SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY: Busted in Bollywood

This Six Sentence Sunday is a snippet from BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD (Entangled Publishing, December 2011).

Shari's ruminating over her relationship with Drew.

As much as I loved the incredible sex, I knew this wouldn’t last forever.
But I couldn’t help craving a little intimacy.
Late twenties, single, female. Do the math.
Flirty flings were fabulous until you hit the big three-O, all downhill from there. Biological clocks started ticking like time bombs waiting to detonate, gravity exerted more force on your life than your mom, and suddenly, the dog-ugliest creep looked like Jake Gyllenhaal.


For more SSS, check here.

Don't forget I'm giving away 3 signed copies of my current release, SEX, GOSSIP & ROCK & ROLL in the Spooktacular blog hop below.

BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD on NetGalley

For all you reviewers and book bloggers out there, I'm thrilled to announce BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD is now available on NetGalley.

If you're interested in reviewing, request here.

(Don't forget my 3 book giveaway in the SPOOKTACULAR blog hop below! You have another few days to enter.)

SPOOKTACULAR BLOG HOP

Because we don't celebrate Halloween much in Australia, I'm living vicariously through the SPOOKTACULAR GIVEAWAY HOP hosted by I AM A READER, NOT A WRITER and DIARY OF A BOOKWORM.

No, I'm not giving away candy.

I'm giving away 3 signed copies of my current release, SEX, GOSSIP & ROCK & ROLL to 3 lucky winners.

To enter:


-Follow my blog

For optional bonus entries:


+1 'Like' my Facebook author page (Link in the sidebar)

+1 Follow me on Twitter (link in sidebar)


+1 Have a confirmed newsletter subscription (sign up by emailing me, link in sidebar)

Easy!

(Please leave a comment with your name if you opt for bonus entries. Thanks!)


The contest runs until 31st October.

Good luck!

There are loads of other book prizes on offer. Go check them out here.

WEEKEND BOOK CLUB: Boomerang Bride

This is the book that made me buy an ereader.

Fiona Lowe, a good writing buddy, released her first mainstream contemporary romance with Carina Press in August and I've been dying to read it.

Fiona has teased me relentlessly about being an 'e-dinosaur', because I love my hard and paperbacks too much to tread the e-reading path.

But the waiting for the paperback version of this book (Feb 2012 for Harlequin Direct Reader Service) was too long so I succumbed and bought a Kindle. (and yes, I'm hooked!)

BOOMERANG BRIDE is one of those books you curl up with, knowing you'll smile along with the characters.

It's a heart-warming small town contemporary romance, with an adventurous, displaced bride and a workaholic, emotionally-repressed hero.


Being Australian, I loved the Aussie heroine, Tildy, and her cultural clashes with the American hero Marc. Funny! And loved the sparks between them.

I particularly liked how the secondary characters complimented the story beautifully.

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

What are you reading this weekend?

If you want to win a copy of my current release, SEX, GOSSIP & ROCK & ROLL, pop on over to FANG-TASTIC BOOKS today where I'm being the Halloween grinch!

Critique winners!

I'm thrilled to announce the critique winners from my pitch contest last week.

With an added bonus!

The amazingly generous Liz Pelletier (originally offering to critique the first 5 pages of one winner) has requested the FULL manuscripts of 3 entrants!

-BITERS (the winner) by Sarah Shade
-MR RIGHT NOW by Kristina Knight
-FREEFALLING by Robyn

I'd love to critique all entrants but with time constraints (I barely sleep as it is!) I've had to choose one, and that winner is:

-TOKYO DARE by Anne Van.

If you didn't win this time, please don't be disheartened.
I loved reading all the pitches and I know Liz had a really difficult time narrowing the field too.
I hope to see your books on the shelf real soon, or stay tuned for more pitch contests!

Congrats again to the winners.

COVER REVEAL: Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?

And here's my other new cover, for WHO WANTS TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE? releasing Jan 2011 for Harlequin Romance.

I love the soft sunset and their embrace (the sunset and poignant moment correlates perfectly to a scene in the book, at the end of a 'swim with the dolphins' cruise in Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay).

So, what do you think?

Do you have a favourite out of these 2 new covers?

You can pre-order both these books at 25% off right now! With free worldwide postage. Check it out!

COVER REVEAL: Interview with the Daredevil

I have 2 new covers to reveal and they couldn't be more different!

The first is for my Feb 2012 Presents Extra, INTERVIEW WITH THE DAREDEVIL.

Set in the luxurious Palazzo Versace (and yes, I researched first hand!) it features an extreme sports hero and the PM's daughter fresh from divorce.

As the cover says, 'when opposites attract...sparks fly!'

Tomorrow, the softer, pastel cover for my next Harlequin Romance.

Prize winners

Thanks to everyone who entered my recent book giveaways.
If you didn't win, don't despair. I have LOADS of book giveaways coming up in the next 2 months so stay tuned!

The winner of the GOT GREAT GIVEAWAYS comp is Carrie at In the Hammock blog.

The winner of the CELEBRATING ROMANCE blog hop giveaway is Jodie Riverina Romantics.

Congrats!  You've both won a signed copy of my current release, SEX, GOSSIP & ROCK & ROLL.

Please email me with your details so I can pop your prize in the mail.

Winners of the critiques to be announced this week!

Pitch & win critiques!

As most writers have discovered at some stage, synopses suck.

It's extremely difficult to take your fabulous manuscript and highlight the best bits in a succinct, cohesive way.

It's harder yet to to write a query, a 3 paragraph summary of your book.

The hardest?  A pitch, a one or two sentence summary.

So of course, that's what I'm asking you to do for a chance to win critiques.

I'm doing you a favour, honest. How can you convince someone else to read your story if you can't describe it in a snazzy, short, convincing way?

For tips, check out:

Rachelle Gardner's post on One-Sentence Summary

Nathan Bransford's post on How to Write a One Sentence Pitch

So, what's the prize?

-A critique of the first 5 pages of your manuscript by LIZ PELLETIER, senior editor & co-founder of ENTANGLED PUBLISHING (What they've achieved in a short space of time is truly phenomenal. I love working with them!)

-A critique of the first 5 pages of your manuscript by a USA TODAY, Waldenbooks & Bookscan bestseller with 30+ books under her belt. (Yeah, that'd be me!)

So here are the rules:

-As this is a blog contest, it's only open to followers of my blog (feel free to follow now to participate.)

-Your pitch must be 1 or 2 sentences max.

-Post your entry in the comments section here.  Your entry must include:

1. Title, genre, word count

2. Your polished 1-2 sentence pitch

3. your email address

-Entries must be for a completed manuscript (novellas included.)
-Contest open to unpublished writers only.

This contest will run for 1 week, entries closing 11.59pm Monday 16th October.

FYI
Entangled Publishing submissions: We are seeking novels and novellas in the following subgenres of romantic fiction for publication in Summer 2012 and beyond:


•Contemporary (including category series romance.)
•Upper YA/New Adult (17-22 yo protags) that will appeal to crossover audiences

•Historical

•Romantic Thrillers

•Science Fiction
•Paranormal and Urban Fantasy
•Fantasy

Their latest October 2011 wishlist is here.

Good luck!
And please spread the word: on your blog, Facebook, Twitter.
Thanks!

(Don't forget the chance to win my latest release all week here!)

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY: Busted in Bollywood

There's a huge movie theme running through BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD (as you probably guessed from Bollywood in the title! I also managed to squeeze loads of my favourite movies into the book, Dirty Dancing being one of them.)

Here's when Rakesh and Amrita meet for the first time, at JFK.

“Another Dirty Dancing fan, huh? Great, I thought Shari was the only one on the planet.”
“She is, I hate that film. Her way of playing a trick on us.” Another scathing glare directed at me before she turned her smiling attention to Rakesh. “She’s sick, posing as me, traveling all the way to India.”
“We should discuss the state of your friend’s mental health.” Rakesh held out his arm and Rita slipped her hand through it, smiling up at him like she’d been handed George Clooney on a plate. Naked.

Check out other SSS here.

**Want to win a Kindle? Come help me cast my next hero over at ROMANCING THE NAKED HERO where I'm blogging today!**

And don't forget my book giveaways in yesterday's blog hop post!

Got Great Giveaways?

If you're like me, there's nothing better than seeing your To Be Read pile grow with loads of fabulous books just waiting to be snapped up.

Here's your chance to add to it!

Check out the long list of adult and Young Adult book giveaways here.

And if you want to win a signed copy of my current release, SEX, GOSSIP AND ROCK & ROLL, leave a comment at the end of this post.

This giveaway ends October 12th.

But don't forget my other book giveaway in the Celebrating Romance post below.

Yeah, 2 posts in one day, 2 signed copies to win.

Go for it!

Celebrating Romance blog hop

As part of the Celebrating Romance blog hop, I'm giving away a signed copy of my current release,
SEX, GOSSIP AND ROCK & ROLL.

To be in the running to win:

-Be a follower on my blog

For bonus entries:

-Like my Facebook page (link in sidebar)
-Follow me on Twitter (link in sidebar)
-Subscribe to my bi-annual newsletter (yep, you guessed it, in the sidebar!)

However you choose to enter, leave me a comment specifying what you've done.

And don't forget to check out the rest of the blogs to win more book prizes!

Hot nights

Just released in Germany, WILD NIGHTS WITH HER WICKED BOSS.

Taking a stab at the translation...Hot Nights in Alaska?

Love the cover, very steamy!

Now, a heads up.
Tomorrow I have a book giveaway of my current release, SEX, GOSSIP & ROCK & ROLL right here.

And next week, I'm giving away critiques!
One from a fab mystery guest, the other from yours truly.

Stay tuned!

Another cover quote squeeee!

Anjali Banerjee writes beautiful books. I have her IMAGINARY MEN and INVISIBLE LIVES on my keeper shelf.  Then I met her on Facebook and we started chatting about books, deadlines and life in general and she's as lovely as her books.

When I asked her for a cover quote for BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD, she was only too happy to read for me.  Here's what she said:

"A delightful romp through the colorful cities of Mumbai and New York, Busted in Bollywood is a hilarious romantic comedy of secrets, lies, and the triumph of true love."

I'm blown away that two authors I love to read have blurbed my book.

And we both have fab Susan Wiggs quotes on our covers!

Thanks Anjali, I have HAUNTING JASMINE on my TBR pile, can't wait to dive in.

RELEASE DAY: Sex, Gossip & Rock & Roll

Today one of my personal favourite books I've written hits shelves in the USA.

Yes, it's release day for SEX, GOSSIP & ROCK & ROLL.

Here's a snippet:

Quelling the urge to turn and run, she frowned. “You’re not dressed.”

“You noticed.”
Her heart leaped at the wicked glint in his eyes and she slapped it down.
“Because if the towel’s a problem, I could lose it—”
“I’ll give you five minutes.”
“Or what?”
As he leaned forward, a tantalising blend of expensive toiletries and freshly showered male washed over her, undermining her anger.
The guy was a player. He flirted for a living. So why was she tempted to broach the short distance between them, bury her nose in the crook of his neck and inhale deeply.
“Just do it,” she said, annoyed by the slightest quiver in her voice. “We have to hit the road.”
“Your loss.”
He shrugged and turned away as she gaped at his insolence. Not that it stopped her watching him stride across the room, the thick white bath sheet draped provocatively low on his hips, clinging to his butt with every tempting step.
The man was a menace.
Whatever she’d expected, this wasn’t it.
Luca Petrelli in the flesh was a lot more disarming, a lot more charming, than she’d expected. And the fact she hadn’t had a date in ages went a long way to explaining why her hormones were shimmying along behind him, tugging at that damn towel.
He paused at the bathroom door and she quickly glanced up. Not quick enough if his smug grin was any indication.
“You’ve misjudged me.”
“How’s that?”
“You don’t think I have what it takes to be a rock star?”
He pointed to the towel and smirked. “You should see my tat.”

I love Luca (and that pic of semi naked Matthew Mc a few days ago? Yep, he inspired Luca!)

An Ordinary Girl & a Sheikh

Release day for AN ORDINARY GIRL AND A SHEIKH, a reprint of my sole sheikh, THE DESERT PRINCE'S PROPOSAL.

The fact I'm in an anthology with Liz Fielding and Barbara McMahon?  Cue fangirl moment!

You can grab this By Request anthology here.

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY: Busted in Bollywood

Here's another Six Sentence snippet from BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD.

           “Yes, yes, very exciting. The young man who delivered it was very handsome, very big, great body, make good husband.” She clapped her hands like a hyperactive child while I resisted the urge to clap my hands over her ears in a swift judo chop.

            I didn’t want a husband, least of all one who delivered letters reeking of Brut 33.

            Choosing silence as the best defense against Anjali at her matchmaking worst, I tore open the envelope and reeled back as the overpowering stench shot straight up my nostrils. Even if this guy was Will Shakespeare and Dan Brown rolled into one, I couldn’t tolerate longer than a quick scan of his prose before I fainted from the fumes.

Check out other interesting SSS here.

Romancing the Naked Hero

We interrupt WEEKEND BOOK CLUB transmission this week to bring you naked men instead.

Yes, that's right.

Today I'm thrilled to be part of the the new ROMANCING THE NAKED HERO blog.

As the tagline says, 'A Goddess's Work is Never Done...' and that's what we're going to bring you daily...naked men.

Okay, maybe not naked men all the time, but we're going to strip down heroes, discover what makes them tick, along with a lot of other fab blog goodness.

You can check out the regular bloggers (including moi!) in the sidebar.
If you're a writer, you can also find loads of great archetype information in the header.

So come along and help us in the arduous job of Romancing the Naked Hero.

The best bit?  As a special launch prize, we're giving away a kindle!

Come visit!