Announcing my upcoming Blog Tour!

It's with huge excitement that I can tell you that the wonderful reviewer and blogger, Kaisha Holloway. has organised the most amazing tour for the paperback publication of SAVING SOPHIE! And it's coming in just under two weeks!

My grateful thanks to all of the wonderful bloggers who are involved! I will be sharing just who they are a bit nearer the time...

Nothing like a bit of suspense :) 

Roll on the 13th December!

You can pre-order a paperback copy from Amazon or grab the ebook right now - just click HERE

I do hope you will join me on the tour!

Countdown to SAVING SOPHIE in paperback!

It's been a very busy year that in 16 DAYS will culminate in the publication of my novel in paperback! To say this is a dream come true is a cliché - but a fact! The journey from the first moment I began writing a novel to seeing it in its physical form hasn't been that long in reality, but the path was still a windy one, with a few detours along the way.

The cover for the paperback version is slightly different to that of the ebook - a hot coral pantone, rather than the shocking pink - and I love it! (The picture doesn't do it justice)

On publication day I will have a giveaway - so please do drop by on the 15th December to check it out!

In the meantime, SAVING SOPHIE is available as an ebook and you can pre-order the paperback on Amazon - HERE

Further exciting news to follow...

SAVING SOPHIE Giveaway on Laura's Little Book Blog

This week Laura is featuring Avon authors on her blog and yesterday was the first one - me!

            

I wrote a guest blog - Top books to read on a dark winter's night and Laura reviewed SAVING SOPHIE!

There's also the opportunity to WIN a paperback copy of SAVING SOPHIE - so please do pop along to Laura's Little Book Blog to enter!

You can also grab an ebook copy HERE

The paperback is due out on 15th December - not long to go now! (23 days!)

Author Q&A - Louise Jensen

I am delighted to welcome the lovely Louise Jensen, number one best selling author of THE SISTER to my blog today. Louise's hotly anticipated second novel, THE GIFT, is due for publication on the 16th December and is available for pre-order now. 

Here's the rather intriguing blurb:

Jenna is seriously ill. She’s lost all hope of getting the heart transplant she needs to live. But just as her life is ebbing away, she receives a donor heart from a girl called Callie. 
Who was Callie and how did she die? Jenna is determined to find out. 
The closer Jenna gets to those who loved Callie, the more questions arise about her untimely death. Someone knows what happened to Callie. Why won’t they talk? 
Jenna is about to uncover the truth, but it could cost her everything; her loved ones, her sanity, even her life. 

Louise was kind enough to take some time out of her super-busy writing schedule to answer a few questions for me, so thank you!

Over to you -

1-    What’s it really like to have two books published in a year?

It has been an absolute whirlwind. This time last year I was submitting and receiving the inevitable rejections, and being published felt so far out of reach. To have two books published in a year is so surreal and it hasn't quite sunk in yet, but I feel incredibly fortunate.

   2-    How do you organise your writing time?

Working to tight deadlines I do have to be quite structured, but I am also working around my chronic health condition and my family, so at the same time I am very flexible. I find I am at my most creative in the mornings so if I want to write new words I generally start as soon as my youngest son has gone to school. In the afternoons I edit, blog, catch up on social media and answer emails. Writing involves far more than I initially thought.

   3-   How much research did you do for THE GIFT, and how did you go about it?

     I did so much research for The Gift. The story starts six months after Jenna, my main character, has had a heart transplant and I wanted to approach this as sensitively as I could. I spoke to many patients and found everybody's recovery was vastly different so I've had to find a middle ground. Having a health condition myself I wanted to write about the emotional impact suddenly feeling set apart from everyone else in your age group can have. This story is about cellular memory, the theory that a transplanted organ can retain memories from the donor. For this, I spent a lot of time on line and also on YouTube watching videos about this theory. Although Jenna finds out Callie, her donor, died in a car accident she starts to experience things that lead her to believe that Callie was actually murdered. I found cellular memory endlessly fascinating and got so absorbed in my research. I ended up having to cut a lot of words out of this book as I wanted to include everything! 

  4-    You have another amazing stand-out cover for THE GIFT, and it goes really well with THE SISTER – did you have any input in this part of the process? How important do you think creating a brand is?

Henry Steadman designs my covers and he is amazing. When I first caught sight of The Sister cover I cried! Marketing and creating a brand is something I never gave a thought to, I have always just wanted to write. Luckily my publishers come up with my cover ideas, titles and have created a brand for me. I don't have any input into this but I'm very happy to leave them to what they do best while I concentrate on the words.

  5-   Describe THE GIFT in one sentence.

     Perfect daughter, perfect girlfriend, perfect murder? 

  6-    How are you going to celebrate the release of THE GIFT?

     I think I am going back onto my local radio station, BBC Radio Northampton, and there will be lots of time spent on social media. I hope to squeeze a cream tea in somewhere in the day. In the evening it is my Women's Institute Christmas dinner so I shall be celebrating with my WI sisters.

  7-    Can you give us a hint about what Book 3 is going to be about?

     I am tentatively thinking about book 3, although I still have the copy edits and proof read of The Gift to go. I think this book will be a dual narrative woven with secrets and lies. I'm in the early stages of researching the subject I want to write about and if it comes together I am incredibly excited about this one. 

    Thank you so much, Louise, I'm really looking forward to reading your next best-seller! Good luck with the copy-edits, and happy writing for book 3!

The Gift and The Sister are available HERE (UK)

                                                         and HERE (USA)

Keep up-to-date with Louise on her website HERE 

Q&A with my literary agent

So, what does a literary agent do? And why do you need one?

Well, I’m delighted to welcome my literary agent, Anne Williams, to the blog today to give us an insight into her very busy and varied role within the Kate Hordern Literary Agency. 

Anne worked for over fifteen years as a commissioning editor, first at Michael Joseph, then for thirteen years at Headline during which time she was Co-Publisher of the Review imprint and Publisher of the main Headline imprint. Anne commissioned and edited a number of Headline’s major commercial fiction authors, including the Sunday Times No. 1 bestsellers Sheila O’Flanagan and Lyn Andrews, top 10 bestseller Faye Kellerman and prize-winning crime writers Barbara Nadel, Manda Scott and Caroline Graham (on whose books the tv series Midsomer Murders was based). She joined the Kate Hordern Literary Agency in 2009 and is based in Central London.

I asked Anne questions I thought were not only interesting, but also helpful and informative for writers who are nearing the submission stage and want to gain representation.  

Over to you, Anne!

1. On average, how many submissions do you receive in a month?

Around 80, I’d say.  Some periods are busier than others. There always seems to be a flood after Christmas – I imagine people are finishing projects off in their holidays.

2. How many of these submissions fail to adhere to the guidelines?

I’d guess about a fifth. Some are clearly from people who send to every agent whose name they can find, regardless of where they are based or what they do.

3. How many writers did the agency sign from the slush pile last year?

One. We are a small agency and have to be hugely selective about what projects we decide to invest in.

4. Do you ever approach self-published authors to offer representation?

No, I never have.  

5. What is your favourite thing about being an agent?

Placing an author with a publisher, which often means you are making something your client has only dreamed of happen. I like sending them their first royalty cheque too!

 And your least favourite?

Not being able to sell something you hoped you might.
  
6.     In an average month, how much time do you assign to each of the following:

 - Reading new submissions

No set time.  I try to look at every submission briefly when it comes in, reject it straightaway when I know it’s not for me, then go back to ones that might be of interest. I tend to read most afternoons, once the emails are done, though often this isn’t possible – too many other things to do. If a submission really interests me, I’ll make time for it – it’ll shout at me for attention! - and often read it at the weekend. Maybe sixteen hours a month?

 - Meeting new or established clients

Again, no set quota.  A literary festival where a client is speaking could take up days one month, including travel, then I’d have a month glued to the desk the next. I would always meet a client if they wanted to see me, and quite often go with clients to meetings with publishers.  And if a client is passing through London, I’ll take the opportunity to catch up with them if I can. I always try and meet new clients if I can - a piece of advice the late, great Carole Blake gave me.

 - Reading a client’s manuscript

Maybe a day a month.

 - Editing a manuscript

Maybe a week a month – editing really demands a lot of time. You have to prioritise this kind of reading/editing because a client will have a deadline to keep.  There is no way you can assign a set time – you have to do it when it needs doing.

 - Pitching to publishers

Hard to say. When a project is ready to go, I hone the pitch, which might take me a morning to get right, though it will be a distillation of something I’ve been thinking about over a period of time.  I then approach publishers by email or phone to ask if they want to see it, then send it off if they do. Sometimes I’ll have talked to them in person about the manuscript already.  The actual pitching takes a lot less time than the work that’s gone into the manuscript before you reach that point, though it’s crucial to get your angle right.  Having been an editor and on the other side of the selling equation, I think helps me with this.

 - Meeting with editors

Maybe 8 hours a month – obviously more if it’s London Book Fair month. You’ll chat to editors at events too, as well as in one-to-one meet ups.

 - Negotiating contracts

Varies enormously as to what’s on the go. Negotiating a big deal can dominate a week but once the deal is done it’s a question of ushering it through the system, which can be quite time consuming too, though more bitty.

7. What are some of the other tasks you have to manage in your agent role?

Guiding authors in their dealings with their editor and other departments such as publicity or rights, giving input on covers, putting matters that might arise with their publishers into context.   Generally acting as a helpful (hopefully) conduit between an author and a publisher. Scrutinising sales and royalty statements and getting a sense of how an author’s work is performing. Being aware of what is happening in the market – what’s in demand, what kind of books are working and thinking about how your author stands in relation to this.  Feeding information through to Kate, my colleague, who sells foreign rights, updating our website as a platform for our authors, updating my client list with new projects. Supporting authors on social media. Giving talks, attending publishing events. I could go on…

8.     Obviously, you spotted something in my writing, and SAVING SOPHIE in particular - what was it that appealed to you?
  
 I loved the believability and immediacy of the opening scenario, the realism of the family set up, the clarity of the writing and the way you gradually revealed Karen’s backstory, including her agoraphobia, which I thought was a brilliant

limiting/focusing device for the action. How does a mother try to protect her daughter when she is terrified of leaving the house? I also knew the fact that you had a background in psychology and had worked in the prison system was a real plus.



9 .    What would be an ideal submission for you right now? Anything you’d absolutely love to see in the submission emails?

The publisher in me loves the idea of a really clever cosy crime series – I adore the way Ian Sansom’s County Guides mysteries have been packaged. And in women’s fiction I admire Cathy Bramley’s Ivy Lane allotment series – they take you into such a welcoming world.
At the other end of the crime spectrum, I’m a fan of Eva Dolan and would love to find a crime novel that offers a real insight into some of the immigrant communities we live alongside but often don’t know enough about.  In a way, that was the attraction of Barbara Nadel’s Ikmen novels, which I launched as an editor – she wrote about the Yazidis, for example, way before ISIL’s appalling persecution brought them to people’s attention.  

10.   How can writers submit to you?

By email please – see our website for full guidelines.

(Link at top of page)

Is there anything you’d like to add?

Finding your voice as an author is so often an evolutionary process, as is finding the right market for what you want to say. The landscape is always evolving, both externally, in terms of the market and probably internally, in terms of your own development.    


Thank you so much for taking time out of your hugely busy day to answer my questions, Anne! Being a literary agent sounds fascinating – a lot of hard work, but very rewarding. I am sure many writers will be able to take away valuable information and useful tips from your responses. 

And it's clear for me to see, you need a literary agent  - and I'm very lucky to have you!

Celebrate EVERYTHING

I woke up this morning to the amazing sight of being NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER! 

The lovely readers in Canada had enabled SAVING SOPHIE to get to no.1

And, thankfully I took this screenshot, because it was fleeting! One hour, in fact.

I would've missed it if I'd got out of bed a bit later...

What an emotional ride this writing lark is! 

So, my writer friends, enjoy each and every achievement - it might be a 'blink and you'll miss it' moment, but every bit is worth celebrating :) 

Who knows, SAVING SOPHIE might be back at number one in another hour, but for now, she sits at number two. A wonderful achievement, and I'm so grateful to be able to have my novel out there for people to read.

Settling into life as a published author

Just over six weeks ago, SAVING SOPHIE was published as an ebook by Maze/HarperCollins.

And wow, what a six weeks it's been!

Was I prepared for becoming a published author? 

Possibly not.

I had the dream of writing a novel, which I accomplished. Then I moved on to the next part of the dream: getting an agent. After that it was all about getting a publisher, which also happened. Each part of the journey brought with it different emotions, different challenges, and different expectations. 

One thing I have learnt since that wonderful day on the 12th August, is that when your book releases into the wild, it's a really, really busy time! And even though I am at home full-time (as in I don't go out to work, I do have other commitments so I'm not IN the house 24/7) I have still struggled to successfully fit everything in.

So, what is the 'everything' I need to fit in?

For starters there's the social media side of things, i.e. Twitter and Facebook. Keeping visible on my Twitter feed and Facebook author page can take up quite a lot of time. Especially if, like me, Twitter is your window to the rest of the human race! I've been on Twitter for a number of years, prior to writing, and love nothing more than to have a virtual natter with the many wonderful people I know. When you don't get out much, it really is where you can reach out and feel sociable. 

Then there's blogging. Not only on your own blog, but guest posting on other's sites too. I received an amazing amount of support from book bloggers when Saving Sophie was released, and wrote what felt like a lot of blog posts for the book tour and for other bloggers who were kind enough to offer a spot to help me promote my debut novel. But again, all of this takes time.

And what about reading? As Stephen King is quoted as saying: If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.  Reading is my first love - I need to read! Plus, now I'm also trying to read books in order to review, or give a quote for. I mostly read at bedtime, so usually it's not a huge issue to fit in. But, as I seem to be permanently tired, I tend to be reading a few chapters and falling asleep, so not getting a lot of reading done. Although when it's a great book that you can't put down... well, then it does eat into writing time!

Then there's the family. Lots of taxiing the boys around, college pick-ups, and general 'being a mum and wife' things. This can be the most difficult as it's still not sinking in for them that writing is my job now. Because I'm at home, visible in the lounge/diner (because it's all open plan) everyone wants to chat, ask me questions, get me to do something for them, etc, etc. And they wonder why I'm vague, or sometimes 'lost' and don't answer... argh!

So, where does book two fit in?

Well, quite. This has been my problem really, and one which is likely to cause a number of sleepless nights! Add to the pot the fact I currently have my husband at home recuperating after a heart operation, and my writing time has taken quite a knock. 

And what am I doing about it?

Panicking.

Not helpful.

There are lots of writing tips, articles and blogs that cover 'time management'. Of course, that brings the problem of spending hours trawling through them thinking you're getting good tips but in actual fact YOU ARE PROCRASTINATING and wasting valuable writing time!

Therefore, my advice to myself is simple:

Stop going on the internet in search of a magical tip that is going to miraculously sort me and my rubbish time management out and allow me to be successful in fitting everything in.

Just use common sense and get on with it:

•  Decide when the best times to check in with social media are, and stick to those slots - and use tweet deck to schedule tweets outside of those times
•  Write blog posts, guest posts and Q&As when I know writing on book 2 is likely to be more challenging (like just before meal times, and in the evening when everyone's watching TV)
• Continue to read before bed, and even if the book is unputdownable - put it down anyway! I can always pick it up if I've had a good writing session. I WILL get around to reading all of the books on my TBR. Or I might die trying...
• As for the family. I'm going to have to take a tough line. I have a deadline. I have to be left alone to get on with it. 

All of this has been written with the TV blaring, the dogs running up and down behind me as my 'at-home' husband throws a ball for them, and him asking me if I know the questions that are on Eggheads...and the usual cries from the 'kids' of "When's tea ready?"

Writers retreat anyone? 

You can buy the ebook of SAVING SOPHIE here