I happened upon this article the other day, and if you're a writer then it's well worth a read. In an article for the Yorkshire Post, Milly Johnson talks about what it takes to become a paperback writer. The article also includes a fantastic ten tips "to coax you on the road to being an author"...
Read the full article here
Find out more about Milly here
Milly's fourth book A Summer Fling is out in May, and you can pre order it here!
I've been informed that Bestselling Author Dorothy Koomson, will be doing a live web chat as part of the Waterstones Book Club!
The chat will be taking place on Tuesday 9th March from 1pm-3pm (UK Time)
I have recently received Dorothy's latest book THE ICE CREAM GIRLS and can't wait to read it. I'll be over there asking questions for Novelicious on the 9th. Hopefully I'll see you there (virtually, of course).
For more info about the web chat click here!
To visit Dorothy's website, click here!
A big welcome to Jessica Ruston, author of the fabulous LUXURY who tells us a little bit about her reading habits. Enjoy, and stay tuned as later this week we will be offering one lucky reader a SIGNED copy of Luxury!
My Bedside Table - Jessica Ruston
There’s always a mixture of fiction and non-fiction on there; books I’m reading for research or work, and books I’m reading for pleasure - which, luckily, for me, I can also call work – you’re in luck when your homework is reading Louise Bagshawe’s The Devil You Know or a classic Jeffrey Archer.
At the moment, my ‘reading’ book is The Group, by Mary McCarthy, which is a joy. It’s full of razor sharp observation and delicately nuanced social and class distinctions between a group of Vassar girls in 1930s New York, as they learn to negotiate relationships, politics, careers and families, fresh out of college. I’m loving it.
I sometimes manage to get my hands on proof copies of forthcoming novels, and I’ve just read Blake Morrison’s The Last Weekend which is just brilliant. Two couples spend a hot August bank holiday weekend together, and what happens during the weekend will change their lives forever. The events aren’t overly complex, but the way the story is told is what elevates the book into something really special – it’s beautifully restrained and elegantly written, and things are constantly shifting – the author holds back, and holds back, and then gives you just enough so that the landscape of the book changes as you read, and you never know quite whether you can trust what you are being told. I think it will be very well received indeed. Lined up are proofs of The Instruments of Darkness by Imogen Robertson, and The Hand That First Held Mine, by Maggie O’Farrell, both sent by my lovely publishers.
Continue reading "Guest Post - Jessica Ruston tells us what's on her Bedside Table!" »
The lovely Rupert James has kindly written us a fantastic guest post (Thanks Rupert!) about being a man, writing fiction for Women. His new book Silk is out now, and you can buy it by clicking right here!
Rupert James
When I started writing Silk, a big, sexy novel largely about women, I seriously considered publishing it under a female name. The gender divide in the fiction market is massive: women write women’s fiction, men write for men. Women write chicklit, sagas, romances, while men write thrillers, or poignant memoirs about their fascinating record collections.
In the end, however, I decided to keep my original gender and see how a man would get on in the women’s market. Of course, I’m not the first: in their day, Sidney Sheldon and Harold Robbins were the most successful producers of “women’s fiction” in the world. But in the last couple of decades, the publishing business has become extremely polarised. There’s a perception that men can’t, or shouldn’t, write about the emotional lives of women. At the time of writing, Silk is in Heat magazine’s top ten books – the only one of the ten written by a man. I fully expect readers and critics to ask “how can you – a man – possibly know how women think/feel/act/have sex?”. Well, I’ve spent a lifetime in the company of women, and you know what? We’re not really that different.
Turn the clock back 150 years, and things were very different. Men dominated fiction to such an extent that a debut novelist called Mary Anne Evans decided to publish under a man’s name in order to be taken seriously. It turned out to be a sound strategy. That novel, Adam Bede, launched its author, George Eliot, very nicely indeed. Circumstances are different today, but the fact remains that fiction is very gender-specific. Evans/Eliot became a man because female writers were regarded as frivolous and shallow. Today, women dominate the fiction market, both as writers and readers – and, if you’re going to have a chance at commercial success, you need to appeal to them.
Continue reading "Guest Post by Rupert James - Author of Silk!" »
We recently did an interview with the terrific Lola Jaye and she has agreed to give us her top 5 writing tips for aspiring novelists...
1 Write
2 Read other books in the genre you want to write for
3 Keep practicing, get better at it!
4 Write because you LUV it– not merely to make money
5 Never give up!
To visit Lola's website click here!
Four London-based romance writers, have gotten together to create a website called 'Let's Talk About Love'.
The Authors, Jean Fullerton, Victoria Connelly, Juliet Archer and Janet Gover, will be using the site as a place to update news about their books and appearances!
And btw, if any of you live in Penrith, you might want to attend tommorows 'Love In The Library' event, where three of the authors (Janet, Jean and Victoria) will be doing a talk at Penrith Library!
You can find out more details from the website!
I can sense a bit of a buzz in the air about this novel, and am so looking forward to having it, not least because of the gorgeous cover.
Cally Taylor's debut will be released on the 15th October this year, and it sounds smashing.
'What would I do without you, Lucy Brown?' he said, and kissed me softly. I held his face in my hands and kissed him back. I felt that life just couldn't get any more perfect. And I was right, it wouldn't. By the end of the next day, I'd be dead. Lucy is about to marry the man of her dreams - kind, handsome, funny Dan - when she breaks her neck the night before their wedding. Unable to accept a lifetime's separation from her soulmate, Lucy decides to become a ghost rather than go to heaven and be parted from Dan. But it turns out things aren't quite as easy as that. When Lucy discovers that Limbo is a grotty student-style house in North London she's less than thrilled. Especially after meeting her new flatmates: grumpy, cider-swilling EMO-kid Claire; and Brian, a train-spotter with a Thomas the Tank Engine duvet and a big BO problem. But Lucy has a more major problem on her hands - if she wants to become a ghost and be with Dan she has to complete an almost impossible task. How the hell does a girl like Lucy find a girlfriend for the dorkiest man in England? IT geek Archie's only passions are multi-player computer games and his Grandma. But Lucy only has twenty-one days to find him love. And when she discovers that her so-called friend Anna is determined to make a move on the heart-broken, vulnerable Dan, the pressure is really on...
Brilliant concept! You can visit Cally's Website by clicking here.
1 Have a clear idea of what your characters are like before you start - their personalities, flaws, habits, likes, dislikes etc. It will help a lot when you're working out what their reaction would be to something that happens.
2 Get the story down first, in one format or another. Then work on characterisation and humour etc when you're not having to think about the plot.
3 Allow yourself time to write. Personally, I prefer silence and solitude, so create the place and time that you need.
4 Be in the right mood! If you're writing comedy, you won't get very far if you've just had a huge row with someone, or lost your purse.
5 Enjoy it! If it's not fun, maybe you shouldn't be doing it.
Cheers, Debbie!
Welcome to Novelicious, a blog dedicated to women's fiction in all its wonderful incarnations. Chick lit, hen lit, YA, bonkbusters, romantic comedy and lad lit that's mostly read by girls, whatever your women's fiction tastes, visit Novelicious for up to date news, reviews, exclusive author interviews and competitions!
