Tag Archives: romantic fiction

💖 My First RNA Event – RNA Summer Fling 2025

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This was my FIRST RNA (Romantic Novelists Association) and my first writing conference event in a long time. It’s very easy as a writer to lock yourself away and hang out with your laptop and extensive notebook collection. I have been guilty of this so 2025 is about getting out of my cave.

Friday: I got the train from Newport to Birmingham. It was very hot and I prayed my deodorant lived up to its marketing promises. I did not need to be let down by my deodorant at my first event.

Met my local RNA Chapter on the train – The Cariad Chapter and we all travelled together which was nice. Got to Birmingham and we all stayed at the Premier Inn. It was so hot on Friday but this hotel room’s AIR CON was on top of its game.

I was invited to the Cariad Chapter’s meal on Friday evening which was nice. I wore a green jumpsuit to the meal and prayed my bladder would not get excited as jumpsuits are not easy to wriggle out of in the loo. The meal was a giggle, the food was lovely and it was nice to chat books. Luckily my bladder behaved itself and there was no sweaty wrestle in the loo.

Saturday

I started fan girling early and this was me with my author heroine – Sue Moorcroft near the coffee machines at breakfast.

Got to the event which was held at The Grand Hotel ❤️

Really beautiful venue and the pastries were fab.

Now…10 years ago I met this lovely blogger at a blogging event. The one and only Ritu from her fabulous blog which I follow. Look how young and fresh faced we are!

Here we are 10 years later at the RNA event and I got to sit next to her 📚❤️ She has got younger so I was asking her for her eternal youth secret.

We sat next to author Laila Rafi who is lovely and we had a fantastic group exercise together.

It was such a beautiful room – look at that ceiling ❤️❤️

Then I met another friendly face from 10 years ago – the legendary Shelley Wilson ❤️

Had a great chat with Shelley about all the things blogging has taught us for this world of romance writing.

The author below is Fiona Lucas and she’s a whiz on TikTok as well as writing fabulous books.

The WordPress blogging girlies had a selfie ❤️

I met two authors who are also with my current publisher Bloodhound Books. I should have got selfies but was too busy chatting. Hello Georgia Hill and Nicola Knight.

I met a fabulous author – Katy Summer who has an audiobook out and we had a giggle about writing spicy scenes.

I write with the door closed right now (no 🌶️ for me) however Katy has basically removed the door (🌶️🌶️🌶️ ) and I was asking her how I open my door 🤣 🚪

I also had a laugh with Coco Elliot about the same topic.

It was a fabulous event and the talks were so informative and funny.

My only regret – not enough selfies. Too much chatting!

It has inspired me to get writing 📚

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💔 10 Things Not To Say To A Romance Author Writing a Breakup

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I am currently crafting the emotional wrecking ball part of my draft romance novel – the breakup 💔

It’s a tense and my emotions are all over the place.

This is not the time for witty comments from loved ones who have never written or read a romance novel in their life.

Here are some things not to say to a romance author writing a breakup:

  1. “Can’t you just let them stay friends?”
  2. “Didn’t you write a break-up in your last book?”
  3. “Can’t they break up via text?”
  4. “Didn’t they just get together two chapters ago?”
  5. “Is he based on me?”
  6. “is this based on us?”
  7. “You seem really into this – should I be worried?”
  8. “Why are you crying over something that is made up?”
  9. “I thought romance books were supposed to be fun?“
  10. “You know it is not real – don’t you?”

I am going to carry on writing the heartbreak 💔

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💻 Let’s Start a New Blogging Chapter

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This little blog has been trying to get my attention for sometime. For months it has been tugging at my virtual coat tails. It is persistent, I will give it that, and it was not put off by my excuses: too busy, too tired, have not consumed enough sugar and need to wait for blogging inspiration . It didn’t care about those.

So, here I am at the start of a new blogging chapter.

What’s been happening in my creative life? I had five contemporary romance books published, and then… something beautiful (see below) came into my life and I wrote a funny and heartfelt romance novel with a speculative twist (enemies to lovers in the afterlife). It didn’t go anywhere, but it unlocked something inside me.

I got so much enjoyment from writing that book (I even enjoyed editing it) that I decided to write more of these sorts of romances. These are love stories where I add a sprinkle of fantastical, supernatural or futuristic subplots. In simple terms my new stories couldn’t exist in reality, as something about the world I have created is fundamentally different.

I have tried to get my writing brain to return to contemporary romance, but it refuses and keeps serving me these weird but delicious love stories. Writing has become a joy again, and I have found a part of me that I never knew existed. There’s something liberating and satisfying about this new journey.

I blame my new antique Gothic writing bureau. Isn’t she beautiful? My husband found her on a second-hand church furniture website.

She’s giving me strong female energy and has done so since she arrived in a van…during a thunderstorm. She is such a diva and I love how she made a dramatic entrance into my writing life.

Ever since she arrived, all these fabulous wild and wacky new love story ideas appeared in my brain. I can’t write the stuff I used to write. It’s as if she slammed the door shut to contemporary romance and yanked opened a new one.

So, if you have ever wondered where I am, I am sitting at my antique Gothic bureau writing love stories which combine my love of all things weird. I am also hiding secrets in all of her little drawers.

I do wonder whether my Gothic writing bureau is possessed and is channelling all sorts of weird stuff through me. If this is the case you need to remember this blog post 🤣

Oh, and I am going to start blogging about all things weird and wonderful. I am going to write about things that blow my creative mind: time slips, synchronicities, special gifts (not the type wrapped up in pretty paper and a bow) and the unexplained.

My Gothic writing bureau and I both say hello and thank you for reading.

Until next week 🙂

Learn more about me here