Guest Post from Victoria Connelly

 I'm very pleased to have Victoria Connelly here today to talk about her trilogy of magical romantic comedies, 'It's Magic'.

I think I’ve always wanted to be a writer.  I started my first novel when I was fourteen and used to take it to school and pass it under the table for my friends to read during Maths lessons.  Of course, it was a romantic comedy and I’ve never stopped writing them since.

I never finished that first attempt at a novel and it was many years and many rejections from agents and publishers later that my first one was published.  It was called Flights of Angels and it was about a young widow who has her own group of tiny guardian angels to take care of her.  It was a romantic comedy with a touch of magic but that touch of magic was what stopped it being published in the UK.  Nobody seemed to think that readers wanted magic in a rom com.  However, things were different in Germany where five publishers set up a bidding war for it.  It was a whirlwind experience and resulted in four different editions of the book being published as well as a film being made – an experience I’ll never forget!

Then came two more magical romantic comedies.  Unmasking Elena Montella about a woman who is given a magical Venetian mask which helps her choose which of her three (yes – three!) fiancés is the right one for her.  And Three Graces about a young woman who marries a duke and goes to live in his ancestral home only to find it’s haunted by a rather opinionated eighteenth-century ghost.

I had so much fun writing these books but they were never published in the UK even though they’d done so well in Germany.  So, whilst writing my ‘straight’ rom coms like A Weekend with Mr Darcy and The Runaway Actress, I’ve decided to make my magical rom coms available on Kindle where you can buy them individually or as a trilogy called It’s Magic. 

So, if you like your rom coms peppered with naughty guardian angels, magical Venetian masks and haughty ghosts, give them a try and let me know what you think.  I really hope you enjoy them.

You can find out more about Victoria on her website,  or follow her on Twitter at @VictoriaDarcy

You can find 'It's Magic' here.  

Thanks to Victoria for being such an interesting guest!

Prime Time by Jane Wenham-Jones

I'm really pleased to have Jane Wenham-Jones here today, to talk about her new book 'Prime Time'.

'My new novel Prime Time was inspired by some of the bizarre things I’ve got up to, in the name of publicity for my various books. This has included appearing on a variety of TV programmes which has sometimes been huge fun and sometimes led to me watching the re-run through my fingers…

Here are a couple of things I’ve learned along the way…

Keep quiet

Once you’ve been miked up – usually with a power pack attached to your waist somewhere (for this reason it’s useful to wear a skirt/trousers and/or a belt rather than a slinky dress, although all is not lost if do you opt for the latter – it just has to sit on the chair behind you) and a small lapel microphone, make sure it is switched off before you a) say anything rude about the producer/your fellow guests and b) you go to the loo.

Stories abound of entire production crews listening to the sound of the uninitiated having a pee, dealing with their nervous flatulence or discussing their sex lives with whoever’s in the next cubicle.

Check someone’s doing your make-up

They usually are if it’s a magazine / celebrity type programme, and usually won’t be if it’s current-affairs / news job. But this is not set in stone.

I went on something called The Good Day Show on Legal TV, a Sky channel, a few years ago and made an assumption. So I sat around, flicking through magazines, waiting to be called into make-up, only to find time had marched on, and the call was to go straight into the studio.

I knew I was in trouble when I glanced at the monitor to see the young and beautiful American presenter, Tracy Falke appearing to be at least a decade older.

With that lighting, I’d have been struggling if they’d employed their entire cache of concealer but with no time to even get on any slap myself, I realised I’d look about ninety.

"No, you didn't look great, love," confirmed my friend Lyn-Marie Fabes. "Rather tired."

"You looked fine," Hazel, my publisher, declared loyally, adding doubtfully, "though I noticed you weren't wearing any lippy," which I realised translated as: "you were so ancient your mouth had disappeared".

If you’re doing your own make-up, have a steady hand

And take your time. I still have a small eye injury from hastily stabbing myself with a mascara brush before presenting a short film on Margate for The Politics Show back in 2007. By the time filming had finished – it took all day – I could barely keep that eye open and by the next morning it was swollen shut. I had to drive to Brighton to do the voice-over wearing a patch and whining. There is a still from the programme on the internet, showing me scowling, with eyes like slits. Aside from that it was a great experience – even when the locals came out and started yelling at me.'

Prime Time by Jane Wenham-Jones

A British romantic comedy by Jane Wenham-Jones, author of 'Perfect Alibis'.

Laura Meredith never imagined herself appearing on TV, she's too old, too flabby, too downright hormonal, and much too busy holding things together for her son, Stanley, after her husband left her for a younger, thinner replacement. But best friend Charlotte is a determined woman and when Laura is persuaded on to a daytime show to talk about her PMT, everything changes. Suddenly there's a camera crew tracking her every move and Laura finds herself an unlikely star. But as things hot up between her and gorgeous TV director, Cal, they're going downhill elsewhere. While Laura's caught up in a heady whirlwind of beauty treatments, makeovers and glamorous film locations, Charlotte's husband, Roger, is concealing a guilty secret, Stanley's got problems at school, work's piling up, and when Laura turns detective to protect Charlotte's marriage, things go horribly wrong. The champagne's flowing as Laura's prime time TV debut looks set to be a hit. But in every month, there's a "Day Ten" ...

Prime Time is published by Accent Press, and is available from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Waterstones.com all other good book retailers.
 

Jane is the author of four novels and two non-fiction books –  Wannabe a Writer? – a humorous look at becoming a scribe – and Wannabe a Writer We’ve Heard Of? a guide to the art of book and self promotion.  As a freelance journalist she has appeared in a wide range of women's magazines and national newspapers and writes regular columns for Woman's Weekly and Writing Magazine, where she is the agony aunt. Jane is an experienced tutor who is regularly booked by writing conferences and literary festivals to run workshops and give talks on all aspects of the writing process. She is also a member of Equity, has presented for the BBC on both TV and radio and has done her fair share of daytime TV, particularly when promoting her controversial second novel Perfect Alibis (subtitled How to have an affair and get away with it...) It was those – sometimes hair-raising – TV experiences that inspired Prime Time, her new novel. For more information see http://www.janewenham-jones.com and http://janewenhamjones.wordpress.com.

You can buy Prime Time here ...


Paperback:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1908766581/janewenhamjon-21/026-9443805-3263660
eBook:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B008GE2RJE/janewenhamjon-21/026-9443805-3263660

 Many thanks to Jane for being here today ...

The Cornish House by Liz Fenwick

To tie in with the imminent release of the The Cornish House by Liz Fenwick, you can read a guest post by me on Liz's blog about 'One Thing I've Learnt'. Liz has a number of guest posts on this subject during May and they make for fascinating reading.

You can also find my review of The Cornish House over on Bookersatz. I highly recommend it.

Chez Castillon

You know how sometimes you meet new people and you just know that you’ll want to know them for ever? Well, that’s how I felt when I met Mickey and Janie at Chez Castillon.

Chez Castillon is an amazing house in Castillon la Bataille near Bordeaux, and Mickey and Janie have turned it into the most fantastic retreat for writers and artists.

I was out there for a few days at the end of last month and I had a wonderful time. The hospitality of Chez Castillon makes it the perfect environment for writing and relaxing. Mickey and Janie are the perfect hosts, and the provision of food and drink is abundant and seamless.

Add to this great tuition from the talented Adrian Magson and the stimulating company of my fellow students, and my stay at Chez Castillon was just perfect.

You can find out more about Chez Castilon here. They’ve got an array of writing and painting courses coming up, including 'Is There A Book In You?' with the gorgeous Jane Wenham Jones.

Meanwhile, so you can see how beautiful it is, here are some more photos ...

If you want a writing retreat or course in incredible surroundings with wonderful company, I highly recommend Chez Castillon.

Freaks!

Two of the loveliest people you could hope to meet have got together to release a book of short stories. They are Caroline Smailes and Nik Perring, and I am delighted to be hosting one of the stories on my blog today.

As well as stories by Caroline and Nik, there are fab illustrations by Darren Craske.



You can buy Freaks here and here.

But in the meantime, here's a little taster for you.

Invisible

[Super Power: The ability to make oneself unseen to the naked eye]

If I stay totally still,

if I stand right tall,

with me back against the school wall,

close to the science room’s window,

with me feet together,

pointing straight,

aiming forward,

if I make me hands into tight fists,

make me arms dead straight,

if I push me arms into me sides,

if I squeeze me thighs,

stop me wee,

if me belly doesn’t shake,

if me boobs don’t wobble,

if I close me eyes tight,

so tight that it makes me whole face scrunch,

if I push me lips into me mouth,

if I make me teeth bite me lips together,

if I hardly breathe,

if I don’t say a word.

Then,

I’ll magic meself invisible,

and them lasses will leave me alone.

Many congratulations to all involved in Freaks!

Day Retreat For Writers

I'm pleased to announce my very first ...

Day Retreat For Writers – 28 April 2012 - at Delapre Abbey in Northampton

Sessions will include ...

Ideas are everywhere – an interactive session focussed on sourcing ideas and making them work.

Free writing session. Take one of your new ideas and start turning it into a story.

Question and answer session. Group discussion of markets, subbing, other directions for your writing, or anything else.

A chance to read out work and get feedback. You can read out what you wrote earlier, or bring something along with you to read out if you prefer.

What next? Goal setting and any final questions.

Please get in touch, by emailing me via my profile, if you'd like more information or a booking form.

You can also find details of my other courses on my website. www.helenmhunt.co.uk

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Latest News From Leigh Russell

As regular readers of this blog will know, I'm a big fan of Leigh Russell's writing and I'm very pleased that her new book, Death Bed, is now available. I got my review copy a couple of days ago and I can't wait to read it.

You might be interested to know that there is a Limited Special Edition Hardback of Death Bed, individually signed and numbered. It is available only on http://www.noexit.co.uk/dbspecial/ as a collector's item, or gift. The publishers are only printing 200 and they're a bargain at £20.

Leigh has also let me know about a great new service she is providing for writers.

OPPORTUNITY FOR WRITERS WORKING TOWARDS PUBLICATION

Internationally bestselling crime writer LEIGH RUSSELL is offering expert critique to published and aspiring authors.

Benefit from Leigh’s experience of writing a bestselling series, combined with her skills as a creative writing tutor.

Leigh runs regular workshops for The Society of Authors, and for the annual Get Writing Conference hosted by the University of Hertfordshire.

Leigh will highlight the positive aspects of your writing, while suggesting ways you can improve your manuscript to make it fit for successful submission to agents and publishers.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR MANUSCRIPT

For details of submission and fees contact http://www.leighrussell.co.uk/contact.php

Leigh Russell’s novels have attracted glowing reviews in many publications around the world, including The Times, US Publishers Weekly and Star Magazine and have been:

o shortlisted for a CWA Dagger Award

o in Top 50 Bestseller list on amazon

o a Top Crime Book on Crime Time (voted by readers)

o a Top Read on Eurocrime

o No. 1 international bestselling female detective on kindle

o a Great Crime Sleuth on Lovereading

You can hear Leigh talking about crime fiction, how to get published, and many other topics, as well as reading from her books, on her Author Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/LeighRussellAuthor

For details of submission & fees contact http://www.leighrussell.co.uk/contact.php