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.

Parties and Pins

One of the very best moments from the Harlequin Author Party on Friday evening - being there to applaud   Michelle Styles  when she was presented with her special pin for publishing 25 Historical Novels. So pleased for her - and the fact that I played a tiny part in her career when I encouraged her not to believe the people who said HMB would never publish a novel with a Roman hero - they did - and the fabulous Viking heroes Michelle wrote after that. . . It made my night to be there to applaud her.

Congratulations again Michelle!

And another very special moment at the Harlequin party on Friday night - Kate Hardy receiving her award for her 75th title - what else can I say but Congratulations Scary Kate!

40 for 40 - Michelle Styles

It's  a real thrill for me when I think back to times I  spent on the forum  boards at eHarlequin  and talked about writing or gave advice to people who wanted to learn their craft - and then I look at them today and see that they are now established published authors, with a record of books behind them. Michelle Styles is one of these.  I met her on line, then through the Romantic Novelists' Association - and then, happily, through her well-earned place amongst the Mills & Boon novelists writing for the Historical line. 

The other thing I'm really  happy about knowing Michelle for (apart from enjoying her company and  her books!) is that way back, before she was ever published, she was given the warning  that M&B would never buy a book set in the period of Ancient Rome.   I remember how I refuted that - and said they would buy it if it was well  enough  written. So I was delighted when Michelle proved me right with her very first book - The Gladiator's Honour.  Since then she's written more Romans, books set in the Regency and Victorian times - and of course her 3 linked Viking stories.


So - here's Michelle



I am absolutely delighted to be taking in part in Kate Walker’s 40 Blogs for  her fortieth. Kate and her husband are totally lovely. I have so much respect for them and am pleased to call them friends.

Anyway – a bit of wedding wisdom which was handed down to me before I married was that I should expect one bad thing to happen at the wedding. Something that even the most organised bride can not plan for.

Twenty-five years ago last 18^th of June, I thought I had conquered this curse when it turned out my bridal gown was not ready as promised. Luckily, the dry cleaners’ apologised, found the dress and did get it ready. So I was feeling rather smug the morning of my wedding.

I  worried that I had gained weight from when I bought the dress in a sale earlier that year. I did my corset up another notch – going for the Scarlet O’Hara approach and the dress fastened. I was rather nervous but did have a blueberry muffin and some champagne that my brother brought to my mom’s house. The day was very hot. In fact the hottest day in the San Francisco Bay Area for a hundred years.  In fact they had to move the reception indoors to the church hall rather than having it in the courtyard because the wedding cake which was covered in white chocolate started to melt.

Why am I telling you all of this?

Because I fainted at my wedding. I said I do and I went down in a crumpled heap. My husband caught me and prevent me from hitting my head. But it was a dead faint. Everything went black.

My father who knew where the smelling salts were kept acted and waved them under my nose.  There had been some discussion apparently about the need for such things as the priest in his long experience had never had a fainting bride.

Smelling salts revive but they also make my stomach revolt. My husband was brilliant (once again)

and captured the vomit in his sleeve so nothing went on my gown.

I then stood up and we finished the ceremony. We processed to the sound of  clapping. My husband later made a speech that he had  rather anticipated the in health part lasting longer. He also made mentioned of the fact that the day was the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

So this was my one bad thing that happened at the wedding.  And the thing is about bad things happening, they provide stories for later years. A perfect wedding without a hitch would not be memorable in my humble opinion but maybe that is because I like stories.

As my recent book Hattie Wilkinson Meets Her  Match opens on the evening of 18 June 1816,

To win a signed copy of the book, email contest@michellestyles.co.uk  the answer to the following question – which battle took place on 18 June 1815?  I will pick a winner two days after this blog appears.

You can buy a print copy of Hattie from the Book Depository http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Hattie-Wilkinson-Meets-Her-Match-Michelle-Styles/9780263892772  or an ebook wherever  ebooks are sold.

My next book is Paying the Viking’s Price and that is published in November 2013.

My website is www.michellestyles.co.uk where you can learn more about me and my books.

PS from Kate - To be in with a chance to win Michelle's book please email her with your answer at the address she gives.  Don't leave your answer in the comments or you'll give the answer away to everyone!

But please - if you have a story to tell about your own wedding - fainting brides or anything, do share!

Review and Offer

Thanks to Michelle Styles, I have been able to see the Romantic Times  review for  A Throne For The Taking   and I'm  thrilled to find that  they have given my new book  4 1/2 stars.  That's great news.

Here's the review:

10 years ago, Ria Escalona had her friend Alexei exiled from Mecjoria. But now she knows the truth, and she needs him back to save their country from tyranny and civil unrest. Can she do it without revealing her true feelings?

Alexei Sarova has spent the past decade forgetting Ria, building a successful but lonely life. Now she’s back and needs his help to claim the throne of their homeland. Will she agree to his unscrupulous terms?  

The majesty of Walker’s fictional principality shines, and her frenemies-to-love story is  perfectly passionate.

Thank you RT - and thank you Michelle

I don't know if you remember but last year sometime I asked blog readers to suggest a name for this

ficitional country and Caroline was the one who suggested  Mecjoria.  I promised a copy of the book to the person whose name I chose - so Caroline, the book is on its way to you, if you haven't received it already.

And the offer?
Well, if you're in America, and  want to get your hands on a copy of A Throne for The Taking - the bookshop  Author, Author!  is running a special offer on this brand new title.   As they say on the offer page:

This book is regularly $4.99 but we've discounted it to $3.25 for this very special offer. This book should ship on or around May 21.

$3.25 is selling this book at cost with just a reasonable shipping fee, so it's a really great offer.
My special thanks to Author, Author! for organising this.

Oh - I just checked - Author, Author!  staff are at a conference this weekend - but they're back onn April 23rd.

Archetypes, Tropes and Copyright

There’s an important post over on the Pink Heart Society blog this  morning.  It’s by Michelle Styles and it talks about tropes, archetypes and copyright.  If you’re at all interested in writing  - and  reading – I suggest you go and read it right now.

Now I’m not just saying this is important  because it has been provoked by something that happened to me. That’s important right enough  -  but this has more wide ranging impact  and is much more significant for the writing world, for authors, unpublished writers, and anyone who is interested in that world for any reason.

Some of you may know that an unpublished author recently brought a case against me and Harlequin  claiming that they had used her contest entry to craft  my award nominated novel The Proud Wife. The unpublished author had submitted her 20 pages and synopsis into many RWA sponsored contests and cited one where  she thought I had been one of the judges. In fact I  had never heard of the contest and had never judged it. The unpublished author felt so strongly that the works were similar, citing 40 different   points of commonality that she took the case to court.   Earlier this month the federal judge dismissed the plaintiff’s  claim with prejudice and without leave to amend  because there were no instances of copyright violation. In other words, the judge did not have to decide if I had accessed the unpublished author’s work through a contest entry because there was no copyright violation in the first place.  All 40 elements cited belonged in the unprotected category, rather than the protected  category. In other words they were part of the trope of romance and the similarities flowed from that.

If you want to know more about tropes in romance  then read Michelle’s post.  All I will add is that from time immemorial writers have been reworking plots, telling the same stories in different way, with a new slant, a new twist.  Prior to the 18th century, writers borrowed freely from each other without shame or punishment. (The Latin word plagaria referred only to the act of physical kidnapping.) Shakespeare borrowed passages from Plutarch and contemporaries. Books were copied by hand prior to the rise of the printing press, and amanuenses were given liberty to rework texts. England passed the first copyright laws in 1709, as mechanical reproduction of works and new ideas about individuality became widespread. These laws provided legal remedies for authors--writers and composers mainly--who believed their works had been unfairly lifted. The U.S. Constitution required Congress to pass similar copyright laws.

Plagiarism is  abhorrent  to me -  totally wrong – but plagiarism is reproducing  verbatim without the author's prior consent.  Plagiarism is  lifting another person’s words, copying their story, adding nothing new or different and above all never acknowledging the debt to the original.   What romance  writer has never written her personal version of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty,  The Taming of The Shrew, Pride and Prejudice . .  .   Even if she hasn’t followed the path of the original story, the memories of it, the themes  and plot lines are there in our collective story-telling imaginations and they will come out to a greater or lesser degree in each story we tell.   If I meet any  writer of romantic fiction who tells me that she had never  ever touched on any of the classics  then I’m unlikely to believe her. Where  do the wonderful alpha heroes we all know and love (or hate  as the case may be) come from if not from these classic stories?

All fiction is full of echoes and reflections that writers play with their predecessors. The Russian critic Vladimir Propp has even  proposed that all stories could be  made up of one of seven archetypes, that cover the whole of fiction for all time. No matter what amazingly unique idea you might come up with for your new novel, chances are it's already been used hundreds, possibly even thousands, of times before. You can’t copyright an idea.   You can’t copyright tall, dark handsome heroes.  Or beautiful heroines  - whatever  their colouring. You can’t copyright the weather on a day a scene takes place.  You can’t copyright a book about a miscarriage – miscarriages aren’t copyrightable. I should know, I’ve suffered one and so, sadly,  have many of my friends.

Since I wrote The Proud Wife  I have read a dozen or more novels with very similar themes – some series romance, some  bigger ‘single title’ books.  None of them  stole anything from me. They might or might not have read The Proud Wife – it doesn’t matter. The themes, the tropes of this book  are archetypes of romantic fiction. Each time a story is retold it is worked into a different form , with different characters, a different setting,  different  touches that take a classic trope/archetypal characters  and turn them into something fresh.

I’ve written 60 published novels in  the nearly 30 years I’ve been writing. My 61^st  A Throne For The Taking will be published in June. I don’t need anyone else’s stories to keep me writing – I have enough trouble with the ideas and the characters who are buzzing in my head demanding that I find time to write them down.  But  there is one other side of this case that truly saddens me and that is the effect that this case has had on so many, many fellow authors. And as a consequence, will have on many as yet unpublished writers working hard to learn their craf and looking for help and advice along the way.

One of the things I have always loved about the world of romance writers is the way that so many of them – of us, because I include myself in this group -  have been only too willing, totally happy, to help unpublished writers on their way towards to goal of being published.  For years, published authors have judged  contests  run by the RWA and other organisations. We have read and critiqued scripts for new writers – writers who often send scripts unsolicited, asking for help.  We have offered our professional expertise to help both new writers and important charities  like Brenda Novak’s  annual Auction  to raise money for research  to look for a cure for diabetes.

Not any more.

Because this  generosity is what this case has damaged.  So badly.  I have had so many messages from fellow writers who would have donated a  reading/critique as a lot in this valuable auction or who would have volunteered to judge a contest to help unpublished authors – but after this,  not any more. 

And this is why the article on the PHS is important. Because  if people don’t understand what is copyrightable and what isn't and what plagiarism really  is  then this can happen again and other authors can be put through  this  with no justification.

So please read Michelle’s post  and  learn   more about these things – and if you are interested, you can read the full 18 page judgement here   The analysis starts on page 9 and runs to page 17.

Courses and such

I'm inundated  - more than usual - at the moment.  Normally wyhen I'm heading for Fishguard Writers' And Artists'  Weekend in  February, I already have most of the teaching prepared and grab my  box of handouts etc and head for the Welsh Coast.

This time it's the new Advanced Romance Writing Course so there is a whole new course to prepare - and   the submissions from each of the students to read and comment on. (And it would have helped A LOT if the post  hadn't lost two scripts on their way here!)

I should also mention  that I've had a question from  Jane over on Facebook who as asked a great quesiton about voice  - I'll hope to post an answer to that so everyone can   see the answer too.

So while I'm sorting that out,  for anyone else who wants to learn more about writing and won't be coming to Fishguard,  I'll leave you with the link to a great post. If you don't already know this,  Harlequin  Romance wrtiter  Donna Alward is running a regular Writing Wednesday spot each week. Today's post is  titled  Only at the End Can We See the Beginning - and it's well worth a read. You can find it here

And  Happy Birthday greetings go to Michelle Styles  whose special day is today.

PS  Thank you to everyone who commented on yesterday's post both here and on Facebook - I'm so happy to find that it cheered up so many  of you. I've been told that Monday 24th January is supposed to be the hardest, most depressing day to get through so I'm glad that I was able to add a day brightener to follow it

Dreadlines and Publication dates

I know that a lot of people reading this blog are would-be New Writers (as the RNA labels them) People who are aiming to be published, partway there, trying to learn the ropes etc . . . The sort of people I was talking about in my We Write Romance post yesterday.

But of course as soon as you reach that wonderful, magical day when you get 'The Call' and are told that someone is buying your manuscript and turning it into an actual published book, then everything changes. You become a published author, not just a writer, you enter into contracts, you have revisions, proofs, dreadlines. . . Writing becomes A Job. Not just the wonderful sit down to write when you feel inspired/want to write way you've been working up to now. Later, people will read your book, review it - some people will love it but not everyone will find it fits with them. Some of the reviews over on Amazon - or the new 5 star rating on the Mills & Boon web site are evidence of this. And guess which reviews are the ones that stick in your mind - the ones you just can't forget?

There have been some great posts on this topic out in blogland recently - over on the Pink Heart Society Mira Lynn Kelly was talking about the first year after acceptance on Wednesday and yesterday Michelle Styles had a good post about Deadlines and making sure you have a life. I so agreed with this - one of the first pieces of advice a friend of mine was given by her newly-acquired editor was that you must have a life - or what will you write about?

I'm at that stage in my writing right now. The latest book is delivered, the next one is brewing and growing , and I have a little time to breathe. It is important to breathe - this writing game isn't a sprint, with a mad dash to the winning tape and then you're done. It's a marathon run where you need to pace yourself to keep on keeping on. It was something that was brought home to me again when I was talking to the Airedale Writers' Circle and others in the past few days. After all, I'm still celebrating that 25th anniversary of being first published and I thought I'd come back to that for a few posts - because for me it wasn't just 'Now you're published, you're settled and all you have to do is to keep writing the books. . .'

More about that later. But I was also wondering about what to blog about now I have a little more space in my schedule - anyone got any particular topics they want to know more about?

But of course the other part of the heading to this post refers to one of the greatest moments an author has in their writing career, one that never gets any less exciting even as the years go by - and that's the publication date of a new book.

Although I've actually seen it out and about on the bookshop shelves already, today is officially the publication date for the 3 in 1 By Request book Claimed by The Sicilian.

So to celebrate I have a copy of this book to give away.

To be in with a chance of winning, just email me with the titles of the 3 Sicilian books that are reprinted in this special anthology. You have just over 24 hours to get your answers in - at noon on Saturday (UK time) I'll get Sid to pick a winner Put Claimed by The Sicilian in the subject line so that I'll find your answers easily.

I have to admit that I'm getting an extra special thrill from seeing this book out there with all three titles of my books in it!

My First Kate Walker - Michelle Styles

Today I have another writer friend who's talking about the first time she read a Kate Walker novel.

Michelle Styles, who writes for Mills and Boon and Harlequin Historicals is an American who now lives in the UK after marrying her husband. I think Michelle's comments pretty much summarise some of the many reasons why people read romances so I've left them in with her list asI think they are so great.

I am fairly positive the first book of yours I read was Leap in the Dark (1989) and I think I read it on the train going to Sheffield when I had a job interview with a bank's graduate training programme. And I can remember the train journey going far too quickly. I am certain I read others of yours then as I was homesick and reading a lot of M&B because I had read Harlequin in the US.

My top five of yours:
1. The Italian's Forced Bride as it made me cry
2. The Antonakos Marriage as our discussion inspired me to write Sold and Seduced (one of Michelle's Roman romances) and it got me through my first cataract operation.
3. Constantine's Revenge because it is excellent
4. Cordero's Forced Bride because it helped me when I was stressed and needed to escape.
5.Sicilan Husband. Blackmailed Bride because I could not put it down.

Thank you Michelle!

Michelle's latest Harlequin Historical The Viking's Captive Princess was a December USA release and is still available on Amazon, eHarlequin etc - and her next UK book Compromising Miss Milton will be out in May,

Take a look at Michelle's web site where you can read more about her great historical romances and find her blog.

The wrong sex flu . . .

Yes, very definitely the flu.

But if I thought I was going to get away with the girly flu - the lightweight one that we females suffer from compared to the one our heroes have to suffer through, then forget it. The Babe Magnet has very definitely passed on his manly flu to me.

So, with no voice (none at all) no brain, no energy and no concentration, I'm cheating and saying that for those of you who are interested in writing there are a couple of interesting posts for you to read elsewhere -

Jackie Ashenden has 10 Fun Ways to NOT win the Harlequin Presents Writing Competition here. She makes some good points

And Michelle Styles has a really interesting post on Conflict on her blog here : Conflict is more than good vs evil

And I'll make another honey and hot lemon and go back to bed. Annoyingly, with this thing affecting my eyes so badly I can't even read very much.

And the Babe Magnet? Oh he's fine now - disgustingly healthy - nothing wrong with him at all !

The First Sunday of the Month . . .

So today my blog is over on Tote Bags 'N' Blogs where I'm still talking about heroes - I'm wondering what age you prefer your heroes- and heroines - to be.

And as it's May 3rd, I want to take the time to wish my very special friend - and one of my favourite authors - Michelle Reid a truly happy birthday! (I have my own birthday coming up later this week so I will have small celebration to share with you then)

Talking about celebrations - this article in - believe it or not - Management Today - gives all romance writers plenty to cheer about - once you've got past the cringe-making headline and the inevitable couple of sarcastic comments.

As a small but important contribution to the All About Alphas series - thanks to Michelle Styles who yesterday quoted Senior Editor Sheila Hodgson at the Hexham Book Festival yesterday as saying that: " Mills & Boon only publishes alphas" . Which you'll already have gathered from the range of comments in this discussion.

Finally, thanks to wonderful Heather Reed at We Write Romance, I have recently updated my web site so you might want to check that out. For readers and writers in the UK there is a long list of new appearences and writing workshops coming up - I'm going to be s-o-o busy!

Michelle has a report of the Book Festival event and a lovely photo on her blog today.

All About Alphas 14 - Michelle Styles

Today's author quote comes from another writer of Historical Romance - Michelle Styles. Michelle has written novels set in historical periods set as far apart as Ancient Rome and 1814, when her latest story is set. And her heroes reflect the times they lived in - but they also match up to the criteria that Michelle has in mind when she thinks of an alpha hero.

Michelle and I share similar opinions on the term alpha male - most importantly the belief that alpha must not mean domineering brute. One of the things that I envy the historical authors is that they are writing about a time when the idea of a man taking charge was often vital and not neccessarily something to be fought against and to see as being controlling or domineering. But whether in a Modern or a Historical - or any other romance - the point is that the heroine doesn't neccessarily see things that way. That is where the challenge/the conflict comes in - whatever date in history the book is set.

Here's what Michelle has to say - and once again that word 'code' comes in.

Alpha male means a leader. Just like you can have good leaders
and bad leaders, you can have good alpha males and bad ones. However, if you are
talking about alpha male heroes, you are automatically talking about the good
ones. The word hero gives it away. We are not talking anti-heroes here,
but full blown heroes. So good leaders and positive attributes. For me
this means: a leader who cares about his men, a leader who has
integrity, a leader who is strong and tough because he has to be. He has
strength of will. He is willing to make the hard decisions and does not shirk
from his responsibility. This is a man who understands there are lines which you
do not cross. He lives by a code. But he is also someone who does not
automatically give his respect. It has to be earned. And above, he requires a
strong mate.


One of the best exercises I ever did was to write down
the qualities I admired in my own personal heroes. I then try to incorporate
them into my fictional heroes. So for example, Simon Clare, the hero of
Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife, demands as much of himself as he does of
others. Unfortunately he is also impatient and unforgiving of faults. This can
be a good thing when you are trying to solve problems in a mine. It is not so
good when you are trying to deal with your young son and Simon has to be taught
the difference by the very strong willed Phoebe Benedict.

Michelle's latest novel is Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife which is out now.

His unexpected bride… Wealthy landowner Simon Clare shuns Northumbrian society. With his son gravely ill, the last thing Simon needs is an interfering woman assuming command of his household and nursing young Robert – no matter how sensuous her figure, or how tempting her luscious lips.

Phoebe Benedict knows what it is to struggle, and finds herself drawn to the badly scarred recluse. Despite his tough exterior, she knows that Simon is a father who yearns for his son to recover – and a man who misses the tender embrace of a woman…

Michelle has promised to drop by the blog - as have all the authors - if there are any questions but I think that she is busy today at the Hexham Festival so she may come in later.

The Prologue . . .

The prologue . . . I feel very Frankie Howerd, just writing that!

Well, Nikos was right. Telling Sadie the truth at this point really did change things and put the cat amongst the pigeons. So I'm very busy dealing with the fall-out and don't have time for a real post.

So for the writers amongst you, I'll just direct you to a good post on writing Prologues which you can find here.

Personal opinion on prologues?

I don't like them. Most of the time they are, as this blog says, the writer 'writing herself into the story.' I only ever wrote one prologue that I can remember and that was for Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Wife. My then editor wanted one for that book. I didn't. We discussed and - she was a very very good editor - I agreed to write it but only if I could write it the way I wanted. She agreed. The prologue went in. And I've never regretted it.

Finally, I have two cat-loving friends who this morning are having to suffer the great big hole where a beloved cat should be. Michelle and Shirley both lost their cats yesterday ( for poor Michelle it was the second cat in two days.) So I'm sending them huge hugs of sympathy. I've been there not too long ago and I know how awful it feels. I know the hole those lovely creatures will have left in their lives.

So I'm just happy that my own personal hole-filler decided to pose very beautifully so I can celebrate her - and Sid and Dylan of course - on a day when I feel the need to do so.

12 Point Guide Launch Party - Winners!

I have winners ! (I also have a streaming cold thanks to the Babe Magnet's generosity - this is going to make me look SO good at the official 12PGTWR2 tomorrow !)

Anyway - the bit I like - announcing winners:


Anne McAllister says:

The winner of The Boss's Wife For A Week is acdaisy95.
Congrats to acdaisy and to you, Kate, on the 2nd edition of your book!

Michelle Styles sent me an email yesterday to say:

I pulled a winner from the hat this morning and it was:
Jane Cheung
I have sent an email to her and hopefully the books will be winging their way to her shortly.

Jane's on a lucky streak - that's her second prize!


And finally there's one from Annie West
Popped over to your blog and randomly selected a winner. It's Peggy.

So winners - here's what you do - email me with your postal address and I'll send your details to the lovely author who donated your prize. Jane of course has already been contacteed - so acdaisy95, and Peggy need to email me.

And I'll hope to post more winners soon - Kate Hardy, Julie Cohen and Yvonne Lindsay will choose their winners at the end of today - so you have plenty of time to post and maybe win.

Back soon - Aaaaachooooo!

12 Point Guide Launch Party - 2

My first guest today is no stranger to any of you because I often talk about her. And you know how I love her books. She's a dear friend both to me and to Sid The Cat and she is Anne McAllister

Anne says:

Of course, you can write a romance without reading this book. But why would you pass up brilliant advice from one of the world's best writers and teachers of romantic fiction?

(Anne you're making me blush. And thank you for writing about the 12 Point Guide of your blog)

Anne's latest book is the great read - One-Night Love Child which is on sale now in the UK and the Presents edition is still around on Amazon or eHarlequin.

Anne is offering a prize of a copy of The Boss's Wife for A Week (you can read about this book on Anne's website) and she will ask her dog Gunnar to pick a winner from the comments today. Like Sid, Gunnar likes lots of treats to choose from. So get posting!

My second guest today has come all the way from Australia just to be here. She's the lovely Annie West who also writes for Presents.

Here's what Annie has to say about the 12 Point Guide

Kate, congratulations on the launch of this new edition of your 12 Point Guide. I'm thrilled to have contributed just a little to this updated version, especially since I know how useful this book has already been to so many writers. One of the things I like best about writing romance is the generosity and support of other writers, published and unpublished. That sharing of information and good will is at the heart of our genre and has helped many would be authors become published (me included). Here's to the success of this 2nd edition. I know it's eagerly awaited.

In the UK, Annie's latest book is in the Mills and Boon Presents.. anthology (for the cover of that see Wednesday's post. Annie's contribution is called The Billionaire's Bought Mistress. Also, she has a North American release in mid May, entitled The Greek Tycoon's Unexpected Wife. Annie is offering a copy of this book as her prize today - and she will be choosing her winner from the comments too.

You can find out more about these books on Annie's website.

My final guest for now is the very talented Historical Romance writer Michelle Styles.
Michelle has already talked about the launch party of her blog (Thanks Michelle!) so if you've come over from there, I hope you'll post a hello - you might even win one of the prizes.

Michelle says:

I am sure that the second edition will be even more valuable to writers. I know I found the first edition to be really helpful to me in my quest of reaching publication.

Michelle's current book is Taken by the Viking and is the start of her Viken series.

Michelle's prize is a copy of her earlier book Sold & Seduced along with a signed copy of The Antonakos Marriage (by someone called Kate Walker) which was the seed book for this story. (Michelle talks about that on her blog)

Michelle's question is:

What is the name of the hero and heroine of each book.

(Answers can be found on Michelle's web site where you can read an excerpt of this book - or my web site for The Antonakos Marriage)

IMPORTANT - for this question please send your answers direct to Michelle so that she can pick the winner herself.

Finally, and nothing to do with the launch party or the 12 Point Guide - but because I know a lot of you will like to see this latest development in the ongoing story of Sid the Alpha Cat and Flora the Floozie - she has finally encroached onto his special blanket on my office windowsill

And yesterday, the Alpha male softened enough to let her have a cuddle - but only while he was asleep!

She's winning him round.

Don't forget to post comments - you have to be in to win. (And send your answers to Michelle)

Voice and a great read

I've been thinking on the same lines as Michelle Styles today. That's because we've both been discussing that elusive thing called 'voice' with an unpublished writer over on the eHarlequin forums. This lady - Melissa - was avoiding reading any other romance books because she was afraid that they would interfere with the development of her personal style, her writer's voice.

I didn't agree - and neither did Michelle. I don't think that reading affects your personal voice - unless you start copying the authors you read and then you just turn into a pale imitation of them. But I always recommend that you should read lots of books by different authors - that will show you that there isn't any one way to write but as many different ways as there are different authors. And each one of those authors will have the readers who love her work.

When I first started out writing romance, I would read lots of authors I admired and I'd think Maybe I should write like that - and then Oh I can't write like that!- and then the doubts would come in to make me think I can't write! But when I told myself that I couldn't write like that - and I shouldn't write like that - I should write like me and tell the story the way I wanted to - that was when I had my first book accepted.

I was thinking about this over the weekend as I got lost in a wonderful book. It was my reward for reading some of the RITA entires I've been sent to judge. There's a real variety of them and some of them, frankly, are not my sort of read at all. This is not to say that they are bad books, but I'm reading them with my critic's hat on - the one that got me my degrees - not as a reader reading for enjoyment.

But my reward book, I read that with real delight. I enjoyed it from start to finish. And as I read it I was thinking that this was one of those books that in the past would have had me sitting with my head in my hands, declaring that I could never write like that!

The book was one of the 3 titles that are the prizes for the Here Come the Grooms Contest. It was Liz Fielding's book - her 50th M&B title - The Bride's Baby. And it's a great read. The characters are appealing, believeable, sympathetic. The hero is strong as a hero should be but he's also wounded and vulnerable and throwing up a defensive shield to ward off all comers. So is the heroine - for her own personal reasons. And because you believe in those reasons, then the conflict is one that tugs on the heartstrings and then gives them an extra twist for good measure.

And because it's a Liz Fielding book, the writing is wonderful too - clear, elegant, easy to read - the sort of writing that reminds me of a quote by Enrique Jardiel Poncela who said:

When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing.

The other thing that this book had me thinking about is the way that when ill-informed critics declare that Harlequin Mills & Boon romances are 'all they same' they really are talking through their hats- or perhaps out of somewhere much less polite!

At the end of January, I wrote about the other book that is a prize in this contest - Anne McAllister's One-Night Love Child, another great read and I discussed that along with Michelle Reid's May release The Markonos Bride. Two fabulous books that demonstrate just how different each author can make a story, while still writing within the defined parameters of the 55,000 word category romance. Each one has a very clearly defined voice, unique to their individual authors - as The Bride's Baby is unique to Liz Fielding. Each one of them takes the 'formula' - the skeleton of a romance - man meets woman, there is a conflict between them, as they work to resolve that conflict they fall in love and can then move on to a happy ending - and crafts it in their own individual way to produce a gem of the genre - and each is totally unlike the other.

I enjoyed reading each one of them and admired the way they were crafted. Each one of them made me wish I'd written it, but at the same time acknowledge that I never would - and I never should. Because that's not my voice. And if was enjoying reading three such different styles and voices, then it was because they were all different that I got the best enjoyment out of them. If they'd all been - as those critics claim - exactly the same - then I doubt if I would have read all three - and certainly not with the same enjoyment.

.

So although I would have been proud to have written any one of those books - I'm also proud of the fact that I didn't. I'm proud of the fact that I write like me and my brilliant author friends write like them. I'm proud of the way that this genre produces so many wonderful voices who create so many wonderful stories - ones that are not at all 'just the same'.

So if you're a writer remember that it's variety that's the spice of life. That Harlequin Mills & Boon already has a Liz Fielding, an Anne McAllister, and a Michelle Reid, they have a Kate Walker too! They don't want another one. They don't want a pale copy of an original - they want an original - an original you.

I'm still advising would-be published authors to read - read as many different authors as possible, to learn the many different ways that the same basic romance theme can be written. Learn how the other authors do things, how they tackle problems, create empathy . . . Learn, but don't copy. Learn the sort of stories that speak to your heart, and most importantly to your witer's heart. Learn, get inspiration - and then go away and think of Frank Sinatra and do it your way.

I still wish I could have written any one of these great books, but I'm so glad I didn't because if I had then I wouldn't have had the pleasure of reading all of them. I was able to enjoy them so much because I wasn't wondering if I could have done it better - instead I was able to read them and enjoy them as they were - - and to see how these authors did it - which was not the way I would have done.

Thank you Liz, and Anne, and Michelle - reading your books inspired me, making me want to keep giving that same enjoyment to readers through my books too.

As I said, two of these books are prizes for the Here Come the Grooms contest. If you haven't entered yet then get your entry in - these are really great books to win. And if you don't win, but have to buy your copies, well, for my money you're still a winner because you'll be reading some of the best of what romance has to offer.

Guest Blogging and a photo PS

Today being the 12th February, it's the day I'm over on Lee Hyat's Tote Bags 'N' Blogs for my 12 Points on the 12th blog about writing. Today I'm talking about adding layers to conflicts - so if you're still waiting to send in your entry to the Presents Instant Seduction contest, you still have time - just - to go along and learn more about writing Conflict.

I'm also announcing the big news - well, big news for me - about my book - The 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance. (well - it's great news for me! If you've been looking for a copy, it might not be quite so great for you.)

I heard from my publisher last week and this book is now officially SOLD OUT. He shipped the very last copies from the wharehouse and there are none left. There might be some around on Amazon.com or B&N .com - but not many!

But if you want a chance to win a copy of this book, Lee actually has not one but two copies of it to offer as a prize in a contest and she'll be setting that up on My Tote Bag very soon - so look out for that or for the details here on my blog too.


And that photo PS - when I posted the pictures of the Mills & Boon Centenary Party, as I was using the photos from my camera, I didn't have one with me on it. But just the afternoon the lovely Susan Stephens has sent me a photo that was taken with her camera on that special night and she's kindly sent it on to me. So thank you so much for that Susan!


If I remember rightly, the photo was taken by Donna Hayes, CEO of Harlequin - thank you too, Donna.

So - Left to Right - Michelle Styles, Liz Fielding (without a handsome butler for once!), the glamorous Susan Stephens herself and me.

Christmas Stocking Contest

I managed to get in touch with two of my lovely writer friends - so I can now confirm that thanks to their generosity there will be two more very special titles going into the Christmas Stocking Stuffed with books, along with all the other titles, to make up a truly special prize.

The first of these is from Michelle Styles.

Michelle, as regular readers of this blog know, writes original and exciting historical novels, often picking unusual time periods in whihc to set her books. She has recently set books in Ancient Rome and coming up soon she has a set of books about Vikings. But the book she is donating to the Christmas Stocking is set in more recent Victorian times. In this case, in Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1846.

Michelle has offered two signed copies of A Christmas Wedding Wager - the USA edition of this special Christmas story. In the UK this book is published as part of a special duo titled Christmas By Candlelight together with Wicked Pleasures by Helen Dickson, but it is the separate edition of just A Christmas Wedding Wager that is going into the Christmas Stocking this time. So it's that cover that I'm posting here today.

I was lucky enough to be given my own copy of this book by Michelle, so here's the blurb from the back:

Lovely Miss Emma Harrison has turned her back on the frivolities of the Marriage Mart and dedicated herself to helping her father. But this Christmas everything changes – ruthless and unforgettable Jack Stanton is back! As the Yuletide festivities throw Emma into his company, she can’t help but wonder if she made the wrong choice seven years ago...

The web site Dear Author recommends A Christmas Wedding Wager as one of its December reads like this:

Styles showcases the Victorian period and the emerging freedom it brought to young women. Emma, the heroine, escapes her stifling Victorian well-to-do lifestyle to become a civil engineer and while she enjoys her position, it is not without a price. Jack Stanton was rejected by Emma years ago and must suppress his hurt pride and resentment in order to work with Emma on a bridge project. Set against the backdrop of northern England Christmas revelries, this is the perfect book to get a romance reader in the holiday mood.

If you love Michelle Styles's stories then there's plenty to look forward to because coming next year are these great titles:

Taken by the Viking -- US May 08 (this was an October UK release and still available on Amazon.co.uk)
Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife UK June 08 (linked to Taken)
An Impulsive Debutante UK Sept 08 (linked to ACWW)

The other special Christmas title donated yesterday is from lovely Margaret McDonagh who is making a name and a career for herself in the Medical Romance line. The book Margaret has donated is a Christmas trilogy with the title Christmas Weddings. This contains stories by Carole Mortimer and Shirley Jump as well as Margaret's own heartwarming story Their Christmas Vows

Here's the blurb (the book actually has the hero's surname wrong on the back so Margaret has kindly corrected it for me - and added an extra couple of lines to the rather brief summary!)

Frazer McInnes is strong, caring, and loyal to his friends. He also has a reputation as a fun-loving Romeo. But he's serious about his beautiful colleague, Callie Grogan. Serious enough to vow to love her forever, if only she'll be his Christmas bride.
Callie has a difficult journey to make because the impact of her past experiences make it hard for her to trust. In Frazer, has she found a man she can believe in? Can she trust him – and herself – and step towards a happy and loving future?

Coming up in 2008, Margaret McDonagh has these new titles to look forward to:

An Italian Affair - (a Medical in the Mills & Boon Presents anthology with Annie West [Modern] and Annie Burrows [Historical]) - April 2008
Virgin Midwife, Playboy Doctor - book 8 in the Brides of Penhally Bay series - July 2008

Dr Devereux's Proposal - book 12 in the Brides of Penhally Bay series - November 2008

So look out for those great Medical stories.

And tomorrow I'll be back with more details of the other books I have stuffed into those stockings just waiting to give someone an orgy of reading pleasure over Christmas!

Oh - and as a PS to Margaret McDonagh's donation - I had to smile when I saw the cover of the Christmas Weddings trilogy.

Take away the Christmas Tree and the decorated mantlepiece - and it's the UK cover of my December 2005 book - The Antonakos Marriage!

Great Big Blog Party 13 Winner

Michelle Styles asked her youngest child to draw the name of her winner out of a hat - and the winner is:

Kimberly L

Congratulations Kimberly - and you know the routine now -

email me with your postal address and Michelle will organise sending you the prize of a signed copy of her book Sold and Seduced and my book The Antonakos Marriage

Great Big Blog Party 13 - Michelle Styles

I'm dodging thunderstorms in order to post and the possibilities of needing to build an ark are getting stronger and stronger by the minute - my sympathies go out to everyone who is suffering as a result of the floods all over the country.



The Guest Blogger today is one of the new rising stars of the M&B Historial line and her books are also appearing as Harlequin Historicals in America - Michelle Styles. She is also responsible for bringing stories of Ancient Rome to the Historical line - a time period that everyone said that M&B would not publish - well, Michelle proved them wrong.

Michelle was born in America, in San Francisco, but she moved to the UK when she married and she now lives in Northumberland. Michelle was one of the authors who joined me for the writers' weekend in Lincoln - where her lovely daughter acted as a caring babysitter for Julie Cohen's small son. Michelle has just filmed her first UK TV appearence for Tyne Tees TV (Hope I have that right Michelle) and perhaps she'll tell us when we can watch that on Monday.



Here's Michelle:

Kate Walker has invited me to take part in her 50th book party blog. Okay, I would have begged very hard, if she hadn’t asked, so she was being kind. She said that I could blog about anything, and after a great deal of thought and consideration I have decided to speak about –


VOICE.



When I first went on e-harlequin, Kate W was there and she had posted a little thing about voice. Basically it was: Harlequin has Betty Neels and Charlotte Lamb books. They can and reissue them when readers demand more stories by those authors.. They even have Kate Walker books which can be reissued. What they don’t have is YOU and the way YOU tell a story. I read that and thought thank God, I can’t write a story in the style of anyone else, but I can write like me.

Voice is very important. It is also very hard to define. It is more than word choice. It is all about what you choose to include and exclude in your book. It is about how you mould your world and define your characters. It is how an author combines ideas. It is what makes your story yours. If you try to write in a different style, it will feel off – much like Noel Coward trying to do a James Brown song. Inevitably, your own voice appears. Through a cultivation of your unique voice, you can write memorable stories.


One of Kate’s great strengths as a mentor (and I considered her a mentor before she even KNEW of my existence) is that she encourages authors to write their own story.

As she says – toss out an idea or a premise in a room full of 50 authors with distinct voices and you will get 50 different stories. None will be the same. Each author has her own idea of what is important in a story. It is the making the idea yours that is important.


Once she took time out of her busy schedule to write me a lovely email about how I should write from the heart and how I should choose to write what I wanted. Because IT SHOWS. This gave me the confidence and courage to follow my dream and start writing historical romance, in particularly The Gladiator’s Honour.

The reason Kate’s books are so well loved is that they come from the heart. When you write from the heart, your voice shines through. It is all about form, not formula and it starts with the

author’s voice.

And please Kate can we have 50 more books all written in your wonderfully evocative voice?


GIVEAWAY
Michelle is giving away a signed copy of her third book Sold and Seduced as a prize

QUESTION
If you could write - or read - a book about any time and any place in history what setting and period would you choose?

As always, post your answers in the Comments section and Michelle will pick a winner from them

PS - Michelle has just pointed out to me that I've got the prize slightly wrong - so the full prize is:

" . . . a signed copy of S&S plus a signed copy of her book --The Antonakos Marriage. I still have a couple.The Antonakos Marriage gave me the seed for S&S and by reading the two, you can sort of see how two writers approach things."

Thanks Michelle!