Ros Clarke's Blog, page 31

PPR All Stars Finale!

It's the last week and the designers have risen to the challenge of a finale collection.

Mine is inspired by the stunningly bright colours and shapes of the spring flowers in my garden. I didn't want anything fussy or mumsy, so I steered clear of prints and went for bold pieces based on individual blooms. Like Mondo, I don't normally sketch, but this time I'm really glad I did. I came up with 6 looks which range from day casual to evening formal, with a good mix of separates and dresses:

I didn't quite get all of the looks done by runway day, but I've got pics of five. Some of the models even got location shoots!

I really wish I were a better photographer. The colours of all of these are so vibrant and stunning in real life. I'm pleased with my collection. I think it's very cohesive and surprisingly wearable (apart from the primula dress), but still high fashion. I'm a definite contender!

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Seven sentence snippet

Tagged by Taryn Elliot:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS

2. Go to line 7

3. Copy down the next 7 lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they're written. No cheating.

4. Tag 7 authors

5. Let them know

This is from The Oil Tycoon and Her Sexy Sheikh, currently in edits:

…the girl's oval face with its dark eyes and wide, full mouth.

Olivia's breath caught in her throat. In slow motion, she saw Khaled lift the girl's hand and bring it to his lips. The kiss was brief and dispassionate, but the girl stared up at Khaled with wide-eyed awe.

Aliya. It must be. This was the girl Khaled was supposed to marry. The girl he was going to marry. She was younger than Olivia had expected. Eighteen or nineteen, perhaps. A child, compared to Khaled. A doe-eyed child, overcome with awe by the…

Intrigued? I hope so!

Fanfic and me

There is a really fascinating series of posts about fanfiction over at Dear Author at the moment. What's most interesting to me is the variety of ways in which people have engaged with the fan community and how it relates to their route to original fiction. So by way of adding to the discussion, here's my story.

I've always written fanfiction. Years before the internet and years before I'd ever heard the term, I was writing it. I'd finish reading a book and find that I was still living inside it. I'd want to know more. I'd imagine what happened next, or what happened to the secondary characters, or think about events which had been mentioned in passing but not described in detail. And to get those out of my head, I wrote them down. It wasn't for other people to read, it was just for my own satisfaction.

At first I scribbled in notebooks, and then I got a computer which I found helped me to write longer, more structure stories. I wrote most of a sequel to Heyer's The Masqueraders that way and a very long, rambling, shapeless sequel to Antonia Forest's Marlow books.

And then there was the internet. And on a dull, rainy afternoon, I looked for something to read and after a couple of false starts, I found After The End. I was hooked. This was, I think, after the 5th HP book had been published and it's a story set after the imagined events of the end of the series. It's interesting reading it now to see how much they guessed right – and, of course, how much they got wrong. It's wonderfully written, with a plot of its own, with good characterisation and prose of a high quality. The site that hosts it also had an active forum which included an area for writers interested in developing their skills. Two things happened there: I found someone else who was interested in the Marlows, who pointed me in the direction of their little fan community; and second, I found the people who are still my writing group.

The Marlows was significant for me because the fandom is so small that there is hardly any fanfic at all, and that was what persuaded me to put mine online. People were very kind about it, and that gave me confidence to write more and post more.

The writing group at the Sugar Quill was brilliant. We put up excerpts of writing for feedback each week. We set each other prompts or challenges to try to stretch ourselves. We took it very seriously, even though we were 'only' writing fanfic. Practically everything I know about how to write, I learned there. I loved the freedom of fanfic to work on different elements of the craft at a time – characterisation, action scenes, dialogue, world-building, scene-setting, emotional intensity etc, without having to do it all at once, and with immediate feedback. Plus, it's just really, really fun.

For a long time, I was very clear that I only wanted writing to be a hobby for me. I'm a PhD student in real life and I didn't want any extra stress. But I did start writing more original stories. It was a natural progression for me – a lot of my HP stories feature original characters. One of my favourites was about an American witch sent over to the UK to work at the Ministry of Magic (she works at the US Ministry – the Pentagram), where she meets in successive chapters each Weasley brother, before finally falling for Charlie (most of my heroines fall for Charlie. It's the dragons. And the tattoos.)

And then, I can't quite remember why, I was suddenly submitting books to editors. I had several rejections, self-published a couple, and finally made a sale in November 2011.

I haven't written fanfic for a while. Partly due to lack of time, and partly because the places where I found my community mostly aren't very active any more. I'd like to go back to it. Every time I read a book that lives on in my head, I find myself itching to start writing a little scene. One day, maybe I will.

If you're at all interested, I wrote under the name girlyswot. You'll find my stories at Phoenix Song, the Sugar Quill and in the Yuletide archives. Also at my livejournal.

Escaping from the editing cave

At least temporarily, I am in the blissful stage of having sent my edits in and not having received the next round back. So I thought it might be a good time to update my hordes of fans (Ed. You mean the three people who still have the blog in their Google Reader and can't work out how to remove it? Me: Yes.) on what's happening in my writing world.

The Oil Tycoon and Her Sexy Sheikh is scheduled for a May release in Entangled's Indulgence line. Hooray!

I'm planning a fun, summer short story which will hopefully be another Entangled Flirt. There will be sun, sea and sex in this one.

I'm going to submit a proposal for the plus-sized model story to Entangled as another Indulgence.

And I think I'm going to try to send something in for the M&B Romance fast-track month – a guaranteed response in a month is a big incentive. The Romance editors also acquire for RIVA which is where I think my voice fits in their lines. I need to come up with something new and brilliant for this – fortunately you only need a first chapter and synopsis to submit.

But mostly, the next six weeks are All About The Thesis. No more deadlines until that's done. I mean it.

All Stars Rosology

It's the finale next week, so it's time to sum up my work over the series.

Dollar Store Challenge

A Night at the Opera

Patterning Miss Piggy

Sixty Minute Green Tea Gelato

Clothes Off Her Back

Fashion Face Off

Godspell Challenge

Cultural Appropriation Challenge

Lighting Challenge

Let's Get Down To Business

There is a notable dearth of separates. Very few sleeves, no trousers. I do feel that this is quite a lot to do with the nature of the challenges, not just me sticking with the safety of the sleeveless shift frock. There are several looks I really, really love, especially the Fashion Face Off dress and the Indian-inspired look. I'm proud of the beading on the opera dress and I think several of the others are good responses to the challenge. I wish I'd had more time on the electric light challenge – the look in my head is a lot better than the reality.

Next week the finale! I'm going to see if I can manage a mini-collection.

A modern day fairytale

Exactly one month ago, Entangled launched its category-romance imprint, Indulgence, with four titles.

All of them have sold well. One of them has sold incredibly well.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the series that my oil tycoon book is due to be published in, on May 15th. I have no reason to believe that I will hit the sort of numbers that Jennifer has. But you never know…

Notes from the editing cave

My edits on the Oil Tycoon and Sheikh story are due on Thursday. This has involved major rewrites of large parts of the manuscript. I think it is going to be a better book as a result but I shall be extremely glad when it's done. It will be on sale in May – I shall be sure to let you know more details when I have them.

This week I have been all over the internet, spilling my deepest, darkest secrets and offering free copies of Table for One. Check out my interview and giveaway at Words are Things and the guest post and giveaway at Reading Between the Wines. There's another interview on the Entangled blog, too. The book is still selling pretty well, as far as I can tell. It's #714 at Barnes and Noble across all categories, which is not bad at all.

Entangled are growing apace, and have recently launched three new category lines to go along with the Indulgence line that my sheikh is destined for. There will be paranormal, romantic suspense and historical category lines launching later this year. I'd love to try writing for the historical line but I can't face doing the research just at the moment. Need to finish the thesis first.

Bestseller, Straight Talk and MORE Giveaways!

Look!

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Screencapped for posterity. Admittedly 'Contemporary Women' is quite a small subcategory but still, you can't do more than be #1.

I'm also at the Entangled blog today, talking about writing, inspiration and one of my most embarrassing memories.

And if you'd like to be in with a chance to win Table For One, head over here and tell me what your dream man would cook for you.

That's it for me. Back to the editing cave. I'm working on the Oil Tycoon story which needs major revisions before next week. Oh, and the thesis. Life's never dull round here.

Guest posts and giveaways

Yesterday, for one brief, heady moment, Table For One featured on Barnes and Noble's bestseller list between a Nora Roberts and a Nicholas Sparks. Today it is languishing back down in somewhat less exalted company.

But if you would like to see what all the (fairly minor) fuss is about, there are some chances to try the book for free. Books on the House are running a giveaway of all Entangled's recent short titles. And Good Choice Reading are running a giveaway of Table For One. You'll also find me over there trying, and failing, to come up with a recipe for love.

Here's what some lovely people have said about it:

"this left me satisfied and was zero calories, so maybe it is the perfect diet read."

"Table for One is delicious. Prepare to be seduced… Decadent food + sexy, what's not to like?"

"Table for One is a feast for the senses, Ros Clarke's evocative descriptions of gourmet meals and especially the characters' enjoyment of these succulent bites will give you goosebumps and shivers of excitement and pleasure by proxy. It was a culinary and sensual experience, if only I could have tasted some of the foods Claudia sampled *sighs* (or look at the delicious eyecandy that Ward is)"

"Maybe it's the hopeless romantic in me but man did I enjoy this book. It involved my favourite things, romance, a hot guy and food. Seriously could you get anything better in this story? I think not."