Next week I’ll be blogging about the mental health challenges I’ve faced over the last couple of years that brought about this new direction. I reached a point where I said to my agent I just don’t think I can write romantic comedy any more. It’s not in me. The spark has gone. Deep within I felt a seriousness, a weight, even though my mental health was improving. And a kind of clarity that something inside me had shifted and my writing needed to reflect that.

That’s the thing. Us authors write from the heart. I’ve passionately written all of those nine previous books but just didn’t have the same motivation as the weeks became months in 2017. It would have been impossible. Which is kind of ironic as I’d always thought of myself as a very commercially-minded author, but if you’d offered me a million pounds I couldn’t have come up with the goods.

However I did have an idea for a book with characters I could relate to. A mental health problem can create turmoil within a family – and with friends and sometimes the community, as is the case with the protagonist Emma in Forgive Me Not… before I knew it I’d sketched out character profiles and a plot.

But the story wasn’t funny. The main thrust of it wasn’t romantic. I wasn’t sure how my writing style would fit this new genre. I wasn’t sure if I was up to writing in a new way with no one-liners, nor a humorous tone. I didn’t know if my readers would follow me along my new path.

But I had to do it. So with the guidance of my incredible agent I started. And it was tough. The first draft virtually needed to be scratched and I almost gave up. But a writer’s heart is a powerful tool. It kept nudging me and eventually I began again with renewed passion.

It was a nerve-wracking process sending out the manuscript to editors and a particularly emotional moment came when I read the email in which my new editor, Michael Bhaskar, expressed his passion for, and belief in, my new project. With his expertise the manuscript was polished further. When I saw the fantastic cover the Canelo team created everything fell into place and I felt that this genre was where my work – at the moment anyway – should be.

Now the whole creative process for that story is over I can see that the new book is still “me”. I feel there’s an underlying warmth that is the signature of my previous books. And I’m absolutely thrilled with the early reactions I’ve had to Emma’s story. It’s early days but perhaps this is going to go okay!

So, I guess what I’m saying is, don’t be afraid to follow your heart. I’ve always believed that someone’s greatest achievements don’t come from the comfort zone and that an author must continually set themselves challenges. It is too easy to become complacent, especially if you find a degree of success. Although that doesn’t necessarily mean changing genre – for example, in One Summer In Rome a character is blind, and it took research and care to write their story. And my author friends and favourite writers never cease to amaze me with the innovative story after story they come up with.

It’s been a scary twelve months. I’m an author with bills to pay, it’s my career, and I have a lovely loyal readership for my comedy writing. One might say this change of direction is something of a risk. Yet I feel it’s too easy to become pigeon-holed as a writer. I recently attended an evening with Matt Haig who has written fiction, non-fiction, children’s stories… and I find that very inspiring. I’ve written many stories from a child’s point of view for The People’s Friend magazine and have often felt a hankering to write a novel for youngsters. And now I’m thinking well… why not?

Humans change over time – I’m not the same person I was twenty, ten, five or even two years ago – so it’s perhaps, naive, to expect our writing not to change as well.

The story was inspired by my trip to Italy last year. Rome is so beautiful, as you can see from this photo…

…and as for the food! Is it any wonder the book is set in a family-run pizzeria?!

One memorable evening we ate a meal in Piazza Navona, where One Summer in Rome is set. The waiter was not impressed by how quickly we ate and wanted to order the following course. He said “Piano! Piano!”  – slowly!

I ordered a selection plate of puddings for dessert, expecting them to be three small slices. They were actually huge (bigger than they look in this photo) and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Below is the blurb. I’m very excited about sharing this story which will be out on 9th May 2018!

To Rome…with love?

Mary Smith is turning her very ordinary life upside-down! She’s bought herself a one-way ticket to Rome and is ready for a summer she’ll never forget.

Men might be off the cards for waitress Mary, but within hours of arriving at the utterly charming family-run La Dolce Vita pizzeria, she’s already fallen in love with the bustling capital!

Only Dante Rossi, the mysterious (and drop-dead gorgeous) chef seems displeased with her arrival. And in the heat of the kitchen, it doesn’t take long for long-buried secrets to surface and sparks to fly…

A deliciously heartwarming romance to have you dreaming of summer. Perfect for fans of Debbie Johnson and Caroline Roberts.

PREORDER NOW!

Talking of coffee, that’s the first thing I thought of when I arrived at Stockport station to make the two hour train journey to Euston. And lesson learnt from my last, nauseous journey to London, I sat forward-facing and didn’t read too much! The weather was gorgeous and in no time at all, I found myself in one of the HarperCollins board rooms, lapping up the beautiful views of the capital’s skyline  – and more of the black stuff.

How wonderful to meet well-respected bloggers Rachel Gilbey (left) and Sharon Wilden. Their reputation precedes them and, along with my editor Victoria and editorial assistant Hannah, we spent three hours chatting, gossiping and belly-laughing about the publishing business, books and my new novel. On hand was an array of tiffin and biscuits, coffee and sparkling water, and we talked about industry trends and our favourite authors.The time whizzed by and it was really fascinating to hear the bloggers’ views on reading, writing and the industry – my editor and I fired off many questions! And I enjoyed explaining about the characters and themes in my  new book which is very close to my heart.

Also, I was super excited to see the fantastic book trailer for my new novel! My editor offered to show it to me before Rachel and Sharon arrived, but I managed to hold off for the premiere!

All in all it was such an exciting day. Thanks to Rachel and Sharon for their time and jokes! And remember, ladies, what happens at The News Building stays there!!

This week sees the release of my new short story, How to Get Hitched in Ten Days. It features a disastrous Valentine’s proposal, and it got me thinking… I wonder what fellow Carina authors have got to reveal – good or bad – about their past Valentine’s Days?!

Anabelle Bryant

Worst Valentine’s Day story: Many years ago I shopped in a store not realizing my then boyfriend was also shopping for Valentine gifts. From afar I saw him purchase a few things, candy, card, stuffed animal…but never received them when Valentine’s Day arrived. Needless to say he turned into an X shortly after.

Oh no, poor you Anabelle! You did the right thing!

Kathleen Mcgurl

Year 2000, first Valentine’s of the new millennium. I thought I knew what we were doing – had arranged for us to go to Cheshire the weekend before to visit some friends, then on V-Day itself (a Monday) I had a restaurant and babysitter booked. Not to mention several meetings at work. But behind my back, my husband had cancelled everything I’d booked, sorted me some time off work, and booked a long weekend in Athens. I knew nothing about it until about 3 hours before the flight when he asked me to go and pack – and I still didn’t know where we were going until we checked in at the airport! 

Oh wow, that is amazing!

When I first met the man who became my husband, before we even were going out together, I sent him an anonymous Valentine’s card which I sent first to my Granny in Newcastle and asked her to post it for me, so the postmark would be Newcastle. It was about 10 years later, when we were long since married, that I fessed up to that card being from me. It had puzzled him for years.

Ha ha! Good old Granny!

A year after moving into our current house, Valentine’s Day came round. We went out for dinner with our electrician and our builder and their wives. That said something about what our first year in the house had been like!

Oh dear!

Aurelia B Rowl

I got engaged on a Valentine’s Day and then married on the following Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s also plays a huge part in my YA novel Popping the Cherry 

Aw, that is romantic!

Kierney Scott

I had an emergency appendectomy on Valentines Day when I was 19. I got more flowers and chocolate that year than any other before or since.

Oh no! The gifts were some small recompense, I guess!

Raven McAllan

I got a very pretty card with roses on it. Oh, I said, I had one like that in my card box. Hubby grinned… Yeah he’d forgotten and our daughter had to remind him…

Oops!!

Jill Steeples

I opened a valentine’s card from a boyfriend to find that he’d recycled a card sent to him from a previous girlfriend, by sticking a blank piece of paper over her written message. His reason – he liked the picture and the sentiment of the card so much he thought I would too! Needless to say, he didn’t last much longer after that. Eejit!

Oh no Jill – what a loser!

A L Michael

I went to an all girls school so when we were teens we used to get together and have anti – Valentine’s Day – we watched girly movies (and judged the heck out of them) listened to angry girl rock and ate a lot of pizza. Years later we added the cocktails

Links well to my book, My So-called (Love) Life where they basically do that as grown ups. 

I love that!

Kerry Barrett

When I’d just graduated and I was working in an admin job, I arranged to meet my then boyfriend on Valentine’s Day. I waited for him outside Chancery Lane tube for about an hour – possibly more. It was before everyone had mobiles and there was no texting or anything. I remember watching everyone going into and out of the station in couples, clutching bunches of flowers and chocolates. When he eventually turned up, he gave me a sheet of A4 paper folded in half. On the front he’d drawn a heart (badly – like how hard is that?!) in marker pen, and inside he’d scrawled a question mark. Romantic, eh? He was NOT a keeper.

Good grief!

Well, I hope anyone reading this post feels a bit better if their Valentine’s date doesn’t go to plan this year – you aren’t alone!!

So, other writers may disagree with me, but here are my top tips for writing a novella…

Firstly don’t add in a complicated subplot or more than one subplot. In my full-length novels there is a lot more than the main story going on. Game of Scones, for example is about career-girl Pippa trying to decide what she really wanted to do with her life – stay with boyfriend Henrik? Continue to be an executive in London or become a baker in Greece? Alongside this is another meaty plot regarding a small Greek village struggling to cope with the recession. And then there is her childhood friend Nico who is harbouring some secret.

However, in How to Get Hitched in Ten Days, there is really one meaty story – Dave makes a disastrous Valentine’s Day proposal to Jasmine, and her best friend Mikey helps turn the situation around. Of course, there is more to it than that. We do spend the book trying to work out who is the object of Mikey’s secret unrequited love –  you still don’t want the story to be completely linear – but don’t surround the main plot by lots of smaller stories. You just won’t be able to give them the necessary depth with this amount of words.

Secondly, reduce your cast of characters because, again, you won’t have space to develop them fully and therefore they could become confusing to the reader. Game of Scones has quite a large cast of quite significant characters, from a Greek village. How to Get Hitched in Ten Days mainly focusses on Mikey, Jasmine and Dave.

Thirdly, you haven’t got the space to set the story up in the first three chapters. In my view the bones of it need to be there in the very first chapter. By the end of the first chapter in How to Get Hitched in Ten Days we know that Dave has messed up and kind-hearted Mikey has agreed to help. We have been introduced to the main characters. We know where the story is heading.

Fourthly, don’t over complicate the settings or have too many. You haven’t got the pace of a normal book to enable readers to keep up with everything that’s going on and clearly build up images in their mind. Still keep your settings interesting and vivid – my novella often features a delicious 50s diner – but just be aware that too many different settings could make the reading intense for this length.

Finally, have fun with it! I LOVED writing this short story. The plot felt really tight as I wrote it and it was very satisfying, for a change, to concentrate on a smaller cast.  And I do hope this fun transfers to the page!

So if you fancy a funny, sometimes poignant, and romantic Valentine’s Day read, why not preorder this short story for a bargain 89p on Kindle or Kobo!

This novella is out on February 11th and is up for preorder now!

Only 89p Amazon UK 

or

$1.99 Amazon US

Also available at other online retailers!

Here’s the blurb!

HOW NOT TO GET THE GIRL…

Meet Mikey, every girl’s best friend – he bakes the creamiest cheesecake, loves movie nights and is a great dance partner.

For Jasmine, Mikey is the perfect flatmate – he owns a 50s diner that turns out the best food around, gives the best bear hugs and amazing romance advice – after all they’re scoping out the same hot guys! So when her boyfriend proposes in the worst possible way, Jazz knows her best friend will be there to pick up the pieces with gourmet popcorn, Pinot sleepovers and a shoulder to lean on.

But Mikey isn’t about to let Jasmine give up on love, and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to mend her broken heart – even if it means helping the one person who sees him as the enemy…

Because at the end of the day, all’s fair in the pursuit of true love… right?

TA Williams author of What Happens At Christmas

Write it in the summer when you think nostalgically of snowy scenes and winter wonderlands, rather than in the winter when it’s freezing cold, grey and soggy.

Buffy Andrews author of The Christmas Violin

It can be tough writing a Christmas story when the holiday is months away. To help get in the mood, create a feeling of Christmas. Listen to Christmas music. Make a cup of cocoa. Put up a small tree or display a few of your favorite ornaments in your writing area.

Jennifer Joyce author of The Mince Pie Mix-Up

To get myself in the festive mood while working on The Mince Pie Mix-Up during the summer, I listened to lots of Christmas music (AccuRadio have a great selection of festive stations year-round) and used a festive mug for my all-important tea.

Jaimie Admans contributing author to Christmas Wish Come True

My tip would be to immerse yourself in Christmas, no matter what time of year you’re writing in! Drag some tinsel out of the attic, burn a festive scented candle, go and bake gingerbread men, find a Christmas playlist on Youtube, and think of all the senses – what Christmas feels, sounds, smells, and tastes like!

Darcie Boleyn author of Wish Upon a Christmas Cake 

Play some Christmas tunes, burn some cinnamon candles, look at photographs from Christmases gone by then let the words flow.

Misty Shaw contributing author to Christmas Wish Come True

Remember the Christmas magic from your childhood, how the snow always used to cover the ground.

Annie Lyons author of A Not Quite Perfect Christmas

Watch The Snowman, It’s A Wonderful Life & Love Actually to get those festive emotions (& tears) flowing!

Jenny Oliver author of Four Weddings and a White Christmas 

There’s nothing more fascinating (and unique) than other people’s Xmases – so draw on your own memories and traditions as much as possible when writing festive.

Maxine Morrey author of Winter’s Fairytale 

‘Nothing beats Michael Buble’s Christmas album for getting you in the festive mood – even when it’s 30 plus degrees outside!’

Hello Jenny – lovely to have a fellow foodie on the blog! Food features heavily in my own writing – cupcakes In Mistletoe Mansion, my summer novel Game of Scones speaks for itself and in the latter’s standalone sequel,  My Big Fat Christmas Wedding, Pippa specializes in baking scones and pasties… yum! Clearly you  love writing about food as well, going by the titles of some of your books, like the Cherry Pie Island series, The Little Christmas Kitchen and The Parisian Christmas Bake off… Do you bake much in real life? I see from your website that you come from a family of “star bakers”!

Hey Sam, thanks for having me! I was excited to see your cover reveal for My Big Fat Christmas Wedding – it looks amazing!

Thanks so much! As a fellow Carina author, I’m sure you’ll agree their covers are fab-u-lous! So… back to food – how important is it in your personal and writing life?

I do love writing about food and I have an incredibly sweet tooth so can never resist a stop for a cup of tea and a cake. When I have the time I bake at home, and I’m looking forward to baking more with my son when he gets a bit older – I have really fond memories of standing on a stool by the kitchen counter when my mum was baking and being able to lick the spoon. My favourite recipes are a very easy all-in-one chocolate cake from a tatty old cookbook that everyone in the family has photocopies of because it’s such a winner, and my grandmother’s lemon cake which is insanely good and a close guarded secret recipe.

I really enjoy describing the texture and appearance of sweet foods and I think this comes from being brought up by a mother who was an ace baker – suet puddings, pies, cakes, all gooey and melt-in-the-mouth and… I could go on!

I can relate to that! My mum was a midday supervisor at a primary school, when I was younger, and used to bring home the recipes to bake. I can remember frequently tucking into seconds of carrot cake, suet puddings, rice puddings… Mmmm! I believe your mum is Russian and has inspired your interest in all things culinary, so would you say your palate is very cosmopolitan or are you a bigger fan of the British staples?

Ooh I like everything! Probably more than the cultural influence was the insistence that we should at least try what was on the plate in front of us, even if we didn’t finish it, and I think that lead to a pretty rounded palate. The Russian heritage has had most influence on seasonal celebrations – Easter especially – and instead of a wedding cake we had Malakoff Torte, made by my mum, which is probably one of my most favourite foods in the world!

What is your signature dish, if you’re throwing a dinner party?

In the winter I tend to make Coq au Vin or some other kind of hearty stew! In summer it’s lots of salads, tabbouleh and an amazing moroccan chicken dish of Nigel Slater’s which is v easy and unbelievably tasty.

I know cherries are your favourite fruit… which is your favourite:

Vegetable – probably carrots or broccoli, but I’m more of a salad person – I have it with everything – and I love avocado.

Sandwich filling – this is very tricky. I like a lot of different sandwiches. But I’m going to go with cheese and pickle. Simple but very effective.

Dessert – if it’s a restaurant then always the chocolate option. If not then Malakoff Torte (as above) or my mum’s meringues.

Writing snack – plain chocolate digestives.

Can we expect any more foodie books from you in the future?

My latest book, Four Weddings and a White Christmas, has just come out and food plays a really important part in the story. Harry, the hero, is a chef and pours all his passion and energy into his restaurant and his food, leaving very little left for anyone else… Enter Hannah to change all that!

Sounds like a wonderful read, Jenny!

Thanks so much for joining me and now I must head straight for the kitchen – all this food-talk has made me decidedly peckish!

You can find out more about Jenny here

This book is the standalone sequel to bestselling Game of Scones, and I can’t wait for you to reacquaint yourselves with feisty scone-maker Pippa, exotic fisherman Niko and suave property developer Henrik – or to meet them for the first time

So, here it is… shield your eyes against the sparkles! Find the blurb below.

Things don’t always run smoothly in the game of love…

Former hot shot city girl Pippa Pattinson loves her new life of rustic simplicity, running a quaint teashop on a sleepy Greek island with her hot fiancé, Niko. But it’s been a quick change to slow living – and you can’t blame a girl for wondering, ‘how did I get here?’

As her Christmas wedding approaches, a trip back to snowy England for her ex’s engagement party makes her wonder if those are wedding bells she’s hearing in her mind, or warning bells. She longs for the excitement of her old London life – the glamour, the regular pedicures. Can she really give that all up to be…a fishwife?

There’s nothing for it but to throw herself into bringing a little Christmas magic to the struggling village in the form of a Christmas fair. Somewhere in amidst the sparkly bauble cakes and stollen scones, she’s sure she’ll come to the right decision about where she belongs…hopefully in time for the wedding…

Perfect for fans of Lindsey Kelk and Debbie Johnson, you won’t want to miss the Christmas Wedding of the year!