A Writers Retreat to Die For...

Saving Private Rice!

I'm not gonna lie, I've been on writing retreats before that I've enjoyed... But I've never been on a writing retreat before which I really enjoyed where I actually got LOADS of writing done, too.

Sundown in Wexford

There's always something hugely inspiring to me about being with other writers - chatting late into the night about process, the industry, brainstorming plots and sharing writing woes and insecurities (while occasionally having the odd tipple of wine and prosecco!). But last week in the glorious Wexford countryside brought a whole new meaning to the term Writers Retreat for me.

Firstly the company was fabulous, there's nothing better than being with a great bunch of fellow writers and this lot were awesome - focused, smart, articulate women who were, most importantly of all, a lot of fun to be with. Or as the Irish would say 'great craic'.

Oscar Wilde woz here!

Carol Marinelli, Jane Porter, Kelly Hunter, Abby Green and me met up at Dublin airport on the Saturday, piled into two cars and headed down to a glorious cottage near Carne Beach in Wexford with a stop en route for a delicious lunch at the Avoca Cafe in Mount Usher Wicklow (if you're ever there check out the feta fritters!).

Calm, serene and beautifully furnished, the traditional thatched cottage we stayed in is rumoured to be the place where Oscar Wilde spent his childhood summers. Well, one thing I will say, there was a definite writing vibe as soon as we got there - whether that was Oscar's ghost or the lack of wifi who knows. But either way, after a day of settling in and raiding the local SuperValu, we were all getting down to work.

Soaking up the Smithwicks

A couple of us had screaming deadlines, a couple of others were putting some words down and getting their plots sorted, and I was doing revisions on my third Presents/Modern book... And much to my surprise, the words flowed easily (not a usual occurrence for me - see 'writing woes' above). By the end of the week I had figured out the problems with the ending and fixed them and my editor had sent word the book had been accepted... (FYI Captive at Her Enemy's Command will be out in April 2018! Yay me). But not only that, I'd also managed to submit three chapters and a synopsis for my next Presents and laid down plans for two new longer book proposals and had a think about my next cowboy book for Tule!

Our Lady's Island

I don't think I've ever been so focused and had so much fun while doing it, because in between the writing we found time for trips to:

Rosslare Harbour – to feed our internet and Clonakilty sausage addictions.

The Lobster Pot - a local pub to eat crab claws soaked in garlic butter.

Our Lady's Island - to light a candle at the outdoor shrine and have a glass of Smithwicks at the Island Bar (both holy experiences IMHO).

Curracloe Beach - to get windswept while learning all about the filming of Saving Private Ryan from our own Abby Green.

Another picture in the Pub! Wot?

And have a date with bestselling author Carmel Harrington and some delicious posh nosh at Kelly's Resort.

I even found time to start running every morning, something I'm going to keep up now I'm home... Although jogging around Clissold Park in Hackney doesn't have quite the same inspirational vibe as jogging down the quiet country lanes to Carne Beach.

When we headed back to Dublin a week later I was really sad to say goodbye to everyone.

But there's only one cure for my melancholia... We MUST do it again, ladies...

Leaving my heart in Wexford

Fifty Shades Darker - a Romance Reader/Writer's review

As a romance reader and writer, it’s probably no surprise that I’m out and proud about having enjoyed reading the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. I also enjoyed watching the original movie…

Yes, it won a load of razzie awards, but I have a sneaking suspicion these may have been voted for by people who wouldn’t appreciate a romance novel if it knocked them over the head… That’s not to say there weren’t problems with that first movie - not least because it's remarkably hard to translate any pure romance novel to the screen, the story of a romance is mostly an internal one and well, movies can't exist inside someone's head (unless you're John Malkovich).. But I think Sam Taylor-Johnson did a terrific job of conveying the fantasy elements of the story and giving the film a distinctive look - in short she respected her material…

Remember folks, this is romantic fantasy. It’s not supposed to be taken seriously, it’s pure escapism. Whether you find it hot or not is a matter of personal taste of course… But one huge factor Taylor Johnson had in her favour, IMHO was the casting. Particularly of Dakota Johnson who brings a refreshing likability to what is at times a fairly daft role (if we’re going to take it seriously, which we’re not) as the virgin student with enough emotional maturity to fix a young and thoroughly broken billionaire with an S&M fetish.  Jamie Dornan too, for me, encapsulated a lot of what Christian Grey is about - gorgeous, brooding, traumatised and emotionally stunted.

So.. I’m not going to lie to you, when I heard Taylor-Johnson had been replaced by James Foley (whose big work was back in the 90s) and Saving Mr Banks scriptwriter Kelly Marcel replaced with EL James’ husband I was somewhat concerned about Fifty Shades Darker... The second in the trilogy of films.


So were my fears justified?

Well, yes in some ways. The film seems to want to have the story both ways, to concentrate on the developing romance between Christian and Ana - which despite that title is now less kinky and more playful as Christian begins to confront some of his many ‘issues’ - while also adding a daft thriller element, involving Ana’s new boss Jack Hyde and one of Christian's former subs. To be fair, James’s second book had the thriller element too, but in the film we get no build up and no pay off for either of the two thriller sub plots - like a Greek tragedy much of the action is conducted off screen, leaving the audience to feel cheated or simply confused. Spoiler alert: the film finishes with a dark, shadowy shot of Hyde setting him up as the villain for round 3 which left me and I’m sure most of the rest of the audience thinking WTH? Where did he come from? Why is he ominously smoking a cigarette in a park overlooking Seattle? I'm sure a few people might even have been wondering who he was!

Foley also has none of the wonderfully lush OTT imagery that made Taylor-Johnson’s first film such a guilty pleasure. This is at turns a very prosaic and yet rather coy handling of the material. And as usual with 18 films, we get to see lots of her and not a lot of him… Which is kind of a shame as eye candy choices go, because let’s face it, the main target audience for this film is heterosexual women...

Then again, the main strength of the first film is still there. Namely Dakota Johnson’s refreshing Ana (there’s a cute tribute to Dakota’s mum Melanie Griffith, see if you can spot it) and Jamie Dornan looks much more relaxed too, so his Christian is a less stiff (no pun intended).. Sadly though, this is the film where we want to see Christian and Ana actually start to fall in love. Ana challenges Christian to give her more, she wants to understand why he is so screwed up, but the film fails us. Both Marcia Gay Hardin as Christian’s adopted mother, and Kim Basinger as his former lover are totally wasted, their parts so cut down that they are reduced to cardboard cut outs - when in the books they help to explain a lot about Christian’s problems. And while Johnson and Dornan work overtime to inject the proceedings with humour - because surprise, surprise, folks there is actually quite a lot of humour in the books - very little of that is actually in the script.

All of that said, I still enjoyed this movie… But I think it was greatly helped by the two stars, my enjoyment of the OTT nature of the original books and also the fabulous venue where I went to see it and the company I saw it with… If you’re going to go for a guilty pleasure like Fifty Shades Darker, I’d highly recommend going with a fellow romance novelist (aka Abby Green) and seeing it at one of the Everyman cinemas, because not only can you share a sofa - putting you into your own little world - but they serve wine in bottles… And we needed it.

Happy Valentine's.... Or Galentine's ... Or Palentine's Day!

So it's Valentine's Day today... A time when all romance writers attempt to pimp their books a little bit more, because come on, what's more romantic novelist friendly than a day devoted to romance?

But the thing about Valentine's Day is, it can be a bit of a turn off for some people... And here are some of the reasons why:

Strawberries of Love from Lidl

1) It can be a little tiny bit over-commercialised (book-pimping notwithstanding) - a way to guilt people into spending money to prove they care about their other half when the truth is, if you love someone you show it every day in ways that are much more important than a card, or flowers or a heart-shaped box of choccies (or strawberries!). In my house this would include giving one of my sons a lift to his job when he's overslept, or agreeing to sample yet another Scandi crime drama with my DH because he loves them ... ie: it's the little things that count.

2) Depending on how you interpret it, V-Day can be alienating...  A smug fest for the happily joined up which makes single people feel as if they're missing out, when the fact is there's nothing wrong with being single. I was single for  years after university and it's a time in my life I look back on with quite a bit of envy occasionally. And being single is certainly better than being in a crap relationship – and I'm sure we've all had a few of those!

3) It can romanticize relationships when the reality is most relationships, certainly if they are going to last, can be bloody hard work (something any romance novel with tell you by the way, contrary to popular misconceptions about the genre....)

That said, me and my DH are still using tonight as a great excuse to have a slap-up meal at a local restaurant to smugly celebrate our love (and probably natter non-stop about the latest Scandi crime dramas!) But if you're feeling excluded from Valentine's Day... For whatever reason.... There are lots of other ways to celebrate...

Why not celebrate a belated Galentine's Day for example - the day for Gal Pals to celebrate their platonic lady-friendships enshrined by Amy Poehler's fabulous Leslie Knope (if you're not hooked on Parks and Recreation, btw, you should be).


As I'm a glutton for social interaction and any excuse to hang out with my Gal Pals is always welcome, I celebrated Galentine's Day a little early, this weekend, with my best writing pal Abby Green. This involved spending an afternoon watching Ireland slaughter Italy in the Rugby Six Nations, then a wonderful meal at a gastro pub in Islington then sharing a sofa (and a bottle of vino) at the Screen on the Green (my local deluxe cinema) for a screening of Fifty Shades Darker - the ultimate guilty pleasure for gal pals the world over IMHO.

50 Shades of Friendship!

Of course, if you have gender-neutral friendships (because sorry Harry, but girls and guys can be friends without sex getting in the way, sometimes!) I'm sure Leslie wouldn't mind if you celebrated those friendships with Palentine's Day... My new variation on Galentine's Day...

Ah, the possibilities are endless... Because the truth is that celebrating love - in all its many forms - should be inclusive and diverse and should never go out of fashion. And actually, you don't need to have a day for it, or even a name for it... Just go for it. Every day.

PS: And if you want to buy my newly revamped Valentine's novella - Sleepless in London - while you're at it, I wouldn't mind a bit!

Losing My Podcast Virginity

Me, Abby & Chantelle Shaw

So two fortuitous things happened recently:

Firstly, I was asked by the lovely peeps at the Professional Writing Academy if I would be interested in doing a podcast to help promo my new online writing course with them An Introduction to Writing Hot Romance - the course launches on October 4th so if you want to sign up and treat yourself to 7 weeks of intensive but I hope completely fabulous sessions on romance writing you still have time.

The other thing that happened was I went to an author lunch in Central London (an annual event which is always a top date in my writing calendar) with some of my favorite romance authors – which of course made me think, if I'm gonna lose my podcast virginity, I'm going to rope them in too!!

First thing to figure out was how to work my iPhone's Voice Memo app. Yup, this took a while, because it turns out my smart phone is a lot smarter than I am... But once Abby Green and I had done numerous tests, and then actually managed to find the recordings on the phone without accidentally deleting them (not as easy as it sounds), I was ready to roll.

Showing off my latest cover at the party

Next up was cornering some of my mates. First up was of course Abby, who had foolishly helped me with the app and was therefore a sitting duck for my first soundbite.

The question was a simple one, though, for someone who writes searingly sexy romances: Why do you love writing hot romance?

Then I turned to Fiona Harper - I asked her why she loved writing romance, as her books are less hot but still wonderfully fresh, funny, heartwarming romance novels for HQ.

My fellow Fairy Tales of New York author Lucy King, who had made the mistake of camping out with us after the lunch and who writes wonderfully sexy, sassy feel-good romances got hooked in next...

After the author lunch each year Mills and Boon invite all their current authors to a glamorous drinks party in the News Building - right next to the Shard with wonderful views over London – and there I managed to waylay the legendary Sharon Kendrick – author of a staggering 102 books for M&B all of them scorchingly hot and deeply emotional reads – for a quick chat.

The fabulous Ms Kendrick

The next day I made a trip to Sheffield to talk on a panel with Sue Stephens (darn it, I should have whipped out my phone out and interviewed her too!) and M&B editor Flo Nicholl about why Mills and Boon books are so cool hosted by academic Val Derbyshire during the University's Festival of the Mind event.

So it wasn't until Sunday that I had the delight of figuring out how to use Garageband to edit the sound recordings and add my own thoughts (and yes, there was sarcasm in that statement!). After a long day spent fumbling my way through the highly intuitive (but not that intuitive to me) application, I had my podcast. And I have to say, I am mighty pleased with the eventual result. The people at PWA prettied it up with some photos and stuck it on YouTube, so I need to say a big thanks to them, and to my mates, who each had insightful and interesting reasons as to why they love writing romance (hot or not).

I'd love to know what you think? So here it is...

Now I am no longer a podcast virgin, I may be doing more podcasts - I love to talk about romance, so why not share the joy, right? In fact, the PWA may have created a monster...

RWA, San Diego and all that jazz!

So I'm just back from the Romance Writers of America's conference in San Diego and as usual it was a vibrant, inspiring and completely exhausting trip. As well as attending workshops (not as many as I would have liked) I managed to stuff several power lunches, a couple of very productive brainstorming sessions with fellow authors on future projects, a meeting with my editor, the Harlequin party and the RITA/Golden Heart awards ceremony into my time there. Not to mention a whistle stop sightseeing tour of San Diego with the fabulous Susan Wilson! Sadly I didn't win the RITA award for Best Contemporary Romance: Short but I still managed to feel like the belle of the ball on RITA night and I'm now all fired up to get back to my writing and do the final finishing touches on my Introduction to Writing Hot Romance online course which will be launching in October!

Here's the evidence of what fun I had...

Massive crowd at the Literacy Autographing

Avon celebrates 75 years!

Pool that I didn't get to use!

Feeling like a star! Thanks to Tule Publishing

Important research on a night off at the movies....

Susan Wilson & I rock the RITA reception

Abby Green & I rock the Harlequin Party

Romy Sommer & I super glammed up at the Awards

Author stalking, Romance talking and Single Title News.

Good lord, it's been nearly two months since I've blogged here... Sorry, I've been busy.

So first off I'm going to direct you to a couple of other blogs I've done recently.

One on my Fangirl adventures meeting Nora Roberts and Diana Gabaldon one heady week in August with Abby Green... It's a great story for fans of those authors and their milieux (ie West Coast of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands!) which I did for the Pink Heart Society.

And another which I did for Read a Romance blog celebrating great dialogue in romance novels. I'm giving away two ebook copies of my latest Cosmo Red Hot Read 10 Rules to Sex Up a Blind Date on that one so get over there now. And if you want to read a sneak peek, I finally have a page for the book up on my website.

I'll also be popping up on Kate Hardy's 60th Book FB blog party on 6th October, so if you want an invite let me know in the comments - tons of authors and prize giveaways on that.


But, in my writing news, basically I've been AWOL recently because I've been deep in the writing cave writing my first Single Title book. Here's a clue to the content on my Pinterest board, but I'm under contract with M&B's ST imprint in the UK and I'm very excited about this project. I'm not gonna lie to you, it's been quite a challenge making the switch from series to ST (sub-plot? what's that?) but I'm really enjoying it and I hope the result is going to reflect that. It'll be out next Summer,  the title is as yet unconfirmed. So stay tuned, as all shall be revealed in due course.

Christmas Is Coming... Time to Treat Yourself

Here's my shamless plug for my festive novella Tis the Season to Get Lucky which has been reissued by Entangled Publishing from the Baby It's Cold Outside anthology...

My novella is out NOW as a stand-alone story and it's only 99c.. Come on, you know you deserve it.

Here's the blurb:
 
Unlucky-in-love PR manager Kate Braithwaite doesn’t think her Christmas could get any suckier. Until a trip into work on Christmas Day leaves her snowbound in the Fifth Avenue department store with her boss’s far-too-tempting playboy son Ryder Sinclair. Ryder’s rugged, reckless and none too pleased to be stuck in a place he hates with an uptight workaholic like Kate—but as the night draws on, the lights go out and the temperature rises, until they’re both wondering is this the season to get lucky?



And here's an awesome male torso... Sorry, I meant to say here's the sexy new cover!

Many thanks are due to my fellow flirtettes - Kate Hardy, Aimee Carson and Amy Andrews - Abby Green for her naughty cover quote and that cover model's personal trainer.

So if you have the urge to splurge on a sexy seasonal fling (with added fantasy shopping) then the buy links can be found on my website or Entangled's. Just sayin'

Conference, Cosmo and Yet More Giveaways!!

So after FINALLY finishing off my Cosmo Red Hot Read "10 Ways to Handle the Best Man" and pinging it off to my ed last Tuesday I had a few manic days of film reviewing (in my other job) before a mad packing frenzy ensued on Friday morning and I jumped on a train to Sheffield for the RNA conference.

Sharing a flat with Fiona Harper, India Grey, Abby Green and Scarlet Wilson turned out to be as much fun as anticipated and involved champagne, prosecco, chocolate, some talk about writing and way too much talk about how India met Henry Cavill once (Sheesh, does that woman know how to make a person pea-green with envy!)

Conference highlights also included Julie Cohen's excellent talk on Themes in Your Writing, the sunshine, the lavish student accommodation (blimey that's changed since I was at college), a fun Gala dinner, drinks with the M&B eds and meeting new authors Michelle Smart, Victoria Parker and Sophie Pembroke, among others. Also got lots of ideas about possible new directions for my writing, which you'll be the first to hear about when I decide which way I'm going!

On my return, I found a whole box of my new KISS novel Maid of Dishonor waiting for me. So I've already got a Goodreads Giveaway going (click on the icon in the sidebar to enter), but I'll also be doing a worldwide giveaway on our Wedding Season FB page in the near future. So watch that space.

And even more joy, the RT Book Review magazine have given the book a 4-star review. Check out the evidence below if you don't believe me.

Am going to be doing a sneak peek on my website very soon, in time for the book's release on August 20 in the US. It will be appearing in the fab new Modern Tempted series in the UK in October, as well as the other Wedding Season books.

The Wedding Season gals are over at Harlequin Junkie at the moment BTW talking Heros and Heroines in 140 characters or less... Plus there's another fricking Giveaway over there.

A Glittering Night at the RoNas, Cover Joy & Some Spanish Giveaways!

Wow,  what an action packed couple of weeks I've just had.

First  off their was a glittering night last week at the RNA's RoNa awards. Unfortunately I didn't win the Rose award - that honour went to the lovely (and disgustingly talented!) Sarah Mallory. But I still had a fantastic time with fellow authors Sarah, Carol Townend, Fiona Harper, Scarlet Wilson and Abby Green and India Grey. It was a great night and now I've just got to make sure I get nominated next year so I can have that much fun again. (No pressure, then!!!)

Scarlet, Carol, Sarah, Fiona and Moi looking fabulous on the night!

Then this week I took a two-day trip to Dublin's Fair City to do a wonderful workshop with my good mate Abby Green on how to write a Mills and Boon. I think we made a pretty good double act myself and it was great chatting with the Eblana writer's group who hosted the event.

And then I got back this afternoon to discover not one but two great covers for my June release Too Close for Comfort in my inbox. This is Zane and Iona's story and is going out in the US as my first Harlequin KISS novel and in the UK in the Mills and Boon Modern series -  while Riva remains on hiatus.  Both covers are completely gorgeous but I'd say the KISS cover might just have the edge thanks to all those bright vibrant colours and my fabulous heroine - who looks exactly as I pictured her with all that gorgeous red hair. That said, Zane my drop-dead delicious Mexican-American PI is pretty cute too.  For more details about the book watch this space as I will be doing a sneak peek on my website very soon.

I may also have more exciting news for UK readers shortly about some reprints and also the release of our fabulous KISS continuity The Wedding Season in the UK.

Lastly, for any Spanish-speaking readers out there I am doing a couple of Goodreads Giveways of my Spanish translations:

Mas Que Una Noche (aka The Good the Bad and the Wild)

Los Asuntos Del Duque (Unfinished Business with the Duke)

Just click on the widgets in the sidebar to enter!

Happy New Year... Five Go Wild in Connemara!

Happy New Year everyone... Let's hope 2013 is a stunner.

I certainly started the year off right, am just back from a wonderful writer's retreat at Delphi Lodge in Connemara with fabulous fellow authors Chantelle Shaw, Caitlyn Crews, Abby Green and Fiona Harper. I have a whole album of photos on my Facebook page, but frankly you can't take a bad picture in that staggeringly beautiful landscape.

And the Lodge itself is the perfect place to relax, indulge and feed the body and the soul with some great craic beside a roaring fire or over a three-course meal. Each evening after a day of wandering, soaking up the mystery and magic of Ireland's dramatic Atlantic Coast, we would retire to the Lodge to solve plotting problems, discuss the genesis of the alpha hero and generally laugh ourselves silly over the trials and tribulations of being a romance writer. Ah, it's a tough life....


To celebrate the dawn of 2013 - which I hope will be a great year for my writing - I'm giving away a Quiet Man Calendar which I picked up in the gift shop in the grounds of the majestic Kylemore Abbey and a copy of my Brody Brothers Special Release, PS I'm Pregnant - featuring two gorgeous Irish heroes.

Just check out the Rafflecopter below to enter. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sneak Peek of One Night So Pregnant!

I finally have a sneak peek of my next Riva/Harlequin Presents Extra, One Night So Pregnant on my website... Have to say I love both the UK and US covers.

In case you don't know this is Tess and Nate's story. Tess appeared as Eva's meddling friend in The Good the Bad and the Wild and quite a lot of readers have asked me if I was going to write her story. Short answer: Hell Yes! And here it is.

It'll be out in December in the US and in November to Riva subscribers in the UK (and apparently on Amazon!). I will be giving away a few copies here and on Goodreads once I get my author copies.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the peek!

In other news I'm off to the AMBA lunch tomorrow and am looking forward to catching up with Abby Green, India Grey, Fiona Harper, Sharon Kendrick, Scarlet Wilson and a host of other great authors.... And I have Alabama friend Kimberly Lang staying with me at the moment. How cool is that? (plus I managed to extract a copy of Redemption of a Hollywood Starlet out of her - which is the last of her fab Marshall brothers trilogy and which I can't wait to read).

RWA Update + Tess and Nate's Story Gets a Cover!

So am just back from a fabulous week in Anaheim for the 2012 RWA Conference... Exhausted, excited and inspired!

Lots of thrilling news to report, but easily the highlight of the week was Sarah Morgan's triumphant win at the RITAs for Best Contemporary Series Romance for Doukakis's Apprentice. She gave a wonderfully witty speech and looked fabulous in her gold-fringed RITA-matching frock (and she let me fondle it for a minute - the RITA that is, not the frock - see below!). Can't think of a better ambassador for Presents than Sarah, she done us all proud. Incredibly this was the first RITA for a Presents book, may there be many more now.

Also on my agenda was a Riva lunch with lovely fellow authors Kimberly Lang, Aimee Carson, Sue Stephens and Fiona Harper. Needless to say there was much talk about the upcoming launch of Kiss which according to my ed the NA office are 'very excited' about. They're not the only ones!!

Had a fabulous brainstorming session with Aimee and Kimberly for our Kiss continuity which is starting to look completely AWESOME (if I do say so myself). My hero is going to be a nice Southern boy turned cynical and super-sexy CEO who had a steamy one-night stand in college with my sultry sassy British heroine. They meet again ten years later and the fireworks are going to be seriously hot! It's set in NYC and Savannah and that's really all I can say for now... But I'm so excited about this story and the others in the quartet.

The Harlequin Party was a dance-your-feet-off affair as usual and we had Nora Roberts sitting on the table next to us! Not to mention free cosmopolitans all night. Having already stalked Nora at the Literacy Autographing earlier in the week (and got a signed copy of her new In Death book! Yay!) I had to refrain from doing it again. So me and Ms Abby Green stalked the fabulous Victoria Dahl instead. Managed to get an early read of her new book Close Enough to Touch and fell in love with it. Check out my Goodreads review if you want to know more.

I finished off the week spending a day schmoozing with Abby Green and Fiona Harper on Santa Monica Boulevard and hanging out at  Abby's suite in a fabulously funky hotel in West Hollywood - before fi and I caught the flight home to London...

All in all, had such a brilliant time I didn't even shout at my sons when I saw the Mount Everest of Laundry waiting for me on my return!

In other news I've just got ahold of the cover for my next (and last) Presents Extra release One Night, So Pregnant. Absolutely love the cover and the back blurb which should whet your appetite. The book's out in December in the US and will hopefully be out in the UK when Riva relaunches next year, but I will be putting up a sneak peek shortly on my website.

 

What to expect when you’re unexpectedly expecting

• Shock: Telling a gorgeous (almost) total stranger that he’s going to be a dad is never easy!

• Cravings: The instant chemistry that catapulted Tess Tremaine into the wildest night she’s ever had isn’t going to just go away— and no one says no to Nate Graystone when he’s determined to be involved….

• Hormones Gone Wild: Surely that’s the only reason she’s failing to keep Nate out of her bed, out of her mind…and why she keeps wanting more from the most unattainable man she’s ever met?

Bring me Sunshine!

So I've been given a Sunshine Award by the absolutely fabulous Sharon Kendrick... What does it all mean, I hear you asking. Well, it's my chance to spread a little sunshine by talking about some of my favourite things... (Oooh, I feel a Julie Andrews song coming on!)


So here goes, in no particular order.

Navajo Frybread in Monument Valley, Silver Dollar pancakes by the Shenandoah River, the morning dew in Wiltshire, a cold frosty day in North London, the open road, my youngest son when I wake him on a school day (not just for payback purposes, but because he looks just like my baby boy again when he's fast asleep), Breaking Bad, being naughty with Ms Abby Green at the RWA conference (I take no responsibility for the kilt incident btw!), bad boys, Mad Men, old soul music, new story ideas, dancing the night away with my favourite peeps, giving both my boys a cuddle, reading books that make me say "Damn, I wish I could write like that", the Marfa ghost lights, home-made margaritas with my best mate in her orchard in Kildare, writing epilogues (always the best part of writing for me, all gain, no pain!), feeling fabulous in my posh frock, Christmas morning and evening and everything in between (even the potato peeling) with my huge extended family and last but by no means least my gorgeous husband (who always makes me smile!)

Actually, those are just a few of my favourite things.... But it's time to shut up now, Julie! And pass the buck... I mean, the Sunshine Award, to my dear mate (and partner in naughtiness) Ms Abby Green.

Take it away, Abby...!

Lots of Cool News to Report!!

So the excitement of RITA announcements has finally worn off and while I didn't get a nomination myself this year (boohoo!!) I'm thrilled to bits that my mates Abby Green, Sarah Morgan and Kelly Hunter are all up for an award in the Series Contemporary Category. You go, girls!! And as Abby's my roomie at the conference in NYC I shall be basking in her reflected glory big time! I've read her nominated story Breaking the Sheikh's Rules and thought it was fabulous. Plus my little sis Nemone has a dedication as she has an uber-glam job in horse-racing and helped with the horsey details. So I feel super-connected to this book! Can't wait for the awards ceremony (where I have invited myself as Abby's Date) and now have a perfect excuse to buy a new posh frock. (I have included pictorial evidence that I do know Abby and am not just your ordinary stalker!)

In other news, I've also agreed some M&B workshop dates which I'll be doing in three London libraries in April to coincide with M&B's Big Fat Royal Wedding Hoopla: So if you want to come join me for some pearls of wisdom about writing for M&B and lots of chat about hunky guys (not necessarily princes, as I shall probably go a bit off-piste there, having never written a royal romance!!) then here are the times and places:

April 12th, 7.30pm-9.30pm, Uxbridge Central Library

April 14th, 6pm-7.30pm, Stoke Newington Library

April 26th, 6pm-7.30pm, Shoreditch Library

You'll need to contact the libraries themselves to sign up for the event, and I'll post contact details nearer the time, but it is free of charge.

And last but not least, I have a title for my Selfridges/Christmas book... Drum roll please..

"On the First Night of Christmas" 

Love it! Classy and evocative and maybe a little less cheeky than my suggestion which was 'Tis the Season to Be Naughty'. Think the book's out in the UK in December this year (but don't quote me on that as it hasn't been confirmed yet!!). Can't wait to see the cover, but am thinking a sexy guy and some tinsel would do the business.

Heart on Sleeve Time

Am off to Ireland today to see my best mate Catri (girl talk is always good for the inspiration process I find, especially if margaritas are involved!), pop in to join Abby Green for a tango lesson (honestly, I kid you not, I couldn't make this stuff up right!) and raise a glass towards the US State Capitol Building at 6pm Irish time for the Inauguration of the 44th US Pres.

Now, this ain't a political blog, and I'm not preaching here (would I be so uncouth), but whatever the colour of your political affiliations you've got to admit that today is an historic moment in the USA. 

As Martin Luther King once (sort of) said 'America will be a great nation when people are judged not by the colour of their skin but the content of their character'. 

Now, no-one's saying Obama's the new Messiah, least of all him, but I for one will be shedding a little tear of emotion when those two beautiful black girls walk into The White House. So now you know what a total wuss I am. What a day!

Party Time...

Oh, alright, it was a week ago and all those other super-efficient romance writers have had their photos up on their blogs for over a week. But hey, at least I remembered my camera this time, and not only that I actually got it out of my bag and took a grand total of three pictures! 

So here they are, from my wild and wonderful afternoon and evening at the AMBA lunch and the Mills and Boon Authors toast afterward. Held at Browns restaurant in St Martin's Lane right next to Trafalgar Square, it's our annual opportunity to swan around and pretend that romance authors really do have uber-glamourous lives. 

Fabulous to meet Natalie Anderson for the first time, who had come all the way from New Zealand... Plus me old mates Kate Hardy and Julie Cohen. So here's a photo of the Mod Hot Posse, looking all glam of course. (The reason I'm not smiling is because when I do I always look like I have rigor mortis, it's not because I wasn't enjoying myself, honest).

Here's another pic from the lunch itself. I got sat next to the big chief at M&B Karen Stoecker so I was trying very hard not to sound like a complete ninny. Jennie Lucas who was sat on the other side rather unfortunately lost her voice that morning, so had to spend the whole lunch using a pad to jot down her responses! But luckily she's a writer...

And last, but by no means least, here's Abby Green and Natasha Oakley (my fellow RITA nominee this year) trying to figure out all the info about widgets from the nice man from the technology department. What the heck's a widget? seemed to be the main topic of conversation as I recall.

So on to more nuts and bolts stuff. Emailed the final version of my ms this morning, all the revisions have been okayed and it's just got to be line-edited now. Then I should get the official word that Book Five is a goer! Yippee. Will keep you posted about the next title.

Confessions of a Conference Virgin. Part Two

Part Two: Or How I Was Having Far Too Good a Time to Bother Blogging

Sorry, have been terribly remiss again. I've been back from Frisco for almost a week and spurred on by my experiences to get stuck into my latest story (a workshop with Susan Elizabeth Phillips will do that to you, you know) haven't even bothered to download the few photos I actually managed to take.

First up, here's me looking totally petrified before the literacy autographing. Please note my RITA finalists flag which I took home with me and it now has pride of place on my desktop (well, a girl can dream right, you never know I might get nominated again one day).


And here are a few more of my personal highlights: Sightseeing at Haight Ashbury with Abby Green and Sharon Kendricks, going to the Top of the Mark before dancing the night away at the Harlequin party at the Four Seasons (apparently right next to Nora Roberts, but noone bothered to point that out to me, thanks again Biddy Coady, grrrrr), Sandra Marton's lovely pizza party with a lot of the Presents authors and our own Trish Wylie, the RITA awards in my posh frock (which I forgot to take a picture of, I know, what was I thinking), high tea with the Presents editors and authors (and a chance to meet my new ed for the first time face to face) and a really wonderful dinner with Sharon and Sandra and Abby at the lovely Annabelle's restaurant.

And just in case you think I spent my whole time partying and didn't actually bother to do any workshops I did manage SEP's fab talk on how to write a Bestseller ('Follow your instincts, but don't get stupid!'), SEP and Jayne Ann Krentz's one about the Secrets of the Bestselling Sisterhood (are you beginning to see a theme here?), Linda Howard's showcase at the PAN retreat (I'm never keeping Llamas that's for sure) and a chat with Nora Roberts (who I'm glad to say had bickering sons, too!)

Now all I've got to do is keep my fingers crossed that I can go to next year's bash in Washington DC, which I guess means getting back to writing this darn book.