CATRIN COLLIER - CONTACT

Hi Catrin, Just wanted to email to say how much I enjoy your novels. They are so readable and once I’ve started one I can’t put it down. I remember watching the Hearts of Gold mini-series when it was screen four years ago, but would now love to see it again, is it available to purchase anywhere because I’ve looked on Amazon etc and couldn’t find it? Also, will the BBC be adapting the other seven books in the Pontypridd series? I would love to see them all be adapted! Would be great to hear from you. Kind regards, An avid fan Kathryn

Dear Kathryn,

You can have no idea just how much your e-mail means to me, particularly now when I am working on the final draft of my new novel Magda’s Daughter (out next June).  Working in isolation, as all writers do, it is always a tremendous boost when someone writes to tell me how much they enjoyed reading one of my books.

I am sorry, but I cannot help you track down a DVD of the BBC production of Hearts of Gold. Like most writers who have their work adapted for the screen I had nothing to do with the production, although I have since met the beautiful and extremely talented actress Kate Jarman, who played Bethan.  Kate is now the "voice" for my audio books which are available in libraries.

The BBC never sent me a DVD of the production and despite the BBC press releases there are no plans to film the rest of the books. So if there are any film companies out there who would like to build on Hearts of Gold’s initial success, (the first episode attracted 6.8 million viewers) all rights have reverted to me and my agent. We’d love to hear from you. Thank you again for writing,

Warmest wishes, Catrin

From: Debra Wright
Sent: 21 October 2007 23:49
To: author@catrincollier.com
Subject: YOUR WONDERFUL BOOKS

Dear Catrin, I just had to add a comment to your forum. I have found all of you books to be fantastic! After each book I cannot wait until the next! My family were a mining family originally from Tony Pandy, so each time I read one of your books, I imagine what it must have been like for my own ancestors. It helps me understand how they must have lived in the last century. Don't ever stop writing!
Regards, DJ.
Dear Debra,
Thank you so much for your e-mail, which really made my day, especially as I recovering from the dreaded flu at the moment. What is it about October that brings out the germs?
As you probably realized from the acknowledgements in my books, my father was born in Tonypandy, so I have an affinity for the town as well as great admiration for miners of the last century, who achieved so much while living and working in appalling conditions that we can’t even begin to understand.
As for never stopping writing – I can’t imagine a day without at least a few hours in front of my computer.
Thank you again for getting in touch, Warmest Wishes, Catrin 

Hi Catrin,
I am wondering if you know of any literary agents who may be interested in representing me. I am writing a novel which is aimed at females aged I guess from 20-45... I do have a list of agents , but there are hundreds and I understand most agents specialise in certain types of work, so I am hoping you can tip me off where a good place to start might be.
M

Hello M,
A good place to start would be the Writers and Artists Year book, you can buy it in Smith’s or borrow it from the reference library. There are all sorts of tips on writing as well as full list of all UK and USA publishers and agents and what they are looking for.
Happy Writing and all power to your pen,
Catrin

Dear Catrin,
I had to email you to say how much I enjoy reading your books. The last four books you wrote I found excellent as at the time I was doing my course work on the mines in the Rhondda. I am now reading your last novel in which I can’t put down and can’t wait for next year for your new novel to come out. Thank you from a supporter of your novels
J

Dear J,
Thank you for being the first person to e-mail me from my website (I think that must be how you found me) and for telling me that you enjoyed my last 4 books. Like all writers I work very much in isolation and the best days are when someone writes - as you did to say that you have read and enjoyed my books. I try to be as meticulous as I can about my research but I don’t look at it as work. When I was growing up on the Graig in Pontypridd in the 1950’s the pits were still open and my uncle and grandfather worked in them - so I was halfway there. My father didn’t work in a pit, (he worked on the Treforest Estate) but he came from a mining family, and when I started to delve back in time it was as much to find out about my grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s life as anything else.
After my great-grandfather was killed in the Cambrian Pit at the age of 29 my great grandmother who was left with 4 small children, ran a lodging house in Court Street - sound familiar? Thank you again for writing, you made my week. Have a lovely Christmas and a successful New Year,
My very best Wishes,
Catrin Collier

Hi,
I don’t know why I’m doing this because it’s not the sort of thing that I would normally. I am not normally given to writing to total strangers for no reason other than we share a common interest. If I actually press send I’ll be amazed. I read your home page with interest. The rejection letters for my first book are not quite in double figures yet but it’s not far off. Maybe there is still hope for me. I am currently writing on my day off from my full time job and for little spells whenever I can. I know it’s not enough but I can’t let my dream get in the way of my family or making a living. Do you have one piece of advice for someone who is aspiring to be where you are now. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
CM
I’m going to press send and amaze myself.

Dear CM,
First thank you so much for writing to me. And secondly the one thing that totally amazed me when I started writing was how wonderful helpful and generous published writers were to me when I had nothing but rejection letters to show for my efforts, they not only talked to me and gave me tips on who to contact and how to send manuscripts to agents. So it is a pleasure to talk to and try to help anyone who is trying to break into what sometimes feels like the most difficult job market in the world outside of acting.
Believe me I know exactly how you feel about not letting your dream take anything from your family, either in financial or time terms. It’s an impossible balance. I wrote my first ten (published I have dozens of unpublished) books at the rate of two a year beginning in 1989 when my oldest son was fourteen, my daughter thirteen and my younger son nine. But I had been writing for twenty or more years before that with limited success, (a good year was when I made £80) publishing a few articles here and a few short stories there. I was also working full time for a management consultancy, and not only working, running an office which turned out to be more than a 9-5 job. Unfortunately a lot of the short story and article markets that were around then, (principally magazines) have since folded in favour of True Life and Celebrity magazines. So the market for short stories is not as great as it was, (But Woman’s Weekly still publishes fiction and has a great fiction editor in Gaynor Davies) neither is the market for articles unless you can fake the photographs (along the lines of - I am the most tattooed lady in Wales- or my husband left me for a gorilla - etc)
I used to write in the night after the children went to bed which meant my husband watched television alone, or went to the pub – alone. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds because he’s long suffering, supportive (he re-mortgaged the house to buy my first computer when I didn’t dare) and he used to work long hours and usually fell asleep in front of the TV after half an hour or so. I tried – sometimes without success - to set aside time to write every single day which I can do now without feeling guilty. But only because my children have all left home and my husband is enjoying his retirement and meeting up with like minded hill walkers who ramble over the Gower and around Wales.
My children knew exactly how and when to wind me up during those years. They’d come in when I was in the middle of a chapter and ask for more pocket money or tell me I cared more for my books than them. Now we laugh about it, and they admit to conspiring with one another to plot new accusations to make me feel guilty.
One way out was to encourage all of them to invite their friends round and sit in the middle of the chaos typing away wearing industrial ear muffs – it worked although I was never quite sure what I’d find in the house after I ‘came round’ from writing.
As for rejections, put any group of writers together and they start talking about the rejected manuscript they received that wasn’t theirs in the first place, or the letters that said – we like it but – it’s not suitable for our lists – or this type of book was popular two years ago – etc etc. I studied the markets for years and tried to write for them but only succeeded in getting my first book published (a crime) when I sat down and wrote exactly what I wanted to.
You say the time you can spare is not enough – believe me a day a week would have been unimaginable luxury when I started.
So what am I saying? Write what you want to – but bear the markets in mind. My break came with a crime book after twenty unsuccessful years of trying to write Mills and Boon. Write when and where you can – children are remarkably resilient, I know you never get their early years back, but mine loved ‘helping’ with my research, especially when I visited fairgrounds, or theatres, or toured the Rhondda Valleys.
And above all, believe in yourself. If I can do it (and I can’t believe I’m actually writing this now, it still feels like a dream to have a book in print) anyone can.
If I can help with any specific problem – please – just e-mail me.
Warmest Wishes,
Catrin