Until 2016...

Wishing you a happy Christmas/Solstice/winter break/Hogmanay/birthday - and anything else you may like to celebrate.

Will you be making the most of seasonal inspiration and writing Christmas stories for next year, or sending your imagination into long, warm days and conjuring up something to submit early next year? Maybe you'll read instead, or take a complete break from the printed word. Have fun however you spend your time.

Best wishes for 2016.

Just to say ...

My romantic novel Escape to the Country is currently available for 99p/99c. Offer ends on the 21st.

I do try not to post too annoyingly often about me and my writing here. Those of you who're interested in what I'm up to can find the details on the news page of my website.

Changes at My Weekly

After 45 1/2 years of working in fiction, LizSmith, fiction editor at My Weekly has decided to retire. She'll leave on December 18th.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who'll miss her.  Liz always responded to every submission (although as a one woman fiction team she did have to restrict these) giving reasons for any rejection and often suggesting improvements to the story.

Last year I was lucky enough to meet Liz in person and if anything she's even nicer than she seems online.

Best wishes for the future, Liz!

Liz's replacement is Karen Byrom, who has worked for DC Thomson for thirty years.

Hello, Karen. I, and many others I'm sure, look forward to working with you.

Update

It seems I may have jumped the gun, or jumped to conclusions with my last post. Possibly both! Katherine Davison is still with That's Life Fast Fiction and it seems Judie Durrant is dealing with fiction for the weekly magazine. If I find out more, I'll update the update!

I don't have a photo of me jumping anything, but here's one of me standing near a gun (taken by my boss at the time as we were actually working and absolutely definitely not having a snowball fight).

News from Down Under

Thanks to Alan Williams for an update on That's Life in Australia. There is now a new person in charge of fiction - Judie Durrant.

When work is accepted, new author agreements will be sent out for signature. If they're the same ones as can currently be found on the website with the guidelines, there doesn't seem to be any change. Do PLEASE read it through and be sure you understand and agree before signing though. The same thing applies to any other agreement or contract any publisher may send out.

Congratulations, Helen!

Congratulations to Helen Yendall who is the winner of the People's Friend serial writing competition!

Now is a good time ...

... to drop 'subtle' hints about what we'd like for Christmas. How about a womag subscription? They're non fattening, help with market research, support the publications we'd like to write for - and provide great fiction to read.

Here are a few links, just to make it really easy for your loved ones.

Fiction Feast    Woman's Weekly   

Woman's Weekly Fiction Special

My Weekly   Ireland's Own   The People's Friend 

The Weekly News  Yours

Of course books make great gifts too. ;-)

Interview with womagwriter Glynis Scrivens

My guest today is Glynis Scrivens.

1. When did you start writing, Glynis?

In a sense, I’ve always written. Not for publication, of course. But writing’s always been my best way of conveying what I think and feel. When I turned fifty, I gave myself permission to be a writer. To see where it could lead. I’d enrolled in an editing course and quickly realised I wanted to be the one doing the writing. There was nothing left to hold me back.

2. What persuaded you to try writing for women's magazines?

I read Woman’s Day, New Idea and Women’s Weekly and always wondered how to become the person writing their stories. I’d see the same names over and over again. Then I heard of a teacher at the local high school who’d just sold a story to Woman’s Day for $300. Only that morning I’d been in a nice boutique trying on a $300 jacket I couldn’t afford. I sat down and wrote a story. The next night I wrote another. When Julie Redlich accepted the second story, I was hooked.

It’d never occurred to me that a magazine would pay so much. And we needed the money. I didn’t end up buying the jacket. My sales to Woman’s Day went on things for our home such as nice kitchen chairs and good cutlery – and a steady supply of decent coffee beans.

3. There aren't many magazines which publish fiction in Australia, are there?

That’s Life with its quarterly fiction special is our main story market. There are other magazines. Cosmos uses sci-fi stories. Bauer has a presence over here. For example, Take 5 puts out a quarterly fiction special but these contain reprints sourced mainly from Fiction Feast (UK).

Only ten years ago stories were the norm – in Woman’s Day, Woman’s Weekly, New Idea, Family Circle and other magazines that have since disappeared.

4. What are the main difficulties with regard to writing for foreign markets, and how to you overcome them?

When I decided to try selling stories abroad, finding details for the markets was the first hurdle. These days the information is more freely available but it used to be closely held.

Getting hold of a recent copy was also a challenge. In Australia we could buy English women’s magazines such as Woman’s Weekly and People’s Friend, but to read Fiction Feast it was necessary to take out a subscription. And People’s Friend arrived by ship, three months after publication.

Nowadays most magazines have a Facebook presence and a website or blog. These give a feel for the magazine and who its readers are.

I suppose the biggest change over the years for me is that I now write stories specially for certain overseas markets, rather than just sending them the stories I haven’t been able to sell in Australia.

Working out what to send non-English magazines will always be a challenge. Gauging length, style, genre etc. And of course they continue to change and evolve. I usually go by what they’ve accepted already and send more of the same, although sometimes I try my luck and sometimes get surprised.

I haven’t been able to sell stories to Woman’s World (US) yet. All I can do there is ask American writing friends to check for colloquialisms, and follow TV dramas for things like police procedure.

Nothing beats being able to read a magazine regularly, but when that’s not possible, it doesn’t mean we can’t break into that market. It’s a matter of perseverance – and good luck.

5. You've written a book on editing, how did that come about?

Writing a book was on my bucket list so when I read on Facebook that John Hunt Publishing (UK) wanted one on editing fiction for their Compass Points series, I was interested. At that time I’d just got together all my Writers’ Forum articles, wondering whether to put them out as a book. I had 30,000+ words. This seemed to be the way to do it – and gave me the confidence I’d be able to find enough material.

I was surprised how much work was involved in putting together a proposal, but thankfully my friend Lynne Hackles was at hand encouraging me and making sure it got done.

There wasn’t space in the book for any of the WF articles, as it turned out. So maybe that original project will see the light of day after all?

You can get the book from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com and is on sale at 99p/99c over November.

6. I've heard that some writers use real people and situations in stories, especially if something has annoyed them. Do you ever do that?

Yes, probably more often than I should. Whoever said writers don’t need a psychologist was right in my case. If I’m wronged, the perpetrator often meets a grisly fate soon afterwards. Preferably something appropriate. I’ve even killed off editors in stories.

Generally whenever life throws something at me that really gets under my skin, I know it’s potentially a story. I’ll write it, often using real names and details. Then I let it cool off and come back to it later to change names, sometimes the sex or age of a character, setting etc.

Sometimes it’s just a phrase someone has used that stays in my mind until I’ve thought of a story around it.

7. What is it with possums? The Aussie magazine guidelines want us to avoid them - is that hard to do?

I hadn’t realised guidelines actually mentioned possums. Where I live in Brisbane they cause all kinds of problems as they like to live in the space between the ceiling and roof of a house.

You probably wouldn’t put a flying fox, dingo or toad in a story either.

8. What's your happiest or proudest writing moment so far?

It’s hard to imagine anything surpassing the thrill of holding my first published book. The realisation I’d actually done it. And it opened doors. If I could do this, what else could I do?

With stories and articles, every acceptance gives me a buzz, especially if it’s somewhere I haven’t been published before.

9. Are you a disciplined writer who plans everything out and sticks to a schedule?

I’m probably the antithesis of that by nature. I can be disciplined if I need to, but it doesn’t come naturally. If I’m writing a series, such as the best how-to books one for Writers’ Forum, that has to be carefully planned before I start. And I worked to a schedule for my book, setting aside a week every month to write a chapter.

But things tend to take on a life of their own and head off in a different direction to what I envisaged.

When it comes to fiction, I think my inspiration would dry up altogether if I tried to be disciplined. I can go for weeks without writing any stories and then produce five in a fortnight. I just have to trust my own process.

I seem to need chaos. Maybe that’s why I enjoy having chickens and ducks roaming around the garden?

10. Can you pass on any advice to other womagwriters?

I suppose the fundamental thing is to simply write your own stories. The ones that only you can write. Don’t be worried if they’re completely different to what everybody else is writing – or reading.

And if you believe in one of your stories, don’t give up on it. It can take a while for a story to find its home. Some of mine have well-worn passports. One I wrote in 2004 was consistently rejected. I’ve sold it twice this year. Another I wrote in 2012 sold to 4 different magazines in the space of 4 months earlier this year after being previously rejected by all and sundry.

A request for help

My new book Firestarter launches today. It's a romantic comedy with a hot fireman and a few flames. I have a favour to ask (on top of ignoring the fact this isn't connected to womag issues other than by the fact I've written it) Could you please help spread the word about the book?

You could do that by telling people who are interested in the genre, retweeting me, or sharing my Facebook updates, or author updates, or doing the same with my guest posts and interviews, or my website post.

Naturally I'd be delighted if you bought the book, or borrowed it from your library (some already stock it, if yours doesn't they should be able to order it for you).

If you do read and enjoy Firestarter, I'd also be very grateful for a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog.

Guest post by womagwriter Margaret Skipworth.

My guest today is Margaret Skipworth. She's come to tell us when to just give up...

When you’re a novice writer it’s easy to convince yourself that if just one editor rejects a story then that particular story isn’t good enough to be published.

My early rejections, going back to 1998, were always ‘spiked’ or filed away on a floppy disc – never to be looked at again.

Thankfully, as my number of acceptances grew, so did my confidence and these days I never give up on a story.

I have sold a few rejected stories without altering a single word. But most stories do need some work on them before they’re suitable for another magazine. This can mean anything from simply changing double to single quotes, tweaking a few words, changing characters’ names to doing a complete re-write – changing from first to third person viewpoint or adding more dialogue, for example.

One of my favourite stories, about a female window cleaner, holds the record for being submitted the most times. It took 11 years and rejections from 9 magazines before it was published. It travelled the world as a twist in the tale, a love story, then a crime story…

Finally, in 2010, I wrote in a new character (the window cleaner’s mother) and it was accepted by Woman’s Weekly.

The Swedish magazine, Allas, was unknown to me until Patsy highlighted it on this blog in March. Since then, Allas has bought three of my stories and these were all stories that I’d re-written after they’d been rejected by other magazines.

When I worked as a writing tutor for a Home Study School I used to tell my students, ‘never give up.’

Now I would add another piece of advice – ‘Never give up on any of your stories.’

You can find out more about Margaret here.

A visit from womagwriter Della Galton

Today's guest is Della Galton and she's talking about a very important subject -Keeping track of your short stories

It is vital to keep track of where your stories are. You might think you’ll remember, but you won’t – trust me.

I keep paper records – although you might prefer to have electronic ones. It’s a quirk of mine – I spend so much time sitting in front of a screen that I like to have a break between stories and fill in a paper record – I find it more satisfying. I keep three lots of records.

1) A card index box. Each story has its own card and they’re filed in alphabetical order. The story title and number of words is at the top of the card. Beneath that, I write a list of markets to where I’m intending to send the story, plus the date of submission and return and any comments the editor might make. If more than one editor makes the same comment, for example, this is contrived, or predictable, then I’ll rewrite the story. I might do it on one such comment unless I feel strongly otherwise.

2) I keep an A4 sheet, headed up with my markets, see example. (This shows at a glance, how many stories out where and how long they’ve been there). When a story is sold or rejected I cross it out. When the sheet is full I use a new one.

Woman’s weekly	My weekly	Take a Break	People’s friend	Fast Fiction	Yours	The weekly news	Others
title and date	title and date	title and date	title and date	title and date	title and date	title and date	Title, date and market

3) I also keep a monthly sheet with my work completed on it, see example. I find that seeing exactly what work I’ve done motivates me. It’s all too easy to let weeks slip by with nothing actually having been sent out.

week/c	Type	title	words	Market aimed	Market achieved	payment	Comments
5 Oct	New
	Submitted
	Others
12 Oct	New
	Submitted
	Others
19 Oct	New
	Submitted
	Others
26 Oct	New
	Submitted
	Others
	Totals

4) I’ve just realised there’s actually a fourth set of records. I list all the stories I write on a separate sheet with dates, just so I can keep an annual tally. It’s quite good fun filling in the market achieved section and means I can keep an accurate record of percentage sold. It also means I can analyse which markets I sell the most to in any given month or year.

month	Title	market	Type	fee	Date paid	Total earned
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

As you can see I’m obsessed with records!

It’s only strictly necessary to keep one set of records and that’s where your work is, when it was sent and when it was returned or bought. I’d be interested to hear what everyone else does. It might save me some time. 

If you’d like to know more about writing and selling short stories please check out my writing book, The Short Story Writer’s Toolshed. It’s only 99p for kindle till Friday. A bargain if I do say so myself! Here’s the link.

TheShort Story Writer's Toolshed

Interview with womagwriter Alan Williams

My guest today is Womagwriter, Alan Williams.

When did you start writing, Alan and how did you get into writing for womags?

You have probably not heard of me. I’m not one of those names you see in magazines all the time. I’ve been fortunate, however, to carve out a niche market in Australia.

I began writing whilst in a U3A group in Tasmania in, Cygnet, the town in which I taught. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until I was here, in France, that I decided to tackle it seriously and send my stories off to magazines. It was 2012.

I’d discovered Kath’s guidelines on Womagwriter’s blog and sent off two stories I’d written years earlier, to That’s Life in Australia as well as other stories to many of the British magazines. Six weeks after, I sold one of those initial stories to That’s Life so that encouraged me to persist in my writing. Without that initial success I would probably have given up trying by now.

You're a man (you probably already knew that) Do you think that's an advantage or disadvantage when it comes to writing for magazines which cater mainly for women?

To be honest, Patsy, I don’t know. When I’ve been the only guy amongst twenty females at the Woman’s Weekly Events I’ve attended, I’m very conscious of my status. It’s a little intimidating as, despite having been a Science teacher for years, I don’t have a great deal of self-confidence.

Also it’s not the sort of pastime I would boast about to a group of Rugby players down at the pub at lunchtime when they’re sinking a tinny or two … not unless I had a death wish.

I’m proud that I’m a Womag writer and that I’ve had had success in this genre as I respect the readers, the stories and all of the fellow writers that I’ve met. I enjoy what I do.

Not many men read what I’ve written however one did read a Take A Break story from earlier this year. His comment that I must be in touch with my feminine side was a compliment (I hope) and I took it as such. It’s difficult for me to convey the strong positive emotions that I find in Womag stories however, when I can achieve that, I’m very proud.

It’s been suggested that I use a female pseudonym but that’s not me and I think it would still be obvious that I’m a man as I cannot write like a woman. Realistically, I don’t feel it matters to the editor. In fact, that difference in approach may set me apart from the similar style of many other writers. Unfortunately for me, I’m often too different.

Most of my stories are in the first person allowing me to have fun with the characters, toying with idiosyncrasies or personalities. Also the main character is usually a woman, sometimes strong, sometimes a heroine, sometimes apprehensive or scared but generally an average person dealing with the trials of relationships or dramas that happen to us all.

Are you a disciplined writer producing a steady stream of stories, or do you wait until you're in the mood?

I write every day, even if it’s only composing the entire story in my head then typing it up over the next few days. My present problem is the inspiration for stories. I often fall back on song titles to act as prompts, e.g. The Pied Piper by Crispian St Peters or Substitute by Clout, both of which have become fine, strong, but as yet, unpublished short stories.

Most on my tales begin as a title – something quirky that grabs my imagination. For example The Pastel Blue Kangaroo, The Neverwhen or When Gravity Went Wild. I did a guest blog on this site some years ago about this topic. It isn’t a great problem if the editor then alters that title as the story is still there.

If I wake up and feel in a daft mood, then I write amusing pieces (often poking fun at male attitudes). If my wife gives me a kiss, I’ll write a romance. I’m actually a romantic at heart and always have a positive, uplifting ending, whatever I do.

I think I'm right in saying you've had most success with Australian magazines - do you have a connection to that country?

I am an Australian by birth although I lived, with my British wife, in England for 19 years and am now exiled to France since 2007. It would seem that Australian editors see something in my work that doesn’t fit too well with British Womags. I can understand that. My stories, even the romance and heart-warmers are probably too plot heavy for them. It’s a good thing that rejections don’t upset me greatly. And I do know that I’m not in the same class as others like yourself or Della (whom I’ve met a number of times). Christine Sutton has also helped me to adjust my style for Britain although, judging by my meagre success there, I’m a slow learner.

I sent off my invoice for stories 14 and 15 to TL last week so I my writing style seems to suit them as there have been three editors since I started.

Dare I say it, I do believe Aussies have different brains, due to the greater exposure to UV, fresh air, vegemite sandwiches and fairy bread whilst growing up. Not necessarily better, just different. I write a lot of Sixth Sense stories for That’s Life but I do sell them Romance, Heart-warmers, Revenge and Light Bites as well.

You don't live in Australia now though - does living where you do pose any difficulties when it comes to submitting to UK and Australian markets?

T’internet is a wonderful thing and so the Aussie markets are usually okay for me.

Unfortunately the local French Post Office tends to close on a whim, displaying a sign with ‘Exceptional Closing’ proudly taped to the door. Even when it’s meant to be open, it is closed one day in three and was, in fact closed all of August. The reasons, I’m sure, are varied, ranging from the Postmistress breaking a nail to the Postmaster needing to take his pet cow, Alphonse, for walkies.

Consequently posting submissions to the U.K. can be … challenging. More often than not I return home, letter still in hand, saying words that won’t be found in any English-French dictionary.

I've heard that some writers use real people and situations in stories, especially if something has annoyed them. Do you ever do that?

Don’t tend to become annoyed (French Postal Service excepted), so no, I don’t use real people. Occasionally I use myself and my own experiences but what writer doesn’t? Sorry, just remembered my first wife. She often finds herself appearing, usually when something disgusting or horrible is about to happen. Does that count?

Can we read any of your stories other than in magazines?

I do have stories in Anthologies in Australia, Ireland and Canada but they would be hard to track down, I think. I have one story in an anthology, By My Side, with Alfie Dog (along with you, Patsy). The story is Star Bright – a whimsical romance with a touch of magic thrown it. My other taleson Alfie Dog are stories that are otherwise unpublished, written some years ago. However they do include one from my other writing genre – Children’s fiction where I’ve had some publishing success also.

What has been your happiest or proudest writing moment so far?

As is often the case, it would have to be my first acceptance. I’d written a fantasy story about a jilted girl and her grandmother called The Cool, Dark Place. The grandmother surprises the girl by demonstrating a gift – the ability to remove negative emotions and replace them with memories of the girl’s 5th birthday that she had kept in jam jars within a cupboard; the cool, dark place.

That story has been reprinted in Scotland and Canada as well.

To see my ideas and words in print with beautiful accompanying photos was, in itself, magical.

Can you pass on a tip for other womag writers?

I was once told by a fellow writer that I was very brave to have the courage to submit my stories to ‘proper magazines’. It took me some time and discussions back and forth, to understand her own fears. I send off over 100 submissions per year to all sorts of magazines or occasionally competitions. Not just Womags even though most of my stories are written for that genre. Maybe I have a thick skin to deal with the numerous rejections or, more often, hearing nothing but I keep submitting, even to those magazines that have never accepted one yet.

My advice? Don’t be disheartened. Believe in yourself. I know I have a lot to still learn but I’ll continue to try showing editors those ideas and skills that I already have. Maybe one day even Woman’s Weekly will show some interest. You never know unless you try.

Thanks Patsy for asking me to do this. It’s great to be a part of this web community.

Spam

Over the last few weeks I've been getting a lot of spam on the blog - dozens of posts per day. I tried moderating comments and although that stopped the comments appearing on the blog, it cluttered up my email system to such an extent I was worried I'd miss important messages.

Because of this, I've disabled anonymous comments at least temporarily. Sorry about that. If there's anyone who would like to comment or ask a question and isn't able to set up an account to allow them to do so, they're welcome to email me (address on 'contact me' page) and I'll post it for them.

Prima magazine

Prima magazine have a regular fiction slot. It's in the form of a monthly competition with a £100 prize, plus publication. Entries of not more than 800 words should be emailed to yourwinningstory@hearst.co.uk

There are terms and conditions, including the possibility of losing your copyright, so I strongly suggest getting hold of a copy of the magazine and checking you're happy with them before submitting. (I haven't been able to find these details online - if anyone does, please let me kow and I'll add in a link)

The picture isn't relevant; I just thought the post looked naked without one.

Interview with womagwriter Patsy Collins cont.

My guest today is once again Patsy Collins! I'm continuing to answer the questions you asked. First half of the interview is here.

Ados wanted to know, "Which women's magazines have you written for? Is there one you find 'easier' or one that you have more success with on a regular basis?"

I submit to all of those which accept submissions, except Yours as they take all rights and I'm not willing to give up copyright. Overall I've had most success with Woman's weekly, closely followed by Take a Break's Fiction Feast. Both still send me plenty of rejections though.

Loopers asked, What is your most favourite thing you have won with your writing, and which story/ book makes you the proudest up to now?

My first ever success was to a 40 word story competition, Loopers. I won book tokens and tea with the mayor, which involved cake. Possibly even more importantly it gave me the confidence to move on from the rejections I'd collected and continue to send work out. That's my favourite prize.

It's very hard to say which story makes me proudest, but this one is definitely a contender.

Up the Garden Path

Over the Garden Fence

Nicola asked, "I get most of my ideas for stories, short and longer, when I'm weeding the garden - and the weeds keep on sprouting! What inspires your ideas?" 

Gardening does it for me too, Nicola. Lots of my stories involve plants in some way (so much so that I have two collections of garden related stories and a third due out next spring). 

Often I don't know exactly what prompted a story idea, but they often come when I'm doing something else and it's difficult to write them down.

Glynnis Scrivens asked, "How many stories do you submit to each editor each month? How many magazines do you write for?"

I submit to all the magazines I know of which will accept submissions and don't take all rights, Glynnis. The number I send to each varies on the number of suitable stories I have available as well as how many the magazine publishes. 

I generally send several to Woman's Weekly as they use a lot in both the Fiction Special and the weekly magazine. I believe The People's Friend take the most, but it's very rare for me to write anything I think they'll like, so it's very rare for me to send them anything.

There seems little point sending more than they can use, as I'd be competing against myself. For that reason those magazines which publish fewer stories each month will recieve fewer submissions from me.

Glynis also asked, "Do you find some months are generally better than others in terms of sales?"

Yes, it's very variable! December, June and July are generally quietest (I don't know if that's the same for everybody?) Other than that I've not noticed any pattern. I'm not aware of it making any difference when I submit the stories.

Keith Havers asked "Do you start with a plot or with the characters?"

They grow together, Keith. The plot reveals things about the characters and they in turn influence the plot. Quite often a story doesn't come out quite as I planned as characters don't do exactly what I thought they would.

Keith added, "Do you have a lovely new book featuring a naked Carol Vorderman coming out soon?"

*shakes head and gives Keith 'the look'*

Sue Blackburn said, "Oooh if you have a lovely new book featuring a hunky fireman coming out anytime soon that would be just great. Heard rumours - is it true? "

Where did you hear a rumour like that, Sue? Actually it is true. Who'd of thought, eh?

Firestarter is a romantic comedy involving not only hunky firemen,  but a jealous ex, unhappy rivals, creepy boss, danger, weird clothing choices and a few red-footed crows. There's masses of wonderful food, disgusting wine, and smelly mud, plus mind boggling sisterly advice and steamy Welsh passion.

You can order it here.

Carol asked If it came to a choice between heroes, hunky fireman or hunky farmer or gardener?

A hunky photographer, Carol! You weren't trying to get me in trouble there, were you?

Emma asked, New book sounds fab, and I'd like to know... of all the short stories you've written, do you have a favourite? If so, why?

Thanks, Emma. I'm usually quite fond of whichever one has sold most recently! No, I don't have a favourite. Some stay in my memory more than others though. 

Thank you so much everyone for the great questions!

Interview with Womagwriter Patsy Collins

Today my guest is Patsy Collins! I know it's a bit weird to be my own guest but heck, I'm a writer! At least I'm not talking to myself as you've kindly supplied a good selection of questions.

Penny asked, "Are you an Owl or a Lark? Which is your best time for writing?"

Neither! I need a lot of sleep. 
Generally the morning is my most productive writing time but I can, and do, write at any time of the day.

Sue Blackburn asked, "Are you a disciplined writer in that you have a strict routine?"

Yes and no, Sue. I try to be disciplined and work on my writing for a reasonable time each day, but my routine is flexible. Usually I have several projects on the go at different stages, so if I don't feel like writing one story, I edit another instead.

I travel quite a bit with photogrpher my photographer husband in our campervan, and although I still write away from home, I'm more likely to get distracted. 

Fay Knowles asked, "What's your secret to getting your short stories published so frequently?"

Dogged determination and persistence, Fay. I get plenty of rejections, but I don't let them discourage me. Instead I try to write what the editors are looking for and do my best to look at things differently and come up with unusual ideas. Sometimes though it's very difficult to know why one story sells and others don't.
Wendy asked a really excellent question. ''Do you have a lovely new book featuring a hunky fireman coming out anytime soon and if so where can I get it?'" 

Funny you should ask that, Wendy as actually I do! (oddly several other people made similar enquiries ... almost as though someone put them up to it.) 

Firestarter is a romantic comedy. If it's half as much fun to read as it was to write, people are going to enjoy it a lot.  Firestarter isn't officially due out until November 5th but for once I'm not leaving the promotion stuff until it's too late. (Offers to host me on blogs and the like most welcome).

You can order Firestarter here. My local book shop will be stocking it and it'll be available from some libraries. 

Julie Day asked, "What started you writing short stories for womags? and which magazine was your first one in?"

I took creative writing classes and my tutor (author June Hampson) suggested I submit to womags, Julie. I'm very glad she did. My first acceptance was from The Weekly News, but The Lady actually published me first.

Julie also wondered, "Do you reward yourself with each success?"

Yes! That's very important. A sale gets the biggest celebration and I'll treat myself to something nice to eat or drink, but I think we should congratulate ourself on every achievement along the way.

Thank you for all the questions! I had lots more, so this interview is to be continued ....