Great Big Blog Party 51 Ally Blake

I have a very special reason for posting today's Guest blogger on August 1st (who would have believed when I started this back in June that we would still be partying as August dawned?!). But we'll come to that in a minute. For now, let me introduce you to Ally Blake.

As Ally describes in her post, she and I first met at the Romance Writers of Australia Conference in Coogee Beach in Sydney. The BM and I were invited to a fabulous lunch by the management of HMB Australia and for me it was like my own personal idea of heaven with some of the most famous - and my most favourite names in romance writing in the same room. I was there with my friend Anne McAllister, I sat next to Emma Darcy, laughed with Marion Lennox, laughed some more with Trish Morey, and met Miranda Lee for the very fist time. And on the way back to the conference hotel, I shared the taxi with lovely Ally Blake.

At that stage Ally was just starting out on her career as a published author - she's come a long way since then! Now she's into double figures for published books, she's busy creating her own brand new hero or heroine and looking forward to the birth of her baby later this year - and together with Trish Wylie she's one of the founder members and editors of the fabulous Pink Heart Society.

And this is where I get to make my personal special announcement - and that is that as from today, I'm thrilled and honoured to be included amonget the newly-appointed Pink Heart Columnists. I've always thought that the PHS was a brilliant idea, and I've supported it from the start. So I'm delighted to be officially linked to it from now - and I'll be posting regularly over on the PHS site.

But let's get back to Ally Blake:

When Ally was a little girl she made a wish that when she turned twenty-six she would marry an Italian two years older than her. After it actually came true she realised she was onto something with these wish things. So, next she wished that she could make a living spending her days in her pyjamas, eating M&Ms and drinking scads of coffee while turning her formative experiences of wallowing in teenaged crushes and romantic movies into creating love stories of her own.

The fact that she is now able to spend her spare time Googling pictures of handsome guys for research purposes is merely a bonus!

Ally's Post:

Fifty books. Fifty books. I am in utter awe of such an achievement. Especially when I can’t quite believe that my current release is my tenth.

Ten! I can’t have possibly written ten books, can I? Did Kate really say fifty?

Anyhoo, moving on… I’m one of the lucky ones who has not only been able to get to know Kate through the web, through her constant encouragement of new authors at eHarlequin and doing so much for us over at the Pink Heart Society blogazine, but I shared a taxi with her once.

Her and the BM. Beat that!

It was my second ever Romance Writers of Australia conference, only a few short months after I had sold my first Harlequin Romance. Kate and her hubby were in town as special guests, and we all met up at the Harlequin Authors lunch; always a posh do at a lovely restaurant overlooking the water. Think dressing up, champagne, laughter, catching up with friends you only get to see once a year, and lots of industry gossip.

Needless to say I was a tad overwhelmed being included in such a stratospheric bunch. Anne McAllister, Marion Lennox, Helen Bianchin, Emma Darcy. All there. All clapping and whistling madly as I received a crazy huge bunch of flowers as congrats on selling my first book

.After a blur of a lunch we all headed back from the gorgeous restaurant to the conference hotel and when the time came, Kate, the BM, my flowers and I managed to squeeze into the back of a cab.

What I remember most about Kate was her generosity. She was so encouraging, so excited, so lovely, so smiley. She made the excitement factor of that sale, those flowers, and a career to come feel like something very real and very possible.

And the next day she showed a room full of us a larger than life-sized picture of Hugh Jackman in a towel… Yep, I was actually there at the unveiling.

And what a moment!Thanks Kate! For the encouragement. The creative excellence. And Hugh topless.Here’s to another fifty!Love Ally

GIVEAWAY QUESTION – Okay, now I’m looking for the perfect man on whom to base my next Harlequin Romance hero. Hugh Jackman in a towel aside, which actor, of any era, do you think is the epitome of the charming, tall, dark, handsome stranger?

GIVEAWAY PRIZE:

My fave answer wins a signed copy of Getting Down to Business, my first Modern Extra Sensual novel, not yet released in North America! And if I’m impressed enough, may even get their man a guest appearance in a Harlequin Romance novel!

PS from Kate:

- What the heck - any excuse . . . . .