Mick’s Musings: Looking for an Agent!
Okay, first things first, let’s be polite. May I wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year and I hope you had a great Christmas too. So far as my Lady Wife and I are concerned, we’re still ploughing through the store of Christmas chocolate – it’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it! As for writing, 2015 for me is going to begin with unashamed ‘pleas’ (right word/expression?) as I am now stepping up my search for an Agent.
So, to refresh thy memories, I’m now in my 3rd year as member of the Romantic Novelist’s Association, New Writer’s Scheme (blurb just arrived to confirm in the post) and the tome I sent off to the Reader last year was deemed ready to send out to Agents, once the few amendments were made. It’s currently with 4 of these wonderful people and I did mean to send out for a few more prior to Christmas, but then I thought it wasn’t the best time at which to send it off, holidays on the way, parties etc., but now it’s time to hit the ‘Send’ button on my email and also get some ink for my printer. In the meantime, I’m going to put in the Synopsis below (resulting in a slightly longer blog post than normal.) Continue reading
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Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Reunion
Friday 23rd January 2015: Reunion
Fiction Friday is our weekly prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s prompt: You’ve been invited to your school reunion. It will be the first time you’ve seen this group of friends since you left and things didn’t end the way you planned. Write about the reunion.
by Novel Kicks Chats To Chevy Stevens
Hi Chevy, thank you so much for joining us. Can you tell is a little about your new book, That Night and how the idea originated?
THAT NIGHT is about eighteen-year-old Toni Murphy who is falsely convicted of killing her sister. Toni and her boyfriend, who was also convicted, spend years in jail. When they are released, Toni just wants to rebuild her life, but Ryan is determined to clear their names. Toni has to face her past and find out what really happened that night and who killed her sister. The spark for the story came from a show I watched about someone who’d spent twenty years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit.
Do you plan much before a novel and do you edit as you go?
I do plan quite a bit. I’m on contracts, so my editor has to approve my story idea, but I also like knowing that she is happy with my idea and we often end up brainstorming and she can notice some pitfalls before I do, which saves lots of rewriting. I try to do as much planning beforehand and get to know my characters as I find things flow better. However, lots of surprises still happen during the actual writing process when the story comes alive.
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you and which has been the most enjoyable?
I like the beginning stage when an idea is coming to life. Not the first, first part, when I’m not sure if the story is going to hold or if my editor is going to like it, but the stage right after that when we are brainstorming a really great idea and I can see how it’s going to unfold. But then the tough part begins, which is sitting down, day after day, and writing it! I like the editing stage, when it’s fine-tuning and adjusting. It’s like when you are cleaning your house and putting everything in order and you can see how nice it will look when it’s finished.
by Bella’s Scribblings: Learning a New Language
So here we are at the start of a new exciting year with all the promise and potential that it holds. People around me are shunning chocolate, joining the gym and taking up new challenges. Someone said to me that their goal for 2015 was to learn a new language which I think is most admirable and it got me thinking…
Two years ago I embarked on the challenge of finishing my first novel and to help me achieve that I joined the RNA New Writers Scheme. The RNA has been simply brilliant at introducing me to like-minded people and I’ve made some terrific friends but most importantly I’ve learnt shed loads about writing and publishing. It occurred to me that one of the things I’ve learnt is a new language – the language of writing and publishing.
Let me explain: The new people I had surrounded myself with were using familiar words but my understanding of them was very different. For example – talking about an ‘Advance’ (Advance To Go on the Monopoly board perhaps?), ‘WIP’ (useful item wielded particularly well by Indiana Jones) ‘Jackets’ (Easy one – they are either potatoes or an item of clothing), ‘Royalty’ (jolly nice posh family that appear in magazines), ‘Beta Readers’ (people still struggling with the big words), ‘POD’ (Home for peas or trendy Eco house?) and asking me if I was a ‘Pantser’* too. I mean really, I wanted to make friends but it all seemed too soon for underwear discussions.
by Review: The Curvy Girls Club by Michele Gorman
Katie, Ellie, Pixie and Jane have all struggled with their weight. They all belong to Slimming Zone and are the best of friends. When they get a little fed up with defining their lives by their waistline, they decide to form a club where size doesn’t matter and they can all be themselves – The Curvy Girls Club.
Very soon, the club becomes very popular as more people sign up and it becomes more successful than all the girls could imagine. However, things aren’t as good outside of the club as each girl struggles with the ups and downs of life.
As someone who has always struggled with her weight there was a lot in this book I could relate to and I thought I was going to find it a little hard going to read because of that. This book handles the subject matter well and there is a lot of humour, fun and four great, strong, female characters. Each woman has their own personal stories and all are going through slightly different things.
Katie is in love with a guy at work and makes some bad decisions for herself (not realising that she has to practise what she preaches,) Pixie is a strong woman but needs to find the courage to leave a bad relationship and start over (her behaviour toward Katie wasn’t always good,) Jane who has forgotten how fabulous she is and Ellie who needs to tame the Continue reading
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