New blog on the block

The Romantic Novelists' Association now has its own blog - thanks to the lovely Liz Fenwick. This new blog will give details of new books published by RNA members each month, craft articles, updates on the conference and pretty much anything else of interest to the romancer reader and writer.

So why not take a look - and bookmark it to keep you up to date with what's happening with Romantic Fiction writing in the UK.

And talking of blogs - and Presents (which I was of course talking about on the subject of the upcoming Tote Bag Contest yesterday) don't forget that this month has the Spotlight on Presents as part of the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the founding of Harlequin.

So all through July, the I(heart) Presents blog will be running posts by authors and editors from the Presents line who will be writing about their first books, the history of Presents . . . and lots of other Presents-related topics.

So why don't you bookmark that blog as well - and visit them both often.

Have I got a contest for you!

Every year I run a special summer contest to win a Tote Bag Full of Books – one of my special tote bags crammed full of fabulous summer reading. And this year I’m running the contest again – but this time it’s a really special competition.

Because this year marks the 60th anniversary of Harlequin, and because July is the month when the Harlequin Spotlight is on the wonderful Presents line, I have planned this year’s Tote Bag Contest as a Presents Special. Every book in the tote bag has been donated by one of my fellow Presents authors.

So you have a chance to win 15 – that’s right - 15 fabulous Presents titles, many of them signed, from some of your favourite authors.

Right now the prize list looks like this:
Cordero's Forced Bride by Kate Walker

The Italian Boss's Mistress of Revenge OR Forced Wife, Royal Love-Child by Trish Morey

Mistresses By Blackmail (3 in1 ) by Melanie Milburne

Ruthlessly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded by Abby Green

The Antonides Marriage Deal by Anne McAllister

The Markonos Bride by Michelle Reid

Rich, Ruthless and Secretly Royal by Robyn Donald

The Tuscan Tycoon's Pregnant Housekeeper by Christina Hollis

Virgin Mistress, Scandalous Love-Child by Jennie Lucas

The Greek's Convenient Mistress by Annie West

Spanish Magnate, Red-Hot Revenge by Lynn Raye Harris

The Desert King's Bejewelled Bride by Sabrina Philips

The Diakos Baby Scandal by Natalie Rivers

Desert King, Pregnant Mistress OR Housekeeper at his Beck and Call by Susan Stephens.

Bought for Marriage by Margaret Mayo


What do you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this great prize?

Well this year, the contest is in the form of a Scavenger Hunt where you find one answer from each author involved by visiting their web sites or blogs.

All through July – starting July 7th - the Presents authors will be guest blogging on my blog and each one of them will end their post with a question.

Visit the blog regularly, and just answer the question of the day.

Keep that answer safely.

Collect up all the answers and at the end of the blogs send the 15 answers you have via email to me with Tote Bag Presents Special in the subject line.

The contest closes on August 1st. By then I will be back from teaching in Wales and after that, Sid will pick two winners who will both receive a tote bag filled with all this fabulous holiday reading.

These details will be up on my Contests Page just as soon as the wonderful Heather from We Write Romance gets the updates on my site done.

There will be other news of books, events and teaching courses up there too - so keep a look out for those.

And good luck with the contest!

Congratulations to Anne and her family

I forgot to mention this earlier in the year so I'm going to make this a double special announcement.

My dear friend Anne McAllister has been busy adding to her family this year. Not personally, but she has acquired two wonderful new grandsons in a very short space of time.

Henry (aka 'Big Hank' ) was born on April 20th and yesterday Solomon (Sol) the newest member of the family arrived rather earlier than expected. I was delighted to hear the news and to know that he was here safely, even if to my personal disappointment , his appearence in the world means that I won't get a chance to meet up with Anne at RWA National Conference in Washington.

So welcome to the world Henry and Sol - how wonderful for you to have a cousin born so close to grow up alongside in the future. You have a fabulous Grandmother to get to know too.

Congratulations to the Mum and Dad of each lovely little boy - I wish you great joy and fun watching your new sons grow up.

And to Anne and The Prof - have a wonderful time getting to know your new grandsons. I wish you many years of happiness and love with them and the rest of the crew.

And if you want to see photos of the newest arrivals (together with Ellie, one who was made earlier!) there are some great ones over on Anne's blog.

Awards and Community

The New Media Age Effectiveness Awards were announced on Saturday night at a glittering ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. Amongst the winners was romance publishing giant Harlequin Mills & Boon, who won the Retail category award for its newly redesigned website - http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/

'This is fantastic news,' says Tim Cooper, director of direct and digital marketing at Mills & Boon, and the brains behind the company's new digital initiatives. 'The new Mills & Boon website is a showcase for our new eBooks, and also offers an online community for romance fans.'

Since the launch of the new website earlier in the year, Mills & Boon has reported an exponential growth in monthly eBook sales and is leading the publishing industry in terms of online sales.'We are in an increasingly instant and on-demand world.

The new Mills & Boon website and eBook offering is our way of responding to the changing face of publishing and taking the lead - and we are receiving a fantastic repsonse from readers as a result.'

Do you visit the M&B site? And do you buy your books from there - or from the shops?

Are you buying lots of ebooks or sticking to the traditional paper and print versions?

And have you joined the M&B (or eHarlequin) Community yet? If so, what do you think? If not come along and join us.

Coming soon . . .

I spent some time yesterday planning ahead for July. And I really need to plan this month.

As many of you know, July 15 - 18th is when the RWA national conference takes place in Washington DC. So on Tuesday 14th July I'll be flying out to Washington ready for that. Can't wait to meet all my old friends again and maybe make some new ones.

I get back on the 21st and then I have just five days to unpack, wash my clothes, repack and head for Wales and the wonderful Writers' Holiday where I'm teaching the course on writing romance. I'll be back from there on July 31st.

So I'm going to be away for a lot of July - but don;t worry - I have left you all in very good hands. There will be a lot of guest bloggers, lots to keep you ocupied and best of all . . .

The annual Tote Bag Full of Books Contest.

And this year - have I got a contest for you! It's really special, linked to the fact that this year Harlequin is celebrating its 60th year - and connected to the very special Spotlight for July.

And I'll be posting more details about that very soon . . .So watch this space.

For now - here's the tote bag, ready to be filled with books - and just wait till you see the collection of books I'm filling it with this year . . . .

Photographing Sid

So the photographer from The Journal came yesterday and we were ready for him - just!

I had needed to do a mad dash round tidying the room, dressing in something presentable (Yes, we all know that real writers spend their days in well work jeans and tee shirts but this was for The Journal - and I had to do Sid proud). I even put on some make-up. At the last minute.

No idea what my photos will look like - I can only cross my fingers and hope - but Sid was a star. Of course.

He was a little shy at first - as he came to us as a stray and had obviously been badly treated wherever he lived before (if I ever got my hands on the oik who peppered his tummy with airgun pellets . . . .) - he's a little shy with men he doesn't know. But Paul the photographer soon got to know him. A few head rubs, and an assurance that he (Sid) looked very handsome (which of course he already knew) and soon he was sitting on my lap (Sid not the photographer!) and posing with his best profile towards the camera.

The trouble was that after that he got the media star bug - and wanted to be in on all the photographs. So the picture of me working on the computer and looking at the screen, was one of me sitting at my desk with my hands on the keyboard - and looking into Sid's face. (well, actually at first I was looking into a very different part of Sid - but we'll draw a veil over that.) And the photo of me with a pile of books in front of me was me with a pile of books - with Sid sitting on the pile of books. And the pictures of my very first published book (The Chalk Line 1984) and my next one out (Kept for her Baby) was a picture of those books buried somewhere under Sid 's imposing bulk.

And then there was the wonderful photograph of A Cat Of Superior Breeding staring right into the camera . . . close up.

Sir Sidney St John Willoughby Portly-Lummox, the Media star . . .

. . . well, he has been practising his poses on this blog for a couple of years ready for his moment in the spotlight.

He was tired out after all the activity though and had to rest for the remainder of the day.

Oh, and Jan and Lacey - he thanks you both for your

comments and says 'Of course!'. He sends his best purrs and waves an elegant tail to Merlin and Archer too.

I'm excited - and so is Sid

It's been a busy week (are there any other sorts?) and it's been extra wearing as it's been so warm here but I think I'm finally catching up with things. I've crossed a few bits and pieces off my To Do lists anyway.

First of all, if anyone who came to my talk in Derby Library on Wednesday (was it really nearly a week ago?) is reading this, I just want to say Hello again and thanks for joining me then. And a special thanks too to Marie and Kirsty and all the other members of staff who helped make the evening so relaxed and provided the refreshments. I had a great time and from the feedback it seems that everyone else did too. Thank you.

So what's my exciting news?

Well, for ages now - ever since the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance was first published, I have hoped that one day I would be able to tell my American readers and would-be writers that they could buy the book direct in USA. I know that it's been available on Amazon.com, but not everyone likes to buy on-line, and some of you have had difficulty getting hold of it 'over the pond'.

The good news is that I heard today from the publisher that the first copies of an American edition, printed and published in Chicago, are being printed this week - as I write this in fact - and that means that you can easily order the book from any book shop and hopefully get a copy very quickly. That's the idea anyway.

So if you're wanting to track down a copy here are the details you will need:

ISBN: 978-1842851319
Price : $27.50
printed and published in Chicago by:

Studymates Publishing

Chicago Distribution Center

11030 S. Langley Ave.

Chicago, IL 60628

Phone: 773-702-7000

Fax 773-702-7212

This news means that there is also the hope that the book will now be on sale at the RWA Conference in Washington - if it isn't, it won't be for want of trying! So if you'll be at the conference please come and say Hi and if I can get the 12 Point Guide to be on sale there, I will.

Finally - why is Sid so excited? Well a couple of weeks ago I did an interview for a Lincolnshire Magazine called The Journal and tomorrow the photographer is coming to take the pictures to go with the article . (That's coming out in August to mark the publication of my next release Kept For Her Baby) When the photographer rang today to discuss times etc, he said that The Journal's editor has specifically asked for one photgraph of me with Sid, because he gets so much fan mail!

As the magazine is advertised as being 'For Lincolnshire homes of distinction' Sid, being A Cat of Superior Breeding, thinks this is totally appropriate.

I'll hope to get a copy of the photograph to show you but in the meantime here he is practising posing.

A certain Floozie Fora has had her pretty little nose put right out of joint.