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We’re very excited to be hosting the first Mills & Boon Romance Writing Masterclass to be held at our offices in Richmond, Surrey on Saturday January 24th, 2015.
If you have always wanted to write a romance novel or perhaps have even pitched a few to publishers in the past without success, then this course is for you. We will help you to understand the romance market and the individual Mills & Boon series types; we will assist you with developing your ideas and getting your creative juices flowing. Plus, there will be the chance to share a glass of bubbly at the end of the day at our drinks reception.
The course will be led by some of our Senior Editorial team; Lucy Gilmour, Sammia Hamer and Pippa Roscoe alongside bestselling Mills & Boon author Heidi Rice. Here’s a little more info about your teachers:
Heidi Rice USA Today bestselling author Heidi Rice lives in London and is married with two teenage sons (which gives her rather too much of an insight into the male psyche). She has written fifteen series books for Harlequin Mills & Boon and two super sexy Harlequin Cosmopolitan Red-Hot Read Novellas, and is currently working on her first women’s fiction novel for M&B.
She has run library workshops in places as far-flung and glamorous as Hackney and Kentish Town (no, really). She was an author mentor for Mills & Boon’s New Voices competition and, after getting her big break through the Romantic Novelist Association’s New Writers Scheme in 2007, she has been known to do reports for aspiring authors as one of the scheme’s readers.
Lucy Gilmour joined Harlequin nine years ago after spending two years, post-Classics degree, working in the French Alps. Whilst her French linguistic skills remain conversational at best, she did develop a deep appreciation for French wine. And broodingly arrogant men with seductive accents… Over that time she’s acquired extensively across all the series published by Harlequin which gave her the chance to fall hopelessly for so many delicious heroes…and partake in the many important debates within the editorial team; Mr Big v Aidan (Mr Big all the way!); Colin Firth or Matthew McFayden as Mr Darcy (both?!); and whether anything beats the rush of making The Call to buy a new author? (Think we’re all agreed here that the magic of finding talented and exciting new authors never fades…). Now commissioning editor for Carina UK, award-winning editor Lucy is excited to be acquiring anything and everything – from commercial women’s fiction to crime to New Adult.
Sammia Hamer After reading History and Politics at the University of Liverpool, Sammia spent a year teaching English in China, learning the importance of extremely basic sign language and a smile when it comes to overcoming the language barrier. Sammia spent six years as an Editor at HarperCollins, before joining the Harlequin team in 2014, eager to seek out new romantic voices that can match the magic of her favourite film, When Harry Met Sally. When it comes to her favourite book, Sammia will always say something worthy like Anna Karenina (but secretly, she can’t get enough of Jilly Cooper’s Rupert Campbell-Black). Sammia’s looking for a book with characters that you can believe in and want to take home and stories that will continue to delight long after you’ve put the novel down.
Pippa Roscoe After finishing her MA at Goldsmith’s university, Pippa spent four years working on the BBC drama, Holby City. Thanks to immersing herself in to a wealth of medical information, she could probably tell you how to perform a mitral valve replacement but couldn’t actually perform one! She has spent three and a half years editing and loving the beautiful stories about gorgeous brooding heroes and wonderfully aspirational heroines that Mills & Boon publish. Now Associate Editor for the Modern series, Pippa acquires authors across all UK based Mills & Boon series and, while she may still be looking for her very own alpha male, she’ll enjoy every single one she meets in the manuscripts that arrive on her desk!
We will also provide the opportunity to have direct mentoring with a Mills & Boon editor for three months after the course, plus alumni will receive 10% off any future writing courses with us.
Have questions? Read the course FAQ here.
TICKETS ARE SELLING FAST at the Early Bird price of £149 until December 31st. Book yours here: Romance Writing Class
Who can I contact for further information? authorlab@hqnuk.co.uk