Interview on Youtube!

If you haven't already seen all my posts on Facebook, here is the link to the interview I filmed down in London at Mills and Boon Headquarters.


Scarlet Wilson Interview

Having fun!

I'm just back from London and lying on top of my bed in a state of all-out recovery.

Thurday was a 5 am start to Glasgow airport, followed by the Stansted Express into London, a quick ride on a tube train to drop off my case at the gorgeous Charing Cross Hotel, then another ride on the tube to Richmond to reach..........

Mills and Boon Headquarters

I was a bit nervous at Mills and Boon headquarters.  I had arranged with my editor to film an interview to help publicise the Medical Fast Track coming up in June.  I also filmed some Love Bites segments that will be released in September when A Bond Between Strangers comes out, then again in November when Her Christmas Eve Diamond is released.

I was obviously in mid flow here!

I'm a bit worried people won't understand my strong Scottish accent but I'll just need to wait and see!

Next it was off to a lovely restaurant with my editor called Rock and Rose.  Very opulent!

There might have been cocktails......and wine......and lovely food......and then coffee and dessert.  But my lips are sealed!
Then it was a mad dash back to my hotel, then onto Waterstones in Piccadily for 5 o'clock as that's where the RNA members were meeting.

Talli Roland, Denyse King, me and Nina Harrington, who isn't paying attention!

Myself and Fiona Harper

It was then a quick (but not in my shoes!) walk along to the Royal Overseas League where the RNA Summer Party was being held.

Nina Harrington and Fiona Harper outside the Overseas League

The contenders for the Joan Hessayon award

The party was great fun with Evonne Wareham winning the Joan Hessayon award for her novel Never Coming Home.

Myself and my lovely editor Carly Byrne.

And after the party myself and my shoes disappeared for drinks with some fellow authors.

And whilst the shoes were beautiful, by this point my feet had died.  The lovely Anna Louise Lucia volunteered her silver sandals - well, actually I borrowed them as we walked back to the hotel.

Brigid Coady and Abby Green.

Abby and Heidi Rice.

At this point I had to don my shoes again and walk back to Charing Cross with Fiona, except we took the scenic route.  I could show you a photo of my feet but it isn't pretty!

And so I finished my visit to London the following morning by visiting my new nephew Oliver, who was born over a month ago and this was my first chance to see him.  Needless to say, he is gorgeous!

The Call!

At 1.34pm today my life changed. The phone rang. The Call. As I was driving. The number came on the dashboard and I thought 0208???? is this a marketing call? But I pressed the button on the steering wheel and it was the lovely Sally Williamson from Mills and Boon.
Now at first I was worried. When other people have got the "The Call" they've usually had an email to arrange a time to talk. I hadn't had an email. But the day before I'd emailed Sally asking if she'd had time to look at my revisions and if she liked them or not. So I was worried. The crows of doubt were definitely circling.
My first thought was - she's phoning to let me down gently. So when I heard the words "We want to buy your book" I screamed so loudly I probably deafened her. Then I had to pull the car over as I started crying. Happy tears. Lots and lots of happy tears.
Then I heard the words "forward" and "two book deal". It was all a bit of a blur after that. I phoned my beloved and shouted "I can pay off the Visa bill!"
Then I ran into work and started shouting "I write for Mills and Boon!" The people I work with are wonderful and have known that I was waiting to hear for a while, so flowers and cake seemed to appear out of thin air.
Then I took two minutes to go and email my critique partner Nancy, my other online colleagues, Rachael, Jackie, Joanne. Then I emailed the poor Mills and Boon medical authors I've been stalking for a while Kate Hardy, Wendy S Marcus and Anne Fraser.
Then I had to go and tell my mum, dad and sisters. None of whom knew about my exploits to write for Mills and Boon - so that was fun.
So tonight I've finally sat down. I've read the confirmation email that Sally sent me. This ISN'T a dream. It is true. I've got to pick a pseudonym as there is another Romance writer in America called Susan Wilson. So what will I pick? I have no idea. But I have a whole weekend to decide. Feel free to make suggestions... Friends have already told me to call myself Scarlet, as I spend my life wearing red, but I'm going to take a bit of time.
Finally to say, that this all came about because of a Pitch on the eharlequin website in March last year. Wendy S Marcus, myself and two others won the chance to pitch our stories to Lucy Gilmour from medical romance. A partial was requested and then I was passed to Sally who requested the full. The rest as they say is history!
Now, to find the wine...........

Early NaNo Writing Month

It's time to admit I've been lazy.  It's very nice to have a story sitting the midst of Mills and Boon somewhere.  But this is the point where I should have been rapidly writing the next one.  And I haven't.  So it's time to get my head down and start writing.  Last time around I definitely had a slow start.  It took three attempts to write the first chapter, probably because I kept starting in the wrong place.  However I finally had something I was happy with.  This time around I've planned my storyline, worked out my conflict (well some of it anyway), did my lovely character profiles (courtesy of Kate Walker) and have a good idea of what I want to achieve.  I have also spoke to my lovely critique partner and my blog friend Wendy Marcus as this story is set in America, so I have two lovely American nurses who can point me in the right direction when I have any queries.
I have also been HEAVILY distracted by New Voices.  (Note to slap the back of my hand and stop going on to the website everyday).
So it's time to set a goal.  So I've decided to set October as my own personal NaNo Writing Month.  Yes, I know that I'm a month early, but this is a good time to start.  I'm going to aim to have the little word counter moving in an upward direction on a daily basis.  Hopefully by the end of the month I will (almost) have a dirty draft and spend the next few weeks editing after my critique partner has given me her thoughts.
It will also help to keep my mind off of Mills and Boon land.  So if I get a YES I can scream and shout and say, Yes I have written something else.  Or if I get a NO I can smile sweetly and say "Well that one might not have worked, but what about THIS one."
Time to get writing.  If you see me anywhere, tell me off and send me back here!

New Voices - What have I learned?

So it's only been two days but I feel as if I have been on a huge learning curve. I am absolutely determined to read every single entry and give it a grade.  Here's what I've learned so far.

1. Everyone who has submitted is very brave.  I have the utmost respect for anyone who has put their work out there for the world to comment on.
2. Now I understand the premise of having a REALLY good first line.  Something that makes you sit up and take notice.  Something that throws you into the start of the story straight away.  I'm not too good at first lines and it's definitely something I could work on.
3. Funnily enough, now I understand the premise of having a really good last line, or 'hook'.  I've got to the end of some chapters and screamed NO!  I want to read more!  I've also read some last lines that totally intrigued me and made me want to turn the page.  I also read some last lines and thought HUH?  is that it?
4. Backstory dump is a disease that is widespread and is in danger of becoming an epidemic.  I always find it so much easier to see this in someone else's work than my own.
5. Getting the hero and heroine on the page together as soon as possible is the most important element of the story.  No excuses.  I don't want pages and pages of blah blah blah I want to see them reacting to each other and I want to see the conflict.
6. I'm not a huge fan of historicals or paranormals but I've read a few chapters here that I've really enjoyed.  I mainly only buy historicals from Michelle Styles and Michelle Willingham as they live in blogland quite a lot, have lots of good advice and show support to all aspiring writers.  But I've found some chapters that have sparked my interest and made me curious.  That can only be good.
7. My crit partner Nancy, helped me immensely with my punctuation and grammar, she practically held my hand.  Some submissions could do with a little hand-holding themselves.
8. Some chapters SPARKLE.  I don't want to show favouritism but Rachael and Jackie's ROCK.  You know when you read something and just think Wow! well if you haven't read them yet ladies, then go and hunt them down.
9. Names.  I want to give comments on what I've read, I want it to be constructive criticism or praise.  I also want to vote honestly.  When I registered I wasn't sure if people would know who had given them what % vote, and I don't want to offend some of the brave soldiers, so I am currently voting under an alternative pseudonym that I've used when writing.  And to be honest, now I feel a bit crap about it.
10. Now  I really feel for the Editors when they read through the slush pile.  In a way I think I can understand.  You don't know what genre or style you're getting, or the standard of everyone's writing but you read anyway.  Then if something stands out from the crowd you just KNOW it.  And it terrifies me, because I'm not sure if any entry I put in would do that.

So there we go, after two days that's what I've learned so far.  What about you?

It's away Part 3

So the revisions are done and have flown away to Mills and Boon land.  And I know they've landed because I've had a lovely email to tell me.  So what now?  Because this is the time that the crows of doubt usually land.  And they've been known to heckle me quite a lot.  So I'm looking back through my lists and thinking "Did I capture what they want?" and "Will I be in with a shot?"

Then there is the really big question - WHAT IF THEY HATE IT?  What if they think we've given her two chances, she hasn't delivered, let's just ditch her.  In the meantime Harlequin has a medical fast-track until the 24 August.  If I hadn't had this opportunity I would have submitted. 
Then there is the New Voices contest.  Would I be brave enough to submit a chapter for the whole world to read?  In the meantime I have decided to plan ahead.  I have last year's story to rewrite.  This time with a POV.  I've done the first three chapters but will continue with the rest.  It's good practice in rewriting and editing.  I am also doing Shirley Jump's online class From Good To Sold.  Halfway through and it's proving quite inspiring.  It really nice to read the whole classes homework and the changes she suggests.  I am also planning towork on something else and try and put a synopsis together.  So this is me trying to be calm while I'm waiting, what do you think?

And finally, a big congratulations to two Australian Medical Romance Authors who won a R*BY for their stories.
Sharon Archer for Marriage Reunited: Baby on the Way Winner of Short Sweet
Amy Andrews for A Doctor, A Nurse: A Christmas Baby Winner of Short Sexy
It's lovely to see medical authors getting recognition for their work, sometimes medical books aren't eligible for some awards, or are overlooked, so I was delighted to see some medical authors waving the flags.  Well done Ladies!

It's away Part 2!

Woo hoo! Well the revisions are completed and it's away! One chapter completely rewritten, another partially rewritten and some "onion" layers a la Kate Walker added. So the picture is my book flying off to Mills and Boon London on it's merry way (and YES Joanne Pibworth I did Google Street the building after you told me about it!)

So now I'm all aquiver. What a good word that is. Jackie Ashenden always tells us not to read anything we send in. So I'm going to try and follow her advice. No, really I am. I'm already wondering if I've really captured exactly what they were looking for. Do I think the manuscript is better? Yes, I do. Do I think it's perfect. No, not yet. But hopefully someday....

Never mind. At least I can't start wondering if they received it or if it's lost in cyber space. Since I got a lovely email acknowledging receipt. Thought about replying to that - but then decided that might make me a bit of stalker. Now I need to focus on the next WIP. Haven't decided yet whether to rewrite last year's attempt or to try something completely new.

I've also got an appointment to meet the editor I'm working with at the RNA conference in London in July. So I'm really looking forward to that. A little nervous at the prospect, does anyone think 11am is too early for wine????

Request for a Full!

I am officially the happiest girl in the world! I received an email tonight from one of the editors at Mills and Boon. Let me have a dreamy moment and quote "Susan, we absolutely love your voice - it's contemporary, lively and really fresh, and there are some utterly unique fabulous moments in your story such as the brilliant ending to chapter one!"
Have I told you yet that I'm happy? She has given me lots of detailed feedback - I've just printed it and it's three pages - asking for some revisions and requesting a full by the beginning of May. The revisions sound completely manageable and I'm going to start straight away.
I am so happy to have this opportunity. Someone from Mills and Boon has read my work and likes it! I didn't get a form R! I didn't think I was going to hear anything as I knew one my counterparts in the Medical Pitch had heard back already with a request, so I was sure mine must be heading for the bin.
Thank you, thank you and Please, please, please just let me do this right.....

Medical Pitch

This has been an eventful week. Took part in the Medical Pitch at eharlequin. Managed to get my times mixed up, it was set for 10am a question and answer session with Sheila Hodgson and 11am for the medical pitch with Lucy Gilmour. Tried to convert the american times into UK times and I thought I had done it, being 3pm and 4pm. But when I logged into the chat room at 250pm I found myself at the end of Sheila'a hour long chat with the pitch about to start! I got the fright of my life. Asked some of the hosts what time it was in their part of the world and it turned out they were all at different points in America and it was 8am, 9am and 10am respectively. Don't think I'm ever going to the hang of time conversion. One of the pitchers never showed for her pitch and I just can't help thinking about the missed opportunity. Haven't seen her on any of the boards since, so I hope she's OK. Anyway the pitch went well, and I emailed my synopsis and three chapters the next day direct to Lucy Gilmour. I know she's received it as I got an email back from her, plus another email later from the eEditors at Mills and Boon with a reference number, so at least I know my email isn't lost in cyberspace.
In the meantime I've sent my manuscript in to the New Writers Scheme at the RNA. It takes around 8 weeks for feedback so I hope to hear before the conference in July.
Now time to start something new......