Friday, 16 October 2015
The French Retreat by Sue Fortin
Series: Falling for France #1
Release Date:16th October 2015
Publisher: Romaniac Press
Publisher: Romaniac Press
Genres: Contemporary Fiction / crime
I am so thrilled to welcome Sue Fortin to the blog. Sue has written a great guest post talking about novella's. Thanks so much to Sue on the release day of her new novella The French Retreat.
Loving the Novella
With the explosion of digital imprints in recent years, never
has there been a better time to write a novella. These days it’s far easier and
a more financially viable option for publishers to embrace the shorter length
novel. Very generally speaking, a novella is somewhere between 15k and 50k
words. My publisher, HarperCollins/HarperImpulse, has totally got on board with
this idea and they publish work of all lengths, right from short stories to
full length novels in excess of 100k words.
The great thing about a novella is that it allows readers to
pick up a shorter story and maybe read it in one sitting or during their
commute or on holiday, rather than getting tied into a longer work of fiction. Novellas
are also an ideal way for readers to discover new authors and/or genres. The
reader gets to sample some shorter work before investing time and money in
something longer. Similarly, it’s a great vehicle for authors to try out a different
genre to the one they usually write in.
Of course, the author doesn’t have to go down the
traditional publishing route, they can, like me, self-publish. I decided to self-publish my novella for
speed and because I enjoy the process. That’s not to say any corners can be cut
when self-publishing - the book cover, the presentation, editing and proofreading
all still have to be completed to a high standard. This is especially so with
the competition that’s out there and the fact that readers still have, and
quite rightly so, certain expectations when they buy a book, whether it’s 10k,
20k or 50k+ words.
I’ve really enjoyed writing The French Retreat, so much so,
I intend to write some more novellas next year in the Falling for France series.
Finally, a big thank you to Brook Cottage Books for hosting
me on their fab blog.
Sue
BLURB
With Christmas on the horizon, losing her job
and her home wasn’t on Marcie Grainger’s wish list. In a bid to reassess her
life, she heads off to the only place she has ever felt truly content - her
brother’s farmhouse retreat in rural France.
Marcie isn’t the only one looking to escape.
Ex-soldier Will hopes the gentle pace of French life will help to banish the
ghosts of his past and offer him the fresh start he desires.
However,
all is not what it seems at The Retreat. Fuelled by a string of strange
happenings and local rumours, Will and Marcie are pushed together as they try
to discover who or what is behind it all. In so doing, they end up finding a
lot more than they bargained for.
The
French Retreat is a story of human compassion, hope and love.
Author bio
Published by
Harper Collins' imprint Harper Impulse, Sue Fortin writes romance, mystery and
suspense.
Sue’s second novel, Closing In, became a best seller in 2014 reaching number one in the Kobo Romantic Suspense chart. Her originally self-published debut novel was awarded the INDIE Brag Medallion and later when published by HarperImpulse, was short-listed for the Joan Hessayon Award (2014). Sue was also short-listed for the Festival of Romance, New Talent Award (2013). Sue blogs regularly with the on-line writing group The Romaniacs (www.theromaniacs.co.uk) and in 2014 they released a charity anthology 'Romaniac Shorts'.
Lover of cake, Dragonflies and France. Hater of calories, maths and snakes. Sue was born in Hertfordshire but had a nomadic childhood, moving often with her family, before eventually settling in West Sussex.
Sue is married with four children, all of whom patiently give her time to write but, when not behind the keyboard, she likes to spend her time with them, enjoying both the coast and the South Downs, between which they are nestled.
Sue’s second novel, Closing In, became a best seller in 2014 reaching number one in the Kobo Romantic Suspense chart. Her originally self-published debut novel was awarded the INDIE Brag Medallion and later when published by HarperImpulse, was short-listed for the Joan Hessayon Award (2014). Sue was also short-listed for the Festival of Romance, New Talent Award (2013). Sue blogs regularly with the on-line writing group The Romaniacs (www.theromaniacs.co.uk) and in 2014 they released a charity anthology 'Romaniac Shorts'.
Lover of cake, Dragonflies and France. Hater of calories, maths and snakes. Sue was born in Hertfordshire but had a nomadic childhood, moving often with her family, before eventually settling in West Sussex.
Sue is married with four children, all of whom patiently give her time to write but, when not behind the keyboard, she likes to spend her time with them, enjoying both the coast and the South Downs, between which they are nestled.
You can catch up with Sue at
Twitter www.twitter.com/suefortin1
Website www.suefortin.co.uk
Woohooo happy launch day, Sue, can't wait to read it! XXX :-D
Lovely post! Really helpful suggestions and advice re novellas. Huge Congrats, Sue. I'm 25% into reading The French Retreat and loving it! Happy Publication Day :) Xx
Hi Debbie and Sue,
A great guest and an excellent and informative guest post, for those of us, like myself, who are still a little sceptical about the world of the novella.
I really like the emphasis that you ascribe to the technical accuracy, quality and presentation of the shorter story, which for me has always been my main concern.
No matter how concise the story is, I still desire a decisive opening, a strong storyline and a conclusive ending, before I feel that I have really 'read' a book :)
Thanks for sharing your tips Sue and thanks for a great post Debbie.
Yvonne
Thank you to Brook Cottage Books for hosting me. x
And thank you to Nicky and Jan for your great comments. I do hope you enjoy The French Retreat.xx
Hi Yvonne, thank you for taking time to leave a comment. I'm in total agreement about whatever the length of work, it still has to have all the same strong elements.
Kind regards, Sue.