Romy Sommer

I've played around with some of the new template designs available now on Blogger in Draft, but I'm not entirely convinced. What do you think ... yes or no?

Many of my stories start out as dreams. I'm grateful for the gift, but writing the stories down does have a tendency to spoil all those lovely dream emotions I wake with, as I then have to face hard reality. Suxh as, how to make something that seemed so plausible in my dreams, logical to the waking mind. Most often my dreams are like incomplete movies playing out in my head, but the really precious ones, the ones that can influence my whole mood for a day or two, are those that I experience emotionally rather than simply watching them unfold. Is this just me, or do you also have dreams that take you through an emotional wringer too? I had one of those dreams in the early hours of this morning. What was really special about this one is that this story wasn't just a snippet but the entire story; from the time the characters met, through their joy of falling in love, their darkest moments, until they reached their Happy Ever After. Trust me when I say that waking from a dream ...

Here it is ... my gorgeous cover courtesy of Wild Rose cover artist Nicola Martinez.

I'd like to introduce you all to my alter ego, Rae Summers, soon to be a published author with Wild Rose Press. Rae has her own blog over at http://raesummers.wordpress.com On the advice of friends, and the inestimable Kate Walker, I've decided to 'save' my own name for Harlequin and use a pseudonym for the rather more risque historical short stories I write. And so Rae Summers was born. Coming tomorrow ... you get a sneak peek at my first ever book cover.

I have now started "Beneath the Ionian Sun" four times. Four different beginnings and I'm now so far behind my self-imposed schedule that I feel like crying. Why, you might wonder, is this so hard when I already had such a good grasp on my characters? I started Attempt #1 on a high and the words just flowed. I worked on that opening for three days. The story starts on Corfu, with a summer romance between hero and heroine. A brief encounter that both know will not last. Then the doubt set in. How could I hope to hook a reader (or an editor) with a story that opens with sunshine and roses? I needed more conflict! So I rewrote the beginning, starting at the moment of most dramatic conflict. Attempt #2 opens when the hero and heroine are thrown together months later and he discovers that she's pregnant ... and that she planned to keep it from him. Enter the next set of doubts. I've seen this opening done countless times. Where's the fresh twist I need to hoo...

And yes, I really am talking about selling something I've written! The Wild Rose Press has offered to contract a short story I wrote ages ago, currently titled Let's Misbehave . This story is set in 1920s London and is completely different to what I usually write, but it was also the most fun I've had writing and the words just flowed out of me. There are still some major revisions to get through, but I'll keep you all updated of progress as it happens.

My blog has been awarded a Kreativ blog award by Kaily Hart. Thanks, Kaily! Here's how it works: I get to thank the person who bestowed it on me, reveal 7 interesting things about myself and then pass it on to 7 other bloggers. So, here goes: 7 Interesting Things About Me: I grew up in the lush, tropical coastal town of Durban, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa I'm addicted to chocolate I dropped out of Film School in my final year I spent two years living in London (and I sometimes still miss England) My first (uncompleted) novel was an epic set in the dark ages. One day I still want to go back and finish it. With what I now know, it'll be a very different story ... Both my daughters were born in water births My biggest fear is that I will never be as good a mother as my mother is. (She's the most incredible woman alive!) 7 Interesting Blogs I follow: SA Romance Writers - because I blog there and because South African romance writers really need to come out ...