German Cover for “The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots”

Last week, I got an email from my agent saying, “This will put a smile on your face.” And it did. Attached was my first ever foreign cover! Last year, two German publishers bid for the privilege to publish The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots in Germany. We sold to Ullstein who will release my book in March 2014. The Girl in the Hard Hat will follow in 2015.

When I first saw the cover, I was initially quite shocked. It’s very different to my Aussie one.  I’m told it’s all about marketing and catching the eye of their target audience rather than strict accuracy. There is another interesting twist. The title has been changed to,  “Don’t Forget How to Kiss.”

 

If you said, “Huh?” when you read that, than you’re with me.  Again, I think it’s all about marketing and also the fact that there probably isn’t a direct or short translation of “Steel-Capped Boots” so it easier to change the title altogether. After such a drastic modification, I had to wonder whether the content of the story had been changed as well but my agent said, no. Contractually and ethically, the main story translation must be as direct as possible. So how’s that for a bit of trivia.

 

Personally, I love this cover. It’s so bright and cheerful. And it’s nice to see a dark haired Lena on the front. I actually originally wrote her as a brunette but changed her hair colour in final drafts to match the Aussie cover.  So it’s great to see her portrayed liked this.

 

I’d love to go to Germany and see my book on the shelf. Perhaps I’ll just be cheeky and put my hand up for a German tour. How much fun would that be!

 

Guten Tag

 

A Letter from Kim Lock

Loretta’s Pen Pals : Letter 6

Becoming a mother, whether for the first time or the fourth time is a life changing experience. There are not many occasions where you can feel both joy and terror at the same time.  The birth of every one of my children has been a monumental event for me.  And I’m sure many women would say the same of their own kids. I’m not surprised that my good friend, Kim Lock decided to write a book about it or that this particular story resonates with so many people. Just got a letter in my mailbox today letting me know it’s on the shelves and ready to buy. Looking forward to this one!

 

 

Dear Loretta,

 

How are you? Congratulations on The Girl in The Hard Hat — it’s fabulous! If it weren’t for children needing nappies changed, Vegemite sandwiches made, or train tracks wrestled into place, I would have devoured it in one sitting…

 

As I sit down to write to you, autumn is breathing a chill into the air. I’m surrounded by slabs of bench-top off-cuts, half-unpacked boxes and a litter of carpentry tools. We’ve recently moved to our run-down ‘renovators delight’ in the gorgeous Barossa Valley, and it seems we can’t decide what to do first—rebuild the kitchen, or unpack. So we’re doing both at once.  As a result, neither is being done with any real haste!

 

As much as I love Adelaide, the born and bred country girl in me is delighted to be back in the fresh eucalypt scented air, free of the city buzz. Despite the fact that the backyard I can see through the window (whose frames blister with peeling, decades-old paint) is a serious OH&S hazard as it doubles as a renovator’s dumping ground, I feel so lucky to be nestled our very own delicious slice of South Australia.

 

Speaking of delicious slices of Australia, I’m off to Darwin next weekend to promote my brand new novel, Peace, Love and Khaki Socks. Can you believe the publication date was yesterday? Where did all that time go?

 

With my debut novel now hitting bookshelves, I am finding the need to pinch myself. After all that writing and rewriting, searching, waiting and hoping for a publisher, then more rewriting … it hasn’t really sunk in that the book is actually out—it’s a real book! It’s taken about three years from beginning the first draft to now—but I think in reality this book has been more like 30 years in the making. Now, every day there is something new to do, reviews to read, questions to answer. Reaching readers in a fast-paced and crowded industry means I’ve been thrown into the world of PR overnight. It’s nerve-wracking and exhilarating all at once, isn’t it?

 

Peace, Love and Khaki Socks is the story of one woman’s journey through an unexpected pregnancy. As Darwin’s monsoon season gathers in the tropical atmosphere, twenty-four year old ‘Army wife,’ Amy Silva, struggles to reconcile her pregnancy with a haughty obstetrician and a whole lot of peeing. As a tropical cyclone threatens, Amy shocks everyone with a decision to homebirth. It’s a funny, shocking and heart-warming tale of one woman’s search for peace.

 

It was my own journey through an unexpected pregnancy that inspired this story. Through my pregnancies I read many other women’s stories, and I discovered a whole world of pregnancy and childbirth that we don’t often hear about, or read about. It was this often unheard tale I was drawn to tell.

 

Well, the kids are exclaiming that their TV show has finished, thusly ending my time at the keyboard.

 

Take care, and keep writing!
Kim xo

 

www.kimlockauthor.com

Publisher: http://midnightsunpublishing.com/books/peace-love-and-khaki-socks/

 

 

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimlockauthor

How I got to Half Way

Well, it’s official. I am halfway through, “The Girl in the Yellow Vest” and very excited to be. Just sent off the first half to my publisher yesterday. There’s a lot of comedy in this one and I’m just loving writing it.  Getting to the middle was definitely a milestone for me and I’m breathing a lot easier now that I’m over the hump. And what a hump it was!

 

The first half is always the hardest. It was the same with Boots and Hard Hat.  As I don’t plot my books, it’s really hard to know if the story is going to be any good until I get to fifty per cent.  Actually, I usually have a crisis around the 40 000 word mark because I know it has to be better!

 

In my last book, I had a lot of problems with Gavin. This time, it was my heroine Charlotte, who was giving me grief. I wanted her to be strong, gutsy and a fighter but I’d given her such a crippling internal conflict that I couldn’t make her stand up for herself without all her baggage standing in the way. So just before I hit halfway I had to go back and change it all. Not completely but a good solid tweak. The problem with the way I write is that I don’t know what road to take until I’ve taken the wrong one first which is a rather frustrating methodology.  With the first couple of books I wasn’t sure whether I had a process, now I’m pretty sure I do.

This is my process.

 

Step 1: Do a crap version

Step 2: Panic

Step 3: Eat chocolate

Step 4: Eat more chocolate

Step 5: Realize a re-write is needed

Step 6: Procrastinate and try to talk self out of re-write as it’s a lot of work and do you really, really, want to be doing that when the kids are on school holidays, your husband is sick as a dog and the cleaner has taken a month off to go visit her mum in Thailand. Hello!

Step 8: Do the re-write

Step 9: Marvel at shiny new MS and wonder why I didn’t do it this way in the first place.

 

So I guess next year, I’ll just pre-buy the chocolate.

Onto the next half!

Happy Reading.

How To Give A Good Library Talk

Just before Easter I finally finished my Perth Book Tour for “The Girl in The Hard Hat.” It was great. One of my favourite things to do is meeting readers and hearing their take on my story. It’s always interesting to find out which bits they related to. Every reader is different.

On my travels I did many library talks. At one of them I picked up a pamphlet for an international bestselling author who was talking in the same library a couple of weeks after me. Her name is Katie Fforde. She’s a lovely, lovely British writer with eighteen romantic comedies under her belt.  I’ve read a couple. They’re excellent.

So I decided maybe I’ll go along and listen to her talk. I’m just starting out and this is only my second book tour so I thought it might be interesting to hear what someone with that much experience has to say.

I loved her presentation. It was funny and warm. She started off by saying that she wasn’t going to talk about how she got accepted for publication because talking about the submission process was just boring.  Where upon I covered my mouth because this is exactly what I do! And you know what, I’ve always wondered, do people actually find this interesting? Am I boring them? What should I talk about, if not that?

Well, Katie was very laid back. She basically talked about her life as a writer in a very conversational fashion. Just as though we were all sitting down for a cup of old English tea and swapping anecdotes.  Her talk was more like that of a stand up comedian- a few funny stories and some interesting opinions.  It was very enjoyable. I definitely think I’ll take a leaf out of her book for future presentations.  I guess, you learn something new everyday.

I was talking to the librarian who organizes these talks and she was telling me they usually have about twelve authors a year of all different genre varieties giving presentations. The biggest name she’s ever had was Jodi Picoult, most well known for “My Sisters Keeper.”

Apparently, four hundred people turned up to hear her presentation. They had to move it to a local school gymnasium. Wow! I think I’d wet my pants if that many people turned up to hear me speak.

They never tell you as a writer that after you get published there’s a whole host of others skills you need to develop – mostly in the fields of marketing and PR.  I’m currently writing my fifth book and I’m still not across it all. I guess I have to rely on experiences like this to help shape my own knowledge and confidence.

Happy Writing!

Realising Dreams

This month I’ve been really getting into channel ten’s, “The Voice.” I usually have it playing in the background as I’m rushing around trying to get the kids bathed and ready for bed. When they’re finally all down for the night, my husband and I collapse on the couch and watch the last lot of performers. They always seem to save the best for last anyway. I guess this show appeals to me because it’s all about people realising their dreams against difficult odds.

I’m no stranger to hard work, knock backs and rejection.  I guess you could liken submission for publication to the blind audition process on this singing talent show. Rather then judges you’ve got publishing houses.  None of them know who you are, what you look like or your background. All you submit is your talent and hope (and pray) that someone (an editor) will recognize some quality in “your voice” to make them want to coach you.

The great thing about writing is that it’s never too early or too late to start. You don’t need any specific tertiary qualification though in some cases it might be handy to have one. All you really need is you.  I’ve read about some people who are published when they’re teenagers. Others don’t get there until very late in life – sometimes in retirement. It’s not a skill that has a used by date or a set time period of maximum performance, like most sports. I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I’ll probably write until I die. It’s just completely and utterly part of my life. I wouldn’t know what to do without it.  I’d probably have a lot more free time that’s for sure. I’m really happy to be at that point where I can share my writing with others.

So I guess I really cheer for all those people on “The Voice,” because they’ve put it all on the line to realize their dreams. None of the contestants are amateurs. They are people who have been working solidly on their music goals for years. It’s great to see hard work paying off. I’ve always believed that if you have that plus faith you can accomplish anything.

A Letter from Alissa Callen

Loretta’s Pen Pals : Letter 5

Well, Easter is over and I’m back home after a very relaxing holiday in Australia’s south west. Damn! 

As is always  the case when I return home from an extended trip, my letter box is jam packed with catalogues, bills and unsolicited advice. I don’t know why I don’t get more invitations, post cards and newsy letters. I would enjoy those much more! Thankfully, amongst all the debri, there was actually one letter I did want to receive from my good friend and fellow Random Romance author, Alissa Callen. I was amazed by her news. She seems to lead such an exciting and dangerous life compared to my quiet suburban existence. Check out the helicopter photo she sent with her letter. What a great shot! My sons will be very impressed. It’s pretty easy to figure out where she gets her inspiration from….

 

Dear Loretta,

Hope this finds you well all the way over there in WA. Also hope the autumn weather has arrived. We’ve had such a long and dramatic summer (bush fires, snakes, hungry cattle) that it was quite exciting to see a hint of autumn colour this morning on the virginia creeper that climbs our old gum.

I know how much your kids would love fire trucks and sirens so here is a photo from our January bush fire. We’d just sat down to dinner when a neighbour raced up our driveway in his ute to tell us our front paddock was on fire.  It seems a car pulled over on the side of the road and the hot exhaust ignited the brittle summer grass. We’d just time to move the stock and thanks to the rural fire brigade, twelve fire trucks, two helicopter water bombers and one aeroplane the blaze was eventually contained. I’m busy planning my next rural book, working title Across Outback Plains, and no doubt a fire will feature in it somewhere.

 

It’s funny how real life can creep into our books. My current Random House release, Beneath Outback Skies, is set during a drought and charts the struggle of a family and a community to keep hold of the hope that it will again rain. It seems like yesterday my eldest was a baby and we lived further west where water was like liquid gold. My daughter’s bath only ever used to be centimetre’s deep. Maybe that’s why I’m now forever telling her to get out of the shower. Or maybe it’s just because she’s a pre-teen.

 

Beneath Outback Skies also features an adorable and mischievous blue-heeler puppy called Bundy who the not-all-he-seems city-boy, Tait, gives to the heroine, Paige Quinn. Bundy is based on our own beautiful blue-heeler Bella. As a pup Bella would chew any and everything and my son would often wear mismatched thongs. Unfortunately we lost Bella almost a year ago. At first we thought she’d been bitten by a snake but now we suspect a spider bite resulted in her system shutting down. This is how we remember her as a cute and cuddly bundle of fluff but with very sharp teeth.

 

Have a lovely Perth autumn and had best sign off so can go and do the school run as well as check the letter box. We only get mail three times a week and the kids are expecting a parcel so fingers crossed it will have arrived.

 

Take care,

 

Alissa

www.alissacallen.com

Face book page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alissa-Callen-Author/355366704552838

Beneath Outback Skies

Book/buy link: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/alissa-callen/beneath-outback-skies-9780857980397.aspx

Happy Easter!

Wishing all my readers a happy and safe Easter!

Love and hugs,

Loretta