Christina Hollis—You Can Do It If You Really Try...

Whenever I’m asked to talk about my work, someone in the audience always says: ‘I wish I could write a book…’

There’s only one answer to that. You can—so get started!  Writing a book is no picnic, but I've found it’s a lot easier than trying to lose the weight you’d put on from taking part in a picnic. 

Writing is a great pastime. It's helped me in lots of ways. I’ve met loads of good friends through local, national and international writing groups. Pouring out your thoughts onto paper or a screen is a wonderfully freeing experience. Many years ago, I had problems beyond the dreams of analysts—or so I thought.  I piled them onto one of my troubled heroines. Reading through and refining her life story a hundred times gave me new insight into my own, real world. From that moment, things looked up for me.  They got even better when that heroine’s troubles won me a short story prize. I was on the road to recovery, thanks to the healing power of words.

In my third novel, One Night In His Bed, the hero Garett tells Sienna:

‘You can have everything you want.  Just reach out.  There are no limits…’

myBook.to/ONENIGHTINHISBED

Writing fiction is a great illustration of this. You know the kind of book you like to read.  That’s the story you’re best placed to tell, so why not give it a go? Write from your heart, and you’ll engage with your audience. It’s always easier to work with themes and characters that inspire and interest you.  That’s why I write about complex men and independent women. Some days the rain never stops, and all I want to do is hibernate. That’s when I add exotic settings to the mix. Putting all these things together, and devising plot twists to stop my hero and heroine reaching their happy-ever-after ending too soon is the perfect distraction from everyday life.   

If you need any more encouragement to start a writing project, investigate the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme. It’s the chance to have your manuscript, or its first few chapters, reviewed by professional writers. You can find out all about it here.  

Find out more at http://bit.ly/2e2KG15

Start now, and if you only write a hundred words a day between now and the New Year, you’ll have produced around eight thousand words. Polish and perfect them, and you’ve got a submission. 

I'll be posting my collection of hints and tips for Writing Your Book on my blog over the next few months. You can find the first one here, and for more writing news, tips and extracts, join me on my Facebook author page at on.fb.me/1Ee1urM

When she isn't cooking, gardening or beekeeping, Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women.  Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and she’s sold nearly three million books worldwide. Catch up with her at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Her current release, Heart Of A Hostage, is published by The Wild Rose Press and available at myBook.to/HeartOfAHostage  worldwide, and from http://bit.ly/2e2KG15 in the US.