Back from London - and off again

Quick catch up after the trip to London - It was a great couple of days (if a bit crowded) The highlight of th

e Wednesday night was a trip to The Globe and a performance of Love's Labours Lost in the Sam Wanamaker theatre - a smaller, indoor theatre, built on the same lines as the actual Globe - and all lit by candlelight. Very atmospheric and a really fun production.

Thursday was a guided tour of the Globe itself including a chance to watch a rehearsal of 'EYAM' - a play about the plague of 1665. We were warned to expect rotting 'corpses' and possible nudity - but neither appeared! My long-ago Amateur Dramatics experience at university surfaced as I watched.

Thursday afternoon was a visit to the Harlequin offices, meeting with my editor and Flo Nicholls (Senior editor Modern/Presents) - then dinner with my editor. I don't think we stopped talking for hours. Also took away with me a great booty bag of books for future reading - you have to love working with a company where you're asked 'would you like some books?' (silly question ) then taken to a room lined with bookshelves and told to help yourself! I had to force myself to remember that I had to carry a suitcase as well as the books - and I was 

going on to Kent to visit my sister for the weekend.

The AMBA lunch was so much fun - great to meet up with so many friends - Katherine Garbera, Kate Hardy, Michelle Styles, Liz Fielding, Heidi Rice (with special thanks to Heidi for the photo of the Presents cover of A Proposal to Secure His Vengeance - after a l-o-n-g wait for it to come round in the cycle of covers on display) Abby Green, Trish Morey . . . . too many others to mention.

The weekend was spent in wonderfully sunny Kent meeting up with my sister and her husband - and getting to know my gorgeous great-nephew for the very first time. We spent a fabulous evening at the Gulbenkian Theatre to see a stunning dance production of Medusa choreographed by Jasmin Vardimon 

More food - wine - conversation - family memories - visiting Folkestone . . . until we had to tear ourselves way and head home. Ruby has just about forgiven us for abandoning her . . .I daren't tell her that tomorrow we're heading off again - but only for 2 nights this time. More of that later.

40 for 40 - Heidi Rice

I have  to admit that I've not been quite sure how to introduce Heidi Rice to you all. She's written some great books - and they all seem   to have appeared in differently (named)  lines!

So do I say she writes for Modern Extra/Modern Heat/RIVA/KISS . .  . or Modern Tempted! (I think the last two are the current USA and UK names for the lines - so we'll go with those!)

   I first met her at an RNA Awards lunch and I've been reading her work ever since. It doesn't matter what you call the lines she appears in, though though - whichever line she writes for,  Heidi's books are great fun  and sexy as can be.

So I'm delighted to welcome Heidi to my blog to tell you about the new  name for KISS in the UK  - and the special mini-series -   The Wedding Season.

So here's Heidi:



First off a big congrats to Kate and the Babe Magnet... 40 years of togetherness is so AWESOME.

Have to admit I'm not quite there yet with my OH, but given our exceedingly low-key wedding - involving a weekend elopement to NYC and nuptials at Manhattan City Hall - I'm pretty impressed with how long our marriage has lasted.

As it happens, a very similar low-key wedding at Manhattan's wonderful Art Deco marriage bureau provides the setting for the big resolution scene in my next book for Harlequin KISS, Maid of Dishonor - the third book in The Wedding Season quartet which I wrote with the fabulous Aimee Carson, Amy Andrews and Kimberly Lang.

It's not my hero and heroine - gorgeous Southern hottie Carter Price & British bad girl Gina Carrington - who are getting married... But rather geeky astrologer Cassie Barkley and hunky ex-quarterback Sam Tucker - the hero and heroine from Amy Andrews super-sexy second book, The Girl Least Likely to Marry. But I couldn't think of a better place for Carter and Gina to finally declare their Happy Ever After - after their very rocky road to love and romance - than the place where I found mine!

If you want more info on the other books in the series you can check out our Wedding Season fanpage on Facebook.... Or our Wedding Season boards on Pinterest, featuring all sorts of fabulousness inspired by the stories of four former college roomies and how they found love, and re-found each other during one very eventful summer. And to get you in the mood you can also download Aimee Carson's FREE prequel novella, The Wedding Dress Diaries.

If you're not in the US, the books will be coming out in Modern Tempted (the new home of RIVA) starting in September!

I'll be giving away a copy of Maid of Dishonor to one lucky commentator on this wonderful Kate Walker Anniversary blog. All you have to do is answer the following question:

What is the MOST romantic wedding ever and why?

 It could be yours, a friend's, one you dreamt of doing one day, or even one you've seen on TV, in a movie, or read in a book. I'd love to know, as it might be great inspiration for my next book!

All About Alphas 7 - Heidi Rice

I'll come back to the Presents /Modern Authors a bit later in this discussion - there are more of them who have sent me their thoughts on writing Alpha heroes - but today's blogger is someone who I hope can help you with that question that so many people seem to ask - just what is the difference betwewn a Modern/Presents Alpha and a Modern Heat Alpha?

So here is one of the stars of the Modern Heat line - Heidi Rice. I think that Heidi has made a very important point in the third paragraph here. Something that I think is vitally important when creating any sort of hero - but the more charged the conflcit, the more intense the response - and the stronger the motivation has to be shown to be.

First off, thanks Kate for inviting me to join in this Q&A. I love
talking about alpha heroes and as a Modern Heat author it's a particularly
intriguing topic because we do tend to get a lot of questions about how alpha
our heroes should be.



Personally I love to write my heroes with a lot of alpha traits, because
those are the traits I find sexy. He doesn't necessarily have to be super rich
(my first hero was a Harley-riding ex-con of no fixed abode), and he doesn't
have to be a corporate billionaire. I've had a best-selling novellist, a hotel
magnate and even a Hollywood actor. But all my heroes tend to be demanding (both
in bed and out!). They know what they want (or think they do). They'll do
whatever they have to do to get it (from seduction, to a bit of light-hearted
blackmail, to kidnapping) and they'll be totally focussed on their goal (which
is the heroine... what could be sexier than that, right). And like all great
alphas they're also protective, nurturing and honourable. To which you're
probably saying, 'hey, hang on a mo, how can a guy be honourable and then
blackmail someone?'



The answer is simple, they have to believe in their heart of hearts it's
the right thing to do. So here's a top tip, when writing an alpha hero (or any
hero) if he's going to do something outrageous give him a very good motivation
for doing it - so he can defend his behaviour to himself, and the heroine and
the reader. Of course, that doesn't mean the heroine's going to buy it (and in
my books they frequently don't), but that's all part of the delicious conflict
you want to get steaming between these two.



But the most important thing about all my heroes and all the great heroes
I've read in M&B, is that they have to be individuals. They have to be fully
rounded characters, not just a collection of alpha traits. You have to fall in
love with this guy - and the reader has to fall for him too. So don't let
yourself fall into the trap of thinking that because he's an alpha guy he can't
have a sense of humour, or be a fantastic cook, or be kind to children and
puppies. Don't let his alpha-ness limit you in creating your hero... Use it to
make him that extra bit more gorgeous and larger than life, because let's face
it these are romantic fantasies - and the more romantic the better.

Heidi's next book is due out in June in the UK and September in the US and is called Hot-Shot Tycoon, Indecent Proposal.

Daisy Dean, a lively, fun-loving and ever so slightly reckless Portobello Road stall holder has climbed into her mysterious new neighbour's back garden in search of her landlady's much-loved cat. She's already decided that said neighbour is an arrogant jerk even though she's never actually met him. After all the guy hasn't responded to any of her many messages about the cat, or even thanked her for the home-made brownies she dropped off with his cleaning lady a few days before to welcome him to the neighbourhood.
With men like that, trepassing is perfectly justified. And anyway, she's pretty sure he's not at home.
Unfortunately, what Daisy doesn't know is that Cormac Brody, the millionaire property developer next door, isn't only at home, he's nursing a bad case of the flu, and after his rough upbringing on the mean streets of Dublin, he doesn't take too kindly to people who sneak onto his private property.
Oh boy, is Daisy in for a nasty surprise....

PS If you're missing me - and you want to know where I am then I'm blogging on the Pink Heart Society Blog today about one of my favourite authors.

Christmas Stocking Contest - More Great Books

I should know better than to try and run a big contest at Christmas - right?

I'm busy enough as it is and there are so many other things that need to be done. But then Christmas is always a busy busy time - and I lov e running this contest. It reminds me of how many great books there are in the world (too many!) and so many of them are written by my great friends - and the prize is being offered to my great readers.

So that's a lot to celebrate.

OK - so here are some more of the great books on offer:

Amanda Ashby's You Had Me at Halo is her very first book , published in August this year. It's not a traditional romance - it's actually one of the most original and fun books I've read this year. One of the most original books I've read ever. And a synopsis will give you an idea why.

She's halfway to heaven . . . and she's just been pulled over

Holly Evans has just seen her own body laid to rest, and if it had been up to her, she wouldn't have chosen that particular polester dress for the event. Still, she could live with that (so to speak) if it guaranteed a quick jump to Level 3 of the afterlife, which she hopes will feature both reruns of Friends and reunions with lost loved ones.

But Holly has some mortal baggage to unload first, starting with the matter of how she died. Yes, she drowned in her bathtub under suspicious circumstances, but she did not kill herself. Holly had too much to live for, from her recent promotion to taking the next big step in her relationship. OK, her life had a few loose ends but whose doesn't? Holly's heavenly shrink isn't buying it. He says she has to return to Earth to straighten things out. The problem is, she'll need to borrow someone's body to do so, and the body in question belongs to none other than computer geek, Vince Murphy. Oh, and although Vince was supposed to have vacated the premises, he apparently never got the memo.

Now Holly has 48 hours to resolve her issues while sharing arms, legs, and . . . other things with a guy she barely noticed while she was alive. But the real surprise is what life has to off when you have only two days to live it.

And this book actually comes with your own personal free halo!
Don't believe me? Well, check out Amanda's blog where you can see her wearing hers!

Amanda's next book will be the equally original Zombie Queen of Newbury High, a Young Adult book. Coming Spring 2009 (Puffin)

If you read this blog when I wrote about the RNA Awards lunch in April this year, you'll remember that I met new Modern Extra author Heidi Rice there. Heidi has given me two signed copies of her very first book too - Hers is titled Bedded By A Bad Boy.

A tough loner - with a past . . .

Monroe Latimer is a drop-dead gorgeous Harley-riding bad boy who doesn't do commitment. No way; no how.

One look at Monroe and feisty English girl Jessie Connor knows he's about as Mr Wrong as a guy can get, but there's one great big problem. He's sexy as hell, he fires her blood like no other man ever has, and his killer bllue gaze is focused right on her. His look says he'll bed her - but never wed her . . .

Is Jessie the one who can tame the untameable?

Bedded by a Bad Boy is out in the US in January under the new title Bedded by a Playboy in the Harlequin Special Releases Presents collection Pregnant Mistresses. Heidi's second Modern Extra The Mile High Club was out in the UK in November, is due out in the US in March under the new title The Millionaire's Blackmail Bargain. Her third book was accepted last month and is out in the UK in July as The Tycoon's Very Personal Assistant.

Finally today, there's One Glass is Never Enough by Jane Wenham-Jones, who, as you'll know from my posts on the subject, shares my love of and and teaches at Caerleon Writers' Holiday which is where I met her:

Three women, one bar and three different reasons for buying it.

Single mother Sarah needs a home for her children, Claire's an ambitious business woman. For wealthy Gaynor, Greens Wine Bar is just one more amusement. Or is it?

On the surface, Gaynor has it all - money, looks, a beautiful home in the picturesque seaside town of Broadstairs, and Victor - her generous, successful husband. But while Sarah longs for love and Claire is making money, Gaynor wants answers. Why is Victor behaving strangely and who does he see on his frequent trips away? What's behind the threatening phone-calls? As the bar takes off, Gaynor's life starts to fall apart.Into her turmoil comes Sam - strong and silent with a hidden past. Theirs is an unlikely friendship but then nobody is quite what they seem in this tale of love, loss and betrayal set against the middle-class dream of owning a wine bar. As Gaynor's confusion grows, events unfold that will change all of their lives forever.

So if this makes you want to enter the contest and you haven't already, then check out my Contest Page on my web site for the details of what you have to do.

Contest closes 18th December 2008

Great Big Blog Party 9 Winner

Heidi Rice has picked her winner :

Well, make that picked her winnerS

Heidi says:

Unfortunately I just couldn't make my mind up between two of the posters, so I was wondering if I could give away two copies of Bedded by a Bad Boy. (of course you can Heidi!)

One to Hollie from Hull, for her eye-popping definition of a Bad Boy

and another to Tetewa who fingered one of my favourite Bad Boys, Sawyer from Lost. As he was one of the inspirations for Monroe, my hero in BB, I wanted to give her a copy of the book so she could tell me if I got it right!

So - Hollie and Tetewa - you know what to do

Email me, with your snail mail address and I'll send your details on to Heidi and you'll win your signed copies of Bedded by A Bad Boy

And thank you so much for joining in Heidi - that made for an interesting discussion!! (and how)

Great Big Blog Party 9 - Heidi Rice

Well, the real party may be over and the wonderful weekend now a set of happy memories - but the Great Big Blog Party is continuing just as long as I have posts to put up and prizes to give away.

Today's guest blogger is a brand new author with her very first book out.

In April when I went to the Savoy for the RNA Awards lunch, I met Heidi Rice who had just had her very first modern Extra title - Bedded By A Bad Boy - published that month - and it was on my TBR pile. It still is, unfortunately! I took it to Linconl in the hope of being able to get a little time to sit and read - I should have known better ! I managed to open it once and then only for a minute. But I hope to get a chance to read it soon. Heidi's second book is The Mile High Club which is coming out in November when she and I will be shelf mates. And with a title like that I'll just bet readers will be flocking yo buy it.

I asked Heidi if she'd like to join in the Great Big Blog Party and she was glad to do so - and when her post arrived, I found that she was writing about that very first meeting. And it's another of those posts that makes me blush! Oh well, I'm getting a little used to that by now - and after the happy tears of Saturday night, what's a few blushes between friends?

Heidi is recovering for a stay in hospital and some major surgery but she's still found time to write her blog and get it to me.(Yes - some of you who are reading but not writing and sending your own blogs - consider this a LARGE HINT!) Thanks for that Heidi, and I hope you're recovering really well. It was great meeting you- I hope it's not too long before we meet up again.

Heidi Rice's Blog:

I consider it one of life's blessings that when I arrived at the Savoy this year for the RNA awards lunch - my first ever Modern Extra novel Bedded by a Bad Boy just recently published and knowing virtually no one - that some bright spark had decided to seat me next to Mills and Boon legend Kate Walker.

Kate is quite simply a gem. Immediately supportive she started giving me invaluable tips about 'the business' before the starters had even been served -- and all in that no-nonsense Yorkshire way that stops you from feeling intimidated. I have to admit though, that when she told me she was publishing her 50th book this year my jaw dropped (sorry, Kate if I was still tucking into my goat's cheese salad at the time).

FIFTY BOOKS! And here I was dithering like a ninny over book number three. As soon as I got home that afternoon I ordered one of Kate's books online -- my editor had said my hero in book three wasn't alpha enough and as Kate's the master on alphas I decided I might learn a thing or two. The Sicilian's Red-HotRevenge turned out to be a red-hot page-turner and Vito was certainlyinspiring (to say the least!).

When Kate heard a few weeks later that I was going into hospital she was sweet enough to send me the first part of the Corsentino Brothers saga and I can now confirm there's nothing to take your mind off major abdominal surgery like a tall, dark, handsome and devilishly sexy Sicilian billionaire.

So thanks Kate, not just for all the great adviceand support, but also for those sizzling alpha heroes. I suspect you've helped quite a few readers over the bumps life throws at them with yours tories. All I can hope is that mine will do the same -- although I'm not laying any bets on getting to 50 just yet.

Giveaway:

The Question:

Having had a crash-course in alphas from Kate, I'm hoping to add more alpha characteristics to my next hero, but my first love is bad boys - I adoreMarlon Brando in The Wild One or Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow (even with thedodgy personal hygiene!). I want to know which you prefer Bad Boys or Alphas, or if you love them both, and why -- plus I'd love examples of yourfavourites, all in the name of research of course.

Maybe you know of a good hero who's both Bad Boy and Alpha (I'm thinking Daniel Craig's Bond ticksthat box). I'll be giving away a signed copy of Bedded by a Bad Boy to the best post.

Bio:Heidi Rice is married with two boys and lives in North London. She's been ajournalist for 20 years, a film reviewer for 10 and a romance junkie forever(or at least from age 12 when she read Gone with the Wind and discovered what a terrible mistake Rhett had made picking Scarlett over her).

Heidi's firstbook Bedded by a Bad Boy came out in April, her second The Mile High Club is due in November