Liz Fielding on Charlotte Lamb on Donna Alward's blog
Browsing a number of romance blogs tonight, I stumbled across Donna Alward's vibrant blog, where well-known romantic novelist Liz Fielding has been discussing her earliest inspiration as a writer. Liz explains how reading an article about Charlotte Lamb and Anne Hampson set her on the path to becoming the iconic romance writer she is today.
I was at a point where I wanted to move onto something bigger when I read a magazine piece about Charlotte Lamb and Anne Hampson and discovered, rather late in life, romantic fiction.
You can read the whole article here, on Donna Alward's blog.
It was your mum's books that got me hooked on romance reading and in particular M&B. I remember reading everyone of her books that came out and being amazed at how prolific she was! I also read an article that she came from Dagenham and eventually went to live on the Isle of Man - am I right?
ReplyDeleteApologies for not remembering the title - but the one book I recall that broke the "rules" for me was one about a secretary who was already married, but married to a man who beat her up. The heroine's boss was the hero who "rescued" her from him. Great book and plot that I never forgot! I think it had a helicopter crash in it as well. Do you recall this book? If you do can you remember the title?
Again apologies for being nosy - but did you write for M&B as well? I seem to recall a Sarah Holland writing for M&B.
Take care. Caroline x
Caroline, I'm not sure about the helicopter crash, but the rest of the plot sounds like A FROZEN FIRE (1980). There may well have been a helicopter in it, as the boss who 'rescues' her from the wife-beating husband is quite a high-powered executive. But I don't recall a crash. Hmm, but maybe there was.
ReplyDeleteShe did have a number of books with unpleasant husbands, but I don't know the later books that intimately and my hunch is A FROZEN FIRE.
I have the first edition hardback here, but I found a paperback copy with a different cover on Fantastic Fiction: 'The marriage of Helen and Paul Eastwood had been a farce. When Mark Eliot appeared in her life, she doubted the loyalty and affection she had for her husband would be enough to reject the love that Mark offered.'
Yes, my mother's immediate family came from - and some of them still live in - Dagenham. Her dad was a Ford car worker. We all moved to the Isle of Man in 1977, where she stayed until her death in 2000. My sister Sarah wrote about 11 books for M&B in the eighties; I believe she was M&B's youngest writer at the time. She no longer writes for them, as far as I know.
Meanwhile, I'm still trying to get my foot in the door ... ;)
Thanks Jane! Take care. Caroline x p.s good luck with the foot in the door - let's hope it doesn't slam shut too much on our writing dreams as it becomes painful after a time!
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