Romantic fiction, anyone?

I wrote several novels before Gary and I collaborated on Farewell Trip.  They were my way into writing - a toe dipped into the frothy bubble bath of romantic fiction.  I bashed them out (or most of them) during the months of November 2008, 2009 and 2010 for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month http://www.nanowrimo.org/) when the goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  

It's easier than you'd think, the secret is you have to think of writing and nothing else. 1666 words a day, every day till it's done, no excuses.  In 2007, the first year I tried, I had no idea of a story and not a clue who the characters would be.  I managed 5000 words in a week and then gave it up as too hard.  

The next year, I planned in advance (well, sort of) and went in with the merest glimmer of a plotline, but no real idea of the people about whom I was writing.  Adam and Stella soon popped into my head though and brought their story with them.  I achieved the 50k words in 30 days and went on to finish the book in (a far too wordy for its content) 100k words.  I still think about them occasionally - they were sweeties and really deserved better writing than the writing they got.  They gave me one of the best Novembers in my life.  Maybe one day soon I'll go back and do a rewrite.  

In recent weeks I have been filling the gap between Farewell Trip and Got It For A Song by tightening up the 2009 NaNo project.  I'm fond of this novel too, not least because the original idea was one gifted to me by none other than Mr Twynam (though I'm pretty certain he didn't expect the fluffy chicklit treatment).  

If you turn your eyes to the top bar above, you'll be able to click on a new button entitled Hallowshill and read the first chapter.  You'll notice a difference in style, I should think.