Jon Rance's Blog, page 3
October 20, 2015
A NOTTING HILL CHRISTMAS
Hello,
I'm very proud to announce that my Christmas novella with be available to pre-order tomorrow (October 21st) and will be released on December 7th! It's a really fun, funny, romantic comedy set in Notting Hill and like my new novel, Sunday Dinners, it's only going to be 99p! Anyway, without further waffle from me, here is the cover and synopsis.
A laugh-out-loud, festive, romantic comedy novella from Jon Rance, the bestselling author of This Thirtysomething Life, Happy Endings, and Sunday Dinners.
One family. A tiny flat in Notting Hill. A beautiful new neighbour. A very angry dog. A horny Welshman. An enormous turkey. On the biggest day of the year. What could possibly go wrong?
It’s Christmas Day and twenty-nine year old Ben Canterbury is on a mission. He’s going to show his parents that he’s a proper grown-up just like his older and more successful brother, Jamie. The problem is, Ben doesn't really have the flat for so many people (and one very angry lapdog), the Christmas tree’s from the Pound Shop, the decorations are hung with blue-tack, and the turkey might not fit in the oven.
But when beautiful new neighbour, Mhairi McGregor, suddenly appears at his door, Ben’s Christmas worries go out of the window and he begins to wonder if it might not be the worst Christmas in history after all. A Notting Hill Christmas, is a laugh-out-loud, festive novella perfect for fans of romantic comedies like Love Actually and Notting Hill.
I'll be back soon with more info about this book and also my new novel Sunday Dinners, which you can pre-order for 99p right here!
Until next time.
Hugs,Jon X
I'm very proud to announce that my Christmas novella with be available to pre-order tomorrow (October 21st) and will be released on December 7th! It's a really fun, funny, romantic comedy set in Notting Hill and like my new novel, Sunday Dinners, it's only going to be 99p! Anyway, without further waffle from me, here is the cover and synopsis.
A laugh-out-loud, festive, romantic comedy novella from Jon Rance, the bestselling author of This Thirtysomething Life, Happy Endings, and Sunday Dinners.
One family. A tiny flat in Notting Hill. A beautiful new neighbour. A very angry dog. A horny Welshman. An enormous turkey. On the biggest day of the year. What could possibly go wrong?
It’s Christmas Day and twenty-nine year old Ben Canterbury is on a mission. He’s going to show his parents that he’s a proper grown-up just like his older and more successful brother, Jamie. The problem is, Ben doesn't really have the flat for so many people (and one very angry lapdog), the Christmas tree’s from the Pound Shop, the decorations are hung with blue-tack, and the turkey might not fit in the oven.
But when beautiful new neighbour, Mhairi McGregor, suddenly appears at his door, Ben’s Christmas worries go out of the window and he begins to wonder if it might not be the worst Christmas in history after all. A Notting Hill Christmas, is a laugh-out-loud, festive novella perfect for fans of romantic comedies like Love Actually and Notting Hill.
I'll be back soon with more info about this book and also my new novel Sunday Dinners, which you can pre-order for 99p right here!
Until next time.
Hugs,Jon X
October 18, 2015
Introducing SUNDAY DINNERS
Hello,
With only a week until the release of my new novel Sunday Dinners, I thought I'd take this opportunity to introduce the book to the world (OK, fine, the handful of people who read my blog). So here we go....it's time to meet the Wilde family!
Sunday Dinners is more than just a novel. It's a celebration of the great British roast dinner. The novel was inspired in part by an article I read online about the death of the Sunday roast dinner. I couldn't believe it and to be honest, it makes me sad to think that something I've always held so dear and have such affection for is dying out. I don't know if it actually is or not, but it inspired the novel.
In the book we have six main characters. There's Greg Wilde, 54, a university lecturer, and the father of the family. Lizzy Wilde, 53, the mother and frustrated housewife. Lucy, 27, the eldest child and successful BBC script editor with a secret. Matt, 24, lazy, unambitious and broken hearted, and Holly, 18, sexually confused and about to head off to university. There's also Joan, Greg's mother, who lives in a home and is on her last legs. The book starts in 1999 when the children are small and the family is happy. It's fun, vibrant, and chaotic. It's what Sunday roasts are like with three young children. However, we jump forward thirteen years and the children are all about to move out or move on, and it's the end of an era. The Sunday roasts are coming to an end and Greg and Lizzy's marriage is facing a very uncertain future.
The theme of things coming to an end and moving on, is used throughout the book, and the Sunday roast as the thing that's keeping them all together. Because to me the weekly (or monthly in the case of the book) roast dinner is the time when family comes together. During the rest of the week, our lives are so fragmented, but for a few hours everyone gets together over roast beef, Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, and gravy, and it's as though you're a family again. It's like Christmas day every Sunday. A quote I found when I started writing the book was, "Life is a balance of holding on and letting go" and it's this theme that creates the tension and drama in the book.
Writing the book was also a delicate balance of comedy and drama because when you get family together there's always laughter as well as tears. A lot of the comedy comes from the sibling rivalry between the children and also the reality of Joan realising that she's going to be dead soon. It's comedy grounded firmly in reality. I took a lot of influence from the TV show Outnumbered for this. I love that show because it shows family life exactly as it is and it's really funny and that's something I tried to do in the book. Most of the drama comes from Greg and Lizzy's marriage, which is in turmoil. Greg doesn't realise how unhappy Lizzy is until it's too late, and Lizzy is tired her life and needs something to change. It's the biggest storyline in the book and in a way it holds everything together - it's the backbone of the novel.
The last theme of the book I want to talk about is the idea of appearance. In many ways the Wilde family are the archetypal middle class family. They seem from the outside to have this perfect life, but once we're on the inside we realise how many problems each character has. Throughout the book, Greg is desperately trying to cling onto the Sunday roasts, because he believes it will save his family and his marriage. But as in real life, things change and move on, and Greg comes to the realisation that the perfect family and marriage he always wanted doesn't really exist and accepting the imperfections in everything is what makes it work.
Set around the table at their monthly roast dinners and set over 16 years of a family life, the Wilde family will have you laughing, crying, and nodding in recognition because to me they're just like all of us. They're a real family with histories, secrets, rivalries, and problems. But they love each other and stand by each other and when it comes to Sundays, they want nothing more than to be sitting down with each other at the dinner table. This is a very British book that's equally as funny as it is dramatic and at it's core is parenthood, marriage, love, life and roast dinners.
You can pre-order your copy of Sunday Dinner for just 99p right here!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
With only a week until the release of my new novel Sunday Dinners, I thought I'd take this opportunity to introduce the book to the world (OK, fine, the handful of people who read my blog). So here we go....it's time to meet the Wilde family!
Sunday Dinners is more than just a novel. It's a celebration of the great British roast dinner. The novel was inspired in part by an article I read online about the death of the Sunday roast dinner. I couldn't believe it and to be honest, it makes me sad to think that something I've always held so dear and have such affection for is dying out. I don't know if it actually is or not, but it inspired the novel.
In the book we have six main characters. There's Greg Wilde, 54, a university lecturer, and the father of the family. Lizzy Wilde, 53, the mother and frustrated housewife. Lucy, 27, the eldest child and successful BBC script editor with a secret. Matt, 24, lazy, unambitious and broken hearted, and Holly, 18, sexually confused and about to head off to university. There's also Joan, Greg's mother, who lives in a home and is on her last legs. The book starts in 1999 when the children are small and the family is happy. It's fun, vibrant, and chaotic. It's what Sunday roasts are like with three young children. However, we jump forward thirteen years and the children are all about to move out or move on, and it's the end of an era. The Sunday roasts are coming to an end and Greg and Lizzy's marriage is facing a very uncertain future.
The theme of things coming to an end and moving on, is used throughout the book, and the Sunday roast as the thing that's keeping them all together. Because to me the weekly (or monthly in the case of the book) roast dinner is the time when family comes together. During the rest of the week, our lives are so fragmented, but for a few hours everyone gets together over roast beef, Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, and gravy, and it's as though you're a family again. It's like Christmas day every Sunday. A quote I found when I started writing the book was, "Life is a balance of holding on and letting go" and it's this theme that creates the tension and drama in the book.
Writing the book was also a delicate balance of comedy and drama because when you get family together there's always laughter as well as tears. A lot of the comedy comes from the sibling rivalry between the children and also the reality of Joan realising that she's going to be dead soon. It's comedy grounded firmly in reality. I took a lot of influence from the TV show Outnumbered for this. I love that show because it shows family life exactly as it is and it's really funny and that's something I tried to do in the book. Most of the drama comes from Greg and Lizzy's marriage, which is in turmoil. Greg doesn't realise how unhappy Lizzy is until it's too late, and Lizzy is tired her life and needs something to change. It's the biggest storyline in the book and in a way it holds everything together - it's the backbone of the novel.
The last theme of the book I want to talk about is the idea of appearance. In many ways the Wilde family are the archetypal middle class family. They seem from the outside to have this perfect life, but once we're on the inside we realise how many problems each character has. Throughout the book, Greg is desperately trying to cling onto the Sunday roasts, because he believes it will save his family and his marriage. But as in real life, things change and move on, and Greg comes to the realisation that the perfect family and marriage he always wanted doesn't really exist and accepting the imperfections in everything is what makes it work.
Set around the table at their monthly roast dinners and set over 16 years of a family life, the Wilde family will have you laughing, crying, and nodding in recognition because to me they're just like all of us. They're a real family with histories, secrets, rivalries, and problems. But they love each other and stand by each other and when it comes to Sundays, they want nothing more than to be sitting down with each other at the dinner table. This is a very British book that's equally as funny as it is dramatic and at it's core is parenthood, marriage, love, life and roast dinners.
You can pre-order your copy of Sunday Dinner for just 99p right here!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
October 17, 2015
Why Sunday Dinners is 99p
Hello,
My new novel Sunday Dinners is out in just over a week and I'm very excited about it. A month or so ago I was thinking about the book and how much to charge for it and that's when I decided to go for 99p. There's a lot of debate about book prices and how much we should charge for our books. Obviously 99p is very cheap for something that's taken me over a year to write, but for me it's about getting the book read.
When I released my very first novel, This Thirtysomething Life, I only charged 99p because it was my first book and I just wanted someone to read it. Anyone (other than my family). I had no readers and so I was battling against thousands of other books all trying to get an audience. This Thirtysomething Life eventually sold about 55,000 copies and currently has 620 reviews on Amazon. One thing I realised during this period was how much I loved so many people reading and reviewing my work.
My next novel, Happy Endings, published by Hodder and Stoughton, didn't do so well and it was a book I genuinely loved. There's nothing so frustrating as an author than having a book out that you've spent a long time writing and no-one's reading it. So when it came to Sunday Dinners, I decided that above everything else, I wanted this book to be read. It's a book I've worked really hard on and a book I love. So by making it so cheap I hope that people will give it a punt because I know it's worth it. Sunday Dinners is officially out on October 26th, but you can pre-order it now right here.
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
My new novel Sunday Dinners is out in just over a week and I'm very excited about it. A month or so ago I was thinking about the book and how much to charge for it and that's when I decided to go for 99p. There's a lot of debate about book prices and how much we should charge for our books. Obviously 99p is very cheap for something that's taken me over a year to write, but for me it's about getting the book read.
When I released my very first novel, This Thirtysomething Life, I only charged 99p because it was my first book and I just wanted someone to read it. Anyone (other than my family). I had no readers and so I was battling against thousands of other books all trying to get an audience. This Thirtysomething Life eventually sold about 55,000 copies and currently has 620 reviews on Amazon. One thing I realised during this period was how much I loved so many people reading and reviewing my work.
My next novel, Happy Endings, published by Hodder and Stoughton, didn't do so well and it was a book I genuinely loved. There's nothing so frustrating as an author than having a book out that you've spent a long time writing and no-one's reading it. So when it came to Sunday Dinners, I decided that above everything else, I wanted this book to be read. It's a book I've worked really hard on and a book I love. So by making it so cheap I hope that people will give it a punt because I know it's worth it. Sunday Dinners is officially out on October 26th, but you can pre-order it now right here.
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
October 10, 2015
Self-pub to Trad-pub and back again
Hello,
As writer's we're often writing blogs about good news. I have a book deal, I just sold the film rights to my novel, I got an agent, etc. I've done a few of those posts myself (not the film rights unfortunately). The truth of matter is though, we often have more downs than ups as writers. The path to success is literally littered (or fly-tipped) with failure.
My "journey" started in 2011. OK, it started long before that but it gets interesting in 2011 because my first novel, This Thirtysomething Life, does the impossible and gets into the Kindle top ten charts - number 7 actually. This is a miracle because A: it's self-published and to sell that many books on your own against the might of the professional publishing machine is a huge achievement. B: I literally had no idea what I was doing. C: Unlike a lot of other savvy authors, I didn't do much marketing, self-promotion and left it all down to chance. Basically I got bloody lucky.
However, on the back of this success, I got the call from a major publishing house in London, and was soon signing a two book deal. They had approached me. To put this in perspective, I had spent the previous five years sending out books to a chorus of resounding NO's. And yet here was a major player asking me. It was surreal. I soon had an agent and I honestly thought that was it - I'd made it! I was a published author with an agent, surely it was only a matter of time before I was rich and famous - the next J.K Rowling! Right.
I think this is one of the biggest misconceptions about writing. I even thought it myself. Whenever I told people about my publishing deal, they seemed to assume that I was suddenly rich. Yes I made some money, but it was hardly a fortune. I definitely wasn't rich. The other assumption that I was destined for a successful career in writing, also lost it's spark fairly quickly. Again I believed it myself, but the truth is a publishing deal or an agent is no guarantee of success. In fact, in the current publishing climate, only a handful of writers (and celebrities) can guarantee anything like success - as I've been told many times.
My second novel, Happy Endings, came out and passed the world by if I'm honest. It's one of the difficult things about publishing. You imagine that when you get a book deal, the publisher will go all out, produce a huge marketing campaign, and you'll sell thousands of copies all over the world. The reality for me was that there was no marketing campaign. I did it all myself. I had some support, but it wasn't enough to stop the book from flopping quite badly. This was hard for me because I worked really hard on that book and I actually think it's a really good. It just didn't find an audience.
I'm not writing this to complain or whinge about the publishing world because I learnt so much, made some incredible contacts, and the people were all lovely. It was definitely an experience I loved from start to finish. What I'd like to tell young writers trying to make it, is that it isn't everything. You don't have to get an agent. You don't have to get a publishing deal. If you can, you should because you'll learn so much and gain so much experience, but it isn't everything the way it used to be. Now you can self-publish, market yourself on social media, and be whatever you want to be all on your own - as so many wonderful people are doing so brilliantly.
I'm back self-publishing again now and I'm very happy that I am - at least for the moment. The beauty of working on my own again is that I can work at my own pace. Traditional publishing is very slow. I have a new novel coming out in a few weeks and also a Christmas Novella in December. If these were being traditionally published, the novel wouldn't be out until the Spring and I would have had to have finished the novella about six months ago. Self-publishing gives writers the chance to get our work out faster and to create more. One thing I did learn from my time working with wonderful editors and professionals is the importance of quality, and I'm not letting that suffer. I still work with a brilliant editor and make sure everything I put out is top quality. Self-published or not, everything has to be perfect.
So what have I learnt over the last four years? There's so many ways to be a successful novelist. I know authors who are doing very well on their own and those with the backing of huge publishing houses. Having an agent helps, but it still doesn't mean you're guaranteed a book deal or even if you do get one, you might not do very well. The most important thing is the quality of the work you put out and also that the work you do is everything you want it to be. You have to write what you want to write to the very best of your ability because I know this - even the best agents and publishers don't have a clue what's going to be the next bestseller. It could be you.
I'll save the last paragraph for the thing that's really changed my outlook on writing the most. If you've written a novel and no matter who you are or how good you think it is, it will be better after a good editor has worked on it. My first experience of working with an editor completely changed me. She took the book in directions I hadn't even seen, found mistakes, repeated words, and helped me develop the characters and plot more than I could ever have done on my own. You need to have an editor you trust and work well with. I have one now and it's a relationship every author has to have. You can do well without a publisher, an agent, but you'll never be as good as you can be without a brilliant editor.
One last thing before I sign off. I love writing. It's in me and I can't help but do it. However, being an author is so much more than writing books. It's about promotion and becoming a social media expert and if you aren't prepared to put all the work in then you aren't going to make it. I don't enjoy the interviews and planning marketing campaigns as much as I do writing, but I know it's a huge part of what being a modern author is. With so many more authors out there than ever before, getting your book read (no matter how good it is) is the hardest part and if no-one knows who you are, it's even harder.
So that's it. It's been an incredible journey and I'm still writing and still loving it. So for all the aspiring authors out there, never give up, be creative, and get your work out there. It needs to be read because you'll never get better without criticism and experience. Best of British luck to you all.
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
Ps: I want to add that without the kind support of so many wonderful authors, I definitely wouldn't still be doing what I'm doing. The author community is a wonderful thing and I love you all.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
As writer's we're often writing blogs about good news. I have a book deal, I just sold the film rights to my novel, I got an agent, etc. I've done a few of those posts myself (not the film rights unfortunately). The truth of matter is though, we often have more downs than ups as writers. The path to success is literally littered (or fly-tipped) with failure.
My "journey" started in 2011. OK, it started long before that but it gets interesting in 2011 because my first novel, This Thirtysomething Life, does the impossible and gets into the Kindle top ten charts - number 7 actually. This is a miracle because A: it's self-published and to sell that many books on your own against the might of the professional publishing machine is a huge achievement. B: I literally had no idea what I was doing. C: Unlike a lot of other savvy authors, I didn't do much marketing, self-promotion and left it all down to chance. Basically I got bloody lucky.
However, on the back of this success, I got the call from a major publishing house in London, and was soon signing a two book deal. They had approached me. To put this in perspective, I had spent the previous five years sending out books to a chorus of resounding NO's. And yet here was a major player asking me. It was surreal. I soon had an agent and I honestly thought that was it - I'd made it! I was a published author with an agent, surely it was only a matter of time before I was rich and famous - the next J.K Rowling! Right.
I think this is one of the biggest misconceptions about writing. I even thought it myself. Whenever I told people about my publishing deal, they seemed to assume that I was suddenly rich. Yes I made some money, but it was hardly a fortune. I definitely wasn't rich. The other assumption that I was destined for a successful career in writing, also lost it's spark fairly quickly. Again I believed it myself, but the truth is a publishing deal or an agent is no guarantee of success. In fact, in the current publishing climate, only a handful of writers (and celebrities) can guarantee anything like success - as I've been told many times.
My second novel, Happy Endings, came out and passed the world by if I'm honest. It's one of the difficult things about publishing. You imagine that when you get a book deal, the publisher will go all out, produce a huge marketing campaign, and you'll sell thousands of copies all over the world. The reality for me was that there was no marketing campaign. I did it all myself. I had some support, but it wasn't enough to stop the book from flopping quite badly. This was hard for me because I worked really hard on that book and I actually think it's a really good. It just didn't find an audience.
I'm not writing this to complain or whinge about the publishing world because I learnt so much, made some incredible contacts, and the people were all lovely. It was definitely an experience I loved from start to finish. What I'd like to tell young writers trying to make it, is that it isn't everything. You don't have to get an agent. You don't have to get a publishing deal. If you can, you should because you'll learn so much and gain so much experience, but it isn't everything the way it used to be. Now you can self-publish, market yourself on social media, and be whatever you want to be all on your own - as so many wonderful people are doing so brilliantly.
I'm back self-publishing again now and I'm very happy that I am - at least for the moment. The beauty of working on my own again is that I can work at my own pace. Traditional publishing is very slow. I have a new novel coming out in a few weeks and also a Christmas Novella in December. If these were being traditionally published, the novel wouldn't be out until the Spring and I would have had to have finished the novella about six months ago. Self-publishing gives writers the chance to get our work out faster and to create more. One thing I did learn from my time working with wonderful editors and professionals is the importance of quality, and I'm not letting that suffer. I still work with a brilliant editor and make sure everything I put out is top quality. Self-published or not, everything has to be perfect.
So what have I learnt over the last four years? There's so many ways to be a successful novelist. I know authors who are doing very well on their own and those with the backing of huge publishing houses. Having an agent helps, but it still doesn't mean you're guaranteed a book deal or even if you do get one, you might not do very well. The most important thing is the quality of the work you put out and also that the work you do is everything you want it to be. You have to write what you want to write to the very best of your ability because I know this - even the best agents and publishers don't have a clue what's going to be the next bestseller. It could be you.
I'll save the last paragraph for the thing that's really changed my outlook on writing the most. If you've written a novel and no matter who you are or how good you think it is, it will be better after a good editor has worked on it. My first experience of working with an editor completely changed me. She took the book in directions I hadn't even seen, found mistakes, repeated words, and helped me develop the characters and plot more than I could ever have done on my own. You need to have an editor you trust and work well with. I have one now and it's a relationship every author has to have. You can do well without a publisher, an agent, but you'll never be as good as you can be without a brilliant editor.
One last thing before I sign off. I love writing. It's in me and I can't help but do it. However, being an author is so much more than writing books. It's about promotion and becoming a social media expert and if you aren't prepared to put all the work in then you aren't going to make it. I don't enjoy the interviews and planning marketing campaigns as much as I do writing, but I know it's a huge part of what being a modern author is. With so many more authors out there than ever before, getting your book read (no matter how good it is) is the hardest part and if no-one knows who you are, it's even harder.
So that's it. It's been an incredible journey and I'm still writing and still loving it. So for all the aspiring authors out there, never give up, be creative, and get your work out there. It needs to be read because you'll never get better without criticism and experience. Best of British luck to you all.
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
Ps: I want to add that without the kind support of so many wonderful authors, I definitely wouldn't still be doing what I'm doing. The author community is a wonderful thing and I love you all.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
October 8, 2015
Hello,Sunday Dinners is out in a few weeks and so I'm goi...
Hello,
Sunday Dinners is out in a few weeks and so I'm going to carry on with my series of short blogs about the book. Today I'm going to talk about tone. Yeah, I know, it sounds boring, but trust me it isn't (hopefully).
Tone is one of the first things I think about when I start writing a book. Tone is everything. Tone literally sets the tone - see I told you it wasn't boring - jokes already! When you watch a television show or a film, great work has gone into the tone of it. How it looks, the set, the characters, the colours, the music - everything adds to the tone. You probably don't even realise what's happened behind the scenes to make things look the way they do, and perhaps we shouldn't see it, but it makes a HUGE difference to the final product. When writing a novel, it's obviously harder than a visual art like television because we're only working with words, but you can still create so much tone and for Sunday Dinners, I knew tone was going to be crucial.
The first inspiration for Sunday Dinners was the novel, The Pile Of Stuff At The Bottom Of The Stairs, by the brilliant Christina Hopkinson. It's a novel I really love. It's funny, serious, set firmly in London suburbia, and about a husband and wife having all sorts of trouble. It shows us family life in all it's hilarious ridiculousness. I took a lot of inspiration from this novel and especially the little details about marriage and parenthood. Another book that inspired me was the wonderful, Us, by David Nicholls. Us is the sort of book that is right on the line between humour and drama. I was also inspired by the television show, Outnumbered, because it shows all the mundane day-to-day realities of family life and this is exactly what I wanted to do with Sunday Dinners.
I wanted Sunday Dinners to have elements of all of these. I wanted it to have the tension and humour of The Pile Of Stuff At The Bottom Of The Stairs. I wanted it to be as funny and dramatic (and well written!) as Us, and have all the gritty day-to-day reality of Outnumbered. If this novel was going to be a success, it had to have exactly the right tone. It's taken me about a year and a half to finish Sunday Dinners and the main reason is tone.
When I finished the first draft it was too mundane - not enough happened. It was more a series of ordinary suburban events and yes it was funny and I think the characters instantly jumped off the page, but as a novel it failed. I injected more drama, lost some jokes and it became too serious and so I started again - time after time. More jokes, less drama, more events, more emphasis on the marriage, more flashbacks etc. It became like a giant jigsaw puzzle and no matter how I put the pieces together, it never quite worked. The important thing was though, I knew it was there. I knew I could make it work and eventually the tone would find itself.
It took me a long time to get it just right. To balance humour and drama is by far the biggest challenge in writing - in my humble opinion. Whether I have got it right, I'll let you be the judge of that. I hope I have. It's been my biggest challenge yet as a writer, but hopefully the finished book will be worth the long wait and all the struggles to get it done.
SUNDAY DINNERS is out on October 26th. You can pre-order it here!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
Sunday Dinners is out in a few weeks and so I'm going to carry on with my series of short blogs about the book. Today I'm going to talk about tone. Yeah, I know, it sounds boring, but trust me it isn't (hopefully).
Tone is one of the first things I think about when I start writing a book. Tone is everything. Tone literally sets the tone - see I told you it wasn't boring - jokes already! When you watch a television show or a film, great work has gone into the tone of it. How it looks, the set, the characters, the colours, the music - everything adds to the tone. You probably don't even realise what's happened behind the scenes to make things look the way they do, and perhaps we shouldn't see it, but it makes a HUGE difference to the final product. When writing a novel, it's obviously harder than a visual art like television because we're only working with words, but you can still create so much tone and for Sunday Dinners, I knew tone was going to be crucial.
The first inspiration for Sunday Dinners was the novel, The Pile Of Stuff At The Bottom Of The Stairs, by the brilliant Christina Hopkinson. It's a novel I really love. It's funny, serious, set firmly in London suburbia, and about a husband and wife having all sorts of trouble. It shows us family life in all it's hilarious ridiculousness. I took a lot of inspiration from this novel and especially the little details about marriage and parenthood. Another book that inspired me was the wonderful, Us, by David Nicholls. Us is the sort of book that is right on the line between humour and drama. I was also inspired by the television show, Outnumbered, because it shows all the mundane day-to-day realities of family life and this is exactly what I wanted to do with Sunday Dinners.
I wanted Sunday Dinners to have elements of all of these. I wanted it to have the tension and humour of The Pile Of Stuff At The Bottom Of The Stairs. I wanted it to be as funny and dramatic (and well written!) as Us, and have all the gritty day-to-day reality of Outnumbered. If this novel was going to be a success, it had to have exactly the right tone. It's taken me about a year and a half to finish Sunday Dinners and the main reason is tone.
When I finished the first draft it was too mundane - not enough happened. It was more a series of ordinary suburban events and yes it was funny and I think the characters instantly jumped off the page, but as a novel it failed. I injected more drama, lost some jokes and it became too serious and so I started again - time after time. More jokes, less drama, more events, more emphasis on the marriage, more flashbacks etc. It became like a giant jigsaw puzzle and no matter how I put the pieces together, it never quite worked. The important thing was though, I knew it was there. I knew I could make it work and eventually the tone would find itself.
It took me a long time to get it just right. To balance humour and drama is by far the biggest challenge in writing - in my humble opinion. Whether I have got it right, I'll let you be the judge of that. I hope I have. It's been my biggest challenge yet as a writer, but hopefully the finished book will be worth the long wait and all the struggles to get it done.
SUNDAY DINNERS is out on October 26th. You can pre-order it here!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
October 1, 2015
SUNDAY DINNERS
Hello,
It's October and that means SUNDAY DINNERS is getting closer. It's due to be released on October 26th and you can pre-order it now right here! So with the book edging ever closer, I thought now would be a good time to write a little blog about it. Here goes.
The book came about because I wanted to write a story about a family from a unique point of view. My initial idea was to tell it over a period of time from multiple points of view, but it still needed a focal point. It lacked something to bring it all together. The idea was put away in my huge 'To Do' folder with all my other novel ideas until I read an article in the newspaper about the death of the Sunday roast. It said that the traditional Sunday roast was dying out as families became too busy and suddenly it all came together. A story about a family told from each of their monthly Sunday roast dinners. It brought together the idea of family and also one of the great British traditions and something I did growing up every week without fail. I love Sunday roasts and they mean so much to me, and it was obvious what the story needed to be about.
In the book, all the grown up children are on the verge of leaving home. Everything is changing in the Wilde family house, and it's that tension that makes the Sunday roast dinners so important. Greg, the father, is desperately trying to hold onto the past, while the rest of his family are trying to move forward and get away. It's old v new, tradition v evolution, and it's exactly what I thought about when I read the newspaper article. I love the traditions of Sunday roasts, but I also realise that as much as we want to hold onto the past, the world keeps moving forwards whether we like it or not - which is especially true when you have children who keep growing up!
The first character I really focused on was the father, Greg Wilde. Initially I thought about writing the book from his perspective because he really is the main character, but as I thought about it, I decided it would be better to have multiple viewpoints. I also wrote HAPPY ENDINGS from different character points of view and I really enjoyed it. I also think it gives us so much more as readers if done properly.
From the beginning Greg evolved quite quickly. Greg is fifty-four and married to Lizzy. They met at university and have pretty much the perfect middle-class life. They live in a nice house in Muswell Hill, north London. Greg is a university lecturer and Lizzy is a stay at home wife. They have three children: Lucy, Matt, and Holly. Greg is in some ways a great husband and father, but in many other ways he's completely useless. He has ideas about how life should be and doesn't understand why his family don't completely agree with him. He was happiest when his children were little, and his marriage was better, but as the children grow up and challenge him, and his marriage becomes more complicated and strained, Greg doesn't know how to handle it. And like a typical man, instead of talking about it he keeps it all in.
One of the aspects of the book I really enjoyed writing was Greg's relationship with his wife, Lizzy. It's obvious from the start of the book that their marriage is in crisis. I wanted though to make sure we realise that it wasn't always like that. They were happy, and like so many of us, they had big dreams. They met at university in the 80's and were going to be different from their parents. They were going to change the world, but as so often happens, instead of changing the world, the world changed them. In many ways, Greg and Lizzy's marriage is the centre of the book and it drives everything else forward. I think the problems, and the arguments they have, a lot of people will be able to relate to and understand. There's also a lot of humour between them and I wanted to make sure the readers could empathise with both Greg and Lizzy because in every relationship, there's two sides to the same story.
Towards the end of the book, Greg and Lizzy's marriage comes to it's ultimate conclusion, but as Greg says at the beginning of the book.."That's the thing about life, it doesn't matter how happy you are, how happy you think you're going to be in the future, without warning it can all change in a second."
Greg and Lizzy's marriage is a wonderful love story and one that's so real and full of humour, drama, lies, arguments, and tenderness. I hope when you read the book you'll enjoy Greg's story and his evolution from the man he is at the beginning to the man he becomes at the end. It was a challenge writing him, but I grew to really like him, despite all of his flaws, because it's those flaws that make him human.
I'll write more blogs about the other characters soon! Don't forget to pre-order your 99p copy of SUNDAY DINNERS today!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
It's October and that means SUNDAY DINNERS is getting closer. It's due to be released on October 26th and you can pre-order it now right here! So with the book edging ever closer, I thought now would be a good time to write a little blog about it. Here goes.
The book came about because I wanted to write a story about a family from a unique point of view. My initial idea was to tell it over a period of time from multiple points of view, but it still needed a focal point. It lacked something to bring it all together. The idea was put away in my huge 'To Do' folder with all my other novel ideas until I read an article in the newspaper about the death of the Sunday roast. It said that the traditional Sunday roast was dying out as families became too busy and suddenly it all came together. A story about a family told from each of their monthly Sunday roast dinners. It brought together the idea of family and also one of the great British traditions and something I did growing up every week without fail. I love Sunday roasts and they mean so much to me, and it was obvious what the story needed to be about.
In the book, all the grown up children are on the verge of leaving home. Everything is changing in the Wilde family house, and it's that tension that makes the Sunday roast dinners so important. Greg, the father, is desperately trying to hold onto the past, while the rest of his family are trying to move forward and get away. It's old v new, tradition v evolution, and it's exactly what I thought about when I read the newspaper article. I love the traditions of Sunday roasts, but I also realise that as much as we want to hold onto the past, the world keeps moving forwards whether we like it or not - which is especially true when you have children who keep growing up!
The first character I really focused on was the father, Greg Wilde. Initially I thought about writing the book from his perspective because he really is the main character, but as I thought about it, I decided it would be better to have multiple viewpoints. I also wrote HAPPY ENDINGS from different character points of view and I really enjoyed it. I also think it gives us so much more as readers if done properly.
From the beginning Greg evolved quite quickly. Greg is fifty-four and married to Lizzy. They met at university and have pretty much the perfect middle-class life. They live in a nice house in Muswell Hill, north London. Greg is a university lecturer and Lizzy is a stay at home wife. They have three children: Lucy, Matt, and Holly. Greg is in some ways a great husband and father, but in many other ways he's completely useless. He has ideas about how life should be and doesn't understand why his family don't completely agree with him. He was happiest when his children were little, and his marriage was better, but as the children grow up and challenge him, and his marriage becomes more complicated and strained, Greg doesn't know how to handle it. And like a typical man, instead of talking about it he keeps it all in.
One of the aspects of the book I really enjoyed writing was Greg's relationship with his wife, Lizzy. It's obvious from the start of the book that their marriage is in crisis. I wanted though to make sure we realise that it wasn't always like that. They were happy, and like so many of us, they had big dreams. They met at university in the 80's and were going to be different from their parents. They were going to change the world, but as so often happens, instead of changing the world, the world changed them. In many ways, Greg and Lizzy's marriage is the centre of the book and it drives everything else forward. I think the problems, and the arguments they have, a lot of people will be able to relate to and understand. There's also a lot of humour between them and I wanted to make sure the readers could empathise with both Greg and Lizzy because in every relationship, there's two sides to the same story.
Towards the end of the book, Greg and Lizzy's marriage comes to it's ultimate conclusion, but as Greg says at the beginning of the book.."That's the thing about life, it doesn't matter how happy you are, how happy you think you're going to be in the future, without warning it can all change in a second."
Greg and Lizzy's marriage is a wonderful love story and one that's so real and full of humour, drama, lies, arguments, and tenderness. I hope when you read the book you'll enjoy Greg's story and his evolution from the man he is at the beginning to the man he becomes at the end. It was a challenge writing him, but I grew to really like him, despite all of his flaws, because it's those flaws that make him human.
I'll write more blogs about the other characters soon! Don't forget to pre-order your 99p copy of SUNDAY DINNERS today!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
September 17, 2015
It gives me immense pleasure to finally reveal the cover ...
It gives me immense pleasure to finally reveal the cover and release date for my new novel, Sunday Dinners. The book will be released on October 26th! I've been working on this book for well over a year now so I'm super excited to finally share it with you. Talking of sharing, here is the cover. I hope you like it as much as I do :)
I'll be back with more information about the book very soon!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
I'll be back with more information about the book very soon!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
September 6, 2015
Hello,So I'm 40. It literally just happened. I know, I'm ...
Hello,
So I'm 40. It literally just happened. I know, I'm as shocked as you. I've been on this planet for forty years, which if I live until the average age for men which is 76, I'm already over halfway through my life. It sounds pretty depressing when you say it like that. Although really, you can't count the first five years because you don't do anything. I mean my kids do - they've travelled across the world a few times, they eat sushi like it's perfectly normal, and they know how to use iPads, iPhone's, and the TV remote (which I wasn't even allowed to touch until I was about 10). The world was a different place in the late 70's. OK that sounds old. Late seventies. For example in the late seventies it was perfectly fine to go to the pub and leave your kids on the pavement outside - for a few hours - as long as they had a football (by a busy road). It was fine for kids to play at the park without their parents. You could smoke on buses, drive without seatbelts, and fast food was a Pot Noodle. Life was simpler and we were too. So really, according to my memory (which is obviously fading fast) I'm about 33. Let's go with 31 to be on the safe side.
Turning 30 was a doddle, it really was. People are always on about turning 30 like it's this huge moment, but honestly it felt like an extension of my twenties. Hello twenties, fancy building a small extension on the back? Yeah, nothing fancy, and we'll call it your thirties. You'll barely notice the difference. 40 though is completely different. 40 isn't a new extension, it's moving house. It's moving house to the proper grown up house where real grown up things happen. It's very different and suddenly, for the first time in my life, I'm looking down the barrel and thinking, I've reached the top, it's all downhill from here. And I don't mean that life is going downhill, as in it's going to be really shit because it isn't, but age wise, I've turned the corner. The keys are in the ignition, the cars in first gear, and we're rolling.
So what have I learnt in all these years? Probably less than I should have, but here goes:
I know that being happy is as simple as you make it. I know that women are right all the time and even if they aren't, it's not worth arguing about. I know that worrying over the small things never helps anyone and I know that a cup of tea can help ease any pain. I know that comedy is the answer for just about everything. I know that money and possessions don't and will never make anyone happy. I know that travel is the greatest thing we can ever do. I know we stop growing when we stop challenging ourselves and when we stop growing we buy more things to fill that void but it doesn't. So we should never stop challenging ourselves - it's usually cheaper and will make you happy. I know that the most important thing in the world is love. I know that being religious doesn't make you a good person and being an atheist doesn't make you a bad one. I know that spending time with your kids is a million times better than any present you'll ever buy them. I know that politics will never solve the worlds problems, but people can. I know that it doesn't matter where in the world you live, you don't really change. I know that being a parent is amazing and the love you feel for a child is greater than any other love you'll ever feel. I know that The Beatles will always be the greatest band of all time. I know that people will always argue and be different, but that's OK, and the worse kind of people are the ones who don't get that. I know it doesn't matter if you're straight, gay, bisexual, black, white, or anything else - we're all people and all have the same rights to happiness. I know that when you meet The One you just know. I know that relationships shouldn't be difficult and people who say they are it's because they're in the wrong relationship. I know that 40 is quite old, but that inside I'm still early thirties and I'm OK with that.
I'm sure I know a lot more than that, but I won't bore you with all my knowledge. Plus it's going to get into things like sandwich making and lessons in manscaping! So I'll end with one last one - I know that life is wonderful, and brilliant, and you always get out what you put you. So stop complaining, making excuses as to why your life isn't how you want, and make it happen. Being positive is the greatest single weapon all humans have.
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
So I'm 40. It literally just happened. I know, I'm as shocked as you. I've been on this planet for forty years, which if I live until the average age for men which is 76, I'm already over halfway through my life. It sounds pretty depressing when you say it like that. Although really, you can't count the first five years because you don't do anything. I mean my kids do - they've travelled across the world a few times, they eat sushi like it's perfectly normal, and they know how to use iPads, iPhone's, and the TV remote (which I wasn't even allowed to touch until I was about 10). The world was a different place in the late 70's. OK that sounds old. Late seventies. For example in the late seventies it was perfectly fine to go to the pub and leave your kids on the pavement outside - for a few hours - as long as they had a football (by a busy road). It was fine for kids to play at the park without their parents. You could smoke on buses, drive without seatbelts, and fast food was a Pot Noodle. Life was simpler and we were too. So really, according to my memory (which is obviously fading fast) I'm about 33. Let's go with 31 to be on the safe side.
Turning 30 was a doddle, it really was. People are always on about turning 30 like it's this huge moment, but honestly it felt like an extension of my twenties. Hello twenties, fancy building a small extension on the back? Yeah, nothing fancy, and we'll call it your thirties. You'll barely notice the difference. 40 though is completely different. 40 isn't a new extension, it's moving house. It's moving house to the proper grown up house where real grown up things happen. It's very different and suddenly, for the first time in my life, I'm looking down the barrel and thinking, I've reached the top, it's all downhill from here. And I don't mean that life is going downhill, as in it's going to be really shit because it isn't, but age wise, I've turned the corner. The keys are in the ignition, the cars in first gear, and we're rolling.
So what have I learnt in all these years? Probably less than I should have, but here goes:
I know that being happy is as simple as you make it. I know that women are right all the time and even if they aren't, it's not worth arguing about. I know that worrying over the small things never helps anyone and I know that a cup of tea can help ease any pain. I know that comedy is the answer for just about everything. I know that money and possessions don't and will never make anyone happy. I know that travel is the greatest thing we can ever do. I know we stop growing when we stop challenging ourselves and when we stop growing we buy more things to fill that void but it doesn't. So we should never stop challenging ourselves - it's usually cheaper and will make you happy. I know that the most important thing in the world is love. I know that being religious doesn't make you a good person and being an atheist doesn't make you a bad one. I know that spending time with your kids is a million times better than any present you'll ever buy them. I know that politics will never solve the worlds problems, but people can. I know that it doesn't matter where in the world you live, you don't really change. I know that being a parent is amazing and the love you feel for a child is greater than any other love you'll ever feel. I know that The Beatles will always be the greatest band of all time. I know that people will always argue and be different, but that's OK, and the worse kind of people are the ones who don't get that. I know it doesn't matter if you're straight, gay, bisexual, black, white, or anything else - we're all people and all have the same rights to happiness. I know that when you meet The One you just know. I know that relationships shouldn't be difficult and people who say they are it's because they're in the wrong relationship. I know that 40 is quite old, but that inside I'm still early thirties and I'm OK with that.
I'm sure I know a lot more than that, but I won't bore you with all my knowledge. Plus it's going to get into things like sandwich making and lessons in manscaping! So I'll end with one last one - I know that life is wonderful, and brilliant, and you always get out what you put you. So stop complaining, making excuses as to why your life isn't how you want, and make it happen. Being positive is the greatest single weapon all humans have.
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
August 30, 2015
Hello,A very happy Monday to you! I'm super excited to ha...
Hello,
A very happy Monday to you! I'm super excited to have two cover reveals today. They're both books I love and I'm really excited to have them looking so new and sparkly. You might have been expecting a cover reveal for my new novel, Sunday Dinners, and that is coming soon (I promise!). So until then I'm proud to reveal the new covers for 'This Twentysomething Life' and 'This Family Life'!
I'm working on a paperback version of 'This Family Life' which I'm hoping to have out in time for Christmas! I'll be back with news on 'Sunday Dinners' soon!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
A very happy Monday to you! I'm super excited to have two cover reveals today. They're both books I love and I'm really excited to have them looking so new and sparkly. You might have been expecting a cover reveal for my new novel, Sunday Dinners, and that is coming soon (I promise!). So until then I'm proud to reveal the new covers for 'This Twentysomething Life' and 'This Family Life'!
I'm working on a paperback version of 'This Family Life' which I'm hoping to have out in time for Christmas! I'll be back with news on 'Sunday Dinners' soon!
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
August 19, 2015
Hello,I'm super excited today because I have the lovely, ...
Hello,
I'm super excited today because I have the lovely, funny, and bestseller author of eight romantic comedy novels, Lynda Renham, on my blog. This isn't the first time she's popped over for a chat and it won't be the last. If you haven't read any of Lynda's books I suggest you drop everything and buy one today. In fact, today would be brilliant because all of her Kindle novels are on sale for just 99p! I know, insane. Her latest book, Fifty Shades of Roxy Brown, is already out on the Kindle and the paperback is due out very soon. Like all of her other books, it's shooting up the charts and has lots of great reviews. With so much going on, I thought I'd ask Lynda a few questions and thankfully she gave me some great answers (I believe that's why it's called a Q&A) and here they are:
Hi Lynda, I hear you have a new book out called, 'Fifty Shades of Roxie Brown', can you tell us a bit about it?
Hi, Jon, thanks so much for featuring me on your blog. I’m thrilled to be here. Yes, I’d love to tell you a little bit about ‘Fifty Shades of Roxie Brown.’
‘Roxie Brown loves erotica and her friend, Sylvie, loves crime … novels of course. On a girls' night out they meet The Great Zehilda, the tea leaf reader, and suddenly Roxie’s Fifty Shades fantasies about her millionaire boss, Ark Morgan, look about to become a reality. But then she looks through the telescope and her life is turned upside down. Roxie and Sylvie, with help from Sylvie’s flatmate, Felix, set out to crack the case. Can Ark Morgan save her or is he the man she should be running from? Then enter Sam Lockwood and her heart is shot with another arrow. Is the love of her life the man of her dreams or is the man she loves, her worst nightmare.
You have "Fifty Shades" in the title and obviously this comes with some pretty heavy baggage. Did you read the "Fifty Shades" books and what sort of influence did this have on your book?
Oh dear, I rather hoped you wouldn’t ask me this! I read the first ‘Fifty Shades’ novel. I’m afraid there was far too much lip biting and breath hitching for me. I felt quite exhausted by the time I finished. All that spanking and thrashing. I needed a lie down before I could even begin to think of my own next novel. ‘Fifty Shades of Roxie Brown’ couldn’t be more different to tell you the truth, although Roxie’s fantasies about her gorgeous box Ark Morgan run along the same lines as she is convinced he is her real life Christian. Less thrashing around though, which is just as well as I didn’t want to end up take beta blockers while writing it.
All of my books have evolved in different ways and have their own stories (which could probably be its own novel), so please tell us how and why this novel evolved the way it did?
Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I also start off planning to write one thing and end up writing something else altogether. However, this time, I had a plan and the whole thing flowed exactly as I wanted. At least it did to a point and then this guy Felix turned up out of nowhere. I think he is the funniest character in the book now, so I am very pleased he did.
Lynda, you've written eight romantic comedy novels - and obviously from a female perspective - what's your view of men writing romantic comedy novels? Especially as it seems to me that in film there's a lot more men writing romantic comedies films than women, but in novels it seems to be the other way around.
I think the brilliant Richard Curtis is proof of the pudding isn’t he? I loved ‘Notting Hill’ especially and I think it is such fun watching or reading a rom com from a male perspective. There are some terrific male authors writing romantic comedy, of which, of course, you are one. I think it is a great new trend and I think men are very good at it and they of course put a whole other slant on the story which is refreshing. Long may it continue.
Staying on the romantic comedy theme, what are your top 5 romantic comedy novels? And films?
I honestly don’t read Romantic comedy novels as I don’t want to be influenced by another author’s writing. But I do love romantic comedy films. My top 5 are 1) Bridget Jones Diary 2) Four Weddings and a Funeral 3) Brides War 4) Notting Hill 5)Pretty Woman
All great films, although I'd have to add 'Love Actually' to the list. When I'm between books, I have a crazy system of picking a new book that basically involves me writing about 5000 words of about five or six new novels until one just feels right. It's time consuming and definitely not the best way, but it seems I can't do anything else. How do you pick a new novel?
Ooh that sounds like hard work. I admire you for that. I’m basically very lazy. So, I just wait until something pops into my head and that can happen anywhere. Often when I’m dropping off to sleep and then I have to grab my phone to make notes. I have tons of scribbled notes on my phone that make absolutely no sense as often I don’t have my glasses on and can’t see what I’m typing. Fortunately for me I can decipher and the ideas come back to me when I see the jumbled note. I then make more notes, bounce ideas back and forth with my husband and slowly a novel is born. A very slap dash way of writing, I know. I also don’t work at a desk but have a couch in my writing room and I sit the lap top on my lap and type away. I’m not in the least structured.
This is my attempt at a university style exam question. Writing is re-writing. Discuss?
Indeed it is. In fact there is more re-writing than anything else. It’s interesting how you can write a whole chunk of stuff and then see the diamonds in the surrounding dust. A novel that isn’t re-written at some point surely isn’t at its absolute best, do you agree?
Definitely. All of my novels are re-written, edited, added to and cut so many times from the first draft until the finished book they're almost unrecognizable. OK, last question for fifty points, what's next for Lynda Renham?
Ooh, that really is a leading question as lots of things have been hanging in the balance for me. I’ve been discussing much with my agent. Considering a different genre, a Christmas novella, all things I’ve never done in the past. So looming at the moment is possibly a Christmas novella but as usual I have left it quite late so we will have to see. Keep your eyes peeled.
Thank you so much, Lynda! If you want to pre-order a paperback copy of her latest novel, Fifty Shades of Roxy Brown, click on the cover below!
You can find out more about Lynda on her website here.
You can pop over to her Facebook page here.
You can find all of Lynda's books on Amazon here.
Until next time.
Hugs,Jon X
I'm super excited today because I have the lovely, funny, and bestseller author of eight romantic comedy novels, Lynda Renham, on my blog. This isn't the first time she's popped over for a chat and it won't be the last. If you haven't read any of Lynda's books I suggest you drop everything and buy one today. In fact, today would be brilliant because all of her Kindle novels are on sale for just 99p! I know, insane. Her latest book, Fifty Shades of Roxy Brown, is already out on the Kindle and the paperback is due out very soon. Like all of her other books, it's shooting up the charts and has lots of great reviews. With so much going on, I thought I'd ask Lynda a few questions and thankfully she gave me some great answers (I believe that's why it's called a Q&A) and here they are:
Hi Lynda, I hear you have a new book out called, 'Fifty Shades of Roxie Brown', can you tell us a bit about it?
Hi, Jon, thanks so much for featuring me on your blog. I’m thrilled to be here. Yes, I’d love to tell you a little bit about ‘Fifty Shades of Roxie Brown.’
‘Roxie Brown loves erotica and her friend, Sylvie, loves crime … novels of course. On a girls' night out they meet The Great Zehilda, the tea leaf reader, and suddenly Roxie’s Fifty Shades fantasies about her millionaire boss, Ark Morgan, look about to become a reality. But then she looks through the telescope and her life is turned upside down. Roxie and Sylvie, with help from Sylvie’s flatmate, Felix, set out to crack the case. Can Ark Morgan save her or is he the man she should be running from? Then enter Sam Lockwood and her heart is shot with another arrow. Is the love of her life the man of her dreams or is the man she loves, her worst nightmare.
You have "Fifty Shades" in the title and obviously this comes with some pretty heavy baggage. Did you read the "Fifty Shades" books and what sort of influence did this have on your book?
Oh dear, I rather hoped you wouldn’t ask me this! I read the first ‘Fifty Shades’ novel. I’m afraid there was far too much lip biting and breath hitching for me. I felt quite exhausted by the time I finished. All that spanking and thrashing. I needed a lie down before I could even begin to think of my own next novel. ‘Fifty Shades of Roxie Brown’ couldn’t be more different to tell you the truth, although Roxie’s fantasies about her gorgeous box Ark Morgan run along the same lines as she is convinced he is her real life Christian. Less thrashing around though, which is just as well as I didn’t want to end up take beta blockers while writing it.
All of my books have evolved in different ways and have their own stories (which could probably be its own novel), so please tell us how and why this novel evolved the way it did?
Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I also start off planning to write one thing and end up writing something else altogether. However, this time, I had a plan and the whole thing flowed exactly as I wanted. At least it did to a point and then this guy Felix turned up out of nowhere. I think he is the funniest character in the book now, so I am very pleased he did.
Lynda, you've written eight romantic comedy novels - and obviously from a female perspective - what's your view of men writing romantic comedy novels? Especially as it seems to me that in film there's a lot more men writing romantic comedies films than women, but in novels it seems to be the other way around.
I think the brilliant Richard Curtis is proof of the pudding isn’t he? I loved ‘Notting Hill’ especially and I think it is such fun watching or reading a rom com from a male perspective. There are some terrific male authors writing romantic comedy, of which, of course, you are one. I think it is a great new trend and I think men are very good at it and they of course put a whole other slant on the story which is refreshing. Long may it continue.
Staying on the romantic comedy theme, what are your top 5 romantic comedy novels? And films?
I honestly don’t read Romantic comedy novels as I don’t want to be influenced by another author’s writing. But I do love romantic comedy films. My top 5 are 1) Bridget Jones Diary 2) Four Weddings and a Funeral 3) Brides War 4) Notting Hill 5)Pretty Woman
All great films, although I'd have to add 'Love Actually' to the list. When I'm between books, I have a crazy system of picking a new book that basically involves me writing about 5000 words of about five or six new novels until one just feels right. It's time consuming and definitely not the best way, but it seems I can't do anything else. How do you pick a new novel?
Ooh that sounds like hard work. I admire you for that. I’m basically very lazy. So, I just wait until something pops into my head and that can happen anywhere. Often when I’m dropping off to sleep and then I have to grab my phone to make notes. I have tons of scribbled notes on my phone that make absolutely no sense as often I don’t have my glasses on and can’t see what I’m typing. Fortunately for me I can decipher and the ideas come back to me when I see the jumbled note. I then make more notes, bounce ideas back and forth with my husband and slowly a novel is born. A very slap dash way of writing, I know. I also don’t work at a desk but have a couch in my writing room and I sit the lap top on my lap and type away. I’m not in the least structured.
This is my attempt at a university style exam question. Writing is re-writing. Discuss?
Indeed it is. In fact there is more re-writing than anything else. It’s interesting how you can write a whole chunk of stuff and then see the diamonds in the surrounding dust. A novel that isn’t re-written at some point surely isn’t at its absolute best, do you agree?
Definitely. All of my novels are re-written, edited, added to and cut so many times from the first draft until the finished book they're almost unrecognizable. OK, last question for fifty points, what's next for Lynda Renham?
Ooh, that really is a leading question as lots of things have been hanging in the balance for me. I’ve been discussing much with my agent. Considering a different genre, a Christmas novella, all things I’ve never done in the past. So looming at the moment is possibly a Christmas novella but as usual I have left it quite late so we will have to see. Keep your eyes peeled.
Thank you so much, Lynda! If you want to pre-order a paperback copy of her latest novel, Fifty Shades of Roxy Brown, click on the cover below!
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Until next time.
Hugs,Jon X
