Carole Mortimer | An Author's Weekly Diary: Part 1

Monday

I’m up by 8 o’clock with a coffee in hand. Coffee is always the first order of the
day as I can’t function without that first cup. I then look at my emails, Twitter
and Facebook, replying to anything which urgently needs addressing, including an
email I received from my US editor on Renegade Alpha (Alpha 5) on the subject of
edits. Thankfully it’s mainly punctuation, and one paragraph which needs more
clarification. I decide to delve into making the changes this morning, as it’ll stop
me from worrying about the job interview my son, Tim, has gone for today with a
publishing company in Oxford, UK.
After a few hours I break off to make lunch for my husband and youngest son, Peter,
who is home from University for the summer now. After lunch its housework—not my
favorite thing, but it’s not going to do itself, so it has to be done.

Conscious that I still have work to do, I clean the house as quickly as possible and
then return to my emails in the afternoon. I’ve received one from my editor at
Harlequin Mills and Boon. We’re trying to arrange a time at the RWA conference in
New York to meet up and celebrate my being given the Nora Roberts’ Lifetime
Achievement Award. The schedule is fierce, so we’re having a problem nailing down a
time but I‘m sure we’ll work something out. I send off some more personal
photographs to the RWA for the awards presentation they’re preparing, and then I
call my son Tim on his interview. Thankfully, he thinks it went well, but now we’ll
have to just wait and see.

By now, its dinner time so I cook a family meal, and then have time to relax
afterwards and watch my favorite programme NCIS for a couple of hours—got to love
that Gibbs! After time with my family, I send Renegade Alpha (Alpha 5) back to my US
editor for proofreading with the edits she recommended. Then it’s back to work for a
couple of hours writing Warrior Alpha (Alpha 6), the 6th book in my Indie Alpha
romantic suspense series. Finally I make it to bed at 1 o’clock in the morning.

Tuesday

Up by 8. Coffee. Emails, Twitter, Facebook. My son Josh is sorting out some promo
for me for my release of Renegade Alpha (Alpha 5), on July 24th, after reviewing the
options we decide where and how to promote it and then I return to my emails. I’ve
received one from Tule Publishing, regarding my Bad Boy book, Pursued by the Devil,
coming out with them on August 27th, and they need the buy links to my Alpha series,
and a photo, which I send them. I then write for 3 hours on Warrior Alpha (Alpha 6).

After a cold lunch my US editor has proof-read the changes to Renegade Alpha (Alpha
5), and confirms it’s now ready for formatting and publishing. I contact another one
of my sons, Matthew, who is my formatter for the Alpha series.

While my Harlequin Mills and Boon (HMB) books are all edited, formatted, printed and
uploaded online by their in-house team, for my Indie series Alpha I do all of that
myself. I have had to find an editor, a graphic designer, a marketer in my son
Josh, and a formatter in my son Matthew. Once Matthew has formatted I will then
upload them to the e-retailers myself, which is no easy thing. It’s a big operation
and a lot of hard work doing an Indie series but it’s a great feeling having done it
all myself and having complete control.

I then return to my not so favorite thing; more housework—does it never stop? I
decide to clean the sitting room today, leaving enough time after dinner for another
dose of Gibbs and NCIS.

By 11p.m I’m back on my laptop. Again it’s another late one as I write for 2 hours
on Warrior Alpha (Alpha 6) —my hero Nikolai is so gorgeous I can’t wait for my
readers to meet him. My son Matt sends me an email with the formatted copy of
Renegade Alpha (Alpha 5), at midnight. I fire a quick reply of appreciation back, as
he must have spent the last few hours working on it non-stop. I make a note to check
it over in the morning, ready to upload it to Amazon and Smashwords.

Wednesday

Coffee. Emails, Twitter, Facebook. I announce the winners on social media of the
competition I launched last week in my monthly newsletter. 5 subscribers have won a
signed copy of my HMB Regency, Griffin Stone: Duke of Decadence, due to be published
August 1st. I also email each winner just in case they don’t see the announcement on
Facebook – I believe it’s important to interact with my readers, because without
them there would be no point in my writing at all. I check the formatting of
Renegade Alpha (Alpha 5) that Matt sent me last night. Once again he’s done a great
job, and I upload the final version onto Amazon and Smashwords, ready for its
release date on July 24th. Again it’s time for lunch, washing in the afternoon, and
then cooking dinner. Then more Gibbs and NCIS. But afterwards I again get back to
writing, as I find the evening to be one of my most productive times to write. I’ve
written half of Warrior Alpha (Alpha 6), in the space of 2 weeks. The words are
flowing smoothly onto the screen tonight, and before I know it, its 2 a.m. and time
for bed.

Join us tomorrow to read the second half of Carole's weekly diary!

About Carole Mortimer

Carole Mortimer has written 200 romance novels in contemporary and Regency and she is a USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Author. In 2014 she received a Pioneer of Romance Award from Romantic Times in the US. In 2012 she was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II for her 'outstanding service to literature'. She is very happily married to Peter, they have six sons, and live on the Isle of Man. Website | Facebook | Twitter

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