Friday 13 August 2010

Toy Story 3, Daniel Craig and the Brent Library Workshop

First off just a quick heads up to say I'm over at The Pink Heart Society to talk about the wonderfulness that is Toy Story 3, so do come over and have a natter about it... And if you haven't seen it yet, get ye to a cinema pronto, it's the best Toy Story yet IMHO.


I also recall that I said I would pop back here and report on the Brent Library Workshop I did last Friday (can't believe it's been a week already). An astonishing 25 (or so) people attended and we had a good old chin-wag about the ins and outs of writing a Mills and Boon.

As with many people I see at these workshops not everyone had read a recent M&B and not all of them were romance readers (amazingly there were four blokes there!), but they were all enthusiastic writers and had some very intelligent questions to ask about everything from character-building, to conflict, to story arcs, to how to make a living as a writer right through to what my work day is like...

I had intended to use a very glamorous Powerpoint lecture with Daniel Craig prominently featured in the 'alpha male' section but unfortunately the facilities weren't available on the night (probably a good thing as I'm a Powerpoint virgin), so I stuck to the body of the lecture and embellished (rather a lot) with stories about my own writing experiences. These included some (I hope) entertaining anecdotes about how to tell your mum your first book is going to be called "Bedded by a Bad Boy" with a completely straight face; how to get inspiration out of a wet camping holiday in Cornwall; and what to do when your 14 year old son gives out copies of your book to two of his teenage girl friends without your knowledge and you then have to ring their mums to explain that your books aren't strictly speaking written for children! Should add that the wonderful romance minx (and extremely talented aspiring MH author) Lorraine Wilson showed up to give me moral support. So thanks for that Lorraine!

All in all I think a very informative evening was had by all (including me!) and a lot of myths were dispelled about what M&B is all about in the 21st century. I got some wonderful feedback and I'm hopeful that a few of the attendees are planning to enter the New Voices comp, so my work is done!

Best question of the night? What do your sons think of your books?  Answer: Not a lot actually as they'd rather have their toenails pulled out than read romantic fiction... But maybe if I had a hero who played for Spurs, a zombie or two, or  a few Pokemon in them... Now there's a thought!

Friday 6 August 2010

Brent Library... Here I come!

Just a quick head's up that I'm in Brent tonight doing my first ever solo workshop about 'How to Write a Mills and Boon'. Have a very nice powerpoint lecture full of top tips organised which I'm hoping will be informative and fun for the participants (well, there is a picture of Daniel Craig in there so I should be on to a winner right?).

Have been told by the library that it's fully booked so am feeling a little nervous (oh all right,  a lot nervous). So if you are coming please be kind and ask lots of questions so I don't bore every one rigid doing all the talking.

Will report back tomorrow on how it went.

Sorry, had to just slip in a couple more piccies from my Italian holiday because I'm a bit of a show-off like that. What do you think of that amazing bed??? Fit for a romance novellist or what? Still can't believe I've actually slept in a four-poster bed now. Mind you by the time we got to the villa resort near Florence I needed a fairly sizeable bed.... Let's just say that after all the vino rosso and three course pasta lunches and gelatis on the Ponte Vecchio I'm not quite as svelte as when I left!

Still every single ounce was gratefully earned.


Sunday 1 August 2010

In Italy... And more on the comp!













Hey all, just sitting in a Villa hotel outside Florence having great fun trying to write a blog with blogger tools all in Italiano!! Have a few happy snaps to decorate this post of the gorgeous ten-bedroom house we did a big family get-together in La Marche last week. Very remote and non-touristy... And cooking for 20 people, what a blast, hence the pick of my DH grilling about a billion aubergine slices on the barbie and me with two tons of shopping at the local market!



Also wanted to take this opportunity to out myself as one of the author mentors for the New Voices comp. Am very excited about doing this and hope that lots of you who read this blog find the time to load up a first chapter so we get a really high standard of entries and totally Wow the judges.

My top tips are: 

1). Remember it's only a first chapter at this stage. No synopsis necessary (yippee). While it might be tempting to shove up something that you've been working on a while, it might be better to let those creative juices flow and dash something new and fresh and exciting off instead.

2). From everything I heard at the RNA conference M&B are looking for that 'fresh spin' on their tried and tested story ideas. So fresh and new is definitely in and something to keep in mind when subbing your chapter. If you feel yourself falling into old habits, familiar conflicts, try thinking of a way to shake it up a bit.... IMHO the Modern Heat format works particularly well with that because there's nothing like a strong, feisty heroine to do something outrageous!

3). While it would be fantastic to win... Don't stress about your entry too much. There's nothing like overwriting and overthinking an entry to sap out all of those creative sparks (believe me I know).

4). Look at this first and foremost as a way to get great feedback and as a great chance for exposure. And this isn't just a chance to show the editors either. The hope is lots of M&B readers will be checking out the entries so here's a rare chance to showcase your voice in front of M&Bs most treasured audience (and hope they ask for more). No pressure then!!

Best of luck to everyone... Right back to sunning myself by the pool and dreaming up handsome Italian heroes. wish me luck, am planning to brave Florence in the height of August tomorrow and try ordering a meal in Italian at the Mercato Centrale!