Trish Wylie - Preparing For Culture Shock

I'll admit I'm a bit of a home bird at heart. Now don't get me wrong, I've both worked on 'tour' and had fun traveling but it was rarely too far from home - a short flight or a boat trip away at most. Except for two trips I took abroad with friends - but *still * not that far away in the greater scheme of things...

This summer I'm taking the plunge and doing the Conferences. And to be honest, I'm both excited AND a little worried about that. Why to the latter you may wonder? Well - the first thing is going to be a bad case of Culture Shock I feel...

Let's look at home shall we? Teeny tiny green island with a mostly rural population - places we call cities most people would call towns - places we call towns most people would call villages and the villages... well... I'm not sure they're called anything outside of Ireland - neighbours maybe???

First stop on my trip? New York, New York. (I'd heard you had to do it twice like that?) The city that probably houses more people than the entire island I live on! Now as much as I love where I live I've never actually contemplated what it would be like having every single resident in the one place at the one time and we're still a little behind the game when it comes to building anything quite as high as some of those buildings look. And let's face it - if I get lost it's not like I can phone my family to come get me. Though it's good to know if anything happened to me that Gary Sinise would be there to solve the mystery (yes - I do watch CSI:NY) But then there's so many things I want to see and do. And that's very exciting!

Then it'll be off to Dallas for the conference. (we'll not even begin to talk about the temperature in Dallas that month, okay? Suffice to say if anyone steps in a puddle of water it'll be me - cos I'll have melted!) So like a good girl I went online to check out the hotel. Now as part of my eight month tour of Ireland a few years ago I stayed in every sort of hotel and B&B going - the excellent, the good, the bad - and well, one's that horror movies could be filmed in quite frankly... So I felt I was a little ahead of the game for this one - Ha!

Not so much. 'Cos the last hotel I stayed in was this lovely one in Dublin - isn't it cute? And the one I'll be staying in in Dallas? Well - I'm fairly sure it's never once been called *cute*. I mean, it's like, huuugggeee - practically a city on it's own! Will there be maps? How many hours should I allow for finding my way to where I'm supposed to be? And it has how many restaurants? I'm just thankful that with so many other conference-attendees I stand a good chance of meeting someone else who might be lost and then we can both go looking for Sawyer together...(yes I watch that one too...) And knowing my hatred of all things higher than is safe thanks to a little thing called gravity, I just betcha I end up way way way up in the sky where I'll never ever be able to ever look out the window. Oh - and one of my earliest film experiences - The Towering Inferno - nuff said...

Then there's the literacy signing. Now, despite the fact I first sold four odd years ago, I've never actually done a book signing before. It's something that just isn't done over here unless you're mega-famous or Bill Clinton while here on a golfing tour. So I was a little nervous about that before I even made the mistake of looking up pics online of what it was like... And dear heaven - HOW MANY PEOPLE GO TO THAT??? And in the ONE ROOM??? Are you KIDDING ME???

Where I live I'm not used to a crowd - in fact Christmas Shopping is my worst nightmare. But then I don't know what's the worst scenario - lots of people saying Hi or NO-ONE saying Hi... on reflection I'm going with the latter - cos at least no-one will be arguing over the last action-figure on the shelf on Christmas Eve kinda thing, right? And I also have the firm knowledge that Romance Writers and the Romance Writing Community is the friendliest bunch of people out there! That part I have absolutely no worries about...

But still - it's gonna be one heck of a dose of culture shock! Anyone want to come say Hi to me when I'm there to make me feel better??? Have any tips that might help me sleep at night???

The one consolation is I'll have one of my favourite books to sign while I'm there - and with one of my favourite titles! Bride Of The Emerald Isle is a little taste of home sprinkled liberally with the romantic magic of Valentia Island, off the coast of Co. Kerry, and it was a lovely lovely book to write... with a good dose of Matthew McFadyen's Pride & Prejudice film scene in the first chapter as inspiration... (and RT just gave it four and a half stars so I'm well chuffed!)

Keelin O’Donnell had always been a morning person. But today was testing her love of the a.m. to its limits…
She paused, looked back down the road, and sighed. The house had to be somewhere near by now, surely? Did people still die on the ‘moors’?
There was the sound of barking nearby.
“Great,” She scowled as she looked towards the source of the sound, “Now I’m going to be eaten by wild dogs. The Hound of the Baskerville’s lives.”
The barking sounded closer again. Not so much of a rabid dog sound as an excited yapping; which made her feel vaguely better, so her blue eyes searched what she could see of the surrounding countryside. With the last of the early morning mist clearing she could finally see more than the outline of the old stone walls on either side of her. Now there were fields, swirling with a hint of mist in pockets where the ground was still wet with morning dew.
She could hear the sea in the background, could smell it in the air. But even with the reassuring, steady rhythm of waves hitting rocks, she still felt like the last person left on earth. Until her peripheral vision caught sight of a shadow looming through a pocket of mist.
The dogs sounded closer too, one of them appearing at the shadows feet. And then a voice called one of them, followed by a whistle. So Keelin knew the figure was male. A man walking straight towards her- practically dreamlike- like some kind of early morning ghost.
The mist swirled again in pockets at his feet, the sun came out and caught in a glint off his dark hair. And Keelin stood transfixed as he got closer and looked straight at her.

He was sensational.

This 'n that - Helen Bianchin

Authors write, there are schedules, deadlines ... there's also family, and occasionally a break between finishing one novel and beginning the next.

I say occasionally, for mostly the lines are blurred, and there's a heap of stuff put to one side in the rundown to deadline. Ideally, there would be a secretary and a "wife" ... the secretary to take care of all the stuff, and a "wife" to cook, clean and "go-fer".


The reality is a one-woman band ... wife, mother, go-fer, author ... in any particular order according to importance and circumstance on the day. The family need to be fed, chores need to be done, kids fetched and carried on the home front, and on the business side there's taxes, research, and a heap of writing-related stuff aside from writing the book.

Every now and then everything aligns beautifully. Very recently I handed a book on deadline, and a best friend flew in for a visit.

As the best friend is also an author, she understood perfectly the euphoria of having just finished the book. We shopped, enjoyed leisurely coffees, lovely lunches with mutual friends. We relaxed, laughed, schmoozed. Guilt free!

Now she's flown home, I've dealt with various stuff, and I'm back in front of the computer compiling a character biography for the next book. Working on the theme, location, motive, goals. And once again the excitement is beginning to build as the new story begins to form and take shape. Tentatively. Will the characters behave ... or take off in a different direction from the one I've mapped out for them? It's too early to tell. The one certainty is there'll be a "happy-ever-after". The challenge is their emotional journey to that point.

The only teaser I can provide is the hero's name is Wolfe, the heroine is Lara, it's set in New York and Sydney ...

Meanwhile, my next title is The Tycoon's Virgin Wife is due for release in September 2007, followed by The Martinez Marriage Revenge in the first half of 2008.

Regards and best wishes to all,
Helen

Untangling my mind

Walking is my way of untangling the grey matter. Right now I have two WIPs both screaming for my attention; one is a historical western and the other is a contemp/paranormal. With all these characters elbowing for room in my head, I find it a little hard to focus. :)

Anyway. . .I've found the best way to sort them all out, and put them back where they belong, is to go walking. When we lived up north, going outside for a walk wasn't always an enjoyable thing to do (especially in January/February), but we're back in BC now, so I can walk to my heart's content. While I walk and sort, I need music, and who better to help me with that than Toby Keith? I find the louder I have my iPod cranked, the better I can think. Yes, I realize this is in direct opposition to what my parents said during all those hours of highschool homework, but that can't be helped. Sometimes Father doesn't know best. LOL

I'm curious to know what other methods people use to sort out the scramble when they're writing.

SEEDLINGS INTO SUNFLOWERS…- Christina Hollis

Where does the time go? It feels like only a few weeks ago that I brought my first little bundle of joy home from hospital. Wow - look at her now! I spent yesterday morning watching her perform as Teresa in The Memory of Water for a drama exam. And how can my son manage to ride his bike like that? He’s so small! Well, no, he isn’t actually – not any more. It won’t be long before I’m the shortest person in this entire family. Everyone teases me that things are going to change around here when it happens. I reply darkly that Napoleon never let a lack of height hold him back. So if they want feeding, they’d better keep on being present and correct at mealtimes! Time flies when it comes to work, too. The ghost of an idea flutters into my mind, and I can’t wait to get started on a story. That’s when the hard work begins, but it’s so rewarding. It hardly seems possible that my next book, Count Giovanni’s Virgin, will be on sale within a few weeks. I’m so pleased with the cover. It reflects everything I love about romance: a gorgeous guy, fresh out of the pool and drenched in sunlight. Now all I need is a cup of tea and a big slice of chocolate cake to make all my fantasies come true…

The Wrong Holly Jacobs

Rumor has it that a certain professor feels I'm the wrong Holly Jacobs.

Okay, you're scratching your head. Let me back up. For a classroom assignment, a professor told his class to write an obituary, then assigned them a person to write it about and assured them that they could find enough info on Google to do write their obit.

A girl named Kristi was assigned...Holly Jacobs. She googled the name and...there I was. 96 out of the first 100 entries were about me. And Kristi wrote my obit. I died on Lake Erie in March. Now, she didn't mention how I died on the lake, but I'm sure I was doing something exciting. March...on the lake. Hmm. I was probably ice fishing and caught a whale of a fish. Now, you probably think I'm going to say the fish pulled me in, but no. I was so excited about that fish that I did one of my goofy, Snoopy dances of joy...on ice. I slipped, hit my head and died. Sad, isn't it? I digress.

Anyway, Kristi wrote a lovely obit. Talked about my tragic death, the family I left behind (and would someone please tell my son, I forgive him for leaving so many clothes on the floor that I haven't seen his carpet in months), and the books I've written, and was about to write. It was nice to see my life summed up by someone else. She turned it in to the professor, and he gave it back without a grade. When Kristi asked about it, he told her, "You've got the wrong Holly Jacobs."

Now, I'll confess, I've always felt like the right Holly Jacobs. But maybe I was wrong. So I called someone who should know... my mom. She assured me that after being in labor for thirty-eight hours with me, she was positive I was the right Holly Jacobs. I asked my husband, he asked if I wasn't the right Holly, did he have to pay alimony? Then he asked, what's the other Holly look like? Oh, yeah, I married a funny man. Friends and children assured me of my rightness. And of course, my dog, Ethel Merman, thinks I'm the right one. But I wasn't right enough for Kristi's professor.

I feel guilty. As if the ten years of my writing life haven't been quite enough to make me the right Holly Jacobs. That maybe I should have worked harder, written more, done something else in order to be the right Holly Jacobs. But alas, I didn't, and poor Kristi has to pay the price for my slacking with a gradeless obituary. SIGH.

Poor Kristi, I was the wrong Holly Jacobs.

My poor mom, who was in labor for an absurd amount of time in order to bring...the wrong Holly into the world.

My poor husband...okay, so he's not going to be poor if he can get away without paying alimony and the other Holly's better looking.

My poor kids, maybe that other Holly would have been a better mother? Maybe she wouldn't have nagged my son about those dirty clothes on the floor?

Poor Ethel Merman, she still thinks I'm the right Holly, but she's a dog, and not overly bright, so what does she know?

And that poor professor, who, if he met me might find he liked me and even if I wasn't the right Holly Jacobs, I was certainly worth of an obituary.

Geesh. Talk about questioning your existence.

Holly--The wrong Holly Jacobs.

Susanna Carr asks: How Old Were You?

Whenever a reporter does an interview or feature on me, they always make a point of my age when I first started reading romances. I was ten years old, and it was a Harlequin.

Yes, that was young. Some say it was too young.

For me, it came at the right time in my life. I was already a permanent fixture at the local library and the selection of books was beginning to bore me. When I got my hands on the Harlequin, it opened a new world. I got to read about women who faced life-changing dilemmas. They took action, made mistakes, and persevered to get what they wanted.

Despite what the grown-ups in my life thought, I didn't read the romances because of the sex! Don't get me wrong: I didn't exactly skip over those parts, either. *G* But I loved reading about two people falling in love. That was the exciting stuff.

I'm glad I started reading romances early in life, but I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. How old were you when you started reading romances?

Sandra Marton's Covers for THE BILLIONAIRES' BRIDES

My new trilogy, THE BILLIONAIRES' BRIDES, will be published in the USA in August, September and October. Now that I have all three covers, I wanted to share them with you. Aren't they beautiful? And those guys... Mmm mmm mmm.!

Dream Big!

When I was a kid, I didn’t know how to dream. I couldn’t see ahead in life and didn’t dare think of a future. Some people I knew had dreams of a knight in shining armor dropping into their lives, while others dreamed of having lots of children in big families filled with love. Even more people I knew had dreams of becoming famous or being the first to do a thing or even of possessing great wealth. Not me. I can’t explain why, but I never wanted to see myself in the future.

Looking back now, it was a strange way to live, and it caused me plenty of problems along the path. I found the love of my life in a chance encounter. I stumbled into being a stockbroker, a job I had wanted for years but never thought I could have. I decided to write fiction on a whim and a promise to give it a try that I made to my dying mother-- after giving up that idea many years before.

I’m not sure what the problem was for most of my life, but maybe it stemmed from being afraid to dream. Afraid to wish for things that might not come true.

When I sat down to plot the story for the fifth book in my Night Guardian series, SHADOW WARRIOR, I decided it was time to write about a woman who is afraid to dream. Lexie Ayze has a much better reason to be afraid of her dreams than most; she’s a medium who sees ghosts in her dreams. But she is also a woman who has allowed life to push her along from one thing to another just like I did. She has always been afraid to wish for things that might not come true.

Lexie does have one important trait in her make-up; a strong desire to do the right thing for her child. At first, she just doesn’t know what’s right. When she finally gives up and allows dreams into her life, everything changes. Lexie learns to go after what she wants. She finds out that improbable goals take risk, hard work and persistence, but she is willing to try.

SHADOW WARRIOR is the intimate story of one woman coming to terms with who she is meant to be…then learning to fight for the man she loves.

Have you always known what you wanted? Or were you more like me? Afraid to wish? Do you have a dream or goal you still haven’t reached? Improbable goals are the best, but they’re also the scariest. What are some of yours?

OPENING LINES

How do you start a book?

Sometimes, if you’re lucky, the first words you write will set everything moving at a cracking pace and you never look back, or stop to think “Where did that come from?” until it's all done and suddenly the book is out there and being talked about.

It was like that with THE SECRET LIFE OF LADY GABRIELLA.

“Good book?”

A deep velvety voice penetrated the cold, swirling mists of the Yorkshire Moors, jerking Ellie back into the twenty-first century.

Those words never changed.

I wrote them and the book galloped away. Unfortunately, it was in totally the wrong direction. I was supposed to be writing a Harlequin Romance. This was rapidly turning into a Katie Fforde style chick-lit. Totally female focussed, with batty characters coming out of the woodwork, but the hero a shadowy figure waiting to appear when I could find somewhere to cram him in.

I’d written two and half chapters when I realised that it just wouldn’t do. And no matter what i did I couldn’t fix it. For the first time in years, I abandoned a book and wrote something else. (The Sheikh’s Guarded Heart, if you’re interested.) Then I was committed to The Valentine Bride. But Ellie (because she was a true heroine) just wouldn’t quit and I thought about what was wrong, and how I could fix it.

It all went wrong, I finally realised (dumb author moment) when I let her walk out of the house. The solution -- how simple it seems in retrospect -- was to keep her there. Have her move in . Which also took her out of the orbit of the batty neighbours who were taking over the book, solving two problems with a single solution.

Then, because I needed to build up to the initial meeting, invest it with more importance, I wrote a new beginning. It started out as a prologue, but just grew . But even then Ellie would keep walking away. So I nobbled her knee and gave the hero a conscience, which that fixed that problem.

Keeping the hero and heroine together is one of the most challenging parts of writing series romance. When it becomes almost impossible, you need to find yourself a crucible, something that keeps them locked together. In this case it was the house. Ellie’s inspiration; Ben’s fading, empty home and finally, I had a book.

Oh, and just in case you're interested, here’s the new beginning –

‘LADY March?’

Ellie’s tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth. This was such a mistake. She wasn’t a “lady”. She shouldn’t be here. She should own up right now...

‘I apologize for keeping you waiting,” Jennifer Cochrane, continued, but there was a crisis at the printers I had to deal with.

Unable to speak, she attempted an answering smile. Even in her borrowed clothes, hair swirled up in a sophisticated style and wearing more make-up than she’d normally wear in a month, she’d been expecting someone to point a finger at her, shout “impostor” the moment she’d stepped within the hushed portals of the offices of MILADY magazine.

She’d never meant to take it this far.

And if you want to know what happens after Ellie takes her head out of those nineteenth century clouds, check out the excerpt at my website

THE SECRET LIFE OF LADY GABRIELLA is on sale now in the US and UK and will be available in Australia and New Zealand in June.

The RNA award lunch

Last Friday was the glamour event of the British romance publishing -- the annual presentation of the Romantic Novel of the Year and the Romance Prize at the Savoy.

If you have ever seen the film Notting Hill, you will know how splendid the Savoy is. Among other things, it is the only place in Britain where they drive on wrong side of the road.

Mod X and Little Black Dress author, Julie Cohen and I arrived in a cab. Julie as befits her website was wearing a black top and orange skirt. I was in a teal blue Monsoon outfit.

The lunch begins with a champagne reception. As it is very much an industry function, editors and agents are there. Mills and Boon editor Joanne Carr lived up to reputation and wore a splendid pair of shoes. My daughter whispered to me that she looked just like a model. Anne Herries and Catherine George, two of the finalists were there -- both with huge smiles on their faces.

We were then summoned to lunch. On the tables, were programmes of the day's events. The cover was a cartoon by Bestie, highlighting the joys of reading romance on public transportation. The top table came in last.

The food was delicious -- goat cheese and onion tart for starters, chicken with vagatables (my daughter was not overly fond of the potatoes and almond combo), and a treacle tart with raspberries and vanilla ice cream for pudding. The vanilla ice cream was made with a vanilla pod and tasted fantastic.

Then came the awards -- Rosie Thomas won the Romantic Novel of the year for Iris & Ruby. And Nell Dixon won The Romance Prize for Marrying Max. Nell was flabbergasted, and I had to pull her up from her chair and gently shove her towards the podium. As I had insisted that Nell enter the book, I felt like a very proud fairy godmother.

Modern/Presents Author Sharon Kenderick managed colour coordinate her cast with her purple outfit. New presents author India Grey was there looking stunning in black. She is a warm and lovely person. Kate Walker also looked great in her white top and dark skirt combo. And the shoes these women wear were -- well stunning.

It was a wonderful event, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Michelle Styles

Sandra Marton Says, Rain, Rain Go Away...

Here in New England, nor'easters are a part of life. A nor'easter, for those lucky enough never to have experienced one, is a major storm that blows up the east coast of the United States with horrendous winds and lots of snow.

Except, this is April. The weatherman doesn't seem to have noticed because the temps here are miserably cold and if there's a sun up there behind those clouds, we haven't seen it in a while. And April is definitely not nor'easter time.

Nevertheless, a nor'easter blew in late Saturday night and spent the weekend and part of today with us. In deference to the fact that it's April, the storm brought rain rather than snow. And I do mean RAIN!!! There's a river a couple of miles from us that's usually shallow and placid. Today, it's running as if the hounds of hell were after it.

Along with the rain came wind. I could hear stuff hitting our house all last night. In fact, I figured looking outside this morning would be, for lack of a better word, interesting. We have lots and lots (and lots) of trees. Well, we lost a number of branches but, thank goodness, no trees. And the bulbs our son planted on the slope in front of our house last fall came through just fine. (The dozens of bulbs, tulips and daffs and gorgeous blue things with a name I can't recall, plus the hard work of planting them, were an anniversary gift from our son and daughter-in-law last June. It was, without question, one of the most loving, most thoughtful gifts we've ever received.)

Back to our nor'easter. It's Monday evening and the rain has tapered off. The wind has pretty much stopped. The sky is the color of tarnished pewter but I do know that it's Spring, thanks to the bulbs poking through the soil. And I just heard the pair of Barred Owls who live in our woods calling to each other as they set out on their nightly hunt. Those calls are a sure sign Spring is really here, no matter how gloomy it looks in our part of New England.

Writing Linked Books by Kate Walker

Some readers love linked books, others are not so keen on them, so for me the important thing about writing books in my own self-contained mini-series, the important thing is to make sure that each book stands on its own and tells one separate story. Then any reader who picks up one story doesn’t have to buy and read all the other books in the series to make sense of the whole story.


I was reminded of this only this week when a reader wrote to me, asking about the books in The Alcolar Family trilogy. Well, it’s a trilogy of books and an on line short story that appeared on eHarlequin and the Mills & Boon site. This reader had found the middle book of the Trilogy - The Spaniard’s Inconvenient Wife and wanted to know the titles of the other two books so that she could read them all. That was tricky, coming to it so long after the original trilogy has been published (The Alcolars came out in 2005) but at least I could help her find the short story – Wife For Real – that started it all off. That’s now published as an ebook and is also to be found on the Mills & Boon web site to read on line.

And all that reminded me that I had meant to come on here and talk about my latest pair of linked books – the ones I’ve called the Sicilian Brothers duo – the first of which Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride is out now in Presents. The second The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge will be published in June (UK) and July (USA and Australia). And I wanted to make sure that everyone knew they are linked – there’s nothing worse than reading a book and then wishing you’d got your hands on the first one.


The Sicilian Brothers duo came to me when a lovely reader and a friend I met at the RWA Conference a couple of years ago told me her brothers’ names and I said that Guido and Vito Corsentino were just perfect names for Presents heroes. Lori told me that I could ‘borrow her brothers’ names – they didn’t mind either! – and I’ve written these two books with each brother as the hero in one. The stories, as I said, are totally separate, but each book has connecting points – the first one (Guido’s story) takes place in the middle of the second one (Vito’s story). That meant that I had to know what had already happened to Vito before I even started writing Guido’s story. If you read the book then in the opening scene you’ll find that there is already a clue to what has happened – when even Guido doesn’t know what has been going on in his brother’s life.

Writing a new hero is always a fascinating process – I’ve just finished a book with a sexy Spanish hero and getting to know him took some time – even then he had one last little secret that I didn’t know until the very last scene. So working with two devastating Sicilians was even more fun. I had to make sure that they were each heroes in their own right – tall dark, handsome and stunning – and yet make them separate and totally individual. I think I succeeded. I hope you do too.And don’t forget that as the first of these books is out now, the contest Lee is running to celebrate that is still open over on the Contests page. Of course The Sicilian’s Red-Hot Revenge will be appearing soon and as that will be a very special book for me – my 50th published title - then look out for some very special celebrations too. I’ll be working with Lee on those and we’ll have lots of prizes to give away – so watch this space.


What about you? Do you love books that link to each other and perhaps bring back characters you've met before? Or do you prefer stand-alone stories?

Character Discoveries - Susan Stephens

One of the most exciting things for me about writing is the discoveries I make as characters come alive on the page.

The only downside to that is the amount of re-writing involved as back-story, or a sudden unexpected turn of events feeds into the future thinking and actions of a character. Rewriting four or five times can quickly turn 50,000 words into 200,000 or more.

In The Venetian's Bed, my May release for Harlequin Presents, proved quite different because the opening chapters were based on a real-life experience.

As I started writing the story I knew how Nell felt when her young daughter Molly was taken ill with an asthma attack during a gondola ride along the narrow canals in Venice, because I had been in Nell's place years ago. I was that disorientated, terrified, disempowered mother, and it is only now, with my daughter's blessing that I can turn those horrendous few hours into the opening of a romance.

I have an on-line Daily running at the moment on e-harlequin entitled The Venetian's Defiant Woman http://www.eharlequin.com/article.html?articleId=1266 and this story reflects the magic and allure of Venice, but also harks back in parts to that fear of the unknown which I felt on my earlier visit to this beautiful city.

Magic is stripped away when someone you love is at risk, as happens in the opening chapters of In The Venetian's Bed. Fortunately for Nell and her little girl, Molly there is a happy outcome to the story as thankfully, there was for me and my daughter all those years ago.

As Nell and Luca Barbaro’s story progresses, and fantasy takes over from reality, the magic of Venice comes to the fore. Nell and Luca enter the erotic world of Carnival where anything can and does happen...

********************

Pup-Dog News

Those of you who read my Susan Stephens' Blog will know that I have recently lost a beloved fifteen year old dog and adopted two wonderful and challenging rescue pup-dogs, Betty and Molly.

Do come and join us on my Writing Diary at http://www.susanstephens.net/ where you can keep up with their progress and see photographs of them. Or simply pop along to share the fun and take part in the contests. Don’t forget to sign up for the Birthday Babies club while you’re there to ensure you receive a birthday card and a little something on your special day.

Happy reading everyone!

Susan Stephens

I'm a quiz addict, how about you?

We’ve all been there - flicking through the glossy pages of women’s magazines at the supermarket check-out, in the doctor’s waiting room, or hiding under the bedclothes with a pen and a flashlight, reading the ubiquitous sex quiz pages with headers like The Top Ten Ways to Keep Your Man.

An addict to filling out forms of any kind, I have filled out sooooo many of these quizzes over my lifetime without ever really wondering who wrote them, or what kind of education and background the creator must have had before dolling out such essential relationship advice. They could be psychologists, franticly overworked editors, or sixteen year old interns for all we know.

Or they could be like Abbey Parrish, the heroine in my latest novel, and my very first Modern Extra Sensual, GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS. Abbey doesn’t have one single clue how to get a man much less what to do with him when she ultimately does get him!

Yet somehow her advice resonates. Perhaps it's all about collective experience. Or the way we can all see in our daily stars how that kernel of advice might actually relate to our lives. A need for solidarity, to know we're not alone in feeling out of place, out of time, and on the verge of never being able to find someone to love.

Next time I head down to the supermarket, and flick through a magazine I wonder which question will speak to me, and head me off on a tangent I was simply waiting for the right prod to head along any old how.

How about you? Have you ever read something in your stars or an advice column that was like a lightbulb moment? Do you think such random things can really change a person's course in life?

Seeds of ideas

A question many authors are asked is where do you get your ideas from?

The answer is really it depends. However for my April Mills and Boon Historical release, I have a ready answer -- Kate Walker.

What happened was this. Kate gave a very lovely workshop in October 2005 for the Romantic Novelists Association. I happened to catch a lift with her and she began to explain about her latest revisions. She got about as far as the heroine has to marry to save her father from gaol and I will admit to stopping listening. the wheels in my brain were churning and the light bulbs popping. I believe I nodded my head and looked interested. I could not shake the idea from my brain and with Kate's blessing, I decided to write my story.

Anyway, several months later, Kate very kindly sent me a copy of The Antonakos Marriage. I realised when I read it that I totally misheard her and the manuscript I was working on bore very little resemblance to her story -- except for one important fact -- the Beauty and the Beast theme -- a heroine sacrificing herself to save her father.

I am very partial to Antonakos Marriage for another reason. I read the book while I was waiting for my first cataract operation. I suffered from early onset cataracts. Anyway, I hadn't finished the book. The next morning, when I went back to it -- suddenly I could see the cityscape where it had all been a blur before. The book has remained a firm favourite ever since.

BTW my editor knows the story of my seed. She swears that it is coincidence that my cover (that has very little to do with the book) and the North America cover of the Antonakos Marriage bear a certain similarity. My editor also has a wicked sense of humour.

In celebration of Sold and Seduced's publication, I am running a contest. The prize is signed copies of both Sold and Seduced and The Antonakos Marriage (the UK edition). I have three sets to giveaway.

You need to email me with the answer to the question what is playing on my myspace page?

My myspace page can be found at: http://www.myspace.com/michellestylesauthor.

I will be drawing the winners on 14 April. If you enter, I will send you an invite to join my newsletter but that is all.

All About Eve - Vicki Lewis Thompson

Anyone who’s been to my website at vickilewisthompson.com knows about Eve, the black cat I adopted from the Humane Society two years ago. In fact, if you have any cute pet pictures lying around, I’d love for you to enter them in Eve’s Second Annual Pet Photo Contest. For every entry I’m donating a dollar to animal rescue. But hurry, because the contest ends March 31st!

If you have animals, then you know life is never dull where they’re concerned, and sometimes it’s downright scary. Eve put me through it several weeks ago when she developed an abscess on her cheek. Yes, that’s about as icky as it sounds.

Of course I felt all guilty, thinking I’d allowed her to get into something that caused the abscess. This is the cat who goes outside on a leash because if I let her run loose, the roaming coyotes will eat her. Yes, they parade right through the front yard in broad daylight. And they’re beautiful – wild and sleek and ready to gobble up any cats and small dogs left to their own devices.

So out I go every morning with Eve sporting her red harness and leash, and it’s true that I let her roll in the dirt. I mean, c’mon. Cats love that, and she’s such a good sport about the harness and leash that I can’t deny her a little dirt bath. However, I think that might have been where she rubbed something into her cheek that caused the abscess. Or not. Abscesses are mysterious things and could be caused by lots of things that are Not My Fault. I hope. I’m a kitty mom and guilt seems to go with the territory.

Dealing with the abscess was not fun. She had to have a drain tube installed. Has anybody else had that particular pleasure? And then came the funnel-shaped collar. I tried to convince Eve she looked like Queen Elizabeth wearing a starched ruff, but she wasn’t buying it. Hated the collar.

I’m happy to report she’s fine now. The drain’s gone, the collar’s gone, and her fur is growing back. She’s primping a lot because I told her she has a prominent role in my next book called OVERHEXED. It comes out in October just in time for Halloween, and yep, it’s a paranormal. The black cat in the book is called Sabrina instead of Eve. I thought that might save Eve from being mobbed by the paparazzi. But it’s her, right down to her whiskers.

She gives me lots of material, but maybe you have some cat stories you’d like to share. Or dog stories. I’m adding an Irish Wolfhound to the second book in the series. So let’s talk!

Cruisin' Down the River with Sandra

OK, we didn't cruise down the river. We cruised down the Caribbean. In February, my husband and I took our son, daughter-in-law and our two little grandchildren on a cruise from New York harbor to several wonderful islands in the Caribbean.

How exciting it was to sail by the Statue of Liberty! I've been to the Statue, even climbed all the way to her crown in the days when that was possible, but seeing her from the deck of a huge ship as we sailed out to sea was amazing.

And our trip was wonderful! We all had a great time, sightseeing, relaxing, playing, eating (and eating and eating and eating...)

I've posted a couple of videos at my website. Some photos, too, there and at my blog. I'll be adding more photos and videos but I though it would be fun to share some here right now, with you.

MOTHER'S DAY

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Primroses and violets were the traditional gift, along with a simnel cake, from girls in "service" who were allowed home to visit their mother's on the fourth Sunday in Lent -- known as Mothering Sunday; the day in the UK that we still celebrate as Mother's Day.
These primroses are flowering now in my garden and I'm posting them here with my love.

Have a lovely day!

Liz

Happy St Patrick's Day

Hello. I just had to stop by to wish everyone near and far a very Happy St Patrick's Day. And I thought I would share with you a couple of my favourite Irish Blessings ...

May the road rise up to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields,

And, until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

And another that was one of my mother's favourites ...

May there always be work for your hands to do,

May your purse always hold a coin or two,

May the sun always shine on your window pane,

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain,

May the hand of a friend always be near you,

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

I have Irish ancestry on both my mother's and father's sides of the family and have enjoyed many happy visits to various parts of Ireland in year's past. The welcome is always warm, the people amazing, the scenery spectacular, and on each visit I have left a little more of my heart there.

May all the blessings be with you all, wherever you may be, and whether you have a drop of the Irish in you or not!

All best wishes,

Margaret

A Doctor Worth Waiting For

HMB Medical Romance

OUT NOW!

I'm traveling

I'll confess, I long for the day my dh and I can travel. Well, we do take annual trips to Disney World for the kids, and he maintains that walking through the countries in Epcot counts, but I disagree. I want to really go see the world. And in a few years, when our youngest heads off to college, that's just what we're going to do. But for now, I have two ways of exploring the world, Epcot, and with the fact my books go overseas. In April, last summer's Here With Me, will be released in Italy. I can imagine a reader, sitting in a cafe, with a glass of red wine and some chees, reading about...Erie, PA.

Yes, that's the other part I love about my books going overseas...the idea that I'm introducing Erie (well, at least most of my books are set in Erie) to other countries. I love my city...I'm pretty sure most readers have realized that already! LOL We've got Lake Erie on our doorstep, and the beautiful Presque Isle peninsula, jetting out into it, giving us a bay on one side for recreation, and wonderful beaches (with great sunsets...perfect for reading your favorite book) on the other. We have historic landmarks (I've dined at the Waterford Hotel...just like George Washington), and toured a house used in the underground railroad. I feel very fortunate I can introduce readers all over the world to my hometown.

What about you? What makes your hometown special? Something you'd like to share with readers?

Holly

www.HollyJacobs.com