Category Archives: Adrienne Vaughan
Happy Christmas from New Romantics Press
What Christmas means to us . . .
click on each photo to put a face to a name !
First up – June
My grandma would make 100 mince pies and 100 lemon curd and jam tarts every year at this time, before giving the house a thorough bottoming! Here the toaster has just exploded and I already have hurricane hair.
Soon though, every room will be full, every bed occupied, and like most of us, shutting myself away to write won’t be an option. I’m bound to be inspired enough by chat and conversation though, to keep scribbling notes on scraps of paper. (Must remember to keep them safe – not risk finding one stuck to the bottom of a Piccalilli jar in February, like last year.) One son recently met a person who studied photography as I did, in the ‘60s, then worked for BBC (and on Evita) as a make-up artist in ‘70s and ‘80s. Great background for my novel, so there’ll be some surreptitious scribbling about that!
Take it away – Adrienne
I love Christmas, always have. Luckily we live in a village with a church and a pub so we make the most of it. And with two cocker spaniels, there’s always a great excuse to trudge off excesses across fields, rewarding ourselves with a nice glass of mulled wine and mince pies in front of a roaring log fire. I do all of it! We’re going to visit family in Dublin too, which will be really special, the lights in the city are fabulous and we’ll head to the coast and then into the mountains for lunch, wonderful.

I’m completing the edits of my new novel Scandal of the Seahorse Hotel currently which will take me through to New Year, when we will be in sunny South Devon. I always start a new novel, fresh notebook, coloured pens at the ready while I’m there. The walks on the beach, steaming seafood chowder and local cider help get the brain cells working again – it’s all rather inspirational, so Christmas and New Year is a time of thanksgiving for me, I know how lucky we are.
How about you, Mags?
Mags is working on her third novel which features ‘heroine in jeopardy’ as its central theme. She will be spending Christmas at the beck and call of her cat, Tina – no change there – who deserves to have a novel written just about her.
And, finally, Lizzie
I’m dreaming about hitting the road in 2016 with our caravan, computer, parrot and husband to research number four. Highlands of Scotland, here I come. For me, Christmas is all about being with friends and family and taking time to do those things which the madness of modern life seems to push to the back of the queue – loving, laughter and sharing experiences. I’m very enthused about #4 which I’m currently writing and which features a wayward laird who is at odds with his son, an eccentric family of cousins and a missing ‘treasure.’ Hopefully you’ll be able to download it by the end of 2016.
It simply remains for us to thank you all for your continued support – whether it be downloading our novels, reviewing them, subscribing to newsletters or just chatting to us on Facebook. Have a great Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year. Soon the shortest day will have passed and we will start journeying towards the light.
Here are the links to our amazon pages if you would like to download one of our novels . . .
June , Adrienne, Mags and Lizzie
A MOST DEADLY AFFAIR – LONGLISTED FOR COVETED AWARD

Picture by John Jackson
Adrienne’s first historical novel, A Most Deadly Affair, set in the 1950’s, was longlisted for the coveted Elizabeth Goudge Trophy at the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) conference held at the Queen Mary University in London, recently.
The annual competition, which is judged on the first chapter of a so far unpublished novel, received a record number of entries this year and Adrienne was bowled over when it was announced A Most Deadly Affair had made it into the top six.
Award-winning author and current RNA Chairman, Eileen Ramsay, commented that the standard this year was extremely high, and A Most Deadly Affair’s premise of a heroine with exactly the same birthday as the Queen was fascinating; especially as she inherits the family business – a funeral parlour – at the same time as the Queen ascends the throne.
Adrienne is adding this achievement to a growing list of accolades. Debut novel, The Hollow Heart and follow-up, A Change of Heart were both shortlisted for awards at the Festival of Romantic Fiction 2013 and 2014 respectively whilst the conclusion of the trilogy, Secrets of the Heart will be submitted later this year.
Currently working on her new novel, Scandal of the Seahorse Hotel, Adrienne is taking a break to attend the Romance Writers of America’s (RWA) conference in New York next week.
“I am thrilled to have my work recognised, especially as many of the writers who entered are long-established, best sellers who I have always admired. It goes some way to demonstrate my writing career is moving in the right direction, keeping everything crossed – even my eyes – when I say that, of course.” She commented.
The Elizabeth Goudge trophy was donated by the English author and distinguished former Vice President of the Association, Elizabeth Goudge. Since 2000 it has been associated with—and presented at—the RNA‘s Annual Conference. The award is open to all RNA members attending the conference, published or unpublished. The theme of the competition is set by the chairman and varies from year to year; this year’s theme was Family Values.
Adrienne Vaughan was interviewed recently by Rosie Amber, blogger and book reviewer, read what she had to say.