The Revenge in Paradise Vibe!

 

The Revenge in Paradise Vibe - out on digital June 2024, in shops July 2024...

Including: a spot of speedboat piracy and lots of sexy times on a private island off the Amalfi Coast, in a forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers romance with a revenge twist! The second in my Devlin Sisters duo after Revealing His Best Kept Secret... Featuring Lacey's little sister, struggling artist Milly Devlin, and her brother-in-law Brandon Cade's bitter business rival, bad boy billionaire Roman Garner!

Link to a sneak peak on my website in the comments: #HarlequinBooks #HarlequinPresents #millsandboon #millsandboonmodern #romancebooks #romancereads #billionaireromance #billionaireromancebooks

RWA, San Diego and all that jazz!

So I'm just back from the Romance Writers of America's conference in San Diego and as usual it was a vibrant, inspiring and completely exhausting trip. As well as attending workshops (not as many as I would have liked) I managed to stuff several power lunches, a couple of very productive brainstorming sessions with fellow authors on future projects, a meeting with my editor, the Harlequin party and the RITA/Golden Heart awards ceremony into my time there. Not to mention a whistle stop sightseeing tour of San Diego with the fabulous Susan Wilson! Sadly I didn't win the RITA award for Best Contemporary Romance: Short but I still managed to feel like the belle of the ball on RITA night and I'm now all fired up to get back to my writing and do the final finishing touches on my Introduction to Writing Hot Romance online course which will be launching in October!

Here's the evidence of what fun I had...

Massive crowd at the Literacy Autographing

Avon celebrates 75 years!

Pool that I didn't get to use!

Feeling like a star! Thanks to Tule Publishing

Important research on a night off at the movies....

Susan Wilson & I rock the RITA reception

Abby Green & I rock the Harlequin Party

Romy Sommer & I super glammed up at the Awards

Confessions of a Conference Virgin. Part Two

Part Two: Or How I Was Having Far Too Good a Time to Bother Blogging

Sorry, have been terribly remiss again. I've been back from Frisco for almost a week and spurred on by my experiences to get stuck into my latest story (a workshop with Susan Elizabeth Phillips will do that to you, you know) haven't even bothered to download the few photos I actually managed to take.

First up, here's me looking totally petrified before the literacy autographing. Please note my RITA finalists flag which I took home with me and it now has pride of place on my desktop (well, a girl can dream right, you never know I might get nominated again one day).


And here are a few more of my personal highlights: Sightseeing at Haight Ashbury with Abby Green and Sharon Kendricks, going to the Top of the Mark before dancing the night away at the Harlequin party at the Four Seasons (apparently right next to Nora Roberts, but noone bothered to point that out to me, thanks again Biddy Coady, grrrrr), Sandra Marton's lovely pizza party with a lot of the Presents authors and our own Trish Wylie, the RITA awards in my posh frock (which I forgot to take a picture of, I know, what was I thinking), high tea with the Presents editors and authors (and a chance to meet my new ed for the first time face to face) and a really wonderful dinner with Sharon and Sandra and Abby at the lovely Annabelle's restaurant.

And just in case you think I spent my whole time partying and didn't actually bother to do any workshops I did manage SEP's fab talk on how to write a Bestseller ('Follow your instincts, but don't get stupid!'), SEP and Jayne Ann Krentz's one about the Secrets of the Bestselling Sisterhood (are you beginning to see a theme here?), Linda Howard's showcase at the PAN retreat (I'm never keeping Llamas that's for sure) and a chat with Nora Roberts (who I'm glad to say had bickering sons, too!)

Now all I've got to do is keep my fingers crossed that I can go to next year's bash in Washington DC, which I guess means getting back to writing this darn book.

A Belated Merry Christmas..

I've once again been neglecting my blog duties. Just back from Cambridge where I had a very nice Yuletide with my extended family of sisters, in-laws, nieces, nephews, etc. So great to have someone take care of the turkey detail for once — meant I could concentrate on the far more important business of spreading the good cheer.

I've got Bedded by a Bad Boy going large in the US in January under the brand new title of Bedded by a Playboy. It briefly topped Harlequin's ebook bestsellers list earlier this month so I have high hopes for it in the US, where it will — rather dauntingly — be in the new Presents Collection: 'Pregnant Mistresses'. But at least it's in great company with my fellow Mod Heat authors Natalie Anderson and Kate Hardy. If you fancy picking up a copy of Playboy in the States, just click here.

And have a fab New Year. My resolution? To finish my fourth book in time for my deadline on Valentine's Day and to start blogging more.

So You Want to Be a Romance Writer....

Here are details of a new competition being run by Harlequin/Mills and Boon to find fresh, new authors for their best-selling Presents/Modern series, of which I am now one — with Bedded by a Bad Boy (aka Bedded by a Playboy) going large in the States as a Presents Extra title next month.

It's a fant-abulous opportunity for anyone who fancies themselves as a category romance writer and there are loads of tips about what they're looking for on the I Heart Presents blog.

Here's the basic blurb, but click on the link above to get all the info.

INSTANT SEDUCTION

A brand new writing competition from the world’s best-selling romance series is about to hit the blogosphere!

It’s an exciting time for Harlequin Presents: from January 2008, there will be 12 of our intensely passionate romances available every month. And with this increase of titles comes a great opportunity for aspiring authors – we will be looking to buy more books for publication!

The old saying goes that first impressions are lasting impressions – and when it comes to reading a Harlequin Presents, that certainly holds true. If the first chapter doesn’t immediately grip the reader with its pace, passion and intensity, then she won’t continue to turn the pages.

So Presents is inviting unpublished writers to show us how they can grab the attention of our readership with first chapters that really sizzle. The INSTANT SEDUCTION competition offers prizes that are chances of a lifetime for the lucky winner and runners-up:
*First prize – win yourself an editor for a year!
*Two runners-up will be given editorial critiques of their first chapter entries and also a personal telephone consultation about their writing!

Visit the Iheartpresents.com blogsite for full details of the competition – and the chance to prepare for publication with an exclusive series of writing tutorials prepared by the editorial team at Harlequin Presents, including advice on First Chapters, How to Write a Synopsis, Loving the Alpha Male and Generating Emotional Conflict.

Entries for the competition will be accepted as on-line submissions only from 1st January until 14th February 2008.
Entries should comprise of the first chapter and a synopsis of a previously unpublished/unsubmitted novel aimed at Harlequin Presents.
Address for entries: instantseduction@hmb.co.uk