Monday 27 September 2010

New Voices.... Top Ten Announced!!

So, I've been keeping my eye on the New Voices site this morning to see the top ten announcement... And what a treasure of riches those top ten are.

But before I start waxing lyrical about the two fantastic chapters that Sally Williamson and I will be mentoring... And that I have to say I am excited out of my mind about!!

I'd like to say commiserations to those who entered and didn't place. It's always gutting investing all your hopes and dreams (not to mention your time and effort) in putting your stuff out there and not getting a mention - and given the stunning quality of some of the chapters that I read which didn't place I know just how high the standards were for this competition. Please don't feel discouraged, speaking as someone who has a fairly chequered history with competitions (ie, I never managed to win any either, folks!) in this case it really is the taking part that counts. You've got your stuff out there, you got some valueable feedback and hopefully some all-important pats on the back to help you keep going, and an editor has read it (and I suspect more than ten entries will have caught their eye). Maybe you didn't make the grade this time (and there will be all sorts of reasons for that quite apart from quality) but remember there's always a next time... And never loose sight of the fact that the end game here is to get published and keep getting published and simply entering a competition like this one is going to help you do that, no matter where you placed.

All right... So on to my entries, which once I saw them listed under Team Heidi I immediately ran off to read because I'd somehow managed to miss them both.

The Royal Marriage Rescue by Kara Jacobe is a heartbreakingly compelling tale of a couple in crisis. A couple who are deeply in love but are being emotionally torn apart by their inability to communicate their pain to one another. The hero Rafiq, a desert prince, is bound by duty, determined to remain strong through anything, leaving his wife Joselyn to cope alone when she needs him the most. Written in a richly evocative style with a stunningly original premise, this story takes a mega-glamorous fairytale setting and makes it rivettingly real. I can absolutely see why this entry caught the editors attention - and held it.

Thigh Noon by Kat Cantrell is a dazzlingly funny but also brilliantly conflict-driven tale of romance and revenge and thigh-shapers... Not necessarily in that order! Honestly this entry made me laugh out loud but at the same time managed to move me. No easy feat. And again the premise is fabulously fresh and original. Ambitious fledgling entrepeneur Alexia is the jilted ex-wife of suave, sexy and super sneaky CEO Jesse Hennessey. Jesse's put his name with hers on the patent of the Thigh Thing that she invented and now she wants it back - and absolutely nothing more to do with the ex who discarded her - but Jesse's going to make her jump through some serious emotional hoops to get what she wants! The dialogue in particular in this story is so smart, sassy, sexy and quick fire it's liable to give you whiplash... The hero oozes sex appeal and the heroine's someone I want to be!

I haven't had a chance to read the other mentor teams entries, but I'm sure I've got the cream of the crop. Woohoo!! Surely there cannot be any entries better than these two.

Cannot wait to read the second chapters!!

Saturday 25 September 2010

Guardian Glory!

So the New Voices comp has now finished, and a little bird from Romance HQ has told me the finalists have been chosen... But don't ask me who they are cos I won't know till they're posted on the site at 9am Monday morning in the UK like everyone else... One last good luck to all who entered. Can't wait to find out who I will be mentoring.

In other news, I had a visit from a very nice man from The Guardian a couple of weeks ago to be interviewed for their Working Life piece. Which was a major thrill for me as I've been a Guardian reader my whole life (well hey, I live in Islington, it goes with the territory folks).

Here's the link if you'd like to find out what a mess my desk is... Sorry, I mean, what it's like to be a genuine romantic novelist. Actually, it's a lovely piece, I think Mr Benedictus has got a real feel for who I am and how much my work means to me (although I never knew I toyed with my hair that much!!). I should add I never said I 'churn out' my books (if only I could write them that fast) a phrase which makes most romance novelists shudder in horror (me included), but the reporter didn't say that, the sub did... And as I've written a few horror headlines myself in the past in my previous career as a journalist, I guess they are now coming back to haunt me (plus I know what it's like trying to write something to fit, to deadline... so I can't hold it against him, or her).

Anyway, enjoy the piece and do let me know what you think.

My one regret? That I didn't wear my posh frock for the darn photograph. Rats.

Wednesday 22 September 2010

New Voices is about to close...!

Just a quick reminder to anyone planning to enter the New Voices comp it's about to close, baby, so drop whatever you're doing and go enter... With 737 entries last time I looked it's gonna be one heck of a competition.

I've been dipping in and out of the site and a few of the entries in the Contemporary Romance category really caught my eye, unfortunately I'm in the middle of trying to come up with an idea for my next book (why is it my mind always decides to go totally blank at this point!!) so haven't read nearly as many as I would have liked - or dip into the other categories yet. But if you're in the mood to read something new, go check out the entries, the standard is exceptionally high:

Here's a few of my faves:

Talking Dirty with the Ceo by Jackie Coates... Fresh, funny, witty and with a really catchy clever premise! And it'll give you Ugg Boot envy.

In Too Deep by Lorraine Wilson... Another wonderfully witty entry, and any book which opens with the hero stark naked in a shower always gets my attention. LOL

Sequins and Secrets by Joanne Pibworth... Wow, the opening to this one is Hot, Hot, Hot and had me fanning myself, big time. Edgy, erotic and super-sexy.

One Rogue, One Damsel by Rachael Johns...A couple with conflict to spare here and a very glamorous premise, plus the hero is a total hunk!


Passion in Paradise by Gabrielle Wright... The hero in this one is to die for. Smouldering bad boys get me every time!

Why not drop in here and tell me any that have caught your eye.

Best of luck to everyone who entered. Getting your work out there is a huge step. Well done!

Thursday 16 September 2010

PHS.... Inception

Having handed over Cal and Ruby's story to my ed (yes!!), I'm off to central London today, to a very swanky hotel, to schmooze with my fellow M&B authors at the AMBA lunch. Can't wait...

But while I'm gone, why don't y'all check out what I had to say about Inception - the Leo DiCaprio sci-fi thrill fest - on the Pink Heart Society today? And let me know what you thought of it too.

Will report back on any interesting developments or gossip soon.

Thursday 2 September 2010

New book, new cover... Hot HERO!!

So am just back from Ireland where I did a day's work on the new Sean Penn movie as an extra... Yes, really. How glamorous am I?? Actually it wasn't that glamorous at all, it was exceptionally hard work, getting up at the crack of dawn, filming in a crowded shopping centre and spending large amounts of time sitting around waiting to be used. But still, I can't wait to see the movie now which looks like another Sean corker....

but now to the real reason I have slipped out of the cave, was just flicking thru Amazon and spotted the cover for my new book... The one about the surfer and the beach lifeguard, you remember. All very exciting this and long awaited as it's one of the brand new, no more embarassment reading it on the tube covers from M&B.... So, drum roll please. Here it is.



Love the dramatic, windswept Cornish coastline and Rye, my windswept hero, fits the description perfectly. Moody and magnificent. Love it. Surf, Sea and a Sexy Stranger is listed as a December release, but for any eager beavers it's actually hitting shelves on November 17th as part of cycle one (whatever the heck that means, still haven't got my head around this new way of doing things. Anyway, will be giving away copies left, right and centre on my blog, at the PHS, etc and doing a sneak peak on my website very shortly.

Right, back to the cave to bash Cal and Ruby's story into shape. Deadline is looming and my hero and heroine are not cooperating (with me that is, they're cooperating rather too much with each other).