Rosemary is for Persistence

An interview with Rosemary Hoggard -pen name Denise Lawrence

Rosemary Hoggard is one of of LWC’s longest standing members,  a very succesful  tutor and a prolific short story writer. Recently, she had her first novel published.

Q.   Go Steal a Bridegroom is an intriguing title What is your novel about?

Rosemary. It’s set in Sweden at a Midsummer wedding and aimed squarely at the romance market.

Q.  You are used to writing short stories.  Why, at this stage in your career, did you  start writing a novel?

Rosemary. Well, it’s not exactly a new venture. I began writing it  twenty-five years ago, and sent a partial to Mills & Boon.  An editor there requested the rest,  her name was Angelina.  After a year  I phoned to see what was happening and they told me Angelina had left.  I re-submitted but they decided the novel had too many characters in it for them.

Q.. So you put it on the back burner  for 24 years?

Rosemary..  Oh, no!  I submitted it to Barley Books straight away. They  said they would publish it.  It was fully edited by Nicola Harlow of Barley Books,  but instead of the promised contract, I received a letter to say they were going out of business.

Q. I was a club member 24 years ago. I can’t remember you telling us about any of this.

Rosemary…  Only Audrey (Willsher) knew, as she saw the correspondence.  I told no one else as it sounds so feeble to say, my book nearly got published – nobody believes it!!!

Q.So where did you send it next?

A. I didn’t. because, if you remember,  that’s when my personal life plunged  into turmoil.   (and that’s a novel in itself!)

Q.For most people, that would be the end of that particular story. What happened to make you resurrect it?

A. Just over a year ago my sister-in-law asked to read the manuscript and then she and my brother (who live in N. Wales) nagged me into sending it out again.  Of course, after such a time-lapse I had to bring it all up to date with laptops and mobile phones etc., etc.

Q.What format is it in?

Rosemary.. It’s an E-book published by Mezzanotte of London (who only deal in romances.)  It has had a few 5-star reviews and if it sells enough it will go into paperback.  You can find it on Amazon/Kindle.  As you well know, Margaret, I’m a wuss when it comes to computer technology so my brother and my son in Sweden have helped me deal with the practical side of things, and Jean (Chapman) very kindly looked at the contract for me.