Jon Rance's Blog, page 4

Hello,A very happy Friday to you! My new book (and novel ...

Hello,


A very happy Friday to you! My new book (and novel number four) 'Sunday Dinners' will be out soon and so I thought I'd write a little blog about it. 

The idea for 'Sunday Dinners' started a few years ago. Initially it was quite a simple idea. I wanted to write a story about a family set over a year. Like my second novel, 'Happy Endings', I liked the idea of writing a story about multiple characters, although unlike 'Happy Ending' this one was going to be about a family. I think being a father myself, a lot of my life revolves around family, and so it makes sense to write about what I know. 

The idea was written down and forgotten about until about a year later when I read an article in a newspaper about how the Sunday roast is dying out. Growing up, we had a roast dinner every Sunday without fail. It was just something we did and I loved it. Mum in the kitchen making the roast and Dad outside washing the car or gardening, was my Sunday. But apparently families are too busy or want to eat out, and so the traditional Sunday roast is dying out. When I read this it made me sad and it also gave me an idea. What if I told the story of a family set at their monthly roast dinners? The idea took off from there.

The story is set over a longer time frame than one year and it covers a lot more than I initially intended, but I love that it's the story of a whole family, of each character from the youngest child to the grandparent, and set during their roast dinners. This book evolved a lot like 'Happy Endings' did before. I started with an idea and the characters, but once I started they took on a life of their own and magical things happened. I love 'Sunday Dinners', and I've spent a long time writing it, which hopefully shows in the finished book. It's definitely been a labour of love and it's almost time to share it with the world. I'll write more blogs about it as it nears publication. I can't wait to introduce the characters and reveal the cover soon!

Until next time.

Hugs,
Jon X 

Hello,We're dribbling towards the end of summer and it's ...

Hello,



We're dribbling towards the end of summer and it's been lovely. Warm, plenty of quality family time, and a bit of travel. But now I have to knuckle down and get some work done. My new novel, Sunday Dinners, is off with my editor for its last shake down, and I've just started writing my Christmas novella. It's going to be a really busy few months.

I've wanted to write a Christmas novella for a few years now, but because of one thing or another, I've never had the time. Not that I have loads of time now, but I have this idea and I have to get it done. I don't have long to get it finished, but I'm confident it will be done just in time for Christmas. 

I've always loved Christmas and I think it's a special time. I loved the Christmas special comedy shows growing up, and I'm setting out to write something like that. Hopefully it's going to be a really funny, romantic, and heart warming festive story. I'm also really aware that I won't put something out unless it's as good or better than everything else I've done. I only want to put out my best work and so hopefully I can make this novella one of the best, funniest things I've done. I can't give away any details yet, but it's a brand new story with new characters, and it's set in one of my favourite places in London. That's all I can say at the moment. 

So with Sunday Dinners, hopefully released in late September, and my novella, which I'm aiming to release in early December, you'll have plenty of new work from me very soon! Looking forward, I'm starting my new novel at the beginning of the year and I already have the story written down. This is another one of those books that I've had in my 'To Write' folder for a few years and it's time. I was going to write 'This Fortysomething Life' - the last book in the Harry Spencer 'This Life' series, but I decided that I wanted to write this other book first. 

So that's it for now. I hope you like my new website. It isn't finished yet, but it's getting there. I'm off to write some more of my novella. Time to put on my Christmas classic song mix and get into the festive mood! 

Until next time.

Hugs,
Jon X

NEW BOOK!

Hello,

I know it's been a long time coming, but I can finally reveal the title and blurb for my new book, which will be out in September! The book is titled, 'SUNDAY DINNERS' and here is the blurb:

The Wilde family have always had a roast dinner on Sundays. Greg Wilde made sure of it. Him, his wife, Lizzy, and their three children around the table; for years it was the glue that held them together. But now with the children all grown up and moving out, and Greg and Lizzy’s marriage facing an uncertain future, their lives are becoming increasingly unstuck. Greg soon begins to realise that creating a happy family is one thing, but staying that way is an entirely different story. Sunday Dinners, is a funny, heart-warming, and bittersweet novel about love, family, and happiness.

So there you go. I will hopefully be able to do a big cover reveal in the coming weeks! The book will be available as an eBook and Paperback!
Until next time.
Hugs,Jon X

News!

Hello,


A very happy July to you all. I hope the summer is treating you well. I've been super busy as always and I have some news to share. It's good and bad news, although being a positive, half-full sort of bloke, I prefer just good news. 

So my latest book was out for submission for quite a while, but unfortunately it hasn't been picked up by all the publishers my agent sent it to. I was sad at first, and spent a few hours feeling sorry for myself, but I soon picked myself up and my wife (as always the perfect partner) made me see the positive side. It isn't going to be traditionally published as I'd hoped, but this gives me the chance to do everything myself. I have complete control.

When I was a young writer (I still am really), I thought that having an agent and being traditionally published was everything. It was my only goal and when it happened I was over the moon. It's a really hard business though and just because you have one success it doesn't always follow that you'll have more. So many writers are in the same position or even have deals and aren't making hardly any money. My wife made me realise that I was happiest when I was working on my own, when I got my book into the Kindle top ten charts on my own, and when I had complete control over every aspect of my work. Don't get me wrong, I loved working with publishers, with top editors, and feeling like a proper author, but it isn't the be all and end all. You can do it on your own. You can make a success of it on your own. 

So I stopped feeling sorry for myself and instead worked on a plan of action. So the good news is that I will be publishing my new book very soon. I'm hoping for September 1st! It will be published as an eBook and as a paperback. I' also going to redesign and release 'This Family Life' as a paperback too. I'm also going to start work on a Christmas Novella (which I've had knocking around my brain for the past few years), and I'll release that in time for Christmas. So plenty to be happy about. And the last nibble of good news is that after I've done all of this, I'm going to start writing the last in the series of my 'This Life' books. So far I have 'This Twentysomething Life', 'This Thirtysomething Life', and 'This Family Life'. So next year, 2016, will see the release of, 'This Fortysomething Life' the last book in that series. So that's a lot of writing coming out very soon. So you see, it's definitely not all bad news.  

So that's it for today. This is where I'm at. If the world gives you lemons you make lemonade. Happy summertime everyone. Until next time.

Hugs,
Jon X

Hello,I've just started writing my next book and so I tho...

Hello,


I've just started writing my next book and so I thought I'd share a few thoughts with you. So if you want to pop the kettle on or get a glass of wine, now is the time. OK, ready? Good. Here goes. 

During the editing stage of my last book, a few things became clear to me. I need to think much more as I write. A perfect example of this is the amount of repeated words my agent highlighted in the text, and how many sentences were basically just repetitions of previous sentences. The repeated words problem was huge and I didn't even realise it until I saw the text back with the repeated words highlighted. Apparently, I love to use the same words again and again. It's not something as a writer I've ever really thought about. If you're a writer and you're reading your work back, try and spot any words you know you overuse, and go through the text with a fine tooth comb. I think you might be surprised. I was. It's ridiculous. So with my new book, as I'm writing, I'm really trying to be aware of the words I'm choosing to use and why.

I'm also really conscious of repeating myself. Of labouring the point. The funny thing is that I see other writers doing it, and it really annoys me. You know when you're reading a book, and they keep going over the same thing for far too long, and you're just thinking..."get on with it!" Yeah, that's me. An I didn't even realise. 

The other big thing is comedy. My new book, like my last book, is once again a comedy, but it's also going to be quite dramatic in parts. When I handed over the 'finished' copy of my last book to my agent, she said that there were too many jokes. At first I didn't really get this. But it's a comedy, I said to myself. It's supposed to be funny. The thing is though, comedy in writing only works when there's light and dark. It has to balance itself out. You can't have a 80,000 word novel that's just full of gags. Basically you can't write 'Hot Shots' the film as a novel. This isn't stand up. It needs to be a lot deeper and that means light and dark.

I had a problem with the last book getting this light and dark right. It's probably one of the hardest thing to do as an author. Getting that balance between humour and drama is so hard because they contrast each other so much. But the thing is, when you have really dramatic moments, it actually helps make the funny bits even funnier, and vice versa. So writing great comedy in novels involves writing creating drama too. So in this book I'm already setting out with this in mind. I'm taking jokes out as they come to me because I'm working on writing a drama that's also funny. Not a comedy that has bits of drama. I remember reading in James Corden's biography that when he was writing 'The Wrong Mans' with Mathew Baynton, they first wrote it like a proper action drama, and when it was done they went back and added in the comedy. It's much easier to do this than try and be funny in the first draft and then add in the drama later.

I guess what I'm saying is this. If you're trying to write a comedy novel don't set out to write something funny. Not at first anyway. Write it as a straight drama. Keep the funny material in the back of your mind, but don't let it loose until you've got a tight, well written drama first. Then when everything else is just about perfect, make it funny. That's the plan anyway. 

I'll try and write a few more blogs about writing my new book. Maybe trying to document a whole novel from beginning to end, might actually help me figure out where I've been going wrong (or right). So until next time. 


Hugs,
Jon X

Hello,I've been a lazy blogger recently. I'm sorry, but m...

Hello,


I've been a lazy blogger recently. I'm sorry, but my life has been particularly busy. I have some exciting news to share though. I've finished book number four. Of all my books this one was the longest and most difficult to write. I originally planned to be done by the end of last year, but after many, many, many re-writes, I've just finished. I hope the result is a brilliant book that people will fall in love with. 

So what's happening now? Well my agent has sent it off to about ten top notch publishers and I'm waiting. If you're a writer and you've been in this position, you'll know how unbearable it is. The waiting. Every day checking every single email that pings into my phone, hoping, praying, for good news and dreading bad. It's the exact same feeling I had as a new writer sending off my manuscript to agents all those years ago. I go through so many emotions about it; they're going to say no because the book is complete and utter horse shit, they have to say yes because I think it's my best book yet, of course it's going to be a no, who am I kidding that I'm anywhere near as good as David Nicholls, I'm going to get a ridiculously large amount of money and this book is going to take me to the next level where movie options get bought and world tours get organised - OK this last one is just daydreaming, but it's all mixed in there. The point is, it's a difficult time.

So what advice can I give to other writers who are thinking about sending off a manuscript or who are desperately trying to finish their first book in the hope of landing an agent. Just do it. You can spend so much time worrying about what's going to happen that the overwhelming fear of it can put you off forever. There's always an excuse - it isn't quite finished yet, I think I need to tweak this, put it away for a few months before reading it one last time - but the reality is, at some point, you need to send off your little baby to the big, terrifying publishers, and have them give you their opinion. And there's going to be rejections, lots of them, but that's OK. I mean it's not, obviously, but there isn't a writer in the world who doesn't get it or had it. It's all a part of the gig. That and the constant self-doubt. 

I recently read a quote that's stuck with me. It applies to all things in life, but for writers it means that you just have to do it, whatever it is, stop thinking and just do. Whether it's starting that first novel, finishing your tenth, or sending off the book you've spent almost two years working on to finally, and hopefully, get a publishing deal.

"The only difference between doing and not doing is doing."
And so I wait. But at least I did it. Whatever happens...I chose to do it and it's out there, which is an accomplishment by itself.

Until next time.

Hugs,
Jon X

Hello,Today I have a very special guest blog from the lov...

Hello,


Today I have a very special guest blog from the lovely, funny, and brilliant Lynda Renham. Coincidentally she has a blog from me up on her website, which you can find here . If you haven't read a book by Lynda you must. She's one of the funniest writers I know and I know a few. You can find Lynda's new book, 'Fudge Berries and Frogs' Knickers' right here . So without anymore waffle from me, here's Lynda's blog. Enjoy. 



Lynda’s Giant Leap for Mankind


When I wrote my latest novel ‘Fudge Berries and Frog’s Knickers’ I felt myself shudder. My main character Poppy finds herself living on a boat after a serious of mishaps that leave her almost penniless as well as homeless. My own experiences of boat life have been disastrous and while writing the novel I couldn’t but help remember them.
My brother lived on numerous boats over the years. He loved it. He even had a piano on one of them. I used to dread visiting him. Just climbing on the boat was an ordeal for me. I swear climbing Kilimanjaro would have been easier, especially when he moved to a mooring near Canary Wharf.
‘We’re a little way out,’ he’d said. ‘You need to clamber over a few other boats. It’s okay, just come during the day.’
This sounded a little ominous to me. But we ventured there anyway. The car park was of course miles from the mooring as was usual.  ‘Clamber over a few boats’ was an understatement. His boat was moored at the back of five huge barges and they weren’t that close together either. I managed the first one okay with my husband giving me a helping hand. But the distance between the first and second one was gigantic. Okay, gigantic in my opinion. My husband just leapt across. Good for him, right? I’ve never leapt across anything in my life, except across the road and that would have been because my life was in danger. Now, bearing in mind I can’t swim. Put yourself in my position, what would you do? Luckily there was a plank on the barge and my husband laid it across and held it down with his feet. Perfect. One barge crossed. I stupidly thought the rest of the climb would be easier. The third barge was a bit better. This one actually had a plank to help those who were crossing. But by now my legs are like jelly and all that is on my mind is getting back. The next barge is worse. Firstly it looks like it is falling apart. There are no planks, at least no planks that look safe and the gap between barges is so big that even my husband isn’t keen to take the leap. Then we spot the rope. 
‘That’s how we do it,’ says husband.
‘What are you talking about?’ I say stunned. ‘Are we supposed to Tarzan and Jane it over that gap because I’m telling you I’m no Jane and if you’re Tarzan then I’m a monkey’s uncle.’
‘Okay, no need to be insulting,’ he snaps.
We use the rope to pull the barge closer for us to leap. Or should I say my husband leaps and I kind of crawl over but I really don’t want to go into that. Finally we reach my brother’s narrow boat and thankfully he has proper fitted planks. I navigate those easily enough but the next problem is getting down the steps into the boat. He has it moored a little way out so the boat rocks constantly. He swears it doesn’t. I’m telling you it did. Either that I was drunk and I’m sure I’d remember knocking back the booze. Mind you, once on the boat I did or at least I tried to. I swayed down the steps and finally enter their tiny living area.
‘Would you like a glass of wine?’ asked my sister-in-law.
I needed a glass of wine or something alcoholic to steady my shaking hands and jelly legs. I fall onto the couch and take a large gulp of my drink. I place it onto the table so I can take a biscuit and the next thing I know the glass has slid straight past me and smashed to the floor. 
‘That happens a lot,’ she said.
It’s like being in a Greek restaurant.
‘We tend to use plastic ones.’
So why didn’t she?
‘You’re guests?’
I felt more like a prisoner and so wished the boat would stop moving. Although everyone kept telling me it wasn’t moving that much. A plastic glass or two of wine and frankly I couldn’t care if the thing was going down. I’m feeling quite happy and quite enjoying being on a boat until … I have to use the loo. Let me tell you a loo on a boat is a totally different experience to going to the loo in your nice cosy bathroom. Firstly it smells, secondly trying to pee or do anything else while your head and body is swimming is a very difficult task indeed. By the time we’re ready to leave I’ve had far too much.
By the time we’re ready to leave I’ve had far too much to drink. Obviously I’d completely forgotten the obstacle course we have to navigate on the way back.  We safely cross from my brother’s boat to the next one. But then there is the gigantic leap to the next one and I’m now feeling even less like Jane. In the process of crossing this one my foot slips on the plank and although my husband rescued me he couldn’t rescue my new Blackberry as well, which fell with a plop into the Thames. That was one giant leap for mankind but suffice it to say I’ve never been on a boat since.
Poppy has similar adventures in my novel ‘Fudge berries and Frog Knickers’. 
Here is the blurb to whet your appetite.
‘Poppy Wellesley is rich. In fact Poppy Wellesley is very rich, so when her fortunes change from riches to rags Poppy has to start a whole new life. Put yourself in her Guccis as she swaps her penthouse apartment for a run-down houseboat on Regent’s Canal. Meet her dippy friend Chelsea, the infamousJack Diamond (see The Dog’s Bollocks) and her hunky boat neighbour, Taylor. Will Poppy hold on to her millionaire fiancé or will Pug-face Pandora steal him from her? Can she avoid the advances from Balls (Lord Balthazar Wyndham-Price) or does she find true love on the canal? Fudge Berries and Frogs’ Knickers is a romantic comedy roller coaster ride that will put a smile on your face and a cheer in your heart.’

If you enjoyed this, you can follow Lynda at the following places:

Facebook

Website
And please check out all of Lynda's book on Amazon .
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X

HelloThis is it. It's the third and last day of my 3 day ...

Hello


This is it. It's the third and last day of my 3 day FREE promotion for This Family Life and This Twentysomething Life. It's been brilliant because it reminds me what a lovely bunch of people writers are. I've had so much support, kind words, and messages from other writers that regardless of how the book does, it's been very worthwhile.

So on the eve of day three This Family Life is sitting at number 27 in the charts. Before I started the free promo I hoped it would get in the top 100. It sounds funny because I'm giving away a free book, you'd think it would be pretty easy to do well. The truth is, authors spend a lot of time, and some money, promoting their free books. It's super competitive. I did spend some time promoting This Family Life, and being a published author helps, but still it's more difficult than you'd imagine. 

What do I hope happens tomorrow. Well, I'd love to get to number one, obviously, but if I sneak into the top ten I'd be over the moon. It's been a great three days and I hope a lot of people have downloaded the books and I really hope they enjoy them because that's the whole point of this. I wanted to reach an audience and give people the chance to get my books for free. So if you've downloaded either book, I hope you love them, and please let me know what you think or write a review on Amazon. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that's supported me and done their best to help promote the book. I really appreciate it. 

Until next time.

Hugs,
Jon X

HelloSo it's day two of my free Kindle promo for This Fam...

Hello

So it's day two of my free Kindle promo for This Family Life & This Twentysomething Life, and they're both sitting pretty in the free charts on Amazon. This Family Life is at number 32 and Twentysomething is at 475. I haven't done as much promotion for Twentysomething so that's to be expected. OK, so day two and it's time to hit you hard with a list. Yes, that's right, a list!



Reason why you should download This Family Life & This Twentysomething Life


1. Hello, they're literally FREE! OK, this is the obvious one, but it's pretty persuasive. Just click a button and they're yours!
2. This Family Life is the sequel to the top 10 Kindle best seller This Thirtysomething Life, which was published by Hodder & Stoughton and sold 60,000 copies! 
3. They're funny and we all need a bit of laughter in our lives. I know comedy is very subjective, but (and obviously I'm making this up but it's probably about right) 90% of people find these books hilarious. I can't guarantee you'll laugh because, well, you might have a very different sense of humour to me, but hopefully at the worse you'll find them mildly amusing.
4. They're more than just funny. The books are written in diary form and follow the life of Londoner and thirtysomething man Harry Spencer, as he struggles to deal with becoming a husband and father. I hope the books are a true reflection of the sort of struggles a lot of men have. It's covers subjects like family, parenthood, love, marriage, friendship, and even death. It's a modern book about life.
5. It's been called 'Bridget Jones with balls..literally!' This is a quote from a book blogger and I don't think it's that far away.
6. This Twentysomething Life is the short story prequel I wrote for This Thirtysomething Life. After talking with my editor at Hodder and my agent, we thought it would be fun to write a short story about why Harry started writing a diary. It's set on the verge of Harry's marriage to Emily, and hopefully it's a short but fun and heart warming introduction to the series.
7. If you like Mike Gayle, Matt Dunn, Nick Spalding, and Bridget Jones you'll love this. 
8. They're aren't that long, so if you don't read much or don't have the time, these books will fly by!
9. There aren't many books about parenthood from a man's perspective and it might just surprise you.
10. OK, lastly, number ten, I write from experience. I have two children (5 & 3) and I actually stayed at home while my wife went to work. Most of what I write about comes from my own life and experiences, so all the comedy, the drama, the little insights, have come in most part from my own life. They say write about what you know...and I did. I think this gives the books an incredible honesty and hopefully makes the humour and the drama even more real and poignant.

So that's it. I'll blog again tomorrow for the last day of the free promo. I hope you download the books and I really hope you enjoy them. If you do please get in touch and let me know what you think.
Until next time,
Hugs,Jon X

HelloFree Kindle promotion day one: I literally have no i...

Hello


Free Kindle promotion day one: I literally have no idea what to expect. The last time I did this with This Thirtysomething Life, I was younger, leaner, unpublished, didn't have an agent, although much like now, I had no idea what to expect either. I actually did it on a whim and didn't do any promotion other than Twitter and Facebook, and yet somehow, it got to number one on the free charts. 

I like to think it was just the quality of the book, word of mouth, but in reality it was probably just bloody good luck. This Thirtysomething Life is a good book, at least the 291 people who have given it five stars on Amazon think so. There's also the 201 four star reviews too. But the thing is, I've seen plenty of brilliant books not do so well. It's a bloody lottery, so sitting here on the verge of day one of my free Kindle promotion, I'm feeling a tad nervous.

So, anyway, if you haven't read the book and somehow ended up on this blog and have no idea who I am or what I'm waffling on about, here's the synopsis for This Family Life, which is free for the next 3 days on Amazon around the world!


Things that might happen during your first year of parenthood: 

1. You’ll get covered in a ‘nuclear’ poo. 
2. You’ll be convinced your son is talking with a Japanese accent. 
3. You’ll worry that when your son waves, it looks like a Nazi salute. 

Of course, this might just be Harry Spencer. 

Taking up where 'This Thirtysomething Life' left off, Harry Spencer and is wife Emily are back and trying to survive their first year of parenthood. It has its ups and downs (and a few bits in the middle), but along the way they begin to understand the true meaning of family and what it takes to be a parent. 

Featuring a hilarious cast of extras including Harry’s father-in-law Derek, who has a unique problem with Scotch, Steve and Fiona, the parents from children’s entertainment hell, and a yoga instructor with a prominent camel-toe, 'This Family Life' is the ultimate comedy for anyone who is a parent, has a parent, or is thinking about becoming one. 


This Family Life is a book I love because it's the sequel to the book that made me a 'proper' published author. If you haven't read it and want something honest, funny, contemporary, about men, women, marriage, parenthood, sex, love, and relationships, then please give it a go. I mean it's free, if you don't like it, all you have to do is press delete. Admittedly every time someone does that a piece of my heart breaks, but apart from that it's all just harmless fun.

Tomorrow I'll bring you all the first day news. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you'll probably be seeing a lot of me over the next couple of days - for which I apologise in advance.


Until next time.

Hugs,
Jon X