Author Fashion Show @Festival of Romance
Last weekend I attended the very first UK Festival of Romance. Organised by the wonderful Kate Allan and supported by the fabulous Jeremy Guy, the event was held at the stunning country house mansion Hutton Park.
The day started well with free latte and biscuits on arrival. I chose the Panel session: For Her Eyes Only as my first session. Lead by Lucy Felthouse, Antonia Adams and Liz Coldwell, the panel discussed all an aspiring author needed to know about writing in the erotic romance genre – it was an eye opener in more ways than one!
The next sessions I attended were “The Big Debate: Men and Romantic Fiction” chaired by Louise Graham, on the panel were Roger/Gill Sanderson, Nell Dixon, Caroline Bell Foster and Nicola May and “From Chick Lit to Hen Lit” with Sue Moorcroft, Fiona Harper, Talli Roland and Mandy Baggot. Both were lively debates covering topics around how men could be encouraged to read more romance – would losing the pink and girly covers help? And discussing why romance, and especially chick lit, is perceived as being looked down upon by some in the literary world. The consensus appeared to be that e-readers could increase the number of men reading romance – after all, who can tell what you’re reading on an e-reader? And also, if a writer is successful with a great following and royalties coming in, does it really matter what literary snobs think of romance?
After lunch an author fashion show provided some light entertainment as a few of the authors dressed up as a character from their book (pictured).
In the afternoon I learnt about historical romance in Jean Fullerton and Fenella Miller’s session “A Beginners Guide to Historical Romance” which talked through outstanding examples of historical romance in each time period, watched a presentation from Anna Boatman and Megan Haslam from Mills and Boon, and watched the Keynote Interview with Carole Matthews – picking up some great tips on the creating the perfect romance, and learning how an established author like Carole gets their inspiration and organises themselves to meet their writing deadlines and produce fabulous books.
The published authors happily answered questions from those of us aspiring to publication, and the publishers – Choc Lit, Mills and Boon, Xcite and Total-E Bound were encouraging and welcomed questions about their imprints and what they were looking for. And, of course, I got to meet lots of romance writers and readers and share favorite books.
If you love romance, check out the Festival of Romance website at http://festivalofromance.co.uk/ and make a note in your diary for 2012 – you won’t want to miss it!
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Tags: Author, Erotic Romance, Festival of Romance, Historical romance, Kate Allan, Literature, Mills & Boon, romance, Romance novel
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