It's Spoony June!

It's June and there four fabulous new romances from 

Harlequin Romance

 or

 Cherish 

if you're in the UK.

Pick them up in paper... 

Or download them to your digital device of choice! 

Go!

Amazon US
Mills and Boon UK

PLAY TIME!

Well, the book - SCOOP! - the one with the ice cream van and set amongst the villages of Upper Haughton, Lower Haughton and Longbourne, is now with my editor which means I have a day or two to catch up with the knitting, read without guilt, and play. 

I'd better make the most of it because another deadline looms and I've no doubt the lovely ed will have a few ideas of her own about what more it needs.

So what have I been doing?

Well, on the understanding that all work makes Jill a dull writer I've been in London for the annual Mills and Boon author lunch.   Lots of opportunity to catch up with friends I hadn't seen for a year.

I had coffee with the lovely Kate Hardy before lunch - and she let me play with her iPad.  Lovely piece of kit but I'm still not tempted.

Pre lunch drinks was a noisy affair.  Fifty plus authors have a lot to talk about after a year!

I had lovely company on my table.  Here's the delightful Jennie Lucas who I first met in New York several years ago, and Mandy Ferguson, Mills and Boon's Managing Director. 

On the right is the  yummy Kate Walker who I was fortunate enough to be sitting next to, with Michelle Reid and Jackie Baird behind, and on the left, the lady who can do fabulous things with hot Italians, Lucy Gordon

I also took time out with the dh to explore the Museum of London, and rediscover the City where I once worked, many years ago.  Driving down Fleet Street, up through Fetter Lane and High Holborn.  Familiar names, but very little looked the same.

One of the other joys was that, since I was staying at the Charing Cross Hotel - where we had lunch - I had a bird's eye view of the Eleanor Cross (Cher Reign Cross...) newly restored and gleaming like a wedding cake, as well as Nelson's Column.  Brilliant location.  Will definitely stay there again.

After the hectic London bit, the best beloved and I went on to Surrey for the Christening of Cora Rose, our grand-daughter, now nearly eight months old.  Definitely sitting up and taking notice. 

She was Christened the lovely church of St Andrew's in Croydon, built for the servants of the toffs who workshipped at the parish church. 

It's quite small, but very beautiful, with this stunning font which was painted by Cecily Mary Barker, creator of the Flower Fairies, who also worshipped in the church.

It was a joyful occasion, part of the morning service - all the dd's yummy mummy mates brought their babies and they all behaved beautifully - with the entire congregation taking part and welcoming Cora Rose into their community.

Here are the three generations, together.  I just hope that Cora Rose (in a hundred year old family Christening gown from her Daddy's family) has inherited her mother's height genes!

MORE SHEIKHS, MORE SHEIKHS...

When I was in Matera a couple of years ago, doing a book signing in starlit square with my lovely Italian editor, Stephano, at my side, he kept whispering in my ear, "More sheikhs, Liz. More sheikhs."

Well HER DESERT DREAM is for you, Stephano!

Those of you who've read CHRISTMAS ANGEL FOR THE BILLIONAIRE will know that Lydia Young, who does "look alike" gigs as the "people's angel", has traded places with Lady Roseanne Napier to give her a break from the media.

The tricky part is getting past the press cordon at the entrance to the hotel where they do the swap, but after that it's going to easy. A week of luxury in the private Ramal Hamrah holiday villa of Princess Lucy al-Khatib (The Sheikh's Guarded Heart) where no one has ever met Lady Rose. All she has to do is take a daily walk along the beach to give the paps a target for their ever present cameras.

The best laid plans...

Princess Lucy has another friend who needs her help and she seizes the chance to infiltrate Kalil al Zaki into the royal household under the guise of a bodyguard for "Lady Rose".

From the first moment Lydia and Kal set eyes on one another the temperature rises but falling in love with a national treasure will do his cause no good. And Lydia knows that next week she'll be back on the supermarket checkout.

Here's the moment they meet: --

It was like some dream-come-true fairytale, Lydia thought. Check out girl to princess. Pure Cinderella.

All she needed was a pair of glass slippers and a fairy godmother to provide her with someone tall, dark and handsome to play Prince Charming.

She wouldn’t even have to flee when the clock struck twelve. She had a whole week before she turned back into Lydia Young, whose job as on the supermarket checkout was occasionally enlivened by a look-alike gig.

She automatically reached for the door to the VIP departure lounge, but it opened as she approached; a “Lady”, with a capital L, did not open doors for herself. She was so intent of covering her mistake by adjusting the veil on her hat that she missed the fact that her escort had stopped at the door.

‘Mr al-Zaki will take care of you from here, madam.’

Who?

She thought the word, but never voiced it.

All sound seemed to fade away as she looked up. She was tall, but the knee-meltingly gorgeous man waiting to “take care” of her was half a head taller and as his eyes, dark and intense, locked with hers, she felt the jolt of it to her knees. And yes, no doubt about it, her knees melted as he lowered his head briefly, said, ‘Kalil al-Zaki, Lady Rose,’ introducing himself with the utmost formality. ‘Princess Lucy has asked me to ensure that your holiday is all that you wish.’

Graceful, beautiful, contained power rippling beneath exquisite tailoring, he was, she thought, crazily, the embodiment of Bagheera, the bold, reckless panther from her childhood favourite Jungle Book. She’d made her father read over and over the description of his coat like watered silk, his voice as soft as wild honey dripping from a tree.

Her own, as she struggled for a suitable response, was non-existent.

Kalil al-Zaki might favour well-cut British tailoring over a fancy Ruritanian uniform but he was as close to her own Prince Charming fantasy as she was ever likely to come and she had to resist the temptation to look around for the old lady with wings and a wand who’d been listening in on her thoughts.

‘You’re coming with me to Bab el Sama?’ she managed, finally, knowing that she should be horrified by this turn of events. The frisson of excitement rippling through her suggested that she was anything but.

Here's what Romantic Times said:

"Complex characters with powerful chemistry, a compelling conflict and plenty of humour highlight this memorable story. A keeper." 4.5 stars.

To read the entire first chapter, click on the UK cover --

As you'll see from this, lucky UK readers will also get the fabulous Lucy Gordon's THE BRIDE WORE RED as part of the new 2-in-1 format. Lucy's book is part of the "Escape Around the World" series and is set in China. Lucy is a trooper. Nothing is too much for her fans and she went to China twice to research the book. :) She's captured the country so beautifully that you'll think you've been there yourself. The romance is great, too!

CHRISTMAS BOOKS

It's time to stock up on Christmas reads -- the ones that smooth out the aches after shopping, baking, decorating the house! -- and Harlequin have put their whole collection onto one handy page for you to take your pick this year.

Just click here to see all those gorgeous covers!


THE GRAND-PETS

We don't have any animals of our own now and enjoy the vicarious pleasure of the grand-pets -- four dogs, two cats and an assortment of other small creatures.

Here's the oldest of them all, Kees, a ten year old black Labrador who these days has a grey muzzle but still manages to keep the three youngsters to keep in line.

Every morning they all get taken to the Biesbosch for a run. This photograph was taken yesterday by the first born, who shares the passion for photography with his father.



AND ANOTHER SHEIKH

The second of the TRADING PLACES duet, HER DESERT DREAM, is now available online at eHarlequin

Romantic Times gave this second book the same stellar 4.5 stars as Christmas Angel for the Billionaire.

This is what they said about it:

"Complex characters with powerful chemistry, a compelling conflict and plenty of humour highlight this memorable story. A keeper."

And a reader, on the eHarlequin community said:

"Double WOW! This is a companion book to last month’s story about Lady Rose--Christmas Angel for the Billionaire by Liz Fielding, HR Nov09 #4131, Trading Places--and it is a lush, fascinating tale of a celebrity double’s life. Fielding is a skilled storyteller and she delivers yet again."

It's all a bit thrilling to be honest and you can read the entire first chapter here, courtesy of Mills and Boon (This is the UK cover and since it's a 2-in-1, you get two books for a bargain price of £4.99 -- I'm sharing this one with the fabulous Lucy Gordon and her Escape Around the World title, The Bride Wore Red, which is set in China.

LUCY'S PICKED A WINNER...

Many thanks to Lucy Gordon for being such a great guest in the past week. She's picked Lois as her winner: --

'I've chosen Lois because her attitude seems me admirably broad-minded and all embracing. Let all men have an equal chance, I say. The more the merrier.'

Lois I have your address and I've passed it on to Lucy who'll send on your copy of her new Presents. Lucky thing!

FACEBOOK

I just love Facebook. Last week the lovely owners of the TEMPTATION bookstore in Perth found me and I was able to put a face to a name. If you want to be a friend, too, you'll find them here

SINGLES NIGHT IN SWANSEA LIBRARY...

Since Swansea is my nearest city, this item on the BBC website caught my eye.

"Jack was browsing the shelves of the Dylan Thomas section when he spotted her thumbing through Iris Gower's latest romantic offering.

"Captivated, he approached, slowly and slightly awkwardly. "A quick glance at her lapel and his heart skipped a beat as he saw what he was hoping for.

"A pink badge! The mysterious stranger was also there, in Swansea Central Library that Friday evening, for singles' night."

"An unlikely Mills and Boon-style scenario, you might think.

"But what was once the preserve of the nightclub before pubs, bingo halls and supermarkets got in on the act is now being tried out in Swansea.

"Once a month - from 1800 BST onwards - Friday night is singles' night at the city's main library. It is open for business as normal, with organisers stressing that it is just an optional extra and nothing more than a bit of fun. Read on...

The library's next singles night will be held on 9th May. Sadly I won't be able to pop along to see how it goes, but since I'm always being asked where I get my ideas from I thought you might like to the generation of this one!

AND MORE REVIEWS

Romance Junkies have given THE BRIDE'S BABY a 4.5 Blue Ribbon Review.

"THE BRIDE’S BABY is Liz Fielding’s fiftieth book and it’s a fun witty book full of misunderstandings and heart wrenching situations. Tom and Sylvie complement each other beautifully. She’s willing to accept whatever life throws at her. Tom’s extremely business oriented and he’s more inconvenienced then hurt by his fiance’s change of heart. I was so caught up in their myriad of misunderstandings and emotional turmoil that I wasn’t able to put this book down and stayed up way too late reading - and don’t regret a single moment of the lost shut eye."

How lovely!

* * *

I'm on my holidays now so there'll be no guest this week, but make sure you come back next week when the fabulous Natasha Oakley (shortlisted for a RITA this year) will drop by to talk about her latest book.

POP UP BOOK STORE and LUCY GORDON

BOOKSHOP owner Andrew Ball was struck by figures that showed only 18% of Australians would ever venture into a shop such as his, so he devised a way to take such shops to the remaining 82%.

The prototype of his idea sits in front of the Federation Square staircase that links the square’s open space to Flinders Street. Like a market stall it unfolds in the morning and refolds at night. Read more here

This is such a brilliant idea that I hope it takes off in a seriously big way so that Andrew can stock his pop-ups with new books and hopefully he'll discover that women who love Jane Austen and Mrs Gaskell also love to put their feet up with a contemporary romance. If you see him in Federation Square, do say hello and well done. And put in a word for romance!

Oh, and before I introduce this week's special guest, you can now read an excerpt from my latest sheikh novella, Chosen As the Sheikh's Wife at my website. The Sheikh himself will drop by later in the month to tell you more!

Now for this week's special guest.

Lucy Gordon is a star. No question. She's been shortlisted for the RNA's Romance Prize twice, won two RITAs and a host of other awards, too. And her fabulous Italian heroes have earned her Harlequin Romance novels fans across the world. Of course she does have an advantage over the rest of us there. Her own whirlwind romance with a gorgeous Venetian is the stuff of legend. You can read about it on her website.

This month, however, Lucy's first Mills & Boon Modern/Harlequin Presents THE ITALIAN'S PASSIONATE REVENGE is published in the UK and US and I'm delighted that she's take time out of her busy life to tell us about it.

Over to Lucy...

First a big congratulation to Liz for receiving the Romantic Times award for Career Achievement for Love & Laughter. It comes right on top of the celebrations for her 50th Harlequin Romance, The Bride’s Baby, so the timing couldn’t be better.

Way to go, Liz! Keep ‘em coming!!

I’ve recently been reading the blog by Lawrence Roibal with great interest. Like many writers I’m indebted to him for the beautiful covers he’s done for my books, including all six of the Rinucci series.

One that stands out is The Mediterranean Rebel’s Bride, which made the finals in the Romance Prize given by the Romantic Novelist’s Association, in February. It didn’t win but I’ve just heard that it’s also in the finals of the National Readers Choice Award. The presentation will be made in July, at the Romance Writers of America conference in San Francisco. So I’m crossing my fingers.

I’ve been looking forward to May for a long time, because this month sees the publication of my first Harlequin Presents, THE ITALIAN’S PASSIONATE REVENGE.

Being Italian by marriage, I set a lot of my books in Italy, many of them in my two favorite cities, Venice and Rome. This one is set in the heart of Rome and I’ve had a wonderful time mentally revisiting my favourite places, the Via Vittorio Veneto, where the wealthy live, the Trevi fountain, where you go to toss a coin and wish to come back to Rome.

My heroine, Elise, made a wish to return to Rome, and eventually she does, but not under the circumstances she would have chosen. Now the man she loved is dead, and she’s taken back by another man, Vincente, the hero, who lures her with promises of passion and luxury. He’ll say and do anything to get her into his lair, because he hates her – although they have never met.

So, from the start, he’s one step ahead of her, but his advantage fades because, as well as being beautiful and sexy, she’s also shrewd, feisty, and brave – all of them things he hadn’t expected. He’s caught off-guard. It becomes a power struggle, with the combatants evenly matched until – well, it's all there in the book.

Finally Elise confronts Vincente:

“Oh, I’ve really got to hand it to you,” she said softly. “As a shrewd manipulator you’re the tops. But of course you have no conscience, which is a big help. You plotted for eight years without let-up. How could you do that? You told me not to judge you too easily, but you’ve judged me every moment. You never thought that there might be something to be said on my side.”

“No, I didn’t, and I’ve blamed myself for that ever since you told me what really happened.”

“But it came too late, didn’t it? I was already in the net by then. How you must have enjoyed closing it around me! Every word you said to me was a lie. Even when – ”
She checked herself as a wave of anguish washed over her. She fought it with every fibre of her being. She couldn’t afford it.

Vincente, watching, drew a tense breath, but stayed still before the rage in her eyes.

“Even when you seemed most sincere, it was a lie,” she said. “That takes some doing. I congratulate you. It was a good act, but it’s over. You served your purpose.”

“And what does that mean?”

“It means you’re not the only one concealing their real thoughts. I hadn’t slept with a man for years. I was ready for – shall we say? – a new experience. No ties. No conditions. You fitted the bill perfectly.”

That struck home, she was glad to notice. He paled, his mouth tightened and his face had a withered look.

“What are you saying?” he asked quietly.

“You know exactly what I’m saying,” she said, challenging him with her look. “I said you were shrewd and calculating, but you’re good in another way – just the way I needed. Do you want me to elaborate?”

“I don’t think you need to,” he said quietly.

“I didn’t know a man could be that skilled in bed,” she went on, disregarding him. “It’s something I won’t forget, because it gives me a touchstone to measure the others by.”

“Others?”

“In the future. And there are going to be others, make no mistake. You did fine job, now I’m going to discover just how fine. I remember everything, you see. Are your special little touches yours alone, or do other men know them? And if not, how quickly can they be taught? Never mind. I’ll have fun finding out.”

“Don’t talk like that,” he almost shouted.

“I’ll talk as I like. If you don’t like it, tough. Remember, I’m partly your creation. I’ve learned a lot from you, not just about sex but about cruelty and ruthlessness, deception with a straight face. I’m glad of it. Your lessons are going to come in very useful.”

His mouth twisted cynically.

“Well done, Elise. You turned out to be everything I thought you. I knew you’d show your true colours in the end.”

“Yes you did, didn’t you? And now I have. So have you. So we can toss each other on the scrap heap and go our ways without regret.”

“And admirable idea,” he snapped. “I’m glad you feel you learned something from me.”

“Ruthlessness, manipulation – ”

“I’m commonly held to be a master. You’ve been learning from the best.”

“Every word you ever said to me – ”

“Pretence, all of them. Every word, every caress, every moment of passion – all done for a purpose.”

“All those times we made love - ?”

“You don’t really think I could love you, do you?” he demanded coldly. “To me you’re little better than a murderess.”

* * *

From The Italian's Passionate Revenge, Harlequin Presents, May 2008 -- available from Mills & Boon in the UK and Harlequin in both print and ebook formats. Or from Amazon, UK

Thanks so much for that thrilling excerpt, Lucy. I know that, like me, your many fans can't wait to lap up the glamour and passion of a new romance set in Rome.

And since we've now all heard about Bertie, here's a picture of him perched on top of Lucy's computer so that we can all know what he looks like!


And finally, for a chance to win a signed copy of this book, Lucy wants to know --

What country does the hero have to come from to make you think -- "I've got to meet him!"?

Tell us the nationality of your own secret fantasy hero and Lucy will draw the winner on Monday.

Oh, and just to reassure Lucy's many Harlequin Romance fans, The Italian's Cinderella Bride-- a Heart to Heart -- is coming soon!

PRIZE WINNERS…

First things first. A huge thank you to Larry Roibal for giving us an insight into cover art production and for his time in checking out covers for authors who dropped by to chat. It’s been a lovely weekend.

Now for the prizewinners. The dh got out his panama hat and after printing out all the names (he's such a star) and a lot of shaking around, he drew out the following five names:

Melissa Leavitt, Ellen, Erastes, Maureen and Limecello.

There are five books up for grabs – The Secret Life of Lady Gabriella, Reunited: Marriage in a Million, The Marriage Miracle, A Family of His Own and The Valentine Bride.

If you’ll email me with the above listed in the order of desirability (most desire first) along with your snail mail address, I’ll do my best to fit you all to the books you’d most like. If any of you have read all five (and God bless you if you have) then I’ll be happy to substitute with something else from my backlist. Just say.

This weekend my guest will be Lucy Gordon, who’s going to tell us about her first Harlequin Presents which goes on sale in May.

BY REQUEST…

And just in case any of your have forgotten, my book The Ordinary Princess is being reprinted in the UK in May in HIGH SOCIETY WEDDINGS, with books by Barbara Hannay (Princess in the Outback) and Barbara McMahon (The Tycoon Prince). It’s also available at Amazon.ca and will, in due time, turn up at Amazon.com.

You can reserve it now at Amazon, UK here, or get it now direct from Mills & Boon here.

IN AUSTRALIA

I discovered by chance that Mills & Boon, Australia are reprinting the Boardroom Bridegrooms trilogy. You’ll find The Marriage Merger here

DON'T FORGET

THE BRIDE'S BABY will have disappeared from retail by this weekend, but it's still available at Mills & Boon here and as an eBook here -- you'll have to type Liz Fielding in the search box since nothing I do seems to give me a straight link. I have reported this.

This book is part of the A Bride for All Seasons quartet -- you'll find more about all them here as well as a chance to win a signed set of the books.

AND FINALLY

I know how much you all love a sheikh, so I'm introducing you to my latest prince of the desert, Sheikh Fayad al Kuwani, heir to the throne of Ras al Kawi. There'll be an excerpt on my website when it's updated on the 1st May, but the story starts with a jewelled Arab knife ...

“The handle had the patina of hard-use and, inset in the top was a large, smoothly polished red stone the size of a pigeon’s egg. The sheath wasn’t straight, but sharply curved and adorned with fancy silver and gold-coloured filigree work into which were set three similar, tear-shaped red stones, decreasing in size as they reached the curved point and looking for all the world as if the stone on the handle was bleeding along its length.”

100 ARABIAN NIGHTS with stories from Kim Lawrence and Meredith Webber, is published as part of the Mills & Boon Centenary celebrations. Reserve your copy here.

WHAT AN ELEGANT, SWELLEGANT PARTY, IT WAS…

As some of you may know, I was shortlisted for the RNA Romance Prize this year, along with a handful of other fabulous Mills & Boon authors – Lucy Gordon, Julie Cohen, Kate Hardy and Fiona Harper and so, on Monday I left my sleepy little village, boarded a train and set off for London.

The train was a little bit late. The taxi driver discovered the road to my daughter’s office – she was coming with me – was blocked and we arrived at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, barely in time for the official photographs and a glass of champagne before we were summoned to lunch.

We were all very bad and didn’t go and sit down, but stood about taking photographs of each other and talking like mad and the very forceful lady Toastmaster had to get quite firm with us, but even when we were sitting down the noise level didn’t subside. My ears are still ringing slightly…

Here are some moments from my day. First a hug from my daughter. Then a glimpse of the table and me with the red rose that was waiting for me there.

Kate Hardy and Karin Stoecker (Mills & Boon) chat over lunch.

Julie Cohen and Anna Lucia, me with Fiona Harper and although I’m sure you know this already, the winner of the Romance Prize was

KATE HARDY with BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

THANK YOU!

First a big thank you to Melissa James for being my guest over the weekend. And to everyone who responded to that terrific question about favourite storylines. You’ve given us all plenty to think about in your replies.

Bectoria and Snookie were both prize winners this week. Snookie, I have your address and I’ve already passed it on to Melissa. Bectoria, if you’ll contact me at liz @lizfielding.com with your street name and address, I’ll see that Melissa gets it asap.

Well, it has been an incredibly busy week following the announcement of the Romance Prize shortlist. Did you all go and check out the full list? As well as The Secret Life of Lady Gabriella, Fiona Harper has two books on the list, Kate Hardy is there with her fabulous Breakfast at Giovanni’s along with titles by Julie Cohen and Lucy Gordon. We’ll all be meeting up at the awards lunch in February and whoever wins it’ll be a cause for celebration, which remind me, I must book my seat on the train!

Also an interview with a journalist from The Observer about writing for Mills & Boon. It’s part of the M&B Centenary and will be in the Review section on Sunday 27 January.

This week my guest will be Elizabeth Rolls, who writes the most fabulous Regency romances. Check out her website and read the story of how she became hooked on Georgette Heyer while staying with a friend, wrote the book to unwind in the evenings and, seven months pregnant, she sold it. What a woman!

Her blog will be online on Thursday and she’ll be giving away a copy of her latest book A COMPROMISED LADY to one lucky winner, so do drop by over the weekend to chat with her.

THE GREAT ADVENT CALENDAR GIVEAWAY

DAY ELEVEN

11th December

Okay, guys, Zahir is trying to do the honourable thing, Diana is lying low and Sadie is under siege so you're just going to have to put up with me today. Or you could take a peek at the Harlequin Romance Authors Blog where there's a Spotlight on Lucy Gordon. But not, of course, before you've checked out the Advent Calendar.

First, you'll want to know the winner of Day Nine, AND MOTHER MAKES THREE. The book went to Cryna, in Calgary. Congratulations, Cryna, the book is on its way.


Behind the door today is THE ORDINARY PRINCESS.

I'm always being asked where I get my ideas from and mostly it's a bit of this and bit of that. But with this one there's no doubt. Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck -- ROMAN HOLIDAY.

Of course there's a twist. In this story it's the heroine who's telling the prince he needs a break from royal duties. Of course she has An Ulterior Motive. You just know it's all going to end in tears.

For a chance to win the book and find out what happens, send me an email at liz @lizfielding.com with Day Eleven in the subject line, your name and address in the body of the text and oh, the name of the other actor in Roman Holiday, Gregory Peck's partner in deception.

See you tomorrow!