This interview was done with fellow South Australian author, Kirsty Brooks. I think we giggled our way through most of it – especially the photo shoot! This article was used as publicity for the Salisbury Writers Festival panel we were both on. Here's a snippet from the article:

“But Mils & Boon author Lucy Clark, says romance writing is far from romantic. 'My office is our dining room, so we don't have a dining room because my desk is piled high with paper – most of the time you can't see my computer,' she says. 'And I have kids tapping me on the shoulder every five minutes, which is not good for the concentration, and I usually finish the book at 1:30 (am)... it's not romantic at all actually.' Having written more than 30 novels for the publishing giant, Clark knows better than most being a successful romance writer actually has little to do with romance.”

“Novelist Lucy Clark says romance is like maths. 'Everyone likes romance. Romance is an international language, it's like maths – everyone knows it, everyone does it,' the author says. Her novels are published by Harlequin Mills & Boon – a brand she started reading at 15 because her mum had “bookshelves and bookshelves full of Mills & Boon”. After having a manuscript rejected when she was 17, Clark did not write much for another five years. Then she met her husband Peter and he encouraged her to follow her dreams.”

This article was done with fellow South Australian authors, Emily Forbes, Elizabeth Rolls and Trish Morey.

“[Lucy] tries to describe as many of the six senses as she could in her storylines to convey the emotion and heat of the moment. 'I have sexual tension rather than sex scenes,' she said of her books. 'These books are all about emotion.' Her husband was her greatest fan and “severest critic”. 'He does a lot of pre-planning and editing with me, but he had to do his apprenticeship,' she said. 'He had to read 10 Mills & Boons before I'd left him touch one of my scripts.”

This is actually an interview with fellow romance authors, Emma Darcy & Ally Blake, as publicity for the upcoming Romance Writers of Australia conference. The cover of one of my books – The Registrar's Wedding Wish – is used in the article.

“Now with 19 novels in 13 different languages published and four more complete, Lucy seems to have found a formula that works. 'I always equate writing a romance novel to making a cake. You have al the ingredients but if you don't put them together the right way, it doesn't work. You have to get just the right mix.”

As publicity for the Romance Writers of Australia conference, one of our books was chosen to be used for this campign. An extract of the first chapter of the book, The Outback Doctor, which was set amongst the back drop of Broken Hill, was used.

This is an article about new South Australian author Sarah Cook for the release of her first book A Different Path.

“Mrs Cook was inspired to write the story after attending a WEA writers workshop taught by Lucy Clark, one of Australia's leading Mills & Boon author. 'Although I never wanted to write a Mills & Boon, she really inpsired me to get going,' Mrs Cook said.”

“As time goes on, you learn what does and doesn't work. Peter is my best critic – though I have had to ask him to be a bit more diplomatic. With romance writing, it only works if you put your heart and soul into it, so it's hard not to take criticism personally. Lucy's tips:
* Beat isolation by joining a writing group.
* Study the market – keep up with what's in and out of fashion.
* Make time to write.
* Don't be discouraged by rejections – just keep plugging on.

This article forced Peter into the limelight as the article is on men doing predominantly female jobs. Here's the snippet:

“Even though he has had to think of numerous romantic plots for the books he's co-written, Peter Clark isn't actually a hearts-and-flowers kidn of guy. 'At work I won the 'Rhett Butler award' for Least Romantic Guy in the World,' explains Peter. 'I could count the bunches of flowers I've bought my wife on one hand – and I think they were carnations.' His male friends initially scoffed – but since Peter's had three romance novels published, the knockers have been silenced.”

“It was a wonderful day. Peter and I had been on the IVF program for some time and on the same day that I signed the contract, I also discovered I was pregnant. Everything I'd ever dreamed of happened in that one 24 hours.' Since then, motherhood and writing have gone hand in hand for Lucy. 'I've had three books published and two children in three years.' The planning of her books is something Lucy shares with her husband in the evenings. 'We talk over the storyline and characterisations together,' Lucy said. 'When the manuscript is finished the first people to see it are my mother and mother-in-law, both of whom are great readers. Then I make my own changes before I read the book aloud to Peter. We'll discuss it, fine-tune it, and I do the final draft – and, of course, the editor then starts making more changes. It's a long business.”

This was a book give-away as publicity for the Romantic Book of the Year Award and there's a picture of our book Delectable Diagnosis in the article.

“Peter edits and does a lot of planning for my books while I do the word structure. Together we make a really good team... and if we can both make a living from home, with the kids, that would be ideal.”

“Currently the only SA writer for Harlequin Mills & Boon, she says that working from home is the perfect arrangement, allowing her to always be available to her children. 'My day is very, very structured,' she said. She fits her schedule around the children's rather than changing their routines to suit her. 'I don't think that would be fair on them.' With support and encouragement from her husband, Peter, she gains immense satisfaction from her combined role. 'I can have my cake and eat it too,' she said.”

“I enjoy writing so much. It's an escape from reality and I like the fact that I can write a book that is going to make someone else feel good.' Clark, who lives with her husband and six-month-old daughter, says her career is perfect. 'While my daughter is sleeping, I can manage to write a few thousand words,' she said. 'People ask me why I chose romance novels... well I'm married to the most unromantic man in the world so I have to find romance somewhere!”

“To chase her dream and get her own stories printed, Lucy left her full-time secretarial job last year to work as a temporary and also joined the SA Romance Writers Group. It was her fifth submission to Mills & Boon which could end up changing her life. 'I started writing the manuscript and synopsis in February last year and sent it in May and they had it for 12 weeks – the longer they have it the better it is,' she said. 'They wrote back with comments saying they did not like this and that but asked me to write the rest of it and after quite a few other communications, in September we got the contract.”