Whoop! What She Saw is Finalist in Joan Hessayon Award.

Am I looking rather proud? Well that's because this photograph was taken at the RNA York Tea where I accepted my certificate for being a finalist for the Joan Hessayon Award.

Actually, I feel a bit of a fraud calling myself a finalist because, in reality, everyone who was up for the award was a finalist. Still, it's what it says on my certificate so I'm using it!

So, what is the Joan Hessayon Award? Well, its a competition for a debut author who has had their novel accepted for publication after passing through the Romantic Novelists' Association New Writers' Scheme. 

Each novel submitted on the scheme gets a critique from a published author. When I received mine for What She Saw, it was the confirmation I needed that my book was ready to be submitted to a publisher... Bookouture obviously though so too, as it was published by them in May!

I live on the South Coast and, as most of you will know, I'm not a keen traveller, but my husband very kindly suggested we turn the visit to York into a mini break. I LOVE mini breaks!

Unfortunately, due to lots of holdups on the motorway, the drive up took a lot longer than we'd been expecting. But, when we eventually arrived and saw the lovely Airbnb we'd booked (with it's beautiful garden) we knew it had been worth it. Here's a picture of Bonnie enjoying the sunshine. 

The following afternoon, my husband dropped me off at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall where I collected my name badge and had my photograph taken, along with the other Joan Hessayon contenders. Then all the guests sat down for a delicious afternoon tea. I can't begin to tell you how lovely it was (how did the organisers know they'd picked my favourite sandwiches?).

The good thing was, I could relax and enjoy the afternoon as I didn't think my psychological thriller (with a romance entwined) could stand a chance when competing with the twelve fabulous 'true' romances that had gone through the scheme. Although, a little nervous when the time came to collect my certificate, I was delighted that the judges thought What She Saw 'hooked the reader and kept them wanting to read on'.

The ultimate winner was Lorna Cook, with her novel, The Forgotten Village. Lorna was sitting at my table and it was lovely to meet her for the first time. I can't wait to read her book. 

The next day, my husband and I explored York and also Castle Howard where the original TV series of Brideshead Revisited was filmed. The weekend had been a great success. My novel may not have won, but I had a wonderful time meeting old and new friends and going back to a city I hadn't visited in over thirty years.

You can find out more about me and my Joan Hessayon Award nomination on the RNA website here.

Meeting my Editor, the RNA Party and the Tube!

It's hard to believe that the RNA Winter Party has come around again. It doesn't seem twelve months since I was at the last one. I've always enjoyed the event but, this year, there was something else to look forward to. I was being taken out to dinner beforehand by my Bookouture editor, Jennifer hunt.

Now, since Jennifer approached me with a publishing deal in May, we have been in contact by telephone and email but it's not the same as meeting someone in the flesh. At last, I was going to meet the person who had loved my novel enough to offer me a contract... and I was super excited.

Me and Jennifer

Jennifer had booked a table at Tozi in Pimlico so all I needed do do was get there in time and find the place. It didn't start well when my train was cancelled and I had to travel to Victoria via Brighton. Not good when you suffer from travel anxiety at the best of times. The train was then held up outside Clapham Junction due to a signalling failure and I could see the minutes ticking away. What sort of impression would it give if I was late? it wasn't even as if I could let Jennifer know as I didn't have her mobile number!

Finally the train arrived at Victoria and I ran all the way (with the help of trusty Google Maps) to the restaurant - which wasn't a bad thing as it meant I didn't have time to get nervous. After all, meeting your editor for the first time is like going on a blind date. What if you don't get on? What if you have nothing to talk about?

As soon as I was shown to my table, I knew I had nothing to worry about. Jennifer was just like she was on the phone, warm and welcoming, and the meal was very informal. We shared a selection of tapas dishes, helped along by a glass of Prosecco, and talked about all sorts of things. It wasn't long before we were looking at our watches and realising we'd better get our skates on if we were to make the RNA party.

This year, as last year, the party was held at 1 Birdcage Walk, in a beautiful room lined with books. It was Jennifer's first RNA party and I warned her it would be very hot and very loud - but also very friendly.

It was lovely to catch up with old friends and new (many of whom I only knew through social media). People such as Jenni Keer, who's been tavelling a similar writing journey to me these last couple of years. If I'm honest, the whole evening went by in a blur and it took me a good twenty minutes to get to the bar for my first drink as I kept getting stopped along the way.

Me and Liz

To top the evening off, I did a very brave thing. With the help of my lovely friend, Liz Eeles, I went back to Victoria on the underground! Most of you will know that I never EVER go on the tube (the last time I tried, I felt panicky and had to go back out again) but this time it wasn't too busy and the District Line isn't too deep, so I survived. Quite an achievement!

All in all, it was a very successful evening and if you've been thinking about going to one of the RNA events, but haven't felt brave enough, please consider going. I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it. 

RNA Conference 2017 - and how I survived the door of doom.

Why the big smile? Well, it could have been because I had just arrived at the Romantic Novelist Association (RNA) Conference (at Harper Adams University in Telford) or that I'd just found out that the other writers in my university accommodation didn't drink Prosecco - only gin and tonic. You decide which.

Actually, I don't want to give you the wrong impression from this photograph. The weekend was more than just kitchen parties and bubbly. It was about attending talks and workshops to improve your writing and about meeting like-minded people. I went along with three of my writing friends, Liz Eeles, Sue Griffin and Merryn Allingham and we had a great time. Here we all are, complete with the obligatory name badges.

I could tell stories of trying to open the door to our flat by swiping the small plastic key fob against random articles instead of using the key, trying to grasp the mechanics of a second automatic door (nicknamed the door of doom) which kept shutting two of our party out into a darkened lobby and the underhand tactics we used to ensure we got a table at breakfast... but I'd better not.

Now, enough of the shenanigans and onto the serious stuff. The weekend consisted of a series of talks and workshops. Among others, there were sessions on writing dialogue, creating believable characters, using social media, timeslips and time travel, and how to not panic when you receive your novel revisions from the editor. There was even one on how to write unforgettable sex scenes (no, I didn't go to that one). 

It would take too long to list all the wonderful conference sessions so I'll just tell you about my favourite. It was a talk by Alison May and Bella Osborne called Plotter Vs Pantster and what a delightful double act they were! Strangely, I'd always considered myself to be a pantster, as my short stories have no plan, but after answering a few simple questions, I realised that, when it comes to my novel, I'm not. I came out as a rather smug 'inbetweener' veering slightly towards the plotter end of the scale. Surprised? I certainly was. Here's a picture of Alison in full flow.

I've been to an RNA conference once before (two years ago) and took advantage of the one-to-one sessions with an industry professional. This time, I attended the conference in the rather nice position of already having an agent and so was able to just relax and enjoy the talks without the worry of having to pitch anything.

The best thing for me, this year, was meeting writing friends I've made via social media in 'real life' and finding them just as lovely as I'd imagined them to be. Susanna Bavin, Kirsten Hesketh, Elaina James and Ellie Henshaw come to mind.  I also met two fellow People's Friend writers, Kate Blackadder and Ann Peck. It was so nice to be able to chat with other's who were part of the Friend family.

Speaking of which, I'm rather chuffed to have two stories in the last issue of The People's Friend. Here they are. 

Not only that, but before I went away, I received an email from a People's Friend reader who wanted to let me know how much she enjoyed my stories.. isn't that just lovely. Overall, a very good weekend.

What do Writers Have for their Birthday?

 

Today is my birthday. Happy Birthday to Me! Do you like the card one of my friends bought me? I love the fact that the girl has a W on her jumper.

 

Interestingly, this has been the year of the writerly birthday present. First, and best of all, I got this.



 

You probably can't tell from the photograph, but it is the diddiest computer I have ever seen. It fits in a shoulder bag and is going to be brilliant when my neighbour starts her planned building works and I can't concentrate in the house. My diddy computer and I will find a nice park bench or a cosy café to have our J K Rowling moment.

 

I also got this cushion, which I am using at this very moment. I'm hoping it will give me lots of inspiration... at the very least it should stop me from getting back ache.

The final present for an aspiring writer, I have to blame Kath McGurl for. She had posted a picture of herself on Facebook using mini steppers just like these and I thought they would be just the thing to combat writers bottom. I don't know if they'll work, and I haven't tried them yet, but sometime we'll have to have a race on them, Kath!



 
I had a lovely day. I spent the morning with friends celebrating both my birthday, and a good week for magazine sales, over coffee and then went to Borde Hill Gardens to see the beautiful camellia and magnolia displays in the afternoon. This is my mum admiring one of the blooms. The walk nearly didn't happen as she forgot how to use the satnav - but all's well that ends well and we had a lovely time.

 

Finally, before I go, I just wanted to let you know that I am guest today on the Romantic Novelists Association (RNA) blog, talking about writing serials. Do please come over and join me there. The link is here

 



RNA New Writers' Scheme - Why I Joined

Last Friday, early in the morning of January 2 (12.02 to be precise) I sat at my computer with my finger hovering over the send button of an email. This email was my application to join the Romantic Novelist Association's New Writers' Scheme.

Over the last couple of years I have had some lovely guests on my blog and many of these are novelists who have found publication after being enrolled on the RNA NWS. Karen Aldous, author of The Vineyard and The Chateau is one of them. Rather than re-invent the wheel and tell you what the RNA NWS is myself, you can read Karen's guest post about it here and here,

So why apply? The answer is simple - because I want to write a romantic novel.

Although predominantly a short story writer (I love writing them and have been very lucky to have been successful in the women's magazine market) a lot of my fiction is romance. As well as the magazine romances, I have written two short romantic serials for The People's Friend and published Room in Your Heart my collection of romantic short stories. As I am always searching for new achievements, a novel seemed the obvious next step.

So why hadn't I taken it? Well, I did start. As I mentioned in my last blog post where I revisited my 2014 goals, one of my aims was to have written a novel by the end of the year. Sadly, this didn't happen. I only managed three chapters and I realised it was because I was not taking the novel as seriously as I should. I had the time to devote to it (as well as the stories) but I was not making the best use of that time.

What could I do about it?

During 2014, I was lucky enough to meet (in real life and on-line) several writers currently on, or recently graduated from, the RNA New Writers' Scheme and I began to wonder whether this might be the path for me. What I needed was a proper deadline to aim for and I knew that if I joined the scheme I would have to have something ready to be critiqued in August. As well as that, I would have the support of other writers on the scheme. With that in mind, last Friday, I pressed the send button and went to bed - to find, the next day, that I had been accepted onto the scheme!

I am excited by the prospect of taking my novel seriously this year but for those of you who like reading my magazine stories... don't worry, I have no intention of giving them up!