PARTY DAY 2!

I can't have a celebration without a little cake. Just a mouthful.

Can someone tip Reynaldo out of that hammock and get him to pass them round?

Kate Walker ... just the woman for the job. I'll leave you to handle that while I introduce today's guests.



So, today I have great pleasure in welcoming one of Harlequin's newest authors to the party.  Soraya Lane is a woman made of the right stuff. She delivered a book and then, scarcely pausing for breath, she delivered a baby! As if that isn't enough, she's also being shaken to bits by earthquakes on a daily basis back home in New Zealand.  Romance authors are not made of pink and fluffy; we're Steel Magnolias!

Her book The Army Ranger's Return is about a soldier's second chance…

As nervous as a teenager about to go on her first date, Jessica Mitchell waits for Special Forces Ranger Ryan McAdams—her best friend for the past year— whom she's never met! They've been pen pals while Ryan was away fighting for their country and Jessica was secretly fighting her own demons back home.

She knows widower Ryan's fears of returning to civilian life and his hopes of reconnecting with his son. Now she can't wait to meet him face–to–face—to hear his voice and see his smile…

The returning soldier is so much part of our experience these days and I can't wait to read this story.  And if you'd like the chance to win a copy all you have to do is leave a comment.

Truth, dare, kiss or promise, remember?

Tell us about a kiss from someone special you haven't seen in a long time. A parent, a child, your grandmother, the love of your life.

And meanwhile, back to Kate, if she's finished with Reynaldo! Oh, right, she's brought Jake Gyllenhaal with her, so Reynaldo is going to have to make his own amusement.

I've known Kate almost as long as I've been writing for Mills and Boon and she's the warmest, kindest person you can imagine. Every year we indulge in a "Here Come the Grooms" contest, along with Anne MAllister, definitely one to look out for.  Today she's brought a copy of her most recent book, The Proud Wife, to the party.

Marina thought her dreams had come true when her husband placed a wedding band on her finger. But their marriage was not the fairy tale she'd hoped for, and eventually Marina walked away, her heart broken.  Two years on Pietro D’Inzeo no longer haunts Marina's dreams. She knows the time has come to move on, and even a summons to join him in Sicily won't deter her.

However, with his wife standing before him, about to sign on the dotted line of their divorce papers, Pietro wonders why he ever let her go?

Kate writes the most amazing Mediterranean heroes and you won't want to miss this one.

For a chance to win a copy, tell me which of the great exotic hero types you dream of being swept away by?  A Greek tycoon? A Sicilian Conte? A hot Italian or fiery Spaniard?  Nothing but the truth now!

I've just spotted another guest arriving.

I met Lesley Cookman when she was studying for her Creative Writing MA here in Wales. It started as a cyber-connection but we're now on hugging terms!

A glass of Chianti, Lesley? (Snaps fingers for Reynaldo to deliver!)

While she's distracted by Reynaldo, I'll mention that Lesley writes the "Libby Serjeant" crime series - cosies set in the Kent countryside and I think it's about time they kicked Misummer Murders into touch and moved east! She's the go-to girl if you want to write a pantomime, too, but the multi-talented Lesley is also a long standing member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, writing as Rosina Lesley for Accent Press and she has two of those eBooks to give away, Running Away and A Will to Love.

Catherine Long, in RUNNING AWAY, has a habit of running away from her problems - and one of the biggest problems she's ever had to face goes by the name of James Grant. He was a great support to her and her younger sister Felicity when their father passed away, but when Catherine started developing feelings for this older, married benefactor, she fled to take up residence in her grandmother's country cottage. Except now James has arrived in the village to redevelop his uncle's grand house into a hotel and their lives suddenly seem so intertwined, there's no place left to run for Catherine.

 

It's time for another dare!  For a chance to win one of Lesley's books tell me what you have dared for love. Have you defied your family? Gone to a new country? Run away?  Or do you think that love itself, the risk of your heart, is the greatest dare of all?


Oh, and if you want to see me talking about TEMPTED BY TROUBLE, click on the link at the top of the sidebar!