Discovery Day at Foyles was fantastic. I pitched my second novel, Applause to a lovely, bright young agent from Curtis Brown who said she wanted to know more, after reading the first page of my MS. She then read the synopsis and said it was very good, very exciting. However, she didn’t like the ending. She thought it was too gentle for the story and suggested I change it – which I am happy to do. She didn’t like the title either. She said it gave the wrong impression, that it didn’t do the story justice. Apart from those two things, which I agree are petty major, she was very encouraging. She said she liked the story idea and what she'd read. She told me to send it to the agent she works with as soon as it's finished, and tell him she recommended me. I was delighted with how the pitch went. And with everything else about the day. And I was ecstatic when, at four o’clock in the morning, I woke with ideas for new titles running around my head. Later, I woke again, found my torch and wrote down a set of circumstances that will change the end of the novel. 

Click below to see video

                             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1uaZuVscsQ&feature=player_embedded

Read and Reviewed June 25 2012

 

The Ghosts of Poynter has one of the most atmospheric openings that I have ever read. I was hooked from the beginning by the exciting story, the colourful and very believable characters (described brilliantly) and the dark, handsome, and moody protagonist, Chase Tyler.

Chase, the central character, is a combination of charm and aggression, understanding and intolerance. He is an honest and fair man who is essentially good, but would kill in an instant if his life, or the life of someone he loves, is threatened.

After years of being a loner, searching for something he believes is lost to him forever, Chase goes home to Poynter. After an argument where his sister tells him some home truths, Chase is forced to acknowledge is faults and face his demons, and he eventually finds what he has been looking for.

The story has its fair share of surprises and tension, it moves at a pace and at times I couldn't put it down. I loved the ending as much as the beginning, because although it is fraught with difficulties, they are overcome and the story ends happily - with a small question mark. So, has the door been left open for a second book about the charismatic, Chase Tyler? I'd like to think so.

This was my first Western; it won't be be my last.

Crazy Man Cade, will be on the book shelves in October!



wannabe a writer we've heard of?

                                                                

  wannabe a writer we've heard of, by Jane Wenham-Jones

 

Jane Wenham-Jones is a well-known author and journalist who regularly appears on radio and TV. She is a regular columnist for Woman's Weekly Fiction Special, BookTime and her local paper The Isle of Thanet Gazette as well as being the agony aunt for Writing Magazine. Jane is the author of Wannabe a Writer? and three novels which have received wide acclaim - the most recent, One Glass Is Never Enough, spending three weeks in The Bookseller Top Ten Small Publishers chart. She is currently working on a fourth.

   Reviews

I still remember my early days as an author when my main experience of publicising my novels was to do everything I could to avoid it! I was terrified of giving talks and dreaded the thought of people sitting at home, listening to me on the radio. I wish I'd been able to read this book back then. Wannabe a Writer We've Heard Of? is fantastically informative in ways I would never have imagined. I've published more than 20 novels now but reading this, I've still learned many tips and tricks about promotion and PR I didn't know before and, more to the point, I shall be employing them. This guide covers not only getting into print, but how to get your book out there A" to be appreciated by as many people as possible. The advice is invaluable and thanks to JWJ I'm now working on my first ever elevator pitch. (Watch out Stephen Spielberg - that means YOU!) Jane writes so entertainingly, and with such verve and wit, that anyone would enjoy this book, even those who don't want to be published and have never written anything longer than a shopping list - it's that much fun to read. To sum up I really, really recommend this guide - read it, learn from it and be braver than you think you are. Seriously, it could change your life. Jill Mansell - Best selling novelist


Everything a writer needs to know to be published, told with humour - 30 Aug 2012
wannabe a writer we've heard of is packed with useful information as well as being very funny.  It's great for first time novelists like myself because, not only is it practical, but it's written in a way that is easy to understand.  I read wannabe ....  after my novel had been rejected several times.  Now, thanks to Jane Wenham-Jones sharing her knowledge of the industry, and giving advice and encouragement, I feel better equipped to rewrite the manuscript and confident enough to send it out again.  I look forward to reading her next book, Prime Time.  Madalyn Morgan