40 for 40 - Sandra Marton

I don't think today's guest blogger needs much introduction - not to anyone who  reads Modern Romance/Harlequin  Presents novels. I know I had read so many of Sandra's books before I was lucky enough to meet her in person. That was at one of the RWA conferences I went to and Sandra had invited her fellow Presents authors to her room  for pizza after the literacy signing - a wonderful idea that has now become a well-established tradition at this event.

Later, Sandra and her lovely husband came over to the UK  to attend AMBA  and we were able to build on our friendship - with the added bonus that my husband and hers also got on so very well  together. Good friends are like that, no matter how long you have to spend apart, you can pick up again when you do meet up. We have also been able to add Michelle Reid and her husband into the group  so that we can call the husbands The Three Musketeers.

So how could I enjoy the 40 for 40 celebrations without these two special friends  to share it? You've already met Michelle Reid - and I'm delighted to include today's very special guest - the lovely

Sandra Marton



What a joy it is to wish Happy Fortieth Anniversary to Kate and Steve!  I'd read Kate for years before I met her and when I did, I was delighted to learn that's she 's not just a wonderful writer, she's also a wonderful woman. And her husband... He's such fun to talk to! Steve is absolutely the right man for Kate: he's interesting and knowledgeable about  a whole variety of things.  They're the perfect couple. When you're with them, you can feel the love and respect they share. Isn't that what we all want in our relationships? Isn't it what readers want in the stories we authors write? It's lovely to see that the happy couples Kate brings us in her books have a solid grounding in the reality of her own life. I'm proud to be one of Kate's sister writers, and proud to be a friend of these great people.

My latest book, Emily: Sex & Sensibility, is the story of two people who discover what I'm sure Kate and Steve already know. If  love is strong,  nothing can destroy it.  Emily Wilde falls head over heels in love with Marco Santini and Marco, who's never loved anyone, falls equally hard. But Emily is trapped in a network of lies and she fears what will happen when those lies are revealed. I can't tell you any more but I can tell you that I loved creating Emily: she's so real, so flawed and, at the same time, so good and generous of heart that, in many ways, she is Everywoman--or, at least, Everywoman who becomes the lover of a sexy, gorgeous, powerful

Italian billionaire.  So, what do you think?

Can a love affair that has a rocky start still end happily?

Let me know and you might be the lucky winner of a signed paperback copy of Emily: Sex & Sensibility.

Happy Anniversary, Kate and Steve! And may you have many, many more.
Love,
Sandra