Nanny knows best!

Please welcome my guest today, debut author
Olivia Logan whose first book URGENT One Nanny Required has just been released by Crimson Romance.

Tell us about your journey to publication, Olivia. How long have you been writing? What was the break-through moment. Tell us about “the call”.

I have always loved reading and used to love making up stories as a kid, especially my own version of Greek and Roman myths.

After reading my first romance as a teen I decided then and there that my life’s goal was to write a romance. Through writing ‘short’ romances ie a few A4 sides of papers as a teen, to writing book and film reviews at University, I decided that one day I would write something longer.

After receiving some knock backs with comments I refused to give up- after all perseverance is the stuff of life so I kept entering competitions and one day I got ‘The Call’!

I received ‘The Call’  in the evening and I remember staring at the email in shock. The first thing I did was call my husband who was also really stunned then letting my CPs know as they had been

with me on this crazy ride to getting published as well!

My life has changed in the sense that now people ask for my advice on writing as I’m published which I find very humbling and weird at the same time!

What are your writing habits? Are you an early bird or a night owl, or do you have to cram the writing in the spaces left by a day job?

I work full time so writing fits around me. I’m a morning person so prefer waking up earlier to type then edit later as opposed to the other way around.

 Share your best writing tip – your own or from someone else. 

“Get the hero and heroine on the page- first page is good... first paragraph better...the first line if possible.” (Your  Book  :) ‘Little Book Of Writing Romance’)

Are you a member of any writing organizations or group? (If so, tell us about them.)

I am a member of the RNA - Romantic Novelist's Association that I recently joined this year and this is the association that nearly all published romance writers in the UK are members of. They also have a New Writers Scheme (NWS) that you can join as an unpublished writer and you will receive a critique of your manuscript by their experts. I am looking forward to attending their ‘Winter Party’in November. At least I’ve got plenty of time to pick out a fab pair of shoes!

Where did you get the idea for ‘Urgent: One Nanny Requried’?

I am very curious by nature and love to people watch and got the idea for my story just by passing an old fashioned sweet shop in London and found myself wondering about the lives of the people who worked there. That kind of started my idea for my heroine in ‘Urgent:One Nanny Required’.

The idea of a single dad was actually inspired by one of my favourite story books written by Roald Dahl ‘Danny, The Champion Of The World’. In this book Danny, our young hero lives with his dad who is loving and kind and dotes on him completely. Not exactly the same as the father in ‘Urgent’. But before I digress onto telling you the plot of that story which ends happily, as a romantic I was always left wondering about the father. Did he ever remarry? Would he ever be persuaded to remarry? Hence the idea of our hero being a single parent. 

The Hollywood idea actually came from a friend of mine who works in film who always complained that none of the heroes in romances ever have ‘real’ jobs! Like a Hollywood director is a real job! But after much ear bending I decided to listen to their views and make my hero have a ‘real’ job in Hollywood and by that I mean a ‘behind the scenes’ guy as opposed to a film star. 

And voila, from all these ingredients ‘Urgent: One Nanny Required’ was born!

Tell us about your heroine. What is her best quality?

Rania George grew up as an only child whose mother was too busy chasing her own dream of becoming a Hollywood Starlet to notice or even care about her only daughter. Because of this Rania doesn’t look to favourably on the Hollywood scene unlike the way some people would. On top of which she is what she calls a ‘casting couch baby’ as her father, whom she has never met was a Hollywood director who abandoned her and her mother before she was born. 

I loved writing Rania as she is feisty with a can-do attitude despite receiving knock backs as a child.

And your hero. Why would we love him? Why would we want to slap him!

Nicholas Trenton (Nick) is the offspring of Hollywood- the son of a film make-up artist and stunt man to the stars. As a young man Nick thought he had the world at his feet and knew he was always destined to be in Hollywood, marrying the daughter of Hollywood royalty only to find the image was more a mirage then anything else even before she died and left him as a single parent to their young son. Trying to make the best of things, Nick knows he should spend more time with Theo than he does but what he doesn’t expect is his son to keep running away from the nannies he leaves him with.

Nick is the perfect foil for Rania as not only is he in the job she detests the most but he’s actually a down to earth dad which seems to annoy her as she wishes he could be the worst of Hollywood. I love him because he is so down to earth despite the trappings he grew up in but I would slap him because sometimes he can’t see past the end of his nose when it comes to realising his feelings for Rania.

Give us a little taster of your book. A kiss, or a turning point. Let’s see those two in action!

     “Ms. Belle……” the smooth voice began, goose bumps already beginning to shimmer

their way up and down her arms.

     Shaking herself out of her revere, she held a hand up, “It’s not Ms...”

     “My mistake. Mrs. Belle, then.”

     She narrowed her eyes at the cool correction and straightened up to her full height.

     Not that made much difference as her gaze collided with the patterns of his tie lying

crumpled against his chest. He might be Adonis material but he was still just a man.

     “Actually, Mr. Theo’s dad, it’s neither Mrs. nor Belle. It’s Miss. Miss Rania George,”

she said, her voice sharp, and her chin raised in defiance.

     She was not prepared for the snort of derisive laughter that followed nor the way she

was thrown off balance by said snort.

     Damn the man. Stay focused. This was how it always started, and reminding herself of

how many times she had seen the result of acting on such feelings from her mother, she

was determined to stop them.

     “Apologies, Miss George. No insult meant. I just wanted to thank you for looking after

my son during his hiatus from his nanny,” he said gravely. “Unfortunately, the nature of

my work keeps me...”

     “From being an observant parent?”

     “I beg your pardon?” The softly whispered question belied the dangerous narrowing of

his eyes.

Finally – when the words don’t come, where do you go for distraction? Twitter, facebook, solitaire?

Because I have a full time job, if I’m not writing then I’m working so find that it’s actually the reverse. I have the all the words just no time to write them down!

....

I loved Danny, Champion of the World, too, Olivia! Thanks for sharing your journey with us. 

Olivia has a copy of URGENT: One Nanny Required to give away so, for a chance to win this great new debut book, tell her what story you read as a child that made you want to write a sequel? 

And if you can't wait, here are some buy links!

Amazon (whereever you are)
KOBO
Apple

 
Follow Olivia on Twitter @olivia_logan_
and on Goodreads