Laura E. James's Blog

2025Happy news to share

Happy New Year to you all. We’ve had gales, rain, snow and sun and we’re nine days in only. I’m looking forward to getting back into my writing theatre, on which I’ll post another time, but for now, I’ll keep writing from the warmth of our home.

I say writing. At the moment it’s all about revising, editing, and learning how to be an indie author.

The Writing TheatreChange of direction

I’m extremely lucky to have a fantastic support system from my family and friends to my writing family and friends. The Romantic Novelists’ Association continues to provide excellent guidance, advice and opportunities for writers of romantic fiction (which is a broad genre), and its members are kind, wise and generous with their help and offers of expertise. Without this support, the decision to self-publish wouldn’t have been an option for me, but I’m excited and raring to go.

Three years ago, the publisher of my first trio of books, Choc Lit, kindly reverted those books rights to me, bar a few outstanding licenses. It wasn’t just the physical book – it was the audio, digital, foreign and large print rights too. This month sees the final right reverted.

With this deadline on the horizon, and with novel number four, currently titled, Make Your Own Kind of Music (MYOKOM), written, edited and revised to the point I can no longer see the proverbial wood for the trees, and with the added consideration of chronic health conditions and disabilities management, it was the perfect time to rethink my career.

How it’s going

Self-publishing is not the easy route, but the more I research, the more I feel it is a good fit. As a person who manages her spoons (the Spoon Theory), indie authorship will allow me autonomy and the grace of flexibility. Publishers have deadlines, printing schedules and contracts, and I happily signed up to all that ten years ago, but I’m less energetic these days, and struggle more with fatigue. Going at my own pace will reduce the chances of letting people down. Perhaps this is a naïve perspective, as I know how hard my indie author/hybrid friends work, but I have good people behind me (family and friends cheerleading), trusted experts on board and a small, but perfectly-formed team of beta readers waiting for their first look at MYOKOM.

In the meantime, I am updating the previously published novels, starting with Follow Me Follow You, which was my second women’s fiction, but my first paperback. I love this story for so many reasons – the fun my daughter and I had inventing the social media site, EweSpeak, Victoria Noble and her journey in trying to understand her son, Seth, little Seth himself, beautiful Chris Frampton and his unconditional love for his family, and the setting of Chesil Beach and Portland, Dorset. Also, in theory, this book shouldn’t take too long to revise …

My third novel, What Doesn’t Kill You, will be my second release. My debut, Truth or Dare? will take longer. If I had written it today, ten/twelve years on from when I set out to ‘write a novel’, it would have a different feel. A different voice. A rewrite might be involved.

Got it coveredImage I used to promote Follow Me Follow You when it was first published. This was a photograph taken of our son when he was four. I adapted it using an app called Watercolour. To this day, I adore this photograph and it will be forever linked to little Seth, Victoria Noble’s (the main character) son.

Follow Me Follow You will be retitled Follow Me, which was its original name. The exciting news with this is I have received the cover design visuals and they are gorgeous. I have spent the day looking through the different versions, as they all bring something unique to the book, but I have chosen the one with which I would like to proceed.

Once it’s agreed and finalised, I will do the reveal here.

Follow me (see what I did there?) on this blog if you’d like to be one of the first to see the fresh, new cover.

Comms

If you’d like to receive updates in the form of a newsletter, drop me a comment below. Currently, I do not run a newsletter, but I’m interested to hear your thoughts as readers as to how you prefer authors to send out communications.

What’s next?

Right now I’m off to email my talented and clever cover designer, and then maybe have eggs on toast for lunch. Then it will be back to the revisions.

Catch you all soon.

Laura xx

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Hello!

It’s been a while. How are you all doing? There have been a few changes in the life of this author – longer, greyer (and I have discovered, wavier) hair, more characterful (yes, that’s what I’m going with) facial creases and a few years’ worth of experiences, growth and surprises. The love of red clothes remains.

I have been quiet on the publishing front, but I was keeping busy in the writing world volunteering with the fabulous Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA), the number one, professional organisation for writers of romantic fiction. For five years, I was the RNA’s Industry Awards Organiser, stepping down in November 2023, the same time as I stepped down as a Director, a position I’d held for sixteen months.

It was a busy period, and as a person with chronic health conditions and disabilities, and someone who needs to keep count of their daily spoons, it was important for my health that I managed my time and energy. I chose to step back from writing so I could share my energy between my family and the RNA, a decision I do not and will never regret.

Time out

Spending time with my family resets me. I so enjoy their company, watching musical theatre, discussing storylines and playing games, or forming a team to enter the local pub quiz. I know I am very lucky to have my safe haven, where I am loved and cared for.

Volunteering with the RNA was a satisfying and fulfilling experience, that engaged all parts of my brain, taught me new skills and showed me to value my instinct. As a person with very little ‘business’ experience, it was good to learn it’s okay to voice one’s gut feeling in a professional setting. Best of all, I enjoyed working with people who became firm friends.

It turns out I needed that time. I hadn’t stopped writing, but it had taken a back seat. The work-in-progress, which I started calling the ‘Never-ending Novel’, was taking its sweet time to develop. The characters took me on a journey and I fell down the rabbit hole of research, learning plenty about myself along the way … but that’s a story for another day.

My previous publisher kindly reverted the rights of my three novels, and I have finished writing the never-ending novel, so now it’s time to look to the future.

The Future

I am not sure what that looks like just yet, but I am back at the desk with fresh ideas, a small back catalogue of novels, and an excitement I remember from when I first started writing. I’m investigating the possibility of becoming an indie author, checking out communication pathways such as Substack and newsletters, updating my platforms with current profile pictures, and putting some of those business skills I learnt during my time as an RNA Director to excellent use.

Oh! And courtesy of my husband, Gajitman, I also have a brand new writing space – my Writing Theatre – but that’s worthy of an entry of its own.

Let me know how you’re doing, and if you have any questions, drop them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Communication Pathways

Do you have a preference for author communication? Substack, newsletter, blog, vlog? Something I haven’t mentioned? I’d be interested in your thoughts.

Time for a cuppa, me thinks…

Have a great day.

Laura xx

The post I’m back! appeared first on Laura E. James.

Wishing my amazing and talented friend and fellow Romaniac, Catherine Miller, a wonderful publication day.
THE MISSING PIECE is out now.

While you’re there, why not check out all Catherine’s books. From emotional, family relationships to octogenarian Olive and her Gin Shack buddies, Catherine’s novels will make you cry, smile, and sigh with satisfaction, as you turn the last page.

Wishing you a wonderful day, Catherine. THE MISSING PIECE will fly.

Laura xxx

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I was excited to receive an ARC (early review copy) for Requiem For A Knave, written by the uber talented Laura Carlin. Here’s my review:

Told from the perspective of the ageing, Alwin of Whittaker, Requiem For A Knave is an intelligent, historical tale which cleverly examines modern day themes and issues.

As an eighteen-year-old, Alwin is lean and strong, but inexperienced and naïve, having travelled no further than his local area. He lives with his mother and grandfather, with the Father Oswald, a holy man, as his male role model. Tending the farm suits Alwin, but his life is turned upside down when on her deathbed, his mother reveals there are family secrets she has been forced to keep. She urges Alwin to leave the cottage in search of the truth.

What follows is a beautifully told tale which explores identity, family relationships, the right and wrongs of tradition, and love. It is an adventure, a mystery and a romance, woven together by nimble fingers.
The language the author uses carries the reader along, words effortlessly gliding from one page to the next. If the page is a river, the words are leaves floating downstream, but don’t be misled – the ease with which Requiem For A Knave can be read is testament to the author’s skill.
There are moments of pure tenderness, times of breath-taking tension, and a feel to the story that is palpable. The rhythm and language put me in mind of Hardy and Elliot, and at times, Stoker. As a reader, I have lived Alwin’s life, witnessed everything he witnessed. Felt his every emotion. I was lost in his world and I was happy to be there.

Requiem For A Knave is an authentic, beautiful and page-turning novel that is a joy to read.
It will stay with me for some time.

Thank you to Laura Macdougall for the advance copy.

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Work In Progress

I must apologise for my lack of blog these past few months. I have experienced technical difficulties in posting, but hope to have the issues sorted very soon. As it stands, the website and my novel are works in progress.

The current novel stands at 31,000 words, the first draft hitting 50,000 words. It has changed considerably since the first draft, so I’m not sure if I’m rewriting or writing – a mixture of the two, I guess. Having not completed a full length novel in two years, due to poor health, I am determined to get the The End.

 

So that’s it for now, but I will be back once my website is running efficiently.

 

Hope 2018 started well and continues to sparkle.

 

Laura x

 

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HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY, CATHERINE MILLER!
It’s publication day for my good friend and fellow Romaniac, Catherine Miller, as her wonderful, warm, life-affirming novel, THE GIN SHACK ON THE BEACH is released today.
It is a real tonic.
#bemoreOlive

 

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Special Offer! WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU at 99p

Hi, everyone.

Just dropping in to let you know that the digital download of my third novel, WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU, is on special offer at the time of posting, at £0.99p, here.

This book is very dear to me for a number of reasons and I hope this special promotion will help it reach a wider audience. If you’ve read and loved WDKY and are happy to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads, that would be fantastic and very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Laura x

 

 

 

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Laura On Tour

I’m on a real and a virtual tour at the moment. Please join me on my next (real life) stop – Littlemoor Library, Weymouth, this Saturday, 22nd April 2017, at 13:30. Pop over to The Romaniacs blog   (my virtual stop) for all the details and news of what I’ve been up to.

 

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Exciting News and Events! April Outings.

I was over at The Romaniacs site yesterday, blogging about the past five years and everything I’d have love to have shown my mum, lost to us in 2012. The post can be read here. I mention it as I know she’d have loved the fact that, one, a long-held dream of mine has been realised, and two, that as an author I’ve been invited to Watford, the town in which I grew up. More of that news later.

My exciting news is that my third novel, What Doesn’t Kill You, is now in WHSmith Travel shops – train station, airports and service station branches! This is a dream come true. I am a book, music and stationery addict who has spent many happy hours browsing and buying in and from Smiths.

Following on from yesterday’s blog, the moment my good friend and author, Sue Fortin, posted a photo of WDKY at Victoria Station Smith’s, I really did think, ‘I wonder what Mum would have said to this …’

If you find the book in Smiths Travel, and you have time to take a ‘shelfie’, I’d love to see it

Book Signing

In celebration of the release of the What Doesn’t Kill You paperback, I shall be at Waterstones Dorchester signing copies of the book. Please do come along and say hello.

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