I first met author Kate Field a few years ago at a Romantic Novelists’ Association conference, and we’ve been friends ever since. Kate is one of the authors in the Miss Moonshine anthologies – stories by nine northern authors – and it’s a great pleasure to invite Kate to visit over the Pennines to celebrate…… Continue reading Good to meet you…Kate Field, author of Finding Home
This month our authors’ Round Robin question is one of the most difficult so far… What are your favourite books of all time, in your favourite genres? Vintage romance. Image courtesy of Pixabay What a question to have to answer! I have SO many favourite books, whittling down a list is like having to kill…… Continue reading 6 of my favourite romantic novels
It’s time for another of our authors’ Round Robins, and this month the topic is… How do you develop a character who is different in personality from all the other characters you have developed, or from yourself? If you’ve followed my blog for a while you’ll know I’m a big fan of Georgette Heyer and…… Continue reading How do you develop realistic characters who are different from yourself?
It’s been a long while since I ran one of my ‘Good to Meet You’ posts, and I’m really happy to be starting again today with this interview with author Gilli Allan. Her answers are thought-provoking, her worst ever job sounds an absolute nightmare, and I was delighted to find we’d both marry the same…… Continue reading Good to meet you…author Gilli Allan @gilliallan
It’s coming up to the end of another year and this is my fourth Christmas running this blog. I didn’t know when I started just how much fun I’d have with it, how many people I’d meet, and how many authors and book lovers I’d come to know because of it. I remember writing my first…… Continue reading From Regency to sheep farming: Some books I’ve loved in 2016
Earlier this week an author colleague posted a link to a review of her latest novel. The reviewer was highly complimentary regarding the author’s writing skill, but he expressed deep disappointment that a writer of her ability was “frittering away her talents in a genre that didn’t deserve them” – ie romance novels. Boy meets girl, boy…… Continue reading Why romance writers are “frittering their talents away” writing a predictable genre
It’s time for another Round Robin, and another thought-provoking topic, especially for romance authors and readers: In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, why do you think “bad” boys are so popular as heroes, and “bad” girls so often reviled? In real life, can those labelled “bad” really change, or are such fictional romances misleading? This…… Continue reading Bad boys in fiction – why we love them, yet revile the bad girls
Today my visitor has come from just across the Pennines. For anyone not familiar with UK geography, the Pennines are a range of hills running down the north of England, separating Lancashire and Yorkshire. In the fifteenth century there was fierce fighting between the two counties in the Wars of the Roses. And even today…… Continue reading Good to meet you…author Sarah Mallory
This isn’t the definitive list, and everyone has their opinion, but here are ten British and Irish authors you should definitely try reading if you love romance. (I haven’t put Jane Austen or the Brontës on the list, as they’re a given.) So, here they are, in alphabetical order: Maeve Binchy is a best-selling Irish…… Continue reading Ten British romance authors you should read…
A few weeks ago I came across this list on US blog Heroes and Heartbreakers, naming the ten Regency romances you should read. The author did say it was her own opinion – and I know these types of list are always contentious! – but to be honest, I was pretty amazed that the author…… Continue reading Georgette Heyer – mistress of Regency
Helena Fairfax 