The RoNA shortlists 2014

The RoNAs are the UK equivalent of the Oscars for romantic novelists.  So I am absolutely delighted to have my novel The Wedding Diary on the list of nominations for this year's prizes. It's great to be in the company of so many authors whose work I know and love.

I am hugely indebted to my wonderful publisher Choc Lit for taking a chance on this novel written by an author who has no track record as a writer of romantic comedy.  Thank you, Choc Lit, you're the best publisher any author could wish to find!

Many congratulations to everyone on the shortlists and looking forward to the awards event, when the prima ballerina Darcey Bussell will be presenting the prizes.  I shall be in the same room as my perfect heroine and so, whatever happens on the night, I know I shall have a fabulous time!

Here are the shortlists in full:

Contemporary Romantic Novel

Helen Chandler, Two for Joy, Hodder & Stoughton
Susan Elliot Wright, The Things We Never Said, Simon & Schuster
Veronica Henry, A Night On The Orient Express, Orion
Lisa J Hobman, Bridge Over The Atlantic, 5 Prince Publishing
Lisa Jewell, Before I Met You, Arrow
Pippa Wright, The Foster Husband, Pan

Epic Romantic Novel

Jessica Blair, The Road Beneath Me, Piatkus
Mary Fitzgerald, The Love Of A Lifetime, Arrow
Emma Fraser, When Dawn Breaks, Sphere
Kate Lord Brown, The Perfume Garden, Atlantic (Corvus)
Jennifer McVeigh, The Fever Tree, Penguin
Lucinda Riley, The Midnight Rose, Pan

Historical Romantic Novel

Charlotte Betts, The Painter's Apprentice, Piatkus
Christina Courtenay, The Gilded Fan, Choc Lit
Liz Harris, A Bargain Struck, Choc Lit
Joanna Hickson, The Agincourt Bride, Harper Collins
Carol McGrath, The Handfasted Wife, Accent Press
Annie Murray, The Women Of Lilac Street, Pan

Romantic Comedy Novel

Jenny Colgan, Christmas At The Cupcake Café, Little, Brown
Jenny Colgan, The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris, Little, Brown
Margaret James, The Wedding Diary, Choc Lit
Milly Johnson, It's Raining Men, Simon and Schuster
Ali McNamara, Step Back In Time, Little, Brown
Fiona Walker, The Summer Wedding, Sphere

Young Adult Romantic Novel

Liz Bankes, Irresistible, Piccadilly Press
Christina Courtney, New England Rocks, Choc Lit
Alex Gutteridge, Last Chance Angel, Templar Publishing.
Imogen Howson, Linked, Quercus
Marie-Louise Jenson, Smuggler's Kiss, Oxford University Press
Beth Reekles, The Kissing Booth, Corgi

RoNA Rose Award

Louise Allen, Forbidden Jewel of India, Harlequin Mills & Boon
Caroline Anderson, Snowed in with the Billionaire, Harlequin Mills & Boon
Liz Fielding, Anything But Vanilla, Harlequin Mills & Boon
Joanna Fulford, His Lady of Castlemora, Harlequin Mills & Boon
Kate Hardy, Bound by a Baby, Harlequin Mills & Boon
Kate Hardy, Her Real Family Christmas, Harlequin Mills & Boon

The Exeter Novel Prize Shortlist 2013

Cathie Hartigan, Sophie Duffy and I are delighted and proud to announce the shortlist for the first Exeter Novel Prize. We enjoyed reading all the entries and, when we were compiling a longlist to send to our final judge, the London literary agent Broo Doherty, we had to make some difficult choices.

We suspect Broo had to make some difficult choices, too!

Here are the entries Broo chose:

67 Ways to Kill Your Sister - Sonia Weiss

A Puff of Madness - Heather Reed

Brighton Revels - Anne Summerfield

Sealskin - Su Bristow

The Bean Farm - Joan Brennan

Timed Out - Barbara Hudson

The winner will be announced at the Awards Ceremony in Exeter on 22nd March. See www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk for full details.

The shortlisted authors are all winners and will all take home a cash prize. Who will the overall winner be? Well, that's a big secret between Broo and Broo!

We're looking forward to finding out who will be the winner of this trophy and £500. The runners-up will each receive £50.

The Creative Writing Student's Handbook

The whole book has now been serialised on www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk.

If you're a student of creative writing, or if you teach creative writing, Cathie Hartigan and I would be very happy to receive any comments on the book.  The final chapter will be free on the website until the end of February.  Then we will be sifting through all the feedback and producing a final version.

Thank you to everyone who has downloaded individual chapters (thousands of you) and commented on the website or emailed Cathie and me direct.

We hope we've given lots of people some useful help and guidance on their writing journey.

Meet novelist Pauline Barclay

My guest on my blog this month is contemporary novelist Pauline Barclay, who has flown in from warmer climes to tell me a little about herself and her approach to writing.

Do sit down and have a chocolate biscuit or several, Pauline. I’ve got some mulled wine for us, too – it keeps out the cold!

Thank you so much, Margaret, for having me here, it is wonderful, a tad chilly compared to where I live, but with your heating on high, I'm snuggly.

When and how and why did you start to write fiction?

I've been writing for most of my life. When I was younger I wrote poems and at the age of 11 I wrote a song that was sung by my class on Parents’ Day! Over the years I've written around 15 short stores and six full length novels. The first two novels are confined to the archive on my laptop! As for the short stories, one of these was dusted down, re-written and edited by my editor for Christmas. Maybe in the future I will delve back into the archives and take another peek. As for how I got into writing fiction, I can’t really remember. I have always had an over-imaginative mind. My mother often said to me when I was younger, "Pauline, you're in a world of your own!"

 Do you come from a creative or artistic family or are you the odd one out?

My mum used to be creative, not writing but making things. When my sister and I were young, she made many of our dresses and knitted all our jumpers and cardigans, often from her own designs. In later years she made soft furnishings, foot stools etc. One of my brothers loves to cook and is very creative with his cooking. I am the only writer so far!

What time of day do you write - morning, afternoon, evening, any time?

I tend to write in the afternoon when I have dealt with all my other responsibilities. Otherwise all I have to do would peck away at my head and I wouldn't be able to concentrate.

What's your favourite part of the writing process - planning, writing the first draft, editing?

I enjoy it all, though I do enjoy the first draft and the editing process. Planning to me is ongoing. The main plot is there, but as my characters grow and become real they often take me down a road or into a situation I had not initially planned.

What are you working on now?

I am working on book 5, sorry no title yet, not even a working one! This book has been a challenge so far, but it is slowly moulding itself into something I am feeling more and more confident with.  I'm about half way with the first draft on my laptop, but the plot is complete in my head!

What's your best advice for anyone starting to write fiction?

Oh I don’t think I am one to give advice, only to say have a go and whatever you do enjoy it. Should you want to take it to publication, then make sure you use a professional editor, not only will they help polish your book, but they will teach you a great deal on how to write your story beautifully.

Five quick questions:

Cat or dog or budgie person or no pets at all?

Dog without hesitation, we have two gorgeous doggies.

What precious possession would you save from a flood?

This is tough, and I'm assuming we are not talking people or pets, so I'm going to say my laptop.

Who is your major literary inspiration?

Mmm, not sure I can answer this! There are many, but I would like to add one lady author who has been an inspiration to me and took me under her wing a few years back and that is historical novelist Helen Hollick

What, if anything, stops you writing and thinking about writing - hobbies, R&R, sleep, nothing?

Sometimes I wish I could just switch off, but I rarely do and there is always something that triggers further thoughts on my writing. I am a sad case I think!

What are your writing ambitions?

Now this is a dream, I would love to be successful and dare to dream of having a best seller.

Thank you, Pauline – it’s been great to talk to you!

www.paulinebarclay.co.uk

http://paulinembarclay.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/paulinembarclay

http://www.pinterest.com/paulinembarclay/boards/

Twelve days of Christmas shorts...

As a gift to readers old and new, my lovely publisher Choc Lit is sending out free Christmas short stories to everyone who fancies a bit of Christmas cheeriness.

If that includes you, please contact the team at info@choclitpublishing.co.uk and today you'll receive Sue Moorcroft's Christmas story.You can also ask for the rest of the stories, too - making twelve festive stories in all. They'll be delivered to your email inbox and we hope you'll enjoy them.  More stories will be coming along for the New Year.

Merry Christmas to everyone who's been reading my posts this year and all best wishes for 2014.

Margaret XXX

Meet Linda Mitchelmore

My guest on my blog today is lovely Linda Mitchelmore, fellow Devonian and also fellow Choc Lit author.

Welcome, Linda! Please make yourself comfortable on my fat and squashy sofa - that desk looks a bit hard - and have a coffee and a cookie or two before I ask you some questions.

Linda's debut historical novel To Turn Full Circle was published in 2012 and its sequel Emma - There's No Turning Back is now available as an ebook on Amazon and all the usual ebook platforms. The print version will be in the shops in January 2014. I'm definitely going to get the print version, but I suspect my twitchy fingers will download the ebook, too!

What about this cover - isn't it gorgeous?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Emma-Theres-Turning-Back-Choc-ebook/dp/B00H3P3PUW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1386943212&sr=1-1&keywords=emma+there%27s+no+turning+back

As well as being a fabulous historical novelist, Linda is a hugely successful writer of short stories whose work has been published in just about every UK magazine, online and in many anthologies. Linda's achievements are all the more impressive because several years ago she lost her hearing, but she hasn't let this hold her back in any way.

I think she's finished her cookie now, so let's let Linda speak for herself.

1 - You have a sequel to To Turn Full Circle out this month.  What's going to happen to Emma in this new story?

Emma was barely eighteen-years-old when To Turn Full Circle ended. She was very much in love with Seth Jago then and, at the start of Emma - There's No Turning Back, they are set to marry. But life is never straightforward for Emma and all sorts of obstacles are put in front of her, not least the arrival in her life of a baby, born to Seth's ex-lover. But Emma rises to the challenge of caring for a child her birth mother has rejected, and along the way she turns from a girl herself to a woman. Throw into this melting pot one very charismatic and mysterious man from Emma's own past, Matthew Caunter, and she begins to question what being in love is - and if it's possible to love two men. Only Emma can decide that....but you will have to read the book to find out what her decision is.

2 - You write stories set in Devon, where you live.  What do you find particularly inspirational about Devon?

I was born here so I am probably more than a little bit biased. There's no finer place, is there? It has everything. A rich past, fantastic scenery, weather that is warmer than most parts of the UK. Why else does the rest of the country swarm here for holidays? It was good enough for Agatha Christie and R F Delderfield and now Hilary Mantel has made it her home, so.....a writery sort of place, I would say.

3 - As well as historical fiction, you also write stories set in the present day. What kind of fiction do you enjoy writing most?

My absolute favourite is first person, present tense. Whatever the character I am writing, then I AM that character, be it a good one or a bad one. That said, I've only ever written short stories in first person, present tense. It would be my dream to write a novel like that, too ....maybe one day??

4 - How do you organise your research for your historical fiction?

An interesting question. I tend do things a bit back to front. I almost never write a synopsis until I have finished the first draft of an historical novel (I have, by the way, written contemporary novels and have a contract on one called Red is for Rubies with Choc Lit). I write from a very emotional angle so I like to let my characters do their own story-telling in a way. Obviously, I am aware of the period and the key political and worldwide events in which my story is set before I start and have a very basic library of books around me. But once the first draft is done I will go through it chapter by chapter and add more historical detail. Working like that might not work for everyone, but it works for me.

5 - Do you have any tips or hints for anyone starting to write fiction?

Only do it if you are prepared to take criticism at every level as you learn your craft. It IS a craft and few of us go in at the top of the game. It took me seven novels and almost as many years before I held a book with my name on the front cover in my hand.

Five quick fire questions:

1 - Any New Year Resolutions?

Yes, never to make any - I've found they are more or less pointless as something always happens to upset the applecart, often from circumstances beyond my control.

2 - Most important things or people in your life?

I'm not hugely attached to things, such as antiques or clothes or cars or jewellery. At the back of my mind I always hear my father's voice, 'It doesn't matter if you break things, love, as long as you don't break my heart.' So, my family - husband, children, grandchildren, and grand-dog, Guinness - and I wouldn't want to be without any of them.

3 - Biggest mistake you ever made?

Possibly not standing up to my mother who made me leave school when I was seventeen years old, denying me A levels and a University education. But I had a good grounding at Grammar School and life has taught me much. But my weakness then still rankles somewhat.

4 - Biggest success you ever had?

Having babies easily, and more or less painlessly (I know, everyone hates me for saying that!) on a personal level. On a professional level - it has to be the first time I ever saw my name in print....thank you Woman's Own competition way back then.

5 - A fairy godmother grants you one wish - what will you ask?

Is having my hearing back too big a wish??

Let's hope medical science makes some giant leaps forward in 2014, Linda, and that one day your wish will come true!  Thank you for chatting to me, I've enjoy it very much indeed. Do take another cookie to nibble on your journey home!

linda_mitchelmore@facebook.com
http://lindashortstories.wordpress.com/
http://novelpointsofview.blogspot.com/

The Creative Writing Student's Handbook

Well, we're nearly there - only a couple more chapters to go and we're done.

We hope the book has proved useful to both experienced and novice writers of fiction. We certainly enjoyed writing it and - thanks to all the great feedback we've received from readers - are confident we will be able to produce a final version in 2014.

If you'd like to read Chapter 11  for free, here's the link:

http://www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk/2/post/2013/01/new.html