Wednesday 31 December 2014

Happy New Year!!!

While I haven't been writing my brain has been providing scenes for three of my longer works. All I can say is thank goodness for notebooks and pens...

Among my Christmas presents I had a couple very suitable for a writer; a lovely small paperblanks lined notebook- a Blue Cats and Butterflies design, and very elegant, which will be perfect for putting in my handbag when I go out in the evenings (I have different sized notebooks for different handbags :D).

Also a book, 'How to Be a Victorian' by Ruth Goodman (the historian from the BBC Victorian Farm, the Edwardian, and Tudor versions too).

My 1st. January tradition is to watch the New Year's Day Concert from Vienna on TV. It's usually on the radio too, but you don't see the dancers in their beautiful costumes as you do on television. The music certainly conjures up images of the past...

Well that's it until next week when normal blogging resumes.

Meanwhile I wish you all a happy and successful 2015.








Image courtesy of krishna arts/ www.freedigitalphotos.net





Friday 19 December 2014

Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year...

My last post before Christmas is finally here.

I've still got things to do before Thursday- as usual- and there's never enough time to do everything of course, but I'll somehow manage most of it.

My son returns from university this weekend, so I'm back to cooking for the full complement of six...

I've booked my first writing related event of 2015. The Writers' Conference at the University of Nottingham is very local for me, and I've wanted to go in earlier years, but never got there; so when I received the email with the details I decided to buy my ticket straight away.

Enjoy yourselves over the holidays and I'll see you in 2015...


Christmas photo: Christmas Merry-Christmas.gif




Image courtesy of HDcafe68 from photobucket.com

Thursday 11 December 2014

The Review of 2014...

I find it helpful to look back at what I have, and haven't, achieved with my writing life during the year.

I start out with a general plan for the coming year; but I have learnt over the years that it's better to set myself realistic targets and accept that some will be achieved, while others won't be.

Sometimes other unexpected opportunities come along and if they can be done, then I'll do them, but there's no point taking on more things if it will only derail my main objective.

So starting with my objectives for 2014:
A new timetable for my writing routine; exhibitions I wanted to visit and revising the novella.

I've certainly found a writing routine that suits me, and my sometimes disrupted life. The novella got temporarily put to one side, though the revision process was started, but needed more time away from it. My baddie needed some thinking about. Plus there's been all the admin work that being on the committee of the writers' club generates...

Here's 2014:

January- I received (the belated) Writer of the Year trophy at Nottingham Writers' Club. Was one of the initial readers for the club's National Short Story Competition.

February- I completed the first draft of the novella.(Where has time gone!)

March- Tidying up some short stories.

April- Trip to Bath booked, and I bought my new camera- any photo on my blog now, unless credited to someone else, has been taken with this camera.(It's given me some good pictures to remind me of places needed for research.)

May- This was a busy month. I still hadn't started my entry for the Mary Street trophy at the writers' club; took photos of the May speaker (Gail Simmons) for the club magazine-one of them was later requested by the writer for her to use with name credit. Went off for my weekend in Bath- took lots of photos, and that weekend resulted in 3 blog posts with pictures.This trip was partially a research trip as well as a break.

June- Lowdham Book Festival month. I've been attending the last day of the festival for nearly 10 years now.
I created a name banner for the stall for the writers' club, set up and spent the day on the stall. (It's also a good way to learn how to present yourself and watch how writers promote and sell their books.) After abandoning my romance novel entry I started another one.

July- I was among a large group of readers and writers in Nottingham who took part in a Reading Flashmob in the city centre one sunny Saturday lunchtime. My synopsis and 3 chapters for the romance novel competition entry was finally handed in.

August- Received the news that my very short story 'A Tight Squeeze', which was published on the Café Lit site in August 2013, had been chosen to be included in the Best of Café Lit 3.

September- Writing as and when I could, around getting one of my sons off to University.

October- Been blogging for 4 years this month.

November- Continuing the first draft of my contemporary romance.

December- Results of the Mary Street Memorial Shield for a Romance Novel announced at Awards Night, and my entry was the winner. Mislaid trophy to be presented in January 2015.

In some ways it doesn't seem that I've done much writing, but when I look at how much I have written in between those events, 26,043 words to date, that's actually 3,000 more words than 2013. It's at least a positive, but I need to be writing more.

March and April are the two months I need to work on in 2015.

Targets for 2015:
Complete the contemporary romance, revise and eventually submit it. Then hopefully by this time next year I'll be back to the historical romance novella and into the 2nd draft. If anything else pops up that fits in, I'll consider it.


As it's now only 14 days until Christmas Day, I'll be moving to a once a week post until the end of the year. I still have cards to write and send, and presents to buy. I'm determined to not be rushing around doing everything in the last few days as I have the past three years.

Normal blogging routine will return in January...


Thursday 4 December 2014

Winning is Great...

Now that Awards Night is over I can finally reveal that I won the Nottingham Writers' Club, Mary Street Memorial Shield for Romance Writing for 2014.

The Mary Street Shield is a bi-annual award that alternates with the Gwladys Bungay Rose Bowl for a Novel (any genre/subject); both require a synopsis and the first three chapters.

(The latter of the two ladies was published by Mills and Boon as Gwladys Duke in the 1960's.)

My winning story is actually a contemporary romance for a change- and my current work in progress.

The synopsis and first three chapters were written in just over six weeks, after my intended entry just wasn't working and it got temporarily shelved.

The contemporary idea had been lurking in my brain for some time, inspired by a book purchase, the cover instantly created a visual image in my mind, my heroine Felicity is stood looking up at a painting, and she's wearing an identical outfit to the woman in the portrait- and that moment eventually turns up in chapter four.

This competition was judged by Suzanne Ross Jones, who also writes as Suzanna Ross, and has had five My Weekly Pocket Novels published, (four now on Kindle), and lots of other published stories.

I'll admit now, there were a few minor points that would need a little work, but I agree with Suzanne's remarks regarding them.

Here's a bit of the feedback:

"I adore stories about writers and about libraries - and this has the best of both of those subjects. This is a traditional romantic set up and you've met my expectations of the genre with characters and situation. The writing is polished and assured and I was thoroughly entertained as I read the three chapters."

Now I have to admit that my hero is a little bit older than you usually get in romances, he's forty, but an attractive forty; Felicity is a thirty-two year old librarian, and has recently been made redundant from her job. Life is about to change for both of them...

"I was actually quite sad when I got to the end of chapter 3 - this is the sort of book that I'd like to read through at one sitting."

Now normally I'd have a picture of me with the trophy, but the shield got left behind when the other trophies were transported to the venue earlier in the day. It was only realised when we collected the silverware from the locked cupboard. So I'll be getting the actual shield in the New Year.

As it was also the Christmas party I dressed up in a seasonal colour.

NWC Awards Night 2014

And if you wondered what the book was that inspired the story, and the item that appears in it, well it's this...


Inspiration for my
winning story


I'm not going to tell you more, you'll just have to wait until I finish writing it, and it gets published. But this is the priority project for early 2015...











Monday 1 December 2014

Mills & Boon Romance Writing Masterclass News...

Interesting email received today from Mills and Boon; they've announced that in January 2015 they will be holding their first Romance Writing Masterclass, at Paradise Heights in Richmond.

It's an " intense one day workshop" being held on Saturday, January 24th 2015.

Places are limited, but tickets go on sale next week- no idea of cost.

You're asked to email Author Lab, details on this page.

It looks like a long, hard working day.

Described as, "designed to take you from zero to sixty in your romance writing skills." Those attending will leave with "a clear understanding of the romantic fiction market and an idea of the next steps to take in the writing process."

(This doesn't sound like it's aimed at those who have been developing their romance writing skills for some time already...)

There will be a Mills and Boon guest author- presumably they will be revealed when the details are sent out.

The course will be run by Harlequin's senior editorial team, as well as the guest author.

And to finish it off there will be a drinks reception at the end of the day, and the "chance to sign up for our mentoring program."

This could be a costly day when you put travelling onto the potential ticket cost, and depending on how far you have to travel from, overnight accommodation might need to be added into the total.

There could be some cost to the mentoring program - if you look at how other mainstream publishers have been moving into the mentoring sector in the past year or two.

Perhaps M&B are looking to expand further into the romance market, and they see this as a way of nurturing what they want next; or maybe it's the start of a big future change...