I am thrilled to have Choc-Lit author, Rhoda Baxter on my blog today talking about writing and her latest book, Doctor January.
Hi, Rhoda, have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes. I also wanted to be over 5ft tall and an astronaut. I didn’t manage those other two.
Did you manage to get the first book you wrote published, or is it tucked in a drawer somewhere?
My first book was too long and too wordy and I really was trying hard to be writerly, which made it not very reader-friendly. I have it on my computer still, along with revisions which are much, much shorter than the original. One day I’ll edit it into shape. Until then, it’ll be there to remind me how far I’ve come.
What’s so special about your hero that makes your heroine fall in love with him?
Hibs from Doctor January – he was her friend first. He’s kind and considerate and clever. He makes her feel safe and he’s very supportive of her decisions (a lot of people in Beth’s life have not been). Notice I’ve not mentioned that he’s handsome. He is, but Beth has learned the hard way that handsome isn’t everything.
Why do you like writing romance?
I love that first kiss feeling. You know the one, when you’re watching a film (I ‘see’ what I write like a film, hence the example) and the two main characters look into each other’s eyes and you feel the excitement anticipation of their first kiss. That feeling. I can’t go around falling in love with random men all the time – I have a husband and, besides, who has that TIME for all that chasing around – so I just make up people who do it for me.
What do you do with a paperback once you’ve read it?
Hi, Rhoda, have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes. I also wanted to be over 5ft tall and an astronaut. I didn’t manage those other two.
Did you manage to get the first book you wrote published, or is it tucked in a drawer somewhere?
My first book was too long and too wordy and I really was trying hard to be writerly, which made it not very reader-friendly. I have it on my computer still, along with revisions which are much, much shorter than the original. One day I’ll edit it into shape. Until then, it’ll be there to remind me how far I’ve come.
What’s so special about your hero that makes your heroine fall in love with him?
Hibs from Doctor January – he was her friend first. He’s kind and considerate and clever. He makes her feel safe and he’s very supportive of her decisions (a lot of people in Beth’s life have not been). Notice I’ve not mentioned that he’s handsome. He is, but Beth has learned the hard way that handsome isn’t everything.
Why do you like writing romance?
I love that first kiss feeling. You know the one, when you’re watching a film (I ‘see’ what I write like a film, hence the example) and the two main characters look into each other’s eyes and you feel the excitement anticipation of their first kiss. That feeling. I can’t go around falling in love with random men all the time – I have a husband and, besides, who has that TIME for all that chasing around – so I just make up people who do it for me.
What do you do with a paperback once you’ve read it?
I rarely read paperbacks now. I read on my Kindle. If I do buy a paperback, it’s usually a keeper. I have been known to read a kindle book, then go out and buy hardcopy to keep. If I do have a paperback I don’t want to keep, I tend to donate it to the local library.
What’s the best bit of writing advice you’ve ever received or read?
Write something you’ll enjoy. My first book (see above) was very worthy and I was trying too hard to be literary. When I let go and started to write a book with jokes in, I felt so much better. I also had more fun writing it, which shows. So don’t write what you feel you should be writing. Write what you want to write. In other words, have fun.
Are you nervous about friends reading your book?
What’s the best bit of writing advice you’ve ever received or read?
Write something you’ll enjoy. My first book (see above) was very worthy and I was trying too hard to be literary. When I let go and started to write a book with jokes in, I felt so much better. I also had more fun writing it, which shows. So don’t write what you feel you should be writing. Write what you want to write. In other words, have fun.
Are you nervous about friends reading your book?
No. But I worry about my mum reading them. Which is why there aren’t any graphic sex scenes.
Cocktail or shot? Cocktail please. I really don’t want to be shot.
Tea or coffee? Tea. I only have coffee I want to feel hyper.
Chocolate or ice cream? What? It’s a choice?? Oh, okay. Chocolate. Or chocolate ice cream if that’s on offer.
Dogs or cats? Dogs. Awwww.
Thanks so much, Rhoda for taking the time to come on my blog!
Rhoda Baxter always wanted to be a writer, but her parents told her she needed to get a ‘real’ job and write in her spare time. So she became a scientist and works in Intellectual Property. She now writes contemporary romantic comedies in whatever spare time she can fit around her day job and her family. Which means her parents were right all along. How irritating
Her latest novel, Doctor January is published by Choc Lit.
Rhoda can be found wittering on about science, comedy and cake on her website www.rhodabaxter.com, Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/rhoda.baxter.5), Google+ or on Twitter (@rhodabaxter). Please pop by and say hello.
If you keep looking back, you might miss what’s standing right in front of you …
Six months after a painful break-up from Gordon, Beth’s finally getting her life back on track. She has faith in her own scientific theories and is willing to work hard to prove them. She’s even beginning to see Hibs, her dedicated lab partner, as more than just a lousy lothario in a lab-coat and goggles.
So when Gordon arrives back from America without warning and expects to be welcomed back into Beth’s arms, she’s totally thrown. She also quickly begins to see that Gordon isn’t the man she thought he was … Hibs has always held a candle for Beth, but he can only wait so long for her to realise there’s more to life than being patronised and bullied by the one who’s meant to love and protect her.
Will Beth forsee the explosive nature beneath Gordon’s placid surface before he destroys everything she’s worked for, both inside and outside the lab?
Cocktail or shot? Cocktail please. I really don’t want to be shot.
Tea or coffee? Tea. I only have coffee I want to feel hyper.
Chocolate or ice cream? What? It’s a choice?? Oh, okay. Chocolate. Or chocolate ice cream if that’s on offer.
Dogs or cats? Dogs. Awwww.
Thanks so much, Rhoda for taking the time to come on my blog!
Author Bio
Rhoda Baxter always wanted to be a writer, but her parents told her she needed to get a ‘real’ job and write in her spare time. So she became a scientist and works in Intellectual Property. She now writes contemporary romantic comedies in whatever spare time she can fit around her day job and her family. Which means her parents were right all along. How irritating
Her latest novel, Doctor January is published by Choc Lit.
Rhoda can be found wittering on about science, comedy and cake on her website www.rhodabaxter.com, Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/rhoda.baxter.5), Google+ or on Twitter (@rhodabaxter). Please pop by and say hello.
Blurb for Doctor January:
If you keep looking back, you might miss what’s standing right in front of you …
Six months after a painful break-up from Gordon, Beth’s finally getting her life back on track. She has faith in her own scientific theories and is willing to work hard to prove them. She’s even beginning to see Hibs, her dedicated lab partner, as more than just a lousy lothario in a lab-coat and goggles.
So when Gordon arrives back from America without warning and expects to be welcomed back into Beth’s arms, she’s totally thrown. She also quickly begins to see that Gordon isn’t the man she thought he was … Hibs has always held a candle for Beth, but he can only wait so long for her to realise there’s more to life than being patronised and bullied by the one who’s meant to love and protect her.
Will Beth forsee the explosive nature beneath Gordon’s placid surface before he destroys everything she’s worked for, both inside and outside the lab?
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