Author Interview

Author Interview: Rachel Dove

/ Jacqueline Grima / Leave a comment

Your new romance Someone Like You has just been released by HQ Stories and has great reviews already. Can you tell us a bit about it?

Someone Like You is a book I have wanted to write for a while. In the 2020 lockdown, hearing the news about isolation and the rates of women and men living in domestic violence situations exploding, the urge to write it grew.

It got me thinking about how many Hannahs there were out there, the ones running, the ones who didn’t manage to leave. It grew from there. Once Hannah introduced herself, I thought about the hero. I didn’t want her to be ‘saved’ – she did it herself. Brody is one of my favourite characters. He pretty much told his story himself.

You also write for Mills and Boon. Can you tell us a bit about your Medical Romance?

Yes, I write for the medical line and I love it! It involves a lot of research, and everyone thinks those books are just churned out. It couldn’t be further from the truth. The medicals are ultra-modern, dreamy and perfect escapism. I just finished my 5th medical and have two more coming out from next year! The one I just finished is set in Kent and involves a rather hot obstetrician. I adore him. I fall in love with every man I write ha ha!

Tell us about your path to being published. Would you do anything differently with all the experience you have now?

I would be more patient. The publishing industry is very slow, and sometimes pitched projects are good, but not the right book at that time. Follow your gut, find your people. I am onto writing books for 2024 now, but it takes time. Be yourself on social media, cheer others on. I love the friends I have met and really enjoy their successes. Patience is something I wish I had known earlier. The panic of waiting allows the imposter syndrome in. I say, don’t let it.

Tell us about your writing routine. Is it difficult to work your writing around family commitments? What advice would you give to other writers in the same position?

Yes, extremely difficult! I have written at the side of various sports pitches, by the pool while my kids learned to swim. I write in the car waiting for school to finish. Try to write every day, I would tell other writers. It doesn’t have to be words on a page, but research is everywhere. Deadlines have suffered massively since 2020, with our routines all going out of the window. I use an app to track word counts needed to hit deadlines on time. It works, until life gets in the way! It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Carve that time out. I won’t spout ‘we all have the same hours in the day’. Frankly, that’s a crock. I homeschool, have pets, family etc. Other writers have ill health, or employment to prioritise outside of the book world. Side hustles, life. Make your writing time work for you. Be realistic. Headphones are perfect. All you need to write is a brain and somewhere to record the words. The rest is reading, practice, passion.

What are you reading at the minute?

Lots of GCSE workbooks for home learning! It’s been a while since I sat mine. Pretty sure my son thinks I used to scribe on slates!

I recently loved the Bodyguard series by Anna Brooks. Racy, but emotional and enjoyable. I read a lot, but I did have a lull during 2020. I am glad to have my mojo back.

Are there any authors who have particularly influenced your own writing?

I loved Jill Mansell in my early 20s, but too many others to name! I learn from every source; writing is everywhere. We all interpret it differently, and that fascinates me. I try to focus on keeping my own voice clear.

What can readers expect next from Rachel Dove?

Racier reads! I am still loving writing all things romance, but I also love friendships and family dynamics too. I have my first romance out in 2023 from Boldwood Books, and more in the pipeline. More medical too. My plan for the next two years is to write all the ideas I have, help my son through his GCSEs and meet more readers!

I am at a few signings already, but after recent months, getting out there, meeting people and sparking ideas is definitely on my list. I am into the 20s books wise, and to be honest, I can’t keep up with myself! I would love to set myself another challenge. I said 18 books published by the time my son was 18 was it, but I won that four years early!

Perhaps I will attempt 50 by 50, which I turn in nine years. Hopefully I can invent enough hot heroes!

To find out more about Rachel Dove’s books, including Someone Like You and her Mills and Boon Medical Romance, click here.

Things I wish I’d known…

/ Jacqueline Grima / Leave a comment

While scrolling through Twitter recently (ever the procrastinator!), I have noticed a number of tweets that have referred to the difficulties that a debut author might experience after he or she has signed a publishing contract or been offered representation by an agent. Of course, achieving what you have worked towards, perhaps for many years, is exciting and something to be celebrated, but the path to having your novel or short story collection published can also be paved with huge amounts of anxiety. Indeed, Jade City and Zeroboxer author Fonda Lee recently summed up her own experience in a series of tweets:

Perhaps, for a new author, being prepared for the sometimes-stressful journey to becoming published is the answer, so I recently asked a few authors what they wish they had known before they were published that might have made their experience a little easier.

Winner of the CWA Debut Dagger and Luke Bitmead awards Ruth Dugdall stressed how important a social media presence can be for a new author. She said, “I wish I’d known just how important social media is. The relationships an author has with book reviewers and bloggers can make all the difference to the success of a novel, and I didn’t realize this initially, so I didn’t devote as much time to Twitter and Facebook as I should have done.”

Ruth also stressed that a debut author can make connections in other ways, for example in their local community: “I also wish that someone had told me just how important it is to contact local groups and try and build a local following. WI (Women’s Institute) groups are my all time favourites, and, once they get to know you, more invites will come. Every opportunity to meet a potential reader should be cherished.”

Much as a debut author might relish the idea of signing copies of their beloved book, Ruth stresses that bookshop events can often have a downside: “Book signings suck! Standing next to a whopping pile of books in Waterstones is the most demoralizing experience, and some of the stores won’t even offer you a cup of tea!”

Ruth’s seventh novel, The Things You Didn’t See, is out on 24th April.

Daniel Culver, whose debut novel White Midnight has recently been released by Manatee Books, agrees with Ruth about the importance of becoming involved with social media and of making connections with readers: “I never realised the value of having your book reviewed and rated. I don’t know if this would have changed anything, knowing how important things like Amazon and Goodreads (and Twitter, of course) are beforehand. I never did social media before, so only signed up to Twitter because of the book.”

Daniel also stressed how debut authors need to factor in how promoting an already published book might impact on writing the next. He said, “I always thought once the book is done and out there, that would be it, but the work to promote it is endless.”

Author of Between You and Me and Tell Me No Lies Lisa Hall agrees that signing a publishing or agent’s contract is just the beginning: ” The real work only starts after you have signed a book deal, what with editing, polishing, tweeting, promoting, writing articles…”

Lisa also stresses that debut authors shouldn’t be put off by negative reviews, “One-star reviews are not the be all and end all” and that authors should always remember that their agent or editor is on their side: “Your editor is your best friend. Ditto, your agent, if you have one.”

Lisa’s new novel, The Party, will be released on 26th July.

Finally, Manatee Books author James Stansfield, who has recently released his debut novel Anaconda Vice, and Orenda Books author Louise Beech nicely sum up a writer’s experience after signing a contract from different perspectives:

James said, “One thing that has surprised me is how much having a novel published has messed with my sleep patterns. I’ve not had this little rest since my daughter was a newborn.”

Whilst Louise states, “I only wish I’d known that it would happen for sure, then I could have been as excited as hell…”

Author Interview: Louise Beech

/ Jacqueline Grima / Leave a comment

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I recently caught up with Orenda Books writer Louise Beech to ask her about becoming published, current projects and her inspirations.

Tell us about your journey to becoming a published writer.

Oh, it was lo-o-o-o-ng! But I think always believing and never giving up paid off. It took more than eight years, four novels, four plays, fifty short stories, multiple newspaper columns, millions of rejections, the odd competition shortlist, and a few tears to get a book deal, which I finally did in 2015 with Orenda Books. The best thing about all that work is that I already had four complete novels when I got my deal, so I was ahead of myself. And luckily my publisher, Karen Sullivan, is going to publish them all.

Your first novel How To Be Brave was inspired by the life of your grandfather. Why did you feel you had to tell his story?

The phrasing ‘had to tell his story’ is so apt. Because I did. It was bursting out of me. By that I mean that I had always wanted to write Grandad Colin’s story but wasn’t sure how I’d do it. Then, when my daughter Katy, who has Type 1 Diabetes like Rose, refused to have her daily injections, I began telling her his incredible tale of bravery, just as Natalie does with Rose. I knew that was how the story should be told – as a story within a story. I hoped not only to portray his incredible bravery, but to inspire others during dark times, and to educate on how serious a condition Type 1 Diabetes can be.

 Your publishing journey has progressed very quickly with your first novel released in 2015 and your third Maria in the Moon due for release very soon. What has surprised you most since you became a part of the publishing industry?

I always knew – and accepted and was prepared for – that a great deal of hard work would be involved. But it still hits me sometimes how much there is to do. The writing is only one aspect of it. There are edits, proof reading, promoting (often on social media), events, travelling, meeting people, networking, and reading other books. And of course you still have your family, and I still have a day job. I don’t yet earn enough to only write, despite the fact that it takes up 24 hours of my life! This is why you MUST love it. And I do. There is nothing at all like writing. It has saved me, quite literally, at times.

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What are you currently writing?

I have just finished the (possibly) hundredth draft of a book that will be my fourth, called The Lion Tamer Who Lost, which is essentially a dark and tragic love story, with a bit of a twist. Not all hearts and romance, I assure you. And now I’ve just started what I hope to be book five, which is loosely called Star Girl, and involves the brutal murder of a local pregnant woman, and how it affects those around her.

What inspires you to write?

Everything! Music. Dreams. Conversations. Real life. Hardship. Love.

Tell us about your writing routine? Do you write every day?

It isn’t always possible every single day, especially when I work long hours or am away on book tours for days at a time. I do need to get a laptop for those long train journeys so I can do it then also. At the moment, I only write on my home computer. When I’m home, I write anywhere between one hour and five a day. I’m strict. I sit. I ignore social media. Put music on. And go…

What are you reading at the minute?

I just finished Exquisite by Sarah Stovell (wow, what a book!) and started The Last Days of Leda Grey by Essie Fox. I always have a book or two on the go.

Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

Writing, definitely. I’ll write until my ideas dry up or my eyes fall out, whichever comes first. I see myself having had a huge bestseller by then (a girl can dream!) and maybe, who knows, one of my books will have been made into a film. Whatever I’m doing, it will be with the same passion. I assure you of that.

Maria in the Moon will be out on Kindle on 15th August and can be pre-ordered now from Amazon. The paperback version will be out on 30th September.