So the New Voices comp has now finished, and a little bird from Romance HQ has told me the finalists have been chosen... But don't ask me who they are cos I won't know till they're posted on the site at 9am Monday morning in the UK like everyone else... One last good luck to all who entered. Can't wait to find out who I will be mentoring.
In other news, I had a visit from a very nice man from The Guardian a couple of weeks ago to be interviewed for their Working Life piece. Which was a major thrill for me as I've been a Guardian reader my whole life (well hey, I live in Islington, it goes with the territory folks).
Here's the link if you'd like to find out what a mess my desk is... Sorry, I mean, what it's like to be a genuine romantic novelist. Actually, it's a lovely piece, I think Mr Benedictus has got a real feel for who I am and how much my work means to me (although I never knew I toyed with my hair that much!!). I should add I never said I 'churn out' my books (if only I could write them that fast) a phrase which makes most romance novelists shudder in horror (me included), but the reporter didn't say that, the sub did... And as I've written a few horror headlines myself in the past in my previous career as a journalist, I guess they are now coming back to haunt me (plus I know what it's like trying to write something to fit, to deadline... so I can't hold it against him, or her).
Anyway, enjoy the piece and do let me know what you think.
My one regret? That I didn't wear my posh frock for the darn photograph. Rats.
11 comments:
Heidi, your interview was fabulous, well done! Fab that they've picked the top ten but I've no idea how they managed it in such a short space of time. Here's hoping some of my favourites are in there!
Fantastic article, Heidi! I adore your mum's comment about your first book.
Great interview, Heidi - your desk is a lot tidier than mine! And how exciting about the NV contest, I really thought they were going to have to push out the announcements because they had so many entries ... but monday 9am eh?
that leaves a lot of angsting over the weekend for so many excellent entries!
(and on the personal plus side, means maybe soon thereafter someone will get back to me on my partial in there!)
Wow, can't believe they've picked their finalists already. They must have pulled some serious overtime :-)
Great interview, too.
Fantastic article, Heidi! LOL, about the guy compulsively scratching himself in the library while you were trying to write your sex scene. I can see why that would be off-putting!
As for the Top 10, I think there'll be a lot of people having sleepless nights until Monday morning when the results are revealed.
The picture of you is lovely and the article was fantastic! And your mom's comment just can't be topped!!
Amy
Great article Heidi! I'm loving your desk, everything's so light and bright :)
Cheers guys on the article... So glad I didn't make a complete tit of myself, after talking to the guy for over an hour (he was a great interviewer, really put me at my ease) I did have a little panic about what I'd actually said!!
And yes, my mum is quite a character (and my role model), she's 74 and currently busy hiking in the Grand Canyon!!
On the NV front, I suspect they must have been reading the entries as soon as they were posted. Either that or there were a lot of late nights at Romance HQ. Still, fingers crossed for everyone.
Heidi x
Great interview Heidi. Caroline x
Had a giggle reading the interview, Heidi. Yes, it's very much 'you'. And I love the fact that you wore the track suit!
Your bubbly and sparkly personality definitely resonates from the article in The Guardian, as I had the priviledge of being present at the mentoring session in Brent, a few months ago and witnessed exactly that in person.
I really dislike it when individuals think that M&Bs novelists aren't seen as valid writers because it's romance and therefore romance can be written so easily.
If I get such negativity thrown my way by ignorance, maybe they should try writing and submitting one chapter for the NV's comp and see how hard and stressful that was (for me anyway).
Keep up the good work Heidi! (As you can tell, I'm a devoted fan)
Post a Comment