Friday, August 31, 2012

Back to the Books giveaway hop


It has been way too long since I've participated in a blog hop, so time to rectify!

BACK TO THE BOOKS giveaway hop, hosted by I AM A READER, NOT A WRITER and BURIED IN BOOKS offers a huge range of prizes.

If you love reading, love books and love winning stuff, check out the link to all participating blogs here. 

So what am I giving away?



2 copies of NOT THE MARRYING KIND (ebook)



2 copies of BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD (ebook version)

(4 winners in total)


To be in the running, here's what you have to do:

-Follow my blog

For optional bonus entries:

+1 'Like' my Facebook author page

+1 Follow me on Twitter 

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

+2 Tweet once Vegas bad boy + LA divorce diva party planner = scorching desert meltdown! @NicolaMarsh http://www.entangledpublishing.com/not-the-marrying-kind/ #kindle #nook 

+3 Post the above tweet on your Facebook page

Easy! 

(Please leave a comment with your name and details of optional bonus entries completed if you opt for the extra points. Thanks!) 

The contest runs until 7th September.
Good luck!


Thursday, August 30, 2012

Another book to add to your TBR pile.

FALLING FOR FLYNN, my upcoming contemporary romance with Crimson Romance (releasing October 8th) is now up on Goodreads.

If you're anything like me your To Be Read pile is staggeringly high, but why don't you go ahead and add another book to it? :)

Check it out here.

(Cover reveal and pre-order links should be coming soon!)

Monday, August 27, 2012

GUEST BLOGGER: Christine Bell


Today I'd like to welcome Christine Bell.
She's a fellow Entangled Publishing Indulgence author and her book has just released!
Over to you Christine...

First, I want to thank Nicola for having me today! Very excited to be here because I’m a huge fan of her work. In fact, that’s a great segue-way into my post today. On my blog tour for Wife for Hire, I’ve been focusing on indulgences. Not just the Entangled line of books featuring to-die-for alpha heroes and intelligent, fun and spunky heroines, but also other kinds of indulgences that make what can be a sometimes dreary day a little brighter. On this stop at casa de Marsh, I thought I’d talk to you about one of my favorite and long lasting indulgences: the romance novel.

Growing up, I was a voracious reader. Like as in I would read ANYthing I could get my hands on, and in the late seventies, that was a strange collection of materials. There were encyclopedias (yes, the real kind that a door to door salesman came and sold to my mother. Funk & Wagnall, if I recall), and my older sister’s book report selections (I read Of Mice and Men at age 6, but the subtleties were lost on me. I do recall crying when Lennie loved that puppy too hard, though), there were short stories collections (of which I always enjoyed the twisted ones like The Lottery and The Most Dangerous Game) and the magazines my mother used to get with the cloying perfume samples that made me dizzy. We had the Scholastic Book club pamphlet that came from school every month, and my mother would scrape together what she could to get me some, it but never went far enough for my liking. We also had a small library at my grammar school but they couldn’t keep up with me, not to mention that this whole “publishing passels of books specifically for the enjoyment of children” concept hadn’t really taken hold yet. So it was with breathless excitement that I waited for my thirteenth birthday. The day my mother told me I could go to her best friend (and our across the street neighbor) Jeannie’s house and try one of her Harlequin Romance novels.

Jeannie (we called her Bean) had…ALL of them. I kid you not, her entire basement was floor to ceiling bookshelves, lined back to back and contained EVERY Harlequin Romance novel written to that point. She brought me down the stairs and set me loose, with the promise that, if I returned the books I borrowed to their proper place, I could take more the next time. That day changed my whole life. For the first time in my life, I had *enough* books. I didn’t have to “slow down” or re-read those same dog-eared copies. I felt like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory. Bean kept me in books through high school, until I went away to college. But even after I moved away from home and wound up knee deep in academic reading, I would finish my work and lay awake with a flashlight under my blanket reading romance novels. Today, I have a Kindle instead of a paperback, and a book-light instead of a flashlight, and I don’t always read romance, but when I want to escape and indulge, laugh or cry, it’s my go-to genre. Lucky for me there are a lot more publishers who recognize the power of a romance novel now, so I never run out of things to read. Single title, category, novellas, historical romance, steampunk romance, paranormal romance, the list goes on and on. All thanks to Bean (who I dedicated my own first romance novel to in 2010. Love and miss you, Beanward).

Here is the blurb for my Entangled Indulgence, Wife for Hire:

He needs a wife for three weeks…

Owen Phipps is out for revenge. His mission? To expose the man who stole his sister’s money and dignity. All he needs is a “wife” who can play along. Too bad his last best hope is an actress who tries to mace him with perfume when he offers her the role of a lifetime.

Lindy Knight is a real sap. She loves too hard, feels too deep, and often finds herself saying yes when she should be saying “Let me think about it.” She can’t believe her good fortune when Owen offers her more than enough money to hold off foreclosure until she can find a job. Three weeks at a resort, money she desperately needs, and she gets to help bring a criminal to justice? Score.

It seems easy enough until the first time a couples bonding game turns intimate, and they realize how dangerous their mutual attraction could be. Can they keep their hands to themselves long enough to find the evidence Owen needs? Or are the close quarters more temptation than they can handle?


Please check out the Entangled website here for an extended excerpt of Wife for Hire, and readers, stick around to comment, because, to celebrate the release of my new Entangled Indulgence, I’m offering to indulge YOU! 

One commenter on this post will win a $10 Barnes & Noble or Amazon gift card, so she (or he!) can buy a couple (or, if you buy from the Entangled Indulgence line, a few because they’re only $2.99!) new books. 

AND I’m also running a Let Me Indulge You contest. If Wife for Hire gets onto the Amazon OR Barnes & Noble top 500 list by September 18th, I will be giving away a $250 gift card to the salon or spa of one lucky winner’s choice. Check out the link to my giveaway and every comment from my blog tour will be counted as an entry. Follow my whole blog tour? EACH comment = another entry! Extra entries will also be given for tweeting or posting the link to the book on your Facebook page.

So now to you, blog readers! Do tell. What’s your favorite indulgence? How did you get into reading romance?


Sunday, August 26, 2012

Writing category romance

Check out my short article on writing category romance today over at FRESH FICTION and leave a comment to be in the running to win a copy of NOT THE MARRYING KIND.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Romance by the Sea


   Romance By The Sea
      A Feast of Words for Romance Readers and Writers

September 8th 2012

Half of all fiction novels are love stories – let's talk about why.
Meet some of Australia’s best loved romance authors, including Stephanie Laurens, Keri Arthur, Anne Gracie, Marion Lennox, Fiona Lowe, Sarah Mayberry, Lilian Darcy, Carol Marinelli and M.J. Scott, plus Jennifer Kloester, biographer to the fabulous Georgette Heyer.

This is a fundraiser for Cottage by the Sea, a children’s charity which offers fantastic seaside programs for disadvantaged children, giving them an experience of a lifetime. Take a look at why we’d love you to support us in supporting them.
www.cottagebythesea.com.au

Cost is $100 ($70 of which will be receipted as a tax deductible donation to Cottage by the Sea). Price includes a delicious, light lunch at the historic Queenscliff Hotel, insights into the lives and loves of your favourite authors, and readings and signings at venues all over town. If you’d like to make a weekend of it, there’ll be a pay‐as‐you‐go dinner on Saturday night. We’ll have more signings on Sunday morning, with authors again available to mingle and chat, plus an opportunity to tour Cottage by the Sea .

Gather your fellow romantics and come and play. Bookings at:
www.romancebythesea.net or Ph. 03 5258 3645 (10am‐5pm SeaviewGallery,Qcliff) 
Sept 8th 10a.m.‐5p.m. Queenscliff Hotel, Gellibrand St, Queenscliff, Vic
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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

COVER REVEAL: Riva is back!

Yeah, Mills and Boon RIVA is back in the UK and check out the brand spanking new covers!

GIRL IN A VINTAGE DRESS will be re-released in October this year (you can pre-order at a discount here.)

So...what do you think?

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Reading and rating


A huge thanks to everyone who has read and rated NOT THE MARRYING KIND while I've been away on the fabulous Gold Coast.

You've helped push the book to the top 10 bestselling series romances on Amazon and over 100 people have rated it on Goodreads.

HUGE thanks because every rating, review and 'LIKE' helps.

I'm eternally grateful. :-)

Saturday, August 18, 2012

And the winner is...


Tonight, I'll be attending the Romance Writers of Australia annual awards dinner, where the winners of the prestigious RBY will be announced.

This is my first nomination and I'm a bundle of excited nerves!

BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD has a long history and I'm thrilled it is now in the running for Romantic Book of the Year in the 'romantic elements' category.

To check out the list of finalists (and the gorgeous trophy!) see here

Whether I bring home one of those stunning trophies in my suitcase or not, I'm ecstatic to be a finalist with a book that means so much.

Thanks to all the wonderful readers who judged!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Passionate Book Divas

The Divorce Diva is visiting PASSIONATE BOOK DIVAS.

Check out my interview with the Divas today and their review of NOT THE MARRYING KIND tomorrow.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Gold Coast, here I come!


In case you were wondering where I'll be this week, it's here...on the sunny Gold Coast in southern Queensland.

It's winter at the moment (and absolutely freezing in Melbourne!) When I checked the Surfer's Paradise temperatures for this week, they ranged from 23-27 degrees Celsius. Heatwave!

I'm looking forward to some much needed sun and R&R. And catching up with my fab author buddies at the RWAus conference next weekend.
It's going to be a blast!

As for that RBY nomination...well, let's just say while I'm not expecting to win, I still have butterflies in my tummy!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday: NOT THE MARRYING KIND


This week's snippet from NOT THE MARRYING KIND follows Beck and Poppy's wedding reception.

Poppy needs some space, Beck follows her along the Vegas Strip.
He's asking the hard questions she doesn't want to answer, namely how 'real' she wants this fake marriage to be.


“I hate you,” she muttered, indecision pinching the corners of her lush mouth. “But I have to give you points for being up front about what you want.”
“What do you want?”
She hesitated an eternity, gnawing on her bottom lip, before her challenging gaze met his.
“You.” 

Check out more Six Sunday snippets here

Friday, August 10, 2012

Keeping up to date

I received a lovely email last night from a new-to-me reader who'd read and loved NOT THE MARRYING KIND, asking for the sequel ASAP and could I email her when it released.

So a heads up, if you want to keep in the loop with new releases, special competitions, etc...please sign up for my newsletter (in the sidebar of this blog.)

I send out 2 a year so I promise not to inundate you!

And here's another happy reader over at STOREYBOOK REVIEWS today (I've had 5 star reviews before but never 5 paws!)

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

The Readiacs

Another copy of NOT THE MARRYING KIND is up for grabs today over at THE READIACS where they posted this fab review:


If you love romantic comedies, like I do, you’ll want to scoop this one up ASAP!
Poppy is a female lead who I can get behind. Sassy, sexy and gives it to Beck as good as she gets it. Neither is looking for marriage or even love, which makes the novel that much more endearing. Her job as a divorce planner doesn’t exactly give the impression of a girl looking for her Prince Charming and her Happily Ever After….
Until billionaire Beck waltzes into her life and sparks fly, and kaboom, their witty banter, off the charts chemistry and romantic situations leads where neither of them wanted. Love.
All in all this was a delightful romance that keeps you laughing out loud and satisfied through the end.
Thanks Nina!
To win a copy, pop on over and leave a comment.

Sunday, August 05, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday: Not the Marrying Kind


This week's Six Sunday snippet follows Poppy and Beck's wedding ceremony in NOT THE MARRYING KIND.
They've arrived at his desert home in Red Rock Canyon and have been flirting madly.


“What’s the next tradition?”
“The wedding night.” His hands spanned her waist and lifted her slightly so she came in contact with evidence of how excited he was to consummate this marriage.
“But it’s still morning.”
His lips grazed her ear. “Good. Gives me a chance to see you better when I...”


And yeah, it gets hotter from there!


For more Six Sunday snippets, head here 

Saturday, August 04, 2012

Weekend Book Club: A Night of Southern Comfort

There has been so much buzz surrounding Entangled Publishing's Indulgence series category romances that I've been dying to read them.
But I've been too busy with deadlines and launching my own EP Indulgence to have time.

This week I finally cranked up my kindle and read one of the many books waiting for me, A NIGHT OF SOUTHERN COMFORT...and WOW!
The calibre of this book is amazing...I can't wait to gobble up the other Indulgence novels!

Here's the blurb:

One night of passion... 

Detective Jackson Cantrell never imagined that one night with an irresistible stranger would turn his life upside down. He’s spent years living in the shadows, but Dr. Michaela Roarke awakened a passion inside him he'd buried years ago. 

He never expected the woman would turn out to be the governor's daughter...and his next assignment. The governor blackmails Jackson to secretly watch over Michaela and protect her from a stalker, or kiss his dream job at the FBI good-bye. Swearing to keep things strictly professional, Jackson moves in with Michaela. Too bad his heart can't keep the same promise. 

But when the stalker's attacks quickly escalate beyond mere photographs to bodily harm, Jackson must race to save Michaela's life. And he’ll have to figure out how to keep her once she discovers his lie.



I never gush about a book unless I really, really love it.

And boy, did I love this book!

I'm staggered that it's Robin Covington's debut novel...talking about setting the bar high!

In Kayla and Jack she has created two wonderful characters, well-matched in their independence and hidden vulnerabilities.

And the sexual tension between them? Sizzles off every page.

With wickedly hot sex and sparkling dialogue, this book was a winner.
I hated putting it down and can't wait for the follow ups with Teague, Lucky and Beck's stories.

More please!



What are you reading this weekend?

Friday, August 03, 2012

The hot pink typewriter

Today I'm discussing balancing writing and family at THE HOT PINK TYPEWRITER.

Come visit.

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Kindle & Me


Today I'm being interviewed by Anjana over at KINDLE & ME.

Her blog is fab, go check it out.

And there's another copy of NOT THE MARRYING KIND up for grabs too!

The Reading Room

What would I be doing with Gerard Butler, Channing Tatum and Hugh Jackman on a yacht in the Greek islands?

Check out my interview at The Reading Room to find out!