Romantic Times Hot Pick for January!

Am thrilled that ROMANTIC TIMES MAGAZINE named CRAZY LOVE as a Hot Pick for January in self publishing. (thanks to the lovely author buddies who took this snapshot and forwarded to me).

Haven't read it yet?

Well, time to remedy that! ;)

Go grab it now!

NEW RELEASE: Marrying the Enemy

I'm not ashamed to admit MARRING THE ENEMY is my favourite Harlequin I've written (out of 32!)

It's a marriage of convenience story...where the heroine proposes to the hero!

Here's the blurb:

Jewelry designer and heiress Ruby Seaborn will do anything to save her family's company from financial ruin. And she means anything.

Including proposing a strictly business marriage to diamond-mine magnate Jax Maroney—the only man able to restore the Seaborn jewelry empire to its former glory!

She needs his money; he needs her socialite credentials—it's a win-win solution. 

And if they indulge in certain…fringe benefits of their marriage along the way, that's fine. Because luckily Ruby's heart is as unbreakable as the precious gems she works with…isn't it?

ROMANTIC TIMES MAGAZINE gave it 4 1/2 stars! "This spirited and poignant romance features a vulnerable alpha hero who is perfectly matched with his sassy heroine."

Read an excerpt here

Amazon

Barnes & Noble (the nook book version is only $2.99!)

Book Depository (free postage worldwide)

Romantic Times winners

I've been lucky enough to be nominated 2 years in a row for a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award. With the RT convention currently running in LA, the winners of each section have now been announced and the full list is here. Congrats to the winners!

Award nominee

I am rapt to announce that MARRIAGE: FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE? has been nominated by Romantic Times magazine for Best Harlequin Presents 2010.

Woo hoo!

Another RT verdict

You heard what ROMANTIC TIMES had to say about my other June release, THREE TIMES A BRIDESMAID... earlier this week.

Here's what they say about OVERTIME IN THE BOSS'S BED.

OVERTIME IN THE BOSS’S BED (4 stars) by Nicola Marsh: Dancer Starr Merriday is jobless, homeless and penniless, and willing to do anything, including work for the man with whom she shared a wild night of passion. CEO Callum Cartwright doesn’t think Starr will take him up on his job offer, but he wants to atone for past sins. Though he’s trying to focus on his company, having the sexy dancer underfoot at work plays havoc with his concentration.
The saucy heroine is well matched to the driven alpha hero. Marsh does an admirable job of challenging her characters to confront their innermost fears and find love in the process.

Love Starr being described as saucy! And to think, I had to tone her down!

Three Times a Bridesmaid...

Here's what ROMANTIC TIMES magazine had to say about my upcoming release (out in the UK next week!)

THREE TIMES A BRIDESMAID … (4 stars) by Nicola Marsh: Successful events coordinator Eve Pemberton doesn’t have time for a personal life, and with the wedding of her last single friend fast approaching, she scrambles to find a date. She asks her old friend, ad exec Bryce Gibson, for help. Playing at love leads to the real thing, but can they find a way to overcome their issues and give each other a real chance? The plot’s a familiar one, but it works well here because the characters are nicely rounded and the hero in particular is very charming.

Romantic Times Top Pick!

I've received a lovely early Christmas present!

My current release in the UK, MARRIAGE: FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE?, out in the States in Feb, has received 4 and a half stars and Top Pick from Romantic Times!

Here's what they had to say:
It's been 10 years since Brittany Lloyd left New Zealand after bad boy Nick Mancini refused to go with her. Now she's on the cusp of a major career breakthrough but needs his help. She's in for a surprise -- he's now the multimillionaire owner of an international hotel chain. While the attraction is still there, so are the memories of how things ended. Nick says he'll help her if she'll help him -- by marrying him so his business associates will take him seriously. But how long will the marriage stay in name only?

This lovers-reunited tale is awash in passion, sensuality and plenty of sparks. The terrific characters immediately capture your attention, and from there, the pages go flying by.

Hot on the heels of A TRIP WITH THE TYCOON scoring an award nomination for Best Harlequin Romance, I love the fab folks at RT!

(An aside on the review...the book is set in Noosa, Australia, a fave holiday spot of mine.)

RT Award nomination!

I'm thrilled to announce A TRIP WITH THE TYCOON is a Best Harlequin Romance 2009 finalist in the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards.

You all know how much I adore this book, it is a favourite, so to be nominated for this award (my first RT nomination!) I'm absolutely thrilled!

Fellow Romance finalists are Fiona Harper (Invitation to the Boss's Ball was released in the UK in the same book as my Tycoon, so if you want to read 2 finalists for the price for one, go grab it via the BookDepository, free delivery worldwide!)

Jessica Hart

Myrna Mackenzie

Melissa McClone

Fellow fab Mod Heat authors Kate Hardy (who delivered the exciting news to me!) and Trish Wylie are finalists for Best Presents.

Smiles all round!

Romantic Times double!

I'm stoked!

Both my September releases have done well with stellar reviews from Romantic Times.

My favourite, A TRIP WITH THE TYCOON, was awarded 4 1/2 stars!

Here's what Catherine Witmer had to say:

A TRIP WITH THE TYCOON (4.5) by Nicola Marsh: Looking for a fresh start, widowed food critic Tamara Rayne takes the trip to India she'd once planned with her deceased mother. It's supposed to be a solo journey, but restaurateur Ethan Brooks, a friend of Tamara's late husband, decides to go along, allegedly on business. Ethan's wanted Tamara for years, and now that she's free, he's determined to win her. But Tamara's still nursing wounds inflicted by her verbally abusive and unfaithful husband ... wounds that Ethan's unaware of.

Sterling characters, an exotic setting and crackling sexual tension make for a great read. The realistically paced romance is also refreshing.

And Sandra Garcia-Myers had this to say about TWO WEEKS IN THE MAGNATE'S BED:

TWO WEEKS IN THE MAGNATE'S BED (4) by Nicola Marsh: After Lana Walker is passed over for a major promotion, she takes a two-week cruise to get away and let it all hang out, so to speak. Shipping tycoon Zac McCoy, who's undercover as the PR director, is on board to catch a culprit who's been causing trouble on different trips. But it's Lana who catches his eye. When the flirting starts, Lana throws caution to the wind. After all, what could happen in two weeks?

This fun and flirty shipboard romance features an entertaining twosome who will charm readers.

Don't you just want to run out and grab both books right now? :)

Pressies all round

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas.

I'm still playing with all the fab toys Santa brought our littlies. Fun!

I had a few nice pressies on Christmas Eve.

My fab editor informed me that my upcoming Modern Heat, TWO WEEKS IN THE MAGNATE'S BED (UK, March) will be out in the US in September as a Harlequin Presents. Yay!

The other was a great 4 star review from Romantic Times for THE BOSS'S BEDROOM AGENDA.

Here t'is!

"To help finance her career as a metal sculptor, Beth Walker takes a temporary job as a museum tour guide. She's not too happy about it, until she meets the temporary CEO, Aidan Voss. The attraction between them is immediate and electric, but Aiden is an archeologist who wants to go on digs around the world, and Beth wants to stay in one place and put down roots. Can they meet halfway? From the moment these two meet, the attraction simmers until it finally explodes. What a nice change of pace that these two start out as equals on a journey that's filled with emotional twists and turns."

How to woo a woman

Two posts in a day?
Well, I'm over my little bout of snarkiness from this morning so thought we'd move on with a more positive review :)

I have my first review for THE DESERT PRINCE'S PROPOSAL!

Here's what Catherine Witmer from Romantic Times had to say about it:

Architect Bria Green's chance meeting with developer Sam Wali becomes a fleeting but memorable flirtation. Soon afterward, in the kingdom of Adhara to secure materials for a client, Bria finds out that Sam is actually Prince Samman al Wali. Sam has a proposal for Bria: If she'll marry him, she can design Adhara's new capital city. Bria's tempted, but they're strangers, and Sam's as controlling as her father. She's also halfway in love with him, which presents a problem! Nicola Marsh's The Desert Prince's Proposal (3) will appeal to those who enjoy desert-set fantasies, but others might find Sam's idea of courtship as crazy as Bria does.

Poor Sam.
He's a strong, alpha prince. Not sure if he takes too kindly to having his wooing techniques questioned ;)

This book is available online now!
In the UK, it's here.
In the US, it's here.

It'll be out on the shelves in both countries in July.
Enjoy :)

Romantic Times

Reviews are subjective.

A book I might absolutely adore you might hate.

(Some RITA winners can vouch for the fact that books which were canned by reviewers went on to win the RITA!)

And as many authors will tell you, lap up the great reviews and kinda ignore the bad ;)

With that in mind, I'm going to shout the news from the rooftops that my first Harlequin Presents, PURCHASED FOR PLEASURE, out in Feb 08, has just rated 4 stars from Romantic Times.

Here's what Cindy Himler had to say:

Kate Hayden and Tyler James were lovers years ago. Now a magazine writer, Kate sees Tyler at a bachelor auction and, on a bet, bids for his attention for a week. When she wins, Kate has no idea what to do. Then her retiring editor offers Kate his job if she writes about her week with Tyler, so she throws herself on Tyler's mercy. What follows is an enjoyable story about the rocky road to love. Kate and Tyler are likable characters, and the side story of Tyler's friend, Mary, and her work at an orphanage makes a nice addition to the main plot in Nicola Marsh's Purchased for Pleasure (4)

Meet the bad-boy prince

Meet Dante Andretti, the Prince of Calida in my current Harlequin Romance release PRINCESS AUSTRALIA.

The idea for this story sprung from one picture, that of a scruffy, unshaven Adrian Grenier (of Entourage fame). I hadn't heard of him nor watched the show but the minute I saw that picture I thought it screamed 'bad-boy'.

Now, bad boys are more suited to the Modern Extra romances I write but I really wanted to use this inspiration to write a Romance so what did I do? I thought of what would be the opposite of a bad-boy...and came up with an uptight prince bound by responsibilities!

Once the idea for my prince gelled, the rest of his profile followed.

Dante is a guy about to be crowned prince of his tiny country off the coast of Italy (my fictitious Calida) His bossy mother, the queen, is pushing for him to take a bride and solidify his position in the monarchy but Dante needs a break and travels to Melbourne, supposedly on business, but in reality wants to visit his sister Gina and 2 year old nephew Paolo.

Dante plans a week of blessed anonymity and to do this, he enlists the help of the concierge at Telford Towers, the hotel where he is staying. (More on the concierge and the Towers later this week!)

For me, Dante is ruffled, sexy and charismatic (and yes, definitely inspired by the pic above!) Romantic Times describes him as a 'dashing hero' and I have to agree :)

Are you addicted to your library?

I visited my local library yesterday.
Bad move.
Before bub was born, I'd been raiding their shelves for the past 2 months, so I could stock up the books I'd bought on my 'to be read' pile for after baby arrived.
Well, that pile has diminished and as I was walking past the library yesterday, I ducked in and came out with 5 great books.

Why is this bad?
Last night, instead of writing or sleeping, I read. And read. And read.
I'm hopeless. Give me a good book and I can't put it down. Almost finished the first one, 4 to go. Then of course I have to return them, which involves going back into the library and past all those wonderfully crammed shelves again...oh, how I love books!!! And my own TBR pile is growing again too!

Speaking of which, my one and only Romance release for the year is coming up. PRINCESS AUSTRALIA hits the shelves in June so watch this space for all the 'behind the scenes' goss on this book.
Romantic Times gave it 4 stars: "...dashing hero...sparkling dialogue..."
And here's a snippet of the 4 star review it received at Cataromance:

"Princess Australia is a charming story of strength and conviction, with a hero and heroine that must trust each other before they can really appreciate their unique relationship. I loved Dante and Natasha, their stumbling around trying to trust each other without either knowing it and then having someone try to destroy their budding romance without a care in the world, it made me want to knock the offending party out. I enjoyed reading about this relationship, even when they were both pigheaded and the ending was a tender way to cement their romance. Ms. Marsh is a skilled author and leaves me staggered with her writing because Princess Australia is a feel good, happily ever after story that I want too."