Linda Gillard on Winning the Woman's Weekly Favourite Romantic Novel 1960-2010

So there I was, standing on the quayside, staring at the distant Scottish mainland, wondering if I knew anyone with a boat. And nerves of steel...

Pondering the uncertainties of island life, I texted the organisers of Woman’s Weekly’s Favourite Romantic Novel 1960-2010, for which my novel STAR GAZING was short-listed, telling them I might not make it to the champagne breakfast for short-listed authors as the last two ferries from the Isle of Arran had been cancelled due to bad weather. As it was, I’d miss my London train connection and would have to fly now. If I ever got off the island.

But after a tense couple of hours, the skies cleared, the wind dropped and Calmac declared that the MV Caledonian Isles would depart. Twelve hours later (oh, the joys of flying Easyjet!) I checked in to the New Cavendish Club in London, unpacked and started to worry that my outfit was the wrong colour. (Or was it my hair that was the wrong colour?…)

The following morning I met Trisha Ashley, fellow short-listee (EVERY WOMAN FOR HERSELF). Barbara Taylor Bradford was also short-listed with the legendary A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE, but she lives in New York and wasn’t attending.

And then it was mingling time… I was handed a glass of champagne but I can't say I tasted it. This is how nervous I was: when they were offered, I said “No” to a tray of Danish pastries. But everyone liked the colour of my Oska top and said it suited me. (Memo to self: fix hair colour.)

I introduced myself to the Woman’s Weekly reader who’d won a trip to London. She said she’d read all three short-listed books, but had actually voted for Victoria Hislop's THE ISLAND. Moving swiftly on, I gave her a signed copy of STAR GAZING, just to show there were no hard feelings.

Then announcement time… OhGodOhGod… And the winner is… STAR GAZING!

Nooooooooooo!

But yesssss!

A beaming Katie Fforde presented me with the star-shaped crystal trophy and looked on while I improvised an incoherent speech, short on wit and long on gratitude. Applause, flash bulbs, refills… Dizzy with happiness and champagne, possessed of a sudden, ravening hunger, I looked round for that magnificent selection of Danish pastries…. Gone. Only crumbs left to bear witness to their brief existence.

Linda and Trisha Ashely

Clutching my empty glass and my beautiful star trophy, I concluded that you can’t win them all. 

Summer Reading from Christina Courtenay

Unusually for me, I haven’t had much time for reading this summer, mostly because I didn’t go on the customary beach holiday.  When I do, I always take one book for each day (well, there’s nothing else to do, is there?) and hopefully get through ten to fourteen novels that way.  This year I’ve had to make do with reading at home, which meant I had to prioritise.

The choice in my TBR pile is daunting, to say the least, but some books call to you more than others.  That was the case with All That Mullarkey by Sue Moorcroft, a superb contemporary with a most delicious hero, and ditto Turning the Tide by Christine Stovell.  (And no, I didn’t read those because the author’s are my fellow Choc Lit-mates - truthfully, I would have loved them anyway.)

Then there was The Perfect Proposal by our lovely chairman, Katie Fforde.  A gentle love story that really was perfect in every way, with another wonderful hero to fall in love with and some fabulous settings.

For something a bit different, I read The Paris Vendetta by Steve Berry (I need some stories other than romance occasionally), but I was soon back with my favourite genre, delving into Wicked Regency Nights by among others, our own Nicola Cornick and Louise Allen.  Almost Human by Cat Marsters provided more variety and in between, I devoured two dark and paranormal YA novels, Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr (a very different world of faeries) and Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, which features a fallen angel quite literally to die for.

I don’t know about everyone else, but the sheer quality of fiction and the fantastic stories that continue to be published, especially by RNA members, astonishes me and makes me realise how much I have to look forward to.  Whenever I want, there is always another wonderful world to immerse myself in.  The only question is which one to choose next?

(Writing as Christina Courtenay, Pia's novel Trade Winds (published by Choc Lit) is out now, and her Regency novella Never Too Late published by DC Thomson (no.1737) is in shops this week.)

Septmember Releases

Christina Courtenay TRADE WINDS
Choc Lit
30th September
£7.99
"Marriage of convenience of a love for life? - Scotsman Killian Kinross
goes to Sweden to make his fortune, but ends up married and on a daring
voyage to China instead ..."

Freda Lightfoot THE RELUCTANT QUEEN
(sequel to Hostage Queen)
Severn House
30th September
£19.99
Sixteenth-century France. Gabrielle d’Esrées’ one wish is to marry for love,
but her mother sells her as a mistress to three different men before she catches
the eye – and the heart – of Henry of Navarre, King of France.

Lynne Connolly EMOTION IN MOTION
Ellora's Cave Publishing
10th September
$5.99
Jack Hargreaves returns to his old college in Oxford to follow up a lead
on an old enemy. He finds the enemy, but also Shere, an Egyptian shape-shifter.

Kate Lace A CLASS ACT

Little Black Dress

30 September 2010

£6.99

When lady-of-the manor Tilly, meets skater-boy Ashley and it’s

love at first sight, the one thing they have in common is that they

both live on an estate. But their social differences are their downfall.

Chrissie Loveday HER HEART’S DESIRE

Ulverscroft Large Print

September 30th

£8.99

Zara has put her whole heart into making her catering business a success

but enigmatic Oliver wants her heart for himself ... should she trust him?

Dilly Court THE RAGGED HEIRESS

Arrow Books

16 September 2010

£5.99

Rescued from a shipwreck, orphaned heiress Lucetta Froy wakes up in

hospital with no memory of her past, but when two ruffians claim to be

her brothers she finds herself in a desperate struggle to prove her identity.

Anna Jacobs CHERRY TREE LANE

Allison & Busby

13 September, 2010

 £19.99

1910: When Mattie flees from Swindon and her stepfather, she nearly loses

her life in a storm, but then fate steps in to offer her a new chance of happiness.

Catherine King A MOTHER’S SACRIFICE

Magna (Large Print)

1 September 2010

£20.99

'She would do anything to keep her family safe . . . .'

Liz Fielding HER WISH-LIST BRIDGROOM

Liz Fielding/Jackie Braun/Natasha Oakley GORGEOUS GROOMS

Mills & Boon By Request £5.99

Juliet's lost her bloke, lost her job and mislaid her mind.

Things can only get better, right?  Wrong...

Liz Fielding A WEDDING AT LEOPARD TREE LODGE

Mills & Boon LP Library Edition

In which Josie wrestles with taffeta, table plans and a room shortage.

And Gideon takes advantage.

  

Margaret Mounsdon SONG OF MY HEART

People's Friend Pocket Novel

23 September 2010

£1.80

Andi Cox accepts a job looking after the daughter and niece of pop music

icon Jas Summers.

Rosie Harris AMBITIOUS LOVE

Arrow

8 September 2010

£19,99

Would Fern Jenkins ever find the love she longed for....

Louise Allen VICAR’S DAUGHTER TO VISCOUNT’S LADY

 (Part 2 of The Transformation of the Shelley Sisters)

Harlequin Mills & Boon

Sept 2010

£3.99

Seduced and abandoned by a rakish aristocrat vicar's daughter Bella will do

anything to protect her baby, even if that means marrying a viscount she has

known for twenty four hours.Now all she has to do is make the marriage work.

Victoria Connelly A WEEKEND WITH MR DARCY
Avon, HarperCollins
16th September
£6.99
A romantic comedy about two couples who meet and fall in love at a Jane
Austen conference in Hampshire 

Liz Bailey Shares Her Top Five Editing Tips

Editing your novel - five top tips

1.      Read it like a reader.

You’re wearing a different hat when you read over your draft novel.  Like your characters, you have to switch viewpoint.   It’s no longer your baby.  As a reader, you are free to like some bits and dislike others.  If you can look at the thing from this angle, you’ll notice the flaws at once.  But you’ll also notice the parts that work.

A reader doesn’t watch out for anything specific.  You don’t find her thinking, “Hmm, this author isn’t too hot on pacing.”  If the story sags, the reader just skips to get to the good bit.

So don’t read with a list of craft points in your head.  Just read in the expectation of enjoyment, like you would with someone else’s novel.

2.  Read it in as few sittings as possible.

Make time for a nice long wallow in your own book.  The faster you read it, the more you’ll recognise problems.  Sketchy reading means you aren’t carrying all the strands of the story in your head and you’ll miss things.  Make like it’s unputdownable, and take the same breaks you’d take as a reader - to eat, drink or sleep.

And you know what?  Maybe it will turn out to be unputdownable.  And if it turns out to be a wallbanger, at least you’ll be wise to that!

3.      Make brief notes.

As you go, you’ll need a pad and pen.  Jot down the page number and the briefest possible comment.  Examples:  pg 42 - don’t head-hop to Alex.  pg 65 - why hasn’t he noticed her mussed hair?  pg 82 - para on why Gail furious - confusing, rephrase.  Ch 5 - boring and saggy.

If you try and write too much, you’ll pull yourself out of the story and lose freshness as well as continuity.

4.      Write yourself a critique.

Once you’ve finished the reading, write down your first impressions about what’s good and what needs changing.  Put in any ideas you have for improvement.  This is just a bulk up for your page numbered notes and gives an overall view of the text.  You’re not trying to write an assessment report.

Trust yourself on this one.  You’re writing for readers and you’re a reader.  Your snap judgement is likely to be correct. 

5.      Tackle easy changes first.

Now you’re wearing your editor’s hat.  It’s daunting to try and fix major changes.  Let it simmer for a few days first.  Then fix a few easy things as a warm-up.  Once you start making changes, you’ll be into the rewriting process and it won’t feel so tough.  If you can’t work out how to change something, leave it and do a different part of the book.  Editing is like working a patchwork quilt: you build it up in small sections.  So it doesn’t matter where you start.

Once you start, though, keep going.  You don’t want to lose the benefit of your overall reader viewpoint.

Let’s get editing critiques under the author’s control

I’ve launched an assessment and mentoring critique service to help unpublished novelists achieve publication standard.  My main criteria are for authors to have choices about how much guidance they need, to make the service affordable and to be available for discussion afterwards.

Whether you want a read and general assessment of where you’re going and what needs looking at, or an in-depth critique with chapter and verse, you decide.  You can try me out with a chapter or two to find out how much help I’m likely to be.  And I’ll accept staggered payments to make bigger commitments more affordable.

If you want mentoring help through the writing process, that’s available too, and you can opt out at any point.  I’ll encourage you to write to deadlines you can work with and unstick you if you get stuck.

You choose.  Email me for more info on eabailey@tiscali.co.uk and there’s a blog coming shortly.

As for my credentials, I’ve just changed genre from historical romance (18 published titles with Harlequin Mills and Boon) to historical crime.  I wrote, edited and polished the first book in just over four months and landed an agent in six weeks - watch this space.  I’ve had a lite lit novel in the Booker list, and I’ve read and critiqued for the NWS, run numerous workshops and seminars, and I’m a long time drama teacher.

My unpublished novels amount to millions of words - I’ve learned the hard way.  But you don’t have to.

August Releases

Nell Dixon -JUST LOOK AT ME NOW

Little Black Dress

Publication date - 5/8/10

£6.99

Tia has reinvented herself but will her secret past as Big barb come back to haunt her when she meets her unrequited teenage crush once more?

Mary Nichols - THE FOUNTAIN

Allison & Busby

August 2010

£7.99

George Kennett aspires to be somebody in his local community and is not above shady deals to bring this about, in which he expects his wife, Barbara, to collude.  It is George's dishonest scheme to get the contract to instal a new fountain in the Market Square which brings everything to a devastating climax.

Liz Fielding - SOS: Convenient Husband Required/Winning a Groom in Ten Dates (Cara Colter) Harlequin Mills & Boon 6 August £4.99 Revenge is a dish best served cold but someone forgot to turn off the pilot light. Gwen Kirkwood- A HOME OF OUR OWN Severn House 24th August £10.99 Avril has promised to make a home for her twin brothers. Dean Scott is proud but he has few prospects and a possessive mother. Can the two keep their promises and self respect. Noelene Jenkinson -LOVING LUCY AVALON BOOKS 24 August 2010 £17.00 Lucy McCarthy returns to Australia from her work with UNICEF in Indonesia for her father’s funeral, only to discover that she is not his daughter. Old school friend, Flynn Pedersen, supports her and their former attraction is rekindled. Can each set their pasts aside and learn to love again? Phoebe Grafton - PRISONER OF DESIRE Whisky Creek Press August $3 Bored school teacher takes her brother's place and runs off to sea to seek adventure - and she finds it ! Sheila Newberry - WHO STIRS THE PORRIDGE POT? Dales Paperback (large print) 15th August, 2010 £11.99 You could say this is what Kate (and Matthew) did next, when their siblings were almost grown and flown, but this is also a memoir fondly remembering my pantomine days in Kent - and sending feathers flying... Mary Nichols -LORD PORTMAN'S TROUBLESOME WIFE Mills & Boon August 2010 Hardback £13.99 Homeless and Penniless, Rosamund is forced to marry Harry, Lord Portman.  In return for a comfortable life, she must produce an heir, but far from sweeping her into his bed, Harry seems determined to keep her at arm's length. Louise Allen -THE DISGRACEFUL MR RAVENHURST (Talking Book edition) HMB (Whole Story Audio Books) August 2010 £19.99 We hear the notorious Mr R, while searching for a stolen artefact, has had his attention caught by the unlikeliest of treasures... Rosie Harris - AMBITIOUS LOVE Arrow August 8 £19,99 Fern Jenkins' life is changed for ever when her brother is killed in action and her father dies in a mining explosion. Turned out of their home by the ruthless pit owner, Fern and her mother Wynne are forced to seek a new life in Cardiff. Whilst Wynne finds work in a factory, Fern attends the local school. But here she is bullied and is soon selling flowers outside Cardiff Central station to help make ends meet. When her mother is taken from her in an influenza epidemic, Fern has no one to protect her from her violent and possessive uncle. She longs to escape from the brutality and squalor around her and make something of herself. But with no money and her only friend away at sea, there seems little hope of her ever leaving her life of poverty behind, let alone finding the love she so yearns for... Lesley Cookman - MURDER IN THE GREEN (Audio Book) Soundings Libby Sarjeant in her sixth adventure goes down among the Morris Men. Alex Beecroft - CAPTAIN'S SURRENDER Samhain 3rd August 2010 Love? Might as well ask for the moon. But a man can dream… http://www.alexbeecroft.com/ Charlie Cochrane - LESSONS IN DISCOVERY Samhain Publishing £9.49 On the very day Jonty Stewart proposes that he and Orlando Coppersmith move in together, Fate trips them up. Rather, it trips Orlando, sending him down a flight of stairs and leaving him with an injury that erases his memory. Instead of taking the next step in their relationship, they’re back to square one. It’s bad enough that Orlando doesn’t remember being intimate with Jonty—he doesn’t remember Jonty at all.

The Glamour Continued - Saturday Evening BBQ - RNA Conference 2010

Rachael Thomas On The Best Bit of RNA Conference 2010 For Her

New Writers' Scheme member, Rachael Thomas, talks about her favourite part of the conference...

Deciding which bit of the conference was the best bit is tough. The setting was amazing, the weather gorgeous and all who attended warm and welcoming. The workshops and talks were interesting and useful. The Gala Dinner on Friday evening was fun, as was the barbeque on Saturday evening. In fact the whole weekend from start to finish was brilliant.

As a NWS member, the highlight of my weekend at Greenwich has to be the appointment with a Mills and Boon editor. During those precious ten minutes I was able to find out what the editor thought of my work and how it could be improved. It was extremely useful and I have come away full of enthusiasm and able to deal with the points raised. Who else could give such a fabulous opportunity to an aspiring romance writer, than the RNA?

Rachael Thomas

Christine Stovell on Being On Her First Panel - RNA Conference 2010

The Chot Lit Panel

A CORPSE WITHOUT A BODY

I used to work in the research department of a trades union with a lovely colleague, Maureen, who, whenever I was gnashing my teeth about some woe, would smile serenely and say to me, ‘No-one died!’.  I took some comfort from Maureen’s words after my stint on Choc Lit’s panel on Saturday. 

The theme of our slot was ‘Sharing Our Choc Lit Heroes,’ and whilst Lyn, Christina, Sue and Jane did just that, my brain decided it wasn’t going to share mine, no way.  The talk that I had practised in my study went straight out of my head when I looked up and saw... faces!  Where did all those people come from?

I thought that caring deeply about my subject would make it easier, but in fact it made it twice as hard!  Despite smiles and nods from some kind souls in the audience (I’m truly grateful to you, you lovely ladies), I stammered and stuttered through my piece before staggering off wondering how it had all gone so wrong.  But then Maureen’s words came back to me.  So what if I’d made a bit of chimp of myself?  I got through it.  No-one died.

If anyone would like a copy of the talk I meant to give, just contact me at chrisstinestovell.com and I’ll happily email it to you!

Jane Smith Tells All - The Gala - RNA Conference 2010

Jane Smith better know to many as @hprw and the author of the blog How Publishing Really Works writes about her first RNA experience...

The 2010 RNA Summer Conference gala dinner was HOT. Not just the temperatures, which during the day climbed past 30 degrees and stayed up there for much of the evening: but also the shoes, the company and the sheer fabulous fun of the whole event.

Jane Holland, Cal Andrews  & Lara Higgins

RF Long, Leanne Bibby & Stephanie Cage

Sue Cook & Jane Smith (aka @hprw)

For me, the party started off with fellow RNA-newbie Sue Cook force-feeding me a lunch of white wine and crisps, after which we attended Carole Blake’s talk about the role of agents in publishing.  Any ideas I’d had of catching a quick snooze were scuppered when Carole began to speak: she was fascinating, funny and wise, and her allotted hour was over far too fast.  Despite the attractions of the panel discussion which followed, I felt as though I was in serious danger of melting: and so we hared off to the air-conditioned bliss of my hotel to shower and change for the main event.  I soon found myself in the bar in the company of Sue Cook and Carole Blake, where I learned a valuable lesson: some RNA members have a very useful homing instinct. The instant the cork popped out of our champagne Brigid Coady and Liz Fenwick appeared, glasses at the ready, and helped us drain our bottle dry in record time. Then it was off to the Trafalgar, where the gala dinner was to be held.

Liz Fenwick

Biddy Coady

Katie Fforde

Sue Cook

More champagne awaited us there, and some more excellent company: then, thanks to a lack of proper security and some good old-fashioned blagging I ended up on the top table which was, thank goodness, by an open window as the evening showed no sign of growing any cooler.

With Carole Blake and Liz Fenwick at the same table I had little chance of attracting the attention of the wine waiters; and with Sue Cook and Alison Morton either side of me, I struggled to get a word in edgewise.  Instead I concentrated on my first course, a smooth chicken liver paté served with a rich onion marmalade and some very crisp toast. My chance to be heard came when Carole observed that the heat of the evening would test the old adage that horses sweat while ladies glow: I gaily pointed out that I was glowing like a pig, and from that point on Jan Jones kept a stern eye on my behaviour from her place across the table.

Despite my continued attempts to lower the tone, the conversation around me was as sparkling as the sequins which decorated the tables. We talked about books, writing, publishing and more books and the next time anyone tries to tell me that publishing is on its last legs I’ll suggest they attend an RNA party: I learned so much listening to everyone else that night, and not all of it was gossip!

During the main course—succulent roast chicken in a creamy sauce on a fresh-tasting bed of peas and lettuce—we discovered that the aforementioned sequins could be stuck to any exposed skin, so very glowy were we all.  Our glorious leader Katie Fforde dotted red sparkles all over her décolletage which remained in place through our dessert, an Eton mess so sweet I could feel myself tipping further towards diabetes with every spoonful.  Delicious though it was I could barely finish mine, but there were some among us who ate two full helpings: how they managed it I am not sure, but I am in awe of you, Jan Jones.

Katie Fforde & Di Pearson

Di pearson

And then came the highlight of the evening when Katie Fforde introduced Diane Pearson, President of the RNA. Ms Pearson’s speech was sharp and witty and quite gloriously indiscreet: its only fault was that it didn’t last long enough—a skill I wish more speakers could develop. Then there was more champagne and more chat, and the evening was over far too quickly.

Jan Jones, Carole Blake & Sue Cook

While the weather and the fashions were seriously hot, you might have noticed that champagne was also a common theme. But my overwhelming impression of the gala dinner was of being among friends, many of whom I’d never met before that evening. It was a rare and magical event, and one I’ll remember with much fondness. My congratulations go to Jan Jones and Roger Sanderson for creating such a wonderful event; and my warm wishes go to everyone who attended, and who made it such a fabulous party.


(Note: thanks for the photos goes to Carole Blake, Lizzie Lamb, RF Long and Eileen Hathaway)