Reading Chapter of the Romantic Novelists Association

EIGHTEEN members of the association celebrated Valentine’s Day with a special all-day meeting at the Great Expectations Hotel in Reading.

This included a writing workshop where members discussed in depth the art of writing as well as lunch and news and gossip from the publishing world.

The chapter, which is organised by Caversham writer Julie Roberts, meets each month to explore the joy and art of writing romance novels.

Mrs Roberts said: “There is always a theme to discuss, author’s new writings needing collective critiques, cover designs, the back cover teaser to tempt the reader to buy, dialogue, tension and, most importantly, characters. Where would a story be without them?

“All of this within a multitude of genres — contemporary, historical, rom-com, fantasy, sci-fi, vampire and sub-genres too. Our members are both published authors and new writers.”