Not the post I meant . . .

This is not the post I inteanded to write.

It's 2007 - new year - new me and all that. I fully intended to be sorted out, tidied up, organised in a word . . .

Hah! Insert hollow laughter here.

I was planning on a review of the past year and a look into what's happening in the new one - but Fate has a way of stepping in and hitting you over the head with thigs when you don't expect them. This time it hit me over the head with a migraine. Thanks Fate! I really did feel as if I had been hit over the head too.

So I'm not sorted out, tidied or organised at all. And the review of the year is still to be written - as is the looking into the future post . . .

So instead of that - I shall post something else - let's have some



BRIDES BUZZ




I'll start by talking a bit about The Santorini Bride - or, rather, Anne McAllister will because I asked her yo give me some background on her book so I can pass it on to you.

Here's what Anne has to say about The Santorini Bride , how she came to write this book and what titles she has coming up next in 2007 onwards :

THE SANTORINI BRIDE is the middle book of three (so far), beginning with THE ANTONIDES MARRIAGE DEAL (which it is not necessary to have read, but if you did read it,this will explain where Martha was when no one could find her! That she met her match in Theo Savas was as big a surprise to her as it was to Theo. He has a heck of a time convincing her, though! While I'd intended to go back to the Antonides and Savas families for my next book, another character from THE SANTORINI BRIDE piqued my interest when he offered Martha a shoulder to cry on. Actually he did more than pique my interest, he grabbed the book and tried to run away with it!

His name was Spencer Tyack and the minute he appeared, he seemed determined to take over. He muttered about stupid Greeks who didn't know a good woman when they saw one (that would have been Theo) and said he'd do a far better job of things -- which just goes to show how blind some men can be, as Spence's own soulmate was right under his nose! He didn't believe me. But he wouldn't let me alone until I proved it to him. So he and Sadie Morrissey (the girl under his nose!) have their own story coming in October from Harlequin Presents and HM&B Modern called THE BOSS'S WIFE FOR A WEEK. It's all about what happens to Spence when he's making other plans.

I fully expect to come back to the Antonides and Savas families in the future. But I wanted to tie up another loose end first. That's the book I'm working on now. It is a spin-off of THE GREAT MONTANA COWBOY AUCTION and the rest of the Code of the West books I've done for Silhouette. Only this one is going to be a Harlequin Presents!

It's the story of Flynn Murray, consummate charmer and Irish journalist who, to his dismay, has finally had to take over the drafty Irish castle -- and the earldom -- he has tried to forget for years. That also means settling down and begetting little heirs to the earldom. But just when Flynn is prepared to do his duty, coincidence -- or fate -- brings Sara McMaster back into his life. She awakens memories he'd long buried and desires he believed he'd forgotten. Six years ago life pulled them apart. Now it has thrust them together again, if only for a moment. A moment is all Sara can stand. She doesn't want to fall in love with Flynn again. She's been there, done that, and she's finally recovered from it. She has made a life for herself, picked up stakes, moved on. If Flynn had wanted her back then, she would have followed him to the ends of the earth. Not now. And she doesn't want him disrupting her equilibrium again -- or their son's! Flynn doesn't know about Liam, which is no fault of Sara's. She'd tried to tell him. He'd moved on. That's what he does -- move on.

Well, he might have done it to her, but she won't let him do that to Liam. I'm just beginning work on the book now and it's already going in directions I didn't expect. Flynn is as big a charmer as ever. Sara is not quite the idealist with the practical bent that she used to be. She's a mom now. She's had to adjust. Flynn's an earl now -- he's made some adjustments himself. And Liam -- well, he's five and he's got an agenda of his own. I'm hoping to go to Ireland in February to do some on-site research for their story which begins in New York City. I don't know if we'll get back to Elmer, Montana or not. But it doesn't matter. Sara and Flynn will always carry memories of it in their hearts.

I read The Antonides Marriage Deal and loved it when it came out in April last year (can't get used to saying that and meaning 2006 - I still think of that as this year!) It was, as one astute reader and reviewer commented, like:
a Kathryn Hepburn and Spencer Tracy movie, the bantering, power struggle, and sexual tension.
I fell hard for Elias and lov ed the way his relationship with Tallie developed. So I'm really looking forward to gettting my hand on The Santorini Bride and reading that too.

Oh yes - and here's a little more BRIDES BUZZ

Anne, Liz and I have been receiving lots of entries for this contest - but several of them puzzled us for a while. In fact they created something of a mystery.

Who was Miranda Weston - and why did people think she was Anne's heroine?

If you want to know the answer to this, you'll have to check out Anne's blog where she explains everything.

And no - Miranda's not the name of Anne's heroine - she's a heroine all rig ht - but in someone else's book! The coincidences that have set off this little mystery trail just go to show that there's nothing new under the sun - and that romance author's minds work in very similar ways!

Now I'm back to organising and sorting . . . and maybe I'll write that review of the year tomorrow . . .

PS I should have said that if you want to enter the HERE COME THE BRIDES contest then you need to check out my web site (you can admire it's new design while you're there) or Anne's or Liz's and find the details of how to enter - don't forget, if you enter from each site you get 3 separate chances to win!