With a gorgeous collection of short-stories entitled Room In Your Heart launched in October, Wendy had such a great response, she has released more of her romantic shorts in her new collection – The Last Rose available in both kindle and paperback

Wendy Clarke

Welcome and Congratulations Wendy, a beautiful cover, they are such lovely stories, many of which have been published in widely-read magazines such as People’s Friend, Take a Break and Women’s Weekly plus their Fiction Specials. However, I know you write more than just your short stories. In fact, I know you have begun a novel to enter into the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme and, that you write a wonderful regular blog which is called Wendy’sWritingNow. This must be one of the best blogs for writers Wendy – a mix of you, the writer, writing tips and events, plus interviews with lots of lovely authors. I’ve been dying to ask you more about it so I thought this would be an excellent opportunity.

-What was the inspiration for the blog?

Firstly, thank you for inviting me onto your lovely bog, Karen. The inspiration for my blog was easy. I had just had my first story published and, as you can imagine, I was on cloud nine and wanted to tell the world. I had seen that other writers had blogs and this seemed as good a time as any to start one of my own. The idea was that I would chart my writing progress from that first publication to wherever my writing took me and hopefully encourage other new writers along the way. That first post felt as though I was writing to myself and when I got my first follower I was over the moon. I now regularly have around three hundred page views for each post – so I’m happy!

-How do you decide what topics or guests to feature?

I try and balance my blog posts. Although predominantly a writing blog, I do sometimes write about my passion for dancing and my choir. I have also mentioned my badly behaved but rather lovely step-dog, Bonnie, on more than one occasion! I use my blog to let my readers know when my stories are appearing in magazines and do a regular ‘inspiration behind the story’ spot. When I have guests on my blog, I try to make sure that they are from a variety of writing genre: romance, rom-com, humour, historical, articles… which reminds me, I have a guest soon who has written a humorous novel based on his experiences as a vet! I also like to balance interviews with guest features.

-Do you find individuals respond well when you request them to guest on your site?

Well, I’ve never had anyone refuse me yet! I wrote two articles for Writing Magazine last year on how to be a good blog guest and blog host – so maybe we all followed my guidelines! Actually, it is often the author who approaches me and as long as their writing interests me, or I think it will interest my readers, I am happy to host them.

-How much of your writing day does the blog take?

It depends on the post. I usually write my blog posts on a Sunday evening and post on a Monday. I would say that it is usually between one and two hours depending on what type of post it is. A guest post usually takes a little longer to put together.

-Is there a Blog/Blogger out there which you aspire to?

There are so many blogs out there that I enjoy reading that it’s hard to choose. I’m not sure if ‘aspire to’ is the term I’d use but I have recently come across a new one Neetsmarketing by Anita Chapman. It has some really useful advice for writers on how to market their work – just what I need! I certainly hope so! In my own experience, I have got to know other writers through their blogs, or through their interaction with mine, and gone on to read their work.

Wendy, please add anything you feel would be useful for writers trying to create a worthwhile blog?

My final word on blogging is that you really need to love doing it. If it becomes a chore then maybe another form of social media, such as Facebook or Twitter is more for you. Also, I used to post three times a week and found I was running out of things to say so for the past year, I’ve been blogging once a week and that suits me much better. Find a blogging pattern that you’re comfortable with and your readers will sense that.

Thanks again for hosting, Karen.

Thank you so much for your time Wendy, we look forward to reading your new collection:

The Last Rose – kindle

In his hand is the rose, as beautiful as I have ever seen – its creamy apricot petals curling inwards from his palm. He holds it out as one might a precious gift.

“The Last Rose is for you,” he says.

The Last Rose, is a collection of short stories of family and friendship. All thirteen stories have previously been published in either The People’s Friend, Woman’s Weekly or Take a Break Fiction Feast Magazines. If you like stories with emotional depth and a satisfying ending, then these stories will not fail to leave you unmoved.

Angie’s daughter says she is coping after the birth of Alex but is she really?

Thelma’s grandson helps her to see that you don’t need bricks and mortar to house your special memories.

After her second marriage, Kate hopes a holiday in Greece will bond her new family but the cracks soon start to appear.

The stories in this collection explore the intricate family relationships of thirteen ordinary people. In them, we discover the sorrow, love and joy that is shared… but not always spoken.

The Last Rose

Room In Your Heart