I am proud to belong to the Romantic Novelists Association.  It is a fantastic organisation, run entirely by volunteers. Its full members are published authors, who write books which could be anything from historical sagas, through Chick-Lit and category romance to erotica, as long as there is a love theme. The RNA also runs a New Writers Scheme, whereby unpublished authors can be members as long as they submit a novel or a partial, for consideration and criticism once a year. It is this scheme which has helped many now successful authors to become published. There are regular meetings, usually in London, where members can listen to talks and meet industry professionals. There are informal ‘chapters’ all over the country.  There are two parties a year and there is an annual conference. 

Over the years I’ve attended countless RNA workshops and inspirational talks about craft and the writing process, I’ve learnt about plotting and becoming an ideas factory, mind mapping and overcoming writer’s block. I’ve gratefully received tips on how to deal with my saggy middle. I’ve been advised about pacing, how to involve all the senses in scene building and how to create my characters using enneagrams or astrology. After scribbling copious notes and scooping up the hand-outs, I emerge from each session believing that this time I have the Holy Grail. Metaphorically I’m punching the air. YES!

I return home, buoyed up by a happy buzz of fellowship and a renewed determination to employ my newly gained wisdom. But when I eventually reach the finale of my next novel, what have I done with those pearls of wisdom that I’ve collected up greedily over the years? Doh! Clutches hand to head. I will have totally forgotten every word about them.

The only piece of advice which I do constantly bear in mind, is ‘Point of View’. In the first fine careless rapture of my writing career, I’m sure I unconsciously head-hopped all the time. Nor was I aware of it in the books I read.  Now I notice head-hopping in other writers and, because it bumps me out of the story, I try to be rigorous in this regard in my own writing. And it is not just about staying in one head for a period - which could be a paragraph, a section or a chapter - but you have also to consider the character’s voice, given that the world is being viewed through his or her eyes.

My current book, LIFE CLASS, is told through the four characters. Each has a chapter to him or herself. Even though these dedicated chapters are not in the first person, I still had to think about the voice when I was writing each one.  A chapter written from the point of view of Dominic - a seventeen year old gay youth who has been brought up in care - has a different tone, and will use a slightly different language, to a chapter written through Fran’s eyes. She is a respectable and comfortably off house-wife.  The chapters from Dory’s point of view, a laboratory technician who works in a sexual health clinic, will have a different take on the world, to those written through the eyes of Stefan, the single-minded sculptor.

That’s the theory anyway!



Gilli is the author of 'Torn', her latest novel, 'Life Class', has just been released. She can be contacted at:

http://www.gilliallan.blogspot.com/ 
http://famousfiveplus.blogspot.com/
http://britishromancefiction.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1182311866
twitter: @gilliallan
http://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?i=LTM2MDEyNzM2MTk6MzY3_

_ I am thrilled to have this opportunity to launch my new e-book, LIFE CLASS, on Bookworm Ink. LIFE CLASS can be found on Amazon at:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007XWFURQ

I won’t detail the time, work, angst and sleepless nights it’s taken to get here.  All I need say is that I am very very relieved to find myself at this point. 

To celebrate the launch of my second e-book, LIFE CLASS, I am slashing to 77p (or 99c) the price of my first, TORN,  http://www.amazon.co.uk/TORN-ebook/dp/B004UVR81Y

Hurry, it’s for a fortnight only!

http://www.gilliallan.blogspot.com/ 
http://famousfiveplus.blogspot.com/
http://britishromancefiction.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1182311866
twitter: @gilliallan
http://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?i=LTM2MDEyNzM2MTk6MzY3

_ The Scottish Book Trust have organised a fantastic event with David Walliams. The author and comedian will be talking about his hilarious new book ‘Gangsta Granny’, which is out in hardback now.

 The event will be streamed live to UK fans at 11am on Thursday, 10th May and can be enjoyed by going to http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/authorslive/  .

It will then become available to watch worldwide for free by Thursday, 17th May by following this link: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/learning/authors-live/david-walliams

Teachers can register their class by going to: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/learning/authors-live/david-walliams

The Scottish Book Trust are making quite a name for themselves with these live streams, and this is certainly one that our family won’t be missing, I imagine it’ll be almost as popular with the grown-ups listening as with the children!

_What started you writing and is it something you always wanted to do?

I have this one vivid memory of me writing my first poem in the second grade. I think that’s when I first realized that I was a creative person and that I liked to write. Also, I was one of those freak-of-nature children that would rather read than watch TV.

Much like my main character, I majored in Economics in college just because it was practical. I also worked in finance for most of my corporate career. Truly, I don't regret it since publishing is still a business at the end of the day. But I always knew that writing was what I was really good at, especially story-telling. There’s also a unique sense of fulfillment you feel when you create something out of nothing and when you’re doing something you love.

I was inspired by my mom to quit my job in corporate finance and pursue what I really love. After she retired, she was really honest with me and said that she couldn’t even remember what she loved to do after working in the corporate world for 25 years.  I just decided that I didn’t want my life to start at 55. I wanted it to start now.

Do you write full-time or do you have another career?

Writing is my full-time job and it comes in many forms. I am currently the Co-founder and Publisher for Minted Magazine, an online publication that empowers women in their career and life. My job involves everything from writing to photography to computer coding. I am also working on my second novel and promoting, Recession Proof.

Describe your typical writing day.

My day is never typical since most of my time is dedicated to building the magazine. I write my second novel when I have the time or when I get a burst of inspiration. It’s not ideal but I do know I will never release something I don’t absolutely love and believe in.

What inspired you to write ‘Recession Proof?’

It started out as a way for me to express how I felt as a young twenty-something professional working in today’s economic landscape. I think there’s an incredible sense of fear and uncertainty when you’re in your twenties and for today’s twenty-somethings, it’s exacerbated by the Recession. So many times, people sacrifice their passions to simply get by. I wanted to create a “heroine” that experiences all these fears and challenges but manages to triumph and have a little fun along the way.

What projects are you working on now?

Most of my day is spent building my publication, Minted Magazine. It’s the most gratifying experience to build a company of my own.

How do you publicise your work?

Bloggers are amazing!

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

http://www.kimberlyslin.com/Thoughts.html

Other than your own, what’s your favourite work of fiction?

The Heart of the Matter, Emily Giffin

Which author had the greatest influence on you as a child?

Ann M. Martin, The Baby Sitter’s Club author

Finally, and most importantly, you’ve lost your wallet, who do you enlist to help you find it, Poirot or Miss Marple?

Poirot. I like cool mustaches.

Kimberley is the author of 'Recession Proof', she can be found on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KimberlySLin) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/KimberlySLin) .

_Kimberley is the author of 'Recession Proof', she can be found on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KimberlySLin) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/KimberlySLin) .

I am a self-published author and I say it in a way that doesn’t equate to admitting that I have leprosy. I’ve never queried agents or publishers or tried going the traditional route just because 1) I think that the times are changing and 2) the timely subject of my book.

All publishing companies are investment companies— they invest in what sells, hence why Snookie, Lauran Conrad and everyone on the Bravo channel have book deals (My implication is just speculation. They all could have extraordinary literary prowess). Even smaller publishers make these bets. So at the end of the day, we’re all conducting the same experiment because no one really knows for certain if a new book or new author is going to sell. Publishing is highly subjective. Also, not much is different between a new traditionally published author and a self-publisher in terms of marketing. “If they’re not promotable, then it makes selling their book challenging,” says Ellen Archer, Hyperion CEO in an interview with Publishers Weekly. Knowing this, I simply chose to take it straight to the readers. I think readers are smart. Good work will always be good work. And as for marketing, “I think it’s not necessarily so much about talent as it is about tenacity. It’s about who wants it the most.” Emily Giffin in an interview with Guest of a Guest.

Secondly, since my book is about the Recession, I didn’t think it would have as much of an impact if it took years to traditionally publish (here’s to hoping for a speedy economic recovery) as it usually does.

Either way, I’m living my dream. Being able to write and hear that my work is resonating with my readers is what I dreamt about when I was sitting in my little gray cube working on Excel spreadsheets. Empowering women is what I’m passionate about and it’s what I find most fulfilling. And I’m truly just enjoying the ride.

_ Carol Mason is the author of ‘The Love Market’, ‘Send Me A Lover’ and ‘The Secrets of Married Women.  All her books have recently been re-released as Kindle e-books for $2.99. For the month of March she’ll be donating 50% net proceeds to Breast Cancer. Please see her website [www.carolmasonbooks.com] for more details.

What started you writing and is it something you always wanted to do?

When I was about 12 years old I would furtively read my grandmother’s Harlequin romances. I became addicted to the boy-meets-girl-girl-hates-boy-boy-gets-girl storylines, and noticed how they all followed virtually the same format. I thought, I could write one of those!  Then when I was 25, I did write 2 Harlequin romances. I had an idea they’d be easy to get published. But then they didn’t get published, my computer got stolen from my apartment, and I hadn’t backed up my work, so the novels were stolen with the rest of my entire worldly possessions. I took that as a sign to give up and get a real job. Which I did. But I still had the writing bug so eventually I came back to it, I left my job as an advertising copywriter and set about trying to get published with a more contemporary women’s fiction story. After three books and three years, my agent sold The Secrets of Married Women to Hodder & Stoughton in the UK.

Do you write full-time or do you have another career?

I write full time. But because I work from home I sometimes feel I am a full-time housewife too! Everyone assumes that because you are in the house all day, you can write books while you vacuum, make dinner and run all the errands!

Describe your typical writing day.

I walk the dog in the morning – otherwise I’d probably never leave the house. Then I try to get 2 hours of solid productive writing done before lunch. Somehow I am always a little tired in the afternoons, so my productivity slackens off. Then I come alive again at 4pm. It’s weird but I can solve all my plot problems and do some great writing at 4pm, yet at 3:30 I am virtually brain dead. Then I make dinner, have a glass of wine, and then go back up to tweak what I’ve got written that day.

What inspired you to write your latest book ‘The Art of Letting Go’, which is due out this year?

I find a lot of inspiration in things I read. Sometimes random articles I come across on the Internet – like the article about Vietnam’s real Love Market in the mountain village of Sapa where young people go to find their future mates, and older people go to reunite with their lovers.  This became the inspiration for my third novel The Love Market – about a woman who recently divorces and isn’t sure she’s done the right thing. Then to complicate things, someone from her past gets in touch with  her quite mysteriously - her first love, a Canadian foreign journalist whom she met 20 years ago while backpacking in Asia.  She met him in Vietnam, in the Love Market…  With The Art of Letting Go, it was an article I read on how dementia patients often respond positively to visual art and it can help them remember details of their life.  This made me think of two love stories that interconnect – one in the past and one in the present, and how they are revealed due to an elderly lady’s response to a painting in a Seattle art gallery.

What projects are you working on now?

I started a new novel in October. I wrote quite a bit of it but something about it felt wrong. I left it alone and wondered why I wasn’t excited to get back writing it. Then I read an article that inspired another idea that I thought, Wow! I LOVE this one! THIS is the book I must write. So that’s what I’m doing. I’m changing course and starting to plot out and take the first tentative steps to writing this new idea. It feels so good to be working on something I am passionate about!

How do you publicise your work?

When a big publishing house takes on your novel they do a lot of publicity for you. But of course social media – Facebook, Twitter - helps writers connect with their readers and I love hearing from readers of my books and being in touch with them. I have done the odd TV appearance and radio interviews etc. But I’m not good at selling myself. I find it a little embarrassing to self-promote. I always feel that my job is as a writer, and that tends to be a more introverted career choice, and while it’s fun to attend publicity events, I prefer it when my publicist has arranged them!

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Really ask yourself why you want to be a writer. If it’s because it brings you the kind of happiness that virtually nothing else can, then you probably will write no matter what. If it’s because you think it’s a)glamorous, b)highly paid, c) easy to succeed at, d)cool to see your own work in a book store…. Then you might want to pack the whole thing in! The publishing industry is quite a brutal business. It is insanely hard to get published, and even harder to stay published. I only recommend it for people who are very thick-skinned, realistic about their chances, and passionate about writing.

Other than your own, what’s your favourite work of fiction?

There are so many. Lately I’ve read a bunch of great books. The Lost Wife, by Alyson Richman, anything by Jonathan Tropper, Melanie Benjamin’s Alice I Have Been…. I also love The Bridges of Madison County, The Horse Whisperer, anything by Tony Parsons, Girl with the Pearl Earring... I could go on but I’d be answering this question all day!

Which author had the greatest influence on you as a child?

I suppose Jane Austen – though I don’t know if that’s because we studied her so much in school! But she really made me think about characterization and human nature and how it comes to play in fiction. I never got into Dickens. Don’t know why. I loved a lot of poetry when I was a kid – especially the war poet, Wilfred Owen, and Keats, Dylan Thomas…

Finally, and most importantly, you’ve lost your wallet, who do you enlist to help you find it, Poirot or Miss Marple?

Poirot. But only because, after retrieving it, I’d help him solve a murder on the Orient Express! There are no lengths I won’t go to for a free vacation.

Carol can be found on Twitter [@carolmasonbooks] and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=562571492

_ Ross Collins, Ross MacKenzie and Nicola Morgan have been named as this year’s winners of the 2011 Scottish Children’s Book Awards, Scotland’s largest Children’s Book Prize (each winner receives £3,000 ) which is voted for exclusively by Scottish children. The winners were announced during a ceremony at Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre, attended by 600 young people from all over Scotland. Fantastically, over 23,000 Scottish children voted for their favourite books.

The Awards are divided into three catergories. The winner of the Bookbug Readers Category (0-7 years) was Ross Collins for this picture book ‘Dear Vampa’ (published byHodder Children’s Books).  

Debut  author Ross MacKenzie won the Younger Readers Category (8-11 Years) for his first novel, Zac and the Dream Pirates (published byChicken House).  

Finally, teenage fiction author Nicola Morgan, based in Edinburgh, won the Older Readers Category (12-16 Years) for Wasted (published byWalker).

The Scottish Children’s Book Awards also encourage children to write for themselves by holding a book review competition, which attracts hundreds of entries from children all over the country.

The Scottish Book Trust is Scotland’s leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing. Originally set up by the Scottish Arts Council in 1999, the Scottish Children’s Book Awards are now run by Scottish Book Trust in partnership with Creative Scotland. They’re supported by the Times Educational Supplement Scotland (TESS) and Waterstones.

_ The Oxfordshire town of Chipping Norton will be holding its first literary festival this April.The festival has a wonderfully varied programme with over fifty authors getting involved, and plenty for both readers and aspiring writers. Highlights will include appearances from Prue Leith, Joanna Trollope and Colin Dexter and a workshop on writing sex scenes! Of particular interest to me is the Contemporary Women’s Fiction event, which will feature some of my favourite authors: Katie Fforde, Veronica Henry and Jill Mansell.

There’ll also be plenty of free events held in the Town Hall including readings, Scrabble games, a book exchange and a children’s corner. You’ll even have the chance to meet authors and publishers or just relax and catch up on your reading with a cup of tea.

Full details of the festival’s events can be found at www.chiplitfest.com. Tickets can be bought from this website, or from the box office by calling 01608 642350, and are priced from £7.50.

The festival has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ChipLitFest?sk=info

Maybe I’ll see you there!

Children’s author Francesca Simon will be taking part in this year’s World Book Day celebrations in a special live broadcast on Thursday 1st March.  She’ll be discussing her life as a writer as well as her most famous character the gloriously awful Horrid Henry. The event is suitable for ages 5-12 (and fans of Horrid Henry of any age!).

The event will be streamed live to audiences across the UK at 11am on World Book Day (Thursday, 1st March). It will then become available to watch again for free by Thursday, 8th March. To watch, simply follow this link:http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/authors-live-with-francesca-simon.  

As well as the very successful Horrid Henry series, Francesca has also written other titles such as ‘Don’t Cook Cinderella’ and ‘Helping Hercules’. A s huge Horrid Henry fans, Christopher and I were thrilled to hear Francesca Simon speak at the Hay Literature Festival a couple of years ago, she was absolutely fantastic: very funny and entertaining. We’ll definitely be tuning into this broadcast!

_ Multi-talented Keith Brooke is a writer, editor, e-book publisher and creative writing tutor. His latest book ‘The Accord’ is available now.

What started you writing and is it something you always wanted to do?
For me, writing has always gone hand in hand with reading, and I read voraciously from an early age. If you read, it just seems natural to want to write. What really kick-started things was a wet holiday in Yorkshire when I was 17: it rained just about every day, and so I ended up working through just about every trashy paperback they had in the village shop. It passed the time and, more importantly, it set me thinking seriously about writing: writing as a career, writing as a way of life.


Do you write full-time or do you have another career?
I've had periods of several years writing full-time, but pressures of mortgage and regular bills tend to make a day job a necessity for most writers, and I'm no exception. I currently work at a University, managing the website and learning technology teams, with a bit of creative writing lecturing on the side. I also run the infinity plus ebook imprint (www.infinityplus.co.uk/books), publishing the work of award-winning authors such as Eric Brown, John Grant and Iain Rowan.


Describe your typical writing day.
Ideally, I get up early, go for a run, have some breakfast and a good strong coffee. Then I try to get 1500 words in before lunch. I aim for another session of at least 1000 words in the afternoon, by which time I'm slowing down a little. Anything on top of that is a bonus.

In reality, even a day devoted to writing is broken up with the business of being a writer and publisher: keeping on top of correspondence, promoting books in various media, Facebooking and tweeting, various administrative tasks, etc. And a day entirely devoted to writing is a rare thing, so more typically I carve out slots of an hour or two from days when I'm at the day job or doing family things. One of the most useful things I've learnt over the years is how to take advantage of even a short opportunity to write: a couple of hundred words in a snatched hour on a train is far better than waiting for that perfect writing day to come along.


What inspired you to write ‘The Accord’?

The idea first came to me as a fantasy short story. I was driving to work and out of nowhere I wondered what it must be like for a trusted advisor to be in love with the Emperor's wife. By the time I'd reached work, the trusted advisor had become a wizard and his solution was to conjure up a parallel world where copies of himself and the Emperor's wife could be free to have an affair. As the idea matured, I started to wonder how long this parallel world might exist - could they live there forever, if the wizard has created it? And what would the Emperor do when he found out? Gradually, the idea of a love triangle that spanned millennia, and the ensuing feud as the Emperor pursued his wife and her lover transformed into something more science-fictional: rather than wizards and magic, why not have a virtual reality heaven instead? Once I'd made that leap, I knew it was going to be a big novel rather than a fantasy short story, and there was no turning back.

What projects are you working on now?
I've just delivered two books. Strange Divisions and Alien Territories is a non-fiction book about science fiction, with chapters written by some of the top writers in the field, due from Palgrave Macmillan in early 2012. And alt.human is a science fiction novel, an extreme alternate history crammed full of aliens - both topics I've tended to steer clear of in my 20 years as a writer.


How do you publicise your work?
Websites (mine and one for infinity plus), my blog and guest-blogging elsewhere, Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Academia.edu, interviews, mailing lists, readings and signings, appearances at conventions and other publishing events, by writing non-fiction for various publications... and probably lots of other ways that slip my mind. I hate to be brash and pushy about it, but I like to engage with people anyway, and I think it all adds up to raising awareness that, yes, I'm a writer and I have books available.


Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Be persistent. Finish what you write. Revise it until it's the best you can do. Submit it. When it's rejected, submit it elsewhere. When you think you've run out of markets, find somewhere else to try (my first novel sold to a publisher right at the bottom of my list; I so nearly didn't bother submitting it to them). Be very wary of self-publishing to start with, unless you're sure you can do it really well.


Other than your own, what’s your favourite work of fiction?
I love writers like Graham Greene and Ian McEwan, and it's hard to pick out a single work. If forced, I'd be torn between Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Silverberg's Dying Inside.


Which author had the greatest influence on you as a child?
Depends at which age. I was an obsessive Enid Blyton fan as a kid, but I'm not sure what influence that might have had! Later, John Christopher and John Wyndham figured large.


Finally, and most importantly, you’ve lost your wallet, who do you enlist to help you find it, Poirot or Miss Marple?

Probably Poirot: I love the cleverness and the way he plays people. Miss Marple plays people too, but she's just a little too creepy for my liking...

For more information about Keith and his work check out:

 http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/books/kb/accord.htm
 http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/books/

 http://www.keithbrooke.co.uk/