BREAKING NEWS: Bridget Jones is fiction!! Yes, folks. I realise this will come as a shock but Bridget Jones, that well-known fictional diary of a 30-something, written by well-known fiction author Helen Fielding is in fact fiction. That is to say it is untrue. Bridget is not real. Sorry. And it’s not just her. Mark…
I know you’ll all be very sad to hear that my first attempt at writing a Mills & Boon novel was rejected. I know. It’s devastating. My eyelashes are matted with hot tears and my pale cheeks flushed pink under the weight of my emotion. I feel as though my very soul is torn in…
As you know, lovely readers, I have been attempting to write (and generally musing on) Mills & Boon for some time now. I kicked off my blog series with a snide look at why I was absolutely, definitely capable of penning such an opus (here), followed by sarky deconstructions of the plot (here), characters (here),…
It’s been a while since I last updated you on my Mills & Boon project/plight. I could tell you I’ve been squirrelled away penning the great opus but that would be a lie. Having said that, I did submit a manuscript to Harlequin, oh yes. I entered their fast track submissions and pitched a story…
So, ok. We might not be talking engineers and political leaders here but this is my round-up of the awesome, inspiring women who have touched my life in some way this year. The Top Ten (in no particular order) 1. Jessica Valenti Her book The Purity Myth caused a stir in 2009 and the documentary…
Guess what… I’ve written a chapter. A WHOLE chapter. I know. What happens? Well, nothing, obviously. There are no actual plots in Mills & Boon. Basically how it works is this: It starts with a woman who meets a man. So far, so good. Of course, she initially hates him and thinks he hates her…
Well, I’m pleased to say I’ve now read some Mills & Boon. Three to be precise. Plus the beginning of another which I abandoned after a couple of chapters because it was about a plain girl with a tragic background who goes to live with a stern, rich man as a nanny to his pretty…
So I decided this week that I am going to write a Mills & Boon novel. I confess this wasn’t an entirely creatively motivated decision. I read in Cosmopolitan that you can earn between £2,000 and £30,000 per book and frankly that sounds like a lifestyle I could handle. I mean, it can’t possibly take…
The erotic literary soiree that lets you confess your sex sins, whether through the lilting rhythm of your poetic verse or just by standing in front of a microphone in a thong. It’s open mic which means anyone can sign up. You have been warned… … read my full review here. Velvet Tongue. Bar Kick,…
Francesca Da Rimini 