It is only now that I’ve had time to sit down and reflect on what a truly brilliant experience the Romantic Novelists’ Association Conference was in August. As a newbie, I arrived at Royal Holloway London feeling nervous, overwhelmed and a little bit terrified. But those feelings were soon put to bed as I walked …

I’ve finally found a moment to sit down and reflect on the whirlwind that has been the past week – publication week! ARCs and other copies of A Concert for Christmas have been out in the world for a few weeks already; so in some ways, publication day was like Christmas Day, in that it …

I wanted to step away from all the excitement for a moment and write a few words about my experience as a debut author so far. It’s been an incredibly busy few weeks and here’s why… While I’m busy promoting A Concert for Christmas (more on that later), I’ve also been finishing off the second …

When I started taking writing seriously in early 2020, little did I know that writing was, in fact, not unlike opening Pandora’s box. I had a story idea based on a friend’s funny first date. I knew I wanted to write a Hallmark Christmas movie set in the Cotswolds. I had a laptop and more …

What it feels like to hold your book in your hand I started writing when I was in primary school. I still have a note from my Year 6 teacher wishing me luck in secondary school and saying that she couldn’t wait to read my Nobel Prize winning novel. So, I might not quite be …

As an avid reader and writer of romance, like you, I have my favourite tropes. Those delicious will they, won’t they (we know they will) situations that we see time and time again, but never grow old. There are hundreds and they go in and out of fashion as time goes by, but here are …

Two things prompted me to write this post. First, my realisation that by focusing on querying and editing, I’d not written anything for a very long time. Second, I’m sitting here with my feet in a bowl and it’s just lovely. I was starting to feel guilty, anxious even, having not written anything almost all …

Editing can be a huge investment – in both time and money – especially for the new author who is yet to make anything from their writing. It can also be a risk, particularly if you pass your manuscript to an editor too soon. If there are things you can fix before you hand your …

I recently discovered the term ‘As you know Bob.’ I loved it instantly because the terminology made me giggle, and the meaning levelled up my writing – almost immediately. Put simply, ‘As you know Bob’ is where two characters have a conversation about something which, in real life, they would never need to talk about …

So, you’ve just finished your manuscript. It’s been to a couple of friends or beta readers and you’ve completed at least one self edit. Soon, you hope to publish your writing and share it with the world. But before you do, you’ll want to work with a professional editor. Editing is a subjective business and …