Author: leoniemack

A large part of learning the craft of writing is reading. Craft books can boil down and structure a writer’s understanding of the elements of a fictional story in a particular genre, but understanding the communicative process of telling or hearing a story can only be achieved by experiencing it ourselves. Stories have always been…

I never concretely imagined what happened after submitting a manuscript to a publisher, but it turns out that the vague idea I had was completely wrong anyway. Firstly, with my long book, I had that dream email where an editor at a publishing house said she loved my book. BUT I still don’t have a…

Finishing a first draft is one of the best feelings. I had to leave a draft for a Mills and Boon Modern (50,000 words) at 37K over the summer holidays, making the whole exercise uncertain. I worry constantly that inspiration will suddenly abandon me if I don’t get the story down or that it will…

Being a member of author groups on social media and interacting with other writers can be rewarding for a job that is solitary and yet creative. For romance writers, it’s especially important because we feel on the ‘outer’ in certain writing circles AND because we write intimately about people. I am an introvert myself and…

Exactly a month after my last post, my next post is similar – and completely different. The draft of my last project is finished and the partial requested as part of the Mills and Boon Modern Blitz is with the editor. The full manuscript is with beta readers. So, of course, I’ve started something new.…

I’m not quite sure how, but I have half of a draft of my next book. I only submitted the last one three weeks ago and I tried, I truly tried to take a break. But breaks are off now because my next book has reached the ‘entropy’ stage. It’s starting to settle into order.…

Sometimes I feel like my books write me, rather than the other way around. That’s why it’s so hard to say it’s done. But it’s done. Music-inspired Christmas book is finished. And I’m a different person from who I was when I started writing it at the end of January. This book baby has been…

Processing possibilities and impossibilities is a human habit and the reason why we love both romances and crime novels, is the reason my kids make their toys kill each other. We’re constantly processing the world we experience (increasingly through media) and trying to construct sense from it. I’m fascinated by the complex dialogue about creativity,…

I’ve discovered one unexpected side-effect of the more meticulous planning I’ve done for my last two books. It give me a sense of urgency to get the thing written. Once I know what is going to happen, the drive to get it down is strong. The Christmas/Latin book has been intense. The interaction between the…

I’ve been dreading the little email icon on my phone screen. Every time something drops in, I’m dreading a no from either Mills and Boon about Tess and Diego’s manuscript or a no to my Carina Pitch proposal. The email from Mackenzie Walton at Carina Press dropped in today. She requested the full manuscript! My…