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News Posted March 2007:
March 2007 Newsletter.
Time once again has flown by so fast that it is over five months since I last wrote a newsletter. I do have the excuse that I’ve been extremely busy writing. Fortunately, I did manage to fit in a trip to London in September, staying just one night in a hotel, with son Iain, who is now my researcher. The aim of the trip was to have lunch with members of AMBA, which stands for Association of Mills & Boon Authors. Later there was a party in the evening for authors, editors and family and friends, where we drank champagne and ate tasty nibbles and chattered ninety to the dozen. Iain and I were able to visit the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and we took in a play as well. (See photos below)
Photos: TrafalgarSquare; Iain; June&Monument
Photos: IndianArtWorkBritishMuseum; RogerSanderson&Others; LindaFildewEditorialDirector
Last time I wrote I mentioned that John, was off work with stress. He has now taken voluntary redundancy, so I have a slightly less stressed husband at home, who sees my writing as very important. We did have a lovely relaxing time at one of our favourite holiday destinations, Lindos in Rhodes in Sept/Oct when I took my lap top with me, so I could keep up with work. I really enjoyed sitting in the pretty courtyard, working for a couple of hours before going off for a swim. We’ve already booked to go again this September.
Photos: Lindos, Rhodes Sunsets; Me&JohnOnMyBirthday
A couple of days in Ambleside in the Lake District just before Christmas was much enjoyed by the pair of us, and, although, we seldom visit the cinema when home, we did catch the new James Bond film Casino Royale, and highly recommend it. We also saw Happy Feet, an animation about a tap dancing penguin Muffy with an all singing penguin cast. It had an environmental message and was toe-tapping and enjoyable. Of the two films, the James Bond film had the edge on the penguins but that’s because we found it more exciting and it was interesting seeing what Daniel Craig brought to the part, especially as he hails from Merseyside and I remember him as being exceptionally good in Our Friends in the North on telly years ago.
The Mills & Boon I was writing in August was finished by September and after a few alterations was accepted for publication - it has been renamed Tamed by the Barbarian and will be out in hardcover July and paperback September this year. As soon as I have a copy of the cover it will go up here on the website. I didn’t manage to finish my saga When the Clouds Go Rolling By until after Christmas and the manuscript is now with my publisher. She has now read it and it still needs a bit of tweaking, so won’t be published until January or March 2008. A few things have changed since I mentioned it in my last newsletter. My heroine is now named Clara O’Toole and her mother doesn’t feature at all. This is the third of my Chester books but a family link means that at least half is set in Liverpool. At one point the ms was 127,000 words long but it had to come down and at writing is 120,000words. Sometime I wonder how I managed to write all those words.
I am now working on my next Mills & Boon, working title is Enslaved by the Witch’s Daughter. The hero, Jack Milburn and heroine, Anna, featured in my last HMB and were much younger. I have a deadline for the beginning of June and I think the storyline is exciting and emotional. I’ve also written a one page synopsis for my next saga, working title Tilly’s Story for Allison & Busby, this book will be set during the Twenties in Liverpool and Chester. So you can see it’s all go.
Good news is that Step by Step is to be published in paperback in April this year and will be included in a promotion at W.H.Smith’s during that month. It has a different cover to that of the hardback as you can see on my home page. The large print of Look for the Silver Lining was published in January and audio will be out in May. The paperback is scheduled for autumn. Pawnbroker’s Niece is to be published March 2008 in paperback.
The past year has been a busy, exciting one with lots of changes taking place. Now we’re into 2007 I am hoping that any more changes will definitely be for the good. I have several talks coming up, one is at Waterloo College to a Creative Writing class and another is as the after-lunch speaker in Maghull Town Hall in May, which I’m looking forward to. There is also a family wedding in June so I have an excuse to buy a new outfit. My brother, Don’s third daughter, Kate, who is a doctor, is getting married in Tarporley and the reception is at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire, so that should be fun.
It only leaves me to tell you of our North West Chapter RNA lunch when Lyn Andrews was our speaker. She spoke well about how she started writing and how she had to balance her writing with raising triplets. She did take some time out but came back to great success writing Liverpool based sagas.
Then there was the phone call from the Liverpool Echo early February when I was interviewed about being a romantic novelist and a member of the RNA. A photographer came and took a picture of John and I and we featured in the Echo on St Valentine’s Day. Photo Below:
Shortly after I began the task of preparing material for updating the website, I received a letter from HM&B. Apparently Mills & Boon will be a hundred years old in 2008 and there are to be special events, including an exhibition of memorabilia. Did I have any was what the letter wanted to know and if so... I dug out rejection and acceptance letters from the 80s along with suggestions how to improve my ms and also press cuttings. So hopefully they will feature in the exhibition next year.
Romance really is alive and kicking.
I really do love to hear from those who read my books with their comments so please do get in touch. I thought I would have a draw with a copy of the paperback of Step by Step as the prize. First name out of a hat for those who mail in by the end of April 2007(email: junefrancis8@hotmail.com).
Warmest regards, June.
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