#NaNoWriMo is over! It started like this… with an idea. If you were really organized, you had an outline done ahead of time.
and you worked like this… getting all those lovely words down ‘on paper’.
had moments like this… when your imaginary friends quit talking to you.
overcame them and wrote like this… when the voices got over their snit and started talking again.
and at the end of it all, you look like this… frazzled, feeling punchy and starving!
I didn’t set out at the beginning of November to complete 50,000 words in the month. What I wanted to do was write every day (something that I’ve not always made time for).
I might not have a ‘winner’ badge for having my numbers crunched by the #NaNo algorithm and having the minimum number of 50,000 but I consider myself a winner because I achieved everything I wanted to in the month.
At 3:39 yesterday afternoon, I had completed 21,813 words… I’ve got my beginning and my middle, but I still don’t know how my magnum opus is going to end. That is really unusual for me. Under normal circumstances I know the ending and write it first. Then I have the fun of getting there. I’m in uncharted waters here and I’m not sure I’m liking it.
I didn’t outline and as I wrote merrily away, I discovered major flaws in my logic. Oh well, scenes can be cut and pasted and new transitions between them written, not to mention returning the array of plot bunnies that will undoubtedly be released to run amok safely to their warren.
Welcome to my little corner of Canada, Rosemary. I’m glad you were able to make the virtual trip across the pond to celebrate St Andrews Day here at Celtic Connexions.
I take it you’re ready for a good old-fashioned ceilidh – Canadian style.
Come and sit by the fire take the chill off.*escorts my esteemed guest to one of the tartan wing-back chairs facing the crackling fire*
photo from Flickr
We’ll start with something ‘fizzy’ to celebrate your latest book contract. Can you tell us a bit about the novel and the series?
*Picks up bell off side table and summons manservant, Donald*
Thanks so much for inviting me to your St Andrew’s Day Party, Melanie – I’m honoured to be here! My most recent novel released this year is The Highland Lass, which fits right in as it’s set completely in Scotland. Mainly contemporary, Eilidh Campbell returns to the Inverclyde area on the west coast of Scotland seeking answers to her past – with the help of the handsome Scot she meets on the transatlantic flight!
Along the way, she traces the story of Highland Mary (an ancestress) and her relationship with Robert Burns. Mary tells her own story in short alternate chapters from 1785-6.
*Leans forward and switches on the music* I think this piece by the Corries is perfect to listen to after talking about Robbie Burns and his Highland Mary.
From the time one of your novels is accepted to publication, do you have to go through an extensive editing process?
Yes, both my publishers, Tirgearr in Ireland, who publish my Aphrodite and Adonis series, and Crooked Cat in the UK who published The Highland Lass, assign an editor to each author and we work with that editor until the book is as good as possible. Some books need lighter editing than others but all go through the process.
The meal will start with Cullen Skink for the soup course, followed by haggis, then roast venison with tatties and neeps.
By Metukkalihis (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsYum – can’t wait to start on that food. Good job it’s virtual calories!
We’ll have a dram with our haggis course. I have 18 year old Glenlivet and Cardhu, and 14 & 18 year old Oban. Which one would you like, if any?
I have to confess I don’t drink whisky, though when I was young, I remember my father telling my mother that if she was going to drink alcohol it should be whisky as that was the purest drink! And he did give me a hot toddy once when I was unwell – clears up a cold quickly.
By Kim Traynor (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsI have a Cabernet Shiraz from the Niagara region (East Dell Estates) that will taste lovely with the venison. We can order it from the winery and have it delivered right to our front door.
Ah, yes, I’ll have a glass of red wine, please – I allow myself a small glass of that with a meal now and then!
I have to confess, I’ve never cooked venison before so I hope it’s edible.
By Ewan Munro from London, UK (Crown, Barnsbury, London Uploaded by tm) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsMusic – The Corries, Runrig, Auld Blind Dogs. Which group do you like best?
I love Celtic music so I’m happy to listen to your choice and I’ll probably discover some new groups!
Loving this delicious meal, thanks, Melanie!
This is one of my favourite songs by the Old Blind Dogs.
I picked up a Dundee Cake to have for dessert and will start a pot of coffee using Chez Piggy (specially blended for a restaurant in nearby Kingston) blend.
By RGloucester (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsI’ll have Donald bring our cake and coffee back to the lounge where we can get comfortable in front of the fire again and chat some more.
Will there be a sequel to The Highland Lass?
I’m not planning a sequel to this one but I am trying to finish a different novel set in Scotland, with different characters and possibly completely contemporary – but with a little mystery again.
I can’t wait! I love novels set in Scotland.
Do you currently have any other writing projects on the go?
The third novella in my Aphrodite and Adonis series set on Cyprus has been accepted by Tirgearr for release in spring 2016 – this is contemporary romance with a touch of mythological fantasy (as Romy Gemmell)! I had also started the first novel in a Victorian crime series but I haven’t got completely into it yet, and I have another contemporary novel on the go. Too many different projects at once!
I can sympathize. I’ve got a couple of projects on the go, although one is being sorely neglected while I work on the other on as my NaNoWriMo project.
What book are you reading at the moment?
I usually have two books on the go – one on kindle and one in print. I’m reading the second crime novel by Alexandra Sokoloff at the moment. She used to write Hollywood scripts and now lives in Scotland and her Huntress Moon series is excellent. I’m also reading my way through several romance novels on kindle in between. I’m shortly about to start Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, one of my favourite writers.
I’ll be sure to check these authors out. I’m always on the hunt for someone new.
*Pushes the play button on the CD player* I’ve set it on random this time but I really wanted you to hear the other songs first. I hope you like Runrig. I love their rock beat with the gaelic language, although I can’t remember if Alba is performed this way. I know a number of their songs are.
Oh this is another favourite of mine by the Old Blind Dogs. I’m really hoping to see them sometime when I’m in Scotland.
I hope you’re enjoying my eclectic tastes in music from folk to rock and back again. Normally, Donald would be clad in a kilt but I’ve embarrassed him too many times, so today he kept his trousers on.
We’ll close up with your author links. I hope you’ve enjoyed spending St Andrews Day here in Canada at Celtic Connexions.
Yesterday, I took part in the craft show at the Mallorytown Legion.
My display
It was slow on the sales front despite plenty of foot traffic. But that’s to be expected when there are two other events taking place on the same day. Still, it was fun to connect with vendors and customers I’ve not seen since the last time I did this show (2 years ago).
When it was all over (but the crying – not really), I sold 2 copies of Tim’s Magic Christmas and 1 copy of A Shadow in the Past which is going to be in-flight reading on a trip to BC. My girl, Sarah, really gets around, she does.
Next Saturday I’m off to Lanark for the Civitan Club’s show. Maybe I’ll see you there?
Life is tough in 1870s Wyoming. But it’s tougher still when you’re a girl who looks Chinese but speaks like an American.
Orphaned as a baby and taken in by an American family, Charity Walker knows this only too well. The mounting tensions between the new Chinese immigrants and the locals in the mining town of Carter see her shunned by both communities.
When Charity’s one friend, Joe, leaves town, she finds herself isolated. However, in his absence, a new friendship with the only other Chinese girl in Carter makes her feel like she finally belongs somewhere.
But, for a lost girl like Charity, finding a place to call home was never going to be that easy …
Liz Harris lives south of Oxford. Her debut novel was THE ROAD BACK (US Coffee Time & Romance Book of 2012), followed by A BARGAIN STRUCK (shortlisted for the RoNA Historical 2013), EVIE UNDERCOVER, THE ART OF DECEPTION and A WESTERN HEART. All of her novels, which are published by Choc Lit, have been shortlisted in their categories in the Festival of Romantic Fiction. In addition, Liz has had several short stories published in anthologies. Her interests are theatre, travelling, reading, cinema and cryptic crosswords.
Black Friday only – FREE to the first fifteen people who leave a comment here on my blog between 00:01 and 12:00 Eastern Time Friday, November 27th, 2015…
The e-book version of Tim’s Magic Christmas!
Blurb:
For Tim Frost, Christmas 2011 is a washout. No Santa. No presents. Nothing. His father lost his job when the mill closed and now the family is on the verge of losing their home.
A chance encounter with Nick Kringle, a modern-day Santa Claus, teaches Tim that the greatest gift you can receive is the gift of giving.
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In your comment, let me know which format you would prefer your copy to be in – epub, mobi or pdf.
If you would prefer a print version, there is still time left to enter the giveaway over at Goodreads for your chance to win the signed proof of the paperback version of Tim’s Magic Christmas.
Wild Boys After Dark: Logan (Book 1) Release Date: 10th November 2015 Pages: 249 Genres: Erotic Fiction
Everything’s naughtier after dark… Fall in love with the Wild & Bad boys. Long enough to burn up the sheets and short enough to leave you craving more.
If raw emotions, cursing, dirty-talk, or intense, passionate sex that sometimes includes a silk tie, turn you off, then the After Dark books are not for you. *NO CLIFFHANGERS*
WILD BOYS AFTER DARK, Book One
LOGAN
Stella “Stormy” Knight is an expert at hiding—her feelings, her past, and her identity. Sometimes all that hiding takes its toll, and she needs to come out from under that heavy suit of armor and cut loose—but it never takes her long to put it right back on and disappear without a trace.
Private Investigator Logan Wild is relentless in his pursuit to discover the truth for his clients. He works hard, plays even harder, and always walks away unscathed and untethered. Until he meets mysterious and sexy-as-hell Stormy, who leaves him craving more than a one-night stand.
Passion ignites, secrets are shared, and their deep connection is impossible to ignore. But in order to have a future, Logan must uncover Stormy’s dark past—and when he does, he’ll hold her fate in his hands.
Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women’s fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the World Literary Café and Fostering Success. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.
Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.
Visit Melissa on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.
For Tim Frost, Christmas 2011 is a washout. No Santa. No presents. Nothing. His father lost his job when the mill closed and now the family is on the verge of losing their home.
A chance encounter with Nick Kringle, a modern-day Santa Claus, teaches Tim that the greatest gift you can receive is the gift of giving.
What readers are saying about Tim’s Magic Christmas:
Shawn Marie Simon ☆☆☆☆☆ – Tim’s Magic Christmas, by Melanie Robertson-King, is a heartfelt story about a young boy who feels he’s a burden to his struggling family. His parents are fighting, money is tight. Things are not good. Tim feels certain he is not going to get the Apple iPod he so desperately wanted for Christmas. He believes everybody would be better off if he ran away from home, so he takes the little money he has out of his piggy bank and catches a train to anywhere. What happens next is magical.
Lessons abound in this sweet book. The lessons are not only for children, they are for parents, too. Kids are more aware than parents often realize. They hear parents arguing, they feel the tension. Talk to them and let them know what’s going on in a way that is developmentally appropriate. They are part of the family and should not be left in the dark.
Of course there are lessons for kids as well in this magical story. Kids need to talk to their parents, too. Trust your parents to be there for you. Share your fears with them. Running away will not solve anything. Although, in this case, a miracle happened.
The last and most prevalent lesson is that giving is better than receiving. It’s not about how much you have, but about how much you give to others, and when you give to others, you get back so much more than you ever bargained for. Tim learned that the iPod he wanted was nothing compared to how good it felt to give to those who had so much less.
Beverly Stowe McClure ☆☆☆☆☆ – Christmas, that magical time of the year when children make their “wish” list for the gifts they hope to find under their trees. Sometimes, however, a child’s wishes may not be answered in the way he or she had hoped, but perhaps in an even better way.
In TIM’S MAGIC CHRISTMAS, Author Melanie Robertson-King’s new story for children, the holidays are fast approaching, and Tim Frost wants an iPod for Christmas. There’s one problem. His father has lost his job and money is scarce. His parents can barely pay the bills and buy groceries, much less buy expensive gifts for their children. So, Tim, thinking like a sixth-grader how he can help his family in these tough times, decides to take the $35 and change he’s saved and run away from home. Without him, his parents will have one less mouth to feed.
Little does Tim know the surprises that await him when he rides the bus away from his home town. The places he goes and the people he meets give Tim a new understanding of the true magic of Christmas. Melanie Robertson-King has written a beautiful story about giving and sharing and discovering what’s truly important in life. I recommend this story for school libraries, public libraries, and your own private library. It will renew your faith and hope in our world and the gentle people in it.
Joan Y Edwards ☆☆☆☆☆ – Sixth grader, Tim Frost doesn’t realize how much his family loves him. He wants an expensive gift for Christmas and runs away when his family has a money shortage at Christmas. He takes a bus to the big city of Toronto and almost gets run over. Willing to wash dishes for food, he learns from a trucker how worried his parents must be. When a trucker shows him how he can help the homeless and hungry in his hometown, Tim goes back home, content not to have an expensive iPod for Christmas. He learns that the real joy of Christmas is in giving.
The author keeps the readers wondering if Tim could survive in the city and if he would decide to go back home. I kept wondering what I would do if I was in Tim’s shoes.
Janet K Brown ☆☆☆☆☆ – Tim’s Magic Christmas is a heart-warming tale of a boy who uses his six-grade wisdom to solve his family’s financial problems. It is a Christmas he’ll never forget. This book is appropriate for any child old enough to read a chapter book. The author teaches a lesson without hitting the child over the head. I found it easy to follow and typical of what my thirteen-year-old grandson might come up with. King’s main character enchants the reader. A fresh perspective for a wonderful holiday.
When journalist Tess Johnson takes a job at Helix pharmaceuticals, she has a very specific motive. Tess has reason to believe the company are knowingly producing a potentially harmful drug and, if her suspicions are confirmed, she will stop at nothing to make sure the truth comes out.
Jim Knight is the president of research and development at Helix and is a force to be reckoned with. After a disastrous office affair he’s determined that nothing else will distract him from his vision for the company. Failure is simply not an option.
As Tess and Jim start working together, both have their reasons for wanting to ignore the sexual chemistry that fires between them. But chemistry, like most things in the world of science, isn’t always easy to control.
A former pharmacist, I’m now a medical writer who also writes romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero.
With two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to buy a card (yes, he does), any romance is all in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change proves love isn’t always about hearts and flowers – and heroes come in many disguises.
Ho Ho Ho!Yesterday was the Christmas Bazaar and Silent Auction at theBath Public School
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It was a great day in Bath yesterday. Cozy in the primary hall but lots of foot traffic nonetheless. Because of the width of the hall, it was difficult to get a good picture of my display. Some of the things that are visible in this photo are usually hidden by the magic of camera angles.
my displayMe with my display looking festive (?)
Another thing with it being so cozy was anything close to the edge of the table had to be constantly straightened up. But that’s a minor detail. I did get lots of compliments on my display which is always music to my ears.
So how did I do, I hear you ask. Could I have a drum roll please…
I sold 7 copies of A Shadow in the Past and 7 copies of Tim’s Magic Christmas! One of the sales of Tim was using my Square credit card reader.
We weren’t to pack up until after 3:00 and if we did, we wouldn’t be invited back next year. I couldn’t have packed up at that time if I tried. I still had customers at 3:00. One was a young man who stood quietly in front of the table so as not to interrupt the woman who was buying a copy of A Shadow in the Past at the time. He was very polite and asked a lot of questions about writing and publishing a book and wanted to know if he could buy a copy of Tim’s Magic Christmas. This young man was in the target age group for the book (his mum was at the table beside me) so with money he got from his parents and grandparents, he bought the book which I gladly signed for him.
I’ll be back in Bath next year and I hope I run into this polite young man again. I’d love to know what he thought of Tim’s Magic Christmas.
Oh, and I even managed to stay on track writing every day for #NaNoWriMo. It was longhand and I didn’t get it typed up until this morning but I managed 316 words.
With only ten days remaining in the month, are you still on track? Achieving your writing goals?
If you’re striving for 50,000 words you should be sitting around 33,340 now.
Not quite that ambitious but wanted to write every day? So far I’ve managed to do that although with travel earlier this month it made a few days difficult. Still, I’ve managed to get a few words into my WIP each and every day.
Sometimes the words flow? Sometimes not so much? I’ve had a few of those days this month. Usually a quick read over the last day’s work and I’m off and running once again.
I can see a huge re-write coming for my WIP. Scenes that need to be rearranged. That’s the joy of pantsing. The logic doesn’t always work, but then this is something that can always be fixed after the end of the month.
Is your #NaNoWriMo project still flowing smoothly? Have you run into difficulty?
My Scottish roots and writing by Melanie Robertson-King
