It's read an eBook week and to celebrate I've made number of my books free at Smashwords, including a rare opportunity to download my Little of Book of Writing Romance.with a click that will cost you nothing.

Here's the link so don't delay - grab them for your reader! 

Catching Up...

It's only the 6th June but there's been a heck of a lot going on this month. You won't have missed (I hope!) the fact that Her Pregnancy Bombshell, the first in the Summer at the Villa Rosa quartet, was published at the beginning of the month in the US, UK and Australia. Here are a few things people are saying about it -

"...lovely scenery, interesting characters, and plenty of hiccups along the way... it is a truly delightful read..."

"Very beautifully done, as always Liz never fails to give the warm fuzziness that we crave from a heartwarming beautiful story..."

"
Her Pregnancy Bombshell by Liz Fielding is a story about trust, hope and the power of love. I was deeply moved by the sincere characters and thought about them even after I closed the book. What really kept me turning the pages though were the deep emotions the author layered into the story. Cleve and Miranda are two people I cared for and if you pick this book up I think you will be touched by their individual journeys too."

Mills and Boon have also made me their "Author of the Month" which has totally made my month - possibly my year!

Finally, there's one of my occasional writing craft posts up on the Romance University site about writing characters the readers will care about and that is here


Right now I'm working on the last chapter of the The Bridesmaid's Royal Bodyguard which will be published later this year by Tule and then I'll be starting on a duet with the uber talented Kate Hardy. Busy, busy year!

Writing Romance: The Crucible

Crucible: A vessel, usually of earthenware, made to endure great heat, used for fusing metal; a melting pot; fig, used for any severe test or trial.

 

When writing series romance which is mostly around 50,000 words, there is very little spare wordage for sub-plots and secondary characters. The focus is totally on the hero and heroine. In real life, people who aren’t living together tend not to spend that much time together. Even when they are living together they will be apart all day, doing their own thing in the evening (even if it’s only the ironing) and at the weekend. Life is, let’s be honest, mostly just getting through the week. 

Life in the romance novel cannot be like that. It will start at a moment of crisis. A point at which the lives of your hero and heroine are about to change forever. It can be as simple as getting lost, delayed or doing a good deed that gets our heroine into hot water. If you’ve read The Billionaire Takes a Bride, you’ll know how easily that can get out of hand! Or, as in my latest Harlequin Romance, Her Pregnancy Bombshell, it will be the moment is when the stick turns blue.

Whatever happens next should throw the hero and heroine together, confined by a place, or a situation from which they cannot walk away. Their crucible; the place where their feelings are put to the test. 

They do not have to live in the same place or even be in the same country for the crucible to hold them together. In The Bachelor's Baby it took nine months of struggling against the whole idea of being a father for my hero to get it. They never lived together, were mostly miles apart, but the progressing pregnancy acted as the crucible. It was in the hero's head, he was thinking about it 24/7. Doing things for the heroine so that he wouldn't have to be there and all the while she was subverting his efforts, telling him go away, that she could handle it. (That one was nominated for a Rita!) For almost every minute of the book they were either together or thinking about one another. If they are apart for too long have one of them send an unexpected text, or phone all.

Look at those two covers. They tell you what the readers wants. The hero and heroine are together, close and that's the point. The total connection. I've read manuscripts where the hero and heroine barely talk to each other let alone spend time together or think about each other. There was one where the hero's golf clubs got more attention from the hero (and page time) than the heroine.

Your plot will dictate the crucible. 

For a “dating the boss” scenario, you have the office. A crisis, not necessarily for the company, the boss's domestic crisis can be just as useful, can throw the hero and heroine together, Enemies or partners in an effort to stave off disaster are equally good - just as long as the feelings are passionate. An overseas trip can throw the  hero and heroine together intimately in a situation where, with the desk is no longer between them, they will see one another in a whole new light.

The storm is a classic. Cut off, stranded, by the weather offers a great crucible but always remember that it’s the reason why your hero and heroine are confined in a mountain while a blizzard rages around them that is important. The storm is just the soundtrack to the drama being played out within the hut. Concentrate on why the heroine is desperate to get somewhere when a white out closes in and she has to take shelter. Why she ignored the weather warning. And why the hero is there. He has a story, too.

The jungle, desert, or stranded on an island works just as well. It’s the hardship, the need to work together (especially if they dislike one another) that brings them together.

A journey across country.  Shut up in a car with someone you hate, or like too much when he doesn't return your feelings. Does he know or is he oblivious?

A cause (keep it something local, something fictitious, not your cause) where they are on opposite sides rouses passion, keeps them on one another's mind. The relationship can be anything, the man/woman who dumped them, an embarrassing schoolgirl crush that he teases her about, posh girl/poor boy made good. Something personal to lend an edge to the fight over a development. 

The important thing to remember is that the crucible is what holds them together, it's the emotion, the passion, that makes a story.

Next time, the vital opening.

Don't forget that my Little Book of Writing Romance is available to download from all outlets and it's also available in paperback is you like to highlight stuff or make notes. (If you buy the paperback from Amazon you will also get a download.) There are links to all outlets in the sidebar..

 

Mash Up Monday

Lots of good stuff out there right now-

Nina Harrington is running a fabulous giveaway on her blog - six great books to enhance your productivity including The Tools of the Titans. Click here for more.

According to Kate Hardy, today is the International Day of Happiness, which has to be a good thing. Do something to make yourself smile.

Scarlet Wilson won the RoNA Rose award presented by Prue Leith at the Romantic Novelists Association Awards Reception last week with

All these great women write for "Harlequin Romance" - these are the March releases.

Summertime...

I love this time of year. The first flush of roses might have faded but the hanging baskets (after a dodgy start with so much rain) and pots are looking fabulous.

I've planted a ton of seeds and I'll be moving them from the trays and into pots to grow on so that I can plant them out in the autumn.

Stocks for the scent, violas because I just love those pansy faces, stately foxgloves - cream splashed with dark red - and the slightly mad canterbury bells.

All old-fashioned flowers that make the heart sing.

Early this spring I found a couple of packets of nasturtium seeds and they are adding a splash of colour everywhere. Climbing up amongst the everlasting sweetpeas and tomatoes in the border and in the pots on the patio.

And I can't believe how long the honeysuckle has flowered this year. The orange thug is long over - and trying to take over the world - but the more natural ones are still throwing out blooms.

I've also got a pot that earlier was full of tulips and daffodils but now they've died back and I've got a load of self-set foxgloves from last year coming up thick and fast.

I'll be transplanting those into the border and holding my breath next spring because with self-set you never know what you're going to get!

I also have to take some cuttings of sedum for the dd's garden.

She has a lovely recipe for lavender lotion bars on her blog this week by the way - perfect for gardener's hands!

What's happening in your garden right now?

Guest Blog

I'm blogging over at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs today about getting organized! Come and chat. And for those of you who are celebrating this special day with your loved ones -

More Ice Cream...

I'm over at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs today tying up loose ends in the ice cream saga (Tempted By Trouble, Anything But Vanilla, Vettori's Damsel in Distress).

Are their any other characters in the ice cream books, or any others, whose stories you want to read? Click on the link and come on over. I'm all ears! :)

Is this the year you write that book?

Did you put that at the top of your list of New Year resolutions?

If you did, then this might be the moment to treat yourself to a copy of my Little Book of Writing Romance. It's a straightforward guide to the basics. How to start, how to find your characters, mine your own experience for emotion and will work for any kind of genre fiction.

It's available as an ebook download for all devices and is now available in paperback from Amazon.

Here's a link to Amazon US and Amazon UK

Spring into Writing with the 3 Big Cs

Spring is the time of year when the sap rises, the birds and bees get busy and maybe, just maybe, with the lengthening days, that neglected New Year resolution about writing a book — starting is just so hard — could be shaken out and given an airing.

So where do you begin a story? With the three big Cs.

You have an idea, but an idea isn’t a plot. A plot requires conflict, a conflict big enough to carry a book anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 words. That’s not going to be something that could be cleared up if the two people involved sat down and actually talked things through. (Obviously, you can never let them have that conversation, but even so…) Imagine your heroine has a life or death goal and the hero is an immovable object blocking the way.

Which segues very neatly to the next big C - character. To have any kind of conflict you need protagonist and an antagonist. A heroine and a hero if you’re writing a traditional romance. Two people with opposing goals. (Or maybe, as in Ally Blake’s brilliant The Secret Wedding Dress, two people with exactly the same goal – except that, as their relationship grows, the goal posts shift).

Finally, once you have a conflict and the characters to battle it out, you need a crucible – a container that can withstand temperatures high enough to melt or otherwise alter its contents. A device, such as a journey, or house, or a problem they are both involved with, which will hold your characters together and change them forever.

Liz has written more than 60 romances. To find out how she does it, download her Little Book of Writing Romance from any eBook retailer. For more information and to check out her latest releases surf to Liz's website

 

Seven Tips for Aspiring Writers Barbara Wallace

Don’t chase trends.  Ignore talk about what’s hot and what’s selling.  Chances are, by the time you perfect your manuscript, the trends will have shifted.  Focus on writing a good book, not a marketable one.

Hone your voice.  So often I read unpublished manuscripts where the writer attempted to emulate her favorite author.  As a result, the manuscript is often technically perfect, but lacking spark.  As much as you might love their books, there can only be one Kristan Higgins or Ruthie Knox.  Be yourself.  Don’t be an imitation of someone else. 

Finish your book.  Sigh.  If I had a nickel for all the times writers drop a story because they got bored halfway through.  Or spent their energy honing the first three chapters as though writing a proposal.  I’ve got one word for you.  STOP!  The only sure way to publish a book is to have an entire book.  Similarly,

Understand the difference between a finished manuscript and a publishable manuscript.  The dark side of self-publishing is that it’s led some authors to believe that simply writing a book qualifies them for publication.  Not every book deserves to be in print.  I know – I have a half dozen books on my computer that will never EVER see the light of day.  Nor should they.  Be ruthless about your craft, and be honest with yourself. 

Accept rejection and failure as inevitable.  Everyone stumbles.  Falling down is part of the learning process.  What falling down isn’t, however, is a judgment on you as a writer or as a person.  Learn from your mistakes, and grow.

Never stop learning your craft.  Too often, I go to writers conferences only to find the hallways filled with new authors networking.  Meanwhile, there are bestselling authors sitting in the front row of the craft sessions taking notes.  The best writers know that learning never ends.  Strive to be one of those writers. 


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