Summer 2010
Hello everyone and welcome all newcomers.

RNA Conference
Having just enjoyed the last weekend at the RNA Conference in Greenwich, my head is buzzing, and coming back to reality is not easy. The Romantic Novelist Association is celebrating its 50th Anniversary so from the first meal out together on Thursday evening when a tribe of us filled a local restaurant, to sipping pimms and champagne at the Gala dinner on the Friday evening, to the BBQ on Saturday evening in an historic courtyard, it was chatter, chatter, chatter all the way. Oh, yes, and loads of brilliant lectures and workshops in between, so that you arrive home with your head bursting with new ideas and helpful tips. You can read more and see pictures on my blog: www.fredalightfoot.blogspot.com

Ebooks
The buzz word this conference was very definitely ebooks. News about epublishers such as Samhain, Wild Rose Press and the new Embrace, and much talk about the future and what will happen to print books. Surely, we hope, the two can survive side by side, rather as radio and television does.

I’ve made my own first tottering steps in this direction by uploading my early Mills & Boon historicals on to Smashwords. The first two were written on a Lettera 22 typewriter. Those were the days. It took 3 weeks just to type out a fair copy, with much use of Tippex. Remember those little pieces of white paper and tiny messy bottles? I then progressed to an Amstrad 9512, that clunky dedicated word processor which I thought was the bee’s knees. It had a spell check, and a daisy wheel printer. Heady days, Mr Sugar. I remember David selling our BT shares in order to buy one, because he believed in me. What more can a man do? Well, scan them, that’s what. The poor love has spent weeks scanning these books on to the computer, and I spent several weeks more editing them. After that they needed to be formatted in a most precise fashion before publishing them.

They include: Madeiran Legacy; A Proud Alliance; Rhapsody creek; Whispering Shadows and Outrageous Fortune.

Smashwords make them available for the Sony Reader, ipad, Nook, Barnes and Noble, etc., in various formats from rtf and pdf to mobipocket. They can be downloaded and read on your computer if you don’t have an e-reader, and are only 1.99, so won’t break the bank. I plan next to upload these titles on to Kindle, which may take a little longer as it’s another steep learning curve.

To sample or purchase click here:

My Out of Print Sagas
I’ve also been preparing some of my early sagas in the same way which I hope soon to publish both on Smashwords, and on Amazon. It’s great fun designing and making the covers, another learning curve, so you see I’ve been busy. I hope to get 5 published by 1 August as I must then start writing the next saga, so my priorities will change after that for a while. I’ve downloaded one or two ebooks myself from Amazon, and read them on my netbook using the kindle software which you can download free. Some of the ebooks were free too, or special offers, so not necessarily expensive. This is the future, folks. And for anyone who is visually impaired, the plus is that you can easily increase the size of font to make reading easier.

Amazon Kindle Store

Facebook
I’ve also, in this so-called summer off from writing, ventured into social networking, so you can now join me on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter. In fact some of you may even be able to explain Twitter to me. I do what I can on there but there are still mysteries to be solved. I’ve resisted Facebook for years, but, as I feared, it’s really quite good fun, and I’ve reconnected with people I haven’t seen in an age. Once I start writing again, I shall have to discipline myself on time allowed to play, but it’s nice sometimes to take a break and ‘talk’ to someone. So do come and join our trivia and chat.

Blogs
I do try to blog once a week, though I don’t always manage it if I have a deadline to meet.

I also blog on http://www.historicalsaganovels.blogspot.com/

and on http://historicalbellesandbeaus.blogspot.com/ which is exclusively about historical fiction. Look forward to seeing some of you there.

New Title
The next new title will be The Reluctant Queen, which as a sequel to Hostage Queen  continues the story of Margot. Out in hard cover on 30 September. ISBN 978-0727869500

Sixteenth-century France. Gabrielle d’Esrées’ one wish is to marry for love, but her mother sells her as a mistress to three different men before she catches the eye – and the heart – of Henry of Navarre, King of France. Henry promises to marry her, but Gabrielle’s difficulties have just begun . . . for Henry’s wife will only divorce him if he promises not to marry Gabrielle. Is the love of a king enough to secure her both the happiness and respectability she craves and a crown for their son as the next dauphin of France?

As this is the 400th anniversary of Henry IV’s death, there’s even a film out about Margot, in French with sub-titles, called La Reine Margot. You’ll understand it much better after you’ve read Hostage Queen! (chuckle-chuckle)

More News
And for all you saga lovers, don’t worry, the sequel to House of Angels is coming soon. I’ll tell you about that next time. I’m also about to start a new saga trilogy which I’m quite excited about, so I’ll tell you about that too.

The large print edition of Trapped is now out. As is the Audio in cassettes and CDs of Lonely Teardrops.

Prize Draw
The winner of the Spring Prize Draw for a signed paperback copy of House of Angels was Martina from Malvern.

 Congratulations Martina!

Don’t forget that the next Prize Draw takes place on 1 August to win a mystery parcel of 3 signed paperbacks. So if you haven’t already, send me an email with I love a mystery Freda as the subject heading.

May 2010
Nerja and the Caves
We’ve recently enjoyed a few days in Nerja, a delightful small town down on the Costa del Sol. We stayed at the Parador for a 3 night break. Having just finished the latest Work in Progress: Reluctant Queen, I felt in dire need of a rest. We strolled about the town, exploring the narrow streets and the huge Balcony de Europa that overlooks the sea, licking ice creams and feeling as if we were on holiday. I suppose we were, in a way. There are so many excellent restaurants it was hard to choose, and the weather was perfect. 

There are also some marvellous caves at Nerja. Discovered in 1959 by children playing, they are absolutely massive. One chamber alone is 100 metres long by 50 metres wide, with a height of 30 metres. The main part of the caves comprise seven chambers: the Christmas Crib, the Elephant’s Tusk, the Cascade or Ballet Chamber, the Phantoms, the Cataclysm, the Cavern and the Mine Chamber. The Ballet Chamber is used for just that purpose, holding ballet and musical events, fitted out like an auditorium. The chambers are filled with the most amazing rock formations and geological phenomena. The stalactites and stalagmites are the largest in Europe, and you can also see the tallest column (32 metres) where both have joined together. There are cave paintings and archeological remains from as early as the Paleolithic Age (an amazing 25,000 years ago! We thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

We then drove up into the hills, to see Frigiliana, but were disappointed to find it somewhat overbuilt. I prefer my own small village of Bedar, which is far less touristy and more typically Spanish. You can see a picture of us here, in the caves. Not sure it does justice to either us or the caves but you enter the caves and get snapped.

Historical Fiction
I’ve always had a passion for historical fiction. I read all of Jean Plaidy’s novels as a girl, also Norah Lofts, Anya Seton, Mary Stewart, and others. I’m still addicted. Now I enjoy Susan Holloway Scott, Elizabeth Chadwick, Alison Weir and Philippa Gregory, among others. I’ve recently finished reading Royal Affairs, by Leslie Carroll. Described as ‘A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures that Rocked the British Monarchy.’ It’s non-fiction but great fun. Each section is quite short and dishes the dirt on such as Jane Shore, Katherine Swynford, and the ladies who entertained the various Kings through history from Henry II, including Henry VIII, Charles II, and the various Georges, to Wallis Simpson, and others from modern times. Carroll is American and has a lively, robust style with a wry sense of humour. I like the fact I can dip into it as I please.

A recent novel I’ve enjoyed is Wife to Charles II, Hilda Lewis. This was originally written in 1965 but still reads well. Lewis has a good narrative style and you really feel for Catherine of Braganza. She was sweet and naïve, excited at the prospect of marriage, but soon becomes hurt and bitter. Her misfortune was to fall in love with Charles, but not be able to produce the required heir, while his many mistresses produced a bevy of beautiful healthy babies.

Royal Harlot by Susan Holloway Scott is the story of Lady Castlemaine, mistress to Charles II. She was what my mother would have described as a trollop – no better than she should be – I love that phrase. Scott gets over her adventurous, greedy character very well, yet despite the fact she is completely amoral you nonetheless feel you’re on her side. Most entertaining and compulsively written in the first person.

If you’re interested in historical fiction, here are some review sites you might like to try out:

You can see more reviews on my blog

Spring  2006

Spring 2005

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