Welcome back to our Facebook Live chats – our Life Cycle Of A Writer in video mode.
Our second Facebook Live is a 40 minute chat between Laura and Lucie, first broadcast live on Friday 23rd March 2018. Lucie chats about her new book, MUMS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN, her inspiration behind the story and how her university course and novel writing co-exist.
I’ve waited a long time for this moment – I’ve written the book, re-written the book, edited it, re-edited it. I’ve veered from optimism (hey – this is not bad!) to pessimism (this is the worst book ever written) many, many times. I was ready for it to go out there, but also terrified. Because this was it, wasn’t it? All those months of work and planning, this was it. It could all be over in a few weeks, or all about to begin.
It went out on submission in the UK and internationally the Friday after I returned from holiday. I didn’t know when responses would begin coming in, but by the Monday, I had no nails left to bite, I’d drunk ten million coffees and was checking my emails every five seconds.
First responses came in the early part of the week and… people were liking it! They were actually liking my book!! I tentatively said to my husband that I was starting to think this might really happen… Juliet set up conference calls with US editors, which were both terrifying and exhilarating.
By the end of that first week, I knew that more than one editor was offering and that
The Murder House would be going to auction, in the UK and also in Germany.
All the years I’ve dreamed about getting The Call, I always imagined one call, one bottle of celebratory champagne. I didn’t expect two weeks of calls and emails about acquisitions meetings, conference calls, meetings with editors in The Groucho, UK offers, European offers… It was crazy. Insane. Beyond all my wildest dreams. I think when the first offer came in, my husband and I sat around in a daze for about an hour, doing little but muttering ‘Oh my God’ and laughing (and drinking champagne of course.)
The official call from Juliet came on a Friday afternoon, two weeks after the initial submission. I had a two book deal with Little, Brown. The Murder House is going to be published by Sphere in the UK and Grand Central Publishing in the US. It will come out in hardback simultaneously in the UK and US in early 2019 as a lead title, paperback later in the year. German rights were sold at auction to Droemer, and Czech, Polish and French rights have also been sold.
I am beyond thrilled. Beyond excited. I’ve laughed, cried, drunk a million bottles of champagne and basically celebrated every night since getting the news. And the best thing of all… this is only the start.
I can’t WAIT for the next stage!
Vanessa x
Firstly, let me start by saying how honoured I am to have been asked to appear on The Romaniacs blog today! I idolise each and every one of you, if I could bow down to you all I would…I just wouldn’t be able to get back up again!
Let me introduce myself; I’m Kaisha, otherwise known as TWG (The Writing Garnet), a single, chronically ill mumma to a beautiful little girl. TWG is book focused as well as lifestyle focused. I’m honest, I write from the heart, and I wouldn’t be here without any of you.
‘How did TWG come about?’ Is a question which I get asked a lot of the time! Part of me would like to answer that question every time with a sarcastic response, such as ‘on a whim’. But, since I have no reason to hide behind my sarcasm anymore, I’ll answer that question for you guys, from the heart. I have been an avid reader from an extremely young age, single figures I think I was told. The older I became the more books I stuck my nose into; Cathy Cassidy, Jacqueline Wilson, The Babysitters Club, the highlights of my teenage years. In 2011, my life changed when I was diagnosed with a chronic illness. It continued to change as I was diagnosed with a further six chronic illnesses over the years. Limitations became my enemy, and my bed became my best friend. I could no longer rely on my body to do its job, but I could rely on books to keep me company. From 2011 until now, I read. Books were, and still are, the only thing that can give me a little respite from my daily hell. So, in March 2016 I decided that I had to do something to give back to all the authors who have written such fantastic books which have allowed me to laugh, given me company, and made me feel less alone. I decided to review. I decided to blog. I decided to create TWG – The Writing Garnet. I cannot thank authors enough, truly.
Like a lot of bloggers, I have a review policy. Not only is it there to guide authors into finding the right blogger/reviewer for their work, it’s also there to help me otherwise my inbox would overflow even more. I don’t read sci-fi/fantasy/western/super natural or horror novels. You will usually find me reading contemporary fiction/women’s fiction/romantic comedies/psychological thrillers/crime/romance/commercial fiction/historical fiction/autobiographies & some non-fiction (I decide there and then where non-fiction is concerned). I say yes to a lot of review requests that I receive, and I am happy to review last minute, i.e., two days before the date it’s needed. If I get sent a request for a book which isn’t my cup of tea, I just don’t reply to the e-mail. I’m not being nasty, I just cannot spend all day replying to every single request e-mail. If I love your book, you can bet I will cheerlead it until I am blue in the face. Call me Smurfette.
Another question I get asked A LOT is; ‘how on earth do you read so quickly?’. Short answer, I speed read. I know some people wonder if I taught myself how to do that, but the answer is no, I didn’t. Speed-reading is all I have ever known to do, I don’t remember reading slowly. On average, I can read 5-7 books a week due to the speed of which I am able to do so. If you’re sitting there thinking that I must miss out parts of the storyline whilst reading fast; I don’t. I am able to remember everything of the book. How do I know this? Because my mum tested me when I was a kid, two weeks after I had finished a book. Did I get top marks? Hell yeah I did!
On the 10th June this year, my blog became an award winning blog, courtesy of the Annual Blogger Bash Awards. Squeal! A lot of super lovely people voted for me (big thank you) to win Most Inspirational Blog. I am completely overwhelmed that people think myself and my blog are inspirational, and it means the absolute world to me to win such a heart-warming award. Thank you so much if you voted for me in the awards, and thank you all for the love and support over the last 15 months. I cannot believe it; I was convinced I wouldn’t win. Thank you, so, so much.
Kaisha – thank you for your wonderful guest post and for joining us at Romaniac HQ. Many congratulations on your brilliant award and thank you for all the hard work you put into getting the word about great books out into the world. We truly appreciate the time book bloggers take to read and review our work. Delighted to have you with us today.
To find out more about The Writing Garnet and follow Kaisha’s reviews, here are the important links:
Twitter: @kaishajayneh (www.twitter.com/kaishajayneh)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thewritinggarnet
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thewritinggarnet
Blog url: https://thewritinggarnet.wordpress.com
The Blurb:
Meet Pippa…
After years of trying and a failed IVF attempt, Pippa is thrilled to see two little lines appear on a pregnancy test. Finally a precious baby to call her own. This is all Pippa has ever wanted… if only husband Jason could show just a little excitement.
Imogen…
A baby is the icing on the cake for Imogen and Alice – proof that their love for each other can overcome any obstacle. But when Imogen starts receiving malicious texts, it’s clear that not everyone is thrilled about the girls’ good news.
And Ellie…
A drunken one-night stand and Ellie’s life is ruined! Pregnant, jobless and the relationship with her best friend, Chris, over- forever. Because Chris just happens to be the father of Ellie’s baby… and potentially the love of her life!
For these first time mums the road to motherhood is bumpier than most!
WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 😀 Laura xxxx
Raising a Romaniac glass here in the Midlands, Lucie – well, actually it’s a cup of tea cos it’s only six a.m, but I’ll try harder later, promise! Congratulations, and all the luck in the world for your brilliant debut. We are all cheering and waving our pompoms in traditional Rom fashion, couldn’t be prouder. Love you squillions, Celia xxxx
HONK HONK!! Congratulations, lovely Lucie. It’s your special day and you fully deserve all the fanfares and success out there. So proud of you and so excited for you and your fabulous debut novel. Love you muchly, Jan xxxx
Wishing you the MOST fantabulous day, Lucie. I don’t know how you juggle it all with your studies and domestic duties. Your debut novel is SOOO well deserved. You should be so proud of yourself. We are! All the best for today – enjoy the moment – and for your future writing career. You’re a star, sweetie. Love you lots. Deb xxxx
Super proud of you, Lucie, I know how hard you’ve worked, not just with getting your novel finished and everything else that entails, but with all the other things in life that you manage so successfully. Have a wonderful day, you so deserve it! Lots of love, Sue xxxx
We here at Romaniac HQ have eaten our Easter chocolate, written our way through the holiday and enjoyed the occasional Prosecco. We hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend.
I’ve been busy on my mini tour, which continues this Saturday, 22nd April 2017, at Littlemoor Library, details here. I’m really looking forward to this Shared Reading event where I’ll be reading from WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU, and supporting my local library. It would be lovely to see you there.
I returned last week from a trip to Exeter – the first Choc Lit Day, organised by my publisher, held at Exeter Library. It was a wonderful way to spend the day, among readers and writers. The four ChocLiteers – Margaret James, Victoria Cornwall, Linda Mitchelmore and Laura E James (me) spoke about our publication journeys and the importance of social media for today’s writers, held a fun quiz and chatted with members of the audience. There was an opportunity for writers to pitch to the Choc Lit editor, too. And Victoria Cornwall and I filmed our very first Facebook Live video.
The next Choc Lit Day is Saturday 20th May 2017, at Southampton Library, which I shall be attending, and a third date has been announced for Saturday 17th June 2017 at Stockton Library. Details here.
Following my visit to Exeter, I continued my tour with a drive up the M3 and the M25 to Watford, where I’d been invited by the Watford Writers to take part in the Watford Lit Fest. I grew up in Watford and was delighted to be asked there to chat about writing and my novels. I was interviewed by a long-standing friend with whom I used to work, Helen Nicell, herself a writer. It was a fabulous experience and one I thoroughly enjoyed.
As a thank you to Waterstones Watford, who supplied sale copies of both FOLLOW ME FOLLOW YOU and WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU at the Watford Writer’s event, I popped in to the branch the next day to sign a few books. It’s a wonderful new store in the high street and definitely worth the visit if you’re in the area.
It’s been hectic, but I’ve loved every minute of the tour so far. Of course, I’ve had to pace myself and allow recovery time between events, but I’m rested and ready to go.
See you on Saturday.
Here, at Romaniac HQ, we’re preparing for spring and all the loveliness it brings – fresh hope, new ideas, Easter eggs …
This is what happened over winter:
Laura: I’ve had a busy three months, starting with a chest infection in December, when three of the James household were knocked out by the awful cough and 
cold virus that swept the nation. Thankfully we were on the mend come Christmas and New Year as I spent the last part of December gearing up for the paperback launch of What Doesn’t Kill You. I took the Romaniac bus on a virtual blog tour starting on launch day, 9th January, and gigging all over the country right into the following week. No hotel rooms were smashed up, but there was plenty of celebrating and digesting of cake. I had a short story printed in February’s edition of Your Cat Magazine, and a book signing event at the ever-supportive Waterstones Dorchester on February 18th. And yesterday I received my first WH Smith shelfie. I knew WDKY was going into WH Smith Travel stores, but I hadn’t seen one for myself until Sue posted the photo.
Celia: I edited my NaNoWriMO children’s novel and slashed and burned my way through a grittier adult one, then threw myself back into the WIP which is nearly half completed, hooray! Also attended my first ever RNA committee meeting ready for my new role organising the judging etc. of the RONAs, which is going to be great fun if a bit scary…
Vanessa: After coming away from my writing retreat at West Dean College thoroughly inspired, I have almost finished the first draft of my new WIP. I’ve also been working on edits from my agent on the other book and trying not to get mixed up between the two! (Although… that could be an interesting mix-up!)
Debbie: Everything is much the same here since my last Life Cycle Post . I’m still writing, albeit sporadically, in between hospital appointments and the usual domestic chaos. However I’ve had a bit of a compelling change of heart. Instead of working on Novel two, ‘Country Strife,’ I’ve returned to the original, ‘Living in the Past.’ Yes, the one I’d almost given up on. It’s the nearest to completion and something inside me won’t give up on it. Not yet! I’ve also discovered I get more writing done when I work in local cafe bars and tea rooms. Who’d have thought it?
Sue: My fourth book with HarperImpulse was released in January and has been doing very well in the charts. I spent a long weekend on a writing retreat in Hampshire with Laura, Catherine and Lucie which really helped move my wip along. I’m in the very last stages of finishing it and will be sending to my agent in the next couple of weeks. After that, I’m going to catch up on some long overdue reading.
Jan has been hard at it, gathering research and working on her second novel which is coming along nicely. While Lucie is doing a marvellous job juggling her university studies with editing her debut novel, The First Time Mums’ Club which is due to be released in May. Catherine has been working on a secret project which has involved some super-speedy writing and is currently working on her edits for this, not to mention running round after her twin girls – we have no idea how she manages it all.
What a busy, fun and exciting week this is. Yesterday, we Romaniacs celebrated our 5th birthday and cheered Sue’s fantastic thriller, Sister Sister, as it hit the top 5 on Kindle, today is Valentine’s Day, and Saturday, I’ll be at Waterstones Dorchester signing copies of What Doesn’t Kill You.
I was at Waterstones Dorchester on Valentine’s Day two years ago, signing copies of my second novel, Follow Me Follow You. It was such a lovely day. The table was perfectly decorated with red love hearts, books were wrapped in paper and bows, enticing customers to go on a blind date with their next read, and I spent the time chatting with people about books and authors.
I’m really looking forward to Saturday’s event. To have a paperback is special, even more so with What Doesn’t Kill You, as the front cover sports an author quote from my good friend and fellow Romaniac, Sue Fortin. Neither of us could predict that happening when we first met five years ago. There is also a depiction of a well-loved landmark on the front – Portland Bill lighthouse.
There will be copies of the book available for purchase on Saturday, and I will have one of my trusty Pentel pens in hand, but which colour should I use?
Do I go with blues and greens to complement the cover? Or should I stick with traditional black ink? I might just have to take my pencil case and decide on the day. What would you do?
I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday. Dorchester is a fascinating Roman town, and it has literary links, too – Hardy referred to Dorchester as Casterbridge – so please do come and spend the day, and pop into the wonderfully supportive Waterstones.
I’m going to leave you with this classic Beatles hit 😀 https://youtu.be/xmVwo2DxkGg
Have a great week.
I can’t believe a year has passed since my debut novel As Weekends Go was published. I’ve been keeping a month by month journal to record all those exciting moments, both pre and post publication; something to treasure with fondness and pride and something I’d thoroughly recommend.
Here’s a taste of my ‘Year as a Published Author’ photo-diary …
Dec 2015 ~ Launch Day Celebrations.
Jan 2016 ~ Happiness and relief as some fabulous reviews started coming in (thank you, dear readers). I also set up my own blog and featured on several fellow bloggers’ sites with either a Q&A or guest post, all a joy to take part in and all hugely appreciated.
Feb 2016 ~ I discovered Canva – a great site for creating promotional banners for social media.
March 2016 ~ Cheered like crazy when As Weekends Go was selected for an Amazon Kindle daily deal promotion which subsequently saw it hit the top 100. Much Prosecco was cracked open and quaffed, I can tell you!
I also visited York and Leeds in March for sequel research purposes which was highly rewarding.
April 2016 ~ Superb news! My book would also be coming out in paperback later in the year. Cue a virtual conga at Brigden Towers.
May 2016 ~ One of my fave authors, Lisa Jewell, agreed to read my novel with a view to potentially providing a quote for my paperback (much crossing of fingers, toes and eyes!).
June 2016 ~ I learned I’d made ‘The Bookseller’ who reviewed forthcoming titles in paperback. A proud moment for sure. My lovely publisher Choc Lit also celebrated 7 years in business this month.
July 2016 ~ Photo-shoot month, don’t laugh! I knew I needed some updated author pics, and with my good friend Noreen being an ace photographer, a date was fixed. What a giggle we had. Here are a couple that didn’t quite make the final … 😉
I also received my first ever royalty cheque this month, as well as this terrific quote from Lisa Jewell, following her ‘thumbs up’ for my novel : “I loved this gorgeous love story written with a sure touch and a big heart.”
August 2016 ~ The postman delivered these beauties ahead of paperback publication. I really did appreciate what it felt like to hold a copy of my book in my hands.
September 2016 ~ Paperback Publication Day on the 7th, and some brilliant messages from my fellow Romaniacs buddies: Romaniac Cheer I even received a congratulatory tweet from Crystal Palace FC. I then discovered my book had been chosen as a weekly staff pick for Lovereading UK and was one of its debuts of the month.
Towards the end of September I attended an author/blogger meet up in London which gave me a great chance to say hello to (and thank) faces both new and familiar. A good time was had by all, with much writerly and non-writerly chat and laughter. We were blessed with glorious sunshine too – always a bonus.
October 2016 ~ I make no excuses. Not much writing took place this month as my staggered 50th birthday celebration pics reveal … I felt very loved and extremely pampered.
November 2016 ~ I managed to work on the sequel a bit more this month which lifted my spirits. It’s soul-destroying when the will is there but the self-belief and passion won’t play ball, so progress is progress as they say.
December 2016 ~ My book anniversary on the 4th, which I celebrated with a giveaway (runs until Friday 9th) with a chance to win a signed paperback of As Weekends Go plus some festive choccies. If you have a look at either my Facebook or Twitter page, you’ll see further details there 🙂
And now on the run up to Christmas, I thank you all for your friendship and support. I will be forever grateful for all those wise words of advice and encouragement offered to me both pre and post publication.
Have a fantastic Christmas & New Year!
Love Jan x
The Romaniacs Sparkle Spotlights 2016.
Filmed at the RNA conference, Lancaster University.
We asked three questions:
Thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s Sparkle Spotlights – your advice is invaluable.
So we’re out by a day, but that’s okay because we’re among friends. In celebration of this wonderful day, we’ve put together a gallery of Romaniacal good times.
The Romaniacs 
