Release Day! How to Write Compelling Romance Novels Is Here!

I’m absolutely thrilled to share that my brand-new craft book, How to Write Compelling Romance Novels: The must-have guide to creating page-turning love stories, is officially available in ebook today!

And—because of your incredible support—it has already hit #1 New Release in Words & Language Reference on Amazon. I couldn’t be more grateful or excited to finally place this guidebook into your hands.

Why I Wrote This Book

Whether you’re crafting your very first love story or polishing your fiftieth, writing romance is one of the most rewarding and emotionally rich journeys a writer can take. Over the past thirty years, I’ve studied story structure, emotional craft, conflict, chemistry, character transformation, and the art of making readers feel.

This book brings together the very best of what I’ve learned in clear guidance, emotional insight, and tools you can apply immediately to strengthen your storytelling.

What’s Inside

How to Write Compelling Romance Novels is packed with practical lessons and step-by-step breakdowns, including:

❤️ How to create powerful emotional beats

❤️ How to build sexual tension that's organic and character-driven

❤️ How to craft internal and external conflict that keeps readers turning pages

❤️ How to write deep emotional intimacy and chemistry

❤️ How to use subtext to enrich dialogue and amplify emotion

❤️ How to raise emotional stakes in a way that grips readers

❤️ And so much more, including examples I've written exclusively for this guidebook

My goal is to help you write the kind of romance stories readers devour in one sitting—and remember long after they finish.

For Writers at Every Level

No matter where you are in your writing journey, this book is designed to meet you there. If you’re just starting out, you’ll find clear, actionable steps that demystify the process. If you’re an experienced author, you’ll gain new tools and insights to elevate your craft.

Thank You

Thank you to every writer, reader, and friend who has supported this book’s release. Seeing it launch as a #1 New Release is an absolute dream come true, and I hope this guide becomes a treasured companion on your writing journey.

If you’re ready to take your romance writing to the next level, you can grab your copy today and start building stories full of emotion.

How to Write Compelling Romance Novels is available in eBook, Paperback, & Hardback. 

Grab your copy today!

AmazonUS | AmazonUK | Amazon CA | AmazonAU

Happy writing—and here’s to crafting love stories your readers will never forget! 

Fast Writer: Melanie Milburne

Our fast writer today is Melanie Milburne who writer for Harlequin Mills and Boon Modern and Medical Romance lines. Welcome Melanie and thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed for my Fast Writers blog series.

·      First, I’d love to hear about your writing day in a quick snapshot. Do you have a special time to write? Or do you grab moments whenever you can? I guess I’d like to know how structured you are.

My writing day is fairly structured. I’m a clear- the-desk-first type of person so I like to get other stuff out of the way so I feel free in my head to write. I swim early and then I walk my dogs. Then I sort out business emails and so on before I sit down to write. I prefer block time so I can immerse myself into the story world rather than snatch odd moments here and there.

·         What sort of writer are you? Planner or pantser?

I’ve thought a lot about the pantser and plotter thing. I’ve finally come to realize that I’m a bit of both. Some books come to me intuitively; others take a bit more thinking through. If I write a too detailed plan I nearly always end up veering away from it. If I don’t plan at all I can end up losing my way and having to do massive rewrites.

·          Did you always write this way? Or is your method something you picked up along the way?

I’ve always been a fast writer. Again, I think it’s very much linked to my personality. My brain runs like a Ferrari most of the time. Over the years I’ve had to concentrate on slowing down my speech so friends and family can keep up! Writing fast is normal for me so it really scares me when I hit a rough patch and the words don’t pour out as they usually do.

·          Can you tell us a bit about the technique you use to help you to write quickly, and how you developed it?

The technique I use (or which comes most naturally to me) is to write in fits and bursts. I always start with a new book with a bang. I find the first half of the book easy. I can write 20,000 words in a couple of weeks, but then things start to slow down and I might have a few days, or even a week or more, when I don’t write anything much at all, although I will be still be processing it in my head. Then I’ll come back at it and finish it in a rush.

·         How many words do you write per hr/writing session?

I don’t set word count limits or pages for the hour or day. I prefer a word count for the week. I set a target and then head towards it. It keeps me focused and motivated.

·         How many hours per day do you write? And how many days per week?

I write for four to six hours most days. I take weekends off here and there, but when I’m deep in the story world I prefer to keep going until it’s finished. That’s why I find social media and the business end of writing so distracting. They pull me out of the story world and it can take ages to plug myself in back in. It’s like trying to watch a movie while someone is talking to you. Impossible!

·         How quickly can/do you finish a book?

It usually takes me four to six weeks to write a book. But that’s just the unpolished version. It will take another week or so to edit and tighten up the story.

·         Do you know what you're going to write each day before you start your writing sessions? For instance, do you draft the scenes/chapters you’re about to write just before you write them, or do you thoroughly outline before you even start the book (if you’re a planner, that is J)?

I don’t always know what I’m going to write each day. Sometimes I know I’m going to write a particular scene, such as the crisis or climatic scene or a love scene, but generally I will see where the characters will take me. Even when I’ve done a rough outline or a detailed beat sheet I will still let the characters have precedence over it. That is the magic of storytelling. The story comes to you if you’re open to it.

·         How do you prevent your internal editor/critic from interrupting?


I have learned to control or balance my internal critic/editor. It’s not a bad thing to be critical of your work but you have to be constructive in how you go about it. You have to take an honest look at it now and again and improve where you can. Over the last couple of years I’ve been studying the craft of writing by reading dozens of books on story structure and attending novel and screenplay workshops. I found my writing slowed down a quite bit to start with. It was almost paralyzing creatively. I was overthinking everything. Now I find I am back to my fast pace as I’ve gradually integrated what I’ve learned. It’s a bit like learning to drive. At first you remember every stop sign, but once you become more experienced it becomes more intuitive.


·         Do you have any more tips you’d like to share?

My best tip for writing is: If you can’t tell someone what your story is about in a sentence or two then you have no story.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to spend time with us here today. We’d love to hear about your new book, would you tell us a bit about it?

My next release is Book One of a duet called Deserving of His Diamonds. It is a story about a young woman whose life was destroyed two years ago by a sex tape scandal before she found out she had an identical twin. When her ex-fiancé Emilio Andreoni finds out the truth he moves heaven and earth to get her back in his life, but there is something heartbreakingly tragic that Gisele hasn’t told him about the time they were apart.

You can find Melanie here: Website, Facebook, Blog

NEW BLOG SERIES: Fast Writing

Ever wondered how prolific authors get so many books out there while you're still struggling with one? I often wonder this myself, so I've been on the hunt for these amazing writing! I've had a number of authors who are willing to give us the lowdown on writing fast.

As from Friday this week, March 30th 2012, I'll be interviewing a prolific writer about her/his methods on writing fast.

If this is a subject you're dying to find out more about, do come and hang with me here each Friday when I'll be interviewing a different author.

My first interviewee is Nicola Marsh, she writes for Harlequin Mills & Boon and has now expanded into chick-lit. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to hear what she has to say on the subject of writing fast!

Don't forget to come and visit with me and Nicola on Friday.

Looking For Fast Writers

How fast do you write? Are you willing to share your technique?

I'm looking to develop a series of blog posts featuring methods to help authors write faster.

I'm looking for authors who are willing to let me interview them about this subject. If you write fast or know of any authors who do, please email me at monique@moniquedevere.co.uk

As a thank you to the authors I interview, I'll feature your latest book and buy link, plus your short author bio.

Looking forward to hearing from you :).

Author, Brand Thy Self

Have you ever wondered why some websites appear as a lovely picture icon, while others appear as an Internet Explorer icon, when you add them to favourites or as a shortcut on your desktop?

Would you like your website to appear as a picture icon? Then read on.

To achieve this, you need to create a favicon—short for favourites icon, which is also known as a website icon, shortcut icon, url icon, or bookmark icon. It’s a tiny square 16 x 16 pixel picture. If you have a web designer, then he/she can do this for you. But if, like me, you are creative and like to take sole control of building and up keeping your own site, then you can easily do this yourself.

Here is mine, but much bigger so you can easily see it. I’ve chosen to create an icon that matches my website. Just like an author’s slogan—Humorous Character-Driven Romance, Packed with Emotion—little things like icons can really help to brand your name, and make you memorable to your readers.

First: you need to create the icon. I’ve found a fantastic site, Favicon.ico Generator, which not only allows you to create your own icon, they also has hundreds of icons you can choose from to download.

When you’ve finished creating your favicon, or choosing one from the site, you need to download it to your computer. Don’t rename. The file must be called “favicon.ico”, this is what the web browsers will look for.

2nd: you need to upload the “favicon.ico” file to your public_html folder in the root directory of your website.

That’s it!

You may need to clear you browser’s Cache before you can see the new icon, though. As there are several types of browsers, I will suggest this link on How to Clear Your Browser's Cache to save me having to explain how to empty the temporary content web browsers store on your computer while you're surfing the net. Things like cookies, images, and web pages are all downloaded to your computer while you are online, and take up space on your hard drive. Getting into the habit of clearing your browser’s cache often can free up space on your computer, and also protect your privacy.

When you are finished, you should be able to see your icon in your browser’s address bar, and next to your website page's title on the tab.

Best of all, when your visitors add your site to their favourites, they get a lovely icon next to the link. Or your icon on the desktop as a shortcut.

Until next time L'Chayim (to life—to good health)