Stephanie Cage - Writer

Yesterday I was at Doncaster Central Library with the Doncaster Writers' Group as part of the ' Turn the Page ' festival, about which I'm sure you'll hear more as it continues for another week.  We were asked to introduce ourselves and the genres we wrote, which prompted me to put together this quick list of my favourite romance authors and books for anyone who wanted to know more.  It's hugely personal and idiosyncratic, but if you read romance, do have a look and see if you've missed any treasures, and I'd love to hear if you agree or disagree with my choices.  You can use the comment space below, or comment privately through the 'contact me' page of my website.  Louise Bagshawe – I love ‘The Movie’ and ‘Tall Poppies’ – contemporary chick-lit from another Oxford-educated author.   I’m also a fan of some of her later books, ‘Passion’ and ‘Desire’, which are more romantic suspense.   I've mentioned 'The Movie' in a previous po...

Yesterday I promised you more Liz Fielding, and today's pick is a three-for-one bonus: the Beaumont Brides Collection .  The three stories, 'Wild Justice', 'Wild Lady' and 'Wild Fire' follow three women from the Beaumont family, whose theatrical background makes for some dramatic moments.  Sure, you could buy all three individually, but what's the point when you can have Fizz, Claudia and Melanie all for not much more than the price of a gingerbread latte?  It's the season for gifts, and this is one any romance-lover should be glad to find in their virtual stocking!  I've just revisited the collection trying to decide which is my favourite, but the trouble is, it seems to be whichever one I'm reading at the time.  Each story is subtly different, but they fit perfectly together.  'Wild Justice' is perhaps the closest to 'my kind of book', with an independent heroine who's made a hit of her radio business in a small seasid...

It's coming to the end of the year now, and time to start summing up the best and most memorable of the year's reads.  This time I'm focusing on the books I've read and loved on my Kindle since the start of 2012, with a round-up of a dozen favourites from now until Christmas.  Today's is (unless I change my mind, which I reserve the right to do), the only non-fiction title on the list.  I've been reading some good biographies, business books and mind, body, spirit titles on Kindle, but this is something else entirely.  It's the only writers' reference book on my Kindle, and it's one I turn to constantly: Liz Fielding's Little Book of Writing Romance .  Liz Fielding speaks with the wisdom of experience, and her book is a gentle yet hugely informative guide to what to do - and what not to do - when writing.  I wish I'd had it when I wrote ' Desperate Bid ', as I'm sure it would have saved me a vast amount of experimentation to a...

It's been an age since I posted my favourite writing resources, and as several more have entered the charts since then, it seems like a good time to revisit the collection and see what's changed.  Not surprisingly, there's still a core of old favourites which I've recommended before and probably will again.  These include: The Writer's Journey, by Christopher Vogler Story, by Robert McKee Kate Walker's Twelve Point Guide to Writing Romance Writing the Breakout Novel, by Donald Maas.  Then there are the inspirational delights of: The Writer's Idea Book, by Jack Heffron Writing down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg The Right to Write, by Julia Cameron The latest book to enter my writer's to-read pile, courtesy of a writer's group friend, is Memo from the Story Department, by Christopher Vogler (of Writer's Journey fame) and David McKenna.  Although somewhat piecemeal, I suspect that once I start putting what I've read into practice,...