New Voices Competition

The competition  There's an exciting new romance writing competition and it will have its very own website - http://www.romanceisnotdead.com/ where the entries will be posted and readers can leave their feedback. It's called New Voices and you can read all about how to enter it here.

The competition will be divided up into four stages and will run from Monday 6th September. The winner will be announced on Monday 1st November.

1. Stage 1: The Free for All;

- All submitted entries will be read and judged by the Mills & Boon judging panel

2. Stage 2: The Shortlist
- A shortlist of 8-10 authors will be announced, and their first chapters posted on the website.
- All shortlisted entrants will be assigned a Mills & Boon author and editor as a ‘mentor’ as they polish their second chapters and for their remaining time in the competition.
- The public will vote for their favourite!


3. Stage 3: The Shorter-list
- The shortlist will be chopped down to 4 – the next stage to share a ‘pivotal moment’ from
their book.
- The public will vote for their favourite!


4. Stage 4: Winner!
- Judged by a panel – names TBC!
- The winner is announced!!

A glimpse into yesteryear...

An old school friend (actually, the boy next door) sent me these photos of Brisbane in the sixties, when trams were still the main mode of transport. Quite a blast from the past. Just looking at these pics, I can hear the swishingsound of the trams zipping along the rails and the pinging sound they made (can't remember what caused it,) and the bells...

... and getting off the Bardon tram on a cold winter's afternoon after netball, using some of my pocket money to buy chips wrapped in paper (from one of the shops just behind the tram above). The chips were salty and just the right balance -- not quite crisp and not quite soggy. Divine -- and not the sort of afternoon treat normally sanctioned by my mother. I had to take my gloves off to eat the chips, but there were no prefects watching, and as I walked home down the long hill on Cooper's Camp Road I enjoyed them as much as anything I’ve ever eaten.

A new author...

During a phone conversation with my mum this week I learned about a new (to me) author -- Marcia Willett. Many of you have probably already read her books, but Mum mentioned that she was similar to Rosamunde Pilcher and that was enough for me to be on the search.
I ordered one MW book from the Book Depository and another from iTunes to download onto my ipod and this week I've had a wonderful time listening to The Children's Hour while I've been walking or doing a spot of housework, or even simply lying in bed.

Until today... when I was only half way through the story and my ipod died.

What is it with me and audio books? First my car CD player  broke, so I bought a special cable to connect my ipod to the car radio frequency and now no ipod either. Maybe the universe is telling me to stick with reading -- or even to think about getting an ebook reader. Still haven't dipped my toe in that water yet.

Anyway... a trip to the library scored me two more Marcia Willett books, and I think I might read in bed tonight rather than watching TV. E's away on another Tarzali BBQ working bee,  and I'll be minding the twins for a sleepover tomorrow night while their parents go to a wedding, so tonight will be just for me.

Tomorrow's another FNQ writers' gathering and we'll be discussing, among other things, how to avoid cliches in our writing. Rather a noble focus, I thought.

Back to Marcia Willett -- I still haven't finished one of her books, but I've certainly enjoyed what I've encountered so far -- beautiful descriptions of Devon countryside, loving and wise characters, plenty of emotional punch... I'm wondering what other wonderful women's fiction writers there are out there still waiting for me to discover. Would love recommendations.

a writing tip...

One of the favourite bits of advice that I brought away from the Michael Hauge workshop...

There must be good reasons to bring your hero and heroine together at the end -- in other words, solid ways the romance character (love interest) relates to the hero’s arc. (Or heroine's arc)
Otherwise there’s no logical reason why they should be together – and there’s nothing worse than the character who more or less implies: `I love you because we’re in this movie or book together.’

It's not purely about attractiuon. Think about the ways your hero and heroine match up. Think about their goals and needs and wounds and how they compliment or heal each other. And yeah, wanting to be kissed in the rain is a very simplified example of a character's need or goal -- but the picture's nice, isn't it? :)

Make those deeper connections between your characters. It makes for a stronger romance. Every time.

These are a few of my favourite things...

1. Watching the patterns of light and shade on the hills at Tarzali in the late afternoon.
2. Walking into a library – drinking in the silence and seeing the rows of books, just waiting.
3. The lush slow movements in classical music.
4. Elliot’s sense of humour.
5. Eating crisp apples while curled up with a really good book.
6. Looking back at Townsville from the back of the Magnetic Island ferry.
7. Talking to my daughters on the phone.
8. My granddaughter Lilly’s welcoming hugs.
9. Those occasional writing days when I’m totally in the zone.
10. Diving beneath a clean ocean wave.
11. Eating a perfectly fresh boiled egg with cracked pepper and toast fingers.
12. My grown up children – and the way they continue to surprise me.
13. Eating fish and chips at the beach, or anything my son Richard has cooked.
14. Dressing up and going to a concert at the theatre.
15. Christmas trees.
16. Getting together with writer friends.
17. When Elliot makes exciting, outrageous predictions about my writing.
18. True and inspiring stories of courage or comapssion.
19. The cards my daughter Vicki makes.
20. Airports – the whole buzz of arrivals and departures.

What are your favourites? I'd love to hear.

Coming up for air...

I sent the book away on Tuesday night and rewarded myself yesterday morning by making Nigella Lawson's super indulgent doughnut French toast for breakfast. I've never actually made French toast before, but I'd watched Nigella making it on TV and describing it very lusciously (as only Nigella can) and yesterday just seemed the right moment to try it. E doesn't usually like sweet things for breakfast, but he enjoyed it. We ate ours with fresh strawberries.

After that, unfortunately, it was a matter of catching up with all the things I'd set aside until "after my deadline". Honestly, the world could be coming to an end and I'd go down still glued to my computer if I was on a deadline. By that stage I've known my characters for quite a while and I'm finally coming to grips with who they are and what they need and I'm so totally in the world of the story that I don't want to know about the real world. But of course I emerge into the light to rediscover bills waiting to be paid, clothes waiting to be washed, gardens to be weeded, walls to be painted. Yes, the painting is still an ongoing between book saga.

Last night we got out a DVD -- a wonderful British film called An Education, a coming of age story set in 1960s England. Fabulous acting, engrossing story. Believable, touching, clever. I highly recommend it.

And of course, I've already started thinking about my next book. I've even opened a file and started to make notes. That's the best thing about having a job you love. It feels like fun so much of the time.

OK, here's Nigella's recipe for Doughnut French Toast
Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup full fat milk
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 slices from a small white loaf or 2 slices from a large white loaf, each large slice cut in half
1-ounce butter, plus a drop flavourless oil, for frying
1/4 cup sugar
Directions
Beat the eggs with the milk and vanilla in a wide shallow bowl.
Soak the bread halves in the eggy mixture for 5 minutes a side.
Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan/skillet, fry the egg-soaked bread until golden and scorched in parts on both sides.
Put the sugar onto a plate and then dredge the cooked bread until coated like a sugared doughnut.

Enjoy.

Still racing to deadline...

But I wanted to show you this new grevillea -- we have about a dozen varieties now and they bring wonderful birds, especially honey-eaters, into our garden. This is flowering just outside our bedroom window and it's called peaches and cream. But the colours aren't quite right here. It's actually brighter in real life.

In defence of popular fiction...

Lately, there's been quite a lot of wrangling in the press and elsewhere between literary fiction writers and popular fiction. Check out this talk by Toni Jordan.

It's one of the best defences of popular fiction I've heard.

I always wonder why people can be such snobs about literature, but still enjoy a poular movie or a popular song without feeling they've lowered themselves.

On sale in Australia this month...

One of my favourite early stories was Outback with the Boss,  winner of the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice award.
Here's the review:
When she sees her new boss for the first time, shes wearing nothing but provocative underwear. Mortified, this beautiful woman hopes that he wont recognize her as his efficient assistant. But when she gets stranded OUTBACK WITH THE BOSS (4.5), she learns the incident left quite an impression on this handsome film producer. But given the financial difficulties with his current project and his feelings toward office romances, do they have a chance? Barbara Hannay pens a wonderful romance with two vulnerable yet strong characters.

From the back cover:
Grace Robbins and her new boss, Mitch Wentworth, had managed to deny their attraction until they got lost together in the Australian wilderness. Then they were rescued….
Back at the office, they were both fighting the memory of their nights in the outback — and maintaining a professional distance might not last for long….

Now Grace and Mitch's story is available in this new 3 in1 release with fabulous authors Sharon Kendrick and Lindsay Armstrong.

A busy week was had by all...

You can probably guess by my silence that I am now in the final countdown to another deadline where all I want to think about and write about is my book.
Even so, my trip to Melbourne last weekend for the Michael Hauge and Steve Kaplan workshops on The Art of Romantic Comedy was fabulous. The workshops were full on -- going from nine till after six both days, but I learned so much. Although there were lots of things we already knew as romance writers,  hearing Michael Hauge's ideas expressed so clearly (using new terminology) was very refreshing and provided a very good reminder of what's really important. Characters who change. Characters who earn love. Deep conflict and the emotion that rises from that coflict. All these points are more firmly embedded in my thinking than ever. Colour me grateful.
And Steve Kaplan's insights into comedy were new and very helpful as well as entertaining.

While I was away, Elliot and his mates were busy at Tarzali building a deck and asado (Argentinian) barbecue. They made a great start and worked very hard in the rain.

And Sophie discovered lipstick

getting excited...

This week, when I'm not writing , or getting excited about my trip to Melbourne on the weekend, (the excitement is not only because it will be cold and I'll get to wear an overcoat, but that's part of it) ...
I'm pouring over bathroom catalogues. Our extensions at Tarzali will be starting soon and we've never been involved in a new "build" before. But we've been told that all the bathroom fittings need to be decided now, so the correctly placed outlets can go into the concrete pad. So it's decision time. As we're sticking with the country cottage look, we're opting for this bath.
I've never been a great one for baths, but the red dirt of the Tablelands has a habit of clinging to one's toes, so a good long soak is a must. Plus, this bath looks so inviting, I think. I'll position a small stool close by for a drink and a book, of course!! (And yes, we'll have a shower as well. This is still the tropics, after all. :)
And we've found a lovely vanity made from silky oak with gorgeous old fashioned tiles in greens and pinks that will match the old, recycled, green and pink windows E's restoring. So fingers crossed, the builder approves. (It's 4 mm bigger than the max width he allowed us).
OK, back to work. I'm a little over halfway into this book, with a big dramatic scene looming, but I have to create a lovely, gentle scene first... At least that's the plan... :)

Guest blog...

Please pop over to Helene Young's blog. She's kindly iterviewed me about collaging and writing, about help from DHs and much more.

Six months later... twenty years later...

Leaving Tarzli, we drove back to Townsville on Friday and on the way passed the sugar cane I told you about at the end of last year.

Back then it was only a few inches high.

Now it looks like this.

Elliot is 6 ft 4 ins, so that gives you an idea how high it is. Then, when we got to Townville had the loveliest weekend with No I daughter, Emma, home for her twenty year school reunion.( OMG, where have those years gone? I can remember how heart broken I was when she left home at 17 to go to university.) But we had a great time this weekend. So  many wonderful, long, lovely chats.

poetry...

Every so often I need to read poetry. Poets are so in love with words. They have so much to teach us. One of my favourites is Pablo Neruda who writes originally in Spanish.
I love this... Do you have favourite poems? I'd love to hear.

Pablo Neruda's To the Foot From Its Child

A child's foot doesn't know it's a foot yet

And it wants to be a butterfly or an apple
But then the rocks and pieces of glass,

the streets, the stairways

and the roads of hard earth

keep teaching the foot that it can't fly,

that it can't be a round fruit on a branch.

Then the child's foot

was defeated, it fell

in battle,

it was a prisoner,

condemned to life in a shoe.

Little by little without light

it got acquainted with the world in its own way

without knowing the other imprisoned foot

exploring life like a blind man.

Those smooth toe nails

of quartz in a bunch,

got harder, they changed into

an opaque substance, into hard horn

and the child's little petals

were crushed, lost their balance,

took the form of a reptile without eyes,

with triangular heads like a worm's.

And they had callused over,

they were covered

with tiny lava fields of death,

a hardening unasked for.

But this blind thing kept going

without surrender, without stopping

hour after hour.

One foot after another,

now as a man,

or a woman,

above,

below,

through the fields, the mines,

the stores, the government bureaus,

backward,

outside, inside,

forward,

this foot worked with its shoes,

it hardly had time

to be naked in love or in sleep

one foot walked, both feet walked

until the whole man stopped.

And then it went down

into the earth and didn't know anything

because there everything was dark,

it didn't know it was no longer a foot

or if they buried it so it could fly

or so it could

be an apple.

Translated by Jodey Bateman

From last Saturday...

Here we are, gathered in Havva's lovely country style kitchen, and I'm busily explaining how I use collages... Soon there were magazines being cut up and glue sticks flying.

A little bit quiet...

Have had my head down writing, and when I haven't been writing I've been talking about writing, first at the Ravenshoe writer's group and yesterday with our own NQ romance writers. Yesterday we gathered at a member's home in Mareeba and had a great time, with most of our group practising pitches to agents or editors in preparation for this year's conference in Sydney. Helene Young, who successfully pitched her book Border Watch at a conference two years ago, was on hand to give great pointers.

In the afternoon, I showed my collage PowerPoint and then everyone had a leisurely time flicking through magazines and tearing out pictures to make their own collages. I love watching people get excited when they begin to feel the potential of using visual images to prompt and please their writing muses. The combination of visual stimulus plus music on headphones (instrumental music without words) works for me every time, and yet, crazily, I don't always use it. That's a good reason to talk to others about it every now and again, because it can remind me about good habits I've let slip.

Today, however, I'm giving myself permission to spend most of the day in the garden. You've no idea how naughty it feels when my manuscript beckons, but being naughty is always fun, isn't it? And this particular naughtiness is also rewarding. Besides, I have to go back to the city at the end of the week and I know I'll regret it if I haven't done some of the "outside" things I longed to do.

Oh, and for those of you who know my guinea fowls' history, I should report that they are now incredibly independent and, like any teenagers, they take off to visit our neighbours and show no gratitude for the expense and loving hand rearing we gave them when they were babies. They don't even sleep in their beautiful pen anymore, but roost in a nearby tree -- but so cute, all in a row. Every afternoon they come down to the house hoping for grain (which they get) and they hang around and admire themselves in our French doors and then bathe in our dust. That's guinea love for you.

My brush with fame...

I'm in a book with Nora.

OK, it's in Scandanavian countries only and you need a magnifying glass to see my name, but Nicola Marsh is there too. Yay, Nic. We'll take fame (almost) any way it comes.
oh, and the book? A Wedding at Windaroo.

An Old Farmer's Advice...

I found this in among my "Docments" this morning. I can't remember where I found it so I can't attribute it to anyone, but I love the wisdom here. I had apparently underlined the advice about the face in the mirror each morning, so I guess it really rang true for me. I also love the one about ordering other people's dogs. Which is your favourite?

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong. *

*Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.*

*Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.*

* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a tractor.*

* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.*

* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.*

* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.*

* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.*

* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.*

* You cannot unsay a cruel word.*

* Every path has a few puddles.*

* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.*

* The best sermons are lived, not preached.

* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.*

* Don't judge folks by their relatives.*

* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.*

* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.*

* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.*

* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.*

* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.*

* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.*

* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.*

* Always drink upstream from the herd.*

* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.*

* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.*

* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.*

* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.*

*Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.*

* Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.*

How the other half sees it...

Elliot was recently interviewed for Romance Writers of Australia's HeartsTalk magazine. This is what he had to say (and yup, I still love him):

Elliot, you are more involved with romance writing than most husbands or partners, how did that come about?

First let me stress that I don’t co-write any of Barbara’s novels, the craft of romance writing is well beyond my capabilities.

However I’m quite chuffed when she refers to me as her “first reader”.

I suspect I became more involved than most husbands because of my professional career as a journalist and editor and I’ve always been fascinated by a good story. I read my first novel when I was ten (James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans by the way is not only an adventure story; it’s one of literature’s great romances).

Barbara ran story lines and pitches past me during her four and a half-year journey towards publication and it seemed natural to be involved or supportive once she was picked up.

Are there risks in being too closely involved?

Absolutely, this is dangerous ground. We are dealing with the creative thought process often under deadlines and stressful conditions.

It is so easy, even for a well-intentioned bloke like me, to silence the “Girls in the Basement” or ruin the author’s voice.

It took me a few years to realize that having two writers in the one household involved sharing a limited amount of oxygen on occasions.

That’s because we males are genetically engineered to take control, offer advice when it’s not being sought, interfere, solve problems when they don’t even exist, dominate conversations and generally act like the heroes in romance novels.

What advice can you offer to other husbands and partners?

Please guys, don’t panic if you simply want to wish your loved one well with her writing, back her 100%, but can't bring yourself to read any of the stuff. Remember we’re talking about stories crafted specially for women and not many blokes read them.

Don’t worry… she’s in safe hands with her fellow writers and RWA.

I tell anyone who will listen that my wife is in “one of the most supportive professions unknown to man”. She’s been welcomed into an amazing support group that I truly believe is unique to the sisterhood of romance writing.

It’s hard for men to grasp, but you women share trade secrets and intellectual property, go to extreme lengths to encourage others into your profession, embrace new authors who could be expected to reduce your own market share, back each other emotionally in good times and bad… and generally have fun while doing all this.

How do you think most men feel about romance writers?

Who cares? Men don’t really count in your industry as writers, editors, publishers or consumers. I’ve stopped bristling when male friends or my colleagues ask Barbara about sending away for the “formula” or wanting to know how many novels she “churned out” last year.

I suspect many feel a little intimidated, but they do respond to statistics which males normally relate with success, and they are stunned if you quote the size and status of the market, particularly in the US.

Men tend to put down or send up anything that is slightly beyond their own intellectual property or experience.

For example, early in my wife’s career I was mixing semi-formally with old colleagues and we were trying to see what intellectual resources we could muster for a community project.” Well, there’s Elliot, he’s probably the most well read bloke in our group”. I was modestly taking in this unexpected professional compliment when my friend added “Yes. He’s read everything Barbara’s ever written”.

Sometime later, at a busy pedestrian crossing, a group on the other side of the street waved and pointed excitedly. “Look, look everyone! There goes Barbara Hannay’s husband”. If you are an Alpha male I suspect this could be difficult to handle.

You’ve been involved in RWA conferences here and overseas and accompanied Barbara to London and New York.. what were some of the highlights?

I enjoy romance conferences (and believe the Australian ones have the best karma) and I find women presenters much more skilled at imparting craft than most men I’ve listened to at corporate conferences and seminars.

But I’m also the type who’s sensitive to social gaffes and I still wake up in the middle of the night sweating with overwhelming remorse at some of the things I did or said in the earlier years.

I’m amazed that Barbara didn’t divorce me on the spot during our first visit to Richmond.

She was being hosted to lunch by two very senior Mills and Boon editors when my Alpha Male in the Basement surfaced and I offered to help them “ counter the company’s low profile in the publishing industry”.( Ok I know! But it was 10 years ago and I was only trying to help). Barbara’s recollection was that I actually suggested their books would now sell better because they had shown the good sense of signing her up.

I no longer attend luncheons with editors.

Because I also had some background in marketing I also questioned the same senior editors’ choice of title for Barbara’s first book. The hero was Fletcher and the heroine’s name was Ally. I have never seen two people more suited to each other. In particular Ally was the perfect woman for Fletcher… but he was too stubborn to admit it. I suggested “Right up Fletcher’s Ally”. They took it on board but foolishly insisted on “Outback Wife and Mother.” I still like mine better.

Free writing courses...

If you're interested in some free writing courses, check out this blog.