Author Article: Ronni Cooper

The Life of the Bonkbuster - by Ronni Cooper

The eighties are remembered for many things. Leg Warmers. Shoulder pads. Live Aid. Bananarama. Hair that was the approximate size of a herbaceous bush and sprayed to the consistency of steel.

But for me, one thing defined the eighties more than any other (yes, even more than my definite plans to marry the lead singer of Wham). The eighties were all about the bonkbuster.

Women like Jackie Collins, Judith Krantz, Jilly Cooper and Shirley Conran were writing about characters so glamorous they made Pamela Ewing on Dallas seem dowdy. These books oozed sex, scandal and glamour. But most of all, they featured strong, sassy women who weren’t afraid to go after what they wanted, or to fight for what they believed was theirs.

For a teenager on a council estate in the Scottish sticks, it sure beat the monotony of watching soaps on one of our four television channels.

I became a permanent fixture at our local library, thirsty for another date with Sidney Sheldon. I found myself dreaming about New York, Los Angeles, the avenues of Paris and Rome. I’d read late into the night, using the light of my electric blanket so my parents wouldn’t find out that I was skipping sleep in favour of a bitchy boardroom battle or an explosive act of deadly revenge. Looking back, it’s a wonder I didn’t get caught or suffer chronic heat exhaustion.

It wasn’t long before the books had a dramatic effect.

While my friends were planning careers, I was dreaming of travelling, of riches and of meeting sex-Gods called Lance. While my family was suggesting suitable university options, I was working out an entry strategy for a life of adventure. I’d been shown another world and somehow I was going to live in it.
Two decades later, all those dreams pretty much worked out.

I’ve lived in New York, Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong and Shanghai. I’ve met sexy, glamorous people that would be right at home on the pages of Miss Collins. I’ve danced with scandal and had my share of wild adventures. And every moment of this life was inspired and shaped by those eighties bonkbusters.

Now I’ve come full circle and I’m the one who is writing those epic, sexy tales that send the temperature soaring (with or without the aid of the electric blanket). Thanks to Jackie, Judith, Jilly, Shirley and Sidney, I can honestly say that the stories are based on experiences that were inspired by the lessons they taught me.

Well, most of them.

I’m still holding out for a sex-God called Lance.

You can read my review of Ronni's new book Manhattan, due out on 22nd December 2011, here. You can buy the book on Amazon.co.uk as a paperback or as an eBook. You can follow Ronni on Twitter and on Facebook.

Author Article: Michele Gorman on self-publishing

Today, I welcome Michele Gorman to my blog. Michele's debut novel Single in the City was released in the UK in June 2010, and has chosen to self-publish the book in her native country, USA. Here, Michele writes about the changing face of the cover for the American release of the book, and at the bottom of the post, you can see the two covers side by side, so let me know which you prefer!

"Last year Penguin (UK) published my book, and what a thrilling process it was. Today I’m self-publishing Single in the City in the US, and it’s even more exciting!

I should make a confession right from the start, dear reader. * Whisper * My slight control-freakishness is what makes self-publishing so exciting. I loved having 100% say over every aspect of my book. I got to rewrite it for the US market, I got to decide whether to keep the title (it was originally called The Expat Diaries), and I got to design the cover.

I soon realized however, that with all this empowering decision-making comes a heck of a lot of pressure. Nowhere was this more true than with the cover. The cover is the “face” of the book and I only get one chance to get it right. Out of a million and one options, what kind of cover should I choose? On the surface the answer seemed obvious.

Recent events suggest a population who’ll retch at the sight of a cupcake on a cover. UK-based book shop WHSmith recently announced that the women’s fiction label will be eliminated from its shops after complaints that the books filling those shelves were "very light, [with] lots of pink fluffiness”. Newspaper articles predict the demise of the genre and the term chick lit is used as an insult.

Plus, a quick look at American chick lit covers told me that they tend to be photographic. Yet British chick lit leans towards the illustrations that have critics seeing pink. So clearly American women prefer photographic covers.

I thought long and hard about all of this. I asked my agent, friends and family. Then I made my decision. I’m proud to write chick lit. More than that, I’m proud to write chick lit that stays true to the genre’s light-hearted, humorous roots. I want readers to judge my book by its cover. If you market cheese as chocolate, all you do is miss the cheese-lovers and disappoint the chocoholics.

So I emailed Nellie Ryan, the genius illustrator who did my original cover, and we got to work. The evolution took a lot of time and a lot of patience. Luckily Nellie has the patience of Job.

First, Nellie sent me some photos of sassy city girls to get a feel for outfits and body language. From that brainstorm she sketched the first girl. We wanted her to reflect Hannah's decision to move her worldly belongings to London.

It wasn't quite right. First of all she'd freeze to death in that dress, given that she arrives to London in January. And her body language didn't convey Hannah's trepidation at having moved thousands of miles from everyone she knows. I thought that a 'Jeez, what have I done' look might be better. So we gave her a coat, a passport, and a couple of new stances to try.

I liked her biting her nails but the sense of fun still wasn't there. And this IS a fun book after all. A few polka dots, jaunty scarf and a sense of movement in swirling leaves did the trick ... nearly.

After a transatlantic flight she’d probably have a ponytail. Besides, that’s more fun.

Definitely better with her hair tied back, but let's face it, Hannah is never quite that put together. She's well-known for her wardrobe malfunctions, and she envies women with perfect hair, so we gave her some flyaways in the final version. And here it is. What do you think compared to the UK cover?"

(UK Cover on left, US cover on right)

You can buy Single in the City (UK version) in paperback and on Kindle. (Links go to Amazon.co.uk)

US readers can also buy the ebook at Amazon.com and at Barnes and Noble.