My Writing Life

Goodbye to the old, hello to the new…

/ Jacqueline Grima / Leave a comment

It isn’t often I do a ‘looking back at the past year’ type post, but this has been such a bonkers year (both personally and professionally) I thought, why not?

At end of 2021, I was seriously considering giving up writing. I had spent almost the entire year writing a literary fiction book that I knew wasn’t right and that highly likely wouldn’t attract any interest from agents and publishers. As a last-ditch attempt to get my writing mojo back, I decided to write something different, quite unlike anything I’d written before. Something that I would enjoy writing, that I could have fun with. The type of thing I enjoyed reading myself. Hence, my first attempt at writing a psychological thriller.

A little over six months later, that book, now entitled THE WEEKEND ALONE, gained me a publishing contract with HQ Stories, an imprint of Harper Collins, and is the first of two thrillers I’ll be releasing this year. If someone had told me that would happen in 2021, I’m not sure I’d have believed it.

How life can change in just the space of twelve months.

A few weeks ago, I got to hold a paperback copy of THE WEEKEND ALONE in my hands for the first time. It really is difficult to describe how it feels when a project you’ve put your heart and soul into, especially when you’ve been writing as long as I have, finally comes to fruition.

To those of you who have already pre-ordered, thank you so much for your support. It is truly appreciated. To those who would like to order, THE WEEKEND ALONE is available to pre-order now at all the usual retailers, including Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmith and Blackwell’s.

The e-book and audiobook will be released on 11th January 2023 and the paperback will be released on 19th January 2023.

Not long to go now!

Happy New Year everyone. I wish you all the best for 2023!! xx

Author Interview: Rachel Dove

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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…

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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…”

Why we should value our canine and feline writing companions

/ Jacqueline Grima / 6 Comments

molly

A few weeks before Christmas, I lost my faithful writing companion: the West Highland terrier I rescued almost eight years ago, my lovely Molly.

Molly (and her brother George, who we sadly lost just two years ago) was with me when I made my very first serious attempt at writing a novel, sitting on her bed at my feet as I wrote longhand in a pad at the kitchen table. She was also at my side when I wrote my latest novel, the one that has finally won me a publishing contract and that will be released with Manatee Books in the coming year.

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For much of my time, Molly drove me quite bonkers, fighting my laptop for space on my knee, barking at every figure that passed the window, and crying for her walk or her tea just as I might be finding myself in the ‘zone’ (you all know what I mean, that place in your novel that you pray you will reach every writing day, the one that, when it comes, you never want to leave). What we writers all know, however, is what a solitary, sedentary world we can create for ourselves when we are writing, and what Molly did for me was make me get out of the chair, make me shut down my laptop, if only for a short while, and make me go out of the house, something that I am struggling with a little on the days I’m not in my day job now that she is not here.

I won’t get another dog, not for a while anyway, but for many writers, our canine and feline companions can often be the only thing that connects us to the outside world, that enable us to have a responsibility to something other than the characters we are creating on the page.

So, here’s to Molly: with me in spirit for the next one.