Wednesday 11 September 2019

Welcome to Romance Author - Lynn Forth



I’m delighted to welcome romantic comedy writer Lynn Forth to my blog.
  

Hello Lynn, I was so pleased when you said you were able to fill a guest spot on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat this week, and I was fascinated to read you write romantic comedy, and like to think of your books as sunny, funny reads with some thoughtful undertones. What an interesting and reflectively provoking description! But before we get to know a little bit more about your latest release, The Girl Who Used To Be Me, here are a few questions which will hopefully give your readers an insight into some of the things that matter to you.


Arabella: How did you manage to get your first novel published and what did you learn from the experience?
Lynn: I submitted Love in La La Land to the RNA New Writers’ Scheme and received invaluable advice. The positive detailed report guided me as to how to enliven it and get it ready for publishing. I then submitted it to lots of publishers and was lucky that Crooked Cat liked it and offered me a contract. They supported me through my first publishing journey and have done so ever since. I particularly like the fact that they offer paperbacks as well as ebook formats right from the beginning. There’s nothing like the thrill of holding your first physical book in your hand. Very definitely, a dream come true.


Arabella: Who or what inspired you to write your latest release, The Girl Who Used To Be Me?
Lynn: I always like to throw my main character into somewhere new and sunny and see how they cope with being somewhere strange eg Jane in  Hollywood, Kate in the French Riviera and in my latest book The Girl Who Used To Be Me , the Costa del Sol. This area holds many memories for me as for many years we visited my parents there. It was already the haunt of my character, Reen, so I decide to revisit all the places I knew along that coast of Spain. It really fitted the subject matter of my book about a girl emerging from the shadows of her past into the bright blingy light.

Arabella: Where do you read? Sofa or bed or ____?
Lynn: Anywhere really. My kindle is always neatly tucked into my handbag just in case I get stuck anywhere and can snatch a quick read. But my delight is to curl up on the bed in the spare room which catches the afternoon sun and try to sneak the odd half hour in there if I can.

Arabella: If you could choose, which would it be: A walk in the woods, a walk along a beach front to dip your toes in the sea, or a day shopping for clothes?
Lynn: A walk along the beach front every time. In all my books my heroines share my love of looking at the sea. Like me, Annie in Love, Lies and Café au Lait, loves to promenade along The Bay of Angels in Nice and in The Girl Who Used To Be Me, Kate is transfixed each evening watching the sun set over the  Mediterranean  from her terrace on the Costa del Sol. One of my characters, the fabulous Reen, can never quite get over the fact that she can see Gibraltar across the sea from her villa in Marbella. 


Arabella: Some authors write at first light, others need a mug of coffee or a glass of wine before putting pen to paper. When writing, are there any “essentials” you need to help the words flow?
Lynn: A good question, Arabella. I would say, like a lot of writers, it’s essentially just time to immerse myself. When I’m able to eventually sit down at my computer, I have so many ideas spilling out, I just bash them in as quickly as I can, surrounded by neglected cold cups of tea.

Arabella: You’re halfway through the work-in-progress, you’re about to kill off the hero and there is going to be no happy-ever-after. In other words, you’re stuck! If you had to contact an “author/publisher/editor friend” for guidance, who would it be?
Lynn: I’m lucky that I have a lovely little local group of authors who meet regularly to talk books and plots. They are always there in our FB chatroom with helpful advice. I owe them all a lot.

Arabella: The T.V. is on and you’re in control of the remote. Which is it to be: A quiz programme…An afternoon of sport…A family soap…A romantic film you always wanted to see but missed when it was shown at the cinema?
Lynn: Has to be the latter, a romantic film every time, even if I’ve seen it before like When Harry Met Sally, or Dirty Dancing, or a really old favourite like Gone With the Wind or West Side Story. They will all have me sobbing into my hankie before they finish.
  

Arabella: Do you have any great writing, publishing, or marketing tips you’d like to share to “want-to-be” authors starting out on their writing journey?
Lynn: As a new writer I was very naïve about the actual publishing and promoting
side of the business. If writing in the romantic genre, I would advise joining the Romantic Novelists Association and, if possible, going to their annual Conference. I can’t tell you how much I learnt from all the lectures I attended …and still do.


Thank you for joining me on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat, Lynn. And your comment about the cold cups of tea sitting beside your computer as you work sounds so familiar. Isn’t it strange how the world and everyday life gets forgotten as you delve deeper into the plots and conflicts of the romantic stories you’re creating?
Best wishes and happy writing…
Arabella Sheen


About Lynn Forth

Lynn Forth went to live in Accrington when she was 11 and still has the accent to prove it.
She now lives in Worcestershire (where it doesn’t rain as much) with her family and a room with a view to write in.
With a lifelong fascination with words and people, she studied English and Psychology at University and, as a lecturer at the local College, she tried to impart this love of words and teaching to students of all ages.
An avid reader, she runs two book clubs and, as a bit of a movie buff, she loves participating in the discussions at a local Film Club. Although not a big exercise fan, she enjoys the fun and music at her Zumba sessions, singing along enthusiastically to all the tunes. A great lover of colour, she tries to encourage a riotous array of flowers in her garden.
She now writes romantic comedies full of sparky dialogue, set in sunny foreign climes, which, of course, she has to visit for the sake of research. She set her debut novel, Love in La La Land, in Hollywood which combined this love of films, humour and sunny places. Her second novel Love Lies and Cafe au Lait was set in Nice, a city she loves. And her third novel The Girl Who Used To Be Me follows one of her characters, the fabulous Reen, to her home territory of the Costa Del Sol.

Website: lynnforthauthor.wordpress.com.
Twitter: @lynnforth
Facebook Page: Lynn Forth
Author Page: Lynn Forth Author
Lynn’s books are available as both eBooks and paperbacks from Amazon




Blurb: The Girl Who Used To Be Me

An uplifting story about longing and belonging.

After a passionate fun-filled affair, Kate is abandoned by Rob, her first love.
Six years later, she is stuck in a dead-end job and trapped in a toxic relationship. She escapes to the Costa del Sol where she meets flamboyant Reen with her bright clothes, her sparkling eyes and a penchant for pink plastic flamingos.

Kate falls for Troy, Reen’s sexy son, and embarks upon a new phase of self-discovery. Is she finally becoming the girl she longs to be?

But when Rob comes back into her life unexpectedly, what will she do?

Full of wit and warmth, fun and flamingos.

Perfect for fans of Milly Johnson and Jules Wake

Buy Link:
The Girl Who Used To Be Me: mybook.to/TheGirlWhoUsedToBeMe

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