I Heart Mash Ups

It's been a while since I did a mash-up but here are a few blogs I've visited lately that deserve sharing.

First up, the fabulous Sarah Duncan, whose blogs on writing craft and the writing life are always full of wisdom. This one, on Networking is a class piece.

Northern Mum can make you laugh, or make you cry, sometimes cry with laughing. This will be familiar to any panicking working Mum who is always two-steps behind Dancing...


Good news is for sharing and I've already blogged about new RIVA author, Charlotte Phillips. Here is her take on getting the the call!

I've just read Barbara O'Neal's amazing new book, The Garden of Happy Endings. She is an autobuy for me, with a lusciousness to her writing that has won her a hatful of RITAs. She's releasing a bunch of her older books now as eBooks, and there are excerpts on her blog. But here's a classic blog post to give you a taste

And then there's the amazingly creative Jennifer Crusie talking about creating a story world on her blog.

Finally, the truly lovely Lilian Darcy will be my guest here on Friday  to talk about the launch of her latest mainstream title, SAVING GERDA. This is a beautifully written, involving story of two families at opposite ends of the social scale in pre-war Germany.

It just dragged me in and wouldn't let me go so my final link is to Lilian's website. I do hope you'll go and read an excerpt and then come back to talk to her here about her inspiration, the research she did and how it feels as a writer to step so far out of your comfort zone that it's like stepping off a cliff.

PS I will be guesting on Romance Book Paradise today - and giving away some books.  

AND I'M NOT GOING TO BE AT ...

...the Romance Writers of America Conference, either.

I'm sad about that. I won't get the chance to meet up with friends I've made across the globe, not just writers but readers, too.

But I can't miss this opportunity to those authors who have been shortlisted for the RITA this year, especially dear friends, Anne McAlister, with her One Night Mistress... Convenient Wife. Jennie Lucas with The Christmas Love Child. Linda Goodnight nominated for The Snow Kissed Bride, Jane Porter for Duty, Desire and the Desert King all in the Short Contemporary Category.

There's Elizabeth Rolls, too, with her Regency Historical, Lord Braybrooke's Penniless Bride.

And a huge shout out in the category for mainstream women's books with a romance element - The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal, which was one of my favourite reads of last year.

Good luck to them and everyone who had a book shortlisted. They are the best of best published books last year and you can see the entire list of books and authors here