Romance by the Book

An excerpt from a feature article in d’fine magazine written by Lyn Uhlmann entitled 'Romance by the Book'

(Issue 93 Feb, 2013 www.baysidebulletin.com.au – Photos in this blog courtesy of Bayside Bulletin)

For Noelle, her first dance with romance fiction recently scooped her up and twirled her around when Etopia Press, USA, offered her a contract for her novel, Let Angels Fly.

Noelle had previously written a work of historical fiction, but decided to write romance fiction after attending a RWA seminar and seeing “all the authors having so much fun.”

“I tried to read Fifty Shades of Grey, but the characters were too young for me and I couldn’t’ relate to them,” she said.

“I thought about what I like to read and I prefer protagonists who are a bit older, so I’ve written about a mature lady in her 40s.

“I wanted to write about people with life experience who have been through a major life change – maybe lost a job or a spouse or have experienced some other major life event.”

Noelle described her book as a combination of romance, suspense and action, with the story set in Cambodia, where the main character, seeking to pick up the threads of her shattered life, had gone to teach in an orphanage.

“I travelled to Cambodia last year and, like the character in my book, I fell in love with the people,” she said.

“Also like her, I’d like to go to Cambodia myself one day and spend some time volunteering there.

“It’s also an exotic location that provided the right back drop for the story.”

Noelle, who has also experienced success as a songwriter, said she especially enjoyed writing the adventure aspects of her novel and watching the “growth” of her characters as the story unfolded.

“I want my characters to become better people because of what they go through and that’s what keeps me writing,” she said.

“My main character (in this book) was feeling a bit worthless and losing confidence in herself.

“She needed to do something to make her feel her life was worthwhile and to find happiness again.”

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Let Angels Fly is now available for purchase from Amazon.com (as well as their European sites in England, Germany, and France), Barnes & Noble, and All Romance e-Books. Over the next couple of weeks, they’ll also start appearing on Kobo and Sony, and a few smaller retailers thereafter.