Diary of a page junkie

I admit it.

I'm a page junkie.

There's nothing better at the end of a working night than seeing how many pages I've written. I love seeing the pages and word count add up. It's addictive!

My, how all that has changed...

These days, I'm happy to get a couple of pages done a night though in all honesty, I don't look anymore. Too depressing for a speed freak like me.
That said, there is something infinitely satisfying about revisions when you chop great chunks out and add in two brand spanking new scenes as I did last night.
And the best bit?
I can see this story taking a new direction!
Which of course complicates matters for a little bit later when other scenes have to be chopped and changed but hey, isn't that the point of revising? Making the story better?

So for this page junkie, I'm currently at page 62 of The Pregnancy Surprise (an office/baby story for Romance.) That's after 3 nights work with tons of slashing and adding in the 2 new scenes.
Will keep the page count coming.

True confession Tuesday

While I've posted a blog over at the Pink Heart Society today for Temptation on Tuesday (think George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Joe Flanigan and you'll definitely have to check it out!) I've decided to make my own version, True Confession Tuesday here and out myself.

As many of you know, I've been absent or very, very quiet for the last few months. I've vanished from loops and my writing has slowed to a crawl (eg. so far, it has taken me as long to get partially through these current revisions as it took me to write my first 2 books this year!)

There are reasons, one fabulous, one not so great.

The bad news first: I had a TIA (transient ischaemic attack) or mini-stroke end of September, which affected my right arm and leg. Symptoms resolved fairly quickly but the never-ending tests and fear had me pretty worried for a while.
I'm not going to go on and on about this but only to say if you ever experience any weird symptoms, worth checking out.

Now, onto the good stuff.
I'm 14 weeks pregnant!!!!!!!!!
After baby dramas in May this year, I'm so thrilled by this pregnancy and treading gently through each day.
The only downside is the incredibly awful morning sickness, which lasts from the time I open my eyes to when I go to bed, hence the limited writing. Bit hard to keep hands on the keyboard when they're gripping the porcelain. (Oops, sorry, too much info!)

So if anyone has a miraculous cure for 'all day' sickness that works, let me know and I'll gladly give you as many of my backlist books as I can. Mind you, it has to work and I have to warn you, I've tried nearly everything already!

Creating memorable characters: in the first page!

Julie Cohen has issued an interesting challenge on her blog, where she asks people to post a first page excerpt and demonstrate how we create characters and conflict so early in a book.

So, as we've been chatting about INHERITED: BABY, here's the first page from the book with my two cents worth thrown in for good luck!

Maya Edison stood ram-rod straight, oblivious to the huge society crowd that had turned the funeral into a farce. She stared at the casket containing her dead fiancé as it was lowered into the ground, wishing she could cry.

(By her stiff posture and not caring about the crowd around her, we get the impression Maya is a strong woman.)

Wishing she could feel something other than the soul-deep weariness that had seeped into her bones around the time she’d had moved in with Joe Bourke, fallen pregnant with his child and bought his phoney lines about wanting to get married.

(She's had it tough. 'Soul-deep' implies more than your average grief.)

Wishing she didn’t feel the slightest hint of relief that her nightmare with Joe was over. Or the overwhelming guilt at her role in his death.

(What's this? She had something to do with Joe's death? Demonstrates our heroine is flawed and maybe isn't solely deserving of all our sympathy?)

Loving Joe had been a rush, a whirlwind romance that plucked her up and deposited her in the vortex of an emotional hurricane, leaving her to pick up the pieces eighteen months later.
“You okay?”
She turned at the light touch on her elbow, nodding mechanically, gaining some comfort from the genuine concern in Riley’s deep blue eyes.
Riley Bourke, Joe’s serious older brother, the only person at this funeral who had leant a helping hand after Joe’s death, the only person who seemed to care.

(Instantly, we get the feeling the hero is real. He has 'genuine' concern, has helped her and cares, three great qualities for a hero to have.)

Interesting, huh?
What do you think? Does this short intro give you a feel for the characters?

Great read!

I have to rave about this book!

Carmen Reid's "How Was it for You?" is a gritty, realistic tale of one woman's journey through desperately wanting a baby and beyond.

The heroine is deliciously flawed and while I cringed at some of her mistakes, I could identify with the heartbreak of wanting a child so badly you'd almost do anything for it. I have so many friends and family who have gone through the emotional wringer with IVF and/or miscarriage and this book really captured the emotions behind this rollercoaster ride.

I love discovering great authors and now that I've bought one of Carmen's books purely by chance I'll definitely be chasing up the rest.

Isn't it great when you pick up a book and discover it's truly wonderful? Entertaining, escapist but real at the same time?
One of those books you almost wish didn't have to end?
Sigh...

Labour of love

We've had lovely news of two new babies this week: my sister-in-law had a baby girl and my cousin had a baby boy.
Such a special time and brings back memories of my own 22 hour(!)labour, which actually wasn't as bad as I expected.
Then I bumped into a friend from Mum's Group yesterday with her new twins, who are absolutely gorgeous!
Me, clucky?
Babies are gorgeous and cuddly and grow so quickly, as I wrestle my almost 3 year old off my desk and away from pounding on the keyboard as I type!

Writing is another labour of love and on that front, I've completed the revisions on my next Romance (an office romance featuring an unexpected pregnancy.)
Mind you, they've been done in half hour bursts here and there, so I'm sure I'll have a bit of tidying up before it's ready to send back to my editor.
But at least they're done.
One down, one to go.

"Pineapple" books

My buddy Trish Wylie recently referred to one of her books as a 'pineapple' book. Huh?
She said writing the book was as painful as giving birth to a pineapple (metaphorically speaking, of course!)
In fact, Trish is having a Pineapple party for that book over at her blog at the moment so if you want to win a copy of the pineapple, head on over!

Trish got me thinking...because of what was happening in her personal life at the time she wrote the book, it became her pineapple.
Now I know exactly what she was talking about!
I haven't been well lately (thanks for all the private well-wishes!) and really struggling with sitting at a computer let alone writing anything.
Now I have revisions which have to get done but it's tough, really tough, when it's the last thing you want to do or worry about.

So unfortunately, I feel my own pineapples coming on...ouch!

Covers and revisions

I received the US copies of INHERITED: BABY early this week and I adore the new covers. Even though I wasn't sure about the big baby pic on the front, he looks ultra cute on this one, especially with the added touch of holly for it being a December Christmas release.
Exciting!

I've also heard back from my editor on the Romance and ModX books I handed in a while ago.
Minor revisions on one, more on the other.
Remember, the ModX is a rewrite of an old book and I can clearly see what my ed means when she says she keeps noticing moments where 'Romance Nic' meets 'MX Nic' when I switch out of a sensual moment to note the emotional impact.
It's probably because I think this book could be a Romance too, that my voice wavers too much in it. Looks like MX Nic needs to come out and play in earnest!

Reminds me of that Seinfeld episode about 'Independent George' where George's worlds are colliding. Let's hope that doesn't happen for the Nics!!

The Idea Boutique

Ever wanted to know where authors get the ideas for their books?

Then pop on over to The Idea Boutique, a fascinating blog I stumbled on a while ago via Bronwyn Jameson's blog.

Today, FOUND: HIS FAMILY is featured and I make a shocking confession! (Well, not so shocking if you know me...)

Tips from the Energizer bunny needed.

See these energetic little guys bouncing all over the place?
(They're supposed to be bouncing but blogger isn't playing fair and I don't have the patience to fiddle!)

Well, that is SOOO not me at the moment.

I've been laying low, feeling really off-colour so no writing, no exciting blogs, not much of anything really. Barely have energy to check my emails in the morning before logging off till the next day.

My sheikh and his prospective wife Bria keep saying 'hey, what about us?'
And I keep responding 'what about you?'
I'm so excited about writing this book but right now, can't summon the energy to do much of anything.
On the upside, I'm getting to do a bit of reading in the afternoons. Thank goodness for a toddler who still naps!!

All that bouncing around? Frankly, I don't know how the Energizer bunny does it!

Academic blogging

I had a lovely email from Dr. Laura Vivanco last night, saying she'd blogged about one of my books.

I was immediately intrigued and rushed over here to take a look.

Her observations about CONTRACT TO MARRY were very interesting and she picked up exactly how I'd used the heroine Fleur's best friend Liv (who reads romance novels) as a perfect foil for Fleur's cynicism.

CONTRACT TO MARRY features an older hero, Darcy (38) and a much younger, much more cynical heroine Fleur who doesn't believe in marriage and all that rot! Of course, Darcy changes her mind eventually...This is a romance after all!

I'd love to hear what you think about Dr. Vivanco's blog.

Cracking good read

I adore reading.
If I didn't write, I could quite happily spend all my time lolling about and reading (of course, there is the slight matter of raising a child, being part of a family, cooking meals, doing loads of washing, grocery shopping and all the rest!) but in a dream world, I would be reclining on a comfy sofa with a pile of books on my right with a stack of chocolate on my left. Bliss...

Speaking of reading, I just finished a really good book, Allison Rushby's FRIDAY NIGHT COCKTAILS. I've read all of Allison's books to date (chick-lit for Red Dress Ink) but have to say this is my favourite. It was actually her first book, published in Australia as allmenarebastards.com before Kensington re-released it as Friday Night Cocktails.
The whole concept of having a public website where women can post bits and pieces about the creeps in their lives and why is a classic!

There are some great laugh-out-loud moments in this book and it kept me smiling till the last page. Definitely worth a read.

The Alpha Hero

It has been a while since I wrote an alpha hero.

My second book, THE WEDDING CONTRACT, featured a successful, ruthless lawyer who played a 'baddie' in my first book, THE TYCOON'S DATING DEAL. Steve Rockwell needed to be redeemed so he met his match and got the happily-ever-after he didn't expect.

The interesting thing is that while I wrote that book, I wasn't sure if readers would like Steve, especially after his rude behaviour in book 1. In fact, a teensy-weensy part of me didn't like him!
The good news is that this book monitored highly in the UK, so some readers did indeed love him but since then I haven't written an alpha hero. I prefer the beta guys, who are successful and a tad aloof but with marshmallow hearts.

For me, alpha heroes conjure up images of mega-wealthy guys with a touch of arrogance, shades of superiority and who like to be in control. Yes, they have their good points and can be downright sexy, and many authors write alphas to die for but for me I just can't write them with ease.

Which brings me to Sam, my sheikh and the alpha hero who has crept up on me. I've written 2000 words the last 2 nights (that's going to be my daily target for this book, no overdoing it) and Sam is very much an alpha hero. He's a sheikh and demands to be written that way. A small part of me says 'can I do this?' while his imposing presence stamps itself all over the story.
Only time will tell how the story progresses but for now, alpha Sam is wowing both Bria the heroine and me!

What do you think of alpha heroes?

9/11

This date will be etched in our memory banks forever.
A terribly sad day where so many innocent lives were lost and the world realised the extent of what terrorism truly means.

For me, I was due to fly out to LA a week after this event and the uncertainty of whether or not the flights would reopen in time, what would happen at LAX and would flying ever be the same again was a constant niggle. As it turned out, I was on one of the first flights allowed out of Australia to the US and apart from lengthy delays at Melbourne Airport where every hangbag and handluggage was emptied and searched thoroughly, my trip went off without a hitch.

I think what struck me the most was the way people were getting on with their lives, not letting fear take a hold and I admired the way airport security at Melbourne, LAX and Vancouver went about their tough jobs with professionalism.

For those who lost loved ones on this day, my heartfelt sympathies to you all.

Light on the horizon...

Yesterday was an absolute s**t of a day!
Everything that could've gone wrong did, the worst being my darling toddler pitching headfirst into a picture we hadn't hung yet and smashing the glass.
I didn't care one iota about the picture but my heart stopped when I turned around and saw him sitting surrounded by major shards of glass, that awful shocked kiddie look on his face.
Amazingly, he didn't have a scratch on him, while the top of my office chair(where he'd been climbing) got shredded. Unbelievable.

Suddenly, I realised something. No matter how crummy things are, the most important things in life have a way of giving you a real wake-up call.
I've also realised something else. Maybe I'm so grumpy because I'm not writing? This has been my longest stint ever at not writing a thing and it's not helping.
Time to change all that.
Watch for a new worm thingy coming to a sidebar near you!!

Excitement of 'the call'!

Whenever I hear an author has sold a book, I get a little familiar tingle down my spine as I recall the exact day and time I got 'the call' from Harlequin saying they loved my book and wanted to buy it.
I'll never, ever forget the sheer thrill, the mind-blowing excitement and the repetitious 'great', 'great', and 'great' I responded to everything my editor said that fateful night at 6.30pm on 12th May 2003. It really was a turning point in my life.

Last night, I logged onto the Net and heard the fantastic news that Paula Roe had sold to Silhouette Desire. Not only does Paula write, she's a fabulously talented website designer and did mine a few months ago. Hearing her call story gave me goosebumps and it's so great another Aussie has joined the Harlequin team.

As for me writing? Nada. Still waiting to hear from my ed on the last 2 books, so rather than start another last night I edited a single title I'd completed a while back. I will, will, WILL start the sheikh book next week.
A new week, a new start. Right?

New release 'Down Under'.

My next book has hit the shelves in Australia!

FOUND: HIS FAMILY, set in the gorgeous bayside suburb of St. Kilda, is the story of Aimee Payet, a single mum and successful businesswoman who runs a patisserie in Acland Street (home of the most divine cakes and pastries on the planet! And yes, it is a real place!!)
When her adorable son Toby falls victim to leukemia, Aimee is forced to contact Jed Sanderson, sexy TV chef, the last person she wants to see...considering he broke her heart 5 years earlier and he's Toby's dad.

I did a lot of research for this book (which basically means I ate a lot of cakes and drank a lot of lattes but hey, somebody's gotta do it.)

Romantic Times said "Found: His Family has a strong conflict and is highly emotional" which is great, considering that's the type of book both my editor and I were trying to achieve at the time.

I'll be blogging more about St. Kilda and Acland Street (and yes, those yummy cakes, complete with pics) on September 12th over at the Pink Heart Society.

In other writing news, my lovely editor is back from holidays and says I'll be hearing about The Pregnancy Surprise shortly. I loved writing this book and I think it's one of my more emotional books. Will keep you posted.

COLLAGES with Barbara Hannay

After trialling many different ways to get the interview with Barbara up here, my blogger sidebar still goes crazy so I've posted a link instead.

To get the full interview, including 2 gorgeous pictures of Barbara's collages for her latest 2 books, click here!

I'd love to hear what you think after reading the interview, so please pop back here and leave a comment.
(Here's a sneak peek at one of Barbara's collages. For the lowdown, you'll have to check out the interview!)

Conference wrap-up

As promised, here's my whiz-bang ultra-short post-RWAus conference wrap up!


THURSDAY: arrived on the sunny Gold Coast, headed to Broadbeach where the conference was being held. At 5.30pm, went to Fiona Lowe's room for a party for the launch of her first book! Had a great time eating gigantic strawberries and toasting my talented buddy with champagne, while catching up with many authors I haven't seen since the last conference and meeting other newbies.


FRIDAY: the swish Harlequin Author's Lunch, held at a swank waterside restaurant. More lovely chatter (and yummy food!) I was presented with a "Woman Fuzzy" award, an annual event which started following an Ally Blake radio interview where the interviewer confused her "warm and fuzzy" comment for a "woman fuzzy?".


That night, attended the Cocktail Party, where the theme was "Golden Era of Hollywood." Loads of fab costumes. I went as Aishwarya Rai, the former Miss Universe who starred as the heroine in Bride and Prejudice.

SATURDAY: heard Debbie Macomber speak, attended great workshops, Anne Gracie's fabulous 'emotional punch' speech which was unfortunately cut short.

SUNDAY: more great workshops, Jane Porter's impassioned speech, I hosted an author chat for writers targetting the Romance line. Exhaustion well and truly set in. Shared a final hot chocolate with authors later that evening before looking forward to doing it all over again next year!

There, short and sweet!
Later this week, I'm going to have another guest interview, this time with the lovely Barbara Hannay who presented a workshop at the conference on collages. Barbara will be discussing collages and showing examples of her most recent ones and how they help her write a book.
It's going to be fun. Don't miss it!

Two-week Mistress

Moving right away from baby covers to 'under the covers' with my latest ModX sale, TWO-WEEK MISTRESS.

Remember the delightful Bo Bradford? (or more to the point, the gorgeous James Penfold whose pic I couldn't help but put up here quite frequently!)

Well, you can now get the low-down and an excerpt on this book, so check it out (click on the title.)

I'll get my butt into gear this week and post some conference news and pics. Promise!

Here it is!

Still trying to catch up on hundreds of emails while I was away, but I've just scanned the cover for INHERITED: BABY so here it is.

Opinions please?

I started reading the book yesterday and it's such a surreal experience, going from writing the story on a PC screen to reading the words in print. Maya is a single mum doing it tough and Riley is the brother of her dead fiance. I'm a quarter of the way through, where Riley (a citified stockbroker) has taken over Maya's horse strapper duties for a few weeks.

Tom Williams was the inspiration behind Riley. Once I find the pic I used, I'll pop that up here too. Just to entice you a little...