For our daughter’s fourteenth birthday, we took a family trip to the Harry Potter Studios in Watford. I grew up in Watford but moved away a little before Leavesden Aerodrome was turned into a Warner Bros studio lot. I have family in that direction, so we have driven passed the site on occasion and seen the famous purple Knight Bus.
Our daughter is a life-long fan of the Harry Potter series and can answer any trivia question thrown at her. I, on the other hand, have never read the books or seen all of the films. I know. It’s a crime. I apologise. It’s something I will rectify once I’ve liberated the books from our daughter’s bedroom. I might have to carry out an early morning raid …
London Book Fair. Andrew Davidson, seen here with a photo of his etched cover for the most recent Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone cover. The new designs, all by Mr Davidson, are aimed at an older reader.
The thing is, I admire J K Rowling. Not long after I started writing novels, I watched her bio pic and even allowing for artistic licence, I found it an emotional and inspiring story.
So, yes, I was excited to be visiting the studio, but I was thinking in terms of the films, looking forward to seeing the sets, the costumes and our daughter opening the doors to the Great Hall (a birthday treat). What I didn’t expect was my emotional response to a quote from J K Rowling, posted on the wall in the queuing foyer.
It positively choked me. I had goosebumps, shivers and a deeper understanding of what it is to be a writer.
Everything we saw at the studio started as a seed of an idea in a writer’s head.
The day took a completely different turn for me, and I looked at everything through a writer’s eye. Perhaps I should have been doing that from the start, but we were there to see the incredible animatronics, Diagon Alley and Privet Drive, and we did, and they were amazing, but I love the fact we were reminded that Harry Potter, the boy wizard, first appeared to us on a page in a book.
Truth or Dare?, with its fantastic new cover, has been chosen by Amazon to be part of June’s Kindle Monthly Deal. The special offer is for the UK, France, Germany and Spain.
What do you get for 99p?
Suspense, dilemmas, two antagonists, two heroines and Declan O’Brien, a gorgeous, intelligent, gentle Irish man with dark hair and arctic blue eyes.
You will journey from Bedfordshire to Dorset, chill out on the beautiful Chesil Beach and enjoy a coffee in one of Weymouth’s best cafés.
It’s a story of friendship, passion and obsession, and knowing when to do the wrong thing for the right reason.
My fab publisher, Choc Lit, celebrating its fifth birthday, has five titles in Amazon’s promotion, including Truth or Dare?.
For less than a fiver, you can take a trip back in time with Margaret Kaine’s Dangerous Decisions, read Christina Courtenay’s The Guilded Fan, winner of the 2014 Best Historical Novel of the Year Award, fall in love with a maths genius in Alison May’s Sweet Nothing, a modern take on a Shakespearean classic, and be ‘seduced as much by life in the sleepy boatyard as by the infuriating but gorgeous Matthew Corrigan’ (Myslexia magazine), in Christine Stovell’s Turning The Tide.
And if you’ve enjoyed the books, a review would be wonderful and very much appreciated.
Why not download now, before the promotion ends? It’s a great start to your summer holiday reading list 🙂
Thank you so much to friend and fellow Romaniac, Celia J Anderson, for inviting me to take part in the Meeting My Main Character blog hop.
Celia introduced us to Mab, from her debut novel, Sweet Proposal, and you can meet both ladies here.
What is the name of the main character? Is she real or fictitious?
Victoria Noble is a fictitious thirty-five-year-old. Known as Vicky Paveley in her youth, the divorced mother is the director of the highly successful EweSpeak.
When and where is the story set?
The story begins in London, but swiftly moves to Weymouth and Portland, in Dorset, my beautiful home county. Chesil Beach plays a major role in my character’s life, as it does in mine.
What should we know about her?
Having been let down and betrayed twice by the male of the species, Victoria has pulled the plug on romance. She wrestles with the work-life balance, throwing most of her energy into maintaining her business, and her relationship with her four-year-old son, Seth, is at breaking point.
What is the main conflict? What messes up her life?
Left to raise a child with whom she has little connection, everyday life is a struggle for Victoria. There is huge conflict between her and Seth, and simple tasks such as giving him a bath and putting him to bed create anxiety and tension. He is resistant, belligerent, and on occasion, violent. Victoria believes she provides well for him, but realises it’s not enough when the draw of her EweSpeak office is greater than his cry for love.
If the men in her life had kept their promises, she wouldn’t be caught in the vicious circle of daily battles with her son. She holds one man in particular responsible ‒ Chris Frampton, Victoria’s first love.
What is Victoria’s goal?
To let go of the past, stop blaming others for her mistakes, and heal the damaged bond between her and Seth.
Paperback due out September 2014, published by Choc Lit.
Thanks so much for tagging me, Celia – I’m now passing the baton to my friend and fellow ChocLiteer, Alison May – find out about her main character here –http://alison-may.co.uk/blog/ and also the lovely Christine Stovell, whose new release, Follow A Star, is available for pre-order http://homethoughtsweekly.blogspot.co.uk/
I’m looking forward to reading about their main characters.
The day has finally arrived!! Nikki Moore’s debut novel with HarperImpulse – Crazy, Undercover, Love – is released as an ebook today, 24th April 2014.
If you like pacy, sexy romance and fancy a long weekend in Barcelona with a smoking hot guy this one’s for you! Want to know more…?
When uber-feisty career girl Charley Caswell-Wright takes on the assignment as PA to the gorgeous Alex Demetrio, CEO of Demetrio International, she’s there under entirely false pretences; to get her life back on track. Having lost the job she worked so hard to earn, she’s determined not to give it up so easily, especially when she didn’t deserve to lose it in the first place.
Mr Dreamy CEO is her only chance of clawing back her career – and her reputation. So she has to keep things strictly professional… boy, is she in trouble!
What people are saying about Nikki’s other stories…
The Love Letter and A Day in the Life… HarperImpulse short story collection Be My Valentine, with Teresa F Morgan and Brigid Coady, attracting 4 and 5 star reviews.
‘I loved all 5 stories and will look out for more books by each author.’ CometBabesBooks, Amazon
‘Whilst I enjoyed all of the stories, I particularly liked Nikki Moore’s … her voice as an author really resonated with me and I can’t wait to read more of her work.’ Kate Beeden, Goodreads
Nikki’s short story A Night to Remember in the Mills & Boon/Romantic Novelists Association anthology Truly, Madly, Deeplywhich has also attracted 4 and 5 star reviews.
‘My favourite story was A Night To Remember. I think what drew me to this … was its resonance with real life. I’m not going to spoil the story but I could feel the emotions spilling out of the page – it was beautiful.’ Beckie, http://www.beckiesbookmix.blogspot.co.uk/
Nikki Moore lives in beautiful Dorset and writes short stories and sexy, pacy romances. A finalist in several writing competitions including Novelicious Undiscovered 2012, she graduated from the Romantic Novelists Association New Writers’ Scheme after four years and and has contributed to their magazine Romance Matters. She has far too much fun attending the annual RNA conference and has previously chaired a panel and taken part in a workshop at the Festival of Romance.
She blogs about some of her favourite things – Writing, Work and Wine – at http://www.nikkimooreauthor.wordpress.com/ and believes in supporting other writers as part of a friendly, talented and diverse community.
You can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NikkiMooreAuthor or on Twitter @NikkiMoore_Auth and she invites you to pop in for chats about love, life, reading or writing!
I am delighted, thrilled and excited beyond belief to announce that my second novel, titled, Follow Me, Follow You, is to be published by Choc Lit in both digital and paperback formats later this year.
This will be my first book published as a paperback, and I cannot wait to hold a copy. The very talented artist and writer, Berni Stevens, designed the beautiful cover and has once more produced a perfect work of art and captured the essence of the whole novel.
I think this is a stunning cover. Thank you Berni and Choc Lit.
I feel privileged to be able to share this today, as it’s the second anniversary of the passing of my lovely mum. I started writing this book in the January of 2012, and was 60,000 words in to the first draft before Mum died, and whilst she never had the chance to read Follow Me, Follow You, she was kept abreast of the characters’ comings and goings.
As I stated before, she was a great supporter of my dream to write, and I can imagine her smile upon seeing this. She would say the cover was totally me.
Okay. She probably wouldn’t use the word ‘totally’, but she would instinctively know how much I love the colours, and the sheer pizzazz of the shooting star.
Sharing this today is fitting, and for me, completes another circle.
Take care.
Laura x
Follow Me, Follow You:
Victoria Noble has pulled the plug on romance. As director of the number one social networking site, EweSpeak, and single mother to four-year-old Seth, she wrestles with the work-life balance.
Enter Chris Frampton, Hollywood action hero and Victoria’s first love. His return from LA has sparked a powder keg of media attention, and with secrets threatening to fuel the fire, he’s desperate to escape. But finding a way forward is never simple. Although his connection with Victoria has lasted the test of time, has he been adrift too long to know how to move on? With the risk of them breaking, will either follow their heart?
Today is Blog Tour Day. This blog tour is where writers and authors answer questions about their writing process. My friend and fellow Choc Lit author, Janet Gover, posted hers last week. It’s a great read. Very interesting. I love finding out how writers tackle novels. You can check out Janet’s writing process here.
I have four questions to answer.
You see, now I’m thinking of the Two Ronnies. This isn’t the first time. It’s the ‘four’ that does it. I’m instantly transported to a hardware store, watching Ronnie Barker harass Ronnie Corbett with ‘four candles.’ I’ll show you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz2-ukrd2VQ
As usual, I digress, but what a marvellous, comic display of writing and acting.
Without further ado, or forays into the past, I shall answer my four questions.
1) What am I working on?
I have Book 3 planned and underway. Its working title is What Doesn’t Kill You, and it’s an issue-driven romance, with a strong focus on family relationships. It’s set in Weymouth and Portland, an area I love with a passion. It has so much drama and beauty. The recent storms have provided the opening backdrop and set the tone of the story. My hero, Griff, is a coastguard – strong, protective, and in command. He is master of his own destiny. He respects and loves his father, a courageous, dominant being in his youth, but age, illness and disability has withered the old man, stolen his strength, and destroyed his independence, all things Griff fears. Throw into the maelstrom a demanding job, a two-year-old son and an errant teenage step-daughter, and Griff’s eighteen month marriage to Evie is at breaking point. His relationship is all at sea.
What Doesn’t Kill You is an insider’s view of the pressures and difficulties faced by today’s sandwich generation, and like Truth or Dare?, there will be dark before the dawn.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
There is an edge to my work that is not always expected in a romance. One review of Truth or Dare? put it succinctly: ‘A love story without the soft edges.’ And my publisher, Choc Lit, have got my number: ‘Laura E James tackles some thorny issues in this new Choc Lit Lite, showing that contemporary romantic fiction is not all flowers and swooning heroines.’
3) Why do I write what I do?
I’m a big fan of Jodi Picoult, and love the way she tackles taboo subjects. This is reflected in my books, but because I also enjoy romance, my characters will always search for the hopeful or happy ever after ending.
4) How does my writing process work?
Hmm. That’s under debate.
I’m on book 3, and have made an effort to plan this one. For Truth or Dare?, and Follow Me, I had a beginning and an exact end – I knew what was being said, by whom and where. I had a rough idea of how to get from A to Z, but for the most part the paths were built on ‘what if’, as I went along.
I now have a cartoon image of manoeuvring rocks over tree trunks, pulling the last log out, and hauling it to the front, to continue the forward motion.
I enjoy the organic growth of the characters. On occasion, they surprise me, and one or two of them have been known to solve plot problems on my behalf.
For What Doesn’t Kill You, although I’ve planned, it’s not to the enth degree. There’s plenty of room for improvisation and what ifs.
I write in silence, and it can take me a while to enter ‘the zone’. I don’t set a daily word count – I write as much or as little as is in me, and I cannot switch off my inner editor. If something isn’t right, I have to fix it ‒ otherwise I cannot move on. I don’t write a dirty first draft, but I am acutely aware it is still the first draft, and I love editing – it appeals to my ‘correct’ nature.
NEXT WEEK:
I am thrilled my three friends, Sue Fortin, a fellow Romaniac, whose debut novel, Unites States of Love is available here,Nikki Goodman, recently signed by HarperImpulse, and Crooked Cat author, Kathy Sharp, Isle of Larus, have taken the Blog Tour challenge. They will be sharing their writing processes next Monday on their blogs, as follows:
Sue Fortin: Sue writes women’s fiction; contemporary, suspense and time-slip. All with romance and a touch of danger.
Lover of cake, Dragonflies and France. Hater of calories, maths and snakes. Sue was born in Hertfordshire but had a nomadic childhood, moving often with her family, and for a time, did actually think her name was ‘The New Girl’. However, having lived in West Sussex all her adult life, it does feel like home and, these days, she knows what my name is!
Sue is married with four children, all of whom patiently give her time to write but, when not behind the keyboard, she likes to spend my time with them, enjoying both the coast and the South Downs, between which they are nestled.
She is a proud to be a spoke in the wheel of The Romaniacs – her lovely supportive friends who she wouldn’t be without and without whom, she says, she wouldn’t be here.
Sue is delighted to be part of the Harper Collins group, through Harper Impulse, who have published her debut novel ‘United States of Love’.
She is also a contributor to the RNA/Harlequin short story Anthology Truly, Madly, Deeply (2014).
A finalist in several writing competitions including Novelicious Undiscovered 2012, she graduated from the RNA New Writers’ Scheme after four years and has contributed to their magazine Romance Matters. She has far too much fun attending the annual RNA conference and has previously chaired a panel and taken part in a workshop at the Festival of Romance.
She blogs about some of her favourite things – Writing, Work and Wine – at http://nikkimooreauthor.wordpress.com/ and believes in supporting other writers as part of a friendly, talented and diverse community.
You can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NikkiMooreAuthor or on Twitter @NikkiMoore_Auth and she invites you to pop in for chats about love, life, reading or writing!
Kathy Sharp: Kathy Sharp is the author of Isle of Larus, a fantasy tale inspired by the Jurassic Coast, and published by Crooked Cat Publishing in 2013. She is now working on the sequel, Sea of Clouds. Blog: http://tinyurl.com/pq8jenp
Handy New Year – that’s what I’ll be having, with another sixteen days in plaster. The Hand is sporting a fantastic, luminous orange, lightweight cast. I’m very attached to it. I once had welly boots the same orange – I remember splashing about in them. I digress.
I hope you had a great Christmas and are now ready for 2014. Our tree will come down on New Year’s Day, as we prepare for my son’s birthday. I like to have a marked distinction between the events. It’s the end and the beginning wrapped up in a few days.
I’ve spent time reflecting. 2013 has been an enormous year for us.
Shortly after the first anniversary of my mum’s death, my family and I set off to Florida, and spent an incredible three weeks visiting Disneyworld and Universal Studios. This is a holiday I will never forget. It was special. It was healing. It was magical.
I saw Paloma Faith live twice, introducing my daughter to the live gig experience. Jessie J was the next concert my daughter attended, escorted by Gajitman, as I was away at the Festival of Romance.
Christmas dinner was cooked by my husband and daughter, and my son ensured our energy levels were high. I was thoroughly spoiled.
Well, that was my year, and supporting me all the way through with unconditional love was my small, but perfectly formed family, and my wonderful friends. Thank you so much.
And thank you to everyone who bought, read, and reviewed Truth or Dare?
I hope 2013 was kind to you, and I wish you all health, wealth and happiness for 2014.
My award-nominated, debut release, ‘Truth or Dare?’ is on FREE download for 5 days only. It’s received great reviews, with readers enjoying the pace, suspense and twist. As one of the reviews states, ‘It’s romance without the soft edges.’ 😀 You can download ‘Truth or Dare’ here.
I’m typing using one hand only. The operation was successful, and for Christmas, I received a new wrist. Will update further when both hands are sharing the workload.
Naked. That’s how my left hand feels tonight, as it prepares for tomorrow’s surgery. It feels odd to not wear my rings, but I had to take them off when the opportunity arose – when my hands were at their coldest.
Tomorrow, assuming all goes to plan, my left arm will be wrapped snugly in a back-slab and bandages, following surgery to prevent further damage to my tendons.
I am a little obsessed with hands. Declan, my main man in ‘Truth or Dare?’ has safe hands, and it’s one of the first things the heroine, Kate, notices. She’s of the opinion one can tell a lot about a person from studying their hands.
I’m not letting her near mine.
While I still have both hands free to type, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your wonderful support this year. 2013 saw my debut novel published, which was a dream come true. Receiving 5* reviews and being nominated for an award has taken me beyond those dreams.
I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
My naked hand and I are off to bed – we have an early start.
The party season is in full bloom, with the Festival of Romance, and the Romantic Novelists’ Association Winter Party paving the way. Both are great events, with opportunities to meet readers, writers, book bloggers, editors, agents – all sorts of industry professionals.
5 Romaniacs
I met my publishers, Choc Lit, at the inaugural Festival of Romance, in 2011, not to mention the ladies who went on to become The Romaniacs.
The RNA parties provide the opportunity to meet with writing friends, and catch up with the latest news. It’s a great party.
I love these events, and if you are able to attend, I recommend doing so.
On the most recent trip to London for the RNA party, I had a few hours spare, so I took a trip to Harrods, something I haven’t done in years. The Christmas decorations are still on the third floor …
Tube Station
It was a fab couple of days away, but as always, I was pleased to be home with my lovely family, share with them my exploits, and show them the photos I’ve taken.
It took me a week to recover.
My next ‘big thing’ is a wrist operation, a week before Christmas, so I’m trying to get everything wrapped up before then. Excuse the pun.
