Book Giveaway on Nic Marsh's Blog

Am waxing lyrical about my hero inspiration for Hollywood bad boy Mac Brody in Public Affair, Secretly Expecting on Nic Marsh's blog today and giving away copies of both the Brody Brothers books to one lucky commentator. So go check it out.

BTW, my library talk went fabulously yesterday. 24 people scheduled and an incredible 42 turned up, including one man in his 70s who was a regular M&B reader and wanted to know if Rhett Butler qualified as an alpha hero! I love this job...

And here's a little hint about who we are discussing at length on Nic's blog, to get your hormones doing the happy dance.

Come Back Col, All Is Forgiven

Ha, got a very nice email from my lovely ed this morning to say that she'll be recommending my sixth book for acquisition under the title Public Affair, Secretly Expecting! Fingers crossed it should be out this November in the UK.

Can't tell you what a relief it is to have this book done and dusted... And to know that in the final analysis all the pain was worth it. Although, having said that, I'd still like a lot less pain the next time thank you very much.

So anyway, enough about the pain and onto the pleasure. As I'm currently feeling so magnanimous - and have a great big silly grin on my face to prove it - I'm posting a pic of a gorgeously young and sexy Paul Newman in one of my favourite films, The Long Hot Summer, which I'm blogging on tomorrow at the PHS. And I'm even going to forgive Colin Farrell for mucking me about as my muse...

Wishing everyone a happy Easter with lots and lots of chocolate...

Happy St Patrick's Day

Wishing you a happy St Patrick's Day with this comely picture of my man Pierce Brosnan (apparently celebrating St Pat's Day in 2003).

I would have stuck up a photo of Colin Farrell too but I'm not talking to him at the moment because of the complete dog's breakfast he's made of my current ms. Yeah, you hear that Col, call yourself a muse? Ha, I've seen better muses in Chelsea pal!

I'm switching back to Pierce next time I need hero inspiration I'm telling you, no more bad boys for me, just smooth charmers. They're so much more predictable.

Although I have to say I saw In Bruges at the weekend and as long as you're not a person of restricted growth, a resident of Bruges (which is in Belgium apparently) or someone who gets squeamish when there's too much blood splatter or swearing on screen, then you'll love it. I certainly did.

Right, back into the cave that Colin's helped dig for me.

Hot-Shot Tycoon - Indecent Proposal

Ooooh eeee! Book Five has just been accepted and only after a few minor revs. I'm feeling like a proper romance writer today. What a blast! This is what makes all the pain worthwhile. First off I'd like to say a sincere thanks to Colin Farrell for being such an inspiration for this story (well, in looks anyway)... And then to my best mate Catri's friend Eilis in Kildare who read through the ms and made sure Connor, my hero, didn't sound like a reject from The Quiet Man. Good to know that Irish folk don't say bloody hell. My good mate Abby Green confirmed that fact (and came up with a few colourful alternatives, surprise, surprise). You see, you learn something new and valueable every day in this job.

The title is gonna be Hot-Shot Tycoon - Indecent Proposal which I love, in fact I think it's my favourite out of all my titles (even though it doesn't have bad boy in it!). It's due out in June next year in the UK. Also heard that my fourth book, Pleasure, Pregnancy and a Proposition has now got a US release date for March next year. Double Yippee.

Now all I need to do is start working on Book Six, which is gonna be a linked book to Hot-Shot Tycoon. Basically my hero is going to be called Mac Brody, he's a brooding Hollywood star and the estranged brother of Connor and my heroine is Daisy's best mate Juno. Can't wait to start writing their story, only problem, I cannot for the life of me figure out that opening scene. At the moment it seems to be occurring at Heathrow Airport - which is about as glamourous as a supermarket. Oh well, maybe if you bumped into Colin Farrell in dark glasses, battered levis and a scowl on his face at your local Sainsbury's that might glam it up a bit, eh.   

Put out of my misery... The new new WIP

Okay, so after three weeks of misery trying to make a square peg fit a round hole (or rather a Silhouette Special Edition fit into a Modern Heat!) I finally jumped ship on my new WIP. With a little shove from my new editor who helpfully pointed out that a story set in a derelict summer camp for deprived kids didn't really have the uber stylish and sexy jet-set ambience necessary for Presents/Modern Heat readers. Good call Suzy! (Why the heck didn't I spot that myself!)

Anyhow I'm drowning my sorrows by researching/developing a whole new idea. This one's going to be set very close to home in the colourful, yet ultra-chic setting of  Portobello Road in West London, a place where I spent a good deal of my mispent youth - and the setting for the wonderful Notting Hill Carnival every year (Europe's biggest street party, in case you were wondering) which I'm sure I'll be able to shoe-horn into the story somehow, assuming of course the story gets the green light from Suzy. 

Anyhow, I bet you're wondering what the heck Irish bad boy Colin Farrell has to do with all this. Okay, okay, I'm going to justify that little bit of research (if it kills me). Basically my new hero's an Irish bad boy turned millionaire property developer called Connor Brody who's biggest fear is being tied down and domesticated (as he was forced to be as a kid looking out for all his younger brothers and sisters). He's young, free, rich beyond his wildest dreams and mostly single now and it suits him right down to the ground thank you very much. (See, ye of little faith, that gorgeous piccie of Colin is entirely relevant to this post).

And as for my heroine. Well she's an ever-so-slightly flakey freespirit called Daisy Rainbow who lives next door to our Connor in a delapidated bedsit co-op (I know, a bit of a stretch for London's ritzy Ladbroke Grove, but hey, this is fiction, I can do what I darn well please) and runs a stall at Portobello Road market where she sells the screen-print silk scarves and organic food she's made herself. Daisy's been searching her whole life for a place to belong and a family to nurture after being dragged round all of creation by her loopy born-again hippie mother 

Lilly. She yearns for stability, roots and family, something Connor's spent his whole life running away from.

Our Daisy's warm and giving and passionate about the people she cares about. She'll do anything to defend them or help them if they need her. All of which leads to her climbing over Connor's back garden wall in the middle of the night decked out like a cat burgler with a plan to deflate the tyre on his brand new Suburban Jeep.

But I've got a definite feeling things ain't going to go according to plan....

Okay, will have to sign off now as I'm working in an office today doing some subbing work and my lunch hour is up (wonderful view of the Tate Modern, The Globe and the River Thames to inspire me at the mo!). Wish me luck with my new idea, now all I have to do is write three chapters up before Monday to show to my ed. Eeek - I'm counting on Colin being a lot more inspiring than Pierce turned out to be.