BRIEFLY…
Okay, guys, Robyn1 came out of the hat for Natasha’s book. Can you email me at liz @lizfielding.com with your snail mail addy, Robyn.
And this is from some time back, but Michelle Douglas won Anne McAllister’s book, so if that didn’t get through, then shout Michelle!
And finally, there are a couple of prize winners from the Larry Roibal post who still haven’t contacted me. Or their emails have gone walkabout in cyberspace. Check it out guys – IT MAY BE YOU!
I’m still hiding out in my deadline cave, plus I’ve got internet connection problems meaning that I’m dial-up, but I’ve got a couple of fabulous guests coming up in June, so keep your eyes peeled.
In the meantime don’t forget to check out what’s new in Harlequin Romance here
Showing posts with label Natasha Oakley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natasha Oakley. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
I'M BACK!
Well, almost. Having dillied and dallied amongst the chocolate shops, tulip fields and windmills for far too long -- in solid sunshine! -- I'm now into the deadline cave. There will be a full report with pics as soon as the wip is delivered, but meantime here's a little glimpse of the temptations to come...
Right now, though, I'm more excited about introducing my next guest blogger, who's kindly given up her own precious time to help me celebrate my 50th book.
I first met Natasha Oakley a year or two when she was placed next to me at a Mills & Boon author lunch. She'd just sold her first book and I was so taken with her that I rushed out and bought FOR OUR CHILDREN'S SAKE, the minute it hit the bookstores. I was not disappointed. It was an amazingly mature first book and since then she has gone from strength to strength.
This year she has been nominated for a RITA, is shortlisted for the National Readers’ Choice Award and has already won the Romantic Times award for 'Best Presents of 2007' with her book, The Tycoon's Princess Bride. It says "Presents" on the cover, but truly, it is a "Natasha Oakley", guaranteeing a strong story, fabulous characters, great humour and a deeply embedded emotional core. If you haven't already read one of her books, don't wait! Give yourself a treat!
Natasha...
50 books! From my perspective, currently chugging my way through a book that feels as easy to write as pushing a turnip through a fine sieve, that seems almost an impossible achievement. That’s 50 heroines, 50 heroes, 50 black moments ... Shattering. Fortunately I have a large glass of wine to one side of me so I am just about coping with the thought of it.
It’s particularly lovely to be asked to blog in celebration of Liz’s amazing achievement because one of those fifty books is part of the reason I now write category fiction. I’ve already said something about the reasons why I stopped acting and started writing on Jessica Hart’s blog this month so I won’t repeat myself here other than to say that it was a ‘surprising’ decision because I wasn’t a ‘writer’. Not the kind who scribbled stories from the time they could hold a pen anyway.
My creative outlet was theatre. I was passionate about that - and I read a lot of plays, searching for exciting audition speeches mainly. Apart from that it was Georgette Heyer, Mary Stewart and assorted nineteenth century literature. I have a bit of a weakness for Anthony Trollope. And Dickens. Oh and Austen.
And I watched movies. Still do. (My favourite of all-time is a little black and white film called ‘Hobson’s Choice’. It stars the late great Sir John Mills as Willy Mossop, the shy boot maker, who marries the ‘master’s daughter’. Not that he particularly wants to at the beginning. You’ve got to watch it if only to see the scene where he’s getting ready for his wedding night. The morning-after-the-night-before is rather lovely too.) I really hadn’t read much contemporary fiction and I certainly hadn’t read a Harlequin Mills & Boon.
I approached my new ‘career choice’ very methodically. Romance was a fairly easy decision. That’s the best bit of any movie, isn’t it? Best bit of any book. Besides I really wasn’t in a place where I wanted to write anything with an unhappy ending. I’m still not.
Then I looked at what sold. Now that was really interesting.
Harlequin Mills & Boon is a publishing phenomenon. One book sells every 3 seconds in the UK alone. And how about this – in the past fifty years there have been 10,325 weddings, 29,500 kisses and 35,250 hugs. Wonder who actually went through and counted those??? vbg
Only I’d never read a Mills & Boon. I remember looking at the turning display unit in my local library and wondering quite where to start. English heroines I thought. ‘Write what you know’ and all that. I picked up ten books, quite at random, and took them home.
The first book off the pile was Jessica Hart’s ‘The Convenient Fiance’ which I absolutely loved. The second was a book I didn’t like quite so much so I shan’t tell you anything about it. Then I read a ‘regency’. (Still quite tempted by the idea of writing a regency romance, you know.) The next book was Liz Fielding’s ‘Dating Her Boss’ – and it was brilliant. I loved Max, tortured by regrets after the death of his first wife. Gilly who had far too much hair until it was tamed in a real Cinderella moment. You’ve got to love the moment where Max sees her transformed. The kiss on the stairs is perfection. And why is it men have such a thing about angora jumpers???
That trip to the library really did seal my fate. I had a new direction. But more than that I had discovered a lovely way to unwind. I still think a ‘Liz Fielding’ romance is a pretty perfect way to escape life’s grot life.
This month I have one of my own romances on the shelf. It’s called ‘Wanted: White Wedding’ and I wrote it during a particularly bleak time. My lovely mum was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer and died a few months later. There’s a lot to be said for disappearing into a world you have complete control over.
My fellow Pink Heart Society editors ‘cast’ their books. I don’t always. But for ‘Wanted: White Wedding’ I did.
So here is Freya and Daniel and a short excerpt from Chapter One:
“Get that, will you?”
“I’m -”
“The phone. Take a message,” a disembodied male voice shouted, followed by a grunt. “I’ll be through in a minute.”
“I -”
“Phone! Just answer the phone!”
For a brief second she wondered whether she’d inadvertently stepped into a farce, and then Freya shrugged, stepping over a pile of vinyl records and an old gramophone to reach the other side of the desk. What did it matter? And at least it would stop that infernal noise ricocheting about.
“Ramsay Auctioneers,” she said into the receiver, her eyes on the closed door.
“Daniel? Is that you?”
Hardly. She rubbed a hand across her eyes, the humour of the situation finally reaching her. “I’m sorry, Mr Ramsay isn’t available at the moment. May I take a message?”
“Can you tell him Tom Hamber called, love?”
Her right eyebrow flicked up and she reached over the scattered papers for a pad of florescent stick-it notes. In her real life she’d have paused to tell Tom Hamber she wasn’t his ‘love’. She might even have told him that while she could pass on a message she was by no means certain she would ...
“Have you got that? You won’t forget?”
“Tom Hamber called,” she said dryly, drawing a box around the two words she’d written. “I think I’ll manage to remember.”
“Tell him I need to speak to him before midday.”
Freya added the words ‘before midday’ to the note, then turned at the sound of a loud crash. “I’ll leave him a note,” she said in to the receiver. Whether he actually found it really wasn’t her problem.
“That’s it, love.”
She set the receiver back on its cradle, ripping the top note off the pile. One thing she was certain of: there was no way on earth she was going to let her Grandmother sell anything valuable through this crazy set-up. She looked at the confusion on the desk and stuck the note firmly on the telephone.
“Thanks for that.”
Freya turned and found she was looking up into a pair of brown eyes. Very definitely up. At five feet ten - more in heels - it wasn’t often she had to do that.
Why did that feel so good? Some deep Freudian something was probably at the root of it. He had to be at least six foot two. Quite possibly more. And those eyes … Dark, dark brown and sexy beyond belief.
“I was holding up one end of a table and couldn’t let go.”
Freya pulled her eyes away from his and wrapped her sheepskin jacket closely around her. “Right.”
“Did you get a message?”
“Yes. Y-yes, I did. Yes.” The corner of his mouth quirked and she stumbled on, feeling as foolish as if she’d been caught drooling. “It was a Tom Hamber.”
“Ah.”
“He wants to speak to Daniel Ramsay before midday.”
“I can do that.”
The most horrible suspicion darted into her head.
“I’m Daniel Ramsay.” He smiled, and Freya felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath her.
This couldn’t be Daniel Ramsay. From her grandmother’s conversation she’d conjured up a very different picture. Someone altogether more parochial. More …
Well …. less, if she were honest. Much less. Truthfully, this Daniel Ramsay looked like the kind of man you’d quite like to wake up with on a lazy Sunday morning. A little bit rumpled and a whole lot sexy.
“You’re a little late.” Then he smiled again, wiping his hands on the back of dark blue denim jeans and the effect was intensified. “But not to worry. I get here about eight thirty, but I told the agency nine thirty was fine.”
He held out a hand and she automatically held out her own. His wedding ring flashed. Of course a man who looked like this one would be taken. They always were - even if they pretended not to be.
A familiar sense of dissatisfaction speared her. It was amazing how many men said they were separated when the only thing keeping them apart from their significant other was temporary geographical distance.
She was so tired of that. Tired of the game-playing.
Daniel bent down and pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk. “I’ve got the key to the inner office here. I’ll show you where everything is and then I’ve got to drive out to the Penry-James farm.”
“I’m not -”
He stood straight. “Which part didn’t you get?”
“I understood you perfectly, but I’m not from any agency.”
“You’re not?”
“Merely a potential customer.”
His hand raked through his dark hair. “Hell, I’m so sorry! I thought -”
“I was someone else.” It didn’t take the mental agility of Einstein to figure that one out. It was vaguely reassuring to know he didn’t actively intend to run his business in such a haphazard way.
Sudden laughter lit his eyes, and she fought against the curl of attraction deep in her abdomen.
“So you’re not the cavalry after all? Perhaps we’d better start over?”
“Perhaps,” she murmured, feeling unaccountably strange as his hand wrapped round hers for the second time. He had nice hands, she registered. Strong, with neatly cut nails. And a voice that made her feel as though she’d stepped into a vat of chocolate.
But taken, the logical part of her brain reminded her. And, apparently, the kind of man who, if he wasn’t actually preying on her grandmother, was certainly making the most of an opportunity.
And my question:
What was your first Liz Fielding experience? I will give away a copy of my RITA nominated book, ‘The Tycoon’s Princess Bride’, to the person whose comment makes me smile.
Thanks, Natasha! You've got until Sunday evening (US time) to leave a comment. In the meantime if, like me, you can't wait to buy Wanted: White Wedding
just click the title.
Well, almost. Having dillied and dallied amongst the chocolate shops, tulip fields and windmills for far too long -- in solid sunshine! -- I'm now into the deadline cave. There will be a full report with pics as soon as the wip is delivered, but meantime here's a little glimpse of the temptations to come...Right now, though, I'm more excited about introducing my next guest blogger, who's kindly given up her own precious time to help me celebrate my 50th book.
I first met Natasha Oakley a year or two when she was placed next to me at a Mills & Boon author lunch. She'd just sold her first book and I was so taken with her that I rushed out and bought FOR OUR CHILDREN'S SAKE, the minute it hit the bookstores. I was not disappointed. It was an amazingly mature first book and since then she has gone from strength to strength.
This year she has been nominated for a RITA, is shortlisted for the National Readers’ Choice Award and has already won the Romantic Times award for 'Best Presents of 2007' with her book, The Tycoon's Princess Bride. It says "Presents" on the cover, but truly, it is a "Natasha Oakley", guaranteeing a strong story, fabulous characters, great humour and a deeply embedded emotional core. If you haven't already read one of her books, don't wait! Give yourself a treat!
Natasha...
50 books! From my perspective, currently chugging my way through a book that feels as easy to write as pushing a turnip through a fine sieve, that seems almost an impossible achievement. That’s 50 heroines, 50 heroes, 50 black moments ... Shattering. Fortunately I have a large glass of wine to one side of me so I am just about coping with the thought of it.It’s particularly lovely to be asked to blog in celebration of Liz’s amazing achievement because one of those fifty books is part of the reason I now write category fiction. I’ve already said something about the reasons why I stopped acting and started writing on Jessica Hart’s blog this month so I won’t repeat myself here other than to say that it was a ‘surprising’ decision because I wasn’t a ‘writer’. Not the kind who scribbled stories from the time they could hold a pen anyway.
My creative outlet was theatre. I was passionate about that - and I read a lot of plays, searching for exciting audition speeches mainly. Apart from that it was Georgette Heyer, Mary Stewart and assorted nineteenth century literature. I have a bit of a weakness for Anthony Trollope. And Dickens. Oh and Austen.
And I watched movies. Still do. (My favourite of all-time is a little black and white film called ‘Hobson’s Choice’. It stars the late great Sir John Mills as Willy Mossop, the shy boot maker, who marries the ‘master’s daughter’. Not that he particularly wants to at the beginning. You’ve got to watch it if only to see the scene where he’s getting ready for his wedding night. The morning-after-the-night-before is rather lovely too.) I really hadn’t read much contemporary fiction and I certainly hadn’t read a Harlequin Mills & Boon.
I approached my new ‘career choice’ very methodically. Romance was a fairly easy decision. That’s the best bit of any movie, isn’t it? Best bit of any book. Besides I really wasn’t in a place where I wanted to write anything with an unhappy ending. I’m still not.
Then I looked at what sold. Now that was really interesting.
Harlequin Mills & Boon is a publishing phenomenon. One book sells every 3 seconds in the UK alone. And how about this – in the past fifty years there have been 10,325 weddings, 29,500 kisses and 35,250 hugs. Wonder who actually went through and counted those??? vbg
Only I’d never read a Mills & Boon. I remember looking at the turning display unit in my local library and wondering quite where to start. English heroines I thought. ‘Write what you know’ and all that. I picked up ten books, quite at random, and took them home.
The first book off the pile was Jessica Hart’s ‘The Convenient Fiance’ which I absolutely loved. The second was a book I didn’t like quite so much so I shan’t tell you anything about it. Then I read a ‘regency’. (Still quite tempted by the idea of writing a regency romance, you know.) The next book was Liz Fielding’s ‘Dating Her Boss’ – and it was brilliant. I loved Max, tortured by regrets after the death of his first wife. Gilly who had far too much hair until it was tamed in a real Cinderella moment. You’ve got to love the moment where Max sees her transformed. The kiss on the stairs is perfection. And why is it men have such a thing about angora jumpers???That trip to the library really did seal my fate. I had a new direction. But more than that I had discovered a lovely way to unwind. I still think a ‘Liz Fielding’ romance is a pretty perfect way to escape life’s grot life.
This month I have one of my own romances on the shelf. It’s called ‘Wanted: White Wedding’ and I wrote it during a particularly bleak time. My lovely mum was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer and died a few months later. There’s a lot to be said for disappearing into a world you have complete control over.My fellow Pink Heart Society editors ‘cast’ their books. I don’t always. But for ‘Wanted: White Wedding’ I did.
So here is Freya and Daniel and a short excerpt from Chapter One:
“Get that, will you?”“I’m -”
“The phone. Take a message,” a disembodied male voice shouted, followed by a grunt. “I’ll be through in a minute.”
“I -”
“Phone! Just answer the phone!”
For a brief second she wondered whether she’d inadvertently stepped into a farce, and then Freya shrugged, stepping over a pile of vinyl records and an old gramophone to reach the other side of the desk. What did it matter? And at least it would stop that infernal noise ricocheting about.
“Ramsay Auctioneers,” she said into the receiver, her eyes on the closed door.
“Daniel? Is that you?”
Hardly. She rubbed a hand across her eyes, the humour of the situation finally reaching her. “I’m sorry, Mr Ramsay isn’t available at the moment. May I take a message?”
“Can you tell him Tom Hamber called, love?”
Her right eyebrow flicked up and she reached over the scattered papers for a pad of florescent stick-it notes. In her real life she’d have paused to tell Tom Hamber she wasn’t his ‘love’. She might even have told him that while she could pass on a message she was by no means certain she would ...
“Have you got that? You won’t forget?”
“Tom Hamber called,” she said dryly, drawing a box around the two words she’d written. “I think I’ll manage to remember.”
“Tell him I need to speak to him before midday.”
Freya added the words ‘before midday’ to the note, then turned at the sound of a loud crash. “I’ll leave him a note,” she said in to the receiver. Whether he actually found it really wasn’t her problem.
“That’s it, love.”
She set the receiver back on its cradle, ripping the top note off the pile. One thing she was certain of: there was no way on earth she was going to let her Grandmother sell anything valuable through this crazy set-up. She looked at the confusion on the desk and stuck the note firmly on the telephone.
“Thanks for that.”
Freya turned and found she was looking up into a pair of brown eyes. Very definitely up. At five feet ten - more in heels - it wasn’t often she had to do that.
Why did that feel so good? Some deep Freudian something was probably at the root of it. He had to be at least six foot two. Quite possibly more. And those eyes … Dark, dark brown and sexy beyond belief.
“I was holding up one end of a table and couldn’t let go.”
Freya pulled her eyes away from his and wrapped her sheepskin jacket closely around her. “Right.”
“Did you get a message?”
“Yes. Y-yes, I did. Yes.” The corner of his mouth quirked and she stumbled on, feeling as foolish as if she’d been caught drooling. “It was a Tom Hamber.”
“Ah.”
“He wants to speak to Daniel Ramsay before midday.”
“I can do that.”
The most horrible suspicion darted into her head.
“I’m Daniel Ramsay.” He smiled, and Freya felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath her.This couldn’t be Daniel Ramsay. From her grandmother’s conversation she’d conjured up a very different picture. Someone altogether more parochial. More …
Well …. less, if she were honest. Much less. Truthfully, this Daniel Ramsay looked like the kind of man you’d quite like to wake up with on a lazy Sunday morning. A little bit rumpled and a whole lot sexy.
“You’re a little late.” Then he smiled again, wiping his hands on the back of dark blue denim jeans and the effect was intensified. “But not to worry. I get here about eight thirty, but I told the agency nine thirty was fine.”
He held out a hand and she automatically held out her own. His wedding ring flashed. Of course a man who looked like this one would be taken. They always were - even if they pretended not to be.
A familiar sense of dissatisfaction speared her. It was amazing how many men said they were separated when the only thing keeping them apart from their significant other was temporary geographical distance.
She was so tired of that. Tired of the game-playing.
Daniel bent down and pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk. “I’ve got the key to the inner office here. I’ll show you where everything is and then I’ve got to drive out to the Penry-James farm.”
“I’m not -”
He stood straight. “Which part didn’t you get?”
“I understood you perfectly, but I’m not from any agency.”
“You’re not?”
“Merely a potential customer.”
His hand raked through his dark hair. “Hell, I’m so sorry! I thought -”
“I was someone else.” It didn’t take the mental agility of Einstein to figure that one out. It was vaguely reassuring to know he didn’t actively intend to run his business in such a haphazard way.
Sudden laughter lit his eyes, and she fought against the curl of attraction deep in her abdomen.
“So you’re not the cavalry after all? Perhaps we’d better start over?”
“Perhaps,” she murmured, feeling unaccountably strange as his hand wrapped round hers for the second time. He had nice hands, she registered. Strong, with neatly cut nails. And a voice that made her feel as though she’d stepped into a vat of chocolate.
But taken, the logical part of her brain reminded her. And, apparently, the kind of man who, if he wasn’t actually preying on her grandmother, was certainly making the most of an opportunity.
And my question:
What was your first Liz Fielding experience? I will give away a copy of my RITA nominated book, ‘The Tycoon’s Princess Bride’, to the person whose comment makes me smile.
Thanks, Natasha! You've got until Sunday evening (US time) to leave a comment. In the meantime if, like me, you can't wait to buy Wanted: White Wedding
just click the title.
Monday, May 05, 2008
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."
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!
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.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
FIRST SOME FABULOUS NEWS...
I've just heard that the truly wonderful Natasha Oakley (who writes weepies that keep Kleenex in business) has finalled in the Short Contemporary Category for the RITA with her book "The Tycoon's Princess Bride". Terrific news. And many congratulations to all the other authors out there who got "the call" yesterday.
BUT DON'T FORGET...
You have until 1st April to take part in the competition to win the Mills & Boon Jigsaw (wherever you are in the world). Scroll down to the post below for all the details.
NOW RELAX AND ENJOY
...the wonderful, sexy, funny Julie Cohen who this week has taken time out from admiring the adorable Fecklet to help me celebrate my 50th Harlequin Romance, The Bride's Baby.
I first encountered Julie at a Romantic Novelists' Association conference. She was giving a talk on writing sex. I was in the next room discovering the joys of writing a synopsis. Oh, bad choice. Truly, I needed the synopsis talk more than I needed to learn how to write about sex, but the gales of laughter coming from the next room left me in no doubt where I should have been and the minute her first book was published I rushed out and bought it. And kept on buying. Read her excerpt and you'll see why.
Over to Julie...
I’ve got a secret vice to admit: I’m a Liz Fielding book hoarder.
I’ll see a Liz Fielding book in the shop, and I’ll buy it, because of course you’d have to be insane not to. But then I won’t read it right away. No, I’ll put it on a special shelf, the one that’s directly to the left of the computer where I’m typing right now, and I will leave it there, like that bar of chocolate your husband bought for you in a rare moment of romance and which would be a waste to merely shove down your throat. It’s something that needs to wait for the correct moment, when you have time to savour it.
The correct moment, for me, for a Liz Fielding book, is when I’m feeling under the weather. Or when I’ve got a train journey and I need a break from work. Or when nothing has quite gone right all day and I need a long, long bath. That’s when I take down the Liz Fielding book, because I know Liz’s likeable characters, her sense of humour, her sparkling style will give me a lovely break of unalloyed pleasure, while I snuggle in bed, or the miles go by, or the bath goes cold.
Congratulations on fifty books, Liz, and thanks for the hours of happiness when I needed them.
I’ve got two books on the shelves right now in the USA and UK. They’re both, coincidentally, friends-into-lovers stories, though they are pretty different.
MISTRESS IN PRIVATE (April Harlequin Presents, USA) is about “plain” Jane Miller, who decides to embark upon a hot affair with a sexy male model named Jay. The problem is, she has no idea how to seduce a sexy male model, so she asks her online friend, computer geek Jonny, for advice. Little does she know, that Jay is actually Jonny.
ONE NIGHT STAND (Little Black Dress, UK) is the story of Eleanor Connor, who writes erotic comedy novels by day and works in a seedy pub by night. Fed up with her boring life, she has a one night stand with a stranger, who then disappears. When she discovers she’s pregnant, she asks her best friend and neighbour, pastry chef and ladies’ man Hugh, to help her find the father.
Here’s an extract from ONE NIGHT STAND, which is a flashback to Eleanor and Hugh’s early friendship, five years before the story starts.
When we got to the cinema, having arrived ten minutes late, Hugh had got the dates wrong and it was an art film about Danish wife-swappers.
Hugh had left his glasses in his room so it fell to me to read him the subtitles.
“‘Do you want to make love to my fair lady? She is very good at giving--’”
I couldn’t say it. I dissolved into snorting giggles and the people sitting near us glared at me.
“What?” asked Hugh. “What is she good at giving? Gifts?”
“You know,” I gasped between sobs of laughter.
“I don’t,” said Hugh, although the fair lady had started to do it onscreen and his vision wasn’t that bad.
“Shhh,” hissed someone a row or two behind us.
“A bl--”
“Blood? She’s giving blood?”
I could barely breathe. “No, she’s giving a bl--”
“Black plague?”
“Shhh!”
Hugh was managing not to laugh; I was clutching onto his arm so hard it probably hurt him, trying not to slide off my wooden seat. Meanwhile on screen two other people had joined the action and it appeared that they were also having a conversation about flower symbolism.
“A blow job!” I cried, and someone else yelled, “Shut up!” and I put my head on the armrest and laughed as quietly as I could, tears streaming down my face, as Hugh shook with silent laughter beside me.
We snuck out soon afterwards, trying to ignore the dirty looks. It was a full moon and warm for March, so we swung by Hugh’s room, picked up a screwtop bottle of red wine, and went to sit by the university lake. A log hewn into a bench sat near some bushes on the bank, the perfect place to drink and watch the moonlight on the water and talk about everything and nothing, the kind of talk you can do with your best friend.
“I never thought sex was funny before,” I said.
“It’s inherently funny,” Hugh said. “Just listen: blow job. Say it.”
“Blow job,” I repeated, and giggled.
And then we lapsed into the kind of silence you can do with your best friend. The lake made lapping sounds on the shore and the moonlight was so bright it seemed as if I could taste it between slugs of wine from the bottle: something refreshing as water and a little metallic.
Hugh put his arm around me. This in itself was not unusual. I took another drink of wine and closed my eyes. I felt Hugh’s arm tighten around me, I heard him mutter something I didn’t quite listen to about taking charge of his life, and then he took the bottle of wine from my hand. I still had my eyes closed but it seemed as if he drank for a very long time
When he put the bottle down on the path it made a hollow empty sound. I opened my eyes and frowned. There had been about a third of the bottle left when I’d last taken a drink.
I leaned forward to pick up the wine to see if Hugh had hogged it all, and at that moment Hugh lunged toward me. I felt the warmth of his breath, the heat of his lips, on the side of my face near my ear. And something wet that I realised, with shock, was his tongue.
I jumped off the bench, knocking the wine bottle over onto the path. “Hugh,” I gasped, “did you just try to kiss me?”
I’ve got a copy of ONE NIGHT STAND for someone who leaves a comment on this post, telling us all about your secret vice. If it involves Liz Fielding, all the better! ;-)
Julie's book ONE NIGHT STAND is available now here at Amazon, where you'll also find MISTRESS IN PRIVATE.
I've just heard that the truly wonderful Natasha Oakley (who writes weepies that keep Kleenex in business) has finalled in the Short Contemporary Category for the RITA with her book "The Tycoon's Princess Bride". Terrific news. And many congratulations to all the other authors out there who got "the call" yesterday.BUT DON'T FORGET...
You have until 1st April to take part in the competition to win the Mills & Boon Jigsaw (wherever you are in the world). Scroll down to the post below for all the details.
NOW RELAX AND ENJOY
...the wonderful, sexy, funny Julie Cohen who this week has taken time out from admiring the adorable Fecklet to help me celebrate my 50th Harlequin Romance, The Bride's Baby.I first encountered Julie at a Romantic Novelists' Association conference. She was giving a talk on writing sex. I was in the next room discovering the joys of writing a synopsis. Oh, bad choice. Truly, I needed the synopsis talk more than I needed to learn how to write about sex, but the gales of laughter coming from the next room left me in no doubt where I should have been and the minute her first book was published I rushed out and bought it. And kept on buying. Read her excerpt and you'll see why.
Over to Julie...
I’ve got a secret vice to admit: I’m a Liz Fielding book hoarder.
I’ll see a Liz Fielding book in the shop, and I’ll buy it, because of course you’d have to be insane not to. But then I won’t read it right away. No, I’ll put it on a special shelf, the one that’s directly to the left of the computer where I’m typing right now, and I will leave it there, like that bar of chocolate your husband bought for you in a rare moment of romance and which would be a waste to merely shove down your throat. It’s something that needs to wait for the correct moment, when you have time to savour it.
The correct moment, for me, for a Liz Fielding book, is when I’m feeling under the weather. Or when I’ve got a train journey and I need a break from work. Or when nothing has quite gone right all day and I need a long, long bath. That’s when I take down the Liz Fielding book, because I know Liz’s likeable characters, her sense of humour, her sparkling style will give me a lovely break of unalloyed pleasure, while I snuggle in bed, or the miles go by, or the bath goes cold.
Congratulations on fifty books, Liz, and thanks for the hours of happiness when I needed them.
I’ve got two books on the shelves right now in the USA and UK. They’re both, coincidentally, friends-into-lovers stories, though they are pretty different.
MISTRESS IN PRIVATE (April Harlequin Presents, USA) is about “plain” Jane Miller, who decides to embark upon a hot affair with a sexy male model named Jay. The problem is, she has no idea how to seduce a sexy male model, so she asks her online friend, computer geek Jonny, for advice. Little does she know, that Jay is actually Jonny.ONE NIGHT STAND (Little Black Dress, UK) is the story of Eleanor Connor, who writes erotic comedy novels by day and works in a seedy pub by night. Fed up with her boring life, she has a one night stand with a stranger, who then disappears. When she discovers she’s pregnant, she asks her best friend and neighbour, pastry chef and ladies’ man Hugh, to help her find the father.
Here’s an extract from ONE NIGHT STAND, which is a flashback to Eleanor and Hugh’s early friendship, five years before the story starts.
When we got to the cinema, having arrived ten minutes late, Hugh had got the dates wrong and it was an art film about Danish wife-swappers. Hugh had left his glasses in his room so it fell to me to read him the subtitles.
“‘Do you want to make love to my fair lady? She is very good at giving--’”
I couldn’t say it. I dissolved into snorting giggles and the people sitting near us glared at me.
“What?” asked Hugh. “What is she good at giving? Gifts?”
“You know,” I gasped between sobs of laughter.
“I don’t,” said Hugh, although the fair lady had started to do it onscreen and his vision wasn’t that bad.
“Shhh,” hissed someone a row or two behind us.
“A bl--”
“Blood? She’s giving blood?”
I could barely breathe. “No, she’s giving a bl--”
“Black plague?”
“Shhh!”
Hugh was managing not to laugh; I was clutching onto his arm so hard it probably hurt him, trying not to slide off my wooden seat. Meanwhile on screen two other people had joined the action and it appeared that they were also having a conversation about flower symbolism.
“A blow job!” I cried, and someone else yelled, “Shut up!” and I put my head on the armrest and laughed as quietly as I could, tears streaming down my face, as Hugh shook with silent laughter beside me.
We snuck out soon afterwards, trying to ignore the dirty looks. It was a full moon and warm for March, so we swung by Hugh’s room, picked up a screwtop bottle of red wine, and went to sit by the university lake. A log hewn into a bench sat near some bushes on the bank, the perfect place to drink and watch the moonlight on the water and talk about everything and nothing, the kind of talk you can do with your best friend.
“I never thought sex was funny before,” I said.
“It’s inherently funny,” Hugh said. “Just listen: blow job. Say it.”
“Blow job,” I repeated, and giggled.
And then we lapsed into the kind of silence you can do with your best friend. The lake made lapping sounds on the shore and the moonlight was so bright it seemed as if I could taste it between slugs of wine from the bottle: something refreshing as water and a little metallic.
Hugh put his arm around me. This in itself was not unusual. I took another drink of wine and closed my eyes. I felt Hugh’s arm tighten around me, I heard him mutter something I didn’t quite listen to about taking charge of his life, and then he took the bottle of wine from my hand. I still had my eyes closed but it seemed as if he drank for a very long time
When he put the bottle down on the path it made a hollow empty sound. I opened my eyes and frowned. There had been about a third of the bottle left when I’d last taken a drink.
I leaned forward to pick up the wine to see if Hugh had hogged it all, and at that moment Hugh lunged toward me. I felt the warmth of his breath, the heat of his lips, on the side of my face near my ear. And something wet that I realised, with shock, was his tongue.
I jumped off the bench, knocking the wine bottle over onto the path. “Hugh,” I gasped, “did you just try to kiss me?”
I’ve got a copy of ONE NIGHT STAND for someone who leaves a comment on this post, telling us all about your secret vice. If it involves Liz Fielding, all the better! ;-)
* * *
I can't wait to read those, Julie!Julie's book ONE NIGHT STAND is available now here at Amazon, where you'll also find MISTRESS IN PRIVATE.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
IT'S BEEN A HUNDRED YEARS...
It was quite a party...
Flaming torches and "flamingoes" on stilts greeted us at the entrance to the Walker Collection in Manchester Square, London on Thursday night.
This wonderful art gallery was the most beautiful setting for Mills & Boon Centenary party, at which editors -- past and present -- guests from Harlequin in the US, and the truly yummy Alan Titchmarsh were present to celebrate this amazing anniversary. Alan made a charming speech in which he said very nice things about Mills & Boon.
Then there were the "Butlers in the Buff"... Not stripped to the waist as they are for less refined parties, but looking for all the world like those sexy guys on the covers of our books. Bow ties pulled loose, shirts unbuttoned. And this one was handing out roses to the authors.
There was an opera singer to serenade us, delicious canapes, chocolate dipped strawberries, ice cream cones -- and after an hour or so, we needed them! -- and Bellinis, pink champagne.
So what did we do?
We talked, of course.
Here is Carol Townend, Donna Hayes (President and Publisher of Harlequin) and Michelle Styles.
Here is Natasha Oakley and Fiona Harper.
Here is one of the very hot "butlers".
Here I am with Jessica Hart.
And here I am with both hands full of more of those gorgeous guys.
Whew! (Pause to fan myself...)
Oh, and before I forget, Jackie won the signed copy of ENGLISH LORD, ORDINARY LADY from Fiona Harper.
And you've still time to enter the HERE COME THE GROOMS competition and win copies of books from Kate Walker, Anne McAllister and my own The Bride's Baby.
HERE COME THE GROOMS...
For full details you'll have to scroll down the page, but here are all three questions again -- you'll find the answers on our websites and if you send all three answers to each of us, you'll have three chances to win all three books.
My addy is liz @ lizfielding.com (no gaps); you'll find contact details of Kate and Anne's blogs.
The books are:
Anne McAllister's ONE NIGHT LOVE CHILD
Flynn's Question: What story did he come to Montana to cover when he met Sara in the first place?
Kate Walker's SPANISH BILLIONAIRE, INNOCENT WIFE
Raul's Question: What are the full names of the hero and heroine of Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife
And my own THE BRIDE'S BABY.
Tom's Question: What colour silk did he become intimately acquainted with?
It was quite a party...Flaming torches and "flamingoes" on stilts greeted us at the entrance to the Walker Collection in Manchester Square, London on Thursday night.
This wonderful art gallery was the most beautiful setting for Mills & Boon Centenary party, at which editors -- past and present -- guests from Harlequin in the US, and the truly yummy Alan Titchmarsh were present to celebrate this amazing anniversary. Alan made a charming speech in which he said very nice things about Mills & Boon.
Then there were the "Butlers in the Buff"... Not stripped to the waist as they are for less refined parties, but looking for all the world like those sexy guys on the covers of our books. Bow ties pulled loose, shirts unbuttoned. And this one was handing out roses to the authors.
There was an opera singer to serenade us, delicious canapes, chocolate dipped strawberries, ice cream cones -- and after an hour or so, we needed them! -- and Bellinis, pink champagne.
So what did we do?
We talked, of course.
Here is Carol Townend, Donna Hayes (President and Publisher of Harlequin) and Michelle Styles.
Here is Natasha Oakley and Fiona Harper.
Here is one of the very hot "butlers".
Here I am with Jessica Hart.
And here I am with both hands full of more of those gorgeous guys.
Whew! (Pause to fan myself...)
Oh, and before I forget, Jackie won the signed copy of ENGLISH LORD, ORDINARY LADY from Fiona Harper.
And you've still time to enter the HERE COME THE GROOMS competition and win copies of books from Kate Walker, Anne McAllister and my own The Bride's Baby.
HERE COME THE GROOMS...
For full details you'll have to scroll down the page, but here are all three questions again -- you'll find the answers on our websites and if you send all three answers to each of us, you'll have three chances to win all three books.
My addy is liz @ lizfielding.com (no gaps); you'll find contact details of Kate and Anne's blogs.
The books are:
Anne McAllister's ONE NIGHT LOVE CHILD
Flynn's Question: What story did he come to Montana to cover when he met Sara in the first place?
Kate Walker's SPANISH BILLIONAIRE, INNOCENT WIFE
Raul's Question: What are the full names of the hero and heroine of Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife
And my own THE BRIDE'S BABY.
Tom's Question: What colour silk did he become intimately acquainted with?
Friday, December 28, 2007
JUST WHEN YOU THINK 2007 IS ALL OVER...
...someone leaves a message about an award nomination. Well, when I'd checked my inbox I discovered what it's all about.
THE SECRET LIFE OF LADY GABRIELLA has been shortlisted by Romantic Times as Best Harlequin Romance of the year, along with Ally Blake, Trish Wylie, Claire Baxter and Cara Colter. What great company!
And -- there's more. I'm also nominated for a Career Achievement Love & Laughter Award. I'm in great company there, too, with Teresa Southwick also nominated for a Career Achievement award -- although not in the same category, so that's extra good!
Other great nominations are Michelle Douglas for her First Series Romance, HIS CHRISTMAS ANGEL, which you can still catch if you're quick. And Natasha Oakley for her Niroli series Presents, The Tycoon's Princess Bride.
...someone leaves a message about an award nomination. Well, when I'd checked my inbox I discovered what it's all about.THE SECRET LIFE OF LADY GABRIELLA has been shortlisted by Romantic Times as Best Harlequin Romance of the year, along with Ally Blake, Trish Wylie, Claire Baxter and Cara Colter. What great company!
And -- there's more. I'm also nominated for a Career Achievement Love & Laughter Award. I'm in great company there, too, with Teresa Southwick also nominated for a Career Achievement award -- although not in the same category, so that's extra good!
Other great nominations are Michelle Douglas for her First Series Romance, HIS CHRISTMAS ANGEL, which you can still catch if you're quick. And Natasha Oakley for her Niroli series Presents, The Tycoon's Princess Bride.
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