Katey Lovell

It's been a weird time. Dreams have been vivid, ideas have been brewing, but actually having the time and inclination to write... Well, let's just say that hasn't happened much during lockdown.  Me and my agent recently parted ways, all very amicably, but it has given me cause to reassess. It reminds me of being a newbie author subbing directly to publishers and pitching to agents (and having the absolute soul-crushing misery of opening a rejection email without a side-helping of an ego-massaging comment from her).  I'm not going to lie, it's a bit scary putting myself out there again, especially as someone with anxiety. It's a competitive industry; the chances of getting a 'no' are far higher than that elusive 'yes'.  My book being on a supermarket shelf didn't mean I'd made it as an author, it meant I had one book that was bought by a supermarket. Ditto having books picked for promotions. Four novels in, I still have work to do.  So I...

January 9th, 2020 - save the date! My new novel, Make Do and Mend a Broken Heart, is being published in the new year, which is perfect for a book with an overarching theme of new beginnings. What's that? You want to know more? Well then, I'd better share the blurb with you ... When you know how, you can make anything from scratch, including a new life after love... When Leanne and Richard bought a dilapidated old seaside cottage to renovate together as their forever home, their future was full of hope and promise. But heartbreak was just around the corner: fast forward a few months and Richard is gone. With his death, Leanne finds herself stony broke, faced with an uninhabitable home and lacking even the basic skills to do it up herself. With the help of the friendly woman who runs the library and the reluctant assistance of the man who works in the local hardware shop, the cottage is lovingly restored. But broken hearts aren't so easy to fix... are they? ...

There's nothing better than a good writing day, one where the words flow without stutters or false starts. On a good writing day being a novelist is the best job in the world. Pride flutters in my chest when I've not only met my wordcount but nailed a chunk of text that drives the story forward, or includes a sentence or image that I'm particularly proud of. Those highs are addictive, they're what I'm striving for on a daily basis. Of course, words don't always come easily. There are times where I'm frozen in fear as I look at a blank page, terrified that the ideas in my head won't translate to the page, or when all creativity eludes me. Sometimes I'm tired after a day at work and staring at a screen is the last thing I feel like doing. Writing can be painful, exhausting and sometimes near impossible. However, now I've been writing 'seriously' for a good few years I've come to accept that both good days and bad days are ...

The end (of 2018) is nigh and my promises to blog more regularly didn't come to fruition, yet again.  There was always an excuse not to blog - lack of time, lack of energy, would anyone be bothered about what I had to say anyway? - but with just a few days of the year left it feels like a good time to reflect on the year. It has, like many years, been one of ups and downs.  Let's get the misery out of the way first.  Emotionally, I've struggled.  Anxiety is a bitch, and my self-esteem has been at rock bottom.  I've put on weight, and although I'm trying my hardest to become more body confident (or at least body accepting) it isn't always easy fighting the thoughts that have, over a life time, become ingrained.  What I do know is I don't want to waste any more years 'dieting' and social media accounts such as Bodiposipanda and SoBadAss have been an enormous help in reminding me that bodies of all shapes are beautiful and that not e...

I've been reading... Body Positive Power -  Megan Jayne Crabbe All Night Long  (Sweet Valley High) Dangerous Love (Sweet Valley High) Lullaby - Leila Slimani Everything I Know About Love - Dolly Alderton Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli The Cows - Dawn O' Porter I'm still way behind on my blogging for the #SVHReadalong, but I will catch up soon - promise!  But what about the other titles I read in February?    Megan Jayne Crabbe, aka Bodyposipanda, is well-known on social media for leading the march on body positivity.  As someone who recently lost a lot of weight but still had gripes with how I looked, I hoped this book would help me accept my body .  Whilst it hasn't solved all my anxieties, Body Postive Power  reminded me of all the wonderous ways my body works and how society pushes only certain, often unachievable, body types as the 'ideal'.  Thanks to my sister-in-law who bo...

I've been reading... Double Love (Sweet Valley High) Secrets (Sweet Valley High) Playing with Fire (Sweet Valley High) Power Play (Sweet Valley High) Emma Ever After - Brigid Coady One Day in December - Josie Silver Christmas in St Ives - Miranda Dickinson Some Kind of Wonderful - Giovanna Fletcher I'll be blogging about Playing with Fire and Power Play soon for the #SVHReadalong, but I've also really enjoyed the women's fiction I've read this month.  Emma Ever After is a contemporary retelling of Jane Austen's Emma set against the backdrop of the music industry.  It's sassy and witty and a must for anyone interested in the part the media plays in celebrity and stardom. One Day in December isn't due out until later in the year, but I was fortunate to receive an early copy.  It's already drawn comparisons to David Nicholls' One Day and Richard Curtis' rom-com films, and I can see why; and don't let th...

I'm a dreamer, always have been.  Since childhood I've had wild fantasies about dabbling in all kinds of different professions. In (roughly) age order I've wanted to be... A nurse A writer (because I wanted to be like Enid Blyton) An artist A ballet dancer Kylie Minogue A librarian An Olympic gymnast A writer (again, because I wanted to be like Judy Blume) A Red Coat at Butlins A journalist An actress A nurse (again - I actually applied to do a nursing degree at this point) A teacher Manager of a nursery A librarian (again - and I did get a job promoting library services to under 5s) A burlesque performer A professional book reviewer A writer (again, because I wanted to write a Christmas book) My mum has never been the pushy type but she's always encouraged me to strive to reach my goals.  Sure, being Kylie was never likely, but she still put up with me perfecting the dance moves to 'The Locomotion' and when I...

I've been a terrible blog-keeper.  Again. There's no excuse, other than I've been ridiculously busy.  Again. I genuinely want to get into the habit of blogging regularly, and my plan (again!) is to post at least once a month, whether that's an update of what's happening with my writing projects, or something related to my interests (most likely books, music and theatre).  I'm going to schedule it into my phone, so if nothing appears you have every right to prod me on social media! But for now I guess it's time for me to fill you in on my news... THE PARK BOOK     Thank you to everyone who's bought, read and reviewed The Café in Fir Tree Park .  Since the ebook release on May 26th, so many readers have contacted me to say lovely things about Maggie, Fern, Lacey and Pearl.  Not to mention Paolo (and Matt, Warren and Carrick) who've also captured people's hearts!  I'm so proud of this book and knowing yo...

I hadn't planned to blog today.  I'm not prepared for Christmas, we've got friends coming to stay tomorrow night and my writing?  Well, let's just say that December's been a quiet month on that front.  I'm suffering from a NaNoWriMo hangover and a crisis of confidence.  And the paperback of The Singalong Society for Singletons is released tomorrow.  I should probably be promoting that.  There are so many things that I could and should be doing right now that don't involve blogging, but I feel as though I need to write this post. Last night I went to the cinema to watch Get Better , a documentary about musician Frank Turner.  I've been a fan of his for six years or so now after my friend Pip gave me his Love, Ire and Song album.  When she handed it to me she described it as 'folky punk'.  I didn't think 'folky punk' would be my kind of thing, but Frank's blunt yet poetic lyrics really s...

The third meeting of The Singalong Society for Singletons has the group gathering to watch one of my very favourite films.  The Sound of Music is a musical my mum and I watched together on the small screen many, many times throughout my childhood and teens.  She first saw it at the cinema with my dad, and as well as the film we also had the soundtrack (on vinyl, naturally) and the sheet music - these were songs I knew inside out from a young age.  It's probably why I still hold them close to my heart. Julie Andrews is absolutely spectacular as keen-but-hopeless nun Maria and I never fail to be moved by the blossoming romance between Maria and Captain von Trapp.  Add to that the humour, the heartbreak and the beautiful score, and it's plain to see why The Sound of Music has lasted the test of time. Treating my mum for her 70th birthday Whilst the film remains ever-popular, I've also been fortunate enough to see the sta...

It's now just five weeks until The Singalong Society for Singletons starts winging its way onto ereaders everywhere, which is really, really exciting (but also a smidge terrifying too).  So I think the time has come for me to tell you a bit more about it! The Singalong Society for Singletons is the story of Mon, a twenty-something teaching assistant whose long-term boyfriend Justin has moved to Chicago for a year with his job in banking.  Mon shares a terraced house with her teacher workmate Issy who longs for a loving partner and child more than anything in the world.  They spend their evenings drinking wine and watching Frozen, their comfort-film of choice, until one night when Mon's sister Hope unexpectedly arrives on their doorstep with her own relationship woes... The young women find that when your heart is breaking, there's nothing better to do than sing it out and The Singalong Society for Singletons is born!  Mon, Issy, Hope and Mon's be...

As Aaron Halliday the leading man in One Night in Los Angeles is a Hollywood star, I thought it'd be fun to talk to fellow authors and book bloggers about their favourite actors and actresses.  One of the reasons I loved writing Aaron was because the perception of him generated by the media was quite different to the man Abbi gets to know.  Let's see what makes the following household names so popular...       One Night in Madrid and One Night in Pamplona author  JD Martins  admires Kate Winslet "because she's not only an amazing actor, but she's beautiful and unafraid of going places in her acting that others might not go and showing the raw emotions. It's a bit like those writers who are brave enough to write erotica, to expose the raw emotions of our stories that it takes us some years to build up the courage to write, for fear of what our friends and family might think. Kate does it in every film and has done it since ...

Publication day is always exciting (I should know, this is my fourth in the past three months!) but this is a particularly special one.  I've always loved Christmas and harboured secret dreams of having a festive book with my name on it long before I truly believed my writing would be published.   With the support of my wonderful editor Charlotte Ledger,  The Boy under the Mistletoe  is let off the reins today, just in time for Christmas.  I can't wait to hear what you all have to say about it, but I hope you love it as much as I do.  It's my favourite story in the Meet Cute series.  Writing about fairy lights, mistletoe and party nibbles was great fun, but it's Chelsea, the tired shop girl who's reluctant to go to her Gran's Christmas eve party that I loved most.  She's feisty and grumpy, but deep down she's a romantic too.  I'd love to write more about her one day! Thank you so much to everyone that has supp...

It doesn't seem all that long since I first shared the covers for the first three titles in the Meet Cute series, but now that advent's approaching it's time to unveil the cover for The Boy Under the Mistletoe !  The team at Books Covered have excelled themselves and designed a stunning Scandi-Christmas themed cover which stands out from the crowd whilst being instantly identifiable as a Meet Cute story.  I can't put into words how much I love it!     This time it's the story of Chelsea and Simeon's meeting.  Surrounded by twinkling fairy lights and antique glass baubles (along with a bowl of Twiglets - because let's face it, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Twiglets), it's a full-on festive story with an unconventional meeting.   The Boy Under the Mistletoe is published in ebook format on December 17th 2015 by Harper Impulse, the digital first romance imprint of Harper Collins. It is available to preorder now.   ...

I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to share the cover of my short story  The Boy at the Bakery with you all!  Isn't it gorgeous?!  I couldn't have been more delighted with it.   The Boy at the Bakery is part 3 of The Meet Cute series but can also be read as a standalone quick-fix of romance.  I hope readers everywhere fall in love with Cole and Lily!  And did I mention Cole has a dimple? Dimples are my kryptonite...   The Boy at the Bakery is published by Harper Impulse, the digital-first romance imprint at Harper Collins' on November 12th 2015 and is available to pre order now.   Amazon UK   Amazon US   Kobo   Nook      

Here's the eye-catching cover for The Boy at the Beach , the second short story in The Meet Cute series.  Isn't it fun?         The Boy at the Beach is part 2 of The Meet Cute series but can also be read as a standalone quick-fix of romance.  This time it's the story of brash club-rep Lauren and DJ Toby, and their meetcute in Magaluf is one of my favourites of the series.  I can't wait to hear what you think of it when it's released in November!   The Boy at the Beach is published by Harper Impulse, the digital-first romance imprint at Harper Collins on November 5th 2015 and is available to pre order now. Amazon UK Amazon US Kobo Nook            

I have something to admit.    I've been sitting on a pretty massive secret for the past six months.   I'm sorry!  But I'm over the moon to be able to share the big news with you all today.    Harper Impulse, the digital-first romance imprint at publishing giant Harper Collins, are publishing The Meet Cute series!  This series of romantic short stories is perfect for commuters, coffee break readers or anyone who feels they don't get enough free time to read a full length book.  Each story focuses on the moment a couple get together for the first time, or as I like to say it's the 'once upon a time' before the 'happily ever after'.   So without further ado, let me share the absolutely stunning cover with you!         Cover artist Stuart Bache created the perfect design for this one, I couldn't have asked for more.  I can't stop staring at it!   The Boy in the Boo...