Susan Stephens: A Tuscany Setting

Hello again! I hope you had a really great start to February!

I’m so excited to see the book I wrote set in Tuscany on the shelves.

It wouldn’t have happened without these amazing people…

Authors Alannah Harte, and Linda Gask, together with the irrepressible and quite amazing, Sharon Kendrick, course leader sans pareil!

Having a critique partner is usual in many parts of the world, but in the UK, not so much. In Tuscany I discovered the fun and stimulation of working in a group. It was just wonderful, fabulous, and I can thoroughly recommend it.  I certainly can’t praise Sharon Kendrick highly enough – Sharon’s books are fabulous, and she’s fabulous, and I just love her to bits!

And who wouldn’t be inspired by this type of scenery…

Coming soon…

My next Harlequin Presents/Mills & Boon Modern will be in August this year, and is entitled, In The Sheikh’s Service.

November sees another passionate story, this time set on a small island off the coast of Spain. A Diamond for Del Rio’s Housekeeper features a young orphan and an older, aristocratic Spanish Grandee, but age doesn’t matter when love is involved.

I also have a Susan Stephens story coming up in an exciting box set with some fabulous author friends. This anthology is called Royal & Rogues, and my hot, stand-alone BlackHeart novella is called, Seducing the Princess.

Warning: this story features a princess who should know better, and a bodyguard who knows everything he needs to…

So get your earplugs out if you don’t like to hear a hero swearing, and put your blindfold on if you don’t want to see things you shouldn’t!

Here’s the skinny…

Princess Angelika needs an heir...

Angel

The first time I met Gideon Black, I was a teenager. I hated him with a passion that kept me awake at night—as it has done every night since. Gideon is everything a queen in waiting should avoid: pure, unadulterated sex on two hard-muscled legs, and an attitude that can only be described as ruthless. I never dreamed our paths would cross again, or that Gideon would need my body as much as I needed his.

Gideon

When Angel’s father begged me to protect his only child before he died, I knew this was a deal I could work with. Getting Angel pregnant would secure the throne for her, and give me an excuse to reconnect with the woman I’d often fantasied about. I wasn’t prepared for seeing Angel again. A tease at sixteen, she had grown into an irresistible, kick-ass woman, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do to her—how thoroughly, and for how long.

And… as if all that wasn’t enough! Xandra King rides again!!!

I recently received reversion rights to my Tale from Lachmuirghan- that tiny Scottish village that has been known to disappear in the mist, and where something strange is always going on at the Lachmuirghan Guest House.

I can’t wait to develop these 2 stories, so I can reintroduce that very naughty Teacher of All Things to you!

Well, that’s it for this month – wishing you everything wonderful, and in abundance,

Your friend and author,

Susan

Susan Stephens: Happy New Year!

Hello and a very Happy New Year to everyone!

I’m here in the fabulous Canary Islands, researching my next Presents, which will feature an impossibly sexy Spanish Grandee, and a young housekeeper who gives Xavier more than a headache when they shock the world by jointly inheriting a private island!

January 2016 began with such a thrill for me, when the fabulous Sharon Kendrick alerted me to the fact that I’d made this Harlequin list…

Thank you everyone! I can’t tell you how honored I am to be included in a list of such fabulous authors.

Next up, is my delicious Tuscan tycoon, with a young, determined gardener who works on his country estate, and a man who is as arrogant as he is sexy…and Tuscany, one of the most beautiful places on earth—so beautiful, the setting is like another character in the book…

Available next month! Bound to the Tuscan Tycoon.

Nine months to claim what's his!

For gardener Cassandra Rich, working in the foothills of Tuscany is the perfect way to escape her past. Until the man of the manor graces the villa with his presence and Cassandra with his attention.

Marco di Fivizzano can't take his eyes off the delectable Cass. So when he requires a plus one for a gala, Marco will uncover who this fiery blonde is-- over dinner, or in his bed!

In Marco's arms, Cass blossoms, finding the freedom she's always craved... until she discovers she's pregnant and bound to the billionaire forever!

I’ll be back again in February with more news. Meanwhile, my very best to you and yours,

HAPPY READING!

From your friend and author,

Susan

Susan Stephens: My trip to Italy

Hello again,

So good to be back chatting with you :)

The hills really were alive with music during my recent trip to Italy. The local youth orchestra was playing in the town nearby and we could have listened to them all day.

I was in Italy for a wonderful writing retreat in Tuscany led by my great friend Sharon Kendrick. We had such a great time- good food, good company, and the best of Italian food to inspire our imaginations. I think the two of us must have broken the record for most miles walked - we both had step Apps on our phones and where better to keep up that daily average than amidst this type of scenery...?

Our last day in Pisa.

Tuscany was just beyond beautiful and I can't wait to go back. I hope you enjoy these photographs and only wish you could hear the birdsong and the rush of the river, and smell the moist green fields. It was just stunning.

Sharon Kendrick, Aine Ni Mhurchu, Linda Gask, and Yours Truly, enjoying the last of the Tuscan sunshine before we head home.

I returned home to find an exciting new multi-book contract with Harlequin waiting for me that will keep me happily writing through 2016/2017.

I have 2 more books in my Hot Brazilian Nights gaucho polo series November and December releases this year-- look out for The Brazilian's 9-Month Notice in November this year, and Back in The Brazilian's Bed in December, followed by a secret baby story - one of my favourite themes of all - in March 2016.

And that's it for now. I do hope you enjoy the pics of the ravishingly beautiful Tuscan countryside, and I look forward to being back here chatting with you next month!

With my warmest wishes to all of you for the merry month of May,

Susan

The National Year of Reading

2008 is the National Year of Reading in the UK. It is about celebrating reading in all its forms and highlighting the importance of libraries. It is about encouraging parents to read to their children, and people in general just to read.
It is about challenging employers to turn their old smoking rooms into quiet reading rooms, and encouraging workers to read. Natasha Oakley’s whose Wanted: White Wedding is out this month explained “`Setting aside the fact I earn my living writing books, as a mum of five this is something I really want to be involved in. The hope is that the campaign will reach people who don't consider themselves 'readers'. The slogan is 'Reading - Anytime, Anything, Anywhere'. I'm all for taking the snobbishness out of books. It should be fun!'
Authors from literary authors to series romance authors are involved in a wide number of events. As part of the NYR nine Mills & Boon authors have been asked to be ‘Writers in Residence’ in nine of England’s library authorities. The timing and the match could not be more perfect, as Mills & Boon celebrates its 100th birthday, there is no one who knows a good book like a Mills & Boon author – or reader! It’s a fantastic accolade and tribute to the importance of Mills & Boon to libraries and all the hard work done by so many of our authors in them.
The Mills & Boon ‘Writers in Residence’ for the NYR are: Louise Allen – Peterborough, Susan Stephens – Kirklees, Kate Hardy – Norfolk, Nicola Cornick – Wiltshire, Sharon Kendrick – Hampshire, Caroline Anderson – Suffolk, Michelle Styles – Northumberland, India Grey – Cheshire, Natasha Oakley – Bedfordshire
Kate Hardy whose In Bed with Her Italian Boss recently won the RNA Romance Prize explained what being a Writer in Residence meant to her: "Reading is one of life's greatest pleasures, so I'm delighted to support the National Year of Reading by being a writer in residence at my local library. I've spent many happy hours choosing books from my local library and even more happy hours discovering new worlds through those books." Nicola Cornick added “"I am thrilled and honoured to be the Wiltshire Writer is Residence as part of the National Year of Reading. Helping to build a greater national passion for reading is a cause very close to my heart. For me it is all about entertainment, exploration and ideas a plenty!" Nicola’s 25th book, The Last Rake in London is published next month.
A spokesperson for Mills & Boon said : ‘Mills & Boon is extremely proud to support the National Year of Reading, a government-backed initiative which aims to get more readers reading more! It will be supported by a TV advertising campaign featuring Geri Halliwell, Lenny Henry, Bill Bailey, Jon Culshaw and Jo Brand amongst others. The NYR will see a nationwide campaign reminding reluctant readers, hesitant readers and even prolific readers of the joy of reading. It’s a wonderful opportunity for Mills & Boon to be part of this fantastic year celebrating reading!’

You can see the launch video here. It is one of my current favourite as I do love the mish mash of celebrities and in particular Bill Bailey reading from Susan Napier's Harlequin Presents. i think it captures the whole essense of the campaign.
But wherever you are, 2008 is a great year to read. One thing you can do to challenge yourself is to take part in the e-harlequin 100,000 book challenge. For every book review posted on eharlquin, they will donate a book to the National Literacy fund. It is a challenging target and they do need more readers.