Rachael Johns's Blog, page 13

Why Monique McDonnell wrote about dogs!

Today I have a guest on my blog and I’m also appearing on her blog. My fabulous guest is the delightful Monique McDonnell who has just released MR RIGHT AND OTHER MONGRELS! I’ve downloaded this book to my Kindle and can’t wait to get to it. Not only is the title simple gorgeous, and the cover, but the dog on the front is an Old English Sheepdog, exactly like our dog Rodger. So I asked Monique to talk about that dog and why she wrote about them…

Welcome Monique!

Mr Right and Other Mongrels has a variety of key characters that I love the main ones being Allegra Johnson, who runs a second-hand bookshop near Manly Beach and her potential love interest Teddy Green, Australia’s favourite garden make-guru. They are brought together by a mischievous Old English sheepdog called Muffin who appears quite prominently on the book’s cover.

When I was writing this book I knew straight away that Allegra would be scared of dogs or more precisely have a full-blown dog-phobia. I myself suffer from this affliction and it a rather hard one to deal with in social situations. I wanted to use the characters, and a very likeable dog, to show how difficult this can be for someone who deals with this in day to day life.

Lots of people suffer from phobias. It’s pretty common. If you say you are scared of spiders or snakes or heights or even birds and people are pretty accepting of that. Usually they offer support and sympathy “Oh yes I don’t like spiders either!”

That’s not the case with dogs. People often take your dog phobia quite personally because they love their dog very much and honestly can’t understand why you don’t as well. Of course it’s not personal at all, it’s a phobia and you can’t help it, in fact you’d really rather not be scared of their dog at all but that’s a message that’s hard to get through.

So I wanted the dog in Mr Right and Other Mongrels to be a breed that people universally like, don’t find scary and respond to with a big “awww” when they see them.

Old English sheepdogs are beautiful and furry and they do have sweet faces but they are also big and can knock you down and for someone with a phobia the mere idea of that is enough to cause panic. However you don’t gain much sympathy from passers-by who see these dogs and loveable cuddly soft toys and that I guess is the point. (Having been chased home from the station after school many times by both an Old English sheepdog and a scary German shepherd respectively I can assure you the breed of dog does affect people’s reactions when you plead for assistance.)

Muffin is a lovely dog and maybe he can help Allegra deal with her dog phobia if given time, or maybe not. How Teddy deals with Allegra and her dog-issues is a big part of how their relationship develops.

(Despite my phobia my own daughter is absolutely dog crazy and I now live in a house with a dog called Skip. I still can’t walk Skip or be near other unleashed dogs but owning a dog at all – I consider that big progress!)

Thanks so much for sharing Monique, that was fascinating and I can assure you quite a few people are a little scared of our massive dog but really he’s a total teddy bear.

You can read the blurb for Monique’s new book below. MR RIGHT AND OTHER MONGRELS is available now on Amazon!

Blissfully happy in her own universe Allegra (Ally) Johnson is the sweet best friend everyone wants to have. Quietly and independently wealthy she runs a charming second-hand bookshop in beachside Manly. Heck, sometimes she even goes downstairs from her flat to run the shop in her Chinese silk pyjamas. It sounds like bliss. But is it enough?

When dog-phobic Allegra is rescued from an exuberant canine by the chivalrous Teddy Green, Australia’s hottest TV celebrity and garden make-over guru, her life begins to change. Dramatically!

Unaware of Teddy’s fame Allegra finds herself falling for him, despite her best attempts to resist his charm. Supported by her eccentric family and her fabulous gay friend Justin, Allegra embarks on an on-again off-again romance with Teddy, complicated by his jealous ex-girlfriend, fashionista Louisa and her own narcissistic hippy mother Moonbeam.

Will Ally be able to overcome her insecurities and find happiness with this possible Mr Right or will Teddy’s celebrity lifestyle prove to be too much? Mr Right and Other Mongrels is a light-hearted story about how one chance encounter can change your life.

You can find Monique on Twitter, Facebook and her website.

Someone pinch me … today’s the day!

PINCH ME. Seriously. I cannot believe that today is the official release of my first printed novel – JILTED. In many ways it seems like forever since Haylee my publisher emailed to say she wanted to buy my book and, in other ways, time has flown since then (a bit like babies actually).

It’s been just over eight months and in that time, I’ve done edits for JILTED, seen my first cover and blurb, been told I have a ”publicist”, written another ST title and subbed it as well. To say I am happy and proud is an understatement. This is truly my dream come true.

I’m heading to Perth soon for a dentist appointment (yep, that’s right, I’m living it up on release day) and might pop into a few shops to stalk my book. In the mean time, I thought I’d share the blurb with you one more time:

JILTED

She left him at the altar, but her heart was always his…

After more than ten years away, Australian soap star Ellie Hughes returns to the small country town of Hope Junction, determined to remain anonymous while caring for her injured godmother, Matilda.

But word spreads fast in the tight-knit community. It isn’t long before the people of Hope’s are gossiping about the real reason for Ellie’s visit and why she broke the heart of golden boy Flynn Quartermaine all those years ago.

Soon Ellie and Flynn are thrown back together again, forced to deal with the unresolved emotions between them. For Ellie is not the only one with secrets. Flynn has his own demons to battle, and Matilda is hiding something from her much-loved goddaughter.

When all is uncovered, can the ill-fated lovers overcome the wounds of their past? Or is Flynn destined to be jilted again?

The first chap is also available to read online here!

JILTED is available in bookstores and department stores across Australia and NZ. It’s also available to order from Harlequin Books or in e-format at Amazon!

Crack the champers… the book is LAUNCHED!

Tonight I celebrated the launch of JILTED with the people of Goomalling (the awesome small town where I’ve only lived 18months). Considering we’ve only been here a short time, the local Community Resource Centre went all out with absolute gourmet nibbles! Seriously… watch out Masterchef, the Goomalling CRC ladies will give you ALL a run for your money. And with Bubbles supplied by my fabulous publisher Harlequin Australia, I couldn’t have asked for more.

The local Shire President John Bird and his lovely daughter Nat introduced me! Again considering I’ve only been a resident of their town a VERY short time, they were so kind and flattering After that I rabbited on for about ten minutes about my writing journey – WHY and HOW I came to write books. I talked about the crazy people that live inside my head – or rather I’m crazy for thinking they’re real. And I talked about ROMANCE books and why I’m a LOUD AND PROUD reader and writer of them.

Then I read the opening pages of JILTED. I ummed and ahhed for a bit about what section to read but I think this was the right one. Everyone rushed to my signing table after and bought a copy, saying they really wanted to know what happened next. Some even bought TWO copies.

I am truly blessed to live in such an awesome place and to finally have achieved my dream! Now it’s time for a new dream and guess what that is?

TO KEEP DOING WHAT I’M DOING! To keep writing books in the hope that my publisher will love them and thus readers will have the chance to love them too. That’s why I couldn’t resist including this pic hubby snapped of me just before I headed out to the launch. That’s me taking a quick peek at my new baby – the only-recently started work-in-progress

I’m going to stop gushing now and leave you with some more photos from MY night!!

xo

Rach!

My First Ever Book Signing…

Apologies for all the firsts on this blog lately, there might be a few more before I’m done.

Today, I went to Books Plus in Armadale Shopping Centre to sign (and sell) copies of JILTED (which doesn’t officially release until June 1st)! My lovely friend Lyn, who I met through our supermarket (she was one of the fabulous staff we inherited from the old owner) made the two hour trip with me and helped carry my banner, etc which we didn’t even use in the end.

After all the stressing I did about what to sign in books – I wanted to write a message in each one – I think I did okay in that department. I even wrote a VERY short story for my friend Aley, who requested I did so on Facebook.

When I left home this morning, I told my husband that I’d be happy if I sold two books to people I didn’t know, because I KNEW I had friends rocking up to support me. Well, I didn’t end up selling any books to people I didn’t know but I think the bookshop was quite happy about the turn out. My renta-crowd was FABULOUS! And you know what? It didn’t matter that no strangers bought my books (although I did give out a few bookmarks) because having the support and excitement of those nearest and dearest to you absolutely ROCKS!!!! I just wish I could have spoken to them all longer - especially the couple of people I hadn’t seen in YEARS! (waving to Michelle and Melita)

AND, then I got home and checked my Facebook page and had my first ever reader comment. It was LOVELY. I’m going to bed tired but glowing!

Now for some photos…

Me sitting at the lovely decorated table waiting for the hoards!!!

The folks at Books Plus had these two GORGEOUS dogs on the table beside me. I had to seriously resist buying them both.

Me and one of my oldest, bestest friends Holly! She is so sweet, this is the second copy of Jilted she’s bought!!!

Theory on Thursday with Kerri Williams

Today I’d like to welcome Eternal Press author Kerri Williams to the Theory on Thursday hot seat. Kerri is talking about something VERY close to my heart…

Take it away Kerri!

Thank you Rach for having me here today, despite my tardiness, it is an absolute honour.

From the moment you asked me to join you in this topic I have wracked my brain endlessly on what I should do about the fact that I have never—yes, that’s right— never read a ‘craft book’ in any area of my career in writing; whether it be a how to get published or how to tighten your plot, I have never read one. Now this being said doesn’t mean I don’t believe they wouldn’t be worth reading and learning from. What it means for me is that I know within myself that I’m an adaptive person who worries a lot about nothing. J

I worried that if I was to read one of these help books that I would adapt to what I learn and then worry that I lost my true voice. But guess what? You know those fantastic Hearts Talk magazines we get every month in the mail from our friendly RWA, well guess what they are…craft books!

That’s right folks; I’m reading a craft book without reading a craft book. Dear-oh-dear, am I making any sense at 5:30 in the morning?

Every month I rip into the A4 envelope that carries a wealth of information in hopes to help me better my writing. Take the last couple of Hearts Talk’s: on page 4 we have Clarity and Narrative Thread by Anna Jacobs, Tips on protecting your writing time by Sarah Mayberry, and then you have advice from editors and publishers, competitions, market watch and loads more.

Hearts Talk gives you the guts of what you need in about twenty pages for the time poor people like me, who worry way too much. J

So peeps, as it turns out I have read more craft books then I ever thought and have kept my voice. Go figure.

Thanks again Rachel, you’re a legend amongst us all for hosting a worrying rambler like me, I’m actually worried that this post isn’t helpful as the usual. bahahaha!

Relax Kerri, you’re post was FAB! I’d never thought about Hearts Talk like that before but you are absolutely right. For anyone not a member of Romance Writer’s of Australia, Hearts Talk is our monthly magazine and it is as brilliant as Kerri said. This post is close to my heart because I’ve volunteered on Hearts Talk for a number of years and also believe I owe RWA so much for teaching me most of what I know about writing. 

You can find Kerri online at her website, Twitter and Facebook.

Kerri’s latest book is Nudging Cupid – please check out the blurb below:

It’s lights, camera and love on the set of Nudging Cupid- Australia’s new television show and Ivy Mason has big plans.

Unfortunately, when it comes to love, nothing goes to plan.
Nudging Cupid was to be Ivy’s first production, the ladder to her success. All she had to do was get three sexy as sin bachelors to find love in a mansion of twelve beautiful woman and capture it all on film for Australia to watch. How hard could that be?
But all Ivy’s plans go awry when she comes into contact with the dark haired, blue eyed, Owen Radcliff.  Somehow, against all her best judgment, Ivy falls for one of her bachelors.

Owen Radcliff’s wasn’t looking for love- he was looking for revenge. Infiltrating the latest Australian reality tv show was his only way to do it. But when he saves the life of the show’s producer, Owen is suddenly torn between the vow of revenge for his sister and the need to protect Ivy- even from himself.

My First Ever Newspaper Interview

Today was another first for me. I donned my new boots from the fabulous Birdsnest crew and actually slapped on a little bit of make-up for a change, and then I was off to my first newspaper interview with the Editor from the regional newspaper – The Avon Valley Advocate!

I admit to harbouring a few nerves and needing my poison of Diet Coke before I went in, but I figured at least it wasn’t radio, I wasn’t on-air. That might come later and I think this first interview was excellent training ground. John the editor was very friendly and immediately put me at ease. I felt like I was having a chat with an old friend and within a couple of minutes, I’d almost forgotten it was an interview. Hopefully I didn’t get too carried away

John mostly wanted to know how I’d come to writing, where I believed my book fit and whether I liked writing books. I told him that although there were times when writing was excruciating, I’m so happy and blessed to have been given the chance to fulfill my dream! Yes – I LOVE writing books.

He told me I should write about English backpackers coming to work in Aussie pubs and I was happy to tell him my next book was set in a pub although not exactly this story line.

We chatted about why rural romance is so popular – I said I thought programs such as McLeod’s Daughters and Farmer Finds A Wife had helped but I wrote rural-set books because I love being able to portray close-knit communities and their amazing characters and how they all pull together in a crisis. We chatted about Mills & Boon and I think I managed to dispel his myth that they were NOT easy to dash off in an afternoon, as there were thousands of people trying to write them and only a fraction of them got published.  We chatted about my family and our shop, where I’d lived and how my birthplace of Newcastle Upon Tyne in England is surrounded by a rural very different to the rural of JILTED. He made a few jokes about my characters – one which wasn’t exactly correct but he seemed to like and I think will make it into his article.

It was a totally enjoyable half an hour and then when it was finished, John took me to the local agricultural machinery outlet and photographed me standing in front of a massive red tractor. He wouldn’t let me see the pic, but hopefully I’ll be able to scan the article and share it with you all next week.

All in all my first interview experience was a good one and I’m looking forward to chatting to more journalists about JILTED and spreading the rural romance message!

GREAT STUFF! And name my next HERO!

This week has been FULL of great stuff and I hope you don’t mind me sharing (well, if you do, stop reading now)!

On Thursday, I got my first ever box of books. Oh, I’ve got books in the post before of course – yes, I’m a book-buying addict, but this was the first time the books in question had MY name on the cover. I’ve heard authors talk about this feeling before and hoped that one day it would be my turn.

It was as EUPHORIC as I imagined. Here’s a picture of me holding the first copy. I’m standing at the front of our supermarket because I rocked up with my box of books and demanded hubby stop what he was doing and take a memory-making photo of me opening the box. (sorry for making you turn your head, I can’t for the life of me figure out how to fix this).

And here’s a photo of the whole lovely box (also unfortunately on its side):

But what is possibly even MORE exciting than this is that I started hearing of people READING my book. Eek!!! But so far the response seems okay – I’ve received some excellent reviews on Goodreads and am hopeful for more.

However possibly the best endorsement ever was my Mum starting and finishing my book TODAY! She said she loved it, and she SAID she wasn’t just saying that. My Mum’s been there since I started writing at seventeen and it’s unbelievable that she’s finally reading my BOOK.

Jilted will be in shops in Australia and New Zealand June 1st but it’s already available for pre-order on many online bookstores, including for Kindle on Amazon.

Now for the REALLY fun stuff. I’m currently daydreaming my next rural-set romance and while I have the heroine’s name – Faith – and the hero’s nickname – Monty (cos his surname’s Montgomery), I need a good male name for my hero. He’s a hard-working Aussie bloke. His parents lost the family farm when he was a child and he’s working hard as a builder or a cray fisherman (I’m currently deciding this) to save money for his farm again.

Any ideas? Will was going to be his name, but I’m not sure it a hundred percent suits him so I’m looking for more suggestions. Anyone?

Theory on Thursday with Robyn Thomas

Today I’m delighted to have fellow Sassy Sister and Entangled Indulgence author Robyn Thomas chatting about her take on Point Of View. The motto bandied around the writing world is to write in the pov of whichever character has the most at stake… today, Robyn challenges that idea!

Welcome Robyn…

My childhood was spent on a farm, and from a very early age I was taught to do things by watching then copying. My eyes tend to glaze over (in panic) when I’m faced with a lot of theory on how to do something practical. I want to roll my sleeves up and start DOING stuff!

My natural instinct is to store interesting snippets of craft until I have an opportunity to actually test them out. Turn them over. Walk around them and see what they look like from other angles. I’ve given up trying to avoid this step because it’s absolutely essential for me to know the parameters of what I’m working with. Only then can I include it in what I’m doing.

I find Point of View the most fascinating craft element, and I never tire of admiring it. At the moment I’m experimenting with a slingshot effect to propel readers forward from one character’s POV to the next. WHEN you change POV can make a HUGE difference to the power of your writing. I’ve found that the simple rule of thumb – stay in the POV of the character who has the most at stake – isn’t always the best one.

Sometimes there are parts of a character’s struggle that can’t be revealed to the other character until the time is right (but try to let the reader know as soon as you can!) So although this character has a huge stake in what’s going on, they’re not willing – or ready or able – to put all of their cards on the table. Their reaction will be tempered by a need for self preservation, and that has the potential to dilute your scene.

Sometimes a scene belongs to one character for a particular reason. Take a pregnancy reveal, for example. It could be done while we’re in the hero’s POV (nothing to stop the heroine telling him) but it’s likely to lack emotional impact unless you have a specific reason for doing it that way. Even if he is the one with the most at stake!

Similarly, allowing her to reveal she’s pregnant in her POV then switching straight away to your hero’s POV probably won’t give the best result either. Your heroine’s the one who is pregnant, and if your readers are invested in her then they won’t appreciate having her thoughts/reactions etc filtered through the hero’s POV. They’ll want some sort of hit from her first – such as relief, disappointment, or panic. Whatever she feels will ground your reader in her new reality before you move on.

If your heroine is expecting trouble but doesn’t get it, it could be that the real juiciness lies in what the hero thinks but doesn’t say. Allowing your heroine a few extra lines to be ecstatically happy that he’s accepted the news so well will give you leeway to springboard into his POV where it can all fall apart in an instant… giving you initial angst followed by a joyous high AND a dramatic low from the one piece of news. Emotional impact = maximum!

Not all characters are pregnant and not all pregnancy reveals are problematic, but whatever issues your characters are facing, there will always be decisions to be made regarding POV. It comes down to identifying what there is to exploit, and then using POV as one of the tools to get the most out of it.

 Thanks Robyn – that was fascinating. I’m beginning to think I need to put more thought into this point of view thing!

Robyn’s debut novel will be out in July with Entangled’s Indulgence line. I’ll be sure to have Robyn back to chat about her book but until then, you can visit Robyn at her website, on Twitter and on Facebook.  

My Secret Life with… CATHRYN HEIN

For my second Secret Life Guest post, I have my good friend and critique partner, rural romance author Cathryn Hein. As long as I’ve known Cathryn, her passions for the things she does have shone through in our emails and conversations and I’m so happy to have her here today sharing one of them. And, I think this particular post has a lovely message for all of us writers, readers, mums, workaholics, who struggle to find the time to spend quality time with our spouses… 

Welcome Cathryn!

What I do when I’m not writing…

 Ahh, writers. This being such a sedentary occupation we’re not renowned for our athleticism, are we? I mean, it’s not as if the internet overflows with pictures of muscled, super-fit authors. More likely a google search will reveal tales of drunken behaviour, bad manners and literary grudges. Except, of course, in the Australian romance community. As I’m sure Rach will attest, we’re all lovely here!

I’m no fitness freak – far from it – but I am conscious that all this sitting around, staring at my computer screen isn’t good for my health, plus being a country girl at heart I get fed up with being inside all the time. So my solution is to get out and chase a little white ball around.

Yes, I’m one of those. A golfer.

At least, that’s what I call myself. There are days when I’m sure my performance on the greens and fairways bears absolutely no resemblance to how the sport is meant to be played. I blame my dad who, in his wisdom, didn’t cart me off to the club professional the moment I showed an interest in the game, but instead taught me himself. The result? I inherited quite a few of his bad habits while developing a few interesting ones of my own. I’m enthusiastic, no question, but enthusiasm isn’t necessarily a cushion against ugliness. The first time I went to a professional for lessons I swear he winced every time I swung at the ball. Poor man. I bet he still has issues.

Mind you, this year’s US Masters victor, Bubba Watson, is self taught, as is champion lady golfer Laura Davies and late golfing genius Seve Ballesteros. I guess the difference is they have (or had, in Seve’s case) innate talent whereas I, sadly, possess none. As my dad so often loves to state, usually after a duffed shot, “Us Heins weren’t meant to play golf.” A truism if ever there was one.

It doesn’t matter. Golf’s fun (mostly), social, great exercise and gets me away from the computer, out in the fresh air and soaking up some vitamin D. When you consider my other favourite past-times include cooking and restauranting, it’s not hard to conclude that walking 6 or so kilometres while swinging a steel or graphite rod around is also somewhat vital.

But you know the best thing about golf? It’s something Jim and I can do as a couple. Yes, we’re not very good and sometimes downright painful to watch, but we’re not very good and painful to watch together. And in my world, that’s what really counts.

Thanks so much for sharing your fascinating love of Golf. You have inspired me also to find something to do with my hubby again. Once upon a time we read novels to each other, but we haven’t done that for years. Once we also talked about learning Spanish together but then we moved to the country where there were no classes, of course now I’m sure we could find one online.

So, I’ve got a question for everyone out there… What special thing do YOU do with someone you love?

You can find Cathryn online at her website, on Facebook and Twitter. Cathryn’s latest novel HEART OF THE VALLEY is out now and available in all good book shops and online at places like Booktopia and Fishpond. The blurb is below:

Brooke Kingston is smart, capable and strongwilled ­ some might even say stubborn ­ and

lives in the beautiful Hunter Valley on her family property. More at home on horseback than in heels, her life revolves around her beloved ‘boys’ ­ showjumpers Poddy, Oddy and Sod.

Then a tragic accident leaves Brooke a mess. Newcomer Lachie Cambridge is hired to

manage the farm, and Brooke finds herself out of a job and out of luck. But she won¹t go

without a fight.

What she doesn’t expect is Lachie himself ­ a handsome, gentle giant with a will to match

her own. But with every day that Lachie stays, Brooke’s future on the farm is more uncertain.

Will she be forced to choose between her home and the man she’s falling for?  A vivid, moving and passionate story of love and redemption from the author of Promises.

First round of edits for Hollywood

My first round of edits for my Hollywood book for Carina have landed. This is good in that it means I have something writing related to do to hopefully distract me from wondering what my other publisher thinks about Man Drought. And also gives me time to try to work out which book I want to write next.

What I find most fascinating about my Carina edits is the words/phrases I’m asked to change because they are too Aussie. It’s strangely fascinating because I’d never have thought of myself as having a particularly Aussie slang dialogue – my family is British and I think this has influenced a lot of my speaking habits, at least I thought it had.

Words I’ve had to change this time have been mostly colloquialisms: naff, grotty, swish to name but a few. And of course there’s the mums to moms, the car park to parking lots, rubbish to trash, etc, etc, etc. I don’t have to change EVERYTHING, I have an Aussie heroine in LA so get to keep some of her dialect true-blue, but I have to change anything that may completely jar the international reader, thus taking them out of the story. Most of the edits this time are reasonably small changes like the stuff mentioned above, but there are a few overall plot points that need enhancing.

It’s funny that the four things my editor mentioned, were all things that I instantly agreed with. I think if I’m honest, I knew them deep down but wasn’t sure how to fix them. Hopefully now that I’ve had a good amount of time away from this ms (I’ve written a whole ST while waiting for sale, edits, etc), I’ll be able to see how to fix these things more clearly.

I’m slowly establishing my own process for edits – to do the small/easy changes first and then a read through of the whole ms before I tackle the bigger issues. So… that’s my agenda for the week.

What’s on yours?