Three's Company!

by Anna Campbell

I've got a new book out at the end of next month (CAPTIVE OF SIN, excerpt and blurb here) which means soon I'll be spending an awful lot of time talking about me and my writing process and the new story. So I thought this month, it might be fun to talk about books by other writers that I've recently enjoyed.

I got my latest manuscript in to my editor last week and immediately went on a bit of a Harlequin kick. These are three I really liked.

The first is SHE'S GOT IT BAD by Sarah Mayberry. Sarah is an Aussie who writes absolutely brilliant books for Harlequin Blaze. She's a fairly recent discovery for me - Sharon Archer who writes great Medical romance for Mills and Boon put me onto her - and I've devoured most of her backlist in the last year or so. This is her latest and it's riveting.

The theme of this story is lovers reunited which is one I'm a complete sucker for. I love it when a couple gets a second chance to put things right.

When she's fifteen, Zoe Ford is madly in love with Liam Masters, a boy her family has taken in temporarily after his mother's death. When Liam rejects her because of her youth and innocence, Zoe's life takes a dark turn. They meet again twelve years later and the spark is still there but there's so much heartache and history between Zoe and Liam, the reunion goes anything but smoothly.

This is such a sexy, emotional, compelling read, I stayed up way too late to finish it. And given how little sleep I'd had getting my manuscript ready to go, that's one serious compliment to Sarah's writing skills. Sarah has a wonderful ability to convey the texture of real life amongst all the emotion and drama of her stories. I think she's great!

The next one is Tote Bags regular Annie West's latest. THE SAVAKIS MISTRESS is the perfect Harlequin Presents. Brave, intelligent, spirited heroine up against it through no fault of her own? Check. Sexy, dark, brooding alpha hero who can't resist our heroine although he'd dearly love to? Check. Exotic, beautifully described setting that makes me want to buy a plane ticket? Check. Or perhaps I should say 'check in' there. Dramatic, emotional plot with oodles of sexual tension and lots of really passionate love scenes? Check, check, check!

Callie Manolis meets gorgeous Greek-Australian hunk Damon Savakis under false pretenses and then discovers he's the ruthless tycoon who's about to take control of her family's business and her future. The heat sizzles from the first page of this story and doesn't let you go until the ending. Yum!

The last of my terrific trio is another Blaze. It's HOT UNDER PRESSURE by the brilliant Kathleen O'Reilly who is rapidly turning into one of my favorite writers EVAH!

Like Sarah's writing, Kathleen's books have that same quality of vivid life and deep emotion. Ashley Taylor and David McLean are both three-dimensional people who leap off the page and into your heart. You SOOOO want things to work out for these two. And the things threatening their future are real too - which doesn't lessen the dramatic emotional intensity one whit. They have families and careers to deal with and bruised hearts from previous relationships.

The story starts when plane-phobic Ashley from Chicago sits next to David from New York in crowded cattle class (see what I mean about real life?). When the plane is delayed overnight, both surrender to the desire crackling between them and take a hotel room. But where do they go after that one perfect, smokin' hot night?

Believe me, you want to find out!

So that's the pick of my recent reading. What have you read lately that's made you stay up way too late just so you can find out what happens?

GOOD LUCK - Annie West

Are you a believer in luck? I know some people think the 13th of the month is unlucky and others that it’s not unlucky unless it’s a Friday. Still others seem to use a reverse approach and enjoy the 13th as if it will bring good fortune.

For me this day is lucky as it’s my son’s birthday. You can’t beat that for a red letter day. Plus this year it’s also the day I leave (after suitable birthday celebrations) for the Romance Writers of Australia Conference in Brisbane. A double dose of good tidings!

Then, looking more broadly, I have not one but two releases this month. My newest title THE SAVAKIS MISTRESS is on sale in UK, PLUS my first Harlequin novel A MISTRESS FOR THE TAKING is being re-released in a special ‘By Request’ edition with other full length stories by Emma Darcy and Julia James. Wow! The edition is called PURCHASED FOR PASSION and you can be sure that by now I’ve decided I’m extremely lucky!

All these good things made me think about luck and how we view it. I’ve never been one to break a mirror or walk under a ladder unless I have to but I tell myself that’s to do with safety rather than a belief in bad luck. On the other hand, if I know I’m going to have a difficult day I’ll deliberately choose to wear one of the couple of lovely pieces of jewellery that have been given to me by special people. Because I believe they’re lucky? Maybe. Or maybe because they make me feel good.

My son loves having a birthday on the 13th, especially when it falls on a Friday – a great excuse for a party with spooky decorations and a cake covered in a giant spider or something ghoulish. On the other hand my mother in law avoids the number 13 as much as she can and will go to considerable lengths to do so. She also has a range of good luck habits, from tossing salt over her shoulder to tossing (soft) shoes at people for luck (and don’t ask - I have no idea how that started).

Do you have a special good luck charm you keep by you at important times? Do you or your family have rituals you follow to be sure luck stays on your side? Have you had wonderful good luck at a time when you least expected it? Or don’t you believe in luck?

Annie feels incredibly lucky this month. To share that luck, visit her website and enter her current massive contest to win free new releases by Australian authors. Alternatively, check out her two releases this month with excerpts on her site. Or you could order your own copies of THE SAVAKIS MISTRESS or PURCHASED FOR PASSION.