We have a winner!

It’s official – Marie Claude is the winner of the last American Title contest, with her paranormal romance Ancient Whispers.  Eight have us have journeyed together since last October, knowing there could only be one winner. We’ve had a great time along the way and now it’s time to say congratulations MC from everyone here at Love Conquers. The art work is stunning and the book will be on the shelves early in 2010.

The whole thing was made possible by Dorchester Publishing and Romantic Times magazine. Thanks to them for a fabulous contest. We all had a ball.

Thinking In Chapters

If you get a group of  10 writers together to talk about how they write you can bet there will be 10 different ways of doing it. A conversation this week – which started with a discussion on backing up work, somehow morphed into one on writing and saving work in individual chapters, versus writing the whole thing as stream of consciousness and putting the chapters in later. I don’t quite fit either group as I still write the old fashioned way – with a pen. I type up/edit later and I’ve done that both ways – though lately I tend towards one document as so many editors and agents want electronic submissions these days. You can be sure that when I’m putting things together the other way one of the chapters goes missing – usually around number 33.  Last time it was quite a while before I noticed it.

As far as the first draft is concerned, I just go with the flow – sometimes I know where that important cliff hanger that will end the chapter will come, sometimes not.

So – who thinks in chapters and who put it all down and sorts it out later?

A Sense of Place

I seem to be stuck on the theme of locations for books at the moment. Actually this post is for Barbara, as she has just discovered the British TV series Torchwood on DVD. As it is filmed around where I work I promised her a couple of shots of what the locations look like in daylight. So – this is what The Hub looks like in real life. The building with the poem on the front – Welsh and English, although not direct translations of each other – is a theatre/opera house – scene of my recent triumph when I read my work on a “Night for the Unpublished”. But I digress.  The column in front of the building is a fountain – a much photographed location as it is meant to be the site of the invisible lift which gives access to The Hub. Can’t say I’ve ever seen it myself.

By now everyone who has never seen Torchwood will be completely mystified.

I’ve blogged before on books, films and TV set in locations that the reader/viewer has visited. I enjoy seeing and reading about places I know. It made me think too about the places you connect to. If I want a romantic location for a book I am inevitably drawn to Italy. I love books set in Greece and I’ve visited Spain and France, yet I’ve never been tempted to set a story in any of those places. Was I an Italian in a previous life?

London is a frequent location, but then I lived there for years. I’m having a great time at the moment with a cosy crime that I am writing for fun. I’ve invented a whole new part of London and it has some of the strangest architecture and occupants you’ve ever met.

I usually try to put at least a scene or two set in Wales into my books, if I can.  Scotland is a very popular location for romance – two of the ATV finalist set their books there – is it the scenery, the men, the kilts? It’s probably not the haggis and the bagpipes, but you never know.

I’d be interested to know what draws others to write about specific places.

Is every book set in a new place, or do the same locations keep pulling you back?

Judging a book without a cover – yet!

Well it’s finally here – the last round of the last American Title. If you haven’t done it yet, don’t forget to go over to the Romantic Times site, see who made the final and read the love scenes. Remember your vote counts.

One of the scariest things about being in American Title is waiting each month to see the judges’ comments on your entry – but it’s really funny, because as soon as you’re out, you are immediately curious about what they would have said about your other entries.  Each contestant has to submit copy for each stage of the contest, right at the beginning, which is then sent to the judges for consideration and for them to make their pronouncements. So you know that those comments are out there, but you’ll never see them.  Once the pressure is off the curiosity begins – what did they think, would they have hated my dialogue scene or loved it? It’s now one of life’s eternal mysteries.

Two contestants have gone all the way – they know what the judges thought about everything they submitted. Now the voters get their choice.  

Don’t forget – your vote counts.

Location,location,location

Some of the earliest, and best, advice I ever got from a multi published writer was about making sure, on your first page, that the reader knows ‘when’ they are and ‘where’ they are.

Establishing setting is important, but how much does it influence your enjoyment of a book – or even your choice to pick it up off the shelf in the first place? Are some countries, some cities ‘hotter’ than others? One night in Paris certainly sounds a whole lot sexier than one night in Margate. No disrespect to Margate. I expect nights of romance and passion happen there, just as much as anywhere else – but do we want to read about them?

Which gives you, as a reader, more enjoyment – a book set in a place you know, which will stir memories, or one set in a place you have never visited?

In the current financial situation might we all become armchair travellers – visiting exotic locales through the pages of a book?

I’m thinking about this in particular at the moment because I want to set my next romantic thriller in Cardiff – the area of Wales where I grew up. I already have some of the scenes worked out, using the Victorian buildings that are such a feature of the city. But am I wasting my time? Is Cardiff really hot enough to sell?

Heading for Orlando?

by Evonne Wareham

It seems hard to believe that this time last year I was booking my plane ticket for Pittsburgh for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention.  I raided the savings and made the trip because being in American Title was meant to be a once in a life time experience. I was never going to be in the final of a contest like that again, was I? Yes … well -

I hate to fly and I travelled alone, so the butterflies in the stomach could have powered the plane by the time April 2008 came round, but I did it, and I had the most wonderful time.

Would I do it again? Like a shot.

Unfortunately, as an unpub, with the state of the savings, and the pound, I won’t be making it to Orlando this year, which will be a pity, because meeting with four of my fellow finalists from ATIV was one of the high spots of the trip. You’ll have to get along without me this time ladies. I’ll be there in spirit.

Now if and when I’m a published author and I can charge the lot to expenses …

So – has anyone made plans yet – who will be there to represent the last American Title gang? I can guarantee you’ll have an amazing time.

Right in the Middle

Here I am, sandwiched between two fabulous guest bloggers, Heidi and Margie. If you haven’t had a look at Heidi’s post from yesterday, on novels with knitting, then be sure to do it before you leave.  And tomorrow – well you’ll have to come back to find out what Margie is going to talk about , won’t you?

The other thing we’re almost in the middle of is round three voting for American Title V. One week almost gone, one yet to go. And it’s also the mid point of the contest – after this round there will be four in and four out.

Are we nervous yet ladies?

Who goes and who stays is all down to you – the voters.

If you haven’t voted you can see the entries at

http://www.romantictimes.com/news_amtitle.php

Please do – it means a lot to the contestants. Every vote counts.

Black Arts and Sticky Threads

Everyone has talked about new year’s resolutions in recent posts. I don’t make resolutions, but I do have a wish list – things I’d like to do in the next twelve months. Top of this year’s is a website. I’ve avoided it for a while now, but I think the hour has come. I know that it’s taken as a signal of a professional attitude, even if no one is actually paying you to write. Yet.

 So – 2009 is the year.

I’m not a technophobe, but I do know how much technology can suck you in and take up your time – it’s not called a world wide web for nothing.  Most depictions of webs in literature are pretty deadly. I say that having Lisa Gardner’s Say Goodbye in my current TBR pile. So – whatever this website looks like it needs to be user and owner friendly. No getting tangled in a lot of sticky mess. Which brings me to the heart of this post. What should an unpublished author put on their site? What do you want to see? What would bring you to an author’s site when you can’t actually buy her books? How do you like the thing to look? Words, photos? What information would interest you?

All answers welcome.

Love Conquers – and the Bard

When the first round voting for American Title began, I was in Stratford upon Avon, soaking up Shakespeare. For the history addicts and poets amongst you, here is the Love Conquers mini photo tour.

Many of the buildings look much as they would have done when Shakespeare was living there.

      

The town has many unexpected associations.

Harvard House is linked to the family of the founder of Harvard University.

The closest connection with Shakespeare is the church.

He’s buried there, in front of the altar.  

Standing by the grave, in the quiet of the church, never fails to inspire me.

The setting of the building is lovely, beside the river.

To know that William himself would have passed this way regularly. Well – that’s magical.

Where is this going?

Voting has just begun in American Title V. Everyone knows that the prize is publication with Dorchester, but winning involves a lot more than that. Next April, at the Booklovers’ Convention in Orlando, the winner will be announced, in front of the whole conference. She’ll get to stand on the stage beside a large picture of the art work for her book. She might even get to wear a tiara. Then, later, she’ll join Helen – the 2008 winner, whose book, The Magic Knot will be published in February, at the mass signing, meeting hundreds of readers who want to meet her – the person who won the contest that they have been following in Romantic Times for months.

Attending a Booklovers Convention is an experience that every romance lover should have at least once. It really is an amazing affair. You can be on your feet and at some event from breakfast time until the early hours of the next day. One minute you can be in an elevator with a group of aspiring authors, the next standing beside a writer you’ve admired for years. As Mel from Title Magic put it, a very high squee factor!  There are readers, writers and booksellers from all over the States, from Australia, from Europe, all there because they love to read romance …

Most of the day can be a party, if you want, but the big one – the Fairy Ball –is something special. Costumes range from a simple pair elf ears to the most complex designs, with wings that look almost as if they might work.

Whatever your taste in romance you can get it at RT. There are two huge signings, one for e-books, the other for print, when the noise levels and squeal levels, as someone spots their favourite author, are high. Then there are the give-aways, hundreds of free books and, in promo alley, tables groaning with every kind of promotional gift, match books, bookmarks, magnets, bags, badges – and the list goes on…

And then there are the men –Ellora’s Cavemen are total hunks, and the contestants from the Mr Romance contest …

So – that’s what the winner has to look forward to, but before then there are five rounds of the contest. It’s a long way until April.