Good Husband Material by Trisha Ashley

Trisha has been tagged by fellow writer Annie Burrows to participate in The Next Big Thing, where authors tell you all about their next book. So here she goes!

What is the title of your next book?

Good Husband Material. This is actually a fresh new edition of my very first romantic comedy, which has long been out of print.

When will the book be published?

28th March 2013 (You can buy it here)

What genre does your book fall under?

Romantic comedy, generally.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Her first love was all wrong, so why doesn’t marriage to Mr Right make her happy?

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your book?

The origins of this book go a long way back in time. When I first began writing adult novels, they were satirical ones and this started out as an exploration of the effect moving to the country could have on a marriage that had seemed pretty rock-solid beforehand. I wrote the first draft in two weeks and called it My Place in the Country. It went on to be shortlisted for the Constable trophy, then a prestigious prize for an unpublished novel, but didn’t find a publisher until my agent took me on and pointed out that I was writing romantic comedies without any romance in them.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters?

Well … I’ll have Johnny Depp for Fergal! But I need a tallish, sassy redhead for Tish and I can’t immediately think of one.

What other books would you compare this story to?

I wouldn’t, there wasn’t anything quite like it when it first came out. Now, I expect there are, but I will leave comparisons to others.

Generally, my recent novels have had more comparisons with Marcia Willett and Rosamund Pilcher than any other authors, but my favourite description is ‘Midsomer Murders meets League of Gentlemen!’ My first four novels, including Good Husband Material, still have a very satirical edge to them. I think I mellowed a bit after that. But my readers like a wide variety of other authors and I’m just happy to be one of them.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I was doing the Earth-mother, Good Life thing in the middle of a town when I wrote the first draft, growing herbs and fruit, baking my own wholemeal bread. I dreamed of living in the country and then started speculating about what effect such a move would have on a couple who seemed on the surface to be a perfect match, but underneath wanted very different things.

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

The gorgeous Fergal? That the heroine doesn’t realise she has red hair? The fact that I immortalised my beloved parrot in it? I think what I like most about the heroine, Tish, is that she’s such a bundle of contradictions: for instance, she says she doesn’t want pets (too unhygienic, for a start) but when a dog and a parrot are foisted onto her, it is clear that despite what she says about them, she actually comes to adore them.

Trisha’s next new novel, Wish upon a Star, will be published in early November 2013 by Avon HarperCollins.

Light Bulbs and Strait-Jackets by Johanna Grassick

Posted by Johanna Grassick

I’ll let you know a secret…I’ve been on Kate Walker writing courses before, so I know they’re always fun and really informative, and that’s why I signed up for the Advanced Romance Writing Course which runs every February in Fishguard, Wales.

Because she’d met us all on previous courses (to attend the Advanced course writers must have already been on Kate’s basic Writing Romance course), Kate tailored the course to our needs and requests, covering topics from character to conflict to sex (yes, we had sex on Sunday morning J). We were given exercises to get us writing and spark ideas for new characters, and our discussions really got things flowing so insights were flashing up around the room like light bulbs. 

As an unpublished writer what’s most valuable to me is feedback on my work, and we were offered a one-to-one meeting with Kate to discuss the work we sent in for the course. I came away from mine with a page of notes, ticks and scribbles all over my manuscript, and precious advice on how to improve my opening chapter.

Kate has been writing 25 years and had 60 novels published, so she’s a mine of information. “There are no rules”, she told us, when writing romance – even Mills & Boon books. It’s important to remember this because aspiring writers of the genre can regard the guidelines as a strait-jacket, when in fact publishers are looking for unique voices and new twists.

So “be brave” is the mantra I brought home with me.

Details of Kate Walker’s courses are on her website:

http://www.kate-walker.com/index.html

And Writers Holidays run other courses too: http://writersholiday.net/

The Next Big Thing - Never Trust a Rake by Annie Burrows

I've been tagged by fellow writer Anne Bennett to participate in The Next Big Thing, where authors tell you all about their latest book. So here goes!

What is the working title of your new book?

Never Trust a Rake

You can buy it here: Never Trust a Rake

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I have no idea - I was probably doing something incredibly boring and drifted off into a daydream. Why my daydreams so often feature Regency Rakes pursuing innocent young misses is a question probably best answered by a psychiatrist.

What genre does your book fall under?

Regency romance.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

There are no actors sufficiently rakish to portray any of the heroes I dream up. That is why I have to dream them up for myself, rather than becoming a fan of someone real (and therefore flawed).

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Rake meets his match in an innocent country miss.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

An agency? Do you mean, do I have an agent? No, I don't. But the books I write are published by Harlequin in the US, and Mills & Boon in the UK and Australia.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It usually takes me about 6 - 7 weeks to do a first draft of a book, during which I just fling everything I can think of at the page. Then I print it out to see what I've got, groan in despair, and start frantically revising. This part often makes me feel as though I'm shut in a dungeon trying to spin gold out of straw. When I've gone through the entire story to my satisfaction, I print it out again, and usually by this stage it only needs a few more tweaks before I feel it is in good enough shape to send to my editor.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I can't compare my work to anyone else! I do the best I can, with ideas I think I've come up with all by myself - but who was it said that a writer's mind is a bit like a compost heap? I write the kind of story I enjoy reading, so I'm sure I've been greatly influenced by Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, and everyone else who's ever written a regency romance since I've been old enough to read them. But I wouldn't dare say my work is like anyone else's - it would either make me sound as though I was boasting I was as good as them, or as though I was writing pathetically slavish parodies.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

Well, if you enjoy light-hearted regency romance, then you might enjoy reading about a man who doesn't trust women, but needs to marry to produce an heir, go about the business of finding a wife he can trust - and getting completely bowled over by the unsuspecting girl he targets.

The next author I’ve tagged to tell you about her new book is my fellow Novelista Trisha Ashley.