Category Archives: Chick lit

Things My Draft Novel Made Me Do Last Week #amwriting

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Here are the things my draft novel made me do last week. Do you like how I am blaming everything on my draft novel? I knew you woiuld – ha ha!

I am not going to say the title of it or the premise as it will take away the excitement. I will say that it is a forced proximity romcom (where circumstances throw the main characters together) and it’s crammed full of comedy, chaos and some touching romantic moments. I am currently doing several rounds of edits. This book has been continually revised since last September. It has had more revisions than I have had hot dinners. I am about to swan dive gracefully into the literary agent query pool so I am just dusting off my frilly costume,

Here’s what my draft novel made me do last week:

  1. Add more conflict. I am changing as a writer. In some of my early novels I shied away from conflict. With this book I have had a little devil on my shoulder whispering, ‘make them suffer more,’ and for once I have listened to it. You should ask yourself as you write – am I making life too easy for my characters?
  2. Hack away pointless scenes. I have been a lot tougher with this book than my others. This was something I also used to avoid. I have found the more you hack the deeper you get into your story because you end up being left with scenes which all serve a purpose.
  3. Experience a range of strong feelings 🤣 – frustration, anger, happiness, joy, sadness and hope were all felt last week as I knocked this story into shape.
  4. Ignore my inner critic at certain times of the day. I should NOT make crucial decisions on my book before 6.30am. My mind is not rational before 6.30am. Even better I should not think about changes until after I have eaten. About 9am I start thinking clearly. This week I saw how my mind and perspective shifts after breakfast. Also I should not make book decisions after 10pm as I am always tired and I will go for the easiest option. A big shout out to all my past stories which suffered because of this.
  5. Go for more walks. Fresh air is a writer’s friend
  6. Cry. I have found that the books you write which make you cry whilst writing they have something special about them. Last week I cried. Historic moment.
  7. Get impatient. I do hate it when draft novels try to hurry you up. They want to be out in the world seeking their fortune but you know there’s more work to do.
  8. Accepting the following with editing: editing can be soul destroying, there will be some chapters littered with typos and incorrect character names but structurally they will work, there will be some chapters where there will be no typos but structurally they will be a wreck and some chapters where even I, the author, won’t have a clue about what’s going on 🤣
  9. Skip some household chores. I do love novel writing when it makes me do this.
  10. Wear a bolder lipstick – hot pink for writers in 2023 👏🏻

Have a good week 🤩

Lucy x

5 Things Your Female Character Needs To Have – Guest Post by Author @zoe_writes

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If you write romcoms or are mulling over a romcom story idea this post is for you.

I am thrilled to have Zoe May on my blog. She’s a romcom queen to me and I can’t believe she’s written me a wonderful guest post.

Photo taken from https://www.zoemayauthor.co.uk

Zoe May is the author of four romantic comedy novels, published by HQ Digital, HarperCollins.

Her debut, Perfect Match, about online dating, was an iBooks bestseller.

Zoe is currently working on her fifth novel, Flying Solo, which she is self-publishing this summer.

So I am going to hand over to Zoe May *squeal*

Hi, here are five things I believe your female character needs to have.

Flaws

I’ve read a few rom coms recently where the main character is practically Mother Theresa and it really annoys me! I strongly believe that characters don’t need to be perfect in order to appeal to readers. Some of my favourite rom com heroines, like Becky Bloomwood from Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series, are flawed. Becky is completely materialistic, a little shallow, a bit self-involved and pretty misguided, but that’s what makes her interesting and relatable.

None of us are perfect and when I read about an overly nice character in a rom com, it feels like a likeability box ticking exercise by the author. The heroine ends up seeming fake and the execution feels forced. I like writing characters with flaws because I’m flawed and so is everyone. Flawed characters feel more real and as a result, they’re more engaging to write about. Giving your character flaws also gives them an opportunity for growth throughout the book. My debut, Perfect Match, is about a woman who has a very superficial attitude to dating, looking for a rich, handsome, successful man, and the story is about how she changes and grows and realises what’s really important in a partner. Her growth drives the story forward.

Friends
Your heroine has to be relatable and fairly likeable (in spite of her flaws), and relatable and likeable people tend to have friends. Including scenes featuring your main character’s friends will show us more about her as a person and will move the story forward as her friends may encourage her to make certain decisions. For example, in my current novel, Flying Solo, my heroine’s best friend supports her decision to embark on a trip to India to win her boyfriend back after he dumps her to jet off on a self-discovery mission.

Your character’s interactions with her friends can provide good opportunities for humour too. I love writing funny dialogue between best mates.

Not too much baggage
While I think main characters should have flaws, I think there are limits to how much baggage heroines should have. Rom coms offer readers escapism. The world is a messed-up place and when we pick up a book with a bright happy cover and a chirpy blurb, we don’t want to be reading about dark themes like death, abuse, rape, violence, war, terrorism or whatever else. We want to be cheered up, not depressed! I steer clear of anything too dark. My heroines tend to have had pretty decent lives. It may not be totally realistic as terrible things do happen to lovely people in real life, but I think it’s best to keep that kind of thing off the page when it comes to rom com.

A good heart
I’ve mentioned that I think main characters need to have flaws in order to feel human and relatable, but that being said, in the genre of rom com, your main character definitely needs to have a good heart. She may be misguided at times, she may make mistakes and screw things up, but ultimately, she must be a decent person. Rom coms are meant to be uplifting and stories about bitchy girls tend not to be. If you want to write about an antagonist, write a thriller!

Humour
Your main character has to be funny. Her thought processes, the situations she gets herself into, her dialogue with people – she needs to be entertaining. She is the epicentre of the story so if she is not amusing, the whole book will suffer. We read rom coms partly for the “com” element after all, so she has to be humorous!

Check out Zoe’s latest book, Flying Solo, here.

 

#BookReview Without a Hitch on Honeymoon @BeautySwot #TuesdayBookBlog

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Last year I reviewed Bettina Hunt’s, Without a Hitch, a novel about the wedding journeys of three brides. Bettina’s novel made me reconnect with my inner bridezilla which is something I thoroughly enjoyed doing. After nineteen long years of marriage there’s nothing better than being whisked away to think about wedding dress choices, flower arrangements and handsome grooms.

What I liked about the first Without a Hitch is that the three brides; Sienna, Agnes and Bryony all experienced different challenges, emotional issues and comedy moments with their weddings and it was a fun premise.

So, you can imagine my book reading delight when Bettina contacted me to say she was carrying on with the series and this book was all about the same three brides going on honeymoon.

Seeing as my own honeymoon had many hitches, one being where I got off a coach after a trip and fell head first into a cactus bush (too many Spanish lemonades) and my loved one spent a romantic evening pulling needles out of my body, I was keen to see whether Sienna, Agnes and Bryony had an easier ride.

Here’s the blurb:

Sienna, Agnes & Bryony are back! Making memories one beach at a time …

In the sequel to the hilarious wedding romcom Without a Hitch, find out what happens to the three brides after the wedding …

Because after the wedding …comes the honeymoon… doesn’t it? 

Here’s my review:

It was great to be back with the ladies from Without a Hitch again. I love sequels because it is like catching up with old friends.

This book was different to the first as the author takes things to a deeper level and you start to see the characters in a new light.

In this book I got emotionally attached to the character of Bryony. So much so, I wrote the author, Bettina Hunt several lengthy text messages. This is the sign of a good book – when you find yourself fishing out your phone in the middle of the frozen puddings aisle in Tescos and telling the author how your emotions are in shreds over what’s happening to their character. I’m not going to give anything away, but all I will say is I could have cried for Bryony.

By the end though I had this inkling something wonderful was happening inside of Bryony and I am now hungry for more.

Sienna as always provides the comedy relief and she never fails to bring a smile on.

Agnes – well…she never stops surprising me. Not content with leaving my jaw hanging open in shock at the end of the last book, she carries on doing things her way. I do like this character and she could feature in her own book.

Three different brides and three different honeymoons.

A cool part of this book is that all three brides are in contact via this wedding site and they are all emailing each other about their experiences. I thought the snippets from their emails was a great part of the book.

There is a cliffhanger at the end and I know the author is planning another in the series.

A good read and I can’t wait for the next one!

Weddings and honeymoons don’t always run smoothly and they make the perfect settings for romcom.

This book could work well as a standalone novella as the emails from the brides fill you in on what’s happened so far.

While I wait for book 3, I will be sending Bryony telepathic vibes of hope and transformation x

Here’s the link to the book.

Three things I like about the author:

  • She loves afternoon tea.
  • She loves bright lipstick shades.
  • She’s got a wicked sense of humour.

How To Connect With Your Inner Bridezilla – Read ‘Without a Hitch’ 👰🏼❤️@BeautySwot #SundayBlogShare #BookReview #bridetobe

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Even though I got married many moons ago I still find myself gazing longingly at engagement rocks in jewellers, getting urges to try on beautiful wedding dresses, drawing up family seating plans with post it notes (when I should be plotting my novel), restraining myself from throwing a bunch of flowers at a crowd of people and…*whispers* secretly buying boxes of pink confetti to chuck over myself in private.

So, when I saw Bettina Hunt’s latest book Without a hitch I thought it was about time I reconnected with my inner bridezilla.

Here is my review:

What did you think of the book cover?

I loved the image of the elegant bride and the groom standing behind her. The blue background is really striking and the cover definitely stood out.

What was the book’s blurb?

The path of true love never runs smooth, the path to the perfect wedding, even bumpier.’

Three brides-to-be, nine months to plan the dream wedding. What could possibly go wrong?

They have been dreaming of this day for as long as they can remember, but what happens when fate intervenes…

Sienna is determined not to become a bridezilla but planning a wedding is proving much harder than she thought. With obstacles flying from every direction, can she take back control without upsetting those closest to her?

Bryony is the bride on a budget dreaming of a big white wedding. A family full of secrets threaten to ruin her big day, can she find it in her heart to forgive and forget?

Agnes is the career woman who appears to have finally found Mr Right, but will her scheming boss come between her and her new-found love?

One date, three brides-to-be, united in their quest for the ‘perfect’ wedding.

Loved the idea of reading about three different brides and their respective emotional journeys towards the big day.

I was keen to find out more Sienna’s obstacles, Bryony’s family secrets and Agnes’s new love.

What did you think of the book’s characters?

I thought the characters were great and relatable.

Sienna and Charlie made a great comedy duo and the part at the start regarding the purchase of the engagement ring left me in stitches. We all have different ideas on engagement ring styles, size and price range but sometimes our loved one doesn’t always share our thinking. Loved his reaction to the three months salary stipulation.

I think Sienna represents all of us who were ‘hard work’ in the run up to our weddings.

Bryony and Thomas were sweet and had an old-fashioned type of love. Their family secrets, money worries tugged on my heartstrings. These characters represented those of us who have dysfunctional families and how things sometimes don’t go entirely to plan.

Agnes and Simon were a complete surprise to me. Agnes deserves a book of her own as she is a fab character (Bettina – hope you are making a note of this 😍) and her fussy mum is great too. Every good wedding journey needs a fussy mother.

What did you think about the story?

I loved reading the different wedding journeys of three brides. This book goes through all the main pre wedding stages, even proposal and wedding fayres. This author has wedding planning covered!

The three stories are cleverly woven together by the author and this keeps the reader interested. For me this is what made the book stand out.

There is humour in this book and it did make me chuckle in places. I did love Sienna’s experiences with trying on wedding dresses and Charlie’s diplomatic attempts with his mother. I also loved the relationship between Agnes and her fussy mother. I have said it before but I adored Agnes by the end of her story.

This book was hard to put down and an enjoyable read. It puts you in the mood for getting engaged and planning a wedding.

Did you reconnect with your inner bridezilla?

Living through the eyes of these three brides reconnected me with my inner bridezilla. By the end of the book all my wedding dress cravings had subsided, I could hold onto a bunch of flowers whilst standing in front of a crowd of people and my table planning post it note fuelled urges had disappeared. However, I did still want to chuck confetti over myself in private… *sigh*

Thank you Bettina Hunt for an enjoyable and fun reading experience 😍

If you fancy giving Without a Hitch a read please click here.

Author bio

Bettina Hunt lives in England with her husband and two young sons.

Without A Hitch is her second novel and again she found herself writing about what she knew…

She blogs about beauty, afternoon tea, spas and travel, as well as sharing poems and short stories at http://www.beautyswot.com. She can be found on Twitter most days – join in the chat @BeautySwot

#TuesdayBookBlog ‘Mr Make Believe’ by @beezymarsh. Includes Unforgettable Movie Star Character ❤️, Motherhood Chaos & Much Hilarity

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You find me in what I call, ‘Book Recovery’ mode (lying in state on the sofa, a cold compress over my forehead, a concerned dog sat watching me and an electric fan blowing cool air over me).

I know this is controversial but I believe romance readers have a harder time getting over a good book than readers of other genres. This is where all the crime readers, who read my blog, start shouting about how they have to recover from grizzly murder scenes etc and all the historical fiction readers moan about how they have to adjust to modern-day living after hanging out in another time period for a few weeks, but I don’t agree. With romance novels we have to wait for our emotions to settle down before starting another book, we can feel churned up for weeks and we have to GET OVER our character crushes. I often fall for the male characters of romance novels and it’s not easy forcing myself to stop loving my fictional love interest.

The reason why I am in ‘book recovery mode‘ is due to a male character in Beezy Marsh’s ‘Mr Make Believe’ who is quite simply – divine. For me the sign of a good romance novel is a strong character who draws me to them like a magnet.

This one is called Maddox Wolfe. He’s the main character’s movie star crush and he is over 6ft, lean, hunky and features heavily in her (and my own) fantasies throughout the book.

Moving on swiftly, let’s get on with the review of ‘Mr Make Believe’ by Beezy Marsh.

What did you think of the blurb?

The blurb talked about Marnie, a struggling, stay at home mum, whose life revolved around sock matching, the ironing pile, having fantasies about her movie star crush and wondering why her life had not gone to plan.

In a moment of madness Marnie starts a blog and becomes the voice of imperfect mums everywhere. Not only this but she comes into real life contact with her favourite film actor and things get chaotic.

The blurb was certainly enticing and as a frazzled mummy myself I could relate to Marnie’s situation. My blog is the voice of imperfect writers and after a chance meeting with Brad Pitt my life could also get chaotic.

What did you think of the main female character?

I loved Marnie. She enjoys wearing baggy sweatshirts, furry slipper socks and hasn’t shaved her legs for awhile. There is a clothing mountain, languishing in a wicker basket in the corner of her bedroom, the nearest thing to exercise she does is lifting coffee cups to her lips and she describes her chest as possessing a massive mono-boob.

Marnie is hilarious. At the start of the book she’s deep in the trenches of motherhood, questioning her marriage and reading a saucy novel, ‘Harsh Winter’ based on Maddox Wolfe’s on screen character. The opening chapters are so funny.

Her children are young and demanding which is realistic and they provide some good conflict.

The blog Marnie creates is great and through it she does start to change.

I think Marnie is a great character and by the end of the book I was proud of what she’d achieved.

What did you think of the other characters?

Marnie is a failed food columinst for a newspaper. She starts to do freelance work for the newspaper again as the book progresses and her editor, Barker, is a really funny character. Some of the things he says to Marnie during her moments of chaos are fab.

I didn’t warm to Marnie’s husband, Matt, at the start of the book but I think this was what the author wanted.

Maddox Wolfe is an unforgettable male character. I know I am making him sound like a perfect male character, he isn’t, he has issues in the book which I liked. No one wants a perfect male character. I just loved how the author painted this picture of an older movie star, a bit rough round the edges and combined this with his flirty, almost cheeky dialogue. Sigh…

Were there any naughty bits?

Yes, there were naughty bits and they were written very well. They were not too naughty but saucy enough if you know what I mean. Oh my goodness, Maddox Wolfe, you made me turn on my electric fan to full power at one point!

Overall what did you think?

I really enjoyed this book. You can’t get better romantic escapism than reading about a frazzled stay at mum, who becomes a successful blogger and catches the attention of a famous movie star. It is well worth a read and I will warn you, Maddox Wolfe will leave you feeling churned up.

You can find the book by clicking here.

Take it easy readers.

Have a great day.