Another conference is finished and the lucky attendees are dispersed again.
There will be posts to come on the conference this week but do to a technical glitch - not enough bandwidth they will begin tomorrow.
Sorry for the delay.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
RNA Conference 2009 - Live Updates of the Action!
Hi romance readers, writers and other interested persons!
This weekend is the annual Romantic Novelists’ Association’s conference, this year being held at the University of Cumbria at Penrith. The conference always generates a flurry of blog posts and photos in its aftermath, but generally the attendees are too busy chatting, learning, workshopping and, um, supporting the bar, to actually blog during the conference.
But not any more. It’s 2009, and we’ve entered the age of wifi internet access, tiny super-portable netbooks, and…Twitter!
Over the conference weekend (10th to 13th July) some conference attendees are going to be twittering updates from seminars, workshops and the gala dinner. Whenever we do this we’re going to be adding the designated conference hashtag (#RNA09) to our updates.
If you’re interested in reading all the tweets from the conference, go to Twitter's search page - http://search.twitter.com/. You don’t need a Twitter account to do this. Then type the hashtag #RNA09 into the search box and search, and all the tweets with that tag will come up.
Alternatively, bookmark this link now: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23rna09 and check out the updates as they start to arrive on 10th July.
Official RNA Twitter account: http://twitter.com/RNAtweets
Individual members’ Twitter accounts:
Alex Brown – http://twitter.com/alexbrownbooks
Imogen Howson - http://twitter.com/imogenhowson
Kate Lace – http://twitter.com/LaceKate
Katie Fforde – http://twitter.com/katiefforde
Liz Fenwick - http://twitter.com/lizfenwick
Lynne Connolly - http://twitter.com/lynneconnolly
Explanatory note re. Twitter:
Twitter (www.twitter.com) is one of the latest social networking phenomena. Basically, it’s a form of micro-blogging. You go to the above site, choose a username and password, and start updating the world by answering Twitter’s one and only question: “What are you doing?”
From that one basic starting point, you can ‘follow’ other people’s Twitter accounts, reply to their updates (‘tweets’), have other people follow you, and join in huge Twitter conversations using hashtags.
A hashtag is Twitter's really cool way of keeping up with a particular topic, even if you're not personally following all those involved in it. It also means that anyone—even those not signed up to Twitter—can follow that topic. If you want to see it in action before the conference try typing #queryfail or #doctorwho into the search box.
This weekend is the annual Romantic Novelists’ Association’s conference, this year being held at the University of Cumbria at Penrith. The conference always generates a flurry of blog posts and photos in its aftermath, but generally the attendees are too busy chatting, learning, workshopping and, um, supporting the bar, to actually blog during the conference.
But not any more. It’s 2009, and we’ve entered the age of wifi internet access, tiny super-portable netbooks, and…Twitter!
Over the conference weekend (10th to 13th July) some conference attendees are going to be twittering updates from seminars, workshops and the gala dinner. Whenever we do this we’re going to be adding the designated conference hashtag (#RNA09) to our updates.
If you’re interested in reading all the tweets from the conference, go to Twitter's search page - http://search.twitter.com/. You don’t need a Twitter account to do this. Then type the hashtag #RNA09 into the search box and search, and all the tweets with that tag will come up.
Alternatively, bookmark this link now: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23rna09 and check out the updates as they start to arrive on 10th July.
Official RNA Twitter account: http://twitter.com/RNAtweets
Individual members’ Twitter accounts:
Alex Brown – http://twitter.com/alexbrownbooks
Imogen Howson - http://twitter.com/imogenhowson
Kate Lace – http://twitter.com/LaceKate
Katie Fforde – http://twitter.com/katiefforde
Liz Fenwick - http://twitter.com/lizfenwick
Lynne Connolly - http://twitter.com/lynneconnolly
Explanatory note re. Twitter:
Twitter (www.twitter.com) is one of the latest social networking phenomena. Basically, it’s a form of micro-blogging. You go to the above site, choose a username and password, and start updating the world by answering Twitter’s one and only question: “What are you doing?”
From that one basic starting point, you can ‘follow’ other people’s Twitter accounts, reply to their updates (‘tweets’), have other people follow you, and join in huge Twitter conversations using hashtags.
A hashtag is Twitter's really cool way of keeping up with a particular topic, even if you're not personally following all those involved in it. It also means that anyone—even those not signed up to Twitter—can follow that topic. If you want to see it in action before the conference try typing #queryfail or #doctorwho into the search box.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Love in the Library - Penrith
As members of the RNA descend upon the Penrith for the annual conference some of their number will be visiting Penrith's Library on Friday to discuss their work and to sign copies of their books during two sessions - 10-12 and 12:30-2:30.Please stop by and join them if you are in the area.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
To Be Read (TBR) Pile Confessions
Most authors read voraciously and their bedside tables/bookcases/desks or basically every nook and cranny groans with the weight of books that they want and need to read. Here's the first TBR Pile Confession from Little Black Dress author Janet Gover.
There's always a lot of contemporary romance - which is what I write. Fellow RNA members and fellow LBD authors always appear - but they vanish again quickly as they are often the first books I reach for when I'm looking for a new read. I've also been dipping into historicals lately, just for a change, and loving it.
I have always read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy. Lately I've been adding young adult fantasy to my reading. Just because I'm not a kid anymore, I can still enjoy visiting their worlds.
The TBR shelf often includes books I've read before and liked so much that I want to go back for another look. And there are always a few authors who are so good that I read them again and again - hoping to learn from them; hoping some of their brilliance might rub off.
I have always read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy. Lately I've been adding young adult fantasy to my reading. Just because I'm not a kid anymore, I can still enjoy visiting their worlds.
The TBR shelf often includes books I've read before and liked so much that I want to go back for another look. And there are always a few authors who are so good that I read them again and again - hoping to learn from them; hoping some of their brilliance might rub off.
Janet's current Book - A FARMER NEEDS A WIFE
Helen Woodley, editor of Australia's top magazine, had no idea how successful her new column would be. Who knew that if the country's lovelorn farmers were profiled each week, readers would queue up to date them?
Monday, July 6, 2009
July Releases Continued
Anna Jacobs – FREEDOM'S LAND
Hodder & Stoughton
9 July, 2009, £6.99
In 1924 the Australian government gave ex-servicemen land, which theyhad to clear and farm. Widowed Andrew and Norah make a marriage ofconvenience to find a new life for their children in this groupsettlement scheme, facing dangers they never expected.
http://www.annajacobs.com/
Portia Da Costa - No Longer Forbidden
Harlequin Spice Briefs
1st July - $2.99
"Oh, how honey sweet is the reality after all that dreaming" - #3 of Risque Reunions
http://wendyportia.blogspot.com/
http://www.portiadacosta.com/
Sabrina Philips _ THE DESERT KING'S BEJEWELLED BRIDEHarlequin Mills and Boon Modern
July 2009
Kaliq Al-Zahir A'zam cannot believe the audacity of Tamara Weston! Seven years ago she rejected his proposal of marriage on the grounds that she didn't want to live her life in the spotlight - but now she's a top model! Kaliq will take his revenge, and the wedding night he was previously denied....
http://www.sabrinaphilips.com/
Kate Hardy - SURRENDER TO THE PLAYBOY SHEIKHHarlequin Presents
4th July $5.25
Ruler-in-training falls for unsuitable cook (and watch for the volcanoes!)
http://www.katehardy.com/
http://katehardy.blogspot.com/
Fenella-Jane Miller The House PartyThorpe LP
July 1st £16.99
Spies, smugglers and near death experiences make Penelope Coombs wonder if her visit to the house party of the handsome Lord Edward Weston was a good idea.
http://www.fenellajmiller.co.uk/
Fenella Miller - Lord Atherton's Ward
My Weekly Pocket Novel
July 1st £1.50
'I'm more than a match for you, Miss Ellison, and don't you forget it!' How had this young and passionate girl found herself in the power of this man -and did she want to escape?
http://www.fenellajmiller.co.uk/
Saturday, July 4, 2009
A Recipe...for Romance or Ice Cream for the Heat
This weekend's recipe comes from Kate Hardy who writes medical romances and Modern Heat romances for Harlequin Mills & Boon. Before M&B, she wrote rather raunchier novels for Headline and Black Lace - so for the kind of medical drama you see on TV, mixed with a bit of passion and a touch of danger, you'll definitely enjoy meeting Kate's heroes and heroines! She also writes health books and local history books as Pamela Brooks.
There are a lot of parallels between writing romances and cooking. Firstly you need the right ingredients: character, conflict, and resolution. You need to prepare them – that’s your outline – and then put them together in the right order. You need to cook it for long enough (i.e. don’t rush it, and take the time to polishing your draft. And finally you get the sheer pleasure of enjoying the finished product: in my view, a good book is definitely food for the mind and the soul.
So the obvious thing for a romance writer who’s also a foodie is to, um, use food in the books. In my current release, ‘Surrender to the Playboy Sheikh’, I have a good excuse as the heroine is a top-class chef and ends up working with the hero. But I admit that I tend to sneak food into all my books – which is why there’s an appropriate recipe for each book on my website.
My family also know exactly where I’m setting a book, because it affects what I make for dinner while I’m writing it; an Italian setting means we’re eating Italian for the next two months. For ‘Breakfast at Giovanni’s’, my RNA award-winning café book, I made my best friend drink lattes with me in every café in Norwich (it was research). For my Norwegian book, we had to try gjetost cheese and make proper Norwegian vafler. And for the current release… let’s just say pomegranates feature heavily, and there’s a very nice Circassian chicken recipe.
I’m currently thinking about writing a book set in a gelateria, so we’re already practising for that.
Easiest recipe ever: whizz 400g washed and hulled strawberries in a blender with 1 tbs lemon juice and 75-100g sugar (depending on how sweet you like it), add a 500g pot of 0% fat Greek yoghurt and whizz briefly, then pour into an ice cream maker and let it do all the hard work for the next 30 minutes
There are a lot of parallels between writing romances and cooking. Firstly you need the right ingredients: character, conflict, and resolution. You need to prepare them – that’s your outline – and then put them together in the right order. You need to cook it for long enough (i.e. don’t rush it, and take the time to polishing your draft. And finally you get the sheer pleasure of enjoying the finished product: in my view, a good book is definitely food for the mind and the soul.
So the obvious thing for a romance writer who’s also a foodie is to, um, use food in the books. In my current release, ‘Surrender to the Playboy Sheikh’, I have a good excuse as the heroine is a top-class chef and ends up working with the hero. But I admit that I tend to sneak food into all my books – which is why there’s an appropriate recipe for each book on my website.
My family also know exactly where I’m setting a book, because it affects what I make for dinner while I’m writing it; an Italian setting means we’re eating Italian for the next two months. For ‘Breakfast at Giovanni’s’, my RNA award-winning café book, I made my best friend drink lattes with me in every café in Norwich (it was research). For my Norwegian book, we had to try gjetost cheese and make proper Norwegian vafler. And for the current release… let’s just say pomegranates feature heavily, and there’s a very nice Circassian chicken recipe.
I’m currently thinking about writing a book set in a gelateria, so we’re already practising for that.
Easiest recipe ever: whizz 400g washed and hulled strawberries in a blender with 1 tbs lemon juice and 75-100g sugar (depending on how sweet you like it), add a 500g pot of 0% fat Greek yoghurt and whizz briefly, then pour into an ice cream maker and let it do all the hard work for the next 30 minutes Enjoy.
Kate Hardy's July release is SURRENDER TO THE PLAYBOY SHEIKH.
Friday, July 3, 2009
One Writer's Quest For Fitness - Veronica Henry
As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, I am on a draconian fitness regime. It was my twentieth wedding anniversary in May, and I realised I was three stone heavier than when I got married. Something Had To Be Done! I looked at the causes and it was a no-brainer: sitting on bottom in front of laptop all day, regular trips to the fridge/kettle/biscuit tin, and over-dependence on the old Pinot Grigio. I’m sure I’m not the only writer with these symptoms, and I decided that if I didn’t want to keep piling on the weight in the same fashion, I had to take steps. After researching several diets and regimes, I decided to plump [!] for the one diet that is guaranteed to work – eat less and move around a bit more. Here are the changes I implemented:
1 Stop drinking! It was just a habit, after all – a fast track to relaxation, a way of getting all those characters in my head to shut up. But as another friend says, wine = liquid Mars Bars. You wouldn’t eat three of those in a night, but a bottle of PG can go down in a trice.
2 Keep word count and calorie count roughly equal – about 1500 a day. Both of which are totally do-able.
3 Avoid anything beginning with B – namely bread, booze, butter, biscuits. Brie, Bollinger, Battenburg, Beluga. You get the picture. [Broccoli allowed!]
4 Attempt some form of physical exercise every day. It’s amazing how a knotty plot problem can resolve itself while you’re out walking.
Four weeks in and I have lost nearly half a stone, am more toned, don’t get those sluggish slightly hung-over days, and my skin is dramatically less puffy and wrinkled. I’m hoping that by my publication day on 23 July I will have lost a stone – not that I am parading down Oxford Street in a tutu and angel wings to promote my book like Jordan, but it’s nice to have a target.
1 Stop drinking! It was just a habit, after all – a fast track to relaxation, a way of getting all those characters in my head to shut up. But as another friend says, wine = liquid Mars Bars. You wouldn’t eat three of those in a night, but a bottle of PG can go down in a trice.
2 Keep word count and calorie count roughly equal – about 1500 a day. Both of which are totally do-able.
3 Avoid anything beginning with B – namely bread, booze, butter, biscuits. Brie, Bollinger, Battenburg, Beluga. You get the picture. [Broccoli allowed!]
4 Attempt some form of physical exercise every day. It’s amazing how a knotty plot problem can resolve itself while you’re out walking.
Four weeks in and I have lost nearly half a stone, am more toned, don’t get those sluggish slightly hung-over days, and my skin is dramatically less puffy and wrinkled. I’m hoping that by my publication day on 23 July I will have lost a stone – not that I am parading down Oxford Street in a tutu and angel wings to promote my book like Jordan, but it’s nice to have a target.
Veronica's latest book MARRIAGE AND OTHER GAMES is released on the 23rd of July 2009.
When girl-about-town Charlotte discovers her husband has been arrested for fraud, she flees to the wilds of Exmoor to nurse her broken heart ...
This weekend's post will feature a recipe for ice cream to beat the summer heat by author Kate Hardy.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
July's Short Stories
July sees RNA Members' short stories appearing in Women's Weekly and People's Friend.
Jan Jones - When Life Hands You Lemons
Woman's Weekly Summer Special No. 2
July
"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."
http://jan-jones.blogspot.com
Kate Jackson - Seeds of Change
People's Friend July 4, 2009
78p
More than just the plants grow when Hannah plants some seeds.
Kate Jackson - One Small Step
People's Friend July 18, 2009
78p
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind... but will Gerry be allowed to watch?
Tomorrow's post - Veronica Henry and her quest for fitness in time for the release of MARRIAGE AND OTHER GAMES on the 23rd of July. Monday's post will have some additions to the books coming out in July.
Jan Jones - When Life Hands You Lemons
Woman's Weekly Summer Special No. 2
July
"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."
http://jan-jones.blogspot.com
Kate Jackson - Seeds of Change
People's Friend July 4, 2009
78p
More than just the plants grow when Hannah plants some seeds.
Kate Jackson - One Small Step
People's Friend July 18, 2009
78p
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind... but will Gerry be allowed to watch?
Tomorrow's post - Veronica Henry and her quest for fitness in time for the release of MARRIAGE AND OTHER GAMES on the 23rd of July. Monday's post will have some additions to the books coming out in July.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Welcome and RNA Member's Books Coming Out in July
This is the first post to the blog for the Romantic Novelists' Association. There is no better way to begin than with a list of the books coming out in July. The Short Stories List will be posted tomorrow and on Friday Veronica Henry talks about her current fitness regime in which she attempts to combat writer's bottom and get match fit in time for publication of next novel.
This month's offerings begin to show the diversity of romantic fiction and, of course, of the RNA's authors.
Which ones will you be reading this month?
Veronica Henry – MARRIAGE AND OTHER GAMES
Orion
23 July 2009 £10.99
When girl-about-town Charlotte discovers her husband has been arrested for fraud, she flees to the wilds of Exmoor to nurse her broken heart ...
http://www.veronicahenry.co.uk/
Olivia Ryan – TALES FROM A HONEYMOON HOTEL
Piatkus
2 July - £7.99
Three couples meet on a romantic honeymoon – but can love conquer all their difficulties?
http://www.oliviaryan.com/
http://oliviaryanblogspot.blogspot.com/
Georgia Evans – BLOODY AWFUL
Kensington
July 7th - $6.99
As the vampire spies gather strength, a lone were fox finds she has more support than she imagined in her quest to foil them. Book 2 in the WW2 Brytewood trilogy.
http://www.brytewood.co.uk/
Anne Whitfield - WOODLAND DAUGHTER
Ulverscroft Large Print
July 1st - £16.99
Eden is robbed of everything, now she must gather her strength and look into her heart to accept what the future offers.
http://www.annewhitfield.com/
Melinda Hammond - MOONSHADOWS
Samhain Publishing
July 2009 - $14.00 (£7.00 approx from Amazon)
Right Man - Wrong Century? A dual-time ghost story
http://www.melindahammond.com/
Nicola Cornick – THE SCANDALS OF AN INNOCENT
978-0373773893 – HQN Books
July 2009 - $7.99 or £4.87
Housemaid turned heiress is courted by a notorious rake
http://www.nicolacornick.com/
http://www.apassionforhistory.blogspot.com/
Louise Allen - DISROBED & DISHONRED
(Undone Historical eBook)
9781426833212 Harlequin Mills & Boon
July 2009 £1.50 ebook
Miss Sarah Tatton has a problem - her virtue. A mysterious and disturbingly attractive highwayman is only too happy to assist her in disposing of this difficulty. But falling in love was never part of the bargain.
http://www.louiseallenregency.co.uk/
Louise Allen -The Notorious Mr Hurst (Those Scandalous Ravenhursts #5)
978-0263867879 Harlequin Mills & Boon
July 2009 £3.79
Lady Maude Templeton wants to marry for love, and she's found the man. But not only is Eden Hurst utterly ineligible, he doesn't believe love exists. It will take all Maude's unconventional courage and the help of her Ravenhurst friends to find a happy ending.
http://www.louiseallenregency.co.uk/
June Francis - TILLY'S STORY
Allison & Busby Ltd.
23rd July £7.99.
After an argument with her elder sister, Tilly Moran decids it is time to fly the nest and moves across the Mersey to Liverpool, but working undercover for a detective agency brings Tilly in contact with the seedier side of the city.
June Francis
Gwen Kirkwood - DREAMS OF HOME
Severn House
£18.99
Steven Caraford longs to get home at the end of the war but he is dismayed to find there is no place for him there, and the schoolgirl who has written to him so faithfully is now a lovely young woman with great prospects of her own.
http://www.gwenkirkwood.co.uk/
Janet Mullany - A MOST LAMENTABLE COMEDY
978-0755347797, Little Black Dress
July 23, 2009 5.99
A racy Regency read about searching for money and finding love instead.
www.janetmullany.com
http://riskyregencies.blogspot.com/
Nine Harrington - ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID
Mills and Boon
July
Amy Edler is a baker – not a wedding planner! But along with making her best friend’s wedding cake, Amy finds herself planning the wedding – with only her friend’s disapproving big brother to help!
http://ninaharrington.wordpress.com/
This month's offerings begin to show the diversity of romantic fiction and, of course, of the RNA's authors.
Which ones will you be reading this month?
Veronica Henry – MARRIAGE AND OTHER GAMES
Orion
23 July 2009 £10.99
When girl-about-town Charlotte discovers her husband has been arrested for fraud, she flees to the wilds of Exmoor to nurse her broken heart ...
http://www.veronicahenry.co.uk/
Olivia Ryan – TALES FROM A HONEYMOON HOTEL
Piatkus
2 July - £7.99
Three couples meet on a romantic honeymoon – but can love conquer all their difficulties?
http://www.oliviaryan.com/
http://oliviaryanblogspot.blogspot.com/
Georgia Evans – BLOODY AWFUL
Kensington
July 7th - $6.99
As the vampire spies gather strength, a lone were fox finds she has more support than she imagined in her quest to foil them. Book 2 in the WW2 Brytewood trilogy.
http://www.brytewood.co.uk/
Anne Whitfield - WOODLAND DAUGHTER
Ulverscroft Large Print
July 1st - £16.99
Eden is robbed of everything, now she must gather her strength and look into her heart to accept what the future offers.
http://www.annewhitfield.com/
Melinda Hammond - MOONSHADOWS
Samhain Publishing
July 2009 - $14.00 (£7.00 approx from Amazon)
Right Man - Wrong Century? A dual-time ghost story
http://www.melindahammond.com/
Nicola Cornick – THE SCANDALS OF AN INNOCENT
978-0373773893 – HQN Books
July 2009 - $7.99 or £4.87
Housemaid turned heiress is courted by a notorious rake
http://www.nicolacornick.com/
http://www.apassionforhistory.blogspot.com/
Louise Allen - DISROBED & DISHONRED
(Undone Historical eBook)
9781426833212 Harlequin Mills & Boon
July 2009 £1.50 ebook
Miss Sarah Tatton has a problem - her virtue. A mysterious and disturbingly attractive highwayman is only too happy to assist her in disposing of this difficulty. But falling in love was never part of the bargain.
http://www.louiseallenregency.co.uk/
Louise Allen -The Notorious Mr Hurst (Those Scandalous Ravenhursts #5)978-0263867879 Harlequin Mills & Boon
July 2009 £3.79
Lady Maude Templeton wants to marry for love, and she's found the man. But not only is Eden Hurst utterly ineligible, he doesn't believe love exists. It will take all Maude's unconventional courage and the help of her Ravenhurst friends to find a happy ending.
http://www.louiseallenregency.co.uk/
June Francis - TILLY'S STORY
Allison & Busby Ltd.
23rd July £7.99.
After an argument with her elder sister, Tilly Moran decids it is time to fly the nest and moves across the Mersey to Liverpool, but working undercover for a detective agency brings Tilly in contact with the seedier side of the city.
June Francis
Gwen Kirkwood - DREAMS OF HOME
Severn House
£18.99
Steven Caraford longs to get home at the end of the war but he is dismayed to find there is no place for him there, and the schoolgirl who has written to him so faithfully is now a lovely young woman with great prospects of her own.
http://www.gwenkirkwood.co.uk/
Janet Mullany - A MOST LAMENTABLE COMEDY
978-0755347797, Little Black Dress
July 23, 2009 5.99
A racy Regency read about searching for money and finding love instead.
www.janetmullany.com
http://riskyregencies.blogspot.com/
Nine Harrington - ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID
Mills and Boon
July
Amy Edler is a baker – not a wedding planner! But along with making her best friend’s wedding cake, Amy finds herself planning the wedding – with only her friend’s disapproving big brother to help!
http://ninaharrington.wordpress.com/
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