Yesterday I went to Waterstones in Chelmsford, Essex, where Martina Cole was signing her new book. Martina is an old friend of mine from way back. We were members of The Romanic Novelist Association and would chat away to each other whenever we went to the RNA. Her first book was published about a year before my first one. Yesterday I wondered if she would remember me because we hadn't met for years. But she did. Threw out her arms to me, yelling "Liz! Wonderful to see you!" and gave me a smacking great kiss and a cuddle. So nice to meet again. The same old wonderful Martina, hasn't altered one bit.
Had our photo taken by the press (hopefully it will be in the Essex Chronical). Had a quick chat, she inundated with people wanting their books signed of course. But it was lovely to see her again.
Sunday 20 November 2011
Friday 18 November 2011
Kindle me!
Sunday 17 July 2011
NEW AVENUES
Thank you everyone for all your lovely comments. Sorry not to have been in touch - an awful lot going on at the moment taking up so much time. I'm deep into writing my next book now, also run a writing group here in Billericay - not a large group, between 12 and 15 members, and some of them are showing real promise and I'm trying to help get a couple of them published if possible. Quite a few are men and they're a great bunch. The group meet twice a month and running it certainly take up a lot of time
On 13th August weeks I'm off to a writers' holiday for a week, held at The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire. 300 writers and would-be writers get there, with talks and classes and lots of chatting and eating, net-working, a great time. Been going there for 14 years and it's great.
Meantime, I've received 3 complimentary copies of the DC of my last year's novel ALL THAT WE ARE, from Isis Publishing Ltd. at Oxford. Published at the beginning of this month. All of my novels are taken up, years ago as audio, these days as CDs. and it's lovely to listen to someone reading out the book.
More news later. Meanwhile wish you all well.
Elizabeth
On 13th August weeks I'm off to a writers' holiday for a week, held at The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire. 300 writers and would-be writers get there, with talks and classes and lots of chatting and eating, net-working, a great time. Been going there for 14 years and it's great.
Meantime, I've received 3 complimentary copies of the DC of my last year's novel ALL THAT WE ARE, from Isis Publishing Ltd. at Oxford. Published at the beginning of this month. All of my novels are taken up, years ago as audio, these days as CDs. and it's lovely to listen to someone reading out the book.
More news later. Meanwhile wish you all well.
Elizabeth
Wednesday 29 June 2011
The Story Behind the Title
A quite well known novelist who is no longer with us, once phoned me and said "I've a really good title for you - see what you can do with it" The title was From Bow to Bond Street and immediately started up an idea. A girl from Bow situated in the East End of London ends up as an owner of a high class fashion boutique in the fashionable Bond Street. So I had the title, I began to get the idea, I drummed up the characters. The story started the novel, the characters worked on it and, hey presto! it was they who wrote the book for me. It happens. Characters can do this.Make your characters work for you - they will surprise you.
Friday 24 June 2011
How I'm going with my latest published book
Here we go on my second ever blog!
Nice to tell everyone that my last novel ALL THAT WE ARE (my 22nd pubished one) seems to be doing quite well and has had quite a few very nice reviews from people. It came out in hardback last year and early this year went into trade paperback and Isis Audio are arranging to put it into CD.
Whoopee! Have just heard that The Co-ops are buying a tidy amount of the book, also The Works buying the same anount, and someone named Tony Fisher also buying the same amount which go on airport and railway terminus stands. All great news
All my books have so far been bought by Isis, in the early years going into audio, but now with the changing times, in CD.
Can't believe all this has happened to me - have to pinch myself sometimes - and I still get a little thrill deep inside when it hits me. And to think it all started from writing an account of a very bad robbery I had years ago - but that's another story. When my mother said, "write it out of yourself" I did (didn't need any counselling - and I recommend anyone who's been through a traumatic experience, to write it all down. It's like getting it all out of youself and it worked wonders. And on top of that, the piece got published, the editor of Weekend Magazine (unfortunately no longer out there) phoned and said why don't I break into writing short stories when I told him how much I liked writing. I said, "who to?" He said, "To us, of course!" So I did.
After the third rejection - during which he practically taught me how to write a short story - lovely man, he has my undying gratitude, I had my first short story accepted, and never looked back.
Had a couple of dozen published. But when the magazine folded, I turned to writing the novel (two of which I termed "my abysmal jargon" but had to suffer five or six years of trying before getting an agent and my first book was published. You don't half have to be patient.
Now my novels go all over the world, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Europe. I had one published in Russia, another in Greece, and they sent me 3 complimentary copies - all in Greek - can't read a word of it!
My favourites of those I've writtten are GIVE ME TOMORROW which is set around suffagettes; JULIA'S WAY riches to rags and back to riches again, BOW TO BOND STREET another rags to riches tale, BRENDA'S PLACE, a wartime novel. There are quite a few more, but that'll do.
Anyway, that's all for now. Tell you one day of that absolute thrill of being told that your first novel has been accepted - there's nothing like it. It's better than as if you'd struck gold!
Hope what I've said is an encouragement to all those who love writing and hoping one day to be published. Just keep at it. Get someone to look at your work (a writing group maybe) and be able to help with some constructive criticism - we all need it. I know I do. And just keep going.
Good luck everyone
 |
| All That We Are |
Whoopee! Have just heard that The Co-ops are buying a tidy amount of the book, also The Works buying the same anount, and someone named Tony Fisher also buying the same amount which go on airport and railway terminus stands. All great news
All my books have so far been bought by Isis, in the early years going into audio, but now with the changing times, in CD.
Can't believe all this has happened to me - have to pinch myself sometimes - and I still get a little thrill deep inside when it hits me. And to think it all started from writing an account of a very bad robbery I had years ago - but that's another story. When my mother said, "write it out of yourself" I did (didn't need any counselling - and I recommend anyone who's been through a traumatic experience, to write it all down. It's like getting it all out of youself and it worked wonders. And on top of that, the piece got published, the editor of Weekend Magazine (unfortunately no longer out there) phoned and said why don't I break into writing short stories when I told him how much I liked writing. I said, "who to?" He said, "To us, of course!" So I did.
After the third rejection - during which he practically taught me how to write a short story - lovely man, he has my undying gratitude, I had my first short story accepted, and never looked back.
Had a couple of dozen published. But when the magazine folded, I turned to writing the novel (two of which I termed "my abysmal jargon" but had to suffer five or six years of trying before getting an agent and my first book was published. You don't half have to be patient.
Now my novels go all over the world, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Europe. I had one published in Russia, another in Greece, and they sent me 3 complimentary copies - all in Greek - can't read a word of it!
My favourites of those I've writtten are GIVE ME TOMORROW which is set around suffagettes; JULIA'S WAY riches to rags and back to riches again, BOW TO BOND STREET another rags to riches tale, BRENDA'S PLACE, a wartime novel. There are quite a few more, but that'll do.
Hope what I've said is an encouragement to all those who love writing and hoping one day to be published. Just keep at it. Get someone to look at your work (a writing group maybe) and be able to help with some constructive criticism - we all need it. I know I do. And just keep going.
Good luck everyone
Sunday 19 June 2011
Elizabeth's First Posting.....
Hi I'm Elizabeth, if you haven't guessed already, this is my first posting ever at the grand age of 83 years young. Just to let everyone know, my 22nd book All That We Are came out a few months back and my 23rd has just been accepted by Severn House and I'm over the moon! Already started my 24th.About me - I've been writing most of my life - for fun. But around 1979 an incident started me writing short stories which were taken by a magazine. When that folded around 1985, I turned to writing a novel. Had already writtern two (for fun) but found myself an agent and she got my book published with Piatkus Books (now an imprint of Little Brown). The ones I'd written for fun then got published as well. Since then I've never looked back.
My first writing tip for you: Just have fun and don't give up.
Look forward to meeting up with you soon - Elizabeth
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