Writing Market: Chicken Soup for the Soul

I've known about the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books for a long time but I keep forgetting to try submitting anything! They offer a great opportunity to write non-fiction pieces on a wide variety of subjects and a full list of proposed topics is on their website. For instance, some of the upcoming subjects cover Miracles, Overcoming Challenges, Reboot Your Life, Stories About Cats and Stories About Dogs.

The guidelines are quite explicit: it should be a true, inspirational story about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. They should be written in first person, with a beginning, middle and end, and should create some emotion in the reader - they can be sad, funny, exciting. Maximum length is 1,200 words.

While I'm waiting for my new tween book, The Jigsaw Puzzle, being published by MuseItUp next month, I arranged print copies of my first tween book, Summer of the Eagles (as Ros). Lovely writer friend and former journalist, Sara, designed this lovely new cover for the print version and it's now available from FeedARead. I guessed some of the people at the conference would prefer a print version for this age group (around 10-13 years).

Wishing all my lovely fellow bloggers, friends and readers a Happy Easter weekend.

Rosemary

Writing Conference

Well, I had a great weekend at the Scottish Association of Writers conference, even though the hotel had a problem with the heating on one of the coldest, snowiest weekends of the year! They did eventually provide some industrial heaters to thaw us out, but the warmth of the writers attending ensured we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Our programme is heavily filled with competition adjudications - we anonymously enter the various competitions earlier in the year and anticipation is high as we listen to the judges criteria, opinions and results. We also receive a written critique on any work we enter. Friendly rivalry between all the represented Scottish writing groups adds to the fun, as we wait to see which group's members has the biggest number of mentions - our writing group did very well! I was stunned to come second in the Crime Novel competition as this is my first attempt at writing crime (it's set in Victorian times). We have to enter between 10,000 and 15,000 words plus a synospsis, and I've been advised to get the novel finished!

The rest of the weekend is taken up with seminars or workshops, chatting, eating and browsing the bookshop. An after dinner speaker both evenings kept us entertained until it was time to go and watch the short drama sketches or head for the bar.

I'd definitely advise all writers to try and attend at least one writing conference. Apart from the opportunity to meet other writers and discuss markets, problems, or ideas, we all continue to learn about our craft no matter how long we've been writing and getting published. And it's so inspiring talking about writing all weekend!

A few conferences I know of are: National Association of Writers' Groups, York Festival of Writing and Winchester Writing Festival. I'm sure you'll be able to find many more around the country.

If anyone likes slightly dark YA fiction that also appeals to adults, you might want to have a look at the featured YA book, Roman (Saints and Sinners) on my Flights of Imagination blog today.

Rosemary

Reality Check

Many thanks to Hayley for nominating me for this lovely award!

The rules are nice and short:

Visit the person of the blog who nominated you and link to them on your post.

Answer the questions, nominate more bloggers and let them know.

1. If you could change one thing, what would it be?

I’d ban the obscene amounts of money that individuals can win on the lottery and share it out more fairly among lots of people (even though I never take part).

2. If you could repeat an age, what would it be?

I quite liked my 30s, but I wouldn’t like to repeat any age – much prefer enjoying each as it arrives, so far!

3. What one thing really scares you?

Being trapped in any kind of completely enclosed space without a way out – that includes theatres, toilets, and the back of two-door cars, which I'd probably refuse to sit in now!

4. If you could be someone else for a day, who would it be?

I really don’t know – think I must be too content as I am! Maybe Jane Austen to see what her life was really like.

And now, I’m nominating:

Myra
Anne
Jean

Tomorrow, I'm off to the Scottish Association of Writers annual weekend conference - can't wait, though I've still to get organised!

Travel Inspiration: Amsterdam and Alkmaar

I finally got my Internet connection back late Thursday afternoon - five days without my own access was a lesson in patience! However, it gave me a little more time for writing and organising various things, and proved how much of my day is taken up with various social networking activities. Before moving on to today's post here, I must just mention my Flights of Imagination blog, where author Maggie Lyons is talking about the inspiration behind her two fun books for eight to twelve year olds.

Today, it's the next travel inspiration piece - and I think I'll stick to going through them from A to Z, although there might be several places under one initial letter. That should give me more of a focus for deciding on the places to feature.

Many years ago, when the children were teens and I used a film roll instead of digital, we had an unexpected holiday to Holland. We'd set off to visit relatives in England first, on our way to France, but the French lorry drivers were blocking all routes that summer and we changed plans at the last minute. Once in Holland, we kept driving until we reached a lovely small village towards the north, Bergen Am See, where we managed to rent a cute little holiday cottage. As often in these circumstances, it became one of our favourite holidays.

We took the double decker bus into Amsterdam where we wandered along by the canals, viewed ornate barrel organs, and visited the famous Rijksmuseum, dedicated to arts, crafts and history. Of course, we inadvertantly ended up walking along a certain famous street with interesting window displays!

Clog Whittling

One of the greatest pleasures of the holiday was being able to hire bikes for several days. The most interesting cycle ride took us some miles away into Alkmaar, where we were delighted to watch the fascinating cheese weighing at the annual market.

Our trusty bikes took us all over this beautiful area of North Holland, allowing us access to places we might otherwise have missed. And it was great exercise!

Rosemary

Author Spotlight: Debut Novelist Serena Clarke

Sorry I’ve had no Internet since the weekend - very frustrating. Grateful for husband’s work computer and borrowed access!

A very warm welcome to debut author Serena Clarke who is visiting all the way from New Zealand. Serena kindly answered all my questions and tells us about her debut novel, All Over the Place. It’s all yours Serena, and many thanks for coming over.

Thanks so much for having me to visit Rosemary – it’s lovely to be here!

Tell us a little about how you became a writer, Serena.

There was a certain birthday looming – a birthday with a roundy number. I’d spent years joking, in difficult moments, “Oh well, it’s all good material for the novel.” Like lots of people, writing a book was my ‘maybe one day’ thing. But I suddenly knew that ‘one day’ was now. So I started – and kept going until I finished!

Did you have to do a lot of research for this debut novel? Does your country/environment affect your writing?

Although I'm living in New Zealand, I was able to draw on lots of experiences from my time living in England and Europe. And of course the internet is an unbelievable resource. I still find Google Street View incredible – you can even hike the Grand Canyon with it now! And on YouTube you can find countless videos made by people just walking down the street – in Paris, or New York, or anywhere. It all helps, not just for specific detail, but for the feelingof a place. I’m looking forward to setting a book in New Zealand too – my exotic back yard!

How do you promote your books and does it work?

Well, All Over the Place has only just come out, so I’m not sure if it’s working yet. But I’m enjoying sharing interesting things on my Facebook author page, and merrily tweeting away, as well as visiting with lots of lovely authors and bloggers. All of that qualifies as ‘work’ but is actually the best fun!

What is the most difficult part about starting a new book?

Organising the ideas, definitely. The sisters in my next book are in for a wild ride – the trick is deciding what to torment them with first! (But don’t worry, they’ll be happy in the end!)

Do you think eBooks are the future? Or do you prefer print?

You can’t argue with the convenience of an e-reader – you can leave the house with dozens of books in one slim device. But I do think a bookshelf full of books is a thing of beauty. I’ll keep buying print, definitely.

Do you have a favourite writing place?

Bed is the best place, in a quiet house in the wee small hours, with everyone asleep. There’s a certain magic afoot at that time. It’s less magic when you have to get up a few hours later, and wrestle breakfast into children, and children into school uniforms! But it’s worth it. J

Do you find time for hobbies?

I always say my children are my hobby – like most mothers I spend a lot of time doing kid-related things and taking them around to lessons and activities. I’m the mum trying to keep her Kindle dry poolside! I have had a lot of hobbies over the years, but now writing fills all that time. In a good way!

What are your current writing plans?

All going well, finish the next book. Then write the one after that. Then the next one. And so on… *happy sigh*

Any tips for new writers?

I’m a pretty new writer so I’m still collecting tips myself! For the as-yet-unpublished, I like: “Writing is work, whether you’re published or not.” Take it seriously, keep learning from others, and don’t give up. And once you are published, the same rules apply!

Thanks for a great interview Rosemary – it was fun to chat with you across the world!

You're very welcome, Serena. Excellent answers, and I wish you all the best with your writing career. I’ll be adding your book to my TBR list!

All Over the Place – contemporary romantic fiction with a chick lit feel

Livi Callaway has fled back to London after a reality TV disaster in New Zealand. Safely anonymous in the big city, she’s determined to stay under the radar from now on. But her attempts to build a new life are complicated by unexpected visitors from her old one, and new dangers and temptations lie in wait.

Late one night, she meets a mysteriously sexy American on the Underground – and the events that follow take her from Pooh Bear to the golden lights of Paris, via a trail of rock stars dead and alive. A family in disarray, a determined Swede, a crazed Australian and a childhood friend (who might yet be more than that) have her all over the place as she tries to discover the American’s secret – while keeping her own.

With help – and occasional hindrance – from her friends, what she eventually finds is something unexpected...sometimes, running away can lead you to exactly what you didn’t know you needed.

All Over the Place is available from all major e-book retailers, including:

Amazon US, Amazon UK, itunes, Barnes andNoble

Serena grew up in a family of itchy-footed readers and dreamers – not concentrating, reading the atlas and Narnia books, and planning to escape somewhere magical as soon as she could. When she was 16, she went from New Zealand to live in Sweden for a year. It was the beginning of many travels and adventures – and quite a few disasters! She didn’t know it at the time, but eventually she’d be grateful for all the downs as well as the ups. As writers say in the face of adversity: “I can use that.” She’s now living back in New Zealand, where she writes stories reflecting her determined belief inmagic, possibility and second chances – and happy endings!

Find Serena here – she’d love to hear from you!

Website, Facebook, Twitter

Ghostly Clues

Having Internet connection problems so I've just managed to borrow husband's computer for a quick post on my Flights of Imagination blog, where featured author, Kay LaLone, is talking about the inspiration behind her tween book, Ghostly Clues.

Rosemary

Part Five of Gwen's Book

For those readers who have been following Gwen Kirkwood's family saga about the Maxwell family set in the Scottish Borders, part five A Maxwell Profit is available to download free from Amazon until Sunday 10th March. This is part of the enjoyable Laird of Lochandee series.




Very pleased my tween book, Summer of the Eagles, is featured on The Twilight of Magic blog along with some other interesting YA books.

Writing Market: Fiction and Verse

This is a fairly new online market for short stories and poetry and there is a small payment made according to length. Sounds quite a good home for certain short stories.

Fiction and Verse accept Micro fiction from 100 words, to short stories up to 7500 words, as well as poetry. In addition to publishing an author's biography page on their site, they also provide links to authors' published work and websites. Check out the full details on their website.

Must just mention my daughter's very creative sketchbook which she completed as a fun project at the end of last year - it's now being transported (with others) around American libraries and has been digitised to view online. You can read more about it, with a link to the sketchbook, over on her Through the Looking Glass blog.

Rosemary

She's the One: Anyone can be a Heroine

I was delighted to receive my author copy of lovely little non-fiction book, She's the One, which was compiled in recognititon of International Women's Day. Subtitled 'Anyone can be a heroine', it contains short pieces of non-fiction and poetry celebrating the lives and achievements of many different women. Some are famous, others are pesonal heroines, but all have been inspirational in some way.

The book comprises the winning entries in the She's the One competition. My own page is about St Teresa of Avila, the 16th century nun and mystic, whose writings captivated me while studying that period of European history. Not only did she have to contend with a patriarchal society, but the Inquisition kept a close eye on her writing. Yet St Teresa still managed to have her say, albeit written in such a clever way that she played the men at their own game.

The inspiring little book is now available in print and ebook from Amazon. A lovely gift for Mother's Day.

By sheer coincidence, today's feature on my Flights of Imagination blog is J.Q. Rose and her non-fiction book for teens, Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women. It's a celebration of women all round today!