Want to write faster?

Today I'm divulging my not-so-secret tips for speedy writing over at Monique DeVere's blog.

I've known Monique via Facebook and Twitter for a while so when she approached me for an interview about fast writing tips, it was all systems go!

Check out the writing tips here

Indulge me!

I'm thrilled to announce the sale of another book to ENTANGLED PUBLISHING.

NOT THE MARRYING KIND is a category romance set in Vegas and I'm having a ball writing it.

It will be released as part of the Indulgence series (category romances) this year.

Will let you know as soon as the release date is confirmed!

Bombshell for the Boss

I'm a fan girl of Liz Fielding so always have a huge squee when I see my name in an anthology next to hers!

I've been lucky enough to have been paired with her twice before and third times a charm, along with the fabulous Jackie Braun.

BOMBSHELL FOR THE BOSS, releasing this June, features my Harlequin Romance EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE (where a 35 year old TV exec married to her career falls pregnant to a brooding widower following a one night stand in Singapore.)

The pre-release price is fab at the Book Depository (free worldwide postage!)

AU$7.97 for 3 full length category romances, bargain!

Buy here

Order me around!

With a boutique publisher like ENTANGLED PUBLISHING, pre-orders are really important.

Loads of pre-orders means loads of stocking of the book.

So with BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD re-releasing in bookstores in June, pre-orders are vital.

The other bonus? You get the book for a fraction of the cost (eg. just over AU$5 at the Book Depository.)

So please pre-order.
Tell your friends.
And tell me!

Drop me a line if you pre-order and I'll keep a list for a little surprise in the not too distant future...

Pre-order here:

AMAZON
BOOK DEPOSITORY
BARNES & NOBLE

Thanks!

WEEKEND BOOK CLUB: Flirting with Italian

I'm a huge fan of Liz Fielding's heart-warming Harlequin Romances and have to say the title of this one intrigued. Snappy and sexy!
Much like this wonderful book.

Here's the blurb:

Bag: packed. Flight: booked. Soon I'll be in Rome and experiencing life in a foreign language! Watch this space.
Newly single Sarah Gratton is determined to enjoy her holiday—could a just-for-fun romance with dark-eyed Matteo di Serrone be the answer? This Italian count is ideal flirting material—if Sarah's brave enough to make a move! Well, she might not be—but luckily Matteo is!
Matteo decides to keep this mysterious woman close—no hardship at all, given their spine-tingling awareness of each other. It's like something out of a fairy tale—until Sarah realizes she's made the most rookie mistake of all: falling in love with her holiday fling.

 I adore Italy and reading this book made me want to jump on a plane and revisit!


This book is lush with flavours and aromas and poignancy.

The emotional connection between Sarah and Matteo is natural yet sizzling, a riveting combination.

Liz Fielding has penned a beautiful romance, rich and evocative and sigh-worthy.

What are you reading this weekend?

FRIDAY FLICKS: The Hunger Games

For the last 9 years, when I've headed to the cinema it's to see kiddie movies.
As for attending release day of a film?  Try never.

Until The Hunger Games.

I devoured the books and couldn't wait for the movie.
The midnight session was out of the question with the little 'uns, so I grabbed my ticket for the next session at 9.30am and armed with a banana smoothie sat back to be entertained.

If you haven't read the book, here is the quick blurb:

In a not-too-distant future, North America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss' young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. (written by Suzanne Collins)

Jennifer Lawrence is excellent in the lead role of Katniss Everdeen.  Gutsy, brave, yet vulnerable. Powerful performance.
Josh Hutcherson plays Peeta, her fellow tribute from District 12 (and her sort-of love interest.) Have to say, he wasn't at all what I imagined for Peeta and I wasn't convinced by the supposed 'romance' between them in the arena.
Liam Hemsworth plays Gale, a very convincing love interest we only see briefly due to the focus of the movie being on the Hunger Games. (Definitely looking forward to seeing more of him in the follow ups!)

The subject matter of the book/movie is pretty grim (teenagers pitted against each other to the death) but I felt the movie was done well in this regard: not overly graphic.

That said, the over-riding themes centre on bleakness and cruelty and power, so if you're hoping for feel-good, this movie isn't for you.

The Hunger Games are disturbing, but make for riveting viewing.

If you loved the book, I think you'll be pleased with the movie.

My rating: 8/10

Want to write for Harlequin Romance?

Want to write for Harlequin Romance?

Here's your chance.

The Mills and Boon UK team are fast-tracking submissions!

"...we’ll be launching a fast track submission period! Anyone who sends us their first chapter and synopsis between 14th March and 23rd April will hear back from us less than ONE MONTH after the closing date, before the 18th May.


"The email address to send your submission to is romancefasttrack@hqnuk.co.uk.

"Please attach your first chapter and short synopsis to the email as well as a short query letter, letting us know how much of the manuscript is complete. Please note, we’ll be looking at only one submission per person."
 
So there you have it.
What are you waiting for?

A writer's fairytale

As many of you have probably heard, Entangled Publishing's new Indulgence category romance series is going gangbusters.

In their launch month (Feb) the four titles have sold extremely well.
One in particular, Jennifer Probst's THE MARRIAGE BARGAIN, has stunned the publishing world.

Jennifer sold 43000 books and earned a staggering $51000...in a month!
And she hit the USA TODAY bestsellers list at #57.

Yep, you read that right.
Isn't it fantastic?

Please go read her modern day fairytale.
It'll inspire you!

WEEKEND BOOK CLUB: Rules of Negotiation

Last month, Entangled Publishing launched its new category romance series under the Indulgence imprint to massive success.

Inara Scott, a YA author for Disney and a lovely fellow EP author, was one of the launch authors with RULES OF NEGOTIATION.

Here's the blurb:

He let her make the rules…


NYC’s most eligible bachelor, Brit Bencher, is also known as The Slayer for his reputation in the boardroom…and the bedroom. And he’ll do anything to take care of his family, even seduce high-powered corporate attorney Tori Anderson in the hopes of getting her to reveal confidential information about one of her clients. But for the first time in his life, he finds he’s falling for a woman.


…and then he started to break them.

After juggling the demands of her career and the stress of caring for her ailing mother, Tori Anderson doesn’t have time for relationships—but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to feel like a woman. When Brit offers a no-strings attached fling, it sounds like exactly what she needs. But what will she do when Brit decides he won’t take “one night stand” for an answer? When Tori uncovers his lies, will he lose his chance with her forever?

If I had to use a few words to sum up Inara Scott's debut category romance, they would be 'category romance with substance.'


Inara pens a gorgeous, sexy hero in Brit, a hero with flaws who isn't afraid to admit them when it counts.

And the heroine Tori is a feisty, upfront heroine who I loved for her forthrightness, her confidence in her work and her vulnerability in her personal life.

Together, these two strong willed characters equal fireworks!

I laughed out loud at several one liners in this book, one of my favourites an example of Tori's forthrightness: she's mad at Brit, he asks if she's upset for a particular reason, her response:
"No, I'm upset because you're an asshole."

I love an honest heroine and Tori is all that and more.

A highly enjoyable read.

What are you reading this weekend?

Busted in Bollywood bargain!

Just discovered BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD is a dollar off at Amazon!

Grab it for $4.99 here

Or if you're like me and prefer paperbacks, you can pre-order the mass market copy for just over $5 here

Bargain!

Reader review: BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD

Because BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD is so special to me, each and every review is precious.

Here's the latest reader review that made me smile:

**WARNING** Do not read this book when hungry!


This was one of those books that when I started reading, I couldn't put down. Ended up finishing it about 4am one morning. Couldn't be helped though!

Busted in Bollywood should be endorsed by the Indian Ministry of Tourism as this book will have you booking flights to India...... or reaching for the phone to place an order with the local Indian takeaway!
 
(thanks Sarah Donald, Goodreads.)

Gentlemen Prefer Nerds

Happy release day to one of my good writing buddies, the lovely Joan Kilby.

GENTLEMEN PREFER NERDS is her first mainstream contemporary romance, out today from Carina Press (Joan also writes for Harlequin SuperRomance.)

I'm reading this fun caper at the moment and have a wee crush on Fabian...

For more info on Joan's books and buy links, check out her website

Cover reveal: My Super Sweet 16th Century

I'm super excited to be involved in the lovely Rachel Harris's cover reveal for MY SUPER SWEET 16TH CENTURY.
Really looking forward to reading this YA when it releases September this year.

Here's the blurb:

On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze.


Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore. Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

The book is available for pre-order at Amazon Barnes & Noble and you can add it to your TBR pile at Goodreads

In the meantime, here's an excerpt:

I hear their muffled whispers and understand every Italian word. Every witty comment made at my expense.



It’s like my brain is automatically translating.


I bunch the soft fabric of the dress in my hand and then reach up to feel the ribbon in my hair. I lightly skim my fingers over my chin and feel my lack of zit. I take in the costumes of the crowd, the stench of the animals, and the Italian I can now speak and understand. And suddenly it hits me.


Reyna must have pulled some kind of gypsy mojo.


Maybe this is one of those nifty “change your life” magic scenarios like in the movies. I mean, mostly I’m still expecting to blink and be right back in the midst of overpriced, gaudy tourism, but for now, the gypsy-time-warp explanation is infinitely better than thinking I’ve lost my mind. As I decide to go with that option, I feel my frantic tension melt away.


The growing crowd seems to notice my change in demeanor and begins shooting one another amused looks, but I don’t care anymore. A smile stretches across my face. Evidently, I was wrong earlier; Reyna is a psychic mind reader, because if this is her special brand of bibbity-bobbity-boo, then she made my exact daydream from earlier in the courtyard come to life.


The long red gown, the braided hair, the Italian merchant’s daughter, the time period. I am in Renaissance Florence.


I stare dumbly at the ground, the words and reality sinking in.


I’m in Renaissance Florence!

WEEKEND BOOK CLUB: Doukakis's Apprentice

I hadn't read a straight Harlequin Presents novel in years and the positive reviews on this book made me want to pick it up.

I'm glad I did!

Here's the blurb:
Wanted: willing apprentice to handle indecently arrogant (but incredibly sexy) tycoon

With her family business in crisis, Polly Prince does her best to keep calm and carry on. But hard work alone can't save her London company from a takeover by the infamously ruthless Damon Doukakis...or her traitorous body from the lethal sensuality of her boss!

As his new apprentice, Polly accompanies Damon to Paris to negotiate the most challenging business deal of her life! Worse still, Polly must at all costs resist Damon in the most dangerously romantic city in the world....
 
What with writing and reading, I rarely get to bed before 1am and, my plans for an early night were shot by this book.
I'm always wary when there's hype about a book in case it doesn't live up to expectations.
This one did, and how!

Polly Prince is a standout heroine: ballsy, funny, quirky.

Damon Doukakis is a typical Presents hero: commanding, arrogant and super sexy.

Together? Fireworks!

Every now and then a book comes along that gives me writer envy. This is one of them.
Brilliant read.
Highly recommended

What are you reading this weekend?

Swedish babe

After the sexy covers for my foreign translations in Italy and Germany this month, here's one that's a little different...cute babe alert!

WIFE AND MOTHER WANTED out in Sweden, in an anthology with Melanie Milburne, Julia James and Caroline Anderson.

That's one of the great things about writing for Harlequin, the opportunity for foreign translations years later.
This was my 6th book (I'm now on my 32nd) so I'm rapt it's getting new life in another country.

Double the fun in Germany!

2 books out in Germany this month!

The first is SEX, GOSSIP & ROCK & ROLL.

The second is GIRL IN A VINTAGE DRESS in an anthology with Jane Porter, Sandra Marton & Maggie Cox.
Great company!

Sex, Gossip and Rock & Roll in Italy

If you're in Italy, SEX, GOSSIP & ROCK & ROLL is out now!

(A Tutto Rock sounds interesting!)

And I'm thrilled to be with my writing bud Natalie Anderson in this duo.

More info here

COVER REVEAL: Pretty Amy

I'm thrilled to take part in fellow Entangled Publishing author Lisa Burnstein's cover reveal for her upcoming YA novel, PRETTY AMY.

Here's a bit about her and the book:

Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She wrote her first story when she was in second grade. It was a Thanksgiving tale from the point of view of the turkey from freezer to oven to plate. It was scandalous.


She was a lot like Amy when she was in high school.
She is still a lot like Amy.

Blurb:

Amy is fine living in the shadows of beautiful Lila and uber-cool Cassie, because at least she’s somewhat beautiful and uber-cool by association. But when their dates stand them up for prom, and the girls take matters into their own hands—earning them a night in jail outfitted in satin, stilettos, and Spanx—Amy discovers even a prom spent in handcuffs might be better than the humiliating “rehabilitation techniques” now filling up her summer. Worse, with Lila and Cassie parentally banned, Amy feels like she has nothing—like she is nothing.


Navigating unlikely alliances with her new coworker, two very different boys, and possibly even her parents, Amy struggles to decide if it’s worth being a best friend when it makes you a public enemy. Bringing readers along on an often hilarious and heartwarming journey, Amy finds that maybe getting a life only happens once you think your life is over.

PRETTY AMY Links:


Goodreads
Amazon pre-order
Barnes and Noble pre-order

Twitter
Facebook
Website

I can't wait to read this one!
In addition, Lisa will be hosting a Worst Prom Photo contest in the weeks leading up to AMY's release on May 15. So make sure to dust off your old prom photos—the more tulle, bows, and big hair the better!—and watch Lisa's site for details on how to submit/enter to win a beauty package.

Lisa already has my photo...oh dear...think pastel pink satin...frizzy bob...with matching bow in hair!

Now here's an excerpt:

I was just about to put out my cigarette and go back inside when I heard a skateboard coming down the street. It sounded like waves, like a conch shell against your ear. That full, empty sound.


Maybe it was Aaron. I conjured up my stupid daydream, the one I used to fill my head when I couldn’t deal with any of the other stuff in there—that he would find me, that he would apologize, that he would tell me that prom night hadn’t been his fault.

The difference this time was that when I looked toward the sound, he really was there.

It was him.


Aaron.


He was skateboarding down the sidewalk like it was made of water, wearing the same loose, worn jeans from his Facebook picture. He carried a backpack, like he might have been coming from the library, but I doubted he ever went to the library.


I lit another cigarette with the end of my last one; any excuse to stay put. Then I remembered I was wearing a suit.


“You got another one of those?” he asked. His eyes were blue. I hadn’t noticed that in his picture.


My hands shook as I gave him a cigarette. He brought a silver-and-black Zippo to his mouth, flipped it open with one hand, lit his cigarette, and slapped it shut. The whole thing took seconds, but it felt like he was doing it in slow motion. “Thanks,” he said.


Maybe he had just stopped to get a cigarette. Maybe it had nothing to do with me.


It probably had nothing to do with me.


“I know you,” he said. “Where do I know you from?”


I couldn’t tell him. Telling him that he’d stood me up for my own prom would have been way too embarrassing. It would tell him that I still cared enough to remember.


“I’m friends with Lila and Cassie,” I said, wishing that my hair wasn’t pulled back in a headband like I was a nun.


“What are you all dressed up for?” he asked.


Of course he didn’t know me. If he had, he would have known that I’d just come from court and that I was trying to do everything I could to forget it.


“I work here,” I said, thinking fast. “I’m supposed to be a librarian.”


“You don’t have to lie,” he said, laughing. “I’m Aaron.”


“Amy,” I said, waving hello with the cigarette in my hand.


He smiled. “Though you do make a cute librarian.”


I tried to keep myself from coughing. “This suit sucks,” I said. It seemed cooler than saying thank you. It seemed cooler than getting all squishy over what he said, even though that was how I felt.


I looked at his skateboard. “You wanna try it out?” he asked.


The deck had a mural of blue sky and white-capped mountains hand-painted on it. The wheels were covered with stop-motion birds, so that when they spun it must have looked like the birds were flying.


There was more to this boy. More that I wanted to know.


“I guess I could,” I said, but then I remembered my mother. She would come looking for me soon.


I shook my head. “I should go.”


“You got a cell phone?” he asked.


“Not that I’m allowed to use anymore.”


“Parents,” he said. He pulled a sketchbook from his backpack. Maybe he had painted that beautiful mural. He ripped out a piece of paper, wrote something down, and handed it to me.


It was his phone number.


I tried not to act surprised, tried to act like boys gave me their numbers all the time, especially when I hadn’t asked for them.


“See you around, Amy,” he said. He dropped the skateboard next to him. It landed perfectly on its wheels like a cat would on its legs.


As he skated away, I looked at his number; the paper was as soft as fabric. I folded it smaller and smaller and hid it in my bra. Maybe he hadn’t said what I wanted him to say, but he had found me.


He had found me.

Tag Team an Amazon bestseller!

TAG TEAM has hit the Top 100 bestseller list for contemporary romance on Amazon, woo hoo!

And you can go grab it free right now!

Check it out.

Pretty cover!

The Ultimate Hero: Passionate Playboys, may be my favourite Harlequin cover ever!
That guy is completely HOT!

This anthology features HOT NIGHTS WITH A PLAYBOY, set in the glorious Whitsunday Islands.

(and yes, this anthology was released last May so I'm thrilled it's having another release, with a new cover!)

If you can't grab it off shelves in OZ/NZ, you can order online in an ebundle here 
3 romances for $9.99, bargain!

Release day: Author's Choice

Last year, the lovely folk at Mills and Boon Australia approached me to choose 2 of my favourite Harlequin Romances I'd written for re-release.

I chose A TRIP WITH THE TYCOON (because the train journey on the luxurious Palace on Wheels through Rajasthan, India, that Tam and Ethan take is a firm favourite of mine) and EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE, because Nathan is so deeply complex and Kris is a 35 year old career woman who never thought she wanted kids (and how they come together is a gradual process.)

Hope you enjoy!

If you're not in OZ/NZ, you can grab the e-book version here