RNA Diamond Jubilee

This year is the Romantic Novelists’ Association Diamond Jubilee. 

As part of the 60th anniversary celebrations they are running a blog series on ‘How to Write Romantic Fiction.” This is both for the benefit of our members as a way to share good practice and mentor other authors, and also as a means to spread the word about romantic fiction and celebrate excellence in the genre.

 I was delighted and honoured to be asked to take part in this blog - which starts today and will have a new post each month.

Anne Bronte January 17th 1820

Today marks the 200th anniversary of the day that the youngest of the Bronte Sisters was born - on the 17th January 1820. 

 Unjustifiably she is too often referred to a s 'quiet, little Anne', the baby of the family! And her books are wrongly regarded as second to those of her more romantic sisters - but her detailed account of alcoholism, marital abuse and female rebellion are incredibly powerful - with a real relevance for so many similar topics these days.

One of the memories that makes me shudder for the way that Anne's reputation was reduced was when I was working in a university bookshop and was asked the book 'Tenant of Wildfell Hall' by Agnes Grey !

To mark this anniversary I'm going to ignore the wind and rain in reality outside and lose myself in the wind and rain - and emotional storms - in The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall.

Happy Birthday Anne

Happy New Year - and plans

One of my 'new year tasks' is to update my calendars and diaries putting in the details of the events coming up n this year of 2020. It's always a delight to be able to note down the dates of one of my favourite events of the year - the first writing weekend planned -

Since the Writers' Holiday in the summer closed, there always seems to be such along gap between the last time I was in lovely Fishguard and the date that I'm heading there again - but now there's just over a month to go before I'll be back there with my friends and waking up to the sight and sound of the sea outside my bedroom every morning. I can't wait. You know that feeling with real friends when you haven't seen each other for too long - but when you meet up again it's as if you only parted yesterday. Well, that's one of the very special parts of the atmosphere at  Writers Holiday - and that's why I love it so much.

February 21st - 23rd 2020 - Advanced Romance Writing Course with the fabulous Writers Holiday 

Courses also with poet Alison Chisholm, Simon Whaley,  Short story writer Della Galton, novelist Janet Laurence  and   drawing and painting tutor  Susan Allison.

Numbers on this course are strictly limited so if you're interested, get your booking in while there's still spaces. The course also includes a one to one critique on your writing.

There are a couple of other weekends planned with Lois Maddox- one a course and one a writing retreat - I need to check on the details and dates and places then get back to you.