Tycoon's Valentine Vendetta! - Yvonne Lindsay

I really enjoy summer time (when it's not too hot and sticky) and I love being on the water, so what better time of year to write about than that? And I figure, since most of my readers are probably suffering in the throes of a chilly winter about now, that reading about summer time and summer pursuits is just about the level of escapism they'd be craving.

In TYCOON'S VALENTINE VENDETTA, my February Silhouette Desire release, I not only got to live vicariously through my characters as they live in their sumptuous beachfront dwellings but I also got to cruise the beautiful coastline in a luxurious 46 foot power boat, visit a secluded beach, go snorkelling for scallops and...well, you'll just have to read the book to see the rest won't you?

TYCOON'S VALENTINE VENDETTA is a reunion story between Jack Dolan and Lily Fontaine. When I first started this book, many years ago, it was in a different incarnation entirely. Jack's name was different and he had been the one to leave my fictional coastal town of Onemata to travel the world and make his fortune, leaving Lily behind. When I revisited this unfinished story, with a view to submitting a proposal to my editor, I decided the story would have far more impact if it had been Lily who'd left and was now, ten years later, forced to return due to a miserable down turn in her circumstances.

Here's the back cover blurb:

A dish best served hot
For take-no-prisoners tycoon Jack Dolan there was nothing more delicious than payback. Ten years after his passionate nights with Lily Fontaine—and the Fontaines' fatal betrayal of Jack's family—bitterness still fueled his success. Now he was this close to destroying the Fontaine empire and ultimate victory. Luring Lily back to his bed was the master stroke in his revenge plot; having the socialite bear him the child he'd long been denied would be a just desert.

I hope to get an excerpt of TYCOON'S VALENTINE VENDETTA up on my website soon, but in the meantime you can catch a glimpse here.

What's your favourite time of year to read about?

You can contact Yvonne direct via her website or call in and comment on her blog!

Are you a Writer, a Reader, or Both?

I've been doing a whole lot of reading lately and it has been heaps of fun. I've revisited authors I've always loved and tried a few that I've never read before.

I know there are authors who prefer not to read while they're working on their own manuscripts, in case they inadvertently filter what they're reading into their work. I imagine this can be a real concern when you're reading in the same line that you write for. Me, I tend to read a lot of romantic suspense (in fact, my TBR pile is growing in anticipation of a gorgeous holiday break away camping in January) so I don't worry over much since that's not a romance sub-genre I write, and when I do read books in my own niche I tend not to be writing (which is the case right now as I'm between books.)

In many ways, it also comes down to voice. After all, they do say there are only a set number of plots out there in the world and it really breaks down to how you say what you say in your story. I've often wondered what would happen if, say, four well-known authors, e.g. Debbie Macomber, Suzanne Brockmann, Mary Balogh and J.R. Ward, were given the same basic story premise and let lose to tell their own story. Just think of the diversity! And all with the same basic characters, plot and outline.

Anyway, I digress. For myself I find if I'm not reading books I enjoy, i.e. read for pleasure and not for market research, then my own creativity tends to wane. Since writing is a solitary game most of the time, reading other stimulating works is almost like networking in a way. It feeds my need for entertainment and satisfaction and thereby gives me the mental stimulation and pleasure to approach my work effectively.

So, when it comes to the question of are you a writer, a reader or both, I fall very definitely and very happily in the 'both' camp. In fact I've been known to get a little (or a lot) cranky when I'm either not reading a good book or writing one! Which are you; reader, writer or both?

Look out for Yvonne Lindsay's February release TYCOON'S VALENTINE VENDETTA with Silhouette Desire, February 2008!

And visit Yvonne at her website or via the exciting Diamonds Down Under website and blog! Exciting Diamonds Down Under competition details will be announced soon!

Artist's Dates

On Tuesday night I finished my read through and tweak of my seventh contracted manuscript, sent it off to my editor and completed my Art Fact Sheet details on Harlequin's Editorial Resourse System. I woke on Wednesday morning feeling absolutely exhausted. My mind was already buzzing with ideas for my next proposal to create and send to my editor but some wise advice I'd heard about Artist's Dates, combined with a wish to see the movie Atonement (which is so not my dh's kind of film), overtook my driving need to keep the momentum of my work up and saw me indulge in filling the well, finally fulfilling my promise to myself at the beginning of the year to do something nice, just for me, once a month. Okay, so I've kind of slipped on the once a month thing. Better late than not at all, right?

Now Barbara Samuel is one of the best speakers I've ever heard on this subject, especially on the importance of taking care of our writer's muse or, as she and several other awesome best-selling authors call it, "The Girls in the Basement".

I've never been big on spoiling myself, generally it makes me feel guilty or selfish (must be some past life guilt trip to investigate there, LOL!) but on Wednesday I did it--I went to see Atonement, and I'm so very glad I did. While the movie didn't have the happy ending my romantic heart loves most of all I never realised the freedom attending a movie on my own could give. Now, I'm not a frequent movie goer, although we do watch alot of DVDs at home, but there's something quite decadent about sitting in the Circle Lounge with the leather recliner seats and footstools and watching a film with the lush cinematography Atonement delivers. I only wish I'd thought to order a Latte before the movie started.

Note to self: Do that next time :-)

So what did I do after the movie? Well, I went to the beach and had a beach front lunch at a lovely restaurant and gallery and it was fantastic. So what if the weather wasn't great, there was a constant drizzle and the sea was a non-descript grey-green colour, but the bright warm atmosphere of the restaurant was the perfect antidote for any lingering sorrow left as a footprint from the movie, the service was friendly and welcoming and the food was divine.

And now I guess you're asking what I've always asked myself when I've heard of others doing this, "What's the point? Yes, it's lovely to go to a movie and to head out to lunch. So what?" For me I think the point is you're allowed to do it. You're allowed to indulge yourself, to take a day off and reward yourself for a job well done and love every second of it. To refill your well. To actually relax and give your mind a break from the next plot, the next characters, the next awful thing you're going to do to them, even the next meal you have to cook for your family.

Honestly, I felt warm and fuzzy all day. And the day got even better when Bronwyn Jameson drew my attention to the Barnes and Noble website where my February cover for TYCOON'S VALENTINE VENDETTA was up. Colour me totally in love!

So the upshot of this is if you've never indulged in an Artist's Date--DO IT! You owe it to yourself no matter what you do. It doesn't have to be a movie. It could just be a picnic in your favourite place, or a trip to the beauty therapist, or a massage. The thing is, don't put it off. Yes, there are always going to be important things that crop up in your life but if you don't look after yourSELF, and your creativity, there'll be a whole lot less of you to go around when the going gets tough.

FRIENDS AND BOOKS, OR, BOOKS AND FRIENDS?

I’m so happy to be blogging on Tote Bags and Blogs... thanks, Lee, for letting me join the gang!

Reading recent posts and thinking about what I was going to say in my inaugural Tote Bags and Blogs appearance I’m left sitting on the fence (anyone who knows me will recognise this favoured form of seating, the splinters... now they’re another story.)

On one side of the fence there is my wish to wax lyrical about the fellowship of good friends. Most of my very best friends are fellow writers and authors and, to be honest, they keep me sane (okay, ladies... sort of sane!) After all, who else can understand and appreciate the highs and lows of striving for your dream, achieving your dream and maintaining your dream, other than someone who is on the same road as you, or who has already trod that road and knows what you’re going through. And that’s something special, isn’t it? That incredible fellowship and support we give and receive on our journeys through life, no matter what we’re doing in our lives. No matter what stage we’re at, e.g. meeting new potential partners, embarking on a new job, overseas experience, dissolution of a relationship; it’s our friends that bolster us up along the way. Who else can we cry with, mourn with and, best of all, laugh and celebrate with, without fear of judgement, censure or lack of understanding.

And then there’s the other side of the fence. Books.

I love books. All books. I love to just pick them up sometimes and smell the paper (okay, I did say ‘sort of sane’ before), I love to turn the pages without breaking back the spine (and yes, I’ve been known to buy myself a new book after loaning one out and it’s come back spine broken) but best of all I love to read. Each book is a journey in itself, no matter what genre, although obviously my preference is for romance. So what do you do when you get to combine friends and books, aside from a really great time?

Well, in the case of twenty six authors from Australia and New Zealand you get Sizzle, Seduce & Simmer—a sinfully sweet collection of short stories and recipes from an ever growing group of friends, released by Harlequin in Australia as a MIRA in trade paperback. The brain child of a group of awesome romance authors in Melbourne and collated by the incredibly clever and lovely Marion Lennox the idea grew and expanded to include authors from further afield and on 1 November the book will be launched in the big wide world. Well, initially in Australia and New Zealand but hey, with the internet the world’s our oyster, right? And it’s the perfect combination which allows you to read while cooking! So, if you’re Down Under based, look out for it at your favourite bookstore from 1 November and if you’re Up Over based, try this site, or this one, to have it sent to you.

Bon Appetit!

Actually, I'm beginning to think that seduction is very definitely a part of my life now I'm writing full time, and who could complain about that? So, while I'm here I'd also like to bring your attention to my first UK release (of my first sale book, and the first in my New Zealand Knight's mini-series--Yay!) THE BOSS'S CHRISTMAS SEDUCTION. It's a November release in the omnibus SEDUCED BY CHRISTMAS together with the gorgeous and talented Sandra Marton. I can't believe I'm saying this in October... but Jingle Bells! Everyone!

Ooh, is that a splinter?