Tag: NWS

Nikki Moore’s Crazy, Undercover, Love

Nikki Moore’s Blog Hit

New Release – Crazy, Undercover, Love

Nikki Moore Header

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!

To buy Crazy, Undercover, Love as an ebook:-

Amazon – http://amzn.to./1gdpOxbNikki Moore Crazy Undercover Love Cover

Google Play – http://bit.ly/1rTMrQw

iTunes – http://bit.ly/1mkzpHP

Kobo – bit.ly/QlpKpC

Sainsbury’s – Here.

Or to buy it as a paperback on pre-order, released on 26th June:-

Amazon – Here.

 

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, Deeply which 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/

‘A Night to Remember – Beautiful, devastatingly so.’ Cheryl M-M, Goodreads & http://mmcheryl.wordpress.com/ 

 

Nikki Moore Author Pic 1Nikki 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!

Romaniac Shorts Interview with Vanessa Savage

Romaniac Shorts Interview with Vanessa Savage

Vanessa Savage

Not only is Vanessa Savage one of the loveliest and kindest people I know, she is an incredibly talented writer, and an amazingly gifted artist ‒ designer of the Romaniacs Shorts eye-catching, and characterful cover.

Vanessa – tell me about art in your life.

I dithered in school when it came to college choices between art and English. I chose art college, spent four years in Doc Marten boots, with a pierced nose and hennaed hair, studying textile design, graphic design and illustration. After a side step into arts marketing, I started my own graphic design company with two other designers. One of our clients is the Telegraph Hay Literature Festival and working with them means I get to combine my loves of design and literature!

How closely linked are art and writing?

I often get inspired by art – I see an image and a story forms in my mind. Imagery and scenery are very important to me when I’m writing a book and I use a lot of visual reference material when I’m planning.

When you’re writing, do you have a clear image of the scene? Do you think having an artistic eye helps with scene setting in stories?

Every scene I write runs like a film in my head – sometimes I get frustrated when I can’t capture in words the mood of a scene in my head! I always start with character and place when I start a new writing project.

You have three entries in Romaniac Shorts ‒ 100 Ways to Love, The Hand That Romaniac Shorts CoverHolds The Knife, and Dog Days. As a successful short story and flash fiction writer, how did you choose which three to include?

A lot of the stories I write tend to be quite dark, but I wanted a mix for Romaniac Shorts, so 100 Ways to Love is a love story – first love and the love between mother and daughter, The Hand That Holds The Knife is much darker, and Dog Days is a comedy.

The success doesn’t stop at the shorts. Please do tell me about the Harry Bowling Prize!

I’m unbelievably thrilled to be on the shortlist for the 2014 Harry Bowling Prize for New Writing for my book The History of You which went through the RNA’s new writer’s scheme last year.  It’s such a prestigious award and getting the phone call to tell me I made the shortlist was the highlight of my January!

Are you able to give a sneaky peek in to your latest work?

The working title of my latest work-in-progress is Hunting the Light. I’m always fascinated by what goes on behind closed doors – the real truth behind the framed picture of the perfect family on the wall … so Hunting the Light is about family, the ways we hide from each other, the lies we can live with and the secrets we can’t.

What’s next for Vanessa Savage?

I’ve set myself the challenge of entering at least one short story / flash fiction competition a month in 2014, as well as finishing Hunting the Light. Plus I woke up in the middle of the night last week with the idea for my next book…

Quick Fire Round:

Red or white? Red

Singing or dancing? Dancing – I would love to sing but no one else would love to hear it!

Leeks or red onions? Red Onion

Opera or classical? Classical

Cropped trousers or denim cut-offs? I wish I had the legs for denim cut-offs, but sadly I’m cropped trousers all the way 🙂

Dr Who or Torchwood? Dr Who

Comedy or weepy? Can I have both?

Vanessa ‒ you have created a wonderful cover for our first ever anthology. You’ve captured the spirit the Romaniacs in eight pairs of freshly washed shorts. And have I mentioned what an incredibly talented writer you are?

Wishing you every success, and cheering you on in our traditional, Romaniac pom-pom waving way.

Laura x

Vanessa’s Biography:

Vanessa lives by the sea in South Wales with her husband, two daughters and an accident-prone cat. She is a graphic designer and illustrator, and has previously worked in arts marketing for theatres and a dance company. She is a member of the RNA’s New Writer’s Scheme and has had short stories published in Writing Magazine, a short story anthology produced by Words With Jam, Writer’s Forum and broadcast on radio as a highly commended winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Competition.

She is represented by Juliet Mushens at The Agency Group and her work has been longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Competition, shortlisted twice for the New Talent Award at the Festival of Romance and her current novel is on this year’s shortlist for the Harry Bowling Prize.

 

Festival of Romance Awards

Festival of Romance Awards 2013. Here are the nominations:

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Press Release

London, 21 October 2013

The shortlists for the 2013 Festival of Romance Awards have been announced. Comprising the Romance Reader, Romance Industry and New Talent Awards, the winners will be announced on Saturday 9th November at the Festival of Romance along with two competitions run by romance publishers to find new authors in the genre; both Piatkus Entice and Carina UK have publishing contracts on offer to writers. Now in their third year the Romance Reader Awards are judged solely by a panel of readers and include novels by bestselling authors on the shortlists as well as books by newer names. Independent publisher Choc Lit and new digital romance imprint HarperImpulse from Harper Collins have been nominated for Publisher of the Year and for the first time there is to be an award for Romance Blogger of the Year, recognising the invaluable contribution by bloggers reviewing books and creating social media buzz around romance reading. Nominated for the Hall of Fame Award for outstanding achievement in romantic fiction is the Romantic Novelists Association which has been representing authors and been a defining, driving and positive force for the genre since 1960.

2013 Awards Shortlists

Romance Reader Awards

Best Romantic Read

Just for Christmas by Scarlett Bailey (Ebury)

Take a Look At Me Now by Miranda Dickinson (Avon)

A Cornish Affair by Liz Fenwick (Orion)

Hubble Bubble by Jane Lovering (Choc Lit)

Is This Love? By Sue Moorcroft (Choc Lit)

Playing Grace by Hazel Osmond (Quercus)

Best Historical Read

The Lost Duchess by Jenny Barden (Ebury)

The Spice Merchant’s Wife by Charlotte Betts (Piatkus)

The Gilded Fan by Christina Courtenay (Choc Lit)

A Bargain Struck by Liz Harris (Choc Lit)

Maid of Oaklands Manor by Terri Nixon (Piatkus Entice)

The Affair by Gill Paul (Avon)

Best Romantic Ebook

It Happened One Night by Phillipa Ashley (Piatkus Entice)

Beyond Grace’s Rainbow by Carmel Harrington (HarperImpulse)

Truth or Dare? by Laura James (Choc Lit Lite)

How to Win a Guy in 10 Dates by Jane Linfoot (HarperImpulse)

Confessions of a Chalet Girl by Lorraine Wilson (HarperImpulse)

Best Short Romance

Come Full Circle by Natalie-Nicole Bates (Books to Go Now)

The Art of Deception by Liz Harris (Choc Lit)

The Rebound Guy by Fiona Harper (Mills and Boon Cherish)

Stranded with the Tycoon by Sophie Pembroke (Mills and Boon Modern)

Best Author Published Read

No One Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday by Tracy Bloom

The Good Sister by Amielise Gable

The Bow Wow Club by Nicola May

The Pollyanna Plan by Talli Roland

The Hollow Heart by Adrienne Vaughan

Cooking Up a Storm by Sue Welfare

New Talent Award

Fate Plays Dangerous Games – Kaye Chaloner

Lucky Kate – Glenda Cooper

The Wildflower of Ravenscar – Wendy Grace

Rock, Paper, Scissors – Jayne Hall

Fifty Not Out – Vivien Hampshire

Boot Camp Bride – Elizabeth Lamb

The Survivor – Shada Lapite

Glitter Red Shoes and Sky Blue Gingham – Anna Mansell

The Bow Wow Club – Nicola May

Baby Number Two – Catherine Miller

Acting on Impulse – Bella Osborne

The Honey Projects – Fay Rusling

Missing Grace – Vanessa Savage

Crazy Little Thing – Kate Scholefield

Broken Jigsaw – Lynda Stacey

Edge of Life – Karen Taylor

Head over Heart – Lucie Wheeler

Romance Industry Awards

Innovation in Romantic Fiction (Publisher)

Choc Lit – for their commitment and support to developing new writers

Harper Collins – for use of different formats; ebook compilations, hardbacks and paperbacks

HarperImpulse – for listening to what romance readers want and connecting with readers through social media

Innovation in Romantic Fiction (Author)

Julie Cohen – for outstanding and captivating teaching methods leading to many of her students receiving publishing contracts

Linn B Halton – for evolving the loveahappyending.com author/reader initiative into an interactive lifestyle magazine

Lindsey Kelk – for excellent social media campaigns and use of short stories to promote her novels

Lorraine Wilson – for being such an inspiration to other writers

Publisher of the Year

Choc Lit – for promotion of romantic fiction and the hero and heroine benefiting the entire genre

Harper Collins – for evolving in the ever changing marketplace and the use of imprints to reach many different readers

HarperImpulse – for going from zero to huge in such a short space of time

Literary Agent of the Year

Carole Blake – for a long, successful career contributing 50 years to publishing

Broo Doherty – for always being the professional and a first class mentor and advocate for her authors

Hannah Ferguson – for her faith in new writers and ability to spot future bestsellers

Lizzie Kremer – for her commitment to the romantic fiction genre

Romance Blogger of the Year

 Tanya Farrell (After The Final Chapters) – for writing honest, funny and no holds barred reviews and using social media to connect with readers throughout the world

Sharon Goodwin (Jera’s Jamboree) – for honest reviews and her active support of new authors as well as more established names

JB Johnston (Brook Cottage Books) – for being unstinting in her support of authors and reviewing tirelessly

Kirsty Maclennan (The Love of a Good Book) – for being a tireless supporter of romantic fiction and continuing to make her blog better than ever

Carol Wright (Dizzy C’s Book Blog) – for being innovative with interviews and seasonal extras and having daily posts that are interesting and varied

 

Hall of Fame

The Romantic Novelists’ Association – for being a defining, driving and positive force for the genre since 1960

Many congratulations to everyone on the shortlists and good luck.

I am thrilled, delighted, and honoured that my debut novel, Truth or Dare? is on the Best Romantic Ebook. I have spent the last two days stunned, breathless, and excited.

I’d like to wish my Romaniac chums, Catherine Miller, Vanessa Savage, and Lucie Wheeler all the luck in the world for the New Talent Award. They are three talented writers.

I would also like to wish my friends at Choc Lit the best of luck, too.7 of 9. The Romaniacs

Two awesome teams. How lucky am I?

It promises to be one heck of a party.

And watch out for Truth or Dare? – It will be on your digital shelf this week.

Laura x

Truly, Madly, Deeply

IMG_6378Truly, madly, deeply excited to announce my short story, Bitter Sweet, which achieved runner-up position in Choc Lit’s first short story competition, 2012, has been selected for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Anthology, due for publication, by Harlequin, February 2014. The anthology is entitled Truly, Madly, Deeply. You can find out more here.

The week I first heard it had been accepted was the same week as I signed Truth or Dare? to Choc Lit. I lived on adrenalin. And I smiled lots.

I’m still having a few ‘shaking head’ moments. On both counts. How lucky am I?

The RNA’s anthology, Loves Me, Loves Me Not, was a great success and I am thrilled to be contributing to Truly, Madly, Deeply, and I am completely overwhelmed with the line-up of authors.

Thank you to the RNA, its members, and its New Writers’ Scheme for the time and effort put into guiding and advising new writers, and for helping me fulfil a dream.

And thank you to Choc Lit, without whom, Bitter Sweet would not exist.

Take care.

Laura x

 

Embrace the Pen

A couple of weeks ago on Facebook, Harper Impulse asked if we writers prefer the pen or the keyboard.

Question

My day had been spent with a notebook and biro, first at my local writing group, Off The Cuff, and then later, during a quiet half an hour sitting in the car. I had things I wanted to get down on paper, thoughts, ideas, a moment in time, for a 500 word story I’d been formulating the night before. The most immediate way for me to do this was to write it down.

This was my reply to the question from Harper Impulse:

“I mix and match, depending on my mood. Today has been a notebook  and pen day – it’s a more intimate means of writing. It reminds me of something a musician, possibly Sir Paul McCartney, said regarding the difference between creating a song with a guitar and producing one using a piano. A guitar is hugged to the body, creating an intimate song, whereas he feels he is pushing away the piano, producing a distant feel to the music.”

Harper Impulse asked if I found using a computer to write, a more distant exercise. Giving it more thought, I replied I did.

Hands 47

Typing, at my slow speed, and with my errant fingers, is a stilted affair, and can have the effect of clipping my thought process. With the immediacy of writing, regardless of the illegibility, I can get my thoughts down as they appear, ready for later editing. That’s not to say I’m incapable of this when at the PC, but my words are more considered then.

Subject matter makes a difference too. I’m more likely to hand write an intense, emotional scene, allowing the thoughts and the pen to flow. The words are raw and straight from the heart of the character. In some respects, it’s similar to writing a diary, which for most, is a private and personal activity, not often emblazoned across the household PC monitor.

Having said all that, I edit at the PC. Perhaps that’s because I need perspective, and the distance a keyboard provides allows for that.

Pen or keyboard? Both methods complement my way of working.Author Pic Brighter

What an interesting question posed by Harper Impulse. Thank you.

So, what are you using to write with this minute?

Laura x

 

Lucky 13

My Christmas Presents 2012
My Christmas Presents 2012

Happy New Year. I hope Christmas and your entry into 2013 was everything you wished it to be.

Christmas Day was different without my mother here, but I focused on the children and their excitement carried me through the day. We broke with tradition the next day and went to The Big Shops, to look for high beds, and had lunch at a certain pizza house. Our usual Boxing Day lunch consists of home made chips, cold pickles, and meat/vegetarian alternatives. It was right to do something a little different.

We had a great New Year’s Eve, which we spent with some good friends, and the children stayed up to see in 2013. It felt right. It felt as if it was time to consider moving on. Memories are portable.

13 is a great number. Our daughter was born on the 13th of the month, and in another year, I won a singing competition as number 13. I have high hopes for 2013. I have a writing course to attend in Italy, a day’s course in Reading, the RNA Conference and Summer and Winter parties, a work-in-progress to complete, friends to hug, and a family to nurture.

Jubilee street party
Jubilee street party

I have an entire year in which to create new memories.

Have a good one, and stay warm.

Laura x

 

To Submit or not to Submit?

To submit or not submit? That is the question I asked myself thirty times.

I am a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme. It is a fantastic organisation which offers friendship, advice, the chance to meet other writers, agents and publishers and once a year, have one’s manuscript critiqued. The deadline for the critique is August 31st. Well done to everyone who submitted.

At the beginning of this year I had a plan; By July I was going to have a second story written and submitted to the NWS. It started well as I joined in with a challenge set by author Sally Quilford entitled 100k in a 100 Days. The aim was to write 1000 words each day for 100 days, starting on January 1st and ending on April 9th.

By March, I had 60,000 words written, most of which belonged to the work in progress (WIP). My writing came to an abrupt halt late March, when I lost my mum. Everything that followed knocked writing off the agenda.

I could not get back into the work in progress. The last scene I’d written concentrated on the hero’s grief having lost his family. It was not a place I wished to visit. With that in mind, I decided not to submit to the NWS. I emailed the organiser explaining my situation and received a lovely reply which left the door open for me to send in a partial (a non-completed story) and a synopsis if I felt able.

As time progressed and life settled into a new groove, I turned to writing short stories. They were perfect for fulfilling the desire to write without draining my emotional reserves. With aspects of my life hanging in the balance, I derived satisfaction from starting and completing a project within a short time span, and it appeased the guilt of not tackling the WIP knowing I was keeping my hand in.

There’s the telling word – appeased.

In hindsight I think those who know me well realised I was struggling with the idea of not submitting. I had 60,000 words saved in Drive C. I had neglected them. My poor, desperate hero, like me, had to start dealing with his grief. I could not leave him in his state of disbelief.

I began to think about the story once more. I mentioned one or two ideas to my wonderful Romaniac chums, who as ever, were supportive, funny and pillars of rock and again the suggestion was made that I should consider sending in a partial. I then received the same advice from two established members of the RNA.

Have you ever had that feeling someone is trying to tell you something?

At the beginning of July, struck by a bolt of insanity, I declared to my family and friends I would be submitting to the NWS and I would work for as long and as hard as I could to finish and polish the manuscript. I had six weeks, after all.

This Tuesday I didn’t go to bed. I stayed up reading through a revised and rewritten 52,000 words, replacing over-used phrases, correcting chronology mistakes and fixing typos and cut and paste errors.

I went to bed at 07:00, Wednesday, rose at 09:00, and at 11:00, handed the NEW padded envelope, fattened with my partial, to the post office assistant.

It was the first time I’d been out of the house in days.

Okay. So I didn’t manage to write the whole story, but I reached a point about a week before when I knew it was not going to happen. Perhaps I should have written the entire book before editing, but I wanted to submit more than a first draft. I appreciate it is not a final version, but I have presented my work to the best of my ability.

What have I learned? Support, advice and encouragement from family, friends and writing chums are invaluable assets when faced with the impossible, and I thank you for providing all three in lorry loads.

Scrap that. Make it juggernaut loads.

No. Container loads.

And what of my hero? He is out of his disbelief phase and he’s through with the guilt, but he is sinking lower than the Titanic. I wonder if like the sun, he will rise and see the dawning of happier times?

Laura x