Progress on the Home Front...

The decorating is done (for now) and the new flooring is down in the living room, so I'm slowly working my way through the books that need sorting, dusting and shelving.

They're going back in order- well my personal order...

Meanwhile I've booked to go to the RNA (Romantic Novelists Association) Conference in July, whilst I leave the family at home. I'm really looking forward to spending time learning and socialising with other writers- many I know from online.

My other decision is my aim to launch my current wip sometime in June 2019. I have a year to do it... (Imagine scared face with hair sticking up in spikes!)

The hero and heroine of the next story have been reminding me they've been patiently waiting for me to solve their antagonist issue; I think I know how to solve that problem, but that's for later...

After all the times you've heard about the stuff going on in the background, I thought showing you what the wallpaper looks like, now it's done, was reasonable. :-)

My favourite- the hallway...

Going up the stairs...

I just have to find a suitable light shade for the hall light now...

Write a Love Story - Competition Opportunity...

Love has been very high profile this weekend with the marriage of the Queen's grandson Prince Harry to Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle yesterday (19th).

The (now) Duke and Duchess of Sussex looked so happy. The sun was shining on their wedding, bathing everyone in Windsor with the feeling of goodwill and happiness- and probably a large portion of those watching the events on their television or computer too.

If you're into romance writing, here's an opportunity to be published by Trapeze, an imprint of Orion Books. There's prize money and mentoring for the winner- if everything completes...

Don't forget to check their answers to some important questions on the FAQ page. It does clarify who can enter.

Romance...

Dating site eharmony are running the competition with Trapeze books to find, as they put it, "the next great love story".

The competition opened on the 16th May and the closing date is the 30th July.

You "submit the first 5,000 words of a love story, along with a synopsis and short biography to lovestories@orionbooks.co.uk" - it will need to be a full-length novel.

Before you rush into entering there's an important line in the terms and condition, so some research is needed.

"The entries will be judged on the quality of the writing and storytelling, how well it fits the Criteria, and the potential based on the synopsis for a full length novel that would fit with books published under the Trapeze imprint." (From competition details.)

The criteria is the 500 word synopsis and the first 5,000 words of the novel (they're calling this the 'proposal').

Trapeze was launched autumn 2016 to publish commercial fiction and non-fiction. The Orion Publishing Group say " Trapeze’s fiction list will publish books by standout voices in the crime, psychological suspense and women’s fiction areas." (From About Orion.)

You can find out the full details of the prize on the eharmony page.

The winner will be chosen from a shortlist of six proposals.

But, do read and understand the terms and conditions of the competition.

Good luck if you enter...


image from Pixabay.com

Meeting C.J Tudor - author of The Chalk Man...

It was my Wednesday evening out at the Writers' Club last night (that was the 9th, if
you' re reading this at the weekend).

The guest speaker was author C.J Tudor, whose debut novel 'The Chalk Man' was published this January in hardback; there will be a paperback later this year.

C.J Tudor author of
The Chalk Man

As Caroline is a local author the club was already connected on Twitter, so that made arranging the talk much easier for me; being able to suggest what we'd be interested in hearing about and adapting to her way of working.

Caroline began with reading the prologue of her book and there was a definite ooh at the end...

We heard about her journey to publication with the "little notes of hope"- the comments she received from agents she'd submitted her earlier books to; but it was clear that the process can be long and the path not always smooth just getting an agent.

The insights into the actual publishing process (once The Chalk Man manuscript was accepted- after an auction) was something many writers don't usually hear about.

Anyone who ever wondered why it takes so long for a book to be published- about 2 years- would have understood why, after Caroline explained the process she and her book went through. Editing and more editing featured heavily.

But it did also give some useful insights that self-publishers can learn from.

Creating a buzz using social media and the value of book bloggers, especially with debuts.

The value in getting pre-orders and the concentrated effort needed the first two weeks the book comes out.

All writers are aware of book covers, so it was surprising to hear why the cover of The Chalk Man had to be changed for the US market; they had an orange cover.

It seems they don't like black covers...

Caroline's talk was entertaining, and interesting. She is a pantser as a writer and her talk was that way too, but it worked well.

If you get an opportunity to see her at an event you won't be disappointed. And the same goes for the book...

As it says...