Cocktails and crystals - Samantha Tonge

Ladies and Gentlemen, please be upstanding for our very own, Samantha Tonge!

A couple of weeks ago, (okay, I remember the exact day, Wednesday 18^th November) my bestselling summer novel, Game of Scones, won the Best Romantic  Ebook category at the Love Stories Awards 2015. The announcement was made at a London cocktail bar. The awards’ organisers put on this glamorous party and I spent a lovely afternoon mingling with talented authors, publishers, editors and agents, many of whom, up until that point, I had only known online. Plus I was in the presence of the romance deities that are Jenny Colgan and Katie Fforde!

Phew. What an adrenaline rush. I honestly never, ever expected to win, for two reasons. Firstly, the calibre of the other candidates was very high and what lovely, lovely ladies. Secondly, I don’t necessarily think of my work as pure romance, as it has a strong comedic element. Having said that, though, my writing in Game of Scones did take a more romantic direction and was less farcical than my previous books, thanks to a Dutch flight attendant I met who inspired one of the characters (long story!)

So there is me, practising my Oscar face and joking about it with friends (you know, the look someone gives when a winning name is read out, and it isn’t theirs) when I heard the words “Game of Scones”. Someone said I had the biggest smile on my face as I gave a little speech. Another said I was shaking when I returned to my place. Neither of those observations surprises me and I recall that moment with a mixture of shock, disbelief and utter joy.

An award. I’d won an award. It was only two years previously that I signed my publishing deal with digital-first CarinaUK (HarperCollins) and since then have had five novels released. It’s been a rollercoaster journey (sorry to use that cliché but it’s appropriate) with the highs of good sales and  reviews, to the lows of hard, hard writing and promotional work, and deadlines to meet. But that shiny, crystal, gorgeous award made it all worthwhile – and eased the pain of my crippling high shoes and the delayed train journey which meant I didn’t get home until after 1am!

It’s been quite a year for me and Game of Scones. It reached #5 in the AmazonUK Kindle chart and readers seemed to fall in love with the characters and magical Greek setting just as I had – and as a writer you can’t ask for more than that. Of course, like all books, it received unfavourable reviews as well, which is why the Love Stories Award gave it added validation in my mind. It’s a special book, very close to my heart, and I wonder if that’s why it was shortlisted, because more than all my previous work, it pulled on my emotions as I wrote it.

Game of Scones’ standalone sequel, My Big Fat Christmas Wedding, is out now and it is going to be hard for me to finally move on from the characters of those books – namely, feisty Pippa, suave Dutch Henrik and exotic fisherman Niko. I still look back on the last two years in disbelief... the glitzy romance parties I attend in London... my back-catalogue of books out there and I now have some novels in paperback and in shops, which is the very sweet icing on the cake. I wrote for a long time and I subbed for a long time, before I signed with CarinaUK and the writer’s life I am now leading was but a dream – a seemingly unattainable one. So I guess I would tell any aspiring authors not to give up. You just don’t know how close you are to enjoying those book launches and cocktail bars, although the rollercoaster never ends. You are only as good as your next book and I never forget that my dream writerly life could end tomorrow!

-------------

Bio
Samantha Tonge lives in Cheshire with her lovely family and a cat that thinks it’s a dog. When not writing, she spends her days cycling and willing cakes to rise. She has sold over 80 short stories to women’s magazines. Her bestselling debut novel, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award in 2014. Her summer 2015 novel Game of Scones hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart.

Things don’t always run smoothly in the game of love…

As her Christmas wedding approaches, a trip back to snowy England for her ex’s engagement party makes her wonder if those are wedding bells she’s hearing in her mind, or warning bells. She longs for the excitement of her old London life – the glamour, the regular pedicures. Can she really give that all up to be…a fishwife?

There’s nothing for it but to throw herself into bringing a little Christmas magic to the struggling village in the form of a Christmas fair. Somewhere in amidst the sparkly bauble cakes and stollen scones, she’s sure she’ll come to the right decision about where she belongs…hopefully in time for the wedding…

Perfect for fans of Lindsey Kelk and Debbie Johnson. Don’t miss the Christmas Wedding of the year!

Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor
Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/
AmazonUK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Big-Fat-Christmas-Wedding-ebook/dp/B00XAFSXFG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1444041016&sr=1-1&keywords=my+big+fat+christmas+wedding
AmazonUS: http://www.amazon.com/My-Big-Fat-Christmas-Wedding-ebook/dp/B00XAFSXFG/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Coping with Bad Reviews

In the run-up to Christmas, author and Strictly Writing family member, Sam Tonge, talks turkey!

We all have our own way of dealing with bad reviews – and in my experience, whilst they may sting, it does get easier over time to cope. They are, after all, part of our job as an author, and it would be unreasonable – arrogant even – to expect that everyone is going to enjoy your work. We can all think of a bestselling movie or story that all our friends love, but we just don’t “get”. Equally, search out your favourite novel on Amazon – whilst you adored it you can be certain a number of people won’t have.

My bestselling debut novel, Doubting Abbey, came out last November. Whilst overall it sold well, and was even shortlisted recently for the Festival of Romantic Fiction Best E-book award, it received its fair share of poor reviews. And one thing I quickly learnt was to differentiate between the constructive bad reviews and those which in tone, and choice of words, seemed hellbent on upsetting the author. The latter, where possible, are to be ignored!

However the constructive 1* and 2* reviews, I read with interest. It is fascinating to see how someone else views your work and to find out which aspects – for them – didn’t work. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I took on board what a couple of them said, when writing Doubting Abbey’s sequel, From Paris with Love. I always appreciate the time people take to review my books and if they didn’t enjoy them, reading an explanation of why not can be really useful. After all, they’ve invested money in my writing - it’s only right they should have a platform to explain why they were left dissatisfied

Of course, it can be confusing – something one reviewer hates will be loved by another. For Doubting Abbey, one person would dislike the way my main character, Gemma, said “Amazin’” a lot, whilst another would head their review “Amazin’ book”! But if a certain criticism comes up more than once, I give it a lot of thought. In my opinion, the most important thing is not to take it personally – to most readers authors are faceless beings, and I don’t believe they think about them when critically dismantling a novel.

You know what they say – a bad review is better than none and I hope readers find lots to like in my Christmas novel Mistletoe Mansion, which features a celebrity wannabe, famous golfing wife, lots of cupcakes and a supposed ghost! But if not, I just need to remember that plenty of Marmite books have had great success. In other words, not everyone has to love your work for it to do well.

Bio

Samantha Tonge lives in Cheshire with her lovely family, and two cats who think they are dogs. When not writing, she spends her days cycling and willing cakes to rise. She has sold over 80 short stories to women’s magazines. Her bestselling debut novel, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award in 2014. Its fun standalone sequel is From Paris with Love. Mistletoe Mansion stars a new set of characters and is for fans of cupcakes and Christmas!

From Paris with Love

Kimmy Jones has three loves: cupcakes, gossip magazines and dreaming of getting fit just by owning celeb workouts.

When Kimmy’s Sensible Boyfriend told her he didn’t approve of her longing for the high life or her dream of starting a cupcake company, Kimmy thought she could compromise – after all, she did return those five-inch Paris Hilton heels! But asking her to trade in cake-making for a job sorting potatoes is a step too far.

So, newly single - and newly homeless – Kimmy needs a dusting of Christmas luck. And, masquerading as a professional house sitter, her new temporary home is the stunning Mistletoe Mansion. Soon she’s best buds with glamorous next door golf WAG Melissa, and orders are pouring in for her fabulous Merry Berry cupcakes! The only thorn in her side is handsome handyman Luke, a distraction she definitely doesn’t need. And talking of distractions, something very odd is going on at night…

Kimmy is finally living the life she’s always wanted. But will her glimpse into the glittering lifestyle of the rich and famous be as glamorous as she’s always imagined…?

Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor
Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/
Doubting abbey Blog: http://doubtingabbey.blogspot.co.uk/
AmazonUK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mistletoe-Mansion-Samantha-Tonge-ebook/dp/B00O56X3HM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412419104&sr=1-1&keywords=Mistletoe+mansion
AmazonUS: http://www.amazon.com/Mistletoe-Mansion-Samantha-Tonge-ebook/dp/B00O56X3HM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412419236&sr=8-1&keywords=mistletoe+mansion

Bring on the Sequel

Nowadays, especially with the digital-first imprints, it would seem writing sequels and series is a popular path to follow - which is odd, because when I started out years ago, I remember wanting to write one and the idea being pooh-poohed in literary circles. Apparently it was the typical thing any aspiring writer longed to do. Guilty as charged! Although over the years, I lost the urge and thought of my books just as one-offs. On 10^th November 2013 Harlequin’s new digital-first imprint, CarinaUK, published Doubting Abbey, my debut novel. When I wrote this romantic comedy, I always thought of it as a standalone story which came to a firm end.

However, as I went through the revisions it became clear to me that the characters had more to say. Fortunately, my publisher is wholly behind sequels and series and I can see the commercial appeal – especially for the digital imprints, where there is more flexibility and less to lose if the series doesn’t work. Several times recently writers, either traditionally or self-published, have said that to increase sales, this is the way to go. When the second book comes out, sales of the first will increase. The original one could be offered at a slashed price, if bought with the follow-up. Plus, each book can be advertised at the back of the other and the first one will, of course, be mentioned every time you promote your new book.

So, now that I’ve begun that project, what are the challenges? Well, if like mine, the sequel is not closely related to the first, with an on-going detailed plot, then firstly, you must make sure that the sequel tells a fresh, new tale – which sounds obvious but I sent off a synopsis for my agent to take a look, and unwittingly I’d put the characters into a similar situation as in the book before, just under different circumstances.

One solution might be to choose lead characters who were minor in the original tale. If the protagonists are the same, you must make sure that the new theme or character development doesn’t simply go over old ground.

Another pitfall to avoid is including too much backstory about the first book (again, if the two books are not, plot-wise, intricately connected). I am trying to make my sequel a standalone as well, so that readers aren’t put off by thinking they have to read another book first, to understand everything that’s going on. However, a degree of information, about the plot of Doubting Abbey, will need to be covered. Someone who pulls this off very cleverly is Sophie Kinsella in her well-known Shopoholic series, the success of which is no doubt majorly due to a strong, appealing very lovable main character.

Another frustrating aspect is that you could suddenly have a brilliant idea of where to take your characters in book two, but can’t because it wouldn’t fit with what happened in book one. For example Gemma’s mother died when she was young – I might have come up with an amazing story for the sequel that, say, needed her to have a fortune-telling actress for a mother who lives in Hollywood! However, as I’m finding already, with artistic license a lot of these wrinkles can be smoothed out.

So, if you already have a publishing deal, writing a sequel might be worth discussing with your agent or publisher. If you are still to snag that contract, perhaps keep the idea at the back of your mind and if you feel your characters might eventually have more to say, be careful how you end book one. Don’t close all the gates!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor

Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/

Novel: http://doubtingabbey.blogspot.co.uk/

Doubting Abbey was recently ranked #1 in the Amazon bestselling romcom kindle chart and is only £2.99. It's available here.

Guest Short Story Writer, Samantha Tonge - Reading between Rejection

Having sold almost 30 short stories to woman’s magazines (small potatoes compared to some of their writers, and I’m still learning), I might be in a position to offer some advice, on how to break into this market. However, I suspect anyone who regularly reads this blog realises, by now, that the key ingredients to success for getting published in any area of writing are mostly:

Hard work

Determination

Perseverance

And, of course, an unlimited supply of your particular poison -  caramel Tunnocks bars are my latest – to see you through the good and bad times.

More specifically for the womag market (that’s what it’s called) I would add:

Always carry a notebook – you never know when an idea might strike

Read the tabloids – I am often inspired by their tales and surveys

And, of course, get to know the market. A brief summary of the various magazines, according to my opinion is:

Take-a-Break Fiction Feast – interested in a diverse range of stories – crime, humour, twist-in-the-tail, romance, supernatural

Woman’s Weekly – slightly more literary, often deal with ‘issues’ – the 2 stories I’ve sold them touch upon bereavement and mental health.

The People’s Friend – cosy, moral, uplifting family stories, about the young and old, nostalgia, romance, inoffensive in every way.

The Weekly News - will take the quirkier stories, likes twists-in-the-tail, plus from the male POV as their readers are from both sexes.

Perhaps it might be more useful, though, if I take you through some of my rejections and what I actually think they mean, when an editor has said that my story is…

Too flat/level – whilst the scene and characters don’t need to be big, the story mustn’t be too slight. What are the stakes? Is there any conflict? What revelation is there by the end? Does the main character change?

Not engaging enough – do we care enough about the characters? Is the story visual? Does the plot suck us in so that we want to read on?

Too stilted – read your story out loud, especially sections of dialogue that run to more than a sentence – would a real person actually say that?

Too real – if the story is in anyway based on your own experience, don’t make it sound too autobiographical. Perhaps write it in the 3^rd person instead of the 1^st. Remember, it is fiction, not a memoir.

Finally, there will always be what I’d call random reasons, for rejection.

-       we’ve just bought a story like that

-       our readers don’t like pretend characters (huh? No one told me Father Christmas wasn’t real!)

-       our publisher owns Friends Reunited and wouldn’t like the number of times you’ve mentioned Facebook.

I guess sometimes, you just can’t win!

Womag writing is rewarding, fun and an excellent way of earning money from short stories. Whilst it’s a shrinking market, with many of the magazines now preferring celebrity gossip stories to fiction, the magazine fiction specials have their fanbase and fingers crossed, will ride out the recession.

For anyone interested, there is a Woman’s Weekly roadshow 13-15^th September 2012, near the Trafford Centre in Manchester, where you can book yourself into seminars on how to write fiction for them:

http://www.eventcity.co.uk/whats-on/creative-stitches-amp-hobbycrafts/

Best of luck!

  

Samantha Tonge has sold short stories to Take-a-Break Fiction Feast, Woman’s Weekly, The People’s Friend and The Weekly News. Currently, she has stories appearing in the 1^st Sept and 8^th Sept 2012 issues of The People’s Friend.

Also, Samantha writes romantic comedy novels and her agent is currently seeking homes for Doubting Abbey and Must Love Ghosts. She has two children, two kittens, two rabbits, and, um, just one husband.