LoveCats DownUnder

Series Book Love

2012-01-30T09:58:00.000+11:00

My latest release, What Happens in Charleston... is part of a 6 book continuity, DYNASTIES: THE KINCAIDS which made it a bit more special and fun to write.

There were six authors on an eLoop, all discussing things like the overarching plot of the books, the details about family Sunday lunches and what a little boy would call his aunts. Fun!

The full list of Kincaid stories:

Sex, Lies and the Southern Belle
Kathie DeNosky, January

What Happens in Charleston...
Rachel Bailey, February

Behind Boardroom Doors
Jennifer Lewis, March

On the Verge of I Do
Heidi Betts, April

One Dance with the Sheikh
Tessa Radley, May

A Very Private Merger
Day Leclaire, June

All the stories are about the rich, powerful Kincaid family, and I was given the second son (well, I should say the second *legitimate* son!), Matthew Kincaid. From the back cover:

Money has always given Matthew Kincaid whatever he wanted. Yet now his son needs something even his millions can't buy. The widower's sole recourse is the surrogate who gave birth to his child—for she is also the boy's true biological mother.

Susannah Parrish needs no prodding to offer her assistance—a child's life is at stake. But to their mutual surprise, the minute she's back in Charleston and residing in Matthew's home, passion consumes them. Is this a relationship doomed by deception? Or is it the one chance at a love they both secretly crave?

I totally fell in love with Matthew and his son Flynn while writing their story, and wanted to be friends with Susannah. And now I really want to visit Charleston and the other places in South Carolina that I researched!

Writing one book in a series about a complicated family made me think about other series I've started then gobbled up. Some recent ones I've loved:

The Lucky Harbor books by Jill Shalvis - I've read the first two, Simply Irresistible and The Sweetest Thing, and have the third on my bedside table. Gorgeous!

The Harry Potter series, which weren't recent reads but I did recently buy the last movie, so it still feels recent and I still don't want to leave that world.

The Outback Baby books, with Their Newborn Gift by Nikki Beynon, The Cattleman, the Baby and Me by Michelle Douglas and One Small Miracle by Melissa James. Beautiful stories!

The Spymaster books by Joanna Bourne. This was thanks to a tip from Helen in the comments to a post a couple of months ago where I was asking for recommendations. She recommended one of these, and I tried My Lord and Spymaster from the library. Adored it, so am now in the process of buying them all. Thanks, Helen!

And one I haven't read yet but can't wait to get my hands on: Kylie Griffin's Vengeance Born and Alliance Forged. I love a good fantasy and these promise to be fabulous.

So, what series have you been enjoying lately?

Sunday Smooch - Rachael Johns

2012-01-29T03:00:00.154+11:00

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from One Perfect Night by Rachael Johns, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is -- Helen!

Congratulations, Helen! Please contact Rachel at rachel (at) rachelbailey.com and she'll send you your prize.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from One Perfect Night by Rachael Johns.

[Set up: Cameron has taken his company’s party entertainer (or so he thinks) to a party at his Aunt’s place. He’s been attracted to her from the get-go and can’t resist flustering her a little by teasing her under the table.]

“Cameron?”

When there was no response to her gentle call, she sucked in much-needed air and began the walk past the garage toward the road. Her fairy heels clicked against the cobbled path as she contemplated how accepting Cameron’s family had been. She got the feeling he’d been hoping to shock them by bringing her, but no one had raised an eyebrow at her costume and all had been accepting without question. She couldn’t help wishing it wasn’t a farce…that somehow she could be a part of such a large close-knit family.

As she reached the end of the building, a hand shot out and tugged her toward a deep rumbly voice.

“Finally.”

A voice that sent pheromones rushing to her head, a voice she’d now recognize instantly. A voice that wiped her mind clean of all thought except its owner.
Cameron pulled her tight against his body, his hands rushing to cup her cheeks as his lips desperately sought hers. Her breasts tingled against his chest and his arousal pressed against her thigh. The containers clattered to the ground.
“Leave them,” he ordered, pulling away only long enough to utter this direction.
Somewhere a dog howled its disapproval.

“With pleasure,” she slurred, her body drunk from the pleasure of one illicit kiss. The setting reminded her of her first kiss behind the sports shed on the school playing field.

That was where the similarities ended.

He twisted her round and she thanked the Lord for the support of the garage door as Cameron leaned in close and claimed her mouth once again. No teenage kiss had ever come close. And she knew, as his tongue trailed a line between her lips, as her mouth opened and welcomed him, as his hands sought her buttocks and drew her so close she couldn’t tell where his heat finished and hers began, that no kiss would come close ever again.

She knew she ought to resist. Rob her lips of his mouth and tear her hands from his heat, but resistance was futile. If he didn’t mind playing with fire, if he didn’t view their working relationship as a problem, who was she to object?
Her hands roved over his arms, his shoulders and his perfect six-pack abs. Every muscle in his body seemed to be drawn bowstring tight. She pulled back, staring into his eyes. Her gaze met with a raw energy she wanted to believe had everything to do with the way she felt in his arms, but a tiny voice inside reminded her of his strange reaction when he’d heard about Ella’s pregnancy.

“I’m taking you home,” Cameron growled, his face still only inches from hers, his hands tangled in her hair.

“Yes.”

Knowing as the word slipped from her lips in a husky breath that he wasn’t simply escorting her home. Knowing that he expected an invitation inside for Considering she’d only just met him, considering who he was…the mere thought of what coffee entailed should have sent her running for the mountains. And, he was obviously far more experienced than she.

Instead it made her legs wobble, her pulse thunder and her breasts ache.Perhaps pure physical gratification was exactly what she needed to forget her woes for the night. Would it be so wrong to take what Cameron was offering, to prove to herself she was as female as the next woman?

To be in the draw to win a copy of One Perfect Night, simply answer this question:

What is the most public place you’ve ever been kissed?

Released last month, One Perfect Night is available from
Carina Press.

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from What Happens in Charleston by Rachel Bailey will be posted!

A cat called Curious and the cuteness of kittens!!!!

2012-01-27T07:43:00.000+11:00

It's all a go in the Anderson household!!! We haven't had any pets in the last few years (other than goldfish and a wormfarm). I had decided not to get a cat or dog for a while as four preschoolers were more than enough for me to be caring for!!! But now my youngest - the twins - have turned five and I had promised them that when they started school we'd get a pet.

We decided on a cat. Dogs, as much as I love them, are still a bit much work for us right now. We decided to get our cat from the SPCA or the Cats Protection League - and then we decided to get two, so they'd be company for each other.

Curious in her new fave place,
with the lego boxes under my
son's bed.

I phoned both the SPCA and the Cats Protection League and the CPL had some kittens that we could look at that very day, so we committed over the phone to taking two and arranged a viewing and pick-up time. But then my very sweet seven year old boy burst into tears - terribly distressed. He'd wanted to get a kitten and an older cat who might have a hard time finding a home.

Well, you can't ignore a wonderfully empathetic and caring instinct like that now can you?!?! So we piled into the car and went of to the SPCA to their 'cat room' - and went in, waiting to see if any of the mature cats would be comfortable enough to approach five kids (four mine plus a stray for the day) and me.

Pop.

One did. So we scooped that big tortiseshell lady into the cage, took her home and THEN went to the CPL, confessed all to them but couldn't resist still taking two of the kittens all the same. I figure the kittens will have each other for company and they'll let the lady be.

Toffee.

The kittens - one totally black, one with white bits, have been named Toffee and Pop (after the famous Toffeepop cookies we have here in New Zealand), while the big moggy has been named Curious.

So here's the photo gallery - most of the stuff I have on camera for Curious at the moment is movies and she had an Awfully Big Adventure last night which I'll tell you about some other time... (let's just say she lives up to her name!!) but we hope she learns to trust us soon and enjoys her new home with us.

The kittens are total cuteness of course, scamping round and playing and sleeping lots and lots.

Sisters cuddling.

Getting "The Call"

2012-01-25T02:00:00.000+11:00

by Emmie Dark, brand-new LoveCat

One of the most common questions I’ve been asked since I got “the call,” apart from “where do you get your ideas” (C’mon, seriously? I thought authors were joking when they warned me about that.) is “tell us about your call.”

In romance writing circles, “the call” is talked about in awed, hushed tones usually reserved for religious conversion. And perhaps the two things do have something in common. It’s true that as a writer, “the call” will change your life forever.

So, my call story? I’m glad you asked...! But let me take this opportunity to also provide a few handy hints for those of you still waiting for the call—now that you know how important this story will become for you in your writing life.

My first handy hint is as simple as this:

ANSWER YOUR PHONE.

Whatever time of day (or night).
Whatever you are doing at the time (with certain, obvious, exceptions).
Whatever the caller ID says.

Because I so nearly didn’t.

It was early. Well, 7.30am is early for me. And the phone said “Blocked number”. For me that’s usually a no-brainer—let it go through to the keeper.

But some kind fairy somewhere was looking out for me, because some unknown instinct made me pick up the phone and take the call. And there was a little crackle of static on the line. Just enough to make me realise it was a international call. A part of me—the more pragmatic part—said, “Great another telemarketer, just what you need before you’ve even had a cuppa.” Another part of me—the more sublimely hopeful part—said, “You never know, this might just be it!” And then giggled, because that’s what sublimely hopeful parts of you do.

The silently giggling part of me choked when my caller introduced herself and said she was calling from Harlequin.

The rest of me made a gurgling noise that eventually resolved itself into some kind of greeting and confirmation that I was, in fact, me.

My second handy hint: have a pen and paper nearby and take notes. Because there is not a chance in hell that you’ll remember any of the important information from that call. And there is quite a bit of important stuff that will get talked about. Things like revisions, deadlines, contracts and the like. You need a pen and paper handy and you need to write it all down—trust me.

My third and final handy hint: work out how you're going to celebrate, taking into account various times of day that YOUR call might arrive. Had it been 7.30pm there's no doubt champagne corks would have popped at my house. But at 7.30am? With a day's work ahead? That made celebrating a little more difficult. I wished I'd thought that through in advance and bought some celebratory chocolate chip muesli and hidden it in the cupboard.

It’s funny, when I used to imagine being a published author, I didn’t imagine book covers, or seeing my name on Amazon, or a cheque arriving in the mail. I imagined that phone call. I imagined hearing the words “we want to buy your book”—that was the little visualisation that helped encourage me.

Now that it’s happened, I have no idea if they were the words that were used. It was something to that effect, anyway. And it was just as awesome as I’d always imagined. There’s a reason “the call” is so revered in writing circles—because it’s totally as splendid, awe-inspiring, breath-taking and amazing as you think it will be.

My first book, a SuperRomance titled Cassie's Grand Plan will be out in March. Are you waiting for “the call”? What celebrations do you have planned? Or if you've already had the call, how did you celebrate?

My writing partner: my subconscious

2012-01-23T13:46:00.001+11:00

by Nikki Logan

I have a new book out. Yay!! I haven't had a book out since July which--for me--is a really long time. That's what I get for having four releases in six months last year!

My latest release actually started two years ago when I wrote 'Their Newborn Gift' -- a story in which the heroine needs the father of her (secret) child to help save its life. Actually that's out this month, too, in Australia in an anthology with two other 'bestselling Australian authors'.(Love anything that has my name and the words 'best' and 'selling' in it. Lord I hope that's true!)

You can find out more here.

Anyhoo... back to my latest release. So....

The first draft of 'Newborn Gift' originally featured an opening scene in which the heroine was walking into a remote hospital to undergo an embryo transfer, impregnating herself with her sister's babies.

That premise didn't work for that story and so I put it in my 'come back later' file, but the idea never left me. It would emerge at the worst possible moments--when I was supposed to be concentrating on another story--and jump up and down demanding my focus.

And so I finally gave it the attention it craved and--ever willing to do it's own part--my subconscious had half-written the story in the interim.

And so the premise was born: a woman who has fought the courts to be allowed to implant her (dead) sister and brother-in-law's embroys inside her in order to keep them in the family. The mystery brother who appears, still dusty from the outback to throw a spanner in the works. And the only reasonable solution to a situation in which possession really is nine-tenths of the law...?

Marriage of convenience.

My first MOC story and I didn't even intend for it to go that way. I thought I was writing a virgin-birth hook. What did I know! My subconscious had it all in hand. So there I was, happily describing the awful scene in the hospital in which the hero slaps a legal injunction on the heroine to prevent the embryo transfer and suddenly he blurts out the short-term solution to their legal problem. Even he didn't see it coming.

If she has the disputed babies inside her (possession) then he would equal the playing field by keeping them (and therefore, her) with him on a property in the highlands of Australia until the courts had finished hashing it out.

Well...alright then! Their Miracle Twins was born. (download it here)

Cue fabulous Aussie setting, cue gorgeous family, cue deception. My poor heroine who is so starved for a loving family... the moment she finds one it's not one she can keep. Same with the hero, the moment she finds a man she might love, he's only in it for the embryos.

I've learned not to argue with my subconscious in life. It's almost always right. So I don't know why I don't trust it more in my writing. Clearly it has a plan!

Do you have an inner voice that knows better than you do? Do you trust it when it speaks or do you bend it to your will?

Sunday Smooch - Rachel Bailey

2012-01-22T12:31:00.000+11:00

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a retro smooch from The Blackmailed Bride's Secret Child by Rachel Bailey, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is -- Marybelle!

Congratulations, Marybelle! Can you please contact Helen Lacey via the contact form on her website and she'll send you a copy of Made For Marriage.

And now for today's Retro Sunday Smooch from The Blackmailed Bride's Secret Child by Rachel Bailey...

Nico Jordan is about to face the woman who ripped his heart out.

When he was twenty-two, he loved Beth utterly and completely – and she left him without a word, for his older, richer half-brother. In the intervening seven years, Beth has borne his brother a son, and Nico has become wealthy in his own right, and a renowned playboy. But the torment of knowing she belongs to his brother, Kent, has never dimmed.

Beth Jordan is relieved when Kent, the man who blackmailed her into marriage, dies – she’ll finally be free. Unfortunately her freedom won’t extend to reclaiming her lost love. Seven years ago, she left the only man she’d ever loved, Nico, to protect him. But now Nico has arrived on her doorstep, wanting to see his nephew for the first time. How will she face him once he realizes he’s the father of her son?

[Set up: Nico and Beth are attending the launch of a new wine at the family winery. When Beth needs some air and wanders out on the balcony, she finds Nico sitting on the balustrade in the darkness.]

She moved down, to within a few feet of him. “Tell me about the limelight.”

“Closer.”

Even this close, she couldn’t see him clearly in the blackness.

“I think here is just fine.” She wrapped her free arm around her middle and lifted the wine to her lips, taking the last sip.

“For now,” he conceded and she could see the moonlight glint on his teeth as he smiled. “I don’t seek the limelight the way Kent did. I don’t hate it, either. I don’t have strong feelings about it one way or another.”

“If you don’t hate it, why not stay inside tonight and make use of it for Jordan Wines?”

He held out his hand for her empty glass and placed it beside his. “I had something on my mind and wanted space.”

“Kent?” she whispered.

His eyes were strangely reflective, the predator that had lurked there earlier absent. “You.”

He reached out and snagged her hand, dragging her closer, until she stood in the vee made by his thighs. A rush of heat pooled low in her belly, goose bumps erupted across her skin.

Head cocked to the side, he looked up into her eyes, his expression pensive. “Why are you on my mind so much?”

Their gazes held for an eternity and her breathing quickened. There was an honesty in his eyes that reached out to her heart, as if in the darkness of the balcony, the world could disappear and leave them cocooned in shadows. It was that dangerous illusion at work again.

Attempting to break the spell, Beth casually shrugged a shoulder. “Because you’re here in New Zealand to see me.”

“Not just now,” he said quietly. “Always.”

How she wanted to believe it was because he’d never stopped loving her, but if that had been true, he’d have come for her. Would have at least checked on her after Kent took her out of the country. It was a senseless fantasy she’d only let herself have on dark, lonely nights—she knew if he’d come for her, her sacrifice would have been for nothing. It was far better that he’d stopped loving her when she left.

So instead she smiled and offered the only plausible reason. “Probably because I’m the only woman to walk away from you.”

His mouth hooked up at one corner. “Maybe.”

He laced his fingers in hers and tugged her closer still, onto the circle of heat that surrounded his body. A shiver raced over her skin, as if her flesh recognized his was close.

“Nico, what was between us is long over,” she said, knowing it was to convince herself as much as him.

“Really?” he asked lazily, and abruptly the reflective mood morphed into an electric simmer.

Beth began to step away, but he held her hands firm. “If it’s over,” he said, “why are you standing here in the dark with me?”

She could smell his clean scent, wanted to bury her face in his strong neck, but kept her voice even. “Because we were talking.”

“Would you be standing this close to any of the men inside if you were talking to them?”

“No,” she admitted.

“Would you let them do this?” He encircled her in his arms and brought her flush against his seated body, his chest against her stomach, his face in line with her breasts. Her breath caught at the hard, erotic feel of his erection pressing against her thigh.

“I’d say no, probably slap them.” Her eyes drifted closed.

A hand crept up the back of her neck and brought her head down. “Tell me no,” he said against her lips.

“No,” she said and kissed him.

The Blackmailed Bride's Secret Child was a 2010 Cataromance Reviewer's Choice Award Winner and is still available in eBook from eHarlequin, Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble. To be in the draw to win a copy, tell me have you wanted to have a second chance to do things again, the right way? Maybe a lost love, or career choice, or the time you didn't buy those purple shoes that you wished you had?

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from One Perfect Night by Rachael Johns will be posted!

Welcome Party Winners!

2012-01-22T09:51:00.001+11:00

Thanks to everyone who visited and helped us welcome our two new cats! Such a fun party.

We have two winners of the monster prize packs of books! Each of our new Cats randomly chose one winner each...

Pack One:

1. Cassie's Grand Plan, Emmie Dark

2. Her Desert Lover: Treasured (anthology), Annie West

3. Beauty & The Scarred Hero, Emily May

4. Nice Girls Finish Last, Natalie Anderson

5. Made for Marriage, Helen Lacey

6. Millionaire Playboy, Maverick Heiress, Robyn Grady

7. Savage Dragon (download), Anna Hackett

8. Single Father: Wife and Mother Wanted, Sharon Archer

9. Surgeon in a Wedding Dress, Sue Mackay

10. The Secretary's Secret, Michelle Douglas

11. Their Miracle Twins, Nikki Logan

12. What Happens in Charleston…, Rachel Bailey

And the winner of Pack One is:

Ellen Too!

Ellen, email me: rachel (at) rachelbailey (dot) com and I'll organise the delivery. Congrats!

Pack Two:

1. Girl in the Bedouin Tent, Annie West

2. Bachelor Dad, Girl Next Door, Sharon Archer

3. Beauty & The Scarred Hero, Emily May

4. Escape for New Year, Robyn Grady

5. Hunter's Surrender (download), Anna Hackett

6. Made for Marriage, Helen Lacey

7. Mills & Boon Loves, Leah Ashton

8. Nice Girls Finish Last, Natalie Anderson

9. Surgeon in a Wedding Dress, Sue Mackay

10. The Secretary's Secret, Michelle Douglas

11. Their Miracle Twins, Nikki Logan

12. What Happens in Charleston…, Rachel Bailey

And the winner of Pack Two is:

Michelle Sommers

Michelle, email me: rachel (at) rachelbailey (dot) com and I'll organise the delivery. Congrats!

Two Steps Forward . . . . One Step Back.

2012-01-20T03:00:00.002+11:00

Reading - The Castaway Bride by Kandy Shepard
Listening to - Hits of the 80's (tragic)
Watching - Deadwood

Ever had something happen in you life where you feel like it’s an ongoing challenge? You know, those things where no matter what you do, and end never seems like it’s in sight. I’m currently in the middle of one of those things.

As you might know, I’m a passionate and dedicated horse owner. My husband and I have eight horses of varying breeds and ages. About six months ago one of our horses, Angel, sustained a serious injury on her leg. It was in the worst possible place and at the time seemed insurmountable. I was devastated, as she is a sweet natured beautiful big chestnut Thoroughbred and the granddaughter of a champion race horse called Octagonal. Pedigree aside, we knew the injury was the worst we’d seen. The vet came out, gave us the options and we had to make a hard decision. We were either in, or out. So we decided to give it a go and see if we could get her well. This meant a week of intravenous penicillin, plus daily painkillers, and once the first week was up, a twice daily dose of powdered anti-biotic and anti inflammatory meds. And bandages – poultice, cotton wool wrap, elastic bandage and crepe cover bandage – changed every two days. She also had to be confined in a small stall in my backyard to limit movement to the injury and fed twice a day to maintain her weight.

The first month was hard going – with numerous vet call outs and several bouts of lameness. But gradually we saw some improvement. We took photographs every time the bandage came off and sent them to the vet for updates. We continued with the medicine and the feeding. And slowly, she started to improve. Six long months later we were sure we’d come to the point where the bandage could come off, as the wound was now almost healed. But then a few weeks ago, we had a major setback. During a bad electrical storm she spooked and tore the injury. Then came x-rays, more medication, and more bandaging. It set us back three months.

But the whole situation has made me think about choices and how we sometimes naturally push forward with things even though it might seem hopeless. Much like a writer keeps writing through rejections and set backs. Or how a parent keeps parenting even when the kids make them crazy. Or how a brand new puppy owner keeps putting down that newspaper, knowing the pooch will one day get it right. There’s satisfaction in trying when the odds are stacked against success. Perhaps because it makes the reward so much sweeter.

And Angel? Well, she’s still in my backyard, still munching on grain and whinnying for more when I go outside to hang out the washing.

So, have you ever beaten insurmountable odds? I’d love to hear your stories.

Cat Party! Welcome Annie West & Emmie Dark!

2012-01-18T02:00:00.003+11:00

The LoveCats have some thrilling news: two new cats are joining the pride today - fan favourite Annie West, and debut author Emmie Dark. Yay!

And it's such fabulous timing to welcome *two* new Cats, since this month is our blog's second anniversary! To celebrate both events, we're giving away TWO prize packs of books.

Annie (on the left) writes for Modern / Sexy / Presents and her books have been USA Today bestsellers, Cataromance winners, RT Readers Choice Award nominees, ARRA Awards finalists, Borders bestsellers along with heaps of other awards.

Emmie (on the right) writes for Superromance and her debut book, Cassie's Grand Plan will be out in the US in March. Emmie won RWAustralia's coveted Emerald Award for unpublished authors in 2011, and has since sold her second book (which will also be out this year!).

The sad news for the Cats is that our vacancies were caused by two of our regulars are stepping back for a while - Zana Bell (a founding Cat) and Soraya Lane. Soraya is taking a step back from blogging with the LoveCats to spend all her spare time writing ... when life isn't so hectic with her toddler she'll be back! Zana is focusing her writing talents on some new projects and we hope to hear from her soon!

In the meantime, pull up a chair, grab a glass of catnip punch and prepare to meet our newest recruits via our probing questions...

Does anyone with fur, feathers or scales share your life now, or in the past?

Annie: Daisy is my furred companion. She’s been with us for 15 ½ years and she’s old enough to have become a laid back, companionable indoor dog after years of being an energy-filled, can-I-find-a-break-in-the-fence beagle. She keeps me company, sleeping right next to my computer. Many of my best scenes are written to the gentle background of canine snoring.

Emmie: Not right now. Unfortunately, as an adult I’ve developed allergies to cats and dogs, but we used to have the most beautiful Persian cat as a family pet. Her name – very innocently – was Pussy Cat. She was the most majestic cat, very snobbish, like all Persians, and I’m sure she hated being called Pussy.

Even though you're now a Cat, if you could be any mythological creature, which one would you be?

Annie: Definitely a dragon. They can fly for a start which is an enormous plus, and shallow as I am, I like the look of them. Not those poor worm-like creatures you see in old icons of St George with a javelin, but the brilliantly coloured, sinuous and fascinating beasts. Breathing fire would be handy too – for bbqs and for discouraging unwanted visitors.

Emmie: I’d like to be a Muse from Greek mythology. It would be pretty fantastic to spend my days flitting around inspiring artists and writers to be creative. I also have a crush on the movie Xanadu and if I could do my inspiring while wearing rollerskates and ribbons in my hair a la ONJ, so much the better.

What was the first category book you read?

Annie: Sadly I can’t remember. It was borrowed from a friend’s house and was one among MANY. It was love at first read for me with category romance. I suspect it may have been an old Anne Hampson or Violet Winspear her mother had been hoarding. Definitely it was by an English author.

Emmie: I don’t remember. My sister and I were obsessed with reading Loveswept books back when we were teenagers. There are a few books I read back then that still stick with me – they were quite the education...

What was the last category book you read that you loved?

Annie: The Doukakis Apprentice by Sarah Morgan. What a treat!

Emmie: I can’t chose just one! I love reading SuperRomance (of course!) and I love the books of my fellow Melburnian SuperRomance authors, Sarah Mayberry and Joan Kilby – they’re both auto-buys for me. There are so many great authors out there – too many books I want to read and not enough time to do it in.

What's something we wouldn't know about you?

Annie: It’s been a few years but I used to be an expert fairy floss maker. I was pretty good at snow cones and cinnamon donuts too!

Emmie: Hmm. I’ve already given away my secret love of Xanadu and Loveswept books, I’m not sure there’s much left. My pedantic dictates regarding drinking tea are fairly well documented across the interwebs. I think all that leaves is the fact that I recently bought a new television. A massive, enormous, far-too-large for my tiny lounge room TV. It’s so confusing when you’re in the store, because even huge ones look tiny when they’re up on a wall with forty other huge ones. So far friends who’ve seen it have just tended to say ‘Huh, that’s a big television’. They’re right.

As mentioned above, we have *2* prize packs to give away to random commenters.

Pack One:

1. Cassie's Grand Plan, Emmie Dark

2. Her Desert Lover: Treasured (anthology), Annie West

3. Beauty & The Scarred Hero, Emily May

4. Nice Girls Finish Last, Natalie Anderson

5. Made for Marriage, Helen Lacey

6. Millionaire Playboy, Maverick Heiress, Robyn Grady

7. Savage Dragon (download), Anna Hackett

8. Single Father: Wife and Mother Wanted, Sharon Archer

9. Surgeon in a Wedding Dress, Sue Mackay

10. The Secretary's Secret, Michelle Douglas

11. Their Miracle Twins, Nikki Logan

12. What Happens in Charleston…, Rachel Bailey

Pack Two:

1. Girl in the Bedouin Tent, Annie West

2. Bachelor Dad, Girl Next Door, Sharon Archer

3. Beauty & The Scarred Hero, Emily May

4. Escape for New Year, Robyn Grady

5. Hunter's Surrender (download), Anna Hackett

6. Made for Marriage, Helen Lacey

7. Mills & Boon Loves, Leah Ashton

8. Nice Girls Finish Last, Natalie Anderson

9. Surgeon in a Wedding Dress, Sue Mackay

10. The Secretary's Secret, Michelle Douglas

11. Their Miracle Twins, Nikki Logan

12. What Happens in Charleston…, Rachel Bailey

To be in the draw to win one of the prize packs, just leave a comment. You might like to tell us your answer to one of the questions we asked Annie and Emmie. =)

Goals

2012-01-16T06:15:00.003+11:00

Reading: I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson

Listening to: Gin Wigmore

A few days ago Anna wrote about New Year's resolutions. I don't set any as they'd never make it past the first twelve hours of January 1st. But I am a big fan of goals for my career. Goals help keep me focused and on track throughout the year. With goals I achieve far more writing than if I leave it all to chance. If I know I've got a year to write a book it will take me a year and I'll write most of it in the last couple of months. Whereas if I sign a contract to do three or four in a year I will do them. My contracts are part of my goals.

I think I've always set goals, whether it's been to score high in professional exams, to get a promotion or study further. But I find as a writer working from home I need those goals to get me sitting down at my computer daily. It's too easy to be distracted, especially at the moment when the water's sparkling and calm, and the kayak looks tempting. So I have daily, weekly, yearly and five yearly targets. Not to say I always reach them. Not me.

Years ago while working in real estate I wrote up goals, one of which was to fly the Alaskan Highway. One of our top salesmen asked me when I intended doing this and I told him "when I've sold x number of houses". His reply, "That's a dream, not a goal. To be a goal you need to have a finite date." He was right. Ahh, and I've never flown that highway.

I belong to the Blenheim romance writers group and at the beginning of every year we hand in a list of our writing goals for the coming twelve months. The best bit about this is in December when, with cocktails at the ready, we open the envelopes and have a darned good laugh.

Do you have goals? Do they keep you focused?

Sunday Smooch: Made For Marriage

2012-01-15T03:00:00.102+11:00

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from Made For Marriage by Helen Lacey but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is -- CATHERINE!

Congratulations, Catherine! Can you please contact Wendy at

wendy (at) wendysmarcus (dot) com

and she'll send you a copy of Once a Good Girl.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Made For Marriage by Helen Lacey .....

Equestrian Callie Jones was used to difficult parents at her riding school. But Noah Preston took the cake. How dare he question her teaching abilities, after his headstrong daughter paid no heed to rules—her teacher’s or her father’s?

Single dad Noah was ready to apologize for overreacting. But he wasn’t sorry for the way the stunning American riding instructor made him feel. And he soon learned that there was more to Callie than her smarts, sass and fire: a shattered heart that threatened to splinter even further. Could he make her see that he—and his family—were for keeps?

[Set-up: Callie has retreated to the stables after Noah left the riding school where his eldest daughter is having lessons. She'd spent the previous evening with him and his children - and knows she is getting in deep. They'd argued earlier that afternoon about her reluctance to get too involved]

She was glad when she heard Fiona’s car pull up outside and called for her to join her in the tack room. Only it wasn't her friend who stood in the doorway a few moments later. It was Noah.

He was back. And he clearly had something on his mind. Callie got to her feet quickly. Her heart pumped. “Did you . . . did you forget something?”

He stood in the doorway, his eyes locked with hers. “Do you still love him?”

She was poleaxed. “What?”

Noah was in front of her in three steps. “Your fiancé. Do you still love him?”

“He's dead,” she whispered.

“I know. But that wasn’t the question.” He reached for her, slid one arm around her waist and drew her against him. “The thing is,” he said, holding her firm. “If you still love him, I’ll do my best to stop . . . to stop wanting you.” His other hand cupped her cheek, gently, carefully. “But if you don’t love him, then I’d really like to kiss you right now.”

Her insides contracted. “No,” she said on a breath.

“No?”

“I don’t love him.”

His green eyes darkened as he traced his thumb along her jaw. “Good,” he said softly.

And then he kissed her.

Callie let herself float into the warmth of his mouth against her own. It was a gentle possession, as if he knew her, as if he'd been kissing her forever. Only one other man had kissed her before this, and as she allowed Noah’s lips to part hers, any recollection of that faded, and then disappeared. He didn’t do anything else – he just kissed her, like he couldn’t get enough of her mouth, her taste, her tongue.

Instinctively, Callie’s hands moved along his arms and to his shoulders. She touched his hair, felt the silky strands beneath her fingertips and slanted her mouth against his. Finally, when he lifted his head Callie felt so much a part of him she swayed towards his chest. Noah held her still, one hand on her shoulder while the other splayed on her hip and she lifted her chin higher to look into his eyes.

“Noah – I think . . .” Callie willed herself to move, but found such incredible comfort in his arms she simply couldn’t.

He didn’t let her go either. “You think too much. How about you stop thinking and just feel.”

Feel? Oh, how she wanted to just feel. But her doubts tormented her, taunting around the edges of her mind in a little dance, telling her that taking meant giving. And giving was . . . giving felt as far out of reach to her as the stars from some distance planet.

He leant into her, like he knew her fears. “I’d never knowingly hurt you, Callie.”

In her heart she knew that. “But . . . but I might hurt you.”

“I’ll take that risk.” He kissed her again, long and slow and deliciously provocative.

Heat radiated through him, scorching her and Callie wondered if she might melt. Kissing had never felt like this before. Nothing had ever come close to this. He was strong and safe – a haven for her shattered heart.

To be in the draw to win a signed copy of Made For Marriage tell us what you think are romantic places to be kissed (like the stables from this smooch)

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from One Perfect Night by Rachael Johns will be posted!

I'm Talking Good Chests!

2012-01-13T11:29:00.011+11:00

...of the male variety...

by Robyn Grady

We all have different tastes. Some of us are partial to jaws or lips. Maybe you're an abs girl. Hard strong thighs are always well appreciated. But there is nothing that says, "I will find you/rescue you/protect you" better than a built broad chest.

Presenting, our own Hugh Jackman! This shot's been doing the circuits for years and from my heart, I'd like to thank all those astute magazine editors for trusting their instincts there! (He was *fabuous* in Boy from OZ!)

You may or may not be a fan of the new series of "Two and a Half Men". You might have opinions on his breakup with Demi. But you simply have to agree that this man has a dynamite chest! He's also a great actor. My suggestion "The Butterfly Effect." Take it away, Ashton Kutcher!

Okay. So you've been waiting. Y'all know me well! I do have a favourite celebrity/actor/singer/chest. And this is maybe my favourite shot of it, er, him. Gerard Butler...

There are people who don't have the natural 'got what it takes'. They take the fast track. Not sure that it works...

What's your fave part of the male anatomy?

(Remember, this show's G rated =) )

Corresponding names will be appreciated!

Summer Holidays, Settings and The Secretary's Secret

2012-01-11T01:00:00.003+11:00

by Michelle Douglas

Reading: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon

Watching: House

Listening to: Adele

Making me smile: hazy beach days

Last Wednesday I made an odyssey to the seaside township of Tuncurry. Why? The dedication in my latest book – The Secretary’s Secret (out now in Oz/NZ) – might explain why:

To my grandparents, Bunny and Beryl Snaddon, with love and thanks for all those wonderful summer holidays!

From the time I was a baby until I was about eight or nine years old, my family spent the summer holidays in Tuncurry – at Tuncurry Beach Caravan Park in my grandparents’ caravan, to be precise. (After that we moved around the headland to Hallidays Point, but still spent a lot of time in Tuncurry as it was the nearest place to stock up on groceries)

As a general rule, I prefer to set my stories in locations that I’m familiar with, so when my secretary in the big smoke suddenly finds herself pregnant and decides to move back home, I decided to make that home Tuncurry. I may not have visited my old childhood haunt in twenty years, but in my mind I could still see it all so clearly.

And I have to say, when I revisited Tuncurry last week, I wasn’t disappointed. This is what I found:

The Rock Pool: This is a great place for small children and it’s where I learned to swim. Alex, my hero, takes the odd dip here. You can see from the photos below how popular this spot is in summer.

Wallis Channel (leading from the sea into Wallis Lake): Kit teaches Alex how to fish from the breakwater where this photo is taken. This, I have to say, is where my memory broke down. I’d have sworn black and blue that the breakwater was waaaay longer and the rocks bordering it waaaay bigger. I, umm, think I took some poetic liberties with this in my story. :-)

The Dolphins: who often frequented the channel and obviously still do. They visit in my story too!

The Beach: Glorious golden sand and foaming breakers for almost as far as the eye can see.

The Bridge: We walked across it every year. Why? For ice-cream, of course. :)

I had a wonderful day and it seems that the place of my childhood summers is as magical as ever.

Do you have a special summer place?

History of the New Year’s Resolution

2012-01-09T06:00:00.005+11:00

Reading: Whispers from the Dark by Maya Banks
Watching: Harry Potter
Listening to: Disney tunes
Making me smile: My very mobile little boy

Some people love them, some people hate them but come the 1st of January, many people feel compelled to set themselves some New Year’s Resolutions. I've set some for myself and (of course) many of them revolve around my writing!

It got me thinking…how did the New Year’s Resolution come about?

Turns out the tradition dates back to the Romans and the god, Janus. Janus was the god of beginnings and transitions and had two faces—one to look to the past and one to the future.

The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus. At the dawn of the new year, they believed Janus looked back on events of the old year and forward to events for the new year. They exchanged gifts for luck, often with images of Janus. (Image: Public Domain)

So, as you’re making your New Year’s resolutions, remember that it’s an age old tradition not a modern invention to drive us crazy! Good luck with your resolutions and I hope 2012 is a wonderful year for you.

Sunday Smooch - Wendy S. Marcus

2012-01-08T00:02:00.000+11:00

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from Once A Good Girl... by Wendy S. Marcus

Prim Victoria Forley’s perfect life changed forever the night she slept with Kyle Karlinsky, baddest boy in town. These days, single mum and uber-perfectionist nurse Victoria has goals that nothing – not even Kyle’s shocking reappearance! – can derail.

But behind Victoria’s oh-so-frosty exterior is a heat that only Kyle can unleash… maybe it’s the right time to be with the wrong guy after all?

[Setup: Head Nurse Victoria Forley has just overheard that the bad boy from her past, the father of her son who’d recently returned to town, got drunk last night and went home with the biggest tramp in the hospital.]

After hanging her coat on the hook behind her office door Victoria turned back to her desk to see Kyle, his hair more unruly than usual, his clothes rumpled and his eyes glassy.
“There’s something I need to -” he said, looking guilty.

“Shhh. Come here.” She motioned for him to move closer. “Bend down,” she whispered. He did. She moved her mouth close to his ear and yelled as loud as she could, “Rough night?”

“Jeeze.” He gripped his temples as if trying to contain the vibration of a gargantuan gong. “Sadist.”

“I’m working. Go away.” She tried to move past him to get to her desk.

He blocked her path. “I forgot how fast news travels here in Madrin Falls. Victoria, nothing happened.”

“That love bite on your neck tells a different story.” It shouldn’t matter, but it did. Hearing about Kyle and Leanne together was hard enough, but seeing evidence of their tryst made her want to strike out and hurt someone. And since Kyle just happened to be handy… “I don’t care what you do or who you do it with.”

“Based on how ornery you are this morning, one might think you care about what I do a little more than you let on.” He reached for her chin, tilted it up and looked directly into her eyes. “Nothing. Happened. When you’re ready to hear the details I’m happy to tell you everything. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“Except for Leanne’s brand. I may have some concealer in my purse.” She studied the offensive discolored blotch on the left side of Kyle’s neck, tilted her head, pursed her lips, and tapped her index finger on her cheek, pretending deep consideration. “On second thought, flaunt it. It marks you as an easy lay. Maybe you can parlay it into a few more drunken encounters with loose women.”

Kyle’s response wasn’t at all what she’d expected.

He smiled then laughed. “God I’ve missed you.” And he swooped down and kissed her.

Only their lips touched. His soft and supple, sensual as he pressed them to hers. Familiar. He didn’t demand, he offered, exerted the perfect amount of pressure to draw her in. Exquisite. Each one of her protective instincts failed, her thought processes taken over, transported back to innocent times, consumed by rapture. This is what she liked, the promise of more, not the actual more.

A voice sounded in the hallway. Victoria pulled away.

Kyle gawked at her, stunned. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. I didn’t expect…”

“Go,” Victoria said. Half in a daze, her lips numb, her heart pounding. How could she have let that happen, at work, in her office? Anyone could have walked in. Her face burned with embarrassment and anger. How dare he put his moves on her. And why, after everything she’d been through because of him, did she lack the willpower to resist his kiss?

Once A Good Girl is available now in stores and online the UK and Aus/NZ, and online in the U.S. For links to purchase online, visit Wendy's website here.

To win a signed copy of Once a Good Girl… answer one of these two questions.

1) Is there a bad boy from your past who you’d welcome the opportunity to kiss again? And I want names and details people!

2) Have you ever been the recipient of a heated kiss at work? How did you handle it? Please keep your answers PG rated! (Wendy says: But if you’d like to share the specifics in private, you can e-mail me at Wendy@WendySMarcus.com!)

Come back next Sunday for a smooch from Helen Lacey's Made for Marriage.

A place (and space) for everything

2012-01-06T03:10:00.001+11:00

By Leah Ashton

I'm not normally one for new year's resolutions - or at least none that I remember past February. But 2012 feels different: the start of something new, a fresh chapter in my life. I begin this year as two things I wasn't at the beginning of 2011 - a published author, and a wife. Both exciting, wonderful, life changing things.

But, I spent a lot of last year feeling rather overwhelmed, and while a lot of fabulous stuff happened, I really don't want to feel quite that stressed again! So this year I want to better manage my time, and my life, so that I make space for all that is important to me: my family, my friends, my writing and my day job.

Sounds easy, right? (*crickets chirping*)

So, I've decided to start small: and organise my house.

My first plan of attack has been our bedroom. We bought a new bedroom suite that was delivered a few weeks ago, and I decided that I would put nothing into our beautiful new chests of drawers unless it was worthy of such gorgeous furniture - and it had to fit (we had way too many clothes)! If not, it went in the bin or the donate box.

Then I decided that everything needed a place - hats, shoes I only wear on special occasions, that kind of thing. So I bought six cane baskets, laminated some pretty labels - and wah-lah! Instant organisation:

My pretty new baskets and their labels :)

Now I've just got the rest of my house to go...

I'd love to hear your organisation and storage tips - can you help me find a place for everything in my house? And meanwhile, I'll keep working on creating space for the special things in my life that are far more important than hats and shoes :)

Happy New Year! I wish you a fabulous, and well organised, 2012 :)

Leah

Been Campin'!

2012-01-04T01:00:00.000+11:00

by Sharon Archer

I thought I'd take you on a pictorial tour of our spur-of-the-moment pre-Christmas escape! A friend discovered a fabulous camping ground in the St Arnaud Range State Park - so well set up with cleared areas and small, well-constructed campfire alcoves.

And that luxury of luxuries - flushing toilets!

A camp in a field of paper daisies

The "backyard"

Close up of the paper daisies

mmmm, the GPS is having trouble "finding" us!

A "street" sign... that's promising!

Mmm, that change shouldn't be here until tomorrow...

... but it is! And the GPS is still lost!

Sometimes the best thing to do is relax with a nice cup of tea!

And to start dinner ...

while we watch the rain!

Water brings out the colours on this hollow log

and this lichen on the earth.

Red and green - Christmas colours eucalyptus style.

Butterfly in cognito (with my apologies because only his feet are in focus!)

Ye Olde Fence... don't you wonder how old this is and about the craftsman who made it?

Can't help it - old fences bring out the urge to be creative! Love the lichen and the weathered grey wood and the hole for the rail...

This huntsman found the perfect possie to shelter from the rain!

So are you a camper or do you hate it with a passion? What would be your perfect escape for a weekend?

And it's 2012!

2012-01-02T02:00:00.000+11:00

by Emily May

Well, another year has rolled around!

I'd like to wish you all a safe and happy New Year -- and at the same time share some Regency slang from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.

Gin cocktails

H Heart's Ease = gin

A Abbess = mistress of a brothel

P Piss down someone's back = to flatter someone

P Peculiar = a mistress

Y Yaffling = eating

Yaffling

The other kind of nutmegs

N Nutmegs = a man's testicles

E Earth Bath = a grave

W Wasp = an infected prostitute, who like a wasp carries a sting in her tail

The other kind of wasp

Horses yoked to a plough

Y Yoked = married

E Eternity box = a coffin

A Apple dumpling shop = a woman's bosom

R Resurrection men = persons employed by students of anatomy to steal dead bodies out of church-yards

A resurrection man

Here's wishing that 2012 brings you good health, much laughter, success in your ventures, and plenty of good books to read!

(All images courtesty of WPClipart.)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T02:00:00.000+11:00

May 2012 be a fabulous year for you!

Have you made any New Year resolutions yet? Dazzle the Collie has (in case you need some help with ideas)...

And because this is a blog about romance and today is New Year's Day, here's a fabulous clip with lots of couples to a song about New Year's Day (called 'Straight To You' by OneRepublic, which I'm off to iTunes to buy - I fell in love with it while watching this clip).

So, tell me, have you made any New Year's Resolutions?

From everyone here at the LoveCats, we hope this coming year makes all your dreams come true!

Happy New Year from the LoveCats!

2011-12-30T03:00:00.001+11:00

We thought we'd share some fun videos in the wind down to the end of 2011! (Edited to add a couple more fun videos!)

First up, we have our own LoveCat, Nikki Logan's clever trailer...

Here's one done by a friend of the LoveCats, Vanessa Barneveld, for another friend of the Cats, Annie West.

And since it's the time of year for resolutions, here's a few made by cats that might interest you...

Next... a book trailer for a story with a difference!

A bit of classical music is always lovely...

And don't forget, laughter really is the best medicine...

We look forward to cyber-chatting with you all in 2012!

love from

The Lovecats DownUnder

Happy New Year, everyone!!

Christmas - how was yours?

2011-12-28T11:11:00.002+11:00

We had Christmas lunch at my house this year and it was fabulous. Pavlova and lemon cheesecake for dessert. (Notice what I mentioned first? Priorities!) Everyone seated on the blue & silver decorated verandah overlooking trees. Presents around the palm tree-Christmas tree. (I've added a photo of the tropical Christmas tree, thanks to my nephew and his new camera!)

The tradition in my family is to start the festivities with a glass of champagne with (lots of) mango pieces in the glass. In fact, there are always lots of mangoes at Christmas, including on top of the pavlova.

The dogs had fun with their presents from Santa -- a crunchy bone thingie each and dog chocolates. (Though Oliver was pretty certain he should also be getting some cream from the pavlova. Unfortunately for him, he lost on that one.)

We had crackers / bon-bons and mine had a lame joke (naturally), a paper hat and a pink bobble hairband. Fun!

I especially love the opening of presents time at Christmas, and it's not just about what I receive - it's more fun than my birthday, when all the presents are for me because at Christmas, everyone is joining in with the fun. It's a communal activity, where everyone gets something and everyone is smiling.

I was particularly thrilled with my presents this year - they included Jenny Crusie's Maybe This Time, and the first 3 seasons of the new Doctor Who. I can't wait to dive into both!

So, how was your Christmas? Did you get a present you loved? What was your Christmas tree like? Did you eat pavlova?

Welcome to the future

2011-12-26T16:05:00.000+11:00

by Nikki Logan

2012... the'future'.

I'm still waiting for the jet-pack I was promised would abound in'the future' back when I was 9 years old. But here we are--just days away fromthe future--and no jet-pack. No hover-craft. No waterless-showers or roastdinners that you make by putting a capsule in some kind of re-hydrationmachine.

Back in the early 70's, 2012 seemed like an utterly impossibledate. Even movies only stretched their imaginations to 2001 (A Space Odyssey). So ifwe had space travel and computers-gone-rogue in 2001, surely the world (or atleast civilisation as we know it) would be well over by 2012.

Courtesy: www.randomfunnypicture.com

The Mayans thought so; except they didn’t really—all the palavaover the end-of-the-world is greatly overrated. At best the Mayan calendarforecast a shift in consciousness around this time. The end of the world as we know it, not just the end of the world.Apocalypse in the true sense of theword (‘lifting the veil’ ‘revelation’),not an apocalyptic event.

We’ve already had the Rapture-fail this year when one-out-of-sixpeople suddenly didn’t de-materialiseand leave piles of clothes where they stood and their friends blinking inconfusion. I don’t think I’m up for another cosmic disappointment so soon.

And so…as we approach the dawn of 2012…I wanted to look forevidence of the future here in our present. It may not look like fiction wouldhave us believe but there certainly are signs that the future did come as promised.

RoboVac cleaning my office for me

I may not have a single, Jetsons-esque robot maid to do my biddingbut I have machines to do most of my more onerous chores. As I sit in my officeand write, a machine washes my clothes and another would offer to dry them forme if I didn’t live in the world’s most natural-dry conducive city, a machinewashes my dishes, a machine slow-cooks my dinner, a machine does my vacuumingwithout me. Another machine cools me (or warms me depending on my needs), whileanother helps me to write much faster than I ever could by hand.

I don’t have re-constitutable dinner capsules but I have a machinethat can cook in a fraction of the natural time and another one that canfreeze-dry and vaccum seal meals for my later re-hydration.

The first public flight of
the Martin Jetpack
(Airventure 2008, Oshkosh)
Creative Commons

We don’t move through our cities Bladerunner style in levitatinghovercraft but someone does, in a lab somewhere, and scientists have managed toreplicate genuine levitation and get a gold sphere to rise on its own. Surelyhover-craft can’t be far away.

We may not have amphibious vehicles as the movies portrayed them,but we have snorkel-bearing off-raod vehicles and—surely—they’re just as goodand just as useless?

We may not be able to beam ourselves around the place at will butentertainment beams to us—streaming movies, games, online entertainment. You’rereading this now because I was able to create something and, effectively,teleport it somewhere else so you could read it. In fact, scientists have beenable to genuinely transfer information from atom to atom—and over vast distances like 1m—without any wiresor connections whatsoever. Actual teleportation.

We have the internet—god help us all—and it’s every bit asdangerous and amazing as author Orson Scott Card conceived back in theseventies when his characters used the Ansibleto communicate on a wirelessly/time-immediate network between planets. And Iwouldn’t be surprised if it becomes a tangible living entity just like Card’s Jane. At all.

So, while none of it looks like I imagined the future would backwhen I was nine, I guess we have facsimiles of what we were promised infictional form. Maybe we’re not doing so badly at all for only a few decades.

It stands to reason that if we only have a facscimile of thetechonology of the future then we should only have a facsimilie of the doom ofthe future. This time next year we may only experience a warm fuzzy feeling inlieu of global shifting and mass extinctions. I’m certainly ready for some newenlightenment on the part of the masses. I think we’ve banged sticks andshouted at each other long enough.

Though a small part of me will be a bit disappointed come Decemberequinox--I was looking forward to watching the apocalypse from 400m in the airon my jet-pack.

What wereyou expecting the future to look like when you were nine years old? Has itexceeded or failed your expectations?

Christmas Wishes!

2011-12-24T19:38:00.033+11:00

Everyone here at the LoveCats would like to wish you the merriest of festive seasons as well as a safe and prosperous 2012!

Thank you so much for keeping us company.

This coming year, please visit whenever you can.
We'll be introducing two new fabulous Cats on the block.

As well as lavishing you with lots more sizzling smooches...

great giveaways...

and posts by Very Special Guests.

Hope you and yours enjoy the purfect Christmas!

Michelle, Rachel, Nikki, Sharon, Natalie, Emily, Sue, Soraya, Leah, Anna, Zana, Helen, and Robbie.

Lessons in Seduction - your MUST BUY of the year

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000+11:00

Firstly I want to wish every one a very Merry Christmas. I hope you're all ready to go for the weekend and that you get the chance over the break to curl up with a good book. And I have just the book for you.

If you're a lover of category romance (and as you're reading this blog, I'm figuring you are!) then you simply HAVE to buy this book.

It was written by the very lovely Sandra Hyatt. Sadly Sandra passed away in August this year after suddenly taking ill.

Sandra Hyatt was the most awesome woman with the biggest smile, the most amazing hair and every time I saw her (at writing conferences) - the most fabulous shoes. She was generous, supportive, honest and caring.

But not only was Sandra a kind, fun woman, she was an exceptionally talented writer. She was a RITA finalist and an RT Award nominee and a USA TODAY bestseller.

Her last book, LESSONS IN SEDUCTION is now available - on the shelves in the US right now and online too. It is an example of the short romance form at it's very best.

Romantic Times gave Lessons In Seduction its top grade of 4.5 stars and said this:

"A charming and sexy takeoff on the movie Sabrina, Hyatt's chauffeur's daughter is not only not looking to hook up with a prince, she's actively helping him find the right woman - and her prince is just priceless in his cluelessness... Readers are the ones scoring the hit when they pick this one up...”

Here's the blurb:

A prince on a quest to find the perfect wife doesn't have time to trifle with a commoner. But Adam Marconi's longtime friend and sometime driver, Danielle St. Claire, has him contemplating a change in plans. Why can't the royal have a little fun before finally settling down? Then their supposedly quick affair suddenly turns serious.And Prince Adam finds himself in a quandary. Say goodbye to the one woman who sets his heart and body on fire, or defy all the rules and cause the scandal of the century.

I wish I could express adequately how wonderful Sandra was both as a person and as a writer - but I think these words from those closest to her say it best:

Sandra wrote romance because it reflected who she was as a person. Someone who had the courage to be an idealist in a cynical world. Someone who believed in the power of love to overcome any tragedy or obstacle. Someone who believed in heroes and had one at home to prove it.

Sandra's family have established the Sandra Hyatt Memorial Trust which aims to develop emerging romance writers. For more information about the Trust and about Sandra's other books, please visit www.sandrahyatt.com

For those of you in Australia/New Zealand, Sandra's book will be on the shelves in the shops in January so go and grab a handful and give them to some lovely women in your life.

And if there is one book you buy on your new Christmas Kindle/Nook/eReader this year, make it Lessons in Seduction.

You can get Sandra's book from here:

Mills & Boon Australia

Christmas Memories

2011-12-21T09:10:00.000+11:00

A Rummage Through the Christmas Ornaments!

by Sharon Archer

One of my favourite jobs approaching Christmas is decorating the tree. We have an eclectic collection of ornaments and because they lurk out of sight for eleven months of the year, opening the box means a trip down memory lane.

There’s the little fold-out apple I bought as a souvenir while on holiday with a friend and my sister. We spent a week travelling around Tasmania - the Apple Isle. The delicate red-paper lattice is a concertina that folds into a flat pack for storage. That holiday was more than twenty years ago, but I only have to get out the apple to remember the adventure we had.

Then there are the clothes-peg ornaments which came from a clearing sale. I bid on a box of bric a brac and these two were hiding right at the bottom.

I can’t help wondering what their story is... the beef-eater is so perfect while the reindeer is much more basic. Were they painstakingly crafted by a couple of children working together on a newspaper-covered kitchen table? Or perhaps they were made, years apart, by the same child.

This little wooden boy, toting his tiny Christmas tree, was given to me by a friend for my first Christmas in Australia. We worked together in a research laboratory and she invited me to spend Christmas with her family. I see this figure, all rugged up in red and green, and it brings back wonderful memories of their warm hospitality.

These musical instruments were used to decorate the wrapping on a present from another Christmas. Such a simple but clever idea - and a lovely addition to our ornaments.

The beaded Santa face came from a holiday with friends in the Victorian High Country. It was just before Christmas and we went to the local market. It was packed with glorious treasures. We all went home laden with homemade goodies for the table and the tree and for gifts.

So what's stashed in your box of Christmassy goodies? I'd love to hear about your special ornaments and the memories attached!

Wherever you are and

whatever you're doing,

I wish you a

wonderful Christmas

and many blessing for 2012!

Drive-by Inspiration by Natalie Anderson

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000+11:00

A Hagglund (All Terrain Vehicle
used in Antarctica)
parked across the road from
the US program HQ.

***EDITED to add the COVER and BLURB*** - MELT should be going live online in the next couple of hours - yay!!!

Often writers get asked 'where do you get your ideas from?' Well, I've been driving past this idea for years now, until it bugged me so much the story just had to be written.

I live in Christchurch which is sometimes referred to as 'The Gateway to Antarctica'. From here scientists, students, media, awesomely lucky writers and artists board big gray planes and head on down to that last untamed spot on earth - Antarctica. The New Zealand Antarctic program leaves from here and the US has a program based here as well.

Many go down for the 3/4 summer months, some for only a week or two and some for the full 6/7 month 'wintering over' experience.

Wrapped pallets of 'stuff' waiting
to be taken down to the ice.

Now I drive past the airport all the time, (Christchurch isn't the biggest city on earth). Down one side road, there is a wire fence all around a massive stretch of tar seal, and on that seal they line up all the gear that goes into the planes to be taken down 'to the ice'. There are so many pallets, all neatly wrapped, there's heavy machinery, food, generators, thousands of condoms, shipping containers, boutique beer to stock the bars, fuel tanks, carpentry tools and so on...

(Yes, you read that right about the condoms!) All the gear is loaded up through the summer months as the planes go down regularly. They have to have everything they need down there - for the busy 'visitor heavy' summer months and the long, long dark winter when no planes can get down (and apparently they 'need' all those condoms).

Well who doesn't imagine what it must be like down there? Who wouldn't love to go see the penguins and other wildlife? To get a sense of that vast environment?

I've always wanted to go, I've stared at all that cargo so many times, I've read all the articles that crop up in our local paper, I've talked to people who have been down there, I've been to the local Antarctic Centre that's across the road from the airport and been in the snow storm simulator room... and I've imagined, dreamed and of course, come up with a story :)

Why would someone be going down there? What would it be like? And what would they do for fun in that freezing place??? (Yes, Those condoms keep springing to mind don't they?!)

All this machinery and these containers go!

So all this drive-by rubber-necking is partly how my new novella was born - I have a wonderfully generous but loner hero who's literally putting himself 'on ice' for the festive season, and an untrusting artist who's gone down to make a name for herself. She's as much 'on ice' as he - because she has a mural to paint and no time to waste - even if it's summer and there is nothing but daylight down there...

When two frozen hearts collide…

Emma Reed closed her heart to love years ago after a lifetime spent getting kicked around foster homes and bad relationships. Now she's on a mission to prove she deserves her recent award to paint a mural for a research base in Antarctica. Nothing and no one is going to get in her way.

After months working in recovery zones around the world, Hunter Wilson planned to escape everything this holiday season by rebuilding a lab at the Kiwi Research Base. Alone. No to family, no to fun. It’s isolation not intimacy he’s aching for. But when he sees the determined artist, that ache becomes an urge – after all, shouldn’t someone show her what two people can do with twenty-four hours of brilliant sunlight?

In the coldest place on earth, even the most frozen hearts can melt.

MELT is out later TODAY from Entangled Publishing (and will be up on Amazon) - and yes, I did another drive-by yesterday to snap these pictures just for you!!!

So tell me, is 'going to Antarctica' on your bucket list like it is mine???

2011-12-18T00:01:00.006+11:00

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from Their Miracle Twins by Nikki Logan, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is -- Claire Scott!

Congratulations, Claire! Please contact Sue MacKay at slmackay @ ts . co . nz (minus the spaces) and she'll send you a copy of Surgeon in a Wedding Dress.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Their Miracle Twins by Nikki Logan ...

Love...
Work has always been a refuge for Dr Sarah Livingstone - no more so than now! As a bride on the run from her hastily cancelled wedding, a new challenge as temporary surgeon in the coastal town of Port Weston should be the perfect cure for heartache... Except the hunky town doctor, brooding Daniel Riley, wants to get up close and personal! But living with Dan and his adorable four-year-old daughter has workaholic Sarah dreaming dreams that, for her, are impossible fantasies…
Marriage…?
This baby offers Flynn his only hope of redemption, and he'll do anything towin custody…even propose marriage! It's an extreme solution, and yet Belinda must admit her convenienthusband-to-be is inconveniently gorgeous. But then comes not one but…two babies in the baby carriage!

[Setup: Rochester and Flynn Bradley are on opposite sides of a ground-breaking court-case in London regarding the custody of the babies she is carrying. But half-a-world away in the Australian highlands, and after spending weeks with Flynn and his family, it’s easy to forget exactly why she’s standing in a spectacular cave putting his ring on her finger. And why she cannot let herself fall for younger brother of the man whose babies she’s carrying…]

And so, in the presence of your family and of each other, it is done. You are husband and wife.

For a moment, the celebrant looked at a loss. Denise and Alice burst into excited applause and, under the screen of their excitement, he quietly hinted to them, ‘You may kiss.’

Kiss? Bel flicked her focus urgently between the celebrant and Flynn. ‘Uh... Is it still...’ She whispered. ‘Can it be legal without...?’

A deep frown cut the celebrant-guide’s moderate face. ‘It’s legal, yes...but—’

‘She’s kidding,’ Flynn cut in, glaring at her meaningfully the moment the celebrant looked down at his folder. ‘And shy.’

‘Of course,’ the man said. ‘How about I just prepare the certificate...’

And then he was off, leaving just the two of them perched high in the opening of the earth, with his family and all her lies on one side and a two hundred foot drop to an ancient, frigid crater on the other. And a belly-ful of babies which meant there was really only one way she could go.

‘It’s just a kiss, Bel.’

Panic surged through her on painful pulses. ‘I don’t... We don’t... Your family’s watching...’

‘Exactly. How will that look? We’re supposed to have made children together and you won’t even kiss me?’

I don’t care how it will look. Icare about how it will feel. How I will feel... Her heart hammered furiously. ‘You said you don’t kiss in public.’

‘This is going to have to be an exception.’ He slipped his hands from hers and slid them up to frame her face. ‘They’re all waiting.’

Oh God...

Flynn inched closer, towering over her and the excited chatter from his family warped into a high pitched drone in her ears. She could feel his pulse beating as powerfully as hers into her lower lip as he dragged his thumb gently over it, learning its shape.

The tingles she usually felt on contact with him had dressed up for the occasion, too. They zinged, live and sharp as electric current down into her body and caused what little air remained in her lungs to escape on a shocked breath.

His eyes flicked down briefly as her mouth fell open, but then here turned them to hers, studying her for the slightest reaction, his own lips parting as he lowered his head. And then their lips touched: his, warm and soft and encouraging; hers cool and startled and non-participatory.

She physically jerked at the first touch, but the fingers curled aroundthe base of her skull meant she couldn’t go far. He lingered for a heartbeat before shuffling half a step closer and tilting her face for a better angle.They pressed more firmly against her and his breath warmed the deathly cool of her flesh while her head swam with the earthy scent of him. It felt like he was stealing her soul through her frigid lips and he slid one hand down around her middle to keep her upright. That brought her hard up against his torso and triggered an uprising in her already struggling heartbeat. It surged so forcefully through her veins...he’d have to feel it pulsing in her lips.

She broke the contact long enough to suck in a breath and that would have been the time to step back, to end the kiss and this farce of a wedding. But those full, sweet lips were only millimetres from hers and still so warm and inviting, and the body held against hers was so intriguingly masculine, and all the rogue thoughts from Alice’s bedroom came flooding back. Wondering what it would be like to touch Flynn for real, imagining him pressed down on top ofher, buried in her kiss, buried in her...

Even though that was a bad, bad, bad idea.

Her fingers closed around his jacket. Escape was just a gentle push away.

But escape was in the other direction, and Bel’s body stretched back up to close the distance between them. Flynn’s eyes flared briefly as she pressed her mouth back against his but the shock didn’t slow him for long. He forked his free hand around beneath the complicated twists of braids in her hair and realigned his mouth to fully seal them together.

A proper kiss. A killer kiss.

His lips nudged hers into movement, opening them wider and dragging back and forth across them. And then his tongue joined the party and Bel was lost in the hot, wet, hormonal haze. Her chest squeezed for lack of air and when she finally breathed in it was mostly Flynn’s exhaled breath.

He pulled her up harder against him. Hips to hips. Hard to soft. She clung to him, hopelessly, as the bowels of the earth spun madly around them.

Behind them, someone cleared their throat tactfully and Bel came screaming back to reality. She tore her lips from Flynn’s and fought to focus her cloudy gaze on the politely averted eyes of his family.

Drew’s family. He should have been here, too.

Flynn stiffened up immediately.

He didn’t release her far, but he tucked his lips down to her ear and whispered thickly, darkly. ‘Wrong brother, Princess.’

Their Miracle Twins is out in January in the UK, February in the US and March in Australia/NewZealand.

To win yourself an advance copy, just leave a comment about Bel and Flynn’s sizzling, subterranean smooch!

For more information on Nikki Logan and her books, visit here!

Come back next Sunday for a special LoveCats Christmas message.

Bridezillas? Myth or Monster........

2011-12-16T03:08:00.087+11:00

By Helen Lacey
Reading: Wish by Kelly Hunter
Watching: Big Bang Theory
Listening to: Adele

Some of you may know that I work part time in a bridal shop. Not just any shop, though – this one is owned by my sister. When she first opened the store and asked me to help out I had no idea what it took to sell a wedding gown. I’d spent twenty plus years working management in the ragtrade, but had never had any experience dealing with brides. And since I’m not a girly girl, and prefer to be out in the paddock with my horses rather than trolling through fashion stores or buying shoes, I didn’t really know what to expect. In fact, I expected the worst - because I’d heard the stories about needy brides and demanding mother-in-laws, and bridesmaids from the depths of hell.

But the fact is, in my experience, those stories are just that . . . stories.

What I’ve discovered is that there are many different kinds of brides. There’s the super organized, highly efficient I-know-exactly-what-I-want bride. This girl comes with swatches and samples and sometimes a scrapbook/folder and has planned her day well in advance. She doesn’t get swayed by the opinions of others and knows the gown she wants, right down to the covered buttons and sweetheart neckline.

Then there’s the bride who hasn’t a clue – the girl who’s indecisive and swaps bridesmaids and venues and tries on countless dresses – from a fluffy meringue to the slinky satin number and can’t decide which look she likes more. This girl will take advice – although she usually brings a tribe of supporters with her – which only adds to her confusion and indecision. Eventually this bride decides on a style, and then changes her mind at the eleventh hour, hovering between fluffy and slinky, until one wins out.

Then, of course, there’s the bride who simply doesn’t want to be there. She walks into the store with her head down, mumbles something about seeing bridesmaid’s dresses and getting her to talk is like extracting teeth. She’s often shy, or a tomboy who never wears a dress. She could be extra tall, extra short, full figured or a waif. This is my favourite bride because she is always amazed at how beautiful she looks once the dress and veil have been donned and she is staring at herself in the mirror. It’s especially touching when her mother or sister or BFF is on hand to shower her with compliments. The girl who never thought she was pretty is suddenly transformed into a princess.

So, if you’ve ever been a bride, attended to a bride, been mother of the bride, you probably know someone like the girls I’ve mentioned. Maybe that’s why we read romances and watch movies such as 27 Dresses and Bridesmaids and My Big Fat Greek Wedding – so we can get to know these girls all over again.

Let me know if you have a favourite bride story, book or a bride movie.

And as for Bridezillas? Well, maybe they are out there somewhere, but they’re not on my shift.

They danced by the light of the moon

2011-12-14T01:53:00.001+11:00

by Michelle Douglas

Reading: America’s Star-Crossed Sweethearts by Jackie Braun

Watching: MASH reruns

Listening to: the warbling magpies gathered on our front veranda

Making me smile: Homemade fruitcake

And hand in hand on the edge of the sand,

They danced by the light of the moon,

The moon,

They danced by the light of the moon.

This is the final stanza of the poem The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear. Back in January I blogged about my brand new calendar—the fun, the whimsy and the love story that is The Owl and the Pussycat. And my calendar didn’t let me down. It brightened my months. It made me smile. It was my muse. And, as in all good romances, the owl and the pussycat live happily ever after.

“They danced by the light of the moon.” Don’t you think that’s the most wonderful line with which to end a romance?

Which started me thinking…

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a first line may draw a reader into your story, but a last line will have them rushing out to buy your next book.

We have a tendency to remember first lines (as in the one above that I’ve pilfered and corrupted from Pride and Prejudice), but what about last lines? Who remembers the last line(s) of Pride and Prejudice?

I don’t remember the first line in Georgette Heyer’s The Grand Sophy, but I can recall the final exchange vividly:

“Charles!” uttered Sophy, shocked. ‘You cannot love me!”

Mr Rivenhall pulled the door to behind them, and in a very rough fashion jerked her into his arms, and kissed her. “I don’t: I dislike you excessively!” he said savagely.

Entranced by these lover-like words, Miss Stanton-Lacy returned his embrace with fervour, and meekly allowed herself to be led off to the stables.”

Oh, it has just the perfect tone for all that preceded it! I am so jealous.

As I stare at my The Owl and the Pussycat calendar and December’s gorgeous picture with that final line—They danced by the light of the moon—I realise I would love all my stories to end on such an uplifting and satisfying note.

They danced by the light of the moon.

Do you know any noteworthy last lines?

2011-12-13T11:35:00.004+11:00

The winner of Kelly Hunter's Single Girl Abroad is ... Marybelle!!!

Please contact Kelly at kelly (at) kellyhunter (dot) net and she will organise a copy to be sent out!

All I Want for Christmas...

2011-12-12T08:25:00.008+11:00

Reading: Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh
Watching: Treasure Quest
Listening to: Beyonce
Making me smile: Our Christmas tree

Christmas is rapidly approaching—the tree is up (and already overflowing with presents!), the lights are up and (most) of the Christmas shopping is done. Since we have someone in the house celebrating his very first Christmas this year, it has been a little more hectic than usual.

When I’m not wondering where the year went and how it could possibly be Christmas already, I’m very much looking forward to Christmas morning and watching my little man show much more interest in the wrapping paper than all his gifts (-:

Image: Wikimedia Commons: KamrynsMom

I’ve also spent a little time thinking about what I would like for Christmas this year:

1) A teapot – I have a bit of a teapot fetish. I love my tea and so I also love my teapots
2) Ebooks, ebooks, ebooks – there are always too many good books to read (have you checked out the sidebar here at LoveCats! Still so many on my TBR)
3) Time to take a bubble bath – a bath is now a rare treat with a baby in the house
4) Some extra time to write – with the grandparents coming for Christmas, I think I’ll have some eager babysitters!
5) Dinner out with my hubby – again with the babysitters here, I think we can manage a night out for the first time in…well, a very long time.

So, what will you be hoping for this Christmas?

Sunday Smooch

2011-12-11T00:01:00.001+11:00

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from Surgeon in a Wedding Dress by Sue MacKay, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is -- Tracey!

Congratulations, Tracey! Please contact Soraya Lane at sorayanicholas @ yahoo (dot) com (minus the spaces) and she'll send you a copy of Rodeo Daddy.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Surgeon in a Wedding Dress by Sue MacKay ...

Work has always been a refuge for Dr Sarah Livingstone – no more so than now! As a bride on the run from her hastily cancelled wedding, a new challenge as temporary surgeon in the coastal town of Port Weston should be the perfect cure for heartache…
Except the hunky town doctor, brooding Daniel Riley, wants to get up close and personal! But living with Dan and his adorable four-year-old daughter has workaholic Sarah dreaming dreams that, for her, are impossible fantasies…

[Set up: Sarah has just come in from work and joined Dan in the spa for a wind down and a glass of wine. They've been dancing around each other for days now.]

Movement in the water and Sarah leaned closer to lay her hand on his arm. She didn’t say anything, just touched him.

He took her hand in his and sat there looking at the woman who was changing so much for him. Her determination to carry on even when her foot hurt, her cheerful manner, her sweet smile, the way she was always ready to listen, even her occasional crankiness – all these things and more were helping him get back a life he’d forgotten existed. A life that looked pretty darned good from where he sat. As did his companion. Her cheeks had coloured to a soft pink, and the tiredness staining her face had vanished.

When Sarah turned to place her glass on the table her gaze clashed with his. Without thought he caught her arms and tugged her gently towards him just as she leaned forward. They slid off their seats. Dan instinctively wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his chest, as they bobbed in the bubbling water.

Sarah slid her arms around his waist. Her hands spread out over his back. He could feel each fingertip where they pressed lightly on his skin. The swirling water and her touch were a sensual mix of satin and silk, of soft and firm. He’d arrived in heaven.

His lungs suspended all breathing while his mind assimilated the feel of Sarah’s slick, warm skin under his palms. He moved closer, placed his lips on her throat. Her pulse thumped under his mouth, and he could feel her throbbing response in the fingers that were now pushing through his hair, beating a feverish massage on his scalp. Heard it in the hiss of her indrawn breath.

His tongue traced a line under her chin and up to the corner of her mouth, where he teased her lips gently with his teeth, warming the cooler flesh. He lost all sense of time, place, everything, - except Sarah, and he couldn’t get enough of her. Her mouth, when he tasted it, was sweet with wine. An outpouring of exquisite sensations overtook him.

Then she touched his face, held his head closer, and kissed him back with all the fierceness of a starved woman. He didn’t, couldn’t, stop to question what was behind her actions. Her need fired his own to an even deeper level and he leaned further into her, his bones melting.

Surgeon in a Wedding Dress is out in the UK this month and in Australia/New Zealand January 2012!

To learn more about Sue and her books, visit her website here!

Come back next Sunday to enjoy a smooch from Their Miracle Twins by Nikki Logan!

Bestselling Author, Kelly Hunter, talks about -

2011-12-09T00:01:00.000+11:00

The makeover bug.

Not people. Places. Have you ever walked into and old country pub or cafe and fallen in love with the bones of the place, but been dismayed by how musty, dusty and faded it was? I have.

Not that I have the deep pockets or the necessary experience to actually buy one of these places and restore it to glory, mind, but by the time I’ve had my counter-lunch I’ve given it quite the imaginary makeover.

Come time to write, it’s very tempting to then use that setting that captured the imagination and dwell on it in loving detail.

In my self-pubbed Christmas novella, Wish, heroine Billie Temple heads to a small Aussie country town to run the local pub.

Billie turned to new employer. ‘You need to hire more cleaning staff.’ That was assuming he hired any cleaning staff at all.

‘What for?’ said Roly and the wonder of it all was that he was serious.

‘This verandah needs scrubbing, for starters. Not to mention the chairs, the tables, and the sidewalk.’

‘It’s cleaner inside.’

One hoped. ‘You’re not going to argue with me about cleaning this place, are you? You said you wanted more customers.’

‘Yes, but—

‘You also said you’d give me free rein to run things my way.’

‘You said that?’ Arthur’s tone was incredulous.

‘Yeah,’ said Roly glumly. ‘Don’t know what I was thinking.’
In Red-Hot Renegade (Her Singapore Fling in NA), martial arts hero Jake Bennett owns a dojo in Singapore. It gets torched eventually, but dojo ownership was fun for a while.

‘I’m quite liking dojo living,’ she (Jianne) said. ‘It’s very streamlined. What is that smell?’

‘Sweat,’ said Jake.

Speaking of Brothers Bennett, the last two stories in that series are being packaged together and re-released in the UK in January with the title

Single Girl Abroad.

I think it’s quite the makeover.

Author copies are still a few weeks away, but if you’re happy to wait, there’s a copy of Single Girl Abroad up for grabs – just leave a comment. The question: Do you have a favourite old house/haunt/building that you would love to get your hands on and re-do?
ps. No bathroom renovations allowed ;)

And thank you LoveCats for being such lovely hosts.

Kelly

Here's a link to Kelly's website -www.kellyhunter.net

Pekoe's Catwalk Winner

2011-12-08T21:28:00.000+11:00

After much consideration of all the fabulous captions and comments, Pekoe and Fiona Lowe have chosen a winner!

:: Drumroll, please ::

It's

Sherri A Dub!

Congratulations, Sherri! Could you please contact Fiona on

fiona (at) fionalowe (dot) com

and she and Pekoe will get that super Christmas read in the post for you!

Thank you to everyone for participating in Pekoe's contest! It's been the greatest fun to read your clever contributions!

CATWALK - Caption Contest!

2011-12-07T05:00:00.000+11:00

Fiona Lowe's Pekoe!

with Sharon Archer

CAPTION ME TO WIN!

Today on the LoveCats Catwalk we're featuring author

Fiona Lowe's beautiful bundle of mischief! And as an extra treat, Fiona's generously giving away a copy of a Christmas romance, her Mills & Boon Medical Romance, The Most Magical Gift of All, to one of our clever captioners! Details at the bottom of the post... But for now...

Take it away, Pekoe!

Name
Pekoe because I am a ginger cat and white cat. I heard the family throwing around a variety of names from Cumquat and Marmalade to Shandy but then the Big Dad said, what about Orange Pekoe. They dropped the orange and I get Peeks for short or the Peekganter for long or often I get called ‘NO!’ and sprayed with water.

Abode
I have heard my cat tree called ‘The Hilton’

Human Slave
All four Lowes and any visiting persons

Likes
chasing super light balls and toilet rolls

Dislikes
One litter tray. I require two. One for each business, I mean, really who would mix it.

Ambition
To advance beyond a series of closed doors.

Sociable or Aloof
I greet everyone each morning with lots of hellos and I spend the day with Big Mum if she is in the office. At night I am often busy chasing things but when I am weary I like to sit under a chair or sit on a lap. Right now I am sleeping behind Big Mum on the chair.

Night Owl or Early Bird
I wake up when the house wakes up and I go to bed when the house goes to bed….at least that’s what the Lowe’s think when they close the doors at night.

What do you like to sharpen your claws on?
I have a cat tree. If I try other things I get called ‘NO’ and sprayed with water

Most embarrassing moment
Getting locked in the pantry.

So get busy with those captions for Pekoe's first photograph to be in the running to win Fiona's gorgeous Christmas book!

The Most Magical Gift Of All
by Fiona Lowe

Backcover:

Dr. Jack Armitage can't wait to spend the Christmas holidays on a beach sipping cocktails. But his much-deserved vacation is delayed when an unexpected gift is left on his doorstep...a little girl! Reformed bad boy Jack is great with kids, but only when they're his patients.

Dr. Sophie Norman is Jack's temporary replacement, but this single gal didn't expect her new duties to involve being a stand-in mom! Jack needs all the help that Sophie can give him. While doing their best to ensure this little girl has a magical Christmas, they find the most magical gift of all -- a family.

Thanks for letting your delicious Pekoe visit, Fiona!

Interview with Jennifer Kloester

2011-12-05T04:00:00.000+11:00

by Emily May

L-R: Jennifer Kloester, author Anne Gracie, and me, at the 1920s cocktail party at this year's Romance Writers of Australia conference

Today I'm delighted to welcome Dr Jennifer Kloester to the LoveCatsDownUnder blog! Jennifer is the Australian author of Georgette Heyer's Regency World and Georgette Heyer; Biography of a Bestseller.

(For those of you who don't know who Georgette Heyer was, she wrote both historical novels and crime novels, but she's best known for her Regency romance novels. In fact, she's credited with starting the Regency romance subgenre. Heyer's career spanned the 1920s to 1970s and her books are loved the world over. She's the reason I adore the Regency period and why I write Regency romances. If anyone reading this blog hasn't read a Heyer, they should, because they're fabulous!)

One of Heyer's crime novels

An early Heyer historical romance, written under the pseudonym Stella Martin

Jennifer, you've written two books about Georgette Heyer, the marvellous Georgette Heyer's Regency World (which lives beside my writing desk and is constantly used) and the newly-released Heyer biography. What is it about Georgette Heyer that particularly interests you? Why did you choose to write about Heyer and not someone else?

She's a compelling writer and, really, she has me at 'hello'! I love her wit, her ironic humour, her stylish prose, her wonderful characters and her hilarious dialogue - not to mention her ability to recreate such a convincing sense of the historical past. She is a consummate story-teller and a superb writer who I felt had been overlooked by the literati and too-often looked down upon by those literary snobs who had never read her - I guess you could say I was prompted by a strong sense of justice and a burning desire to redress what I saw as neglect of an enduring female author. Having said that, I tried very hard to offer readers a balanced and insightful account of Georgette as both a woman and a writer without letting my personal admiration of her get in the way of revealing her flaws, her complexities, her failings - in short I have tried to give the reader Georgette Heyer as a human being.

Dr Jennifer Kloester in her study, surrounded by Heyer novels and research files

Is your biography of Heyer a literary biography, a personal biography, or both?

I think it's a mixture of both. I always wanted to write a biography that read like a novel but with all the invisible weight of meticulous research. The book is perhaps a bit unusual in that I have used Georgette's letters to tell part of her story - letting her speak for herself so to speak.

You had unprecedented access to material about Heyer. Can you tell us a little about that?

The new archives of her personal letters give a wonderful insight into both the woman and the writer. The earliest letter was written when she was 18 and had just got the contract for The Black Moth. It was an extraordinary experience reading those early letters and feeling that here, for the first time, was the elusive young writer. The other big new collection was from her publisher's family - 93 personal letters written between 1937 and 1970 and some of them are written absolutely in the moment - I loved it when she wrote like that - it was almost as if you were in the room with her as she wrote!

Heyer as a young woman

Jennifer, did your research tell you whether Heyer grew up wanting to be an author? Was it her dream, or something she just fell into?

It seems she was something of a child prodigy who began making up stories at an early age. We don't know exactly when she began writing them down but it is likely that she was writing things down in childhood. She was certainly a voracious reader and I have her own copy of At the Back of the North Wind in which she wrote her name in clear, rounded, childish handwriting. I have wondered if she could have written as quickly and as clearly as she did in adulthood without having trained herself in childhood, but perhaps we'll never know for sure.

Georgette as a girl, with her mother and baby brother, Boris

The Regency period is what Heyer is best known for. Do you know why she chose to focus on this period? Was she personally fascinated by it, or was it purely a business decision since the Regencies sold well?

I think she came to it over time - in a sort of gradual evolution of reading and research. She'd written The Convenient Marriage in 1934 which is set in the early nineteenth century - only about ten years before the Regency. It's possible that her research for that gave her insight into the later period. But I also think that Georgette's own voice found its perfect outlet in the Regency era - almost as if it were a culmination or a consolidation of everything she had written before. I think this is especially true when she was writing Friday's Child - her own personal favourite of her novels - because it was in this book that her wit and humour, her characterisation, dialogue and historical knowledge all came together in a perfect mix of her talents.

Friday's Child -- Heyer's favourite of the novels she wrote

It's also interesting to consider the connection of so many things from her own childhood (servants, horses and carriages, social hierarchy, manners, etc) to the Regency which was an era not dissimilar to the Edwardian period. And then, of course, the Regency also had many aspects in common with the post WWI era - both periods of high-living, freedoms, new language and a particular kind of energy of its own. In many ways they were both watershed eras in history and in Georgette's writing life.

One of Heyer's fabled notebooks, full of meticulous research notes

You and I are both writers, Jennifer, and I don't know about you, but I can't say that I find writing easy. In fact, it's often quite hard! (Squeezing blood from a stone would be an appropriate metaphor some days.) During your research, did you find any indication of whether Heyer found writing easy or difficult? Was she a fast writer who wrote thousands of words per day, or did she labour over every paragraph? And did she write multiple drafts, or was her first draft extremely clean?

She was remarkable and probably rare in her ability to write quickly and with great facility. Her first drafts were often much closer to final drafts and we now know that she sometimes wrote her novels in a matter of months. Faro's Daughter was written in less than two months, single-spaced, straight onto the typewriter! I still find this astonishing (and an enviable skill which I definitely do not possess).

Faro's Daughter -- a fabulous, fun romp of a novel

Less than two months!! A novel that witty and intricately plotted and just plain fabulous? That's not just astonishing and enviable, it's almost beyond belief! [And if you haven't read the marvellous Faro's Daughter, I have only two words for you: read it!]

Jennifer, what was one of the more surprising or interesting things that you learned about Heyer while you were researching her biography?

I've been asked this a few times and I think the thing that struck me most was the degree to which she seems to have written her emotional life into her novels. Once you understand how closely guarded (and in many ways) how limited her personal life was you realise how much she needed an outlet - and that was her writing - both her letters and novels.

Georgette with her young son, Richard

Georgette and an adult Richard

If you were asked to describe Georgette Heyer in a few words, what would they be?

The first word would be complex, the second would be difficult - both in personality and to know. She was very shy but also formidable and outspoken with those she knew well. Intensely private, who she was on the surface was often very different to who she really was deep down. She buried her hurts very deep.

Georgette Heyer in her later years

And finally, the question that you've no doubt been asked a hundred times: What's your favourite book by Georgette Heyer, and why?

The hardest of all questions to answer because there so many to love! Right now though, the answer is A Civil Contract. A quiet, thoughtful book that is not always deemed a favourite by Heyer readers but I have loved it for a long time for it's insight into human nature and for its hope. I also LOVE Jonathan Chawleigh!

A Civil Contract -- one of Heyer's quieter novels

Jonathan Chawleigh is a great character, Jennifer, but I have to confess that A Civil Contract isn't one of my favourites. I would have to pick The Grand Sophy, and Sylvester, and Faro's Daughter, and Arabella, and... Actually, this could be a very long list, as Georgette Heyer wrote so many superb books!

The Grand Sophy, in which the indomitable Sophy goes head to head with the domineering Charles -- great fun!

Jennifer is very kindly offering a copy of her fabulous Georgette Heyer's Regency World to one lucky commenter! To enter the draw, tell us what your favourite Heyer novel is and why!

Georgette Heyer; Biography of a Bestseller was released in London in October and is out in Australia and New Zealand this week! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy! To get your very own copy, visit The Book Depository.

Sunday Smooch!

2011-12-04T00:01:00.000+11:00

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from Rodeo Dad by Soraya Lane, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is --
Catherine!

Congratulations, Catherine! Can you please contact Sophia at SophiaJames6 (at) gmail (dot) com (minus the spaces) and she'll send you a copy of Christmas at Blackhaven Castle.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Rodeo Dad by Soraya Lane ...

Rodeo champion Lark Anderson lived for the sound of crowds chanting his name. Now all he hears is a small voice saying, "daddy." A fall ended both his rodeo career and his marriage—leaving him a single dad.

The town is suspicious of its new "celebrity" resident, and town darling Sophie Baxter has been nominated to keep an eye on the hot-tempered cowboy.

But the sight of his strong arms hugging his daughter and tucking her in at night makes Sophie's heart ache with longing. Could this little family ever find a place in their hearts for her?

[Set up: Sophie has been stranded on Lark’s farm for the night due to snow closing the roads, and he’s convinced her to take a soak in his outdoor bathtub.]

Lark’s arms slowly moved from the edge of the bath, his hands sliding into the water and landing on her thighs. Gently, so gently. One moved up her torso, landing on her stomach, the other stayed on her leg. Sophie leaned back farther into him, her head on the side. And then Lark’s lips found her skin. His mouth touched her neck, the side of it that was above the water.A shudder traced through every inch of her body, but she was powerless to move away.

Didn’t want him to stop.

Ever.

His lips caressed her skin, softly worked their way down her neck and over her shoulder. His fingers now gliding against her, tickling and teasing her.

“Lark,” she said, not knowing why but feeling she had to slow things down.

“Mmm,” he murmured against her skin.

“Lark, I think …”

“Don’t think,” he whispered.

She pulled away, enough so that his mouth fell away from her.

“Are you sure? I mean, you’ve just come out of a marriage, I’ve got, well …”

“Sophie?”

She sighed. “Yes.”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Rodeo Dad is available in Australia and New Zealand now, and Soraya is giving away a copy today. To be in the draw, simply leave a comment!

For more information on upcoming releases, head to http://www.sorayalane.com/ or www.facebook.com/SorayaLaneAuthor.

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from Harlequin Medical Author Sue Mackay will be posted!

My very first book club

2011-12-02T02:42:00.000+11:00

A few weeks ago I was a guest at my mum's book club as my debut romance, Secrets & Speed Dating, was the topic of discussion. To say I was a little nervous would be a huge understatement.

Me with the book club ladies. My lovely mum is third from the left.

My mum has been a member of a book club for years, and the idea has always intrigued me. I love to read, after all, and an event that combines a love of books, wine, cheese and multiple desserts... well, what's not to like?

For me, it's all been about the type of books read. I'm an unashamed lover of genre fiction, mostly romance, and struggle to enjoy the literary novels which are the staple of most book clubs. What can I say - I love happy endings :)

My mum's book club has the typical literary slant, but my mum is just awesome (and a typical proud mum), so her book club ladies all got to read my book. I know some members were sceptical, but they all read the book, and turned up at my mum's place ready to talk all about it.

So, as mentioned, I was very nervous. I had prepared by printing out the fabulous 10 Myths of Romance by Anne Gracie, and readied myself to go into battle for romance.

As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about. The book club ladies and I chatted for over two hours about my book, and I can tell you - I've never experienced anything cooler than a group of people discussing my story and my characters with so much enthusiasm. It was amazing! There was a lot of interest in the romance genre as a whole, and also the publishing process, but mostly we talked about Sophie and Dan and their story.

Yes. Very cool!

I was even asked to sign everyone's books. I felt like a real author... albeit totally unprepared and lacking an appropriately fun and flirty signature or anything vaguely witty to write. But hey - it was still a thrill :)

So, are you a member of a book club? Does your club read romance?

Or - have you had a recent experience that's reaffirmed your belief in... something? My mum's book club couldn't have come at a better time - I was knee deep in second round revisions, convinced I was a terrible writer and wondering what was the point. But, the book club reminded me why I write - to share my character's stories with readers. Thank you, my mum's book club, for a fabulous evening and for giving me a memory to hang onto when writing feels impossible.

PS That book I was revising has since been accepted - A Girl Less Ordinary, June 2012. Hooray!

Love at the End of the Road Winner

2011-12-01T19:59:00.001+11:00

Well done, Jo! You have won a copy of Rae Roadley's book Love at the End of the Road.
Please can you contact her through her website and provide her with your address.

Congratulations
Zana

Happy Snaps

2011-11-30T10:17:00.005+11:00

Reading: Immortal Rider by Larissa Ione
Watching: Toddlers and Tiaras (I can’t look away!)
Listening to: More Elmo songs
Making me smile: My little boy clapping

I’ve just returned from three weeks of holidays. We had a fabulous time but travelling overseas with a seven month old doesn’t make for the most relaxing time off! I’m usually a very organised traveller but travelling with a little person means you have to be ultra-organised. They need so much stuff! And everything revolves around their feeding and sleeping.

My little man was so good on planes, trains and automobiles and coped with his jetlag remarkably well. He charmed all his UK family (as well as several flight attendants, waitresses, shop attendants and passers-by).

Since I’m still a bit jetlagged (as is bub) and recovering from a nasty cold, I thought today I’d just share some holiday snaps of some of our favourite places to visit in the UK. Anyone else have a fav spot in the UK they love to visit or would love to visit in the future?

Visting Westminster and Big Ben

My fav stop in London -- The British Museum

A lovely view from Greenwich

Lunch at Harrods

Checking out Stonehenge

A rare beautiful UK winter's day at Sheffield Park (National Trust)

Gratuitous cute baby shot! -- reading the Wall Street Journal on the plane

Don't put off until tomorrow....

2011-11-28T01:06:00.000+11:00

by Nikki Logan

Over the weekend I got a solid reminder about the importanceof telling people how you feel while you're feeling it….

I’ve been lucky enough in life to have two mums—my own fabulousmother, and a step-mother who was in our family since I was a young teen. She was glamorous and gregarious and the solereason weekly access visits to my father were bearable.

Eighteen years ago she lost the man that she’d loved so muchand her journey since has been a tough one because she really wasn’t a personbuilt for being alone. It made things tough between us, too, because shewas a living reminder of all my father’s failings. And because she fellhead-long into a self-destructive period.

But…turns out she was a resilient old duck (at least on thesurface) and she came through that stage and limped out the other side to forma life for herself around the limitations of her ailing body.

So I’ve had these two mother role-models; both single, bothageing, both managing that independence so very differently.

I recently had cause to write a book about families—my heroinefinds out her real father is a rancher in Texas and heads off to meet her newfamily. That book made me reflect on the definition of family and that somebonds aren’t measured in hours spent together or the type of things you do inthat time. They’re measured in the thickness of the strands that make up thebond.

And I had surprisingly thick strands with my step-mum. It’sbeen eighteen years since my father’s death meant she could have just slippedout of my life, but she didn’t. Between the two of us—and despite the crazinessof her life and the crazy busy-ness of mine—we managed to keep that bond moreor less in place. It wasn’t always easy but the strands must have been made ofsolid stuff to weather the bad times.

And so I dedicated my latest book to her—because family isn’talways defined by blood—and I was going to surprise her with it at Christmas. Ithink it would have touched her and meant a lot given the nature of the story.

Except she didn’t make it to Christmas, and so she didn’tknow.

I was being dramatic, I was going for impact. What I shouldhave done was pick-up the phone and tell her straight away and not worriedabout whether that would strike her as immodest or awkward. Because then she would haveknown and, I hope, smiled.

And I would definitely have wanted her last thoughts aboutme being a smile.

Safe journey home, L.

Sunday Smooch!

2011-11-27T00:05:00.003+11:00

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from Christmas at Blackhaven Castle by Sophia James, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is -- Joanne!

Congratulations, Joanne! Please contact natalie.anderson @ actrix (dot) co (dot) nz (minus the spaces) and she'll send you a copy of The Millionaire's Mistletoe Mistress.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Christmas at Blackhaven Castle by Sophia James ...

Christmas At Blackhaven Castle is part of a Christmas 2011 anthology called ‘Gift Wrapped Governess’ with Marguerite Kaye and Annie Burrows.

[Set up: In disguise, penniless Lady Seraphina Moreton seeks sanctuary at the Duke of Blackhaven’s castle just days before Christmas. Trey swore never again to be beguiled by a beautiful face, but as governess Seraphina gets close to his unruly, motherless children, he wants the festive joy she brings to stay well beyond Christmas Day... ]

Three hours later the smell of pine filled the room as his housekeeper brought in a plate of Christmas pies.

‘Baked in the dozens to strengthen their charm,’ she said, ‘and good luck for the twelve months of the New Year, Sir.’

Surrounded by red and green ribbon, a pile of gold and silver paper and balls made from the dry branches of last year’s climbing wisteria, Trey’s feet were knee-deep in spangle as he looked at the tree.
Ginger-and-butter shortbread had been strung with twine, the delicacies embellishing an already over-embellished greenery.

Lady Seraphina Moreton had no pattern of demanding the fir dressed as his late wife had been want to on the few times she had bothered. Everything went, according to his new governess’ philosophy, so that even the broken offerings the boys had put their hearts into creating, took their place alongside the expensive and irreplaceable heirlooms collected by the Blackhaven ancestors for generations.

There was hardly a pine needle still on show and the angel on the top that he had had the task of securing looked down on a hotchpotch of colour.
His children loved it.

‘Have you ever seen such a tree, papa?’ David asked him and he shook his head in honesty.

‘Never.’

Seraphina Moreton laughed as he looked over to find her watching him, her dog jumping at the foil on a lower branch and nestled in a pile of paper.

‘I like the red apples best.’ Terry pointed out his efforts, three matching misshapen ball with sprigs of gold drunkenly hanging from the top.
As leaves he supposed. He made much of nodding.

‘The stars are mine, papa.’ Gareth brought a folded silver shape away from the riot of others behind it. ‘Miss Moore helped me draw them. I could make some for your library tomorrow.’

‘Indeed.’

‘We have mistletoe as well.’ David took a sprig from a box at his feet and placed it carefully on his hand. ‘Where should we hang it?’

‘Above Miss Moore,’ Gareth screeched. ‘Then we can all give her a kiss.’

‘Above papa,’ Terrence amended. ‘Then she could give him one.’ His oldest son was already counting as he walked over with the mistletoe. ‘Twelve berries. Twelve kisses. You can have the first one, papa.’

A vibrant red blush crept up Lady Moreton’s cheeks but with three boys baying for a kiss, Trey felt it easier to do so. He had meant to place a light peck on her cheek, just a small token to fulfil an expected duty but he found the soft fullness of her mouth instead and his world exploded.

She felt his finger against her cheek, light as air, question in the last second before his lips slanted inwards, the full force of an unexpected magic making her press in. Trey Stanford was hers for this moment under a tree of Christmas and in a world of colour, the taste of him strong and real, his fingers at her nape, the shape of his body full down the front of hers as a deep pain of need entwined itself into all the corners of her heart. He was neither careful nor gentle nor calm. He was masculine fervour tempered with steel, a man who knew his way around a woman and was taking the chance of appetite even with his three children watching on.

Seraphina was breathless when he broke away. Kissing was nothing like she had heard it to be; tepid, shallow and lukewarm. It was hot and ardent and fierce, the meeting of souls through a joining of spirit, a giving and a taking.

As amazement bloomed she heard the shouts of the boys and David plucked one berry and threw it in the fire. It sizzled against the embers, a slight puff of smoke and then gone.

Romantic Times Reviews gave these light Christmas reads 4 stars: "These lovely holiday stories are perfect to whisk you away when the Season gets frantic."
If you'd like to enjoy a little light relief from the daunting business of Christmas, Sophia has 5 autographed copies to give away to visitors to her post today!

Gift Wrapped Governess is out in the UK and North America now!

Come back next Sunday, when the winners of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from Rodeo Daddy by Soraya Lane will be posted!

My secret addiction...

2011-11-25T08:23:00.001+11:00

My name is Natalie and I'm addicted to movie trailers! Seriously, I can waste a good hour or four on the New Zealand upcoming flicks site and I always click when a new trailer is released. If we get a DVD out, woe betide my hubby should he fast-forward the trailers while out I'm of the room getting the snacks!!!

While I don't watch TV, I do watch movies when I can. I love getting the whole story in a couple of hours - but even better the trailer gives me much of it in just a couple of minutes... and then I get to do the guessing game! The format of the trailer is brilliant - you get the tease, the set-up, and then a few clues - and then I waste too much time trying to figure out what happens in the rest of the movie - sad, but there you go. I think it's the possibilities that I enjoy so much.

Here are a couple I'm looking forward to and definitely will get to see - The Muppets (who doesn't love the Muppets!!!) - just because their humour is always that bit off-the-wall yet very astute.

And I'm also really looking forward to doing a compare and contrast on the two new versions of Snow White that are coming up soon:

Mirror Mirror - I think Julia Roberts might steal every scene in this one!

or Snow White and the Huntsman - with a very scary Charlize Theron

Okay, so with the Snow Whites I'm pretty sure I can work out the ending (*giggles*) - but it's still fun and I'm looking forward to seeing in what ways they twist those tales around.

Then there's the books-into-movies thing - I'm looking forward to Tintin (I'm a bit nervous because Tintin is revered in our household)... and when it hits the DVD store no doubt I'll watch Breaking Dawn when the hubby is away one week. We're both looking forward to the Jack Reacher adaptation (still unconvinced about Tom Cruise), The Hunger Games of course and I think the Stephanie Plum movie is looking good...

And I am always, ALWAYS on the prowl for a good rom-com - they're really hard to find!

And then there's the non-fiction films - I'm not sure I'm ready to see all of this one yet...

Nope - I think I'm more in the mood for the romcoms!!!

So what about you, are you a movie person? Do you always watch the trailers?! Do you play the 'guess what happens' game?!

Finding true-life LOVE AT THE END OF THE ROAD

2011-11-23T04:46:00.000+11:00

Welcometo Lovecats, Rae and a congratulations on the fabulous reception your debutbook Love at the End of the Road. Can you tell us a little aboutwhat it is about?

It’sthe story of my life after meeting Rex Roadley, a beef and sheep farmer,through a dating service. After driving miles down a windy road, I found hishistoric home, Batley House, on the shores of the Kaipara Harbour in Northland,New Zealand. Rex was more difficult to find - he was out fishing!

Thebook is a memoir which it covers our lives together, farming, life at Batleybefore and after European settlement, the house and our community.

It’sa very honest, open account of your life. Was it hard to write about yourselfso personally?

Verydifficult, but I knew the story of our relationship and my life as I adapted torural living would engage readers. I worked in an upstairs bedroom or theterrace overlooking the harbour.

Yourbook reminds me of Under the Tuscan Sun. Clearly you fell in love withthe man, but it seems you also fell in love with the house and the area. Is that right?

Ithought Batley House was big and cold, but was soon enchanted. In the late1800s, it was the area’s social centre. The local people were welcoming and Isoon got involved, even judging a Young Farmer of the Year event.

Thebook combines a love-story with re-inventing yourself, house renovations, thehistory of the Kaipara, and life on the farm and in a rural community. How didyou achieve the balance with all these themes?

Iwanted the story to be engaging and compelling. I wove other aspects throughour personal story, aiming for light touch.

Afterseveral drafts, I went through the manuscript with highlighters: our story wasred (for love); the farm story was green (for grass); history was orange; thehouse pink; gardening and fishing yellow

WhenI found ‘chunks’ of one colour, I shuffled text until the story was balanced. Iwas determined the history would be readable and worked hard to include it in anatural way.

Rexis gorgeous – archetypical Kiwi male all the way through - so how has he copedwith suddenly becoming the hero of a book that’s leaping off the shelves?

Heis gorgeous - I’m glad you spotted that. He’s been great, droll as ever. WhenTessa Chrisp, the amazing photographer who did the cover shot, he knew what hewanted to wear while I dithered. He’s funny and relaxed which makes him a greatcharacter in the book, which he read as I wrote it.

Duringthe YourHome and Garden photo shoot, he sat at the head of the dining table drinkingcoffee while the stylists fluffed around making it look fabulous for theChristmas issue.

Canyou tell us a bit about the process of writing this book?

Penguingave me the idea after I’d submitted some of my newspaper columns. As I wantedthe book to be fun to read, I did an online course at NorthTec - I couldn’tback out.

Aspart of the course, I had a mentor and reviewed 10 books in my chosen genre,figuring what worked and what didn’t.

I reviewed books by Bill Bryson and James Herriott as well as Livingwith the Laird by Belinda Rathbone. NZ titles were Weather Permitting by Heather Heberley,and On the Wings of Mercury by Lorraine Moller.

Othersworth reading are Susan Duncan’s, Salvation Creek (it’sAustralian), plus The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society byMary-Ann Shaffer, quirky, delightful fiction.

You’vestruck gold with your first book. Are you an overnight success?

Theanswer is no! I’ve worked in public relations and have a journalismqualification. I started creative writing in the 1980s and have belonged towriting organisations for years, among them Romance Writers of NZ.

Lastyear Penguin saw my book and wanted more, I was runner-up in a story contest, then my single-title novel rated in theClendon Awards.

Afterthe book launch, people contacted me to say they’d loved my book, that it hadmade then laugh and cry (don’t worry, I don’t think everyone cried). That’swhen I finally relaxed.

Whydo you think it’s hitting a chord with so many readers?

Ithink the issues I’ve faced resonate with people: my mum died when I was 19 andI lost my way in life and love - and found it again; after meeting Rex I took aplunge into a new life - and survived; the book shares heartbreaks andbreakthroughs. It’s funny and honest. Several people at Penguin said it readlike fiction, which, as you say, hits a chord with readers.

Thank you, Rae.

Please feel free to ask a question or leave a comment and be in to win a copy of this heart-warming book.
Rae can also be visited at her website: www.raeroadley.co.nz

Voices in my Head

2011-11-21T06:09:00.006+11:00

Reading: Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton. Very good.

Watching: a storm raging outside my window.

It's churning up the sea, throwing small branches around, and knocking down the garden. There's not a thing we can do about it.

Which has me wondering - have I ever really had any control over the muse in my head? Ever since I can remember I've had stories in my head. They've been in the background during times of study and exams, during marriage and mortgage, but they've always been there. A bit like having an imaginary friend. Hopefully I'm not going around talking to myself. I haven't noticed people looking at me as though I'm bonkers but they could just be good at hiding their thoughts.

So where did this muse come from? When I was eight I wrote a story that was a bit of a success and tickled the muse. At nine I began ballet lessons because I was going to be a ballet dancer when I grew up but my dad said I was like a leaping heifer. I wrote another story and he enjoyed that. Then I tried the piano. Apparently elephants could tread more delicately on the keys. I wrote more stories, and took out class prizes. As a teen I decided writing and singing songs was my future. Even I couldn't stand that noise.

So back to the writing I went. I always dreamt of becoming a writer, but dreams don't become reality without hard work and goals. Finally when I couldn't shut the muse up at all I set out to write and sell a book. It took time and hard work but we made it. So why was I better at stories than ballet or singing? No amount of hard work would've helped me there. Was I born with a writing gene? Of course people might be taking the safe option and reading my books in case I take up ballet again.

I wondered if the muse would be so happy we made our first sale and then take a back seat or retire. Nope. It's as though the muse has been unleashed. More stories than I know what to do with pop into my head at times. The muse loves going for walks. Only yesterday when I was trying to sort out all the conflicts and backstorries for my current book the muse had plenty to say on our walk and when I got home I had most of the basics worked out. I'd be lost without my silent friend.

Do you all have a muse? Do you work harder on one facet of your life more than others because something is driving you to? Or am I nuts? Maybe don't answer that third question. There are plenty of people in white coats out there .

I've got a copy of Surgeon in a Wedding Dress to give away today.

Sue

Sunday Smooch!

2011-11-20T00:15:00.000+11:00

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from The Millionaire’s Mistletoe Mistress – from Tis the Season anthology (Christmas with the Boss in the UK) by Natalie Anderson, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is --
Marybelle!

Congratulations, Marybelle! Can you please contact michelle @ michelle - douglas (dot) com (minus the spaces) and she'll send you a copy of The Secretary's Secret.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from The Millionaire's Mistletoe Mistress by Natalie Anderson ...

Imogen's new boss, Ryan Taylor, is demanding, infuriating and utterly gorgeous. But she's been burnt by a colleague before, and she's not about to commit the same mistake twice…no matter how tempted she might be.

However, making Imogen his mistletoe mistress by Christmas is at the top of Ryan's wish list!

[Set up: Imogen has been trying to avoid her sexy new boss at the Edinburgh department store where she works in the office... But as she’s trying to walk to work one morning (it’s slippery on the icy paths!), she runs into him... ]

For the first time in days she stared properly into his eyes – even in the half-light of the late dawn they were that vivid blue. She was vaguely aware of her own mouth moving into a mirroring smile. Oh he had it all. One of those American great-all-round types with his blue eyes and brown hair, bronzed skin, broad shoulders and… had she dwelt on the blue eyes already?

“Do you wear contacts?”

“No. Why?” He seemed to be smiling with his whole body.

She couldn’t believe she’d asked that question out loud. “Your eyes are very blue.” Oh no she was whispering. Oh brain, where art thou? She jerked back. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

Because that was inappropriate. But she couldn’t answer. Looked away to try to clear her head from his almost hypnotic power. “It’s freezing, isn’t it?” Hell. Reduced to talking about the weather to distract from the fact she’d just made a colossal fool of herself. To try to ignore the way she burnt up in his presence.

“I like the cold. I like the fun of warming up.”

She looked back at him then. Had he moved closer? He had, and he was taking another step closer.

“It’s easier to warm up than cool down.”

“I don’t think so,” she said, just to disagree. “It can be impossible to warm up.

The brakes on her sensibility were slipping – standing near him, with him smiling like that. He still had his hand on her arm and he was edging closer and closer.

“You can always warm up.”

Awareness zinged between them.

“No.” She shook her head in the tiniest movement and her last hint of caution melted. “My lips are so cold they’re numb.” The scare from the almost-fall must have addled her everything.

“Numb?” He was looking deep into her eyes in a way that obliterated rational brain power.

She nodded, felt that squeezing inside as his gaze dropped to her lips.

“I don’t believe you.” His mouth had that cheeky quirk to it.

“They are,” she insisted. “I’ll have to be careful with my coffee or I might burn them.”

His lashes swooped up and she was pinned in place – just where she wanted to be. “Well we can’t let that happen.”

Bluer than the brightest summer sky, his eyes gleamed. Spellbound she watched as he came nearer and nearer.

The kiss was butterfly light. The faintest brush of his mouth on hers. Not remotely long enough or hard enough or deep enough to satisfy Imogen’s burgeoning desire.

“Still numb,” she spoke as his mouth lifted and hovered mere millimetres from hers.

Her challenge was unmistakable.

His smile widened and then she got to taste it as his head lowered. Her eyes closed and in her mind she was floating in those skies of blue. His lips were warm, gentle, teasing before they lifted again, still too soon.

She sighed, resigned. “I can’t seem to feel a thing.”

His brows shot up but there was a knowing look in his eyes. “I’ll have to try harder.”

This time she met his mouth with her own wide and hungry. This time he put his hands on her. This time it was longer, and harder and deeper.

Imogen moaned. He slid one hand down her back, pulling her against him while at the same time taking that last step closer. She was sandwiched firm between the bridge railing and him. Yet still she wanted closer. She hadn’t lied. It was true – she couldn’t feel a thing – other than pleasure radiating out within her. Emboldened by that madness, she kissed him as deeply, searching him out with her tongue, desperate to taste more of him – all of him. Her arms lifted, locking around his neck. Their bodies strained together, arousing, intoxicating, suddenly in an embrace so tight it almost hurt. Until finally he lifted his head and let them both breathe.

But it wasn’t sobering oxygen that she inhaled. It was all Ryan. “Are you sure you don’t wear contacts?”

Natalie is giving away a copy of The Millionaire's Mistletoe Mistress. To be in the draw, tell us whether you think it's easier to get warm, or warm down!

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from Unmanagable Isobel by Sophia James will be posted!

Winner!

2011-11-19T03:03:00.005+11:00

Congratulations to Lee Burgess!

Lee, you are the winner of a copy of my debut release Made For Marriage.

Please contact me at hjlacey (at) bigpond (dot) com - no spaces so I can send it out to you.

The First Time I Ever . . .

2011-11-18T03:00:00.024+11:00

By Helen Lacey

I love First Time stories. You know, when someone tells you how they did something, saw something, or got something for the very first time. It happened to me the other day, and it was one of those big First Time moments. My book arrived. My first ever published book. In a box that had my name and address on it. As always in the afternoon I was outside feeding my horses and a van pulled up in my driveway. A horn honked so I knew it was the postal service. As soon as I saw the box I knew what it was (since I'd been waiting for that moment for a long time) I recognised the familiar Harlequin logo and squeeeeed rather unglamorously in front of the postal lady. She was naturally surprised and once I explained my reaction and told her what was in the box, she hugged me. Yep, hugged me... a stranger who quickly got wrapped up in my excitement and admitted to being a long time Harlequin reader.

Once the box was opened, a bottle of bubbles was popped that I shared with my hubby, my sister and also fellow author and friend Louise Cusack. We clinked glasses and made a toast to celebrate the arrival of my first book. Which got me thinking . . . why is the first time often the most special? For me it was the culmination of many years of work and writing a book that was a story I simply had to tell.

But there have been other things too. Like the first boy I loved . . . we’ve all been there, through the pain of an unrequited longing. The day my first horse was unloaded off a trailer. The first time I went to a movie with friends and kept checking my watch to make sure I didn’t miss the train home so I’d be back home before eleven, convinced my parents would never let me out of the house again if I rocked up late. And other first times – the first kiss, the first real date . . . and much later, the first time I met my husband. For parents it can be the first time a baby is held, or the first day at school, or the last day at school. A school prom, a wedding, the first day at a new job.

They are often simple things and it’s amazing how they continue to happen all through our life and not only when we are young – like the first time I saw whales breaching out of the water, quite by accident as I walked along the esplanade where I live. Or the first time I saw sugar cane burning and then heard the crackle and inhaled the unique, smoky sweet scent as it drifted on the wind.

Why does the first time feel so special? I think it’s because although we can anticipate, often we aren’t sure what to expect. There’s the thrill of the unknown, the realization that perhaps a dream has come true. And I love knowing that First Time moments will always happen throughout my life.

So what have been your special First Time moments? Share your thoughts and one commenter will win a copy of my debut release, Made for Marriage.

On the CATWALK!

2011-11-16T06:00:00.000+11:00

with Sharon Archer

Strutting her stuff on the Catwalk today, I have author

Patti Shenberger's gorgeous bundle of energy!

Please welcome Sophie!

Name
Sophie, though when I was at the shelter it was Callista. I was adopted from the Michigan Animal Rescue League.

Abode
A nice warm bed and a three acre fenced in backyard to roam (not unattended, but there will come a day when I can check out that bichon next door.

Human Slave
My mom Patti. She calls me her Sophie Bug and kisses me lots and lets me take naps on her lap during the day. I just love that!

Likes
I love my bed and all the new toys. I have a stuffed frog that squeaks and a big pink squeaky bone to play with as well.

Dislikes
I am not impressed when we go out at 3:30 a.m. and the grass is frozen. My toes get cold and because I'm so low to the ground that frozen grass really tickles the private parts!

Ambition
I want to grow up big and strong like the Bouvier across the street. She's allowed to cross the road all by herself (Sophie's Mom here - we do live on a gravel dead end road at the way back of a neighborhood. Regardless, Sophie is too little to cross the street!)

Sociable or Aloof
Very sociable. Except the cat was not impressed when I grabbed his tail and held on so he could drag me around the kitchen.

Night Owl or Early Bird
I'm an early bird. I go to bed about 9:30, have to get up only once so far to go out, and sleep till about 6. Then the day begins and I get to play with all my toys and annoy the cat.

Favourite Pastime
Taking naps on Mom's lap cause she whispers in my ear and it tickles.

Favourite Toy
Ace, the 6 yr old cat. Dad says he really belongs to him though and I'm Mom's.   Though Ace seems to think he can smack me on the head with his front declawed paws and I'll go away. Little does he know!

Best Friend
Hmm, not sure. So far it's Mom.

What do you like to sharpen your claws on?
It's not my claws they have to worry about.   It's my needle teeth. Mom made a really weird sound the other day when I accidentally (I swear it wasn't on purpose) bit her thigh.

Most embarrassing moment
That's easy. I learned how to climb the steps to the deck the second day but had a slight problem with the dismount. So I did a sort of kamakazi, throw myself off the deck move and ended up getting grass up my nose. Not real fun.

Patti, thank you for letting adorable Sophie out to play on the Catwalk!

Book Recommendations, Please!

2011-11-14T11:00:00.001+11:00

You might have guessed - I'm a bit of a book addict. (And I don't think I'm alone with this affliction!) So my family are asking for titles of books to buy me for Christmas.

What I usually do is give them a very long list to choose from so that the exact titles will still be a surprise. But, being such a book addict, I usually buy most of the books I want, so my list to offer my family isn't long this year. I need help!

Tell me a book you've loved this year. I don't want books you only half liked, just the ones you loved. I'll read most genres of romance, but I'm a 'fraidy cat and I can't read anything scary, so no suspense, no thrillers or horror.

So, what recommendations do you have for me? I'll be grateful forever!

Also, the winner of a copy of Return of the Secret Heir from my Is It Christmas Already post is Virginia! Virginia, drop me an email: rachel (at) rachelbailey (dot) com with your snail mail address and I'll pop a copy in the mail.

Sunday Smooch!

2011-11-13T00:02:00.001+11:00

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from The Secretary's Secret by Michelle Douglas, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is --
Linda!

Congratulations, Linda! Can you please contact Susan at susan-gee-heino (at) yahoo (dot) com, and she'll send you copies of Mistress by Mistake, Damsel in Disguise, and Temptress in Training.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from The Secretary's Secret by Michelle Douglas ...

Expecting a secret bundle of joy!
With one last look in the mirror, Kit Mercer prepares to face her boss—surely he can't wait to sweep her into his arms again and declare his love?

Actually, what Alex Hallam does is tell her their fling can't continue. He knows it's the right thing to do—after his ex-wife's lies, is he really ready for a relationship with sweet, lovely Kit?

Until Kit reveals she's pregnant! Swapping the boardroom and working lunches for the baby clinic and wake-up feeds, they'll get more than they bargained for…. Maybe even swapping their business contract for a marriage certificate!

[Set up: Kit is pregnant with Alex’s child, but Alex is far from ready for fatherhood. They are sitting on a break water overlooking the ocean when, for the first time, Kit feels the baby kick. She grabs Alex’s hand and presses it to her stomach, hoping it will forge a connection between him and the baby.]

His eyes widened. 'This is the first time?'

She couldn't get the grin off her face. 'The very first time.'

Alex's wonder made him look younger. The grooves either side of his mouth eased, the creases around his eyes relaxed and the darkness in his irises abated, his lips tilted up at the corners, and it all made Kit catch her breath.

Beneath her hand, his hand tensed. She dropped her gaze to stare at their two hands. Neither one of them moved, and in less than a heartbeat desire licked along her veins. She wanted to lift her gaze and memorize every line and feature of his face, the texture of his skin, while she could. So she could have this memory for ever.

She didn't need to look up to do that, though. His every feature was already branded on her brain. She knew that dark stubble peppered his jaw. Alex needed to shave every day, but he'd skipped that chore this morning, eager to get started on the painting instead. Her palm itched to sample that roughness, her tongue burned to trace it, to taste it...to tease him.

Today he looked more like a disreputable pirate than a civilized businessman and a thrill coursed through her at the danger she sensed simmering just beneath the surface.

Finally obeying the silent command she sensed in him, she lifted her gaze to his. At the edge of his right eyebrow was a tiny nick, as if he'd once had a stitch there. She'd always meant to ask him about it, but her breath came in shallow gulps and her pulse had gone so erratic she didn't trust her voice not to give her away.

His eyes burned dark and hot as they travelled over her, and her soul sang at the possessiveness that transformed his features. No longer afraid of revealing her desire for him, she lowered her gaze to his lips. Need, hunger, thirst all speared into her. Her lips parted. Her eyes searched out his again, pleading with him to sate her need. If she couldn't taste him just one more time she thought she might die.

Something midway between a groan and a growl emerged from his throat. His hand tightened on her stomach. Her hand tightened over his. Yes! Oh, please, yes!

Still Alex held back, his eyes devouring her face as if he was picturing in vivid detail every caress he meant to place there. He didn't lift his hand from her abdomen and it felt like a promise. His fingers splayed, sending darts of need right into the core of her, making her tremble with the intensity of her desire.

His other hand came up to cup her face, his thumb traced the outline of her bottom lip, dipped into the moistness of her mouth, traced her lips again, moved back and forth over them as if to sensitize them to the utmost limit of their endurance before taking her to the next level with his lips and mouth and tongue.

She started to pant, wanted to beg him for his lips, his mouth, his tongue, but still his mouth didn't descend. With a low growl she flicked her tongue across his thumb. He stiffened as if electrified. She drew his thumb into her mouth, circled it with her tongue, suckled it until his eyes darkened to obsidian.

And then finally, slowly, inexorably, his head lowered and her blood started to sing. His body blocked out the sun and, as he moved closer, all she could see was the light reflected in his eyes. His lips touched hers, moved over hers—surely, reverently, thoroughly—her eyes fluttered closed and, as the kiss deepened, light burst behind her eyelids. Every wonderful Christmas, every sun-drenched summer and visiting dolphin, every bright and beautiful thing that had ever existed in her life gained a new vitality in that kiss.

The need and the energy, it took her and Alex and merged them into a sparkling, flaming oneness until, body and soul, she didn't know where she ended and Alex began. It was the kind of kiss to shape worlds and change lives. It shifted the foundations of her world and all she believed about herself.

Alex eased away from Kit. He didn't know for how long they'd kissed. He barely knew which way was up. Very slowly he drew his hands away—one from her face, one from her stomach. He tried to stop his legs from jerking in reaction.

'Are you okay?'

Her voice came out soft and husky, as if he'd kissed all her breath away. Served her right for kissing his breath clean away too.

He nodded and cleared his throat. 'And you?'

'Oh, yes.'

She had stars in her eyes! No woman should look at him like that.

An imaginary noose pulled tight around his neck, and yet for a moment all he could see was the shine on her lips and he ached to sample them again.

'I'm...' He cleared his throat again. 'I'm sorry.' 'I'm not.'

'It can't happen again.'

'I'll be holding my breath till it does.'

He closed his eyes. He was in way over his head.

Michelle is giving away a signed copy of The Secretary's Secret. To be in the draw, tell us what you think Kit and Alex should call their soon-to-be new arrival.

The Secetary's Secret is out now in the UK and
will be on North American shelves in December
and in Australia/NZ in January 2012!

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from Natalie Anderson will be posted!

Don't Wish Time Away

2011-11-11T10:47:00.001+11:00

by Robyn Grady

Next week my baby graduates high school.

We’ve collected her amazing full-length champagne-coloured satin gown. She’s booked hair, nails and make-up appointments. Her prom date asked that she hang off his arm months ago. Don't worry about her. *I’m* so excited. Relieved.

Nostalgic...

On the night, I’m bound to cry.

The wonderful school Holly attends asked for past photos of all the graduates. My husband and I dug out these three.

We all know time flies by. Just the other week I became a Grandmother – to my eldest daughter’s new baby kitten.

Right now my head is filled with memories of my girls growing up, of the years rolling on and everyone achieving milestones as well as facing those roadblocks that strengthen our character and shape us into the responsible adults we ultimately become.

My graduating daughter says that she's never leaving home - she'll never leave us. I know she will. She’ll get married, have her own babies, and one day she’ll be reminiscing like I am today.

Life is full of arrivals and departures. Of sweet hellos and often poignant, even sweeter goodbyes.

Do you have any "graduation" stories you’d like to share?

You Can't Stop the Music

2011-11-09T12:24:00.000+11:00

by Michelle Douglas

Reading: Everything I know About Love I Learned From Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell

Watching: Jam and Jerusalem

Listening to: Kate Fagan

Making Me Smile: my afternoon walks in this gorgeous spring weather

I’ve heard that a lot of authors create a playlist of songs for their stories, and I’d always thought, Good for them. Whatever works, I say. But it was never something I’d tried for myself.

That is, not until The Secretary’s Secret (out now in the UK). I’m not even sure why I did give the playlist thing a whirl. Except, I’d given myself a whole wonderful fortnight to play with the story before getting down to the nuts and bolts of actually writing it, and a playlist seemed like one of those fun, playful kind of things to do.

So I spent a week perfecting my playlist and another week playing it over and over, and it really did help me visualise certain scenes in my book. It helped me find the right tone for the story. What’s more it acted like a form of brainstorming and had new scenes occurring to me too.

Funnily enough I didn’t play it at all once I stared writing the story. But it had already done its job – it had helped me imagine my story world.

The process for every book is different and I didn’t create a playlist for The Man Who Saw Her Beauty (out in the UK in April 2012). I did, however, have a theme song for that book—Jesse by Carly Simon. Now, the book changed quite a bit so the reunion story I had in my mind became something quite different (so plaudits to anyone who can find even a skerrick of the song in that book now). But, again, the song helped me find the right tone and atmosphere for the book, even if the lyrics no longer applied.

For the story my editor has in her hot little hands right now I had three theme songs – Jesse James by Cher (for my heroine’s attitude), Summer Rain by Belinda Carlisle (for that all important tone) and Captain Zero by The Mixtures (for my hero’s realisation of his thick-headed doofusness and accompanying need to make amends).

One of my favourite things in the world is to lie on my sofa and stare up at the canopy of trees that soars over the backyard and listen to music. I quieten all the white noise in my head, and savour the view. Invariably, however, a line of music will catch my attention and suddenly I’ll be off playing the what-if game and creating scenarios in my mind.

And it seems to me that some songs lend themselves more to this than others. Here are three songs that persistently intrigue me:

1. My Girl by Hoodoo Gurus (She’s fallen out of love with him. Can he make her fall back in love with him? Has she really fallen out of love with him? Are his friends trying to cause trouble? If so, why?)

2. Living Next Door To Alice by Smokie (OMG, Alice is leaving! Hmm…but will Sally make the loss bearable? Actually, I play a whole load of scenarios with this song. Exactly how many love-pairings can I make? For a start there’s the narrator/singer and Alice, the narrator and Sally, Alice and the guy who’s sent the limo…and perhaps even Alice and Sally.)

3. Insensitive by Jann Arden (Is this jerk redeemable? And if so, why is he acting like such a jerk?)

Oh, and here’s another two:

The Day You Went Away by Wendy Matthews (The film clip breaks my heart)

Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis (I haven’t worked out exactly what this song is getting at, but I really like it.)

I don’t know if I will ever write a story based around any of these songs, but then again… :)

Songs are a great source of inspiration and I love collecting them. Do you have any favourite songs you think could be turned into great stories?

Congratulations!

2011-11-09T07:47:00.005+11:00

WINNERS

Congratulations to Imelda and Natalie! You lucky things! You have both won a signed copy of one of Kate Walker's back list books. :-)

You can contact Kate at: kate (AT) kate - walker . com (without the spaces)

KATE WALKER

2011-11-07T06:40:00.000+11:00

Kate Walker

Kate, your latest book The Returnof the Stranger has a fascinating premise. Can you tell us about it?

It was part of the mini-series ThePowerful and The Pure based on classic books of romantic fiction. Thepremise was to take four of the great classics of romantic fiction and use themas inspiration for Modern Romances (Presents/Sexy) and I was asked to do WutheringHeights. Of course Mills and Boon know about my MA thesis on Emily and Charlotte Bronte’s childhood writings and how they reflected inthe adult novels they wrote so I suppose I was a pretty natural choice asone of the authors involved.

The other authors chosen were –Sharon Kendrick (Jane Eyre), Kate Hewitt (Emma), Cathy Williams (Pride andPrejudice). Iconic romantic stories that everyone who loves romance remembers –with fascinating heroines and specially with heroes that have set the‘dark and devastating’ standard for all time to come.

It’s perhaps important to say that the plan forthis series was not – as some people have thought – plagiarism or stealing fromthe originals. We are using them as aninspiration, and honouring them by doing so. They were all much bigger booksthan a short category romance – with much more in them than just the love storythat romance writing focuses on –but that central love story was what I neededto focus on and to weave into a Modern Romance for today’s readers.

TheReturn of The Stranger is inspired by Wuthering Heights but it’s a stand-aloneromance for the Presents linethat works whether you have read the original or not.

Was it fun to write and create acontemporary take on one of the most famous love stories of all times – andfinally give them a happy ending?

It was both fun and a challenge. WutheringHeights was a problematic novel to work on as a romance writer as I don’treally believe it is a love story – it’s hugely romantic in terms of powerful,passionate emotions but it’s more a novel about passion and possession andpower than a long-lasting love that translates easily into the happy ever after.The love these two share is ultimately a destructive one – it is a wild,ferocious storm of emotion.

It’s interesting that the real love story – thatbetween younger Catherine and Hareton – seems so mild in comparison that in somany film adaptations it gets left out completely and yet this is a love ofreal strength that flowers in spite of the very rough ground it grows on.

So that’s some of what I had to contendwith - giving my Heath and Kat the understanding and strength oflove, forgiveness, sharing while trying not to diminish them in thepassionate, tempestuous love. I also had to make two characters who some findunsympathetic and cruel, believably sympathetic and ultimatelyloveable. But there was also the fun bit where I got to give Cathy andHeathcliff the happy ending that I’d always wished they could have – right fromwhen I first read the book.

Who are three of your all- time favouriteheroes?

Heathcliff has to be one of them – I fellhard for him when my schoolteacher told us the opening of Wuthering Heightsone day when a storm had fused all the lights in the school. As I’ve grown up Ifind Heathcliff far less sympathetic and appealing – but there’s no doubtthat his fierce passion and the power of his feelings make so many peoplethink that they would wish to be loved like that. But probably onlyin a book!

But he is one of the ambiguous heroes I haveloved over the years. My very first ‘ambiguous’ hero –where you weren’tsure if he was a hero or a villain - was in Simona’s Jewel by MarjoriePhillips. I recently found this book again and was stunned to find that thehero Michele was actually only 14! But he set a pattern for the heroes I’veloved. Mary Stewart always wrote those sorts of heroes - Mark Langley in TheMoonspinners or Simon Lester in My Brother Michael are suchgreat heroes.

And one hero who fascinates me – whomakes my heart ache with his vulnerability as much as I can be shocked andfearful of his ruthless determination and cold ferocity – is Francis Crawfordof Lymond – the hero of the l-o-n-g series of historical novels called TheGame of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett.

But it isn’t all about the hero, is it.What qualities do you think are most important in a heroine?

A heroine needs to have a backbone –particularly if she comes up against one of the forceful, ruthless, alphaheroes that we Presents/Sexy authorscreate. She needs to be able to stand up for herself – though sometimesthis can be shown in a quiet, vulnerable strength rather than feisty defianceor arguments. She needs to be vulnerable too – both the hero and the heroine doreally so that they can reach out and touch each other through the chinks intheir emotional armour. A heroine needs to have the strength and courageof loving heart, one she can share with the man who becomes her hero. Lovingsomeone isn’t just giving in to what they demand/what they think they arelooking for – but giving someone what they truly need, even when they don’trecognise it themselves at first.

Now Kate, you are coming up to your 60thromance. Wow. How are you going to celebrate this milestone?

To be honest, I haven’t actually thought aboutthat yet! The trouble is that with publishing everything is planned so far inadvance that you get used to working on something now that won’t bepublished till next year. The Devil and Miss Jones will bepublished in the UK in March 2012 and – yes, I will need to plansomething to celebrate that. But what?Do you LoveCats have any ideas? I’ll be thinking about that now – sowatch my blog for news! I love to celebrate with my readers so I’m sureI’ll think of something.

How do you keep your ideas fresh? Isthat a challenge?

With each new book I meet a a new hero and a newheroine. It’s the characters who create the books; their personalities,motivations and the conflict that comes between them. And because they are alldifferent that keeps me on my toes – keeps me thinking of new ideas/newscenes/new plots. Besides, nothing in writing and publishing stays still– the romances I’m writing now are not the same as the ones I wrote when I wasfirst published in 1984 or even 2004 – things keep changing, growing,developing. And it’s a challenge to keep up to date and write what iscurrently popular for today’s readers – and the readers of the future.

Just reading your blog made me feel weak, youseem to juggle so much. Can you share your three best time management tips withus?

I get so much done because I love what I do.This is what I always wanted to do with my life – writing and talkingabout/teaching writing. I never really thought that I would ever end upteaching writing so much, with the 12Point Guide to Writing Romance in such demand – it has even got me a jobteaching a week long residential course in Tuscany – at the Watermill at Posara next year.

I focus on what I’m doing and work at it till Iget it done - so if I’m writing then my concentration is on that – and ifI’m teaching I think I use a different part of my brain from the imaginativeone. The most important thing I need to remember is that writing is myjob – writing pays my bills and without novels being published, I don’t havethe credentials to do the teaching. So writing is always number one.

I use my computer and my iphone to keep up todate – with everything recorded there and for teaching I have built up aresource bank of workshops that go well ready to print off at the press ofa button

When I’m travelling I use the time as well as Ican – my husband is great at doing the driving so I read/plan/organise as wego. If we’re on a train then I read or perhaps critique a manuscript – I don’tsit and stare out the window.

And because I manage my own working hours, Iwork when it suits me best. For example, soon my husband will start hisuniversity teaching and that means that on certain days hewill be out until 10.30 pm – that’s a great opportunity for me toget as much done as I possibly can so that when he’s home we can relaxtogether in what would be a normal working day.

And when it comes to writing – I always, always have a notebook and pen –in my bag, beside the bed, on the kitchen worktop – so that I can makesure I jot down any notes or inspiration that come to me and I don’t lose them.If you don’t make a note of something then you might think you’ll never forgetit – but you do!

Whew Kate! You are apowerhouse. Thanks so much for giving such an inspiring interview.

Thank you for inviting me along toLoveCats. My Maine Coons Flora and Charlie love this site – and they would liketo offer a special giveaway of a signed book from my backlist. Eachof them will choose a prize for someone who posts a comment andsend them a special message!

Website