EVENTS: Festival of Romantic Fiction 2015

Fans of romantic fiction can attend the UK festival dedicated to the genre, which takes place in November.

Started in 2011, the Festival of Romantic Fiction is open to readers and writers of romance, and will take place in the historical town of Stratford-Upon-Avon between 6th-8th November. The festival is supported by a host of publishers including Piatkus Entice, Mills & Boon, Impulse and Choc Lit, with special guest authors Adele Parks and Milly Johnson.

To view the programme and book tickets, head on over to the website, or follow @romancefest on Twitter.

INDUSTRY NEWS: Winners of the Romance Reader Awards announced

The winners of the 2014 Romance Reader Awards were announced at the Festival of Romantic Fiction in Leighton Buzzard over the weekend. Many authors were shortlisted, with some fantastic novels in the running! Congratulations to this year's winners.

Best Romantic Read - One Step Closer to You by Alice Peterson
After Polly ends her relationship with the father of her young son, Louis, she is determined to move on. All she wants is to focus on her job, her friends and to be a good mum. No more looking over her shoulder. No more complications . . . 

Then Polly meets Ben.

Ben is guardian of his niece, Emily. They become close, with Polly teaching Ben how to plait Emily's hair, and Ben playing football with Louis. Their friendship is unexpected. Polly’s never been happier. 

But when Louis's dad reappears in their life, all Polly’s mistakes come back to haunt her and her resolve weakens when he swears he has changed.

Will she give herself a second chance to love?

Best Historical Read - The Dress Thief by Natalie Meg Evans
Alix Gower has a dream: to join the ranks of Coco Chanel to become a designer in the high-stakes world of Parisian haute couture. But Alix also has a secret: she supports her family by stealing designs to create bootlegs for the foreign market. A hidden sketchbook and two minutes inside Hermès is all she needs to create a perfect replica, to be whisked off to production in New York.
Then Alix is given her big break - a chance to finally realize her dream in one of the most prominent Parisian fashion houses - but at the price of copying the breakthrough Spring Collection.

Knowing this could be her only opportunity, Alix accepts the arrangement. But when a mystery from her past resurfaces and a chance meeting has her falling into the arms of a handsome English war reporter, Alix learns that the slightest misstep - or misplaced trust - could be all it takes for her life to begin falling apart at the seams.

Best Short Romance - Taming Her Italian Boss by Fiona Harper
"So, Miss Lange with an e, will you take the job?" 

Ruby Lange might be unconventional, but her struggle to find the ideal career isn't from lack of trying! Now the latest option is "traveling nanny"—so she takes a deep breath, packs her vintage suitcase and heads for Italy.

Ruby's new boss, architect Max Martin, may be utterly gorgeous, but he's far too buttoned up for her liking! Yet traveling around Venice together, Ruby discovers that the man who took a risk on her is masking a huge heart—he just needs a reason to trust it again….


Best Ebook - The Oyster Catcher by Jo Thomas
Dooleybridge, County Galway. Population: 482 (or thereabouts). The last place Fiona Clutterbuck expects to end up, alone, on her wedding night.

But after the words 'I do' have barely left her mouth, that's exactly where she is - with only her sequined shoes and a crashed camper van for company.

One thing is certain: Fi can't go back. So when the opportunity arises to work for Sean Thornton, the local oyster farmer, she jumps at the chance. Now Fi must navigate suspicious locals, jealous rivals and a wild, unpredictable boss if she's to find a new life, and love, on the Irish coast. And nothing - not even a chronic fear of water - is going to hold her back.

Join Fi on her romantic, unpredictable adventure as she learns the rules of the ocean - and picks up a few pearls of Irish wisdom along the way... 

Best Author Published Romance - Christmas Yves by Nicola May
It’s two days before Christmas - and Evie Harris finds herself both manless and jobless. After a chance encounter with handsome Greg (and egged on by her toy-boy-eating friend, Bea) she agrees to work at a homeless shelter on Christmas Day. 

Striking up an unlikely friendship with homeless Yves, Evie begins an unwitting journey of spiritual awakening, all set against the sparkling winter backdrop of London landmarks. 

A New Year’s Eve revelation is on its way . . . but will it leave Evie with a happy heart, or will she allow the pre-Christmas past to dictate her future?

INDUSTRY NEWS: Awards shortlists announced for Festival of Romantic Fiction

Shortlists were released today for the Romance Reader Awards, New Talent Award, and Romance Industry Awards. The winners will be announced at a gala awards ceremony at the Festival of Romantic Fiction on Saturday, 13th September.

Awards organiser Sarah Taylor said: "With the highest number of entries the awards have had in their four year history, the standard this year was exceptionally high with many highly rated novels not making the shortlists. The breath and depth of quality writing in romantic fiction should be celebrated and that's what these awards are all about."

Congratulations and good luck to all those who made it to the final lists! And now, on with the shortlists...

Best Romantic Read
Two Weddings and a Baby by Scarlett Bailey (Ebury)
The Memory Book by Rowan Coleman (Ebury)
The Cornish Stranger by Liz Fenwick (Orion)
After The Honeymoon by Janey Fraser (Arrow)
The Unpredictable Consequences of Love by Jill Mansell (Headline Review)
One Hundred Proposals by Holly Martin (Carina)
The Wedding Proposal by Sue Moorcroft (Choc Lit)
The Proposal by Tasmina Perry (Headline Review)
One Step Closer to You by Alice Peterson (Quercus)

Best Historical Read 
The Downstairs Maid by Rosie Clarke (Ebury)
Monsoon Mists by Christina Courtenay (Choc Lit)
The Maid of Milan by Beverley Eikili (Choc Lit)
The Dress Thief by Natalie Meg Evans (Quercus)
Crosscurrents by Jane Jackson (Accent Press)
Home For Christmas by Lizzie Lane (Ebury)
A Rose in Flanders Fields by Terri Nixon (Carina)
Queen of Bedlam by Laura Purcell (Myrmidon)

Best Short Romance
Don't Tell Penny by Anna Bell (Quercus)
Taming Her Italian Boss by Fiona Harper (Mills and Boon Cherish)
A Western Heart by Liz Harris (Choc Lit Lite)
Just You by Jane Lark (Harper Impulse)
The Right Side of Mr Wrong by Jane Linfoot (Harper Impulse)
Grand Designs by Linda Mitchelmore (Choc Lit Lite)
The Bookshop on the Corner by Rebecca Raisin (Carina)

Best E-Book
The Second Time I Saw You by Pippa Croft (Penguin)
The Wedding Cake Tree by Melanie Hudson (Choc Lit)
Summer at Castle Stone by Lynn-Marie Hulsmann (Harper Impulse)
Dear Lizzie by Annie Lyons (Carina)
The Guestbook by Holly Martin (Carina)
Room For Love by Sophie Pembroke (Carina)
The Oyster Catcher by Jo Thomas (Headline)
Doubting Abbey by Samantha Tonge (Carina)

Best Author Published
Mary Bennet by Kate Allan
Sweet Occasions by Linn B Halton
Drumbeats by Julia Ibbotson
Fairlights by Jan Jones
Christmas Yves by Nicola May
A Change of Heart by Adrienne Vaughan

New Talent Award Shortlist
An Infamous Seduction by Glenda Cooper
Country Strife by Debbie Fuller-White
Fancy Cakes and Skinny Lattes by Melanie Griffiths
For One Last Time by Louise Hall
The Gossamer Trail by Brenda Hawkey
Who Does He Think He Is? by Emily Kerr
Hats Off To Love by Susan Jones
Meeting Halfway by Mairibeth MacMillan
The Perfect Blend by Catherine Meadows
True Colours by Caroline Rayner
Maggie's Child by Glynis Smy

Industry Awards Shortlists

Innovation in Romantic Fiction - Publisher
Accent Amour – new commercial imprint from independent publisher Accent Press investing in backlists as well as new authors
Carina UK – celebrating it's first birthday in 2014, Carina digitally publishes over 75 authors from around the world and has been exceptionally successful in the ebook charts
Mills and Boon – launching a brand new reader-centred website including an interactive story world The Chatsfield that blends fiction and reality
Simon and Schuster – continuing development of their Books in the City website, a popular hub for readers to connect with authors

Innovation in Romantic Fiction – Author
Jenny Barden – for championing the whole genre with innovation in events for the Historical Novels Society and Romantic Novelists Association
Rowan Coleman - after writing Dearest Rose, Rowan was inspired to raise money for women suffering from domestic abuse by writing Woman Walks into a Bar and donating the royalties to Refuge
Nadine Dorries – for shining light on the romantic saga by topping the bestseller charts with her debut novel The Four Streets
Belinda Jones – for connecting with readers with an engaging theme across her website and social media including the Belinda Jones Travel Club on Facebook and Va-va-vacation.com website
Holly Martin - for her debut novel The Guestbook which uniquely tells the story through guest comments left in a leather-bound guestbook

Romance Blogger of the Year
ChickLitClub.com – an excellent example of a group of readers working together to share book news and reviews
Reviewedthebook.co.uk – passion shines through from blogger Sophie Hedley who has been nominated for her dedication and professionalism
Onemorepage.co.uk – blogger Amanda is described as an indefatigable advocate for books and their authors she champions

BOOK EVENTS: Festival of Romantic Fiction 2014

Tickets are now available for the 2014 Festival of Romantic Fiction, which will take place in the market town of Leighton Buzzard from 12-13 September.

The festival will bring together authors and readers of romantic fiction with great events and workshops, such as a Fiction into Film class, Chocolate Workshop, author party, Afternoon Tea and a book fair. Authors such as Mandy Baggott, Jane Lovering, Rowan Coleman, Liz Fenwick and Tracy Bloom will be attending the Festival, which will also provide an opportunity to pitch your novel live to publishers and literary agents, and see the Romance Reader Awards live.

The Festival of Romance will be supported by a variety of publishers such as Carina, Choc Lit and Mills & Boon.

For a full programme and to book tickets, head over to the festival website. You can also follow the festival on Twitter (official hashtag #romancefest14)