Friday, August 10, 2007

Great Big Blog Party 56 - Michelle Reid

Yesterday was fun - the BM had a lovely birthday - one that somehow involved 15 or more books. It also involved a trip to York, high tea at Bettys, where the waitress overheard us wishing him a happy birthday and went away then came back with a little cake with a candle on it!

He asks me to thank everyone who sent him happy birthday wishes on the blog as well.


So now it's back to the final days of the blog party. Sadly, ths party is now winding down and it will end this weekend - but we're going out with a bang and not a whimper. And I did promise you that I had some of the best still to come. So here's where I keep that promise . Because today's guest blogger is Michelle Reid.


It's no secret to anyone who reads this blog that Michelle is one of my very dearest friends and very special to me. But before she ever became a friend she was a writer I admired who wrote brilliant books that I loved - and still do. If you want to know more about how I met Michelle and the day our friendhips started then you'll find more details here .



Over the past couple of years, life has been throwing things at Michelle in a way that made writing difficult and those of you who are her fans - and I know she had thousands of you - will have noticed that there hasn't been a new novel from her since The Italian's Future Bride in January this year. I'm thrilled to be the first to let you know that this Michelle Reid drought is now over and her newest title The Marakonos Bride will be out in May 2008 - and I for one can't wait! I've missed my 'fix' to feed my Michelle Reid addiction.



On a personal note, if you look out got my next title - The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife - which is out in November - you'll see that this book is dedicated to Michelle. She may have had writign problems herself, but she was always there to support (and crack the whip over me!) to make sure I got on with my books. Thanks so much Michelle!




Michelle sent me her blog some time ago but I've only just got aroud to putting it up here. But as you'll see, she was inspired by the poetic posts that resulted from Julie Cohen's Blog back in June.




So here's Michelle Reid





This little ditty may not rhyme

Its rhythm is all out of time

Blame Julie Cohen, who set this ball rollin’

Now I’m stuck like a loon to blog out of tune

About that wonder of wonders our Kate



Let me tell you about my pal Kate

We met on a prestigious Author Day date

She looked gorgeous and glamorous

Hugh would have been amorous

But she had to make do with a new mate



We talked ‘til our breath ran out

And continued by letter - email wasn’t about

The telephone was better

Two hours instead of a letter

Or until the BM or Ginge gave a shout



Next time we met was in York

Poor Betty’s the venue to talk

In the middle of posh tea and cakes

Our lovely Kate shouts - more sex is what it takes!

To the clatter of a hundred shocked forks



After that it was back to the phone

To yippee at a new book – or to moan

Like - this damn hero won’t behave

To which I was heard to regale

One leg-over is worth 3000 words in a tome!



The guy fixing my new kitchen cracked his head

The guy up the ladder fell down dead

The one fixing a wire set his hair on fire

Which dear sweet Kate found hilarious

Matches my Betty’s, she said!



So there you have it in short

Fifteen-ish years of pithy retort

We banter and shock but then why the hell not?

We write, we create,

And she’s my very best pal fondly known as 50 books Kate!



GIVEAWAY QUESTION:

How did you meet your best friend?


GIVEAWAY PRIZE:


Signed copies of Michelle last 2 books - The Italian's Future Bride and The Ranieri Bride.

18 comments:

Unknown said...

Hello Michelle!! Good to see you here (and hug Ginge for me)

Well my oldest best friend and I met in a Physics lab, we were lab partners by default and for that first experiment we changed the laws of physics by making a thermometre that went down when the water boiled. She was also very handy at nudging me when the teacher was coming so that I could hide my M&B book under the bench.

We are still best friends, we even introduced our parents who now go on holiday together!

And when it comes to some of my other bestest buds... well I met them on the internet!

CrystalGB said...

My best friend is my cousin. We have known each other since infancy and are very close. We share our love of romance books and have similiar personalities. She is very dear to me. :)

bjs said...

Hey, Michelle!
Love your "pome" and say hi to Ginge. Really looking forward to the new book, and wishing it wasn't still nearly a year away! Argh.

I met my best friend when I was four. So was she. We were both new in the area. It was still pretty rural, though now it is all an urban part of the Los Angeles sprawl. Our houses were across a field from each other and we saw each other out playing and, as kids do, we edged towards each other, looking sideways and wondering who the other was. Finally we got close enough to speak and she said, "You wanta see a black widow spider?" and I, of course, said, "Yes," and so we went off to see the spider and then we found out that we had more in common than an interest in spiders. We were almost exactly the same age (4 days apart), liked the same things (dirt and cowboys) and have been friends now for more years than I want to recall -- except they've been good ones!

And fortunately, too, I've met a lot of other marvelous friends who have enriched my life, like you and Kate and Sid and Ginge and the BM -- but Nikki was the first.

Anonymous said...

i meet my best friend at school.
we was playing jump rope.we got talking .and found out our birthday was on the same day.and the rest is history.

peggy

Cherie J said...

My best friend is my twin sister. We met in utero. :-) Wze are identical twins and were born only one minute apart. We are so close that I named my 10 month old baby girl after her. In all the world, she is the person that understands me best.

robynl said...

I met my best friend when she got a job at the Drug Store I worked in. I was a cashier/salesperson and she worked in the coffee bar; when she had days off it was I who worked her job. We have been friends for 30 yrs. now but live miles and miles apart.

Minna said...

I met my best friend at school on second grade.

Unknown said...

I met my best friend as a tot and we've been friends for over 50 years. We speak on the phone at least 4 times a week.

Kate, I've loved Michelle's posts and you in fact, are the one who turned me on to her books, especially her "sheikhs" and I can't wait for her May 2008 books.

Anonymous said...

I met my best-friend 6 years ago. She was sitting alone ine the cafeteria -she had come from abroad- and I was sitting with a crowd and I thought it would be great if she joined us, so I asked her... and we became instant friends!

Anonymous said...

I’d forgotten I’d written that crazy little pome, now I’m actually blushing! Not that the blush takes a single thing away from how seriously special Kate is to me. ((hugs Kate))

Hi Biddy,
The M&B book hidden under the bench? Now that’s what I call a good education! And a friend with a timely nudge - even better! ((Ginge sends a big hug right back))

Hi Crystal,
I can so relate to your cousin being your best friend. My niece was my best friend. With only six years between us, for me it was love at first sight from the moment I held her in my arms as a newborn.

Hi Barbara,
You bonded with your best friend over a Black Widow Spider?? Now that’s what I call friendship! ((Ginge send you a hug too)) he’s enjoying all of these hugs…

Hi Peggy,
Kate’s birthday is only 4 days after my birthday (less a few years for Kate but I like to forget that bit) --Take that grin off your face, Kate!

Hi Cherie,
Now that’s one very special best friend. I have two sisters and both are very special to me, but you’re so very lucky to have a twin.

Hi Robyn,
Now yours is the kind of friendship I believe is just meant to be – like me and Kate!

Hi Minna,
Best friends since second grade? Wow, how wonderful!

Loving all of your posts!

Michelle

Anonymous said...

My best friend is without a doubt my mother (it is clear that I have known her all my life!)... We share everything together (even when I was a teenager). She has always been next to me; she has always been my greatest fan, in good or bad times. I can tell her anything and know that I can always count on her... that is the best best friend I could ever wish for!

Unknown said...

I like the poem very much. I met my best friend when I was about 4 years old. Her parents and mine became friends which lead us to be friends. If she wasn't at my house I was at hers. When my mother was injured when I was 8 and was in the hospital for a very long time I lived with my friend for several months. I guess you could say we were like sisters.

We still keep in touch after all these years even though we are both married with grown children and do not live close to each other we still keep in touch. Through e-mails Birthday cards and phone calls.

Kammie said...

My best friend was my neighbor when I was a wee little one. lol I heard that she had been in the hospital with hives and had just come home but couldn't go outside to play. I felt sorry for her so I picked up my Barbies and went over to her house to sit with her. We became instant friends. That was some 30+ years ago.

Ray-Anne said...

Hi Michelle. I am sorry if this sounds like a cliche, but my best friend is my husband. I know, I know.
We met at University. The first year class was huge - 120, and at the end of the first term I recognised this tall bloke struggling to take his luggage down to the railway station which was within walking distance of the halls of residence. In theory.
So, being a strong country girl I helped carry his luggage [ alpha woman, moi?]
And so it began.
30 years later he carrys my luggage.
Best wishes, Ray-Anne

Christa said...

I met my best friend 25 years ago when I started high school. I was an awkward teen who was starting at the school in Jan. instead of Sept. and she reached out making me not feel so alone. through the years we have walked different paths in life that would sometimes take us away from each other but we have always found our we back to each other. Because of her I might get to see other parts of Canada and the US because she is a truck driver.

Eva said...

Been best friends since childhood and he's now my husband! :)

Dena said...

fawkzHi Michelle, I met my bestfriend when she was 3 months old. Our mothers were neighbors and good friends. Even though we have known each other our whole lives we are still close. We've been through moves to other states and back again,babies,divorces,a horrible car accident,death in the family and so many other things. We can go months without talking but when we do it's like no time has passed. I honestly don't know what I would do if she wasn't in my life.

Anonymous said...

I’m sorry I didn’t get back in here before now, I’ve had family visiting from Spain and didn’t get the chance to so much as look at my computer!
So thank you to all of you whose posts I missed until this morning. I found every single one of them fascinating and more importantly, each and every one of them was so warm. That’s what good friends do, they make us feel warm when we think about them, talk about them and even write about them.
Thanks for sharing!

Michelle

 

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