Conference Time Again!

It's July, which means my annual visit to Romantic Novelists' Association's conference. This year it was home from home for me as it was held at Harper Adams University near Telford, which is an agricultural university. So what did I seek out other than fabulous writing friends and books. Cows of course!

The conference was as usual a weekend full of useful sessions and lots of writing friends, although this year I arrived a day early to take advantage of an event at Wellington Library where authors Nicola Cornick, Sarah Morgan, Kate Walker, Freda Lightfoot and Bernadine Kennedy talked of their writing and books.

Authors from Right to left Kate Walker, Bernadine Kennedy, Freda Lightfoot, Sarah Morgan and Nicola Cornick

Before I left, I had a look in the Mills and Boon section and found my first book, A Deal Before the Altar - and had to have my photo taken with it!

The most useful sessions I attended during the conference were Nicola Cornick and Sarah Morgan's social media session, Fiona Harper's Building Characters from the inside out and of course, Mills and Boon's session, this year on creating the perfect heroine for a selection of heroes, which in turn created great stories. Now I just need to keep in mind all the useful tips from all these sessions.

All too soon it was time to go home and for me that meant returning to my cows and calves which gives me another opportunity to post a farm photo!

Rachael

xx

At Mills and Boon

At the end of last week I was in London for the Romantic Novelists' Association's summer party and the announcement of the winner of the Joan Hessayon award, which this year was won by Kate Field with her debut novel The Magic of Ramblings.

This time my trip to London held much more excitement than catching up with friends at the Summer Party as I visited Mills and Boon's offices.

Whilst there, I took part in a live Ask the Author session which can be watched again on the Mills and Boon Facebook page. If you have any other questions you'd like to ask, leave a comment for me there!

Sadly it was soon time to head back to Wales but there was just time to enjoy a walk in Hyde Park and make the most of the sunshine!

There seemed to be an abundance of ducks, geese and swans with their little families. Too good a photo opportunity to miss.

I'm now back at my desk working on the revisions of my latest book - and, of course, thinking about the next story!

Rachael
xx

Living the High Life - for a day or two!

Thursday last week was the Romantic Novelists' Association Summer Party in London and the annual award of the Joan Hessayon Award, for which several of my friends were nominated, but as usual I was too busy catching up with friends to take photographs.

I left home early on Thursday and after a quick walk along Aberystwyth sea front, caught the train to London. Quite a few hours later, I emerged from London's underground to the bustle of a city I love visiting.

Quite a contrast from the town I left behind, but there is so much to see and do in London that I never quite know where to start first.

My stories are full of glamour and London always gives me the opportunity of seeing a glamorous city in action. From chauffeur driven cars to the gorgeous shops, it's all very different from rural Wales. This time myself and a few friends had afternoon tea before the summer party -  yet more research!


On Friday morning I set off for a walk in St James's Park before heading back home on the train. At first it was peaceful and quiet and I enjoyed watching the pelican's on the lake.

Then everything changed as the Queen's Guards made their way to Queen's Guard Parade to the sound of their band.

All the excitement made me wish I was staying in London a little longer. Maybe next time!

Rachael
xx

Winter Party and Christmas Fairs

I'm back at my desk after a few days away, where I braved the disruption on the rail network following storm Barney and made my way to London for the RNA's Winter Party. I arrived in London much later than planned, but at least I did arrive in time for the party, which I started in style with a glass of bubbly with fellow Write Romantic Helen Rolfe.

From the party I headed back out of London and to a friends house, where I spent a few days catching up and visiting Christmas Fairs at the local historic houses.

As it poured with rain we arrived at Blenheim Palace where we enjoyed the magnificent building which featured in the new James Bond movie Spectre. It's easy to see how this vast and ostentatious building can lend itself to a movie such as Bond - which is still on my list of things to do!


After that we enjoyed the Craft Fair and indulged in some Christmas shopping as well as plenty of chatting over coffee!


The stalls there ranged from seasonal decorations, to paintings, to clothes and hats. There was of course food, where Christmas cakes and puddings were on display.

From there we made our way to one of my
favourite historical houses, Waddesdon Manor, where we sampled the delights of their Christmas
Fair.

After a wander round the stalls we headed in for coffee and cake and by the time we came out it was dark and the full glory of the Christmas lights were on display, making me want to rush home and decorate the trees on the farm.

By Friday I was back on the train and passing the time by writing and this time the journey went smoothly.

Romantic Novelists' Association Conference

I've just returned from London, where this year the RNA held their annual conference at The Queen Mary University.


In the warmth of the sun on Saturday morning I enjoyed a walk along the canal before breakfast. A great way to start off the day!

The talks and workshops were great, especially Hazel Gaynor's talk on promotion and Julie Cohen's workshop on the art of rewriting, which much to the delight of everyone there, involved post it notes!


The highlight of the weekend is the Gala Dinner, which was set in the stunning Ocatgon Library. The tables were so glamorously set and it was a great night with friends.

The Gala Dinner is a time for dressing up and this year I actually remembered to get on the other side of the camera and have a photo taken.

The best part of the conference is always meeting up with friends, making new ones and talking writing, writing, writing.


So, that's my weekend of fun. I'm back at my desk working on revisions for a story I'm really excited about.

Fun Filled Days in London

Last Thursday I travelled to London for the RNA's summer party.

What made it more exciting this year was meeting up with some of the members of The Write Romantics for afternoon tea in The Wolseley, where we had a celebrity spotting moment having noticed Annie Lennox!
Afterwards we headed to the party where Write Romantic, Lynne Pardoe was a contender for the Joan Hessayon Award. As usual there was a fabulous line up of newly published writers who'd come through the RNA's New Writer's Scheme. You can see all the official RNA Summer Party photos here.

The Award Line Up

On Friday, I woke up to a sunny rooftop view of London and the knowledge I had the whole day to

Kew Palace

myself. After a leisurely breakfast in Covent Garden I made my way to Kew Gardens, a place I've always wanted to visit. I walked so far that day, but really enjoyed it. I wandered around Kew Palace, but my favourite was Queen Charlotte's cottage, nestled in woodland.

Queen Charlotte's Cottage

After all that walking I settled down by the lake for a spot of reading and very quickly found I had a captive audience of ducks. They were somewhat disappointed I didn't have anything for them to eat and soon waddled off.

It was a great few days away and I'm looking forward to the RNA Conference in July. Another chance to catch up with friends.

The long, but fun filled road to publication.

A year ago this week, I had a wonderful dream-come-true moment. The Call. Finally after seven years of writing and many ups and downs, I had achieved my ambition of publication. I'd known I wanted to be a writer since I was about nine years old, but only seriously began pursuing that dream eight years ago.

So what set me off on that path of determined persistence?

Thirteen years ago, I saw an advert in my village for a new writing group and as my children were young then the meeting time of Monday afternoons was perfect. So along I went to that very first meeting, and met Brenda Old, the founder member of what is now known as Cwrtnewydd Scribblers.

I soon began to write short stories, which I loved doing, but I kept wishing I could write a book, to get from the very first page to the last. It seemed perfectly natural to want to write romance as my favourite reading since my teenage years, was Mills and Boon.

 Occasionally, we had guest writers at our Monday afternoon meetings, but the day Liz Fielding joined us, set in motion a chain of events which not only focused me on my dream of writing a book, but helped me achieve it. Liz brought with her a book and that was, Kate Walker’s 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance.

I went home and set myself the target of completing my first book by that time the following year. But before I began I sat down and devoured The 12 Point Guide. Imagine my excitement when I read about courses Kate Walker ran for Writers’ Holiday in Fishguard, which was only a short drive away. One phone call later, I was booked up – and with the course being just a matter of weeks away, I began my very first attempt at writing for Mills and Boon.

The Watermill at Posara

The next few years passed in a whirl of manuscripts submitted both to Mills and Boon and RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme. I also attended Kate Walkers course each year and discovered the amazing Watermill in Tuscany where Sharon Kendrick teaches romance writing each May. Through these courses and conferences, I’ve made wonderful friends, travelled and learnt so much, but above all, had an amazing time!

I am also very fortunate to have met up with a wonderful group of writers online, known as The Write Romantics. Together we have formed a very supportive group and my success is only a small part of the success of the group as a whole. Not only have The Write Romantics got lots of debuts to look forward to this year, but they produced a brilliant charity anthology, Winter Tales – which is still available, by the way!

Things began to change in September 2013, when I entered my story into So You Think You Can Write and that entry took me to the Top Ten and finally to being offered a two-book contract, the second of which, Claimed by The Sheikh, is out now.

One year on from that fantastic moment, I now have three fabulous book covers. My fourth book has just been accepted and will be available later this year. Currently, I am working on my fifth book – and enjoying every minute. I hope you will enjoy reading my books!

This was made for me by Amanda Shivratten - thanks Amanda!

Charity Anthology

I'm really proud to be a member of The Write Romantics, a fabulous group of women who met online two years ago. We were at the time, all members of The New Writers' Scheme, run by The Romantic Novelists' Association. At the start of 2014 only one of our group had become a published writer, but 2014 has been an amazing year for us with seven other members signing contracts with publishers or agents.

As a group, we had been toying with the idea of compiling an anthology of short stories in aid of charity and now that idea is fulfilled. Winter Tales was released on 8th November 2014. All proceeds will be split between our two chosen charities, The Teenage Cancer Trust and The Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

One of our members, Alys West, has a gorgeous three year old nephew who battles CF and supporting this charity was close to our hearts. We were also touched by the incredible fund raising efforts of teenager, Stephen Sutton.

Along with our own stories you will find stories from guest authors, all heartwarming seasonal tales. So please, support our charities and buy Winter Tales either as an e-book here or soon to be available paperback.

Thank You and enjoy!

Six Months On

I can't believe that it was only six months ago that I got 'the call' from Harlequin Mills and Boon offering me a two book contract. Those six months have flown by and during that time I've learnt so much.The biggest excitement was seeing the cover of my debut A Deal Before The Altar for the first time.

My second book was the hardest book I've ever written. When I started it during the So You Think You Can Write competition I never thought for one moment it would become the second book of a contract! Suddenly the pressure was on, but after several rounds of revisions, during which I learnt so much working with my editor, it now has a fabulous title. Claimed by the Sheikh will be available next year.

I attended the RNA summer party in London and the annual conference in Telford, no longer as a New Writers' Scheme member, which is such a brilliant feeling after seven years of submitting to NWS.

I was so thrilled with my first cover that I organised postcards to go into the goody bags at the conference. Here's a photo of me with the postcard.

I'm currently working towards a deadline with my third book and this time I can honestly say I've loved writing the story more than any other.

The excitement of seeing my book on the shelves and holding it in my hands is still to come and I can't wait!

A Deal Before The Altar is available for pre-order on amazon, which still seems unreal. It will also be on the Mills and Boon website and in the shops during October.

Back from London and the RNA Summer Party

This week I went to London, for the RNA Summer Party to support fellow Write Romantic, Helen Phifer, who’d been nominated for The Joan Hessayon Award, with her brilliant debut, The Ghost House. It was also great to catch up with other writers and make new friends. You can find out more about those nominated and the winner, Jo Thomas here.

The official RNA photograph of the nominees.

This year the trip to London was extra special, because I met with my editor. This meant going to Romance HQ, a place I’ve dreamed of going to for so long. What I didn’t expect was to be shown the cover of my very first book, A Deal Before The Altar, out in October 2014. I was completely stunned into silence, but I absolutely love the cover and can’t wait to be able to share it here!

Whilst I was enjoying lunch in a fantastic restaurant with my editor and my mentor editor from the So You Think You Can Write 2013 competition a terrific thunderstorm erupted over London, but even that didn’t dampen my excitement. It actually made me think of a scene from my first book when a storm breaks out and Georgina is forced to deal, not only with her fear of storms, but the enigmatic Santos.

I found out later, that lightning had caused a bit of drama that afternoon in London, when it struck the Shard. Fortunately by the time I made my way back to my hotel the sun was shining again and I was on cloud nine. I’m still there!

My Writing Process

Thank you to Marie Dry for inviting me to join The Blog Tour. Her debut novel, Alien Mine, will be available soon. Find out more about Marie at www.mariedry.com

Also, thanks to Judith Arnopp, who invited me last month, when I was deep in the writing cave! Her latest release, The kiss of the Concubine, is available now. Find out more about Judith at www.juditharnopp.com


My Writing Process

What am I working on?

I have almost finished my second book, which will submitted next week to my editor.

How does my story differ from others of its genre?

Over the last seven years, as I've chased my dream of publication, one bit of advice has stuck. To write my story. By using my voice and telling the story my way is how it differs.

Why do I write?

This is a question I asked myself after my last rejection. And the answer - I write because I have to. I can't imagine a life where I don't write and how else am I going to deal with those characters who fill my head, clamouring to tell me their story?

How does my writing process work?

I have always had to fit writing in around a family and life on a busy farm. Basically I write when I can. I'd prefer to write first thing in the morning, but will always grasp every opportunity. I'm also lucky that I have a lovely room in which to write. Often I have the company of my dog, Tara.


My debut book, A Deal Before the Altar, will be available later this year. More information can be found on my website: www.rachaelthomas.co.uk

Next week, the following authors will be participating.
Julie Heslington, a fellow member of The Write Romantics and member of RNA. Visit Julie's blog.

Sue Moules, a poet and fellow member of my local writing group. Her latest book The Moth Box is available now. Visit Sue's blog.

Joanne Dannon, a member of Romance Writers of Australia. We met online when we became critique partners. Visit Joanne's blog.

The Final Three

After what seemed like weeks living off the adrenalin of So You Think You Can Write, the winner was announced this week. I'd waited by the phone - just in case. I'd be a liar if I didn't admit to that!

The winner was Tanya Wright with her entry, If Only and I think it might be a good idea to grab a box of tissues before clicking on this link!

As for my entry, well I've still got my fingers crossed that an editor will like my story and want to work with me.

During the last few weeks life took on a surreal feel. I attended the RNA Winter Party, met with editors and authors from Mills and Boon, who all seemed excited by my Top 10 entry. Which leaves me with hope!

With Liz Harris

I also did something that has been on my wish list for a long time. I went on the London Eye, which was almost dreamlike again, as it was a guided trip with just two other people. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time!

Sunset behind Big Ben

 



I am a good way into my next story and hope it proves to be as successful as Behind the Scandalous Façade. I'd also like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported my through all the stages of this competition. I couldn't have done it without friends like you!

Busier than a Bee

The last few months have been hectic. The lovely summer we've had has meant lots of work on the farm as harvests were brought in. After the previous wet summers it was so much easier to be able to do this when the sun was shinning. It also seemed a busy time with lots of cows calving, adding to the already full days.

My daughter was sitting her A levels this year. A tense time for all. So when the results were finally in we were all thrilled with her results, which meant she could go to Bristol University to study Physiology. In between all that we managed to squeeze in 18th Birthday celebrations.

So with all this going on you might think I haven't had much time for writing, but somehow I have managed it. After receiving a really encouraging feedback from the editor appointment at the RNA conference in July I knuckled down and wrote the remainder of the book. Then in a spur of the moment  decision, entered it into So You Think You Can Write.

 

 

So if you fancy a read of my first chapter of Behind the Scandalous Façade! You can also leave a comment and even tweet and facebook like it. I'd love to know what you think!

RNA Conference

It's hard to believe that this time last week the RNA Conference was just beginning in Sheffield. A whole weekend of talks, workshops, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. And of course the food and wine!

The digital revolution seemed to be one of the hottest topics, with loads of opportunities in this fast expanding market. It's amazing how the industry has changed since I joined the RNA and attended my first conference in 2008.

The good news announcements at the start of the conference weekend featured so many more first books. And as for the goody bags, they were positively bulging this year and helping to pack all 180 was quite a job.

There were workshops and talks all weekend on everything from beating procrastination to writing hot scenes. The sun shone all weekend and the air conditioning failed, which left me wilting by Saturday afternoon, but I rallied in time for the gala dinner!

Finally on Sunday afternoon, feeling revived and full of enthusiasm it was time to make the long drive home. During which I just had to stop to take this shot of 'the long road home'.

Can't wait for next year's conference!

Spring

Finally hints or spring are around. Snowdrops are flowering and the daffodils are pushing their way up with the promise of sunny yellow flowers.



As for me, I feel like I've been hibernating over the winter months. I may have been quiet, but I haven't been asleep - honest! My latest story has just been completed and submitted to the New Writers' Scheme, run by the Romantic Novelists' Association.

So with the beginnings of spring I'm ready to start a new story, but first I have my annual trip to Fishguard, where I'll be attending Kate Walker's romance writing course at the weekend. I'm so looking forward to catching up with friends and meeting new writers.

Acorns to Oaks

I can't believe that it's been over a month since I last posted anything here, and that it has rained just about every day too. Sometimes excessively!

I have been writing during that time - honestly! It was pointed out at my local writing group, Cwrtnewydd Scribblers, that I need to amend my blog. So I have removed the word 'aspiring' from my blog title. It's true that I'm still aspiring to be published by Mills and Boon, but I have now completed six manuscripts and made three submissions, all with promising feedback. I've also had an article published in farmingscotland.com and with my writing group we have published several anthologies, all of which make me a writer.

'Mighty oaks from little acorns' is a proverb that springs to mind. Becoming a  published writer isn't something that happens overnight, but over the last few years I've been putting down my roots just like this little oak sapling.

This weekend I'll be making the long journey to Penrith for the RNA conference, where I'll be able to fill my whole weekend with writing and being with other writers. Can't wait!

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.



Summer's Return

The sun is shinning and as the swallows have returned it feels like summer has arrived. These sunny little birds spend all day swooping around the farm yard, chattering all the while and later in the summer my garden fence is used as a flight school for fledgling swallows. The parents line their young up and encourage them to take to the sky. This is a picture I took last year when their lessons distracted me from writing.

Once again I find the promise of a bright sunny day distractaing, but I'm going to be firm and continue to prepare my recently completed manuscript for submission to the New Writers' Scheme which is part of Romantic Novelists' Association. This story is about Dimitri and Lisa and opens on the snowy moors of Exmoor. As the story unfolds they go to St Petersburg where Lisa discovers the truth about the man she has fallen in love with.

Winter Party

Last week I attended my first RNA winter party. I had no idea what to expect, but really enjoyed the evening. As an aspiring writer the best bit was being able to talk to the editor who last read my work.

The party took place in the the Library of the ImechE, but being too busy talking I only have this one photo of Jan Jones.

More can be seen on the RNA's blog.

As I left, I just couldn't resist doing the tourist bit and took this photo of Big Ben on a drizzly November evening.