Getting there

Many many thanks to everyone who has sent me get well messages as I fought the flu. It's been a really vicious virus this time and it knocked me - and the Magnet - back for days.

But I'm starting to feel as if there's light at the end of the tunnel. Still coughing for England, but at least my voice is back - if croaking. I think I'll live.

But of course the time ill has made my dreadline situation even worse so I'll still not be blogging too much over the next few days while I sort out my scarred Greek hero. The situation is made even more pressing by the fact that I have two events coming up in the next week so they'll take time away from writing.

But if you're coming to the Calderdale Writer's Roadshow in Halifax on Saturday or to the Crime and Passion Day in Barnsley Library on Wednesday (14th) then I'll see you there.

And for fans of the Hecks - we have another Mini Heck. Regular blog readers may remember it was this time last year that we first saw one of that year's babies come close to the door to eat the cat meat/crunchies left for them. Two nights ago there was a very small mini Heck that I have never seen before. He/she needs to eat plenty to stoke up ready for hibernation so we're leaving extra rations outside for them. I haven't managed to get a photo of it yet, so this one of last year's baby will have to act as a stand in.

I must just say welcome to my first ever visitor from Dominica who took my total of visiting countries up to 147 this week. I thought 146 was the final total but it seems there are still more countries yet to visit.

And please don't forget to click on the Breast Cancer site link in the sidebar and help the October Breast Cancer Awareness Month drive for extra free mammograms. While you're there, why not click on all the other sites too - it only takes a minute, is totally free, and you'll be helping with literacy, child poverty, animal rescue . . .

Back to the word mines. And thank you again for all the lovely messages.

Congratulations . . .

To the team of Mills & Boon editors, writers, friends and family who ran in the Addidas 5k Challenge for Breast Cancer Campaign on Sunday.

They originally aimed to earn £2,500 for this great cause and the sponsorship has achieved that and more - to date, their page at Just Giving shows they've earned £3,614.23 - a fantastic result. (You can still sponsor them if you'd like to)

Don't forget that in October 10p from every sale of our Modern™ and Modern™ Heat books in October will go to Breast Cancer Campaign, as well as all the profits from Diana Palmer's Greatest Gift...



And you can help today by clicking on the link to the Breast Cancer site in my sidebar to help fund free mammograms for women in need — low-income, inner-city and minority women whose awareness of breast cancer and opportunity for help is often limited.

Congratulations too to Jessica Hart who reaches a milestone birthday today - though she'll probably kill me for telling you !

Reading good stuff

Well that would explain it then . . .

I should have realised that there was a reason for my lack of words - or perhaps I should say, the lack of brain power to provide any extra words once I'd done the critiques for the New Writers' Scheme and the web site updates etc.

So when yesterday I woke with a pounding head, sore throat and tight chest I wasn't totally surprised. Just fed up .

But then I realised the good side of things - because there was one. Last time I felt like this I was on a dreadline and couldn't afford to cosset myself because I had to find the words, no matter what. This time, while waiting for the Editor's verdict on the Black Angel, I am not on a dreadline and so can cosset myself a bit - and in my book, cosseting means reading.

Unfortunately I still haven't found my copy of The Boss's Wife for a Week (and will you all please stop telling me how much you enjoyed it - you're only making matters worse!) Lovely Anne McAllister is shipping out an emergency replacement to me as I write this so I'm hoping to enjoy it very soon!). But I do have plenty to keep me occupied while I'm waiting for it to arrive.

At the beginning of the month, in my role as a Pink Heart Society columnist, I wrote a post on why I love working with and helping new writers. Two things I mentioned there are things I want to repeat here -

A. I said - And every author I’ve helped to publication sends me a signed copy of their brand-new book and very often the one after that and the one after that . . . I have a TBR pile the size of Mount Everest – all written by very special friends – what’s not to like?

and

B. I talked about Elderly Author and Author's Husband who both wanted to know why I was 'training the opposition' in helping and advising those they call 'wannabes' in the writing world. People who didn;t deserve to have books published. An opinion I totally disagreed with.

Well, over the last 24 hours I've had proof - if I needed it - that both A & B were just what I should have said. Because while feeling thoroughly miserable and unable to concentrate on any of my own writing, I turned to my teetering TBR pile, selected a couple of books - and settled down to enjoy myself.

And I did - I had a wonderful time. I read two fabulous books by two special friends that made me forget about my aching head, my sore throat. Books that absorbed me and took me into worlds I totally believed in, peopled by characters I could care about and wanted to be together in a Happy Ever After Ending.

The first one I read a bit late - a book that I got my hands on when it first came out, but haven't had time to read till now. Hired by The Cowboy is Donna Alward's first published book for Harlequin Romance and it's a winner. She starts with that tricky premise the Marriage of Convenience story - but there is so much more to it than that. Both Alexis and Connor, her heroine and hero, have strong, believeable reasons for going into a marriage that isn't, initially based on love. But through the story the reader can watch that love grow as slowly and surely as the characters themselves feel it. I believed in that growing love and I was rooting for Connor and Alexis, wanting them to be together and at the same time believing in their reasons for holding back, their hesitation in commiting themselves. As a first book, it's a great start to Donna's writing career. Donna had her next book - Marriage at Circle M out in September and I'm so looking forward to reading that one too.

The second book that absorbed me was Natasha Oakley's The Tycoon's Princess Bride - one of the books in the Presents Royal House of Niroli series. When I talked to Natasha about this book in June, I know she was apprehensive because it was appearing in a Presents mini-series and she is a Romance writer. But she needn't have worried. This is a book that will stand up for itself wherever it appears. It has a wonderfully sympathetic heroine and a very special wounded hero. It's a book that it would be so easy to turn into sentiment - but Natasha avoids that trap brilliantly and instead creates a powerfully emotional story that grabs the reader and holds tight from the beginning to the end. And it's a book that makes me so proud of the fact that back in 2001 when Natasha first submitted her work to the RNA's New Writers' Scheme, I picked her out as someone who was likely to succeed.

I know that Natasha has had some really tough times in her personal life recently but she's a strong lady, who's continuing to write through all that life throws at her. And when she writes lovely books like The Tycoon's Princess Bride, I know that I'm goping to be right there, first in the queue for the next one she brings out.

And talking about writing through the tough times - if you get a minute, then go over to the Pink Heart Society's blog today and read the inspiring, uplifting post by Day Leclaire - then make sure you click on the Breast Cancer site icon in the sidebar (or you can use the one in my sidebar instead.) Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm already a great fan of Day's books - and this post will show just why I admire her as a woman too. And I will have Day's The Billionaire's Baby Negotiation on my TBR pile just as soon as the postie gets it to me.

There are some really great books out right now - I just wish I had more time to read them!

Cat Calendar - October

October is Breast Cance Awareness Month

Please click on the Breast Cancer Site in the sidebar every day this month

And help save lives

Working Weekend

I'm busy wrestling a Greek hero into submission so he's taking up all of my attention but I just wanted to remind you that today is the very last day of September and that means two things.

September was the birthday celebration month for the Lil Pink Dancing Guy and the whole of the brilliant Pink Heart Society. If you've missed any of the celebrations they're still up over on the PHS blog so why not take a look. If you don't then you'll miss out because they're giving away a huge selection of books as part of the Treasure Hunt that has been going all this month.

Head on over to the blog this weekend to find out how you can win yourself more books and than you ever imaginedsome other gifts as well - the list is long and it includes so many stars of the romance writing world that it reads like a Who's Who in Romance.

Even if you haven't started yet, you still have today to collect up all the birthday gifts in the special Birthday Treasure Hunt and then answer a simple question - how do you like to celebrate your birthday - and you'll be in with a chance. There's even a second, smaller hamper to win in the usual end of the month prize draw.

The prizes are open to anyone with an email, so go on and give it a go! You have to be in it to win it!

Secondly - and keeping on the pink theme- tomorrow is the first day of October and October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so can I remind you that there is a logo for the Breast Cancer Site in the sidebar of this blog - just over there --->

All you have to do is to click on that and then click on the site just once and you can help fund mammograms for women who need them. Two clicks - that's all it takes. Please help.

And now I'm going back to my Greek Dark Angel (that's what his heroine calls him) and at sometime today I have to photograph a certain feline superstar ready for the October Cat Calendar tomorrow. Sid in the pink anyone?

Click to help

As you probably know, October is Breast Cancer awareness month. But I wanted to get a head start on that. So if you look in the sidebar just under the PHS logo, you'll see that I've added a special link to the Breast Cancer site.

If you click on that it will take you to the site where you can help provide free mammograms by just clicking on the link - no cost to you and very little effort on your part.

The reason I've put this up early is because the site's premier sponsor Bare Necessities has promised to provide and extra 100 mammograms if they reach their target of 4,500,000 clicks this month. They have reached 71% of their goal but they still need all the clicks they can get. So why not just take a moment, make two clicks and know that you've helped?

And while you're there, add another few clicks for the other site - The Hunger Site, Child Health etc . The Literacy Site provides books to children in need and they too have a special promotion. If they can provide 20,000 books from the clicks they get then their sponsors will match this with another 20,000.

As someone who love books as I do - and if you're visiting this blog you probably do too- that seems a great aim to me.

And please, why not click through each site every time you visit here? It'll only take a few seconds. You're going to be moving on anyway - so why not go via these great sites?

I'm busy but . . .

I'm busy with a Greek hero but I've been meaning to post about this in a while - someone sent me a reminder today and as I have friends with this disease and who've lost family to breast cancer, I thought I'd just post this little reminder of a way you can do some good with very little effort on your part - just click!

Please tell ten friends to tell ten today!

The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on "donating a mammogram" for free (pink window in the middle). This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising. Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

And while youy're there - click on the other sites - The Hunger Site - Child Health - the Literacy Site etc - support them all.

Thanks