Tag Archives: Sophie’s Run

The Run-Up to Sophie’s Run

Posted on January 11, 2013 | 13 comments

I declare the manic season open!

Oh yes, this is going to be my four weeks of madness ahead of the launch of Sophie’s Run, and I am very excited about it all. Here’s a little sneak peek at what will be happening, and I’ll bring you posts with updates as I go along, of course.

First of all, let me remind you what Book 2 is all about; here’s the blurb:

Sophie’s Run

Her famous star remains her rock while life takes her on a little detour…

Who says that the road towards true love is straight and even? Sophie is certainly discovering that it is anything but.

So she has finally found the man of her dreams! Well… she knows who he is, even though she hasn’t actually quite met him yet. But she misses her opportunity, and then her life goes crazy. Rock star and ex-fiancé, Dan, keeps getting in the way of her new romance—even if he is just trying to be helpful. A fire, an impromptu mini-trip with Dan, and a dreaded wedding later, Sophie is still struggling to meet the love of her life. Then, just as she is getting it together with her perfect man, best friend Rachel commits an act of unspeakable betrayal.

Sophie has had enough. Confused and distraught, she decides that it is time for radical change. Surprising herself and shocking her friends, she embarks on a secret journey eventually gets her life back on track.

Where is Sophie’s Run now?

Right at this very moment, Sophie’s Run is at the printer. Squeee! I’m hoping to get my trembling fingers on paper back copies of my second book in the next two to three weeks, and you’ll be the first to know when they get here!

In addition, the book is also being formatted for e-publishing in all the various formats so we will be all singing-and-dancing on pub day. (Pub day being 7 February 2013, in case I hadn’t mentioned the date lately).

What kind of launch party will there be for Sophie’s Run?

A fabulous one, to put it simply! Plans are afoot to launch this baby live on air over at Siren 107.3 FM with Alex Lewczuk and various Special Guests on the eve of publication, 6 February, from 5pm to 7pm. Let me hear you say, Hell Yeah! More details to follow when I have the line-up complete.

In addition, I’ll also be hosting a lightning-signing event at Welton library at 10 a.m. on 7 February, so if you’re in the area, drop by! You can visit my blog all through the day of 7 February to take part in the party. And if that’s not enough, I’ll also be hosting a Facebook party so that absolutely everybody can take part!

Will you be taking Sophie’s Run on tour?

Why, of course! And, more importantly, I’ll be taking YOU with me ~ on a tour of geographic and culinary discovery, just like a rock star. The schedule is nearly finalized, 90 per cent of the blog posts have been written, and I will post more details right here on this blog very soon, watch this space.

And of course, while I’m getting this all organized, I also have a duty to Sophie and Dan to finish their story, so I’m typing away at Book 3, Sophie’s Encore. #norestforthewicked, right? It’s gonna be awesome!

Will you join me on tour? Are you ready to party?

13 Comments

Posted in Progress Updates, Rock Star Romance, Part 2: Sophie's Run

Tagged Blog Tour, Countdown to Sophie's Run, Publication, rock star, Romance, Sapphire Star Publishing, Siren FM, Sophie's Run

On-The-Road Editing

Posted on December 14, 2012 | 20 comments

I know. It’s the festive season and everybody’s posting festive stuff. And so will I, very soon. In the meantime, however, life goes on and work needs to be done.

I recently finished editing my second book, Sophie’s Run, using fabulous input from my editor over at Sapphire Star Publishing. This was a fast-track, polish-it-up edit such as I haven’t done in a long time. And do you know what? It was totally exhilarating. I am so happy with the result, I haven’t stopped smiling since. (Better still, Katie and Amy at Sapphire approve too ~ happy dance).

But here’s the really juicy bit. The edits landed in my inbox just before I was due to leave for the RNA Winter Party. Well, what’s an author to do when she’s got a long train ride ahead of her, all the way to London and then back again? Plus some unexpected ‘downtime’ in a quiet hotel room with no distractions? You got it. A spot of on-the-road editing. In fact, I marked up seventy percent of the manuscript during the two-day trip.

And the moral?

Actually, there are two. One, there’s no such thing as a wasted train journey. And two, my brain definitely kicks into high gear on the road.

When the hotel grows quiet, the author gets editing!

Scratch, scratch, replace, alter… in several colours for several rounds of thoughts. And the whole thing looked amazing once it was ‘clean’ back in Word.

Have manuscript, will edit… even on trains, in planes and automobiles!

Do you enjoy editing (or writing) in unusual environments?

Oh. And here’s the thing. Sophie’s Run is currently undergoing proofing and I’m awaiting the fair copy for author approval. Because yes, this baby is coming your way on 7 February 2013 ~ watch this space!

20 Comments

Posted in Progress Updates, Rock Star Romance, Part 2: Sophie's Run

Tagged Editing, Nicky Wells, On-The-Road, RNA Winter Party, rock star, Romance, Sapphire Star Publishing, Sophie's Run, train

My Next Big Thing

Posted on November 13, 2012 | 33 comments

Oh yes. My Next Big Thing. Are you ready? It’s going to be big. Huge. Fantabulous. If I say so myself!

Preamble: I was invited to take place in The Next Big Thing by several lovely people in the past few months, and I had to regretfully pass on each invitation as I was in the throes of launchig Sophie’s Turn. You know who you are and you know how much I appreciated your invitation! This most recent invitation came at the tail end of my blog tour and therefore I couldn’t resist taking part and shouting about my WIP. Thank you for your understanding, my friends!
🙂 xxx

Last week, my Romantic Novelists’ Association friend and writer of family sagas and historical novels, Freda Lightfoot, tagged me in her post The Next Big Thing ~ and this week it’s my turn! The idea is that I answer ten questions about my current Work in Progress (my Next Big Thing!) and tag five other writers to tell you about their latest work next week!

So here goes:

What is the working title of your next book?

~ Sophie’s Run ~

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Sophie’s Run is the sequel to Sophie’s Turn. The ideas inside the book have been inspired by events in my own life, whether they happened to me, were witnessed by me, happened to others, or were a fancy flight of my imagination based on something I read, heard or saw on television.

What genre does your book fall under?

The obvious answer to this question would be that it is a contemporary romance, or even chick-lit. However, the entire trilogy is also so much more than that. There is a big element of self-discovery going on here, especially in Sophie’s Run. And undeniably, Sophie travels a lot. So I’d say it’s romance with a twist!

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Her famous star remains her rock while life takes her on a little detour…

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Neither, nor. The book will be published by my wonderful publisher, Sapphire Star Publishing (how many ‘publish’ words can you fit in one sentence, Nicky?) but we have a direct relationship without an agent involved. Oh, and before I forget: release date is 7 February 2013 ~ not long to go!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Fourteen weeks exactly. 🙂

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Do you know, I don’t know how to answer this questions. There are elements of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones in there, just in terms of the bizarre situations Sophie finds herself in. Obviously the rock star theme likens it a little to Public Secrets by Nora Roberts. But the Trilogy as a whole charts Sophie’s life over a period of almost ten years so that reminds me of some of Maeve Binchy’s great works. So ~ a tough one to answer.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Evidently, Sophie’s Run being a sequel, this inspiration arose from the first part of the story. However, I can pinpoint the impetus for actually writing it very precisely. It was 12 July 2011, a few days after I launched Sophie’s Turn onto the world (in indepenedent publisher format). I had temporarily exhausted all promotional avenues, or so I thought (little did I know!) and when I had a bit of a tearful conversation with my long-time friend, Shirley Mukisa, she had only one answer to my conundrum. “The next logical thing will be to write the second book.” So I did. 🙂

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Apart from being fun, sexy, wildly romantic and an absolute page-turner, Sophie’s Run also is a story about keeping the faith when life takes you down its long and winding road. I hope it inspires faith and patience in everyone whose life, like Sophie’s, doesn’t seem to work out to plan. Sophie’s message is that you are in charge of your destiny, ultimately, and if life doesn’t follow your intentions, you have to make it so. (Goodness, that sounds deep!)

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Ah, Sophie’s Run, the movie! This is obviously after we’ve made Sophie’s Turn, right? So… the dream cast would be:

Dan the Rock Star…. Played by Ewan McGregor! (Or Jon Bon Jovi, but he’d have to adopt an English accent!!!)

Sophie… Played by Keira Knightley!

Rachel … Played by Emma Watson!

And that’s my Next Big Thing. Here are the writers I’m tagging: rock on!

The amazing Jen Tucker, who writes hilariously funny biography giving amazing insights into family life and parenting.

The fabulous Jane Risdon, who posts some very intriguing articles-with-a-difference on her blog, who’s acting as my chief adviser on all things to do with rock-star lifestyle, and who’s been secretely slaving away at her WIP: I’m dying to see what it’s all about!

My brilliant Sapphire Star Publishing sister, Jane Lark, who writes historical fiction and has just started a brand new author’s blog.

Wonderfully candid ‘scarlet woman’ Tanith Davenport, who I met through Freda Lightfoot and whose blog has me thoroughly intrigued.

The fifth spot… is open for YOU, if you want to take part. Don’t be shy, go on, I’d love to hear about your WIP! 🙂

33 Comments

Posted in Miscellaneous

Tagged chick lit, Freda Lightfoot, Jane Lark, Jane Risdon, Jen Tucker, rock star, Romance, Sophie's Run, Tanith Davenport, The Next Big Thing

Sophie’s Run ~ Cover Reveal #sophiesrun #cover

Posted on October 12, 2012 | 35 comments

This is it!
Give it up for the glorious cover of
Sophie’s Run
Part 2 in the Rock Star Romance Trilogy
Coming from Sapphire Star Publishing on 7 February 2013.

Ready?

Wow. I am in love. A huge Thank You goes to Amy Lichtenhan and Chad Lichtenhan for their patience, good humour, great ideas and endless cheer as I changed my mind time and time again. You see, I had various conflicting visions for this cover and Amy patiently looked at all of them, gently but firmly guiding me onto the right path. And Chad is a hero for making all the little tweaks and changes that I kept heaping upon him. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, the team over at Sapphire Star Publishing totally rocks.

Thank you for this amazing cover!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sophie’s Run

Her famous star remains her rock while life takes her on a little detour…

Who says that the road toward true love is straight and even? Sophie is certainly discovering that it is anything but.

So she has finally found the man of her dreams. Well…she knows who he is, even though she hasn’t actually quite met him yet. When she misses her opportunity, her life goes crazy. Rock star and ex-fiancé, Dan, keeps getting in the way of her new romance—even if he is just trying to be helpful. A fire, an impromptu mini-trip with Dan, and a dreaded wedding later, Sophie is still struggling to meet the love of her life. Just as she is getting it together with her perfect man, best friend Rachel commits an act of unspeakable betrayal. And to top it all, her new boyfriend leaves her lying in the mud.

Sophie has had enough. Confused and distraught, she decides that it is time for radical change. Surprising herself and shocking her friends, she embarks on a secret journey that eventually gets her life back on track.

Coming from Sapphire Star Publishing on 7 February 2013!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you very much to my lovely, amazing author and blogger friends who are taking part in my cover reveal today!
I’d like to dispense big hugs to:

A.L. Jackson
Melanie Robertson-King
Sheryl Browne
Stephanie Keyes
Tobi @ Forget the Housework

Feel free to hop on over and say ‘hi’ to these great friends!

Now the stage is yours. I’m dying to hear what you think! 🙂

35 Comments

Posted in Cover Reveal

Tagged Authors @ Sapphire Star Publishing, cover reveal, Nicky Wells, rock star, Sapphire Star Publishing, Sequel, Sophie's Run

Criminal overuse

Posted on October 11, 2012 | 23 comments

Editing.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my scary alter ego, the Queen of Hearts, who helps me to cut the length of my manuscript. The carnage of Sophie’s Run is complete, and I dropped below the target word limit. Mission accomplished!

However, there’s more to editing than the structural stuff. There is the fine-tuning, too. Today, I share three of my personal red flags: exclamation marks, the humble word, ‘just’, and the humbler still word, ‘then’. (I’m going to bore you with serial commas and other fine points of grammar some other time).

JUST THEN! I’m a liberal sprinkler in a first draft…

Just! Then! !!
Exactly. These three things feature heavily in any of my first drafts. There is a very simple reason for this, which is that I write as I would tell the story out loud, with flourish and panache and a lot of excited gesturing. Alas, the written word is a little less forgiving. Or perhaps it is more forgiving as it doesn’t need as many of these filler words and marks. The reader is generally with the story, paying attention, reading eagerly. And she will notice if I use the word ‘then’ five times in a row.

Thankfully, writing is not like cooking. It is perfectly ok to overegg the pudding, lean heavily on the salt and make free with the pepper because you can take it all out at the end. And that’s what I have been doing.

Get this. I had 750 (give or take) exclamation marks in the first draft of Sophie’s Run. I’m surprised none of the characters had shouted themselves hoarse.

I found 450 occurrences of the word ‘then’ and 500 occurrences of ‘just.’ Shocking, I know.

…but I carry out a vendetta on my liberalism when I polish the manuscript.

The exclamation points were easy. I clicked through them (yes, all of them) and took most of them out, except where shouting or emphasis was indicated. There are less than 150 exclamation marks left which, in a word count of 119,281, is a lot more acceptable. We’ll see what my fabulous editor over at Sapphire Star Publishing makes of that number. I’m fully expecting to cut some more.

Eliminating ‘just’ was an electrifying experience. I discovered a whole array of alternatives, and got some amazing insights into the many varied meanings of this humble little word. Of course, I knew all of that instinctively, having previously learned it formally at school, but I hadn’t given it much conscious thought for a while. Viable alternatives include, but are not limited to:

simply
only
exactly
precisely
at that point

Interestingly, there was many an instance when ‘just’ just wasn’t needed. It could go. Completely. It was a filler. An empty word. A naughty word cluttering up my word count! Be off with you, just!

So I thought I’d seen the worst of my criminal overuse, but no. I hadn’t even started until I touched then. See, then was everywhere. And I mean everywhere. I found one sentence with three lots of then in it. Obviously it wasn’t as clumsy as ‘then, and then, and then.’ No, my writing, even in its unpolished stage, is a little more refined than that. But still, a lot of then‘s were being had. Too many.

Most of them went. Yup, eliminating then was a killer experience. And the then‘s that stayed? They had a legitimate reason for staying.

However, something even more riveting happened while I was on my then extermination spree. As Word displays searched-for terms in their context, I found some highly amusing typing mistakes. Gone now, kapow! I found and seized opportunities for linguistic variety: kerr-ching, done! I cut out a couple of sentences altogether. Eureka.

Even though I focused on three red flags, I ended up polishing the entire manuscript and I am delighted with the result. The changes are subtle but they make me happy. I sent the manuscript off to Sapphire Star this lunchtime… and here’s to hoping that my editor feels the same about it as I do! Because that, of course, is the real test. I promise to keep you posted on how that goes, too.

Until then, I’d love to hear about your red flags. Which words or phrases do you criminally overuse?

23 Comments

Posted in Miscellaneous

Tagged !, Editing, Exclamation Point, Filler words, Just, Linguistic vendetta, Manuscript, Polishing, Sapphire Star Publishing, Sophie's Run, Then

This is NOT it.

Posted on October 10, 2012 | 20 comments

No. Definitely NOT.

But if you come back this coming Friday, I can reveal to you the absolutely stunning cover for Sophie’s Run!

See you then? 🙂

20 Comments

Posted in Progress Updates, Rock Star Romance, Part 2: Sophie's Run

Tagged cover reveal, Nicky Wells, rock star, Rock Star Romance Trilogy, Romance, Sapphire Star Publishing, Sophie's Run

Me, and the Queen of Hearts: Split Author-Personality Syndrome

Posted on September 28, 2012 | 19 comments

Editing.

This little word puts the fear of God in a lot of writers. #amediting is an oft-seen hashtag frequently accompanied by wailing and proverbial gnashing of teeth. Many authors, me included, confess to a certain amount of dread when it comes to editing.

I wonder why. Because when it comes to it, I perversely enjoy it. Ignore the initial pain and frustration; once I knuckle down, I find the process quite exhilarating and ultimately rewarding.

My work process involves two broad types of editing. ‘Me’ editing, aka the author edit. And publisher editing, aka… well, publisher editing. Right now, for my second novel, I am working through stage one, ‘me’ editing.

Having let the manuscript rest for a good few months, I have taken another good, fresh look at it and got the red pen out. Why? Well, for one, I had to. I know Sophie’s Run is at least twenty-five thousand words too wordy for commercial publication, so they had to go. And second, because I wanted to. I felt the need. With a bit of distance, I wanted to go through my work and make sure that it still zings for me. There are certain things I learned from the publisher edits of Sophie’s Turn that I wanted to apply rightaway. I’ll talk about that some other time.

Me. Myself. And HER.

Today, I want to talk about this weird split personality that I have discovered. There’s me, and there’s The Other. My Inner Editor. She of the Ruthless Cutting Mindset. The Queen of Hearts.

So, the cutting. The bloodlet. That’s the part I dread and fear most. And yet surprisingly, it’s turning out to be quite easy. I appear to have grown a second head, one that is dispassionate and detached and ruthless. An Inner Editor has quite unexpectedly and without invitation taken residence in this new, second head of mine that isn’t even attached to my normal pair of shoulders. I kid you not—that’s exactly what it feels like!

I might be reading along merrily, quite enjoying myself, when my Inner Editor pipes up, quite brusquely—not to say, rudely—and instructs me to cut, cut, cut. “Can’t you see,” she’ll tell me in no uncertain terms, “that while this scene is fun, it’s also just excess fat? It doesn’t advance the plot, it’s not necessary. Take it out. Use it some other time.” Honestly, she really is like the Queen of Hearts, all Off With His Head (or rather, Out With The Scene!). Thus out come the scissors, and my office floor swiftly resembles a cutting room floor.

Me… and HER. Isn’t she scary?
Would *you* argue with her?

She’s usually right. It’s not that what I was written was bad, or wrong. On the contrary, I am quite often deeply attached to the scene in question. But if it’s not essential, then it has to go. If I can transplant the joke somewhere else, I will. If I can tell it in fewer words, I shall. And the end result: a pacy, fast, page-turning read (if I say so myself) that is better than it was before.

How much has she made me cut? I don’t know yet. I was going to start putting these edits into my manuscript in Word but owing to a small computer crisis, I’ve had a small delay. I can tell you, though, that I have cut at least four chapters; that there isn’t a page without at least five lines crossed out; and that a lot of excess verbiage has been clipped. I’m not entirely sure whether I’ve culled the required 25K but I don’t think I’m far off. And there are a few scenes that I have point-blank refused to take out (yet) even though Inner Editor was spitting with fury at my ignoring of her very relevant suggestions. These are my back up, my cushion, my fall back. With those, I will scrape over the all important finish.

I’m zinging with zest. I have this tingling in my toes that tells me I’m on to a good thing. The book feels sumptuous yet lean, luxurious and fast. Thank you, Inner Editor, and please forgive all the abuse I hurled at you. I love you, really.

Of course, this isn’t it. When I’m done, Sophie’s Run goes back to Sapphire Star again; my lovely publisher, has, of course, already read my second masterpiece, but now it’s time for the full-on, no holds-barred, all-out publisher edits.

Bring it on!

How do you approach editing? Do you have your very own Queen of Hearts sitting on your shoulder?

19 Comments

Posted in Progress Updates

Tagged Cutting, Editing, Nicky Wells, Queen of Hearts, rock star, Romance, Sapphire Star Publishing, Sequel, Sophie's Run

The Serial Juggler: One’s Out, Two’s Done, Three’s WIP as the Rock Star Romance Trilogy takes shape

Posted on September 21, 2012 | 16 comments

Did you know I can’t juggle? Not at all. I’m hopeless with balls in the air. I have no spacial vision whatsoever and any kind of ball games involve me scrabbling around ungracefully, feeling foolish.

But write and promote a Trilogy within a contracted timeframe with a publisher while also performing my day job as a mum? Yeah, bring it on! Right at this moment, I am juggling. I’m juggling promotion, editing, planning and writing, and I’m having a ball.

The Trilogy in Process. On the far right is Sophie’s Turn, all done and dusted. The cardboard boxes contain promotional postcards and bookmarks. In the middle is the first draft for Sophie’s Run. And the small pile of paper on the left contains the initial outline, all plans and some of the research for book 3! (Read on to find out more about that…)

Promoting, promoting, promoting

You all know my first book, Sophie’s Turn, is now out and available to buy. It’s been getting fabulous reviews in my 67-strong blog tour, and I’m doing interviews, guest posts, give-aways by the dozens. I’ve also had the local paper round to do a lovely little feature, and I’m hosting a ‘meet the author’ event at my local library in October. In addition, I’m planning to contact local book clubs, independent book stores, the WI, radio stations… you name it, I’m on a roll. I live on Twitter and Facebook as the great promotional rollercoaster goes through loop after looop. Rock on!

Editing, editing, editing

My second focus at this time is Sophie’s Run. It is completely written but at just over 149,ooo words for the first draft (yes, you read that right) it is slightly too long. I am going through page by page, scene by scene, chapter by chapter, looking for excess fat, unnecessary detours and undue verbiage in my quest to eliminate around 30,000 words from the first draft. God, that sounds a lot, right? But it will be done. I have about four weeks to get the slimline version to my lovely publishers over at Sapphire Star.

Moreover, the cover is being designed right at this time and it is going to be absolutely stunning. I don’t know when the cover reveal will take place, but rest assured, I will shout about it!

What happens in Sophie’s Run? Here’s a little taster…

Her famous star remains her rock while life takes her on a little detour…

Who says that the road toward true love is straight and even? Sophie is certainly discovering that it is anything but.

Sophie has had enough. Confused and distraught, she decides that it is time for radical change. Surprising herself and shocking her friends, she embarks on a secret that eventually gets her life back on track.

If you’ve enjoyed Sophie’s Turn, you’ll be in for a real treat, if I say so myself with all due humility. Sophie’s Run is due for release by Sapphire Star Publishing on 7 February 2013.

And planning, and writing, and planning, and writing

So then… what about the last part in the Trilogy? Well, my friends, this is all planned out and I will be writing it just as soon as I’ve sent Sophie’s Run back to Sapphire Star for proper publisher editing.

The working title is Sophie’s Encore and this book is due for release by Sapphire Star Publishing on 7 September 2013!! It’s too early to give you a teaser for this last part, but it will end the story with due style and panache. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed!

The workplan for Sophie’s Encore. Yes, I know it’s blurred! I wouldn’t want you to read it right now… that’d spoil all the fun! xx

See, so I can juggle. I can have three balls in the air, figuratively speaking. One book out, one book editing, one book writing. And so it goes… How do you cope with multiple projects (books or other) on the go?

16 Comments

Posted in Progress Updates, Rock Star Romance, Part 2: Sophie's Run

Tagged chick lit, Editing, Nicky Wells, rock star, Sapphire Star Publishing, Sophie's Encore, Sophie's Run, Sophie's Turn, Trilogy, WIP

Sophie has an exciting confession for Dan…

Posted on April 23, 2012 | 33 comments

Indeed, it’s party time again! Did you guess right yesterday?

I feel like a regular party girl these days. Break out the bubbly, have a little treat and join the party! Oh, and know that while the celebrations continue, I’ll be planning the third part of the Rock Star Romance Trilogy… just how will the story end??XX

~Nicky 🙂

33 Comments

Posted in Progress Updates, Rock Star Romance, Part 2: Sophie's Run, Sapphire Star Publishing Book Launch

Tagged chick lit, Happy Ending, Nicky Wells, rock star, Romance, Sapphire Star Publishing, Sequel, Sophie's Run

Nicky visits Dizzy C’s Little Book Blog to talk about Part 2 in the Rock Star Romance Trilogy

Posted on March 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

Happy Wednesday! Just a quick message to let you know that I am visiting the lovely Carol on her book blog today to talk about the sequel to Sophie’s Turn as part of the “W.I.P. Wednesday” series. Pop on over and visit HERE to get the scoop…