romance Archives - Emily Royal

A look back at 2019…

Emily Royal goals, romance, writing December 21, 2019December 21, 2019romance, writing 2 Comments

Wishing you Happy Holidays and a prosperous 2020

…and ahead to 2020.

2019 has been an astonishing year in terms of achieving, and surpassing, my writing goals. 2015 was the Year of the Submission, 2016 was the Year of Rejections, 2017 was definitely the Year of the No (the no’s came in swathes), 2018 was the Year of the Yes. And finally, 2019 was the Year of Publication when my debut novel The Sins of the Sire came out in March and was followed by books 1 to 3 in my Regency series the London Libertines. I was hoping to have two of my historical romance books out in 2019 and an offer for a third, so I’m thrilled to have gone beyond that.

Looking back

Meat Loaf said something about objects in the rear view mirror…

So, what have I learned from this year? My seven lessons from 2019 are…

1 Take time for yourself
With writing you can easily get swallowed up in plots, drafts and edits. So many writers have day jobs and started writing for fun, at evenings and weekends. When my publisher was talking about a 10-day turnaround, I forgot that they actually meant two weeks. We all need time to ourselves – not only to recharge, but to help the creative ideas flow again. I find taking the dog for a long walk in the woods is great for this – and it gets me out of the house.

2 Don’t forget your health!
I had a spell of ill health over the summer which made me sit back and think about what was important in life. Healthy food (I’ve developed a thing for courgettes/zucchini), lots of sleep and the support of friends and family can make a huge difference. It’s often difficult to remember that when you’re working a day job and writing as well.

3 Writing buddies are the best
Writing can be so lonely sometimes! Luckily I have a great bunch of writer buddies on social media. We’re there to share each other’s ups and downs – and to give and receive feedback on each other’s drafts, pitches and query letters.

4 Writing retreats are even better!
I don’t mean a formal, organised writing retreat which, to me, is a bit like going back to school – I mean hideaways with a close writing friend where we hole up with pizza, dips, crisps and wine for a couple of days and do nothing but write and eat. I went on a retreat in May with a close friend and cannot believe the amount of work I managed to achieve – full structural edits on one novel and a significant portion of line edits on a second.

5 Promotion can be fun!
I don’t mean full-on pushy sales and endless “buy my book” tweets and Facebook posts. Yuk to those. I mean playing around with graphics, posting snippets and extracts to engage with the rest of the world. I had a lot of fun this year being interviewed with the fabulous Worrier Writer, (aka Sarah painter), on her podcast. You can listen to it here. I also started my newsletter, something I’d been planning to do for months, and I am working on a free novella exclusively for subscribers which I hope to publish early 2020. You can subscribe to my newsletter here.

6 Keep at it!
After over three years of nothing but rejections, it all came together in 2019 with four books coming out, all historical romance. Waiting to hear back from publishers could have been soul-destroying, but instead I spent the time writing more books. One book does not make a writing career.

7 The ideas don’t stop flowing
I always used to worry that I had a finite number of stories in my head. With any creative process, there’s always an element of “where did that idea come from?” – but they do, especially if you’re writing a series. Secondary characters will always come to the fore with their own stories, which is what happened with Roderick’s Widow, book 3 the London Libertines series. Alice, the heroine of Book 3, was just a secondary character from Book 2, but she had to have her own story!

Looking forward

My path to publication was twisty-turny, so I expect 2020 to be the same

OK, that’s 2019 almost done, time to set my goals for 2020. I like to set “stretchy” goals. So here’s my goals for 2020…

1 Write and publish Books 4, 5 and 6 in my Regency series
I’m cheating a bit here as they’re plotted out and the first draft of Book 4 should hopefully, be finished before the end of 2019.

2 Finish my free novella for newsletter subscribers
The story, another historical romance, is sketched out, and will feature some of the characters from the London Libertines series.

3 Complete my second Highlander novel
A dark, steamy read, the first draft is almost done.

4 Publish a new medieval series
I have three sexy medieval drafts and would like to publish those as part of my overall plan to become a hybrid author.

5 Draft at least one secret project
I have plans for some very naughty, dark contemporary stories, including a trilogy – and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into these as a bit of a diversion from historical romance.

6 Write a Christmas story
I didn’t get round to writing one this year but I can see several of the secondary characters from my Regency series who would be ideal for indulging in a little bit of Christmas love.

7 Go on a writing retreat
After the success of this year’s writing retreat, I’m planning to go on at least one in 2020. I think this will be my easiest goal!

Wishing you Happy Holidays!
Em xx

Share the love

Irish Charm

Emily Royal authors, Mills & Boon, RNA, romance, writing July 18, 2019July 19, 2019 6 Comments

Everyone claims to have some Irish Ancestry, don’t they? Being 25% Irish, I’m always intrigued by stories featuring a bit of Irish authenticity. So I was so thrilled to be invited to join fellow Scot Eilidh Lawrence’s tour for her fabulous short story, Hunger, set on the Oregon Trail.

The talented, lovely Eilidh, who I met in person at the RNA Conference

First of all, Eilidh, welcome to my blog and thanks for being here.
EL: Thank you so much for sharing my story Emily, and for giving me your time! I’m very glad to be here.

Can you tell everyone a little about yourself?
EL: I am an aspiring romance author, songwriter and contributor to the Pink Heart Society (PHS) e-zine. I was a co-founder of #UKRomChat, a weekly live Twitter chat for romance writers, and co-hosted the chat for its first year. In 2018 I finalled in the TARA and WisRWA Fab Five romance writing contests. I’m a former prosecutor and hold a Diploma in Forensic Medical Sciences, but, no, I would not rather be writing crime! I’m all about happy-ever-afters.

Yes, I love a happy ever after, too, even if the characters are put through the mill along the way! And I love all the discussions on #UKRomChat about romance and happy endings! So, onto your story: what appealed to you about the setting?
EL: I wrote the story in response to the prompt of ‘Western Expansion.’ I like having a starting point. I’d never heard the term before and I knew very little about American history, so it seemed like a chance to learn more. I love reading historical fiction and a historical setting appealed to me. The Oregon Trail was an incredibly hard journey and travelers didn’t always survive it, but people undertook it seeking a new start. That felt very powerful. More specifically, a campfire is an intimate setting.

Oooh yes, I love that sense of pioneering and adventure! And I’ve found writing historical fiction is a great chance to learn more through research. How did you go about researching for Hunger?
EL: I was starting pretty much from scratch, so I began with some very basic online research. I narrowed my focus to The Oregon Trail after watching Ken Burn’s: The West, a brilliant documentary series. That’s also where I learned about later in life marriages between Irish Great Hunger survivors. It was a passing reference but gave me the spark of an idea. After that my research had two strands: The Oregon Trail and Irish immigration to America. Everything I learnt fed into the deep sadness in Órlaith and Liam. I got my facts from educational online resources and I watched Westerns set on the Oregon Trail (taking them with a pinch of salt, of course) to add flavour, for example that’s where the reference to dust coating Órlaith’s clothes came from.

I love all those authentic little touches! Often a lot of research is put into a single line of detail in a story. Are you tempted to use the research you’ve already done to expand the story into a novella or novel? I love the interaction between Órlaith and Liam!
EL: Thank you! So true. You’re not the first person to ask that question. I wrote Hunger as a piece of flash fiction. It was intended to be a snapshot. But people keep asking for more… It’s lovely to get that reaction! I have no specific plans to continue Órlaith and Liam’s story at the moment but maybe there will come a point when I sit down with them and ask them to tell me what happens next. Because I don’t know!

I love that, when characters speak to an author! I definitely want to see more of Órlaith and Liam. What else are you working on now?
EL: I’m working on my first novel, an Amish Romance which came out of the Harlequin Love Inspired Amish Blitz. It’s been slow progress, but I’ve taken encouragement from placing in the Fab Five and TARA RWA chapter contests along the way. I’ll be submitting it soon to the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme. I’ve also started a Scottish contemporary romance with an #ownvoices aspect. The hero lives with an anxiety disorder. It’s really important to me that people living with mental health conditions are accurately represented in fiction, through well-rounded characters who have their owns stories that don’t start and end with their experience of those conditions.

Yes, that’s so important! Thanks, again, Eilidh, for sharing your story.

And now, for the story itself! “Hunger” by Eilidh Lawrence (aka Laura McKendrick) was a runner-up in the Women’s Weekly Short Story Competition, in association with Mills & Boon. Read on and be enthralled…

The Oregon Trail, near Fort Hall, Idaho, 1849

“Your cooking smells of home.”

The unfamiliar voice drew Órlaith’s attention from the pot where she stewed elk over an open fire. It took a moment for her to realise the man had spoken in Gaedhilge. Shadows danced across his gaunt face. A face she didn’t know.

“I’m Liam.” He bent closer, offering his hand. “From Donegal.” His fingers were long, his grip firm. His dark hair contrasted with his pale skin.

“You’ve the charm of an Irishman, to be sure,” she replied in English. They were in America now. “But we both know half the women in this camp are stewing game tonight. It was a good day for the hunting.”

He laughed, a sound she didn’t hear so much these days.

“Well, there’s none cooking it as well as you.”

A charmer indeed.

She returned her focus to the stew. The scent of wild garlic mingled with the ever-present woody, smoky smell that had clung to her hair and dust-coated clothes for months now.

“It really does smell good.” He hesitated. “Can I buy some?”

She studied him. “I’ve not seen you before.”

“No. We joined you today. My boy was exhausted. We rested, the two of us. Our party went on.” He shrugged. “That’s how it goes.”

“Your boy?” There were so many children on this wretched journey. “How old is he?”

“Danny’s but four years.”

“You both must eat with us. As our guests. No charge.”

“Us?”

“My brother Ruaidhrí and I.” She paused. “We’re all that’s left that were still in Ireland. And there’s my babby, Hope. She’s asleep.” Órlaith nodded towards their canvas-covered prairie schooner. The wagon was the closest thing to home little Hope had experienced so far in her hard, infant life.

“I’m sorry.” A respectful silence hung in the air. The clicking of the cicadas seemed clearer. Then he smiled. “Hope’s a pretty name.”

“Will you sit?” she invited, and he did. “I always wanted a baby girl called Caoimhe. But then I had Hope on the crossing. A babby born on the Western Ocean. Who would’ve thought? We were bound for America. Caoimhe seemed too…”

“Irish.”

A moment of understanding passed between them.

“Yes.”

“And what do they call you?”

“Órlaith.”

“Was it The Hunger took your people, Órlaith?”

“Disease.”

The fire crackled.

“I see.” A horse whinnied, and he turned towards the sound. When his face returned to Órlaith, she saw sincerity etched across his strong features. “My Nancy, she made it through the workhouse. Made it through near-starvation. Made it through the crossing. But she didn’t make it beyond Boston.” A single shake of his head conveyed loss and disbelief. “Cholera. Little Molly too. Buried three thousand miles from home.”

He did see.

“We none of us would’ve expected this, when we were young. This loss.” She picked up a stick and poked the fire. It sparked. “My sister and her husband left in ’44. Went to Oregon to farm. I could never leave, that’s what I thought then. But when my husband Ciarán and my parents died everything became so bleak. It didn’t seem like life would ever get better.”

A dark time. It wasn’t the smoke that caused tears to well in the corners of her eyes.

“There’s such misery in our country,” she continued, a catch in her throat. Their eyes met. Her pain was reflected in his. “That’s when Mary finally convinced us to come join them. My brother-in-law arranged it all. It was a good boat, at least. We were lucky.”

He looked away from her and tugged at the left cuff of his worn shirt. Had he not been on a good boat? She knew of the coffin ships and thanked God she hadn’t given birth in those squalid conditions.

From behind them, Ruaidhrí coughed. “I see you’ve met our new friend.”

She hadn’t noticed her brother’s return.

Ruaidhrí stepped from the edge of the fire’s light and slapped Liam on the back. He made friends easily, always had done.

“Well, I’ll get back to my boy.” Liam stood. “We’ll take you up on your dinner offer.” He glanced at Ruaidhrí. “If your brother doesn’t mind.”

Ruaidhri grinned. “The more the merrier.”

She was in dire need of merriment.

“You’re both very kind.” Liam lingered. “And Órlaith, perhaps later, I might have a dance?”

She looked at the Irishman, tall, not yet old, a survivor. But gentle too, and familiar. Like home. She smiled. “That’d be grand.”

The flames between them flickered and leapt.

I hope you enjoyed reading Hunger as much as I did, and I’m secretly hoping we get to hear more of Órlaith and Liam!

Emily xx

Share the love

One Summer in Santorini – Blog Tour

Emily Royal romance June 22, 2019June 23, 2019 3 Comments

I’m so thrilled to kick off the blog tour for One Summer in Santorini by Sandy Barker, out on 24 June 2019.

Having had a wonderful holiday in Mykonos, more years ago than I care to remember, I was keen to dive back into the sea surrounding the Greek islands for a sun-kissed holiday read, and I must say this book did not disappoint.

Sarah is on her way to Santorini for a 10-day sailing trip which she booked some months ago after splitting with her (insert crude adjective of choice here) boyfriend. After a handful of jinx-laden travel stops, she arrives at her destination and joins the rest of the party – a selection of interesting characters, including a gorgeous twenty-something American she’d spotted earlier on the island. What follows is a vividly-described tour of various islands complete with sunsets, glorious food and an adorable stray dog. Things get interesting when a silver fox is added to the mix and Sarah, who’d made a vow not to get embroiled in a holiday romance, soon finds herself with two very different prospective suitors.

Two men – one big decision. I know which one I’d go for, but who will Sarah choose? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Living mainly on a diet of dark and angsty romances, this book was a change for me, and a refreshing one at that. The author brought the Greek islands vividly to life with images of stunning sunsets, whitewashed buildings and mouthwatering food. I loved the interactions between Sarah’s fellow “crewmates” on the yacht, especially the outrageous Patricia. The occasional encounters with a neighbouring sailing trip (all girls with a single male skipper which made me think of hungry lions in their camp, circling a wildebeest) had me laughing, as did many other moments.

The imagery was so vivid, I could almost feel the sun on my face and taste the tomatoes – so much so that I’m tempted to book myself a Greek holiday to see if I can find Martika and her home-made feta.

A warm, light holiday read, perfect for the Summer!

Thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC.

Check out the other stops in the blog tour:

Buy links:
Amazon AU|Amazon UK|Amazon US|Kobo|Also available on iBooks

Check out Sandy’s website here:
https://sandybarker.com/

Share the love

Introducing Flora

Emily Royal highlander, romance, the sins of the sire, Tirgearr February 18, 2019April 20, 2019 0 Comment

Today I’m blogging about Flora MacLean, the hero’s sister in The Sins of the Sire, my debut novel published on 13 March 2019. It won’t be a spoiler to say that Flora doesn’t survive the story because by the time the story begins she has already died at the hands of an English nobleman. But Flora has an important part to play in the book. Not only is she prominent in her brother’s memory but it’s her death which gives rise to the central plot.

The second child of a Highland chieftain, Flora was born after her brother, Tavish. By the time of her birth, The MacLean already had his son and heir and therefore lacked the desperation most clan chiefs or kings had for a male child. The MacLean had three children in total and Flora’s younger brother Callum grew up worshipping his big sister because she used to take care of him and sing him songs at night to help him sleep.

She inherited her father’s colouring, as did both her brothers. Her family did everything they could to protect her from the hardships of the time so she spent much of her time enjoying life, oblivious to the conflict between the English and the Scots. She could often be heard singing in her family home of Glenblane Castle and her brother once spotted her singing and dancing in the forest nearby when she thought nobody was looking.

The heroine of the story, Elyssia, grew up in England, but she met Flora before the story begins and remembers her as “a young girl with bright red hair and vivid green eyes.” Elyssia’s upbringing had significantly less love than Flora’s but this gave her a level of understanding of the world which better equipped her to survive it. Elyssia’s defining characteristic is her determination to defend the gentle and the weak, and she’s fiercely protective of her own sister, Alice. At one point in the story, Tavish wonders whether Flora would have survived if she’d had Elyssia to protect her.

Flora’s father doted on her so when she died he was unable to deal with the grief. On his deathbed he made Tavish swear an oath of vengeance, an oath which Tavish has to come to terms with when faced with the reality of carrying out the deeds he has sworn to undertake.

Though she’s dead, she’s an important character whose memory is kept alive by her family and the story shows glimpses of her in flashbacks. It’s his love for Flora and duty to his Clan that drives Tavish forward but at times he wonders whether vengeance is the best way to honour the memory of such a gentle young woman. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to lay her ghost to rest and find peace.

Share the love

Publishing Contracts vs Underground Trains

Emily Royal publishing, romance, Tirgearr, Uncategorized, writing December 30, 2018December 30, 2018highlander, historical, romance, tirgearr 0 Comment

It’s with enormous pleasure that I can announce I’ve signed a contract with Tirgearr Publishing, for a historical romance involving a hot Highlander! This comes hot on the heels of the medieval romance I signed with Wild Rose Press in the summer.

Hence the London underground analogy. You wait for a train for ages, then two come at once.

In my case I heard the rails rattle a few times and even felt the ground rumble under my feet when I thought an offer was on the cards last year; but the train never arrived. My novel fell at the final stage of submission after a lot of editing, submitting and waiting. I was close to thinking I’d never secure a contract and chalked up 2017 as the “year of the no”. But in contrast, 2018 has turned out to be the “year of the yes”.

It’s a pitch party!

This latest contract arose from a twitter pitch party and was entirely unexpected, a bit like those elusive unicorns which you can only see when you’re not looking. I’ve occasionally taken part in twitter pitches, mainly to gauge whether I can summarise a 100k-word novel in 140 characters in an appealing fashion. This one, #pitdark, piqued my interest because of the dark theme. Better still, it listed dark romance as a category. The novel I pitched is quite dark – even my agent baulked at it – but I recognised a couple of the publishers on the pitch list so I thought I’d give it a try.

My pitches attracted a couple of likes but not from anyone I felt was a good fit, so I chalked it up as an experience and forgot about it. However, the next day, two of my tweets clocked a “like” from an editor from Tirgearr who I had no idea was watching the hashtag. I’ve heard good things about them so sent the novel in. I wasn’t expecting interest given that the novel wasn’t a 100% fit – something I confessed quite frankly in my covering note – so I forgot about it again!

Imagine my surprise when an e:mail came right out of the blue saying they liked it – more so because they were happy to discuss the fit and after some dialogue where we discussed how I could bring the novel into line a contract came whizzing over the ether!

The luck of the Irish?

I’m sure the Leprechauns were watching over me. Not only is Tirgearr based in Ireland, but they first made contact when I was at a conference in Dublin (the first time I’ve ever been to Ireland) and the name Emily Royal comes from my Irish grandmother.

Given that I’m all about romance, that sounds like a happily ever after to me!

So, my four big writerly lessons learned from 2018

1 Be patient. When the rails rattle, keep waiting – the train will come eventually

2 Give twitter pitches a go – they really do work!

3 Never give up. Good things happen when you least expect them

4 Never underestimate the luck of the Irish

Here’s to 2019 and a shedload of editing, sequels and book launches!

Share the love

A publishing contract!

Emily Royal publishing, RNA, romance, the day job September 3, 2018September 3, 2018 0 Comment

A bit of news!

It’s with enormous pleasure that I can finally announce I’ve signed a publishing contract! It’s with Wild Rose Press, for one of my Medieval romances. I have plenty of other stories drafted in that period so here’s hoping I’ve found a home for my Medieval stories. I’m so pleased to join the family of Roses!

It’s been a long old road not unlike when I climbed the Great Wall of China two years ago. (I replicated those happy memories in paint, see above.) However I’m not so naive that I think this is the end of the road: it’s just the start.

Like any other control-freak multi-tasker, I have many projects on the go a the once. This year I’ve been immersed in a Regency series. But I’ve loved revisiting the Medieval world of knights, ladies, battles, sieges and of course, the obligatory Alpha Male.

How it happened aka how I turned into a pile of goo

We all remember what we were doing during pivotal moments in our lives. Getting a contract after all the waiting, submitting and bouts of self-doubt was a key point for me. Here’s what happened when I found out during lunchtime at work…

Still recovering from a dental abscess which had necessitated elephant-strength pain meds, I was in the middle of a business trip to London. A fun part of my day job as an actuary involves being filmed discussing case studies on professionalism and ethics with other actuaries for training purposes. Much less stressful than “proper acting”, we sit on a sofa and chat away. The film crew roll the cameras then edit out the shaky bits until they have something useable.

Having just finished filming my bit, my phone pinged while we were having lunch. Even when I saw it had come from the publisher with “congratulations” written in large capitals in the title, I still needed to read it to be sure. I’d experienced a host of near-misses and almost-there’s. So my cynicism index was pretty high. But when I opened the e:mail I shrieked and started hyperventilating in front of colleagues, the rest of the panellists and the entire film crew.

Half an hour after this was taken I’d turned into a pile of emotional goo…

“Phone home” they said. (Bizarrely enough, a boss of mine from way back in the 1990’s once told me I looked like ET). So I did. I was fine until my children cheered down the phone line at which point I burst into tears.

Cue massive loss of dignity.

Low-key celebrating

How did I celebrate? On my own, in a hotel, with a glass of diet coke and a stackload of edits for another project. I was staying overnight in London and the antibiotics for my toothache prevented me from drinking anything more exciting. Still, the fish supper in the hotel restaurant was very tasty.

It certainly wasn’t how I’d envisaged getting the news but as I’ve realised since taking writing seriously, nothing ever turns out how you expect.

So what’s the best thing so far about getting the news? It’s early days yet and the ink’s barely dried on the contract. But the outpouring of support from friends, colleagues and other writers has been overwhelming.

A big nod to the Romantic Novelists’ Association here. Over a hundred fellow authors took the time to congratulate me within hours of posting on social media. A special nod to the wonderful reader who, under the RNA’s “New Writing Scheme” (NWS) critiqued this book. She assured me that it doesn’t suck and told me to go get it published!

So I’m delighted to say I’ll be freeing up a space in the NWS. I’d urge any aspiring romance authors out there to consider joining. It works. It really does.

Even for me.

Emily xxx

Share the love

Looking back on 2017

Emily Royal romance, writing December 31, 2017 2 Comments

As a confirmed plotter, I’ve always liked the idea of structuring and setting targets. Yearly targets are no exception. Without targets I run into danger of my writing being an amorphous blob of randomly generated words, bits and pieces of unconnected projects floating around like unclaimed odd socks in the tumble drier.

So for 2017 I decided to take a more grown-up approach and consider how I could realistically achieve my dream of becoming a “proper writer” and I set a stack of goals with the intention of stretching myself a bit.

As 2017 draws to a close, I’m reflecting on the goals I’d set at the start of the year and which ones I managed to achieve. It’s been a year of ups and downs – but had I achieved all my goals I would have criticised myself for setting the bar too low. But then, self criticism is something writers seem to be particularly good at. So anyway, here’s the goals I’d set this time last year…

1) Finish the book I’m currently drafting ✔️ yes! and it’s now with my agent waiting comments

2) Get a publishing contract on my first book✖️this was tough as I had a very near miss on this one plus some positive feedback from other editors on the writing. The hardest rejections to cope with are the “almost theres”

3) Finish editing book 2 following feedback ✔️ yes! And I’ll be entering it into a competition shortly.

4) Do first round of edits on book 3 following masses of feedback from more beta readers ✔️all done! I submitted this to the RNA’s NWS and the reader loved it.

5) think of titles for books 1, 2 and 3 ✔️all done!

6) Start and Finish 1st draft of the next book ✖️✔️I’m halfway through. But I also started another full-length novel and have written half of that: two halves make a whole, right?

7) flesh out plot notes for a further book idea into a proper storyboard ready for drafting next year. ✖️didn’t get round to this particular one which is a historical romance. But I’ve fleshed out plot notes for books 1 and 2 in a trilogy (contemporary dark/hot romance)

I also entered a competition in July and got great feedback from an editor who said they liked my writing style and wanted to work with me on a project. Sadly she left the publisher a few months later but she’s encouraged me to pursue the project.

So in terms of getting stuff written and having positive feedback on my writing, 2017 has been a great year even though tangible results were thin on the ground. Here’s hoping 2018 is the year I finally break through into getting published – and wishing you all a prosperous 2018.

Now to think of my goals for 2018. What are yours?

Em❤️

Share the love