Livin' La Vida Loca!

by Anna Campbell

That title seems to fit the picture of me quaffing champagne at the Queen Victoria Tea Rooms in Sydney - which are quite as glamorous as they sound.

Actually I was going to start this blog with a rather obscure '80s song by Sheila E. called The Glamorous Life. But I couldn't find the video I wanted on YouTube so we'll have to settle for Ricky Martin instead.

My third historical romance for Avon was released on 30th December. TEMPT THE DEVIL is set in the dark, decadent world of late Regency London. It was huge fun to play around with some familiar aspects of Regency high society.

My first two books were fairly rural in setting. Well, make that EXTREMELY rural in setting. CLAIMING THE COURTESAN starts in a villa just outside London but quickly moves to the wilds of the Scottish Highlands. UNTOUCHED is almost completely set on an isolated estate in Somerset.

With TEMPT THE DEVIL, I had the chance to introduce some glamorous elements to this story of the Earl of Erith and his latest mistress, the notorious courtesan Olivia Raines.

You can read an excerpt of TEMPT THE DEVIL here and please note the setting, one of those decadent salons. I think it shows I was having enormous fun with the decor! http://www.annacampbell.info/tempt%20devil.html

There's a couple of events in a luxurious mansion belonging to Olivia's friend Lord Peregrine Mountjoy. I really let my imagination go wild with those scenes - it was such fun to do the over the top decoration and debauched company. There's even a ball scene where some action crucial to the plot takes place. I've never had a ball scene in one of my books before. It was wonderful to have a chance to describe the elegant crowd and the fashions and the ballroom.

I believe that one of the things that attract readers in such faithful droves to books set in the Regency period is that it's a glamorous time. Or at least it's glamorous in the way it's portrayed in historical romances. In real life, it was a time of tremendous economic upheaval and glamorous is the last word you'd use to describe most people's lives. But of course, we're talking about Romancelandia here!

Think of all those wonderful scenes at Almack's and in assorted Mayfair ballrooms in Georgette Heyer. Think of the hints of high life you get from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Think of all those Regency Rakes stalking those innocent little misses who adorn the season. Or the less than innocent misses, for that matter!
So do you have a favorite ball or party scene in a book? One of my favorites is the gorgeous, romantic, emotional account of Natasha's first ball in WAR AND PEACE. Another is the house party in JANE EYRE. Or who could forget Lizzie and Darcy meeting at the assembly in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE? Then there are countless scenes of high life in the thousands of historical romances I've read. I'd be hard put to pick a favorite.

My favorite answer wins a signed copy of my latest release TEMPT THE DEVIL! Choose your partners and good luck!

Reviews? - Anna Campbell

by Anna Campbell

As regular readers of my blogs know, I have a book out at the end of this month (the 30th December, not that I'm counting! MUCH!).

After over a year since my last release, TEMPT THE DEVIL hits the shelves this month. I hope that brooding, sexy gaze is staring out at you in a local store soon.

I hope he's tempting you! He sure tempts me!

The month leading up to a book's release can be quite a nervous time because it's when you get hit by a lot of REVIEWS!

So far, and I blush to boast, all the reviews for TEMPT THE DEVIL have been of the kind that my mother would write. Romantic Times even went so far as to call it "unforgettable powerhouse romance."

Isn't that nice? It was also nice to be chosen as a January Top Pick and to see my gorgeous hero the Earl of Erith awarded a K.I.S.S. (Knight in Shining Silver) Award.

If you'd like to read more reviews, I've put excerpts from a couple up on my website in the Latest News for December.

While you're there, why not check out the contest where you can win one of three signed copies of TEMPT THE DEVIL? Just tell me what tempts you! Oh, and if you want to read the blurb and an excerpt from the book, visit the books page. Perhaps that might tempt you too!

Something else to tempt you is a trivia contest All About Romance After Hours are running. They've got three copies of my second Avon historical romance UNTOUCHED up for grabs. The contest closes at midnight on 11th December so you've got plenty of time to enter!

Something else to tempt you in December is the 12 Bandita Days of Christmas over on the group blog I share with 19 other fantastic writers. We're giving away rooster-themed prizes from December 12-24, culminating in a major prize on the 24th. Why roosters? Aha, become a regular on the Romance Bandits and you'll discover all!

Then on Christmas Day, we're giving away a humungous hamper of Bandita goodies to someone who manages to wrench themselves away from their presents long enough to comment. Seriously, this is a prize worth winning so if you have a chance on 25th December, pop by and wish us the compliments of the Season!

http://romancebandits.blogspot.com

And while I'm talking about goodies, my good friend Annie West has an amazing contest going on her website right now (closes at the end of December). You can win signed copies of EIGHT latest releases from Aussie authors Anna Campbell (um, that would be me!), Annie West, Robyn Grady, Christine Wells, Carol Marinelli (two books), Melissa James and Nicola Marsh.

As this is my last post for the year, I'd like to thank everyone at Tote Bags for the lovely warm reception I always get here. It's such a nice, friendly blog to be a part of and I'm in awe of my sisters in crime (well, romance!) who blog here. I'd like to say a special thanks to Leena who wrangles us all and makes sure the blog is there. I'd also like to say thanks to everyone who comments on my blog each month. I always thoroughly enjoy the conversations!

Happy Holidays to everyone, however you celebrate the Season. See you back here for a rocking New Year in January 2009! Whoo-hoo!

Now, my question for you is - how much attention do you pay to reviews? Can a review convince you to buy a book?

Aaaaaaahhhhh.....

by Anna Campbell

If I'd been writing this a little over a month ago, that title would have been AAAAARRRRRGGGHHH as I shrieked with the pressure of getting my latest manuscript in. But right now, I'm taking a bit of a break. I'm still making an effort towards constructive activities, but I'm not stressing out. I'm taking my time, catching up on things like writing articles, answering emails that have dust on them and reading blogs and doing tax.

In between, I'm refilling the well. This is what a lot of writers call letting the mind wander, doing things that inspire, letting the emotions and the energy recover from the marathon effort of getting a book done to a deadline.

Because I write big, dark, passionate books, I always get to the end of a story feeling like a wrung-out rag. I go through all those tortured emotions with my characters! Many times as I write and rewrite!

In fact, I told a friend of mine I didn't have the energy to get out of the way of a charging bull if one was headed for me. Probably a slight exaggeration, but only slight! This period of recuperation and relaxation is necessary for me before I launch into the next Regency noir.

So what do I do to refill the well?

Writing is a fairly solitary occupation so after I finish a book, I try to see my friends and get out of the house to remind myself that there actually is a world away from my feverish imagination and my tortured characters. I also just spend time veging out doing nothing particularly constructive. One way I relax is to have a glass or two of red wine. I can feel all the troubles of the world drift away with that first sip.

I swim. I'm lucky with my deadline this year that the book finished and the summer arrived at the same time. I find drifting around in a swimming pool on a beautiful sunny day while the birds sing and the sky is a perfect blue dome above is ideal for relaxing the mind. By the way, sadly, this is NOT my swimming pool. It looks like something from a Harlequin Presents, doesn't it? I should alert my friend Annie West - I can see one of her Sheikhs powering up and down this pool!

And best of all, I've had a chance to catch up with some of the books weighing down my TBR pile. So far, there hasn't been a dud amongst them! On my website this month in My Favorite Things., I'm talking about some of the treasures I've found. So pop over and check it out if you get a chance - I'd recommend every single book I mention there!

Of course, the TBR pile still blocks out the moon. But I've learnt it always will. Once I take something off it, I put three more things on. It's so sad to be a reading addict!

So what do you do to relax?

All's Well That Ends Well

by Anna Campbell

Well, at least I hope that's the case. Shakespeare surely can't be wrong, can he? And please don't answer that!

Last week, I turned in the manuscript of my newest Regency noir to my editor at Avon. After a year of hard work and concentration and heartache and struggle, the manuscript was finally ready to leave my hot little hands and face the world. Those characters who have lived inside my head and driven me mad with their demands for a year - and all the time before that while they worked out what their story would be - have moved out of the house and found an apartment in New York. Those heart-wrenching dilemmas that have occupied me almost nonstop for the whole writing period are no longer quite so urgent.

I'm always in a funny mood when I turn a book in. I don't get great surges of happy achievement. There's no particular euphoria. It's a bit like I've had something amputated, actually. Not that I ever have. But something that's been an essential part of me is suddenly...not there any more. It's a very odd sensation. I'm always dead tired and a bit on edge and unsettled. Nothing seems quite right for a while. It's like I'm caught balancing between two chairs somehow.

I don't have children, but it's a bit like the kids have moved out of home, I suspect. Although that analogy doesn't completely work as I know new tenants will move into the space in my head that Gideon and Charis (the hero and heroine of the finished manuscript) have occupied and will be the focus of the same intense emotion as their predecessors. And then the whole consuming process will start again. So in a year, I'll be back in this situation again. Having now handed in four books for publication, I've learned this is the pattern.

As yet there's no title for the finished story. Well, there's a title but I suspect it will change before too long. As yet, there's no cover art - the picture at the top of this blog is the gorgeous cover for my January 2009 release TEMPT THE DEVIL. I thought it was worth at least another look!

So, fellow writers, I'd love to know how you are when you finish a book. Are you dancing around and drinking champagne? I always thought that's what writers did! They always do in the movies! I'd love to know at least some of you party when you finish a book. Fellow readers, have you recently completed a major task? Did you stop to pat yourself on the back? I hope you did! Perhaps we can pat you on the back now!

Can I Tempt You?

by Anna Campbell

I'm really delighted to share the cover and stepback (yes, I have a stepback - be still, my beating heart!) art for my January 2009 release TEMPT THE DEVIL. Isn't that such a sexy picture? That man has such a come-hither look in his eyes, not mention that sensual glint! Wow! Honestly, I'm rapt!

Now, would you like a sneak peek at what's behind that wonderful cover art? I've put an excerpt of TEMPT THE DEVIL up on my website this month and I hope it whets people's appetites for the story as a whole. If you'd like to read it, please go to: http://www.annacampbell.info/tempt%20devil.html

And while you're there, why not enter my contest to win an advance review copy of TEMPT THE DEVIL? All you have to do is answer a really simple question about the excerpt and you're in the running.

Now, what books are you currently looking forward to reading? I've got a wish list as long as my arm. Which is a pity as my to-be-read pile is as high as Mount Everest without me adding to it!

Two September releases I really enjoyed are Christine Wells's second Regency historical THE DANGEROUS DUKE and Tawny Weber's sexy Blaze RISQUE BUSINESS. Both highly recommended!

I've got an order in at Amazon for THE SINS OF LORD EASTERBROOK, the fourth instalment in Madeline Hunter's current historical series - the first three were fantastic and the second one just won a RITA Award. I've also got the new Kathleen O'Reilly on its way - COURTING DISASTER. Isn't that a great title? I just loved the O'Sullivan Brother trilogy that she wrote for Harlequin Blaze. Again, highly recommended. And of course, I'm eagerly looking forward to the latest Anne Gracie, HIS CAPTIVE LADY. She's such an amazing writer.

So plenty to keep me going. What's coming up for you book-wise?