Sing Me Anything...: Spotlight Saturday: C.L. Monaghan

Welcome to Kira Adams' Spotlight Saturday! Every week I will be featuring a different author in the industry. Indie, trad, small press, etc. The point is to help get the word out about new authors and books they are releasing. Maybe you will find your next favorite author. Maybe you will find a story that will touch your soul. Maybe you will participate in the giveaway in hopes of winning a prize. Whatever the case may be, thank you for being here.

This weeks featured author is C.L. Monaghan.

• What inspired you to begin writing?

It's something that's been on my mind since I graduated university in 2004. I began my first 'story' in 2005 but then got married again and had two more children and decided to homeschool. The writing got put on the back-burner for 11 years! Then, in 2015 I discovered the Indie writing community through the books of the late great, Ednah Walters. We became friends and I went to meet her in 2016, flying all the way from the UK to UtopiaCon in Nashville. She encouraged me to take up writing again and mentored me through my first novel. I published Immaginario in April 2017 and The Hollows in October.

• How long have you been writing?

In my head, 11 years! Officially, about 18 months.

• What book inspired you to begin writing?

I think it's fair to say that no single book inspired me to begin writing, more that the worlds that I swallowed up, as a child and as an adult, fuelled a very overactive imagination that I just had to put to use. Studying history and classic English Literature at university enabled my love for all things Gothic and romantic.

• Who is your favorite author(s)?

Gosh, so many! Tolkien is my number one go-to in terms of pure mastery of words and literary style. I love the satirical storytelling of Sir Terry Pratchett (an author I would always recommend if asked.) I like Phillipa Gregory, Kate Griffin, Dan Brown and many, many more.

• If you had to choose a fictional character from one of your books to have lunch with, who would it be and why?

Only one? Hmm, I'd say Joe from Immaginario. He's Italian and can cook and is very sexy so that's a no-brainer lol. But, I'd also love to lunch with Midnight from the Hollows. A wealthy Victorian lord of the realm with supernatural powers, who wouldn't want to lunch with him? It's impossible to choose!

• What has been your biggest accomplishment since publishing?

Actually publishing a book! It's hard lol. I was gobsmacked (quintessentially British word for you there lol) that Immaginario won a finalist place in the Indie Author Network book of the year awards 2017 for best paranormal. The Hollows surprised me even more by hitting the top 100 bestsellers lists in Gothic in 3 different countries! I told myself I'd be happy just selling 10 books so it was a nice, if slightly overwhelming, feeling seeing it reach those numbers. It's a great feeling knowing people like reading the stories I write.

• Do you have anything else in the works apart from your book/series?

I'm currently working on the final part to Immaginario, I have at least 3 more Midnight Gunn novels planned and next year I plan to start another new series about the Templar Knights. Lots and lots of research!

• What is the one piece of advice you would give to aspiring authors?

-The most important thing I tell myself is never give up. It's a long, hard slog and the work doesn't end when you click 'publish'. Be prepared to spend many hours promoting and marketing your books. Be prepared to accept constructive criticism and shrug off the not so helpful. Be prepared to learn your craft. Writing is an art, no beginner ever writes a perfect book. You will make mistakes, there will be tears and tantrums and you'll learn from them. I'm always looking to improve, I'm my own worst critic but that also transpires into a gruelling work ethic. I sit up till 3am reading, questioning and assessing my work. Ask for advice, practice, edit and practice more. Don't be afraid to put samples of your writing out there for others to appraise. Finally, be prepared for the long haul.

(Editorial Review of The Hollows)

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Hollows: A Midnight Gunn Novel is an historical mystery novel written by C.L. Monaghan. Detective Inspector Arthur Gredge had a serial assailant on his hands. The circumstances surrounding the latest victim, a Miss Emmeline Rowbotham, were particularly troublesome due to her being a member of a prominent family and to the fact that she had not survived the attack. The assailant’s other victims were from the lower classes of society and had been found alive, if barely so, and, while conscious, strangely devoid of volition. The case was bizarre and troubling enough that Gredge felt compelled to bring in Midnight Gunn, a paranormal investigator whose familiarity with the dark shadows made Gredge decidedly uncomfortable. But he was convinced that only Midnight would be able to resolve the situation.

C.L. Monaghan’s historical mystery novel, The Hollows: A Midnight Gunn Novel, had me hooked from the first page. Any Sherlock Holmes fan will delight in watching the two detectives look for clues in 1860s London and risk life and limb tracking down a diabolical miscreant. Midnight Gunn is one of the most exciting new detective characters to come around in some time. As I read this book, I began hoping that Monaghan comes up with any number of new and extraordinary cases to occupy the fine minds of Gunn and Gredge. This author makes her historical setting come alive, and watching as this finely plotted detective yarn unfolds is sheer joy. More Midnight Gunn adventures, please. The Hollows: A Midnight Gunn Novel is most highly recommended.

“Any Sherlock Holmes fan will delight in watching the two detectives look for clues in 1860s London and risk life and limb tracking down a diabolical miscreant. Midnight Gunn is one of the most exciting new detective characters to come around in some time. As I read this book, I began hoping that Monaghan comes up with any number of new and extraordinary cases to occupy the fine minds of Gunn and Gredge. This author makes her historical setting come alive, and watching as this finely plotted detective yarn unfolds is sheer joy. More Midnight Gunn adventures, please. The Hollows: A Midnight Gunn Novel is most highly recommended.” - Jack Magnus of Readers’ Favourite

http://mybook.to/Immaginario

http://mybook.to/thehollows

C.L. Monaghan was born and raised in Lincolnshire in the UK. Aged 8 she moved to Sth Africa (a land of adventure!) with her parents where she befriended a mother cheetah and her cubs, chased gigantic dragonflies after the rain and watched the most incredible forked lightning split the sky!

A headstrong tomboy; she climbed trees and rooftops to read books from a very early age. Her childhood favourites were Enid Blyton's The Enchanted Forest, The Wishing Chair, Famous Five and Mallory Towers.

Discovering The Hobbit began a lifelong fascination with Tolkien and the fantasy genre.
In 2000 C.L. Monaghan attended Lincoln University and gained her B.A. Honours degree in History and English Literature. From there it has been her ambition to write her own adventures to share with fellow book lovers. Her debut book 'Immaginario' was placed as a finalist in the 2017 IAN Book of the Year Awards.

She lives in her home town in Lincolnshire with her husband, 3 boys, 5 cats (it's customary for writers to own several cats) and Casper the miniature schnauzer.