Why I wrote a political romance novel

I've just published my first novel on Kindle. I've styled it as a political romance story, which may seem like an oxymoron. These are the reasons why I've chosen to write my story:

Cynicism - There's too much bad feeling towards politics in the UK at the moment. A lot of people think the main parties are all the same and it's still male-dominated. I wanted to introduce a new female political character, Zoe Fletcher, who is different from the same old names we've seen before and wants to make the country a better place. I've taken her back to her student days and tried to show what motivated her to become involved in politics in the first place.

Apathy - Despite the recent advent of election fever it remains true that real life politics just isn't as exciting as fiction. One of my lead characters is a musician and I've tried to create a story that links the real world to politics. It's not just a political story set in the closed halls of Westminster. 

Opportunity - I'm not a marketing expert but you've got to agree that if I was going to write a novel about politics, then the UK General Election is the time to release it. While it's not all about politics, I hope that this story will gain some traction during an important time. It also gave me a vital deadline to aim for when I started the book in January, as I knew it had to be ready by now. Deadlines are important to me, just ask my wife. 

Challenge - I can't think of a political story in fiction or real life that's ever been a straightforward love story about two people. If you can, please let me know. It's too easy to descend into smut and intrigue, which I think has it's place (and there's a bit of it in the book) but I wanted to see if my characters operate beyond that. You can decide if I've achieved that. 

My first novel, The Election, is out now and can be downloaded (currently for free) at this link - www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VJ39ILE 

I'm genuinely interested in feedback so please read and let me know what you think. 

Best wishes, Phil

I’ve just written my first novel and this is what I learned…

After many years of writing short stories and starting longer novels, I have finally finished writing my first full length novel called “The Election”. It will soon be available for sale on Kindle. Here are the top things I learned:

Goals and deadlines are important

It’s not enough to simply want to write
a story. You need support in getting to the end. I’ve started several stories and stalled after around 30,000 words. With this one, I set a goal of writing 1,000 words per day until my story was done. I also set a deadline – my story is focused on the UK General Election and it had to be done in time for the start of the campaign, otherwise I would have to wait another five years before telling it.

Time can be squeezed from the most unlikely of places

Looking back to my days as a student I can’t believe how much free time I squandered. Now I have a full time job and a 2 year old daughter. I spent a lot of time researching procrastinating about how top executives and leaders get the most out of their days. A lot of people get up really early and I’ve read all sorts about delegation, outsourcing, etc. At the end of the day it’s important to find a routine that works for you and I managed to carve out a daily writing habit.

Stop when you’ve still got enough steam to carry on

I think this is a tip from Ernest Hemingway, who suggested that we should always stop writing when we’ve got enough interest to come back to the work the next day. It’s incredibly demoralising to exhaust myself writing 10,000 words and then completely run out of energy or inclination to go on.

Enjoy the process

At the end of the day, how many authors actually sell millions of books and make a living by writing? Very few. I wouldn’t want to rely on writing as a full time job and I’ve got other interests. Writing is a part of me. It’s something that I enjoy doing as often as possible. With a bit of discipline I could call myself a writer but I’ve heard from too many authors who feel jaded and unappreciated. Even if no one else reads my books, at least I enjoy writing them. Write for yourself, not for anyone else.

My book, The Election, is currently on Kindle. Get it on Amazon now - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00VJ39ILE