I have written Five books so far, and narrated one Audio book.
Here QA’s about my writing, there are some photos of my art at the bottom of this page and link for my crafts
I love to hear from my readers so if you have any questions, please message me.
Q:Are you a witch?
Q:What genres you write in and why?
Q:Name one thing in your refrigerator that probably shouldn’t be there?
Q:What inspired you to write your first book?
Q:How do you feel about doughnuts without holes?
Q:What inspired you to write Garden?
Q:If you were a superhero, what would be your name?
Q;How did you choose your title for Garden?
Q:Tell us about the cover for Garden?
Q:Can you share a quote from one of your books?
Q:Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Q:Did you self-publish or publish traditionally and why?
Q:What do you consider the most important part of a good story?
Q:How much of your books are realistic?
Q:What is your writing process?
Q:How long have you been writing?
Q;What do you do to decompress?
Q:What keeps you motivating towards writing?
Q:How did you get started writing?
Q:Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Q:What part of the writing process is the hardest for you?
Q:What tips can you give on how to get through writers block?
Q:What kind of music do you like to listen to while you write?
Q:Who are your favourite authors and favourite book?
Q:Who is your favorite character from a book?
Q:What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Q;What advice would you give an author just starting out?
Q:What books have you written so far?
Q:What’s your next project?
Q:Who are your main inspirations and why?
Q:If you gave some of your characters an opportunity to speak for themselves, what would they say?
Q:If your book get made into a Hollywood adaptation, which character would you like to play? plus are there any actors you would cast to play your characters?
Q:Do you prefer ebooks, paperbacks or hardcover?
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💟 Two poems
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A:I was born in Aldershot Hampshire England. 14th of June 1962
I lived in Cardigan Wales for 14 years
My ancestors are from Banff Scotland, fathers side, and Poulton le Fylde, Lancashire, mothers side.
I call home Oxford City UK, i love the city, but a piece of my heart resides in Gardernstwon Scotland, and Avebury Wiltshire.
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A: No… I don’t think so, although I make up a lot of spells for the books. The spell I made up I wish was the real the most is the spell for ironing. I hate ironing!here is the chapter from the second book were the mandake roots magic happensMandrake RootsLilly stopped at a spell in the book which she had not seen before; beside the spell was a beautiful illustration of a plant. It had lush green leaves and white and purple flowers that balanced on the ends on slender stems; below the leaves were heavy looking brown knotted roots. Lilly read its Latin name, ‘Mandragora officinarum’, then the common name ‘Mandrake roots’. Next to the diagram was a skull and crossbones. ‘Poison’, she said. She turned the page around to look at the image from different angle; the roots looked just like a little men with tall spindly legs and wavy arms.
‘Mum, can we do a spell with these mandrake roots. Do you have any?’ Lilly asked, brightening up and forgetting all about her trip to the dentist.
Rose came in and looked at the spell book, ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘there are some mandrake roots up in Iris’s room, in the small cupboard in the bottom draw, wrapped in red velvet. We collected those years ago before you were born, we went out with a local mushroom picker who knew the right way to collect the roots. They have to be collected in a new moon and a special Latin chant must be used along with a silver trowel and only men can dig them up. It is said that if they are not collected in this way they scream loudly and you could die from the shock. They have been used in witchcraft for many years.’
Rose read the spell, ‘That is a nice spell you have chosen, Lilly. You light the fire and the candles and put on some violin music and I will go and get the mandrake roots.’
Lilly rushed around lighting the fire and getting everything ready for the spell. She blew off the dust from an LP record and put it on the turntable; as the record began to play it crackled softly. It was a violin concerto by Beethoven in D Major. The music started off slowly but then grew to be quite loud and dramatic. Rose came back downstairs carrying the roots. Mandy went to sit by the fire, the lights were turned out and the room was just lit by the flickering flames from the fire and the candles.
Rose put a white table cloth on the table, she put a thin line of salt around the edge of it for protection and then sprinkled dried marigold leaves. She laid out four roots out on to it and Lilly read the spell out slowly and clearly in Latin.
Nothing happened for a while, then jerkily in time to the music the roots began to take human forms, and sit up and stretch. Then they stood up and listening to the music started to dance with each other, in a type of ballet. Their slender roots swayed gracefully as they leaped and pirouetted on the table top. When the music slowed down, the root people slowed down and when it sped up they jumped high, catching each over and spinning around the table top like they were gliding on ice. The tips of their roots flapping with the gentle motion. Lilly gasped, Rose started to dance in time to the music around the room, but Lilly could not take her eyes from the roots.
The music became sad as if the violin was crying, but the roots looked happy and span around slowly on their root tips waving their heads as if bobbing in water.
Lilly was captivated, she had never seen anything like it before. She laughed and smiled. The tone of the music changed again to almost a military march and the roots stood up to attention dancing in formation almost like synchronised swimmers, but out of water.
Again the music went slower and the four roots paired up to do a dance similar to the one Lilly had danced in the ceilidh in Gardenstown.
As soon as the music stopped, the roots halted in their spots and lay down motionless.
Rose came over and saying some Latin words she carefully picked them up and carried them up the stairs to re-wrap them in the red velvet cloth.
Lilly tidied up the marigold leaves and the salt and put the kettle on for a cup of tea.link to music violin concerto by Beethoven in D Major⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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I love steampunk and so naturally fell into it. Also I work in a Victorian museum so am surrounded by wonderful objects from the past that captured my imagination.
Plus I write Young adult, I don’t think I have ever grown up!
There is something magical in everything, even everyday things if you look.
I like to read Young adult books the best as I do find reading rather hard work.I listen to audio books as well, I have written reviews for the things that I love and posted them on this site.
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A: In my fridge? A human head! LOL, okay mould.
OK seriously there is cake. I love cake and cookies. For the last book in the Paradox Child series I invited a new type of cake and included the recipe.
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A:My daughter Emily helped me with this. I was going to write a horror story first. Right up to the night before I started that’s what it was going to be about. But then a series of events happened and, to cut a long story short, I had to come up with a new idea. Emily said, why don’t I write a children’s book, as she said I was always making up stories for her as a child on the spot and never wrote them down. So that’s what I did. Also as I had to work still the museum and its objects got worked into the stories.
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A:My friend at work Beth gave me a copy of The Secret Garden as a gift. I had seen the film years ago and loved it. Then when I started to read the book I begin to imagine more of a story than there was. Read between the lines as it were. I thought the original was brilliant and, although it was written over 100 years ago, it still seemed fresh. However, I thought it be great to modernize it and as a steampunk writer give it a steampunk twist, but to still keep the message warm and the same – one of hope and self-discovery and dreams coming true.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A: To my dogs, (no sadly passed on) I was a superhero, I magic treats out of thin air. Transport them to interesting places in my machine that can travel of speeds of up to 60 miles an hour.Materialise dog food into their bowls.
Understand their voice if they need to go out or just want to have a fuss.
Provide entertainment in the form of the neighbourhood cats to chase, shoes to eat.
Disguise interesting titbits of food in the rubbish bin to pull out when left alone.
Transport them to see a magic man called the vet when they have eaten said rubbish!
I am not sure what name my dogs would call me, but I am hoping my super hero’s name would be simply mum.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A:They are the best type, as you can put ice cream on them.
my best meal would be
fish and chips
ice cream
cup of tea
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A:I asked my youngest daughter who is a steampunk artist for ideas. Then I checked amazon and google to see what had been used a lot. We tossed the names about, then found ‘Garden’ was not really used much where as ‘The Garden’ was. I liked the name. My second book has only one word as a title also.
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A:My publisher Autumn Orchard hired an amazing artist called Raven to do it. I am as grateful as it blew me away when I first saw it.I liked the way that Aberdeen looks just how I had imagined her. I love the steampunk goggles on Aberdeen’s head, it’s a nice touch as it a steampunk book. I like that there is a maze in the background as it draws the eye in and makes you want to explore it further.The mechanical bird in the title is called Aaron. In the original secret garden book there is a robin who shows the way into the garden. In my book the planet’s atmosphere is damaged and so everyone has to live in bio domes or wear a gas mask. Therefore I felt a robot bird made better sense. Plus growing up, I loved the Sinbad film where there is a robot owl that helps Sinbad, so Aaron is a nod to him.
And not forgetting FRANK the robot dog. Come on who does not like a robot dog? Doctor Who fans will love it.The best bit about the cover though, for me, is the inscription by Sharon Sant. I am a huge fan of her writing so was thrilled when she endorsed Garden.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Top
A:Yes! Garden has a message of hope for people who may feel in a place in their life where hope seems to be past their grasp.
I hope that when they finish reading Garden they have a smile on their face.
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A: Best quote from my first book Paradox Child, Rose is explaining to Lilly about time travel. She says, I don’t think of them as dead, just alive in another time.
Paradox Child is a time travelling story. Lilly, travels back to Japan to rescue her mother who is stuck in time. She uses the cupboard that is shown in the image above to get down to the secret floor underneath the floor of the Pitt Rivers Museum.
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A:Garden was published by Autumn Orchard. My first three books were self-published, which made me appreciate how much work and time goes into producing a book. Dan who is a poet edited Garden and made it into a fine crafted work. So he needs credit along with Maisy who gave many ideas and read each chapter as I wrote it and also Dan Burton, who was my first editor and very patient.
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A:I have studied science with the Open University and do have an interest in physics. I think I use a lot of theory in the plots. There are so many theory’s about time travel and whether it is possible or not.
I think it’s mostly theoretical physics. I a pretty sure about some things, like plants and mold, which appear in the book. Also all of the information about Museum objects that are in the Paradox Child Series I researched so are correct.
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A:I have written three books for NaNoWriMo, and two in between. I would say I make no notes, just start writing, usually write quick, as all my ideas come at once. My writing style can be jumbled. My second book of the Paradox Child series has taken the longest so far, being three months. What takes the time is getting the spelling and editing corrected. Poor people have to do that, as I am dyslexic.
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A:I have been writing for about two and a half years
I have been making up stories in my head my whole life, 99 percent instantly forgotten as soon as I thought them up. I have only been writerning them down, when I was 50 years and 4 months old. I was 50 years old on June 14th 2013. I have now written 5 books, but am still trying to untangle the 5th one, which I wrote in November for the nathinaiol write a book mouth 2014, which I was ML for.
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A:Snore loudlyAlso
Go for walks, swim, bake, garden, talk to my children.
I just to love baths, but my new flat only has a shower now, so i made my old bath into a sofa, i am sitting in it on the profile photo.
I love the film breakfast in tiffany’s, and she has a bath sofa in her flat also.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Top
The nice comments I get from people who read my stories. It means the world to me and keeps me writing.
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A:I am badly dyslexic and never used to think of myself as a writer at all. I have always been creative and an artist and it was my art that indirectly lead me to the path to becoming a successful writer. In fact, it’s all because of my fat spaniel and an incredible editor called Sarah Edwards from a local paper who believed everybody can be a writer that changed my life.A few years ago, I was drawing a cartoon about my then overweight spaniel, Mandy. My dream was simple and just to get my cartoon published, but I did not have a clue where to start. I emailed my very first cartoon to Sarah, the editor of Ley’s news, a community paper in Oxford UK, which is delivered to thousands of homes in the area and reaches and even larger online audience. Sarah published my cartoon and asked me to write more. I cannot tell the trill I got when I first held a copy of the leys news with my cartoon and name printed in it. It was such an adrenaline rush and quite additive. I draw more cartoons, and was delighted to see each of them in print, I sent copies of the paper around the UK to my family and friends and took extra copies and left them in various takeaway shops and even launderettes around Oxford City.One day Sarah told me about a free course in community journalism that she was running and encouraged me to come along. The course was sponsored by Brookes University and was highly structured and Sarah told me that she would be teaching it herself, so I would have a friendly face.
At first I was reluctant to go and I did not want to be a writer I was happy in this save made up world drawing my cartoons. I realise now in hindsight that large part of my reluctance was not only because of my dyslexia but also because I suffered from low self-esteem. Plus if I am honest I was a little scared. I mean what if I had to read something out, or worse, write answers down on a board in front of other people who had come on that course to be writers.I sat at home in real fear and I was transported back to a classroom setting were as a teenager I had read out a passage in front of my classmates. Shakily holding the book, sweating and feeling my skin burn red on my face. Recalling how I had stammered and stumbled with the short passage and had to listen to the laughs and jeers of the class, and worse return to my seat the patronising glare of my teacher held fast on my back.So a course in journalism, no that wasn’t something for people like me. By chance that day I came across a nice quote, which goes something like, ‘you’re not brave in life, unless you’re scared.’ Something click inside me, perhaps everyone was going to be scared at the course, well at the very least I was sure I was not going to be the only one. Plus Sarah had told me that she was going to be teaching it, plus she had said, there would be free tea and biscuits to boot!
So I went on the course partly because Sarah would be there and partly because of free tea and biscuits, also partly because I was curious about writing but mostly because I wanted my cartoon to continue to be published.
Sarah was an inspirational teacher and the other people on the course were friendly. We got to learn not only about writing for a paper but also about how the paper was laid out and the importance of images. When the course finished Sarah encouraged everyone who attended to write a short piece for the next edition. So too fast forward a bit, I started to write regularly for the Leys News. Happily Sarah printed just about everything I wrote and I still got to keep going my precious fat spaniel cartoon. Mostly I wrote about myself, funny stuff like attempting to get fit to run a half marathon. (Calling that column, ‘Wonder Woman’ was all Sarah’s idea,) but I went with the flow.
Things really began to kick off for me when I wrote a yearlong column called ‘Life begins at 50.’ For this I tried all manner of new things, such as sewing, archery and indoor sky diving. Someone in my sewing class told me about National Novel Writing Month. Were you agree to write 50,000 words in the month of November and then submit the words to their website to be counted. The writers meet up regularly though out November and help and encourage each other and talk about their work.
I have to be honest with you, still lacking in confidence at that point, I did not go to one of the National Novel Writing Month meetings, even although they were free and local to me. However I did write the 50,000 words and after a long period of editing, self-published Paradox child, which was to be the first of three books. The third book again written in National Novel Writing Month, but that time I did go to the meetings and found them friendly and helpful.
Paradox Child was not what I had planned to write as right up to the night before I started I was going to write in a completely different genre. Paradox Child It’s about a girl who is a dreamer, as I am and set in the 1980s and is heavily influenced by the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, where I work. I think mostly as I had to carry on working while I wrote it and also because I was surrounded by the most amazing and magical objects that were in the museum daily.
Garden was my fourth book. It was written quickly, but was a long time in being edited. But I think it is better for it and shows when it is read.
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A:
Panster as I am not a planner and as I am a dyslexic, all my ideas come at once. I can’t read my notes, so there is no point writing any.
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A:Ordering.
I have only had a short course in writing, so have had no real training. I guess if I had studied how to be a writer, I would know about planning and character development and setting things out. But I don’t, and I don’t think that’s bad, just different. In a way it is like my art. I have had little training in art but have been an accomplished painter for years. My art has been bought by collectors and art dealers. I have been in many solo shows and group shows, yet I only had a brief spell at art collage when I lived in Wales. I also had a few lessons from a famous artist too.
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A:Just sit and write, write anything – about your day, your childhood, the weather, how you can’t write! Then a story will come. Cakes are also good and tea, of course. I recommend tea for everything
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:A:I would love to write in silence. Often I write between 2.30 and 4am in the morning then have to pretend to be awake at work. But if I write in the day, I have to have music as my two spaniels – Buster and Mandy will bark at everything that walks past the window otherwise. Which is a bother.
But the look at that face… how can you be cross. I love YouTube, so randomly pick stuff of there – the spaniels are not choosy.
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A:Modern Indie author Amy Good. Her book Rooted has werewolves and people who change into animals. The way Amy finishes a chapter – in way you just have to read the next. Just one more page!!!! This was the fastest book I have ever read. I was captivated from start to finish.
I also love Dan Thompson’s work, Jack Croxall’s Tethers trilogy as well as Sharon Sant’s Sky Song trilogy, which I have nearly finished.
But as you see from this website I have written Reviews for the books i have read and liked.
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A:Eeyore – the sad donkey by AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh.
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I am a keen gardener and have an allotment. I grew the strawberry’s and artichoke in this picture. I am Mum of three grown up children and an artist. I love to walk, but have no sense of direction so I often get lost. I also like to cycle, and about 4 years ago, I cycled from John O Grotes to Land’s End with my son. It took two weeks, rained just about every day and we camped all the way.
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Don’t get discouraged. It’s free to publish your book on kindle amazon, go for it!! Even if under a pseudonym. Also join a NANOWRIMO group. Look out for free local writing groups. Read alot of peoples work you like to give you inspiration.
If its too much distraction at home, write in a library or go for a walk somewhere away from every thing and write there.
This is a photo of my favourite woods. The West Woods in Avebury UK. Its full of beach trees.
Garden is my forth book before it I wrote the Paradox Child trilogy. A time travel steampunk novel with strong YA influences. I self-published these myself. The series is set in the 1980’s, and most of the drama is set in the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford, where I also work.
It is a trilogy, so three books, and I like to think that they are a good introduction into steampunk. But there is magic, science fiction and lots of time travel too.
The main character is Lilly, and she finds out that her family has an extraordinary secret; one they have kept for four generations! Lilly is proud to be different and special. At Halloween, she’s happy to stay at home and cast spells with her mum and her Grandmother, rather than going out trick or treating like the other kids. At 12 years old, she thinks she knows it all.
Lilly is based on my youngest child, Emily. Also Buster and Mandy are in the books too, which also contain Therianthropy. Emily is a steampunk artist and gave a lot of her own ideas for the steampunk items in the books, such as the winged badge; it is grown from a finger nail, and the magical vanity flowers that are needed for the time travelling.
I have made a group for these books. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/114036-paradox-child-goodreads-author-j-yates
and also a facebook page for all the objects from the museum in them. https://www.facebook.com/objectsparadoxchild
Garden
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A:I am working on a few different things at the moment.
Writing: Trying to sort out a book I finished for NaNoWriMo last year. It is called Octopus Pirate and is a steampunk, time travel teenage book. It is influenced by the film Fight Club
here is a short clip of someone reading it
Art: I am working on a sculpture made out of keys, to highlight homelessness in the City.
App Idea: Walking among Angels
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A:My daughter Emily, she is my youngest and who the main character of the Paradox Child Books is based on. Emily is not a morning person which I find really funny and have tried to put the humor in that. I write about people who I know or met, or would like to meet or not meet. I get scared quite quickly so in the next book, so tend to write happy none scary things.
The Paradox Child series has many objects from the museum were I work.
Garden was inspired by the book The secret Garden.
The Octopus Pirate was inspired by fight club.
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A:My characters from the Paradox Child books do speak as they are based on real people please story’s is all made up. See group postings to see who’s who.
There will be a new post soon about the characters from Garden.
Also I will be posting some character interviews soon here.
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A: When I was a child I used to write plays for the local children to perform. I would always want to be the bad person, the evil queen, the wicked witch.
I think following suit I would like to play Aberdeen’s mother in my book Garden as she is thin and glamorous, and has a lovely looking man hanging on every word she says. It is kind of appealing.
Plus I have already met the actor Paul Redfern who I would like to play one of the adults in the book. I met him at a steampunk convention and he played one of the wizards in Harry Potter.
He said he would love to play a part in one of my books.
I also promised my daughter Emily that if ever any of my books got made into a film I would try and get Tom Hiddleston to play a part as she’s a huge fan.
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A:I love paper backs, as i find it easy to read from paper rather than a screen, plus there is something great about getting a new book though the post. I am so grateful for Kindle e books as most of my readers use them, and I need my readers to keep me writing.
here are the links for all my books
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0…” title=”Garden” target=”_blank”>Garden
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D8J41DM” title=”Paradox Child” target=”_blank”>Paradox Child
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G5R2HVM” title=”Therianthropy” target=”_blank”>Therianthropy
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L0E87BE” title=”Original Destination” target=”_blank”>Original Destination
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Some images I made on my phone
two poems that i had almost forgot i wrote. just after my mum died
Two Poems for my Mum
The Jam in the fridge
I have my mums jam in the fridge
I imagine the sun was shining when she first picked the fruit
I bet she was smiling when she boiled the sugar and fruit to make the jam
Then carefully put it into jars and stuck hand written labels on
She loved to give
And would like to watch the faces of the lucky receivers
Made with love and thoughtfulness
A fair lady who always made enough for all to have an equal share
She grew up in the war, when jam was a treat
When the world for a child must have seamed a mad and troubled place
Today it appears a mad place to me
My sisters refuse to give me anything of my mums, now she has passed
I said to my daughter last night
Would you like cheese sandwiches for school for school tomorrow?
‘No Thanks ‘ she said
I’d like the Jam from the fridge.
Greif is a funny thing
Greif is a funny thing
Today I forgot to feed the dog
She sat there by her bowl her sad eyes looking up
The gilt that overwhelmed me was soon fixed with some food
And then a wagging tail and off to find her squeaky duck
All forgiven and forgot
Greif is a funny thing
I can’t talk to my sisters, but pour out all my troubles to a stranger on a bus
I walk places; I forget why I was going there
Lose my purse and can’t answer the phone
For a brief moment forget you’re gone
Then without control crumple to my knees
Grief is a funny thing
I can’t sleep in my bed at night
But full asleep in a chair in a public place
And wake myself up snoring loudly
Worrying that every ones been looking
And that I may have been talking or worse dribbling
Grief is a funny thing
Where nothing makes sense but everything is clear
Like who your friends and foe are
Those who send hate or send cheer
Those you want to hang around with
And those you wish would disappear
Grief is a funny thing
Everything distracts you, I hear my self endlessly saying ‘sorry what’
It makes you forgetful; I’ve even forgotten what I was going to write
It was on the tip of my tongue but I can’t recall the words
I guess I just want to say,
I never imagined you would go away
Grief is a funny thing
Is not all bad, as it makes you remember
The picnics and plays and off happier days
I was pleased the last time I saw you, you said you where happy
I try hard to remember you smiling; I just wish I could do the same
But then grief is not a funny thing
Jane Yates (Marion Edward) September 2010
This is only some of my art as I often don’t have photos. I am not a qualified artist but have been painting since a small child. As a dyslexic I was encouraged by mother to draw. I did go to art school briefly but was asked to leave as the teacher said I was too much of an indervidul. I have given many of my painting away, sometimes on mass. I also make art in places in the woodland out of what I can find. and never record this. so here are the photos I can find.
the first 16 were inspired by the poams of Oxford poet Sir John Wain. I love poets and song writers.
AmREADING AmWRITING 