Book titles, serious research, and getting hitched

So many exciting things to update you about! Since my last post, life has been pretty exciting around Darkins HQ.

First up, news on my first book with Mills and Boon. Avid readers of the blog might know it as 'Food Glorious Food', as 'Will and Maya', or, because I'm lazy and madly in love with my heroine -- usually, just good old 'Maya'. But the wonderful folks at Mills and Boon have put their heads together and come up with the beautiful, swoon-worthy title: Frozen Heart, Melting Kiss. Needless to say, I LOVE it. This will be hitting bookshelves (real and virtual) from September 2014, so watch this space for more details.

In other news, they have also just okayed my proposal for my second book, currently untitled, but known around these parts as 'Beach Bum'. I have some serious research to do now, scouring interior design mags for coastal cottage ideas (VITAL to the story), checking out beautiful seascapes, and with any luck a trip to the beach to smell the sea air, listen to the seagulls and taste the fish and chips. Life as a romance novelist -- it's torture all the way ...

And as if that wasn't enough excitement, I lived out my very own HEA last month and tied the knot with my long-suffering boyfriend. I now feel well qualified to rule that married life is pretty bloody wonderful, and intend to introduce as many characters as possible to the institution.

All in all, 2014's proving to be a pretty spectacular year, and we're only in April. Can hardly wait to see how the rest of it pans out!

Much love

Ellie
xxxx

P.S. Will you forgive the blatant self-promotion if I point out this fantastic 5* review of Hiding from Hollywood by Coffee Time Romance? You will? Well, thank you very much! http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/hidingfromhollywoodbyelliedarkins.html#.U0J2-ag7t8E

It's here!

I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to finally announce ... HIDING FROM HOLLYWOOD is HERE!

The run up to today has been a combination of ridiculous excitement and sweaty-palmed nerves as I've gradually realised that those lovely, not so lovely and downright horrid folks who have existed in my brain (and the brains of a few trusted friends!) until now are going to be unleashed on the world.

I've loved spent the last two years with Abby and Ethan, working out who they are, making them fall in love, making them laugh, cry and *ahem* well, you know. I never believed when I was writing this story week after week, word after word, that one day I'd get to share it with the world but thanks to the brilliant folks at Crimson they're here! I hope you enjoy getting to know them just as much as I have.

The book landed on virtual bookshelves this morning, and hopefully those of you who preordered will have your copies sitting waiting on the ereader of your choice :) If you've not picked up a copy yet, it's available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, iTunes, and Google Play and other ebook sites. If you've read the book, I'd love to hear what you think of it - leave me a review on Amazon or Goodreads or contact me directly on Facebook, Twitter or by email. If you're a blogger or book reviewer and want a review copy of the book then drop me a line at elliedarkins@gmail.com.

Ellie
x

I'm back!

And I bring exciting news: the latest draft of Hollywood is finished! I think there may be a few comments to incorporate as I ask a few trusted friends and critique partners to review this draft of the manuscript – but to me it feels done. I’m happy with the character development, the plot, the romance, the sex scene *blushes furiously*, and all with a little time to spare before entries open for SYTYCW 2012.

And that’s not all. Remember my Old friends? Well, their story is starting to fall into place too. The setting’s become much clearer – these are definitely Tudor folk – and so the great research marathon has begun. I took some good advice from Vanessa Greene and am trying to research and develop a story simultaneously, and so far it’s working. Each nugget of information I uncover suggests an idea for the plot, or a facet to a character, and every leap I make in character and setting points my research in a new direction. I’ve now got a sizeable reading list, books on order from my new local library, and am close to the big ‘sticking post-its on a storyboard’ moment (one of my favourites in the writing process). And I haven’t even mentioned the DVDs I’m lining up for a Tudor marathon: The Other Boleyn Girl, Shakespeare in Love, The Tudors …

So the last quarter of 2012 is looking like a busy one writing-wise, and I cannot wait J What have I missed while I’ve been away – please share your writing news!

Ellie x

The Waiting Game

Once that all-important first draft is completed, writing is a bit of a waiting game. Especially if you're hoping to publish, you will probably want lots of people to read the manuscript: crit partners, beta readers, and eventually, agents and editors. I know from experience that the waiting is a strange time. After months and months of writing every day, making sacrifices to find the time to work on your book, all of a sudden it's gone. 

So, what to do while you're waiting? The first, and most obvious, option is to sit in front of your email inbox, hitting 'Refresh' on a regular basis. I'm not saying that this isn't a valid life choice - it's certainly one I've indulged in from time to time - but if, like me, you have decided to step away from the inbox, here are a few things that I've tried:

1. Try a different style of writing. Explore different aspects of the writing craft by trying something completely new. Recently, I've started short story writing, and found that it's really helping me to develop my skills - the restricted word count means that I think harder and longer about every word, making sure that each line packs in as much intensity as possible. One of my favourite things so far is the freedom it gives you to make fundamental changes in style and POV. How would this read in the first person, I think to myself. To change a whole novel would take hours, if not days, but with a short story, twenty minutes later I can see for myself! If short stories don't appeal, what about poetry, haiku, feature articles, a blog? 
2. Visit old friends. I have two NaNoWriMo novels stashed away that, on the relevant December 1st, I swore would never again see the light of day. But the characters from the first one pop into my head on a regular basis, and I know that one of these days I'm going to have to  write them a proper story. If you don't think you could revive a whole manuscript, is there a character, a location or a plot twist that you can use elsewhere? Or, on a related note, you could: 
3. Plot your next NaNoWriMo novel. If you've not NaNo'd before - I can highly recommend it. But let's face it, writing a novel in a month is hard. It is a lot easier, however, if you have elements of plot, characterization, setting, etc. clear in your head and down on paper before you start. That way, if you start to enter a slump (for me, always after the half-way point), or the words start to fly, you don't have to stop writing to work out what happens next.
4. Watch TV. And go to the cinema, read books - especially outside your usual genre, go for walks, overhear things in Starbucks. Load up your author notebook with so many brilliant story ideas that you can't wait to get back to your computer/notebook and start on the next project.
5. Start your next novel. You knew this was coming, right? Because now you know you can write a novel, why wouldn't you want to do it again? You've lived through the ups and the downs, the moments of genius and absolute idiocy (maybe that last one's just me). You've found time to write on days when it seemed impossible. And even though, when you were somewhere around the middle, you thought you might just give up now, YOU DIDN'T! 

So, there you have it. Five things to try. Any other suggestions?

Ellie
x

Can I get a second opinion?

After weeks of planning, writing the first draft of my book, and then several more months editing it into reasonable shape, I started to look at it and despair. It could have been written in another language for all the sense it made to me. Every word was so familiar and so ingrained in my brain that I couldn’t see a way to change it. The only way to move forward from this point was to get a second opinion. What I wanted out of an early review, or beta read, was to know in broad terms which parts of the story, and which bits of my writing, were working and which weren’t.

When you’re looking for someone to review your manuscript, you have several options. There’s friends and family, of course, but be sure that whoever you ask is prepared to give you constructive criticism when it’s needed. Absolutely the most important thing in a reviewer is that they’re able to be honest with you - a review is no use if it doesn’t help you improve your book. If you don’t like the idea of asking a friend, then you have a couple of options. You could ask a professional editor to appraise your manuscript and make suggestions, or you can take to Twitter, blogs and forums to find beta readers or a crit partner. Chat with people who read and write in your genre, find someone you have a connection with, and ask! If possible, make yourself available to other writers who want beta readers – you learn so much about the craft by finding what works and what doesn’t in other peoples’ writing.

I’m very fortunate to have a brilliant friend, who also happens to be a brilliant editor (@SarahLou_Long – follow her real-life romance here: http://www.miningfm.com.au/ask-our-experts/the-miners-girl.html), agree to read my manuscript. We read and write in similar genres and I knew that her editorial instincts would be too strong not to suggest improvements wherever she could. I’d have been happy to have comments on just a few chapters, but, as I said, she is brilliant and agreed to read the whole thing.

When it actually came to reading this honest feedback and (plenty of) constructive criticism, I felt a bit ill. I’d not had anyone comment objectively on my writing since school, and had major attacks of the doubt crows (my current favourite phrase, courtesy of Maisey Yates). Mostly though, once I got into it, I found reading the suggestions for improvement more frustrating than painful, because once it was pointed out, every mistake seemed so obvious! Not only that, but a lot of the comments were requests for more information – often about the finer details of setting or subtext – that I had already thought about and written into my notes. It was absolutely crystal clear in my mind, but I’d somehow forgotten to get the words on the page.  By this point I knew my characters and my scenes so well that my brain was filling in gaps. But at least this meant that the negative comments were easy to tackle, and even the littlest positive ones (‘Love this J’ or ‘I love this whole page!’) made me do a little happy dance.

Of course, the reasonable part of my brain knows this isn’t the purpose of positive comments. What I need to do is pick apart these good bits, trying to work out what I’d said, or not said, that made Sarah smile, or gasp, or hate me (my favourite of the bunch was this one: ‘What? Don’t stop!! OMG, I have to get back to work now and I want to keep reading – you’re such a bl**dy tease!!’). And I will absolutely do this. Right after the happy dancing. 

But by far my favourite thing to come from this process is the homework – so far, I’ve been instructed to reread Marian Keyes, spend some quality time thinking about Jonny Jefferson, watch Entourage and listen to Matthew McConaughey’s voice. With advice like that, who am I to argue?