They did it - and a new review...

Well, I've watched the whole thing, and now I'm 'romanced out'. The royal wedding was fab, full of colour and emotion, and Kate's dress was dreamy. Congrats to the happy couple!

And, in other news, I've just had a lovely A rated review from Elsie Loves Fiction, click here to see the whole review on Elsie's site...

She said, among other things...

Oh la-la. What a steamy, dreamy, thrill ride. A romance, rated on the 'softer' side (meaning the details of the encounters between the main characters are juicy but not overly detailed ie erotica. Yes, I need to clarify--not everyone reads according to how many roses or hot peppers or whatever ratings the publisher uses). Well, it sure got my juices flowing. It. Was. Hot.

Thanks for the review, Elsie! As always, the review is posted in full as well on my reviews page using the link at the top.

And a quick 'ego-surf' reveals another review I wasn't aware of, this time from A Cozy Reader's Corner Reviews, who gave Bound to Love 3.5 out of 5. I have posted the full review on my review page from the top tag, or you can click on the link here to go and read it.

Party, giveaways, freebies, virtual cake!

The Wild Rose Press is 5 years old today!

To celebrate, they're having a party with $500 worth of giveaways.

The party will be going on for 5 days, so do click on the banner to go to the yahoo group where you can chat to authors, win goodies, and read excerpts. I'll be popping in to the loop in the mornings (for those in NY timezone) and after lunch for UK and Europe timezoners...

Do you care?

When I’m watching a movie, or reading a book there’s one thing that totally turns me right off. It’s not outlandish plots, or even unlikely premises – after all, who thought that a film where the characters transfer their consciousness into large blue people to live in an alternate world (Avatar) or live in different timelines (The Lake House) would be big hits at the box office?

I can believe anything. If the writing is good enough. And, most crucially, if I care about the characters.

Avatar deals with the concepts of greed and spirituality, and the watcher really cares about what happens to the blue people, and the team of scientists who care about them. It is, essentially, Pocahontas, altered and updated for a 21st century audience. Of course, the fact that it is a James Cameron production ensures that from the moment the character’s enter their blue bodies, we are drawn in, and the strangeness of the world portrayed vanishes as the story takes over.
The Lake House is another film that makes the watcher care, as it follows two people separated by time, but united by one place, an atmospheric lake house. Like Avatar, there are special effects, but the star of the film is the connection through time between the characters.
So, when writing, I always ask myself – do I care? Do I care about the characters and their struggle, are they sympathetic? Because if I don’t, my readers won’t either. And no matter how gripping the plot, or steamy the sex scenes, if there isn’t a strong, true connection between my characters and their readers, it ain’t worth the paper it’s written on.
Have you a favourite film or book where you care hugely about the characters? Or how about one where you couldn’t care less?

Quakes in boots

The Romantic Novelists Association announced the shortlist for the Joan Hessayon Award this morning.

Here's the link: http://romanticnovelistsassociationblog.blogspot.com/

And I'm on it!
'Quakes in boots!'

Ah, sunny California!

I'm talking about Almendra, the location in sunny California for my new book, just sold to The Wild Rose press.
It features.... my first ever completely French hero, Etienne Durand, owner of The St Clair Durand Vineyard.
Do pop over for a sneak peek!

http://www.minxesofromance.blogspot.com/

100 quid from Asda - who's in?

Just found out from Rachel Lyndhurst that her book, Storm's Heart and my Bound to Love are on UK Supermarket Asda's online site, and that they are offering the chance to score £100 for a review!

Can't take advantage of it, sadly, myself, we have no Asda's in Ireland - and after all, it would hardly be unbiased if I reviewed myself, but thought I'd spread the word to any UK readers who might be interested!

Here's the link for Bound to Love: http://www.asda-entertainment.co.uk/books/bound-to-love/10404508.html

And here's the link for Rachel's book, Storm's Heart: http://www.asda-entertainment.co.uk/books/storm-s-heart/10404450.html

And, hey, if you've gone to the trouble of writing a review for one or both books, why not post them on Amazon? We'd love you for it!

A lovely 5 out of 5 review!

This review just in from Geeky Girl Reviews...

WOW!! What a awesome book. I couldn't put it down and ended up reading it all in one sitting.If you love Romantic Suspense novel then I suggest you try this one, I promise you will not regret it.



If you would like to purchase this book you can find it at amazon.com.


I give this 5 out of 5


Thank you, Chantale!

Having Coffee with Catherine...

Today I'm out visiting Catherine Caffeinated, the blog of Irish writer Catherine Ryan Howard. Catherine is a whiz at how to self-publish, and has been doing very well on Amazon with her book, Mousetrapped.
Please do pop in and say hi!

SOLD!

I'm delighted to share that I've just received a new contract from the Wild Rose Press for my book, Love On The Vine. Woo-hoo!

Love On The Vine will be part of The Flower Basket series in Wild Rose, which are all set in a town called Almendra in California.

My hero, Etienne Durand is the new owner of the St Clair Durand Vineyard, and has moved to Almendra from his family's vineyard in Provence. He needs the help of event planner, Bella St Clair to launch his new vintage, but of course it's never that easy is it? Bella's family have been in Almendra for generations, and are the previous owners of his vineyard, and there are definite problems ahead!

I'll be posting a blurb and an extract in the following weeks, and a cover when I have it!

April Challenge!

So, the minxes are having a word count challenge for April, and everyone who wants to can sign up. Lovely Lacey Minx has designed these great graphics, and a word count meter. Thanks, Lacey!!

Woo-hoo! I've set myself a challenge to write 40,000 so better get writing! Once I have the word count meter up you can follow my progress on the right...