SEPTEMBER RELEASES

September brings a fruitful harvest of members’ new publications. Thank you to Sheila Riley for collating this amazing list of books.

                   

TRADITIONAL PUBLICATIONS

ANNA JACOBS

Saffron Lane

Hardback and E-book

Family/relationship fiction

Allison & Busby

21st September

Nell has come to feel very at home in her beautiful corner of Wiltshire with her partner Angus. What she could do with, however, is a challenge, and the prospect of bringing life back to an abandoned row of 1930s houses in Saffron Lane is just what she's looking for. Formerly used by the Government during WW2 and not returned till long after the war ended, they haven’t been touched since except to keep them weatherproof. She decides to start an artists’ colony with a gallery/café in one house to attract customers and bring in money to do the maintenance on their listed home.

One of the first artists to gain a residency is Stacy, lost and alone after a divorce she didn't see coming and trying her best to start over. The other is Elsa who is 76 and is battling her nieces who would force her into residential care. She needs to sell her large family home and longs for a new one where she can get back to her new career as an artist, with her paintings just beginning to sell.

When all their paths cross, the future starts to look brighter although not all goes according to plan. There is a big surprise waiting for them in one house and there are people in town who would rather knock down the old houses and put up a modern development.

KATHERINE GARBERA

Summer In Manhattan

Contemporary

E-Book and Paperback

HarperImpulse

21st September

When Cici Johnson falls for the charms of American big shot Rich Maguire, their drunken one night stand results in an unexpected pregnancy. Rich wants nothing to do with the baby or Cici, but she's determined to give their child the love of two parents on her own. Jason Hooper's spent his whole life wondering what family really means. In and out of the foster care system, he never gets too close to anyone; just in case they walk away. But then he meets Cici and he feels as if he's finally home. For both of them, the summer they share in Manhattan couldn't be sweeter. If only he'll let his guard down, Hoop's own happy-ever-after might not be make-believe anymore

ANNIE BURROWS

The Major Meets His Match

Romance

Paperback and E-book

Harlequin/Mills & Boon

September 

Wastrel, rebel, layabout…just a few of the names Lord Becconsall has hidden his quick intellect and sharp wit behind over the years. Recently titled, ex-military and required to wed, Jack views ton ladies with a cynical eye… Until he falls upon–quite literally–Lady Harriet Inskip.

  

ZARA STONELEY

Blackberry Picking at Jasmine Cottage

E-book and paperback

Harper Collins, HarperImpulse

22nd September

As the lazy days of summer ebb away and the hedgerows fill with rich, plump blackberries, Lucy Jacobs couldn't be happier.  She's feeling more and more at home in the small village of Langtry Meadows and has fallen in love with idyllic Jasmine cottage - not to mention gorgeous vet Charlie. But just as Lucy is thinking about putting down roots like the blackberries that grow in her garden, Charlie's ex returns and threatens to put a thorn in their perfect life...

SARAH MALLORY

Pursued for the Viscount's Vengeance

Paperback & E-book      

Mills & Boon

17th August

Viscount Gilmore believes ruining Deb Meltham is the only way to be revenged upon her brother. Not seducing her beyond repair, of course, he is not lost to all sense of honour. However, Gil hasn't counted on his feelings for Deb changing - nor her reaction when she realises he has been deceiving her from the start. Instead of shaming Deb, he finds himself risking his own life to save her.

KATHLEEN MCGURL

The Girl from Ballymor

Dual timeline/timeslip

Paperback and E-book

HQ

7th September

What would you sacrifice for your children?

Ballymor, Ireland, 1847

As famine grips the country Kitty McCarthy is left widowed and alone. Fighting to keep her two remaining children alive against all odds, Kitty must decide how far she will go to save her family.

Present day

Arriving in Ballymor, Maria is researching her ancestor, Victorian artist Michael McCarthy – and his beloved mother, the mysterious Kitty who disappeared without a trace. Running from her future, it’s not only answers about the past that Maria hopes to find in Ireland. As her search brings her closer to the truth about Kitty’s fate, Maria must make the biggest decision of her life.

  

MARGARET MOUNSDON

Island Magic

People's Friend Pocket Novel

Romantic Adventure

21st September

Vanessa Blake's sister Michelle asks her to take her place as dance hostess on a private yacht owned by the Petucci family, then promptly disappears. When an expensive ring goes missing on the yacht Vanessa realises she is high on the list of suspects. Taking refuge on the island of Santa Agathe she thinks she is safe until a valuable painting by local artist Severino, with whom Vanessa is staying, is stolen. 

Can Vanessa trust security chief Lorenzo Talbot to help prove her innocence or is he working off his own agenda?

JUNE DAVIES

As the Four Winds Blow

Paperback

Family / Romantic Suspense

F.A.Thorpe

1^st September

Isobel Blundell isn’t looking forward to her special birthday. 

Her archaeologist husband, Douglas, is in South America and she and their three children miss him sorely. On Isobel’s birthday, her mother, Ailsa, and sisters Kirsty and Dorrie travel to the Yorkshire Dales and join the family at Chimneys, their old brownstone house on the banks of Ferneys Beck. During the birthday celebrations, Ailsa presents Isobel with Douglas’s gift – an airline ticket! Overjoyed, Isobel sets off for a holiday with him at the dig. But heartache, danger, conflict and tragedy lie ahead for the whole family – Those at home, as well as Isobel and Douglas in Castildoro...

E-BOOKS

GEORGIA HILL

Christmas Weddings (Millie Vanilla’s Cupcake Café Book 3)

E-book

rom-com

Harper Impulse

29^th September

Cupcakes, Christmas and secret kisses. For fans of sweet romance.

JULIA IBBOTSON

The Old Rectory: Escape to a country kitchen

memoir/history food/cookery

E-Book & paperback

Endeavour Press

24^th August

"Written with her trademark wit and honesty" 

This memoir/recipe book/history of cooking documents falling in love with a house and the Victorian/post-Victorian kitchen.

SHERYL BROWNE

After She’s Gone – (Book 1 in the DI Matthew Adams thriller series)

Choc Lit (Death by Choc Lit imprint)

5th September

He’s killed your child and kidnapped your wife. What would YOU do? 

There’s evil and then there’s Patrick Sullivan. A drug dealer, pimp and murderer, 

there are no depths to which Patrick would not sink, and Detective Inspector Matthew Adams has found this out in the most devastating way imaginable. When Patrick’s brother is shot dead in a drug bust gone wrong, the bitter battle between the two men intensifies, and Matthew finds it increasingly difficult to hold the moral high ground. 

All he wants is to make the pimping scum suffer the way he did … the way Lily did.

But being at war with such a depraved individual means that it’s not just Matthew who’s in danger. Patrick has taken a lot from Matthew, but he hasn’t taken everything – and now he wants everything. 

SHERYL BROWNE

Deadly Intent – (Book 3 in the DI Matthew Adams thriller series)

E-book

Choc Lit (Death by Choc Lit imprint)

5th September

What if you and your family were at the mercy of a psychopath/a man with no conscience? Just when DI Matthew Adams thinks he’s left the past behind him, it comes back to haunt him once again; this time in the form of the Conner family. 

Like Matthew, the Conners have lost a child in tragic circumstances – and they’ve also found themselves in the hands of one of the most depraved criminals to walk the streets: ‘Dead-eyed’ Charlie Roberts, a drug addicted low-life with a penchant for extreme violence. Matthew’s greatest affinity lies with Daniel Conner, the brooding father who still blames himself for his youngest child’s death. But when Daniel’s wife and daughter are tortured and tormented by Roberts, can Matthew prevent him from completely ruining his own life for an act of revenge particularly when, once upon a time, that’s exactly what Matthew would have done too?  

SILVIA FORRESTER

Your Move

Romantic comedy

Endeavour Press
September

Two women. Two dreams. One big lesson in love.

With a passion for people and property, nothing gives newbie estate agent Gemma Cole more pleasure than matching buyers with their ideal homes. After a nomadic childhood with her ditzy mum, Gemma longs for nothing more than a pplace she can call her own. But with one modest income and meagre savings, will she ever be able to make her own home-owning dream come true? When Marcus, the new photographer, arrives at the estate agency, he’s the epitome of laid-back, festival chic. Sexy, laid back, festival chic. But Gemma dismisses him as another commitment-phobic, eternal student, just like her ex. However, looks can be deceptive. Marcus is reeling from a shocking family tragedy, one that’s left him as sole carer for an eight-year-old boy, as well as his scruffy dog. Will Gemma revise her opinion of Marcus, and will he trust her enough to reveal his family’s painful past? Pandora works at Perfect 10, a premier beauty and cosmetic clinic. Always effortlessly glamorous – with model-looks, bucketloads of confidence and bulging designer wardrobes – she appears to have it all. But Pan also has a spiralling spending addiction, a string of failed relationships, and still lives at home with her mum. Aged thirty-three. When her numerous credit cards are refused, Pan takes drastic action and joins dating website MillionaireMen.com. Will a super-wealthy guy be the answer to all Pan’s woes? And can she find one who’s sane, honest and not old enough to be her grandfather? Your Move is a lively romantic comedy, charting the blossoming friendship between modern heroines Gemma and Pandora, as well as the amorous entanglements that crisscross both their lives.

SUSAN WILLIS

The Girl In The Dark

Romantic suspense

E-book

Endeavour Press

30^th September 

When Kim goes to old friend, Sidney’s, photography studio to start a new food styling contract she meets his new assistant, Alex. Kim is catapulted from her mournful existence into an explosive romantic relationship with Alex. 

Sidney, however, is wary. He thinks, there’s something not quite right about Alex, and urges caution. Will Kim look back and wish she’d listened?

ELISABETH HOBBES

Redeeming the Rogue Knight

Medieval romance

E-book

Mills & Boon 

1^st September

The spy who sought refuge…

When injured spy Sir Roger Danby comes asking for shelter at her inn, Lucy Carew is wary. He may be strikingly handsome, but the disgraced single mother has learnt the hard way with men like him. Against her better judgement, she gives him refuge.

Sir Roger has never been at the mercy of a woman before, and he’s never met one as mysterious and bewitching as Lucy. He hasn't come looking for redemption, but Lucy is a woman who could reach in and touch his closely guarded heart.

Except for her infant son, Lucy has had enough of men and their sweet words, but there is something different about Roger and it might just be worth the risk to give into his love…

INDIE PUBLISHED

THE MAGNOLIA GIRLS (book 3, the Magnolia Creek Series)

Helen J Rolfe

Women's fiction

E-book

Indie published

14th September

Fall in love with Magnolia Creek, the small town that draws you in and refuses to let you go ... 

Carrie has it all: a stellar career, a gorgeous heart-surgeon boyfriend, and an apartment in the city. But when something happens that forces her to question her ability to do her job, the only way she can see through the mess is to get far away from everything. Carrie is thrust into a very different life in Magnolia Creek. She’s knee-deep in renovations at her house at the top of the hill; she’s sharing time and space with her ex, Owen; and newcomer, Noah, gets under her skin from day one. Meanwhile, her boyfriend, Lachlan, is doing everything he can to convince her she belongs back in the city with him doing the job she’s worked so hard to establish. Carrie never had time for anything apart from work but in Magnolia Creek it isn’t long before she strikes up a lasting friendship with Rosie, Gemma and Bella, and when a face from the past turns up offering forgiveness, Carrie realises that everyone needs a little bit of love and friendship in their lives.

ROS RENDLE

Flowers of Resistance

Historical thriller with strong romantic element

E-book

Indie

8th September

France 1940. Delphi, Rainier and their daughter Flora, must flee the Nazi advance. 

They go to the vineyard of Flora’s step-cousin Luca, in the Vichy Zone Libre

Despite Luca’s resentment of Flora, she is attracted to him, but there is a traitor among them and he is mysteriously absent much of the time.Then there is her employer, André, mayor, sponsored by the Nazis, but he is lonely after the death of his wife and young daughter. Should she spy on his activities, betraying his trust and friendship and putting herself and her family in danger? Resistance fighter or collaborator; petulance or passion; divided loyalties and discovered love. This is a love story and a thriller set during turbulent times in France.

Sheila Riley:

Sheila joined the RNA in 2004 as a new writer. Since then she has written best selling sagas under the name of Annie Groves for Harper Collins. A member of the Sandpipers, the North West chapter of the RNA, Sheila loves to catch up with writer friends at regular Southport lunches. Currently writing family sagas set in the immediate aftermath of WW2, Sheila explores the close-knit community of Liverpool Docklands, which hides many a family secret...

Collating the monthly publications list is another of her great pleasures, and her tottering T.B.R. list gets bigger every month! 

The new email address for Monthly Publications; releases@romanticnovelistsassociation.org 

Deadline for submission is 27th of the month, if possible

Thank you Sheila. We look forward to next month’s wonderful list.

Catherine Garbera: Tips and tricks for acing your editor/agent appointment.

Do you have an appointment to speak with an Industry Professionals at the RNA conference? Perhaps you are attending a writing festival and may just bump into an agent or publisher? We welcome Katherine  Garbera to the blog today to show us how to perfect our pitch.

If you don’t have a scheduled pitch appointment learning to speak concisely about your book is still

useful when anyone asks you what you are working on.

Since you only have a limited amount of time think of your story in terms of the high concept and boil it down to one sentence that gives the flavor of what you are writing.

Here are my tips:

1.     Give us a high concept, one sentence blurb about your story.  Leave out the character names unless they are important most of the time editors don’t remember the name.

2.     Tell us who your characters using a few words and tags that create an image.

3.     The story elements, start with the beginning.  Where does your story start?

4.     Then break down the conflict and your plot using goal, motivation and conflict.

5.     Tell us how the plot moves forward in a sentence or two.

6.     Then describe the black moment—again using only a sentence or two.

7.     Finally tell us how the black moment is resolved.

Example from my upcoming Mills & Boon release The Tycoon’s Fiancée Deal:

High Concept, Blurb

A modern retelling of a friends-to-lovers story where the hero has to marry to keep his lecherous boss at bay.

Who is the story about?

Remember not their names because unless your hero is Mr. Darcy, the name is probably not relevant to the editor/agent you are pitching too.

Hero: Bachelor heart surgeon who is good at fixing hearts but not so good at love.

Heroine: Single mom who had the fairytale and isn’t interested in romance.

Where does the story begin?

And it’s okay to say the story opens with or they meet when.

They meet when she is dumping her blind date and he realizes he needs to find a way to convince the hospital board that he’s settled and ready to be chief of surgery.

He needs a fiancée to convince everyone he’s not the arrogant playboy many assume him to be and she wants to stop going on blind-dates but can’t say no to her meddling mother.  He makes her an offer that she should refuse, be his fake fiancée for three months until he gets his promotion.

Goal, Motivation, Conflict

Next talk about the conflict (in genre fiction conflict is the engine that drives your story). You need to do this twice, once for the internal plot and once for the external. 

Goal: What does the character want?

Motivation: Why does the character want it?

Conflict? Why can’t they have it?

External conflict

Hero:

He wants to be chief of surgery at the hospital.

His life is medicine and he knows he can do a great job as chief if he’s just given the chance.

He can’t have it because the head of the selection committee is one of his ex-girlfriends who doesn’t want to admit things are over between them. 

Heroine:

She wants to raise her son and move on from the fall out of her “fairytale” marriage.

She lost pieces of herself when her deceased husband cheated on her and convinced her it was because of who she had become.

She can’t move on because her family are determined she needs a husband to help raise her son.

Both of these characters see their arrangement as a way of getting what they want.  So on the surface the solution of a fake engagement is perfect. But the internal conflict is what is feeding the fire of the story.

Internal conflict:

Hero:

He has always had a crush on her from the time they were teenagers, but she friend zoned him and he let her because he was determined to be the best surgeon he could be.

He has convinced himself that friends are all they will ever be and that by asking her to be his fake fiancée they will continue their friendship.

He learns he’s completely wrong when they share a kiss to seal the deal and sparks of attraction fly between them.

Heroine:

She’s tired of men promising her the moon and delivering nothing.  She likes him because he’s honest about what he wants from her and she tells herself she expects nothing from him.  But he shows her in little ways that who she is matters and the passion between them drives her into his arms but it’s the affection that she sees him showing her and her son that make her start to fall for him.

How does the plot move forward?

They commit to be honest with each other since they are lying to the world and once they become lovers both of them come to realize that they might want this to last.

Black Moment and Resolution

But having been hurt once before by her lover, she is reluctant to trust her heart.  He convinces her that he is trustworthy and is in love with her.

Putting it all together.

The Tycoon’s Fiancée Deal is a fresh take on the friends-to-lovers trope where a playboy, heart surgeon who is good at fixing hearts but not so good at love falls for a single mom who had the fairytale and isn’t interested in romance.

They meet when she is dumping her blind date. He needs a fiancée to convince everyone he’s not the arrogant playboy many assume him to be and she wants to stop going on blind-dates but can’t say no to her meddling mother.  He makes her an offer that she should refuse, be his fake fiancée for three months until he gets his promotion.

He has always had a crush on her from the time they were teenagers, but she friend zoned him and he let her because he was determined to be the best surgeon he could be. He convinced himself that friends are all they will ever be, but learns he’s completely wrong when they share a kiss to seal the deal and sparks of attraction fly between them.

She’s tired of men promising her the moon and not delivering.  He’s honest about what he wants from her and she tells herself she expects nothing from him.  But he shows her in little ways that who she is matters and the passion between them drives her into his arms but it’s the affection that she sees him showing her and her son that make her start to fall for him.

They commit to be honest with each other since they are lying to the world and once they become lovers both of them come to realize that they might want this to last.  But having been hurt once before by her lover, she is reluctant to trust her heart.  He convinces her that he is trustworthy and is in love with her.

About Katherine:

Katherine Garbera is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 90 novels. She has learned to stop saying this sounds crazy but trust me on the page it makes sense when pitching her ideas to editors.  J Her current release is SUMMER IN MANHATTAN from HarperImpluse. 

Links:

Amazon UK

 Facebook

 Twitter

 Blog

Thank you, Katherine. We should all now be prepared for the moment we meet an Industry Professional!

If you would like to write for the RNA blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com