so I prefer to put it all down on my laptop and then edit after the first draft. I do scribble possible ideas in a note-book, but any story writing goes straight onto the laptop. I made myself a lovely desk area, but our cat has taken a fancy to it, so I only use it to sew on now. I sit on the settee in front of the TV and write with my laptop on my lap, not good for my back though, unfortunately.
3. Where do you get the inspiration for your novels from?
Two Scoops of Gelato is a sequel prequel to Ciao Cariad and I enjoyed recreating the characters and writing about the character of Laura who we heard lots about in Ciao Cariad, but who had sadly passed away years before. It was great to write her backstory and to find out all about her as a young, vibrant, carefree woman. I enjoyed writing each chapter thirty years before Ciao Cariad was set and then five years after it was set, giving the reader two stories in one book. It also brings in new characters as well as the main characters, Connie and Alex, and brings sub-characters' stories to the forefront.
4. I know you are writing a sequel to Christmas at Bronte's Bookshop. What are the benefits and/or drawbacks of writing a series?
5. What three words describe your Work in Progress?
I think if I had to give three words to describe my latest WIP they would be Community, Friendship and Humour.
6. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I used to be a total pantser. I'd just start writing and see where it took me, but this latest story I have planned and plotted it in my head for months. The characters write themselves as I’m going along and the story fits them and they fit the story. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle, everything comes together and just fits. I can’t force creativity and sometimes I have time but not the ‘want’ to write. I don’t usually plan to write but if the urge comes on me then I will sit all day and just write. I am working at the moment but try to have a Monday off so I try to ear mark it as a writing day, whether it’s writing a short story or a piece for a magazine, a poem that has come to me or my WIP. The poetry that I have written in my Words an Anthology book covers everything from amusing rhymes about the weather and my pet cat to mental health struggles and grief. I enjoy writing poetry and have found it very cathartic at times. Over the past few years, it has become a tradition that I write a comical poem to amuse and entertain for family celebrations. It started with a poem for my husbands 50th birthday during lockdown and has progressed to all family occasions now.
10. What do readers expect when they pick up a Johanna Cogbill novel?
If you pick up a Johanna Cogbill book, don’t expect a hard-hitting plot line. There are enough horrific things going on all around us in the world. I do touch on a few emotive issues in my stories but most of all, I want to entertain. I want to give you great characters, village life, friendship, community spirit, love conquers all and some light-hearted humour along the way.
Thank you, Johanna, for giving us a real insight into your lovely books.
BUYING LINKS
Jo's books are available on AMAZON Johanna Cogbill
And also at local outlets:
· The Old School Tearoom, Pentre,
Rhondda
· Toadstool Books, Newent, GLOS
·
Bardic Books, Llantwit Major
·
Sussed, Porthcawl
· Cambrian Village Trust, Tonypandy
You can follow her on:
Facebook - Johanna Cogbill - Author
Instagram - johannacogbillauthor
Website - Home | Johanna Cogbill Au
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed learning more about Johanna and her writing as much as I did. What an amazing 50th birthday present she had! What special surprise have you ever received on your birthday?
One of the amazing reviews for The Stolen Sister that will stay with me. A HUGE thank you, lovely Goodreads and Amazon reviewer.
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