Linked characters...

I've been asked about secondary characters in my Rita nominated book, The Sheikh's Convenient Princess.

Does Violet have her own story? Do the Garland Girls appear in other books?

Happily, the answer is yes and yes.

I created the Garland Agency for the book Dating Her Boss.

When Jilly Prescott arrives from London clutching her certificates for incredible typing and shorthand speeds, Amanda Garland is torn.

 Garland Girls are the creme de la creme of secretarial/PA staff and Jilly doesn't have their finishing school gloss or style but she is desperate. Her brother needs help, but he's grown suspicious of her efforts to tempt him out of a very dark place by sending him her most attractive temps. Jilly, with her uncontrollable mop of hair and a Geordie accent that elocution lessons have not been able to entirely eradicate, will at least deal with his immediate need for secretarial help.


Jilly, who has arrived in London to catch up with her childhood sweetheart, only to have her dreams smashed, touches Max's grieving heart and he sets out to help her be noticed in her friend's glamorous new world.

Amanda Garland has her own story. Self-sufficient, successful, independent but with love all around her, her biological alarm clocks goes off and she decides it's time for a baby. She is highly organised, independent and doesn't need a man - she's going to use a donor clinic to achieve her dream. That's until she meets car hire chauffeur Daniel Redford and The Baby Plan begins to unravel.

Having created the Garland Agency, whenever I need a competent woman to take charge of a difficult situation, that is - like it's very happy clients - where I always go, so the name does crop up in other books.

Finally, there is Princess Violet, English wife of Sheikh Hamad, who is determined to give Ruby and Bram a wedding that, while private, will be unforgettable.

Descended from a runaway princess who took with her the legendary gold and ruby encrusted dagger, the Blood of Tariq, I wrote Violet's story, Chosen As the Sheikh's Wife  as a special commission for the 100th anniversary of Mills and Boon.

It's a novella, but packed with action. A life-threatening situation, a marriage of convenience, a kidnapping and an attempted coup. And two lovely people falling in love.

And while I'm here talking about linked characters - one of the books in the Invitation to a Royal Wedding series, The Baronet's Wedding Engagement, by Rita award winning Jessica Hart, is free at the moment.

Here are the links -

Tule
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Kobo
iBooks

Guest blogging

Good morning!

I'm guest blogging over at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs today.

There's a glimpse of the wounded arm! :)

Six degrees of separation...

Actually, that title is not right. I'm not talking about separation in this blog, but connections.

One of my lovely "Team Liz" members who received an ARC of The Sheikh's Unsuitable Bride had spotted a number of characters who had appeared in other books. She wrote and asked me if one of the other characters had also had a book of her own. She didn't, but the fact that she was "real" enough to give the feeling that might have was very pleasing. It meant that even though she appeared briefly, in a phone call, she had a three-dimensional quality that I hope to give to even the walk-on parts.

I love revisitng my characters and all my sheikhs are linked, either through family or close ties.

Sheikh Fayad and his lovely Princess Violet, who play an important part of this story, first appeared in Chosen as the Sheikh's Wife (with a guest appearance from my very first sheikh, Prince Hassan - His Desert Rose). I needed a country where the exiled Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ansari could make his home and where better than Ramal Hamrah? Fayad is his cousin. The fort had been his maternal grandmother's home. Perfect.

Sheikh Zahir gets a passing mention. He first appeared in The Sheikh's Guarded Heart, then got his own story in The Sheikh's Unsuitable Bride.

His unsuitable bride was Diana, who worked for Sadie, (first appearance in The Baby Plan) who is the step-daughter of Amanda Garland (first appearnace Dating Her Boss), who also makes an appearance in The Sheikh's Convenient Princess.  Are you still with me? :)

When you have created the world's finest staff agency, why would you need to invent another one?

Amanda is one of those very useful women who will put in appearance whenever I need her. Her brother was the hero of Dating Her Boss; she was a bit edgy, very self-contained and I couldn't resist blowing her world apart in The Baby Plan.

Another character who gets a mention in The Sheikh's Convenient Princess is Jude Radcliffe, who met and married the adorable Talie in The Temp and the Tycoon (reported in the Daily Telegraph as one of the most downloaded books on Amazon UK when it was first published). That's the retro cover Mills and Boon used when they reprinted it for their 100th anniversary.

Are there any characters in my books that you wish had a story of their own? There are one or two who I think deserve a story of their own but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

In other news, I'm expanding Team Liz. The duties are not onerous. You have to be signed up to my newsletter (there's a link on the sidebar), "like" my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter. More importantly you have to love my books because you will receive an advance copy, in return for which you will be asked to leave a honest review on Goodreads and Amazon. If you hate it, I'd rather you emailed me and told me what bothered you - actually that goes for everyone. I will be putting an invitation on my newsletter in February with details of how to come on board.

There will be another new Liz Fielding Harlequin Romance/Cherish, Her Pregnancy Bombshell, in June 2017. And one other book this year. Maybe a short story if I can keep sufficiently focussed and everything runs smoothly at Fielding Towers.

Here are the links for The Sheikh's Convenient Princess.

Harlequin

Ibooks  Barnes & Noble

Kobo
 Amazon US
Amazon UK

It's nearly here!

It's nearly here! My 65th book for Harlequin Mills and Boon will be published on 1st February and I couldn't be more excited.

Here's our first sight of Sheikh Ibrahim al Ansari ...

‘Bram…’

Bram Ansari had answered the phone without looking up from a document that had just arrived by courier. ‘Hamad… I was about to call you.’

‘Then you’ve received the summons to Father’s birthday majlis.’

‘It arrived ten minutes ago. I imagine I have you to thank for that.’

‘No. It’s his wish. He’s sick, Bram. It’s a significant birthday. You need to be home.’

His brother did not sound particularly happy at the prospect.

‘I doubt everyone thinks that.’

‘The old man has negotiated a secret deal with the Khadri family.’

‘A deal?’ Bram frowned. ‘What kind of deal?’ The last time he’d seen Ahmed Khadri the man had threatened to cut his throat if he ever stepped foot in Umm al Basr. ‘Tell me.’

As his brother explained the secret deal his father had negotiated to enable Bram to return home the colour leached out of the day until the sky, the sea, the flowers overflowing the tower turned grey.

‘No…’

‘I’m sorry, Bram, but at least you’re prepared. If Bibi hadn’t managed to smuggle a note to her sister you would have been presented with a fait accompli.’

‘You think I can go through with this?’

‘It’s the price that must be paid.’

‘But I won’t be the one paying it!’ He took a breath. ‘How is your family?’ he asked, cutting Hamad short when he would have argued. ‘The new baby?’

‘In sh’Allah, all my precious girls are thriving. Safia sends her fondest wishes and thanks for the gifts.’ He hesitated. ‘She said to say that you are always in her prayers.’

Bram ended the call then swept the invitation from the table in impotent fury. The longed-for chance to kneel at his father’s feet and beg his forgiveness had come attached to a tangle of string that would take more than prayers to unravel. It would need a miracle.

The phone beeped, warning him that he had a missed call. He glanced at the screen and ignored it. His aide was spending a long weekend with friends in the Alps and the last thing he needed right now was a joyous description of the snow conditions.

If you'd like to see pictures of Bram Ansari, his miracle, Ruby Dance and the clothes, jewels and settings for this book, then do visit my Pinterest page

To pre-order, here are the links. :)

Harlequin

Ibooks  Barnes & Noble

Kobo
 Amazon US
Amazon UK