I’m excited to welcome part 2 of “THE MEREST LOSS” Blog Tour! @StevenNeil12 @4WillsPub #RRBC.

Please join me to meet Steven Neil, the author of THE MEREST LOSS, and let me introduce you to his book.
First, let’s get to know Steven Neil and his writing Influences.
1. What has influenced you as a writer?
I am influenced by all the great writers of all the great books I have ever read. To
name just a few: The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro; Tess of the D’Urbervilles,
Thomas Hardy; The Catcher in the Rye, J.D.Salinger; Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier;
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Le Grand Meaulnes, Alain-Fournier. Amongst
contemporary writers Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel has influenced my writing style the
most.
2. What is the first book you remember reading?
Anna Sewell: Black Beauty
3. What are your favorite books?
I give different answers at different times! All the books in the Palliser series and
Barchester Chronicles series by Anthony Trollope. To my mind he is the greatest of
the great nineteenth century English writers.
4. Who has influenced you as a writer?
All the books and writers I have mentioned and my Open University writing tutor
Judith Allnatt, who I credit with teaching me the craft of writing.
5. Are there any authors you try to emulate?
I haven’t consciously tried to do this, but I’m flattered when reviewers compare The
Merest Loss to a ‘classic nineteenth century’ novel.
6. What genres do you like to read?
I read many genres, but I find I am drawn back to the nineteenth century more and
more. I like a good story well told and I find the pyrotechnics of many contemporary
writers off putting.
7. Is this the same as the genre you write in?
In a way, yes. I write historical fiction set in the Victorian era.
8. What point of view do you like to write from?
I like the immediacy of first-person narration but I am most comfortable with
omniscient third person writing.
9. What tense do you like to write in?
I particularly like to read the present tense and I like to write that way too.
10. What made you write?
My wife inspired me to write, having found a short I wrote many years ago, aged 17.
She encouraged me to enroll in a creative writing course. This turned into an Open
University degree in English Literature, then a Master’s degree in Creative Writing
and eventually led to my debut novel, The Merest Loss.
© Steven Neil

Author Bio
Steven has a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics, a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing from the Open University and an MA in Creative Writing from Oxford Brookes University. He has been a bookmaker’s clerk, bloodstock agent, racehorse breeder and management consultant amongst other professions in his varied career. He is married and lives in rural Northamptonshire, England. The Merest Loss is his debut novel.
Blurb
A story of love and political intrigue, set against the backdrop of the English hunting shires and the streets of Victorian London and post-revolutionary Paris.
When Harriet Howard becomes Louis Napoleon’s mistress and financial backer and appears at his side in Paris in 1848, it is as if she has emerged from nowhere. How did the English daughter of a Norfolk bootmaker meet the future Emperor? Who is the mysterious Nicholas Sly and what is his hold over Harriet?
Can Harriet meet her obligations and return to her former life and the man she left behind?
What is her involvement with British Government secret services? Can Harriet’s friend, jockey Tom Olliver, help her son Martin solve his own mystery: the identity of his father?’
Genres: Historical Fiction and Victorian Historical Romance
Buy links
THE MEREST LOSS is available in paperback and eBook in the UK, US, France, Canada and Australia.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Merest-Loss-Steven-Neil-ebook/dp/B077D9SHB5
https://www.amazon.com/Merest-Loss-Steven-Neil-ebook/dp/B077D9SHB5
https://www.amazon.fr/Merest-Loss-English-Steven-Neil-ebook/dp/B077D9SHB5
https://www.amazon.ca/Merest-Loss-Steven-Neil-ebook/dp/B077D9SHB5
https://www.amazon.com.au/Merest-Loss-Steven-Neil-ebook/dp/B077D9SHB5
Follow Steven Neil for information on how to purchase the paperback through an independent bookseller in the UK
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevenneil12
IAN author page: https://www.independentauthornetwork.com/steven-neil.html
Email: stevenneil1@aol.com
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To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the author’s tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE