IT'S ALMOST 2016 BABY!

It's the end if 2015! Whoop! Whoop! I love new year because it really does give us a chance to reflect on the year gone and look forward to the year ahead. 2015 wasn't the best year for me as a writer, but it's finishing on a high with all of my books doing well in the charts and having some lovely reviews. It's given me a fresh impetus for 2016 and the year that I'm really going to tackle the literary world and make my mark!

So for the year ahead my biggest goal is to get a new book deal. I had a book deal for my first two books, but I didn't manage to get one for my last two. I think in hindsight (such a lovely thing) my choice of books wasn't the best. Don't get me wrong, I love both 'This Family Life' and 'Sunday Dinners' but they weren't perhaps the best choices for getting a book deal. 'This Family Life' was a sequel and 'Sunday Dinners' didn't fit snugly enough into any genre and so neither was going to be easily published. A big part of being of author is learning from our mistakes and hopefully I've done that. 

For 2016 I'm already working on my new novel and I've 'sort of' changed genres - moved a bit to the left is probably more of an accurate description. When I started writing, I always wanted to write comedy and most of my books are comedies. But with 'Happy Endings' and 'Sunday Dinners' I veered away from pure comedy and into darker more dramatic areas. I love both of those books, but the trouble with that genre of book is that they don't really fit into a specific genre. They aren't really comedies, they aren't chick lit, or pure drama, or literary fiction or, well, let's just say they're books about love, life and all the bits in-between. What I've always wanted to write is a pure out and out romantic comedy. My next book is going to be just that. 

I think I've tackled love in all of my books, but I've never done new love. In 'This Thirtysomething Life' and 'This Family Life' they were about a married couple. 'Happy Endings' was about couples that were already together. 'Sunday Dinners' was about a family and a thirty-year-old marriage. I've never done 'The Rom-Com'. So when I started thinking about my new novel, I knew I wanted to write a romantic comedy in the purest sense of the word. I even did a lot of research about writing romantic comedies and watched, read and completely immersed myself in the genre - I know, tough work! I learnt a lot and now I'm writing my rom-com, I'm really, truly excited about it.

The genre of the rom-com has taken a bit of a bashing in recent years and I think a lot of that comes down to a bunch of poorly written, cliché laden, badly plotted books and films that forgot the two main concepts of romantic comedies. You have to have comedy and romance. If it isn't funny it isn't a rom-com. If it isn't romantic it isn't a rom-com. I've watched so many rom-com films that are just blah. You can re-invent the genre while sticking to the main rules, which is what I'm hoping to do. An original story, with real characters that's hilarious, heart-warming and feels fresh and new. It's about the voice, the characters and the story. I want to bring something new to the genre. Something different that I only I can do.

For me 2016 is a year to sort of re-group and start again. I feel like I've learnt so much as a writer the past three years and from all of my books. I want to gather all of that together and produce a book that's going to take me to the next level. I'm going to work harder than I've ever worked before to make sure that my next book is the very best thing I've ever written. So far it's going really well. The first draft is exactly what I wanted it to be. It feels fresh and exciting. The characters are wonderfully flawed and funny. The plot is really new and the story is one that I don't think's been done before. I'm really excited for the new year and to get another book out there - hopefully with a new publisher! 

Thanks so much to everyone's who helped me in 2015 and to everyone who's bought my books. I really love what I do, but without readers I couldn't do it. A happy new year to you all! 

Big love,

Jon X

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's that time of the year again. It's Christmas! It's also the time of year when we reflect on the year gone and look forward to a new one. 

2015 has been a very up and down year for me personally with lots of highs, but also some lows. From a writing perspective it's been difficult and although the year didn't start well, it's ending on a high - such is the life of an author! 

From a negative point of view I didn't find a publisher for Sunday Dinners and I lost my agent. I had a really hard time this year and started to question what I was doing and if I was good enough to be an author. It was definitely one of the lowest points of my writing career, but luckily I have enough people in my life who believe in me and I came through it. I got back on track and ended up re-writing Sunday Dinners exactly how I wanted it and then wrote my Christmas novella in record time. A Notting Hill Christmas is doing really well and has had some brilliant reviews - "The best novella I've ever read. The funniest read of 2015!" - This Chick Reads (thank you!).

In 2016 I'm focused entirely on my new novel. I'm super excited because it's my first real attempt at a proper romantic comedy. All of my previous novels have had elements of comedy and romance, but none have been what I would call a romantic comedy. For this book, I really wanted to embrace the genre and write a pure rom-com. I'm 30,000 words in at the moment and I have to say, it's my favourite book so far! I feel like I've gained so much experience writing my previous novels and working with some amazing people and this novel will be my best so far. I can't divulge any details yet except that it's a rom-com written in alternate chapters from male and female perspective. And it's set in London. That's it for now. I'm hoping to find a publisher for this novel in 2016.

So that's it. Thanks to everyone who's bought my books, supported me, helped me and encouraged me to keep following my dream. I love what I do. It's what I want to do for the rest of my life. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful new year!

Hugs,
Jon X

WRITING A CHRISTMAS NOVELLA

Hello,

So in August I decided to write a Christmas novella. I know - talk about a tight deadline. But somehow I did it. This blog is going to tell you how. So pop the kettle on, put on some Christmas music and enjoy.

I already had the title, A Notting Hill Christmas. I'd written it down ages ago in my folder of ideas. All I needed was a story, characters, a plot, a beginning, a middle and that all important end. 30,000 words in two months - no worries! 

I knew exactly what I wanted the book to be like. I had an idea in my head and it was based on a few things. I was lucky to grow up in the 80's. The 80's produced so many amazing Christmas songs - Band Aid, Last Christmas by Wham, Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade - to name just a few. That's not even mentioning Cliff Richards! The 80's was a great time for festive music. It was also a great time for classic British sitcoms and Christmas specials. I clearly remember watching the Only Fools and Horses specials as a child. It stuck in my mind and so when I came to write this, I sort of knew what I wanted. It had to festive, funny, and romantic, of course. 

I knew my story would have the music, the traditional food, presents, decorations and once I knew it was going to be about a family in a tiny flat, the drama and arguments that come when a family get together. So I started, as always, with the characters. The main character is Ben and I decided early on that he was going to be a bit of a loser. Once I had him, the older more successful brother, Jamie, came pretty quickly. I really wanted the family dynamic to remind readers of their own family. I know we're all different, but I knew if I wrote a really honest, down to earth family, people would be able to relate in some way. Maybe you relate to Ben or his brother, or the parents, the sister-in-law or the granddad. What I hope I've created is a really interesting, funny family that fight and argue, but love and care for each other dearly. I really love the Canterbury family and I think they could easily have their own novel! 

The next thing I tackled was the love story. This was always going to be a romantic comedy first and foremost. Having Ben as a bit of a loser, I had to make sure the love story worked. It took a bit of work, and I don't want to give too much away, but hopefully I've written a real, gritty, honest, and romantic love story between two people with more in common than they realise. The girl in question is called Mhairi, and from the start she was Scottish. I wanted someone new to Notting Hill with their own interesting back story and also a girl that was feisty, strong, and would stand up for herself. For some reason when I put all of that together, she was Scottish.

The main thing I wanted to achieve with this little story was to recreate the sort of Christmases I had growing up. When I think about Christmas there's a warmth of emotion. It conjures up so many feelings and I wanted to somehow capture that in the book. I hope I've managed to do that with the characters I've created. I also made a real effort to include lots of little details in the story that hopefully add to it's authenticity. 

The other little sub-plots just came along as I wrote the book. The angry dog, Mr Waggles, who actually plays a huge part in the book. The horny Welsh flatmate, Rufus, who can't get home for Christmas because there's too much snow on the tracks and ends up staying. The giant turkey, Grandad, and Ben's mum - all became integral to the whole story. It's only a short novella, but I managed to squeeze a lot in!

I think something that happened sort of organically was setting the whole story in the poky, little flat. There's something really engaging to me about stories set somewhere specific. Maybe it's the sitcom idea like, The Office, which is set primarily in the office. Only Fools and Horses had different sets, but the flat is what you remember the most. Even shows like Gavin & Stacey, they have lots of settings, but the two houses really make the show what it is. I like having this set only in the flat. It's like the whole thing is condensed and I think it adds to the Christmas spirit!

A Notting Hill Christmas is my first and hopefully not my last Christmas novella - who knows, maybe there will be 'Another Notting Hill Christmas' next year! I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it. A very merry Christmas from me to you! 

Buy A Notting Hill Christmas now - it's just 99p!

Until next time.

Hugs,
Jon x