New Voices Workshops and New Book Comp!

So, I had a really fab time on Monday night doing the second of my New Voices workshops, this time in Fulham Library.

Once again the turn out was amazing (I think there was 30 people there!!) and it was really great to see so many aspiring authors who not only knew about New Voices but had either entered already or were about to. While I like to spread the work about M&B, it's always nice to be able to bypass all the obvious stuff (such as 'yes, you can have more than just kissing in M&B books now' and 'no, Barbara Cartland isn't writing for them anymore, in fact she never did!') and get down to the hard graft of talking about internal vs external conflict, characterisation and motivation, how to make your alpha hero an archetype not a stereotype, why not to let an Elvis impersonator into your manuscript, etc, etc, etc.. You know, all the important stuff.

Now I had planned to go into a more in-depth discussion of what we talked about. But then the fabulous Rebecca Thornton (aka wonderful book blogger and New Voices entrant) did a really great blog, which not only did a better job than I could ever do of explaining the workshop but makes me sound really informative (cool!). So I'm going to give you a link here to her blog to check it out.

Honestly, it's just like being there. So ta Rebecca. You might also want to check out her review of Cupcakes and Killer Heels (I'm just saying!!).

Now on to the other fab news. I got a lovely big box of shiny new copies of my latest Riva/Harlequin Presents Extra release, On the First Night of Christmas, yesterday morning in the post. As always I'm planning to do a competition to give some of them away... But I'm afraid you are gonna all have to wait a little bit longer, cos I want to launch my brand new website with the competition and a sneak peek of the book is necessary to answer the question. Sheesh, am I a tease or what?

Anyway, until that time (which will hopefully be in the next week or so, fingers crossed). Here's the tantalising back cover blurb.

 Cassie’s tips for the Perfect Christmas Fling! 

1. ’Tis the season to be daring: Find the perfect Mr Right Now (extra points for a bad-boy-turned-billionaire) and be brave about getting him – even if that means jumping straight into sexy Jace Ryan’s car! 

2. Enjoy the ride: Once you’ve chosen your flingee, get swept away by the moment! For once, Cassie’s determined to stop worrying about the future. But she must remember one thing… 

3. This fling is just for Christmas: Jace Ryan’s a seasonal special. Do not start falling for him, Cassie. No matter how perfect the package or how much you’ve enjoyed unwrapping it…

New Voices... And How to Adopt the Pollyanna Approach

As I'm sure you're all very well aware by now, the fabulous New Voices — aka The Mills and Boon X-Factor — has launched over on www.romanceisnotdead.com. I spent a very nice afternoon on Sunday browsing through some of the 144 entries already loaded and left fairly detailed comments on a couple which I particularly enjoyed reading. Once again I'm an author mentor for the second round — along with 19 other fab authors such as Abby Green, Natalie Anderson, Liz Fielding, Donna Alward and Fiona Harper — but at this stage I think it's really invaluable for people to get commenting and if you're a new writer, to take the time to read some of the entries (and the comments) as well as your own.

But I do have a little bit of advice... So here are:

Heidi's Top Tips on the Pollyanna Approach to Commentary:

For Commentators: Be Nice. Be Constructive. And Say It Gently!

A constructive comment is an invaluable thing but a comment that just says: 'Your hero's a complete tosser!' or 'Your premise is ridiculous' doesn't actually help anyone. It may be your opinion and that's always valid, but think about why you didn't like the hero, what was it about him that turned you off. And can you think of anything that may have helped to turn you on to him again. If you're a writer yourself, it can be helpful in your own writing to think about how you would revise or edit another's story. And last but not least, be gentle, because us creative types have fragile egos... It's a huge step putting your work out there and many people will be doing it for the first time. We've all been there, so we all know how it feels if someone is unnecessarily harsh or abrupt. And if there's absolutely nothing you liked about an entry, I'm not sure I'd comment at all.

For Commentees (is that a word??): Value Criticism. But Don't Take It Personally. 

As writers whether we're published or unpublished we all have to learn to take criticism of our work and use it constructively, because we're writing these stories for readers as well as ourselves. And great writing is about writing and then rewriting and then rewriting some more and.... Well, you get the picture. The opportunity to get constructive feedback from people who read romance is the real reward of this competition so make the most of it. That said, feel free to ignore comments that aren't helpful or suggestions that you know won't work for your story (this is after all your story and your characters and you know them best) but remember, if a lot of commentators are basically saying the same thing it is probably something you want to look at. And last but not least, whatever anyone says don't take it personally!! Some very nice person who had taken the trouble to read my book and write about it on Goodreads told me she thought it was 'morally repugnant' (and several other not entirely complementary things besides) but I pasted my best Pollyanna grin on my face and figured.. Ok, she didn't like it but at least she told me why in exhaustive detail (and I certainly hope she doesn't take the trouble to read any more of my books!). So if I can do it, so can you!

As part of my Mentoring Duties I'm going to be doing a New Voices Workshop at Mayfair Library tonight at 6.30pm... And I'll be reporting back on it here tomorrow for all those who can't attend.

But until then to all the entrants and commentators.. Keep writing, keep commentating and let's make this competition a positive experience for everyone!

PS: I have rather arbitrarily illustrated this post with a photo from my recent photoshoot with the wonderful photographer Anne Mortensen.. What d'you think??? I'm so chuffed, I think she's made me look like a proper romance novelist - and captured my best Pollyanna smile!

Cowboys, Aliens and a variety of Hotties!

Am over at the Pink Heart Society today doing my regular Must-Watch Friday movie spot on Cowboys & Aliens, the all action genre mash-up which has the added benefit of Vintage Tottie and Hottie Tottie in the shape of Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig...

Actually I could have watched anything with those two in it, but all the alien and western action did not go amiss with the men in my family!

Also, have just got a US release date for Cupcakes and Killer Heels:

It's March 2012 when it will be coming out as a Harlequin Presents Extra (will be interesting to see if they keep that title). For those not in the know this is the sequel to Surf, Sea and a Sexy Stranger... Featuring my lushous cupcake entrepeneur heroine Ruby Delisantro and her brooding barrister hero Callum Westmore. Sexy, sassy and with chocolate frosting on top!

Summer in Sicily... Hot, in more ways than one!

Just back from my relaxing holiday on the lovely Italian isle of Sicily. It really is a gorgeous place, rustic unspoilt and the locals were super friendly. The tiny town where we were staying was having a fiesta the night we arrived, which turned out to be very fortuitous as we couldn't find our villa. Ended up with a car load of local guys leading us to the place after a faltering exchange with us talking in English, them talking in Italian, and lots of gesitculating over the rather crap map from the holiday company. Am thinking this may be the start for a book!!

The weather was blazing sunshine everyday which unfortunately meant I couldn't do a thing except laze about the pool or at the local beach - where I did a lot of very valueable research watching the buff young local guys show off their tanned abs... Gotta love Italian men, they don't half know how to flaunt it! Sadly I could not get any pictorial evidence of this inspiring pastime for my blog as I had my slightly older but no less sexy husband sitting next to me! So have added in a few others pics to make you salivate.

The other rather liberating thing was that there was no internet connection to speak of... Amazing how productive you can be when you have no access to Twitter, Facebook, email or my latest internet time-suck obsession Goodreads (am now a Goodreads author if anyone wants to go Friend me as I'm feeling a little lonely). So have now written the first three chapters of my next book...

Which involves an events planner called Tess Tremaine who ends up ever so slightly pregnant after she gets dumped by her boyfriend and ends up having super hot rebound sex in a closet with a New York billionaire called Nate Graystone. Tess is a former wild child turned demure career woman who's cover has just been blown in spectacular fashion... Can she pick up the pieces of her shattered image? Go back to being a good girl again? And how is arrogant, super sexy and totally aloof Nate, who she only knows in a biblical sense, going to deal with the prospect of fatherhood? Not well as it turns out!

Very excited about this one, scenes literally pinging into my head while lounging by the pool in the sun. That said, I know I am in the first flush of love and will probably want a divorce by chapter ten.

In other news, also returned to discover a super classic cover for On the First Night of Christmas in it's US/Harlequin Presents Extra incarnation. What d'you think? So different from my Riva cover... More Christmassy, very classy but a little less sexy maybe?

Which one do you prefer?

I'll be doing a giveaway on Goodreads and a comp here on my blog as soon as I have my author copies...

Come on Mr Postman, get a move on!