Tag: Jane Wenham Jones

Book review – for readers and writers – no.126: Morgen Bailey reviews Jane Wenham-Jones’ short story collection Cat Tales for Cat Lovers

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Today’s book review of a short story collection is brought to you by yours truly, Morgen Bailey. If you’d like your book reviewed or to send me a book review of another author’s book, see book-reviews for the guidelines. Other options listed on opportunities-on-this-blog.

Cat Tales for Cat Lovers by Jane Wenham-Jones

CTFCL coverSynopsis: Henry goes missing, Blosha comes to stay, Oliver rules the roost, Mo has a birthday while Bruiser causes havoc. And doesn’t everyone have a love of Mozart? Six charming and touching, cat-centric stories from popular novelist Jane Wenham-Jones. Curl up with your favourite feline and enjoy…

This collection is available via http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00J2334YU/janewenhamjon-21/026-9443805-3263660 and http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00J2334YU/janewenhamjon-21/026-9443805-3263660.

Review (via audiobook / my Kindle’s text-to-speech function)

There are six stories in this connection, and I have previously enjoyed Jane’s birthday collection which would’ve been more appropriate for today as it is my birthday. 🙂 The stories here are:

‘A Love of Mozart’ shows that you don’t need a high level of conflict in a story, and this story starts with it. From the off I liked both characters, the first-person character (who is far too much like me for comfort!) and her sister Liz. It’s a very relatable story, and I smiled at the part where she remembers shutting in her cat. The ending was unexpected and I liked it.

‘Gone Fishing’ is another first person tale and I liked the fact that I know the narrator’s name from the off, which we didn’t have at all in the previous story. They say that you shouldn’t work with children and animals, and our narrator, Maggie, has to look after both, and she’s not even getting paid for it. It has its challenge and a very amusing story with another ending I wasn’t expecting.

‘Babysitting Blosha’ is another sweet story with challenges, engaging characters and an amusing cat.

‘Bruiser’ lives up to its title. It’s been a long time since I had cats but it is clear that Jane has had many experiences and has included some of them in this collection. Another entertaining tale.

‘Losing Henry’ does what it says on the tin and is a very endearing story, perhaps the saddest of them all… up to a point.

‘Marmalade and Mo’ returned to amusement, and I love the image of Sid in the vegetable rack and Mo in the sink.

And now for writers…

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Book review – for readers and writers – no.84: Morgen Bailey reviews Something to Celebrate by Jane Wenham-Jones

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Today’s book review, of a short story collection, is brought to you by yours truly, Morgen Bailey. I reviewed Jane’s collection Happy Birthday back in August.

If you’d like your book reviewed or to send me a book review of another author’s book, see book-reviews for the guidelines. Other options listed on opportunities-on-this-blog.

Being a writer and editor, I read and review books with both hats. If you’re a writer reading this review and found it useful, do let me know.

STC coverSomething to Celebrate by Jane Wenham-Jones

Synopsis: Everyone has something to celebrate in this sparkling collection of short stories by best-selling romantic novelist, Jane Wenham-Jones. A Big Birthday, a wedding anniversary, an unlikely encounter, a smashed headlight and a treat to remember.

This collection is available via http://www.amazon.com and http://www.amazon.co.uk.

Review (of the eBook using Mrs Kindle’s text-to-speech function)

There are five short stories in this collection, so a short review:

  1. Wolf Whistle: A tale for any woman whose weight yo-yos, and those who have – or wish for – a husband like John. Set in Spain, our unnamed protagonist is dreading her birthday but John makes it one she’ll remember long after the planes touches back on UK soil, even if he does have the last word.
  2. Birthday Treat: For a woman always on the go, this one gets a day she’s longed for, and I’m sure many a reader would feel envious of her as they usually please others even on their day.
  3. Meant to Be: A moment’s distraction starts this story and I wondered how it would become a celebration but it soon becomes clear (how I guessed, and the character’s friend Jan had suggested) but then again… a great ending.

I spotted a cliché in this one (‘talking nineteen to the dozen’) but I loved Adam’s character so he (and the cliché) is forgiven, although I’d still chop out the spare adverbs / words (‘I said crossly’ and ‘I said impatiently’, ‘I thought sourly’ – and a number of other dialogue tag descriptions – and ‘I sighed in exasperation’) where we know what is being said because of the context.

  1. Ten Years On: The reality of budgetary priorities hit home a ten-year-married couple when the husband wants to go away for a weekend instead of replacing their broken washing machine. There’s a lovely twist (and double twist) to this story but, with my editor’s hat on, there were again a number of adverbs that could have been chopped, perhaps made more obvious because of the book being audio.
  2. Birthday Surprise: When the character tells us that she’s waiting for a strip-a-gram because everyone’s ignoring her, I thought that they’d forgotten about her birthday and she was getting nothing but sure enough, in he walks… but, like a couple of the earlier stories, things don’t go to plan. A chuckle-ending story – a perfect finale.

Conclusion

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Lost the Plot? Jane Wenham-Jones’ writing tips for Woman writing competition

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Accent tips

So you’ve started your novel with great enthusiasm. You’ve finished the first few chapters and don’t know where to go next. Running out of inspiration? Woman writing competition judge Jane Wenham-Jones has good advice for unpublished writers taking part in our search for a new star of women’s contemporary fiction.

  1. Remember there is no “right” way to plot a novel – only what works for you. Some novelists plan everything out meticulously before they write a word, others just start typing. Many – including me – know what’s in the first chapter, have a vision for the end and have a few ideas for the major events along the way, but work out the detail as they go. All are equally valid.
  1. Experiment with different ways of planning. Some writers like to use index cards – with notes for each scene or chapter on separate cards and  keep them neatly in a box. Others prefer a notebook or a folder or just a hundred tiny scraps of paper. There are various sorts of charts you can employ – a thread chart or a spider – or ways of having a big visual plan, say by using card and post-it notes, or even a roll of wallpaper! I outline all the different ways I could think of in Wannabe a Writer?. Why not try them all and see which suits you.
  1. Whichever method you settle with, it is useful to have some sort of overview you can easily consult – even if this is just a single sheet of paper with an outline typed on it. As I always say, writing a novel can be like grappling with a huge armful of slippery cooked spaghetti that you need to fit into a very small container!
  1. Don’t let the fact that you have no idea what will happen after chapter three, prevent you from getting started. Inspiration will come, once you begin writing. As someone wise once said: Trust the process.
  1. If you are really stuck, just jump to the next bit you DO know. Leave yourself some notes in capitals: NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENS HERE. MAYBE ANOTHER SCENE AT WORK OR MAYBE MOTHER COMES TO STAY – SOMETHING THAT STRESSES HER OUT ANYWAY SO SHE’S NOT CONCENTRATING WHEN SHE’S DRIVING.  Then cut straight to the dramatic chapter you have clearly in your head, when she crashes the car in the rain and is rushed to hospital.

You can view the original at http://accenthub.com/lost-the-plot-jane-wenham-jones-top-tips-for-plotting-your-entry-for-woman-writing-competition.

Jane Wenham-Jones is the author of best-selling contemporary novels One Glass Is Never Enough, Prime Time and the popular writing guides Wannabe A Writer and Wannabe A Writer We’ve Heard Of.

For more details on how to enter our search for a new star of women’s fiction click here. (Deadline 30th November 2014)

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For anyone looking for an editor, do take a look at Editing and Critique.

If you would like to send me a book review of another author’s books or like your book reviewed (short stories, contemporary crime / women’s novels or writing guides), see book-reviews for the guidelines. Other options listed on opportunities-on-this-blog. And I post writing exercises every weekday on four online writing groups.

Book review – for readers and writers – no.55: Morgen Bailey reviews Happy Birthday by Jane Wenham-Jones

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Today’s book review of a short story collection is brought to you by yours truly, Morgen Bailey.

If you’d like your book reviewed or to send me a book review of another author’s book, see book-reviews for the guidelines. Other options listed on opportunities-on-this-blog.

Being a writer and editor, I read and review books with both hats. If you’re a writer reading this review and found it useful, do let me know.

Happy Birthday by Jane Wenham-Jones

Happy Birthday coverSynopsis: Whether approaching thirty, hitting forty or heading for ninety, birthdays can be fraught affairs. Birthdays are a source of inspiration, desperation and clever deception in this entertaining short story collection from best-selling novelist Jane Wenham-Jones. With laughter, tears, cake and champagne – these five birthday tales will leave you longing to blow out some candles of your own…

This collection is available via Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk and is currently free!

Jane - handsJane Wenham-Jones is a well-known author and journalist who regularly appears on radio and TV. She is a columnist for Woman’s Weekly Fiction Special and her local paper the Isle of Thanet Gazette as well as being the agony aunt for Writing Magazine. She has published four novels: Raising The Roof, Perfect Alibis, One Glass Is Never Enough and, most recently, Prime Time as well as two non-fiction books – Wannabe a Writer? and Wannabe a Writer We’ve Heard Of? She lives with her family in Broadstairs, Kent, where two of her novels are set.
 Her latest book – 100 Ways to Fight the Flab – was published in 2014. For more info see www.janewenham-jones.com and http://www.wannabeawriter.co.uk
. Jane also blogs at http://janewenhamjones.wordpress.com and has recently made a TV pilot for aspiring authors which can be watched on www.wannabeawritertvshow.com.

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Review

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My weekend at Chipping Norton Literary Festival by Morgen Bailey

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Last weekend, 25-27 April, I spent my third year volunteering at Chipping Norton. I say “volunteering” but this year I helped out at one event, the Saturday night quiz. Below are my notes from that and the events I attended.

After some difficulty in finding my hotel – thank you Mrs Sat Nav – I met up with Jane Wenham-Jones at her hotel, the lovely Crown & Cushion in the centre of Chipping Norton, before we headed off to the first event (for us) of the weekend, The Liff of QI with John Lloyd.

After an introduction by Claire Macintosh, the Festival’s Director, John came on and launched into a brilliant one-man session. He mentioned Douglas Adams’ alternative dictionary (full of town names) Meaning of Liff and said that Kettering (a town not too far from where I live) is the pattern you get on your bottom when you’ve been sitting for too long. I’m at my computer too much during my day so I clearly have plenty of Ketterings. He then talked about other towns and other explanations.

John said we don’t really know why things are funny and moved on to talking about religion and the definition of the Greek word is ‘logos’ meaning ‘joke’ and also the beginning of creation. He then talked about how he got into broadcasting and one event of getting a Bechstein concert grand piano through a narrow BBC doorway. The carpenters created a replica to test that the original would get through but then couldn’t get it out of the carpentry shop!

One of John’s early programmes was ‘Just a Minute’ and he quoted a hilarious (but too blue for this family-friendly blog) excerpt. Another story was about a cleaner who was fired for cleaning a lift 25 times in one day because he thought it was a different lift on each floor. Another show that John was involved in was ‘Not the Nine O’Clock News’. He read out a complaint from a viewer – a letter full of swearing – complaining about the language used in the show. Apparently the BBC switchboard was “jammed” with 30(!) complaints after the episodes aired. John then talked about science and said there are more atoms in a golf ball than golf balls could fill the universe. Wow. A+He added that there is no difference biologically between broccoli and cauliflower.

John then recalled an incident he’d been told about where The Mousetrap play (which has been running since 1952) had a famous graveyard slot (Wednesday afternoons) where they have few audience members. The actors play pass the Brussels sprout. One conceals it and passes it to another actor without the audience seeing it, then it goes onwards to another actor and so on, and whoever has it at the end of the play buys the drinks. The British comedy actor Mel Smith went one week, sitting amongst a sea of Koreans, and John thinks the actors had been warned that Mel was going because one of the actors came out with a cauliflower and passed it around in full view, just for Mel!

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Tips on: entering writing competitions & pitching to an agent

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Two of my articles appeared online today:

Della re comps Jan 2014 smallI returned to Della Galton’s blog to talk about writing competitions…

Tip on entering Writing Competitions

Competitions are a great inspiration and not only get me writing something new (certainly for the themed ones) but even if I don’t get anywhere, I still have the story to do something else with, like submitting to women’s magazines here in the UK (although it’s more advisable to write specifically for their markets) or self-publishing to add to my collection of eBooks. I’d love to give you advice that will guarantee a competition win but it won’t. Sorry about that. There are two reasons for this:

  1. You will never know how the judge will feel when he / she reads your story. He / she could be going through an acrimonious divorce and your divorce story is a painful reminder. I know, judges shouldn’t be personally involved in your writing but that’s the thing with fiction (and non-fiction of course); readers get emotionally involved – you should want them to, and if they do, it means your story ‘works’.

Click here to read more… and here for my first article on being a competitions insider.

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CNLF guest post 220114 smallThen a few hours later, my article on pitching to agents appeared on the Chipping Norton Literary Festival blog.

Guest blog on pitching to agents

I’ve pitched to sixteen agents to-date: twelve via email and four face-to-face, and below are a few tips for anyone considering this route.

  • Know your story. That sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Of course you know your story, you wrote it, but hopefully by the time you’re ready to pitch to an agent you’ve put it away for at least a couple of weeks – ideally more – so you’ve forgotten enough to review / edit it with a slightly more detached part of your brain. And yes, you should have written the entire novel, ideally more than one or at least have ideas (preferably synopses) for more. Readers, and therefore agents love series.
  • Do your homework. Research the agents before you submit to them. There is usually more than one agent at an agency so make sure you’re sending the right genre of novel to the right person. There is no excuse these days with most agencies having comprehensive websites detailing who does what. Keep everything professional – call the agent Mr Smith rather than heading your letter Dear John.

Click here to read more… and for the exciting opportunity to pitch your novel extract to agent Carole Blake!

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Doing NaNoWrimo??

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Erm, yes. I’ve signed in but am currently swamped with freelance editing work so I’ve not started writing yet (or even thought about what I’m going to do). I have a choice; finish the third of three serial killer novellas or write a children’s story based on a talking dog. I’ll let you know what I decide…

Jane Wenham-Jones

NaNoI am not doing NaNoWriMo officially, but with a book to finish, another one to start, columns piling up, hundreds of emails to answer and a for-God’s-sake-do-soon paper pile that is threatening to take over the entire room, I have my own reasons for needing to buckle down this month. If you live on your own, and don’t go out to work, what’s to stop you? But if you have a family and busy life to juggle, here are my top tips, hoiked out of Wannabe a Writer? for getting lots written in a short space of time…. Good luck! 🙂 

How to Write When There’s no Time:

  1. Think about getting up an hour earlier and write while the rest of the house is asleep.When I’m getting to the end of a book (which always takes longer than planned) I sometimes rise at four a.m. to guarantee…

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