#AtoZChallenge: Y is for Yorkshire

Yorkshire, the county of my birth where I lived until I was ten years old. That was back in 1986 when I was whisked away from friends and family to live in a country I'd never even heard of up until the year before when we'd gone on holiday there. Portugal. It seemed so far away from everything.
I missed Yorkshire terribly... for a few months anyway. And then I settled into my new life, met new friends and slowly Yorkshire became a distant memory. I remember playing in Clifton Park in Rotherham  with my oldest pal, Emma. We used to play in the Weeping Willows by the entrance to the museum. Other days we would don our rollerskates and skate through the park or down to the local chippy and eat chips out of newspaper outside. Sigh. Those were the days.
I went back a couple of years ago and could hardly believe how much it has changed. I hardly recognised the street where I used to live. But then we meandered over to Clifton Park and I nearly wept (!) when I saw the Weeping Willows were still there. I was so excited, I had to take a photo (this was before the haircut and weight loss!).
Quite a few years ago, I wrote a poem about this and made a video of it (cheesy I know):

Since moving to Portugal and holidaying in England, I've still never seen much more of Yorkshire, yet it's supposed to be such a beautiful county with rolling Moors and so much history.  I hope to remedy that when I move back, although we're not moving to Yorkshire, we won't be too far away.
Have you ever been? What did you think of this lovely part of the world?

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Q&A with author Carrie Duffy

Join me in welcoming the lovely author and (another!) fellow Yorkshire lass, Carrie Duffy.

Name one book that made you think 'wow'? Why did it have such an effect on you?
Career Girls by Louise Bagshawe. It was the first bonkbuster I’d ever read. Until then, I’d mainly read teen fiction and the classics, but this was a revelation – exciting, raunchy and glamorous – and it made me want to write one of my own.

Who is your favourite author and why?
George Orwell. His writing is disarmingly straight-forward, yet incredibly powerful and moving. He expresses his ideas so perfectly in clear, direct language.

Name one of your all-time favourite book covers?
Ooh, I’ve never heard that question before. Um... *pause to go and scour bookshelves* I think that for bonkbusters, the covers have to be like glossy magazine ads – beautiful, aspirational, and you need to believe some of the glamour will rub off on you. Lesley Lokko has some gorgeous, escapist covers – Sundowners, and One Secret Summer.

If you could have a dinner party with any authors from any time in history, who would you choose and why?
George Orwell, obviously. I’m sure Jackie Collins has some amazing stories. Emily Bronte, so we could chat about Yorkshire. JK Rowling would bring a nice bottle of wine. And Oscar Wilde for pure entertainment.

Who, or what, inspires you?
All sorts of things, every day – magazines, films, TV programmes, people, weather, locations...

Where is your favourite place to write?
At home. I’m not really a cafe writer, although I’ll sometimes go when I need a change of scenery or to be away from the distractions of the internet. At home, I switch between the sofa and the dining table, but I dream of one day having an enormous study where the walls are lined with books.

What is your favourite film that was based on a book?
Gone with the Wind! It’s my absolute favourite film, and I’ve read the book twice too. The book is even longer, if you can believe it, and there’s an awful lot that gets cut out in the film.

What is your book about?

Idol is a fun, glamorous and raunchy read, following international pop star Jenna Jonsson, and struggling dancer Sadie Laine. They were childhood rivals, and now their lives are about to collide once again in Las Vegas.

If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the main characters?

Jenna is the archetypal stunning, blonde pop star, so Rosie Huntington-Whiteley completely looks the part.
Sadie is a gorgeous, sexy brunette – Gemma Arterton would be perfect.
For the guys, I’d like Paul Walker as Zac, the smouldering rock star, and Bradley Cooper could play Nick, the charming, chiselled womaniser.

Tell us a random fact about yourself.
I like to snack on tins of mushy peas.

Tell us something interesting about the area where you live.
I’m not sure about where I live now, but where I grew up (in Selby, North Yorkshire) the design in Selby Abbey’s stained glass window is supposed to have been an inspiration for the US flag, as George Washington’s ancestors were from the area, and their stars and stripes shield features in the window.

Winter or summer? Summer
Ebook or paperback? Paperback... although I’m very hesitantly thinking about buying a Kindle.
Favourite food? Bread. Or Cheese. Or any combination of the two.
Sporty or couch potato? Natural couch potato who forces herself to be sporty.
Cook or be cooked for? Be cooked for. I’m not a good cook.
Link to your website: www.carrieduffy.com

Guest post by Martin King #100blogfest

I've got something a little different for you today. Author Martin King has been busy with his 100blogfest... basically 100 blog posts for 100 different blogs! be sure to follow him on his journey. Here is his latest post...

Today’s story is slightly different. Because I grew up in a small town in Lancashire and because Suzy is from Yorkshire, I thought it would be a good little tale to talk about the town I grew up in. For those that don’t know, there is a long standing rivalry between the two counties that stretches back hundreds of years.
Lancashire is represented by the red rose and had famous cities such as Manchester and Liverpool within its domain whereas Yorkshire’s symbol was the white rose, with well known cities such as Leeds and York.
Now I grew up in a small industrial cotton mill town tight on the border of the two counties. Thankfully I lived on the right side of the border in Lancashire, but I don’t want to start another war, so I will keep the jokes to a minimum.
Back then people had high moral standards, allegedly. It was considered a sin to live together without being married. So much so, if you worked for the cotton industry in Yorkshire and was found out to be living in sin, you would be kicked out of work. And not only that, you would be black listed from working in any other mill within the Yorkshire Ridings.
Their only chance to make a living would be to travel outside of the jurisdiction. It became known as ‘living over the brush.’ A town just across the border where they were free to live their lives as they please – and that place was Barnoldswick – the town I grew up in as a boy many years later.
I hope you liked stepping back in time on our little history lesson, well that is history as I remember being told. Perhaps my memory is not what it used to be.
These blogs are all about fun and sharing. Thank you for reading a ‘#100blogfest’ blog. Please follow this link to find the next blog in the series: http://martinkingauthor.com/blog/7094550076