Category Archive

Until around three years ago, I was the kind of aspiring author who wrote surreptitiously. I didn’t tell anyone I wrote (thank you imposter syndrome). I wasn’t interested in the other activities writers do. And I certainly didn’t share my writing. For whatever strange reason, I honestly thought I could write in my little bubble and send my stories off into the world just like that. Now, I’m the kind of aspiring author who is at least somewhat clued into the lay of the land. I’m trying to balance understanding craft and understanding the business/professional sides of writing. I know …

The first ‘romance’ novel I ever read was Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, when I was a bored young teenager at a loose end one cold weekend. The edition had a plain mustard coloured hard cover, without a dust jacket, and inside was a black and white illustration of a tall, slightly sneering gentleman (who reminded me of Basil Rathbone) holding a letter out to a young lady, and the caption, “Will you do me the honour of reading that letter?” Intrigued, I began reading that most famous of quotes, “It is a truth universally acknowledged…” It didn’t take me …

Hi, I’m Shelagh Merlin and I love being a volunteer. I firmly believe that you get back tenfold what you put in. Through my volunteering roles I’ve made wonderful friends and learned many things. I’m retired but my various volunteer roles keep my mind and body active. I’ve been a member of RWA since 2016 but before I joined I volunteered as a judge of the RuBY competition for several years. As a member, my focus changed slightly. I was the member services coordinator from August 2016 to August 2018  and what a fabulous opportunity that role provided for learning …

“Writing isn’t something you can do by half. If you want to make it work, you have to become obsessed with it.” This advice was given to me ten years ago, as I sat at a cafe with a successful journalist friend, lamenting the fact that my newborn baby left me with no time to write. Prior to pregnancy, I had completed three novels and was canvassing for publishers/agents whilst researching the new-fangled self-publishing thang that seemed to be on the rise. I had thought to keep that momentum going but once Orion was born, I realised very quickly it …

Is it any wonder romance and Christmas go together so well? The colour red is synonymous with love, passion and romance, and it’s all around us at this time of year. All the shopping centres, streets and houses are decorated with Christmas lighting and all the glittering trimming, making everything look gorgeously romantic. For book lovers, the knowledge that Santa will be sliding down our chimney bringing a sackful of shiny new Christmas romance novels every year is what gets our hearts racing. “I love to get into the spirit of Christmas by reading Christmas romance books and watching Hallmark …