English Bites
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| 6 January 2005 |
| Romance Writer |
| Meet an Australian writer who sells an awful lot of books. She writes a type of novel called romance novels. |
MELANIE MILBURNE: I read my first Mills and Boon novel at the age of 17 when I was supposed to be studying for my final Year 12 exams and I just loved it. It was just so entertaining and so much fun I thought, "Oh gosh, I would love to read, I'd love to write these books," and also: "I would really love to marry a guy like one of these heroes." So they were my two goals after reading this romance novel, so that's how it started. I sat down one day and I just turned the computer on and I wrote chapter one and a month later I had a novel which I promptly sent off to Mills and Boon in London thinking, "They're going to find me, "they're going to discover me and say, 'Isn't she brilliant.'" But guess what? I was rejected! FIONA BLACKWOOD: How many times were you rejected? MELANIE MILBURNE: Five times. I got a bit gun shy because I actually was writing. In that first year of writing I wrote eight novels, complete novels. The letters started to get lengthy and that is always a good sign for any would-be writer. I wasn't game to hope because, you know, I'd heard that no-one had cracked the London office for something like 10 years. No Australian author in over 10 years had been able to do this, and I thought well, "Just watch me." FIONA BLACKWOOD: What's the secret to writing a Mills and Boon? MELANIE MILBURNE: If there's a secret, look I can't tell you other than just keep working at it and love romance. Write and write and write and read and read and read. I'm very aware that there's this sort of feeling that writing for Mills and Boon isn't really real writing. But look, my attitude to that is this is about entertainment. People are going to bed with a good book and a good man because I'm providing him in my book. I wear pink all the time, if I'm not wearing it on the outside I'm wearing it on the inside. I'm known for that. I love chocolate, flowers and champagne and my husband is, as I said, a Mills and Boon hero and is absolutely fabulous. You live to love, that's why you're alive. It's just so important to and life is so short. And I think we should celebrate the people we love and enjoy the time with them and encourage others to love. And I'm hoping that I'm doing that. |
story notes |
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Mills and Boon novel |