MILLS & BOON STUFF

I love Mills & Boon stuff.

I have a sweet little wallet made from the cover of The Temp & the Tycoon by Bookity which I carry everywhere. This is one for sale on her website.

I even have a jigsaw (awaiting a dull winter day to complete) and really wish Mills & Boon would produce a good quality mug for the inspiring cups of tea. Fine white china with the new logo - one of each series, maybe.

Maybe they should take a leaf out of the music business book and sell merchandise!

Clearly there is a taste for it.

Checking my Google Alerts this morning I found this sewing table that someone has made using old Mills & Boon covers.

If I had some room I would so love this!

The centre lifts off to store sewing materials - or in my case it would be writing stuff.

A secret place to tuck away drafts, research books, notebooks and all those pictures of gorgeous hunks. :)

For more pictures click here

And don't forget to check out the New Voices competition that Mills & Boon are running this autumn.

I'll be doing my bit with a chat and mini workshop at Carmarthen Library tomorrow (Monday 9th August 11 - 12.30). You'll find other workshop dates all over the country with M&B authors on the Romance Is Not Dead website

OH BOY!

As if I didn't have enough to do, I've got hooked on knitting again. I haven't done this in years. Not the kind of knitting with complicated instructions. In fact the last thing I knitted was a yards long Dr Who scarf for the first born. But then, this week, I passed a little shop that had wool in the window. And it called to me.

Maybe it's all part of being a grandmother. Here's the little sweetheart I'm knitting for -



And here's the pattern. A little bolero in a pale sagey green (babies wear such sophisticated colours these days!).



The back is done and one side.

Readers, I rhink I might be hooked.

OOPS...

Almost forgot. I'm giving a writing workshop on Monday 9th August, 11 am at Carmarthen Library. In case you're thinking of entering the New Voices competition and want to pick my brains.

Mills & Boon New Voices

Is there anyone who hasn't heard about the amazing new writing competition that Mills & Boon announced yesterday that will be going through to the autumn, with the winner announced on 1st November?

There is?

Well, here's the skinny -

Mills & Boon New Voices
A global search for fresh writing talent to join
the Mills & Boon galaxy of romantic fiction stars

How the competition will work…

The competition has its very own website - where the entries will be posted and readers can leave their feedback.

The competition will be divided up into four stages and will run from Monday 6th September.

The winner will be announced on Monday 1st November.


1. Stage 1: The Free for All

• All submitted entries will be read and judged by the Mills & Boon judging panel

2. Stage 2: The Shortlist

• A shortlist of 8-10 authors will be announced, and their first chapters posted on the website.

• All shortlisted entrants will be assigned a Mills & Boon author and editor as a ‘mentor’ as they polish their second chapters and for their remaining time in the competition.

• The public will vote for their favourite!

3. Stage 3: The Shorter-list

• The shortlist will be chopped down to 4 – the next stage to share a ‘pivotal moment’ from their book.

• The public will vote for their favourite!

4. Stage 4: Winner!

• Judged by a panel – names TBC!

• The winner is announced!!

The Romance Is Not Dead web site is now up and running and there loads more information on there, including the dates of workshops being run by M&B authors and editors all over the country.

I'm going to be giving a workshop in connection with this contest in Carmarthen Library - it's in the diary for 9th August, I'm just waiting for the co-ordinator in Carmarthen to get back from her holiday and firm it up. I hope to see a lot of you there. (Although maybe Snookie won't be able to manage to make it all the way from Hawaii!)

Mills & Boon teamed up with Woman's Weekly in July last year to launch a short story competition. They had some fantastic submissions and the winning story was Letting Go by Karen Martyn who receives a laptop worth £800, a consultation with a Mills & Boon editor and a year's subscription to the Mills & Boon "Romance" series.

"I am still reeling from the news of my win and did not truly believe it until the letter arrived! Thank you so much, Woman's Weekly, for giving me this opportunity to pursue my writing career. I fully intend to make the most of it."

Congratulations also go to three runners-up who all won a year's subscription to the Mills & Boon "Romance" series.

'Change of Plan', by Mrs C Jacobsen from Macclesfield
'Back For Good', by Mrs R Harris from Barnstaple, Devon
'The Love of Her Life', by Miss E Kerr from East Keswick, West Yorkshire

To read all these stories, click here

AND NOW FOR THIS YEAR'S COMPETITION!



Have you always dreamed of writing for Mills & Boon Modern? Do you feel you have a passionate story to tell, with characters that leap off the page, and emotional conflicts, drama and excitement that will keep the reader turning the pages? Then we have the perfect competition for you!

This July bite the bullet and see if you've got what it takes! For all the competition details visit Mills & Boon competition page in July.

WRITING COMPETITION

I know a lot of visitors to this blog are working hard at their own writing careers so I'm posting news of a new writing competition from Mills & Boon. Good luck!

The FEEL THE HEAT writing competition!

Do you have a fresh, vibrant, sassy voice and a passion for sexy alpha heroes? Can you write sparky dialogue, create great sensual tension and hot love-scenes?

If so, then we want to hear from you!

Details:

• Email your first chapter and synopsis of a Modern Heat novel to: feeltheheat@hmb.co.uk by 15th September 2008

• The WINNER receives an editor for a year!

• TWO RUNNERS-UP will be given critiques of their first chapter entries and an editorial telephone consultation!

The winner will be announced October 1^st 2008

For help on writing Modern Heat, click here and for more information on the competition and the rules, click here

For more stuff about writing for Mills and Boon, click here