Fab Firsts is my regular Sunday feature, that is going to be highlighting books that are firsts. When interviewing authors, it will be about their first book, as well as other firsts in their lives. When reviewing books for this feature, there will be a mix of debuts, first books in a series, the first time I read an author, and possibly other firsts depending on what I can think of!
If you are an author wanting to take part in Fab Firsts then please do email on gilbster at gmail dot com and I'll whizz the questions over to you.
I hope you enjoy this look at a variety of hopefully fabulous firsts, while making some sort of dent in my review and paperback TBRs which are my current main focus!
1) Can you tell us a bit about your first book?
The Silk Romance is a feel-good contemporary romance set in the silk-weaving district of Lyon. It's a modern-day Cinderella retelling with a difference.
The Cinderella of my novel is Sophie Challoner. Sophie is tied to her domestic responsibilities because she made her dying mother a promise that she would look after the rest of her family. Her responsibilities make Sophie seem a serious young woman, but when her French grandmother throws a party for her in Paris, Sophie meets Jean-Luc Olivier – and she does something reckless and brilliant. It's a night Sophie never forgets...
Years later, Sophie and Jean-Luc are reunited. Sophie realises her Prince Charming isn't the person she thought. Jean-Luc is a force to be reckoned with…
2) What was your original inspiration to become a writer, and to write your debut?
I had my first idea for a romance novel when I was sitting on a commuter train to Leeds, looking at the rain running down the grimy windows, and thinking how wonderful it would be to be somewhere warm. I'd worked in Lyon as a teenager, and an image of that sun-soaked city popped into my head. Gradually a story began to formulate in my mind about a young woman from London who goes to work in a modern-day silk mill in Lyon.
That's how my writing journey started. Every morning after that, as I sat cramped next to my fellow sufferers on the 7.25am, I’d bring my idea to life in my notebook. Eventually the seed of the idea on that commute became my first novel, The Silk Romance.
3) How long did it take you to write your first book?
It took about eighteen months, but only because I had a lot to learn about how to craft a romance novel. Most of my writing was re-writing – honing the story until it focused on the hero and heroine and their developing love for one another.
4) If you could do anything differently in retrospect, what would you change about your debut, or how you went about writing it?
I was lucky to be part of the Romantic Novelists' Association New Writers' Scheme when I wrote The Silk Romance. I wouldn't change anything about how I went about writing it, because they gave me some excellent advice on the importance of romantic conflict that honed my craft for this and all my future books.
5) Was your first book self or traditionally published, and how did you go about making that decision?
My first book was traditionally published by a Canadian publisher called MuseItUp. I learned a lot from them. My editor was excellent – really made me focus on whose point of view I was writing in, for example – and through MIU I made some genuine friends in America and Canada who I'm still friends with today. MIU published my second book, The Antique Love.
After three years with MIU I was entitled to take my rights back. I decided to do this, as at that time I felt it wasn't particularly easy having a publisher based so far away. I've really enjoyed the self-publishing process since then, and have learned a tremendous amount.
6) Do you have any tips for other first time authors?
Read, read, read lots of books in the genre you are writing. Read books that are popular, and analyse what makes them work so well with readers. If you can, find a mentor to help you develop your manuscript – as I did with the Romantic Novelists' Association. There are people out there who can help you develop your novel. The Alliance of Independent Authors has a directory of editors, for example https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/ and I also now offer a manuscript appraisal service for writers looking for advice https://helenafairfax.com/my-editing-services-and-rates/
Tell us about your first…
7) Memory
Lying in my cot and suddenly realising I didn't have my pink security blanket. I was distraught. I loved it so much my mum had to cut it in half, so she could wash one half while I had the other!
8) Holiday you went on
My parents always used to take us to Hell's Mouth – an enormous beach on the Lleyn Peninsula in Wales. My brothers and I a brilliant time on the beach every day, and I used to take my own children there, too.
9) Prize you won
When I was 10 I won a watch for a project I'd written at school about Uganda, where I was born. I wore that watch for years, and I still have it.
10) Album you purchased
My brother and I used to go halves on albums. In those days we didn't have the money for the full price! I think the first one we bought might have been the Beach Boys. I still love Brian Wilson.
11) Sport you enjoyed participating in
I used to play cricket with my brothers and loved it, but in those days girls didn't play cricket at school. I liked running, though, and even enjoyed the dreaded cross country.
12) Pet
We had a three-legged cat called Stumpy, who was much loved.
13) ..choice of alternative career if you weren’t an author
A ballet dancer – but since I have two left feet, that was never likely!
14) …toy that you recall loving
I loved dolls as a child. My mum was a needlework teacher and made all their clothes. I still have my old doll's cot with the quilt she made.
Thanks so much for having me, Rachel, and for letting my revisit some happy memories!
You are very welcome Helena.
Author Biography
Helena Fairfax writes engaging contemporary romances with sympathetic heroines and heroes she's secretly in love with. Her novels have been shortlisted for several awards, including the Exeter Novel Prize, the Global Ebook Awards, and the I Heart Indie Awards.
Helena is a British author who was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She's grown used to the cold now, and these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in the north of England, right next door to the windswept Yorkshire moors. She walks this romantic landscape every day with her rescue dog, finding it the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings.
Social Media Links
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bRQtsT
Website: www.helenafairfax.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HelenaFairfax/
Twitter https://twitter.com/HelenaFairfax
Pinterest https://uk.pinterest.com/helenafairfax/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/helenafairfax/
Giveaway
All new subscribers to Helena’s newsletter receive a FREE feel-good romantic story for the summer. You can subscribe here: http://eepurl.com/bRQtsT
If you are an author wanting to take part in Fab Firsts then please do email on gilbster at gmail dot com and I'll whizz the questions over to you.
I hope you enjoy this look at a variety of hopefully fabulous firsts, while making some sort of dent in my review and paperback TBRs which are my current main focus!
1) Can you tell us a bit about your first book?
The Cinderella of my novel is Sophie Challoner. Sophie is tied to her domestic responsibilities because she made her dying mother a promise that she would look after the rest of her family. Her responsibilities make Sophie seem a serious young woman, but when her French grandmother throws a party for her in Paris, Sophie meets Jean-Luc Olivier – and she does something reckless and brilliant. It's a night Sophie never forgets...
Years later, Sophie and Jean-Luc are reunited. Sophie realises her Prince Charming isn't the person she thought. Jean-Luc is a force to be reckoned with…
2) What was your original inspiration to become a writer, and to write your debut?
I had my first idea for a romance novel when I was sitting on a commuter train to Leeds, looking at the rain running down the grimy windows, and thinking how wonderful it would be to be somewhere warm. I'd worked in Lyon as a teenager, and an image of that sun-soaked city popped into my head. Gradually a story began to formulate in my mind about a young woman from London who goes to work in a modern-day silk mill in Lyon.
That's how my writing journey started. Every morning after that, as I sat cramped next to my fellow sufferers on the 7.25am, I’d bring my idea to life in my notebook. Eventually the seed of the idea on that commute became my first novel, The Silk Romance.
3) How long did it take you to write your first book?
It took about eighteen months, but only because I had a lot to learn about how to craft a romance novel. Most of my writing was re-writing – honing the story until it focused on the hero and heroine and their developing love for one another.
4) If you could do anything differently in retrospect, what would you change about your debut, or how you went about writing it?
I was lucky to be part of the Romantic Novelists' Association New Writers' Scheme when I wrote The Silk Romance. I wouldn't change anything about how I went about writing it, because they gave me some excellent advice on the importance of romantic conflict that honed my craft for this and all my future books.
5) Was your first book self or traditionally published, and how did you go about making that decision?
My first book was traditionally published by a Canadian publisher called MuseItUp. I learned a lot from them. My editor was excellent – really made me focus on whose point of view I was writing in, for example – and through MIU I made some genuine friends in America and Canada who I'm still friends with today. MIU published my second book, The Antique Love.
After three years with MIU I was entitled to take my rights back. I decided to do this, as at that time I felt it wasn't particularly easy having a publisher based so far away. I've really enjoyed the self-publishing process since then, and have learned a tremendous amount.
6) Do you have any tips for other first time authors?
Read, read, read lots of books in the genre you are writing. Read books that are popular, and analyse what makes them work so well with readers. If you can, find a mentor to help you develop your manuscript – as I did with the Romantic Novelists' Association. There are people out there who can help you develop your novel. The Alliance of Independent Authors has a directory of editors, for example https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/ and I also now offer a manuscript appraisal service for writers looking for advice https://helenafairfax.com/my-editing-services-and-rates/
Tell us about your first…
7) Memory
Lying in my cot and suddenly realising I didn't have my pink security blanket. I was distraught. I loved it so much my mum had to cut it in half, so she could wash one half while I had the other!
8) Holiday you went on
My parents always used to take us to Hell's Mouth – an enormous beach on the Lleyn Peninsula in Wales. My brothers and I a brilliant time on the beach every day, and I used to take my own children there, too.
9) Prize you won
When I was 10 I won a watch for a project I'd written at school about Uganda, where I was born. I wore that watch for years, and I still have it.
10) Album you purchased
My brother and I used to go halves on albums. In those days we didn't have the money for the full price! I think the first one we bought might have been the Beach Boys. I still love Brian Wilson.
11) Sport you enjoyed participating in
I used to play cricket with my brothers and loved it, but in those days girls didn't play cricket at school. I liked running, though, and even enjoyed the dreaded cross country.
12) Pet
We had a three-legged cat called Stumpy, who was much loved.
13) ..choice of alternative career if you weren’t an author
A ballet dancer – but since I have two left feet, that was never likely!
14) …toy that you recall loving
I loved dolls as a child. My mum was a needlework teacher and made all their clothes. I still have my old doll's cot with the quilt she made.
Thanks so much for having me, Rachel, and for letting my revisit some happy memories!
You are very welcome Helena.
Here is the blurb to The Silk Romance:
Sophie Challoner made her dying mother a promise to look after the rest of her family. Sophie takes her responsibilities seriously, but sometimes she forgets to enjoy her own life … that is, until her French grandmother throws a party for her in Paris. It's here Sophie meets Jean-Luc Olivier – and she does something reckless and brilliant she never forgets.
Years later, Sophie and Jean-Luc are reunited. Sophie realises her Prince Charming isn't the person she thought. Jean-Luc is a force to be reckoned with…
Amazon Buy Link: http://mybook.to/SilkRomance
Author Biography
Helena is a British author who was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She's grown used to the cold now, and these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in the north of England, right next door to the windswept Yorkshire moors. She walks this romantic landscape every day with her rescue dog, finding it the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings.
Social Media Links
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bRQtsT
Website: www.helenafairfax.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HelenaFairfax/
Twitter https://twitter.com/HelenaFairfax
Pinterest https://uk.pinterest.com/helenafairfax/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/helenafairfax/
Giveaway
All new subscribers to Helena’s newsletter receive a FREE feel-good romantic story for the summer. You can subscribe here: http://eepurl.com/bRQtsT
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