Workshops & Groups: Emma Healey, Twisting the Tale

It's always a joy to welcome Nikki Moore to the blog with news about another writing workshop. What do you have for us this month, Nikki?

It’s been a mixed month so far, weather wise. One day it’s sunny and mild, the next day April showers are making us all take shelter! At least the daffodils are out in all their glory, and we have two bank holidays to look forward to in May... During that month, Writers’ Centre Norwich are also thinking about mixing, with a workshop about crossing genre and literary fiction. Why not check it out?

Workshop Title:

Twisting the Tale: Literary Crossover and Big Concept Writing with Emma Healey

Workshop Details:

Friday 6 May 2016, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Writers’ Centre Norwich, Dragon Hall

£75 / £65 concession

Workshop Brief:

 Find new ways to transform your prose fiction, explore big concepts in your writing, and gain the technical skills to express them with this bold masterclass from critically acclaimed author of Elizabeth is Missing, Emma Healey. 

Using examples such as Mark Haddon’s Curious Incident, Michele Paver’s Dark Matter, Michael Frayn’s Headlong and Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, you will examine the benefits of ‘literary crossover’ for the writer and reader, and how to successfully combine genre with literary fiction.

Next, you will discuss what is meant by ‘big concept novels’ and how to work on subject matter that may be difficult or controversial. The group will address the topics that are most important to you and how we might approach them more obliquely. 

After a day of writing exercises and structured group discussion, you will leave this masterclass with a clear plan of action for where to take your writing.

Aimed at:

Aspiring authors, prose writers, writers who want to tackle literary crossover or big concept writing.

Course Tutor Biography:

Emma Healey grew up in London where she completed her first degree in bookbinding. She then worked for two libraries, two bookshops, two art galleries and two universities, and was busily pursuing a career in the art world before writing overtook everything. In 2008, after the death of one grandmother and the decline of the other, she began to explore the idea of dementia in fiction, and she moved to Norwich in 2010 to study for the MA in Creative Writing at UEA. Her debut novel, Elizabeth is Missing, was published to critical acclaim in 2014, became a Sunday Times bestseller and won the Costa First Novel Award. 

You can find out more about Emma via her website at www.emmahealey.co.uk. She is on Twitter at @ECHealey

Booking details:

Tickets are £75 per person (£65 concessions) and are available from www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk where more information about the course can also be found.

Why not treat yourself and your novel to a workshop that will take you to the ‘next step’? Happy springtime everyone, Nikki.

What a great workshop! Thank you, Nikki, have a great month.

The RN blog is brought to you by

 Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

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

Joan Hessayon Award contender 2016: Lynne Shelby

Welcome to Lynne Shelby, another of the talented contenders for this year's Joan Hessayon Award and graduate of the RNA New Writers' Scheme. Thank you for answering our questions, Lynne.

How long have you been writing? Is this your first published piece?

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing fiction. As a child, I wrote short stories, and as a teenager, I began to write longer pieces. I first submitted a manuscript, an adventure story, to a publisher when I was fourteen – they didn’t publish it, but an editor sent me a very kind letter advising me to keep on with my writing, as they thought I had talent. I continued writing in various genres over the years, but my stories always had a romance between the hero and heroine. About six years ago, I realized that what I really wanted to write was romantic fiction. ‘French Kissing,’ which is a contemporary romance, is my first published piece. I’m so glad I followed that editor’s long ago advice.

How many years were you a member of the NWS and did you submit a manuscript each year?

I was a member of the NWS for three years, joining in 2013, and submitting a manuscript each year. I submitted the manuscript of ‘French Kissing’ once, and the manuscript of another contemporary romance twice. The other story, I completely re-wrote after receiving its first reader’s report, so that it had a different structure and fewer characters.

What came first, agent or publisher?

It was the publisher. ‘French Kissing’ is published by Accent Press. I don’t have an agent.

How did you find your publisher?

Not long after ‘French Kissing’ had been through the NWS, I spotted that Accent Press and Woman magazine were running a writing competition for unpublished authors of women’s contemporary fiction, with a prize of a publishing contract with Accent Press. My reader’s report had been very encouraging, so I sent off ‘French Kissing’ as my entry – and told myself not to think about it. A few months later, I received a call from Accent Press to tell me that I’d won the competition – and my novel was going to be published. I’ll never forget that amazing moment.

Do you have a contract for one book or more?

For ‘French Kissing’ I had a contract for the one book. I’m delighted to have just recently signed a contract for three more books, a series of contemporary romances.

When was your book published?

‘French Kissing’ was published on 20^th August 2015. To celebrate, I went with a group of family and friends to Paris, where the book is partly set. At midnight, as the 19^th became the 20^th of August, we were standing in one of the locations from the book, in sight of the Eiffel Tower, which was wonderful.

Tell us something about your book

Anna, and her French penfriend, Alexandre, have been exchanging letters for fifteen years, but met only once as children. When Paris-based Alex, now a photographer, comes to work in London, Anna fails to recognise him. The geeky boy she remembers has become an extremely attractive man. Anna’s female friends are soon swooning over Alex’s Gallic charm, and .Anna’s boyfriend Nick is increasingly jealous of their friendship. Then Alex has to return to Paris to oversee the hanging of his photographs in an exhibition, and invites Anna to accompany him so that he can show her the city he adores …

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on the second book in the series I’m writing, which is set in the world of showbusiness, West End theatre, and film. I’m very much enjoying writing about an actress heroine.

What piece of advice would you give current members of the NWS?

Keep writing – every day if you can – and never give up your dream.

Links:
Amazon:

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/LynneShelbyWriter

Website:

Twitter: @LynneB1

Thank you, Lynne, we hope you have a fabulous evening at the RNA Summer Party and good luck with your writing career.

The RNA blog is brought to you by

Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

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

Joan Hessayon Award contender 2016: Deirdre Palmer

Welcome to Deirdre Palmer, another of the talented contenders for this year's Joan Hessayon Award and graduate of the RNA New Writers' Scheme. Thank you for answering our questions, Deirdre.

How long have you been writing? Is this your first published piece?

I’ve always written in one form or another but only began seriously around six years ago when I wrote my first novel, a rom-com called ‘Falling to Earth’. It received a positive critique from the NWS but didn’t find a publisher so I self-published it on Amazon and it sold really well. ‘Remarkable Things’ is my first traditionally published work.

How many years were you a member of the NWS and did you submit a manuscript each year?

I was a member for about six years but didn’t always manage a whole book every year because I was then working full-time and only wrote for a couple of hours each week. Some years I submitted partials, which I found a useful thing to do as it gave me direction in finishing the book.

What came first, agent or publisher?

I don’t have an agent. Originally I submitted ‘Remarkable Things’ to a few agents and got some ‘near misses’ in the process. When the book found a publisher – Crooked Cat – I was very happy to go with them.

How did you find your publisher?

I had heard of Crooked Cat through other writers and via the internet, and thought they’d be a good fit for me. At the time I was ready to submit they were closed to submissions so I kept them on my list and submitted as soon as they opened.  Meanwhile, I’d been submitting elsewhere – a lot of times! – and eventually found myself with two offers, one from Crooked Cat and the other from The Wild Rose Press. Crooked Cat just beat Wild Rose in getting the contract out and I’m glad it worked out that way.

Do you have a contract for one book or more?

I had a single contract for ‘Remarkable Things’ and then Crooked Cat accepted my next book, ‘Dirty Weekend’, set in the 1960s, few months later, and published it in August 2015.

When was your book published?

‘Remarkable Things’ was published in May 2015.

Tell us something about your book

The main theme of the book is motherhood and family relationships. It’s also a later-life romance. My main character, fifty-year-old widower Gus Albourne, is drawn into a search for the truth about his family background when he inherits a cottage and discovers mementoes supposedly left for him by his birth mother. When he meets divorcee Millie Hope, who is searching for her missing daughter, the two are instantly attracted to one another. They become close friends, but love is firmly off the agenda while they are embroiled in their respective searches.

What are you currently working on?

I’ve just finished writing ‘Never Coming Back’ which is a romance with themes of bereavement and entrapment. It will be ready for submission soon. I’ve also started on the sequel to ‘Dirty Weekend’, which is great fun to write as I know the characters so well.

What piece of advice would you give current members of the NWS?

It’s a cliché, I know, but not giving up is the key. Make multiple submissions – nobody minds that now, or if they do, they shouldn’t. But don’t be in a rush to submit. If you can bear to put the book aside for a month or two, you’ll come back to it with fresh eyes and see all kinds of ways to make it even better.

Links:
Amazon:

Website:

Facebook:

Blog:

Thank you, Deidre, we hope you have a fabulous evening at the RNA Summer Party and good luck with your writing career.

The RNA blog is brought to you by

Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

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

Joan Hessayon Awards Contender 2016: Sonja Price

Welcome to Sonja Price, another of our 2016 Joan Hessayon Award contenders. Thank you for answering our questions, Sonja.

How long have you been writing? Is this your first published piece?

For my day job at university I published a book on English literature but only started to write fiction five years ago. Although aspiring to be a novelist, I initially succeeded in having short stories published in, for example, Stories for Homes, an anthology of short stories in aid of the homeless and another in aid of the Beanstalk Charity for children with reading problems. I loved the fact that my writing took me to places I had never been before from the comfort of my desk – these two short stories were set in Australia and the States but I embarked on my most imaginative journey for my novel. The Giants Look Down is set in the Vale of Kashmir and the first draft was long listed for the Mslexia first novel prize. Unable to find an agent or a publisher, I joined the RNA, as Cornerstones Literary Consultancy told me how supportive the Association is of new writers. Well, they were right because the NWS made all the difference for me!  

How many years were you a member of the NWS and did you submit a manuscript each year?

I have been a member of the NWS for two years and submitted two manuscripts. When I got the first manuscript back, I followed most of the suggestions and found my agent almost immediately!

What came first, agent or publisher?

Agent and then publisher (both after my first MS had passed through the NWS- thank you!)

If you do have an agent who is it that represents you?

I was extremely lucky to catch the attention of Jane Conway-Gordon. Although British, she grew up in India and could vouch for the authenticity of the setting, having actually been to some of the places I described. She loved my novel and immediately signed me.

How did you find your publisher?

My agent found them

Do you have a contract for one book or more?

For one book with an option on the second

When was your book published?

May 2016

Tell us something about your book

At ten, Jaya decides to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor like her father much to the chagrin of her mother and the patriarchal community she lives in. It is the 1960s and the family enjoys a rather idyllic life in the Vale of Kashmir, despite the area being riddled with conflict and poverty. Jaya battles against the odds, which include an earthquake and the prospect of an arranged marriage, to pursue her dream in Scotland, where she not only has to navigate a foreign culture but the torrents of love.

What are you currently working on?

A widow’s quest to solve the mystery surrounding her husband’s death in the wilds of Alaska

What piece of advice would you give current members of the NWS?

Never give up. If you have talent, keep going and you will get published!

Links:

Amazon

Facebook

Website

Twitter

Thank you, Sonja, we hope you have a fabulous evening at the RNA Summer Party and good luck with your writing career.

The RNA Blog is brought to you by

Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

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