Talli Roland's Blog, page 50

Me and His Big Mouth

Can't wait to see what kind of Google searches will bring people here with that title!

Anyways... (as my husband would say, despite my protests that it's not a word), last night I braved the sauna-like conditions of the Central Line to head to the monthly meeting of the London Writers' Club. I emerged, dewy and glistening (i.e., drenched in sweat), ready to hear Scott Pack hold forth on everything there is to know in the wonderful world of publishing.

Scott runs The Friday Project (a HarperColl...

Ten for Tuesday: Of Blogs and Bloggery

Thanks to everyone for weighing in on the cover debate yesterday! It was interesting reading all the responses and seeing everyone's reactions to the two different covers.

Today's Ten for Tuesday will be something a little bit different. In the past two years, I've read a lot of blogs and slowly come to figure out what makes a blog 'work' for me, and how to grow your following. I'm no expert so please feel free to chime in with your own bloggery loves and hates; I'd love to hear them!

1. If...

Cover Story

I love covers. I could ogle them all day if I had a chance, gliding my eyes over their lovely glossy fronts... *ahem*. Since I moved to Britain, though, covers have become less of a fascination and more a perplexment (not a word, I know, but it should be).

Strolling amongst the women's fiction (chick lit! I can't help it!) books in UK bookshops, I quickly found myself lost in a world of curlicues and cartoons. The same books I'd brought with me from North America -- with sensible yet pretty co...

Chick Lit is Dead. Long Live... er, Women's Fiction?

I'd read it on blogs, but I dared not believe it was true. Chick lit is dead, they said. Utter the phrase at your own peril.

It couldn't be, I scoffed. But last weekend, my worst fears were confirmed. I heard it not once, not twice and more than thrice (love that word!): chick lit is dead.

Should I be worried? Well, I should clarify that the label 'chick lit' is dead, not the writing itself. Rom-coms or even women's fiction is a better tag for the kind of writing that once was labelled chick l...

Help Me Stop the Drill!

I am about to lose it. My sanity (what's left of it), my hair (from pulling it out), my teeth (from grinding).

And why?

It's all down to DRILLING.

It's hard enough to write well without the consistently jarring noise of the DRILL across the courtyard. Given the gaping holes where glass once was, the builders appear to be replacing the windows.

Now, if this was a normal neighbourhood with normal houses, the whole process probably wouldn't have taken more than a week. But since this is a neighbourh...

The Summer Reading Challenge!

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for Keris Stainton's book Della Says: OMG! I'm very happy to report that the lucky winner is none other than Brigid! Brigid, I smiled when I drew your name because obviously the gods heard your plea! I hope you're feeling a bit better today.

Nothing gets me more excited than the thought of free books, so when I heard about Transworld's Summer Reading Challenge, I signed up straight away! You choose four books from Transworld's list, they send...

Ten for Tuesday - And a Giveaway!

Before I launch into my Ten for Tuesday, the wonderful Keris Stainton was so chuffed over all the comments on my review of Della Says: OMG that she's offering a signed copy of the book to one lucky winner (open to international people, too!). If you'd like a chance to win, just leave a comment on this post. I'll choose the winner by 4 p.m. GMT tomorrow. Thanks, Keris!

Today's Ten for Tuesday is a round-up of the top ten things I learned at the recent Romantic Novelists' Association conference....

Romantic Novelists' Association Conference - FAB!

Forget Greenwich Mean Time; this was definitely Greenwich Fab Time!

I'm back from the Romantic Novelists' Association Conference. I'm exhausted (and surprisingly tanned), but most of all I'm inspired. What a fantastic event! With great sessions, a beautiful location at the Old Naval College in Greenwich and lots of friendly attendees, you really couldn't ask for more.

I managed to unearth a few dresses worthy of conference attire, my gala outfit went off a treat (despite being SO hot that sweat...

Off to the Conference!

I had every intention of writing a blog post today to show off my funky new business cards, the promo postcards I had done up for The Hating Game and my new clothes (because yes, I did make it out shopping!). But time has run away from today so you'll have to use your imagination.

I'm super excited, because I'm about to head down to Greenwich this afternoon for a pre-conference meet-up with some lovely Twitter/ blog buddies. I can't wait to meet them in person and hopefully settle my nerves ah...

Della Says: OMG! by Keris Stainton

I was so happy when I won a copy of this book on Love Reading! I follow author Keris Stainton on Twitter and her updates are always humorous and quirky, so I couldn't wait to see what her writing was like.

I wasn't disappointed. I devoured Della Says: OMG! in a few hours, unable to stop for a second.


Here's the synopsis:

Della's over the moon when she kisses her long-standing crush at a party – but then she discovers her diary has disappeared... When scans of embarrassing pages are sent to her ...