Lucky 7

I saw this Lucky 7 meme on Julie Cohen's blog this morning. I can't resist these things, and love to read the tiny snippets of manuscripts and wonder what happened next.

Rules: go to p77 of your current work, 7th line down, and paste the next 7 sentences. Then tag 7 others.

My seven sentences are from The Lighthouse, which is about Marla Jacobs, whose little white wedding chapel is facing ruin when Gabriel Ryan rocks up and opens a funeral parlour next door.

This excerpt is from a conversation that takes place in the street outside the funeral parlour on the morning that Gabriel opens for business.


Boyfriend. 
The word made Marla's tongue feel too big in her mouth.
"Your boyfriend?"
"Yes, Gabriel, my boyfriend. As in a man I actually enjoy spending time with, rather than one who is trying to ruin me?"
Okay. Maybe that came out a little more caustic than necessary, but the man riled her something rotten. Why had he instructed his jumped up secretary to lie to her? And God knows he had no business looking so effortlessly cool in a suit,  his barely tamed curls kissing his collar like a flirty Sunday morning lover. 


I *think* I may have cheated and gone to eight sentences there. Don't shoot me.:O)

I'm proper incapable of tagging people, so i'll just pass it on and say have a bash if you haven't already done it - it's fun, but it's also interesting to see if your tiny segment says anything when it's on its lonesome.

A toast...

Today is a special day - the bunting is out at Minx Manor, and the champagne corks are popping, because...

Fabulous, clever, uber-talented Minx Maya got THE CALL!!!

You know the call I mean.

THE CALL. 

The life changing, all hallowed 'we love your book and we're going to publish it" call. I couldn't be more thrilled for you Maya, you really deserve your success.

Head on over to Maya's blog now, or swing by Minx Manor tomorrow where we will be handing out champagne and getting giddy.

Congratulations Maya, Harlequin Presents Author! xx

The Way We Were - A Lesson in Romance

So I finally watched The Way We Were this afternoon.It's taken a while - the movie is the same age as I am. I'd seen snippets and read bits and bobs so already had ideas of what to expect, but I got so much more than I bargained for.

It's perfect.

It's understated and beautifully played by Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand - they made my heart ache. It's vulnerable and honest, and even though you sense the whole time that they are wrong together, still you want their love to win out. Because their love is big. HUGE. She is so flawed by her convictions and he is too conventional to handle her, but you know that they will always love each other regardless, because they have that sort of love. The sort of unconditional love that never dies, regardless of years apart or new lives and loves.

I feel as if i've sat in on a masterclass on romance writing. It's truly gorgeous.

A fabulous freebie - but you have to be FAST!

The ever so fabulous Sally Clements is handing out Easter treats today and tomorrow - calorie free but sinfully good copies of her latest e-book Bound To Love.

Free! FREE!

But you have to grab it today or tomorrow, so scoot on over right now...

Click here to buy it from Amazon.co.uk, or here from Amazon.com.

I'm lucky enough to have read it already, and can only say RUN! GRAB IT NOW! It's a gorgeous read.

New author crush

How have I never read any of Lisa Jewell's books before?

Am reading Ralph's Party for the first time, and she had me hooked within the first few pages. I love Lisa's writing style, it's exactly the sort of book I like to get lost in for a few hours.
And then I read an interview she gave to Novelicious, and this is what she had to say about her approach to writing:

I am the most chaotic writer I know. I slightly hate other writers for being so organised with their whiteboards and first drafts and their thousand words a day and then lunch. I come to a book with nothing more than a sense of how I want the book to feel, a couple of characters and a vague idea of what I want to happen to them. I stumble around for the first hundred pages having absolutely no idea what’s going on, spend weeks writing barely nothing, then finally get a light bulb moment and think, aha! that’s what the book’s about, feel elated for about five minutes and then disconsolate again when I hit another brick wall five minutes later. I don't do a first draft. I do a bit of editing here and there, but usually pass on a complete manuscript to my editor which I have only finished the day before.  Writing really stresses me out because I seem to have no control over it. Which is why I so love holding the book in my hands for the first time, because it is proof that beyond all the chaos and lack of planning I have, against all the odds, managed to write a book.

I think I *proper* love Lisa Jewell for saying that. It made me giddy with relief, because it's just how I am too. Up to now i've always feel like a bit of a donkey for not being more organised and plotty, but no more.

If it's good enough for Lisa Jewell, it's more than good enough for me.