Liz's Little Book

I will be posting more details of courses and workshops - including that very special one in Italy -  soon - but if you're interested in learning to write romance then I have a new  how to book to tell you about  that could help you with your  novel.

It's Liz Fielding's  Little Book of Writing Romance

Liz has just released this book  as an ebook  this week. I knewshe was working on this project when we met last year, so I;ve asked her to give me a mini-interview about it to give you all the information you need.


Liz, can you tell me a little more about your Little Book of Writing Romance?

I've taken my model from the great thriller writer Elmore Leonard and I've left out the bits people skip over, kept it to bones of what a new writer needs to know. How to begin. Character. Emotion. Conflict.


What gave you the idea to write this? Did the ideas come from any workshops you've done in the past?
What will would-be authors find in this book

It all began quite a long time ago when I was approached by a publisher to produce a "little" book on writing for Mills and Boon. For various reasons it didn't happen, but I'd written the first chapter - Grabbing the Reader on the First Page - which you'll find on my website under "Writing". Then, this year, I did a talk on Humour and Emotion at the RNA Conference, talked to people interested in taking part in Mills and Boon's New Voices competition, mentored a finalist, and I realised that it was time to put together all the stuff I've learned over the years.



You say your book is a primer - will authors who have already tried submissions or read other books find things to help them in it?  (Personally I'm pretty sure they will -  so often it's not the advice that's being given but the way it's told that makes that light bulb moment happen and I'm sure your voice will reach so many people and help them.)

Thanks, Kate! There are some terrific how-to books out there. I always recommend your own 12-Point Guide, which is a fabulous book on the art of writing romance. Where mine differs is that I've gone with the basics, holding the hand of someone who isn't familiar with the publishing world, who is a total beginner. I've used lots of examples, broken down a scene to show what I'm doing. Can a more experienced writer benefit from this? I believe it will be useful for someone who has been submitting for a while without success. And I use the vital bullet points myself to make sure I'm getting the most out of every scene, thinking deeply enough about conflict, getting to know my characters. (Walking around a supermarket with your heroine will tell you a lot more about her than her star-sign!)


Where can readers who want to buy this book get hold of it?

My Little Book is online at Amazon (you don't have to have a Kindle, you can download it to your PC) and should be available on all other eBook platforms very shortly. It will be online everywhere  an eBook  (except Barnes and Noble - but will come as soon as Waterstones sign up for the Nook) by the end of the week, or so I am assured.




Thanks so much Liz! Congratulations on the publication of your 'little book' - I hope it's a great success!

As I said above I do believe that  the good thing about having a variety of how to books out there is that sometimes one author's way  of explaining things can work better for  a writer than any others - and it's always good to have two different approaches to anything in writing so you can see what works for you best. And  having been to some of Liz's workshops - and of course knowing her writing, I  know how helpful this book  is going to be.