Where I'm At . . .

-
Well, blogging again, obviously, after several months away for various reasons. And writing again, albeit slowly, after several months away for various reasons.  Sometimes it is necessary to step away from your dream and rethink how much you really want that dream - or even if you still want it at all.  And sometimes the only way you can find out is to not follow that dream for a while and see what answer comes up.



So that's what I've been doing - taking time out to rethink. And doing some reading in my chosen genre too in an attempt to enjoy  reading romance again and to remember why I started writing it in the first place.   And I've been reading some truly amazing books by truly amazing and inspiring authors.

Sara Craven, who has just sadly passed away, began writing for Mills and Boon back in 1975. She's an author whose books I've picked up now again over the years, but reading some of her early and more recent work during my 'time out' has reconfirmed just what a brilliant writer she was, with some wonderful page turning books like Comparative Strangers back in 1988 and more recently Seduction Never Lies in 2014.  A truly gifted writer who will be much missed.






I've also thoroughly enjoyed Kate Walker's latest novel A Proposal to Secure his Vengeance, which I literally couldn't put down until I'd finished it - and that wasn't just because of the sexy hero, although I must confess to drooling a bit over that cover - and who wouldn't!

 Like Sara Craven, Kate Walker has also been writing romance for several decades now and what really struck me in reading both these authors is how their books have continuously moved with the times yet they as writers have remained true to their own unique styles and voices, and have written the stories they want to tell, which of course is why readers keep buying and reading their books year after year.

And that is something that every aspiring writer dreams of, isn't it?


Comments

  1. Sarah Snowdon10 December 2017 at 09:15

    Hi Melissa. Good to have you back. Writing is such a personal journey and far from straight forward - as I know - but I hope that your time away has re-ignited that joy. I am enjoying writing slowly and have reverted to pen and notepad. xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lissa Morgan10 December 2017 at 10:23

    Hi Sarah, re-ignition has started but yet to take off! Good to hear from you and that you are enjoying writing again, nothing wrong with pen and paper, whatever works!! Hope you're keeping warm in the north Wales snow xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kate Walker10 December 2017 at 10:47

    Thank you Melissa - I'm honoured to be discussed in the same post as lovely Sara Craven - such a great writer and a great person who will be so much missed. I had to smile rather wryly at your comment about writing for so long and changing/adapting to the times. Some times it's been a natural progression, other times I've needed to adjust quite strongly. But that's the result of having a long career - and the fact that writing of any sort (but specially romance) is a growing, changing genre. So glad to see you picking up hour pen again - I hope you can rediscover the joy of writing and creating stories - I love your voice and would love to see more of your writing. Keep warm! Kxx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lissa Morgan10 December 2017 at 12:07

    Hi Kate, thank you for your lovely and encouraging comment. Your wonderful books definitely set the standard, not just for me, but I'm sure for many other aspiring authors. Likewise, I hope you are keeping well and warm in this seasonal snowy weather xx

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RNA Conference 2016

-
The annual Romantic Novelists' Conference is one of the highlights of my calendar, and this year was no exception. Held at Lancaster University, the venue was lovely even if the weather wasn't exactly sultry and summer-like.  Getting together with good friends over a bottle or three of Prosecco was the absolute high spot of a wonderful couple of days. The sessions were interesting and inspiring, among them HQ Harper Collins 'Reaching the Top in Commercial Fiction,' Vasiliki Scurfield on 'Writing the Foreign Hero' and Kate Walker on 'Emotional Punch.' One of the most illuminating sessions, from my point of view at least, was Sonia Duggan's workshop on 'Rekindling your Romance with Writing.'  Having been writing for almost ten years and as yet unpublished, this one really struck a chord with me.  Sonia gave us an exercise on composing a Dear John letter to our writing and what I wrote both surprised and shocked me and, for the first time, I was...
Read more

RNA Conference 2018

-
Image
As a writer, the annual conference is definitely the highlight of the year for me and, surprisingly, it seems to come around quickly each time. This year was no exception and, from counting down the months, then the weeks, then the days, suddenly I was packing and wondering which shoes would go with which dress! Welcome with Nicola Cornick and Jan Jones This year, the conference was in Leeds Trinity University, a campus just outside Headingly. Leeds is a lovely city but I didn't see anything of it beyond the train station. Horsforth, where the campus is located, was really nice though, and I enjoyed a short and pleasant walk from the train station to the campus with HMB author Rachael Thomas . The conference sessions were useful and enjoyable and included a double presentation from Mills and Boon. This began with editors from the longer 'Trade' imprint giving a summary of the recent rebranding of the company, and concluded with the Series editors outlin...
Read more

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus - Happy St David's Day!

-
Image
Okay, I am a bit late posting a happy St David's Day  here, but as it isn't officially a public holiday in Wales - at least not yet - most people are celebrating it today, Saturday.  I imagine that many leeks and Welsh cakes are still being consumed even as I write, though sadly, this year, Dydd Gwyl Dewi Day has rushed up at me rather, and was gone before I knew it! My publisher, Mills & Boon, remembered however, and put together this fabulous image for my Warriors of Wales series - the daffodils are my addition!  The first in the series, The Warrior's Reluctant Wife , was out in September 2023 and the second, The Warrior's Forbidden Maiden , will be out in June. This second book features the Abbey of Ystrad Fflur (Strata Florida) where the Life of Dewi Sant was possibly preserved after the Normans demoted the mother church of Llanbadarn, where it was written by Rhigyfarch, son of Bishop Sulien. The story features the Life of another saint, almost as revered in th...
Read more