Showing posts with label Liz Fielding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liz Fielding. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Jenny Haddon: Planning With Other Writers

We welcome Jenny Haddon to the RNA blog today to tell us about her exciting project.

Last year Tule Publishing invited me, together with Liz Fielding and Jessica Hart (Pamela
Hartshorne) of the RNA together with Montana-resident Anne McAllister, who has spoken at the RNA Conference, to write a four book series. We had all written for Harlequin Mills & Boon, though both Jessica/Pam and I hadn't done so for some time. We knew each other

Imagine delighted. The drawback was that I'd never written one of a series before. I'd written a couple of novels which turned out to have sequels sitting inside them. But I'd never planned a Book 1 of 4 from the get-go. Jessica, however, was firm. An overall plan was essential. We concluded that we needed four key resources, held in common on Dropbox and Pinterest.

The story that emerged was built around a Royal Wedding, to be held in a classic English village church. So the world of the series required the invention of a royal principality and an English village.

RESOURCE 1 - Royal Seat
I mostly invented the principality, since my hero was the royal in question – His Serene Highness Prince Jonas of San Michele. I could show you place on the Slovenian coast where I imagined the capital. I prepared notes on the principality's history from the middle ages to the present day, economy, geography and language.

OK, I'm a bit of a nerd on things like that. But it did mean that we weren't suddenly going to be throwing up history or traditions which were different from one book to the next.

RESOURCE 2 - English Village
In the spring Anne came to stay in England and we all visited Castle Combe which inspired the village, the manor house in which my heroine and Jessica's hero were born and the church where the royal wedding took place. We inhaled the atmosphere. We lodged notes, maps and photographs in our resource centre.



RESOURCE 3 - Backstory, ages and appearance of characters
We'd agreed most of the details before we started writing, especially during our girls' day out in Wiltshire. We kept facts in documents held at Dropbox. Though we still had to negotiate sometimes, by email of course, when we suddenly found something we wanted to add. It was astonishingly harmonious. On Pinterest we pinned photographs of people who inspired our characters. (My Jonas, to my surprise, turned out be a David Tennant lookalike.) Liz found the wedding dress, too.

RESOURCE 4- Timeline Spread Sheet
We started with the earliest action that occurred on the page in any of our books. Backstory and ages
were for individual characters were we set up spread sheet showing the timeline of serious plot points, where the characters were, which books certain scenes occurred in and ended with the latest.

There was one killer weekend where nearly every key character in everybody's book was in one place at the same time. We had to break the timeline down almost by the hour for that!

I have learned an enormous amount during this return to category romance, in the company of some of the best in the business - including our editor, author Kelly Hunter. Planning, and then keeping readily accessible records of decisions on time and place, are lessons now well and truly learned. About time!


PUBLICATION DAYS
Charmingly, the publisher has co-ordinated the launch of our books as closely as we tracked our plot encounters.

13 October      The Prince's Bride, Sophie Weston
16 October      The Baronet's Wedding Engagement,  Jessica Hart
18 October      The Bridesmaid's Royal Bodyguard,  Liz Fielding
20 October      The Best Man's Bride, Anne McAllister







Thank you for your interesting piece, Jenny and good luck to you and your fellow authors.


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

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Independent Releases for November

Talli Roland CONSTRUCT A COUPLE
ebook
£1.49
Is any relationship strong enough to survive a string of secrets?
www.talliroland.com















Mary Nichols THE DANBURY SCANDALS
ebook 
£2.17
When Maryanne Paynter is ten, her beloved mother dies and she is taken by her great uncle to live with the Reverend Mr Cudlipp at Beckford. Her life is unexceptional until, a little before her twenty-first birthday, Viscount Danbury takes her to Castle Cedars, the country estate of the Duke of Wiltshire where she is taken to see the Dowager Duchess. It is the beginning of a new and bewildering life, not made easier by old scandals and the occasional reappearance of the intriguing man she met in the wood, who seems to have a string of pseudonyms and disguises. There is mystery and danger, a proposal and more scandal and Maryanne, in the thick of it, does not know whom to trust. 
www.marynichols.co.uk






Susan Palmquist HOW TO WRITE A ROMANCE NOVEL
ebook
13th November
$4.99
Do you have an idea for a romance story but don’t know where to start? How To Write A Romance Novel will show you how to get ideas, shape them into a story that’s unique, and guide you on steps to creating memorable characters. It also covers two crucial aspects of the genre, emotion and sexual tension. Whether you want to write for Mills and Boon/Harlequin or pen more erotic stories like Fifty Shades of Grey, How To Write a Romance will get you started and help get you published.




Victoria Connelly Postcard from Venice and Other Stories
ebook
11 November
£1.59
The third collection of short stories by the author of A Weekend with Mr Darcy and The Runaway Actress.
www.victoriaconnelly.com








Liz Fielding A STRANGER'S KISS
eBook
7 November 2012
£2.55 (launch price 77p)
When Tara Lambert appeals for help from a stranger, it's an "out of the frying pan" moment and things go downhill from there when she encounters him for the second time.

Monday, October 8, 2012

October Releases

Carole Matthews WITH LOVE AT CHRISTMAS
Little Brown
paperback
25th October 2012
£6.99

Can the imperfect family really have the perfect Christmas?
Juliet Joyce adores Christmas.  She loves the presents, the tree, the turkey, the tinsel, everything. Already the festive spirit is upon her, which is just as well as this Christmas things are starting to get out of hand. Her son Tom is out of work and bringing home a slew of unsuitable partners; pregnant daughter Chloe and her little boy have moved back in; Juliet’s father, Frank, is getting over a heartbreak of his own and Rita, her eccentric mother, is behaving more erratically each day.  And has the chaos got too much for Juliet’s husband Rick?  With the big day fast approaching, Juliet hopes that she can stop everything spiralling out of control, because the only thing she wants is her family all around her and her home to be filled… WITH LOVE AT CHRISTMAS


Phillipa Ashley MIRANDA'S MOUNT
Piatkus Entice
ebook
4th October 2012
A sexy, funny contemporary romance set in Cornwall

When Miranda finds herself fighting for her home, her job and her heart, sleeping with the enemy may not be the best tactic…
With no family of her own, Miranda Marshall has developed a healthy respect – some would say obsession – with other people’s histories. As property manager of a spectacular island castle in Cornwall, she’s made St Merryn’s Mount one of the UK’s most popular heritage attractions. While she may have the castle running like clockwork, Miranda hasn’t bargained on its sexy owner returning to claim his birthright. Dark, handsome and with a rakish reputation, Jago St Merryn not only looks like a pirate but is intent on flogging the Mount to a soulless leisure corporation. Miranda faces the battle of her life as she tries to persuade him to face up to his past and continue the St Merryn dynasty. But Jago has his own reasons for jumping ship and when he throws down the gauntlet to Miranda, she’s forced to delve into painful memories she’d much rather keep hidden…

Liz Fielding FLIRTING WITH ITALIAN
HMB Riva
Paperback/ebook
1 October
£3.49
Armed only with a photo of the house her grandfather stayed in, the village, and the name Lucia, Sarah sets out to find the woman who saved her great-grandfather's life during the war.


Christine Stovell MOVE OVER DARLING
Choc Lit
Paperback
7 October 2012
£7.99 
When is it time to stop running?  Coralie Casey doesn’t like the hand fate has dealt her so she’s taken charge of her own destiny.  Setting up ‘Sweet Cleans’, her range of natural cleaning products for body and home, she wipes away the past and starts afresh in Penmorfa, a quiet coastal village in west Wales.

Gethin Lewis thinks he’s about to escape Penmorfa for good.  Now an internationally-acclaimed artist living in New York, all he has to do is return to his home village one last time to wind up his father’s estate.

But the people of Penmorfa have other plans.  Securing a new work from a major artist could mean a big boost for the village.  And who better than Coralie to persuade Gethin to help the place that once rejected him – even if she has to go all the way to New York to seal the deal?  Yet it seems everyone in Penmorfa has something to hide; as truths are uncovered which threaten to split the community apart, Coralie also has to face the fact that some stains just won’t go away.
Nina Harrington MY GREEK ISLAND FLING
Mills & Boon
paperback and ebook
October
Could writing someone else’s life story mean re-writing her own? Sipping a cocktail under the warm Greek sun, Lexi Sloane can almost taste success. Ghost-writing a celebrity memoir on a postcard-perfect island will be the career breakthrough she’s been working towards for years…but only if she can persuade the infuriatingly guarded Mark Belmont to open up about his famous mother. Mark grew up in the spotlight and learned young to stay cautious and alert to intrusion, so Lexi has her work cut out. Lexi is hiding too – behind the experiences of those she writes about…Could she learn to be the star of her own life?
If you like the films Mamma Mia or Love Actually, you’ll love this.

Tanith Davenport I HEARD YOUR VOICE
Total-e-book
EBook
22 October 2012
£2.48 on pre-order, £2.75 after
Paranormal investigator Tamar Steele is stuck in a loveless relationship with arrogant medium Reed James - until one night she sings to herself and is knocked down by an invisible force. Somehow she can raise spirits with her voice. And one matchmaking spirit is determined to turn her life upside down.






Rena George Another Chance
My Weekly Pocket Novel
4th October, 2012
 "Rowan Fairlie, head teacher at Balcreggan Primary School, had no idea how her life would change when wealthy Clett Drummond and his two young daughters, Charlotte and Poppy, took on the tenancy of Ballinbrae Farm.
Clett insists he's come to the Highlands to help the girls recover from their mother's recent death in a car accident, but Rowan suspects there's more to it.
And why does her growing friendship with the family so infuriate the new laird, Simon Fraser?  Is his apparent hatred of Clett merely jealousy because he wants Rowan for himself, or are the two men linked by some terrible way from the past?"







Annie Burrows HIS WICKED CHRISTMAS WAGER, a short story
Harlequin
ebook
$2.39
The last person Lord Crispin Sinclair expects to see in a disreputable inn is the woman he's there to forget: Lady Caroline Fallowfield. He hasn't forgiven her for marrying another man--or forgotten their mutual passion. When she implores him to come home for his brother's Christmas nuptials, he agrees--if the now-widowed Caroline is willing to share his bed and take another gamble on love...




Ann a Jacobs THE TRADER’S DREAM #3 in The Traders series
Hodder & Stoughton, 11 October 2012
Hardback
£19.99
1869: Bram Deagan dreams of bringing his family from Ireland to join him in Australia, but a typhus epidemic in Ireland decimates the Deagan family, leaving only Maura Deagain left to look after her orphaned nieces and nephew. Forced to abandon her own ambitions, Maura sets sail, travelling via the newly opened Suez Canal. It is only when a storm throws her and fellow passenger Hugh Beaufort together that Maura realises this journey may also give her a chance to realise a dream she set aside years ago – to have a family of her own.


Angela Britnell  HUSHED WORDS
DC Thomson
Paperback
18 October 2012
£1.99
Cassie Moore and Jay Burton have a one-night stand on holiday in Italy but when fate brings them together again it's the start of a rocky ride towards lasting love. Cassie's a single mother of a troubled teenaged son and Jay has forged a successful financial career in London, far from his large Irish family. They rekindle their sizzling romance but Cassie's overwhelming family problems make a future with Jay seem nothing more than a dream. Jay's fear of commitment  and growing dissatisfaction with his extravagant lifestyle lead him to make a drastic change. When he discovers the direction he wants to take Jay finds the courage to lay it all on the line with Cassie.











Sunday, July 1, 2012

July Releases


Judy Astley - I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY
Bantam Press
Hardback
£16.99
Viola is a bit disaster-prone and this includes having had little luck with men.  Her first husband (the completely lovely father of daughter Rachel) was gay and her second was a philandering actor who was killed in a car accident while leaving Viola for his mistress.  She's rented out her house and is recuperating at her mother's home for a while.  When on her first real night out since the accident,  a puncture lands Viola’s car on a traffic island at midnight and she comes across a man there stealthily planting a quince tree, she doesn’t expect this to lead to adventures that involve guerrilla gardening and a summer full of surprises, disasters, fun and flowers.
 @judyastley
 Facebook.com/Judyastley



Jill Mansell A WALK IN THE PARK
A Walk in the Park
Headline Books
Paperback
 5th July.
£7.99
Romantic comedy set mainly in Bath, a bit in the Lake District...
It's been a while, but Lara Carson's back in Bath and lives are set to change as a result. Because Lara left her family and boyfriend Flynn eighteen years ago without a word to anyone. Why has no one heard from her since? Her childhood best friend Evie is thrilled Lara's back and able to share her happiness. Evie's about to walk down the aisle with her dream man, Joel. Or so she thinks... Then there's Flynn Erskine, even more attractive now and stunned to see Lara again. The spark between them is as strong as ever, but how's Flynn going to react when he discovers the secret she's been keeping from him? Oh yes, there's a lot of catching up to be done...

Kate Lace COX
Arrow Books
Paperback
£6.99
Gorgeous men in lycra, sex, intrigue and nailbiting rivalry set in the glamorous world of rowing in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics
















Christina Courtenay THE SILENT TOUCH OF SHADOWS
Choc Lit
Paperback
£7.99
What will it take to put the past to rest?
When a professional genealogist is harassed by a ghostly presence and decides to do some research on her own family tree, she uncovers a six hundred year old love story.









Amanda Grange PRIDE AND PYRAMIDS
Sourcebooks
Paperback
£9.99
The Darcys get pulled into the Regency craze for Egyptology in this sequel to Pride and Prejudice

Liz Fielding THE LAST WOMAN HE'D EVER DATE
Harlequin Romance
Paperback and eBook
$4.99
Claire Thackeray: Hardworking single mom and gossip columnist. Hoping for the inside scoop on sexy billionaire Hal North, aka her teen crush!
Most wary of: Gorgeous men who set her heart racing. (Been there, got the T-shirt—and the baby!)
Hal North: Bad boy made good. Back in his hometown as new owner of the Cranbrook Park estate. Determined to put his troubled past behind him.
Most wary of: Journalists—especially pretty ones, like new neighbor and tenant Claire Thackeray.




Annie Burrows AN ESCAPADE AND AN ENGAGEMENT
Harlequin Mills & Boon
paperback and ebook
Lady Jayne has vowed only to marry for love.  But where is she going to meet anyone even faintly interesting when her grandfather guards her so zealously?  Cue one pair of breeches purloined from a junior footman, a makeshift rope and an open bedroom window...












Sheila Newberry YOUNG MAY MOON
Robert Hale
Hardback
Price £18.99
On the silvery sands of Westwick, Suffolk, just before her sixteenth birthday, Young May Moon, as she is known to family and friends, fyulfils the promise made to her late father and becomes the Punch and Judy lady.  Assisted by her younger sister Pomona, Young May Moon discovers that performing is in her blood, as four years earler, from this same place, their fiery mother Carmen, a flamenco dancer absconded with the preacher from the rival entertainment.  The girls are befriended by the O'Flaherty family, also lodging at The Swan, and May experiences first love and the pain of parting...  



Vanessa Devereaux I'M ALL YOURS (Book Two of the Perfect Pairing series)
Evernight Publishing
e book
July 16th
Kyle and Evie only think they hate one another...well, that's according to Sadie Sutton who thinks with a little casting of a spell and the help of Perfect Pairing, these two enemies will soon be lovers











Kat Black PLEASURE BOUND
Ellora's Cave
Novella
$4.45
Sam Tyler is thrilled to discover that her lover is whisking her away for a weekend of exotic luxury as a treat for her birthday. As a woman who knows just what she wants—her man all tied up like a living, breathing present—she’s quick to take advantage of his generous mood and begins planning a surprise of her own. One that turns out to be a hell of tough ask for a man who insists on always being in control. Does Adam had the strength it takes to surrender?








Jane Wenham-Jones PRIME TIME
Accent Press
Paperback
£7.99
5th July
Laura Meredith never imagined herself appearing on TV she s too old, too flabby, too downright hormonal, and much too busy holding things together for her son, Stanley, after her husband left her for a younger, thinner replacement. But best friend Charlotte is a determined woman and when Laura is persuaded on to a daytime show to talk about her PMT, everything changes. Suddenly there s a camera crew tracking her every move and Laura finds herself an unlikely star. But as things hot up between her and gorgeous TV director, Cal, they re going downhill elsewhere. While Laura s caught up in a heady whirlwind of beauty treatments, makeovers and glamorous film locations, Charlotte s husband, Roger, is concealing a guilty secret, Stanley s got problems at school, work s piling up, and when Laura turns detective to protect Charlotte s marriage, things go horribly wrong. The champagne s flowing as Laura s prime time TV debut looks set to be a hit. But in every month, there s a "Day Ten" ...

Veronica Henry THE LONG WEEKEND
Orion
Paperback
£6.99

In a gorgeous quay-side hotel in Cornwall, the long weekend is just beginning . . .

Claire Marlowe owns 'The Townhouse by the Sea' with Luca, the hotel's charismatic chef. She ensures everything runs smoothly - until an unexpected arrival checks in and turns her whole world upside down.

And the rest of the guests arrive with their own baggage. There's a couple looking for distraction from a family tragedy; a man trying to make amends for an affair he bitterly regrets . . . and the young woman who thinks the Cornish village might hold the key to her past.

Here are affairs of the heart, secrets, lies and scandal - all wrapped up in one long, hot weekend.



Kate Harrison SOUL FIRE
Orion Indigo July 5th
Trade Paperback
£8.99
It's getting hotter on the Beach: as Alice gets closer to the killer, the killer gets closer to Alice. Watch out: Passion burns.
www.kate-harrison.com












Rosanna Ley   The Villa
Quercus Original Paperback
July 2012
£6.99
When Tess Angel receives a solicitor’s letter inviting her to claim her inheritance – the Villa Sirena perched on a clifftop in Sicily - she is stunned.  Her only link to the island is through her mother, Flavia, who left Sicily during World War II and cut off all contact with her family. Initially resistant to Tess going back to Sicily, Flavia realizes the secrets from her past are about to be revealed and decides to try to explain her actions.  Meanwhile, Tess’ teenage daughter Ginny is stressed by college and filled with questions that she longs to ask her father, if only she knew where he was.   Three women, all seeking answers.  Will Villa Serena bring them together – or drive them apart?  





Angela Britnell   IT'S COMPLICATED
Desert Breeze Publishing
Multiple E-book formats
$5.99
Charles ‘Black Ash’ Ashton temporarily abandons his jet-setting lifestyle to avoid being blamed for a multi-million pound poker scam and meets quiet, elegant math teacher Emily Worthing but the odds aren’t in their favor. After a disastrous affair cost Emily her heart and prestigious job she prizes honesty above all things. Ash makes his living at the poker table, where a little deviousness and the occasional white lie never hurt. Ash must leave behind his irresponsible past and Emily searches for the strength to forge a new future. Ash puts all his cards on the table one last time and he and Emily prove they’ve an ace in the hand called love.







Janey Fraser  THE AU PAIR 
Arrow
July 19th
Jilly sets up an au pair business around her kitchen table to make ends meet. Marie-France becomes an au pair in order to find her English father. And motherless eight year old  Lottie is determined to drive away one au pair after another – until she finds the perfect match!

Lynne Connolly IN THE MOOD
Ellora's Cave
ebook
$5.99
The sound of a saxophone drifting out of a Chicago blues club sends Matt
inside, hoping to sign the player for his recording studio. Instead he finds
V. Passion drives them from that moment on, and Matt can’t get enough of her
sweet body and generous spirit. But as a former drug addict who
spectacularly crashed out of the rock band Murder City Ravens, he has a lot
to prove.

V thinks she’s happy with her lot until she receives an offer to join one of
the most innovative and exciting bands in the world. Joining Murder City
Ravens could sever her from Matt forever. How can she join the band when
she’s spending her nights with the man who nearly destroyed everything they
had?

Matt and V have decisions to make that might give them their life’s dream,
but could split them apart. Which is more important, personal fulfillment or
love? Is it possible to have both?




Nell Dixon A NEW BAY WEDDING
Astraea Press
Ebook
£1.30
Emma has been busy organizing her older brother’s lovelife but now Noah plans to turn the tables on his meddlesome match-making sister. But is Ian the best man for this very particular bridesmaid?
£1.30
Part of the Cornish Short and Sweet series.








DJ Kirby MY DREAM OF YOU
Punked Books
Ebook
£1.53
One summer’s day, Betty let love carry her a step too far. That exquisite sun dappled afternoon became one of her best memories, but also the catalyst for the worst experience of her life. Now elderly, Betty has been running from her past since she was a teenager, and it’s about to catch up with her. Will the experience be as awful as she fears, or wonderful beyond imagining? 









Sheryl Browne SOMEBODY TO LOVE
Safkhet Publishing
Paperback or ebook
1 July 2012
£ 7.99 ,$12.99, EUR 9.99
Somebody to Love…How do you tell her?
After a turbulent marriage to a man who walked off hand-in-offshoot with something resembling a twig, divorced mum, Donna O'Conner, doubts happy endings exist. She'd quite like to find herself an Adonis with… pecs …and things. Alas, that's not likely, when her only interest outside of work is hopping her three-legged dog in the park, carrying a poop-scoop. In any case, Donna isn't sure she'd know what to do with an Adonis if she fell on one. When PC Mark Evans comes along, gloriously gift-wrapped in blue, however, she can't help wishing she did.
Mark, a single father, is desperate for love. He doesn't hold out much hope, though, that there is a woman out there with a heart big enough to love him and his autistic son. Enter big-hearted Donna, plus three-legged dog. And now Mark has a dilemma. Pretending not to mind her house-bunny chewing his bootlaces, he's smitten with Donna on sight. Should he tell her his situation up-front? Announcing he has a child with autism spectrum disorder on a first date tends to ensure there isn't a second. Or should he skirt around the subject, which amounts to a lie? When one lie leads to another, can he ever win Donna's trust back? Admit that he didn't trust Donna enough to let her into his life?