Jon Rance's Blog, page 2
December 27, 2015
IT'S ALMOST 2016 BABY!
It's the end if 2015! Whoop! Whoop! I love new year because it really does give us a chance to reflect on the year gone and look forward to the year ahead. 2015 wasn't the best year for me as a writer, but it's finishing on a high with all of my books doing well in the charts and having some lovely reviews. It's given me a fresh impetus for 2016 and the year that I'm really going to tackle the literary world and make my mark!
So for the year ahead my biggest goal is to get a new book deal. I had a book deal for my first two books, but I didn't manage to get one for my last two. I think in hindsight (such a lovely thing) my choice of books wasn't the best. Don't get me wrong, I love both 'This Family Life' and 'Sunday Dinners' but they weren't perhaps the best choices for getting a book deal. 'This Family Life' was a sequel and 'Sunday Dinners' didn't fit snugly enough into any genre and so neither was going to be easily published. A big part of being of author is learning from our mistakes and hopefully I've done that.
For 2016 I'm already working on my new novel and I've 'sort of' changed genres - moved a bit to the left is probably more of an accurate description. When I started writing, I always wanted to write comedy and most of my books are comedies. But with 'Happy Endings' and 'Sunday Dinners' I veered away from pure comedy and into darker more dramatic areas. I love both of those books, but the trouble with that genre of book is that they don't really fit into a specific genre. They aren't really comedies, they aren't chick lit, or pure drama, or literary fiction or, well, let's just say they're books about love, life and all the bits in-between. What I've always wanted to write is a pure out and out romantic comedy. My next book is going to be just that.
I think I've tackled love in all of my books, but I've never done new love. In 'This Thirtysomething Life' and 'This Family Life' they were about a married couple. 'Happy Endings' was about couples that were already together. 'Sunday Dinners' was about a family and a thirty-year-old marriage. I've never done 'The Rom-Com'. So when I started thinking about my new novel, I knew I wanted to write a romantic comedy in the purest sense of the word. I even did a lot of research about writing romantic comedies and watched, read and completely immersed myself in the genre - I know, tough work! I learnt a lot and now I'm writing my rom-com, I'm really, truly excited about it.
The genre of the rom-com has taken a bit of a bashing in recent years and I think a lot of that comes down to a bunch of poorly written, cliché laden, badly plotted books and films that forgot the two main concepts of romantic comedies. You have to have comedy and romance. If it isn't funny it isn't a rom-com. If it isn't romantic it isn't a rom-com. I've watched so many rom-com films that are just blah. You can re-invent the genre while sticking to the main rules, which is what I'm hoping to do. An original story, with real characters that's hilarious, heart-warming and feels fresh and new. It's about the voice, the characters and the story. I want to bring something new to the genre. Something different that I only I can do.
For me 2016 is a year to sort of re-group and start again. I feel like I've learnt so much as a writer the past three years and from all of my books. I want to gather all of that together and produce a book that's going to take me to the next level. I'm going to work harder than I've ever worked before to make sure that my next book is the very best thing I've ever written. So far it's going really well. The first draft is exactly what I wanted it to be. It feels fresh and exciting. The characters are wonderfully flawed and funny. The plot is really new and the story is one that I don't think's been done before. I'm really excited for the new year and to get another book out there - hopefully with a new publisher!
Thanks so much to everyone's who helped me in 2015 and to everyone who's bought my books. I really love what I do, but without readers I couldn't do it. A happy new year to you all!
Big love,
Jon X
So for the year ahead my biggest goal is to get a new book deal. I had a book deal for my first two books, but I didn't manage to get one for my last two. I think in hindsight (such a lovely thing) my choice of books wasn't the best. Don't get me wrong, I love both 'This Family Life' and 'Sunday Dinners' but they weren't perhaps the best choices for getting a book deal. 'This Family Life' was a sequel and 'Sunday Dinners' didn't fit snugly enough into any genre and so neither was going to be easily published. A big part of being of author is learning from our mistakes and hopefully I've done that.
For 2016 I'm already working on my new novel and I've 'sort of' changed genres - moved a bit to the left is probably more of an accurate description. When I started writing, I always wanted to write comedy and most of my books are comedies. But with 'Happy Endings' and 'Sunday Dinners' I veered away from pure comedy and into darker more dramatic areas. I love both of those books, but the trouble with that genre of book is that they don't really fit into a specific genre. They aren't really comedies, they aren't chick lit, or pure drama, or literary fiction or, well, let's just say they're books about love, life and all the bits in-between. What I've always wanted to write is a pure out and out romantic comedy. My next book is going to be just that.
I think I've tackled love in all of my books, but I've never done new love. In 'This Thirtysomething Life' and 'This Family Life' they were about a married couple. 'Happy Endings' was about couples that were already together. 'Sunday Dinners' was about a family and a thirty-year-old marriage. I've never done 'The Rom-Com'. So when I started thinking about my new novel, I knew I wanted to write a romantic comedy in the purest sense of the word. I even did a lot of research about writing romantic comedies and watched, read and completely immersed myself in the genre - I know, tough work! I learnt a lot and now I'm writing my rom-com, I'm really, truly excited about it.
The genre of the rom-com has taken a bit of a bashing in recent years and I think a lot of that comes down to a bunch of poorly written, cliché laden, badly plotted books and films that forgot the two main concepts of romantic comedies. You have to have comedy and romance. If it isn't funny it isn't a rom-com. If it isn't romantic it isn't a rom-com. I've watched so many rom-com films that are just blah. You can re-invent the genre while sticking to the main rules, which is what I'm hoping to do. An original story, with real characters that's hilarious, heart-warming and feels fresh and new. It's about the voice, the characters and the story. I want to bring something new to the genre. Something different that I only I can do.
For me 2016 is a year to sort of re-group and start again. I feel like I've learnt so much as a writer the past three years and from all of my books. I want to gather all of that together and produce a book that's going to take me to the next level. I'm going to work harder than I've ever worked before to make sure that my next book is the very best thing I've ever written. So far it's going really well. The first draft is exactly what I wanted it to be. It feels fresh and exciting. The characters are wonderfully flawed and funny. The plot is really new and the story is one that I don't think's been done before. I'm really excited for the new year and to get another book out there - hopefully with a new publisher!
Thanks so much to everyone's who helped me in 2015 and to everyone who's bought my books. I really love what I do, but without readers I couldn't do it. A happy new year to you all!
Big love,
Jon X
December 20, 2015
A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!
It's that time of the year again. It's Christmas! It's also the time of year when we reflect on the year gone and look forward to a new one.
2015 has been a very up and down year for me personally with lots of highs, but also some lows. From a writing perspective it's been difficult and although the year didn't start well, it's ending on a high - such is the life of an author!
From a negative point of view I didn't find a publisher for Sunday Dinners and I lost my agent. I had a really hard time this year and started to question what I was doing and if I was good enough to be an author. It was definitely one of the lowest points of my writing career, but luckily I have enough people in my life who believe in me and I came through it. I got back on track and ended up re-writing Sunday Dinners exactly how I wanted it and then wrote my Christmas novella in record time. A Notting Hill Christmas is doing really well and has had some brilliant reviews - "The best novella I've ever read. The funniest read of 2015!" - This Chick Reads (thank you!).
In 2016 I'm focused entirely on my new novel. I'm super excited because it's my first real attempt at a proper romantic comedy. All of my previous novels have had elements of comedy and romance, but none have been what I would call a romantic comedy. For this book, I really wanted to embrace the genre and write a pure rom-com. I'm 30,000 words in at the moment and I have to say, it's my favourite book so far! I feel like I've gained so much experience writing my previous novels and working with some amazing people and this novel will be my best so far. I can't divulge any details yet except that it's a rom-com written in alternate chapters from male and female perspective. And it's set in London. That's it for now. I'm hoping to find a publisher for this novel in 2016.
So that's it. Thanks to everyone who's bought my books, supported me, helped me and encouraged me to keep following my dream. I love what I do. It's what I want to do for the rest of my life. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful new year!
Hugs,
Jon X
December 3, 2015
WRITING A CHRISTMAS NOVELLA
Hello,
So in August I decided to write a Christmas novella. I know - talk about a tight deadline. But somehow I did it. This blog is going to tell you how. So pop the kettle on, put on some Christmas music and enjoy.
I already had the title, A Notting Hill Christmas. I'd written it down ages ago in my folder of ideas. All I needed was a story, characters, a plot, a beginning, a middle and that all important end. 30,000 words in two months - no worries!
I knew exactly what I wanted the book to be like. I had an idea in my head and it was based on a few things. I was lucky to grow up in the 80's. The 80's produced so many amazing Christmas songs - Band Aid, Last Christmas by Wham, Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade - to name just a few. That's not even mentioning Cliff Richards! The 80's was a great time for festive music. It was also a great time for classic British sitcoms and Christmas specials. I clearly remember watching the Only Fools and Horses specials as a child. It stuck in my mind and so when I came to write this, I sort of knew what I wanted. It had to festive, funny, and romantic, of course.
I knew my story would have the music, the traditional food, presents, decorations and once I knew it was going to be about a family in a tiny flat, the drama and arguments that come when a family get together. So I started, as always, with the characters. The main character is Ben and I decided early on that he was going to be a bit of a loser. Once I had him, the older more successful brother, Jamie, came pretty quickly. I really wanted the family dynamic to remind readers of their own family. I know we're all different, but I knew if I wrote a really honest, down to earth family, people would be able to relate in some way. Maybe you relate to Ben or his brother, or the parents, the sister-in-law or the granddad. What I hope I've created is a really interesting, funny family that fight and argue, but love and care for each other dearly. I really love the Canterbury family and I think they could easily have their own novel!
The next thing I tackled was the love story. This was always going to be a romantic comedy first and foremost. Having Ben as a bit of a loser, I had to make sure the love story worked. It took a bit of work, and I don't want to give too much away, but hopefully I've written a real, gritty, honest, and romantic love story between two people with more in common than they realise. The girl in question is called Mhairi, and from the start she was Scottish. I wanted someone new to Notting Hill with their own interesting back story and also a girl that was feisty, strong, and would stand up for herself. For some reason when I put all of that together, she was Scottish.
The main thing I wanted to achieve with this little story was to recreate the sort of Christmases I had growing up. When I think about Christmas there's a warmth of emotion. It conjures up so many feelings and I wanted to somehow capture that in the book. I hope I've managed to do that with the characters I've created. I also made a real effort to include lots of little details in the story that hopefully add to it's authenticity.
The other little sub-plots just came along as I wrote the book. The angry dog, Mr Waggles, who actually plays a huge part in the book. The horny Welsh flatmate, Rufus, who can't get home for Christmas because there's too much snow on the tracks and ends up staying. The giant turkey, Grandad, and Ben's mum - all became integral to the whole story. It's only a short novella, but I managed to squeeze a lot in!
I think something that happened sort of organically was setting the whole story in the poky, little flat. There's something really engaging to me about stories set somewhere specific. Maybe it's the sitcom idea like, The Office, which is set primarily in the office. Only Fools and Horses had different sets, but the flat is what you remember the most. Even shows like Gavin & Stacey, they have lots of settings, but the two houses really make the show what it is. I like having this set only in the flat. It's like the whole thing is condensed and I think it adds to the Christmas spirit!
A Notting Hill Christmas is my first and hopefully not my last Christmas novella - who knows, maybe there will be 'Another Notting Hill Christmas' next year! I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it. A very merry Christmas from me to you!
Buy A Notting Hill Christmas now - it's just 99p!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon x
So in August I decided to write a Christmas novella. I know - talk about a tight deadline. But somehow I did it. This blog is going to tell you how. So pop the kettle on, put on some Christmas music and enjoy.
I already had the title, A Notting Hill Christmas. I'd written it down ages ago in my folder of ideas. All I needed was a story, characters, a plot, a beginning, a middle and that all important end. 30,000 words in two months - no worries!
I knew exactly what I wanted the book to be like. I had an idea in my head and it was based on a few things. I was lucky to grow up in the 80's. The 80's produced so many amazing Christmas songs - Band Aid, Last Christmas by Wham, Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade - to name just a few. That's not even mentioning Cliff Richards! The 80's was a great time for festive music. It was also a great time for classic British sitcoms and Christmas specials. I clearly remember watching the Only Fools and Horses specials as a child. It stuck in my mind and so when I came to write this, I sort of knew what I wanted. It had to festive, funny, and romantic, of course.
I knew my story would have the music, the traditional food, presents, decorations and once I knew it was going to be about a family in a tiny flat, the drama and arguments that come when a family get together. So I started, as always, with the characters. The main character is Ben and I decided early on that he was going to be a bit of a loser. Once I had him, the older more successful brother, Jamie, came pretty quickly. I really wanted the family dynamic to remind readers of their own family. I know we're all different, but I knew if I wrote a really honest, down to earth family, people would be able to relate in some way. Maybe you relate to Ben or his brother, or the parents, the sister-in-law or the granddad. What I hope I've created is a really interesting, funny family that fight and argue, but love and care for each other dearly. I really love the Canterbury family and I think they could easily have their own novel!
The next thing I tackled was the love story. This was always going to be a romantic comedy first and foremost. Having Ben as a bit of a loser, I had to make sure the love story worked. It took a bit of work, and I don't want to give too much away, but hopefully I've written a real, gritty, honest, and romantic love story between two people with more in common than they realise. The girl in question is called Mhairi, and from the start she was Scottish. I wanted someone new to Notting Hill with their own interesting back story and also a girl that was feisty, strong, and would stand up for herself. For some reason when I put all of that together, she was Scottish.
The main thing I wanted to achieve with this little story was to recreate the sort of Christmases I had growing up. When I think about Christmas there's a warmth of emotion. It conjures up so many feelings and I wanted to somehow capture that in the book. I hope I've managed to do that with the characters I've created. I also made a real effort to include lots of little details in the story that hopefully add to it's authenticity.
The other little sub-plots just came along as I wrote the book. The angry dog, Mr Waggles, who actually plays a huge part in the book. The horny Welsh flatmate, Rufus, who can't get home for Christmas because there's too much snow on the tracks and ends up staying. The giant turkey, Grandad, and Ben's mum - all became integral to the whole story. It's only a short novella, but I managed to squeeze a lot in!
I think something that happened sort of organically was setting the whole story in the poky, little flat. There's something really engaging to me about stories set somewhere specific. Maybe it's the sitcom idea like, The Office, which is set primarily in the office. Only Fools and Horses had different sets, but the flat is what you remember the most. Even shows like Gavin & Stacey, they have lots of settings, but the two houses really make the show what it is. I like having this set only in the flat. It's like the whole thing is condensed and I think it adds to the Christmas spirit!
A Notting Hill Christmas is my first and hopefully not my last Christmas novella - who knows, maybe there will be 'Another Notting Hill Christmas' next year! I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it. A very merry Christmas from me to you!
Buy A Notting Hill Christmas now - it's just 99p!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon x
November 22, 2015
LYNDA RENHAM
Hello,
I'm very excited to have guest blogger, Lynda Renham, on my website today. Like me, Lynda as a Christmas book out and it's called, 'A Christmas Romance'. It looks fabulous. So without further ado, here's Lynda...or should I say, Amy Perfect?
Thank you to Jon Rance for featuring me on his blog. I always enjoy coming here. I’m very excited to tell everyone about my new novel ‘A Christmas Romance’ I can’t believe how close Christmas is. It will soon be December so what better than a Christmas novel to get you into the festive mood. That, and a mince pie, of course.I enjoyed writing this novel so much and am thrilled to see it climbing the holiday chart. ‘A Christmas Romance’ is set in a fictional village in Oxfordshire, named Little Perran.I wrote this novel under the name of Amy Perfect. It’s full of romance and Christmas magic. It is the first in a series of stories to be set in Little Perran. I have had wonderful reviews and am so delighted.My time spent in Little Perran was delightful and I’m sure yours will be too. I can’t wait to write the second in the series which will be out in the summer.
A CHRISTMAS ROMANCELynda RenhamWriting asAmy Perfect‘Romance is the last thing on Frankie Bell’s mind as she gets ready for Christmas in the English village of Little Perran. It’s going to be a quiet affair once the annual Great Little Perran Christmas Bake Off cake competition is over, with Frankie, and her little dog Buster, tucked up warmly in Primrose Cottage. Fate, however, has other plans and Little Perran is thrown into turmoil when the film star, Roux Lockhart, comes to stay.
The spirit of the season weaves its magic and a freak snow storm that blows in a surprise visitor. Frankie discovers love from an unexpected quarter, but can she trust it? And is someone cheating with their Christmas cake?
A delightful Christmas love story to be enjoyed with a mug of hot chocolate and a roaring log fire. You can purchase your copy of ‘A Christmas Romance’ here.
You can find out more about Lynda and her books at her website here.
Until next time.
Hugs,Jon X
I'm very excited to have guest blogger, Lynda Renham, on my website today. Like me, Lynda as a Christmas book out and it's called, 'A Christmas Romance'. It looks fabulous. So without further ado, here's Lynda...or should I say, Amy Perfect?
Thank you to Jon Rance for featuring me on his blog. I always enjoy coming here. I’m very excited to tell everyone about my new novel ‘A Christmas Romance’ I can’t believe how close Christmas is. It will soon be December so what better than a Christmas novel to get you into the festive mood. That, and a mince pie, of course.I enjoyed writing this novel so much and am thrilled to see it climbing the holiday chart. ‘A Christmas Romance’ is set in a fictional village in Oxfordshire, named Little Perran.I wrote this novel under the name of Amy Perfect. It’s full of romance and Christmas magic. It is the first in a series of stories to be set in Little Perran. I have had wonderful reviews and am so delighted.My time spent in Little Perran was delightful and I’m sure yours will be too. I can’t wait to write the second in the series which will be out in the summer.
A CHRISTMAS ROMANCELynda RenhamWriting asAmy Perfect‘Romance is the last thing on Frankie Bell’s mind as she gets ready for Christmas in the English village of Little Perran. It’s going to be a quiet affair once the annual Great Little Perran Christmas Bake Off cake competition is over, with Frankie, and her little dog Buster, tucked up warmly in Primrose Cottage. Fate, however, has other plans and Little Perran is thrown into turmoil when the film star, Roux Lockhart, comes to stay.
The spirit of the season weaves its magic and a freak snow storm that blows in a surprise visitor. Frankie discovers love from an unexpected quarter, but can she trust it? And is someone cheating with their Christmas cake?
A delightful Christmas love story to be enjoyed with a mug of hot chocolate and a roaring log fire. You can purchase your copy of ‘A Christmas Romance’ here.
You can find out more about Lynda and her books at her website here.
Until next time.
Hugs,Jon X
November 11, 2015
A NOTTING HILL CHRISTMAS
Hello,
Sunday Dinners is out and doing very well (thank you so much!) and so now it's time to talk about my Christmas novella, A Notting Hill Christmas. Yay! I've been thinking and talking about writing a Christmas novella for the past three years and for various reasons it's never quite happened. This year it's happened! So strap yourself in, it's going to be quite a ride!
I had the title, A Notting Hill Christmas, in my ideas folder for a while. That was it. No story, characters, or idea what it was going to be about. I just liked the idea of it. So when I decided to write a novella this year, I was going through my notes when I found this title and started thinking about it. I love Notting Hill as a place. It's iconic and there's obviously the famous film starring Hugh Grant. I knew right away though that I wanted to show a different side to it. It wasn't going to be the chocolate box Notting Hill that Richard Curtis gave us, which I love and wished I lived in, but something else. Something more real.
As always the characters came first and in this case it was the main character, Ben Canterbury - I've wanted to give a character the last name Canterbury since The Office when it was Tim's surname. I knew from the start that Ben had to be a bit of a loser. I had a rough idea of a story and it involved a large family coming to a small, cramped flat in Notting Hill for Christmas. Ben was going to be catalyst for this to happen. Actually his life failures and jealousy of his older and successful brother, Jamie, would be. Ben's tired of being the "deadwood in the Canterbury family tree" and insists he hosts Christmas, even though he has no chance of actually doing it properly in his little flat. There in lies the tension, drama and comedy of the book.
Once I had Ben, I needed a funny flatmate, and a crazy family (plus a very angry dog), which all came fairly easily. Then came the difficult part, I needed a romantic female lead - this is a rom-com after all!
It was tough working out the love story because here we have Ben, a 29 year old man, who's life hasn't gone to plan having Christmas Day with his family. How to fit a woman into this scenario in a real and plausible way without making it seem absolutely ridiculous was a challenge. When I started thinking about her the first thing that came to mind was that she was Scottish. I don't know why. I've always found the Scottish accent pretty sexy and I wanted someone who needed a reason to spend the day with Ben and his family on the big day. So she obviously had to be far from home. This is when things started to spark and the story and characters came alive.
The female lead, Mhairi, comes into the story and at first seems just about perfect, but obviously this is never the case. Also I think it would be hard to sell a love story with a loser main character falling in love with this amazing woman. She had to have her flaws and secrets too. And she does.
The main thing with A Notting Hill Christmas, is that I wanted it to be funny and heart-warming, but also honest and real. Just because it's a Christmas story and a rom-com, it doesn't have to be this overly sweet, fluffy, sort of fairytale. It's a bit dark in places, the characters are deeply flawed, and it's probably not the Christmas day you'd want to go to (£1 shop Christmas tree and decorations stuck on with Blu-Tack), but amongst all the carnage and drama, there is a really sweet, funny love story that will hopefully make you laugh and cry.
A Notting Hill Christmas is out on December 7th and it's only 99p! You can pre-order it here or just click on the cover below! I'll be back with more blogs soon!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
Sunday Dinners is out and doing very well (thank you so much!) and so now it's time to talk about my Christmas novella, A Notting Hill Christmas. Yay! I've been thinking and talking about writing a Christmas novella for the past three years and for various reasons it's never quite happened. This year it's happened! So strap yourself in, it's going to be quite a ride!
I had the title, A Notting Hill Christmas, in my ideas folder for a while. That was it. No story, characters, or idea what it was going to be about. I just liked the idea of it. So when I decided to write a novella this year, I was going through my notes when I found this title and started thinking about it. I love Notting Hill as a place. It's iconic and there's obviously the famous film starring Hugh Grant. I knew right away though that I wanted to show a different side to it. It wasn't going to be the chocolate box Notting Hill that Richard Curtis gave us, which I love and wished I lived in, but something else. Something more real.
As always the characters came first and in this case it was the main character, Ben Canterbury - I've wanted to give a character the last name Canterbury since The Office when it was Tim's surname. I knew from the start that Ben had to be a bit of a loser. I had a rough idea of a story and it involved a large family coming to a small, cramped flat in Notting Hill for Christmas. Ben was going to be catalyst for this to happen. Actually his life failures and jealousy of his older and successful brother, Jamie, would be. Ben's tired of being the "deadwood in the Canterbury family tree" and insists he hosts Christmas, even though he has no chance of actually doing it properly in his little flat. There in lies the tension, drama and comedy of the book.
Once I had Ben, I needed a funny flatmate, and a crazy family (plus a very angry dog), which all came fairly easily. Then came the difficult part, I needed a romantic female lead - this is a rom-com after all!
It was tough working out the love story because here we have Ben, a 29 year old man, who's life hasn't gone to plan having Christmas Day with his family. How to fit a woman into this scenario in a real and plausible way without making it seem absolutely ridiculous was a challenge. When I started thinking about her the first thing that came to mind was that she was Scottish. I don't know why. I've always found the Scottish accent pretty sexy and I wanted someone who needed a reason to spend the day with Ben and his family on the big day. So she obviously had to be far from home. This is when things started to spark and the story and characters came alive.
The female lead, Mhairi, comes into the story and at first seems just about perfect, but obviously this is never the case. Also I think it would be hard to sell a love story with a loser main character falling in love with this amazing woman. She had to have her flaws and secrets too. And she does.
The main thing with A Notting Hill Christmas, is that I wanted it to be funny and heart-warming, but also honest and real. Just because it's a Christmas story and a rom-com, it doesn't have to be this overly sweet, fluffy, sort of fairytale. It's a bit dark in places, the characters are deeply flawed, and it's probably not the Christmas day you'd want to go to (£1 shop Christmas tree and decorations stuck on with Blu-Tack), but amongst all the carnage and drama, there is a really sweet, funny love story that will hopefully make you laugh and cry.
A Notting Hill Christmas is out on December 7th and it's only 99p! You can pre-order it here or just click on the cover below! I'll be back with more blogs soon!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
November 5, 2015
SUNDAY DINNERS - THE REUNION SPECIAL
Hello,
if you watch any of those awful shows on television like The Annoying Housewives of Wherever, or Sixteen, In a Trailer Park and Pregnant, you'll know that they're awful and the people on them are equally as awful. You'll also know that at the end of the season they have a special show where they all get together and talk. Actually they just shout and cry. It's horrible, obviously. So why am I talking about this? Because I was in bed last night thinking about SUNDAY DINNERS and it occurred to me that publishing a book is a bit like the reunion episodes they have on those terrible reality shows. I'm losing you, aren't I? Let me explain.
When you publish a book the anxiety is awful. It's as bad as a teenage relationship. Do they like me? What if they don't like me? I bet they don't like me. After a week, SUNDAY DINNERS has 15 lovely, wonderful reviews, but I'm still worried, nervous, and fretting over it's success. I've likened it before to watching a child go off into the world. Every day I watch as my 6 year old daughter goes to school, we kiss, hug, wave goodbye and I watch her walk away and I'm thinking, please have a great day, I hope people are nice to her and like her. It's the same with watching my book make it's way in the world. I hope people are nice to it and like it.
So back to the awful reality show reunion episodes. What's that got to do with publishing a book? Well, when you publish a book you go through the drama, the tears (the regular episodes of the show) and then eventually when it's all done, when the books out, all the marketing and interviews are done, you reach a point when you sit down and think about the whole process. Admittedly, there's much less shouting and crying at my reunion show, but the idea is the same. It's about a final goodbye. Because that's it now. SUNDAY DINNERS is done. There's nothing more I can do. It's time for the reunion show and then it's time to move on.
It's always bittersweet moving on. I'm super excited to start a new project, but sad to say goodbye to something I've spent the last year and a half working on. To the characters I've grown to love. It's why I need the reunion show. I need one last moment to really go over everything before I'm done. One last chance to get everything out in the open so we can all move on. Although from what I've seen of those reality shows, those characters never move on. They're happy to keep arguing and shouting and crying forever. Lucky writers aren't like that.
SUNDAY DINNERS JUST 99P!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
if you watch any of those awful shows on television like The Annoying Housewives of Wherever, or Sixteen, In a Trailer Park and Pregnant, you'll know that they're awful and the people on them are equally as awful. You'll also know that at the end of the season they have a special show where they all get together and talk. Actually they just shout and cry. It's horrible, obviously. So why am I talking about this? Because I was in bed last night thinking about SUNDAY DINNERS and it occurred to me that publishing a book is a bit like the reunion episodes they have on those terrible reality shows. I'm losing you, aren't I? Let me explain.
When you publish a book the anxiety is awful. It's as bad as a teenage relationship. Do they like me? What if they don't like me? I bet they don't like me. After a week, SUNDAY DINNERS has 15 lovely, wonderful reviews, but I'm still worried, nervous, and fretting over it's success. I've likened it before to watching a child go off into the world. Every day I watch as my 6 year old daughter goes to school, we kiss, hug, wave goodbye and I watch her walk away and I'm thinking, please have a great day, I hope people are nice to her and like her. It's the same with watching my book make it's way in the world. I hope people are nice to it and like it.
So back to the awful reality show reunion episodes. What's that got to do with publishing a book? Well, when you publish a book you go through the drama, the tears (the regular episodes of the show) and then eventually when it's all done, when the books out, all the marketing and interviews are done, you reach a point when you sit down and think about the whole process. Admittedly, there's much less shouting and crying at my reunion show, but the idea is the same. It's about a final goodbye. Because that's it now. SUNDAY DINNERS is done. There's nothing more I can do. It's time for the reunion show and then it's time to move on.
It's always bittersweet moving on. I'm super excited to start a new project, but sad to say goodbye to something I've spent the last year and a half working on. To the characters I've grown to love. It's why I need the reunion show. I need one last moment to really go over everything before I'm done. One last chance to get everything out in the open so we can all move on. Although from what I've seen of those reality shows, those characters never move on. They're happy to keep arguing and shouting and crying forever. Lucky writers aren't like that.
SUNDAY DINNERS JUST 99P!Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
November 1, 2015
KATY REGAN
Hello,
If you've been following my SUNDAY DINNERS extravaganza all week on Bookaholic Confessions, you will have seen blogs by Matt Dunn, Christina Hopkinson, and Nick Spalding to name a few. If you missed any, pop on over to Bookaholic Confession and check them out. Today I have the last one and it's with wonderful bestselling author Katy Regan. Katy is the author of How We Met, The One Before the One, One Thing Led to Another, and The Story of Us. You can buy her books here. Today she talks about what the Sunday roast means to her.
Sunday Dinners can never be eaten or held in summer. (That’s just an evening meal on a Sunday). It has to be autumn or winter. It has to be chilly outside, and preferably dark when you eat. This is because Sunday Dinners for me are about retreating from the world and any obligations - to the centre of the home and the family. They’re about closing the door and being with your nearest and dearest.
There will be a roast, naturally, and as many different vegetables as possible (this is very important). The main aim of a Sunday dinner, however, is to eat as much as humanly possible - together with a few glasses of red - so that you are then comatosed / numb to the looming pressures of Sunday and are capable of nothing else but watching mindless telly. Doc Martin is perfect.
Of course, Sunday Dinners aren't and weren't, always so cosy. When I was a child, there were fights over who had the chicken leg (come to think of it, my son - very much a leg man - and I, still fight over this), and vicious glares across the table at my little sister, for no reason other than she was my little sister. There would then possibly be fights over homework, but for that hour or two, it was just me and my Sunday Dinner. Oh, and there had to be crumble…
Thank you Katy for sharing your Sunday roast dinner with us. It's made me hungry!
If this has got you in the mood for something tasty, SUNDAY DINNERS is only 99p on the Kindle, so please pop on over and grab your copy today!
Until next time.
Hugs,Jon X
If you've been following my SUNDAY DINNERS extravaganza all week on Bookaholic Confessions, you will have seen blogs by Matt Dunn, Christina Hopkinson, and Nick Spalding to name a few. If you missed any, pop on over to Bookaholic Confession and check them out. Today I have the last one and it's with wonderful bestselling author Katy Regan. Katy is the author of How We Met, The One Before the One, One Thing Led to Another, and The Story of Us. You can buy her books here. Today she talks about what the Sunday roast means to her.
Sunday Dinners can never be eaten or held in summer. (That’s just an evening meal on a Sunday). It has to be autumn or winter. It has to be chilly outside, and preferably dark when you eat. This is because Sunday Dinners for me are about retreating from the world and any obligations - to the centre of the home and the family. They’re about closing the door and being with your nearest and dearest.
There will be a roast, naturally, and as many different vegetables as possible (this is very important). The main aim of a Sunday dinner, however, is to eat as much as humanly possible - together with a few glasses of red - so that you are then comatosed / numb to the looming pressures of Sunday and are capable of nothing else but watching mindless telly. Doc Martin is perfect.
Of course, Sunday Dinners aren't and weren't, always so cosy. When I was a child, there were fights over who had the chicken leg (come to think of it, my son - very much a leg man - and I, still fight over this), and vicious glares across the table at my little sister, for no reason other than she was my little sister. There would then possibly be fights over homework, but for that hour or two, it was just me and my Sunday Dinner. Oh, and there had to be crumble…
Thank you Katy for sharing your Sunday roast dinner with us. It's made me hungry!
If this has got you in the mood for something tasty, SUNDAY DINNERS is only 99p on the Kindle, so please pop on over and grab your copy today!
Until next time.
Hugs,Jon X
What Sunday roast dinners mean to Katy Regan
Hello,
If you've been following my SUNDAY DINNERS extravaganza all week on Bookaholic Confessions, you will have seen blogs by Matt Dunn, Christina Hopkinson, and Nick Spalding to name a few. If you missed any, pop on over to Bookaholic Confession and check them out. Today I have the last one and it's with wonderful bestselling author Katy Regan. Katy is the author of How We Met, The One Before the One, One Thing Led to Another, and The Story of Us. You can buy her books here. Today she talks about what the Sunday roast means to her.
Sunday Dinners can never be eaten or held in summer. (That’s just an evening meal on a Sunday). It has to be autumn or winter. It has to be chilly outside, and preferably dark when you eat. This is because Sunday Dinners for me are about retreating from the world and any obligations - to the centre of the home and the family. They’re about closing the door and being with your nearest and dearest.
There will be a roast, naturally, and as many different vegetables as possible (this is very important). The main aim of a Sunday dinner, however, is to eat as much as humanly possible - together with a few glasses of red - so that you are then comatosed / numb to the looming pressures of Sunday and are capable of nothing else but watching mindless telly. Doc Martin is perfect.
Of course, Sunday Dinners aren't and weren't, always so cosy. When I was a child, there were fights over who had the chicken leg (come to think of it, my son - very much a leg man - and I, still fight over this), and vicious glares across the table at my little sister, for no reason other than she was my little sister. There would then possibly be fights over homework, but for that hour or two, it was just me and my Sunday Dinner. Oh, and there had to be crumble…
Thank you Katy for sharing your Sunday roast dinner with us. It's made me hungry!
If this has got you in the mood for something tasty, SUNDAY DINNERS is only 99p on the Kindle, so please pop on over and grab your copy today!
Until next time.
Hugs,Jon X
If you've been following my SUNDAY DINNERS extravaganza all week on Bookaholic Confessions, you will have seen blogs by Matt Dunn, Christina Hopkinson, and Nick Spalding to name a few. If you missed any, pop on over to Bookaholic Confession and check them out. Today I have the last one and it's with wonderful bestselling author Katy Regan. Katy is the author of How We Met, The One Before the One, One Thing Led to Another, and The Story of Us. You can buy her books here. Today she talks about what the Sunday roast means to her.
Sunday Dinners can never be eaten or held in summer. (That’s just an evening meal on a Sunday). It has to be autumn or winter. It has to be chilly outside, and preferably dark when you eat. This is because Sunday Dinners for me are about retreating from the world and any obligations - to the centre of the home and the family. They’re about closing the door and being with your nearest and dearest.
There will be a roast, naturally, and as many different vegetables as possible (this is very important). The main aim of a Sunday dinner, however, is to eat as much as humanly possible - together with a few glasses of red - so that you are then comatosed / numb to the looming pressures of Sunday and are capable of nothing else but watching mindless telly. Doc Martin is perfect.
Of course, Sunday Dinners aren't and weren't, always so cosy. When I was a child, there were fights over who had the chicken leg (come to think of it, my son - very much a leg man - and I, still fight over this), and vicious glares across the table at my little sister, for no reason other than she was my little sister. There would then possibly be fights over homework, but for that hour or two, it was just me and my Sunday Dinner. Oh, and there had to be crumble…
Thank you Katy for sharing your Sunday roast dinner with us. It's made me hungry!
If this has got you in the mood for something tasty, SUNDAY DINNERS is only 99p on the Kindle, so please pop on over and grab your copy today!
Until next time.
Hugs,Jon X
October 27, 2015
SUNDAY DINNERS - HOW IT'S GOING SO FAR!
Hello,
So it happened. Sunday Dinners was released yesterday. I had an amazing publication day. So many writers, bloggers, friends, and fans wrote, tweeted, and helped support me. It was a really lovely day and it reminded me once again how wonderful the writing community is. It also reminded how much I love doing what I do. I'm truly lucky to write books for a living.
There is, of course, the other side of things - the very real threat of post publishing day blues. No matter how many books you've written or had published, when those first reviews start coming in it's a terrifying time. The idea that the book you love, spent the last year working, is going out in the world for people to possibly bash is nothing short of horrible. I must have refreshed Amazon about fifty times yesterday and slowly the reviews came in. Luckily, they have all been wonderful. People seem to really love the book so far. The relief is like finishing work the last time before a two week holiday. The weight of pressure is temporarily lifted.
Of course there will be bad reviews down the line. That's par for the course for writers. Some people will really hate what you've done, and that's OK, but at the moment I'm on cloud nine. I know cloud eight, seven, six, five, two and one aren't far away, but it's nice to enjoy these moments when they come along. Sunday Dinners is creeping up the charts (713 at the moment!) and hopefully like my first novel, This Thirtysomething Life, it will keep going and reach the top ten - that's always the dream. But whatever happens, this is all part of the ride. It's ups and downs, massive highs followed by awfully depressing lows. But I wouldn't do anything else.
So if you haven't bought Sunday Dinners yet, please pop over to Amazon and give it a go. Maybe you can help keep this author on cloud nine for just a little bit longer.
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
So it happened. Sunday Dinners was released yesterday. I had an amazing publication day. So many writers, bloggers, friends, and fans wrote, tweeted, and helped support me. It was a really lovely day and it reminded me once again how wonderful the writing community is. It also reminded how much I love doing what I do. I'm truly lucky to write books for a living.
There is, of course, the other side of things - the very real threat of post publishing day blues. No matter how many books you've written or had published, when those first reviews start coming in it's a terrifying time. The idea that the book you love, spent the last year working, is going out in the world for people to possibly bash is nothing short of horrible. I must have refreshed Amazon about fifty times yesterday and slowly the reviews came in. Luckily, they have all been wonderful. People seem to really love the book so far. The relief is like finishing work the last time before a two week holiday. The weight of pressure is temporarily lifted.
Of course there will be bad reviews down the line. That's par for the course for writers. Some people will really hate what you've done, and that's OK, but at the moment I'm on cloud nine. I know cloud eight, seven, six, five, two and one aren't far away, but it's nice to enjoy these moments when they come along. Sunday Dinners is creeping up the charts (713 at the moment!) and hopefully like my first novel, This Thirtysomething Life, it will keep going and reach the top ten - that's always the dream. But whatever happens, this is all part of the ride. It's ups and downs, massive highs followed by awfully depressing lows. But I wouldn't do anything else.
So if you haven't bought Sunday Dinners yet, please pop over to Amazon and give it a go. Maybe you can help keep this author on cloud nine for just a little bit longer.
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
October 25, 2015
PUBLICATION DAY!
Hello,
It's a very happy publication day to me! It feels like so long since I've had a publication day - and this is the first of two in the next couple of months. My Christmas novella will be out on December 7th!
I could write a whole blog about this, but instead I'm going to keep this nice and simple. Please go out and buy SUNDAY DINNERS, it's only 99p and it's a book I'm really proud of.
Secondly, as an added treat, THIS FAMILY LIFE, is FREE for the next 3 days, so if you haven't read that please go and get it for nothing!
And lastly, my Christmas novella is available for pre-order for just 99p too! So pop on over to Amazon and get a hat-trick of my books!
That's it. A whopping thank you to everyone that's helped me, supported me, bought my books, and helped me make this possible.
BUY NOW FOR 99p!
PRE-ORDER NOW FOR 99p!
FREE FOR THE NEXT 3 DAYS!
Until next time.
Cheers,Jon X
It's a very happy publication day to me! It feels like so long since I've had a publication day - and this is the first of two in the next couple of months. My Christmas novella will be out on December 7th!
I could write a whole blog about this, but instead I'm going to keep this nice and simple. Please go out and buy SUNDAY DINNERS, it's only 99p and it's a book I'm really proud of.
Secondly, as an added treat, THIS FAMILY LIFE, is FREE for the next 3 days, so if you haven't read that please go and get it for nothing!
And lastly, my Christmas novella is available for pre-order for just 99p too! So pop on over to Amazon and get a hat-trick of my books!
That's it. A whopping thank you to everyone that's helped me, supported me, bought my books, and helped me make this possible.
BUY NOW FOR 99p!
PRE-ORDER NOW FOR 99p!
FREE FOR THE NEXT 3 DAYS!
Until next time.
Cheers,Jon X
