Christmas Stocking books and authors - 6

I think I've mentioned here that some years ago, I set up the 'Conference Virgins' scheme so that RNA members who are attending their very first ever RNA Conference have a chance to connect with other first timers, ask the questions that are worrying them about the Conference and generally get over that 'I don;t know anyone' feeling. I'm no longer the active co-ordinator fo that scheme (which is now known as the 'First Timers' not the Virgins!) but I'm proud of having set it up and delighted that it continues to run in some form.

It was through the First Timers scheme at the Conference in Egham in 2005 that I first met Fiona Harper. The organiser of the scheme that year introduced her to me and asked if I could answer some of her questions. As her questions were mostly about the new direction the M&B Tender line was going to take once it merged with Silhouette Romance and became simply Romance, I'm afraid I wasn't the most expert person to ask .


But Fiona really didn’t need my advice. She had already written a novel and had submitted the manuscript to the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme. The person who read that – and no, sadly it wasn’t me, - enjoyed the book so much that the NWS organisers wanted to send it straight to HMB to let an editor see it. I’ll let Fiona tell this bit in her own words –

It was my first completed attempt at a novel and I was totally petrified about the critique. ‘All I want,’ I said to my husband, ‘is for someone to say I don’t stink too badly and that maybe I have potential.’ To take my mind off it all, I also entered a first chapter competition jointly run by M&B and the New Writers’ Scheme.

The short version of the story is that both the readers who saw my manuscript really liked it and seemed very excited about wanting to send it on directly to the M&B offices in Richmond. I was gobsmacked, for want of a better word. For the next few days I would often make my family jump out of their skins by shouting: ‘I don’t stink!’ at the top of my voice.

The nail-biting began. I stopped sleeping properly and began staking out my inbox. When the message finally arrived, I missed it. The editor who had seen my story dropped me an email one evening saying she wanted to ‘touch base’. What a wonderfully vague term, I thought, when I found it at 5am the next morning after yet another sleepless night. I emailed right back saying I would be at home and settled down to wait—only three inches away from the phone at all times.

At 10.30am the phone rang. By this time I was convinced I had slipped into a parallel universe. The editor from HM&B told me they loved my book and wanted to buy it. The whole situation seemed so surreal by then that I became horribly calm and collected as I chatted to my new editor. She must have thought I was seriously weird not to be whooping and jumping up and down.

That night was the RNA’s Winter Party. Not only was my sale announced, but I discovered I had also won the first chapter contest. My memory of that evening is of smiling so much my mouth hurt, talking to lots of people whose names I instantly forgot and not having enough hands to hold congratulatory glasses of wine with

But Fiona’s great success story doesn’t end there. The RNA also runs the the Joan Hessayon NWS Award. This is presented to the best debut novel each year to have come through the New Writers' Scheme and been accepted for publication. In July this year, Fiona’s novel won this award and the judges had this to say about it:

The judges think that this very contemporary short novel is funny and charming and has real heart. The hero is original with two distinct personae. You're on his side right from the cracking first page. Among our pleasures were a delightfully brisk heroine, whizzy plot, her aging rocker dad and the way the hero handles a truculent kid. We believe totally in the world and the characters. And there are some fabulous one liners that made us green with envy.

So let me tell you a bit more about the book - Blind-Date Marriage. Here’s the blurb:

Can this blind date lead to an appointment at the altar?
Serena – loves everything in life, except for blind dates! She’s turned her back on her unconventional upbringing, and her deepest wish is to find the man to spend the rest of her life with . . .
Jake – is a highly successful and focused businessman. He’s worked hard to escape his roots, and now lives by one rule: never get married.
A romantic candle-lit restaurant, a dozen red roses, champagne on ice. . . the scene is set for the perfect blind date!

Though personally, I prefer the RNA Judges’ summary –

Blind-Date Marriage is about Serendipity Dove's quest for a little normality in her unconventional life. All she needs is a nice husband to provide her with two-point-four children and she'll be in heaven. But finding the perfect man is harder than she anticipated. However, on a blind date she meets Jake, an intelligent, attractive accountant, and he ticks all the right boxes. Well, almost all of them. She's too busy falling in love to notice that, down in the small print, the ready for commitment box is glaringly empty.

Already Blind-Date Marriage is getting some great reviews - like this one from the Pink Hearts Society
Blind date marriage is a humorous and touching story with a riveting plot, plenty of action and a loveable, quirky heroine. It’s written in a young, contemporary style and I absolutely loved it.
A book you should not miss!

Asked to tell me a bit more about herself, Fiona gave me this summary:
I live in London with my husband and two princess-wannabe daughters. I like dancing, cooking and reading. I adore gingerbread lattes. As for my dislikes, I have a fridge magnet which just about sums it up: “Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance?”

Blind-Date Marriage is on sale now as a Romance in the UK and in Silhouette Romance in America.
Fiona has now sold two more books to the M&B Romance line - Her second novel, Her Parenthood Assignment is out in March 2007 - and is working on her fourth! She’s come a long way in the very short time since I met her in July 2005. If you want to know more about her then check out her web site or her blog.