Competition win for Secrets and Love Songs at The Mermaid Hotel

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I’m really excited to share the news that I came second in The Flash 500 Novel opening 2023 competition. The winners were announced this afternoon and I’m still buzzing.

Here’s what the judges from Headline Publishing had to say…

‘There is much to admire in this submission and it is a thoroughly deserving runner-up. We found it hugely readable and, in the end, there wasn’t much between this and the winner. We found ourselves immediately drawn in by the author’s characterisations, which seemed considered, believable and satisfyingly complex…’

You can read the full comments and learn more about the competition here Flash 500 Novel Opening competition.

It’s a wonderful feeling to reach the final and be placed second in this competition. The book is a special one for me as writing it helped me through those long months of lockdown. I’ve spent the last few years editing it and planning a series around the original story.

Secrets and Love Songs at The Mermaid Hotel will be published in 2024. I still haven’t decided whether that will be with me self publishing it, or through a publisher. Keep following my blog for updates.

I hope to post next week with a 2023 writing and reading annual wrap up, and my plans for 2024.

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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories. You can follow me on;

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#Bookreview The Christmas Love Letters by Sue Moorcroft #netgalley

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Heart warming and at times heart wrenching, but so, so good!

Blurb

A secret romance was just the start of the story…

Tucked into a crook of the Norfolk coast lies Nelson’s Bar – an idyllic village where time seems to stand still. Maddy Cracey has called this beautiful spot home all her life, as had her husband Adey – until an epic row sent him storming out into a blizzard, with no sign of him since that fateful night.

Six years on, and Maddy’s life in the village has settled into a gentle pattern with her young daughter and Great Aunt Ruthie. However, when handsome stranger Raff turns up with a handful of long-forgotten love letters, their quiet life is upended as family secrets from the past are unearthed.

As Raff and Maddy get to know each other, they grow closer and a love story of their own seems inevitable. But when Maddy receives a mysterious message, she can’t help but wonder whether her own past is as distant as she’d thought it was…

My review

I really loved this book, as I do with every one of Sue Moorcroft’s stories. She has earned her title ‘Queen of Christmas feelgood novels’!

The characters were great and the situations they were in gave plenty of opportunities to tug at the heart strings. I found myself needing tissues quite a few times throughout this story.

Maddy is a strong woman, she’s had to be after her husband disappeared and left her in debt. She’s caring and always puts others above her own happiness, but with Raff there seems a chance for her to find love and happiness.

I loved Raff as the hero of the story, and I especially loved that he’s an author. A fantasy author at that!

The setting really came alive and the vivid depictions of winter in Nelson’s Bar transported me there. The supporting cast were excellent, Great Auntie Ruthie especially. It’s her backstory woven through the book that leads to so many of the emotional moments.

I love an epilogue and this one rounded off the wonderful tale perfectly.

Another excellent Christmassy 5 star read.

Thanks to Netgalley for my ARC, the publishers and of course thanks Sue Moorcroft for another fantastic story.

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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories

You can follow me on

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Blog Tour ‘This Christmas in Paris’ by Sophie Claire #bookreview #tuesdaybookblog

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I’m excited to be on the blog tour for This Christmas in Paris by Sophie Claire.

Blurb

What could be more magical than Christmas in Paris?

When Carys is offered the chance to run a little French café, she leaps at the chance to discover an exciting city where she can dream big.

Meanwhile, struggling journalist Mat is living in the City of Love – but he’s never found romance himself.

Then, a chance encounter changes everything, and it feels like the start of something wonderful. But Carys and Mat are both keeping secrets . . .

Can they open their hearts to one another – and maybe even find love, just in time for Christmas?

My review

I was drawn into the story from the first page and didn’t want to put the book down.

I liked first meeting Carys in Willowbrook, her small hometown with a tight-knit community. It’s quickly clear why she feels she must escape to find herself. She jumps in at the deep end and takes a job in Paris running the Red Cat Café while the owners have a family emergency. She might not be qualified but she does a great job of it, until a bad review knocks her confidence.

Away from the café, Carys meets Mat and forms an instant connection with him. They know nothing of each others lives, but over the course of a few months they regularly meet and begin to fall in love. But there are secrets between them, which could get in the way of a relationship.

I have to admit there were several times I wanted to stop reading and beg the characters to make different choices. However, I ended up reading on avidly to see the twists and turns in their relationship play out.

I loved all the scenes in the café as Carys does her best to increase custom and challenges the chef to be more experimental. The food descriptions are mouth-watering, but I especially loved the evening talent shows she organises and the mix of customers we meet along the way.

Carys and Mat are great leading characters and deserve to find happiness. You’ll have to read it for yourself to see if they do find love together, or if the secrets tear them apart.

Note – I love the added extras at the end of the book, especially the recipe for ‘Cake aux Olives’ which I hope to try making very soon.

Don’t forget to check out the other reviewers taking part in the tour.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC copy and to the author for writing another brilliant festive read. FYI – this is my honest review.

NaNoWinner2023 I made it!

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I reached the deadline a day early!

Here is my very cute certificate. I shall have to print it out and admire it on the noticeboard above my desk.

I’ve taken the day off today to watch a few live masterclasses with the publisher Canelo via Iaminprint. It was an informative morning, but now I must get back to work.

My next task is to submit book 1 in The Mermaid Hotel Series to publishers. I have my short list and will hopefully work through it this afternoon.

Then, on my long weekend away I will be picking up where I left on on book 3 and will hopefully get close to completing the first draft. It’s exciting to get it down on the computer where the real editing and shaping can begin.

Roll on 2024 – The year of The Mermaid Hotel Series!

How did you get on with the challenge?

It’s not all about hitting the big numbers, but about giving yourself permission to write. I wish we could do that every month.

Until next time…

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories

You can follow me on

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Mini NaNoWriMo update and competition news

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It’s Sunday 26th and I’m feeling pretty good to have reached the 45k mark on book three in my Mermaid Hotel series.

Here’s a graphic of my progress. It’s been fun to keep track in this way and I think I will continue to use it for future books. It’s a little grubby as Daisy, my cocker spaniel, jumped on my work with muddy paws. Still, you can’t have a dog without a bit of mess and I wouldn’t change that for anything.

I’ve also had some good news over the weekend about book one reaching the long list in a competition. I’m really happy with that, but obviously I’m hoping it will go a lot further.

Book 2 is still at the same state. I haven’t even opened the folder of notes and edits to do. I’m really getting excited about it though. Hopefully in a week or two I’ll be in a position to start working on it.

Before that I have Nano to complete. I’m really hoping the draft of book 3 will be completed in just over a week. I’m going on a sort of writing retreat straight after November where I plan to write during the day and listen to music / entertainment in the evening. All meals are cooked for me and I won’t have any chores to worry about. Bliss!

I’m looking for inspiration for some short stories while I’m away as well as working on finishing book three.

On a different note, A Christmas Wish has been selling well this month. I was surprised to open the KDP dashboard today to see 9 paperback copies had been bought in the US. Great news!

Even a year later, I’m still proud of this book and can’t resist sharing a little cover pic from last year.

Next year I will 100% release another Christmas collection, I’m so sad that I didn’t manage to this year. Working part time has definitely limited my writing time. But on the plus side, Nanowrimo has given me a reason and an excuse to focus on writing again. I’m so glad I decided to go for it. I wish every month could be the same as this!

I’ll be back soon with a last Nano update and a book review.

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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories

You can follow me on

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You can also join my Newsletter for writing updates and news of promotions.

Update on NaNoWriMo 2023 #amwriting

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This is a quick update as I really should be getting on with the word count!

It’s day 20 of NaNoWriMo 2023. So far, I’ve been able to stick with the daily target of hitting around 1667 words a day. My word count currently stands at 32,027 and should be 33,340 by the end of the day. Fingers crossed!

But that’s only on book 3 in my romance series and I had set myself a target of adding word count to book 2 as well. As yet, I haven’t even looked at extending the draft for book 2. That may be a task for December if I don’t get a chance to work on it before.

Through November, I’ve been busy editing book 1 after some great beta reader feedback. Hopefully, I will soon be sending it out to publishers, I want to act before it gets too close to Christmas.

I’m hoping in these last 10 days of Nano I can really pick up the pace on book 3. It would be great to beat the 50k target. I know I can do it if I really get my head down, but I also know it’s easy to get distracted. This blog post is a perfect example! HA HA.

With that in mind, I think I will wrap this up. I may try for another update at the weekend, if not I’ll been back at the end of the month hopefully with good news on my word count.

Are you taking part in Nano? How are you finding the daily demands?

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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories

You can follow me on

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You can also join my Newsletter for writing updates and news of promotions.

NaNoWriMo 2023 starts today #amwriting #indieauthor

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Today is the start of NaNoWriMo, where thousands of writers pledge to dedicate themselves to writing a novel, or 50k of a writing project, during November.

I’ve tried the challenge on and off since 2011 with varying levels of success.

In 2023 I’ve pledged to type up my handwritten draft of book 3 in the Mermaid’s Hotel series and expand it to 50k (or more if I can!).

I also want to increase the word count of book 2 in the series which currently stands at 24,096. I would like to add 20k to this, but that would be an added extra as my main focus is book 3.

I have written a novel plan of each book in the 6 book series on excel to help me. This is a break down of each chapter showing what happens and whose VP it is.

I have some cool printed word count sheets to keep me going. And I’ve signed up to Nanowrimo where you can post your daily word count and watch it grow. You can also see how your buddies are getting along.

I’m hoping to post weekly updates on my progress, so look out for that. These sheets should have a bit of colour on them by then!

Now I really must get on. It’s been a slow start for me so far with only 500 words achieved today. Hopefully I can put in a big stint before bed.

See you next week for that update.

P.S. Are you taking part. Let’s cheer each other on.

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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories

You can follow me on

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You can also join my Newsletter for writing updates and news of promotions.

Writing update and signing up to NaNoWriMo 2023

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It hasn’t been that long since my last update back in July (see the post here), but I thought October was a good point in the year for another brief writing update.

I’ve been making some decisions over the last few days and feel positive about the future of my Mermaid Hotel series. Book 1 is currently with beta readers and I am embarking on a re-read myself. Once I’ve had some feedback, and made any changes, I hope to send off the whole book to a few publishers on the short list I’m currently compiling.

I do have some sad news for my fantasy readers. Starlight Prophecy is still on hold. I feel the whole series needs more time dedicated to it but my head and heart are too much into the romance books at the moment. I hope to look at it again towards Christmas time, it depends how my other plans go. Which leads me to…

I’m signing up to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year with not one, but two books!

I originally signed up to force myself to type of the draft I have of book 3. Because it is already partly written it felt like cheating, so I decided I would also try to increase the word count of book 2 – from 24k to 44k. Obviously it will still need a lot of work to reach the 90k mark I’m looking for, but I can’t set my sights too high for one month! Or can I?

Considering I’m working part time now, it may be a bit much of an ask to write 70k in a month, but I seem to work better to a deadline. After all, I did write and prepare to publish ‘A Christmas Wish’ in just 6 weeks last year. I guess I like a challenge.

On the reading side, I still have three books from netgalley / publishers to read and review by December so look out for some more reviews coming your way soon.

I’ve also played around with the colours and background on my website. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Now, I best get back to work planning for Nano and reading book 1. I’ll be back with another update before the end of the year.

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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories

You can follow me on Twitter Goodreads BookBub Amazon Facebook Instagram

You can also join my Newsletter for writing updates and news of promotions.

#Bookreview Countdown to Christmas by Jo Thomas #romance #christmasread #netgalley

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This is another great, feel good story from Jo Thomas.

The Blurb

Chloe can’t wait for Christmas . . . to be over! Her son Ruben is staying with his dad and Chloe is planning to ignore the holidays altogether. Her only festive touch is her son’s advent calendar, to help count down the days till he’s home again.

But a surprise call changes everything. Chloe might be the unexpected owner of some land in Canada! Surely, it’s a scam. Or could it be just the escape she needs right now? Ruben’s latest note in the advent calendar tells her to ‘say yes!’

In a flash, Chloe’s new countdown to Christmas involves a log cabin in the middle of a snowy forest, a community that’s worried for its future, a gruff lumberjack who gives her butterflies and a lot of pancakes with maple syrup . . .

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My Review


I loved the characters, the setting and the premise of counting down to Christmas via an advent calendar Chloe’s son made to help her get through the period without him. Although Ruben isn’t in the book that much, her 12-year-old son has a great impact on the story and I’m sure the readers.

As usual, food plays a main role (everything with maple syrup) and I learned something new about another part of the world and profession – tapping trees. The supporting cast were great, especially Bea at the diner and Theo as the rugged hero of the story. But I also loved the rogue turkey always chasing Chloe around.

I loved every minute of this book. I’m so pleased with the ending as well, wish I could say more but I don’t want to have spoilers in this review!

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for my ARC copy.

I hope you enjoy this festive book as much as I did. Let me know if you’ve read it, or if you plan to read it this season.

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#Bookreview Your Book Won’t Sell Itself by GJ Stevens #writingguide #indieauthor

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I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book before it was released in May 2023. Life has got in the way of me reading it until now, but that is no reflection on the quality of the advice on offer.

This book is packed full of information that will help you on your indie publishing journey. It’s a practical guide on what you can expect along the way, drawing on GJ Stevens experiences.

It’s the kind of book I wish I’d had when I first started out. And for those who have experience, there are still many things you can learn. It’s always interesting to see the world of indie publishing through another author’s eyes, and compare techniques.

I like how the author has discussed the different software he uses and professional services that are available to help you with the process of writing and self publishing. It’s great to know you are not alone and that you can draw on experts for certain areas that may not be your strong point.

The take away from this book is anyone can do it. Go on, go for it!

This is a how-to guide I highly recommend to new writers, and those like me that have done it before but may be looking for some tips to improve the process.

Here’s the blurb.

A helpful guide for authors, whether established or just starting out.

Despite writing and publishing eight novels, two novellas and an array of short stories over ten years, I still remember how daunting it was to start with a blank page.

This book is intended as a guide for anyone thinking about writing a book or those who have written a book but its sales are stalling. Presented in two sections, we’ll take a journey through the writing process before delving into strategies to get your book in front of reader’s eyeballs.

Covering a range of topics, including the basics of writing, editing, cover design, blurbs and publishing, I pass on the many tips and tricks I’ve learnt along my journey to get you started and help prevent you from making costly mistakes.

I’ll introduce everything you need to know to get your books selling, from building your community on social media, advertising and selling in person, all with an aim to fast-track your sales with my tried and tested methods.

Here’s the book links

Amazon

Goodreads

And if you want some more information, GJ Stevens writes a weekly blog about his writing and marketing efforts here.

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