Stephanie Cage - Writer

That's the title of my entry for the Mills and Boon 'New Voices' competition I mentioned below.  Luckily I get to enter even though I'm a published writer, because I don't have a full-length book out.  'Desperate Bid' is a nice easy read of a novella, at 37,000 words slightly shorter even than a typical Mills and Boon.  My entry is not exactly a typical Mills and Boon, but then at their talk at the RNA Conference they invited authors to try overturning some of the typical conventions, and I knew immediately that I wanted to try writing one with a hero who was both junior to, and slightly younger than, the heroine.  I'd love it if you'd hop over to Mills and Boon's New Voices and see if you think I've pulled it off.  You'll need to register there if you want to vote and comment, but if you don't feel like registering you can always pop back here and post your comments below. Thank you!

My success in the Yorkshire Ridings competition has reminded me how much I love writing competitions.  Writing to a strict brief can be challenging, as I wonder how to fit a whole story into just a thousand words, or what location is best suited to showing the romantic side of this beautiful county.  Yet, in other ways, it's a relief to have clear boundaries, otherwise it's easy for the creative side of my mind to spiral off, moving further and further from the original project I had in mind.  So, after hearing that I'd won the first prize in the Yorkshire Ridings short story competition, I decided it would be a good idea to look around for another competition to focus my attention.  And then a friend reminded me of this : It's a fantastic opportunity for anyone who hasn't got a full-length romance out, to work with Mills & Boon editors, gain a wider audience, and perhaps even be published with the most successful romance publisher of all time.  And e...