Hexham Book Festival

The Hexham Book Festival went well. There was a definite buzz about the town. The panel was informative and hopefully everyone who attended could see how passionate we all were about writing and reading romance.

Natasha Oakley pointed out a very importnat fact. Mills & Boon outsells all the other publishers of women's fiction. It is the largest publisher of women's fiction in the world. But for some reason, this fact often escapes people.

Sheila Hodgson who is truly awesome did say at the end that they are looking for new authors across ALL the series. The editors really want to find new stars and unlike many other publishers, they do really all submissions. All three authors came from the slush pile orginally. None had submitted through the RNA or an agent.

BTW I did my level best to ruin the photo. Natasha, Sharon and Sheila Hodgson -- all look lovely. I did my forced smile. My daughter took the photo.

Here, there and everywhere

Today, the fantastic Kate Walker continues her masterclass on what makes a M&B alpha male hero with my thoughts. Kate and I are at one with this. Alpha male heroes rock.

There is also a post about Following your dream and what makes people decide to follow that dream on the Pink Heart Society. So please leave your thoughts. I love discovering why people decide to follow their dreams.

And finally, I get to play at being a glamorous author today as I am going to the launch of the Hexham Book Festival this evening. I believe tickets are still available for most events, including the M&B panel discussion on Saturday afternoon. Sheila Hodgson, a senior editor from M&B is chairing the event and she has sent a number of interesting topics through which we will be discussing. Things like the ALPHA MALE HERO and he changes! As well as the universal emotional truths in romance, particularly in a post feminist environment.

I am planning on taking pictures so hopefully people can live vicariously!

Reviews and the Hexham Book Festival

I opened my email today to find a lovely note from Julie Bonello of Cataromance as well as the Pink Heart Society review. Now that the problems with her computer are fixed, Julie has been able to do a review of Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife. And it was well-worth the wait. Regular readers of this blog will know that Julie has reviewed every one of my M&B historicals and that I wait to see what she thinks.

With cataromance she gave Impoverished Miss 5 stars and said:

Michelle Styles is a must-read for readers who are bored to tears of reading hackneyed, clichéd and highly unoriginal wallpaper historical romances. In Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife, her writing is crisp and effortless, her evocation of Regency England superb, her characters believable and authentic, and her ability to tell an emotionally satisfying love story absolutely breathtaking.
Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife is not your typical run-off-the-mill Regency, but a beautifully rendered tale of hope, sacrifice, tragedy and the everlasting power of love.

You can read the full review here.

The Pink Heart Society review said -- Michelle Styles' latest is a beautifully-told, wonderfully written and utterly absorbing historical Regency that I defy anyone to put down once they've read the first page. Imbued with so much style, emotion, humour, charm and intense romance, Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife is outstanding historical romantic fiction at its best!

You can read the rest of the review here.

Both reviews will be printed out and used to combat Crow Attacks. Like most other authors I do suffer from Attacks of the Crows of Doubt. Keeping a scrapbook of good reviews and readers' letters does help.

I know how much time and effort Julie puts into her reviews and thre are reasons why her reviews are so well respected in the romance community.

A reader emailed to say that she could not find me listed on the Hexham Book Festival Programme. Part of the problem is the way the programme is listed and that you have to click on the different times, rather than it being by date. Anyway, here is the blurb and I understand that tickets do remain available. Contact the Queen's Hall box office for more details.

Saturday 2nd May
2.30 - 3.30pm – Mills and Boon panel
Theatre
What could be more universal to the human experience than the thrill of falling in love? There are reasons why the romance genre has consistently proven to be commercially successful. But timelessness does not mean unchanging. As Mills & Boon enters its second century of publishing, three authors, Michelle Styles, Sharon Kendrick, and Natasha Oakley discuss the challenges and pleasures of writing romance in the 21st century with editor Sheila Hodgson

Cost £5.

You can see the full programme on the Hexham Book Festival site.

Hexham Book Festival 2009

As I am appearing in the M&B panel at the Festival on 2 May at 2:30 pm, I thought people might be interested. Sharon Kendrick is also doing a workshop in the morning.

25th April to 3d May 2009


Our new programme is now available, we will be sending out copies to all of you whose addresses we have, check out our web site, www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk book on line at http://www.queenshall.co.uk/ or Box Office 01434 652477

The Hexham Book Festival is bucking the recession by expanding! But tickets are still affordable so defy the economic gloom and let words be your currency. From Saturday 25th April to Sunday 3rd May you can get romantic with Mills and Boon writers, talk the politics of peace with Paddy Ashdown write poetry by starlight at the remote Kielder Observatory and mingle with committed foodies at the Garden Station, Langley. So join us for lively discussion, heated argument, passionate readings and stimulating entertainment all without breaking the bank. Look out for events at our new venues Forum Cinema and Gibside, Tickets from £2.50.
Authors in our 2009 line up include;
Susie Boyt
Patrick Gale
Philip Hensher
Claire Harman
Irma Kurtz
Libby Purves
Janet Street Porter
Benjamin Zephania

New talent from Northern authors and poets;
Andy Croft, Bill Herbert & Paul Summers
Ross Raisin
Richard Milward

Writing workshops from
Debbie Taylor
Maurice Riordan
Sharon Kendrick

For Children
Andy Cope with Lara the Spy Dog
Wild and wicked story telling from the Kingdom of Northumberland
Musical workshop for 4 to 7 year olds
Writing for teenagers from Sally Nichols & Judy Walker

Outreach events include on Saturday 25th April at Gibside Chapel a talk by Wendy Moore about her new book 'Wedlock: the remarkable true story of the extraordinary marriage between Mary Eleanor Bowes, the Countess of Strathmore, and Andrew Robinson Stoney, a debt-ridden Irish fortune-hunter.
On Sunday 3rd May; Two River Cottage authors Pam Corbin and John Wright will introduce their latest books on preserves and mushrooms in the surrounds of Langley Garden Station

Please note if you would like to be sent a copy of our programme please provide us with your address
info@hexhambookfestival.co.uk

Hexham Book Festival would not have been possible this year without the support of our main funder Northern Rock Foundation
Thank you also to
Beaumont Hotel
Cogito Books
Community Foundation
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
The Forum Cinema
Fentimans
Gillian Dickinson Trust
Gibside New Writing North
Mslexia
New Writing North
Northumberland National Parks
Northern Film and Media
New Writing North
Queens Hall Arts
Slaley Hall
Tynedale Council