Friday... again?

I’ve had my head down all week catching up on all sorts of things – so much so that I could not believe today was Friday – again.

I’ve been busy writing 1000 words a day of ‘Voodoo Child’ and I must admit that so far I’m having a ball with this stage of Nola’s life. This is a follow on novella to ‘How Do You Voodoo?’ and ‘Voodoo Wedding’ and in it Nola and Louis are expecting their first child. Of course, this time next week, I could be wailing and moaning that it’s all a load of junk but so far I’m having a lot of fun and the writing is going well. My editor is expecting to edit this book at the beginning of October and I’m planning a publication date of around 31st October. Wish me luck!

I’ve also been working hard on behalf of Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine, for which I edit the Bookshelf Reviews feature.  After attracting over two and a half million hits on our website we now want to give our visitors even more reason to return to us day after day. We are planning to grow the website again in the Autumn and hope to publish the very best articles in a high quality downloadable emagazine. Our features will include everything from interior design to recipes, but the ‘heart’ of our project will still be book reviews for our own featured authors in our Bookshelf Reviews feature.

 

 

 

I’m currently looking for one or two more book blogger reviewers to join us at Loveahappyending Lifestyle magazine and so if you love reading and have a book blog and are interested in applying please get in touch with me directly at janice@janicehortonwriter.co.uk.

 

I’ve been out and about promoting my latest title this week too – a with a mini book tour for ‘How To Party Online’ and you can read my guest spot at: Talli Roland’s Blog, Brook Cottage Books, Dizzy C’s Little Book Blog for online party advice and top tips!

 

 

Haste ye back here next Friday

In the meantime, be my friend on Facebook for regular writerly news and/or be a tweetheart and follow my daily authorly updates on Twitter at @JaniceHorton

Author Showcase - Nicky Wells

Today I’m hosting fabulous friend and fellow Loveahappyending Lifestyle author Nicky Wells, as part of her launch tour for Sophie’s Run, the second book in her trilogy featuring the rock star and the girl next door.

Hi! My name is Nicky Wells, and I am the author of the Rock Star Romance Trilogy. It’s my great pleasure being here on Janice’s fabulous blog and to give you a peek inside my character’s rock star lifestyle, you see I’ve brought them with me, Dan the rock star and Sophie the girl next door. Or rather, I’ve brought you a little glimpse behind the scenes at one of Dan’s recent gigs in Edinburgh. Are you ready to rock and roll?

The truth, and nothing but the bare naked truth?

 

Now this is a really special treat for you; it’s actually an out-take and this scene isn’t in any of the books. BUT there is mischief, innuendo and more in Sophie’s Run, so go on, join Sophie and Dan on their adventures on this second leg of their journey!

Sophie: *enters the Green Room, skids to a halt, mouth hanging open incredulously* What are you doing?

Dan: *flashes her a smile* I’m getting dressed for the gig. *twirls*

Sophie: I can see that but… what are you wearing?

Dan: *takes a careful bow* A kilt.

Sophie: A kilt?

Dan: A kilt. It’s kinda obvious, don’t you think? *twirls again*

Sophie: *giggles* But… why?

Dan: When in Edinburgh, do as the Edinburghians… the Scots do, right?

Sophie: *waggles her head doubtfully* Don’t you have to be at least part Scottish to wear a kilt, legitimately, like?

Dan: *frowns* What’s the problem? Don’t you like it?

Sophie: I do. I do. You’ve got fine knobbly knees and all that. It’s just…

Dan: What?

Sophie: *shrugs and remains silent*

Dan: What?

Sophie: Well… you do a lot of dancing and jumping in your shows. I must make sure I get to be in the front row tonight.

Dan: *frowns some more* Why?

Sophie: *rolls her eyes* Go on then, do me an air guitar solo of… of… White Poison.

Dan: *obligingly pretends to play the guitar, takes giant leaps around the room* Duurrrr-durrrrr-dur-dur-durrrr-roooinnnng

Sophie: I knew it, I knew it! *chases Dan around the room, trying to get a peek* You’re going commando under there, you are, you so are.

Dan: *screeches to a halt* OMG, is that what got you so excited?

Sophie: Why, of course. I’ve always wanted to know.

Dan: You know wrong.

Sophie: *lifts corner of kilt, then recoils as Dan swats at her hand; steps away, singing* I am so right, I am so right, and there is nothing under there but the bare naked truth…

Dan: Wrrraaaggh! *chases Sophie around the Green Room* Come here you Sassenach wench, I’ll show yer the bare naked truth!

Sophie: *stops abruptly so that Dan crashes into her, swiftly wraps her arms around him* Now then, is that a promise or a threat…?

 

 

About Nicky Wells: Romance that Rocks Your World!

Rock On! Nicky Wells writes fun and glamorous contemporary romance featuring a rock star and the girl next door.  A signed author with U.S. publisher, Sapphire Star Publishing, Nicky is in the throes of publishing her Rock Star Romance Trilogy. Nicky loves rock music, dancing, and eating lobsters.  When she’s not writing, Nicky is a wife, mother, and occasional teaching assistant.

Originally born in Germany, Nicky moved to the United Kingdom in 1993, and currently lives in Lincoln with her husband and their two boys. In a previous professional life, Nicky worked as a researcher and project manager for an international Human Resources research firm based in London and Washington, D.C.

 

Visit Nicky on her blog where you can find articles, interviews, radio interviews and, of course, an ongoing update on her work in progress. You can also follow Nicky on Twitter and find her on Facebook. Nicky is a featured author on the innovative reader/author project, loveahappyending.com and has joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association. Nicky also has author pages at Sapphire Star Publishing, Amazon and, of course, Goodreads.

 

 

What a Voodoo Week!

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Spellbindingly Fun Blog Party last Friday – it was great fun! Lots and lots of party peeps took part and I was amazed at how imaginative and clever you all were with casting your spells.

In the prize draw for Spellbinding Bloggers – Caroline James won the Highland scented candle in the exact purple tartan to match the cover of How Do You Voodoo?

Caroline kindly uploaded this photo to Facebook and wrote: So thrilled - I won this lovely candle at Janice Horton's Spellbinding Fun Blog Party!

Sheryl Browne and Nicky Wells were the Twitter draw winners and each now have a Voodoo Love Doll complete with pins!

How Do You Voodoo? was free on launch day and downloaded over 500 times – reaching number 20 in an Amazon Top 100 Chart. Amazing!

 

 

 

 

Over the past week, I’ve been on tour promoting How Do You Voodoo? I’ve been interviewed on some fabulous blogs about my writing, my research, where I get my story ideas from and I have also been fortunate that several very well respected Book Bloggers have pulled out all the stops to read and review How Do You Voodoo?  during my promotional week. So if you have a few moments in your coffee break - do pop over to each of the blog links below to visit these fabulous blogs and see what I’ve been up to on my Voodoo-tastic blog tour!

Victoria Connelly’s Author Blog

Romantic Novelist’s Association Blog

Lou Graham’s Book Blog

Today I’m Reading Book Blog

Jera’s Jamboree Book Blog

Rea Book Reviews

The Romaniacs Blog

Nicky Wells’s Centrestage

Dizzy C’s Book Blog

The Little Reader Library

And as if that wasn’t all fabulous enough this week More Than A Review.Com included How Do You Voodoo? in their list of Recommended Halloween Reads!

And Kim The Bookworm discussed How Do You Voodoo? on her Stafford FM Radio Show Book Club slot last Thursday. Thanks Kim! I’ll add the podcast link as soon as I have it.

The Dumfries and Galloway Standard – my local newspaper is running an article on the launch of How Do You Voodoo? today (Friday 2nd Nov) I’ll post a link to the online version of this article as soon as I have it.

And, last but not least, this week I launched my brand new Bookshelf Reviews feature on the innovative magazine style website loveahappyending.com. I’ll be presenting this feature twice monthly to bring you the latest reviews and reader opinions on one of the loveahappyending.com’s featured author’s books – helping you to discover an outstanding new book, an exciting new author and a fabulous new writing talent!

That’s it for this week (I think I need to lie down now!) See you all next Friday!

  

Author Showcase - Nicky Wells

Nicky Wells writes fun and glamorous contemporary romance featuring a rock star and the girl next door.  She recently signed her work with U.S. publisher, Sapphire Star Publishing.  Nicky loves rock music, dancing, and eating lobsters.  When she’s not writing, Nicky is a wife, mother, and occasional teaching assistant. Originally born in Germany, Nicky moved to the United Kingdom in 1993, and currently lives in Lincoln with her husband and their two boys.  In a previous professional life, Nicky worked as a researcher and project manager for an international Human Resources research firm based in London and Washington, D.C.

 

Take it away Nicky!

 

It’s an honour and a pleasure to visit Janice’s fabulous and Scottish blog as part of my launch tour for my rock star romance, Sophie’s Turn. I’m bringing you a piece today that was inspired by a feature Janice wrote as part of her launch for Reaching for the Stars. I remember reading it and thinking ‘wow, I wish’.

 

You see, Janice wrote a fabulous piece about her love for shoes, from wellies to heels and back. Now, wellies I can do. Heels, I cannot - and neither it seems can the heroine of my novel, Sophie’s Turn!

 

This is Sophie at her engagement party to Tim, having just discovered that Rachel has been telling Tim all manner of home truths about the delectable Dan Hunter, rock star extraordinaire and Sophie’s not-quite-but-would-like-to-be boyfriend.  ‘I blundered back downstairs, racing quite unladylike in my high heels, and skidded to a halt in the lounge.’ When I was writing this scene, I was imagining Sophie clattering over polished wooden floors in her stiletto heels, ankles wobbling wildly, arms flailing, breathless, slightly red in the face, and quite unsteady. And that would be me.

See, sadly, I don’t do high heels. The first time I ever wore a pair was age thirteen, with my confirmation outfit. I was tall for my age, and I was wearing a long flouncy, formal skirt. Well, yes, it was the 1980s! Anyway, said outfit required high heels, I was informed by the women in my family, and so a pair of shiny black patent stilettos was duly acquired for me. Nobody paused to check whether I could walk in them. I couldn’t.

I reckon Sophie’s racing-and-skidding experience is partly influenced by my experience of trying to walk regally on that slippery flag-stoned church floor. It was like an ice-rink, and I had to concentrate so hard on keeping my balance that parts of the ceremony just passed me by. And the walk from the church to the restaurant… let’s not talk about that.

Of course I have been known to wear high heels of some description in my lifetime. Bless the resurgence of the block heel in the 1990s, which meant that I could wear a decent height of heel with my wedding dress! But when stylish women like Janice, or the one-and-only Carrie Bradshaw reveal glimpses into their well-heeled lifestyles - I can only hang my head in shame. Sisters, I am failing on the heel-front. But at least I’ve saved myself from broken ankles.

And Sophie…? Well, she’ll have to wear heels on a few occasions. She’s not always as clumsy as me. And the beauty of a fictional life is that I get to make her better. She’ll learn to walk tall and graciously, and maybe… just maybe… one day, I’ll give her a shoe cupboard just like Janice’s. Or Carrie’s!

 

 

Visit Nicky on her blog where you can find articles, interviews, radio interviews and, of course, an update on her work in progress, the second and third parts of the Rock Star Romance Trilogy.  You can also follow Nicky on Twitter and find her on Facebook.  Nicky is a featured author on the innovative reader/author project, loveahappyending.com and has joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association. Nicky also has author pages at Sapphire Star Publishing and, of course, Goodreads.

 

Author Showcase - Melanie Robertson King

This is a very special week, as my lovely author friend Melanie Robertson King is here to tell us about her Scottish time slip novel, A Shadow in the Past. Last week, Melanie was at the Kansas Book Festival launching the book. I asked her to pop over from her home in Ontario Canada to tell us why, when she could have set her novel anywhere at all, she particularly chose Scotland?

 

I have very close ties to Scotland since it was my father’s birthplace and home until he left for Canada at the age of sixteen in 1930. Before he passed away, he had instilled a pride in me for my heritage that although I probably didn’t appreciate it at the time, I certainly did later on.

 

My novel, A Shadow in the Past, is set in Aberdeenshire. I chose that location because that’s where my father was born and I’d visited often and have made some great friends over the years.

As you know, Janice, I love Scotland and all things Scottish, and that’s how you and I met “virtually” last year.

 

 

 

 

Okay, I’ve digressed long enough. Back to why I set my novel in Scotland when I could have set it elsewhere. From the first time I visited your beautiful country back in 1993, I was enchanted by it. Those first steps out of the airport terminal in Glasgow, were a life-changing event. It was my first time flying and I came by myself.

 

I’d never seen anything so green and lush. Rolling hills, some shrouded in fog, autumn leaves (maybe not as vivid as here in Canada), and just magnificent things I would never have seen anyplace else. Castles on cliffs alongside the road, narrow roads with passing places (love them!), and whisky distilleries (passed a few on the bus from Glasgow to Aberdeen where I rented my car at the airport there). The Internet didn’t exist back then (or if it did, we didn’t have it yet) so I wrote to the various Scottish Tourist boards for brochures. It was like Christmas when one arrived! The one from Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire showed me so much about the area, and although I didn’t have the time to discover everything on that first trip, those places were tucked away for future trips. Whilst searching the accommodations brochure, I discovered a B&B in the parish mentioned on my father’s birth certificate, so I wrote to them right away requesting information.

 

While I stayed there, I met more family for the first time and was taken out on tour to where my father and his siblings had lived, and seen the family headstone in the Old Churchyard. I saw and fell in love with a nearby derelict mansion and the stone circles and standing stones in the area. Even back then, the wheels started turning although putting pen to paper (so to speak) didn’t happen until six or seven years later – and by then, I had been back to Scotland two more times (1997 and 1999) and on the second trip, met The Princess Royal at Quarriers Village (which used to be The Orphan Homes of Scotland where my father was raised).

One of the memories that remains vivid in my mind was when I approached Dunnideer Castle (visible for miles), the hill started out on one side of the road and I was convinced it would be on my left when I got close to it, but the road twisted and turned so much between the time that I first saw it and finally drove past it that it was on my right!

 

 

When a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

 

When nineteen year old Sarah Shand finds herself in Victorian Era Aberdeenshire, Scotland, she has no idea how she got there. Her last memory is of being at the stone circle on the family farm in the year 2010.

Despite having difficulty coming to terms with her situation, Sarah quickly learns she must keep her true identity a secret. Still, she feels stifled by the Victorians’ confining social practices, including arranged marriages between wealthy and influential families, confronts them head on and suffers the consequences.

When Sarah realizes she has fallen in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, she faces an agonizing decision. Does she try to find her way back to 2010 or remain in the past with the man she loves?

 

A Shadow in the Past is Melanie Robertson-King’s debut novel.

Prior to turning her hand to fiction, she wrote articles and has been published in Canada, the US and the UK. In addition to writing, her interests include genealogy, photography and travel. On one of her trips to Scotland, she had the honor of meeting The Princess Royal. Melanie is a member of Romance Writers of America and their Ottawa Chapter. She lives in Brockville, Ontario, Canada along the shore of the majestic St. Lawrence River with her husband, son and oldest grandson.

 

Find out more about Melanie:

Author Website

Facebook Page
Twitter

 Where to buy A Shadow in the Past

4RV Publishing

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

 

My BIG news is that How Do You Voodoo? is now available to download from Amazon for your Kindle priced at just 77p or 99c

Lots of party peeps are signing up for the Spellbindingly Fun Blog party on Friday 26th October. You are invited!

Details HERE.

 Away or working that day?

That’s okay – just post and schedule - and still be there virtually.

Party On!

 

The Lucky 7 Challenge..!

Thank you to my fun friends  Chris Longmuir, Carole Ann Carr and Susan Eliot Wright, who tagged me to take part in The Lucky 7 Challenge. They said the rules were simple and here they are: Go to page 77 of your current novel or WIP. Go to line 7. Copy the next 7 lines, sentences or paragraphs and post them as they’re written. Tag 7 more writers and let them know.

These 7 lines are taken from my current novel ‘Reaching for the Stars’

It wasn’t actually him, but rather a life-size cardboard cut-out. It took a while to regain her composure, but then she walked up to the image to poke her finger at it, and to wonder why a replica might be standing on the pavement looking angry and welding a very big knife.

Was he perhaps promoting a new restaurant without telling her?

Then, curiously, she noticed it advertised a website: www.mcduffhunting.com.

At the market, while buying herbs and olives for canapés, she saw a stall selling T-shirts. Amused, she bought one with the slogan The Hunt is On!

And in turn I’m tagging….

Kenneth Rosenberg

Kit Domino

LindyLouMac

Diane Fordham

Anita Chapman

Liz Harris

YOU – feel free to accept The Lucky 7 Challenge.

As usual, also feel free to leave a comment here, follow my blog, like my author Facebook page and follow me on Twitter. I'd love to hear from you!

See you next Friday…!

Love, Janice xx

The Perfect Book Title...

Last week’s post  ‘Arresting the Reader’– a masterclass in opening lines - resulted in a variety of wonderful responses and examples here on the blog and prompted an interesting discussion on Twitter. One tweep (twitter user for those who are not familiar with Twitter jargon) quipped that he thought all his readers should be arrested - and I had a giggle at that one - so thank you to @himupnorth!

Another writer tweep said that after reading the post, she had ‘revisited her opener’ and having taken on board the advice to get a sense of mood, tone, content and place in those first few sentences, now felt ‘really proud’ of her opening lines. Fantastic!

This week, I have been asked as a result of a writer’s title crisis to do a post on book titles. This is a subject I also need to explore for my current unnamed WIP (work in progress) and one I covered early last year when I first started blogging and writing ‘Reaching for the Stars’. As many of you may not have read this post before and others may appreciate the refresher - I am therefore reposting it below.

Do you decide upon the title of your novel first and write the story to suit or do you finish the manuscript and choose a title afterwards?

 

With me, the title usually 'pops' into my head while I'm pondering the theme, the premise and the characters, then it is fixed. I just can't help myself. Of course, it might not be a good idea to get too attached to it if you have a publisher, as I know lots of writers who thought they had the perfect title, only for it to be changed later. Famously, Jilly Cooper's latest blockbuster 'Jump' had a working title of 'Village Horse' during the four years she was writing it.

So what makes a good title? Well, surely it has to be the minimum number of words that sum up the feel of the book. If you can relate genre, setting, time period and premise, as well as attracting attention to the cover, then you have to be backing a winner.

I had an interesting time on Better Book Titles today - it's a website that features recognisable book covers of bestsellers and classics and updates them with a twist - giving a much more descriptive title. You can also now follow this site on Twitter at @betterbooktitle. The site is run by Dan Wilbur and he aims to give you the meat of the story in one condensed image. Great fun!

My advice if you are struggling to name your magnum opus would be to think about what you want the title to convey and to make notes, jotting adjectives, verbs and nouns, which can be associated with the story. Use a thesaurus and refer to a reverse dictionary - a reverse dictionary allows you describe a concept and get a backlist of words which have definitions conceptually similar to the words you search with - a good place to find a reverse dictionary is www.onelook.com

Next I would suggest giving yourself some time and space to process your ideas and to allow your subconscious to work. Then, when you have a title or a selection of title ideas to work with, go to Amazon and look up other books with titles that are similar or the same - noting in particular the ones in the same genre as your work. Originality is always best but remember that there are no laws of copyright on titles.

If you are deliberately trying to be controversial with your choice - or simply like to be a little different - then don't be surprised if you find yourself shortlisted for next year's Oddest Book Title Of The Year Award. This year's worthy winner, as announced recently by the Bookseller magazine, was an inspirational guide: Managing a Dental Practice:The Genghis Khan Way

  
Writers - do tell us how you came up with the title of your book and at what stage in the writing process you did it...?

Readers - what makes it a perfect book title for you...?

All comments and tweets appreciated.

Love, Janice xx

@JaniceHorton