Happy Publication Day to my author Jane Lovering! Hubble Bubble is peppered with laughs throughout in true Jane fashion; her characters are real, with relatable issues and emotions; and the romance sizzles. I’m happy to welcome Jane here today to talk about the writing and editing that lead to this happy day.
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Hi Rachel, thanks very much for having me here! Your blog is very tidy, isn’t it? I’m used to places full of biscuit crumbs and dog hair, but it’s very clean and neat in here. You didn’t tidy up just for me, did you? Because I’ve brought two cream slices to eat while we chat, and you know how those things just go everywhere once you bite into them … Perhaps I ought to have a plate? Oh, and while you’re up, I’ll have a cup of tea, please. Splash of milk, no sugar and strong enough to bend a spoon.
Where were we? Oh, yes, I remember, I came over to talk about Hubble Bubble, didn’t I, and the writing and editing process? I’ll try to concentrate then … oh, look, there’s the cream … sorry about the mat. It’ll be fine, sponges off a treat.
***
Hi Rachel, thanks very much for having me here! Your blog is very tidy, isn’t it? I’m used to places full of biscuit crumbs and dog hair, but it’s very clean and neat in here. You didn’t tidy up just for me, did you? Because I’ve brought two cream slices to eat while we chat, and you know how those things just go everywhere once you bite into them … Perhaps I ought to have a plate? Oh, and while you’re up, I’ll have a cup of tea, please. Splash of milk, no sugar and strong enough to bend a spoon.
Where were we? Oh, yes, I remember, I came over to talk about Hubble Bubble, didn’t I, and the writing and editing process? I’ll try to concentrate then … oh, look, there’s the cream … sorry about the mat. It’ll be fine, sponges off a treat.
Hubble Bubble was a great book to write; in fact, it pretty much dictated itself. I was fascinated with the human desire to try to inflict order on what is, essentially, the formless chaos of living. You can tell I believe in formless chaos if you look at my living room. In fact, any room in which I have been for more than a few minutes – may I cite your rug in evidence? Anyway. So I wrote Hubble Bubble, where a group of women decide to do a ‘magic spell’ to grant their hearts’ desires, and end up getting their actual hearts’ desires, which don’t always directly co-incide with their wishes. Was it magic? Or did they make things happen once they’d decided they ought to?
The idea came pretty fully formed and, once written, there wasn’t a great deal that needed changing, plot-wise. I suppose the biggest change I made was the name of my heroine’s brother, which was a wrench. (*Rachel clears her throat and looks sheepish* I hate asking an author to consider changing a character’s name, because by the time a manuscript hits an editor’s desk that character has been ‘living’ with that name for a long time. It’s like changing your child’s name at graduation! But …) I’d called him Rowan, because my heroine is called Holly, and families have tendencies to give their children names which ‘fit together’. I draw the line at ‘Tom and Jerry’, but you know what I mean. There aren’t many families with a Tarquin and a Dave, for example. So, I happily wrote Rowan and Holly, until it was pointed out that another Choc Lit book, published just before mine (the wonderful Sarah Tranter’s No Such Thing as Immortality) had a heroine called Rowan.
At which point, panic ensued. Rowan was Rowan! He’d been a Rowan since his conception! So now I had to think up another name, one that would fit with Holly and be the sort of name that their parents (an English teacher and a housewife, of Scottish origin) would give to their son when he was born 32 years ago. Eventually, after much searching and racking of brains, I came up with Nicholas. Holly and Nicholas, both Christmassy names. (I dunno, maybe their parents are fixated with Christmas? Maybe they were both born in December?) And, now I’ve come to use it whilst editing Hubble Bubble, it’s actually turned out to be a better name than Rowan, because it can be abbreviated – Nick for practical use, and Nicky used by those people closest to him, with the transition between Nick and Nicky used to show a growing relationship. Whereas Ro had never been my favourite diminutive – it always sounded as though he was being given an instruction …
Right. Now I’ve managed to turn your previously tidy and well-kept blog into a riot of sticky fingermarks and crumbs, I’m off, before you ask me to hoover …
The idea came pretty fully formed and, once written, there wasn’t a great deal that needed changing, plot-wise. I suppose the biggest change I made was the name of my heroine’s brother, which was a wrench. (*Rachel clears her throat and looks sheepish* I hate asking an author to consider changing a character’s name, because by the time a manuscript hits an editor’s desk that character has been ‘living’ with that name for a long time. It’s like changing your child’s name at graduation! But …) I’d called him Rowan, because my heroine is called Holly, and families have tendencies to give their children names which ‘fit together’. I draw the line at ‘Tom and Jerry’, but you know what I mean. There aren’t many families with a Tarquin and a Dave, for example. So, I happily wrote Rowan and Holly, until it was pointed out that another Choc Lit book, published just before mine (the wonderful Sarah Tranter’s No Such Thing as Immortality) had a heroine called Rowan.
At which point, panic ensued. Rowan was Rowan! He’d been a Rowan since his conception! So now I had to think up another name, one that would fit with Holly and be the sort of name that their parents (an English teacher and a housewife, of Scottish origin) would give to their son when he was born 32 years ago. Eventually, after much searching and racking of brains, I came up with Nicholas. Holly and Nicholas, both Christmassy names. (I dunno, maybe their parents are fixated with Christmas? Maybe they were both born in December?) And, now I’ve come to use it whilst editing Hubble Bubble, it’s actually turned out to be a better name than Rowan, because it can be abbreviated – Nick for practical use, and Nicky used by those people closest to him, with the transition between Nick and Nicky used to show a growing relationship. Whereas Ro had never been my favourite diminutive – it always sounded as though he was being given an instruction …
Right. Now I’ve managed to turn your previously tidy and well-kept blog into a riot of sticky fingermarks and crumbs, I’m off, before you ask me to hoover …
From the Hubble Bubble book jacket:
Be careful what you wish for…
Holly Grey only took up witchery to keep her friend out of trouble – and now she’s knee-deep in hassle, in the form of apocalyptic weather, armed men, midwifery…and a sarcastic Welsh journalist.
Kai has been drawn to darkest Yorkshire by his desire to find out who he really is. What he hadn’t bargained on was getting caught up in amateur magic and dealing with a bunch of women who are trying really hard to make their dreams come true.
Together they realise that getting what you wish for is sometimes just a matter of knowing what it is you want …
Published by Choc Lit and available internationally in paperback and various ebook formats.
Be careful what you wish for…
Holly Grey only took up witchery to keep her friend out of trouble – and now she’s knee-deep in hassle, in the form of apocalyptic weather, armed men, midwifery…and a sarcastic Welsh journalist.
Kai has been drawn to darkest Yorkshire by his desire to find out who he really is. What he hadn’t bargained on was getting caught up in amateur magic and dealing with a bunch of women who are trying really hard to make their dreams come true.
Together they realise that getting what you wish for is sometimes just a matter of knowing what it is you want …
Published by Choc Lit and available internationally in paperback and various ebook formats.
 Check out the full list of Jane's books at Goodreads. If you're in need of a laugh, visit Jane's blog, and connect with her on social media | Jane Lovering was born in Devon, England but, following extradition procedures, now lives in Yorkshire. She has five children, three cats, two dogs and doesn't believe in housework, so the bacteria and dust are approaching sentience and now rank among the pets. Incidentally, she doesn’t believe in ironing either, and the children all learned self-defensive cookery at early ages. She works in a local school and also teaches creative writing, which are extreme ways of avoiding the washing up. Published since 2008, she writes romantic comedies which are often described as ‘quirky’. Jane is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) and has a first-class honours degree in creative writing. In 2012, her novel Please Don't Stop the Music won the overall Romantic Novel of the Year Award as well as the Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year Award from the RNA. |
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