Mermaids, Microsoft and Radio Tees - my writing week

It's been another busy week and I've made good headway writing my novel, of which I can't reveal details. I'm waiting for a big announcement to be made by my publisher Headline via The Bookseller magazine.  Until then, I have to keep quiet about what I'm working on and what else is in the pipeline. It's killing me holding all this good news inside, I'm bursting to tell. But until you see it here, I can't say. 

Another episode of my weekly soap opera, Riverside, was published in The People's Friend magazine. Regular readers will know that Riverside is the writing highlight of my week, I adore it as it's a lot of fun. In this week's episode, deli owner Mike comes face to face with his pop idol of the 1960s.

In other new this week, away from novels and soap opera, I made time to write a flash fiction piece called Finding my Feet, for @SeaSunderland. I even filmed myself reading it on Seaburn beach and you can watch it here, it's just over one  minute long.

I also appeared on the radio this week. With Coronation Street's 60th anniversary on December 9th, I was interviewed on BBC Tees about how the show changed my life and inspired me to become a writer. You can listen, if you'd like to, it's here.

And I'm running a competitin to win a copy of the audiobook from my novel The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon. You can enter to win at my Facebook page, it's the pinned post at the top of this page.

Finally this week, the least exciting thing happened, but it was also the most important. For weeks I've been troubled by an issue with Microsoft Word. Boring, I know, but please stay. The issue was such that I've had to contact Microsoft support who escalated the problem all the way up to an engineer. It's no easy fix, I've been told the issue is unique, but it means each time I try to write, I can't. While this is bad news and ongoing, it means I've been chatting by phone to Microsoft tech support all over the world, the Philippines and India this week. And each time we talk, conversation turns to coronavirus and how it's affecting us all. A sobering end to the week.

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

Coronation Street Weekly Update, Nov 28 2020

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street update has just gone live here.

And if you'd like to support the Coronation Street weekly updates to keep them going (please), you can donate here

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

BBC Tees Radio Interview: How Coronation Street changed my life

With Coroantion Street gearing up for its 60th anniversary on December 9th, I was interviewed by BBC Tees this week chatting about my favourite telly show.

I talked about how 60 years of Coronation Street inspired me to give up the day job and become a full-time novelist and whether I think Corrie can last another 60 years.

If you'd like to listen to me chat on about all things Corrie, my bit begins at 3hrs, 55 mins at https://bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08xzktb  

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

Seaside, silence and The Sunderland Echo - My writing week

It's not every day I'm mentioned in a news article alongside the Venerable Bede and MP Chris Mullin. I'm delighted to have been included in a list of Mackem writers in The Sunderland Echo this week. 

You can read all about it here.

And so to the sea, for this week I've been writing flash fiction for Sea Sunderland and you can find out more about that here.  

I've written a piece I'm quite happy with, but not happy enough to submit just yet. It needs tweaking and then recording on the beach. 

In other writing news this week there's been a lot of silence. 

I've got writing news that I'm bursting to share, have been bursting for months if truth be told, but I can't say a word just yet. And so it's been another week of silence from me on this front. But as soon as my news is announced publicly, you can bet I'll be making a song and dance about it. 

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

Coronation Street Weekly Update, Nov 21 2020

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street update has just gone live here.

And if you'd like to support the Coronation Street weekly updates to keep them going (please), you can donate here

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

Find out all about my weekly soap opera, Riverside

Each week on social media I post a teasing snippet of what's in store for readers of my weekly soap opera, Riverside. It's published each week in The People's Friend magazine and has been running since October 2016. Each week, another episode of the soap opera runs in the magazine and keeps readers entertained. 

I love writing Riverside, it's the writing highlight of my week.

Now, you may be thinking that The People's Friend magazine is a magazine that your gran used to read and it couldn't possibly have any relevance now. 

Well, think again.

The People’s Friend is the longest running woman's weekly magazine in the world. It's famous for its fiction and every issue is packed with short stories, exclusive serial instalments, cookery, craft, travel, health, puzzles, gardening and more.  The average age of its readers is just 59, but don't just take my word for it, have a look at the stats in their media pack.

My weekly soap opera Riverside is written exclusively for The People's Friend and centres around the friendship of its two main characters, Mary and Ruby. 

As with all good soap operas, setting is key and in Riverside, it's set in an ex-shipbuilding community by a river. The shipbuilding and industry have long gone but the people continue to live their lives there, some welcome the changes going on around them while others, such as Mary's husband George, longs for the good old days of the past. 

Riverside is a lot of fun to write, emotional too, as I put characters through the wringer or bring in tricky situations in which they find themselves. All the key ingredients of a good soap are there - locations such as the pub The Ship Inn, and a plush deli cafe built on the site of the old shipyards, named the Old Engine Room.  There's a hair and beauty salon, a community centre, a fancy apartment complex built on the old shipyards too. But above all, there's laughter, a few tears, shocks and surprises, and at its heart, fittingly for the magazine, it's all about friendship too.

Give The People's Friend a try, you just might like it, you know.

Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

Coronation Street Weekly Update, Nov 14 2020

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street update has just gone live here.

And if you'd like to support the Coronation Street weekly updates to keep them going (please), you can donate here

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

Hashtags and Hellos - my writing week

It's been quite the week.

My new novel The Paper Mill Girl was released this week in ebook, hardback and audiobook by Headline. The paperback is due out in March 2021. A beautiful bouquet arrived from my publisher along with a card and I've been floating on air all week. 

The novel was reviewed in The People's Friend magazine and given a glowing review, which made me even happier.

I joined new online bookshop Bookshop.org as a way for readers to buy my books online without using Amazon. 

And I did something I thought I'd never do in a million years, but it's something I've taken to during lockdown - I made another YouTube. I've been uploading these short videos weekly, talking about the heroines in each of my books. 

I signed up for the #SignForOurBookshops initiative, which means you can buy one of my books and I'll sign it for you. Find out more here.

I was also longlisted for the Exeter Story Prize.

And there's more exciting news to come very soon. Stay tuned.

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

The Paper Mill Girl - released today in ebook, hardback and audio

Very happy to announce that my next novel The Paper Mill Girl is released today in hardback, ebook and audiobook.

It's a cracker of a book with a real class warrior young woman at its heart and set in one of the old papermill of Sunderland.

If you'd like to know more, all details are here.

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon review in The People's Friend magazine

My latest novel The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon gets a glowing review in this week's The People's Friend magazine, which is in the shops now.  

My thanks to freelance writer and book blogger Karen Byrom and to the magazine for all of their support.

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

#SignForOurBookshops - I'm here to help UK bookshops survive lockdown

Let’s help UK bookshops survive lockdown!

Author Holly Bourne has come up with a way to help UK bookshops during the second lockdown – the #SignForOurBookshops campaign. And I’m really happy to be involved along with hundreds of authors, many of them much more famous than I.

#SignForOurBookshops is a national show of support from UK authors, urging people to keep buying through bookshops by offering exclusive signed bookplates to stores and customers 

How it works

If you buy any of my books from a UK bookshop – either an independent bookshop or a high street retailer such as Waterstones or WHSmiths  – I will send you a signed, personalised bookplate. Not only that, but I'll pop one of my gorgeous bookmarks in with the bookplate for you, too.

What’s a bookplate? 

Well, it’s like a label you can stick in the front of your book which makes it very personal to you or the person you're buying it for. It's just like having a signed copy. 

The special #SignForOurBookshops bookplates have been designed by former Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell, as below, with space for me to write a message to you inside. 

How do you get one?

All you have to do is send me proof of purchase of the book/s you've bought, along with your name and address of where you'd like me to send the bookplate. If you'd like the book dedicated to yourself or as a gift for someone else, let me know any name or special message you'd like putting inside.

However (sorry, there's always one, isn't there?) this offer only applies to books bought between 5th November and 2nd December 2020 which is the proposed length of lockdown 2 and I can only post to UK addresses.

You will need some PrittStick or similar to stick the bookplate inside the book when you receive it from me. And only purchases from UK high street or independent bookshops count

 Let's help keep UK bookshops alive during lockdown. I'm proud to be involved.

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

Coronation Street Weekly Update, Nov 7 2020

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street update has just gone live here.

And if you'd like to support the Coronation Street weekly updates to keep them going (please), you can donate here

__

Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

Longlisted in the Exeter Story Prize

Just received some rather wonderful news. I've been longlisted in the Exeter Story Prize. 

I can't say yet which is my story as they're keeping it confidential for now.

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

Wonderful women

This week I kicked off a video project called Wednesday Women.  Each Wednesday, I'm releasing a very short YouTube video all about each of the women I write about in my novels set in the coalmining village of Ryhope where I was born and bred. 

The first Wednesday Woman is my heroine Jess from my latest novel The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon and if you'd like to watch it, you can do so below.

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Glenda Young
Author of historical novels with Headline
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor