And What Happened Next . .. By Kate Walker

Why do we read novels?  To relax?  To escape from the stresses and  troubles of the world? (I’ve been trying to do that with a lot of things this year!)  To learn new things?  To indulge in fantasy? 

All of those, I’m sure – but for me the most important part of reading fiction is  because my curiosity is  sparked, I get involved with the characters, I start out on a journey with them. I watch the hero and heroine of a story  meet, get to know each other – then something comes between them – a problem develops – they argue . . .and what happens next?   That’s what keeps me turning the pages. I want to know what happens next.

Of course, in  a romance novel, we already know how the story is going to end. That’s the promise that Harlequin, and the author, makes to the reader – that no matter what happens to the hero and heroine along the way, they will end up with a happy ever after ending. But we want to know  how they are going to get there – what happens next?

This is what got me fascinated by Wuthering Heights - When I was eleven, I was  at a very small junior school that was in an old building, where the wiring wasn't very reliable. The was in West Yorkshire where the weather was often wild, and storms could break over the hills with great drama and  force.  One day there was a huge thunderstorm, great flashes of lightning, and the lights in the whole building fused.  We were sitting in darkness, with  a lot of the girls getting scared and screaming when the thunder roared and the lightning flashed. (Not me - I have always loved storms and still do.)

To distract us from getting worried and while waiting for the electricity to be restored, the teacher - told us to sit quietly and he would tell us a story.  The story he told was about a man who returned home to his farm, high on the Yorkshire moors, bringing with him an orphan gipsy boy he has found in the streets of Liverpool . The farmer already had a son and daughter, Hindley and Catherine - and the gipsy boy's name was of course Heathcliff. This story was the beginning of the classic romantic novel  - Wuthering Heights.

I never got to hear the end of the story that day because the lights came back on before my teacher had got past the point where Heathcliff and Cathy fight, and Heathcliff runs away,  to go and make his fortune. I never learned what happened when he came back - because it was  obvious that he did come back - and I always wanted to know.  But of course most of the story of Heathcliff's revenge was probably not suitable for young children.

But the story stayed with me and I wanted to know so much about it.  I wanted to know what happened next.   It was some years later that I found a book on my mother's bookshelf and, opening it, saw the names I remembered so well. I started to read  - and didn't put it down until I had finished. It was an amazing story - but  it never had the happy ending that I had hoped for. 

So I was excited when editorial told me about the mini series The Powerful and the Pure  where authors were inspired by the classic stories of romantic fiction and using them as a  springboard created a whole new romance for the Presents line.  This time I could create my own ‘what happens next’ – the one that I’d been wanting to know about all that time when I was younger.

So I wrote The Return of the Stranger. It’s not Wuthering Heights – it’s a brand new story. You don’t need to know anything about the original to reader it. And, I hope enjoy it.  Lots of readers in the UK have already loved it - it was the #1 bestseller on  the Mills & Boon  website for the whole  month of August after its release here in the UK.  It also had a great five star review that said:

Mrs Walker triumphantly produces a powerful and intense novel which involves your emotions from start to finish. Heath is a super hero full of brooding passion and the delightful Katherine evokes your sympathy. Not to be missed - as they say they saved the best till last.

This blog is just one part of my great big blog tour (you can find the details here)  to celebrate the publication of The Return of the Stranger – so I hope you’ll join me as I  visit lots of different blogs all over the world.  There are  posts, writing advice – and lots of giveaways.  And talking of giveaways, I have a copy of my book Bedded By The Greek Billionaire  to give  away with this post – just tell me what is the latest  book  made you think ‘what happened next . . ‘  so that you couldn’t put it down but just had to keep turning the pages. And all the posters in the comments section will be put into a draw to win a copy of this book.

Kate Walker’s The Return of the Stranger is out now in the UK and published on October 4^th in Presents Extra in America or Sexy Romance in Australia. You can find out more details over on Kate's Web site – with all the most up to date news on her blog.

Jean Brashear: Rewriting The Past

  We all have times we wish for do-over, right? Only life seldom lets us. But recently I got my shot in the process of turning my first backlist book into an ebook.

Many writers re-release their classic romances unaltered, and maybe I should have followed suit. My first book, thankfully, received a lot of awards, including Romantic Times Top Pick, Drake Cullinane chosen as W.I.S.H. Hero, etc., so I knew the story was basically solid...

But.

As I re-read, I began to realize a) my writing has grown.

b) The ending is not the one I wanted.

And c) don't get me started on the title (The Bodyguard's Bride—nobody seemed to care that she's the bodyguard!)

My typing fingers began to itch.

Here's the deal: in 1998 my kickass heroine (so commonplace now) raised some eyebrows. I was asked to tone her down for fear that she'd be too strong for the hero. ::snort!::  I was green and I sure did want a second contract, but...

Keep in mind that this was a woman with the cojones to break into an arms dealer's compound as a job audition so she'd be in position to kill him to avenge her sister's murder. I was asked to have her leave at the end and wait for the hero to wrap everything up, then come tell her what happened.

I don't think so!

Eventually I worked out a compromise I could bear, but it was far from the ending I wanted.

Voila! Second chance!

My original ending had gone missing altogether, so I started over...but I think Jillian would like this one way better (instead of wanting to kick my a** for not being more like her in the first place)...and, trust me, Drake's still more than a match for her. J

Would you like to compare the endings? I have one copy of the original print book I will send to the winner of today's drawing!

She’s driven by vengeance; he’s driven by guilt. She’s out to kill the man he’s sworn to protect. White-hot attraction…dangerous secrets.  Only one can win, but both could die, depending upon…THE CHOICE

USA Today and Kindle bestselling author of 28 novels in romance and women's fiction, a three-time RITA finalist and Romantic Times BOOKReviews Career Achievement Award winner, Jean Brashear knows a lot about taking crazy chances. A lifelong avid reader, at the age of forty-five with no experience and no training, she decided to see if she could write a book. It was a wild leap that turned her whole life upside down, but she would tell you that though she's never been more terrified, she's never felt more exhilarated or more alive. She's an ardent proponent of not putting off your dreams until that elusive 'someday'--take that leap now.

***Jean picked BETH as the winner!  Congratulations, Beth!  Please email Jean at jean@jeanbrashear.com with your full name and mailing address so she can get the prize in the mail to you!***

Sylvia Day: What is it about the angel hero that’s so sexy?

There’s just something about ‘em. When I see a winged hot guy on a book cover or DVD case I always look twice. I can’t help it. They’re just so visually striking. But why? Why is a really sexy guy with wings sticking out of his back so delicious? Is it the mixture of naughty--washboard abs and golden skin--and nice--angelic wings? Or something else? What incites that double take?

The hero of my upcoming series launch, A Touch of Crimson, is an angel (as you can see by the cover). Adrian is sexy for a lot of reasons. He’d be sexy even if he wasn’t an angel. But as an angel...  wow. It’s got a lot to do with those gorgeous crimson-tipped wings of his. Not just the wings themselves, but how he uses them.

He uses them for flight, of course. His heroine, Lindsay, loves to fly with him, even though she’s afraid of heights. She loves the way his body feels against hers as he pushes through the air--she admires the strength required to lift their combined weight and she’s aroused by the powerful flexing of his muscles as he holds her tightly against him.

He uses them in battle. Adrian’s wings are his greatest weapon. They’re impervious to damage from mortal weapons and the tips slice like blades. When he pivots, they flow fluidly around him, like a cape. Lindsay is mesmerized by the way he fights, finding his agile movements lethally graceful, a deadly dance that’s both graceful and frightening.

He uses them to shield Lindsay, not just from danger but from the world at large. In intimate moments, he wraps them around her, creating a private space where nothing exists but the two of them.

Lindsay uses Adrian’s wings, too. As impervious as they are to damage, they’re highly sensitive to her touch. The lightest stroke of her fingertips brings him the greatest pleasure.

And when his wings aren’t needed, they dissipate like mist, allowing Adrian to move through society like anyone else. Although he could never really fit in. There’s just something about him...

So, if you’re an angel hero fan, what is it about them that does it for you? Is it the good boy gone bad? Or something else entirely? I’ve got a copy of MEN OUT OF UNIFORM to give away to one commenter!

www.sylviaday.com

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Giveaway - Lynn Raye Harris

I'm such an idiot, y'all! I knew I had a blog post due, and I even had my online calendar send me a reminder. The problem, however, is that I lost a day when I thought that today was the 28th. No idea why I had that idea in my head, but I did.

Very blonde moment, right?

I'll try to make up for it with a giveaway! I just got author copies of THE MAN WITH THE MONEY, Book 5 in the Notorious Wolfes family saga.

Here's what the book is about:

Jack…Red-Hot. Renegade. Restless.

Notorious gambler Jack no longer gets a buzz from the risks he takes at the card table. In fact it bores him. Until one night he wins more than he ever bargained for…

His prize is stunning Cara Taylor – she might be down on her luck but she certainly doesn’t need rescuing by a card-shark like Jack! Now she’s stuck with him she doesn’t know whether to love him or loathe him.

And here's a video about the Wolfes:

I'll give away one signed copy to a lucky commenter!

Update: Friends, the Random Number Generator has chosen Marybelle as the winner of the signed book! Marybelle, email me at Lynn AT LynnRayeHarris DOT com with your details, and I'll get the book to you.

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, or read my site regularly, look out for other chances to win! I will give more away soon. :)


Lynn Raye Harris is a USA Today bestselling author who writes glamorous, sexy romance for Harlequin Presents. You can learn more about Lynn and her books at http://www.lynnrayeharris.com/. You can also follow Lynn on Twitter @LynnRayeHarris or visit her author page on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLynnRayeHarris

Carrie Lofty: Respecting Creative Boundaries

Believe it or not, I initially imagined FLAWLESS as a near-slapstick romance, where a hapless husband and wife struggled comically against the elements in an usual setting. I kept imagining Goldie Hawn from Private Benjamin where she's sitting in a mud puddle sobbing about her situation.

Oh, gosh. Who did I think was gonna write this book??

About four minutes into the first draft, I realized exactly how daft my brain had been. I admire writers who do comedy well. I really admire them, because aside from cutting banter and wry, amusing comments, I'm not really known for comedic romances.

Angst, however. I love angst.

And especially considering the setting I'd chosen--colonial South Africa--did I expect clowns and farce? It wasn't the most pleasant of places, and it certainly wasn't a barrel of laughs for most of the intrepid pioneers who staked their lives on the gamble of diamond mining. I can imagine Cecil Rhodes laughing with his cronies while dividing up Africa on a map in the famous Kimberley Club, but that's about it.

Luckily, research and a firm trust in my voice led me to the right path. Miles wound up a deliciously sexy scamp. He's the right blend of Indiana Jones and someone sly and sneaky like Robert Downey Jr. His estranged wife, Viv, became a vulnerable yet steely young woman who has to take on both business and private matters to achieve the independence she craves.

But then came the angst, naturally, because she rather craves her husband too.

So yeah...what was I thinking?? Maybe I was imagining what sort of book a parallel universe version of myself would create. But back in this world, I truly hope readers fall in love with the lush, sensual, angst-fest that is FLAWLESS. I did, even without mud puddle farce.

http://www.carrielofty.com

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http://www.facebooks.com/AuthorCarrieLofty

A Day at the Pinetum

When I was 12, I decided that I needed to see some castles. Looking back now, I'm surprised I didn't become a historical romance writer, all my setting in ancient Europe, drawbridges and moats and dragons. Seriously, at 12, I had a jones for castles!

I had been reading about them in Gothic novels for years, and I determined was high time to get a map together of all the spots I needed to see. I brought out the family atlas and commenced to draw.

Never mind that my family wasn't planning a trip to England nor could it afford to. I was undaunted in my drawing, though, and I wish I still had that little map of England, sadly misshaped and out of proportion but labeled clearly with all I knew I had to visit.

Many years later, I traveled to England twice. The first trip was one during a very cold Christmas break, and my family and I took buses to various spots, shivering in our timbers, staring out through the mists at Stonehenge and Bath and Canterbury. We went to the London Tower and all available old buildings in London, but it wasn't until a trip the following summer that I was able to see my beloved castles. Hastings, Bodiam, Scotney (my favorite, so charming, with a warning to "beware the moat"), Dover, and Hever, so many that finally, my boys cried for something other than the damn castles, and we went to Lego Land in Windsor, skipping the damn castle there.

But my favorite memory ended up not being at a castle at all. In fact there were many excursions that I loved for their simple pleasures: the K &E, SR railway trip to Bodiam Castle, the swim in the English Chanel while at the rocky beach in Hastings, the fish and chips in Rye, the small village of Battle, the petting zoo in Kent, wherein we met the giant pig.

Yet it was Bedgebury that I loved the most, the National Pinetum and forest garden. Pinetum--a label so much better than pine garden or collection of conifers. But a pine garden it was, an amazing forest of thousands of trees, winding through a green as green could be. As I walked, I could imagine all the characters I'd ever red about in Gothic novels fleeing something, someone, each other, many of them wearing nightgowns. I could see the characters from English literature sitting comfortably on the grass. Probably Austen's folk would have loved a picnic there, not to mention Forster's.

Wandering in silence, looking at the trees, I felt at peace. It's hard to say that I was unhappy while spending three weeks in Kent, but I was irritable, something itching me in a place I could not identify. Was it the novel I was soon to write and try to sell? Was it that my marriage was soon to have it's hardest moment? Was it that just a half a year from that walk in the Pinetum, my older son was going to go through a teen-aged time that would effect us all to the core?

I knew none of that then, no inkling of my life coming unhinged that summer in 1999.

I suppose I could have had that moment of peace at home I suppose, outside wandering in natural beauty. But despite my unease, I was in a place of bounty and beauty, a green world of my imagination but real, too. Characters ran around, my life ceased to pester, the birds overhead sang.

Later, we would go to another castle, another museum, but there, right then, I was in a cocoon of green, a nature I'd only imagined lulling me for an hour, keeping me from what was to come. Even my 12-year-old castle crazy self was satisfied.


Jessica Barksdale Inclan

The Dreaded Maintenance Plan - Virna DePaul

When I was in college, I had career dreams.  Before I owned a home, I fantasized about where I’d live.  Before I sold, I worked hard at becoming published. 

But once you attain a dream, then what? 

The maintenance begins.  What I’m learning is that maintaining what we’ve achieved is often the most difficult task we face.

Maintenance is dealing with the reality of the career you’ve chosen, including office politics, a long commute, disillusionment, and boredom.  It’s having to mow the lawn, wash the dishes, do the laundry and constantly dust the home you’ve built.  And it’s having to constantly face all the things that you haven’t done but could be doing to further your publishing career—finish those revisions, self-publish a book, update your website, send swag to the conference you can’t attend, write that next contracted book, meet new readers online, etc.

There’s always something more I can do to promote myself as an author.  Sometimes I find myself drowning in a sea of possibilities rather than doing the one thing I used to enjoy most—writing for the sheer pleasure of discovering new characters and worlds.

Probably everyone’s heard the adage that “Anything worth keeping is worth fighting for.”  A corollary sentiment is that “Anything worth achieving is worth maintaining.”  Of course it is.  Marriage and children.  A slender, healthy figure.  A writing career.  They’re all good and they’re all well-worth fighting for. 

But it’s still hard work.  It’s easier said than done.  And it’s easy to beat ourselves up for not perfecting our maintenance plans.  Occasionally, I think, we need to step back and let ourselves dream again, so that the possibilities aren’t just about tasks to be done but delights to be discovered.  That’s why, in honor of my latest book, Chosen By Fate (Para-Ops Novel #2), being released, I’m adopting a new goal.  Hawaii, anyone?

Erin Quinn: Mists of Ireland

The Mists of Ireland series takes readers to Ireland to meet the families MacGrath and Ballagh.  For eons these two families have been entwined in love, jealousy and the mysticism surrounding an ancient tome called the Book of Fennore.  Entrenched in lore and superstition, this ancient Book wreaks havoc on humanity—but when it falls into the hands of the MacGraths and Ballaghs, it ignites powers within them that make them its most formidable enemy. 

Haunting Embrace, the final book in the Mists of Ireland series, is a time-travel love story that spans centuries and reveals the secrets behind the Book of Fennore’s creation.  Áedán Brady—once known as Brandubh, the most powerful druid of all time—has been trapped in the Book for millennia until Meaghan Ballagh enters his life and sets him free.  Meaghan is an empath who sees beyond the front Áedán presents to the honorable man he once was.  She believes that man still exists, though Áedán himself refuses to even admit to being human anymore.  While Áedán fights to hide the vulnerability Meaghan’s perceptions reveal, he discovers hidden depths inside Meaghan as well.  Her blood runs hot and inflames him.  The more he knows about her, the more he wants to know.  But then he senses the soul of another woman lurking beneath Meaghan’s skin…a woman who betrayed Áedán centuries ago and cursed him to spend eternity in the Book of Fennore.   

Now Áedán must decide if love and trust are stronger than fear and revenge or he will everything, including the one woman who was meant to be his.

Here’s a brief excerpt of a crucial moment when Áedán begins to put it all together.

Meaghan’s eyes widened as Áedán lowered his mouth to hers, but she didn’t turn away, nor did she push him away. He felt the pending rush of fate slam into him as his lips touched hers. Thoughts of the stolen moments on the cliffs that afternoon had all but consumed him. He’d craved the sensation of her arms clinging tight, the softness of her breasts crushed against the wall of his chest, her hips pressed to his. . . .

Now he felt like an anchored ship whipped by a storm that refused to let it idle securely at bay. He ripped free in a powerful surge, back­ing her to the wall, needing that solid surface to keep from hurling himself out to sea.

The eye of the storm was within him, the fury of it all around. It uprooted his convictions, his resentments, his foundation. For a thousand years, he’d loved Elan, despite her betrayal, despite her condemnation. For a thousand years, he’d hated her, bitterly tar­nished every memory, purposefully corroded every recollection until what he felt was a mordant collage of distorted untruths.

Meaghan made a soft sound that was so heartbreakingly familiar, so longed for, so desired that it made his knees buckle. She kissed him back with desperation, begging him with her lips to make Mickey and all the terror he represented go away. Áedán tried, even though he feared it might be futile.

He realized then that she might have once been the woman of his past, the woman who had destroyed him, but she was something else now. She was more . . . and less. Better . . . and worse. Different. Ex­citingly fresh, startlingly distinctive. She might flash glimpses of Elan’s eyes, but her scent, her lips . . . her kiss. Everything about Meaghan was unique.

Thanks for stopping by to see me today!  Have you heard about my Spread the Word contest?  (Click for details).   For more information about me and my books, go to www.erinquinnbooks.com .  I’d also love to give away an autographed copy of Haunting Warrior, the third book in the Mists of Ireland series to one lucky commenter…so talk to me!

***Sonali is the winner of Erin Quinn's copy of Haunting Warrior!  Sonali, please email me at totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your full name and mailing address so we can get the prize in the mail to you.  Thanks to everyone else who commented!***

Some advice for writers

Lately my life has been a bit crazy thanks to a big move from New Zealand to Australia, doing some workshops and getting revisions done on one book and copy-edits on another, so when it came to thinking of a blog topic, my mind went blank (well, okay it didn't go blank but all it could conjure up was images of chocolate).

So like many writers before me, in my hour of need I turned to Twitter and asked what I should write about. Anyway, Catherine Haines (Kiwi writer, blogger and all around awesomely cool person) said this:








So Catherine, this is for you!

Find your voice

Voice is one of those strange things that we often ignore when really it's the thing what will help your books stand out in a crowded market. So don’t be afraid to write the story the way you ‘really’ want to write it as opposed to how you think you should write it.


I say this because for six years I kept coming up with all these weird paranormal romance ideas, but because I was trying to write regular romance novels, I would carefully cut the paranormal elements out of each book (I really wish I was kidding about this but I’m not). However, when I finally had the idea of a dead girl who gets kicked out of heaven and sent back to earth in a guy’s body, I realized that there was NO way I could cut it all out, so instead I finally embraced the voice that I had been trying to stifle for so long and I wrote the book in all of its glorious weirdness. It was called You Had Me at Halo and not only did it finally help me get an agent but I also got a book deal two weeks after it went out on submission.




Take risks

If you want to get published you have to send your work out to agents and editors because as a rule they won't come looking for you. Yes it's scary and yes there is a good chance (a very, very good chance) that they will reject you. However, while rejections suck, they are also the stuff that good writers are made of. If you're lucky enough to get a personal rejection then you can take what they are saying and apply it to your writing. If you are only getting standard rejections then use them to motivate you to improve your craft.

And I know this sounds really obvious but over the years I've lost count of the number of amazing writers I've met who are too scared to send their work out (of course it's hidden under the guise of 'it's no good/I'm too busy/it's not where I see my writing career as going' excuses). Please, don't be that person. Take risks with your writing. Put yourself on the line and send your work out. Let the market help you learn your craft.

Have fun

So much of writing can be hard work. Especially when it comes to dealing with rejection, but there is a reason why we all wanted to become writers so try not to lose track of what that reason is. Especially since there is a certain freedom in being an unpublished writer. You're not tied to deadlines or editorial revisions or genres (or all the delightful head-games that can go along with this stuff).

And finally...

It goes without saying but eat lots of chocolate. It might not make you write a better book, but I’m sure it will make you feel better!!

Amanda Ashby has been ignoring her own advice for years but despite herself she still manages to write young adult and middle-grade books for Puffin (US). Her latest book, Fairy Bad Day is now available and is full of action, romance and lots and lots of Skittles! To find out more you can visit her at her website or twitter!

Melanie Milburne: Outback Heroes

One of the biggest thrills of being a Harlequin Mills and Boon author is having one of your books come out in a collecting with other authors. It's even more thrilling when those other authors are ones you know personally and count as friends. Fiona Lowe and Amy Andrews are out with me in the outback this time with our Outback Heroes collection called Australian Bachelors.

I love the Australian outback. It's so rugged and the colours so rich and unusual. The red ochre of the rocks and the shimmering of the heat on the vast landscape is something I think of again and again here in my green English countryside-like state of Tasmania.

One of my favourite holidays was to the Northern Territory a few years ago. We went to Darwin and then Uluru and Alice Springs and Kings Canyon. We also went out into the desert for dinner under the stars where an astronomer showed us the constellations in the brilliant night sky.

Another highlight was when I went to the Darwin Show. It had such a wonderful old world feel about it. And all those gorgeous men in moleskins! I had to fan my face many times. It was such a great trip and truly inspiring, which is why I came to write this particular book.

In Top-Notch Doc, Outback Bride I have Kellie Thorne thrown out of her depth in the outback. She really is a fish out of water as she is a beach chick from birth. 

The guarded and unfriendly Matthew McNaught is not quite what she is expecting. She is all bubbles and enthusiasm. He is brooding and enigmatic. Just what I love in a hero! But behind Matt's aloofness is a man who is not quite ready to let go of the past. His fiancee was tragically killed six years ago and he has not moved on from it.

One of the things I thought about as I wrote this novel was how soon is too soon to have another relationship after a partner has died? Does grief have a time limit? What do people think is the right period of time? Does the length of time say something about the relationship that has been lost?

I used to think if men remarried quickly that they must have been really unhappy before, but apparently that's not what studies have shown. It is more likely for a happily long-term married man to remarry sooner rather than later after the death of his spouse. Interesting, isn't it? What do you think is the reason? I will send a copy of Australian Bachelors to a random comment posted.

Warmest wishes,

Melanie Milburne

***Marybelle, your name was picked as the winner!  Please email me at totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your full name and mailing address so we can get the prize in the mail to you. Thanks to everyone else who commented!***

A Sneak Peak by Jenny Gardiner

This month instead of my usual post I thought I'd share some great new covers that the talented Kim Killion made for me for two new books I'll be putting up digitally on Amazon, iBooks, BarnesandNoble.com, etc this week. These books are a little bit of a departure for me as so far other books I've published lean more toward straight out commercial women's fiction, but both of these novels are romance!

In Accidentally on Purpose, Washington, DC, photographer Lucy McSweeney has given up on men. Her timeclock ticking, she's decided there's no point in waiting for the man of her dreams when she's perfectly capable of starting that family without him---all she needs is a turkey-baster. Well, sort of. Doesn't it figure she finally stumbles upon that perfect guy in Andrew Madigan, only by then she's months into her turkey-baster pregnancy. And, she's just been hired to be the photographer at his upcoming society nuptials to the shrew of all shrews...

In Compromising Positions, Mercedes Fortunato just wanted the Capitol Hill job she was totally qualified for. Except the snooty press secretary refused to hire her, clearly objecting to hiring a woman for the position. That is until his boss, a horny Viagra-addicted U.S. Senator who's never met a woman he didn't want to bed, sets his sites on Mercedes as she's leaving the interview, and forces Mike Garrity to have to swallow his pride and hire Mercedes against his better judgment. Soon Mercedes finds she's fending off the advances of her boss, the Senator, while encouraging the advances of her boss, the press secretary, and finding that she is neck-deep in scandal and danger that could spell trouble for all.

I hope you'll check them out --they should be up some time this week or early next week at the latest!

Oh, and don't forget to check out Wade Rouse's humorous dog anthology I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship, in which I am a contributor and which features a top-notch list of contributing authors (Jen Lancaster, Jane Green, Jill Connor Browne, Sarah Pekkanen, Caprice Crane, W. Bruce Cameron, Rita Mae Brown, and many more, with a foreword by Chelsea Handler's dog Chunk). Half the royalties go to the Humane Society of the United States.

And my novel SLIM TO NONE has been teetering on some of the Amazon bestsellers lists---if you haven't read it I think you'll enjoy it. Anyone who's ever been on a diet will "get" it! Sleeping with Ward Cleaver is enjoying a wonderful revival as an e-book, so if you haven't read that, please do! And while you're at it, check out House of Cards and Over the Falls.
Jenny Gardiner is the author of the award-winning novel Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, as well as the novels Slim to None and Over the Falls, the novel House of Cards, and the humorous memoir Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me. She also has a story in Wade Rouse's upcoming humorous dog anthology I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship (NAL/Sept '11), a fundraiser for the Humane Society of the US and selected animal charities.

Scarlet Wilson: The Steep Learning Curve of the New Author

This year, has been a big year.  On the 21st January I got The Call.  By the time this blog appears my book, a Mills and Boon/Harlequin Medical It Started with a Pregnancy will be on the shelves in the UK.  Since January I've been on a steep learning curve.  I've learned things I didn't even realise I needed to know! 

So, I thought I would share with you some of the things I've learned in the last few months, rather than give you a Call story!

1.  Revisions  This was the first thing I had to master.  I had four sets before I got The Call.  And for the two books I've sold since I've had two sets for both. 

2.  Contracts People say that Harlequin contracts are boilerplate and don't change.  I've asked for a few amendments and got them without any problem.

3.  Pseudonym  I had to pick a pseudonym as someone already writes romance novels in the US under my own name.  I ended up with a list of 7, which my workmates all voted on.  Scarlet was the obvious choice for me as I have a red car, numerous red coats and bags, a red bedroom, a red living room......etc, etc, etc.

4.  Website  After I picked my pseudonym, I had to register for a website name and get my website set up.  I was lucky, I had a colleague who could help with this and you can visit me at www.scarlet-wilson.com

5.  Publicity I finally set up an Author Page on Facebook. (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Scarlet-Wilson-Author-Page/124872094266360) I also have a blog, linked to my website, but so far have resisted the temptation to Twitter.  Right now, I want to concentrate on my writing.  The less distractions - the better!

6.  Write every day.  This is probably the most important thing that I've learned.  I work full-time and have two young sons who have activities nearly every night of the week.  Time is at a premium in my house.  I've learned the best time for me is lunch time.  I can write 1000 in half an hour.  So I do that everyday.  Some are good, some are bad, it doesn't matter!

7.  Take the good with the bad.  Yes, I've had a bad review already.  But, I've also had seven great reviews.  And I have to be pragmatic about it.  I don't love every book I read - and I can't expect everyone to love mine. 

8.  I really love writing!  A few years ago I worried in case I wouldn't have more ideas for a story.  This seems to be unfounded, as at present, I'm working on book 4, have 2 ideas for new medical stories and an idea for a Riva.

To celebrate, I'd like to give away one of my books.  It's a 2-in-1 with Sue Mackay's Return of the Maverick.  Distance is no object, so to enter just leave a comment below.  I'll post the winner back in the comments in a few days time.
  

Lisa Dale - Not Before I've Had My Coffee

Hi all!

Hope that those of you living in the Northeast are enjoying the beautiful weather. Here is a quote about autumn that just broke my heart:

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. George Eliot

But I haven't popped on this morning to blog about autumn. I want to blog about morning.

Here's why: Every darn morning my husband and I participate in what I like to call The Glockenspiel Hour. Chimes galore.

For one hour, we both lie in bed, half-dazed and paralyzed by sleepiness, listening to our alarm clocks. And lest you think this is a SMALL feat, I will tell you that we have no fewer that FOUR alarm clocks (two cell phones, my alarm [which has two different individual alarms set], and his alarm).

We've tried everything--putting the alarm clocks across the room. Setting only one. Trying to give each other a "time to get up" pep talk...nothing works!

At least, not usually.

But yesterday morning, I was able to get myself up at the fragile hour of six a.m. to head off to Panera to do some writing on my new project (which is desperately due). And I was reminded: I love early morning. I love watching the bathroom get brighter while I'm brushing my teeth. I love the strange light before sunrise. And I love writing first thing in the a.m.

So why, if I love morning, do I suffer The Glockenspiel Hour?

I also love my husband, who often works late at night. I like when he's all sleepy and cuddly. I like to hear the sound of him grumbling when the alarm clocks go off, the pulling me closer. And I like getting up at the same time as he does--instead of rising early--because I like hearing him putter around: the buzz of the razor, the water falling in the shower, and the smell of his skin when he gets out.

So what's a writer to do?

If you're an early morning riser, I would love to hear your tips! I may have to make a concerted effort at forfeiting the GH so I can focus on my new book. But I'm not a morning person and need your help!

Ideas?

Good things,

Lisa Dale

www.LisaDaleBooks.com/blog

P.S. I posted honeymoon pictures (with goofy commentary) at my blog! Comment and enter to win my Love To Readers prize.