Devon Book Club discussion

Are you are writer of romance? In the week beginning 10th February we will be having the first of the themed weeks our community asked for over the New Year.

And, with Valentines Day round the corner, what better way to start than with romance?

If you would like your work to be featured during the week please let me know but please note that priority will be given to Devon-based writers or those whose books are set in Devon.

And, if you love reading romance, I hope you will share with us the writers you love to read (Devon - based or not) and why romance is a favourite genre for you. So, get your thinking caps on and be ready to share the book love with us from 10-16 February.

Not sure if I managed to post, so will repost here.
I don't really read romance so I don't know much about the genre, but as I have written an historical romance and an historical novel with romance in it: Storks in a Blue Sky and Hecate's Moon, both set in Devon, in particular, North Devon, in the 18th century, I would be delighted if you featured them in your themed section for February.
Am still very busy writing the biography I have been writing for 4 1/2 years! Will hopefully finish soon! Unfortunately, the subject of this rather long drawn-out epic lived until his seventies, and was a major figure in both the American and French revolutions and in a later revolution. He was as busy as a bee in a barrel of tar, as the 18th century expression has it, and consequently so have I been.

Carol wrote: "Not sure if I managed to post, so will repost here.
I don't really read romance so I don't know much about the genre, but as I have written an historical romance and an historical novel with romanc..."

I don't have very hard and fast rules Carol so that is fine. If you can e-mail me with a couple of paragraphs about you and the work that would be great, emphasising the romantic aspects please. I'm keen to hear about how people read and write romance and what it is that kees bringing people back for more :)

"I want to know that they live happily every after"

If you love romantic fiction then this coming week on Devon Book Club is for you. Our first ever themed week is

💕Romantic Fiction 💕

Why do you read romantic novels and which are your favourites ? Why do you write them? And what is romantic fiction anyway? How well is diversity handled in romantic fiction? Do young readers look for something different?

This week we will be discussing these and many other questions. I want to hear about the books you love and why. If you are a writer of romantic fiction (especially if you are from Devon or your book is set here) tell us about your work and why you love to write it.

And, to get you all going, here is a suggested top 10 romance novels of all time - is yours on there?

On Monday 10th February, starting at 8PM we will be holding an extended #devonbookhour to kick of our theme week - and it will include a giveaway from one of our wonderful local writers.

https://www.famousauthors.org/top-10-...

Your email address has gone AWOL, so will post here a few thoughts on Romance and what I have written, so hope that's OK:
Romance is a powerful force, very much part of human existence. It exists in most novels, ranging from the Mills and Boon series to the novels of du Maurier to the rather more 'gritty' Outlander novels of Diana Gabaldon, to the classic novels of Bronte and Austen, in particular, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre.
My role model for Storks in a Blue Sky was Frenchman's Creek by du Maurier, always one of my favorite books from childhood. I wanted to write a historical romance which was both an emotionally satisfying tale of love and a vividly descriptive account of the countryside and life of North Devon in the middle of the 18th century. Hecate's Moon is a sequel to Storks in a Blue Sky, but is a historical novel with a romance, rather than a historical romance. It again features the Catholic Delacroix family and again attempts to portray North Devon in accurate and very descriptive detail. Both novels also venture to Alsace, although Devon, particularly North Devon, is the main setting. Storks in a Blue Sky won the 2009 David St John Thomas Fiction Award and Hecate's Moon was semi-finalist in the MM Bennett's Historical Fiction Award, 2016.

Carol wrote: "Your email address has gone AWOL, so will post here a few thoughts on Romance and what I have written, so hope that's OK:
Romance is a powerful force, very much part of human existence. It exists i..."

Fantastic - thanks Carol my e-mail is barumian@gmail.com for future reference

By the way, don't forget the wonderful Lorna Doone by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. It is a romance set in the late 17th century near the East Lyn Valley on Exmoor and published in 1869. Again, it is one of my favorite childhood books. It is very celebrated and many people visit the church on Exmoor, thought to be the one referred to in the novel. I went there as a child and found it a very beautiful place which really reminded me of the story.

So, this evening I am launching our first ever theme week and introducing the first of two giveaways in our week of 💕 Romance 💕

Don't be shy now - I want to hear about the books you love to read and to write and what it is about romantic fiction that is so enduring. As always, we embrace diversity in our conversation so please to talk about romance in any way that moves you.

To add to our journey this week I am delighted to reveal that there will be not one but two giveaways from two very lovely writers who have each generously donated a book. So, to the first.....How to Find Love In a Bookshop by Veronica Henry

Talking about writing romance Ronnie said....

"I don't write romance in the traditional genre sense of the word - my books have a lot of characters with different subplots centring around all of life's ups and downs, not just affairs of the heart. But love is very much at the centre of them all. And they always have a romantic setting, in that I like to take my readers somewhere they would like to be. For me, How to Find Love in a Bookshop is my most romantic, as it speaks to the booklover in all of us, and owning a bookshop is so many people's dream. And in it there is book love, family love, the love of a small town, the love of friends, the love of a new parent, illicit love, new love, love at an older age . . . we can find love in so many places. If that's not romantic, then what is?!

But for full on romance, try A Night on the Orient Express - it will take you places you can only dream of!"

To enter the draw just comment on this post naming the book by midnight on Saturday 15/2/20 Good luck

Carol wrote: "By the way, don't forget the wonderful Lorna Doone by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. It is a romance set in the late 17th century near the East Lyn Valley on Exmoor and published in 1869. Again, it i..."

How could we forget - this is such a wonderful book

Carol wrote: "Your email address has gone AWOL, so will post here a few thoughts on Romance and what I have written, so hope that's OK:
Romance is a powerful force, very much part of human existence. It exists i..."I loved Frenchman's Creek, and really must read Lorna Doone In my teens I devoured Mills and Boon books which kept me occupied when travelling on family holidays. Since then rather than seeking out romantic novels, I read novels and enjoy any romance in them, no matter how incidental or fleeting. Interestingly, if I do a search by romance, I seem get a list of books I'm not interested in. And while I enjoy a bit of romance, I don't like reading sex scenes, which are often badly written and best left to the imagination, I feel. I don't often read LGBT books but I find Shyam Selvadurai Shyam Selvadurai writes beautifully in this area.

A Night on the Orient Express
I have to say they only romances I've read are Mary Stewart's, and one, I instantly forgot the title of, that my Sister gave me.

As promised I am delighted to announce our second giveaway this week - The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May Also, a quick mention about Monday night's #devonbookhour, which was amazing.

To enter the draw simply comment below saying that you would like a chance to win by midnight on Saturday.

Nicola May joined us during #Devonbookhour and kindly offered a copy of her highly successful book The Corner Shop In Cockleberry Bay as a prize for our romance-week draw.
If you don't know Nicola and her work already you can find out more here http://nicolamay.allauthor.com/

Although Nicola is not Devon-based she is a frequent visitor here and her Cockleberry Bay series is set here in a small, imaginary town in South Devon. Nicola loves Devon, loves writing and has a wonderful collection of romantic fiction. She is a best-selling author and now writes full time.

She is a great supporter of Devon Book Club and hopes to appear at an event or two locally during this year.

So to #devonbookhour It was busy - so much so that we were trending! The chat went for nearly two hours, there were so many people who wanted to join in. Lots of great books and authors, near and far were mentioned and we had a fascinating discussion about romantic fiction as a genre - and all its sub-genres too. I'll try to do a summary over the weekend but you can review the chat by just using the # in your search engine.

This comment is posted on behalf of Glenda Barnett a writer in North Devon who sent me the following.....

"I have an established blog and Twitter as Celia Ladygarden. Also a Facebook author page as Glenda Barnett and I have just set up a Twitter author page.

My name is Glenda Barnett and I live in North Devon with my husband and two hairy little dogs. I have really enjoyed writing this book, the idea came from something I read at a history exhibition in our local church.

It is my third book and is the first in a series about St Urith With Well and the people who live there.
~~~~~~~~~
Were Celia’s angel nightmares, a warning or a call for her help?

If the angel dreams weren't enough, she had a feeling that there was something fishy going on in the village of St Urith With Well.

Celia was nervous of sharing her fears with anyone except her good friend Harold the cross-dressing librarian.

Meanwhile Celia and Aunty Pat make a startling discovery when they gate-crash the new stamp-collecting club.

One night Cat of Cat’s Cuts and Tommy Alcock go missing. After much discussion and with the help of Betty Bins, Bin gin, they set off in search of their friends and unexpectedly Celia finds an angel.

If you like a good story, quirky lovable characters and beautiful North Devon, then this book the first in a new series is the book for you. "

I'm still a bit uncertain about how to use Goodreads, but enjoyed the discussion on Twitter. It was a bit mad with comments pinging about all over the place - you did well to keep up, Ian. Congrats to those who won the giveaways and I hope you enjoy your lovely new books!

Hazel wrote: "I'm still a bit uncertain about how to use Goodreads, but enjoyed the discussion on Twitter. It was a bit mad with comments pinging about all over the place - you did well to keep up, Ian. Congrats..."

Thanks Hazel. Goodreads is in some ways not so interactive but it is a gentler medium. If you go to the group's home page you can either select a topic and add to it or click on new and then the select the topic to which to add it.

What I like about it is that the posts are there to review so all the fantastic recommendations are there to dawdle over at leisure.

Also, if use the add books/author link above the dialogue box it will take readers to details about the book and to reviews that have been left on it.

Let me know if I can help at all

I said that I would post some conversations I have had with local writers of romantic novels.

First up, Ellie and the Harpmaker by Hazel Prior

"Romantic love isn’t just roses and sunshine; it’s often mixed with darker elements such as anxiety, envy, possessiveness and self-deception" says local writer Hazel Prior, talking to me about her book Ellie and the Harp Maker.

Set in the wilds of Exmoor, the story begins when a lonely housewife meets a charmingly eccentric harp maker and their decisions lead to a series of dramatic events. There is a dream, a secret, a life-changing discovery… and a pheasant called Phineas. The book has been described as heart-warming, funny, lyrical and quirky. Although it’s an easy read, there are underlying issues about emotional abuse, the value of creativity and how we judge ourselves and each other.

Hazel told me that she so enjoyed writing this book. She is endlessly curious about human nature, thoughts and feelings. The strongest feeling of all is (arguably) love. Romantic love isn’t just roses and sunshine; it’s often mixed with darker elements such as anxiety, envy, possessiveness and self-deception. It can mean extreme yo-yoing between fear and hope.

Ellie and the Harp Maker is partly romance but it’s also a love story in a broader sense, featuring platonic love, parental love, love for the countryside and love for music.

Hazel finished by saying that she hopes that the book will make us think… and laugh… and cry!

I'd love to hear from those who have read the book - what did it mean for you?

Next, Everything, But You by Emma Jordan

"I've made a promise to readers, and I'm loyal to everyone who has faith in me, and love.", says local romance writer, Emma Jordan.

What happens when you think you have everything, except the one you can’t live without?

Find out in Emma's book Everything Except You...….

"Lucy Rawcliffe is a high-achieving academic in London, living an independent and fulfilled life, far removed from her suffocating upbringing, on the cusp of promotion.

Cain Adams is a successful songwriter, travelling regularly between his home in North Cornwall and his life in Tennessee. He’s finally on the verge of his own recording career.

Can true love really happen in only one moment? Will they settle for everything, except each other? "

Emma has been writing for ten years, usually academic and non-fiction, but has always loved reading romance novels, since the Mills and Boons she discovered as a teen. In 2018 she had the idea for a modern-day romance trilogy, known as the Love is Everything series involving Nashville-based singer-songwriter Cain Adams, and London-based English Literature Academic, and sketched out a rough outline and three blurbs, involving two minor characters, whose story would become book 2, Everything and Nothing.

She spent the next year writing the first novel, Everything, Except You, in between teaching at various schools in Devon, and traveling to gigs across the UK and USA. She was making great progress when her writing stalled, and realised she wasn't happy with her US based location, so relocated the story to Plymouth, Cornwall, London and the US.

She decided to self-publish and felt she owed it to Lucy and Cain to share their story. The freedom that came with self-publishing enabled her to focus on the only thing that mattered: writing the romance book she couldn't stop re-reading.

In September 2019 Emma uploaded her first novel, Everything, Except You to Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing platform, and started writing the outline for book two, which should be self-published in the summer of 2020.

💕"Love changes everything and it really can if you let it"💕,
Caroline Bond, author of Moonmirror, Moonglimmer and Moonlighter on her new novel which will be published later this year.

Caroline is a writer from the Dartmouth area whose life took a new turn in her sixties when, finding Bed and Breakfast not very cerebral, she started writing. Moonmirror, Moonglimmer and Moonlighter were the result.

Caroline tells me that she enjoys romantic novels as long as they are not too lightweight and have believable characters. She likes to explore the way that, often, the strangest people are attracted and somebody that you click with, can offer such a different outlook on life and can encourage you to do something very different or change your life in some way which you couldn’t have done without this special person.

The Sparrow and the Mermaid is a love storywhich was inspired by Caroline grandaughter Indi who was 11 at the time. She was keen on mermaids but complained that all the mermaid stories she had read had unhappy endings or they died, so Caroline promised her I would write a story with a happy ending!

And, one thing we have heard over and again this week is that a happy ending is crucial for a love story!

Caroline's love of the sea, a surfing husband, and several weeks in their campervan in Sagres in Portugal was food enough for this story. She did a lot of research into myths and legends and the biological possibility of such a creature. The scourge of plastic on our oceans, the greed of exploitation, and the true magic of falling in love and overcoming all obstacles to be together are themes that are woven together in this story.

We look forward to hearing more about it when it is released.