Shani Struthers's Blog, page 11
July 21, 2013
Learning to Love by Sheryl Browne – Cover Reveal!
London — Safkhet Publishing
London-based independent publisher Safkhet Publishing and romance author Sheryl Browne of Droitwich, Worcestershire, England, announce the publication of the poignant romance thriller, Learning to Love, a look at love, life and relationships, on 22 July 2013.
Learning to Love—“chosen for publication in the Birmingham City University School of English Anthology”
Synopsis:
Widower, Dr David Adams, has recently moved to the village—where no one knows him, ergo there’s no fuel for neighborhood gossip—to start afresh with his ten year old son, if only he can get to a place where his son wants to speak to him. Angry and withdrawn, Jake blames his dad for the death of his mother, and David doesn’t know how to reach him.
Andrea Kelly has too many balls in the air. With three children and a “nuts” mother to care for, her fiancé can’t fathom why she wants to throw something else into the mix and change her career. Surely she already has too much on her plate? Because her plates are skew-whiff and her balls are dropping off all over the place, Andrea points out. She needs to make changes. Still her fiancé, who has a hidden agenda, is dead-set against it.
When Andrea’s house burns mysteriously to the ground and Andrea and her entourage are forced to move in with the enigmatic Dr Adams, however, the village drums soon start beating, fuel aplenty when it turns out someone does know him—the woman carrying his baby.
About the Author:
Sheryl Browne grew up in Birmingham, UK, where she studied Art & Design. She wears many hats: a partner in her own business, a mother, and a foster parent to disabled dogs. Creative in spirit, Sheryl has always had a passion for writing. She has previously been published in the US and writes Rom Com because, as she puts it, “life is just too short to be miserable.” Sheryl is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. For more information, connect with Sheryl Browne on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SherylBrowne.Author) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/SherylBrowne) or visit her blog page at http://www.sherylbrowne.com/.
Learning to Love (ISBN: 9781908208835) will be available for purchase as an eBook worldwide on Amazon, Kobo, the Apple iStore and all other major retailers. For more information, please visit http://www.safkhetpublishing.com/.
July 6, 2013
July 2, 2013
The Runaway Year – It’s Here!
What can I say? The usual things. OMG! Crikey! Wow! All of that and more. The Runaway Year is finally here! All of the hard work whilst writing it, the nail-biting whilst waiting for feedback, the wondering if anyone (apart from my mum!) was going to like it – it’s all paid off! And even if my mum is the only one to like it, I’m dead chuffed anyway! Actually, it’s garnered some wonderful reviews already with more on the way (and even if you only give me 1 star, I’ll love you forever – you gave me a star for heaven’s sake!!!!).
Here’s the Amazon link: The Runaway Year and the Goodreads link: The Runaway Year. It’s £2.79 on Kindle and the paperback will be out soon too.
If you do read it, I hope you enjoy it. If not, PM me on FB, lol!
And finally, thank you to Omnific Publishing for giving a new author a chance. It has been such a pleasure (and great fun too!) to work with you.
Okay, here’s the cover and the blurb!
Dumped by her hotshot boyfriend and boss, Layla Lewis quits her job and heads to Trecastle in North Cornwall to house-sit for a friend-of-a-friend. Trecastle isn’t new to her; it’s a place where she holidayed regularly with her now-estranged mother. It’s also the home of Hannah McKenzie, her childhood friend. Hannah has tempted her with a place to live and a job in the local pub. Needing time to nurse her battered heart and escape her “real life” for a year, Layla accepts.
Hannah is a talented artist as well as a barmaid. She lives in the village center with her boyfriend Jim, a singer in a local band. They are happy together, or as happy as they can be, considering. Hannah loves Jim, but there is someone she loves more and it’s pushing them to breaking point.
Meanwhile, back in Brighton, Layla’s fiery yet loyal friend Penny seeks revenge on her behalf, sending a forged email that could damage her ex’s business prospects. Penny wonders if she has gone too far but is soon preoccupied with her own problems: the sizzle has fizzled in her marriage, and she feels neglected. After getting frisky with Dylan one night, she confesses all to her husband—and he’s been like ice ever since.
Over the course of a year, there is laughter and heartache as all three endeavor to rein in their tumultuous love lives—discovering you can run all you like, but if it’s love you’re up against, true love, good things can only happen when you stand your ground.
June 26, 2013
The Runaway Year – The Countdown
With less than a week to go to the release of The Runaway Year, it’s getting exciting! From concept to publication, however, was something of a journey with highs and lows and several changes of title en route! For a budding author, I can’t recommend highly enough getting a professional critique of your work before sending it off to agents/publishers – yes it costs, but it’s worth it.
Once I had finished my masterpiece, I sent it off to Writers Workshop and waited eagerly for their reply, convinced they would say how magnificent it was, how romance writers would quake in terror when I burst onto the scene. How wrong I was! It did come back but not with the praise I was expecting, oh no, I was told if I wanted any hope of getting it published, to re-write it entirely. Sob! By entirely, I queried, do you mean every last page? Oh yeah. After a week of wailing and gnashing my teeth, I sat back down at my computer and read through the report again. Two things were written that I held on to:
‘You can write, you are eminently readable and you will be published one day.’
‘The only difference between a published writer and a non-published writer is that the published writer didn’t give up.’
Wiping away floods of tears, I thought ‘okay, I hear ya, I’m going to do exactly what you’ve advised me to do’ – rewrite the story and include not one point of view but three. Three? Yikes! But from the very first sentence I knew the critique was right. The story was much stronger for it, much more fun and the characters came alive, so much so in fact, they ended up writing the story for me – I became merely a set of fingers flying over the keyboard!
What I’m trying to say is invest in your writing and don’t be afraid of criticism – it can only make you a stronger writer. Well, the book was re-written (entirely), sent off to various publishers and the response was amazing. I decided to go with Omnific Publishing because I’ve read and loved several of their books, it’s an honour and a privilege to be in the same stable with writers such as Carol Oates, Nicki Elson, Justine Dell and Debra Anastasia – a dream come true.
And to whet your appetite for the rewritten, retitled book, here’s an excerpt:
Finding herself on the way to the village center again, she pulled over, intending to negotiate a three-point turn. The cottage was slightly out of the village, so she needed to get back onto the opposite side of the road and go back up the hill. Glancing over Hannah’s instructions again, she swung the car to the right—straight into the path of a motorcyclist.
What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. The rider tried to stop but couldn’t do so in time, although he did manage to avoid hitting her car. As he turned his handlebars hard to the right, his tires lost grip on the wet road and he flew off, sliding some way before coming to a halt.
Layla sat motionless in her car, paralyzed temporarily by the shock. At last she managed to galvanize herself into action and fumbled for the door handle, her shaking hands making it hard to get a grip. When the door finally opened, another dilemma hit. What if she couldn’t stand? Her legs felt like jelly, surely they wouldn’t support her. Forcing herself upward, she was relieved to discover they held firm. Once she was sure they would continue to do so, she bolted over to where the biker lay, placed one hand on his soaking leather-clad shoulder and said, “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not bloody okay!” he replied, a pair of bright blue eyes meeting hers as he lifted his visor. “I’m a bit bruised and battered as it goes.”
Despite his belligerent words, relief flooded through her: he wasn’t dead!
“Oh, I’m so glad,” she said, letting out a huge sigh.
“Glad?” he said, sitting up now and brushing the mud and leaves off his left arm. “Charming.”
“Oh, no, no,” she stuttered, realizing what she’d just said. “I’m not glad that I knocked you over. I’m glad you’re alive.”
“Only just, I think,” he replied, needing a helping hand to stand up.
“Can I give you a lift somewhere, take you to the nearest hospital?”
“The nearest hospital? That would be in Bodmin, I think, about fifteen miles from here. I don’t fancy driving fifteen miles with you behind the wheel.”
Feeling a little indignant now, Layla replied, “I’m actually a very good driver, thank you. You’re the first accident I’ve ever had.”
“Lucky me,” he replied sarcastically.
You can add it to your Goodreads TBR list and Amazon links coming soon!
June 11, 2013
Beach Blanket Bingo!
It’s summer, it’s hot (kind of) and two new beach reads are about to be released – it must be time for Beach Blanket Bingo! To celebrate the release of Romancing the Bookworm by Kate Evangalista on 9th July and The Runaway Year by Shani Struthers (that’s me!) on 2nd July, we’ve got three beach bags to give away, stocked to the brim with everything you need for a day in the sun.
But first, here’s a bit about the books:
Romancing the Bookworm:
Sometimes, even the best-laid plans can unravel.
It’s spring break, and Tamara Winters would rather stay on campus and read romance novels than flaunt her size-fourteen body on a beach. But her best friend, Ronni, has other ideas.
The Runaway Year:
Dumped by her hotshot boyfriend and boss, Layla Lewis quits her job and heads to the seaside village of Trecastle in North Cornwall, England. Over the course of a year, there is laughter and heartache as three friends endeavor to rein in their tumultuous love lives—discovering you can run all you like, but if it’s love you’re up against, true love, good things can only happen when you stand your ground.
And now about those beach bags, there’s one from Kate Evangelista, author of the New Adult splash ROMANCING THE BOOKWORM, one from me and one from Omnific Publishing.
Here’s what’s in mine:
Tote (not pictured)
Boots No.7 Perfectly Bronzed Quick Dry Spray (to get a head start!)
Boots No.7 Naturally Sunkissed Gradual Facial Tan
Boots No.7 Perfectly Bronzed mosaic bronzer
The Body Shop Vitamin C Energising Face Spritz
The Body Shop Satsuma Hand Cleanse Gel
The Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter
The Body Shop Lip Balms (strawberry, raspberry, passionberry) in a cute heart tin
Nivea pocket size sunscreen (Factor 30)
Nail varnish (3 colours, stick to the one or paint your nails in all three sunshine shades)
Boots nail polish remover pads (for those little ‘mistakes’)
2 x Claire’s Accessories perfume sticks (coconut and tangerine)
Sunglasses and sunglass case
Friendship bands
A bandana (tie-dye)
A brush/mirror compact
Brighton Rock (of course!)
To be in with a chance of winning, go to Omnific Publishing Blogspot and enter your details on Rafflecopter. I’ll keep everything crossed for you!
ps If you want to add The Runaway Year to your TBR list on Goodreads that’s simple too, just press here: The Runaway Year! Thanks!
May 27, 2013
It’s a Double Whammy!
Okay, there’s not just one exciting piece of news to share today, there’s two! Yep, you read that right, two! First up has to be the COVER REVEAL for my forthcoming book The Runaway Year, out on July 2nd 2013 as an ebook and paperback. The folks at Omnific Publishing have been busy, busy, busy coming up with a front cover for the book. And they had their work cut out, cos when they asked for input, my reply was ‘er, umm, right, well …” From that you can tell I didn’t have a clue. Well, here it is, it’s bright, breezy and contemporary – it screams sunshine at you, it screams British beaches (okay, okay, I know the two don’t necessarily go together, but fiction is fiction right?!) and, of course, romance in abundance … sigh!
And after the cover reveal … the blurb:
Dumped by her hotshot boyfriend and boss, Layla Lewis quits her job and heads to Trecastle in North Cornwall to house-sit for a friend-of-a-friend. Trecastle isn’t new to her; it’s a place where she holidayed regularly with her now-estranged mother. It’s also the home of Hannah McKenzie, her childhood friend. Hannah has tempted her with a place to live and a job in the local pub. Needing time to nurse her battered heart and escape her “real life” for a year, Layla accepts.
Hannah is a talented artist as well as a barmaid. She lives in the village center with her boyfriend Jim, a singer in a local band. They are happy together, or as happy as they can be, considering. Hannah loves Jim, but there is someone she loves more and it’s pushing them to breaking point.
Meanwhile, back in Brighton, Layla’s fiery yet loyal friend Penny seeks revenge on her behalf, sending a forged email that could damage her ex’s business prospects. Penny wonders if she has gone too far but is soon preoccupied with her own problems: the sizzle has fizzled in her marriage, and she feels neglected. After getting frisky with Dylan one night, she confesses all to her husband—and he’s been like ice ever since.
Over the course of a year, there is laughter and heartache as all three endeavor to reign in their tumultuous love lives—discovering you can run all you like, but if it’s love you’re up against, true love, good things can only happen when you stand your ground.
If you fancy adding it to your Goodreads TBR list, I’d be delighted. Here’s the link: Goodreads.
But don’t go away just yet. Keep the drums rolling please because there’s more – I’ve also got a brand new website : www.shanistruthers.com.
Big shout out to David Cleworth at DC Creations for this. Not only is he brilliant, he’s affordable too – another double whammy! Please check it out, apparently the more hits it gets, the more Google learns to recognise it, the further up the foodchain it goes.There’s a contact box too if you want to leave a message – I’d love to hear from you.
Right, that’s quite enough excitement for one day. If you want to reblog this post or share it, please do. Meanwhile, I’m off for a lie down in a darkened room!!!
May 16, 2013
The 10 Question Blog Hop – Alexandra Martin
Hello again folks! The lovely Alexandra Martin joins me today with her answers to the 10 Question Blog Hop! If you love Downton Abbey and The Village, her book Daffodils should appeal. Being fond of a ghost story too, I can’t wait to read The Rose Trail when it comes out later this year. Over to you Alexandra …
1. What is the working title of your book or project?
I’ve got two books ‘out there’ at present. The latest one is called Daffodils and it’s set in Edwardian England just as World War One broke out. My first book is called The Twisted Vine and is based on my own experiences as a grape-picker during the French wine harvest back in the 1980s. My next one is already started and is called The Rose Trail, a ghost story set against the back drop of the English Civil War.
2. Where did the idea come from for the book or project?
I’ll tell you about Daffodils, my latest release. This was a slow burn! I lived in a village in Wiltshire and borrowed its geography for the book. There was an old guy, called Harry, who lived in skid row – the terrace of tiny cottages we lived in – next to us. He had a wooden leg from an old injury working on the railways. Harry was nearly 100 years old and a great talker. He told me about how taps finally arrived in the cottages in the not too distant past. Initially there was only a pump on the village green, then standpipes at the end of the row of cottages, then a tap to be shared between two back doors and then, finally in the sixties, each cottage got a sink with its own tap! I was captivated by this and the germ of an idea was born. We caught the end of an era when we lived there in the 1980s and it was where our children were born. I wanted to capture the era I could see would pass with Harry, who still rented his cottage from the local landowners, in a feudal, timeless way.
3. What genre does it fall under if any?
Historical fiction with a bit of romance, and some military background from the battlefields of WW1. It could also be seen as a bit feminist!
4. If applicable, who would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
I always find this a hard question! Katy could be portrayed very well by Keira Knightly; Jem by James McIvoy and Lionel by Christian Bale. I must remember to give them all a ring. I know they are waiting to hear from me!!!
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your manuscript or project?
Showing the impact of the First World War on everyday people living ordinary country lives and how it shook up society values on class, gender and other values forever.
6. Will your book or story be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self published on www.amazon.com as an ebook and paperback and also on www.feedaread.com as a paperback.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Would you believe ten whole years?
8. What other book or stories would you compare this story to within the genre?
Birdsong covers similar ground and left a big impression on me but only after I’d finished Daffodils. I was pretty annoyed that Downton Abbey also covered this era and stole my thunder and now The Village is doing the same. Downton is a bit lightweight and The Village is too miserable. I hope Daffodils strikes the right balance.
9. Who or What inspired you to write this book or story?
Old Harry, cited above but also when I started to write about his era and read the research I was so moved by the sacrifice and courage of that generation, particularly the women (and you don’t hear of them so often), that I felt compelled to tell their story, in the best way I could.
10. What else about the book or story might pique the reader’s interest?
Anyone who loves history and learning how people managed country life before electricity, cars and information technology should be interested in the detail shown of Edwardian life. Also I did a lot of research on the conditions of the soldiers in the British Expeditionary Force, and the way they were treated really shocked me. And any woman who wants to know how we evolved from being drudges and became independent people in our own right will find Katy’s journey in to the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps fascinating. I did when I researched it and had no idea how involved and resourceful these women were.
Links www.alexxx8586.blogspot.com
This is a link to my blog where I post about my writing experiences and works in progress. Reviews are also posted here. And blog posts from other lovely authors too!
Daffodils
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BPUQAY4/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0089M2TSM/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk
The Next Authors with exciting books to tell you about are:
Malika Gandhi who has written 3 books and published them on amazon:
Rakesh’s Story, Freedom of the Monsoon and Where The Secret Lies.
Prue Batten who is the author of the Gisborne Saga and many other best selling books.
April 23, 2013
The 10 Question Blog Hop – Catherine Kirby
On my blog today is Catherine Kirby – she’s chosen to answer the 10 Question Blog Hop on my blog and I’m delighted to have her! She’s the first of many authors I hope to feature. Take it away Catherine …
Hello, I’m Catherine Kirby, Indie author and I’ve been invited by Shani Struthers to take part in this blog hop. Thanks for inviting me, Shani. It’s a real pleasure to join in. There are only ten challenging questions to reply to, so not like a written exam at all! Here goes then. Let’s get cracking!
1. What is the working title of your book or project?
The title is SEE THROUGH. It took a while to come up with but it’s descriptive on two levels. The first, because you see through them, refers to some of my characters who become invisible – more about that later. The second refers to seeing through the smoke screens they (we all at times) often use to cover our tracks.
2. Where did the idea come from for the book or project?
I was thinking about how people misunderstand each other at times when they avoid talking about the things that really matter. That can eschew a relationship badly. More hurt and trouble is caused by not being honest in order to avoid pain. But also, how humour can cushion the blows and help love survive.
3. What genre does it fall under if any?
It’s not easy to fit into a single genre. I’d say Paranormal/Romance would be one good choice though. There’s humour, family relationships, friendships and other serious issues as well, handled with a light touch.
4. If applicable, who would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
Emily Blunt would be great as Fleur, the main female character. Emily Blunt has the quirky, sensitive, spunky personality that would suit this role. For Sean, Fleur’s husband, I’d like to have Paul Rudd. I believe he’d be just right for the struggling, mystified and frustrated husband. As for Mel, Sean’s ex, who’s never really left the scene, I think Cameron Diaz could easily carry off that manipulative, off-the-wall blond for me. I haven’t asked any of them for permission to name them, of course, so I hope they’d agree I’d got it right. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a novel you’d written made into a movie?!!
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your manuscript or project?
We are all so much more than we think we are!
6. Will your book or story be self-published or represented by an agency?
I’m an indie author and it’s available as an e-book on Amazon.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
To be honest I’m not sure. I don’t worry about time when I’m writing. It takes as long as it takes. I like to make sure it’s the very best it can be, so however long that turns out to be is completely fine.
8. What other book or stories would you compare this story to within the genre?
I’d say it would compare with an unequal mixture of books like Chocolat, PS I love you with a magic dollop of The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book or story?
I thought it would be fascinating to observe people that you know without them being aware of it. I wondered what you’d discover about them, what they might say about you and how you’d then react, put obstacles in the way, or find ways to bring about a good solution. To do this, you’d need to become invisible and to somehow interact with those who can’t see you. This would be even harder if they couldn’t hear you either. The consequences in See Through are sometimes funny, sometimes catastrophic and at other times fortuitous. I leave it to the readers to decide which ones are which!
10. What else about the book or story might pique the reader’s interest?
Fleur is the one who becomes invisible. She doesn’t realise at first what has happened to her. She meets and becomes friends with other invisible people. They each have up to three months to sort out the mess their lives have become. If they accomplish this they’ll return to normal and life will be good. If they fail, they will remain invisible forever. Fleur makes plenty of effort to change her life but nothing seems to be going according to plan. The question is, will she manage to do this before the three months are up and how will that affect the rest of her family and friends?
Links to SEE THROUGH – UK: http://amzn.to/yKz
My Website: http://catherinekirby-author.weebly.com/index.html
The Next Authors with exciting books to tell you about are:
Jan Ruth – Alex Martin – Evelyn Tidman – Jeannette Christer
April 16, 2013
The 10 Questions Blog Hop
Joanna Gawn, the lovely author of The Cordello Quest and House of the Stormwinds, invited me to take part in a bloghop. It’s my first ever – so as Miranda Hart would say ‘bear with, bear with’ … here we go!
The task is to answer ten questions regarding my book or WIP and then tag 4 or 5 other bloggers or novelists to do the same – unfortunately, I haven’t got a bloomin’ clue how to tag, so I’ll answer the questions first and then hope some dear soul out there can enlighten me on that particular aspect!!! Seriously though, if you do want to join in, just join in, it would be great to hear all about you.
The questions … my answers:
1. What is the working title of your book or project?
The book is called The Runaway Year.
2. Where did the idea come from for the book or project?
The book was inspired not only by its setting – Tintagel in North Cornwall, a place I visit regularly and love but also various relationship dilemmas I see various friends tackle in life.
3. What genre does it fall under, if any?
It’s dealing with 3 very modern girls and their very different romance issues – so probably contemporary romance. I would say chick-lit but I don’t think it is, it seems too frothy a term for my tome. Rather, mine is edgier, down to earth, not much froth at all.
4. If applicable, who would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
Joanna Gawn (who nominated me) chose Scarlett Johansson to play her main character Keira. Well, Scarlett’s in demand again, because I’d choose her to play Penny. As for Layla – Natalie Portman would be nice and Hannah, perhaps Rachel McAdams. For the hero of the hour – Joseph – it’s Channing Tatum, not because he fits the bill particularly, just because I fancy him rotten!
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your manuscript or project?
From bustling Brighton to the wilds of Cornwall – life doesn’t get any easier!
6. Will your book or story be self-published or represented by an agency?
It’s published through Omnific Publishing and is due out in e-book format and paperback on 2nd July 2013.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I pretty much edited as I went along – therefore, making sure each chapter was okay before I wrote the next. I then went back and edited the whole thing in one go before passing to my friend to glance her editing eye over. So, all in all, about 5 months.
8. What other book or stories would you compare this story to within the genre?
It’s been likened to the love child of Bridget Jones/Love Actually/The Holiday. I haven’t seen The Holiday yet, I really must!
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book or story?
As I mentioned above, the landscape of North Cornwall was a huge inspiration – its so wild, rugged and well, romantic I suppose – the ideal setting for any love story. I’ve been married forever but I see so many of my friends deal with romantic dilemmas and often I’m the shoulder to cry on. Whilst the romantic dilemmas of my three female characters are NOT based on any one dilemma or any one person in particular (honestly!), they are a sort of mish-mash of what goes on in real life with real people.
10. What else about the book or story might pique the reader’s interest?
All the characters are loveable (well, apart from one – although I find even him strangely loveable!), it’s got humour in it as well as pathos. It’s not just about romantic relationships either, it’s about relationships of all kinds, particularly between friends and even parents too. I’d also like to think the characters are easy to relate to, that the reader can identify with their emotional journeys.
Okay – the tagging:
Yasmin Selena Butt
Siobhan Daiko
Joff Gainey
Catherine Kirby
March 27, 2013
The Wonderful World of Edits
Recently, I have been involved in edits of my first book, The Runaway Year, coming out in July 2013 and, wow, what a process it’s been!
For a start, my publishers (Omnific Publishing) are American, so – quite a lot of ‘Britishisms’ I’ve used throughout the text have had to be removed. Not replaced with Americanisms, because it’s important to keep the English flavour of the book, but rather with ‘Universalisms’ (is there such a word? If not, there is now!).
So, ‘banger’ (Layla’s much-loved but beaten up old Mazda MX5) becomes ‘heap’, ‘ropey’ becomes ‘grim’ and ‘bespoke’ becomes ‘tailored’. Those were the easy ones. Some words or sayings have had to be rethought entirely. For example, in Britain, we potter, the Americans, however, putter. Could I use that word instead I was asked? Since ‘put’ is usually associated with the golfing green in the UK, I thought not. Hence a complete re-write of that particular sentence, taking out any mention of pottering or puttering at all (which is a shame, cos both are lovely words just not universal!).
Other common editing faux pas myself and I’m sure plenty of others have made include:wander when you really mean wonder (and vice versa) and bought when you really mean brought (and again, vice versa!). There, they‘re and their should be double-checked in all instances (oh, how I love Find and Replace) as well as your and you’re. When you’re in the grip of the muse and the words are flowing, it’s amazing how easily the wrong version can slip in!
If submitting your manuscript to an American publisher, it’s important to remmber that they use double quotes for speeches, not single quotes. Still, that’s when Find and Replace comes in handy again. Also, get to grip with Track Changes, the editing programme Editors use, before embarking on any edits – it’s a bit fiddly but it’s absolutely brilliant. I went on-line and worked my way through a 7-minute tutorial on YouTube – it was all I needed to get stuck in. Here’s one I liked – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYIqRGVwWhY – but there are lots of different ones – see which one suits you.
Scene changes were the biggie regarding edits – but luckily I only had one of those. As they were the last two chapters, however, they were key and so needed careful handling. I had also included in the book 4 chapters from the male perspective (2 each from both of the main male protagonists). These were removed (much to my initial horror!) as it was decided to focus entirely on the main female characters instead (of which there are 3 – Layla, Penny and Hannah), the idea being it would make the story more streamlined. On reading it over afterwards, I have to admit, those editors know what they’re doing!
I’m on the second pass now – which means the second wave of edits and they are (thankfully!) much, much lighter than the first, just the odd word here, a couple of sentences there, a bit of punctuation.
It has been (and still is) a fascinating process with some real suprises along the way (as mentioned above, the deletion of the male character POVs, chapters, although I may well feature them on this blog at a later date). I’m still very much at the start, but it’s a good start and I’m looking forward to what’s coming next.
With so many good books out there, I’m sure you’re not stuck for something to read. But if you are, check out Omnific’s website – http://www.omnificpublishing.com/ – there are some real gems on there, ranging from the sweetly romantic to the downright raunchy. Something for everyone then, I think you’ll agree!!
