The All Rights Issue is Spreading...

Just want to point everyone in the direction of the Womagwriter blog where further bad news on all rights fiction contracts have now spread to monthly magazine Spirit & Destiny.

The magazine was seen as a new market for short story writers even though it was only one story a month and obviously needed stories that would fit the magazine's profile.

I usually read the magazine on Readly and it's always good to see a story by writers I know. I doubt I will continue to read it now they're requiring all rights for their fiction.

More worrying for writers is that the magazine is a Bauer publication. They also produce Take A Break Fiction Feast; although that is a closed list so writers who aren't on the list can't submit anyway, but the implications, for those writers who are, is worrying.

When I wrote my article for Writing Magazine last summer (around the all rights situation at Woman's Weekly) I mentioned the potential for the other magazines to also move to an all rights contract.

Last year's
All Rights issue

I hoped I was wrong.

People's Friend have not gone the all rights route and are consequently receiving even more submissions, with writers waiting longer than before to hear the outcome for their stories.

So many newer writers cut their teeth on the womag fiction market and years later move on to writing novels for mainstream publishers.

If Bauer extend the all rights contract to their TAB Fiction Feast magazine I think a number of womag writers will stop submitting.

If that happens it won't just be the writers losing out...

Scrivener, Word or Open Office?

I decided I'd try out Scrivener to see if it would help me get my manuscript done.

There's a 30 day free trial and the days only count down every day you use it, so if you only open it a couple of days a week the free trial will last longer than a month.

When the trial is up you either purchase it or remove it.

Friends do say it is a learning curve but there's lots of helpful info available: YouTube videos, a user manual within the programme and instructional videos. Then there's Anne Rainbow's ScrivenerVirgin site.

At the moment it's all making my head spin...

Which programme?

I can import a Word document, but apparently Tabs are not good and muck up the formatting later.

Since Word 2007 no longer has technical support- no updates- I've found it creating glitches in my formatting of documents and I've had to use the tab key more.

I'd considered Office 365, but apart from having to pay monthly or annually, the version of Word would not read my much earlier documents; as I understood the info it would remove my 2007 version during the download.

I bought the Office 2007 disc when I purchased my previous computer and then had to reinstall Office 2007 when a Microsoft update created major issues with my current desktop (resulting in it having to be wiped) I am now on my third and final use of 2007.

I've downloaded Open Office and found it useful for a number of things, but I wasn't comfortable with it for the novel. So I've persevered with Word.

Now I'm trialing Scrivener.

As I'm mid-rewrite of Chapter 9 in Word 2007 I've decided to start Chapter 10 in Scrivener and see how it goes. If it works for me and I buy it, I can sort out the earlier chapters in Word and then import them in.

I like the ability to make your own templates so you can use them with every novel or use the pre-existing templates.

Like any new programme it's as much about learning where things are and how to use it.

The biggest advantage is being able to prepare the finished novel for being an e-book, in ePub for example. (Of course you still need an editor.)

Today I set up the title and the chapters, then tomorrow I'll try the cork-board bit...

I must admit that the last time I looked at Scrivener (about four years ago) I didn't like it, it confused me, but now I'm at a stage with my writing where it makes sense and I can see how helpful it could be.

Are you a Scrivener convert or a Word or Open Office user?

Starting the Year Positively...

Did you have a good New Year? I spent it very quietly at home...

I'm very happy to say that I've started 2019 well as I've already fulfilled one of my plans for this year.

As my computer time clock went from 11.59 to 12.00 on the 2nd January, I pressed send on my prepared email and crossed my fingers that I'd get a place on the Romantic Novelists' Association New Writers' Scheme.

A little later I received the email confirming a place. My paperwork and payment were done the next day and confirmed, so I'm now official...

I have until the end of August to get my manuscript in for critiquing, but I don't want to leave it to then.

I know it may seem strange joining a new writers' scheme when I'm not actually a new writer.

Although I've won the NWC Mary Street Memorial Shield three times now, each of those entries have only been a synopsis and the first three chapters of a romance novel- each one set in a different time period to the others!

But it's a big difference between producing a complete novel and just a part of it, which is why the RNA's scheme is an important step.

Despite all the good things that happened last year there was also a lot of stressful things going on in the background and I lost six months not being able to work on the novel as intensively as I'd intended.

Perseverance is the word to remember when your writing plans go askew and that's what I've been doing. I took the time to consider my options and take a new route to my destination...

There's going to have to be a few other changes to my commitments, though they will be phased in.

I may even do short updates on my progress as the six months pass...

Another day to write approaches...

Image: pixabay.com

Make 2019 A Very Happy New Year...

Another New Year approaches and I'm probably not alone in thinking 2018 has gone quickly.

I've had a rest over the Christmas holidays and slept better. I'm definitely going to try to get to bed a bit earlier than I have done this year...

Another major decision is cutting down on some of my other commitments that take up my available time left to write. 

I'm definitely going to be stricter with my time management- always a weak spot.

There's a lot of minor bits and pieces that I'll need to sort out in the next twelve months, but they're not priorities.

• I have a book to get ready and that's my priority for 2019.

My final word count total for 2017 was 36,444. 

(The aim was to at least break through the 40,000 words this year.)

My final word count total for 2018 is 43,946.

Last of all for this 2018 post...

image:Pixabay

Seasons Greetings and Merry Christmas...

Christmas Day is almost here and all that needs to be done is get a few last minute fruit and vegetables. Although the shops are only closed for one day, I prefer to have the week between Christmas and New Year without the need to go food shopping again...

I'll update my annual word count at the end of the month as I'm hoping to get some writing done later this week.

Meanwhile, however you celebrate (or don't) I wish you all peace and goodwill...

(image from pixabay.com)

Review of 2018 - July to December...

Welcome to part two of my 2018 review. In part one it was January to June, and now the busy exciting aspects start with July...

July to December 2018...

July 

This was the busiest month of the year and consequently wrote the most blog posts!

The month began with a guest visit from Leicester RNA Chapter member, Madalyn Morgan with her latest book release Chasing Ghosts.

Quickly followed by another mini-workshop for NWC, along with the deadline for my article for Writing Magazine the day after. Then the weekend of the RNA Conference starting the day after my article went in...

My Writing Magazine article...

Then on the 30th the article was published, a double-page spread in Writing Magazine; Womag Rights, came out and gave the new 'all rights' contract at Woman's Weekly wider attention on social media.

(I even get a mention on Wikipedia.)

August

My office was (unexpectedly) decorated.

September

A much needed weekend away in Scarborough. Attended a dialogue workshop at NWC. And whenever possible took photos of the #Hoodwinked statues around Nottingham before they went off to be auctioned for charity. One of the pictures was used on the back cover of NWC's Autumn issue of the club magazine 'Scribe'.

October

Trying out using file cards for keeping consistency with the characters in my WIP.

November

Taking care of my eye health and moving to a new monitor screen with low blue light- it has really made a difference to my eyes.

December

Fantastic way to end the year, Christmas parties and the NWC Awards Night all in one week.

I won the Mary Street Memorial Shield for a romance novel. One of those ideas that get in the way of what you're working on so you write it down to get it out of the way- for later. Well the 1920's story idea (the vintage fair earlier in the year) became the first three chapters and synopsis for this year's entry.

As I've won this trophy three times now I'm meant to judge the next time it runs in 2020...

My recent trophy win...

Had a fantastic time with the Belmont Belles RNA Chapter at the Christmas party. The guest was Sunday Times bestselling author Carole Matthews.

All of the Belmont Belles are a fantastic fount of knowledge, advice and support; I value their friendship and look forward to our regular meetings knowing I will go home inspired and encouraged to keep working.


So my final word count last year was 36, 444.
My 2018 total still has time to increase and I'll update it for an end of the year total in a few weeks, but I have exceeded last year's total...

Plans for 2019

Keep on with draft two.
Take up opportunities that may come along.
Apply for the RNA's New Writer Scheme in January (there's a limited number of places).

I always think I haven't done much, but when I look back I find I've achieved far more than I realised.

I'm still aiming to get a book out in 2019 under my Serena Lake pseudonym.

As long as I keep moving forward, I'm happy...

Review of 2018 - January to June...

Toward the end of the year I review the past twelve months to see what I've achieved- or not in some cases- and set a few targets for the coming year.

Starting with the targets I set for this year, back in December 2017:

• Get that second draft completed. (I'm working on it.)
• Continue to be open to writing opportunities and experiences. (Certainly did that a few times!)
• Rewrite/revise a few of those short stories I found on my floppy disks. (Not yet.)
• More reading and much more writing. (Definitely did this one.)

January to June
2018

January

This was a stressful start to the year with the rewiring and re-plumbing of the house starting. There were holes in the wall and ceiling, as well as floorboards up in bedrooms and on the landing. I still think Lights and Pipes would be a good book title.

February

Despite the router and keyboard failure, as well as getting the house warmed up after the new boiler, radiators and pipes went in on the weekend it snowed- thank goodness we were in a local hotel- the rest of the month was better.

I did a workshop with another Nottingham Writers' Club member, Jill Walmsley, on Competitions: Do's and Don'ts; then at the end of the month there was a Saturday afternoon workshop with local author Claire Harvey.

March

This month started with snow on the 1st of March. I live in one of those regions where snow either misses us and hits everyone else in the country, or we get lots and it stays for days.

I was reading the entries to the 2018 NWC National Short Story Competition and giving feedback on each entry; both rounds this year had short deadlines.

Finally I started back onto the second draft of my WIP. While also looking ahead to GDPR and Podcasts (that would eventually become part of a page on the blog).

The podcast
list...

April

The redecorating started at home (it's taken months) and this blog began it's facelift. I took on the role of Chairman at NWC again, after a three year gap.

Enjoyed a trip to a vintage fair in Nottingham city centre and inspiration for a 1920's story idea.

May

An exciting month with the new flooring going down and the wallpaper finished in the living room.

At NWC I'd arranged guest speaker C.J Tudor, author of  The Chalk Man
(recently included in the Guardian's books of 2018 list).

I also booked a place for the Romantic Novelists Association Conference in July near Leeds.

June

That was a mixed month. I had the sad news that my short story 'The Wishful Spirit' would no longer be available after July, due to the publisher, Alfie Dog Fiction, ceasing the short story download side of the site.

The future of the One Word Anthology (with short fiction by me and Serena, from some years ago, in it) was also under consideration, but thankfully continued to be available.

The One Word
Anthology...

At the end of the month the contract changes at Woman's Weekly became news and led to a new writing opportunity.

Find out what happened in part two of my 2018 review on Thursday...

Awards and Parties...

Only fifteen days until Christmas and I've still got cards and letters to write and presents to buy.

Last week I was partying; minimal alcohol and lots of happy times with writer friends.

Wednesday was Awards Night followed by the Christmas Party with Nottingham Writers' Club.

It's lovely seeing members receive their certificates for placings in the quarterly prose and poetry competitions; and then it's the trophy presentations for the annuals.

This year, among the trophies, was the bi-annual presentation of the Mary Street Memorial Shield for a Romance Novel - though it's not the complete novel, just the synopsis and first three chapters.

The Mary Street Memorial
Trophy winner 2018...
(image courtesy of
Dennis Apple)

This year's competition was close; there were only two entries and knowing the ability of the other entrant I didn't think my entry would win.

What a shock. It did!

I have to say my entry was not as good as it will be sometime in the future- when I've worked out how to tie up the various strands in the latter half...

The comments I received from the judge (a published romance writer and member of the RNA) were very encouraging:

"The judgement call for this competition was very close, as there were excellent qualities overall, but the winning entry was the one I felt had more shape, confidence of writing style, and clarity of direction, with an intriguing opening.  It is a historical mystery romance set in the late 1920s and the writer has created the appropriate period style and ambience well, and worked on making it convincing."

The story was one of those ideas that interfere in what you're working on and has to be written down to get it out of the way (to carry on with the work in progress). I only needed to tidy up the first three chapters and write a synopsis for it.

It's a reassuring way to end a year that has had a lot of disruptions and unexpected demands on my time (that have now set back my intentions for next year).

For now the 1920's story can carry on brewing in the depths of my sub-conscious, while I get back to Serena's 1802 setting and the rewriting; I still have a target to get it out next year, but it won't be June...

The 2018 Diagram Prize Winner is Boiling H2O...

As I assumed a few weeks ago the Joy of Water Boiling did well, so well in fact that it won this year's Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year.

The Winning Title...

It garnered 56% of the votes.

If you have title suggestions for next year's Diagram prize you will find the details of how to do so at the end of this Bookseller article.

Don't forget you can nominate your own odd book title- if you think it has that much oddity... :D

Eye Health and Updating Computer Monitors...

You may be like me, put off updating equipment until you absolutely need to, but then you get to the stage where it has to be done. Well that was me a couple of weeks ago.

When we got our first computer at home, back in the early 2000's, monitor screens were a bit boxier and generally smaller than those you can get today. Ours was only 15 inches and included speakers- which is great if space is limited.

(Plus it had a much lower screen resolution that would mean display issues on some newer computer programmes.)

Moving on to the next decade when technology was improving and web pages could now fill a wider screen, I was having to use the bottom scroll to see what was on the right hand side of the page.

After my eye test last year revealed vision issues I made adjustments: increased font size on my screen and had the lighting in my office area customised to my needs. My glasses now tint to protect me from bright lights indoors or sunlight outside.

I finally admitted I needed a bigger screen to make everything easier and for display requirements.

Blue light...
 

Wow, the monitor sizes and options, as well as the cost of some of them! You can get a good monitor without paying huge prices.

I did some online comparisons; measured the space available for the monitor sizes and pinned down a few of my must haves: speakers integrated; plus a non-reflective screen- when you turn it off you can't see your face in it.

I was impressed with how many manufacturers are producing screens with eye-health in mind.

(I had tried the Windows 10 option to set the night light display so the blue brightness was lowered, but on the smaller screen it was problematic.)

Although I've only had my new monitor (just under 22 inch size) a few weeks I can feel the difference at the end of the day with the low blue light effect; my eyes are not as tired and I can read a paperback book before bed without difficulty.

Whether the blue light on my old monitor contributed to the start of my macular degeneration, I can't say as age does play a part.

If you're not sure about the pros and cons of blue light there's some interesting information from Zeiss about it and eye care.

When I had my Optician's appointment last week I was relieved that the macular degeneration was stable and all the changes I've made over the year, including vegetable choices, have been helping.

Eye health is very important whether you're a writer and/or a reader.

Are you still working with an old monitor or have you updated?

The 2018 Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year...

This prize has been running 40 years with a number of extremely odd titles winning...

As I blog about this every year and choose the title/s that I feel are strong contenders for the win, I usually have a favourite and another possible.

This year I'm not impressed with the six titles. But I may just be getting tired!

• Are Gay Men More Accurate in Detecting Deceits? Hoe-Chi Angel Au (Open Dissertation Press)

• Why Sell Tacos in Africa? By Paul Oberschneider (Blue Ocean Marketing)

• Call of Nature: The Secret Life of Dung by Richard Jones (Pelagic Publishing)

• Joy of Water Boiling based on the idea of ​​the Berlin writer Thomas Götz von Aust (Achse Verlag)

• Equine Dry Needling by Cornelia Klarholz, Andrea Schachinger (tredition)

• Jesus on Gardening by David Muskett (Onwards and Upwards)

A contender...

I ended up voting for Equine Dry Needling...

If you want to find out more then pop over to the Bookseller website where you can read more, including discovering which of the six nearly didn't make it.

The link to vote is at the bottom of the Bookseller article.

Voting closes on the 16th November and the winner announced on the 23rd November.

Suspect Water Boiling might do well...

Consistency with Characters...

You probably know that issue of discovering you've given one or more of your characters two different eye or hair colours in your manuscript, well I'm trying to avoid that as I rewrite.

File cards were the solution. Most places sell the smaller standard size cards in a pack of 50 or 100. The lines on them are quite narrow and honestly my hand writing isn't that small so I wouldn't get much on them!

I knew there was a larger size available, and didn't want to resort to buying online when all I wanted was one pack; I checked every shop I knew had file cards.

 Then I found them, in Rymans. The 5 x 8 inch size.

File cards...

Even with my large writing I can get good amount of words on both sides of one card.

As they only had the white file card in the largest size I needed, I had to find another way to highlight what was physical description; characteristics and negative aspects of each character.

In the end I went with little coloured circles- coloured pens are useful and not just for editing on the printed page.

The other advantage was noticing the gaps in those three areas. My hero is doing fine, but my heroine needs some work. Her characteristics are acceptable at the moment, but physical description is a bit vague...

I do write character profiles before I start writing, but then as the characters develop and particular traits emerge I've not added them to the profiles, so the cards will fill in the gaps as I work through the second draft.

Now I have to decide are his eyes hazel green or green? And whichever one, what sort of green?

My lesson from this for the next time is add the details as I go...

Do you have a process to ensure consistency or do you put it right later on?

Autumn Again...

Goodness where has September gone?

No, I haven't been wasting my time since my last post. I've been working on an entry for one of the annual competitions at the writers' club and putting into practise some of the skills I learnt over the summer.

As home life has been a bit disruptive with various family members at home during the day, I've been trying out writing in the evening. Until daytime's settle down again I'm going to concentrate on rewriting in the evenings, while I can use the time during the day for research, admin, and catching up on interesting programmes and Twitter.

It's not ideal but I will be able to get quiet and work intensively.

Yesterday (Saturday) I was at a half-day workshop on dialogue, so I have been writing a bit.

On my travels around the city centre this month I've been taking photos of the various Hoodwinked robins that have been placed across the city. They've been part of an art trail along with a number of book benches.

The robins have been sponsored by local businesses, and each Robin has been decorated by a local or national artist.

Best of all the robins will be auctioned off in October to raise money for the Nottinghamshire Hospice.

They've been popular with children and adults during the school summer holidays and at weekends. After today (30th September) they will be gathered up and taken to Fernleigh House and Garden to join two more special edition robins.

The robins will be getting a tidy up first as I'm sure they've had a few sticky finger prints on them, as well as whatever the weather could inflict on them.

I didn't get to photograph them all, but I did get eight of them. In fact one of them is on the back cover of the autumn issue of Scribe- the club magazine of Nottingham Writers' Club.

Goose Fair, Goose Fowl...

This one was just off the Market Square. It's very appropriate as this week is the annual Goose Fair and in the past it was held in the Market Square.

Nowadays it's a funfair held out at the Forest Recreation Ground and the car park- of the tram stop next door!

Like any tradition it has its roots in history; at this time of year Geese would have been driven into the city to be sold for the Michaelmas dinner. The Geese came from Lincolnshire and would have been walked all that way.

You can find out more about the origins of the Goose Fair over on the Nottingham Hidden History Team site. They're a fantastic resource for Nottinghamshire history.

Do look at the picture of the huge Goose sitting on the roundabout. Every year this heavy duty statue comes out of storage and appears at the roundabout just by the Forest, on a bus route so it can't be missed; and if you forget it's Goose Fair time its appearance soon reminds you...

A Seaside Visit...

I'm home and catching up from a short break away at the seaside - Scarborough in North Yorkshire.

Unfortunately our four hour journey turned into six hours as not only was Friday lunchtime around the York area busy, but there'd been an accident earlier in the morning and the exit we should have taken off the motorway was closed, so lots of traffic having to travel further along and get back onto the correct route.

It was a relief to finally arrive...

We were staying at a hotel in the North Bay. The views are spectacular whether it's day, night or sunrise- the latter my OH was up very early to photograph while I continued to sleep.

Late afternoon at North Bay
with Scarborough Castle
in the distance...

We did a lot of walking but took advantage of the bus that ran along from the North Bay to the Spa at the far end of the South Bay.
You can walk up from the Foreshore Road to the main pedestrianised shopping area, but it's quicker to use the Central Tramway; it's history in action and only takes a very short time from the bottom to the top or vice versa.

Up or down...

The service is still run by the original company, The Central Tramway Company (Scarborough) Ltd, which was set up in 1881.

Of course it has had a lot of updates since then.

You can read more and see some photos of the trams in action on their website.




There's also a statue in the gardens across from the tramway building...                           

Queen Victoria...

This visit to Scarborough did not have any research motives, but of course history is always around.

The Castle is a scheduled ancient monument; from an Iron Age settlement to a Roman signal station, then on to the 12th century enclosure castle and through to the gun batteries of the 18th century and 19th century garrison during the Napoleonic Wars.

The town was bombarded by a German Destroyer in 1914. In WW2 it was a listening post.

It has strong literary connections too, not only Alan Ayckbourn's long association with the Stephen Joseph Theatre, but also poet Edith Sitwell who was born in Scarborough.

Anne Bronte died there in the late 1840's and is buried in the graveyard near to St Mary's Church.

There are regular boat trips for pleasure, or you can watch the working boats in the harbour. Crab seems to be a popular catch for the boats- and children on the pier with their buckets dangling by a long cord over the side into the harbour water.

The Harbour...

The weather was good and the sea air was refreshing; a much needed break after a busy summer.

Now it's back to work...

Time and Space...

After so many years of not being able to do much writing during the school summer holidays I'm having to retrain myself- now school and college days are over for my family.

My OH decided to do the redecorating in my office area this week- rather than next year- so I've taken advantage to move my chair position, add a second bookcase (it was on the upstairs landing) to replace an old half-size one that was bowing under the weight of stationery, filing and other useful bits and pieces.

This is my new walls.

My new wallpaper...

It does make my office area brighter and will make a good backing for the framed pictures that need to be replaced.

I just need new curtains or a blind to match...

Appearing in Writing Magazine this Month...

It's been a very exciting Monday and a much better way to start a week than usual.

My article 'Womag Rights' has been published in the September issue of Writing Magazine; subscribers began receiving their copies today, but for newsagents it's Thursday (2nd August).

My article in
Writing Magazine

While the 'all rights' issue at Woman's Weekly (the focus of my article) still remains unresolved for writers, this ongoing situation is like an Octopus uncurling its tentacles in different directions with potential damage from each one...

I'll be guest posting on the Womag Writers blog on Thursday so if you have to wait until then to read the article you'll have an opportunity to join in the ongoing discussions.

September issue
in newsagents
Thursday

Meanwhile shares and tweets on this all rights topic are spreading the word and appreciated...

Arriving Shortly...

No, the book is not done yet!

Instead there's a non-fiction article due out any day- if you're a Writing Magazine subscriber; otherwise you'll have to wait until Thursday when the September issue is in newsagents, or you prefer digital...

As soon as I have a copy in my hands and have read it- to see what was edited- then I'll be blogging and tweeting about it, as well as posting on Facebook.

It's an important topic for many writers I know...

Magazine topics...

Image from Pixabay.

Podcast Added to My List...

Since I got back from the RNA Conference I've added a podcast recommendation to the list on my podcast page; it's The Bestseller Experiment.

I attended a session on the Sunday morning called Mark Stay: The Bestseller Experiment - how two friends aimed for the top of the Kindle chart.

The hour went quickly but Mark's presentation did cover a lot as he took the audience on the journey he and Mark Desvaux (who writes fiction under the name of Mark Oliver) undertook in their aim to write and publish a bestseller in one year.

Their bestseller is called Back to Reality.

You can find out about the two Marks, who podcast while separated by an ocean, on their About page.

Their podcasts feature writers, publishers, editors and more.

If you've got any recommendations not on my list already, then let me know...

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...

Doing Something Different...

It's been a busy week.

Yes I have been at my desk writing every day this week, for an article commission.

Apart from Wednesday evening when I was doing a mini-workshop at the writers' club. 

We were a small group- half a dozen-accompanied by the cheers and sounds of despair from the England v Croatia match being shown in the pub across the road from the venue we use.

Although we finished earlier than usual due to expected transport disruptions, it was a good evening looking at the topic of conflict.

I really enjoyed the choice of books brought along. The idea was to bring a favourite book and read out a passage displaying conflict, then identify the type, person vs person, person vs society and so on. There were 7 options to choose from...

The books were: The 39 Steps by John Buchan, Final Demand by Deborah Moggach, Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers and another that I've forgotten the title of- sorry.

Concentrating on listening for the conflict in each extracts it quickly became clear that all these authors presented multi conflicts seamlessly, so the reader absorbs each facet without really being conscious of them.

Time for fun...

I'll certainly be checking for that when I work on my novel next week.

I'm now ready for a fun weekend...











Image from Pixabay.com