NEW RELEASE: Bombshell for the Boss

BOMBSHELL FOR THE BOSS is a special release anthology featuring 3 full length category romances. And you guessed it by the cover, all feature a pregnancy theme.

Liz Fielding's THE BRIDE'S BABY, Jackie Braun's BOARDROOM BABY SURPRISE and my EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE.

Kristen Lewis is the oldest heroine I've written (35) and married to her career. I loved seeing how she developed emotionally when handling a very unexpected pregnancy!

What was also fun about this book...it starts with a one night stand in Singapore. And yeah, it's a Harlequin Romance!
Was nice to push the boundaries a little.

If you're in the UK you can grab this book off shelves now or buy online for the bargain price of AU$10.69 with free postage worldwide (for 3 books!)

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

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

Chuffed

I'm thrilled to announce my Harlequin Romance EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE is a finalist in the Best Traditional Romance category for the 2009 Golden Quill Awards.

This is the book that begins with a one night stand...highly unusual for one of my books and for the hero and heroine.

Nate is brooding...enigmatic...grieving.

Kristen is a 35 year old career woman at the top of her game.

Needless to say, an unplanned pregnancy shakes up both their worlds.

I'm thrilled the judges loved this book. Apparently it is an extremely close contest with the slimmest of margins between books and many judges commented on how hard it was to choose their favorites.

I know two finalists are fellow Romance authors Fiona Harper and Donna Alward, waiting to hear the other finalists. Tough field!

No translation required

I'm out in Holland at the moment, in a duo with Jessica Steele.

Cute cover!

What interested me was the title: PAPA IS DE BAAS.

I don't speak Dutch but I reckon I don't need a translator for this one, sounds like 'Father is the Boss'? (The story is my EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE so it's a spot-on translation.)

Cool, huh?

Bon jour

The 1st of November?

Can someone tell me where the year went, please?

While I use every distraction technique known to man to stop from thinking about speaking in front of that crowd this afternoon (including rushing around last night to doctors and such because kinder kid came down with conjunctivitis completely out of the blue) my books are popping up overseas.

Executive Mother-To-Be is out now in France, available here.

(Don't you love the French covers? They're beautiful.)

While The Desert Prince's Proposal is out now in Spain, available here.

I'll be back Monday with all the goss from the charity luncheon.

Hot Hero Hunt begins!

As authors, we love finding inspiration for our characters, particularly our heroes.
There's nothing quite like researching a book before you begin, finding that perfect picture/expression/gorgeous guy to inspire your writing.

Interestingly, the same sexy guys keep popping up: Hugh Jackman, George Clooney, Wentworth Miller, among quite a few other popular actors/sportsmen/models. Now don't get me wrong, my hero file is bulging with pics and I've even cast my hero for my next book before finishing the current one.

But in my opinion you can never get too much of a good thing and seeing the same handsome faces crop up time and time again got me thinking...

I want to discover some new talent and that's where you come in!

Every day this week, I'd like you to come up with someone different.
Maybe a guy less known, less famous? Or someone famous most of us haven't heard of? Your choice!

I'll be choosing a winner daily and posting his pic here.

Whoever suggests that winner will be receiving 3 books: my 2 recent releases PURCHASED FOR PLEASURE (that Wentworth inspired!), EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE and my 07 Romance release, PRINCESS AUSTRALIA.If the winner has any of those books, they're welcome to choose a copy of another from my backlist.

So that's a chance to win 3 books, daily, for a week!

All you need to do is leave a comment suggesting your hot hero, preferably with a link so I can check him out, and that's it!

I'll post the winner from the previous day at midday Aussie time, to give everyone over-yonder-seas a chance too.

I'm sure it's going to be an arduous judging task for me but hey, somebody's gotta do it :)

Characterisation

I've had a lovely review for EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE which I want to discuss further once you've read it.

One Night in Singapore leads to a career girl's nightmare...but will it also lead to love?
Kristen Lewis TV producer sits in a Singapore bar, stood up by a co-worker buddy in favor of a young temp worker. Hard working to the max and driven, Kristen knows the loneliness of hotels and bars. When she eyes the handsome Nate, dark and morose but ever so sexy, she feels like she has met a kindred soul. As the CEO for his own company, Nate seems to understand her long hours and her passion for work. Together they share a fabulous night. Months later, Kristen walks into her first day of work at a new job. Called in to meet her new boss, Nathan boyd, Kristen is shocked to see the face of her Singapore Nate, the man she cannot get out of her heart. Both driven professionals, Kristen and Nate decide to keep things on a professional level --- but their decision chafes at their very hearts. Then the worst thing possible happens to this sigle-minded, focused career girl --- not only is she pregnant but she is pregnant with Nate's baby!
This is my first Nicola Marsh read. Besides being a wonderful light read, interspersed with some tense moments, several areas drew my attention. Nicola Marsh has a lot of skill in setting a scene so that when she writes about the characters, the reader is drawn to them and understands them behind the exterior. Her style is quick, sharp and focused --- in just a few well-chosen descriptions, the reader is right there on the scene an in the hearts of her characters. I also very much enjoyed the way she wrote dialogue --- fun, witty and dynamic. But more, as Nate and Kristen encounter each other and spend time together in Australia, one feels them become more and more comfortable with one another through their dialogue. Interesting hero. As with most HR heroes, a good guy with past hurts. I really do love the way these HR authors write their heroes.
In general and on a personal level, I am less of a fan of baby romances than other kinds of romances but I was very impressed with how Nicola Marsh wrote this one. She added several very done well details that made me understand her and how she could end up in the situation she did and still be an intelligent woman. I grew up when women's lib was gaining ground and the one thing parents drove into their children was don't get pregnant and work hard to be successful in your own right. Some dramatic moments here, especially towards the end. She writes drama well --- quick plot with precise details, allowing the story itself to tell the drama.

Pros: excellent characterization and scene setting, humorous and dramatic
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: A great choice in short light romance reads. Brilliant characterization and scene setting. Emotionally moving

A huge thanks to Merri from Merrimon Book Reviews for this insightful review. (Check out her website, she has loads of fabulous reviews!)

Now, I'm not just saying that because she loved me book :) I'm saying it's insightful because she really understood what I was trying to do with Nate and Kristen's story.

While I was writing the book I wanted to show the character development of Nate, how he struggles with his past grief and is finally able to open his heart again. And with Kris, how a 35 year old career woman comes to terms with impending motherhood, something she never dreamed possible for her. I really concentrated on developing the emotion with both these rather intense characters and I'm absolutely thrilled it came through.

Speaking of emotion, I sniffled for the first time ever writing one of my own books last night.
The Harlequin Romance I'm revising (which ended up having a fairly major rewrite) is a story of second chance love and the hero Blane is to die for.
He's the one who made me cry just a little...how can Camryn resist? :)

On my first bestseller list!

Here's the thing.

I was doing revisions last night. Had made it to page 56 with eyes drooping, my bed calling out to me (alternating with bub calling out to me!) when I hear that EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE is on the Top 10 Bestsellers list for ebooks over at eharlequin.

No way! Scooted over, checked it out and there I was.
Did a little happy dance right on into the nursery before falling into bed.

So thanks to all of you who couldn't wait till this book hits the shelves to snap it up ;)

This list changes every day and I know I'll probably be gone by tomorrow but hey, I'm making the most if it today :)

As for the revisions, they're coming along nicely. Will blog further about them during the week.
For now, off to organise a feast for some friends coming over for brunch.

Reviewers' Choice Award!

Woke to lovely news that one of my Modern Extra releases last year has won a CataRomance Reviewers' Choice Award!

TWO-WEEK MISTRESS was so much fun to write.

Bo Bradford was the reclusive children's author, Tahnee Lewis was the breezy heroine, and Wally the Wombat featured on his blog...loads of fun!

Rather timely, as Kristen Lewis, the last of the Lewis sisters, has her own story coming up in EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE, my Harlequin Romance out in Feb.

So thanks to all the reviewers at CataRomance :)

For a full list of winners, check here.

For career mums out there...

Paperbacks arrived for EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE and here's the back blurb:

From employee to mommy-to-be...

Career-girl Kristen Lewis is at the top of her field.
She's driven, sensible-and her spur-of-the-moment decision to have one perfect night with sexy Nate was totally out of character! She puts it behind her...until she's faced with two shocks: she's pregnant...with her boss's baby!

Nathan Boyd, one of Australia's leading entrepeneurs, buries himself in work to forget his private torment. But now he's faced with a dilemma: the first woman to tempt him in a long time is his employee.

For readers who enjoyed Carissa's story in WIFE AND MOTHER WANTED, and Tahnee's story in TWO-WEEK MISTRESS, Kristen's story rounds off the Lewis sisters' trilogy.
I loved placing a 35 year old career woman in a situation she thought she'd never find herself in.
And Nate is the kind of hero we'd all like to have around...

Hope you enjoy it :)
It's out in Feb though will be available online in 2 weeks.

New cover

I've been waiting for my hardback copies of my next Romance EXECUTIVE MOTHER-TO-BE to arrive for a few weeks...and nada!

Well, thanks to Trish who pointed me towards Barnes and Noble today, I now have the cover :)

What do you think?

Nate and Kristen are both very business oriented in this book, and Kris is an older heroine who never thought she'd have kids so the cover is pretty spot on.
I wish it could be a little more romantic though...both Trish Wylie and Fiona Harper have books out in Feb too and their covers are absolutely gorgeous!!!

Baby is sick again so my intentions to do a Cover to Cover post have been delayed again. Sorry! I'll finish editing COURTING CUPID tonight and will pop the post up here tomorrow. Hopefully...