I’m always interested to see what motivates a writer to take a bold step. Good luck Amelia, I prefer romance to crime.
Writing thrillers is something I am super passionate about. It fulfils the Enid Blyton’s Famous Five obsessive inside of me, the Scooby Doo and the gang need to solve the mystery addict. But I’ve always had another dream. A dream I clutched tightly to my chest promising it one day, eventually, and when I’ve got more time but I never seemed to have more time and eventually never came. It felt like a secret. A secret I couldn’t quite share. You see, I’d had my heart broken at the age of eight after reading Little Women and that was when I knew with certainty I wanted to one day write a story which would make readers fall in love with the characters, cry for them, hope, question ‘what would I do in that situation.’
It was while I was on holiday in Lanzarote, gazing out to sea that…
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Great reviews from Samantha Henthorn for my Scottish romances 🏴
Thank you for joining me in this month’s what Samantha read next.
When I was a little girl, my mum used to watch a programme set in Scotland called Take the High Road. I remember very little about the programme apart from the warm Scottish accents. In 2014, I was introduced to the 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith. And, one day, several years ago, when visiting my Northumberland based in-laws we walked over a bridge, and Father-in-law said ‘WE’RE IN SCOTLAND NOW!’
I’m just setting the scene of how Scotland to me, as a proud Mancunian is a place of romance and comfort. I’ve always held this romantic view – then I read three of Lizzie Lamb’s books… sigh… The three books I will mention here have confirmed my idealised view of a romantic Scotland and I recommend you read them all, especially if you’re all…
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Many thanks to Sam for featuring me on her blog. Watch out for the Burns Night post on Saturday 25th.
Hi Everyone! The special treat is that best-selling uplifting romantic novelist Lizzie Lamb has agreed to guest post on my ‘What’s in a (Character) Name?’ Regular blog post. When Lizzie put her post together, the focus was on location – particularly because of the three HIGHLAND BRIDES NOVELS
So, before Saturday – when I expect you will be all reading Robert Burns’ poetry, wearing a kilt and eating haggis, I thought I would treat everyone to a snippet of Lizzie’s post before the big event – Burns night.
Castle Stalker (Photo from Lizzie Lamb – more of this on Saturday).
Here is a bit of Lizzie’s guest post –
Closing the door behind her, India sank down on the padded window seat and, drawing her knees up, pulled a cushion towards her, hugging it for comfort…
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I’m often asked about my route to publication. I thought I’d update some of that information and share with you as I head into 2020 and finish my 6th novels. I hope you find the blog post helpful and informative.
My latest novel – Take Me, I’m Yours
India Buchanan plans to set up an English-Style bed and breakfast establishment in her great-aunt’s home, MacFarlane’s Landing, Wisconsin. But she’s reckoned without opposition from Logan MacFarlane whose family once owned her aunt’s house and now want it back. MacFarlane is in no mood to be denied. His grandfather’s living on borrowed time and Logan has vowed to ensure the old man sees out his days in their former home. India’s great-aunt has other ideas and has threatened to burn the house to the ground before a MacFarlane sets foot in it. There’s a story here. One the family elders aren’t prepared to share. When India finds herself in Logan’s debt, her feelings towards him change. However, the past casts a long shadow and events conspire to deny them the love and happiness they. Can India and Logan’s love overcome all odds? Or is history about to repeat itself? You can read an extract.
2.This is the first book I’ve set outside of the UK. Here’s why . . .
Back in the day I trained a teaching student from Oshkosh University for two terms. We became great friends and I had a standing invitation to go over to stay with her in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. I did just that for five weeks one summer and when I flew back from Chicago I promised I would write a romance set in Wisconsin. Last year I learned she has Parkinson’s Disease and that galvanised me into action – this book is for her.
3. I like writing about sexy, highland lairds. I hope you like reading about them.
I am a dyed-in-the-wool romantic. For some women, it’s Regency Rakes, Cowboys or Navy Seals, but for me it’s a man-in-a-kilt. If he’s a highland laird or the heir to a highland estate so much the better. Not because of wealth or belonging to an aristocratic family but because I love a hero who isn’t afraid to shoulder responsibility, care for his tenants and who has a strong connection with the land. Those attributes, allied with a sharp mind, a sense of humour and a willingness to care for the heroine wins me over – every time.
4 and 5 My writing journey prior to New Romantics Press being founded
I bagged an agent (the late Dot Lumley) and HM&B were showing interest in my writing. In 1990 I reached a crossroads, continue with my writing or accept a deputy headship of a large primary school. Because of the demanding nature of teaching, I knew I couldn’t do both and chose the latter. In 2006 I took early retirement from teaching joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme, wrote Tall, Dark and Kilted and submitted it for a critique. I was told it was ‘almost ready’ to start sending out to agents but needed more polishing. In the meantime, I co-founded NRP with other members of the RNA/NWS. Then, over lunch in my garden, author Amanda Grange advised us to consider self-publishing on amazon. The algorithms were changing and . . . well, you can read more about it here – That was in 2012 and we’ve never looked back. I only wish I’d had the chutzpah to self-publish a year earlier because terms were more favourable on Amazon at that point.
New Romantics Press is keen to find new readers and share our work with them. Over the last six years we have published fifteen books between us and are currently working on new titles. Our motto is: Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves and you can read more about us on in this blog
6 The benefits of collaborating with other authors?
I love working collaboratively with others. That means I’m never more than a phone call away from a good mate who will listen to my writing woes, meet for coffee and offer sound advice. As being a member of New Romantics Press and the RNA I can tap into a wealth of knowledge about publishing, social media, PR – and what one of us doesn’t know, the others will find out! I couldn’t imagine being without my support system.
We try to make our events sound fun . . . Most readers and bloggers mention how much fun we have promoting our books. Writing can be a lonely occupation. As authors, we spend most of the time hidden away in our studies/offices tapping at the keyboard. When we do get out, we like to let our hair down. Warning: our events involve laughter and prosecco, so only like-minded writers and readers need apply.
In 2019 I offered a series of workshops for novice and intermediate writers, sharing my knowledge and giving writers the confidence to finish their WIP. In November of 2019 I attended the Narberth Book Fair where I outlined my 10 point guide, met readers and sold books.
Here endeth the first part of my talk. Do join me next time when I will be covering the following aspects of writing:
Just to let you know, in case you missed it, that my novels are available to download for 99p/ $1.25 until December 27th. After that, they revert to £1.99/ $2.20 – less than a cappuccino in your favourite cafe or bar. And – the really good news – if you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber you can download them and read for FREE. (well, the cost of your subscription). So of you’ve overdosed on Christmas novels try something different. Or download at this price and read later . . . the choice is yours.
So, what are my novels about? Well, you won’t find any murders in them, although in Boot Camp Bride you will find a fake engagement, a boot camp for brides on the Norfolk marshes where some very dodgy stuff is going down. Interested? Readers have said they love Boot Camp Bride for the sparky dialogue between drop-dead gorgeous hero Rafa Fonseca-Ffinch and my up-for-anything heroine Charlie Montague.
Try a free sample here – and make up your own mind.
If you fancy a romance set in Chicago and small town America, look no further than Take Me, I’m Yours. I loved writing this novelo because it took me to a different place and reminded me of the five weeks I spent in Wisconsin researching it. I loved that one reviewer saw it as a modern day Romeo and Juliet trope where an ancient family feud gets in the way of lover Logan and India.
What can I tell you about these? Only that I love visiting my home country for inspiration each summer and can’t wait to get in front of the pc and start writing. What fires my imagination? The scenery, the history, the hauntingly beautiful setting of loch and castle and the arduous task of dreaming up another to-die-for hero in a kilt. What’s not to like? Tall, Dark and Kilted was my debut novel and readers still sigh over Ruairi Urquhart. Follow the link, read and extract and check out some of the 112 reviews.
In Scotch on the Rocks I feature a very naughty parrot, a hunky American who raises more questions than my heroine can answer, a crazy raft of secondary characters who nearly ran away with the novel. Read an extract, check the reviews and see what you think. You won’t be disappointed.
Who could resist reading about a disgraced academic forced to hide away in a Scottish castle while she figures out how to restore her tarnished reputation. Not me. When writing Girl in the Castle I felt compelled to add a penniless laird with a tragic past and a Jacobite treasure just waiting got be found. Read the extract to find out what happens to Henriette Bruar. .
Once the festive season is over and the baubles have been packed away I’ll get down to finishing I’LL BE IN SCOTLAND – Highland Brides book 4 and, hopefully, publish in the summer. So fire up your kindle and download my novels while they’re hot. They won’t be this price again for a l-o-n-g time. And I never give them away for FREE (except on #KU). Have a great Christmas, kick back and enjoy the holidays and see you in the new year.
By the way, if you prefer a paperback click here. I sell my paperbacks from my website at way below the amazon price AND you get a personalised bookplate and bookmark. And, if you do download one of my novels and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review on Amazon – it really helps an indie author to get her name out there.
Dec 11
This gallery contains 9 photos.
Originally posted on jan brigden, writer:
? Well what a busy old time I’ve had since my last post. Now here we are in December with Christmas almost upon us (hooray!) and 2020 waving at us over its shoulder. I’m looking forward to receiving my edits for Book 2 – the sequel to As Weekends…
What does 2020 hold for us? More trips away in the van, certainly. Have tickets for the Braemar Highland Gathering in September to celebrate Dave’s BIG BIRTHDAY. Other than that, we’ll take life as it comes and touch base with as many friends as possible. Keep in touch and let us know what you’ve been up to. Love from Lizzie and Dave
Photo by Leo Cardelli on Pexels.com
I achieve this by accepting invitations to appear at book fairs, signings, author talks or library visits. I use these events to create blog posts and promos which I disseminate via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and two retweeting groups I belong to. This could be viewed as casting my bread upon the water in the vain hope that the fish will bite. However, I find that getting my name out there in a variety of ways reaps dividends.
Here are some of my top tipsThere are many social media sites and they can be a real time suck, taking you away from your WIP. Experiment to find which ones work for you. I focus on: Facebook (personal, author page, groups) Twitter, Instagram and my website/blog. I also belong to many Facebook ‘groups’, it takes a little time to figure out which ones work get little or no traffic, so don’t be afraid to leave a group if you’re getting nothing from it. LIfe’s too short.
As a result of increasing my social media presence I have been invited to appear in Writers’ Magazine (blog tours – 2018), Writers Forum (my writing space – 2019) De Montfort University to lecture final year creative writing students, library visits, author talks and workshops. One word of warning – book sales are not always guaranteed so do check in advance that you will be paid for the talk, be offered petrol expenses and whether or not the venue will want 10% of your book sales. Yes, really (!)
Narberth Book Fair – Wales – September 2019
I believe that my books deserve to be brought to the attention of the largest number of readers possible so I canvass different venues to see if they would like a visit from an indie author, or authors in the case of New Romantics Press. So far, I/we’ve appeared at Aspinalls of London, Waterstones Kensington High Street and hosted literary lunches at top Leicestershire venues to raise money for charity.
Keep your author bio, author photo, links etc up to date. Be organised, you don’t want to be hunting around for an excerpt of your novel when an outside agency approaches you. Invest in a mobile phone capable of taking decent photos and syncs with your computer.
Join author groups where you can learn from others. I’ve been a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association since 2006 and co-organise the Leicester Chapter with June Kearns. What I’ve learned from other authors has been invaluable. I used to belong to local writing groups where members critiqued each other’s work. They didn’t work for me, but they might work for you.
Don’t be afraid to enter competitions, but choose wisely as they can be time suckage, too. Remember to publicise the good bits which you’re happy to share and project a positive image of yourself and your novels.
Check out the great promotional apps out there: Canva, Ripl, Photolab Photofunia – you have to stand out from the crowd.
Once you’re published and have proven sales, join professional groups such as the Society of Authors. It might not do much to raise your profile in the short term but offers invaluable professional advice on contracts, tax matters. Using the #SOA tag on your profile identifies you as a serious writer.
Carol Bevitt, Adrienne Vaughan, Lizzie Lamb, Marcia Holah, Caroline Bell-Foster, Marilyn Rodwell
Make friends, be generous to other writers but don’t expect them to always return the favour. Invite authors on to your blog, ‘like’ any blogs you read and (if time allows) leave a comment. Read and review their books (don’t be afraid to ask them to do the same for you). Retweet authors in your genre, like their posts on Instagram etc. A good time for this is via your mobile phone when you’re watching tv (!) Remember the USA doesn’t come on line until (roughly) 3pm.
Be ready for opportunities
Over the past two years I’ve been offered an Amazon Prime Deal and an Amazon Kindle Deal in India. The former arrived via email when I was in John O’Groats on a research trip and I had to respond straight away. See what I mean about always having your phone with you, always being alert?!
I’m currently waiting to be accepted on the Women’s Institute and Rotaract circuit where I will talk about writing, travels in our caravan, I’ve just signed up to Kindlepreneur and downloaded software to hone my tags and categories more effectively and increase my novels’ visibility on Amazon. The learning never stops.
If I’m allowed a small boast (it’s my blog – right?) I’d love to share the article in WRITER’S FORUM where I talk about my writing space. Quite an achievement for an indie author.
So – good luck with all your enterprises. Don’t wait for luck to strike, go out and make it happen. And, if you see me on social media, do ‘like’ and ‘share’ my posts – I always pay it forward.
Last year I learned via Jessie Cahalin that a book fair had been held at Narberth, Wales and I was keen to take part this year. One of the great things about having a caravan is that you can rock up, book into a site for a couple of nights and enjoy all the comforts of home. The only down side of the weekend was that weather front Imelda decided to hit the Welsh coast at roughly the same time as us. However, writers are an intrepid bunch so we didn’t let that put us off.
There was a day to go before the Book Fair opened and so we made the most of the opportunity to explore Tenby, a place new to us. What a fabulous little town it is, set above an amazing swathe of beach (reminiscent of The Prisoner), pastel painted houses of Dylan Thomas’s Llareggub in Under Milk Wood, twisting streets and chi-chi shops encircled by a formidable granite town walls. Much to my delight there was a Seasalt shop and a niche off-license selling gin in all its many forms. Yep, you guessed it, the tills were soon ringing.
We headed back to Narberth and set up my book table for the book fair the following day. If you’d like to read my interview on the Narberth Book Fair blog, you can find it here.
Next morning, bright eyed, bushy tailed and accompanied by a man in a kilt, I was soon behind my book table eager to meet new readers. My husband Dave is such a good sport, happy to chat to potential readers and answer questions about his kilt: which clan did he belong to (Lamont) where he’d bought his kilt (eBay!) and what was it like being married to a crazy writer of romance. (I asked that last question, actually). Other authors asked if he was available for hire as the kilt certainly proved a hit drawing in readers.
As some of you may know, I was a teacher for 34 years and I was delighted to present a workshop to aspiring writers. One of those attending my workshop – 10 Point Guide on How to Write a Novel – was Anne Williams – fabulous blogger/reviewer and friend, who shared her knowledge on what was current in the publishing world, the benefit of writing sequels/series and the importance of having a social media presence. I hope that we can work together in the future as our joint perspective was appreciated by attendees. In case you’re wondering what’s on the large scroll I’m holding, it’s my novel PLANNER which I was keen to share with the attendees. I then went on to explain the difference between being a plotster or a pantser and, among other topics, having the courage to kill off your darlings if they aren’t moving the plot along.
An unexpected bonus of attending the fair was meeting writers I’d only spoken to via Twitter or Facebook. In the collage are (clockwise) Anne Williams, Judith Barrow (joint organiser of the fair with Thorne Moore) Juliet Greenwood, Wendy Steele, Thorne Moore and Tim Wickenden. I also met Judith Arnott and we had an interesting discussion about Margaret Beaufort’s place in history. If I didn’t write romance I’d probably write historical fiction.
Sadly, the weather on Sunday worsened and that had an impact on footfall. However, books continued to be sold, business cards exchanged and, gratifyingly, two attendees from my workshop returned to tell me how much they enjoyed my talk. They complimented me on the the way I’d presented the information in such an informative, easy to understand fashion. Clearly, all my years as a teacher hasn’t gone to waste. After clearing the hall I headed for local hotel Plas Hyfryd and a celebratory meal (and maybe a raspberry gin and tonic, or two) with other writers. Dave returned to the caravan to watch the Rugby World Cup.
When I returned, Dave had, covered the caravan’s windscreen with its protective ‘bra’ (see photo 1) in preparation for the l-o-o-ng journey back to Leicester – six and a half hours with a fifteen minute break. The mist hung low in the valley as we left Wales and we were chased home by another weather front snapping at our heels. However, that couldn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the weekend. Many thanks to Thorne, Judith and their team of helpers for making the Narberth Book Fair such a resounding success.
So what’s next? I plan on spending the autumn and winter hunkered down over the pc finishing my WIP – working title I’ll Be in Scotland – and getting it ready to publish Summer 2020. In the meantime, do watch my slideshow, check out my five published romances, or read some of my other blog posts.
I’ve been a fan of Jo’s well crafted books for a long time so I am pleased to announce the arrival of her new romance. Take it away, Jo – Tell us about your latest …….
BLURB
In the close-knit community of Carrenporth in Cornwall everyone knows everyone else’s business. Luke Carrack is only too aware of this. He’s been away for two years but nothing has changed – from the town gossips who can’t see past the scandal of his childhood, to the cold way he is treated by some of his so-called family.
The only person who seems to understand is local hotelier’s daughter Cat Trevelyan, although even Luke’s new friendship with her could set tongues wagging.
But Carrenporth is about to experience far bigger scandals than the return of Luke Carrack – and the secrets unearthed in the process will shake the sleepy seaside town to its core …
Author Bio – Jo Lambert lives on the eastern edge of Bath in Somerset. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors. She has been writing since 2008. Her first five books, a set of linked romantic sagas following the lives of several families in West Somerset, was followed in 2015 by Summer Moved On, a contemporary romance set in South Devon. A sequel, Watercolours in the Rain followed in 2017,
In June 2018 Jo signed to Choc Lit and her debut A Cornish Affair, set in North Cornwall, has just been published. Jo is currently working on another Cornish coastal romance. When she isn’t writing she reads and reviews. She also has an active blog. Jo loves travel, red wine and rock music and she often takes the odd photograph or two.
Buy links
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cornish-Affair-Jo-Lambert-ebook/dp/B07S4M3JNC
US – https://www.amazon.com/Cornish-Affair-Jo-Lambert-ebook/dp/B07S4M3JNC
In e-book and audible form
Also available on KOBO, Nook, Google Play and iBookstore
Social Media Links – Website: http://jolambertbooks.com
Blog: http://jolambertwriter.blog
Twitter: @jolambertwriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jolambert185
Instagram: jolambertwriter185
Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jo-lambert-6 4644530
What readers and reviewers have said about A Cornish Affair
” perhaps my favourite yet of the author’s books” Welsh Anne 5*
” A really lovely and enjoyable debut by Jo for Choc Lit ” Barch 5*
” The many plot twists and one curious mystery kept my interest and moved the story along at a good pace. ” All125 4* Amazon.com
” What I really did enjoy about this novel was that I felt it went beyond where I would have expected it to. ” Gilski 4*
” A romantic, engaging and irresistible tale of love, loyalty and the ties that bind.” Julie 4*
