Welcome to RNA - NWS member - Helga Jensen-Forde

I’m delighted to welcome Helga Jensen-Forde, a New Writers’ Scheme member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, to my blog.

For those unfamiliar with the RNA - New Writers’ Scheme, the scheme offers unpublished writers the chance to network with fellow writers, agents and publishers…and includes many more membership benefits.

Hello Helga – Thank you for joining me on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat, today. As we whizz through a few Questions & Answers, hopefully, readers and followers can gain an insight into some of the things that matter to you as a writer. It's a chance for all of us to get to know you a little as you make your way towards the publication of your novel. So, let's get started... 😊

 

Arabella:  How did you hear about or discover: The Romantic Novelists’ Association - New Writers’ Scheme?

Helga: As a journalist, I was already a member of The Society of Women Writers and Journalists. Then someone at a writing seminar mentioned The Romantic Novelists’ Association. As I write romance I knew this sounded exactly what I needed in my life. I subsequently discovered the New Writers’ Scheme and, as fiction writing was new to me, I jumped at the chance to join.

    

 

Arabella: Egg and Chips, Tea and Cake, or a Chocolate Treat?

Helga:  Oh, for those who know me they will know that answer. Definitely chocolate treats, although tea and cake come a very close second!

 

Arabella:  What is your romance genre and why have you chosen this particular type of novel to write?

Helga:  I write romantic comedy. I feel quite strongly about this genre because the world can be such a stressful place and, at times, bad things happen. I want to make the world a nicer place with comical stories. My dream is to make people laugh out loud and brighten their day with the comedy I write.

 

Arabella:  Do you have anyone supporting your writing endeavours? Friends, family, writing groups, etc?

Helga:  I am currently studying for a Creative Writing MA. Through the course there are workshops where the students critique each others writing. This has been an invaluable process. The feedback has been extremely helpful on my second book that I am now writing.

Arabella:  Which season of the year do you most enjoy and why?

Helga:  It depends where I am. Definitely summer in the UK. I lived in Dubai for over twenty years, where the cooler winter months were definitely the best. However, wherever I am, as long as the sun is shining that makes me happy.  

Arabella:  So…you are a member of the RNA’s – NWS which means you are in the throes of writing the next bestseller.

No spoilers and without revealing too much about your plot… (otherwise someone might pinch your great story ideas before they’ve been published… J ) Tell us briefly about the romance you hope to submit to the RNA’s - New Writers’ Scheme for a friendly critique, before approaching an agent or publisher with your completed manuscript.

Helga:  The first chapter of my novel, Temptation at Tiffany’s, was a winning entry at the Emirates Literary Festival Montegrappa First Fiction competition a few years ago. It is about the story of Amelia, a Pinot Grigio and Nutella loving woman (any similarity to me is purely coincidental!) When looking through an old suitcase, Amelia finds the telephone number of a handsome man she met twenty years before, whilst on holiday in New York. Now suddenly single, she considers whether she should track him down and finally agree to that date he asked her on and was too nervous to accept. Let’s just say that what comes next is a transatlantic adventure!

 

Thank you so much for sharing something about yourself with us, Helga. It certainly sounds as if you’ve had many adventures whilst travelling the world.

Meanwhile, best wishes for any NWS works in progress, and I hope Temptation at Tiffany’s soon finds a home with the romance publisher of your dreams.

Arabella

www.arabellasheen.co.uk

About   Helga Jensen-Forde

Helga Jensen-Forde is a Danish/British journalist and author. Her first book, Temptation at Tiffany’s, was a winning entry at the 2017 Montegrappa First Fiction competition at Dubai’s Emirates Literary Festival. The romantic comedy is now with a number of agents and publishers and Helga is currently looking for representation. Whilst waiting to publish Temptation at Tiffany’s, Helga is working on her second book and a Creative Writing MA, whilst continuing to work as a freelance journalist.

Having lived in the Middle East for the past 25 years, the former airline stewardess is now in the UK to complete her MA before deciding where to jet off next.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: Helga Jensen Forde Author

Twitter: HelgaJensenF

Welcome to RomCom Author - Sandy Barker

 

I’m delighted to welcome Sandy Barker to my blog.

Sandy Barker - Author

 

Hello Sandy – It was lovely to connect with you through the Romantic Novelists' Association and I have been looking forward to hosting you on Arabella's Blog and Chit-Chat. But before we discover more about your latest release, The Christmas Swap, here are a few questions which will hopefully give your readers and followers an insight into some of the things that matter to you.

Arabella: You’ve got an idea for a story but it has yet to take shape. Where do you start? Do you concentrate on the location in the story, or developing the characters personalities, or are there other key points you might consider?

Sandy: All my books are travel romances, so I typically start with the location (somewhere I’ve visited or lived), and then I consider who should go there and how they will be transformed by their time there. Once I have the basic framework and know who is going where, I let the idea percolate until I can imagine the characters in the location ― almost like watching a film. I typically have a basic outline of the story and detailed character outlines when I start writing ― from there, anything is possible and I am frequently surprised by my characters’ actions.

Arabella: In your latest release The Christmas Swap what is the overall theme or premise, and what made you choose this topic?

Sandy: I really wanted to write a Christmas book as it’s my favourite holiday and I started thinking back over the Christmases I’ve had, particularly those in the US and the UK, which are quite different from the hot Christmases we enjoy here in Australia. Once I had the spark of the idea, that three friends who live in three different countries would swap Christmases, the characters started forming in my head ― each distinct and each with a different feeling about the holiday. Lucy from the UK is desperate for a proper white Christmas, so is enticed by a trip to Colorado. Jules from Colorado is over the freezing winters and jumps at the chance of a hot Christmas in Melbourne, and Chloe is keen to swap her orphans’ ―

her parents are going on a cruise ― for a traditional British Christmas in a sleepy English village. And, of course, as I write romcoms, hilarity and romance follow.

Arabella: Trainers, Slippers or High-Heels?

Sandy: I’ve been in lockdown for the better part of six months and over the cold months, so slippers or Uggs are the norm. I’d love a reason to put on some heels and hit the town ― maybe soon. I am also a bit of a gym junkie ― exercise is my therapy ― so it’s trainers most days too.

 

Arabella: You’re stuck in a lift and it’s a two-hour wait before a pain-free extraction. What emergency rations would you like to be sent down the lift shaft?

Sandy: My Kindle and a proper coffee. Maybe a cushion.

 

Arabella: You’ve arranged to meet up with friends and family for an afternoon of fun. Where do you go and what do you do?

Sandy:  We go to a winery and sit in the sun, tasting and sipping wine, and grazing on antipasto and cheese while enjoying the view.

 

Arabella: The moment we are published, a career path is usually envisaged. Do you have any aspirations or ambitions for yourself and any future novels you might write?

Sandy: I work fulltime in adult education and, though I love it, I love writing even more so I am working towards being a fulltime author. The Christmas Swap is my 4^th book, and I have just finished writing my 5^th and have started my 6^th, both in the Holiday Romance series. I have the final book in that series planned out and an idea for a few stand-alones too. There’s a fairy-tale I wrote as a short story years ago that I’d love to write as a novel and my (author) friend and I have a great idea for a dark contemporary thriller. I think that once I am a fulltime author, I can branch out into other genres.

 

Thank you for joining me on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat, Sandy. I too have a soft spot for Uggs when lounging about the house.

All the best for your latest release - The Christmas Swap

Arabella

www.arabellasheen.co.uk

 

 

About Sandy Barker

 

Sandy Barker - Author

Sandy is a writer, traveller and hopeful romantic with a lengthy bucket list, and many of her travel adventures have found homes in her novels. She’s also an avid reader, a film buff, a wine lover and a coffee snob. She lives in Melbourne Australia with her partner, Ben, who she met while travelling in Greece. Their real-life love story inspired Sandy’s debut novel One Summer in Santorini, the first in the Holiday Romance series with One More Chapter, an imprint of HarperCollins. The Christmas Swap, Sandy’s fourth novel is a stand-alone and celebrates her favourite time of year.

 

Social Media:

https://twitter.com/sandybarker

https://www.facebook.com/sandybarkerauthor

https://sandybarker.com/

https://www.instagram.com/sandybarkerauthor/

 

Book Blurb:  The Christmas Swap

 

Christmas is coming and best friends Chloe, Jules, and Lucy are needing change… so swapping homes for the holidays could be the perfect present for all of them!

Australian Chloe spends her Christmas in a sleepy village in Oxfordshire, England. She is totally star-struck when she discovers who lives across the road.

Lucy, who has jetted off to snowy Colorado for her dream-come-true white Christmas, is taken into the fold of Jules’s loud and brash family, discovering more about herself in a few short days than she has in years.

And Jules leaves the cold climes of Colorado to spend her Christmas on a beach with Chloe’s friends in Melbourne, finding that time away is just what she needed.

Release dates: Oct 16 (ebook) Nov 26 (print)

 

Buy links:

Waterstones:  https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-christmas-swap/sandy-barker/9780008390044

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XFlqHt

Foyles:  https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/fiction-poetry/the-christmas-swap,sandy-barker-9780008390044

Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/the-christmas-swap

Welcome to RomCom Author - Susie Tate

I’m delighted to welcome Susie Tate to my blog.

Susie Tate - Author

Hello Susie - It’s been wonderful connecting with you through the Romantic Novelists’ Association. The RNA is such an excellent group in which to reach out to fellow authors and sharing writing experiences. I love hearing news of everyone’s up-and-coming book releases.

But before we discover more about your latest release Anything but Easy, here are a few questions which will hopefully give your readers and followers an insight into some of the things that matter to you.

 

Arabella: When writing a novel are there any key traits, such as virtuously good or shamelessly bad, you like to give your characters?

Susie: I don’t like stereotypes and I don’t believe anyone is irredeemably bad. Often my most unsympathetic characters come through as pretty decent in the end! Heroes of course in my opinion have to be a wee bit on the arrogant side and throw around their fair share of testosterone. My heroines’ personalities vary widely – from painfully shy to ridiculously extrovert, but all my characters have their vulnerabilities and reasons for you to root for them getting to their happy ever afters.

 

Arabella: A book has a beginning, middle, and an end. When penning your latest release, Anything but Easy, which part did you find the hardest to write and why?

Susie: I think with Anything but Easy it was the middle that was the hardest. I knew where I wanted the characters and story to go, but as the hero and heroine were so opposite, and the hero so fiercely controlled with everything he did, it was sometimes tricky to get them there! The chemistry between them overcame most of the obstacles in the end though so it was worth it.

Arabella: We all have a long list of books we keep meaning to read but never have the time for --- which book is a must-read for you this season?

Susie: Both Mhairi McFarlane’s and Penny Reid’s books always make me laugh out loud and we could all do with a laugh at the moment! So I’ll definitely be reading Mhairi’s new book If I Never Met You and Penny’s latest Engagement and Espionage. 

 

Arabella: A slice of Chocolate Cake, a piece of Fruit, or Burger and Fries?

Susie: No contest! A slice of Chocolate Cake. 

Arabella: What advice would you give to someone who is starting out on their writing journey?

Susie: Read, read, read, then read some more: books from the genre you want to write in, books from other genres, books about writing – it’s all helpful. Then have confidence in yourself and the story you have to tell. There’s always room for more stories!

Arabella: What about your future plans? Any books or series in the making?

Susie:  I write romantic comedy and contemporary romance. I'm a GP and my books have been described before as "Grey's Anatomy meets the romance novel". 

I’ve got another series of three interconnected standalone books on the go at the moment that I hope to bring out next year. All the first drafts are done so it’s the endless editing process to go through now before my real editor can rip them to shreds and remove all my semicolons J

Thank you so much for welcoming me to your blog! Great questions! 

 

It was lovely to have had the chance to host you on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat, Susie. Thank you for being such a super guest. Wishing lots of fun when promoting your book - Anything But Easy.

Arabella

www.arabellasheen.co.uk

 

About Susie Tate 

Susie Tate - Author

Susie is a general practitioner in Dorset. Things have been a little crazy in the NHS of late for both her and her husband (also a doctor working in anaesthetics). Reading and writing has kept her sane. She is so grateful to all her fab readers and reviewers for their ongoing support - it really has meant the world to her.

When she's not working or writing she's looking after her four scrummy little boys (well, one might not be so little but it's the mental age that counts!).

 

Book Blurb: Anything But Easy

Kira Murphy is a liability: always has been. She might be small but her personality and heart are not: a sexual health doctor with a foul mouth, pink streaks in her hair, a bizarre world view, a reputation for being ‘pathologically social’, and a huge crush on the current Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth . . . she’s weird and lovable in equal measure.

The last thing Barclay Lucas needs is a liability. He’s made it into the cabinet with single-minded determination, sheer grit, and serious conservatism. But then a crazy, pink-haired, tiny dynamo turns his life upside-down and serious for Barclay is a thing of the past.

But he’s never liked feeling out of control – something he experiences with Kira on a daily basis. So he pushes her away when she needs him the most, and unfortunately for him she retreats at head-spinning speed. It’s only then he realizes that although being with Kira is anything but easy, the grey, boring alternative is far worse. He’ll have to use all his hard-earned political negotiating and maneuvering skills to get her back. Because after being dragged from black and white into full Technicolor with Kira, Barclay knows that, however serious and worthy his life is, he can’t live it without her.

Anything but Easy is an opposites attract, full-length contemporary romance.

Release date: 13th September 2020

Genre: Opposites attract romantic comedy/contemporary romance

BUY LINK:

Amazon link:  mybook.to/AnythingbutEasy