Category Archives: Get published

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE – JANE CABLE ON HER NEW PUBLISHING CONTRACT

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I have never particularly seen myself as a tortoise, but boy oh boy, has this been a long time coming. Today it was announced that I will be writing emotional women’s fiction for One More Chapter, a digital first division of Harper Collins, under the name of Eva Glyn.

I think all writers have an idea of where they want to be, and for me, no doubt influenced by Harper Collins being the sponsor of The Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition in which I was a finalist, they were the publishing house at the top of my wish list.

Having failed to win the competition and so any short cut to publication, I might have guessed I was in for the long haul, but at that stage I didn’t realise quite how long it would actually be. But fairly early on in my career I had a near miss when after a one-to-one at Winchester Writers’ Conference a young editor called Charlotte Ledger requested the full manuscript of The Faerie Tree.

Nothing came of it, and the book became my second indie novel. And as my career progressed I was aware of Charlotte’s rapid rise through the ranks of Harper Collins’ digital imprints and wondered if perhaps at some stage it would be worth submitting to her again.

In the meantime I had the opportunity to work with Amy Durant and when she set up Sapere Books was happy to follow her there. And while I am happy to stay with Sapere too, I still hankered after what a bigger publisher could offer in terms of multiple platforms and international clout.

By the time the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference came around in 2019 I had a new manuscript in my locker that I knew wasn’t a Sapere Book. I saw Charlotte Ledger was offering one-to-ones and I was lucky enough to grab one. We met again. And again she asked for the full manuscript, but this time to be sent to her personal email. I felt I was one step closer.

In the end Charlotte didn’t take that book, but the door was kept open. Last March I had a fifth anniversary blog tour for The Faerie Tree and the response was so overwhelmingly positive I brought the title up to date, gave it a little polish, and after much encouragement from Susanna Bavin, sent it off to Charlotte.

She asked me to do some rewrites and they were so in line with my own thinking for the book that I did. The next thing I knew we were talking about author brand and slowly it dawned on me she was offering me a contract. And the author brand she was suggesting was exactly where I wanted to be – emotional women’s fiction.

There would be no ghostliness, no looking back at the past, so these would be different to my books for Sapere, so we decided they would be published under another name. I chose Eva Glyn – Eva for my father’s mother, and Glyn for Glyn Jones, the Welsh author who was a great friend of my parents.

Today is a proud day because for the first time I can talk about the deal as the cover for The Missing Pieces of Us has been revealed and the book is available for pre-order. And it’s only taken me nine years…

 

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES: OVER AND OUT FROM KIRSTEN HESKETH

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My last ever Sister Scribes post – and what a blast it has been!

And, my, what a lot has happened in the two years since the five of us named ourselves the Sister Scribes and banded together as friends and fellow writers. We’ve written before about how we went to stay at a wonderful house – Darcy’s Abode! – in Bath and spent a few fabulous days writing, sightseeing, eating and getting to know each other better. Back then, getting published was just a twinkle in my eye –  a twinkle that I feared might be extinguished at any moment – and how in awe I was of my fellow Scribes with their launches and their multiple deals. Would it ever happen for me too?

Fast forward two short years – and so much has changed. My debut, Another Us, was published by Canelo this year. It came out in in ebook in May and I had the loveliest of Zoom launches, complete with dying my hair red to match the cover and to raise money for Mind. And then, in August, it came out in paperback. I originally had a digital only deal with Canelo and the fact they had enough faith in me and my book to then invest in a paperback in this most difficult of years really was the icing on the cake. Thank you so much, Canelo, you really have been fabulous to work with. As has my wonderful agent, Felicity Trew.

And, basically, it’s been brilliant ever since. Another Us (very briefly) had bestseller flags in the UK, Canada and Australia, which was totally beyond my wildest dreams. It’s been featured in Woman and Home, Women’s Weekly, Woman (there’s a theme here!) More, Pick Me Up, Waitrose magazine … the list goes on. It was longlisted for The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize and was a contender for the RNA’s Joan Hessayon award. But best of all have been the dozens of messages I’ve received from readers all around the world telling me how much Another Us has touched, informed, amused or plain old entertained them. I think that has been the very best bit of all. That and getting to know a whole host of other debuts – including my lovely Sister Scribes – because no one understands quite what it’s like to have your debut come out in a global pandemic than someone who is going through exactly the same thing ….

And now it’s time to look forward. I have been lucky enough to secure a two-book deal with Hodder and Stoughton for a series set in London in WW1. The Post Office Girls follows the experiences of three girls who join the Army Post Office – in a huge, wooden, building which was been hastily thrown up in Regent’s Park to cope with the sheer volume of mail being sent to the various fronts. My grandfather – who himself served in WW1 – worked for the post office in London his whole life – and the first book is dedicated to him. It will be published in May next year and the second book – A Post Office Christmas – follows the November afterwards. I wrote the first 50,000 words of that during Nano (success – hurrah!) and am now feeling deliciously Christmassy – if absolutely exhausted!

So, all that remains to be said is a huge Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. Thank you for following our adventures over the past couple of years and best wishes for a safe and happy 2021.

Over and out x

 

           

 

 

 

MULTI-TALENTED WOMEN’S FICTION AUTHOR CAROLINE JAMES ON MENTORING

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I first started writing eight years ago and one of the biggest things that hit me was how lonely a business I’d chosen. Sitting on your own, hour after hour, day after day, was the most isolating thing I had ever done. I had a very busy time in my ‘other working life’ with lots of travel and constant client meetings. Motivating myself to work alone wasn’t easy, combined with internal fears that anything I wrote wouldn’t be good enough and no one would want to read it. It took me a year to write my first novel and as many authors know, the task of submitting with high hopes and expectation soon becomes humiliation. The manuscript was rejected by agents and publishers time after time.

In those days self-publishing was very new to me and I had to learn fast. It became the life-line that ultimately connected me to the publishing world. But I still found it a lonely experience in cyber space. How I longed to be part of publishing a team with meetings, mentoring and lunches and all the fun that other authors seemed to be experiencing once they’d signed that golden contract and committed to a book deal.

Sitting on your bum feeling sorry for yourself achieves nothing, as my mother always told me, so I decided to do something about it. My debut novel had done surprisingly well and reached #3 in women’s fiction on Amazon. This gave me confidence to contact other authors in my area via social media. We set up a group and met every month and the kindness and help I found there was like being wrapped in a warm writing blanket. My life changed and I moved away but I consider two of those authors as very close friends and we still meet to help each other.

The years have moved on and several novels later I am now both traditionally and self-published and during this time I have mentored other authors, who like me in the beginning, hadn’t a clue where to start. Little did I know the huge importance of for example, editing or of having a social media profile and the zillion things that a savvy author in 2020 needs to get a grip of.

It began with a couple of authors, through Facebook, asking for advice. The hand-holding process began and it felt good to be able to give something back and watch the blossoming process develop as they realised their writing dream and ultimately produced their very own novel. Now, I have put together a group of other like-minded writing professionals who want to give something back and through a small business community we mentor, motivate and give of our time to help authors who are in the very same position that I naively found myself in when I first started writing. It does surprise me that with all the information freely available on the internet that this is something that is in demand. But I know how it feels to be on your own, wondering if you are good enough to write and if you can trust your instincts. Having a comforting virtual hand on your shoulder saying, ‘Yes, you can and this is how you can do it,’ is a very empowering process and I am hugely humbled to be in a position where I can offer help to anyone who asks and has the determination to achieve their writing dream.

 

Find out more about Caroline at https://www.carolinejamesauthor.co.uk/

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES’ GUEST: MORTON S GRAY ON WRITING AS A MUM AND A CARER

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Today I’m joined by author friend Morton S Gray who writes romance with a mystery to solve for Choc Lit all set in her fictional seaside town of Borteen. The better I get to know Morton, the more we seem to have in common, but I am frankly in awe of her daily regime – it’s an absolute inspiration!

I often hear people say that they could write a book, but they’re too busy. So, how do you fit writing into a busy day? I thought I’d give blog readers an idea of how I personally do it. Don’t get me wrong, there are days when I don’t manage a word, but here is an example of a good day!

When I started to compose this post, I realised how important thinking time contributes to the number of words I manage to get down.

Alarm sounds at six o’clock, ten minutes thinking time about latest work in progress, book seven, a Christmas novella for November 2021 publication. Continue thinking in the shower where ideas really begin to flow stimulated somehow by the scents of the shower products. Dressing, I jot down ideas from the shower so I don’t forget, e.g. “dancing on the beach scene” “shock event near the Christmas tree”.

Drive son to station and on way back mull over how to write on from my earlier writing prompts. Breakfast, sit at pc and type. I’m now so ready to write that I can produce about 800 words really quickly.

Tidy house, washing, dishwasher. Early walk with homeworking hubbie. Maybe float a few ideas about my plot to see what he can add. He works in IT but can often give a different and male perspective. We once outlined a complete murder mystery on our walk, but I’m yet to write that one. Other ideas often come to me when walking too.

Back to computer and write. Around 400 words this time.

I visit my mother who has dementia every day after lunch. Sort out problems, shopping and tablets. Mom is a surprisingly good sounding board for my writing too. She’s usually reading one of my books and the plots are always new because she can’t remember the stories.

Once home I tackle admin, phone calls, tweeting, Facebooking and emails. If I’m lucky another quick writing session, let’s say100 words.

Back to station to collect son, listen to music on the way back as lyrics will jump out at me to use as writing prompts. I’ll make notes on my phone waiting at the station, but little time to write until after our evening meal.

Usually add another 300 words in the evening with my laptop on my knee and one eye on a television programme. After writing from notes on phone, I’ll review what I’ve written so far, add extra words and description.

So, by bedtime I should have an extra 1,600 words to show for my day. If it’s a good day sometimes nearer 2,000. Off to bed, but crucially before I turn out the light, I think about any sticky points in the manuscript and often have an answer in my head by morning.

Sleep and repeat.

Morton S Gray’s fifth book, Christmas at the Little Beach Café, was published in November. You can catch up with Morton, her blog and her books on her website www.mortonsgray.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES’ GUEST: ALISON KNIGHT ON WRITING A VERY SPECIAL BOOK

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Alison Knight is a writer, teacher and editor living within sight of Glastonbury Tor. She is a member of the Society of Authors and The Romantic Novelists’ Association. She carries the dubious distinction of having introduced Kitty and Jane at an RNA conference.

I’ve always found entertainment, wisdom and solace in reading. When times are tough, it’s good to be able to escape into a story that takes you away from your everyday life and worries. So I suppose it was natural for me to become a writer.

Creating a legacy

My latest book, Mine, which is published by Darkstroke Books, is my fourth novel and a project that is very close to my heart because it is based on real events that happened in my family in the late 1960s. I’m the only one left who can tell this story and it was important to me to wrote it in order to introduce my children, nieces and nephews to people that have gone before. It’s my legacy to them, helping them to understand that the world was very different fifty-odd years ago and the people I portray in Mine were driven by the attitudes of society at that time. If the same things happened today, the outcome would be very different.

Understanding why

I also wanted to write Mine for myself. My memories of that time were stuck in the mind of a ten-year-old child. By putting myself into the minds and shoes of the main characters, I was finally able to understand what happened with an adult’s perspective.

I’ve written it as a novel rather than a memoir because I didn’t want it to be all about me. Instead, I wanted to explore how ordinary people made decisions that led them into an extraordinary situation. I was also aware that I would never be able to find out exactly what happened as the people who could tell me are not longer here. Instead I used my memories, conversations with family members, newspaper reports and official documents to piece together the story. Where there were gaps, I used what I knew and took into account the culture of the times and used my imagination to fill them. It soon became clear that the guiding themes were class, ambition and sexual politics.

Getting published

It has been an interesting journey to publication. At first, the book was far too long at 140,000 words for any publisher to take it on. A rewrite reduced it by over 20,000 words. Some agents and publishers suggested I give it a happier ending or turn it into a psychological thriller. If Mine had been pure fiction, I’d have considered these suggestions. But because it is based on real events, there were some things I simply couldn’t do.

The question of genre was a problem too. It’s a love story, but not a romance with a happy ever after. It was turned down several times because publishers weren’t sure how to market it. When asked to categorise Mine, I describe it as a family drama, or domestic noir.

But then I found Darkstroke Books, an excellent small publisher with a reputation for hard-hitting fiction. After years of rejection, Darkstroke’s acceptance happened quickly and Mine is finally being launched in November 2020. The editing process was fairly painless – my brilliant editor totally ‘got’ what I was trying to do and Darkstroke have been wonderfully sensitive and supportive.

So, how do I feel about finally sending this story out into the world? I’m excited, but also slightly terrified. It’s not often a writer is featured as a character in her own novel!

 

Find out more about Alison at www.facebook.com/alison.knight.942

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES: KIRSTEN HESKETH ON NANOWRIMO TAKE TWO

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I’m writing this on 30th October. It’s nearly a very important date … and one that has been eyeballing me from the calendar for weeks. No, not Halloween – with both children at uni (sob!), there seems little point in ‘celebrating’, (although we have been invited to Zoom into the wedding of the daughter of American friends in our finest Halloween regalia tomorrow!) Not even Firework Night which I do enjoy and which was An Important Social Occasion growing up (and I once got off with Paul Richardson from the swimming club at the Beaconsfield Firework Display in 1977) ….

No. November 1st marks the beginning of #NaNoWriMo …. and I can’t wait!

For the uninitiated, #NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and the challenge is to try and writing 50,000 words (the best part of a novel – or, at least, the first draft) during the month of November. Bonkers, but fun!!!

I’ve attempted – and completed – NaNo once before in 2017. I loved it – and I think it suits me and my writing very well. I have a terrible habit of ignoring the old adage ‘don’t get it right, get it written’ and I can spend hours – days – polishing and repolishing the same old passages or chapter – passages or chapters that never actually make it into the final cut!! What a monumental waste of time and effort that is! So, for me, there’s something very liberating about ‘having’ to write 1,667 words a day, come hell or high water (and there’s been a lot of that, lately, hasn’t there?!) No time to angst over the perfect word, the perfect phrase, the perfect cadence. All that can come later. Now is just the time to get the bare bones of the story down, to ‘tell it to myself’, to commit it to paper. Onwards, always onwards – no looking back – after all, you ‘can’t edit an empty page’! And, for me, all that striving forward makes me a better (maybe) – certainly a braver – writer. With little time to ‘vet’ what I am writing, now is the time to take risks, to go with the flow and to see where it takes me. After all, I can sort it all out later …

NaNoWriMo Mark Two is a different beast for me, though. When I attempted it three years ago, getting an agent – let alone a publishing deal – was just a twinkle in my eye. Now I am lucky enough to have my debut novel ‘out there’ as a proper book, thanks to Canelo. I also have a deal with Hodder & Stoughton for a saga series set in London in World War One. The first book in the series is done and dusted (and out next April) and I am due to start work on the second. To begin with, I dithered. Should I bash out a first draft during NaNo or make a start on the ghostly rom-com I’m dying to write? In the end, I wrote a couple of pages of the second saga book, fell in love with it – and now I want to keep going. So I’m good to go!

Five-page plan agreed with my editor – tick!

Online group of writing buddies – tick! If last time is anything to go by, I will really need them from days 17 to 20 and I’m ready to support them in any way I can too.

Are you doing Nano?

If so, good luck – and see you on the other side!

 

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES: SUSANNA BAVIN ON CREATING A SENSE OF TIME

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In my previous article for Frost, I celebrated two novels, A Mother’s Secret and The Italian House, which are notable for their wonderful sense of place. In these stories, the authors, respectively Jan Baynham and Teresa Crane, created their settings so evocatively that they produced books of the type that make readers say, ‘It made me feel I was there.’

This time, I’m writing about novels that have a particular depth and interest thanks to the attention paid to the historical detail. Part of the authors’ skill in this is the way each of them has woven the details into the narrative with a deft touch. Their historical details are never popped in just for the sake of it, but always to enrich the story.

The first book is A Borrowed Past by Juliette Lawson, a clever and increasingly intriguing family mystery set in the Victorian era. A strong narrative is combined with  believable dialogue and a lively mixture of characters, not all of whom are what they seem. Add to this the many tiny details of life at the time and the result is an engrossing read.

Of one historical aspect of the book, Juliette says: “ Class distinctions were strong. Well-off families paid pew rents to reserve their seats in church (you can still see the brass name-card holders) and ran the Local Board to keep the village well-ordered. Children in poorer families were sent into service at a young age or they became mini-entrepreneurs, doing little jobs around the village for a few coins: blowing the bellows for the church organ, delivering meat for the butcher, carrying pails of sea water to the bath houses for visitors to bathe in, or baiting hooks on fishing trips.”

The other book I’ve chosen is the utterly wonderful The Gunpowder Girl (which was originally published as Cherrybrook Rose and A Bouquet of Thorns) by Tania Crosse. This book could just as easily have appeared in my previous blog about stories with a strong sense of place, but it also has its position here, thanks to the author’s characteristic attention to research. Tania Crosse has created an absorbing story laced with powerful themes, a relatable heroine and a gripping plot.

Tania says: “The rugged, savage beauty of Dartmoor is inspirational enough in itself, but its secret history has provided the basis for so many of my novels. In the case of The Gunpowder Girl, the discovery of the ruins of the 19th century Cherrybrook Gunpowder Mills drove me to write a story to illustrate what it would have been like for a beautiful, intelligent young woman to live at this remote, unforgiving location. The other element in the book, still very much in evidence and currently still in use, are the forbidding buildings of Dartmoor Prison. In Victorian times, life there could be hell, not just for the inmates – some of whom were guilty of what today would be considered relatively minor offences – but also for the prison warders and their families who were forced to live in the isolated and exposed prison settlement of Princetown.”

Both of these books drew me into their world. The stories are page-turners in which the characters face secrets and tragedy and both Juliette and Tania have have sprinkled historical details into their narratives in such a way as to make their books come alive.

 

 

 

 

MELISSA OLIVER ON WINNING THE JOAN HESSAYON AWARD FOR NEW WRITERS

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When I sat down in front of my laptop on that sun-drenched September afternoon, to find out who the winner of the prestigious Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon Award would be, I had no idea that by the end of the zoom presentation, the wonderful Katie Fforde would open the envelope and say my name.

It was quite a surreal moment and it was actually a blessing (for me) that the recording of the presentation didn’t include my initial utter disbelief. For a few seconds, after my name was announced, I felt that time had actually stood still as I blinked repeatedly, wondering whether there had been some sort of mistake. And then of course, I was to make a garbled speech and this time the speech in all its effusive glory was recorded. Here, not only do I forget to thank Dr Hessayon – who generously sponsors the award in memory of his late wife, Joan- a vehement champion of new writers but also my lovely editor, Charlotte Ellis at Harlequin, Mills and Boon. I had been convinced that I had thanked both only to realise my mistake on second viewing. Thankfully, I have since rectified that oversight.

The truth is that I was and still am so ridiculously happy to be the winner of this amazing award, especially in the RNA’s 60th anniversary year.

The New Writer’s Scheme (or NWS) is a unique scheme run by the RNA offering unpublished writers the chance to have their work critiqued anonymously by the RNA’s team of published authors. My own experience of getting detailed feedback of my work was both nerve-racking and stressful yet immensely valuable as well.

For writers to be able to pass through the scheme and achieve the Herculean feat of getting their books published, it’s such an amazing feeling of accomplishment. After all the years of hard work, determination and at times disappointment, it all becomes worth it and not only that but this book that you’ve written- your debut can then qualify for this award as well.

The nurture and support from the RNA and the New Writer’s Scheme helped me achieve that elusive dream of becoming a published author. From the chapters (shout out to the London Chapter), to the seminars, courses, talks, events- the fabulous summer conference (where I met my editor, at the one-to-one meeting last year), Winter Party and the industry award ceremonies- it is such an amazingly warm, welcoming professional body.

This year there was an unprecedented number of books (21) that went through the New Writer’s Scheme to publication with a huge variety of stories within the romantic fiction genre. From historical romance, heart-warming contemporaries, saga, festive romance, romance infused with a thriller element, a paranormal romance to romantic comedies and so much more. I’m still quite bewildered by how the judges managed to choose from such a dazzling list of books this year but the fact that my debut, The Rebel Heiress and the Knight was selected as the winner is an absolute honour for me and something I will always cherish forever.

Melissa x

Melissa Oliver is from south-west London where she writes historical romance novels. She lives with her lovely husband and daughters, who share her passion for decrepit, old castles, grand palaces and all things historical.
When she’s not writing she loves to travel for inspiration, paint, and visit museums & art galleries.

Check out Kirsten Hesketh’s review of The Rebel Heiress and the Knight in this month’s Sister Scribes Reading Round Up.