Lucy Mitchell's Blog, page 62

The Writer’s Other Half – Job Description #WritingCommunity #Writers ❤️

If you think being a writer or an author is difficult, please spare a thought to your husband, wife, girlfriend or boyfriend!

Now that I have published my debut romance novel, Instructions For Falling In Love Again, this is a subject I now feel strongly about.

Our loved ones deserve recognition!

It can’t be easy loving a writer.

You have to sit and watch the person you love spend their entire day editing the hell out of a paragraph.

You have to pretend to listen and be interested as your loved one talks plot twists in the wine aisle of the supermarket.

You have to keep passing your beloved tissues after the fictional death of a much loved character.

You have to ignore your loved one murmuring the name of a handsome main character in their sleep.

Standing here, clutching my book and thinking about everything I went through to get it out into the world, all I can think about is…it must be tough for my loved one!

I think we can all agree on this, the writer’s other half is a special human being with many interesting qualities.

So, I have given some thought to what their job description might look like:

Job: Vacancy: The Writer’s Other Half

About The Role: 

An exciting romantic opportunity has arisen for a self motivated, patient and enthusiastic individual to help support and love a writer throughout their literary journey.

Hours:

Can change and will be dependent upon:

The emotional state of the writer. Some writers might require more emotional support than others.
The stage the writer is at with their creative project. Extra hours will be required if the writer is going through a bad patch of writer’s block or if they have been on the receiving end of some unexpected negative criticism.
The writer’s love of social media. Hours will vary according to the peaks and troughs of the writer’s social media accounts. Must be prepared for all communication to stop if the writer’s work is being tweeted a lot. On the other hand they must be willing to put in the extra hours when their writer has fallen out with Twitter.

Location:

The job will be based at home with the writer.

Key Duties / Responsibilities: 

Must struggle to accept that tweeting is important writer work.
Must be able to wait for hours outside a bookshop (with the kids and dog) while your writer struggles to find a book to read for pleasure. 
Must be able to multi task – watch the sport and at the same time engage in weird conversations. Must not be phased by interesting topics such as romantic cliffhangers, unusual murder weapons, falling in love with ghosts, issues faced with getting intimate with another astronaut in space, finding love while climbing up a dangerous mountain and the dating problems faced by Merfolk.
Must be able to keep the cupboards stocked with chocolate and ensure there is a constant supply of cheese in the fridge while your writer is going through episodes of fictional trauma.
Must possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work which will include the name of one character (which you must keep repeating in conversations to signal to your writer you are interested) and a rough idea of what happens at the end.
Must be able to accept the fact that your writer’s favourite pet does not possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work but still gets more hugs and cuddles than you.
Must accept that pillow talk is going to include an assessment of your writer’s latest idea for a future bestseller. You will be experienced enough to know that this conversation will be one-sided and any romance that follows will depend on the changes in your facial expressions and the number of your gasps of delight while your writer explains the premise.
Must be willing to accept the house pecking order: your writer, the kids, your writer’s fictional characters (an array of needy and attention seeking invisible people), your writer’s favourite pet, your writer’s mother, the other pets and finally you. Harsh but true.
Must be able to step in with the children, pets, relatives and housework if your writer is in the middle of a writing binge and cannot be disturbed.
Must be able to bring your emotional writer back down to reality by reminding them that no one died whilst they read their first draft. Yes it was a total clanger of a draft but no one died.
Must be able to accept that advising your writer’s draft novel needs more work could lead to divorce.
Must be willing to act out ALL scenes your writer is struggling with.

About You:

You will be an expert at walking on eggshells.
Your tea and coffee making skills will be world class.
You will be a professional at keeping a biscuit tin well stocked.
You will have selective hearing and be able to go deaf when your writer is trying to tell you about their issues with their book’s opening paragraph.
You will be an expert in looking for positives in a literary rejection crisis.
You won’t understand what all the fuss is about with writing. This is a key skill!
You will excel at cheerleading from the sofa.
You will enjoy celebrating what seem like small achievements to you but to the writer they will be huge, like finishing a first draft, the end of writer’s block and getting a few re-tweets on their latest blog post.

Salary:

Paid via the salary of love, clean shirts and the occasional pint down the pub

Perks: 

You might get a line dedicated to you in the acknowledgements section of your writer’s novel.
You will get the kudos of saying you are romantically linked to a writer. Sigh! Doesn’t that sound great?
You will never be short of reading material.
Your life will never be dull!
You will always have someone who will listen to your life problems and troubling feelings. They might even scribble down some notes while you talk.
You will always get an invite to your writer’s book signing event…as long as you buy a copy

The Writer’s Other Half – Job Description #WritingCommunity #Writers ❤️

If you think being a writer or an author is difficult, please spare a thought to your husband, wife, girlfriend or boyfriend!

Now that I have published my debut romance novel, Instructions For Falling In Love Again, this is a subject I now feel strongly about.

Our loved ones deserve recognition!

It can’t be easy loving a writer.

You have to sit and watch the person you love spend their entire day editing the hell out of a paragraph.

You have to pretend to listen and be interested as your loved one talks plot twists in the wine aisle of the supermarket.

You have to keep passing your beloved tissues after the fictional death of a much loved character.

You have to ignore your loved one murmuring the name of a handsome main character in their sleep.

Standing here, clutching my book and thinking about everything I went through to get it out into the world, all I can think about is…it must be tough for my loved one!

I think we can all agree on this, the writer’s other half is a special human being with many interesting qualities.

So, I have given some thought to what their job description might look like:

Job: Vacancy: The Writer’s Other Half

About The Role: 

An exciting romantic opportunity has arisen for a self motivated, patient and enthusiastic individual to help support and love a writer throughout their literary journey.

Hours:

Can change and will be dependent upon:

The emotional state of the writer. Some writers might require more emotional support than others.
The stage the writer is at with their creative project. Extra hours will be required if the writer is going through a bad patch of writer’s block or if they have been on the receiving end of some unexpected negative criticism.
The writer’s love of social media. Hours will vary according to the peaks and troughs of the writer’s social media accounts. Must be prepared for all communication to stop if the writer’s work is being tweeted a lot. On the other hand they must be willing to put in the extra hours when their writer has fallen out with Twitter.

Location:

The job will be based at home with the writer.

Key Duties / Responsibilities: 

Must struggle to accept that tweeting is important writer work.
Must be able to wait for hours outside a bookshop (with the kids and dog) while your writer struggles to find a book to read for pleasure. 
Must be able to multi task – watch the sport and at the same time engage in weird conversations. Must not be phased by interesting topics such as romantic cliffhangers, unusual murder weapons, falling in love with ghosts, issues faced with getting intimate with another astronaut in space, finding love while climbing up a dangerous mountain and the dating problems faced by Merfolk.
Must be able to keep the cupboards stocked with chocolate and ensure there is a constant supply of cheese in the fridge while your writer is going through episodes of fictional trauma.
Must possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work which will include the name of one character (which you must keep repeating in conversations to signal to your writer you are interested) and a rough idea of what happens at the end.
Must be able to accept the fact that your writer’s favourite pet does not possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work but still gets more hugs and cuddles than you.
Must accept that pillow talk is going to include an assessment of your writer’s latest idea for a future bestseller. You will be experienced enough to know that this conversation will be one-sided and any romance that follows will depend on the changes in your facial expressions and the number of your gasps of delight while your writer explains the premise.
Must be willing to accept the house pecking order: your writer, the kids, your writer’s fictional characters (an array of needy and attention seeking invisible people), your writer’s favourite pet, your writer’s mother, the other pets and finally you. Harsh but true.
Must be able to step in with the children, pets, relatives and housework if your writer is in the middle of a writing binge and cannot be disturbed.
Must be able to bring your emotional writer back down to reality by reminding them that no one died whilst they read their first draft. Yes it was a total clanger of a draft but no one died.
Must be able to accept that advising your writer’s draft novel needs more work could lead to divorce.
Must be willing to act out ALL scenes your writer is struggling with.

About You:

You will be an expert at walking on eggshells.
Your tea and coffee making skills will be world class.
You will be a professional at keeping a biscuit tin well stocked.
You will have selective hearing and be able to go deaf when your writer is trying to tell you about their issues with their book’s opening paragraph.
You will be an expert in looking for positives in a literary rejection crisis.
You won’t understand what all the fuss is about with writing. This is a key skill!
You will excel at cheerleading from the sofa.
You will enjoy celebrating what seem like small achievements to you but to the writer they will be huge, like finishing a first draft, the end of writer’s block and getting a few re-tweets on their latest blog post.

Salary:

Paid via the salary of love, clean shirts and the occasional pint down the pub

Perks: 

You might get a line dedicated to you in the acknowledgements section of your writer’s novel.
You will get the kudos of saying you are romantically linked to a writer. Sigh! Doesn’t that sound great?
You will never be short of reading material.
Your life will never be dull!
You will always have someone who will listen to your life problems and troubling feelings. They might even scribble down some notes while you talk.
You will always get an invite to your writer’s book signing event…as long as you buy a copy

The Writer’s Other Half – Job Description #WritingCommunity #Writers ❤️

If you think being a writer or an author is difficult, please spare a thought to your husband, wife, girlfriend or boyfriend!

Now that I have published my debut romance novel, Instructions For Falling In Love Again, this is a subject I now feel strongly about.

Our loved ones deserve recognition!

It can’t be easy loving a writer.

You have to sit and watch the person you love spend their entire day editing the hell out of a paragraph.

You have to pretend to listen and be interested as your loved one talks plot twists in the wine aisle of the supermarket.

You have to keep passing your beloved tissues after the fictional death of a much loved character.

You have to ignore your loved one murmuring the name of a handsome main character in their sleep.

Standing here, clutching my book and thinking about everything I went through to get it out into the world, all I can think about is…it must be tough for my loved one!

I think we can all agree on this, the writer’s other half is a special human being with many interesting qualities.

So, I have given some thought to what their job description might look like:

Job: Vacancy: The Writer’s Other Half

About The Role: 

An exciting romantic opportunity has arisen for a self motivated, patient and enthusiastic individual to help support and love a writer throughout their literary journey.

Hours:

Can change and will be dependent upon:

The emotional state of the writer. Some writers might require more emotional support than others.
The stage the writer is at with their creative project. Extra hours will be required if the writer is going through a bad patch of writer’s block or if they have been on the receiving end of some unexpected negative criticism.
The writer’s love of social media. Hours will vary according to the peaks and troughs of the writer’s social media accounts. Must be prepared for all communication to stop if the writer’s work is being tweeted a lot. On the other hand they must be willing to put in the extra hours when their writer has fallen out with Twitter.

Location:

The job will be based at home with the writer.

Key Duties / Responsibilities: 

Must struggle to accept that tweeting is important writer work.
Must be able to wait for hours outside a bookshop (with the kids and dog) while your writer struggles to find a book to read for pleasure. 
Must be able to multi task – watch the sport and at the same time engage in weird conversations. Must not be phased by interesting topics such as romantic cliffhangers, unusual murder weapons, falling in love with ghosts, issues faced with getting intimate with another astronaut in space, finding love while climbing up a dangerous mountain and the dating problems faced by Merfolk.
Must be able to keep the cupboards stocked with chocolate and ensure there is a constant supply of cheese in the fridge while your writer is going through episodes of fictional trauma.
Must possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work which will include the name of one character (which you must keep repeating in conversations to signal to your writer you are interested) and a rough idea of what happens at the end.
Must be able to accept the fact that your writer’s favourite pet does not possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work but still gets more hugs and cuddles than you.
Must accept that pillow talk is going to include an assessment of your writer’s latest idea for a future bestseller. You will be experienced enough to know that this conversation will be one-sided and any romance that follows will depend on the changes in your facial expressions and the number of your gasps of delight while your writer explains the premise.
Must be willing to accept the house pecking order: your writer, the kids, your writer’s fictional characters (an array of needy and attention seeking invisible people), your writer’s favourite pet, your writer’s mother, the other pets and finally you. Harsh but true.
Must be able to step in with the children, pets, relatives and housework if your writer is in the middle of a writing binge and cannot be disturbed.
Must be able to bring your emotional writer back down to reality by reminding them that no one died whilst they read their first draft. Yes it was a total clanger of a draft but no one died.
Must be able to accept that advising your writer’s draft novel needs more work could lead to divorce.
Must be willing to act out ALL scenes your writer is struggling with.

About You:

You will be an expert at walking on eggshells.
Your tea and coffee making skills will be world class.
You will be a professional at keeping a biscuit tin well stocked.
You will have selective hearing and be able to go deaf when your writer is trying to tell you about their issues with their book’s opening paragraph.
You will be an expert in looking for positives in a literary rejection crisis.
You won’t understand what all the fuss is about with writing. This is a key skill!
You will excel at cheerleading from the sofa.
You will enjoy celebrating what seem like small achievements to you but to the writer they will be huge, like finishing a first draft, the end of writer’s block and getting a few re-tweets on their latest blog post.

Salary:

Paid via the salary of love, clean shirts and the occasional pint down the pub

Perks: 

You might get a line dedicated to you in the acknowledgements section of your writer’s novel.
You will get the kudos of saying you are romantically linked to a writer. Sigh! Doesn’t that sound great?
You will never be short of reading material.
Your life will never be dull!
You will always have someone who will listen to your life problems and troubling feelings. They might even scribble down some notes while you talk.
You will always get an invite to your writer’s book signing event…as long as you buy a copy

The Writer’s Other Half – Job Description #WritingCommunity #Writers ❤️

If you think being a writer or an author is difficult, please spare a thought to your husband, wife, girlfriend or boyfriend!

Now that I have published my debut romance novel, Instructions For Falling In Love Again, this is a subject I now feel strongly about.

Our loved ones deserve recognition!

It can’t be easy loving a writer.

You have to sit and watch the person you love spend their entire day editing the hell out of a paragraph.

You have to pretend to listen and be interested as your loved one talks plot twists in the wine aisle of the supermarket.

You have to keep passing your beloved tissues after the fictional death of a much loved character.

You have to ignore your loved one murmuring the name of a handsome main character in their sleep.

Standing here, clutching my book and thinking about everything I went through to get it out into the world, all I can think about is…it must be tough for my loved one!

I think we can all agree on this, the writer’s other half is a special human being with many interesting qualities.

So, I have given some thought to what their job description might look like:

Job: Vacancy: The Writer’s Other Half

About The Role: 

An exciting romantic opportunity has arisen for a self motivated, patient and enthusiastic individual to help support and love a writer throughout their literary journey.

Hours:

Can change and will be dependent upon:

The emotional state of the writer. Some writers might require more emotional support than others.
The stage the writer is at with their creative project. Extra hours will be required if the writer is going through a bad patch of writer’s block or if they have been on the receiving end of some unexpected negative criticism.
The writer’s love of social media. Hours will vary according to the peaks and troughs of the writer’s social media accounts. Must be prepared for all communication to stop if the writer’s work is being tweeted a lot. On the other hand they must be willing to put in the extra hours when their writer has fallen out with Twitter.

Location:

The job will be based at home with the writer.

Key Duties / Responsibilities: 

Must struggle to accept that tweeting is important writer work.
Must be able to wait for hours outside a bookshop (with the kids and dog) while your writer struggles to find a book to read for pleasure. 
Must be able to multi task – watch the sport and at the same time engage in weird conversations. Must not be phased by interesting topics such as romantic cliffhangers, unusual murder weapons, falling in love with ghosts, issues faced with getting intimate with another astronaut in space, finding love while climbing up a dangerous mountain and the dating problems faced by Merfolk.
Must be able to keep the cupboards stocked with chocolate and ensure there is a constant supply of cheese in the fridge while your writer is going through episodes of fictional trauma.
Must possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work which will include the name of one character (which you must keep repeating in conversations to signal to your writer you are interested) and a rough idea of what happens at the end.
Must be able to accept the fact that your writer’s favourite pet does not possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work but still gets more hugs and cuddles than you.
Must accept that pillow talk is going to include an assessment of your writer’s latest idea for a future bestseller. You will be experienced enough to know that this conversation will be one-sided and any romance that follows will depend on the changes in your facial expressions and the number of your gasps of delight while your writer explains the premise.
Must be willing to accept the house pecking order: your writer, the kids, your writer’s fictional characters (an array of needy and attention seeking invisible people), your writer’s favourite pet, your writer’s mother, the other pets and finally you. Harsh but true.
Must be able to step in with the children, pets, relatives and housework if your writer is in the middle of a writing binge and cannot be disturbed.
Must be able to bring your emotional writer back down to reality by reminding them that no one died whilst they read their first draft. Yes it was a total clanger of a draft but no one died.
Must be able to accept that advising your writer’s draft novel needs more work could lead to divorce.
Must be willing to act out ALL scenes your writer is struggling with.

About You:

You will be an expert at walking on eggshells.
Your tea and coffee making skills will be world class.
You will be a professional at keeping a biscuit tin well stocked.
You will have selective hearing and be able to go deaf when your writer is trying to tell you about their issues with their book’s opening paragraph.
You will be an expert in looking for positives in a literary rejection crisis.
You won’t understand what all the fuss is about with writing. This is a key skill!
You will excel at cheerleading from the sofa.
You will enjoy celebrating what seem like small achievements to you but to the writer they will be huge, like finishing a first draft, the end of writer’s block and getting a few re-tweets on their latest blog post.

Salary:

Paid via the salary of love, clean shirts and the occasional pint down the pub

Perks: 

You might get a line dedicated to you in the acknowledgements section of your writer’s novel.
You will get the kudos of saying you are romantically linked to a writer. Sigh! Doesn’t that sound great?
You will never be short of reading material.
Your life will never be dull!
You will always have someone who will listen to your life problems and troubling feelings. They might even scribble down some notes while you talk.
You will always get an invite to your writer’s book signing event…as long as you buy a copy

The Writer’s Other Half – Job Description #WritingCommunity #Writers ❤️

If you think being a writer or an author is difficult, please spare a thought to your husband, wife, girlfriend or boyfriend!

Now that I have published my debut romance novel, Instructions For Falling In Love Again, this is a subject I now feel strongly about.

Our loved ones deserve recognition!

It can’t be easy loving a writer.

You have to sit and watch the person you love spend their entire day editing the hell out of a paragraph.

You have to pretend to listen and be interested as your loved one talks plot twists in the wine aisle of the supermarket.

You have to keep passing your beloved tissues after the fictional death of a much loved character.

You have to ignore your loved one murmuring the name of a handsome main character in their sleep.

Standing here, clutching my book and thinking about everything I went through to get it out into the world, all I can think about is…it must be tough for my loved one!

I think we can all agree on this, the writer’s other half is a special human being with many interesting qualities.

So, I have given some thought to what their job description might look like:

Job: Vacancy: The Writer’s Other Half

About The Role: 

An exciting romantic opportunity has arisen for a self motivated, patient and enthusiastic individual to help support and love a writer throughout their literary journey.

Hours:

Can change and will be dependent upon:

The emotional state of the writer. Some writers might require more emotional support than others.
The stage the writer is at with their creative project. Extra hours will be required if the writer is going through a bad patch of writer’s block or if they have been on the receiving end of some unexpected negative criticism.
The writer’s love of social media. Hours will vary according to the peaks and troughs of the writer’s social media accounts. Must be prepared for all communication to stop if the writer’s work is being tweeted a lot. On the other hand they must be willing to put in the extra hours when their writer has fallen out with Twitter.

Location:

The job will be based at home with the writer.

Key Duties / Responsibilities: 

Must struggle to accept that tweeting is important writer work.
Must be able to wait for hours outside a bookshop (with the kids and dog) while your writer struggles to find a book to read for pleasure. 
Must be able to multi task – watch the sport and at the same time engage in weird conversations. Must not be phased by interesting topics such as romantic cliffhangers, unusual murder weapons, falling in love with ghosts, issues faced with getting intimate with another astronaut in space, finding love while climbing up a dangerous mountain and the dating problems faced by Merfolk.
Must be able to keep the cupboards stocked with chocolate and ensure there is a constant supply of cheese in the fridge while your writer is going through episodes of fictional trauma.
Must possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work which will include the name of one character (which you must keep repeating in conversations to signal to your writer you are interested) and a rough idea of what happens at the end.
Must be able to accept the fact that your writer’s favourite pet does not possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work but still gets more hugs and cuddles than you.
Must accept that pillow talk is going to include an assessment of your writer’s latest idea for a future bestseller. You will be experienced enough to know that this conversation will be one-sided and any romance that follows will depend on the changes in your facial expressions and the number of your gasps of delight while your writer explains the premise.
Must be willing to accept the house pecking order: your writer, the kids, your writer’s fictional characters (an array of needy and attention seeking invisible people), your writer’s favourite pet, your writer’s mother, the other pets and finally you. Harsh but true.
Must be able to step in with the children, pets, relatives and housework if your writer is in the middle of a writing binge and cannot be disturbed.
Must be able to bring your emotional writer back down to reality by reminding them that no one died whilst they read their first draft. Yes it was a total clanger of a draft but no one died.
Must be able to accept that advising your writer’s draft novel needs more work could lead to divorce.
Must be willing to act out ALL scenes your writer is struggling with.

About You:

You will be an expert at walking on eggshells.
Your tea and coffee making skills will be world class.
You will be a professional at keeping a biscuit tin well stocked.
You will have selective hearing and be able to go deaf when your writer is trying to tell you about their issues with their book’s opening paragraph.
You will be an expert in looking for positives in a literary rejection crisis.
You won’t understand what all the fuss is about with writing. This is a key skill!
You will excel at cheerleading from the sofa.
You will enjoy celebrating what seem like small achievements to you but to the writer they will be huge, like finishing a first draft, the end of writer’s block and getting a few re-tweets on their latest blog post.

Salary:

Paid via the salary of love, clean shirts and the occasional pint down the pub

Perks: 

You might get a line dedicated to you in the acknowledgements section of your writer’s novel.
You will get the kudos of saying you are romantically linked to a writer. Sigh! Doesn’t that sound great?
You will never be short of reading material.
Your life will never be dull!
You will always have someone who will listen to your life problems and troubling feelings. They might even scribble down some notes while you talk.
You will always get an invite to your writer’s book signing event…as long as you buy a copy

The Writer’s Other Half – Job Description #WritingCommunity #Writers ❤️

If you think being a writer or an author is difficult, please spare a thought to your husband, wife, girlfriend or boyfriend!

Now that I have published my debut romance novel, Instructions For Falling In Love Again, this is a subject I now feel strongly about.

Our loved ones deserve recognition!

It can’t be easy loving a writer.

You have to sit and watch the person you love spend their entire day editing the hell out of a paragraph.

You have to pretend to listen and be interested as your loved one talks plot twists in the wine aisle of the supermarket.

You have to keep passing your beloved tissues after the fictional death of a much loved character.

You have to ignore your loved one murmuring the name of a handsome main character in their sleep.

Standing here, clutching my book and thinking about everything I went through to get it out into the world, all I can think about is…it must be tough for my loved one!

I think we can all agree on this, the writer’s other half is a special human being with many interesting qualities.

So, I have given some thought to what their job description might look like:

Job: Vacancy: The Writer’s Other Half

About The Role: 

An exciting romantic opportunity has arisen for a self motivated, patient and enthusiastic individual to help support and love a writer throughout their literary journey.

Hours:

Can change and will be dependent upon:

The emotional state of the writer. Some writers might require more emotional support than others.
The stage the writer is at with their creative project. Extra hours will be required if the writer is going through a bad patch of writer’s block or if they have been on the receiving end of some unexpected negative criticism.
The writer’s love of social media. Hours will vary according to the peaks and troughs of the writer’s social media accounts. Must be prepared for all communication to stop if the writer’s work is being tweeted a lot. On the other hand they must be willing to put in the extra hours when their writer has fallen out with Twitter.

Location:

The job will be based at home with the writer.

Key Duties / Responsibilities: 

Must struggle to accept that tweeting is important writer work.
Must be able to wait for hours outside a bookshop (with the kids and dog) while your writer struggles to find a book to read for pleasure. 
Must be able to multi task – watch the sport and at the same time engage in weird conversations. Must not be phased by interesting topics such as romantic cliffhangers, unusual murder weapons, falling in love with ghosts, issues faced with getting intimate with another astronaut in space, finding love while climbing up a dangerous mountain and the dating problems faced by Merfolk.
Must be able to keep the cupboards stocked with chocolate and ensure there is a constant supply of cheese in the fridge while your writer is going through episodes of fictional trauma.
Must possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work which will include the name of one character (which you must keep repeating in conversations to signal to your writer you are interested) and a rough idea of what happens at the end.
Must be able to accept the fact that your writer’s favourite pet does not possess a basic knowledge of your writer’s work but still gets more hugs and cuddles than you.
Must accept that pillow talk is going to include an assessment of your writer’s latest idea for a future bestseller. You will be experienced enough to know that this conversation will be one-sided and any romance that follows will depend on the changes in your facial expressions and the number of your gasps of delight while your writer explains the premise.
Must be willing to accept the house pecking order: your writer, the kids, your writer’s fictional characters (an array of needy and attention seeking invisible people), your writer’s favourite pet, your writer’s mother, the other pets and finally you. Harsh but true.
Must be able to step in with the children, pets, relatives and housework if your writer is in the middle of a writing binge and cannot be disturbed.
Must be able to bring your emotional writer back down to reality by reminding them that no one died whilst they read their first draft. Yes it was a total clanger of a draft but no one died.
Must be able to accept that advising your writer’s draft novel needs more work could lead to divorce.
Must be willing to act out ALL scenes your writer is struggling with.

About You:

You will be an expert at walking on eggshells.
Your tea and coffee making skills will be world class.
You will be a professional at keeping a biscuit tin well stocked.
You will have selective hearing and be able to go deaf when your writer is trying to tell you about their issues with their book’s opening paragraph.
You will be an expert in looking for positives in a literary rejection crisis.
You won’t understand what all the fuss is about with writing. This is a key skill!
You will excel at cheerleading from the sofa.
You will enjoy celebrating what seem like small achievements to you but to the writer they will be huge, like finishing a first draft, the end of writer’s block and getting a few re-tweets on their latest blog post.

Salary:

Paid via the salary of love, clean shirts and the occasional pint down the pub

Perks: 

You might get a line dedicated to you in the acknowledgements section of your writer’s novel.
You will get the kudos of saying you are romantically linked to a writer. Sigh! Doesn’t that sound great?
You will never be short of reading material.
Your life will never be dull!
You will always have someone who will listen to your life problems and troubling feelings. They might even scribble down some notes while you talk.
You will always get an invite to your writer’s book signing event…as long as you buy a copy

10 Inspirational Romance Book Heroines: Good To Read While Changing Your Life! #WednesdayMotivation

Book reviews will resume next week as I have been wanting to do this post for ages and the idea won’t leave me alone.

This might sound crazy but these ten inspiring fictional ladies gave me an extra boost when I was busy changing my life. Seriously, while my life was in turmoil earlier this year I got some much needed inner strength from these fabulous book heroines.

Yes I know they are fictional people and I understand if some of you are casting a worried glance or two my way. Maybe a few of you are thinking something along the lines of this fabulous quote…

She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.

Louisa May Alcott

These characters connected with me. I saw bits of myself in them I suppose.

Their ‘oh what the heck – I will just do it anyway!’ attitude was so motivational and no matter how hard their lives got they never gave up chasing their life dreams. 

I think the authors of these books are fab because they have not only given readers a bit of romance but they have also created some wonderful life role-model female characters!

Here they all are:

1. Emily from Jane Lambert’s book, The Start of Something Wonderful. She quits her job as an air hostess to fulfil a life ambition of being an actress. What I love about Emily is that she dedicates herself to learning about acting and at the same time lives through the turmoil which comes with a major life change.

2. Kelsey from Kiley Dunbar’s book, One Summer’s Night. She leaves her hometown and her boyfriend to move to Stratford Upon Avon to fulfil her dream of becoming a tour guide. Loved Kelsey!

3. Grace from Kim Nash’s book, Amazing Grace. This brave single mum takes her life back one step at a time after discovering her husband’s affair. A great heroine!

4. Lucy from Sue McDonagh’s book, Summer at the Art Café. Escapes her domineering husband and learns to ride a motorbike to fulfil her lifelong dream. High fives to Lucy!

5. Jen from Pernille Hughes’s book, Probably the Best Kiss in the World. Decides to follow her beer making passion even though everyone around her is trying to talk her out of it. I still miss reading about Jen. 

6. Sarah from Sandy Barker’s, One Summer in Santorini. She’s had enough of men and relationships so embarks on a sailing trip around the Greek islands with a group of strangers. Love her independence!

7. Amanda from Roxie Cooper’s book, The Law of Attraction. She doesn’t let prejudice and snobbery stop her from pursuing her dream of being a successful lawyer. No one messes with Amanda!

8. Ruby in Nicola May’s book, Working It Out. After an unexpected redundancy Ruby begins to question her priorities. She comes up with a plan to find her ideal job; twelve jobs in twelve months. Love heroines who put in place crazy plans. 

9.  Jess in Rachel Burton’s book, The Pieces of You and Me. One of the strongest female characters I have read about. The way she handles her chronic illness and carries on with her life despite struggling with horrid physical symptoms is motivational and inspiring. 

10. Sam in Victoria Cooke’s latest book, A Summer to Remember. This has only been out a few weeks and I am desperate to review it but I am having to sit on my blogging hands until September due to a blog tour. Anyway I will say that I think Sam is ace. She manages to pick herself up after the tragic loss of her husband and gets seconded to Boston for the summer. Going to Boston tests her in all sorts of ways and I think she’s so brave. 

If you get the chance to read about any of these characters, I hope you find them as inspiring and motivational as I have found them. 

Lucy x

 

 

 

 

10 Inspirational Romance Book Heroines: Good To Read While Changing Your Life! #TuesdayBookBlog #Bookish

Book reviews will resume next week as I have been wanting to do this post for ages and the idea won’t leave me alone.

This might sound crazy but these ten inspiring fictional ladies gave me an extra boost when I was busy changing my life. Seriously, while my life was in turmoil earlier this year I got some much needed inner strength from these fabulous book heroines.

Yes I know they are fictional people and I understand if some of you are casting a worried glance or two my way. Maybe a few of you are thinking something along the lines of this fabulous quote…

She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.

Louisa May Alcott

These characters connected with me. I saw bits of myself in them I suppose.

Their ‘oh what the heck – I will just do it anyway!’ attitude was so motivational and no matter how hard their lives got they never gave up chasing their life dreams. 

I think the authors of these books are fab because they have not only given readers a bit of romance but they have also created some wonderful life role-model female characters!

Here they all are:


1. Emily from Jane Lambert’s book, The Start of Something Wonderful. She quits her job as an air hostess to fulfil a life ambition of being an actress. What I love about Emily is that she dedicates herself to learning about acting and at the same time lives through the turmoil which comes with a major life change.

2. Kelsey from Kiley Dunbar’s book, One Summer’s Night. She leaves her hometown and her boyfriend to move to Stratford Upon Avon to fulfil her dream of becoming a tour guide. Loved Kelsey!

3. Grace from Kim Nash’s book, Amazing Grace. This brave single mum takes her life back one step at a time after discovering her husband’s affair. A great heroine!

4. Lucy from Sue McDonagh’s book, Summer at the Art Café. Escapes her domineering husband and learns to ride a motorbike to fulfil her lifelong dream. High fives to Lucy!

5. Jen from Pernille Hughes’s book, Probably the Best Kiss in the World. Decides to follow her beer making passion even though everyone around her is trying to talk her out of it. I still miss reading about Jen. 

6. Sarah from Sandy Barker’s, One Summer in Santorini. She’s had enough of men and relationships so embarks on a sailing trip around the Greek islands with a group of strangers. Love her independence!

7. Amanda from Roxie Cooper’s book, The Law of Attraction. She doesn’t let prejudice and snobbery stop her from pursuing her dream of being a successful lawyer. No one messes with Amanda!

8. Ruby in Nicola May’s book, Working It Out. After an unexpected redundancy Ruby begins to question her priorities. She comes up with a plan to find her ideal job; twelve jobs in twelve months. Love heroines who put in place crazy plans. 

9.  Jess in Rachel Burton’s book, The Pieces of You and Me. One of the strongest female characters I have read about. The way she handles her chronic illness and carries on with her life despite struggling with horrid physical symptoms is motivational and inspiring. 

10. Sam in Victoria Cooke’s latest book, A Summer to Remember. This has only been out a few weeks and I am desperate to review it but I am having to sit on my blogging hands until September due to a blog tour. Anyway I will say that I think Sam is ace. She manages to pick herself up after the tragic loss of her husband and gets seconded to Boston for the summer. Going to Boston tests her in all sorts of ways and I think she’s so brave. 

If you get the chance to read about any of these characters, I hope you find them as inspiring and motivational as I have found them. 

Lucy x

 

 

 

 

How I Am Approaching Book Promotion – By a New Author Who Has Always Dreaded Doing Any Sort of Self-Promotion #Writer

I can happily promote a blog post, but the idea of shouting about a book that I have written SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME!

Below is me in cat form being told I will need to promote my book.

Book promotion feels like a different ball game to me.

Now, before I begin this post, please remember I am new to this. This is not a definitive guide to book promotion. I am at the start of my book journey. This will feel basic to some of you seasoned authors and I do apologise in advance. As I keep telling myself we all have to start somewhere.

I am a blogger and I feel a duty to share my experiences and hopefully someone somewhere will get some courage to do what I’ve done.

So, before my romance novel; Instructions For Falling In Love Again, was published, I had a stern word with myself. Book promotion is my weakness. I know left to my own devices I would go hide and rely on Amazon readers to stumble across my book…ranked somewhere in the vast book chart wilderness.

Also as I am an indie author I don’t have the eye-watering marketing budget the big book publishers can throw at promotion, so I know if left to my own devices I would use this as an excuse not to do any book promotion.

So, I reminded myself that my journey of publishing my romance book has been about scaring myself witless on a daily basis. If you don’t think putting a book out there is frightening, try it!

This is why I self-published because feeling scared makes me feel alive and lounging about in my comfort zone makes me slip into a form of creative unconsciousness.

Promoting my book is just another terrifying task to add to the pile.

So I began with BABY STEPS:

I wrote down all the scary things I had endured up to getting my book published; writing my book twelve times, sending the draft to a professional editor, sending my revised draft to a professional proof reader and editor, revealing my book cover and holding myself to a launch date. Once I had read the list several times I scribbled book promotion and marketing at the bottom of the page. I then reminded myself that I have overcome each task no matter how scary it has felt initially.

After this I wrote down a few ideas on promoting my book. Just looking at these ideas made the hairs on my neck stand and my gut muscles turn rigid.

I started with the social media I felt most comfortable with using; Facebook and the one I believe my readers regularly frequent. The last bit is important. Knowing where your readers are on social media is a biggie.

At the start of this journey I did not have a big personal Facebook following but I knew I had a group of FB friends who would support my dedicated author page. Putting my author page live was nerve wracking. I felt like I was making some big announcement to the world. But, it had to be done and I reminded myself it can’t be anymore scary than opening that first email back from my editor, the one where she had gone through my draft with a fine tooth comb. I asked my book designer to create a Facebook header and I went to the hairdressers, had my hair cut and then asked someone to take a photo of me looking like a writer (sat next to my book shelves). This would be my author profile pic. I then invited some of my FB friends. More friends than I expected started to like my new Facebook page.

Posting blog posts to my author FB page didn’t feel too stressful. In the posts I made sure I mentioned my book and added a promotional header, links to my Amazon page and mailing list. This was a fab piece of advice from Suzie, a blogging friend and Social Media Manager. Again more Facebook friends than I imagined started engaging with my posts. Some started sharing my posts within their own networks and I nearly wet myself.

I then built myself up to creating some Tweets with my book link in. Before doing this I asked my book designer for a Twitter header, updated my profile and pic etc. I still haven’t mastered promoting it on Twitter. I am confident about tweeting nonsense but when it comes to my book I go blank and want to hide. It is a bit hit and miss but I am trying to do it regularly. I am also trying to research book reader hashtags.

Feeling brave I decided to upgrade my book promotion fear levels – run a book promotion in my local pub!

Oh my goodness when this idea first came to me I had to have a soothing warm lavender bath to calm myself down.

This felt like a form of book promotion hell as it would mean….physically talking to local people about my book!

Deep breaths.

As I featured my local pub, Nags Head, in my book, I thought running a small promotion would be quite a good idea.

I decided to forget about the phrase book promotion and do what I do best; have a laugh and enjoy the moment. Best tip!

My pub is the perfect place for Pippa, my character, to reveal her secret to friends; Emma and Mel. This is what I do with my girlfriends. We sit round the same table on a regular basis and do exactly what is written below. It is such a friendly and homely place that I thought it would be perfect for Pippa.

Here’s the extract from my book:

My two best friends, Emma and Mel, and I are currently nestled at the back of our local pub. It seems fitting that us three are sitting here tonight, in the Nags Head. This old wooden table and the dark timber beams above our heads have been witness to all sorts of life changing news over the years: marriage proposals, engagements, failed engagements, pregnancy news (all mine), dating successes, many dating failures, promotions, sackings, significant weight losses on new diets, children securing places at good schools, house purchases, a cancer diagnosis, treatment updates, and plans for a charity parachute jump. Every fortnight we meet up in this pub and mainly dissect what we’ve already told each other, at length, on WhatsApp and texts.

I also included Simon, the landlord in my book, as the place wouldn’t be the same without him. He has a SMALL mention on page 20.

[image error]

So, in a series of thought provoking images here is a glimpse into how my book promotion has gone:

[image error]

This is my book promo barrel.

[image error]

This is me with Simon, the landlord.

[image error]

And this is Simon AUTOGRAPHING PAGE 20 of MY BOOK for interested readers. This made me laugh!

He has had readers actually requesting his autograph!

Tonight my husband and I went out for a quiet drink to the Nags Head and we had 3 readers come up to us asking me sign my book. Oh my goodness, signing a book is so nerve wracking! My handwriting is a bit of a messy scrawl so I need to work on that.

I have sold more copies than I could ever have imagined in the pub. Talking to people about why I wrote the book has not been that scary. It is has actually been quite enjoyable.

So, I want to say to other soon-to-be-authors out there who are dreading book promotion, don’t panic. You have got this! If I can get through it, so can you.

Remember taking baby steps is important.

Remind yourself about far you have come before you start promoting.

Think about where your readers hang out on social media.

Talk about your book in blog posts, include links and promo material.

Forget about the phrase, book promotion, and ENJOY the MOMENT!

I hope you have found this blog post useful.

Have a lovely day.

Lucy x

Here’s the link to my book if any of you are considering a read. Click here.

[image error]

#MMICB #BookReview Meet Me in Cockleberry Bay @nicolamay1 #TuesdayBookBlog

Warning: this sequel is so GOOD you might find daily life a struggle while reading it.

I was on a Hammersmith bound London tube train, sucking on several wine gums when I became engrossed in this book, Meet Me In Cockleberry Bay.

It is Nicola May’s sequel to the Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay. I won’t give away what happens in the book but I came across one of the many good bits (a powerful romantic cliffhanger). I reacted by gasping, muttering something about the book to a group of Chinese students, dropping my packet of wine gums, dashing off the tube at the wrong station and in a sweaty panic…not about being on the wrong station or missing my connection… but about what was happening in the book, sending the author an emotional Twitter message.

As I said, this book is soooo good you can end up missing a few trains!

To my dismay Nicola would not put me out of my romantic misery and told me to read on