Coming soon…to a venue near you….?!

Whitby Library 17th April 7 pm
Haringey Library (Crouch End) 29th April 7 pm
York Library 13th May 7 pm
Haringey Library (Alexandra Park) 26th May 7 pm

more dates soon…will keep you posted!

Blog, Journal Comments (8)

January - March, 2009

I can’t believe we’re a quarter way through the year.  Gawd, what an old person’s thing to say that was!  Needless to say, time has flown with my life peppered with highs and lows.  Secrets was published in early February as a special edition for the UK airports - some of you loyal readers even made the trip to an airport just to grab a copy.  I thank you from my heart.
I’m a perfectionist control-freak when it comes to my novels - some authors are quite content for editing work to be done on their behalf.  I throw a hissy fit if anyone dares tinker with even a comma!  Although I have done 10 novels in 12 years - an output many people marvel at - I do not ‘churn them out’.  Each novel is carefully considered with in-depth research undertaken and by the time I submit it to my publisher, it’s in third draft.  To arrive at those 130,000 words of original fiction, many thousands more words are written in the process!  Then, after editing and copy-editing (which is to double check if the character’s eyes are blue in one chapter, they’re not suddenly brown in another!) the 5th and final draft of the novel is typeset and two rounds of proof-reading commence.  Typesetting is bewildering.  Somehow, entire sentences disappear!  Elsewhere, paragraphs suddenly appear in italics.  Invariably, words are split at the end of a line and look bad for it.  Finally the work is ready to be sent to the printers - and I await my final copies.
The thrill of seeing my novels in book form has not diminished over the years.  It’s the highlight of so much hard work, hope and energy.  Imagine, therefore, how distressing it is when mistakes are made utterly beyond your control…. (more…)

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Freya North East

Well, let the countdown to publication commence - in 30 days time, my 10th novel, Secrets, will be on the shelves and even though I’m an old hand at this publishing milarky, I assure you I’m still all of a jitter!  The anticipation of publication - and the thrill of seeing my book out there in the stores has not diminished one jot over the years.  I’m so proud of Secrets - my editor told me she feels it has the ‘most satisfying and complete ending’ she’s read in a long while.  I’ll be on tenterhooks to see if you agree!  Certainly, while I was writing it, the last third of the book seemed magically to tell itself - somedays, I’d sit working in the library and it was as if the characters were dictating the tale directly to me.  As you’ll know from my Advice section, I never plan my novels so it’s as exciting for me to see how they unfold as (I hope) it is for you when you read them.
In our gloomy times, I hope a little love and romance will go a long way for you, gentle reader.  And I hope the bright jacket design will sing out.  I’m SO into colour at the mo’ - colour was my starting point for the new-look covers (I’ll be letting you have a sneak preview of the re-designed ‘back-list’ very soon).  One of my reference points was one of favourite ads, which I think is genius - the iPod Nano ad - that gorgeous ooze of colours with little mention needed for what the machines could actually do!  Talking of colour, there are a couple of exciting promos for Secrets - including a sweet-as-you-like scarf if you buy the book at Sainsbury’s and ALL the copies have a discount voucher for gorgeous Ruby and Millie cosmetics as well as a chance to win a Ruby and Millie makeover and goody bags.

It’s been a busy time for me - last week I went off on a slight tangent, speaking at the Best of Britain show in London - my topic was ‘How Popular Culture Influences Tourism’ and I was able to witter on about how important to me location and a sense of place are.  Which leads me on to sharing with you a new accolade about which I’m extremely excited and honoured - I’ve been made an official Ambassador for the North East.  As you know, the North East really is my spiritual home - despite being born a posh southern totty!  I can’t wait to see what the Regional Development Agency for the North East have in store for me.  And I’m itching to journey North again from London in a fortnight.  I’m doing an event in Whitby on 17th April, and another in York on 13th May.  I’ll be posting up a more detailed schedule shortly.
Talking of authors who have a passion for specific locations, I’ll let you into a secret - I blagged my way into University…!  At my interview, the professor asked what texts I was doing for my English A level.  When I said ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ he asked what I liked about Hardy. For a horrible moment my mind went completely blank.  Then I remembered an essay I’d recently written - the title was ‘Landscape is not merely a backdrop in the novels of Thomas Hardy, but a leading character in them.  Discuss.’  So, I cleared my throat and gazed pensively out of the window.   “Well,” I told the Prof whilst pulling a selection of faces which suggested I was formulating a well-considered answer, “what I find SO fascinating is how, in Hardy’s novels, landscape is not merely a backdrop - but a leading character.”  He agreed wholeheartedly.  And I won my place.
My new heroine, in Secrets, is called Tess…so there you go, a nicely rounded-off blog…

Blog Comments (10)

How to…

I thought some of you might find this section useful. I hope so. I am often asked for advice. As a rule, I don’t comment on what you’ve written - I can’t really, I am not trained to do so - I don’t have that skill. I’m only an author, not an editor!
What I can do - and am most happy to do - is tell you what works for me when it comes to writing…and what worked for me in finally landing a publishing deal.  This advice page is therefore split into to sections - the practical steps you can take to have your work noticed, and (hopefully) encouraging advice on physically sitting down to write a novel…

Advice Comments (0)

(publishing) Do’s and Don’ts

I wanted to write the type of book I wanted to read but couldn’t seem to find in the shops (back in 1990!!) and though I started my second novel (Chloe) once I’d finished my first (Sally), and though I didn’t have an agent, let alone a deal - publication was of course my ultimate goal.

I made a lot of careless mistakes when I first started submitting my manuscript - here’s my advice to help you bypass them! (more…)

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(publishing) Keep your pecker up…!

It took 4 long hard years before I had a contract, hideous waiting time only for rejection to follow rejection, and I had to confront much negativity and really tactless comments from people who did not enjoy my work.  Just keep thinking Horses For Courses. Make it your mantra when you receive yet another ‘thanks but no thanks’.
I hated Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow and I couldn’t even make it through the first third of Captain Correlli and I gave up half way through Love In The Time of Cholera. That might make me sound like a completely uneducated lazy lump - but I’m not. Often, it’s simply down to taste. What you like to write might not be what someone else wants to read. But I promise you, for every one who says “don’t like it”, there’s another who’ll say “bloody love it”.  One publisher who rejected my first novel, Sally, actually wrote to me saying “You can’t start a book like that…”  And yet another publisher obviously thought, oh yes she can! - because Sally was published to great acclaim!
It’s very important not to become demoralized or complacent - but that’s easier said than done. Just try not to let it affect your writing. Keep writing. Just keep writing.

Advice Comments (0)

(writing) ergonomics…

Though there’s nothing quite like the feeling of seeing your books in a shop, of holding finished copies, of coming across complete strangers reading your novels, or receiving correspondence from happy readers - it’s an arduous process to make it there.  And not just mentally.  Physically, you can do a lot to help - or hinder.  Here’s my advice… (more…)

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(writing) Rules?? There are NO RULES…

Early in my career, I met an author who told me he’d been “working on dialogue” that day. I was beside myself with insecurity - and panicked that I should make Mondays my dialogue day, have Tuesdays for landscape and backdrop, Wednesdays for character description….until I thought hey! I LIKE the way I write, because it WORKS FOR ME.

Perhaps the greatest encouragement I can give you is that there really is NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO WRITE! And that’s a fact.  Most authors would agree.  Check out my writer-chum Mike Gayle’s website - he has loads to say too! (more…)

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(writing) Writer’s block - fact or fiction?

People often ask about Writer’s Block. I’m sure it does exist, but (contentious this) I feel it’s a little like claiming to have double pneumonia when actually you have a head-cold.
Writing is a job, not an indulgence.
Of course there are days - weeks even, when you’re not in the mood.  However, you have to perform. There are times when it’s very easy to veer away from actually WRITING THE DAMNED THING to ruminate instead on “where the plot’s going” or to re-read ad nauseum what you’ve already written and fiddle constantly with adjectives and semi-colons.  Or to tell yourself you can’t possibly write because ‘the muse has not alighted’.  The muse?  What - some little good fairy who floats down and sits on top of your screen sprinkling magic glitter at you? (more…)

Advice Comments (2)

(writing) Just sit down - and do it…

To me, it is fundamental to think about WHY you want to write. I often have people contact me saying “I want to be a writer, how do I go about being a writer?“. To me, this is skewed. You should want to ‘be a writer’ because you WANT to WRITE…you NEED to write! Not because you are attracted to some fanciful notion of lifestyle!
I love my job and I feel blessed to have such stimulating and latterly successful career - but it can be extremely lonely too. Writing a novel demands a great amount of discipline. It needs you to claw back self-belief during periods of stifling self-doubt. It can also be quite exhausting. For me, it also takes a fair amount of physical energy as well as mental alertness of course. Most importantly, you have to have emotional dedication - who wants to read words which weren’t truly ‘felt’ as they were written? (more…)

Advice Comments (1)