40 for 40 - Fiona Harper

It seems appropriate that I'm introducing today's guest blogger just when I'm organising myself (well, trying to!) to go to the Romantic Novelists' Association  Conference this weekend.  I first met Fiona Harper at the RNA Conference - well, it only seems like yesterday but  when I look at how many books Fiona has had published I realise it was before her first book - and that was back in 2006!  Doesn't time fly when you're having fun - and you will be having fun if you read Fiona's books.



As she says on her web site: I write funny, fresh, heart-warming romantic stories for Harlequin Mills & Boon.

(I wrote the start of this intro last week before I set out for RNA  but now I'm editing it to add that one of the highlights for me of my visit to RNA was the talk given by Fiona on Romantic Structure. Although I don't work that way myself, being a total pantser, I  found it fascinating  and a really interesting way to look at creating a book. If you're a writer and you want to find out more - take a look at Fiona's post on the  Pink Heart blog  for yesterday where she has written up her talk for those who could not be there. It's well worth reading.)

Welcome Fiona!

Hi Kate! Congratulations to you and the Babe Magnet on your milestone anniversary! You’re both an inspiration to us all.

All this talk of anniversaries has got me thinking about weddings and engagements. Sigh. Such wonderful, emotion-filled times in one’s life, which is maybe why there are so many wedding and engagement related films around. I thought I would share a list of my top five. They all seem to be chick flicks or rom coms, but maybe that’s because there’s nothing us gals like more than a good cry at a good wedding!

1. 27 Dresses

I love this sweet film about a girl who’s the perpetual bridesmaid and just can’t say no to anyone. When she finally learns to stand up for herself, I want to punch the air and cheer! And I love the way she pays those 27 brides back for making her wear those monstrosities.

2. Sweet Home Alabama
In this film, Reece Witherspoon is going home to divorce her old husband because she’s about to snag herself a new one, but discovers she can't divorce her past as easily. I love that the opening and ending scenes of the film are almost identical – with the hero and heroine on the beach in the pouring ran. “What do you want to be married to me for, anyhow?” “So I can kiss you any time I want.” Sigh.

3. Leap Year

I love Amy Adams, and she’s great as the uptight Anna in this film where she decides she’s had enough of waiting for her perfect man to propose and decides to take matters into her own hands. Favourite secondary character: Louis the suitcase. (Just watch it, you’ll see what I mean.)

4. Bride Wars

This is more a tale of friendship between Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway rather than a love story, but I like the way it shows how we can sometimes get caught up in the hype of the big day and forget what’s really important.

5. The Proposal

I only watched this for the first time recently, but Sandra Bullock’s hard-nosed business woman character just melted my heart as she finally let her walls down and let herself care about people. Also loved the way she saw her assistant (who she’d blackmailed into marrying her for a green card) in a totally new light once they were away from the office.

And now I’ve got a giveaway!
 If you want to win a signed copy of Always The Best Man, my RoNA Rose Award-nominated romance, all you need to do is tell me what your favourite wedding-related movie is and why.
Fiona

You can find Fiona at www.fionaharper.com, or on Facebook or Twitter.

It's July - so it's time for 40 for 40!

It's 1st July -  1st July 2013
And so it's time for 40 for 40

What? Why? Where?

Ok - I'll start with the 'why' first -

This July is really important to me  and to the Babe Magnet. We're going to be celebrating something really special  , and I’d love to have   my wonderful friends - and you share in the celebrations.

Celebrating what  - well, Steve aka The Babe Magnet  and I are celebrating a big wedding anniversary. (Yes, I really was a child bride – I can’t possibly be old enough to have a wedding anniversary with a Ruby in it! ) Well, yes, I admit it, we will have been married for 40 years on July 14^th (and all the jokes about the storming of the Bastille were done at our wedding back then.)  After a difficult year I want to celebrate the good stuff and this is well worth celebrating.

What?

So I'm asking  my writer friends – hopefully 40 of them! -   to come and join me here on my blog  to party.

I'm still collecting up names but there are some of the brightest and best in romance writing  - and  other authors I've met at Caerleon, other writing events, or perhaps just through the internet and they've all become friends.

Melanie Milburne,  Kate Hardy,   Anne McAllister, Julie Cohen,  Michelle Styles,  Michelle Reid,  Sandra Marton,  Lesley Horton, Liz Fielding,  Louise Allen,  . .  . Posts are still coming in so watch and see it your favourite authors are coming to the party.

They'll be  contributing  a small blog post.  A post on weddings or anniversaries   or meeting your partner -  or even something about Kate Walker and the Babe Magnet. And because my friends are lovely, generous people, there will be prizes and giveaways galore. All you'll have to do is  to join the party -  to chat in the comments section - answering the question that day's guest has asked.

And every day one of those comments will be chosen as a winner - with a giveaway prize for  everyone chosen.

Where?
Here, obviously, on my blog - every day there is a 40 for 40 post there will be a new guest and a new giveaway.

Each question will be open for a few days so if you miss the moment a post goes up, don't worry - you can still comment for  4 days afterwards.

So I hope you'll visit every day - meet my friends, answer their questions  and join in the celebrations.

 

And now I'm off to welcome my first guest  - a little late  - but of course on an important date my computer had to go into meltdown   but I hope we're back on track now . . .

 

Come in and party!

 

June Weddings

It's June - the month for  beautiful weddings. Well, it would be if there wasn't a huge thunderstorm crashing and flashing outside and a torrential downpour flooding the garden,

But June is the month when people's thoughts turn to weddings  - at least they do over on Romantic Friday Writers where the theme for this month - and their writing challenge is all about weddings -  writing a story, romantic or dark, which fits the wedding theme.  -

Denise, who organises things  over on that site,  has also asked me to join in. She asked me to write a post about the  books I've written that have led to weddings via very different routes.  And I was happy to do so. In fact it was fascinating to look back and see some of the ways I've played around with the whoel wedding theme. After all, everyone knows  a romance novel ends with a happy ever after - but that wedding can come before or after the story opens. It can be a wonderfully happy or a desperate, blackmailed event. It can be a marriage of convenience - or a  marriage of revenge.  Just shows you once again that even with some thing as obvious as a wedding in a romance, it all depends how you write it.

What about you? Do you love to see  the actual wedding in a book - or do you prefer the  fuss and fanfare to happen  'off stage' ?
  
Recently over on I Heart Presents, there was a survey to find 'What is your Favourite  Marriage  Trope?'    The winners were forced marriage or marriage of convenience. Do you agree?

Tomorrow my blog will be back on the  Pink Heart Society  site again. Yes, I know I've written my Date With Kate post for June - this one is the second part of The Lady and The Tramp - featuring this handsome hunk