by juliemt
Celebrating Sixty Wonderful Books with Liz Fielding
January 9, 2012 in Blog, Giveaway, Harlequin Romance by juliemt
Award-winning author Liz Fielding chats to CataRomance about writing sixty fabulous romances for Harlequin Romance – and about her brand new novel, Flirting with Italian
It seems no time at all since I was celebrating the publication of my fiftieth book, but FLIRTING WITH ITALIAN is, amazingly, my sixtieth story for Harlequin Mills and Boon. It was published this December on the nineteenth anniversary of the publication of my first book.
Another project I’ve been working on this year has involved me looking back at those early books and wondering at the changes that have taken place in all our lives during that time.
Communication — the writers’ business — has been at the heart of it.
Mobile phones (I tried to imagine what my mother would have made of me standing in the supermarket and calling my daughter on the train to ask what kind of breakfast cereal she wanted). The internet, websites and blogs, email rather than letters, texting, Skype. They were science fiction for my generation, for whom Star Trek was a glimpse of the distant future.
My first attempts at fiction were created on a portable typewriter (an early attempt at the netbook!) on the dining room table. My first published book was printed out painfully slowly on a printer that cost ten times more than the one I use now – and it was monochrome of course – from a computer with the memory of a goldfish and despatched via snail mail.
Contact with other authors was by a photocopied newsletter. Setting up a website was a major project and took months. The whisper of a new thing called a blog set the heart beating faster.
Looking back, it sounds like the dark ages but it feels like yesterday.
Sarah Gratton, the heroine in my latest book, FLIRTING WITH ITALIAN, has a blog, uses text, new technology which offers new and wonderful ways to add layers to the intensity of her story, but the romance is still as old as Rome where she goes to find a new life.
I have a copy of Flirting with Italian to give away. Tell me how new technology has changed your life, or connected you in some way with the man of your dreams (or nightmares!) I’ll pick a winner a week from now.
Un milione di baci!
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Liz!
Congrats on 60 books!
I also think back sometimes to all the changes taking place and I’m amazed. I started out on an Underwood manual typewriter. LOL
Now, here I am at a computer.
Looking forward to many more wonderful stories from you!
susan meier
My husband and I have been married for over 20 years. Early in our marriage we were separated and attended graduate schools at opposite sides of the US- me in the west coast and he in the east. We spent a fortune in long distance for over a year before he finally moved and joined me. I keep thinking how lucky people are to have unlimited long distance with their cell phones or to be able to skype and see their loved ones with just one computer click- I would have been so happy to have these two technologies 20 years ago.
Hi Liz, congrats on 60 books. Right now I am participating in a web seminar and writing this blog post to you.
I remember our first computer, my husband and I were sitting in the living room reading all the instructions while our daughter, Allie, who was in middle school at the time, was in the office and had it up and running, surfing the web! Now I don’t know how we could make it through the day without the computer.
Technology allows me to do a lot of work from home and to structure my day how I want to work (most of the time, unless there are meetings). It has also changed the way I read; blogs and book sites like this always introduce me to new titles and authors!
Hi everyone and thanks so much for all your stories. I spent three years in Africa in my v. early twenties and had just two phone calls home! Letters were so important then.
Alice, do I choose the winner of Flirting With Italian, or do you?
Have a lovely Sunday everyone.
Congratulations Alicet!!!
You have won a copy of Liz Fielding’s book, FLIRTING WITH ITALIAN. Please send me your snail mail address and I will pass it on to Liz.