PARTY DAY 4!

Day 4 - I'm starting to feel a little giddy! Maybe it's time for a sit down in the shade while the guys fire up the barbie and we sip on a cool drink.

Colin looks eager to serve.

And just to catch up, winners of books have been announced in the comments column, so do check to make sure you've followed up on that.  I will do a round up of all winners on Saturday, just to be sure you don't miss anything.

My first guest today is the charming Nell Dixon, who writes for Little Black Dress in the UK, Samhain and Astraea Press in the US.  She has twice won the prestigious Romantic Novelists’ Association “Romance Prize” with the accompanying Betty Neels’ Rosebowl – the only author to manage that extraordinary feat.

I first met her face to face at an RNA conference in Leicester and spent a very pleasant Sunday afternoon on the train with as we headed for the hub at Birmingham.

She’s come along today with a copy of her exciting new title, DANGEROUS TO KNOW, which seems to have a whiff of the suspense about it – and haven’t we all been longing for the return of romantic suspense?

The authors who turned me onto romance were Georgette Heyer and Mary Stewart.  Whose book first grabbed you by the heart and made you a lifelong fan of romance?

Moving over to let Donna Alward – darling girl – slide in beside me.

I’ve known her since she was a “wannabe” author on the eHarlequin community; she calls me her “writing mum” and was thrilled to celebrate with her when she joined the tanks of the Harlequin “Romance” authors.  She’s had a pretty stellar year, being shortlisted in a fistful of prestigious published author competitions and I’m so glad she could find a moment to drop by and offer one of her lovely romances as a door prize at my party.


Donna is giving away two of her books, her latest Harlequin "Romance", A FAMILY FOR THE RUGGED RANCHER, and an ARC of the new Samhain, BREATHE.

Donna writes a stunning cowboy.  


Karin Stoecker, until recently the Editorial Director of Romance HQ in the UK, once told me that a sheikh was a cowboy in a different hat.


With that in mind, which hat would your hero be wearing?

Oh, look, Daniel's just turned up to give Colin a hand. 


Excellent!


My next guest, Chris Stovell, is almost a neighbour.

She lives in the next county to me and is a member of the Carmarthen chapter of the RNA. She was also my flatmate at the recent RNA conference at Caerleon; fun to be with and a wonderful author.  

I hope she’ll manage to visit today – she’s in the middle of having her new house rewired so life is a bit on the edge for her at the moment.

She’s offered a copy of her first book, published by ChocLit called TURNING THE TIDE.  The inspiration was her love of the sea and sailing and it’s an “all’s fair in love and war” romance with two strong characters facing off against each other, a wonderful cast of supporting players and some touching sub plots.

Are you captivated by the sea? Does the snap of a sail make your heart beat faster? Or are you a river, or lake woman?  Paddling about in a dinghy, or gliding along in a punt? What memory lingers of a watery moment?






And while you're thinking about that, dig in...