Finished My First Original Novel

Well, the first draft anyway.  It's going to sit tight for a bit and then I'll take another look at it because I am pretty sure that it will need a lot of work but The Wedding Favour is finished!

It's likely to keep the name too.  Last night, while writing the last chapter, I had a brain wave, a eureka moment!  Don't you love it when that happens?  And was able to tie in the title further within the last chapter.  Hurrah!

In the meantime I think I will swot up on chick lit and see how other writers do it.  Because having read Starting Over by Sue Moorcroft, then finishing Mistletoe and The Lost Stiletto by Liz Fielding last night, I do feel rather inadequate in my writing.  I do struggle to come up with original ways to describe stuff.

I've read a few of Liz's books now, and every time she creates a wonderful sensual tension between her characters.  I have another of Sue Moorcroft's to read, and once my bank balance has sorted itself out, I will be purchasing Want To Know A Secret?  Title alone has me intrigued.  I also have a Jill Mansell on my bookshelf, who also comes recommended.  So more reading to be done by me!


I do feel a tiny bit sad and deflated.  I mean, I've been writing about two people for nearly six months now, as I created them for the Mills and Boon New Voice competition for September 2010.  And because I just couldn't get it out of my head, I carried on with it.  These two characters took over my life, my mind, and to not write about them anymore feels... strange. 

At the moment the first draft stands somewhere close to 90,000 words, and I would like to submit it to a chick-lit publisher, rather than Mills and Boon.  (Will have to research that too at some point).  I've stretched the story out more - hopefully realistically.  It would have had to have a fast track approach to the romance with Mills and Boon and their smaller word limit.

So what am I going to do now?  I've actually got to concentrate on my coursework, get Assignment 7 finished, and I want to write a couple of short stories, or even an article, as I need to get more stuff *out there*.  The novel is a long-term plan, but short term, trying to make money from writing regularly, and as quickly as possible (so I can give up my 'weekend' job), I would like to be selling smaller pieces of work - so fingers crossed - I need to make that happen!

Therefore, while I give The Wedding Favour some breathing space, I'm going to tackle those smaller projects...

Book Review: Mistletoe and The Lost Stiletto by Liz Fielding

Mistletoe and the Lost Stiletto by Liz Fielding

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I don't know how Liz Fielding does it.  This is a cherish; sweet and tender romance - but the pages sizzle with sensual, sexual tension more so than some of the hotter romances in the M&B genre I've read.  Loved it.



This really is a fairy tale story come true.  Lovely, light and fun, too.  It gave me some laugh out loud moments, and a lump in the throat, with real, believable characters.



I liked the Twitter/Tweeting ideas that ran through it, too  







View all my reviews

3 books down on my 40!

Terrible Picture But Reminded Why I Should Socialise More

The other week, I went out with some friends.  We have all known each other roughly six years now, as we all met through a postnatal group with our first baby's, and they grew up together when we'd meet for play dates.

Now that our children are at school, we don't meet during the week like we used to - occasionally after school at Puxton, but we can't all make it usually.  We do try to go out of an evening once in a while, and our last social gathering got snowed off before Christmas, so we met up the other Friday.  We were already giggling and laughing with each other before the wine had been poured.  And it's nice to talk without having the kids interrupting, coming up to us asking for this, that and the other, or fighting over a toy (as they did as toddlers!). We never used to get a conversation finished.

Once we'd drunk a few, and were giggling away, I commented how our friend Jo is a character, and that (one day) she's going to appear in one of my 'books'.

Jane came up with Bo Joswell - because obviously the character wouldn't be called Jo. 

We joked that I really should have taken out my pad and pen, and made notes, because socialising gains stories and experience for a writer.  Jane, who was taking the photos - it was her camera! - put this together.  Not a great photo of me, however I do like what she's done with it!

Tooth Fairy!

Ben lost his first tooth yesterday.  I have to document this.  I don't tend to find time for a diary, my blog has become the next best thing.

Random Picture Of Ben - He Has All His Teeth Here

I couldn't get a decent gappy picture though. 

The going rate around school was £1 so we thought we better do the same - though what is wrong with 50p for a tooth?  In my day (now I sound old) it was 10p.  My mum always tells the story how she didn't have one, so chucked two 5ps (that's the half shilling size, too) underneath my brother's pillow and they clinked together and he was like, "What was that?"

"Um, don't know, just go to sleep!"

This morning, pleased that she'd been, Ben put his prize in his money box, saving for a toy quad bike.  At first we thought he meant a real one (over my dead body!) but he must have realised he'd need a lot of teeth!  Phew!

At least he didn't even mention wanting to spend it on sweets - though that is something we haven't encouraged, so is a good thing - right?  I mean, there's an element of irony in buying sweets with the money the tooth fairy has given you, don't you think?

Hubby was saying that a guy at work had given £5 a tooth - was he mad? Twenty teeth later he's dished out £100 - I'll stick to the £1 thank you.

Now I have some writing time, so I must go write.  I need to get The Wedding Favour finished (almost there) so I can concentrate on some short stories and articles, and hope/pray/wish they get published.  So where's my fairy god mother ...?

I'm All In A Quandary

I feel like I need Dumbledore's Pensieve or something.  I've got so many things going around in my head of what I've got to do; writing, reading, and housework, and other stuff... I'm in a muddle.

Again, I get this niggle that if I'm not writing short stories or articles and getting them out there, there is no chance of me making money.  Bit like the lottery, no point dreaming of how you're going to spend your millions if you haven't bought a ticket! 

However, to write the articles, I need to sit down and research the magazines (though I am sort write the article then make it fit a magazine type person).  For short stories, I don't know if any of you are similar, but I find it very hard to talk to other characters when I've got some at the forefront of my mind.  Currently, Sophie and Adam from The Wedding Favour just keep talking to me! 

I think once I have this finished, which I hope to do by the end of the week, then I can get a short story thought up and started.  I did even think of a setting, and a hero and heroine for possibly a pocket novel idea.  Yet, I can't think of the conflict or the plot to which the characters need to lead.

I'm nearly to the end of The Wedding Favour now .  I've just realised there is something in the middle I wanted to include, so may go back and put that in - it just links in with the title nicely, if I chose to keep this title.  (Not sure yet.)  But it is now a case of getting this ending written.  At first I thought there would be no sex, it was looking that way, but now I'm thinking I can probably put a love scene in.  (It's not something I relish in, I really worry I'll hash it up lol!)  Sex scenes can not be gratuitous, however, if I've strung my readers along to a point of frustration, they might want to 'see' my characters have sex, (or at least move towards the bedroom) otherwise they could close the book fully disappointed.

Anyway, I possibly have two or three, maybe four chapters to go until 'THE END' and then, I can concentrate on my coursework and get a short story written.

Haven't heard anything yet from the stories that I have sent out. Boo! But I think it's early days and I'm just impatient.

Before and After finishing The Wedding Favour - maybe?

(At the moment, I feel like 'before'.  Hopefully it won't be long until I'm 'after')