Showing posts with label Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romance. Show all posts

Monday 21 September 2020

Good News...

The good news arrived too late for Sunday's post, so I'm sharing it today...

I have received the report from this year's RNA New Writers' Scheme submission.

It was a partial of 12,000 words and a two-page synopsis (as it wasn't the full draft). 

After last year's experience I was a little apprehensive. 

Fortified by wine and chocolate, I downloaded and opened the report; and discovered encouraging, supportive, and insightful feedback. 

As expected it identified the areas I knew would likely be picked up and need further working on, but other things I'd missed. 

There was nothing I disagreed with, and the suggestions on possible avenues to consider has been most helpful. 

My working title is okay for now, but I'll need to give some thought to a better one. 

I don't know who the reader was- and never will, but I'm grateful for their comprehensive report, and encouragement. I hope they won't mind me quoting a couple of lines from their conclusion:

You write well, and I think you have made an excellent start, capturing the feel and style of a light contemporary romance with a bit of suspense thrown into the mix very well. 

When I submitted the first 12,000 words of this second draft (or 1.5 as I think of it) I wasn't sure if I would go beyond that, but reading the report again, I'm determined to complete the draft. 

I'll be going through the report with the highlighters this week...



Image by Alexas_Fotos from pixabay.com

Saturday 31 August 2019

I've Survived August- Now for September...

It's the last day of the month and as of 4.30 am (BST) this morning, my submission to the RNA's New Writers' Scheme went in.

Now I just have to wait for the eventual email telling me the reader's report is ready. I don't know who the published writer reading it will be, nor whether they're male or female. But whoever gets to read it- thank you.

The part I hadn't expected was how much time checking through the manuscript takes.

When I start the next draft I will be tougher on myself. I know I can do it now, it's about me being better prepared and organised during those busy everyday life events. Even 300-500 words a time soon builds up. I know I still have a lot to work to do in the next draft...

This weekend I relax, catch-up with all those things I didn't have time for- Sanditon on catch-up is first on my list...

Next Saturday (7th September) I'll be attending a half day workshop (I've been involved in organising it) at Nottingham Writers' Club.

Our guest is friend and blogger Patsy Collins The Travelling Writer, with her Effective Characterisation and Dialogue workshop from 1-5 pm.

Patsy Collins is coming to
    Nottingham...
There are still places available, so if you, or anyone you know are within reach of Nottingham and would like to attend, do please pass on the link.

Nottingham's Tram network links the railway station to a nearby tram stop less than 5 minutes walk away from our venue; plus the Victoria bus station and bus routes into the city centre are 5-10 minutes walk...


Then on the 14th I'll be at my desk tuning in to #SelfPubCon2019 it's 24 sessions online over 24 hours. (I won't be sat at my desk for 24 hours though...)

You need to register via ALLi (The Alliance of Independent Authors) you'll find them on Facebook, Twitter and their website. The three-day pass is free- just register with name and email.

I've tuned in to the past two: spring this year and fall of 2018. Both times I've learnt something I could put into action...


Do you have any writing related plans for September?



Image provided by Patsy Collins.

Sunday 25 August 2019

Almost There...

One week to go to my final deadline.

Today (Sunday) I've done about seven hours at the keyboard- obviously I did get up to make coffee and eat an occasional snack- okay there was a few pieces of dark chocolate involved. The result was the completion of Chapter 23.

My antagonist gets punched in the nose by my hero- with justifiable cause...

I'm at the stage of tying the various strands together in these last chapters.

I know some of the strands are still vague in the first half (I'll have to sort those out in the next draft) and they'll definitely need a lot of attention. I might have to try working backwards...

The downside of getting my submission in so close to the deadline for the RNA's New Writers' Scheme is I'll have a longer wait for the reader's comments to come back, but it gives me time to develop a couple of future stories.

#writing-romance

My first draft had 17 chapters; by the time the second draft is finished it will be at least 25 chapters and approximately 50,000 words.

 Normal blogging about a variety of subjects, annual book related events and topics will resume as soon as I have my partial submitted- and I decompress.

Almost there...



image: pixabay.com








Saturday 17 August 2019

Cake and Lots of Words...

Two weeks to go and lots still to do.

I've had a couple of days break, rewarding myself for all the words I've achieved by attending the Nottingham RNA Chapter meeting. I was late arriving due to public transport hold-ups and the very heavy rain, but the food was worth waiting for...

Plus I need to sort the next scene out in my brain as there's new snippets as well as the part from the first draft for this upcoming scene.

My week three word was peril...

My hard work
reward...
The scene of peril was written- my heroine was lured to the big house and- sorry you'll have to wait for the book to come out to discover the rest.

Of course she survived, but for a moment there it did actually make me shiver, which should be a good sign, but maybe that's because I could see it in my mind.

I need that effect on the reader too.

This week I'll be trying to put in even more writing time as other demands on my time are put on hold or scaled back.

By next weekend I'll know whether I will have the draft complete or almost completed, so I can get the submission formatted ready for sending in.

I do have an old synopsis for this novel saved so that will need updating but it means some time will be saved.

My word for week two is determination- mine and my hero's...


Wednesday 31 July 2019

Counting Down...

I have one month to get my manuscript in to the RNA's New Writers' Scheme. Fortunately I can submit a partial if that's all that's done.

At the moment I may just get the second draft finished, the manuscript tidied up, my form filled in and do the best I can on the synopsis...

As I've rewritten this second draft I have discovered how I make substantial progress, as well as realising that just because I think there's only a few missing scenes to fill in, my brain can think otherwise.

Starting out on draft 2, I believed I probably had two or three scenes each in two, maybe three new chapters to fill in the gaps. How wrong I was!

Still working on it...
Honestly I'm not sure how many new scenes there are, but I've added five chapters that were missing from that first draft.

There is still a lot of work that will need to be done in the next draft, improve the first half, then there's odd bits that need reworking, narrative changed to scenes/dialogue, descriptions added and character arcs checked. And that's before I start the editing process!

Even though all this work lies ahead I'm satisfied with all I've achieved so far, also what I've learnt about how I write and plot.

But most importantly I've learnt to trust my subconscious; those random bits of dialogue that don't seem to serve a purpose at the time, do fulfil a role later on...

When I do get the RNA's reader's comments back I am expecting quite a lot of pages to read and consider, then decide where I go from there.

For now it's get this draft complete.

Wish me luck...



image: pixabay.com

Saturday 20 July 2019

Conference Season

It's hard to believe that a week ago I was in Lancaster at the 2019 Conference of the Romantic Novelists Association.

Apart from the rain while travelling to the venue at Lancaster University (a huge site) the whole weekend was warm and sunny.

The accommodation block I was in overlooked a green area of grass, bushes and trees. In fact it wasn't just bird life that lurked. Waking up early on the Saturday morning it was lovely to look out of the window, just after six a.m, to see not only birds loitering but a couple of rabbits too. Then returning to my block after dinner late Saturday night I saw and heard a hedgehog.

View toward the
motorway...
This year it was quite difficult to choose which sessions I wanted to attend as there were so many great options. So I chose what interested me or would be the most helpful for the stage I'm at now.

After their triumph last year it was good to see Virginia Heath and Liam Living back to help us 'Keep that Sexy Momentum Going'.

I should have been in the get-together for the New Writers Scheme at that time, but I'd enjoyed and learnt so much last year from Virginia and Liam's session that I didn't want to miss this one.

With only an hour available some topics couldn't go into much depth, but with brains buzzing from everything, it was probably enough.

I definitely found the cover design tips from Stuart Bache, helpful. I now know what I need to consider and what to avoid!

But there was lots more.

The Gala Dinner on the Saturday night is an opportunity to dress up if you want to. And of course I did- I don't get many opportunities to do so...

Dressed for dinner...
(thanks to Georgia Hill
for taking the picture)
Finally I got to meet the lovely Rosemary Gemmell after having known her through her blog for some time.

That's the problem with conferences, lots of people  you know but may only see as they rush past in the opposite direction or across the crowded room at lunchtime.

There was lots of walking between the accommodation and the hub where the sessions took place. Lots of stairs to climb- no lift. Rather a considerable amount of alcohol consumed (my lips are sealed) and plenty of water during the day.

The main hub had a device that enabled you to refill your bottle with cold water, while a display told you how many plastic bottles had been avoided.

Every year there's a goody bag (on arrival) and among the contents a paperback or two.

Reading matter...
 I'm glad I brought a backpack with me as I was able to carry my big notebook, jacket and anything else I didn't have room for in my handbag...

As before, I came home buzzing with insights and determined to finish my novel, then start the next one.

I hope to go to next year's conference...








Thursday 19 July 2018

My Weekend - Work and Play...

I can now reveal that my fun weekend (mentioned in my last blog post) was at the 2018 Romantic Novelists Conference at Leeds Trinity University from Friday to Sunday #RNAConf18.

In the
Auditorium...
The campus was about 5 miles north-west of Leeds at Horsforth.

This is the first RNA Conference I've been to and I would definitely like to go again next year- it's a different location.

Quite a few of those attending had to come by plane from outside the UK. Planes were a constant presence as Leeds Bradford Airport was a few miles down the road; and at night you could hear them, during the day see them coming into land with flaps open and wheels down...

Yes there was a lot of socialising- I didn't get to bed until midnight both nights. Lots of online and offline groups had get-together's. Lots of kitchen 'parties'; fortunately the kitchens were a good size in the accommodation blocks with plenty of seating.

As you'd expect with so many writers together the noise level was high!

I went to each of the sessions I'd intended to on the Saturday. Self-Editing. How to do it effectively with Alison May was very good. The reassuring thing for me was finding out that what I'm doing now with my wip is right.

Remember 'You're in charge' of your manuscript is a quote worth remembering.

I also got to meet #writingchat friend Susan Jones who is a pocket novelist. Maggie Swinburne of the My Weekly Pockets Novels was doing her session at the same time as the editing one, but I met up with Susan for lunch to find out how it went.

Pocket Novelist
Susan Jones
A copy of Susan's latest release was in every goody bag that all attendees received. Plus Susan was a walking promotional tool with her t-shirt and bags too!












Saturday evening was the Gala Dinner so everyone was dressed up- lots of sparkle.




The table was covered in little shapes: stars, hearts, and wine glasses in a myriad of metallic shades.



As you can imagine it was very warm so many moved outside after dinner into the slightly cooler air.

My
 Gala Dinner
Outfit...



Sunday was another fantastic day.

There was a lot of laughing going on in the auditorium just after 9 am.

Liam Livings and Virginia Heath were holding a session called Sensual love scenes without stuffing the turkey.

Let's just say the names Roger and Fanny will be likely to cause hysterical laughter for some time...

There was a serious side to the session; how to use the senses in love scenes and avoiding awful metaphors- just don't mention red onions in plastic string bags!


One of the
accommodation blocks
Before the carvery Sunday lunch I attended a session by the Word Wenches: Two nations, one language of romance?

The Wenches were Mary Jo Putney (one of my long-term favourite writers), Patricia Rice, Andrea Penrose and the RNA's Nicola Cornick.

It was a very interesting discussion panel, and revealed a number of elements that showed the US and UK romance markets are no longer as wide apart as they once were.

There seems to have been a shift as sweet romances gain popularity. Patricia Rice said that publishers were ' cranking back on sex' in books.

At the end of the session I went over to say hello to Mary Jo Putney to tell her how much I'd enjoyed her books over the years- and I still have them (pre-ebooks), and I got a hug. She's a very witty and a smart lady, so it was wonderful to hear her and get an opportunity to say hello properly.

I learnt something from every session I attended across the weekend; and just having the time to mix with other romance writers and not have to worry about every day activities: like shopping, cooking and endless washing machine marathons, it made such a difference to me, both mentally and physically- no time for extra snacks.

Will I go next year? If I can, I will...










Sunday 20 May 2018

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

Thursday 22 February 2018

Competitions and Romance Writing...

I'm catching up and getting back into a routine- slowly.

Last week was very busy, as I was 50% of a talk given at Nottingham Writers' Club (on Valentines Day) about Competitions:Do's and Don'ts, along with the club's magazine co-editor Jill Walmsley.
Ready to talk about
entering
competitions

While Jill covered the technical side of getting a competition entry ready, I did the "business" side as Jill described it.

The where to find competitions handout with bullet points filled an A4 page ; also rights ( I substituted the term, 'earning potential') in terms and conditions/rules, so they could see how specific terms were worded and what it could mean (in some cases) for reusing their entry elsewhere; free entry versus pay to enter was definitely a thorny issue.

All the topics created lively discussion...

*   *   *
Three days later, it was Saturday afternoon writing Romance with local author Clare Harvey. Her books are WW2 Drama.

Clare Harvey & her
 books...


There was a mix of discussion, writing prompts and reading extracts from Clare's books for each topic.

I found the 'first scene' writing exercise really useful, and it's given me a few possible new openings for my WIP. I've not been totally happy with it as it stands, but it wasn't totally hopeless, I just needed a slightly different starting point, bringing my hero into the scene much sooner.

Getting characters together was a bit of a struggle. It's definitely easier in a contemporary novel, but writing with an historical setting you need to work harder to manipulate the possibilities against the the social behaviour of the time and situation.

Writing sex scenes are about more than part A slots into part B... We all agreed using the 5 senses was important, but between us all we came up with enough to fill the flip-pad.

What everyone came
up with...
Clare had read out a couple of extracts from books by other writers to show how different sex scenes could be and the impression each gives...

There was a phrase used in the sex scene in Clare's book, The Night Raid, that only a couple of the writers attending had ever heard of before.

It was "don't go all the way to Blackpool!"  (One of those bits of research that the writer discovered along the way...)

All the writing prompts for the afternoon were simple, but effective, just keep the pen moving for 5 minutes, write and don't stop to think.

I will try that again, perhaps with a short story.

It was a fun afternoon, and I know I wasn't the only one who went away inspired and with a buzzing brain.

If you ever get the opportunity to go along to an event with Clare, you will enjoy it...














Thursday 11 February 2016

Romance: Monthly Masterpiece Competition...

February seems to be bringing lots of competitions, so here's another one you might like.

It is Valentine's Day this coming Sunday, and an ideal time to be writing about love.

So here's an opportunity...
Romance

Just Write.

Submission by 28th February, of a first chapter, "fewer than 4,000 words". Whatever the genre it must contain a romance between characters.

Best of all entries can be from anywhere in the world.

There's a prize too: for the winning entry it will be published on the website, and there's four books as well.

Two runners-up receive a copy of Masterclass: Writing Romantic Fiction.

The winner will be announced the first week of March.

Now like any competition read the terms and conditions, pop to this link or click the link at the bottom of the competition page (see the Just Write link further up).

They're looking for "strong characterisation and originality, close attention to the genre theme, and accomplished writing style."

Next month it will be something different, so if this doesn't suit you, then a future competition may.

The competition is organised by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.






Image courtesy of Renjith Krishnan & www.freedigitalphotos.net






Monday 23 November 2015

My Review of 2015...

Where has this year gone?

In just over a month it will be Christmas again. I'm now a year older, but let's forget about that...:D

Looking back at my 2014 review, I've checked what I intended for 2015.

I did complete the first draft of my contemporary romance, but it hasn't yet been revised and submitted.

I have now got back to my 'historical' first draft so I've started the second draft a month ahead of last year's plan.

So what have I done in 2015?

January: The presentation of the NWC, Mary Street Romance Shield- from my win that was announced at the 2014 Awards Night (December 2014). Plus booking a few future events.

February: Attended the online virtual romance festival #Romance2015- in early February across Facebook, and Twitter, though I didn't get to the Google Hangouts option.

March: I finally got busy, getting Pinterest organised. I bought my domain name and applied it to the blog, and also bought the domain name for Serena (though I wasn't using it straight away). Then the last weekend was the Writing East Midlands Conference; that was a busy and very interesting Saturday.

April: After a temporary health setback I made progress with my contemporary story (the one I'd won with in December 2014).

May: Mid-May I guest posted on the Womag writers blog discussing joining the ALCS. The payment is a great boost to writers even if they only have a few qualifying items. I also became one of the co-hosts for #writingchat on a Wednesday evening on Twitter (8-9 pm each week).

June: That means The Lowdham Book Festival, and fortunately I had volunteers to help me with the writers' club stall. I was also able to meet writer friend Ana Salote in person too.

July: This was Serena month. I took the big step of setting up a website/blog for my pseudonym, and as I already had a domain name waiting for me- bought back in March- it didn't take too long to get up and running. (It's still an ongoing project.)

August: This was my wonderful trip over to visit the Pickford's House Museum of Georgian Life and Historic Costume, in Derby. I had a few moments where I saw-in reality- images that my mind had conjured up some months before for my Nottinghamshire story.

September: I finally got to visit The Bromley House Subscription Library, during the annual Heritage Open Day weekend. Like my August visit, it provided useful answers to my research questions.

October: Submitted my entry into the Love Stories New Talent competition. I didn't give myself enough time for this, as I was working on getting my contemporary romance first draft finished, and as a consequence I didn't get anywhere with the New Talent competition. A lot of the remainder of the month was taken up by the Sci-fi night at the writers' club. But I did write 'the end' on my contemporary romance first draft on the 29th October. :-)

November: Birthdays- and yes I do mean plural. :D I've also been getting the final results in ready for this year's awards night at the writers' club; plus doing some of the organising for the Christmas party afterwards. Most importantly I've started the second draft of the Nottinghamshire story.

December: It will be busy and fun I'm sure.

There's quite a few other bits and pieces across the year, and I always learn from them.

As 2016 is the next Mary Street competition, my brain has an idea bubbling, but I'm not going to allow it to take over like the contemporary romance did.

I need to give some time to Serena's website and blog.

As in previous years, I'm going to be open to writing opportunities that may appear, and any research possibilities. I think my trip to Dorchester will be put off until 2017.


Meanwhile I'll keep writing and reading...







image courtesy of Ventrilock and www.freedigitalphotos.net




Monday 21 September 2015

One of Those Down Spells...

I've been having a down day on my writing.

You know those times when you think your writing is awful and you can never improve it? Well that was me today.

Having had some time away from my Nottinghamshire story I can see so many possibilities just in the first chapter.

Should I start with dialogue or leave it with the current opening description and narrative? I've started to wonder if actually shifting the position of some elements would work better...

With other stories I've written it's been a 50/50 split, though I know that on one project I'll be changing the start.

Once I get into rewriting the chapter I don't feel as bad, but now that nagging feeling that the start is wrong won't go. I have to seriously consider that may be right...

It's been some time since I've had one of these down spells, and I know it will pass, but I think having a deadline is making it worse.

Such are the trials and tribulations of the writer...






Wednesday 15 April 2015

Kobo, Mills and Boon and W H Smith Romance Writing Life Competition...

April seems to be the month for competition announcements.

Following on from my Sunday post, about Choc Lit, there's now another opportunity for writers of romance in the UK, Canada, and the United States, announced today.

The winning writer receives a publishing contract with Mills and Boon, which includes print and digital release; plus it will be "jointly promoted" by all three names: Kobo, Mills&Boon, and W H Smith.

There's a prize for second and third place- a Kobo Glo HD.

Now to take part, you must have an active Kobo Writing Life account to enter, and they do give you a helpful link.

The first of many?
Their link takes you to a page, but you need the create an account via the link on the bottom left (in light blue/green) and you can then proceed to sign up to Kobo Writing Life as an author.

Now that bit is the off-putting part of the process- I'd assume they class signing up as being the active bit...

So what do you need to submit?

A maximum 500 word synopsis, and the first chapter of your romance manuscript, no longer than 5,000 words. These will be "reviewed by a judging panel".

(I'm sure I don't need to remind you, but just in case, give the ending on the synopsis...)

They're including all romance genres, and while saying it's not limited to their existing categories, I do wonder how much that will play a part.

And for those who want to submit a title they've self-published - you're in luck.

The deadline for entries is the 14th July- but you might want to check whether that is UK time, or US.

As the successful writer will be announced a month later, 14th August, the winner will need their complete manuscript ready for submitting to Mills and Boon in September-with the release date of the winning entry in early 2016.

And the manuscript needs to be 70,000 words, or more...

For full details pop along to the Kobo Writing Life page. It has all the links you need, including the one for the application form- make a note of how they want your manuscript put together before you click submit...

If you enter, good luck.






Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti and http://freedigitalphotos.net



Sunday 12 April 2015

Choc Lit Search for a Star...

This opportunity, from book publisher Choc Lit, arrived in their regular e-newsletter today.

My head is full of cold, so this post is very short, so I'm going to suggest you read the details carefully for yourself.

If you have a full length manuscript of romantic fiction ready to submit, and you think they might be the publisher for you, then find out more, you may be the debut they're searching for.

It does cost to enter (£10 or $15), and social media activity is an important aspect for them, as well as having plenty of book ideas.

There are a few questions to answer, so you need to think about those before you submit. And for the full terms and conditions email them at the address they give on their page...

The deadline for entries is 31st May 2015, and your entry must be complete- they don't want part written entries, or first drafts.

To check-out the details, have a look at their page by going to Choc Lit.


Monday 2 February 2015

Feeling Our Characters Emotions...

I'm roughly at mid-point in the first draft of my contemporary romance, and I'm now trying to get on with the post emotional scene (that was between my hero and heroine); but I'm finding it difficult to regain the distance I need for the next chapter...

I'd finally given my two characters the opportunity for their first proper clinch and kiss, even though that wasn't my hero's intention at the start of the scene. Then he drops the bombshell of why they shouldn't become more involved.

The surprise was how much it effected me.

On the surface his reasoning is quite logical, however awkward it now makes both their lives. My heroine has suddenly been shown possibilities and has then had them whipped away a few minutes later - she's obviously upset.

Even though I know that they will get their happy ever after by the end of the story, there's a boulder strewn road just at this moment...

We all experience, or observe, life events: birth, death, celebrations, bad news, good news, and devastation- both emotional and actual. So we can draw on those emotions and reactions- just like actors do. But it still takes a toll on our emotions portraying those things through our characters.

I have some reading to catch up on, and a short story to check over for sending out. So a few hours distraction will do me good...






Thursday 8 January 2015

Trophy Presentation...

If you read my post about Awards Night early last month, you may recall that it was the announcement that I'd won the Nottingham Writers' Club, Mary Street Shield- the official title is 'The Romantic Novelist of the Year'...

I'm grateful that I was only required to submit a synopsis and first three chapters and not the whole thing- as I'm still writing it!

This is the second time my name has gone onto this trophy, so it looks like writing romance is my strong point... :D

As it's a bi-annual competition I now have time to come up with a few ideas for 2016!

Anyway here's the picture from last night's meeting.

Carol Bevitt- winner of the 2014 Mary Street Memorial
Shield for a Romance Novel




Sunday 4 January 2015

Festival of Romance 2015 - book now...

Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year.

I'm not quite back into normal routine yet as all the family have been here, but this week a regular schedule will return to the household...

Last year I missed The Festival of Romance as it was in September- it clashed with my son moving into university accommodation. So I'm very pleased that 2015's Festival is back to November.

Details here. Dates: 6th - 8th November 2015.

This year the festival will be held a few miles from Stratford upon Avon (yes, Shakespeare country), and as there is the opportunity to secure exclusive use of the hotel for the festival weekend, the organisers would like people to book with a £50 deposit now- the balance to be paid in September.

The ticket price includes all events, and breakfast and dinner as listed in the programme details. This link gives you the 2015 programme - looks like a great time.

For the history enthusiast, the hotel was converted from a Manor House, but does apparently have the 'mod cons'- free wifi and parking. And a few minutes walk away is Charlecote Park, a National Trust 16th century country house.

If I'd been travelling by train as I did in 2013, I would have taken up the option of the extra Sunday night for an additional charge, but I'm taking the shorter travel route this year - car.

Now I have to start saving... :D








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...











Sunday 19 October 2014

What Has Happened to Historical Romance Novels?

In the 30+ years I've been reading historical romance novels, there has been a lot of change.

But...I don't believe the change has been as wide-ranging in the UK as it has been in the US over that time.

If you're in the UK and not familiar with the US romance market, then you might find this Huff Post Books article 'What Happened to the Historical Romance Novel?' by author Maya Rodale an interesting read - although it is long- but it will help to read it all.

I do buy and read contemporary romances, but if you looked in my bookcases you'd notice that at least 75% of the contents are historical.

Once I'd moved beyond Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer I wanted more, but the choice was limited. They never seemed to have enough time to develop the sub-plots, and even the main story line seemed to be limited to a certain level of intensity- because anything more wouldn't have fitted the pre-set length the publisher required; and of course everything stopped at the bedroom door...

For some years I was able to get my historical romance fix by getting imported US editions from Waterstones or second hand copies from a book stall, whenever I came across them.

Then for a while it picked up. Some of my favourite authors began to have their latest books in a UK edition- usually with a completely different cover, much more artistic and restrained.

With the emergence of Kindle and e-books, readers now have instant access to any type of romance novel they might want, and the wider author base means even more books to choose from.

I've got no problem if an historical romance author writes a traditional no-sex romance, as their characters might be the 'wait until we're married' type; I've read a number like that, and it would have been quite out of place for those characters to have done anything different.

These traditional style stories haven't been any less enjoyable, or lacked depth and intensity.

I certainly noticed more sex scenes in novels (by a few of my favourite authors) a couple of years ago, but that trend seems to have reversed and they've returned to how they were before with one or two such scenes being the norm. Perhaps that was more to do with the 50 Shades of Grey effect...

Personally I think historical romances published in the UK have adapted slightly, but they're a long way from their American cousins. Whether that's good or bad is for each author/reader to decide...

There are now a lot of smaller publishers printing romance novels too...

Contemporary romance heroines certainly don't have the issues that their historical sisters have to deal with...

Whatever your preference, the good news is that romance is thriving, so that's good for every writer, and for their readers.





Wednesday 1 October 2014

Four Years Have Gone By...

A couple of days ago I realised that I'd been blogging four years- where has that time gone?

Persuaded by writer friends that I should try writing a blog- and if I didn't like it I could always delete it- it was with a big amount of trepidation that in September 2010, I set up Carol's Corner.

The appearance of my blog has undergone a few changes, and I'm going to be looking at adjusting a few minor things soon, but my blog will continue to be a mixed bag: my writing and research, my travels, along with book related news, and competitions of course.

I won't be changing the wallpaper either as I really like it. :D

Over the years my writing life has undergone a number of changes too.

Quite a few of my writing plans got disrupted by the accident I had just over three years ago, and it has resulted in my slowing down and re-evaluating how I'm going to handle my work-load in future.

I'm not going to say I'd never try for a publishing contract, but for the moment self-publishing is going to be my likely course.

I know it's a lot of work, but at least I'm in control and as anyone who knows me will tell you, I get a little bit edgy when I see stuff going wrong, but I can't do anything about it.

So, in these past four years:


  • I've won a couple of the annual competitions at the writers' club; most importantly the Romance Novel trophy, and in January this year, the Writer of the Year trophy to add to earlier successes: the Manuscript of the Year (a 250 word story voted by the audience on the competition night) and The Little Moe trophy for a Drama.


  • Four of my very short stories- 200 words each- originally written for the One Word Challenge competition on the Writers Online,Talkback forum- were published by small publisher Alfie Dog Fiction, in the 'One Word Anthology' as both an e-book, and a paperback via Amazon's Createspace.

  • I launched the existence of my pseudonym, Serena Lake.

  • I've read some of my short stories and flash fiction in front of the public at the Lowdham Book Festival's 'Fringe at The Ship' event.

  • A few months ago I heard that my short, 'A Tight Squeeze', will be in 'The Best of Cafe Lit 2014'.

  • I have the first draft of my historical romance novella completed.


  • A synopsis and first three chapters for my Dorset novel.


  • And the current WIP which is a contemporary romance, which I will eventually self publish.


  • Numerous other ideas, characters and notes for further stories.


  • I've found what works for me- at the moment.


  • I've been Chairman of my local writers' club- my three year term finishes in April 2015.


Best of all I've made new friendships both personally and professionally- thank you all. :)

So what are my plans for the rest of  2014 and into 2015?

'Just keep writing' is going to be my motto.

I've found life tends to throw curve-balls when I make too definite plans, so I'm going to be flexible and take up the challenges as they approach, and aim for getting one of my projects published sometime next year...

I hope you'll continue to pop in and read my posts- I'm certainly intending to read more blog posts by others too.

So do continue to leave comments as it's good to know you're there.

Meanwhile, full steam ahead... :D