I made the front page again...

My Writers' News arrived this week and the lead story was my brush with the plagiarist and how the romance writing community came together with the most amazing support.

Special mention went to Googlefus, Elizabeth Chadwick, the Seriously Serious Scribes on Facebook and Jo Bourne, all of whom tracked down the whole story and made the woman who'd stolen not only my work, but that of Catherine Mann, Julie Kenner and Marie Ferrarella - and who knows who many others - 'fess up and admit what she'd done. No excuses.

They were all brilliant, as was everyone who emailed, tweeted and FB'd with their support.

And then today, my copy of RT Book Club Reviews arrived and there I was again, or rather there was my Little Book of Writing Romance being given a great write-up, along with C J Lyons, No Rules, Just Write.

Clearly we share the same vision of writing. It's there on the first page of my book -

"The first rule of writing - there are no rules."

I also received the US cover artwork of The Last Woman He'd Ever Date, which is very pretty. I'll get that up in a day or two.

Add this to a hilarious post on Smart Bitches Love Trashy Books from "pig", who said some lovely things about Tempted By Trouble and  this fabulous review for Flirting With Italian at Wearing My Reading Hat -

Glad I took a chance…


Liz Fielding’s Flirting with Italian. I generally don’t pick up Harlequins without a recommendation. So glad I gave this one a chance after reading a review of it on AAR. I loved everything about it from the Italian setting to the lead characters to the way the relationship develops and sex doesn’t take over the story. This one has been added to my comfort read pile and I’m sure I’ll read again when I’m in the mood for it.

All I can say is - some weeks are just magic!

Happy Easter!

DESERT ISLE KEEPER

Reviews, as we all know, are subjective. One person's taste on one day. Some people won't review a book they don't like (I won't myself).

Over the years I've had a lot of wonderful reviews, including one of the now defunct Gold Medals from Romantic Times. I've had some snorters, too, including those from people who are unfamiliar with some of the English English words I use and assume I made a mistake. That's life. You book a put out into the world and it's no longer yours. Either don't read the reviews or live with them.

Yesterday, though, was a review Red Letter day.

Flirting With Italian earned Desert Isle Keeper status from All About Romance, one of the toughest review sites on the planet (including Smart Bitches Loves Trashy Books). You get a flavour from their opening salvo - 

   "This book sounded trite: A recently dumped heroine lands a dream job in Rome and meets a gorgeous Italian Count..."

But then it goes on...

"Fortunately, trite is the last thing it proved to be. While it started off light and pleasant, by the end I realize just how textured and deep the characters are, and how lovely the story is. This is a good one."

Be still my beating heart. She liked it...

The review is a long one, with a summary of the plot and then finishes -

   "I enjoyed the author’s technique of beginning each chapter with an excerpt from Sarah’s blog. It helped show the changes she went through while in Rome, and also provided insights into her growing relationship with Matteo. 
   "I’ve never been to Rome or the outlying countryside, but the author brought them alive for me. I felt as if I was there, and could smell and see the sights right along with Sarah.
   "I’ve read a quite a few of the author’s books. Some have been enjoyable while others were forgettable. As I closed the book on the last page I found myself crying a few happy tears. I loved this one and know I will read it again at some point in the future. It’s on my keeper shelf."

If you want to read the whole thing, you'll find it here

Here is Liz. She is smiling...