Today we welcome Linda Hooper to the blog. Linda is
our hardworking Hon. Membership Secretary as well as a very busy novelist
writing under the names of Sarah Mallory and Melinda Hammond.
Welcome Linda, your work for the
RNA as Honorary Membership Secretary must take up a lot of your time. Would you
please explain to members what it entails?
The
Membership Secretary's job must be one of the nicest on the committee. I have
the pleasure of keeping the membership records up to date and receiving all the
applications from prospective members. It does get busy in December and
January, when we have the NWS applications and subscription renewals, but
everyone is so lovely, even when I have to remind them that they haven’t paid!
The RNA is such a friendly organisation and I have gained so much from it that
it is a pleasure to be able to give something back.
What is the worse part of the job?
Checking
off all the standing orders when the bank statements come in! There are about 20 pages of names to go
through, and since many of us use pen names it can sometimes be a challenge
tying up the bank's reference for the payment with the actual author!
How do you plan your RNA duties
around your writing life?
During
the busy period around the New Year I have to put aside a few full days to
tackle the RNA work, but the rest of the year it's mostly only ten minutes to
half an hour a day to keep the records up to date. It is necessary to attend the committee
meetings, but I can write on the train – I find travel is a good time to think
through plotlines or difficult scenes.
You write as Sarah Mallory and
Melinda Hammond. Can you tell us how you differentiate between the two names?
Do you have two websites and two writing personalities?
I
am a Gemini, so I think I have two personalities anyway! I couldn't cope with
more than one website, so it is set up under Melinda Hammond with an
explanation that I also write as Sarah Mallory. I think "Sarah Mallory"
is more of a brand, if you like, for the Georgian and Regency romances I write
for Harlequin Mills & Boon. I was first published as Melinda Hammond, writing traditional Regencies that are very
"sweet" compared to the slightly hotter historicals I write for
Harlequin. However, under the Melinda Hammond name I have also written a darker
Georgian revenge novel (Lady Vengeance), two dual-time novels and a World War
II short story, but I try to make sure the description explains this, so the
reader knows what to expect.
What are you currently working on?
This
must be proof of my dual personality, I think! As Melinda Hammond I have just
finished and self-published a short story, "And The Stars Shine
Down", about the spooky goings on
surrounding the rebuilding of a WWII Spitfire , and as Sarah Mallory I have
just finished a book based around Waterloo for Harlequin. "A Lady for Lord
Randall" is the first of a trilogy called The Brides of Waterloo. RNA
members Annie Burrows and Melanie Hilton have written the other two books,
based on a fictional artillery unit called Randall's Rogues (we are planning
their Facebook Page and Twitter account even as I write this). I am now in the enviable position of thinking
up a new historical romance…..
We understand you will soon be
passing on the mantle of Hon. Membership Secretary. Who is to be your successor and is there a
period of training?
You
are right, I have nearly completed my time on committee and I am handing over
to Alison May at the AGM in 2015. There is a handbook to guide Alison into the
job, and I will be liaising closely with her from the end of this year to ease
her into the job.
What will you do with your spare
time once you give up your RNA duties?
Write! I have so many stories I want to get into
print that I certainly won't have any spare time for extra housework or
ironing, I'm afraid!
Melinda Hammond lives high on the Pennines, where the
fantastic views provide wonderful inspiration for her romantic historical
adventures. She was born in Bristol and grew up telling stories. Melinda left school at sixteen and worked
in offices as varied as stockbrokers, marine engineers, biscuit manufacturers
and even a quarrying company. She has published over a dozen books as Melinda
Hammond and written even more lively historical adventure romances as Sarah
Mallory for Harlequin Mills & Boon.
twitter - @SarahMRomance
Facebook - Melinda
Hammond - https://www.facebook.com/melinda.hammond.77
Thank
you so much for finding time to chat with us, Linda.
The RNA blog is brought to you by
Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman
If
you would like to write an article for the blog or be interview about a
upcoming project please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com
