<p><span style="font-size: small; font-family: arial;">I had a truly memorable time at the 50th Anniversary conference of the Romantic Novelists' Association&nbsp;(RNA). It was held in the wonderful buildings along the Thames now used as the University of Greenwich, in a heat wave.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small; font-family: arial;">&nbsp;Walking where Pepys walked, on the ground where the palace that was Henry viii's birthplace used to stand and eating in the Trafalgar Gate where Dickens used to eat, was all heady stuff. A girl might have had her head turned but the sessions were all business - with a lot of laughter and some chat about shoes (it's a girl thing) thrown in to the mix.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;Others would choose other sessions as their favoutites but I was particularly taken by Sarah Duncan's "Mind the Gap" in which she set out her pointers for creating that 'must-buy' ms. Tea drinking is banned from her ideal book and the character who, should you phone them, is that person who makes your heart sink. Her mantra is "positive people planning with purpose".</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp; Katie Fforde presided with her usual warmth and humour and the conference organisation, presided over by Jan and Roger, was unbelievably good.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I had secured a ten-minute slot with an editor from one of the publshing houses I'm targetting and that was so useful. Networking opportunities are the really big plus about attending conferences.</span></p>

<p>I cannot bear not to be in...</p> <p>I so much enjoyed the New Voices competition last year but it is a bit time consuming and time is precious. However, I hate to watch something like this from the side-lines and I have always got an idea for the next novel in the brain somewhere. I'm working on a first chapter that's a little darker than the one I put up in 2010. If I get to uploading stage, I may let you know, Dear Readers, and ask for some voting help with the roses. if not, I may just take this post down.</p>

<p>Romance may very well be in the air but as far as the MS described in my 'Waiting Game' post is concerned, that's where it's staying for the present.</p> <p>No sale!</p> <p>However, I have had a success in the Filler field which I discovered by accident. A writer friend was celebrating having her poem selected by Prima so I bought the mag to read it and found my own letter on their 'questions' page. Every month they ask a question or pose an opportunity. This has been, for example, 'I never leave home without...' Next month's can be found by going to their facebook page. If selected there's a prize of &pound;25.</p> <p>So - as for romance? Well, I was accepted onto the RNA's new writers' scheme for another year and I've been plotting. I think I'll go contemporary this year.</p>