Friday, December 14, 2012

Chick Lit and Cigars

Friday! Phew!

This has been an unexpectedly busy week, and I must apologise for not being able to make my usual blog commenting rounds. I plan on using this weekend to catch up!

A big thanks for all the kind comments on my photos earlier this week. Mr TR & I are pleased with how they came out. And a huge congrats to Paul Anthony Shortt and his wife on the birth of their twins!

In other news, India Drummond has released a very helpful how-to video on formatting for CreateSpace. It really does simplify things, so it's definitely worth a look.

Today, I'm delighted to welcome Michael Harling to the blog. Mike and I first 'met' a few years ago, when I was writing guidebooks under my real name and he was penning hilarious stories about being an expat in England. Mike is here to talk about his first novel, Finding Rachel Davenport.

Over to Mike!


Hi. I’m Mike Harling, I drink whiskey, I smoke cigars, I write chick-lit.

I’ve always wanted to say that, even if it is not technically true. While Finding Rachel Davenport does meet the basic criteria for chick-lit—being as it is about a woman navigating relationships with two would-be boyfriends—this young woman also happens to moonlight as a low-budget crime fighter who runs afoul of the law and has to dodge awkward questions from her nosy neighbor.

Also, there is a literal ticking bomb, a race to save a life and a few narrow escapes thrown in. But there are handbags, and I even knew enough to call them that, so I should be given some leeway.

I did not set out to write a “chick-lit” book, or even a book that could be classified as “woman’s fiction.” I know publishers aren’t keen to take on novels that cannot easily be slipped into a pigeon hole, but I was too naïve to consider that; I was merely interested in telling a story that was fun and fast-paced and had a happy ending. Much as I admire more hard-hitting fiction, when I finish a Harry Hole adventure, I usually feel like slitting my wrists. Now, I’m willing to put myself through that on occasion, but I much prefer it when the people I have just spent the past week with have, at last, found happiness and put everything right within their fictional world. There is enough pain and injustice in the real world, so I aimed to give my readers a break from it. That’s all.

As anyone could have told me, a manuscript that blurs the genre lines will garner more confusion than offers: Is it a thriller? A comic novel? Chick-lit? A crime drama? With no pigeon hole to fit into, it seemed like Finding Rachel Davenport was going to have trouble finding a home. Eventually, Prospera Publishing expressed interest, and published it as an ebook under their Opis Imprint.

Luddite that I am, and having retained the paperback rights, I self-published the book through Amazon as a paperback, giving my friends without Kindles something to look forward to this Christmas, and me something to set on my bookshelf and admire.

So what is Finding Rachel Davenport? Well, I’ll let the readers decide, but if you like chick-lit—especially the kind with fun, quirky plots that don’t leave you feeling like reaching for the happy pills—then I think you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Michael Harling moved to Britain unexpectedly (and through no fault of his own) in 2002. He is the author of three humorous books about expat life: Postcards From Across the Pond, More Postcards From Across the Pond and Postcards From Ireland. Finding Rachel Davenport is his first novel. He currently lives in West Sussex with his wife and has recently been promoted to the position of “full-time writer” thanks to a shrinking economy. All his books are available as ebooks and in paperback format. Visit Michael at his blog, Postcards From Across the Pond (http://pcfatp.com) or his website (http://michaelharling.com

Thanks, Mike!

Have a great weekend, everyone.

32 comments:

  1. Great post as usual, lovely to read in this awful weather here on the South Coast......Same in London?

    Enjoy your week-end, take care.
    Yvonne.

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  2. I hope the weather has improved in London. Bad cyclones in the Pacific - Samoa hit and now it's a monster heading for Fiji! Eeek!
    I loved the idea of a guy writing chick-lit and Michael sounds like he writes a fun novel. I'll look forward to a happy read.

    All good wishes Talli!

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  3. Good luck with that novel, Michael! Thanks for the CSpace link, Talli.

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  4. Hi Talli .. interesting to have a chicklit man - welcome to Mike ... sounds an interesting premise. India's video on Create Space I imagine will be incredibly useful ...

    Enjoy these last few weeks, almost days ... happy times - cheers Hilary

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  5. The photos were indeed beautiful, Talli!
    And good luck with you book Michael! Ticking bombs AND handbags? That sounds awesome

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  6. Drinks whiskey, smokes cigars and writes chicklit. Certainly a man after my own heart. Congrats Michael. This book sounds awesome!

    Thanks Talli.

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  7. Hello Mike!! Yay! You musn't be pigeon holed into anything!! A good story is a good story! All the best with your books!! And yay for whiskey! Take care
    x

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    1. Hi! I agree about the pigeon holes. Thanks for the good wishes. Now go have a whiskey! ;)

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  8. I like books with happy endings; I always feel upset if the ending is too sad or depressing. I want to feel hopeful that the characters' lives will continue to get better (or that they will get better, period).

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    1. Agree! As I said, there is enough pain and injustice to go around, why create more of it? I read to get away from that stuff.

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  9. Hey, I can relate. That's why my books are on the light, upbeat side of science fiction. Good luck, Mike!

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  10. Don't be too busy Talli ,you need to conserve that energy. Now Im really curious about this book would love to read a male take on chic lit. Very interesting.

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  11. What an opening line from Mike, love it! Best of luck to him with his novel.

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  12. Hi Mike, nice to meet you. FRD sounds intriguing and I'll be adding it to my TBR list.

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  13. Hi, Mike. I find some of the most appealing material to be the kind that can't be fit into a proverbial pigeon hole. The book sounds like fun!

    Congratulations to Paul and his wife!

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    1. Thanks!

      I agree with you (and Old Kitty above) about pigeon holes, but unfortunately publishers don't. Of course self-pubbing has changed the landscape on that score.

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  14. Wow! Thanks everyone. I really had a lot of fun writing FRD, so I hope anyone who reads it finds it fun, as well. And thanks to Talli for having me. Now I'm off to have a whiskey and cigar to celebrate ;)

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  15. It was nice to meet Mike and hear about chicklit from a man's point of view. Best of luck with FRD! Julie

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  16. Thanks both! Love reading about other writers - and Mike, you are an unusual other writer! Talli - stay well...xx

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  17. Sounds like a great story - and that's much more important than the pigeon hole! :)

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  18. Nice to meet you, Mike! That sounds like such an awesome book! Can't wait to read it :)

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  19. Hello!

    I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.

    man and van wimbledon

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  20. I always come away from here with a smile and a sense of fun at reading your descriptions of literary characters, Talli! :)

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  21. I do like chick lit. This sounds like it could be a great movie.

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  22. The woman in the umbrella is a lovely picture, and I like the sound of moonlighting as a crime fighter (secret ambition of mine). I look forward to checking out this novel.

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  23. Love this and an author courageous enough to break boundaries and create his own idea of a chick lit book!

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  24. very best of luck with the book Michael!

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  25. I love this! I love when men break out of those typical gender roles, especially when it comes to writing! I'm totally going to check this out. Thanks, Michael.

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  26. What fun! I love blurring the genre lines, and I love the whole cigars and chicklit--LOL! Rachel Davenport sounds divine and best of luck to Michael! :o) <3

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Coffee and wine for all!