My 20th book!

I'm still pinching myself about that...my 20th book!

I swear it feels like I only just sold yesterday...but 5 years passes mighty quickly when you have 2 babies in that time!

This Modern Heat was slotted into December 09 a while ago but I've been waiting on the title and now I have it!

MARRIAGE: FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE?

This book features my Italian bad boy, Nick Mancini and career-oriented London gal Brittany Lloyd.

Considering they were teenage sweethearts, you can imagine the sparks flying when they reunite ten years later...and Nick has a proposal for Britt that blows her mind!

I've tried to upload an excerpt to my webpage but after that part of my PC got fried in the lightning strike, it's refusing to work.

Much gnashing of teeth will ensue, I fear.

My blog in the Top 50!

I've discovered my blog is in the Top 50 Aussie Writing Blogs, as determined by Jonathan Crossfield, Marketing Manager of NetRegistry.

He used figures from Technorati, Google Page Rank and Alexa, plugged them into a formula, and there I am, sitting pretty in the Top 50!

Mind you, I can't understand a word of all that gobbledygook, but I guess I just keep doing what I'm doing. Post daily, interact with you fabulous followers and keep it interesting.

Which brings me to my next question. If there's anything you want covered here, just shoot me an email and I'll try to do a post on it.
Reminds me...I'm due for another 'Write Whisper' post too...

'Those titles'.

A snippet of a recent review got me thinking about titles.

"As a reader, I tend to cringe when I see titles such as The Billionaire's Baby. I like series romances, but in recent years I've been reading them in spite of their titles, not because of them. Still, that being said, once I got past the ridiculous title, I found a mostly entertaining and heartwarming story."

When I give talks, one of the things I mention is the fact authors don't usually choose their own titles or covers and people are surprised.

Harlequin Mills and Boon titles are chosen with the hook of the book in mind.
So that a reader knows at a glance what the book is about.
The marketing department are highly skilled at their job and know what sells so next time you see a title with too many hooks, don't be put off. Bet the story between the pages is fabulous!

Blowing off steam

Had a lovely Easter, a really enjoyable family day.

So with kidlets in bed last night, thought I'd do a bit of research for current WIP.

Before I started, I whizzed through my emails to clear my inbox and discovered a nasty snake curled up there...in the form of a Google Alert for my latest Harlequin Presents.

What's so bad about that?

'The Boss's Bedroom Agenda' was freely available on an illegal download site!

A reader had uploaded it last week and the book had been viewed 248 times already.

As you know from my posts here, a lot goes into writing a book. Loads of blood, sweat and tears. If you enjoy my books, I'd hope you'd shout it to the world: tell your friends/family/dentist/grocer/librarian/everyone to go out and buy copies of my books. Lend them to friends. Spread the word.

What I'd hope you wouldn't do after enjoying one of my books is upload to a site where hundreds of people can download it for free.

As Trish Wylie succinctly put it in her post here, it's stealing.

Our books are copyrighted.

When I lose out on sales, my sales figures go down.

My sales figures continue to go down, my publisher doesn't want to buy any more of my books and you don't get to read any.

That's the way it goes.

This blatant disregard for respecting authors' work makes me mad.

Yes, I spend a small fortune on books but I want to keep reading my favourite authors.

As for the steam coming out of my ears...every time I find one of my books being illegally downloaded from the Net, I have to report it to Harlequin.

It's a pain.

It's time-consuming.

And I'd much rather be writing.

Wish these darn download sites would disappear into cyberspace forever...

THE WRITE WHISPER: Mind Maps

I stumbled across Mind Maps when I did a creative writing course years ago. It was at a time where the first stirrings of my itchy fingers started, when I wanted to pick up pen and paper and start writing.

I can't remember much of the course other than the teacher bringing in weird and wonderful objects each week and asking us to write a short story about them. Stories I recently re-read when I stumbled across the folder from the course, stories I'm sure won't ever see the light of day!

An interesting aside caught my attention as I flicked through this folder.

Mind maps.

I'd done one for each story, done one for my current release TWO WEEKS IN THE MAGNATE'S BED (though I didn't know it at the time!)

Stupidly, I threw them all out, otherwise I could've scanned one for you to see here. And the mind map I created in Word last night especially for this blog won't upload (so if anyone wants a copy of it, you can email me at nicola@nicolamarsh.com and I'll forward it to you.) I'll try and describe it for you now.

Mind mapping is basically concept planning.

You take a central theme and collect ideas in different categories around it.
I guess you can say it's a diagramatic form of brainstorming.

Possible elements of a story map include:

Central theme/title
Characters
Setting
Time period
Uses of theme
Useful catch phrases/symbology/etc...

To create your own mind map, go into Word, click on 'Insert', then 'Diagram', then choose 'Radial Diagram'.
You'll end up with a central circle and loads of circles branching off from this like tentacles.

Then you can start having fun!

With the book I'm currently plotting, I had the heroine's job as the central theme because it's highly unusual. From there, my branches included: brief emotional descriptions of hero and heroine, secondary characters, setting, time period. Basically, you can include anything!
I used colourful crayons too, just for something different and it was strangely liberating.

So get those minds mapping.
You never know what gem of an idea may pop up.

Overseas

I have 2 foreign releases this month.

My desert prince from THE DESERT PRINCE'S PROPOSAL is out in France, available here.

And my Navy SEAL in PURCHASED FOR PLEASURE is out in Brazil.

(I adore the French cover, much sexier than the original!)

It's all fiction, I tell you!

Here's my 'Dear Reader' letter for TWO WEEKS IN THE MAGNATE'S BED.

Dear Reader,

There's something about cruising...the choice to do everything or nothing, the delicious food, the excitement of sailing the seven seas (maybe indulging the odd pirate fantasy or two?), the brilliant eye candy factor with all those guys in uniform...
Ahem, where was I?

Can you blame a girl for having her head turned by a strong, sexy sailor? The type of guy to sweep you off your feet, to romance you in the style you deserve?

Lana Walker doesn't know what hits her when suave shipping magnate Zac McCoy does exactly that, turning on the charm until the shy curator doesn't know whether to succumb or jump ship and swim for shore.

What would you do? Give into a spellbinding romance no matter how brief or settle for the safe option?
I've been in this position and believe me, taking the romance was worth every magical second!

I hope you get swept away by Lana and Zac's enchanting romance too.

Happy reading,

Nicola

Now, after baring my soul and making that comment about taking the magical romance onboard a ship, I wonder how many people are going to wonder how much of this book is autobiographical?

Well, let me tell you, categorically, right here and now, there is only one scene loosely based on fact.
The first person to correctly pick the scene definitely deserves a prize ;)

THE WRITE WHISPER: A gem of an idea

One of the most common questions I'm asked as an author is 'where do you get your ideas?'

The answer?

Everywhere! A glance, a couple holding hands, a newspaper headline, a magazine article or often in that strange half-awake/half-asleep state where I scramble frantically for a pen and pad in the dark and scribble down that nebulous idea/opening line/title before it fades (I'm always scared I'll forget it by morning if I don't write it down!)

Right, so you have your idea.
Where do you start?

Last year, I wrote an article for Romance Writers of Australia's monthly journal on 'What Drives Your Story?'

The article revolved around plot driven stories versus character driven stories.
For me, I'd come up with an idea and immediately dive into the plot, imagining what my characters would do in such a scenario.
For others, the characters strut into their mind larger than life and a plot develops from there.

As writers, we all have tried and true ways of doing things. You'll know if you're a plot or character driven writer; it's what comes easiest to you. That is, after you come up with an idea, which do you find easier, coming up with a plot or the characters?

So what happens when we shake things up a little?

Next time you have a gem of an idea, try this:

If you're a plot driven writer, let your characters drive the story.

If you're a character driven writer, play around with the plot first.

You'll be amazed at how a fresh approach can inject a bit of 'oomph' into your writing.
And we're always learning, right?

Ideally, every story we write needs to be character driven.
We want to create believable, real, compelling characters that keep readers turning pages long into the night.
And that comes back to motivation, mentioned in an earlier post.

Whether you're a plot or character driven writer, motivation is what drives our characters, what keeps them believable, what makes them leap of the page and into the readers' hearts.

But in the early stages, when that new, nebulous idea has shimmered into your mind, play around, shake things up and see where your gem can take you.

That's my 'write whisper' for this week.

Free books!

To celebrate Harlequin's 60th birthday, the company is giving away free books.
16 of them to be precise!
How fabulous is that?

Here's the list:

Harlequin American Romance, Once a Cowboy by Linda Warren
Harlequin Blaze, Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly
Harlequin Historical, His Lady Mistress by Elizabeth Rolls
Harlequin Intrigue, Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels
Harlequin Presents, Price of Passion by Susan Napier
Harlequin Romance, The Bride’s Baby by Liz Fielding
Harlequin Superromance, Snowbound by Janice Kay Johnson

Silhouette Desire, Baby Bonanza by Maureen Child
Silhouette Nocturne, Kiss Me Deadly by Michele Hauf
Silhouette Romantic Suspense, Stranded with a Spy by Merline Lovelace
Silhouette Special Edition, Dancing in the Moonlight by Raeanne Thayne

Love Inspired, A Very Special Delivery by Linda Goodnight
Love Inspired Historical, Homespun Bride by Jillian Hart
Love Inspired Suspense, Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry

Kimani Romance, Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson

Nascar, Speed Dating by Nancy Warren

The titles are available as PDF or in all ebook formats.
Check out here.
And enjoy!

Waldenbooks bestseller!

While I was sweating through the 43 degree heat late yesterday, the lovely Robyn Grady sent me an email, congratulating me on being on the Waldies this week.

Well, let me tell you, my fingers flew mighty fast over the keyboard and landed directly here.
And yep, there I am, sitting pretty on the WALDENBOOKS BESTSELLER list!!!
To say I'm thrilled would be an understatement!

So if you want to discover why THE BOSS'S BEDROOM AGENDA made the list (and is one of my favourite books) go grab your copy now!

THE WRITE WHISPER: Protecting the work

I've heard this phrase mentioned a few times lately...'protecting the work'.

You'd think it would have something to do with copyright but when I've heard it, I've skimmed past, yet managed to get the gist of it, I hope!

For me, protecting the work is about doing whatever it takes to ensure your writing comes first, your muse is fresh, your creativity flowing.

Now I'm not saying lock the kids away, tell hubby to vamoose and put the writing first (unless you're on deadline!)
What I am saying is be careful not to be swamped by other writing-associated things that your time is eaten away.

We all know what a distraction research on the Internet can be so I'm not going there.
But lately, I had a good chat with an author buddy who'd pulled back from every 'loop' she was on. Timely, considering I was about to do the same thing.

When I was first published, I joined every loop I was invited to join. I participated, I posted, I congratulated. Then along came the kids...and deadlines...and promotion...and my time is now limited. Extremely limited.

So this week, I've taken stock.
I'm on 45 loops. That's right, 45!
I'm in the process of paring that back to 5, unsubscribing to most of them by stealth.

I won't be missed but what I do know is that the few hours it takes me to check emails in the morning while toddler is napping (even skimming those loops where I'm on digest for most) will give me extra writing time.
And that's what counts.

'Protect the work', that's my 'write whisper' for today.

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?

Lovely review!

My sexy archaeologist has received another lovely review, this time from ROMANCE READER AT HEART.

Here it is!

I’ve got to admit that I’m a Nicola Marsh fan. When I read one of her stories I know that the plot will be fast and fun, the characters smart and sexy and the writing flawless. Another thing I enjoy about her stories is the fact that they give a glimpse of exotic locations, something that adds to my reading pleasure. THE BOSS’S BEDROOM AGENDA did not disappoint on any of these points. Set in Melbourne, this is a tale of a woman whose shoe savvy is eclipsed only by her fear of finding—then losing—the one thing she truly wants.

From the first chapter, Beth is an endearing character. Her arrival for her first day as a museum tour guide late, and wearing a pair of Manolos instead of sensible shoes, sets the tone for her relationship with her new boss, drop-dead gorgeous Aidan Voss. He is an archeological whiz; she’s a metal sculptor. Together they bring more sizzle to the Melbourne Museum than any of its exhibits. The chemistry between the pair is obvious even at their first meeting, and as the story progresses it continues to grow. After a fund raiser their flirting takes a passionate turn, but even when Beth spells out exactly what she wants—what she needs—Aidan is determined to put in his time at the museum so he can get back to his archeological digs.

A story about compromises and commitment, THE BOSS’S BEDROOM AGENDA is both emotionally satisfying and entertaining. I enjoyed every minute of it, and look forward to more from this talented author.
(Kay James)

Thanks Kay!

THE WRITE WHISPER: Voice

Voice: we all have one.

It's as unique as our fingerprints, almost impossible to replicate and one of the many things I love about books: the author's voice.

Voice, style, flare, whatever you want to call it, every writer has a distinct way of getting their story across.

Voice is what makes certain authors auto-buys for me.
Voice keeps me turning pages deep into the night when I should be sleeping.
Voice can make me laugh, smile, even cry on the odd occasion.

Lately, I've been doing a fair amount of judging, hence the choice of topic.

Writers, take note: even if your plot has major holes, your conflict is weak and your characters need a good kick in the pants to make them head in the right direction, if your voice is strong and captivating, the rest can be fixed.

Plots can be strengthened, conflict tightened and characters placed firmly back on the straight and narrow, but you can't fix voice.

Here's a little story.
An old uni friend of mine, who I hadn't seen in years, contacted me after she read several of my books. She thoroughly enjoyed them but the thing that really struck me was when she said 'reading one of your books is like sitting across from you at the cafeteria table and hearing you tell stories.'
(Looks like I was a bit of a chatterbox even back then!)

That really hit home. It told me I have a voice. A voice I've been told is fun, flirty, witty and modern by various editors. A voice I stay true to, no matter what series I'm writing for.

Here's another little story.
An author recently said her voice had been diluted and weakened by a critique group she joined and it took her much longer to get published. She reworked a manuscript so much according to suggestions that her voice was lost. When she subbed the original manuscript years later, it sold. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing critique groups or partners in any way, but don't forget that each critique is one reader's opinion. And in the end, it's the editor's opinion that counts.

So the moral of these tales?

Stay true to your voice.
Work it. Hone it. Polish it.

That's my 'write whisper' for this week.

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."

THE WRITE WHISPER: Romance PR

If you read or write romance, I want you to go outside right now, stand in the middle of your street, fling your arms in the air and shout "I love romance!" Shout it loud and proud. Make sure every person for miles hears you.

Okay, okay, I'm exaggerating but as romance lovers, I think that's what we have to do.

We have to be proud of the romance genre.
We have to hold our head up and meet gazes head on when people ask what we do and we respond 'romance writing.'
We have to proudly display that cover of a bare-chested hero in a steamy embrace with a gorgeous heroine while we're reading on the train.

We are romance ambassadors, every single one of us.

Last night, I was interviewed by several journalists in India to coincide with Harlequin Mills and Boon's 100th anniversary and the writing competition they've just launched there (more about that on Monday.)
The interviews went for 50 minutes total with a wide array of questions and the one thing that struck me, that has struck me repeatedly when I've done library talks or been a guest speaker elsewhere, is how fabulous romance is and how lucky I am to be part of it.

It's a genre that generated $1.375 billion dollars last year, with the biggest seller being contemporary series romance (Mills and Boon series romances), with 25.7% of the romance pie, followed by contemporary romance 21.8%, historical romance 16%, paranormal 11.8%, inspirational 7.1%, romantic suspense 4.7% with other subgenres to follow.

Harlequin sold 130 million books worldwide, equating to 1 book every 4 seconds and is the biggest romance publisher in the world.

These are statistics to be proud of.
These are statistics we should know as romance ambassadors.

Say it loud and say it proud.

"I love romance!"

That's my 'write not-so-whisper' for the day.

Almost there...

This man...

has followed this woman...

From here...

To here...

Okay, Nick hasn't exactly followed Brittany from Noosa to Oxford Circus but he is in London after stopping in the Caribbean along the way.

They're in Chelsea, in a dilapidated house, smack bang in the final scene.

Fireworks are going off...now she's crying...and I'm too tired to write any more so I shall finish this book tomorrow!

Just busting to tell you...

Two posts in the same day, highly unusual, I know, but I absolutely must tell you about 2 things.

First up, an author who is a new auto-buy for me.
I've just finished reading Richard Montanari's "The Skin Gods" and it was brilliant! Started it yesterday, couldn't put it down (and yes, I'm on deadline and trying to get this book done!) but here I sit at my computer with my word doc opened and my nose buried in this book desperate to finish it.

Harlan Coben and Tess Gerritsen are auto-buys for me, Richard Montanari is now part of that list. If you enjoy thrillers, grab his books!
I recently glommed Barbara Samuel and I'm off to glom the rest of this fabulous author's books too.

The other thing I had to share is the new cover for my next Modern Heat (March 09 in the UK).
I thought my Navy SEAL was hot in 'Purchased for Pleasure' but boy, does this guy rival him or what!!!

Right, you won't hear from me tomorrow.
I'm trying to finish this book!

THE WRITE WHISPER: Making your readers care

Welcome to a new series of writing tips, discussion and general blatherings as I traverse the wonderful world of publishing.

I'm hoping to make this a weekly weekend series though in all likelihood, I can see it featuring fortnightly...or maybe longer, we'll see how we go!

(And if you miss out on a post, you can see the lot in the sidebar link and on my website.)

So, how do we make our readers care?

The idea for this series was sparked while I was watching Prison Break this week.
This series is the best yet, with the writers giving every character motivation for their actions, no matter how nefarious.
But what really struck home was when I choked up over a former bad guy dying.
How did the writers do that?
How did they make me care enough about a 'baddie' to feel sorrow when he died?

Motivation.
It all comes down to this.
If you give your characters sufficient, believable motivation for their actions, readers will be behind them all the way.

How many times are you reading a book or watching a movie and enjoying it, only to be jolted out of the suspended reality by the character doing something completely out of character?
It jars.
It takes us out of the story.
It ruins our suspension of disbelief and makes us question everything about the remainder of the book/movie.

You don't want to do this to your readers.
You want them swept along in the story, so caught up in the characters' lives they absolutely must keep turning pages until they reach 'the end'...and leave them wanting more, particularly your next book!

A strong, real, believable motivation is gold.

That's my 'write whisper' for today.

Fan moment

I love hearing from readers.
Receiving emails discussing my books or saying how much they're enjoyed never fails to bring a smile to my face.

The funny thing? I never thought of writing to my favourite authors to thank them for their brilliant books.

Adele Parks was the first author I emailed and her response was lovely.
So imagine how stoked I was when she commented on my 'glomming' post over at the PHS last week. I had a distinct fan moment!

Now her latest book is hitting the shelves and I can't wait.
Hers are keepers for me.

Who's on your keeper shelf these days?