Well, I have been in the wilderness of screenwriting for 8 or 9 years now and seem to have found myself back in the land of novels. Who'd have thunk it?
    It all started with an email from Amazon around Easter time inviting me to create audiobooks of my books published by them. How hard could it be, right? Well, quite hard to make well, it turns out, but I’ve finally got there. Five books down and I’ve got the hang of it taking less than a month for each.
But I’ll tell you this: modern AI speaking your words back to you is sooo much better than the old ones. I used to use text to voice software years ago, but this is better; far more realistic, once you get it right. It did also highlight a sentence I swear I never wrote. I’m glad to say it no longer exists, but the mortification that it did is something I’m still in counselling for.
A bit of background here: Years ago, before I was first published, any time I would leave my screen to go to the toilet, or answer the door, my hubby used to nip onto the laptop and write something stupid – normally pornographic – into the text that I would find on my return and scrub out. I think my eldest joined in too sometimes. It seems I may have missed one. But I digress. That line is no more.
All books with Amazon now have new covers, have been re-edited and an audiobook attached – currently US only, sadly, so please, you lot, buy them so that we can get them over here too. Now to write something new.
Very exciting.
Wish me luck!

Real life can be quite disappointing.
   This was something I discovered whilst researching my latest book, so certain liberties had to be taken.
   90% of my story happens within a 2 week period. Anyone from the UK will appreciate that getting diagnosed and treated all in so short a space of time is completely unrealistic for almost everything, but surprisingly, the biggest stretch of the imagination came in the form of the café.
    Feeling studious one day I took myself off into town and into the café at the front of my local hospital. I stood in a very slow queue and looked at some frankly mediocre cakes, eventually being served by a surly woman.
    Never mind, I thought, write it all down.
   Determined to do it right, I took myself off to a table and began to jot down notes. Notes that included the tepid state of my teacake and the solid form of the frozen butter brick I was given to spread with a plastic knife. The tea was stirred with a baton resembling a threadless plastic needle and the table needed half a dozen serviettes stuffed under one leg to stop it rocking. Hardly idyllic, and definitely not the setting for a love story, certainly not my book.  
     Time to use the imagination.
   If you sometimes think that facts get overlooked in lieu of story in historical fiction, I’m here to tell you, contemporary has its problems too.

With my direction corrected, I left the last story behind and set to work on a new one. I decided to create a feature (film/movie) from the bones of a story I had written but never published.
   Back to the drawing board.
  Let me tell you, screenwriting, is an art form for the succinct. You have less than 120 pages to get the whole thing down. Much is made of what is implied but not shown and even more is shown but not told. But confusingly for the novelist, in the long run, this is a team effort. The actors get to decide HOW to portray an emotion and the set designers get to decide how it will look. The producer/director/casting agent get to decide who stars in it and how it will be shot and in the end all you can decide on is how the story goes and what words should be said. And even that may be changed in the end.
   And don’t get me started on your slim to nothing chances of selling a script or getting it produced. Film/TV writing is all about networking and knowing the right people and when you live in the back of beyond in the UK and not in London or LA, the chances seem exponentially worse. But, we soldier on, because if you write well enough, you never know…
   Anyway, script 2 finished, I found some lovely film people to read it for me on a place called Stage 32 – a social network for film and TV creatives. Both had opposite ideas of what worked and what didn’t, but made me realise I still had a LONG way to go before I should let anyone influential read it.
   So I read three more books on the craft and took a breath. This is not going to be a quick process. It will most likely take years before I’m ready to put myself out there and chance the market. So this time I decided to start completely fresh. For a few weeks over the summer I read and watched films to decide what I like and what I don’t.
   So here I go again with a new idea, one I am working on with all my new insight into the craft. It’s like a long set of stairs ahead of me, but and I’ve lifted to tread one.
   Wish me luck. I’ll keep you posted.

Welcome to my journey into the world of screenwriting. I’m 9 months in at the moment and thought if there was anyone like me just starting out, they may be interested to hear how it’s been.
    At the beginning, I just read. I read probably 4 text books cover to cover to learn the basics. I also bought an old copy of Final Draft – the industry standard for formatting, as without some sort of software to do it for you, you’d go mad; it’s hugely complicated. The usual cost is however BIG and money is tight, so I bought an old edition for around £30 on EBay, which it turns out gives you the ability to update for far less than the standard price. I haven’t felt the need to as yet, but I may still.
   After completing an online screenwriting course and reading much much more, I felt I had a grasp of the basics. In a bid to take the ‘coming up with a new story’ out of the equation, I adapted one of my own novels, just to get the hang of the layout and style.
   Now I’ve always been a pantser. Always afraid the process of meticulous plotting would spoil the story for me. But in screenwriting, you pretty much have to. It’s hugely structural. And I can tell you, even when the story was already known to me, this proved to be a massive challenge, one I wanted to run from several times.
    I discovered my weaknesses, and they were plentiful! Things I had known and been told over and over again and thought I understood suddenly made sense for the first time.
    Finally, to see if I was in the right ball park, I sent a finished draft to a script consultant and got the equivalent of a C+. A ‘not bad, but could do better’.  It showed me the flaws I was afraid of but didn’t want to confront, but also, happily that the weakness (structure) I had been working hard on, was now a strength.
     So I got to work again.
                                                   To be continued!

​Well what an 18 months it's been since I last published a book. I've been deep in the land of doubt, scaled the mountains of excitement and possibility and slid back down to earth again. What is the upshot of all this you may ask? Lord knows, but for now, I’m taking my time and learning.
   To that end, I have decided to stay indie for a while so that I have the flexibility to venture further into my new endeavour, screenwriting. It’s something I began last December and the whole process has been such a rush. So different from writing novels, but I’ll tell you more about that another time, if you’re interested. For now, let me introduce you to my new novel coming out in just a few days. It’s called A Piece of my Heart and it’s a love story between two customers in a hospital café.

​A PIECE OF MY HEART
The hospital café – a place they could go to feel human again
 Having discovered her boyfriend is cheating on her, cake-loving Emma decides she needs to lose weight and get fit to become more attractive to men. But her ill-fated plan soon lands her in hospital where she spots the enigmatic Matt, visiting his son.
  Matt thinks of her as his guardian angel - a hot one. His rock to cling to in a world of lies and doubt. She is his grasp on normality, as he is hers. But normality cannot last.
   She never meant to deceive him. She simply wanted to make him smile.

​Watch this space for its release.
 
I hope you enjoy it.

Today's guest is the lovely Sun. Sun Chara is an Amazon top 100 bestseller, who writes sexy, fun contemporary romance for Harper Impulse. As a JABBIC winner, Manhattan Millionaire's Cinderella launched her writing career, spinning the 'global millionaire’s series'. She makes her home in southern California, and has appeared on stage/film to rave reviews in How the Other Half Loves, General Hospital, and McGee and Me. With a Master’s Degree in Education, and membership in SAG/AFTRA and Romance Writers of America, she enjoys sipping designer Frappuccinos topped with whipped cream/sprinkles, and dancing on the beach…making everyday a celebration! 
   I feel inadequate. That's quite a bio, Sun. Welcome to my blog. Now I hear you have another fab novel for us, releasing today. Tell us something about that.

Ha ha, of course. Stan Rogers is a recluse millionaire who must negotiate a risky deal with Stella Ryan, the exotic beauty from his past, in order to gain custody of his son. But how can he close the deal with her, the one and only woman who flips his switches and pegs him as the enemy?
   Martial artist Stella knows she should steer clear of Stan, the man who had shattered her heart and could still destroy her. Four years have passed since their hostile business deal, and now, the American financier is proposing holy matrimony…but she’s the reluctant bride wondering, what’s he up to?
    Clever girl, and so she should. I have the opening beneath to let our readers get a glimpse of the tale. Recluse Millionaire, Reluctant Bride
Is his reluctant bride a business risk or a personal necessity?

Your cup of tea? Grab it now using this link and if you'd like to find out more about lovely Sun, you can find her hanging out at the places below:
https://facebook.com/suncharaauthorpage
https://twitter.com/sunchara3                                                                                 

Although sometimes it feels like my brain is half asleep, more than half lately, I have come to the conclusion that at night, it is wide awake. I have realised that for me at least, my sleeping brain can sort out my plot points while I get some rest. Who would have thought it? If I work on my story after it is finished - a first draft, at least - as I sleep at night, I seem to pick up on stuff I would have otherwise missed. Now I keep a pen and paper beside my bed. It can be a tricky thing to decipher what I have written in the morning, but it has been a godsend.
   Take last night for instance: I woke up at half past four. (Not something I would recommend). I got out of bed and went to the toilet and then got back into bed fully intending to go to sleep. Oh, no! my brain said. You know that story you were working on this evening? Well there's something you've missed. Remember you mentioned so and so at the beginning? Well, you forgot about it after that. Oh yes, I thought and switched on the light and jotted it down (no glasses on). I tucked up under the duvet again, turned out the light and closed my eyes.
    A few minutes later: Hey, Wendy? It's brain here again. You know you wrote that bit about loss, well the reason it isn't working is you didn't use his voice. Really? I thought. I'll make a note of that. On went the light and I scribbled down a note. By an hour later I had seven more notes just like it, written down beside my bed. Finally, my brain went back to sleep.
    Now you probably won't be interested to hear that by this time, my back had decided it wasn't happy, so I didn't get more than 20 mins after that, which may be why I've done little more than tend to my poorly mum and watch TV for the rest of the day. I'm not going to lie, half past eight would have been better. But yes I did implement all those ideas between breakfast and lunch, which I believe made my story far better. This is not the first time it has happened and I hope it carries on. I'm starting to believe I write better when I'm asleep.
​    Does this ring any bells?

I'd like to welcome Heather King onto my blog today. Heather is a romantic and bookworm who has always made up stories. 
   Her stories are traditional romps – light-hearted and witty, with bags of emotion. When not looking after her two hairy ponies, three cats and boisterous Staffie X, or frowning over a keypad or notebook, she likes nothing better than taking long walks and curling up with a good book. Welcome Heather. I've asked you here today to talk about your latest release, The Missing Duke. I'm having a great year of historical romance reading, so you're right up my street. Tell me, is this book part of a series? And if so, who else should we expect to come to know?
 
The Missing Duke is one book in the Heart of a Hero series, which features eight other authors. Each book is a stand-alone novel, but all are linked to a secret intelligence-finding ring created by Sir Arthur Wellesley. There is a free prequel which sets up the series.
 
As for a series of my own, I plan to write Robert’s (the missing Duke) story at some point in the future and there are other characters who might demand their own story. We’ll see!

I think you should. ​

Did you have to do any particular research for this book, like hot air balloon manufacture for example? What a great image!
 
Thank you! I like my covers to reflect the style and content of the book. It is a public domain painting of Vincent Lunardi’s first manned balloon flight in Britain in 1784, which I modified. The text was done by For The Muse Designs.
 
I lost several days down research rabbit holes when I should have been writing this one. There were so many questions. I spent hours trying to find the answers. I needed to know what the early balloons were made from, filled with, waterproofed/fireproofed with, how far they could fly and when advances were made and so on. My original idea was for the hero to fly across the Channel, so I needed details of distance, winds, where they flew to, etcetera. I later decided (well my characters told me) something else would happen, so I then had to research plausible methods of proofing which would be innovative for the time, so a character could ‘invent’ them. Since my heroine travels to Paris, I needed to know all about the journey in 1814… and that added a further problem – the war in France and when the English were able to return to the Continent. Another plot query required information about prisons where the English were incarcerated by the French Government.
 
I love real books. One beauty of the internet is all those thousands upon thousands of wonderful old books which are now available online, so I try to find answers to my questions within tomes written at the time I am researching. I put a tremendous amount of work into the historical aspects of my books in order to make them as accurate as possible, even down to tiny details like naming the actual landlord of an inn and describing its’ furnishings. I like my readers to walk beside my characters and experience what they are experiencing.
 
Having already read some of your books, I can say that you absolutely do.
 
How many books have you written and what draws you to the genre time and again?
 
Ignoring old manuscripts shoved in the back of a cupboard, I have nine published works, seven of those being Regency romances. The other two are paranormal, Devil’s Hoof being a contemporary Shape Shifter romance about a man struggling to make sense of life after war, and Vampires Don’t Drink Coffee and other Stories, a romantic anthology under my pen name Vandalia Black.
 
I have loved the Regency era since I was a child of eleven, when I discovered Georgette Heyer’s novels. It could be argued she invented the genre, since Jane Austen was writing about her own time. Georgette Heyer’s novels are pure escapism, to be returned to again and again. They are full of wit and humour; they are finely crafted and draw you into her world. I love her descriptions; she can give a sketch of a character in just a few words. She truly did write word pictures. I dream of one day inspiring readers in the way she still does all these years after her death.
 
I think Georgette Heyer has a lot to answer for - in a good way - don’t you? I read historical, but I write contemporary. Do you read the same genre as you write?
 
These days I don’t have a lot of time for reading, and because I also edit, I find it hard to switch hats. I do love a good Regency, but it has to be in the tradition of the genre, with plenty of historical detail, and, above all, it has to be well written. Georgette Heyer is a hard act to follow! I enjoy reading other genres too. When I have time, I read Vampire Romance, any Elizabeth Chadwick novel I can lay my hands on and Dick Francis racing thrillers, to name but a few.
 
You see I am hopeless at history, so I can read them, good or bad! ;-)
 
Is it the story or the characters that come to you first?
 
Good question. It varies. Sometimes they grow together. A germ of an idea will come to me, or perhaps a name will trigger something. I tend to be an instinctive writer and ideas can pop into my head seemingly from nowhere! I don’t usually have more than a bare outline when I begin to write. The story evolves as the characters take over.
 
What is the best part of writing a story for you?
 
Oh, golly. The ending?! No, being serious – and also a confirmed softy – I love the build-up of the romance, especially as I get to know the characters and even more especially if they banter with each other. Witty (hopefully) banter is such fun to write. I also love describing settings, hopefully creating word pictures of my own. I like my readers to walk with my characters through the world they inhabit.
 
My favourite is when you get that ‘yes’ moment. When you’ve been wrangling with a plot point for a long time and then all of a sudden you realise what you need to do and finally the story works.
 
Is your favourite story (can I even ask that?) also your best selling?
 
To date, my best selling story is last year’s Christmas novella, Carpet of Snowdrops. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a considerable fondness for that one! It can be truthfully said that the most recent work is often the one closest to an author’s heart and I will confess to being pleased with The Missing Duke. I think he came out quite well. Nevertheless, I shall always love my first published novel, A Sense of the Ridiculous and the as-yet unpublished Marquis of Avebury, my mother’s favourite. Perhaps, of all my books, though, the one nearest to my heart is Devil’s Hoof. A lifetime’s experience and love of horses has gone into that one, not least all the knowledge of Laminitis accrued through years of owning and caring for the equine species. Of all my books, it is probably the closest to my ‘baby’.

Brilliant, well, best of luck, Heather and I hope the series does really well.Blurb The Missing Duke
 
When his father dies, Lord Adam Bateman refuses to succeed to the dukedom which rightly belongs to his missing elder brother. Whilst performing secret and sensitive missions for the Duke of Wellington, he continues his efforts to find his twin. The search has become Adam’s all-consuming passion, leaving no time for affairs of the heart.
 
Miss Lucy Mercier is also seeking answers. Her father, a tailor, had been used to make hot air balloons for various noble patrons, including Lord Adam’s sire. Believing the deceased Duke of Wardley had been involved in her papa’s failure to return from the Continent, she takes employment in Lord Adam’s household in order to discover the truth. Then she accompanies him on an important commission for the Allied Army, and finds herself having to guard against a growing attraction for a man she knows she can never have.
 
Are the two disappearances connected and will two heads prove better than one in the pursuit of answers? Will Adam and Lucy find true happiness together or will the past – and their different stations – rise to keep them apart?

Buy link Amazon.uk
Buy link Amazon.com

Well thanks for coming on, Heather. Best of luck and I hope the series does really well. :-)
And if you would like to hear more from Heather, you can find her somewhere on the links below:
Blog: http://regencywriter-hking.blogspot.co.uk
Website: https://heatherkingauthoruk.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heather.king.author
                  https://www.facebook.com/ARegencyRepository
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomheatherkinguk
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00I04PYPE
Amazon Author Page (US): http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00I04PYPE
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/PurpleHeather
Twitter: https://twitter.com/1PurpleHeather

I haven't had time to blog lately, what with family life getting busier than ever before. But this might help someone not go through what I did, so I thought I'd share...

1&1/2 hours away from home, in Stroud last night, I was watching my youngest play football for his club. The light was fading.
   My phone blips 3 times in quick succession and I don't have my glasses, but from what I can see there're the words emergency and SOS, so I leg it back to my car to and read 3 texts. The 1st is a recorded message with the heading ‘Emergency’.
   I can't hear what it says.
  Next is a text with a black image and a google map location pinpointing a location and saying 'I need help' and the third is the same, saying ‘SOS’. They are all from my husband.
   My first thought is to panic, but I think, he had time to do all that??? I'm hoping the phone's gone wrong, so I text him, twice.
   There’s no response.
   I phone him. He doesn't answer.
   I phone my son. His dad is not home.
  By this time I'm shaking and thinking what can I do? Do I ring the police? Images of knives held to his throat or an abduction crowd my head. The man’s a GP. He could be at someone’s house. They could have flipped out on him. So by this time I’m shaking. What do I do?
   I take a breath and text again, then I ring again and finally I get a flustered husband on the line. He’s talking to me as if I’m our son. I calm him down and we speak and … he’s fine. He’s doing a visit. He was completely oblivious to the pandemonium he’s caused and exasperated with the fuss. I burst into tears and he realises what has gone on.
   He’s fine.
   But now my face is blotchy and I’m trying to calm down. I can’t go back to the match; the parents will wonder what on earth has gone on. I text my son back, so he can’t hear the waver in my voice and explain that his dad is okay and will be home soon. I eat the roll I made for my packed tea (we set off at 4 and weren’t going to get home till 10).
   Ten minutes later my hubby calls back. He’s home and he’s worked out what went on. Turns out his mobile will send a set of messages if you press the on/off button 3 times quickly. He’d put a mercury thermometer into his pocket next to it. They were intimate!
   He tries it out again and lo, it happens, fortunately this time the messages are more humorous and not sent from a dark pocket.  
   I breathe again!
 
PS : The bugger tried it out this morning too, to show the guys at work what happened.  Bless him!

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be invited to give a talk at the local high school on creative writing. An entire year or 12 year olds. It was a lot of fun - after I got over the nerves. And one of the things I was asked while I was teaching, was 'Why do you write?' And that got me thinking.
    My answer was simple: 'Because it gets me away from daytime TV.' (Only joking - no, I'm not.) Seriously though, the reason I gave was because with writing, I can live different lives. I can do things I wouldn't normally do and be people I cannot be. But the best bit I left out - they were only 12 - it's mostly because I get to fall in love over and over again.
    And I told them how writing a book was very much like reading one. You're excited; impatient and yet reluctant to get to the end the moment you are hooked. In romance writing, you fall in love with your hero, just like if you were reading it. You are learning the story as you write. And even though you decided it, sometimes it feels like they have decided it for you - the characters. 
    And then I thought about the emotions and process of reading a good book and how that was like writing. And I realised, it was all like falling in love.
You can read my article about how reading a good book is like falling in love HERE - on the lovely ladies from With Love For Books' website. Check it out and see if you agree.