The title for this month’s Read Around the Rainbow blog ring is enough to strike fear into any writer! Writer’s Block is something we all dread.
I’m sure we’ve all experienced it to a greater or lesser degree. I wrote avidly as a child and then halted in my tracks. Decades passed before I regained the confidence to put pen to paper (or fingertips to keyboard!)
Even though I’ve settled into a regular writing schedule for the past several years, I don’t take that for granted. If I get stuck for inspiration during a story or am flailing around for a fresh idea, I tend to think, Is that it?
I always feel overwhelming relief when a story that feels stuck suddenly moves forward or when a new story plot springs to mind. Before I sat down to write this blog, I didn’t really think about this constant low-level anxiety. I just took it for granted as part and parcel of writing life!
On a similar note, the more I write, the more I’m aware of the tension between creative imagination and working towards the end product.
I’ve learned that my imagination needs time and space to wander freely. It doesn’t respond well to pressure and deadlines, which puts it at odds with the practical aspect of this gig! I find that dissonance fascinating. We rely on our imaginations to create stories but we also need a solid framework to write them.
Structure tends to come easily to me in all other aspects of life (I’d be lost without my lists!) so I treat my creativity with wary respect, knowing that if I try to pin it down too much, the Writer’s Blog I dread will be the end result!
My post will be linked on the last Friday of every month with posts from fellow blog ring members. Three other writers are blogging in the Read Around the Rainbow Webring this month… find their posts about Writer’s Block.
This month’s Read Around the Rainbow topic is especially pertinent to my compulsive book-buying! A few years back, possibly coinciding with having to purchase a fifth bookcase, I realised I had to make a decision about buying physical books before I ran out of living space!
Of course, I couldn’t bring myself to chuck out the fiction books I already possess, but anything new that I buy in fiction is in ebook form. This is hardly the solution I anticipated as that doesn’t stop me from buying physical reference books! I’m now seriously considering investing in bookcase no. 6.
Also, I’m able to argue most convincingly that some classic fiction can be designated as a resource book. Last year, when I was writing my Gothic Halloween story The Monk’s Lair, I just had to buy The Monk by Matthew Lewis and The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe to help achieve a true Gothic tone to my story.
My most recent purchases have been a couple of resource books about the seventeenth century (and I may have slipped a couple of other bargains in my basket at the same time!) For my latest story, out on April 6th and currently on pre-release, I’m returning to my Restoration characters, Owen and John, from last July’s story, Lucky John. They reappear as an established couple in Lucky in Love. Both these stories (along with all my books) are in the 40% off ebook Easter weekend sale at JMS Books.
In Lucky in Love, Owen and John are summoned to the court of King Charles II for a brief stay, so I badly needed to do some relevant research! That’s my excuse for buying yet more books and I’m sticking to it.
I was fortunate enough to pick up Antonia Fraser’s biography of King Charles II and Liza Picard’s Restoration London for a song! Biographical styles and contexts have changed since King Charles II was written in 1979, however, I found Antonia Fraser’s sweeping, storytelling and well-researched way of writing very engaging. Her physical description of Charles (based on contemporary observation) when he ascended the throne was so striking that I re-interpreted it into my own words in the story.
In contrast, Liza Picard’s wonderful look into everyday life in late 17th-century London, based on Samuel Pepys’ diaries, is fact-rich and practical. It’s arranged so chronologically that I could dip into a chapter to find the precise detail required. That included the fact that the general public could watch their king dining three times a week! An absolute gift for a fictional scene.
My post will be linked on the last Friday of every month with posts from fellow blog ring members. Two other writers are blogging in the Read Around the Rainbow Webring this month… find their posts about the physical books they own.
This month, especially for Valentine’s, the Read Around the Rainbow bloggers are discussing our most romantic book. I’m really looking forward to reading about what fellow bloggers regard as their most swoony stories!
In some ways, I’m already prepared for this. There was a fabulous Valentine’s Sunday Showcase in the wonderful Small but Mighty MM Romance Facebook group on this theme with loads of authors contributing. My TBR list has expanded yet again! As all of my historical novellas are low-angst romance, I had no idea what to choose, so I enlisted the help of my lovely Facebook reader group to narrow it down to two stories.
May Wedding is Book 6 in my Regency romp Twelve Letters series and I’ve picked this story because what’s more romantic than a wedding? Well, the answer to that is, two weddings! This under 14k-word story with my usual ensemble cast is about two very different celebrations of love.
The first is a conventional London society wedding, where Percy Havilland oversees arrangements for his redoubtable sister Araminta’s nuptials to Hugh, an aristocratic young man. There’s the ceremony at the fashionable church of St. George’s Hanover Square, followed by a wedding breakfast with carefully selected guests at the Mayfair home of the bridegroom’s parents before the newlyweds go on their honeymoon.
The second nuptials in May Wedding couldn’t be more different. Having attended Araminta and Hugh’s wedding as a guest, Jo Everett wistfully wishes that he could marry his long-time love, Daniel Walters. Of course, a public ceremony is out of the question. With Daniel’s enthusiastic consent, the happy couple decides to combine their vows at a regular Thursday night supper the group holds at a local tavern.
Each of my ensemble cast has a role to play. Percy, having had recent experience in organising a wedding and being an ultimate Bridezilla, takes charge of preparing the supper room. His lover Nathan happily provides the Champagne. As Jo’s best friend, Ben Harding is the natural choice for master of ceremonies and his partner Edward arrives in time from the countryside to support him. Violinist Luc provides the music and actor Harry recites Jo’s favourite Shakespearean sonnet.
Although glad to go along with events, Percy is mildly perplexed by the whole occasion until he realises that this is a celebration of lasting love, how Jo and Daniel have persevered and struggled against all odds to get to this point.
In terms of historical context, such celebrations were not unusual. Mock weddings regularly took place at molly houses together with informal but sincere ceremonies between long-standing and devoted couples.
Writing Jo and Daniel’s wedding was deeply poignant, knowing that it would be nearly another two hundred years before LGBT+ couples could formally acknowledge a loving bond. But there was something incredibly optimistic about the acknowledgement of their love in front of their closest and most trusted friends which, for me, makes this story so romantic.
My post will be linked on the last Friday of every month with posts from fellow blog ring members. There are five other writers blogging in the Read Around the Rainbow Webring this month… find their posts about their most romantic stories.
This month, we’re answering three writerly “Would you rather…?” questions that the lovely Addison Albright came across and suggested for our January Read Around the Rainbow blog.
As we’re all responding to the same questions, this should be great fun and I’m looking forward to reading everyone else’s answers.
The first question is: Would you rather publish one insanely great-selling book and never write again… or publish a string of 15 average-selling books over a 20-year period?
That’s a no-brainer for me. I’d definitely prefer the second option! I’m sure most authors are tempted by the idea of writing something insanely successful, but the idea of never reaching that peak again is enough to put me off, let alone not being permitted to write again. To be honest, being in the average-selling book bracket would be beyond my wildest dreams, too!
Great success seems to bring fame or even notoriety, so that brings us to the second question: Would you rather be recognized wherever you go… or live a quiet (monetarily successful) life of anonymity?
I honestly don’t know how celebrities cope with the intrusion into their lives, especially from the paparazzi. I always feel sorry for actors, musicians and other creatives who are in the public eye for simply doing their job (rather than being famous for being famous) but are considered fair game for relentless pursuit when off duty. Give me a life of anonymity anytime, particularly if I’m getting paid as well!
The final question is about where we choose to write. Would you rather write in a rooftop garden surrounded by city noises — or in a quiet studio with cows as your neighbors?
I’m going to be awkward here and choose the rooftop garden, but surrounded by seaside noises! I live by the sea and on a rare summer sunny day, one of my favourite places to scribble down story ideas is outside to the sound of the waves. Add in a rooftop garden with a view (or even a balcony) and that’s my idea of paradise!
My post will be linked on the last Friday of every month with posts from fellow blog ring members. There are six other writers blogging in the Read Around the Rainbow Webring this month… find their posts about what they would rather choose!
In keeping with the end of the year and the start of the next, this month on Read Around the Rainbow, we’ve decided to each have a retrospective of 2023 and a peek into 2024. I’m really looking forward to reading about everyone’s achievements and their plans.
2023 has been a quietly productive year for me. I’ve carried on increasing Twelve Letters, my ongoing Regency series. Also, I’ve started and nearly completed another 3-part series, Tow Bronze. While lurking in my comfort zone of Regency, I’ve also nipped into the Elizabethan and Stuart eras for a refreshing change.
I started 2023 with Gentlemen’s Agreement, the fourth book in my Twelve Letters series. During the year, in April, May and December, I’ve added stories five, six and seven, The Misfit, May Wedding and the newly released A Festive Gathering at Chelsea. Looking forward to next year, The Way Home, book 8 in the series, will be released in March.
In February 2023, I followed up 2022’s The Spice of Life with the sequel, A Touch of Spice, as my couple Gregory and Jehan find their HEA in Elizabethan London. March was a retrospective in itself with the release of Gentlemen in Love, a box set of some of my one-off Regency stories.
Summer brought Lucky John, my story for JMS Books’ Lucky 13 submission call for the publisher’s anniversary celebrations. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the cusp of the transition from the Commonwealth to the Restoration of Charles II in the mid-17th century for my Royalist messenger Owen and his John. I’m just starting to work on a follow-up for these two as they leave Owen’s Monmouthshire home for the decadence of the newly re-established royal court at the Palace of Whitehall. And I got a research bargain with Antonia Fraser’s iconic biography of Charles II for 50p!
For the August Silver Foxes submission call, I wrote Town Bronze, which I fondly imagined to be a one-off story. While I was writing this older/younger spanking story with rabbit-in-the-headlights Jasper and suave, considerate Sir Mortimer, it suddenly occurred to me that I had not one, but a trio of young men who needed to find their perfect partner, however unlikely! So Town Bronze Book 2, Pantaloons and Petticoats, Barney and Ross/Rose’s love story was published in November. Impeccable Credentials, Julian’s story, finishes off the trilogy. It’s currently on pre-release at JMS Books and will be published on January 6th. And to see my original couple, Jasper and Mortimer, on track for their HEA, there’s a bonus chapter for my newsletter subscribers going out on January 1st to round things off nicely.
Talking of rounding off, I have only two remaining stories from 2023 to mention. October brought The Monk’s Lair, my Regency Gothic Halloween story, with the dramatic backdrop of Tintern Abbey and hooded monks galore to haunt my couple, Christian and Sam. Finally, there’s Christmas Below Stairs, released last week and a story about a footman, Joseph and a valet, Eli, working for the same household, who find themselves virtually alone in the London townhouse over Christmas, leading to a chance for romance.
With looking backwards and forwards at once, I’m thrilled that last year’s Christmas story, A Christmas Engagement, is included in JMS Books’ 2023 Top Ten Gay Romance anthology, with plenty of representation from the RAtR bloggers! My couple in that story, Charles and Avery, will return in February for A Lasting Vow, my contribution to the multi-author Love Wins series from JMS Books.
My post will be linked on the last Friday of every month with posts from fellow blog ring members. There are five other writers blogging in the Read Around the Rainbow Webring this month… find their posts about looking back at 2023 and forward to 2024.
This month’s topic was suggested by the lovely Addison Albright, and I’ll be fascinated to find out how the other members of the blog ring got started in writing towards publication.
Many years ago, I embarked on writing a series of time-travel-themed Young Adult novels and steadily worked my way down the list of literary agents, sending off my first three chapters from the first book from time to time with no success.
I wasn’t too disheartened by rejection as I was busy writing-wise in other ways. I belonged to a couple of online writing sites, one general fiction and the other erotic fiction. Through that, I became a volunteer moderator for the second story site for about a decade.
So although I was still writing my YA stories in the background, I was learning about all aspects of writing on the job, as such. By checking through other people’s stories, some inspiring, others not so much, I learned about formatting, structure and all those technical bits as well as how to (and how not to) tell a story. It was also great to be part of a vibrant writing community.
Of course, this encouraged my own writing on both sites, mainly but not always historical. At the same time, as an avid reader, I was reading MM Romance books throughout! Yet it was only about five years ago, that I had a notion to write my first MM Historical story, A Christmas Cotillion.
I started this story in between teaching, my volunteer moderating and everything else, so it took a while. When I was about halfway through, it dawned on me that this fitted into neither story site and would become way past their 10k word limit. By this stage, I’d kind of shelved my YA novels, simply due to time pressure and so I hadn’t sent off anything in a while. I only thought about submitting my MM Historical story to keep my hand in!
So I looked online for MM Publishers, found JMS Books and saw that they had an open submission call for Christmas stories with a deadline that would give me plenty of scope to re-format and finish my story. Some months and a couple of computer crashes later, I got it finished and slid the story under the wire with a sense of relief and achievement. Due to past experience, I was prepared to put it out of my mind. You could have knocked me down with a feather when I heard back within 24 hours to say my story had been accepted!
At the time, circumstances seemed entirely random, but looking back, I can see a clear (if winding path) that led me towards MM Romance through my reading while gathering experience and confidence in my writing. Obviously meant to be!
My post will be linked on the last Friday of every month with posts from fellow blog ring members. There are three other writers blogging in the Read Around the Rainbow Webring this month… find their posts about their first story written with an eye towards publication.
This month’s topic was suggested by the lovely Ofelia Grand and really gave me food for thought. As the members of our blog ring are scattered around the world, it’ll be fascinating to learn how seasons affect their writing productivity, depending on their climate.
I live in the damp and moderate northwest of this group of islands in North Western Europe, so summer is more of a theoretical concept than a firm reality!
I have to say that during the summer months, on the occasional sunny day or rare heat wave (that’s anything over 18 degrees Celsius around here!) I do resent being chained to my laptop. I try to get my allotted words down as quickly as possible and escape outside with some sunscreen and a book. An afternoon spent in the sunshine is as good as a holiday.
But for the remaining eleven and a half months (and I’m not entirely joking!) there’s not much temptation to linger outdoors in the cold and wet and I’m content to remain at my laptop and keep writing.
However, when thinking about this topic, I realised that my productivity doesn’t just depend on seasonal variations. Like us all, I have bursts when I’m buzzing with ideas and storylines and then long fallow periods when I’m gritting my teeth and using all my willpower to get a sufficient word count on the page.
There seems to be no rhyme or reason to this. Of course, outward causes like health issues, family illnesses and the general stuff of life can dominate from time to time. But it fascinates me that the inward cycle of inspiration can be quite unfathomable. I really have no idea why one story can spring fully formed into my mind so I can’t wait to scribble it down, and another is like pulling teeth.
Some stories appear vividly in my head, complete with dialogue and descriptions while others have to be coaxed patiently into focus. One of the joys of being a writing pantster!
I have to say that my latest story The Monk’s Lair, released on October 28th and currently in the 20% off pre-release sale at JMS Books was a relatively easy story to visualise. That might be due to the splendidly Regency Gothic themes of hooded monks, haunted abbeys and evil spirits all set around the atmospheric backdrop of Tintern Abbey. Far too much fun for my imagination to resist!
My post will be linked on the last Friday of every month with posts from fellow blog ring members. There are four other writers blogging in the Read Around the Rainbow Webring this month… find their posts about how much they write depending on the changing seasons.
I’m sure there will be loads of varying responses to this month’s topic from our Read Around the Rainbow bloggers! However, I wish I was the sort of writer who was always bubbling over with plot bunnies and had a constant store of stories at my fingertips. In my dreams!
Instead, I tend to veer between utter panic that I’ll never have another story idea again, to being slightly overwhelmed by competing storylines – inevitably when I’m in the middle of writing something else!
I may be a writing panster, but by nature, I’m a natural planner, so in terms of writing, I find seasonal submission calls a great way to start organising my writing year. If I know I’m going to write a Valentine’s, Halloween and Holiday story, then that helps to fill in those yawning spaces in my annual plan.
My lovely publisher also produces plenty of special submission calls throughout the year which is very helpful. I always find that inspiration strikes while looking through the list and sometimes in unexpected ways. Twelve Letters, the story I wrote last year for JMS Books’ Twelfth Anniversary submission call was conceived as a one-off story. But the characters remained in my head, and to my surprise, it’s become an ongoing series with the seventh story, A Festive Gathering at Chelsea, due to be released in the JMS Books Advent Calendar event in December.
Something similar happened when I was writing Town Bronze for the Silver Foxes submission call this August. Halfway through the story, it suddenly became a 3-part series, with a different couple finding romance in each novella. Not bad for a novella based around a joke about a cauliflower plus a spot of spanking! Petticoats and Pantaloons, part 2 in the series and Barney and Rose/Ross’s story will be released on November 11th.
Of course, occasionally, lightning strikes and I do get a story idea out of the blue. But, in general, I appreciate the prompt, prop and support of submission call suggestions to spark my creativity and fill in the big, scary blanks in my writing schedule.
My post will be linked on the last Friday of every month with posts from fellow blog ring members. There are seven other writers blogging in the Read Around the Rainbow Webring this month… find their posts about deciding what to write next!
For this month’s Read Around the Rainbow, we’re discussing the joys of post-story stuff such as proofreading and editing. And from the discussion in the group, it seems that I’m not the only one who doesn’t look forward to this stage.
Readers might reasonably assume that once a story is written then it’s done and dusted. I can only wish it was that straightforward. This is how the process goes Chez Ellie.
So, I’ve finished the first draft of my story. I feel a slight sense of satisfaction but a greater sense of dread because now the work really starts. Maybe I’m just a fusspot, but I suspect the majority of the blog ring will have similar complaints!
When I’m writing, I do self-edit to a certain degree, but to be honest, keeping the flow going with a looming deadline ahead is my first priority. So after a story is finished, I start pummelling it into shape.
At this point, I can step back from the story slightly. Rather than being fully engaged in writing mode, I unleash my inner critic. I switch around paragraphs, and ruthlessly cut sections that seem repetitive or full of blather. I double-check my historical references, etymology and track continuity. This seems to take far longer (at least in my imagination) than the writing process.
After that, it’s proofreading time. The story goes through the grammar checker once and the voice reader at least twice. This is the nitpicking stage (with more re-writing) where I try to weed out the worst of word repetitions and clunky phrasing as well as picking up on stray typos. Frankly, at the end of all that, I’m sick to death of the thing and it’s a relief to get it submitted and out of the way!
Thankfully, there’s a gap in time between submitting a story and the editing process, by which time I’ve almost forgotten what I wrote! That means I have some valuable perspective that’s impossible to achieve when you’re repeatedly going through a story endlessly. It’s also a huge benefit to have another pair of eyes involved.
I tend to get a bit anxious when anticipating the edits from my lovely editor. So the reality always comes as a bit of a relief. I’m very fortunate in my regular editor, who describes herself as a ‘friendly reader’ but also knows to look out for my many weak points.
I regard this process as a welcome collaboration. The expert feedback is always invaluable and gives me insight as to how my readers might regard my story. Going through the edits, making any suggested amendments and then getting a clean copy for a final proofread feels like putting a layer of varnish on a story. Afterwards, it’s smoother, cleaner and ready to go. Despite my nerves, it’s the most satisfying stage of a story’s development.
My post will be linked on the last Friday of every month with posts from fellow blog ring members. There are seven other writers blogging in the Read Around the Rainbow Webring this month… find their posts about their post-story process and bugbears!
Seasonal reads seem like a great suggestion for this time of year which is summer for our blog ring. But as soon as it was mentioned, some people piped up that they don’t read on a seasonal basis. I’m very glad they said that because I’m the same!
I have to say that I read my fair share of Christmas stories in December, but that’s simply because that’s when they tend to be released! Otherwise, I have no issue with reading a Christmas story in July or vice versa. There’s something to be said for reading stories set on sunny beaches when we’re in the depths of winter!
However, seasonal stories are popular with readers and as a writer, I am happy to conform to that preference. I have three Christmas stories published so far. My very first MM Romance, A Christmas Cotillion, then my Regency-country-house-party-from-hell story, A Midwinter Night’s Magic and finally A Christmas Engagement, set in Regency Bath.
I also enjoy writing Halloween-themed stories, despite the fact it wasn’t historically celebrated! The separate yet linked stories, A Tricky Situation and A Trick of the Light take place one hundred and fifty years apart at Halloween in Bristol. And for this year’s Halloween story, The Monk’s Lair, out on October 28th, I’ve gone full-on Gothic!
My Regency stories set in London tend to be set around the Season, which makes them seasonal in a way! So the six books so far in my Twelve Letters series tend to be set in spring for the Season or the autumn Little Season. However, I am in the middle of writing a Twelve Letters story for JMS’ Advent Calendar submission call which is more conventionally seasonal!
The exception to the Regency Season rule is One Summer Night, which from its giveaway title is set in the summer! Martin and Will’s love story depends on the oppressive sense of summer heat in the city which makes their story steamy in other ways. I really enjoyed drawing parallels with the stifling heat and the social conformity that affects my characters, especially Will. It was no coincidence that my lovers reach an understanding in the relative freedom of Vauxhall Gardens, a popular outdoor entertainment venue where classes mixed and intrigue flourished.
So will I be reading some seasonal reads this summer? Yes, probably. But that will be purely coincidental! All the published titles mentioned are at 50% off in the Smashwords summer sale with many of my stories until the end of July.
My post will be linked on the last Friday of every month with posts from fellow blog ring members. There are six other writers blogging in the Read Around the Rainbow Webring this month… find their posts about their summer and seasonal reads and writing!
Ellie Thomas Romance 