Did you miss this first time round?

If you missed Anything But Vanilla (part of the ice cream girls trilogy) when it first came out, Mills and Boon are publishing it in a British Bachelor's 3-in-1 in the UK next month.

It's available in paper and digital wherever you buy your books. Of course it is available everywhere in the world to download as a single title. Just click here for Amazon UK.

The other "ice cream" books are Tempted by Trouble and Vettori's Damsel in Distress. And there is a short story available in digital only, Melting Mr Frosty's Heart.

Lipgloss Lollies for ice cream lovers...

My lovely daughter - knowing my love of all things ice cream - spotted these cute lipgloss lollies and sent me one. I've now grabbed a handful to add to my "goody box" and I'll add one to the signed book that one of my newsletter subscribers wins each month

This month's newsletter will also have a free read of Melting Mr Frosty's Heart.

(Hint: you can sign up on the sidebar just there on the right!)

More Ice Cream...

I'm over at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs today tying up loose ends in the ice cream saga (Tempted By Trouble, Anything But Vanilla, Vettori's Damsel in Distress).

Are their any other characters in the ice cream books, or any others, whose stories you want to read? Click on the link and come on over. I'm all ears! :)

Rosie Tote Bag

Have you signed up for my newsletter? Next month one of my lovely subscribers will win this fabulous "Rosie" tote bag. It's a really good one, printed on both sides with straps long enough to carry it on your shoulder.

Perfect for trips to the library, roomy enough for a visit to the beach. Or just a little shopping.

There's a sign up link on the sidebar.

And have you downloaded my fun freebie - Rosie's Little Book of Ice Cream?

Geli meets her destiny...

Vettori's Damsel in Distress is the third in books about the Amery sisters (Elle - Tempted By Trouble; Sorrel - Anything But Vanilla) whose lives were changed forever by the arrival of an ice cream van called Rosie (and the man driving her!)

Geli - who collects stray animals and went to art college - has turned down a full time job in the family business and traveled to Milan to indulge her love of fashion and art and to remind herself that life isn't all about ice cream. Things do not start well.

It's snowing - who knew? There's a stray kitten - nothing changes. She can't find her apartment and  this is Italy, where the love affair with ice cream began. And then she comes face to face with Dante Vettori...

Amazon
iBooks
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Harlequin
Mills and Boon 
Mills and Boon, Australia

There's more ice cream on the way...

With Elle and Sorrel happily settled and up to their eyes in ice cream and babies, Geli strikes out on her own Things don't go according to plan....

Any Excuse for a Kitten Pic...

I'm writing the third in my "ice cream" trilogy at the moment.

This is Geli's story - she's the one who looks like a skinny vampire and collects stray animals.

Well, the vampire has grown up and she's no skinny any more, although she's still addicted to wearing black. And she hasn't been in Italy for more than an hour before she finds a stray kitten. That's gattino in Italian. Or rattino, as the hero insists on calling it.

One of the best bits of writing is research - especially when it's someone glamorous like Milan.  And hero is Dante Vettori. It's all fashion, art, style and although I can't actually get away to the city for a long weekend of walking the ground at the moment, I am having the best fun watching stuff on

July translations

Tempted by Trouble in Sweden

Livets alla frestelser

Elle Amery vet att hennes mammas förmåga att falla för lite vilda typer inte var den bästa egenskapen att ärva. Så när den tuffe Sean McElroy dyker upp med glassbilen Rosie blinkar alla varningslampor rött. Och hon gör verkligen sitt bästa för att ignorera gnistan av attraktion mellan dem. Men när de ger sig ut på en resa upptäcker de båda att livet, precis som glassen, rymmer många olika smaker ...

Kyss mig igen
Miniserie: Nu och för evigt (4/4) Eve behöver aldrig träffa sin chef, mångmiljardären Leo, i det verkliga livet eftersom hon är hans assistent på distans. Så när hon låter sig övertalas att för en rejäl summa pengar låtsas vara hans fästmö vid en viktig affärsmiddag förändras plötsligt allt. Men att spela förälskad är trots allt inte så svårt. Eve har aldrig glömt deras första, korta möte för ett antal år sedan. Attraktionen var omedelbar och hans kyssar oförglömliga ... Ska hon nu äntligen få veta hur deras första möte kunde ha slutat?

Christmas Angel for the Billionaire in Hungary

Jackie Brown: Sejk a konyhámban
Lázasan készülődik Emily egy jótékonysági vacsorára, amelyre az ő cége szállítja az ételt. Takarékosságának hála egyre közelebb kerül élete nagy álmához, hogy nyisson egy saját éttermet. Még aznap éjjel nagyvonalú megrendelést kap Madani Tarim sejktől, akit mindenki csak Dannek hív. A férfi titokzatos és vonzó, Emily érzi, hogy ő sem hagyja hidegen, Dan mégsem ajándékozza neki a szívét, mert a hazájában már várja a neki kiszemelt menyasszony…

Sabrina Philips: Sivatagi nászéjszakaRéges-rég volt, hogy Kaliq sejk és Tamara egymásba szeretett az egzotikus sivatagi országban. A lány azóta ünnepelt modell lett, de a férfi sosem tévesztette szem elől. Most azzal keresi meg, hogy viselje a híres Azam-zafírokat egy gálaesten, amelyet Kaliq azért rendez, hogy elterelje a sajtó figyelmét haldokló apjáról és az ország ingatag politikai helyzetéről. Tamara vonakodva és félve mond igent a csábító ajánlatra…

Liz Fielding: A hercegnő dublőre
Remek ajánlatot kap Lydia: egy hét fényűző pihenés vár rá a mesés Keleten, és az utazás egy fillérjébe sem kerül. Cserébe Lady Rose hasonmásaként az orránál fogva kell vezetnie a lesifotósokat, akik az angol hercegnő nyomában járnak. A lány biztonságáról nem más gondoskodik, mint Kalil, az emír unokaöccse. De vajon mit fog tenni a férfi, ha megtudja, hogy a lány csak egyszerű bolti eladó?
Jackie Brown: Sejk a konyhámban

A final kiss...

It's the last week of the release month in the US and Australia for Anything But Vanilla and here is the final kiss...

And it's also available direct from Harlequin US and Harlequin Mills and Boon in Australia and on iTunes, Kobo and Sony - there are links on the sidebar as is Elle's story, Tempted By Trouble.

Anything But Vanilla - the third kiss...

Anything But Vanilla was launched in retail two weeks ago. I'm not sure how many will be left on the shelves in your local Walmart, or in Barnes & Noble - they will have a new set of books to fill the slots by now so you have to be quick.

Thank goodness for the internet, where they'll be available until stocks run out and to download to eReaders while there's a demand.

So much has changed in our book buying habits since I started writing. It used to be the dash to W H Smith (in the UK) to buy the new Mills and Boons on the first Friday in the month when the new titles hit the shelves so that you could be sure to get your favourite authors. Then the numbers of books and series published increased to the point where they split them up and released new books in two batches. I'm not sure if that was more excitement, or just confusion.

The supermarkets got in on the act,  giving women the opportunity to add the treat of a romance to the weekly shop, and taking the place of the corner shops and newsagents that had once stocked the books - although since it was only the bigger branches it meant that some people were no longer able to pick them up since that usually involved a car journey. Always winners and losers - it's been a bumpy ride.

Amazon appeared in our lives and those of us with access to the internet no longer had to hunt the shelves of charity shops to find old backlist books by favourite authors - they could be delivered to the door. It made used books big business - good for readers but hard for publishers, authors and booksellers (who, unlike the big charity bookshops that were opening, actually have to pay rent and staff) and who need readers to buy new books to stay in business. If they aren't making a living there are no new books.

And then the eReaders gave "one-click" a whole new meaning with instant gratification, no waiting joy when a favourite author released a new book. Plus the "try before you buy" first chapter downloads for authors you didn't know, but whose book blurbs intrigued. And adustable print size for those of us whose eyesight has never been great and are deteriorating with age.

Now you can not just read anywhere - on your phone, your tablet - you can buy a book wherever you are and here to tempt you to download that first chapter is another moment from Anything But Vanilla - another #KISSkiss.

And it's also available direct from Harlequin US and Harlequin Mills and Boon in Australia and on iTunes, Kobo and Sony - there are links on the sidebar as is Elle's story, Tempted By Trouble.

Second Kiss...

Here's the second kiss from Anything But Vanilla 

"Melting his heart lick by delicious lick."

...Desere Steenberg, Goodreads

A "Kiss" that's Anything But Vanilla

And it's also available direct from Harlequin US and Harlequin Mills and Boon in Australia

Anything But Vanilla goes Sexy in Oz

Anything But Vanilla... by Liz Fielding

Sorrel Amery is determined to make her summer event the talk of the town, and she knows just the way into people's hearts - Champagne sorbet! It's the perfect strategy…until the ice cream parlour's owner runs off, leaving Sorrel's plans melting faster than a sundae in the summer sun.

When the luscious Alexander West arrives to help pick up the pieces, Sorrel's life gets shaken up more than ever before! Especially as this globe-trotting adventurer is determined that nothing in her life should ever be boring old vanilla again…

It Was Only A Kiss by Joss Wood

For driven businessman Luke Savage success is the only option. So when gorgeous marketing intern Jess Sherwood waltzes into his office and casually informs him that his newly inherited vineyard has an image problem, he's outraged! She's naïve and overly ambitious, all Luke can do to stop her talking...is to kiss her.

Eight years later the vineyard needs a boost - and Luke needs a hip new marketing strategy to save it. Jess may drive him crazy but she's the right woman for the job. Their only problem is how to keep their minds on work and off that kiss!

 You can buy here

 

The never-ending book...

The never ending book, the one that I started before I moved house and began to think I'd never finish, is finally done. It is the second in my ice cream trilogy - the first was Tempted By Trouble.

This is Sorrel's story - the middle sister - the one who loves vintage clothes and plans to be a millionaire by the time she's twenty-five.

The title, which I absolutely love, is ANYTHING BUT VANILLA, and it will be published as a Riva title in the UK and in the new KISS imprint in the United States next year.

Before that, however, I will be republishing three of my "vintage" books, A Stranger's Kiss, Dangerous Flirting and Old Desires in eBook format. Here's a taste of the covers to come!


STOP PRESS!

In case you've missed it, I'm running a "special" on Eloping With Emmy on Amazon - that's worldwide - during October. You can pick it upfor 99c in the United States, 77p in the UK and .89€ in Germany and the rest of the EU.

Translation, translation, translation...

It's always fun to see a new translation of one of my books.

In this case it's two - Tempted By Trouble and Flirting With Italian have now been released in Dutch This is always a special treat because I love, love, love their covers.

Lucky 7 MeMe

I got tagged for this by the fabulous fellow RIVA, and New York Times best selling author, Nicola Marsh.

The rules state that you go to page 77 of your wip in progress or recent book, go to line seven and then paste seven sentences.

I haven't reached page 77 of my book yet, but Nicola said I could use page 7, and this is moments after Sorrel Amery meets Alexander Laing in the second book of my Ice Cream trilogy.

   ‘I know that, but I was beginning to wonder if you did.’ The gleam, if anything, intensified and without warning she was feeling anything but cold. Her head might be saying “He is so not my type”, but her body had tuned out her brain and was thinking “He is so hot…”
   Down girl…
  Sorrel had no idea what had brought Alexander Laing back to Maybridge, but from her own reaction she knew that his arrival would send Ria into a melt-down tizzy that would cause no end of disruption to the smooth running of Knickerbocker Gloria. And that would create a knock-on effect for her own business.

All title ideas grateful received - so far I'm thinking along the lines of "Sundae Sweet Sundae", or "Sizzling Sundae", or Sundaes With Sorrel"... 


Tagged:

Shirley Jump
Susan Stephens
Anne McAllister
Liz Fenwick
Jan Jones
Pam Hartshorne
Kate Lace

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!

I'm guesting over at Tote Bags and Blogs today - talking about building a heroine.  There's a fun comment comp with a chance to win a book from my backlist.

See you there!

BLACK FRIDAY BOOK FUN!

Being British I was unfamiliar with the term Black Friday, but this year it's been everywhere and suddenly the meaning clicked.

Never one to miss out on a fun idea, I'm pitching in with a giveaway to celebrate the day.

WILD JUSTICE is already a free download on Kindle, but I'm offering a free download of WILD LADY and WILD FIRE - the second and third books in the trilogy as a prize.

To be included in the draw, follow my blog or, if you've already done that, then leave a comment (or both!) telling me what you'll be hunting down in the sale today. Or the best bargain you ever found.

Here's a snippet from Wild Fire to keep you warm -

His touch was like summer lightning, wild fire that ran between them and as he continued to hold onto her hand, his eyes too seemed to heat from within.

They were not, as she had first thought, a steely grey, but were flecked with warm gold lights that seemed to bore into her very soul and for a moment she was certain that he felt the same charge of excitement. Then steeply hooded lids came down, cloaking his feelings.

'Guard it with your life, Melanie.'

        

The key was warm from his body, but his hands were cool. Long, slender fingers wrapped around her warm hand and the warmer key. Hidden layers of heat, like the hidden layers of meaning she sensed behind everything he said. 

I'll draw the winner on Monday morning, UK time.

Oh, and if you're in the UK, Mills and Boon are having a Pink Friday sale today and you can buy TEMPTED BY TROUBLE for a really skinny £1.99 here

COINCIDENCES…

A gift arrived unexpectedly in the post this week from my lovely cousin, Lucinda Ganderton (the incredibly talented lady who designed and made all the lovely things in the Liberty Sewing Book that I featured a week or two ago).

It’s a handbag dangly and was designed by Livia Firth (yes, Colin’s wife) for the Helping Handbags charity founded to support vulnerable children in Bulgarian care homes.  The two lovely handbags on the website were designed by Lucinda’s sister, Emma.

The whole point of this blog though, is that enclosed with the gift was a note from Lucinda written on a postcard reproduction of Sir Stanley Spencer’s painting of Cookham Moor.

I know Cookham Moor well, have walked across it many times as a child and teen, wheeled the first born across it in his buggy (and my Dad used to see Stanley Spencer working in the village in his own youth).

Cookham provided the inspiration for my imaginary village of Longbourne, setting for Tempted By Trouble, where Elle Amery lives with her sisters and grandmother. This painting is the site of the annual fair, where Elle, every year, hopes to see someone who might be her father.

She blinked. ‘June?’ For a moment her brain freewheeled, before she managed to get grip, engage the cogs, start thinking. ‘The first week is the highlight of the Longbourne calendar.  The only highlight,’ she added, wryly.

‘The fair?’

‘I never go myself. I just stand on the sidelines looking at the men putting up the rides, erecting the stalls.’

‘Searching for a likeness?’

No doubt about it, he was good at mental arithmetic. Give him two and two and he came up with a neat four, no problem.

‘I know it’s stupid. I mean what would I say? You don’t know me but I think you might have met my mother twenty-four years ago?’

‘Actually,’ he replied, ‘I think it’s far more likely that some man would look up, see you with the sun shining on your hair and remember a long ago summer. Wish he was still young.’

Just love coincidences like that.