Digging after the conference

Last weekend I was enjoying myself at the RNA conference in Caerleon. The whole weekend was full of fun and laughter as well as inspiring talks by published authors, agents and editors. The Gala Dinner on Saturday evening was a chance to dress up.

The highlight of the conference for me was having a one to one with an editor from Harlequin Mills and Boon. Having been able to submit a first chapter and synopsis before the conference the editor gave me feedback on where to improve my writing. On returning home from the conference I received my  New Writers' Scheme feedback which mirrored what the editor had told me. I just need to dig deeper into the characters, dig deeper into the emotion of the story and dig deeper within myself to tell my own unique story.

So digging I will go! Over the course of the summer holidays I plan to dig like crazy into my recently completed manuscript and unearth a story that has the spark and unpredictability that is looked for by Mills and Boon.



More Competition Results

I returned from my holiday in Rhodes last week to competition results from the Valerie Parv Award run by the Romantic Writers of Australia. I am pleased with my score of 79% for the first three chapters on my story, which was entered into the Valerie Parv Award. One of my judges said, 'The characters are wonderful and I really want to see them together. The writing is excellent, with some gorgeous phrases.'

Today I'm attending the RNA's conference in Caerleon, where I have an appointment with an editor from Mills and Boon. I'm looking forward to hearing what she thought of the first chapter of my recently completed story of Lisa and her Russian hero Dimitri.