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Indie Champion 2023
It was with some trepidation that I set out for London and the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Industry Awards on the 13th of November which were being held at the the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City. Having been shortlisted for the Indie Champion of the Year Award, twice, I wondered if 2023 would be my year.
Dear Reader, I’m please to say it was.
Accompanied by Adrienne Vaughan (who came up with the idea of the RNA Industry Awards when she was editor of Romance Matters ) we soon arrived in London. St Pancras had a wonderfully appropriate Christmas display waiting for us and Adrienne and I felt right at home among all the books.
Upon arrival, photographs were taken in the ‘green room’ where a glass of nerve-calming prosecco was on hand. After that, we headed for the dining room for the ceremony. It looked fabulous, all the tables laid out with white napery, candles and complimentary bottles of wine and water. The Leonardo staff brought round an array of canapes – which I was too nervous to eat – and we settled down for the ceremony itself. Nervously clutching my pre-prepared acceptance speech, I waited for my category – Indie Champion 2023 to be called.
Here is an abbreviated version of my acceptance speech
Thanks to everyone who has nominated or voted for me in this category. The RNA has been fundamental to my achieving the goal of becoming a published author. As a former teacher it’s second nature to help and inspire others and, since joining the RNA in 2006, I’ve striven to give something back. Not only to help indie authors write the best book they can, but to champion and encourage others to keep going; even when the going gets tough. To this end I formed the Belmont Belles and Beaux which now has over sixty members, organised workshops and co-presented a talk on indie publishing at last year’s conference. Indie authors plough a lone furrow: writing, editing, finding proof readers and cover designers, having their work professionally formatted and relying on social media to get word of their novels out there. If I’ve been able to lighten the load for even one indie author, I feel that I will have earned this trophy.
The trophy is mine to keep and is sitting in pride of place on my bookshelf next to my seven published novels- leaving just enough space to fit the Christmas novella I plan to publish in 2024. Will it feature a man in a kilt? You’d better believe it.
Then, just when I thought life couldn’t get any better, there was a knock on the door a few days later. My husband Dave came through with a parcel and asked, “Are you expecting anything from Amazon?” I opened the package to discover that my dear writer friend Madalyn Morgan – who has just had ten of her novels published by Storm Publishing – had generously sent these brownies. In case, you’re wondering, they are delicious. Thank you, Maddy. It seemed a shame to eat them, but we did.
It just remains for me to say a big thank you to everyone who’s supported me on my journey to becoming a successful indie author. I like the freedom being an indie affords me and I will carry on writing and helping others for as long as I can. Have a great Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year. Once I’ve published this blog post I’m heading back to the pc . . . after all, I have a novel to write.
(offical photos taken by Katie Hipkiss Visuals)
New Cover – new price – Black Friday week only
I felt that the time had arrived to update all the covers of my novels. My two latest novels Dark Highland Skies and Harper’s Highland Fling came with new covers, obviously, so all that remained for me was to work through all the others. This sounds easier than it is because the perfect cover for a novel is hard to settle on. Luckily, Sarah Houldcroft of Goldcrest Books, who formats all my novels and uploads them onto Amazon for me, introudced me to Gail Bradley. Gail and I have got on famously and so, it is with much pleasure that I reveal the new cover for Girl in the Castle – a novel I particularly enjoyed writing.
The starting point, not only for writing the novel but for selecting a new cover, is one of my favurouite places in the Highlands of Scotland – Castle Stalker on Loch Linnhe. We’ve camped in Port Appin many times and when we raise the caravan blinds every monring Castle Stalker is the first thing we see. This is me standing on the jetty looking across towards the castle. Gail used one of my photographs for the background of the cover, the rest was up for discussion. And what fun we had.
A bit like Goldilocks and the three bears (!) we discussed the cover ideas at length. Although I loved #1, I didn’t like how/where the heroine’s hands were placed. With #2, I felt that her hair was too dark, her jacket too white and I think that the luggage labels added something to the final cover so they were reinstated. Gail added a rucksack and more labels until I felt that #3 was just right. After that, it was simply a case of Gail brightening up the colours and then working on the back cover of the paperback.
Gail added the blurb, new photo of author; then I uploaded it onto my KDP page (with more than a little help from Sarah at Goldcrest Books) and Amazon did the rest.
So what is Girl in the Castle about? Here’s the blurb –
Her career in tatters, Henriette Bruar needs somewhere to lay low, plan her comeback and restore a tarnished reputation. Fate lends a hand, taking her to a remote castle in the highlands of Scotland to auction the contents of its ancient library to pay the laird’s mounting debts. The family are in deep mourning over a tragedy which happened years before, resulting in a toxic relationship between the laird, Malcolm Mackenzie and his son and heir, Keir. Add a phantom piper, lost Jacobite treasure, scheming cousins and a cast of eccentric characters to the mix and watch Henrietta encourage the MacKenzies to confront the past and move forward with their lives. However – will the Girl in the Castle be able to return home once her task is completed and leave gorgeous, sexy, Keir MacKenzie behind?
If you’d like to read the first few chapter of Girl in the Castle, click on ‘READ SAMPLE’ on its Amazon page and you’ll be able to judge if Girl in the Castle is for you. To tempt you further, the kindle version will be reduced from £1.99 to £0.99 during Black Friday Week –
| Friday, November 24, 2023, 8:00 AM GMT | Friday, December 1, 2023, 8:00 AM GMT |
Breaking News . . . I was voted Indie Champion of the Year 2023 by the Romantic Novelists’ Association
However, you’ll have to wait for my next blog to learn all about that and to see the photos taken on that occassion. To say that I am ‘made up’ is an understatement.
Lizzie Lamb
Lizzie Lamb - author 