Friday, 28 March 2014

A little perspective

There are times when I am really, really guilty of letting life overwhelm me. Yes, I am busy. I don't have the time or the means to socialise much or do cultural things or travel as much as I'd like to. I worry about my daughter, the state of my house (a mess), money, money, money. I never get round to having my hair cut and although I walk every where I need to try and fit in some more exercise in the non existent spare time I don't have.
And every day I wake up to Radio 4 and start the day depressed/angry/convinced we're headed for dystopian hell.
See? Overwhelmed.
Of course the reality is a little different. I have a lovely husband, an utterly brilliant, funny, sparky daughter, the nicest pup in the world, a host of fab, supportive friends, a great job (when the database works) that actually makes a real difference AND my first book comes out next week.
A little different? A lot different. I have a huge amount. I am absolutely blessed.

One of my fab, supportive friends has had a lot more to deal with over the last few years than a bit of tiredness and a few worries. Her original diagnosis of breast cancer came five years ago. The doctors were hopeful then; she was young, healthy, the tumor was small. Five years on, chemo, radiotherapy, a double mastectomy later the cancer is still holding on. The one piece of luck in all this is that even as the cancer tightens its grip the world of research makes more and more inroads. A form of chemo that she can take at home allowing her to work, drugs that keep the cancer from advancing. Not a cure, not yet, but they're hopeful. And if they can keep the cancer from spreading then she can wait for the cure.
It's not fun, she's tired and feels sick a lot. But she can live her life on these drugs.

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The drug trials are funded by charities and so her brother wants to give a little back, as a thank you and to help them keep going, keep developing. So he is going to run three marathons in one month. I am in utter awe! Obviously you don't know my friend or her brother - but you will know someone who has or will one day have their own battle with this disease. So if you could support him - and make all those blisters, cramps and aches worthwhile - that would be amazing. http://www.justgiving.com/badja


Tuesday, 18 March 2014

Mrs Jones on tour...

I'm on tour!

This may conjure up images of 5* hotels, whisky and tour buses but nope, it's all from the comfort of my own home. I can travel the world in my pyjamas, just what the founding father of the Web dreamed of.

Thanks to the lovely Shaz from Fiction Addiction tours I am spending the next 11 days dropping in on different blogs - and giving a book away on each one.

Thanks so much to my lovely hosts - please do drop into say hi!

Friday, 14 March 2014

Book of the day!

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How very exciting - I am Deal of the Day!

No, this isn't like the time I sold rock on Scarborough seafront under a sign that said 'Cheapest on the Front', this is a lot less humiliating and much better for your teeth. My debut, The Return of Mrs Jones (for those of you not paying attention at the back) is available together with the very talented Kate Hardy's Behind the Film Star's Smile as Mills & Boon deal of the day - with 10% off.

So if you were thinking of reading it, today is a good day to do it! What's more a blog I wrote for the Socialise section of the Mills & Boon website goes live today, so you may want to check that out too...

Sunday, 2 March 2014

Reality bites

It's been nearly seven months since I first got 'The Call'. Seven months filled with revisions and edits and building websites (aka getting hysterical while my husband builds me a website), wondering how people on Pinterest actually do all those really cool 3 minute hairstyles and do they really take 3 minutes? - I mean researching. Oh, and writing book 3.

It all felt pretty hectic and real *hollow laugh*. Little did I know that I was actually enjoying a few months of tranquility before everything got Very Serious Indeed.

The reality of writing category romance is that you absolutely have to be able to juggle multiple books at different stages of their production. There's no hiding yourself away in a garret while you create for a year, you have to be able to plan, write, revise and promote different titles all at the same time.

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Right now (EEK!) The Return of Mrs Jones is available to preorder, this means I am getting ready to promote it with a blog tour including guest blogs, Goodreads giveaways and social media whilst doing my best not to  monitor how many people have added it to their to-read shelves. But, at some point this month, the cover for Summer with the Millionaire will be revealed so I'll be getting very excited about that and need to start thinking about how best to market that book during April and May.

At the same time I am waiting for revisions on book 3. This is the first book that has gone directly to my editor without passing Go (Crit partners and the NWS scheme) and the first book written to deadline rather than at a tortuously slow pace, so I am expecting humongous revisions which say things like 'Where is the conflict' and 'Why does nothing happen in 50,000 words'. I'm very optimistic about this one...

Meanwhile I am planning books 4 and 5, with the hope of starting book 4 this very week. Add in the day job, the daughter's dance show rehearsals, violin exam and need to be fed, clothed and and discuss at great length potential World Book Day costumes and What Can She Do In This Year's Talent Show (I have suggested either a straightfaced dramatic recitation of Taylor Swift's Trouble or a Yorkshire version of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights, neither of which she is keen on. Kids today, no sense of adventure) and my head is about to explode in a very loud and messy way.

But it's all really, really exciting too and I know just how very lucky I am to be in this position. Bring it on, I'm ready for the craziness to commence!

Friday, 21 February 2014

In which I finally get to do a giveaway!!

It's funny this waiting-to-be-a-published-author time. A little like being pregnant only with coffee and wine and brie and slightly smaller ankles. It's really all about the waiting. `

Life carries on, you carry on writing partly buoyed by the knowledge that Someone Thinks You're Good Enough to Publish - and partly daunted that someone thinks you're good enough to publish and this next book better be worthy of that, only what if it isn't? Plus this time you have deadlines.
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And then things happen. Things that make you realise that the publication date is creeping closer and closer. You get a cover and back copy. You give in and get addicted to Pinterest and join Goodreads and are too busy to blog. You then organise a blog tour whilst not being entirely sure what that means and worry you should be directing people towards your book on Netgallery.

Which is when things hot up. Two amazing things happened this week. I got my first Romantic Times review.I have to admit I was very, very nervous about this one, my very first professional review but I was absolutely thrilled - four stars (Four!) and you can read the lovely things they said here: http://digitalmag.rtbookreviews.com?shareKey=jHLTFq.

And today I made sure one UPS guy will never ever deliver to my house again when I greeted his arrival with squeals and excitable yelps as I said 'It's my book, it's my book' over and over again. Did you get that UPS guy? It was MY book.
A whole box of my book!

It feels a little mean not to to give at least one copy away, much as I want to gaze upon their shiny perfection forever (my precious). The working title for this book was Summer Fling so all you have to do is either write in the comments below or like my Facebook page and comment there, tell me the most perfect place you can imagine to have a summer fling. I'll notify one lucky (that feels a little presumptuous doesn't it??) winner next week!



Monday, 27 January 2014

Chiplitfest, me and hopefully you!

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Got plans for the 26th April? What do you mean it's months away? It's early(ish) spring and now the first snowdrops are out, spring is just around the corner.
The lovely people at Chiplitfest have asked me to do a workshop on writing for the world's best known romance publisher. As they helpfully point out in the publicity I spent long enough trying so I should know something about it. I have to admit I find the prospect a wee bit daunting and a tad presumptuous - after all my debut book will be less than a month old at the time - but luckily my lovely editor will be there to supply the wisdom. Flo edits some of the biggest and best and I know how lucky I am to have her as an editor - so don't miss out on a chance to hear what she has to say!

Saturday 26th April 2014

17:00 - 18:00 at The Chequers

So you want to write Mills & Boon?

Every three seconds someone in Britain buys a Mills & Boon novel. It seems romance is far from dead but just how hard is it to write one? Jessica Gilmore spent three years learning to write the perfect Mills and Boon, finally signing a two-book deal in 2013. Jessica is joined by her editor, Flo Nicoll, to discuss the unique ingredients of one of the most popular genres in the world.
Ticket price: £5.00 each

So please do come along! I'd love to see you there x

Saturday, 18 January 2014

Pretty pretty things

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I knew better. I knew that getting into Pinterest would only lead to compulsive pinning of pretty, pretty things. That's why I was determined to resist.
But, a little voice insisted, wouldn't it be useful. For erm, plotting, and thinking, and visualising? As for getting addicted, I was strong. I could handle it. It would be for work purposes only.
And so I paid the site a visit. Put together a mood board for The Return of Mrs Jones. So. Much. Fun.
Another one quickly followed, after all Summer With the Millionaire needed one too and if that meant searching through many pictures of Rufus Sewell well, it's hard work being a romance writer. Book Three was feeling very left out so obviously I needed to make a third board.
Still not addicted.
The boards for recipes and inspirations and books I love and places are all perfectly respectable and purely for research purposes. As is my Tatty Devine wishlist.
See, I am completely in control.
If you need me I'll be over on Pinterest. Researching.
See you there...