We have very exciting news! A brand new LoveCat has joined the pride here at LoveCats Downunder. And even more exciting is that it's the fabulous Stefanie London! Paws in the air!And we want to share the fun, so we're giving away FOUR prize packs of books. Yes, four, including two packs from M&B Australia! But first, let's get to know Stefanie a little better.
LC: Hi Stefanie! We love to hear about animals here at the LoveCats. Can you tell us about a furry friend who's made their way into your heart?
I have to mention two furry friends here. Firstly, there's Romance Llama who an adorable stuffed Llama that travels around with me and sits at my writing desk. He was a gift from my husband on the sale of my first book, and since we're travelling a lot and have been living in an apartment for the last few years he's my substitute pet.
The other furry friend who's stolen my heart is my mum's dog, Cici (pronounced chi-chi). She's a gorgeous chihuahua-fox terrier cross that my mum and sister found at an animal shelter. She's got a few quirks because the shelter believe she was mistreated as a puppy, but she's the most loving, playful dog. She loves nothing more than curling up on on a lap or playing with her favourite squeaky chew toy. I love her to bits!
LC: Aw, look at that photo - Cici is gorgeous! If you could be any mythical animal, what would it be?A Llamacorn. Half Llama, half unicorn. 100% magic.
LC: Very cool answer! Do you remember the first category book you read?
Unfortunately I don't. All I remember was that it was a Mills and Boon book that I 'borrowed' it from my mum's shelf and read it in secret. The hero and heroine got stuck in a storm and then were stranded together in a remote cabin. Cue sexy times! I would love to know what book it was so I could read it again, but sadly all my mum's old Mills and Boon books are long gone.
LC: What about the last good category book you read?
I've read quite a few good category books so far this year. I really loved The Divorce Party by Jennifer Hayward, which was the winning book from Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write competition last year. It had everything I look for in a Presents book - drama, a dark and powerful hero, lots of conflict, glamour and angst. I also really loved Uncovered by Love by Madeline Ash, an Australian romance writer. She has such a way with words, her books have this lovely, dreamy quality and yet the conflicts are so deep and real. Her characters really leap off the page. She's definitely one to watch!
LC: What's one category book on your TBR pile that you're looking forward to?
There are SO MANY to choose from! Honestly, my TBR pile is out of control. If I had to pick one I'd say Triple Threat by Regina Kyle which is coming out with Harlequin Blaze next month. This is Regina's debut and I know her from when we were both unpublished authors chatting on the Harlequin forums, she got 'the call' not long after me and I'm so thrilled to be able to read her book. Best of all, like me she loved the arts world and has set her book around a Broadway play.
Thanks for chatting, Stefanie! And welcome aboard. We're all looking forward to getting to know you more. For the moment, however... onto the giveaways!
Prize Pack 1
A pack of 10 Mills & Boon category romances, donated by Mills & Boon Australia. Thank you, M&B!
Prize Pack 2
A pack of 6 MIRA books (single title books) donated by Mills & Boons Australia.
Thank you, M&B!
Only The Brave Try Ballet, Stefanie London
Damaso Claims His Heir, Annie West
Down Among The Dead Men, Claire Baxter (ebook)
Holding Out For A Hero, Amy Andrews (print)
Once Upon A Bride, Helen Lacey
The Rebel and the Heiress, Michelle Douglas
Tempted by the Billionaire Tycoon, Jennifer St George (eBook)
The Shameless Maverick, Louisa George
The Summer of Jake, Rachel Bailey (eBook)
Wanting What She Can’t Have, Yvonne Lindsay
A backlist book from Sharon Archer
Cute cat from Bronwyn Jameson (not a real one!)
Prize Pack 4
Only The Brave Try Ballet, Stefanie London
A Father for her Baby & The Midwife's Son, Sue Mackay
The Bouquet List, Barbara DeLeo (eBook)
Damaso Claims His Heir, Annie West
Once Upon A Bride, Helen Lacey
The Summer of Jake, Rachel Bailey (eBook)
Tempted by the Billionaire Tycoon, Jennifer St George (eBook)
Wanting What She Can’t Have, Yvonne Lindsay
A backlist book from Sharon Archer
A backlist book from Bronwyn Jameson
Cute pen set from Michelle Douglas
So, I'll pass around the catnip treats, and to help us get into the party mood, tell us about the most memorable party you've been to (whether it was memorable because it was good, bad or the most recent). Everyone who leaves a comment will go into the draw to win one of the prize packs, so dive on in and help us welcome Stefanie!
Hi Stephanie
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the love cats I do love visiting and it is going to be great getting to know you :)
The last big party I went to was my daughters wedding and it was just beautiful and so much fun she had a small wedding and it had a real party atmosphere
Have Fun
Helen
Thanks for the warm welcome, Helen :) I love weddings and also had a small one, I think they're lovely because you actually get to spend time with everyone.
DeleteHelen, thanks for being first cab off the rank and welcoming our lovely Stefanie. Here, have a special catnip treat. :)
DeleteWe host an annual party with friends/neighbours and family, with 40-75 attending each year. My daughter and I win homemade wine at our year-end badminton club championships in April, so we share our bottles at this "wine party" in July. The year that it was our 30th anniversary the following day (purely a coincidence), a local band performed (for free) for all of us into the evening as a lovely surprise to all. I'll never forget how special I felt, with knowing that good friends would do something like that for us. Still brings a tear to my eye.
ReplyDeleteHi Laney, That sounds absolutely wonderful. I'm not surprised it brought a tear to your eye :)
DeleteLaney, that anniversary party sounds awesome!
DeleteWelcome, Stephanie! It's wonderful to have you here as part of the Love Cats coven!
ReplyDeleteMost memorable party? There have been a few. The first one that popped into my head was a fancy dress party years ago where the costumes were inventive rather than expensive and lots of fun was had. The hostess came as a cucumber sandwich. Really!
Argh! Sorry, Stefanie. It's too early for me. I apologise for mis-spelling your name.
DeleteHi Annie! Thanks for the welcome, I'm thrilled to be part of the pride. I would love to see someone in a cucumber sandwhich costume - how fun! My little sister once went to a dress up party as a loaf of bread.
DeleteAnnie, a cucumber sandwich has to be the most inventive costume I've heard of!
DeleteDarn blogger ate my comment! Grrr.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, great to have you join us Stefanie! I'm having fun imagining a Llamacorn and wondering if they're a distant cousin of the Alpacorn (Alpaca/Unicorn)? ;-)
Hi Yvonne, yes the Alpacorn is a distant cousin. Those family functions are WILD!
DeleteSee, now I want stories of those family functions. :)
DeleteNot sure about my most memorable but I went to a small wedding just last night of a dear friend and it was a fabulous party! So lovely to see true love and share in their excitement at becoming husband and wife!
ReplyDeleteI love small weddings, it's so much easier to feel like you're spending quality time with people.
DeleteAmy, I saw some of the photos you posted from that wedding on Facebook and it looks like it was a gorgeous wedding!
DeleteOh gah!!!! Sorry, forgot to say welcome Stefanie!!
ReplyDeleteDoh!
So happy to have you in the litter!
Thanks Amy, so happy to be part of the group!
DeleteWelcome Stefanie. Great to have you here!!
ReplyDeleteThe most recent memorable party I went to was a friend's 50th. All her girlfriends (including me) had practiced a ABBA medley flashmob which we performed. It was hilarious especially as the music cut out half way through and we had to just keep going.
Thanks Jennifer, so happy to be here :) The ABBA flashmob sounds amazing, and good on you for keeping it up once the music cut out!
DeleteAn ABBA flashmob? How fabulous, Jen! I hope there was video footage taken. :)
DeleteMy 21st and it was combined with my brothers 18th, we had a live band in the backyard and a spit roast, everyone had an amazing time and i cherish that night forever
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful party, Courtney. Thanks for dropping by :)
DeleteCourtney, that sounds amazing. And having it combined with your brother's birthday would have just added more excitement!
DeleteJust finished Only the Brave Try Ballet and really enjoyed it, Stefanie. Delighted to read a ballet-meets-footy couple! Most memorable party - my 21st. Costume party at a Night in Paris. I wore a cancan dress and three of the guys dressed as French Foreign Legionnaires (my 'guards' for the night!) Needless to say the night continued until dawn. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Susanne, I'm so glad you liked it!! What a fabulous theme for a costume party, I bet the cancan dress was fabulous :)
DeleteSusanne, a costume party themed A Night in Paris? Genius! I might just tuck that idea away for the future... :)
DeleteWelcome to the LoveCats, Stefanie. Lovely to see you here. My most memorable party was only last month, my son's wedding. I also have good memories of a fancy dress party I attended dressed as Medusa with jelly snakes in my hair. That was fun.
ReplyDeleteHi Claire, thanks for the warm welcome! Lots of great costume parties in these comments - the jelly snakes sound really fun :)
DeleteClaire, I loved the photos I saw of your son's wedding. I hope you're planning to do a blog post about it so everyone can share in the fun?
DeleteStefanie, it's great to have you on board. Welcome.
ReplyDeleteMy most recent memorable "do" was a wedding three weeks ago. Absolutely beautiful and lots of fun dancing until the wee small hours.
Thanks Sue, I'm thrilled to be part of the group! Ahhh dancing into the wee hours is always a sign of a great party, that's why I always keep a pair of flat shoes handy :)
DeleteSue, that wedding sounds like it had all the ingredients to be amazing!
DeleteWelcome, Stefanie! It's purrrrfectly fabulous to have you in the LoveCats pride!
ReplyDeleteNow, where did I see that plate of catnip treats disappearing to... Rachel? Rachel? Is that you in the corner licking the last of the crumbs of the plate! (Actually, I could be in trouble here... do catnip treats have crumbs?! Oh well, details, details!) LOL I'm off to hustle some more treats... ooo and a bottle of cyber bubbles!
Thank you for the lovely welcome, Sharon. Cyber bubbles sound good to me :D
DeleteNo! It absolutely wasn't me. I was scoffing all the chocolate-coated popcorn that I hadn't even put out yet. Luckily there's another tray of it here that I'll pass around.
DeleteChocolate-coated popcorn, anyone?
PS before I go hustling for treats, Stefanie, I meant to say I adore your fur-friends! Romance Llama and Cici are too cute! And your dh gave you RL when you sold your first book! Awwwwwww! That's is just so sweet!
ReplyDeleteYeah, he's a keeper. The Llama came to conference with me and he was quite a hit :)
DeleteOh, I can image Romance Llama had lots of admirers at conference, Stefanie! I image he also had lots of people willing to make room for his cuteness on their desks too - I know he'd look very nice here on my desk! I'd even tidy it up... I would, truly!
DeleteYay! Welcome to the LoveCats, Stefanie, we're so happy to have you (and RL) join us. :-)
ReplyDeleteOkay, am just popping some ABBA on the sound system…for Rachel's sake we'll line up some Elvis too. Whose for a cupcake? And a cocktail? My oh my I love a good party.:-)
Thanks Michelle, RL and I are thrilled to be part of the pride ;) Yes, cocktails and cupcakes are the perfect party treats!
DeleteThe Elvis and ABBA is playing. *Now* it's a LoveCats party!
DeleteBtw, Michelle, did you see Jen's comment above about the ABBA flashmob...? :)
The last big party was my daughter's wedding this past June. My brother came, who I had not seen in five years. It was so much fun to see so many family and friends.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Shari. I do love how weddings bring people together - that's what it's all about :)
DeleteShari, how lovely that a wedding also became a family reunion. There must have been a lot of love going around that day. :)
DeleteHello Stefanie and a big warm welcome to the Lovecats pride, to you and to CiCi and to RL. You all are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of memorable parties, weddings spring to mind first -- they really are the perfect combination of romance, family time, frocks and food. Oh, and let's not forget the champagne. I also love on-line parties where you don't have to dress up at all, but get to chat books and reading (often with chocolate and cute men on the side) with other booklovers all over the world.
Thanks Bronwyn, I'm lucky to have such lovely furry friends! I agree about the online parties, it's so wonderful to be able to have fun with people from all around the world who love books.
DeleteOnline parties! You're right, Bron - not having to dress up can be the most enticing aspect of all. :)
DeleteUm, OMG girl, thanks for the shout out! I think my most memorable party would have to be the Harlequin party at RWA in San Antonio. Talk about a night of off the chain dancing. And a s'more bar. Seriously. Make your own s'mores.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, I'm so happy for you!! The Harlequin party sounds AMAZING - bring on RWA 2015 ;)
DeleteRegina, I went to the Harlequin party in Anaheim and it was so much fun! Hope to see you at one of the future ones!
DeleteWelcome to the Love Cats, Stefanie. Our most memorable party recently has to be our 'rewedding' back in March. It was our 40th wedding anniversary (yes, to the same each other!) so we decided to renew our vows. But us being us, things had to be fun so we had an island/beachie theme, volunteer bridesmaids, our pirate grandson as our treasure keeper (ring bearer), magnificent rings from the $2 shop, heartfelt but hilarious vows, and so many laughs - especially when I realised my hula skirt (white of course!) and its lining were actually showing a bit much leg. The sun shone and it was perfect! Everyone loved it, so did we (and we managed to embarrass the kids too - score!)
ReplyDeleteClare, knowing you, I can imagine how fun that rewedding would have been! I might have to pester you for photos one day. :)
DeleteThanks for the welcome, Claire. That sounds like a fantastic party and a perfect way to celebrate 40 years of marriage! I love the idea of the island theme, any excuse to wear a pirate hat sounds good to me :)
DeleteWaves hi to Stefanie and welcome to the Lovecats.
ReplyDeleteI can't say that I can place a finger on any particular party for being memorable, but the last two I recall attending (Nov and Dec 2012) were the 30ths for my two best friends. I think the main reason they are remembered is that I didn't have a party for my 30th last December, so much as a celebratory dinner oujt.
Hi Lyn, thanks for the warm welcome :) I have to admit I kept my 30th pretty low key too but a nice dinner out with family or friends is always nice.
DeleteCongrats on joining Love Cats, Stefanie!
ReplyDeleteThe most memorable party for me would have to be my daughter's wedding. I'd attended a conference the week before, and unfortunately broke three bones in each foot while I was there! (Yes, really!)
So... mother-of-the-bride outfit was no longer possible - plastered from toes to knees for both legs just didn't rock the outfit (or let me put it on!). Since I was the organiser of the party, it made things really difficult. Quite a few things had to be reallocated to others.
Being on crutches for my only daughter's wedding was not how I envisioned the day.
In the end it all turned out wonderfully, but my situation made it even more memorable!
You broke three bones in each foot?? Ouch! Not great timing with the wedding - I'm glad the day turned out well in the end though :)
DeleteMy father's 80th birthday party was a hoot. A great way to catch up with ALL of the family. There are an awful lot of us.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary, I love it when a party brings everyone together - sounds like fun!
DeleteSTEFANIE!! So, so pleased to have you join the kittehs.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, parties....I've had a few. We had my mum and dad's golden wedding anniversary party last year and we even had two of the bridesmaids there. Mum and Dad had so much fun and my kids loved hearing all the stories and seeing the funny old photos.
Hi Barbara, thanks so much! I LOVE looking at old wedding photos, all the permed hair and funky coloured suits, puffy bridesmaid dresses - so much fun. I wonder if the next few generations will look at our wedding photos like that one day?
DeleteWelcome Stefanie! I used to have an annual Christmas party at my house. In the 2nd to last one, my electricity went out & my ziti was half cooked in the electric oven. The last one (the last straw) my toddler son had a fever & I got the flu, so I had to call everyone to cancel. I gave up after that!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sharlene. Oh no! What a shame you had to cancel, hosting parties can be stressful enough without all that happening.
DeleteWelcome to the Love Cats Stephanie!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable party was one that I attended at the end of July.
The Royal Adelaide Show turned 175!!!! The Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society of SA held a massive party with 1,450 guests in attendance and it was faultless!
It was held in one of the pavilions at the show grounds and throughout the night it travelled throughout 175 years with different costumes, music, singing and dancing.
The food and the drinks (bubbles for me!!!) were superb and it was thoroughly organised - that must have been so hard with so many guests!
It really was a very, very special night :-)
Hi Lucy, thanks for the warm welcome! Wow, what a huge party - 1450 people?? That must have taken a lot of work, but it sounds fantastic. I would have loved to have seen all the different costumes to cover 175 years - very interesting.
DeleteHi Stefanie! I do so love the thought of a Llamacorn. So cute.
ReplyDeleteI do not like partys that much. I like familiy evenings way more. But a few months ago I was at a 90 ies party of an aquaintance. Ath the beginning I did not feel very well. But my boyfriend cheered me up and in the end I enjoyed it. That party stayed in my memory so well because a complete stranger came up to me and told me that one could see how very much my boyfriend and me are in love.
Hi Jutta, glad you liked the idea of the Llamacorn! Aww what a beautiful story, sounds like you've got a lovely guy there :)
DeleteWelcome Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable party was the party my parents threw for me and my husband after we got married. We were married in Florida and went back up to Wisconsin where I grewup. My parents own a bar and they threw us a party, by the end of the party my dad was drunk and playing his accordion and singing and my sisters were dancing on top the bar. Many a sore head the next morning.
Thanks, Cindy! Sounds like a fantastic way to celebrate, sore head is usually a sign of a good night no matter how painful it is the next day :)
DeleteHow cute is you llama Stefanie!
ReplyDeleteThe most memorable (as in terribly bad) party I went too was last year. It was the annual dinner dance of the fisherman group of my husband... It already sounds exciting right! The food was absolutely terrible, a mini salad and a piece of meat so tough (you would think that they would serve fish right!) But the music... We had the best of Italian music that sounded so old as if it came from another century. And, as if it was not enough, the sound was absolutely terrible... A night to remember. Needless to say that I'm not really looking forward to this year's dinner!