Monday, March 10, 2008

GUESTS, CHOCOLATE AND # 50

Wow, didn’t we all have fun naming Ally Blake’s moppet? Thanks so much to you for joining in and telling us all your favourite names. As soon as I hear from Ally (we're on opposite sides of the world so the time difference is a factor) I’ll post the name of her winner.

Okay, you all know I have a serious chocolate weakness so it will come as no surprise to any of you that I’ve been watching Willie’s Wonky Chocolate Factory on the box.
Willie is a touch manic, totally infuriating – occasionally we get a glimpse of his wife’s expression that says it all – and gorgeously sexy. I tried to talk the dh into making Willie's cloud forest chocolate cake with his shirt off yesterday, like Willie, but he thought he’d rather not.
Probably very wise (the cake, not the shirt); it looked fabulous, and not only impressed the buyer at Selfridges but had the punters at Cullompton Farmers’ Market drooling. High sugar/high calorie nosh is, however, out of the question at the moment. Diabetes in the dh’s case – avoirdupois in mine! And I’m not quite sure what the local food hygiene officers would have made of the kids joining in the cooking, or the dog in the kitchen. It's your own concern if you’re eating it yourself but when you’re selling to the public I believe the regulations are a little stricter than that! Great telly, though. And I’m definitely up for the “choc-shock” diet. One hundred per cent chocolate drunk like espresso. Oh, yes…

I’m beginning to get really excited about the publication of my 50th Harlequin/Mills & Boon Romance, THE BRIDE’S BABY.
The other “A Bride for All Seasons” authors (Fiona Harper, Trish Wylie and Shirley Jump have Summer, Autumn and Winter) and I are in the middle of setting up a special blog for this four-book series – I’ll set up a link as soon as it’s live. In the meantime, to counteract that dress on the cover (which I’m sorry, just doesn’t compute), here’s a glimpse of the dress that was my inspiration. It evolved, as these things do. The jacket got longer, the appliqué more important. I don’t often get caught up with clothes, but I could really see Sylvie’s dress. Well, here is Sylvie, looking at it for the first time: --

“The dress, a simple A-line shift in rich cream silk, had been appliquéd to the knees in swirling blocks of lavender, purple, and green. And instead of a veil, Geena had created a stunningly beautiful loose thigh-length jacket on which the appliqué was repeated around the edge and on wide fold-back cuffs. Embroidery trailed over the silk and tiny beads caught the light as she moved, beads that matched the small, Russian style tiara that had been made to go with the gown.”

And of course, you all remember the shoes!

The book is already available online at eHarlequin (with the eBook option for immediate satisfaction!) and Mills & Boon, and to order at Amazon. As for reviews, well it’s already received a TOP PICK from Romantic Times and a new review is online at the Pink Heart Society.

Don't forget that Donna Alward will be here later this week to tell us all about her book and offer a prize, so do drop by to join in the fun.

And this week I heard a really thrilling piece of news – but I can’t share it just at the moment. Such a tease!

4 comments:

Estella said...

No fair. That tease at the end was naughty of you.

Donna Alward said...

Yes indeed. Don't you know how my brain tries to puzzle these things out????

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I love secrets... but they're so hard to keep. I admire your fortitude Liz.

And what a heavenly dress! I'm not into meringue style concoctions, but I loved this.

Liz Fielding said...

Sorry, sorry... I've been paying too much attention to the lovely Kate Hardy who loves to tease us, too!

I fell in love with that dress the minute I saw it, Michelle. What with writing one of the "A Bride for all Seasons" books, and my own dd's wedding coming up later this year, I'm becoming an expert on this whole business. :)