Inver Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Just checked her website to find out the result. Her 'Star Gazing' was shortlisted for 'Romantic Novel of the Year'. It was great she was shortlisted though. Well done Linda:D (I really must get around to reading it though Linda ) Here is the result Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 That's a shame. I haven't read that one - Emotional Geology is the 1st of hers I have read, but if Emotional Geology was anything to go by, then I bet it was great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 A Lifetime Burning is a good read too. Totally different from Emotional Geology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Shame she didn't win, but I imagine she's proud of being short-listed nevertheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookBee8 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I've not read any of her work. I'm just glad that Thanks For The Memories didn't win. That's not even worthy of being shortlisted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Gillard Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Just dropping in to say thanks to Inver, and everyone else for their commiserations. Sadly STAR GAZING didn't win Romantic Novel of the Year (which was won by Julia Gregson's EAST OF THE SUN) but SG did win the www.LoveReading.co.uk readers' poll of the shortlisted books. SG polled over 50% of the votes. It was a great honour to be shortlisted but I had mixed feelings about being labelled an author of "romantic" books. That's not how I see myself. Winning an award would be great, but it puts you in a genre pigeonhole and so far all 3 of my books have been very different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Maybe it's a good thing you didn't win then, gives you a bit more freedom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 Just dropping in to say thanks to Inver, and everyone else for their commiserations. but SG did win the www.LoveReading.co.uk readers' poll of the shortlisted books. SG polled over 50% of the votes. It was a great honour to be shortlisted but I had mixed feelings about being labelled an author of "romantic" books. That's not how I see myself. Winning an award would be great, but it puts you in a genre pigeonhole and so far all 3 of my books have been very different. Thanks Linda I see what you mean about stuck in that genre, and having read two of your books they are completely different. How is the 4th book coming along? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Gillard Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 4th book is complete, Inver, but homeless. My publisher didn't like it because it wasn't a romance. I wasn't prepared to shoehorn it into a chick lit genre so I withdrew the manuscript. It was a family drama with lots of mystery, some romance, something along the lines of THE 13TH TALE or REBECCA. So far I haven't been able to place the book but my agent is sending it round to lots of other publishers. Everyone has said nice things about it but they all have qualms about it not belonging to one clear genre. So no deal. I'm well on with book 5 now which is much more of a love story, but still a genre-buster, so perhaps equally doomed. Publishers really don't like mixed-genre books, but I'm sure readers do. Don't they?... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I like mixed genre, it's nice to have something that's a bit different. I hope your book gets accepted soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Publishers really don't like mixed-genre books, but I'm sure readers do. Don't they?... Yes they do! I am more than certain that publishers need to give readers more credit! Fingers crossed that someone sees the light & you find a home for book # 4! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookBee8 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I have to agree with that, I like books that offer a little bit of variety. My favourite book can't really be put into a single genre as it has a mixture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Good look with book #4, It's obviously going to be brilliant, the publishers don't know what they're missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Gillard Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Thanks a million, guys. Honestly if it weren't for readers, I don't know how authors would keep going - which I know sounds like a statement of the blindingly obvious but I'm not referring to financial remuneration here. I'm talking about the way publishers consistently underestimate readers and follow the dictates of the marketing men. I was emailing a very senior publishing person in Australia recently and bringing him up to speed about my difficulties. I said to him, "I get the impression that editors want to know on page 1 exactly what sort of cover the book should have." He said, "You're absolutely right." Well, I thought that was the most depressing book-related thing I'd heard in a long time. So any rookie writers out there - don't forget to make it absolutely clear on p.1 what colour your cover would be. Sometimes I wish we could just go back to those orange Penguins. (And if I see one more headless-torso-historical-fiction cover I shall run amok in a bookshop. When they did it to WAR & PEACE I nearly wept.) Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 4th book is complete, Inver, but homeless. My publisher didn't like it because it wasn't a romance. I wasn't prepared to shoehorn it into a chick lit genre so I withdrew the manuscript. It was a family drama with lots of mystery, some romance, something along the lines of THE 13TH TALE or REBECCA. So far I haven't been able to place the book but my agent is sending it round to lots of other publishers. I'm well on with book 5 now which is much more of a love story, but still a genre-buster, so perhaps equally doomed. Publishers really don't like mixed-genre books, but I'm sure readers do. Don't they?... Yes we do. How frustrating for you, silly publishers! Don't they bother to read reviews that readers make of your other books :motz:and how we rate/like them etc. Hoping you manage to find someone somewhere soon Linda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Thanks a million, guys. Honestly if it weren't for readers, I don't know how authors would keep going - which I know sounds like a statement of the blindingly obvious but I'm not referring to financial remuneration here. I'm talking about the way publishers consistently underestimate readers and follow the dictates of the marketing men. I was emailing a very senior publishing person in Australia recently and bringing him up to speed about my difficulties. I said to him, "I get the impression that editors want to know on page 1 exactly what sort of cover the book should have." He said, "You're absolutely right." Well, I thought that was the most depressing book-related thing I'd heard in a long time. So any rookie writers out there - don't forget to make it absolutely clear on p.1 what colour your cover would be. Sometimes I wish we could just go back to those orange Penguins. (And if I see one more headless-torso-historical-fiction cover I shall run amok in a bookshop. When they did it to WAR & PEACE I nearly wept.) Linda Oh that is depressing. Unfortunately though people do get attracted to nice covers. I dislike the newer Jane Austen covers though which make them look like chick-lit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I dislike the newer Jane Austen covers though which make them look like chick-lit But making them look like chick-lit was the whole point with that exercise. They wanted to entice the chick-lit reader over to the classics which could be considered the chick-lit of their era - or something like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Yes I know, but I guess I'm a bit of a snob about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 I so hate the genre....chick lit:motz: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I liked it as a teenager, now not so much, if I fancy an easy trashy read maybe, but they're all the same really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Oh, but of course, I'm going to come in and stick up for little ol' chick lit ... I think that the genre has actually evolved a LOT in the past 5-7 years or so, and has come a long way from the times of "Bridget Jones's Diary," etc. (Not that that wasn't a great book.. I'm strictly speaking about the genre itself -- there seemed to be a more hardcore formula to be followed by chick lit authors at that time.) By now, I think chick lit has been able to flourish and expand its boundaries a bit. Sure it's usually still aimed towards the 20-30 somethings, and involves romance in some form or another, but I think more and more chick lit is available geared towards the younger and older markets, and sometimes the relationships dissected are more about friendships and familial ties, dropping the romantic relationship into the background a bit more. Gone are the days where chick lit only showed love-sodden, was always a bridesmad-never a bride, 20-30 year old females that finally find their one good guy after a line of losers. That might have been the end of the story for a while, but now chick lit, whether you love it or hate it, has been able to expand into other demographics, ages, relationships, cultures, and it's easier and easier to find books that fall into the genre but are about much more than shopping, boyfriends, hair blowouts, and cocktails with equally bittered friends. Now I'm not saying Jane Austen books should necessarily have a chick lit cover... and I've been reading a lot more NON chick-lit since I've joined this forum, in an attempt to expand my horizons (and it's working!)... but I'm just saying that chick lit has grown so much, and there are some reads out there that may just bust the stereotypes for some of the nay-sayers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanC_84 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I definately prefer mixed genre books. I find them to be the most intriguing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 It was a family drama with lots of mystery, some romance, something along the lines of THE 13TH TALE or REBECCA. Publishers really don't like mixed-genre books, but I'm sure readers do. Don't they?... I know that lots of people have already said this but I'd like to say it as well: Readers do like mixed books! Also, "something along the lines of The Thirteenth Tale" sounds really promising and great, I absolutely loved that book. I've also heard great things about Rebecca and it's on my TBR. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Gillard Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Thanks, Frankie. REBECCA is fabulous. You are in for a treat. A while ago I read Daphne du Maurier's little known THE PARASITES which I thought was a strange but terrific read. (A book that I doubt would find a publisher today.) Daphne du M had to suffer REBECCA being dismissed as "romance" when really it's mixed genre: romance, crime, psychological drama, country house mystery - you name it. Sometimes to prevent myself grinding my teeth down to the roots I amuse myself by composing rejection letters to the famous. For example... "Dear Ms Bronte We enjoyed your manuscript JANE EYRE. You write well and most of your characters are believable, but we found your plot relentlessly downbeat and depressing. Does Helen Burns really have to die? Does Rochester have to blinded? (A disfigured hero is not very appealing and spoils the feel-good ending. We wondered whether superficial burns and a partial loss of sight would serve just as well.) We found Rochester himself problematic. He isn't likeable or physically attractive. He is wealthy which is a point in his favour, but you fail to clarify whether or not Adele is his illegitimate offspring. In short, he isn't really hero material. Jane herself is not appealing as a heroine. She is feisty but physically unattractive and, frankly, a bit prissy. There's little for a female reader to identify with here. Something more upbeat is required for a romantic heroine. The reader might forgive Jane rejecting Rochester's immoral proposal but to reject St John Rivers as well makes her seem ungrateful. You might want to think about demoting Rochester to a subplot and upgrading Rivers to the main hero (perhaps drop the unappealing religious aspect of his character? No one loves a do-gooder.) You could then dispense with your unconvincing plot device of Jane hearing Rochester call to her after the fire. (We don't think paranormal romance has a future.) Sorry to be discouraging, but in a fiercely competitive field, a romantic novel has to have stand-out qualities. Whilst you are clearly a talented writer we think JANE EYRE belongs to no clear genre and is too quirky to be commercially viable. Do feel free to send us future manuscripts which we will be happy to consider. Yours sincerely A N Other Editor." Well, it keeps me sane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 " You might want to think about demoting Rochester to a subplot and upgrading Rivers to the main hero (perhaps drop the unappealing religious aspect of his character? No one loves a do-gooder.) " Hahha.. this is my favorite part! This letter cracked me up.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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