Lissa Morgan

To a new book, that is.  Having submitted a full manuscript to Harlequin Mills and Boon recently, I'm hoping they'll like it enough to ask for revisions. In the meantime, however, I'm in the wonderful position of being able to begin a new story with no immediate pressure of a deadline - at least not yet!  And, while I never begin a book without the intention of eventual submission, I'm enjoying letting this one slowly grow.  I'm definitely a half-plotter and half-pantser type of writer and I always start with a character sheet and plot synopsis, though inevitably these are never set in stone.  For a writer, characters are real and, as human beings, they change and develop as the story progresses, reacting to and growing out of the emotional situations they are forced to confront, while remaining true to the people they are. Every new book is an adventure and a journey of exploration for a writer, as much as for the characters.  Keeping the emotional intensity...

Well, truth be told, not much actual writing was done, as last weekend was another of Malaga workshops fabulous courses. This time it was at the Royal Agricultural University  at Cirencester,  an idyllic setting in the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside. The college itself dates back to 1845 and is the oldest agricultural college in the English speaking world.   Its long history was evident in the mellow stone buildings and old oak beams, and everywhere had an austerely welcoming feel to it. The rooms were rather lovely and the Tithe barn bar quite stunning and we had it all to ourselves on the Friday night, when much wine and good conversation was enjoyed. The course tutor was Kate Walker  and, as always, she had a wealth of  knowledge and experience to impart. We were working on beginnings, middles and ends, which was great for me, as I usually hit a sticking point somewhere around the middle of my books. So a lot of attention was given to...

Editing is one of my favourite things and I usually find it easier to edit a book than to write it in the first place!  So I've been enjoying doing the revisions on my latest WIP, especially as they've cooincided with a three week holiday off work :)  It's been lovely, doing almost nothing but writing every day, although - holiday or not - I'm definitely a morning writer.  My preferred routine is to get up around six, make a cafetiere of good Italian coffee and retire back to bed with my computer. Writing feels so much more relaxed when one's mind is uncluttered and there's no need to stop when things are flowing or dash out to work at a crucial point.  As a result, my revisions have come along nicely and I'm almost ready to re-submit a partial in the next week or so. Also this week,  I met up for lunch with my good writing friend, Sarah Snowdon . We went to Dylan's in Criccieth, an Art-Deco-like building designed and built in 1954 by Clough Willia...

Ever since Rudolph Valentino smouldered down from the silver screen in the 1921 silent movie 'The Sheikh', tall, dark and handsome desert heroes have been the epitome of romance fantasy and a mainstay of romantic fiction - and quite right too!  But has the most Alpha of Alpha males changed very much over the decades? In 1919, Edith Hull's novel was an overnight sensation and her virile desert warrior made women everywhere go weak at the knees. Shrewdly, she penned a number of successful sequels featuring brooding Arab heroes, and her books paved the way for later romance writers. The Sheikh is still a firm and popular hero of romantic fiction, and one of my own particular favourites, but the world has moved on in the last  hundred years. Readers, and film-goers too, expect a different sort of hero these days and, consequently, for an author, he's not always the most straightforward of characters to write - as I've discovered in my latest work in progress. ...

I'm not really one for making New Year resolutions and this time round isn't an exception.  I did, however, resolve to submit my work in progress in early January and, today, I did just that.   It felt good hitting the send button but now begins the weeks or even months of waiting to hear back, trying not to think how I should have written certain passages differently, or cut something out, or put something in . . . the second guesses are endless and Romance writers nothing if not perfectionists! The time ahead won't be wasted however;  I'm already mulling over my next book and, in February, I'm going to beautiful Fishguard, on another of Writers Holiday's  fabulous and friendly courses. This time, however, I'm delving into short stories by way of a change.  And, unlike previous years, I'm looking at the weekend as a mini-break too, going earlier and staying later, and hopefully getting time to walk a bit of the Pembrokeshire coastal path, weather per...

I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year.  That might be because I've got a whole ten days off work, or it might have more to do with finishing the edits on my current work in progress a few days before my self-imposed deadline of December 25th :)  Typically, having struggled through a period of  disenchantment,  now I'm full of enthusiasm again and itching to go back to it and tweak.  Isn't that the curse of being a writer?!  I will be disciplined, however, and leave it alone to settle, with just a final read through after the New Year, and then away it goes to the editors. But I'm not going to deprive myself of romance completely over the holidays - albeit in a purely fictional sense.  I've lined up a few of Georgette Heyer's historical romances to keep me happy.  Her characters are so full of life that they leap off the page and I love her spirited blend of romance, adventure and suspense.  Add in some wine, chocolates, minc...

I just couldn't resist sharing the latest news from my balcony, namely the arrival of a noisy little flock of Long Tailed Tits! I've been seeing them in the trees while out walking recently, busily gobbling up the late-autumn seeds, but didn't expect them to venture onto my balcony, as they are a flighty species to say the least. So it was a delightful surprise earlier this week to see them come out of the blue - and how! They swooped in en mass, twittering nineteen to the dozen, took over the fat ball feeder completely, tails pointing in all directions, then just as suddenly, swooped off again. The poor Blue Tits looked like they'd been mugged !!     But how sweet is this chatty, marshmallow-coloured little bird?  Their tails are longer than their bodies and, in rural areas in former times, they used to be called 'Bum Barrels' due to the tiny, barrel shaped nest they build. Hope they are here to stay for the winter at least :)