It Started With a Kiss week 4: finishing the first draft and more...

All this year, I'm keeping a video diary of everything that goes into writing my third novel, It Started With a Kiss, due to be published in November. This week, I'll tell you what it feels like to write the last 6,000 words of the first draft - and complete it (woo-hoo!), show you the German edition of Fairytale of New York, discuss first/third person viewpoints and reveal what books I love reading - not to mention the ubiquitous HAT OF THE WEEK!

So, it's Week 4 of the vlog and finally I've finished the first draft of It Started With a Kiss!!!

I wanted to share with you the emotional, almost subconscious stage of completing the final 6,000 words to the end - it's something I've heard Stephen King and J.K Rowling discuss in the past and it's quite a uniquely strange and beautiful thing for a writer to experience...

Thanks so much for your questions! Keep 'em coming - literally anything you'd like to know about being a writer, publishing, hats, what I like for tea... it's up to you! This week I answer questions from Dot and Leah - and fabulous questions they are, too.

So enough of the waffling (can you tell I'm demob happy after two months of frantic scribbling?) - here's the vlog in all its glory!

E-e-e-e-e-enjoy!

p.s. This week the YouTube chosen still shot makes me look like I should be a guest on Newsnight. Serious, me? ;o)

It Started With a Kiss week 3: Questions and an exclusive extract

All this year, I'm keeping a video diary of everything that goes into writing my third novel, It Started With a Kiss, due to be published in November. This week, I'm answering your questions and reading a world exclusive extract...

HUGE apologies for the delay in posting this - I've been writing like a crazy nutter for the past week (and I'm still going!)

This week, I answer your questions on conquering writer's block, disagreeing with my editor (including what I would have changed about my first novel, Fairytale of New York), how I was discovered on Authonomy.com, how many scenes I use to make a chapter and how the finished story differs from the initial synopsis.

I also have a WORLD EXCLUSIVE especially for you - the very first reading of an extract from It Started With a Kiss! Hope you like it!

Oh yes, and a brand new(-ish) funky hat to boot!

Now do I know how to pack in the goodies or what?!

E-e-e-enjoy!

p.s. Please note YouTube's choice of opening frame - I like to call it my Tommy Cooper homage!

It Started With a Kiss week 2: First Drafts

All this year, I'm keeping a video diary of everything that goes into writing my third novel, It Started With a Kiss, due to be published in November. This week, it's all about the FIRST DRAFT of the novel...

I'll show you my synopsis, notes (in a multitude of notebooks), plans and character profiles and talk about the process of writing a first draft. There's also another funky hat and a close-up shot of my engagement ring (as requested by Vanessa and Julia from my facebook page!)

Thanks so much for your questions and comments from last week - this week I've answered a question about planning from fab Leah of ChickLitReviews.com and a question from lovely Kath at The Nut Press about whether I let anyone else see the draft while I'm writing it.

If you have a question you'd like me to answer next week, write it in the comments box below, or email me at: mirandawurdy@gmail.com.

Oh and no, I've no idea why YouTube has chosen a freeze frame that looks like I'm crying. I'm not, honestly...

E-e-njoy!

A year in the life...

Happy New Year!!

Hope 2011 is going good for you so far? Sorry my New Year felicitations are a bit late, but I'm currently in the midst of writing frenzy, trying to get the first draft of my third novel, It Started With a Kiss, complete for the end of January. But lots of exciting things have happened - my lovely Bob proposed (and I accepted) - more on that next time. Welcome to My World is doing really well, selling over 46,000 copies to date, despite the coldest winter on record and huge problems with snow, so I'm chuffed to bits with that. Most importantly, I've received some amazingly fab letters from people who have loved the book - this is the biggest thrill for me and it really helps when I'm writing to know that people are looking forward to the new book!

So, here's my latest project for 2011: my very own video diary!

I've set myself the challenge this year to post a video blog every week for 52 weeks, to show a year in the life of a book. The video diary will follow the progress of It Started With a Kiss, from first draft, through editing stages, proofing, cover design, publicity, launch and beyond... I'm holding nothing back, so the good and not-so-good bits of taking a story from an initial idea to published novel will all be there for you to see.

I'll post the videos here at Coffee and Roses each week - and I want to know what you'd like to see in them. So if you have any questions you'd like me to answer in the video blogs, just leave me a comment or email me at: mirandawurdy@gmail.com.

Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honour to present, my very first video blog... Enjoy!

(oh, and apologies for the incredibly scary freeze-frame that YouTube have chosen...)

Writing, Book 3 and Ian Fleming?!

Thought you might like to see this...

I was interviewed by the very lovely Brad Baker at Waterstones Wolverhampton a couple of weeks ago - and here is the result! This was during a signing for Welcome to My World. It was great fun to do and even earned me a comparison with Ian Fleming!

I'd love to know what you think - leave me a comment below. Enjoy!

Say it with Muppets!

Here's something to warm the cockles of your heart on this wintry December day...

American photographer, Sid Ceaser, proposed to his long-term girlfriend Sara Prindiville last week by arranging to have the following homemade trailer shown in his local cinema. A lifelong Muppets fan, he created two lookalike characters and filmed the story of their love... Sara had no idea it was going to happen - or that thirty of her friends and family were sat behind her in the audience! Here's what she saw on the big screen:



You can read all about the making of the film - and what happened when Sara and Sid watched it - here

Now, admit it: did you manage to watch the proposal trailer without crying?!

For more true love stories, head over to my research blog, It Had To Be You. You can even share your own stories of how you met the love of your life there!

Christmas Goodies!

It's winter, it's freezing, people are walking round looking like Michelin men and women and there don't seem to be enough smiles to go round... But panic not! Coffee and Roses is here to bring a little bit of sparkle into the dingy winter days!


Frosty Berry © Miranda Dickinson

So how about an extra-special Christmas pressie from me?

In two weeks' time, I will be sending out an exclusive, Christmassy short story to everyone who subscribes to my newsletter. It's a little something to say thank you to everyone who has supported my writing so far, especially with my latest novel, Welcome to My World. It's been a massive encouragement to me to find out how many lovely, generous and kind people there are - and with the battles I've faced this year, your support means more than I could ever express.

So if you'd like to get your hands on a magical, wintry short story to warm your heart for Christmas, all you have to do is to sign up for my newsletter (see the form at the top right-hand corner of my blog). It's completely free, and I only ever send out one a month, so you won't get bombarded with emails! I'm planning all kinds of exclusive goodies for my subscribers, so if you want to be the first to read extracts of my forthcoming novel, have the chance to enter special competitions and receive exclusive 'behind-the-scenes' book extras, sign up now!

May your December be merry and bright (and more than a little bit sparkly!) xx