Heart on Sleeve Time

Am off to Ireland today to see my best mate Catri (girl talk is always good for the inspiration process I find, especially if margaritas are involved!), pop in to join Abby Green for a tango lesson (honestly, I kid you not, I couldn't make this stuff up right!) and raise a glass towards the US State Capitol Building at 6pm Irish time for the Inauguration of the 44th US Pres.

Now, this ain't a political blog, and I'm not preaching here (would I be so uncouth), but whatever the colour of your political affiliations you've got to admit that today is an historic moment in the USA. 

As Martin Luther King once (sort of) said 'America will be a great nation when people are judged not by the colour of their skin but the content of their character'. 

Now, no-one's saying Obama's the new Messiah, least of all him, but I for one will be shedding a little tear of emotion when those two beautiful black girls walk into The White House. So now you know what a total wuss I am. What a day!

A Fresh Start....And About Time To

Ha, well, after a marathon phone conversation with my editor yesterday (god, bless her), I've finally managed to whittle some semblance of a story out of all the waffle on my new WIP. Only problem is it does mean pretty much junking the whole 20K words I've done so far and starting all over again from scratch.

That Feb 10th deadline isn't just looming anymore, it's threatening to throttle me. Still I've begun writing a detailed chapter-by-chapter breakdown (duh! why didn't I think of that sooner) and I'm really excited about my story and my hero and heroine. You see I knew I had a conflict in there somewhere, it just took me, my ed and a very large shovel to find it... 

Now all I've got to do is write the darn thing (in three weeks... EEEK). And what's Colin Farrell got to do with all this?? Not a lot actually, except I need serious amounts of inspiration at the moment and I think he's just the man for the job.

Much more exciting is the news that Modern Heat have just signed a brand new author. The fabulous Lucy Roberts who wrote such a wonderful first chapter for the Feel the Heat Comp at the end of last year that she won it. Not only that but they bought the book with virtually no revisions (yup, you heard that right). 

Anyway, huge congrats to Lucy and having read the first chapter already on iheartpresents (check it out too, it's fab), I can't wait to read the finished book now. You can read all about her on-going road to publication on her blog.

Welcome to the Mod Hot Posse Lucy.

Get Ye to the Pink Heart Society...Or Movietalk

Just another quickie to say get thee to the Pink Heart Society on Friday or What's on TV's Movietalk blog where I will be waxing lyrical about the new Hugh Jackman/Nicole Kidman romantic epic Australia.

Is it the ultimate guilty pleasure movie? Quite possibly.

Also had some fab news from fellow Mod Hotter Kate Hardy to say she's up for the RNA Romance Prize again this year. Now, as she won it last year with Breakfast at Giovanni's I'm thinking Wow!! And my Modern mate India Grey is also up for the award, so hopefully they'll be lots of reasons to celebrate come February 10th when they announce the winner at the RNA luncheon. That's certainly shaping up to be a shindig and a half.

Am still plugging away at the current ms, which has turned into the stream-of-consciousness romance novel from Hell. Still sticking to my motto though, through gritted teeth: Write, write, write, edit crap at later date. 

I'm starting to think though that slash and burn might be the best technique for the editing stage... 

Oh and don't forget to vote for eharlequin as the best blog in the history of the known universe (or something like that) at the webblog awards. 

Happy New Year from London Town

Just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a fabulous 2009.

Popped into the West End last night to celebrate New Year's Eve. So we went for a Chinese in Chinatown, a quick visit to the funfair on Leicester Square and a movie with Jim Carrey called Yes Man (not fantastic, but did have a few laugh-out-loud moments, one of which I'm still chuckling about now!!). We had toyed with the idea of seeing the fireworks, but my God, it was absolutely freezing, so we totally chickened out and got a bus home to watch them in the comfort of our living room with a lovely fire in the hearth. I know, utterly unadventurous, but at least I still have all my fingers and toes this morning. 

And my Christmas pressie to myself this year was a trip to the cinema on Boxing Day to see the eagerly awaited (by me anyway) Australia with Hugh Jackman. 

Now, I have to be totally honest here and say this is not Baz Lurhmann's best movie (and I really thought it would be, plus that guy can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes) but did it deserve the absolutely atrocious reviews it has been given?? No sirree. I mean just for the scene in which the gorgeous Hugh is stripped to the waist soaping himself by an Outback campfire I'd give it a glowing review. Not that I'm bias or menopausal or anything! And quite apart from Hugh and his magnificent abs there were some other really moving moments, glowing cinematography, drama, excitement, romance - and an amazing performance from an unknown (and beautiful) Aboriginal boy who plays the narrator.

Still I'll be giving you'all the full low-down on the PHS on January 9th for their Must See Friday. And pointing out all those must-see moments involving Hugh - and Nicole Kidman, of course, who I think might also have been in it. I'm sure I spotted her there somewhere....

And as for my current ms? Going great guns... Not always in the right direction mind you ( I wrote a whole bloody chapter set in the Eurotunnel Terminal - hmmm, really glamourous and aspirational that!). But I'm sticking to my current motto, which is: 'Write Every Day And Remember: As Long As You Know It's Crap You Can Correct It Later.'