After the success of #LoveThisBook on Twitter, I asked twitterers which books they are most excited to read in 2017. Again, the response was huge – with more conversations, delighted authors and general book excitement…
I’ve really loved talking about books on Twitter this weekend! As with #LoveThisBook, #WouldLoveThisBook brought a wealth of book recommendations, with people tweeting their own wishlists and others discovering titles to add to theirs.
One of the things I love most about social media, when it works positively – particularly on Twitter – is that it gives us infinite scope for spontaneous fun. This weekend, annoyed by list after snobby list of ‘2016 Best Books’ in the literary media (blatantly ignoring anything daring to be ‘popular’), I asked people on Twitter to tell me which books they loved reading this year. Any genre, any age, any book.
What followed was a whole day of bookish loveliness.
Using the #LoveThisBook hashtag, people tweeted their favourite books – a really varied mix of well-known and not-so-well-known titles, across the genres from popular fiction to YA, childrens to non-fiction, series to literary, self-published to traditionally published. Famous authors, debut authors, new authors, established authors – all were represented. I was blown away by the response and had so much fun co-ordinating the discussions.
And then, something really lovely happened. Delighted authors began to reply, leading to heartfelt exchanges and thanks flying back and forth. As an author I know how impossibly wonderful it is to hear that someone loved my books – so to see authors meeting their readers in the #LoveThisBook chat was such a treat. Added to this, tweeters began to chat with other readers, discussing books they’d read and recommending others. After so much darkness and anger on Twitter in recent months, it was fantastic to see people united by a love of books, sharing something positive.
I’ve Storified the discussion HERE – so if you’re looking for your next read you might just find it there! You can still join the fun by tweeting your favourites. Just use the hashtag #LoveThisBook and tweet me @wurdsmyth. Happy reading!
I have been waiting to share this with you for so long – and now the time has finally come!
….DRUMROLL PLEASE…
My eighth novel will be called SEARCHING FOR A SILVER LINING and will be published by PanMacmillan on 20th October 2016! You can now preorder it here…
Here’s the blurb:
Searching for a Silver Lining
It began with a promise…
Matilda Bell is left heartbroken when she falls out with her beloved grandfather just before he dies. Haunted by regret, she makes a promise that will soon change everything…
When spirited former singing star Reenie Silver enters her life, Mattie seizes the opportunity to make amends. Together, Mattie and Reenie embark on an incredible journey that will find lost friends, uncover secrets from the glamorous 1950s and put right a sixty-year wrong.
Touchingly funny, warm and life-affirming, this is a sparkling story of second chances. Searching for a Silver Lining will take you on a trip you’ll never forget.
So, there it is! I am beyond excited for you all to read this book – I have had the best time writing it and I know you’re going to love vintage shop owner Mattie Bell and the wonderfully glamorous and outspoken Reenie Silver. The cover is being designed as we speak and I’ll tell you lots more about the book in the coming weeks, so watch out for my vlogs coming soon.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts! xx
Do you mind if I get a bit emotional for a minute?
This is just a short post but something happened to me today that I wanted to write down. To remind me that it happens.
As you know, I’m in the final stages of editing Book 8. It’s been hard. Really hard. After writing and editing eight novels you would think I’d expect this but somehow every year I forget once my book is handed in. This year has been brutal. I’m not going to apologise for saying it. Writing a book is hard work, editing it into some kind of coherent story is a long (but necessary) slog. And the final stages of an edit are the absolute worst bit. If you’ve ever written a book, you’ll understand.
My edit face – nope, it ain’t pretty…
But then today, right in the middle of it all, someone I’ve never met tweeted me to say they’d chosen my books to read during their week off.
I know how precious holiday reading time is. And how important it is to choose the right book to spend time with. So, hearing that a complete stranger has picked my book completely blows my mind.
As a published writer it’s too easy to get caught up in the tough bits – the hours nobody else sees you investing, the doubts, the heart-searching slog to find the best story – and forget why you wanted to write in the first place. Every now and again glimpses like this appear and they are wonderful.
There’s no great lesson from this, apart from the encouragement that as a writer what you do makes a difference to other people. I’m leaving this post here as a message to anyone slogging out a story – and as a message to a future, sleep-deprived, fed up, final-stage-edit me. Hang in for the good stuff. It happens.
All this year I’m vlogging about the writing, editing and publishing of my latest novel, A Parcel for Anna Browne. This week, I’m writing Book 8 – and I need YOUR help!
If you’ve watched my vlogs for a while, you’ll know that every year I give my lovely readers the chance to suggest something for my next book. Over four hundred people have joined in with my #getinvolved challenges during the last few year – amazing authors Joanne Harris and Jill Mansell have even joined in! If I use your suggestion, I’ll thank you in the acknowledgements in my eighth novel…
So, to find out your first #getinvolved challenge, watch this vlog! You can leave a comment in the box below this post, email me mirandawurdy@gmail.com, tweet me @wurdsmyth or leave me a comment on my facebook author page MirandaDickinsonAuthor.
What would you like to know? Contact me using the methods above and ask me a question for the next vlog.
I hesitated about whether to post this or not. But having spoken to so many writers during this year, both through WriteFoxy and via Twitter, I think this is something that could help fellow writers to follow their hearts…
I had the initial idea for A Parcel for Anna Browne about four years ago. Like many ideas it sat sparkling away on the sidelines of the books I was writing, trying to distract me when I had deadlines and waking me up in the middle of the night to whisper in my ear. I loved the idea. I even wrote the first chapter to see what it might look like. But I didn’t propose it to my agent or publisher for one simple reason: I didn’t think I could write it yet.
A Parcel for Anna Browne
Writing is about taking risks when you’re facing The Fear.
You would think, after writing six Sunday Times Bestselling novels that have sold almost 1 million copies worldwide (eek!) I would be completely confident in my writing. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Every year I ask myself if I’m up to the challenge of writing another book and telling the story I’m dreaming of in the way I want to tell it.
What I found really comforting is that when I spoke to my writer friends it turns out that all of them regularly do battle with what has become commonly known as The Fear. Writers I admire, whose words flow onto the page beautifully, who tell stories that amaze, thrill and inspire me, have all at some time during the writing process of their incredible books doubted their ability to do their idea justice. What made the difference between those ideas remaining in the wings and being brought onto the page wasn’t confidence, but courage.
So, after four years of hesitation, I decided to go for it.
Writing A Parcel for Anna Browne has been one of the scariest and most exciting experiences of my writing career – and I am so proud of the result. Writing the book has taught me to follow my gut instinct and tell the stories I’m dreaming of telling. Where I’ve felt my vocabulary is lacking, or encountered obstacles I’m not sure how to overcome, I’ve held on to the inescapable feeling that Anna’s story is one I want to write.
So, this is what I’ve learned: if the idea has come to you, then you have everything you need to tell it. All you need is the courage to begin.
All this year, I’m vlogging about the writing, editing and publishing of A Parcel for Anna Browne. This week I go to the printers to see my book being printed – and it was AWESOME!
When you want to write books, the thought of one day seeing thousands and thousands of your novels whizzing around a printing factory seems like the stuff of your wildest dreams. And it completely is a dream come true to actually see that happen!
I was very lucky to be invited down to Pan Macmillan’s printers to see A Parcel for Anna Browne being printed. The very lovely Amanda from onemorepagecame along, too, which made a wonderful day even more special. I’ll warn you, I squeak a lot in this vlog!
Apologies for the blatant Sinatra reference, but I was thinking of the opening lyric to this famous song today.
What made the song play on repeat in my head today was a wonderful tweet I received. As you know, my seventh book, A Parcel for Anna Browne,launches on 24th September. The lovely lady who tweeted me said she had ordered the book and couldn’t wait to read it.
It isn’t the first time I’ve received a tweet like this, but today it struck a chord. This year, it’s sixteen years since I first started to write what eventually became my first novel, Fairytale of New York. At the time I had no idea I was even writing a novel, let alone dare to dream that one day it might be published. It was just a story I started to write for fun – just for me – and I didn’t really expect anyone else to read it.
If someone had told me, in 1999, that people I haven’t even met would be ordering my books before they were published, I would never have believed them.
Over the years, it’s gradually sunk in that I am a published author (although it still feels weird to see it written down like that!) and, since 2013, that I am a full-time published author. But with each new book I’m blessed to be able to release, I’m increasingly amazed when lovely readers tell me how excited they are to read my latest work.
I don’t ever want to take this for granted. Ever. Because I remember the years and years of dreaming about walking into a bookshop and seeing my books there. It’s a thrill I will never get used to.
In November last year, I was invited my my local Waterstones store in Merry Hill, Dudley, to sign copies of I’ll Take New York. When I went into the store, the display they had put together blew me away:
All my books, together, in one beautiful display.
I was a mess. I think I blubbed over everyone (apologies if you were there and faced the deluge!) What was so amazing was that my dream had come true, not just once, but six times over.
Here’s what I’m saying: this isn’t about me bragging about how many books I have in Waterstones – it’s about something I’d dreamed about, hoped for – but, if I’m honest never really thought would ever be possible – coming true. And, like Ol’ Blue Eyes himself sings, it can happen to you.
I know there will be writers reading this blog right now who feel they have been dreaming about being published for ever. Maybe you feel it’s never going to happen. I just want to encourage you to keep believing, keep dreaming – keep writing the stories that are burning in your heart. Don’t think it can’t happen. Because it happened to me – and there is nothing special about me. I just wrote the book I wanted to and I didn’t stop.
This year, I have seen three lovely friends who dreamed of being published finally being signed by publishers. There will be more, too, because as long as there are readers there will be stories that need to be told. Stories like yours.
It can happen to you.
I think the only way to end this blog post is to let a certain silken-voiced crooner play us out. Take it away, Frankie…
So, I finally have a cover for my seventh book, A Parcel for Anna Browne. And I’m thrilled with it! Ahem… drumroll, please…
TA-DAAAAAAH!
My seventh novel – woo-hoo!
What I’m so happy about is that my book getting its cover is one step closer to it being shared with the world. And that makes me happy because this is a story I have wanted to tell for several years. Moving to my new publisher, Pan Macmillan felt like the right time to write Anna Browne’s story – and I’m really proud of the book. I firmly believe it’s my best yet and I can’t wait to share it with everyone!
All this year, I’m vlogging about writing and publishing my seventh novel, A Parcel for Anna Browne. This week, very exciting news about the book and your questions answered…
I’ve had a right old game with YouTube to get this video to upload, so apologies that the quality is not as good as you’re used to. All will be fixed next week, I promise, so bear with me while I do battle with the YouTube gods, Game Of Thrones-style!
Questions this week come from Anna @AnnaMansell and Katy @katynotwedordead (both on Twitter – do follow them, they’re fabulous writers!). So I’m talking about how you can find a good manuscript critique service that will actually be worth investing in; and how to move on to new stories once a book is finished.
Enjoy! xx
p.s. This week’s YouTube-nominated freeze-frame is entitled, ‘Fuzeeeeeee’.
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