Thanks to Bronwyn Desjardins for news of this news and link.
If you're not already all competitioned out, and you just happen to have a short story of 4,000 words or less lying around (and don't mind paying an entry fee), then take a look at this one: http://www.writersdigest.com/popularfictionawards
The deadline is Monday 1st November.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
ROSA
Last night I had the pleasure of sitting around a table with seven other South African romance writers. EIGHT of us in one room: that must be a new African record, let alone a South African one!
The time sped past. A quantity of wine was drunk, good food was eaten, and a great deal of laughter and conversation was enjoyed. We shared the stories of our writing journeys, debated the merits of alpha heroes, and laughed over Histerical romances (you had to be there!).
We are all from different backgrounds, originally from different parts of the country (and in Mandy’s case a different continent), we all write different genres of women’s fiction, and we’re all at different stages in the writing journey.
What do we have in common? We love to write. We love to read. We want to be published. Five of us will bravely be doing the NaNo challenge together next month. (NaNo in a Nutshell for the newbies). Four of us are Geminis, three are Scorpios and we had one Libran present to keep us all in balance.
In spite of the wine (or perhaps because of it) we agreed that we like the idea of starting an association for romance writers here in South Africa, and we even voted for a name. The verdict was almost unanimous.
In the interests of democracy and transparency, the votes were tallied as follows: [Considering the number of Geminis present, it’s not surprising we had so many votes!]
ROSA (Romance Organisation of South Africa) – 7 votes
RWSA (Romance Writers of South Africa) – 4 votes
SARW (South African Romance Writers) – 1 vote
Or perhaps that should be Romance writing Organisation of South Africa?
A massive thank you goes to Delene who hosted us, and to Anthony for keeping order and taking notes. Congratulations go to Bronwyn and Anthony whose debut novels for Nollybooks will be on sale in a CNA or Exclusive Books near you on Valentine’s Day, and also to Annemarie who discovered that her ‘rejection’ letter was really a request from an editor.
I highly recommend that the writers in Cape Town and Natal arrange a get-together. Even if it’s just over a cup of coffee at a convenient Mugg & Bean. I hope you enjoy meeting other romance writers as much as we did, and that you come away as inspired as I did!
The time sped past. A quantity of wine was drunk, good food was eaten, and a great deal of laughter and conversation was enjoyed. We shared the stories of our writing journeys, debated the merits of alpha heroes, and laughed over Histerical romances (you had to be there!).
We are all from different backgrounds, originally from different parts of the country (and in Mandy’s case a different continent), we all write different genres of women’s fiction, and we’re all at different stages in the writing journey.
What do we have in common? We love to write. We love to read. We want to be published. Five of us will bravely be doing the NaNo challenge together next month. (NaNo in a Nutshell for the newbies). Four of us are Geminis, three are Scorpios and we had one Libran present to keep us all in balance.
In spite of the wine (or perhaps because of it) we agreed that we like the idea of starting an association for romance writers here in South Africa, and we even voted for a name. The verdict was almost unanimous.
In the interests of democracy and transparency, the votes were tallied as follows: [Considering the number of Geminis present, it’s not surprising we had so many votes!]
ROSA (Romance Organisation of South Africa) – 7 votes
RWSA (Romance Writers of South Africa) – 4 votes
SARW (South African Romance Writers) – 1 vote
Or perhaps that should be Romance writing Organisation of South Africa?
A massive thank you goes to Delene who hosted us, and to Anthony for keeping order and taking notes. Congratulations go to Bronwyn and Anthony whose debut novels for Nollybooks will be on sale in a CNA or Exclusive Books near you on Valentine’s Day, and also to Annemarie who discovered that her ‘rejection’ letter was really a request from an editor.
I highly recommend that the writers in Cape Town and Natal arrange a get-together. Even if it’s just over a cup of coffee at a convenient Mugg & Bean. I hope you enjoy meeting other romance writers as much as we did, and that you come away as inspired as I did!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
On Writing: Trimming The Flab
We've just uploaded another fabulous writing "how to" by Judy Croome. This time her focus is on how to make our writing more concise by eliminating all the unnecessary words. You can go straight there by clicking here.
Those of you participating in the NaNo challenge of writing 50,000 words during the month of November might want to leave this one until after your mammoth achievement! :-)
This is Judy's last article on the site - hopefully not forever! - so pop on over to read her words of wisdom. Judy will be concentrating on her writing career and we wish her all the best as she knuckles down to what we know will be a successful finish!
Judes ... big group hug and Ra! Ra! Ra!
Those of you participating in the NaNo challenge of writing 50,000 words during the month of November might want to leave this one until after your mammoth achievement! :-)
This is Judy's last article on the site - hopefully not forever! - so pop on over to read her words of wisdom. Judy will be concentrating on her writing career and we wish her all the best as she knuckles down to what we know will be a successful finish!
Judes ... big group hug and Ra! Ra! Ra!
Monday, October 18, 2010
So You Think You Can Write
Great news for all aspiring Harlequin Mills & Boon writers out there! The Harlequin blog will be running a five day educational from the 1st to the 5th of November. You'll be able to view their timetable of events as well as sign up on the social media sites right here.
So all of you in need of some spit and polish or just plain old inspiration pop on over there and let us know if you'll be joining in the activities. I know I will!
So all of you in need of some spit and polish or just plain old inspiration pop on over there and let us know if you'll be joining in the activities. I know I will!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Hero Worship Updated!
We mentioned the lovely Gina Rossi on this blog a couple of days ago - check the post dated 8th October if you don't believe me - and not only did she connect with us, but she inspired me to drool over another hottie I'd never heard of! Don't you just love research? :-)
So, let me not hold you up any longer and leave you to head on over to check out the gorgeous Andres Velencoso.
Enjoy! And don't forget to let me know what other hunks are out there inspiring you to create those mouth watering alpha heroes!
So, let me not hold you up any longer and leave you to head on over to check out the gorgeous Andres Velencoso.
Enjoy! And don't forget to let me know what other hunks are out there inspiring you to create those mouth watering alpha heroes!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Free Books!
Mills & Boon are offering 11 books for free digital download. You can find them here: http://www.everyonesreading.com/
Just one word of caution (and I learned this the hard way!): the licenses are only valid for a year. When the license expires, even if you have the books saved on your hard drive, you will no longer be able to open them. So don't wait too long to read them!
Just one word of caution (and I learned this the hard way!): the licenses are only valid for a year. When the license expires, even if you have the books saved on your hard drive, you will no longer be able to open them. So don't wait too long to read them!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Gina Rossi - The Wild Heart
Congratulations to Gina, who has caught the HMB editors' eye with her historical romance set in the Cape: The Wild Heart.
Gina will be getting personalised feedback from the editors as well as a request for more. We're so proud to have a South African representative out there! If you haven't already read this story, do.
And Gina, if you're out there, please get in touch with us. We'd love to know how you came up with this story, as well as more about you.
Gina will be getting personalised feedback from the editors as well as a request for more. We're so proud to have a South African representative out there! If you haven't already read this story, do.
And Gina, if you're out there, please get in touch with us. We'd love to know how you came up with this story, as well as more about you.
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