No moaning from me this week.  This is the time when I really enjoy being a writer … i.e. when I’m not actually writing at all!  I finished the book this time last week, and I have already heard back from my editor and done the couple of minor revisions.  I had originally made my hero very fastidious about his clothes, which I saw as an endearing flaw, but which was deemed in the end too unheroic, so all references to that had to come out, but otherwise it was pretty straightforward – cue one very big PHEW!

Now I just need to do it all over again before the middle of July.  Fortunately, I already have an idea,thanks to an excursion to the out of town cinema last Monday to see the latest chick flick, Made of Honour, starring the delectable Patrick Dempsey (which the webmistress has taken as a cue for including a pic!).

It wasn’t nearly as bad as the reviews had led us to expect, I have to admit.  I thought the scenes in New York and the classic ‘friends to lovers’ romance were well done, but sadly it all fell apart when the action moved (pointlessly) to Scotland.  There were also some needlessly cruel scenes with a ‘fat bridesmaid’ and a ‘nerdy guy’ that I imagine we were supposed to find funny – I hate those kind of cheap shots.  There’s nothing funny about someone who feels worthless because they can’t fit into a certain size of dress, or who lacks the social skills to be ‘one of the guys’.   I thought the heroine could have been more obviously torn between her fiancé and her friend, too, and the groom’s humiliation at being left literally at the altar was simply brushed aside … All in all, there was plenty for me to criticise on the way home, and it was as I was holding forth about how much more interesting a story they could have made that I suddenly thought, ‘Hang on, I could do that …’  Stories often grow out of other stories, I find, and then it’s just a question of making it your own.   In the end, my story will have nothing in common with Made of Honour, except in an element of the background, I suppose, but the story that film didn’t tell will be the springboard of the plot.

My next task is to write up an outline to send to my editor and see what she feels about it.  Sometimes stories I feel quite excited about get the downturned thumb, so I won’t do much more than that for now, but if it gets the OK, then I’ll start straight away on a rough draft (learning from the mistake I made last time!)  In the meantime, I have to tackle some of the less exciting aspects of a writer’s life, which mostly means doing my accounts. 

I’ve also had a logo designed recently, and have been talking this morning about ordering some promotional items with the said logo duly emblazoned all over them to take to San Francisco. 

I am horribly afraid it may all turn out to be the most enormous waste of money, but I suspect that, as with any kind of promotion, its value is impossible to measure, so I’ll probably never know whether it is worth it or not. 

I did find it interesting to think about the logo, and try to explain to the designer the sort of effect I wanted. 

I gave her the tag line and some key words (‘fresh’, ‘contemporary’, ‘vibrant’ etc) and this is what she came up with.

What do you think?

(The webmistress apologises if the logos aren't perfectly clear.  I'm having some technical difficulties!)

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

I'll also be updating the Pick Your Own Romance page very shortly so check back soon so you can vote again in Round Two!