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My guest today, Rachael Lucas, writes contemporary romantic fiction for Pan Macmillan. Her titles include Coming Up Roses and Wildflower Bay, and her first YA novel, The State of Grace is coming out this month (6 April 2017) from Pan Macmillan Children’s Books. Rachael has also run an award-winning lifestyle blog and worked as a social media consultant.
You can find out more about Rachael and her books at rachaellucas.com or chat to her on Twitter or Facebook.
In personal news, my non fiction title for writers Stop Worrying; Start Writing is coming out this month – yay!
It should be available in all the retailers (Kobo, Kindle, iBooks, Nook etc) on April 14th in print and eBook with the audio version following later this year.
Here’s the cover and blurb (drum roll!):
Do you want to write but can’t seem to get started? Are you struggling to finish your novel or frustrated by your slow progress? Perhaps you are starting to worry that you aren’t cut out for the writing life…
Let bestselling novelist and host of the popular Worried Writer podcast, Sarah Painter, show you how to skip past negativity, free-up writing time, cope with self-doubt, and beat procrastination.
Along with mega successful authors such as C.L.Taylor, Mark Edwards, and Julie Cohen, Sarah will show you how to: smash writing blocks to finish stories faster, handle self-doubt so that it doesn’t stop you creating, trick yourself into being more productive, schedule your time, and much more.
Packed with honest, supportive, and hard-won advice, this is your practical guide to getting the work done. Don’t let creative anxiety kill your writing dreams: Stop Worrying and Start Writing today!
‘Inspiring, comforting, warm and wise.’ Keris Stainton, YA author.
Hope you like it!
In the interview:
On writing The State of Grace:
‘The story just fell out of my head’
On writing retreats:
‘It took me a little while to get into the swing of it.’
‘I realised that I could go there and take off my mummy hat and put on my writing hat’
On writing her debut novel:
‘I did NaNoWriMo and wrote the majority of the book.’
On self-publishing:
‘I was turning forty and I think I just thought ‘if I don’t do this now, I’m never going to do it.’
‘I enjoyed the control because it turns out that I’m a bit of a control freak.’
On process:
‘I don’t start writing until I can see the entire book like a film in my head.’
‘I walk around a lot and I think about it and I sort of let the characters talk to me in my head and then I plot with post-it notes and I plot like a demon.’
‘I really like silence, I don’t listen to music.’
‘I’m horrible when I’m writing!’
‘I do really procrastinate a lot… To the extent that I can almost feel physically sick with dread.’
On marketing and social media:
‘It’s as simple and as difficult as ‘just be yourself’.’
‘I’m not convinced that Twitter sells books, I think Facebook sells books, I’m interested in Instagram…’
Thanks for listening!
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