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Showing posts from 2015

It's publication day for The Boy under the Mistletoe!

Publication day is always exciting (I should know, this is my fourth in the past three months!) but this is a particularly special one.  I've always loved Christmas and harboured secret dreams of having a festive book with my name on it long before I truly believed my writing would be published.   With the support of my wonderful editor Charlotte Ledger,  The Boy under the Mistletoe  is let off the reins today, just in time for Christmas.  I can't wait to hear what you all have to say about it, but I hope you love it as much as I do.  It's my favourite story in the Meet Cute series.  Writing about fairy lights, mistletoe and party nibbles was great fun, but it's Chelsea, the tired shop girl who's reluctant to go to her Gran's Christmas eve party that I loved most.  She's feisty and grumpy, but deep down she's a romantic too.  I'd love to write more about her one day! Thank you so much to everyone that has supported me this year - family, frie

Real-life Meet Cutes - author Debbie Johnson

For ten years, I worked - and I use the word 'worked' very loosely - as the pop page editor for my local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo. Bearing in mind the job involved free CDs (back in the days when people still used those...), free concert tickets, and interviewing some of the biggest names in showbiz, it wasn't exactly lacking in the fun department. In fact, I can't remember most of the 1990s - it's all a big, smiley-faced blur.   I always tried to get along to as many gigs by local bands as possible, and built up good relationships with them - and, as it turned out, one in particular. I went along to an acoustic night to see a friend's band appear, and the MC for the night was young (seven years younger than me in fact, which makes me borderline cougar), cute, and immensely talented. When he contacted me a few weeks later to see if I'd be interested in featuring him on the pop page, I was excited - for all kinds of reasons.   The 'inter

The Boy Under the Mistletoe Cover Reveal!

It doesn't seem all that long since I first shared the covers for the first three titles in the Meet Cute series, but now that advent's approaching it's time to unveil the cover for The Boy Under the Mistletoe !  The team at Books Covered have excelled themselves and designed a stunning Scandi-Christmas themed cover which stands out from the crowd whilst being instantly identifiable as a Meet Cute story.  I can't put into words how much I love it!     This time it's the story of Chelsea and Simeon's meeting.  Surrounded by twinkling fairy lights and antique glass baubles (along with a bowl of Twiglets - because let's face it, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Twiglets), it's a full-on festive story with an unconventional meeting.   The Boy Under the Mistletoe is published in ebook format on December 17th 2015 by Harper Impulse, the digital first romance imprint of Harper Collins. It is available to preorder now.   Amazon UK

Reflections on the Meet Cute series

It's two and a half weeks now since the release of the first Meet Cute story,  The Boy in the Bookshop . And what a crazy time it's been!  I've been overwhelmed by the support people have shown me and am thrilled by the response to Jade and Marwan's story.  Comments in Amazon reviews have ranged from 'absolutely delightful' (thank you Laura Holdsworth) to 'a heartwarming short story with the feel good factor' (thanks Amy Ellis), and it climbed to 1,881 in the overall Amazon rankings - beyond my wildest dreams for my first short story! The Boy at the Beach was released the following week and Toby and Lauren have won over readers with their immediate chemistry with one reader (RatherToFondofBooks on Amazon) saying 'this story cannot fail to make you feel smiley' - such a lovely comment for any writer to hear!  There was also a very exciting moment where Radio 1 DJ Chris Stark, who inspired the character of Toby, tweeted to say 'I have to rea

Real-life Meet Cutes - Chris Tetreault-Blay

Today's guest sharing their real life meetcute is fiction author Chris Tetreault-Blay... My wife and I are an example of internet romance gone right.  We met during 2000 when I was the tender age of 16.  I had left school in the July, had no real direction or idea of what I was doing, etc etc.  The usual teenage angst story really.  Through my best friend at the time, I was introduced to the internet and was soon spending my summer holiday days making my first online friends.  Then one August night in the Yahoo chat room ‘The Bored Room’ I received a message from Marie, the sister of another of my online friends.  It was a fluke meeting as she only started chatting to me as she ‘thought she recognised my name’ from her sisters friends list.   The first memory I have of when we first started chatting is the first pictures we exchanged.  I was stunned by how beautiful she was and that she was actually enjoying chatting to me!  Marie is also 11 months older than me and, bac

Real-life Meet Cutes - author Wendy Lou Jones

Romance author Wendy Lou Jones shares the moment she met her now husband... My hubby and I met in Medical School. He remembers me from the first day and I remember him from the 3rd year (oops!)  At that time, we got a lift into the hospital we'd been assigned to together, to and fro every day for a six week block. I fell in love with the knee peeping out of those ripped jeans in lectures and his confidence on the wards. Much pining later, my (male) housemate couldn't take it any more and told him I fancied him. Wendy Lou Jones is the author of three romance novels, The Songbird and the Soldier , By My Side and The Summer we Loved , all published by Harper Impulse.  You can find out more about her on her Amazon author page, website, Facebook or on twitter @WendyLouWriter.

Real-life Meet Cutes - Laura from Blabbering about Books blog

Laura from popular book blog  Blabbering about Books shares the moment she met her partner... There’s a slight stigma that comes with meeting someone online and before I met my partner over the internet I would have held some sort of prejudice towards online relationships. I joined a dating website on a complete whim after an author friend wanted some really funny online dating stories to include in her next novel. I decided to join the dating website, sure that it would just be an exercise in demonstrating how silly online relationships really were. But, what I didn’t expect was to find someone who I very quickly fell for.   From the first message I sent him, I felt like I’d known Mike forever. It felt so natural and normal to be talking to him and despite the fact I’d never met him and knew very little about him, I still was keen to meet him. The first time we met (he was late by about half an hour!!!) was the best ‘first date’ I’ve ever had. I didn’t feel any nerves when he

Publication Day for The Boy in the Bookshop!

I can't quite believe the day's arrived, but The Boy in the Bookshop started landing on ereaders all over the world at midnight!  It's a very strange feeling to think people are reading Jade and Marwan's story, a story which I never dared to dream would be published. Thank you so, so much to everyone who's bought a copy, tweeted about it, messaged me about it and been so incredibly supportive.  Readers and writers really are wonderful people, and that's why there are so many of them singled out in the acknowledgements (and there could have been many more, but as these stories were written eighteen months ago I deliberately named those who'd been generous with advice from the very start)! But this one is dedicated to David and Zachary, my favourite boys.  I hope I've made them proud. Have you read The Boy in the Bookshop?  If so, I'd be incredibly grateful if you'd leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.  I'd love to know wha

Real-life Meet Cutes - my story!

To celebrate the release later this week of The Boy in the Bookshop , the first story in the Meet Cute series, I'm sharing the moment I met my husband... Way back in October 1997 (which I've just realised is literally half my life ago -gulp) I was at college studying for my A levels.  The college was around twenty miles from my home, so I'd leave early in the morning and not go back until teatime. I had a good group of friends but their free periods didn't match up with mine and as a result I spent a lot of time in the library, both studying and 'surfing the net'.  The internet was still a real novelty back then and I'd go online to find out football news, particularly about Sheffield United.  It was on a now defunct forum on the official club site that I started talking to 'Deadbat' - the username for the man who is now my husband, David.  We started off talking in the open threads then progressed to sending emails and snail mail post to each ot

The Boy at the Bakery

I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to share the cover of my short story  The Boy at the Bakery with you all!  Isn't it gorgeous?!  I couldn't have been more delighted with it.   The Boy at the Bakery is part 3 of The Meet Cute series but can also be read as a standalone quick-fix of romance.  I hope readers everywhere fall in love with Cole and Lily!  And did I mention Cole has a dimple? Dimples are my kryptonite...   The Boy at the Bakery is published by Harper Impulse, the digital-first romance imprint at Harper Collins' on November 12th 2015 and is available to pre order now.   Amazon UK   Amazon US   Kobo   Nook      

The Boy at the Beach

Here's the eye-catching cover for The Boy at the Beach , the second short story in The Meet Cute series.  Isn't it fun?         The Boy at the Beach is part 2 of The Meet Cute series but can also be read as a standalone quick-fix of romance.  This time it's the story of brash club-rep Lauren and DJ Toby, and their meetcute in Magaluf is one of my favourites of the series.  I can't wait to hear what you think of it when it's released in November!   The Boy at the Beach is published by Harper Impulse, the digital-first romance imprint at Harper Collins on November 5th 2015 and is available to pre order now. Amazon UK Amazon US Kobo Nook            

The Boy in the Bookshop

I have something to admit.    I've been sitting on a pretty massive secret for the past six months.   I'm sorry!  But I'm over the moon to be able to share the big news with you all today.    Harper Impulse, the digital-first romance imprint at publishing giant Harper Collins, are publishing The Meet Cute series!  This series of romantic short stories is perfect for commuters, coffee break readers or anyone who feels they don't get enough free time to read a full length book.  Each story focuses on the moment a couple get together for the first time, or as I like to say it's the 'once upon a time' before the 'happily ever after'.   So without further ado, let me share the absolutely stunning cover with you!         Cover artist Stuart Bache created the perfect design for this one, I couldn't have asked for more.  I can't stop staring at it!   The Boy in the Bookshop  is the first instalment of The Meet Cute se

My Sherbet Lemon- shortlisted for the Woodseats Festival Writing Competition 2014

This weekend my local area celebrated ten years of our community celebration, The Woodseats Festival.  The week-long event offers activities aimed at all ages - culminating in festival day with a parade down the main road to Woodseats Primary school where there's a craft fair, stalls for local businesses/food vendors, a small fairground and a stage for dance/drama/music. Last year I was shortlisted in both the poetry and short story categories of the writing competition (there wasn't one this year, as far as I'm aware), and was invited, along with the other shortlisted entrants, to read my writing at an event at Woodseats library.  I bought a new dress especially... It was incredibly nerve-wracking to stand up and share my work, especially My Sherbet Lemon as it was a personal account of my miscarriage in April 2013.  By the time I reached the final poignant line, my eyes were prickling with tears, but somehow it was cathartic to say the words out loud in front of o

Love Knows No Bounds- writing a reading for my best friend's wedding

A few weeks ago, my best friend Jen sent me a text.  Nothing unusual about that - we're usually in contact at least four or five days a week.  But when I opened it and read 'Can I call you later?  I need to ask you something,' my heart stopped.  What on earth could it be?  In fact, for the hours before she called me back I was thinking all sorts, and I'd convinced myself it was going to be something awful.  All I could think of was her wedding in six weeks time, and that she'd changed her mind about me being a bridesmaid.  When she'd asked me to take on the role back in September, my eyes had filled with tears in the middle of Kings Cross station's branch of Pret. I'd been so excited at the prospect of playing a part in her big day, and after twenty-seven years of friendship I couldn't wait to stand by her side as she married her lovely Aussie fiancĂ© Chris.  Jen (L) and me (R) in either 1992 or 1993 I tried to prepare myself to say 'of c

Bear the Pall: Stories and Poems about the Loss of a Parent

  I first saw the call for submissions for inclusion in this anthology on the Comps and Calls website and immediately knew I'd be sending my poem  Invisible Ribbons for consideration. Invisible Ribbons was a long time in the making.  I first started writing it in 1998, inspired by a photograph of my family which sat on the desk in my uniform room in halls of residence.  Back then it rhymed and was pretty longwinded, but it did meet the criteria I'd set myself - to reinforce that a family is still a family, whether or not it is complete, and that the person no longer alive is no less a part of it. I rewrote the poem for a competition in 2012, completely changing all of it but for the theme and a few key images.  It somehow felt more honest, especially after eliminating the rhyme.  It didn't win the competition, but the poem definitely benefitted from this reworking. So when I saw the call for Bear the Pall (which at that time was an unnamed collection) in Septe

Katey Lovell- The Story So Far

I'm going to be totally honest with you here... I'm not one of those people who's always wanted to be an author.  I've always written- mostly short stories and poems- but I never entertained the idea that anyone other than my family might want to read them.  Then, in early 2013, something changed.  I decided to try my hand at writing a novel. My friend Kitty French  had self-published the first of her Knight trilogy books the year before and she encouraged me to try my hand at longer pieces of writing.  With a cheerleader behind me, I set off typing, determined to get a novel down on paper...and soon stalled.  This was HARD.  I reverted back to the comfort zone of poems and shorts. Then Autumn 2013, Richard and Judy put out a call for submissions to their 'Search for a Bestseller' competition.  Having a deadline was the push I needed, and on the final date before the competition closed, I pressed the 'send' button to enter the first 10,000 w