Why, you may ask?
It's good news when any fledgling writer gets a book deal, but Rosy Thornton and Phillipa Ashley scored book contracts from within the fan fiction community. These two women had never published a single word, but they were nurtured into full-fledged novelists by their fan fiction community.
Very encouraging stuff. Listen as Rosy explains...
"In our case, it was on a site dedicated to the BBC's classic television adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's 'North and South', screened in the UK at the end of 2004..."
My friend Phillipa Ashley, posted a modern version of the story entitled 'North and South 2005' and I did a Victorina continuation called 'Roses and Thorns'. In both cases, out first attempt at writing fiction.
"We got a great, and very supportive, response from other N&S fans on the web, both got the writing bug and went on to write our own novels (both, in fact, with a slight flavour of the N&S story). The publisher in both cases is Headline (UK only at the moment). Phillipa's novel, 'Decent Exposure', is out next month and mine, 'More Than Love Letters', in November.
"Fanfic is such a great intro to writing for the novice. the characters are rthere, the seeds of the plot are there, the settings are there - you just have to pick up the ball and run with it. And once you've tried that, you're ready to have a go on your own.... Plus you get all this free advice, support and friendly feedback on the internet from fellow travellers (rather than having to bore stupid your family and real life friends!)."
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