New Book, New Name by Johanna Grassick

Good things come to those who wait...

As the Novelistas know, I've been working towards getting published for many years now, submitting my work for critique, attending writing courses to hone my craft, and entering competitions. I won't lie - it wasn't always easy to pick myself up after a publisher's rejection, even those (especially those?!) which told me I was very close but hadn't quite hit the mark of what they were looking for. However, last year, I got lucky when my short story, Rum Truffle, was short-listed for The Sophie King Prize.

Even better, the publisher, Corazon, who ran the competition, decided to publish an anthology of the top 10 stories and I saw my name in print for the first time.

Then I went to the Romantic Novelists' Association conference where I had the opportunity to pitch my work to Accent Press (you can read more about this here), and I was thrilled when they offered to publish my novel, Her Forget-Me-Not Ex, a heartwarming contemporary romance set in Provence.

Now I've been through the process of revising and editing my novel for the first time, and I'm so excited to be able to reveal my new cover:

Natasha has consigned her wealthy French ex-husband Luc to the past, so she’s horrified when he turns up at her village florist’s shop out of the blue, pleading for help. He never dared to tell his family about the divorce, and when he asks her to come to France and pretend they’re still married for a couple of weeks to please his dying father, she’s not sure she can say no. She certainly isn’t prepared for the warmth of his family’s welcome, or the attraction that’s still simmering between her and Luc.

But it’s just two weeks in a vineyard, no strings attached, right?

You may notice I have a new pseudonym. Attached as I am to the name I was born with, I have spent most of my life spelling it out to people, and when my publisher suggested that I think about taking on a new identity, I was more than happy.

So what do you think? Isn't it a lovely cover?

Her Forget-Me-Not Ex will be published 22nd May 2015, but it's already available for pre-order from Amazon UK and Amazon USA.

Meanwhile, Sophie Claire has a brand new Facebook page and Twitter account and she'd love to meet you there!

Where I Write by Cheryl Lang

This is my space. My office, to make it sound formal.  It’s painted a soft green that I love. I have a comfortable green swivel chair to sit on and I’m surrounded by pictures and photos I’ve taken in various countries. When I’m stuck for inspiration I just gaze at the pictures and I can almost feel the heat. (In reality, the heating probably needs turning down.) 

At the top are a couple of small baskets for holding millions of ballpoint pens, spare cartridges and other bits and pieces collected over time. I tend to use my laptop more than the PC these days as the PC is rather slow. I often take it out to the conservatory and work there. I can watch the birds, in idle moments and am easily distracted to  track planes on the computer. I find it fascinating to know where they are all going or returning from. 

In my ‘office’ I play CDs because it sometimes helps fix the mood I’m trying to create. I need to get up and walk about every now and then, so that often calls for my purple cafetiere to be filled. Sometimes, if things aren’t flowing I’ll go outside and do some gardening. It sometimes works.

I also have a tall book shelf which is packed with books on how to plot, or write a best seller, (I’ll let you know when that happens!) dictionaries, maps, guides to places, and books I’ve particularly liked. Those three folders in the middle are the print-outs of novels. One, The Sun in her Hair, is currently short-listed in The Write Time competition. Another is a work in progress and the third is one I need to revisit. I tend to keep a hard copy as well as keeping copies on memory sticks and on clouds. 

The other folders further down are my stamp collection. Unusual, maybe, but I started collecting when I was seven and every so often I feel compelled to add more.

Thanks Cheryl, and best of luck with the competition!

My First Taste of Publication! by Johanna Grassick

Earlier this year I was thrilled to learn that my short story, Rum Truffle, had been short-listed for the Sophie King Prize. I was also stunned because this was a competition open to published and unpublished authors, so I’d sent off my entry with very low expectations, but sent it off nevertheless because what did I have to lose?

Although novels have become my main focus in recent years, I still like to experiment with short stories and my inspiration for Rum Truffle came when I visited the pretty Cheshire village of Nantwich, which has some lovely cafés and bakeries. I was also thinking about anniversaries, and how they’re not always a cause for celebration, but can be a link with darker memories from the past. However, at the core of this story – and all my writing – is the belief that love heals.

The Sophie King Prize was for romantic short stories and open to writers from all over the world, but after my story was short-listed there was even better news to come!

The publisher, Corazon Books, who ran the competition, decided that the standard of entries was so high they wanted to publish an anthology of the top 10 stories. Would I like Rum Truffle to be included? Would I ever!

Sophie King is a well-respected writer whose work encompasses novels, short stories and creative writing ‘how to’ books, and I feel privileged that she picked out my work.

The anthology, Love Is All You Need, is now available in e-book (a print version will be launched later this year):

‘An anthology of stories which are funny, thought-provoking, and thrilling, with characters you'll empathise with as they discover that ... Love is All You Need.’

Stories by Alyson Hilbourne, Yvonne Eve Walus, Johanna Grassick, Pauline Watson, Melanie Whipman, Linda Triegel, Laurel Osterkamp, Helen Yendall, Mary Lally, Sherri Turner.

You can buy the anthology here: Amazon books