Tag Archives: t a williams
Book Review: Dreaming of Italy by T. A. Williams
Book Review: Dreaming of Verona by T.A. Williams (✮✮✮✮✮)
Dreaming of Verona by T.A. Williams (✮✮✮✮✮)
Title: Dreaming of Verona
Author: T.A. Williams
Genre: Women’s, chicklit, romance, fiction
Publisher: Canelo
Pages: 320 pages
Publication Date: 3rd February 2020
My Rating: 5/5
Guest Post: T. A. Williams
T. A. (Trevor) Williams talks about all the rest of it…
It’s a great feeling when you finally write The End on the last page of your manuscript and head off to the fridge to open that bottle of champagne that’s been in there for a good while. But, when you surface a few days later, once the hangover has receded, the real hard work starts.
T. A. (Trevor) Williams
First, you’ve got to edit what you’ve written. With my latest book, What Happens at the Beach… , I added over 3,000 words the first time I revisited the book I had just finished. This wasn’t just seeking out typos (why do I keep leaving out the first letter of the? Spellcheck doesn’t mind, but the reader will) and turning commas into full stops. This wass also inserting description, tweeking dialogue to make it more natural, checking the chronology of the book (how come they go to the party on Friday night, but the previous day was a Wednesday?) and making sure I hadn’t inadvertently used the name of one of my characters from a previous book instead of this one. It’s surprisingly easy to make that mistake.
Then the book goes off to my editor and I wait anxiously for her verdict. This usually comes back in the form of a three or four page document full of “suggestions” – and we all know what that means. These can range from the most simple, “why not give Henry an Oxford accent?” to more complex changes like, “Three men vying for XXX’s affections is too many. How about removing YYY?” And so I then have to set about erasing the existence of poor old YYY forever. Oh yes, and then there are names. In my last book, What Happens in the Alps…, my editor felt that the main male character’s name wasn’t “alpha” enough. The name I had chosen was Jimmy. I spent a whole day looking for a suitably macho name before hitting upon Matt. Luckily, all I then had to do was to click edit/find, type in Jimmy and then click replace and type in Matt. Voila! 676 changes made in the blink of an eye. But it all takes time.
T. A. (Trevor) Williams
Then it goes back to my editor again and, if I’m lucky, she accepts the changes and sends it to somebody with those little half glasses, probably wearing a cardigan, who checks spelling, punctuation and so on. I used to be an English teacher so I’m not too bad on the grammatical side of things, but I did object to one copy editor a couple of years ago who went through my manuscript taking out every passive and changing the sentences to the active voice. Erm, excuse me… it was in the passive for a reason… . The edited version comes back to me (Harper Collins refer to that stage of the procerss as AAs – author amendments, I think that stands for) with every change tracked so I can accept or refuse them. All joking aside, these copy editors do a great job and by the time the book goes off to the digital boffins, it’s normally pretty well perfect (although I guarantee I’ll find a mistake the first time I read the finished article on my Kindle).
And that, you might think, is that. Sit back and wait for the glowing revues and the mountains of royalties to start flooding in. Wrong. Now begins the social media blitz with a blog tour and tweets flying around all over the place, Facebook posts, talks to the local Women’s Institute and so forth. Oh, yes, and that means writing blog posts for lovely bloggers who feature me on their blogs. Thank you!
Many thanks to Trevor for this look behind the scenes Guest Post!
Trevor’s Website | Goodreads | Amazon UK | Barnes and Noble | Twitter |
As you are probably aware by now, I’m participating in the ‘What Happens at the Beach’ book release blitz and tour! If you would like to see other posts you can find them under the T. A. Williams tag!
Happy reading,
Anna
Book Review: What Happens at the Beach (✮✮✮✮✮)
What Happens at the Beach by T. A. Williams (✮✮✮✮✮)
Title: What Happens at the Beach
Author: T. A. Williams
Genre: Romance, chick-lit, adult fiction
Publisher: Carina UK
Pages: 276 pages
Publication Date: 11th July 2016
My Rating: 5/5
Author Interview: T. A. Williams
T. A. Williams
Following the release of ‘What Happens at the Beach’, which has been rated five stars on my blog, Trevor has kindly agreed to be interviewed. Thank you so much Trevor!
Where did you find the inspiration for your book/series?
I wish I knew. The ideas just sort of come. At the moment, annoyingly, I’ve got ideas for about three different books rattling around in my head and I can’t find the right way to finish any of them. Some of the background/location of the books is usually from my own personal experience. For instance we often used to go on holiday to the part of the south of France where What Happens at the beach is set.
What is your writing process?
My preferred writing process is to have a vague idea of what’s going to happen, a clear idea about my main character and the location and just sit down and go. Unfortunately, my editor at Carina UK prefers me to give her a detailed synopsis in advance. I find that very hard to do because my stories sort of evolve organically, often going off in directions that surprise me…
What Happens at the Beach by T. A. Williams
Please describe what your book is about in one sentence.
What Happens at the Beach… is the story of a lonely girl trying to get her life sorted out, starting out thinking she doesn’t want to get involved with another man but coming to realise that this isn’t really true.
How did you choose the names for your characters?
Hee, hee, I often take names of fellow writers from the Carina UK stable. You’re fairly safe though, Anna. I’ve already used your name… no, wait a moment, that was Annie in What Happens in the Alps so keep your eyes open, just in case…
If you could be any character from your story, who would you choose and why?
Well, the men are all much younger and far more handsome than me, and mostly quite wealthy, so the choice is pretty big. I think, on balance, I wouldn’t mind being Mark in What Happens at the Beach… In fact, there’s a certain amount of me in him – like his trying to write a book about the history of that part of the world.
What is your top tip for aspiring writers?
Don’t give up and remember, writing the book is the easy part. Finding a publisher is far, far more difficult. But keep on going and write because you enjoy what you’re doing.
Trevor’s Social Networking Links
| Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon Author |
Book Links
| Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads |
Again, a huge thank you to Trevor for this wonderful interview. Trevor’s social networking links and books links.
Happy reading,
Anna x
Books and Bookends 