Fiona Walker's Blog, page 8

May 2013

Since my last news blog, I’ve worn another set of letters off my keyboard, which must mean the first draft of next year’s novel is almost done, hooray. My brilliant master-plan to deliver the manuscript by the second May Bank Holiday isn’t quite timing out, alas, and this website update is being written during a quick coffee break between tidying up my typos after another night shift spent wrapped up my fictional world.  I do wish I’d learned to touch type – it’s one of the more prosaic bits of advice I always give aspiring authors – because even after 13 novels and many hundreds of thousands of words, I still have head-scratching moments when I stare at my fingertips wondering where on earth B is. Right now, the ERT keys are indistinguishable from one another. Given that I put so much of my heart into my books, H and A should romantically be the next to go, so if my characters exclaim  ‘aha!’ in surprised tones a lot in the final chapters, or roll around laughing non-stop, you’ll know why.  However I’ll save more details about that book until I’ve delivered the draft, because – as Valerie Singleton would say nervously to camera while shaking sticky-backed plastic cut-offs from her bell bottoms – here’s one I prepared earlier:

The Summer Wedding will be out on 6th June – a gorgeous buffet of bubbly women, dashing heroes, high spirited-horses and hot air balloons.  I hope it’s a real summer treat that finally brings out the sun and lends readers a big smile. I really enjoyed writing the characters in it; they’re such a warm-hearted bunch and were a lot of fun to create, with strong friendships and great loyalty.  As well as finding out more about the book here, you can read a sample chapter…and even watch me postulating excitedly about it on video here.

I’ll be doing a few interviews, features and events to promote the book in coming weeks, and will try to keep readers updated via the twittering, wall-posting world of social media, links to which are here. Last week, I briefly abandoned the battered keyboard for a joyful afternoon at a fund-raising Ladies Lunch for Katharine House Hospice in Stafford, where I was lucky enough to have been invited to speak to a gloriously receptive audience of generous, jolly women. I also found a huge display of The Summer Wedding in the foyer courtesy of Stafford Waterstones, who had been given special dispensation to sell early copies at the event. It was the first time I’d seen my new book piled high, and it’s a moment that never fails to make one stop in one’s tracks and feel absolutely awe-struck that a clever creative team can take me from these all-night writing shifts in which I laugh, cackle and cry as I type frenziedly, through the many edits and design decisions to the finished, bound book ready to unfold its world in somebody else’s hands.  I wish I could report that I said something wise and profound (or even ‘aha!’ in best Alan Partridge fashion), but I’m afraid I just smiled like a loon and spluttered ‘I wrote that’, which must have come as a relief to the charity committee at least.

I hope The Summer Wedding brings a lot of joy and entertainment this summer.

Win a copy of Fiona’s hot new book, The Summer Wedding

It’s not long now until The Summer Wedding is published, hurray! But if you can’t wait to get your hands on a copy you can enter our competition to win one of ten advance reading copies. All you need to do is fill in your name and email address below. Don’t forget to read our terms and conditions here first. Good luck!

The hotly anticipated wedding of Iris Devonshire, ravishing teenage daughter of celebrity couple Mia and Leo, is to be held in the gardens of their grand Palladian pile alongside the Thames. But Mia and Leo worry that she’s rushing into the marriage. Just ask their best friends since college, Simon and Laney de Montmorency, whose relationship is on the rocks again – and they’ve already married each other twice.

On the big day, Iris’s hellraiser fiancé Dougie Everett is not the only one flying high. As Iris rides up the aisle on a white stallion, a hot air balloon appears over the woods, heading straight for the ceremony. Its arrival is about to transform the lives and loves of some of the wedding guests for ever.

 

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February 2013

Writing can be a selfishly all-consuming profession, and living with a writer takes great resilience; I’ve lost count of the times I’ve promised ‘I’ll be up in half an hour’ as Sam goes to bed, only to find I’m still writing at two in the morning, swept up in my imaginary world. Similarly, I’m continually saying ‘I’ll write another website blog this week’, but then the novel I’m working on sucks me back in. Having always maintained that I’m easily distracted, I’ve recently realised that I’m quite the reverse. I’m obsessively driven and perfectionist. When I’m immersed in writing a novel, I’m thinking about it all the time. And on the rare occasions I can let it go, I’m mentally plotting the next one…

If this sounds nobly workaholic, it’s also a rather cowardly defence mechanism. Real life may be hammering down tough blows, but make-believe is my force shield as I bury my head in the joy of words, armed with a thesaurus and a witty epigram. Why waste sleepless tears on fate’s unfair twists when one can invent a big, raucous party with characters falling in and out of love, beds and ornamental ponds?

In the past nine months, I’ve been totally absorbed in writing and editing. This morning, I posted off the typeset proof pages of my latest novel with the final corrections marked up. It’s truly finished, hooray! The Summer Wedding, as it’s now entitled, is published in the UK on the 6th June. I believe it is amongst the most joyful novels I’ve written, and the characters have been great fun to develop, so much so that they now feel like terrific friends. Set between the Chilterns, LA, Andalucia and Kenya, it’s an unashamed romantic romp, featuring steamy summer days, gorgeous Spanish horses, bed-hopping and hot air balloons. The plot focuses on a group of four friends who studied drama together at university twenty years ago and share secrets that start to unravel when a daughter decides to get married. By the time it’s on sale this summer, I’ll have completed another novel’s first draft, for which I’ve also spent recent weeks researching and plotting, but I’ll post more about that anon.

Whilst I’ve been so busy working – and woefully neglecting this website – I’ve been enormously grateful to everyone who has so kindly contacted me via email, and on Twitter or Facebook, to write to me about The Love Letter and my other books. Receiving messages is such a lovely form of encouragement which really makes my typing fingers fly, and I hope I’ve replied to everybody personally, although I worry that I’m not very organised, especially when I’m writing feverishly. I once sent a long, enthusiastic thank you to a man who had emailed to say how much he enjoyed French Relations, not noticing that he’d added a PS saying that everything I’d written since then was total codswallop.

When I wrote French Relations twenty years ago, my life had taken a few wrong turns and I’d no idea how to make it better apart from seeking that high of total absorption in a book, and when I ran out of novels to read, I wrote one instead. To my delight, writing went on to become both the perfect distraction from my worries and the solution to them, leading on to a career that I’ve considered a tremendous privilege. So much has changed in publishing in the two decades since then that it’s hard to believe French Relations came out before Amazon existed, when mobile phones were the size of books rather than displaying them, bookselling chains lined the high streets without a Costa concession in sight, and the only e-book in circulation was by Irvine Welsh. It’s been a thrilling journey, yet the art of story-telling remains timeless. Blogging is a modern twist I’m still mastering. A wise friend tells me the secret is little and often. I’m going to try to heed her words, but if there’s nothing new on here in a few weeks time, please forgive me. It means I’m totally wrapped up in writing the next book.

Celebrate the Jubilee with Kiss & Tell

Whether you’re organising a street party, attending an event, baking rounds of Union Jack cupcakes for the hungry hoards or jetting away to completely avoid all the commotion, make sure to make a little time for yourself during the Jubilee celebrations.

Fiona Walker describes her novel Kiss & Tell as ‘as British as a Range Rover full of black Labradors, a Pimm’s picnic on a checked blanket and sunshine and rain in June’, so what could be better than escaping with this brilliantly British book over the Jubilee weekend?

And if tight breeches, loose morals, love, laughter and unforgettable characters aren’t enough to tempt you, Kiss & Tell will be available in ebook at the exclusive price of just £1.99 for a limited period to celebrate the Jubilee.

You can purchase a copy of Kiss & Tell at this exclusive price now from:

Amazon.co.uk | The Apple iBook Store | Waterstones.com | Kobo Books

 

Hooray! It’s finally time to lift the flap on The Love Le...

Hooray! It’s finally time to lift the flap on The Love Letter. I was going to try to put together another video blog today, shot live from my launch pad – and may still squeeze it in if I manage to lay off the creme de menthe frappes and Mariella doesn’t make a mess of the cheese straws on the carpets as usual – but just in case time defeats me and I have to shelve my camera skills and Winnie’s latest cover designs until next week, I’m writing a quick and excitable standard issue blog to celebrate the new Walker book release.

Last time I updated my news page I was burning eccentrically bonkers writing hours, which remained the case until a few days ago when I delivered the latest manuscript – working title Hot Air to link in with its hot air balloons and steamy days – and finally got to sleep at night (although in truth I’ve been staying awake far too late playing with my new birthday treat Kindle because I’ve missed reading so much).

I’m tremendously pleased (and relieved) that I delivered the first draft in time to promote The Love Letter, although the wonder of going on ‘blog tour’ this time means that I can give interviews from the comfort of my own home, staying in my pre-deadline writer’s uniform of coffee-splodged lucky top and trews and barely moving from the computer. Watch out for the Walker Blog Tour Bus speeding through terrific book sites like http://www.onemorepage.co.uk/, http://dizzycslittlebookblog.blogspot.com/, www.novelicious.com, http://sbroadhurstreviews.blogspot.com/ and  http://shazsbookboudoir.blogspot.co.uk in the coming week or two with lots of writing advice and gossipy novelist lowdown.

I’ve been out and about in person as well as virtually this month; the glorious and shiny new Chipping Norton Literary Festival invited me to share a stage with Katie Fforde, Jill Mansell and Veronica Henry last weekend, talking about commercial women’s fiction under the chairmanship of Jane Wenham-Jones. It was huge fun to be a part of such a talented line-up and share so many tips and experiences with a lovely, giggly audience. The festival is destined to be an annual must-go, and its organisers got the Walker shimmy as I headed back to my car, something between The Vicar of Dibley after a snog and Shirley Bassey heading to the microphone. You can always tell a good festival from the bounce in the stride of its participants as they head away afterwards. As I positively calypsoed up a very steep Cotswold hill to the car park, I met the glorious Julie Cohen sailing the other way bearing bags of strawberries and chocolate (props for her talk on how to write sex scenes) and had to resist a great urge to do a few high kicks. I would have loved to stay for the workshop (particularly as the newly delivered book has several margin notes to editor saying ‘shall I add a sex scene here?’) but I had an unmissable date with my former neighbour – immortalised as Pixie in the Lodes series – which I would miss for nothing. The gossip we shared could now fuel at least two more Lodes sequels, but they will have to be shelved under ‘to write’ as I focus on pastures new, especially the spectacular North Devon coast which is the setting for The Love Letter.

And I am heading even further along the South West peninsular next month to appear alongside the lovely Ruth Saberton at the Du Maurier Festival in Fowey. Here’s the link to the event which will take place at 2pm on Thurs May 10th, when Ruth and I will talk rural romps, bonk-busting comedies, horses, heroes, impossible deadlines and anything else you wish to ask of us. We are a scurrilous and friendly pair, so it promises to be a very fun day.

As soon as the blog tour bus slows down, I’ll start editing Hot Air into shape for publication next spring and begin plotting out a new book to follow, so I will keep the website updates coming, and really hope that The Love Letter cheers and entertains everyone who reads it in the meantime.

WIN: A copy of The Love Letter

To celebrate publication of The Love Letter on 26th April, Little, Brown Book Group are offering 5 lucky readers the chance to win an advance proof copy.

To enter the competition, and read an exclusive first extract of The Love Letter, head over to the Little, Brown Books Blog now.

Sealed with a Kiss: Exclusive audio extract

Sealed With a Kiss, the exclusive short story from Fiona Walker, is available from 30th March in ebook and audio. Set twelve months prior to The Love Letter and priced at just 99p, it’s the perfect (virtual) pocket-sized pick-me-up, whether you’re a die-hard Fiona fan or have been tempted to try her writing for the very first time.

We’re also excited to announce that Sealed With a Kiss will be available as an audio edition. Whether you’re on a long car journey, doing the dishes, lying on the beach or lazing in the back garden, what better way to enjoy this sensational short story than by listening to the tale unfold?

But don’t just take our word for it.

We’ve uploaded an exclusive Sealed with a Kiss audio extract for your delectation. Simply click on the link, and we guarantee within minutes you’ll be lost in Fiona Walker’s fabulous world of love and laughter.

 

My first video blog…

February 2012

As if by magic, details of The Love Letter have appeared on the website along with its little sister, Sealed with a Kiss. Hooray! You can see a preview of the first chapter of The Love Letter here on the site, and read even more chapters exclusively when you download the prequel story.

Right now I’m writing for up to eighteen hours a day and totally immersed in the plot of my next book, so seeing the finished version of The Love Letter is a huge incentive as I’m reminded what will come at the end of this all-consuming process, a lovely chunk of entertainment bound between glossy covers that one can take to bed, on the train, on holiday or just hog on the sofa. Most writers are passionate readers and I’m no exception. We have books everywhere in this house – piles in colourful towers and spirals, climbing the stairs, three deep on shelves and toppling from windowsills. Lots are unashamedly broken-spined and bath-soaked with page corners turned at reluctant intervals indicating train stops or Sailing By. We keep meaning to organise them into some sort of system, but never find time, and I rather like the anarchy of horse manuals shouldering up to chick lit leaning against Booker nominees, with Carl Hester sandwiched between two Trollops. I’ve always been mildly irritated by people who only put their most worthy volumes on show and yet have may sets of shelves buckling under the weight of well-read paperbacks in the spare bedroom – unless, of course, I’m staying in that bedroom in which case I’ll probably be up all night reading.

Nowadays of course paper pages are rivalled by the data bytes that can fly invisibly into one’s electronic reader to be savoured at the stroke of a touch-screen. I’m embarrassed to admit that we’re still a household for which ‘kindle’ is something one does with screwed up Sunday supplements in the wood burning stove. It was on my Christmas list last year, but I got a slow cooker instead, which has enabled me to savour deeply infused flavours at the push of a button, if not carefully crafted prose. Thankfully, I also got a lot of fabulous door-step books which I’ve been happily lost in ever since. I know I’ll succumb to an e-Reader soon, particularly as author friends tell me they’re great for reading through drafts and making edit notes, which would save me acres of paper – and spare me the moment I realise my four year old has covered most of Chapter 4 with Crayola and pencil stab marks. Readers also tell me my novels work really well on Kindle because they’re very addictive and one can take them to places that a chunky book would be impractical, so the percentage bar clocks up like wildfire.  Whilst I will always love feeling the weight and beauty of a book in my hands, I’m all for the eBook and its potential. The short story prequel to The Love Letter, Sealed With A Kiss, is the first digital-only work I’ve written. At 40 pages, it’s ‘movie length’ – in that it takes about as long to read as takes to watch a film – and is a completely self-contained story in its own right. Available for download on the 30th March for just 99p, I hope those of you with the wizardry to do so agree that it’s well worth clicking on.

Full-length and full-bodied, The Love Letter is out on 26th April when readers can choose whether to have it spirited through the ether or land chunkily in hand. I hope the narrative will last considerably longer than a movie takes to watch, although I was amazed to receive several emails saying that Kiss and Tell had been consumed in two days flat – all 900 pages of it! That’s hugely flattering because those rare books I find myself hooked on reading day and night are memorable treats, so to have created that experience for others is wonderful…even if I find myself regularly apologising for lack of sleep, neglected children/animals and grumpy husbands/boyfriends. If it’s any consolation I get exactly the same grief…

Once these eighteen hour shifts are over, I will be out and about talking about my writing life and promoting The Love Letter throughout late April and May, including an appearance at Chipping Norton Literary Festival on Saturday 21st April in a panel event with the amazing A-list authors Katie Fforde, Jill Mansell and Veronica Henry, chaired by the gloriously funny and knowledgeable Jane Wenham-Jones. Given that ‘Chippy’ was firmly in my old stomping ground during the ten years that I lived nearby, I can’t wait to go back there. I’m also in Fowey in May for the Du Maurier Festival, appearing alongside the deliciously funny Ruth Saberton, writer of three romantic comedies, which promises to be a hoot. As The Love Letter is largely set in the South West, it will be great to be a part of that area’s loveliest literary festival. I’ll make sure all dates and details of events I do are posted up on this website, also on my Twitter stream and Facebook page, so please do keep checking. I’m here every time I surface for air, I promise!

The Love Letter: Can fate be signed, sealed & delivered?

The wait is over. Fiona’s fabulous new novel, The Love Letter, publishes on 26th April and is available for pre-order now. With a brand new cast of characters, an intoxicating Devon countryside setting, a huge helping of romance and lots of laughs, we guarantee you’ll fall in love with The Love Letter.

When Allegra North parted from first love Francis after a decade together, she poured all her regret into a letter. He didn’t reply. A year later, her job brings her back to the beautiful Devon coast where romance first blossomed and she hopes that they can start a new chapter.

As summer storms circle, the exes juggle rebellious parents, vengeful family members and a very reluctant celebrity author who holds the key to everybody’s future . . .

Can fate be signed, sealed and delivered? Find out in The Love Letter, a wonderfully warm comedy of mistaken identities, new loves and old flames.

Click here to read the first chapter.

To celebrate publication of The Love Letter, we’ll be running exclusive competitions including the opportunity to win copies before they hit the shops and an exclusive romantic weekend away in the beautiful Devon countryside. Check back soon for more information.

And don’t forget to download Fiona’s first ever exclusive eBook short story, Sealed With a Kiss, available from 30th March.