In Sickness and in Health

Well, this post was going to be all about my experience of the fourth Australian Romance Readers Convention which was held by ARRA at the QT Canberra over the weekend. I was due to attend and be part of the book-signing and on a panel titled, A Rich Man's World. The panel included Melanie Scott, Sofia Tate, and Sylvia Day and was chaired by Kat Mayo from bookthingo. How great would that have been?

Alas, best laid plans…

I got sick. Very sick. Probably the sickest I’ve ever been.  Over a week in bed. Hooray. Just what the doctor ordered. 

You know how you dream sometimes about how wonderful it would be to spend a week in bed reading, watching movies and generally veging out? Well, turns out it becomes really boring after about five minutes. It certainly was for me. I’m a woman of action and lying around nearly drove me insane. And I was too sick to do any actual work, so very unproductive all around.

But, I’m on the mend now. In fact I have to get better as I’m doing a bookshop signing at my local book store, Mary Ryan’s, this coming Thursday. I’ve got together with women’s fiction author, Lisa Walker and the fabulous and hilarious Mandy Nolan. We will be chatting about writing, books and love.

Lisa recently launched her new book Arkie's Pilgrimage to the Next Big Thing. I’ve nearly finished Lisa’s brilliant story and it is such a great read. Kerry Goldsworthy from the Sydney Morning Herald said:

“This is a funny, charming and thoughtful kind of chick lit, full of witty one-liners and intriguing minor characters, realistic about the vicissitudes of love and desire.”

Mandy’s book Boyfriends We've All Had (and Shouldn't Have) is laugh-out-loud funny. I read it last year before I appeared with Mandy and my fellow LoveCat, Amy Andrews at the Byron Bay Writers Festival. Wasn’t that a blast, Amy?

If you are in Byron Bay on Thursday, 12 March at 5.30pm, drop into Mary Ryan’s for a fun night! I’d love to see you there.

So, have you ever been sick and missed something you’ve really been looking forward to?

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Stop Press:  Tempted by the Billionaire Tycoon is currently on sale for just $1.99. Buy it now at Amazon,  iTunes, Google and other retailers.

Find out more at www.jenniferstgeorge.com

Romancing the Byron Bay Writers Festival

I’m excited to announce that I, along with fellow LoveCat Amy Andrews, will feature on a panel at the 2014 Byron Bay Writers Festival. Amy and I will be in discussion with, and at the mercy of, local celebrity comedian Mandy Nolan.

It’s going to be great teaming up with Mandy again. Mandy, whose latest book is titled Boyfriends We’ve All Had (and Shouldn’t Have), launched my book Sweet Seduction at Mary Ryan’s in Byron last December. I laughed so hard, I could barely answer her hilarious questions. She got people so excited, the book sold out that night.

The panel titled Be Still My Beating Heart: Writing Romance, will explore the world of romance writing and discuss what it's like to be a contemporary romance author.

It seems so many people are unaware of the enormous popularity of the romance genre.  I’m looking forward to quoting statistics and facts such as:

...romance fiction generated over $1.3bn in sales in the US alone in 2013

...romance was the top-performing category on the best-seller lists in 2012 across the NYT, USA Today and PW lists.

As I’m also the Communications Manager for the Festival, I have to spruik some of the other amazing writers attending. Securing celebrated UK author, Jeanette Winterson, is an enormous Festival coup. Winterson considered one of the world’s Top 10 writers to see live and will deliver the Festival’s Keynote Address. I just finished reading one of her latest offerings, The Daylight Gate based on the trials of the Lancashire Witches in 1612. A disturbing but powerful read.

The Festival will also probe into our past with authors of fiction and non-fiction including the 2014 Stella Prize winner, Clare Wright, M.L. Stedman, James Brown, Ashley Hay and Mike Carlton. Also see Geoff Dyer, Benjamin Law, Bob Brown, Tim Flannery, Julian Burnside, Antony Loewenstein, Joanne McCarthy, Kate McClymont and so many more.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a festival without food events. Travel the Indian spice route with fêted chef Christine Manfield at her Literary Lunch at the Byron at Byron resort.

 

With over 130 writers, thinkers and creative spirits and a world of ideas over three action-packed days there’s something for every literary taste. The Festival runs from 1-3 August and there are lots of fantastic workshops on offer too.  Be Still My Beating Heart: Writing Romance will be held on Festival Sunday and you can buy tickets online. I'd love to see you there.

Nerves. Nerves. How do you manage them?

Chatting with Mandy Nolan before kick-off

Today, I’m relaxed. My muscles aren’t tense. My mind isn’t racing. My heart isn’t hammering. 

This was not the case at 6pm last Thursday evening. I was sitting in a stool with comedian Mandy Nolan in the Byron Bay Mary Ryan’s bookshop watching the store fill with people. Of course, I was thrilled people had turned up for the launch of my book Sweet Seduction, but there were lots more people that I ever thought would come.  In the end about 100 people packed out the store.  They were standing three deep on the pavement.

Signing copies of Sweet Seduction

Mandy kicked off and within two minutes I had tears of laughter streaking down my face.  Mandy is so incredibly funny.  She’d singled out my husband and made him blush. I don’t think I’d ever seen my husband blush. Mandy had planned to chat for twenty minutes, but everyone was still laughing after three quarters of an hour.

I was then handed a glass of champagne and was installed at a table to sign books. And sign I did. Mary Ryan’s sold out of Sweet Seduction in about fifteen minutes. The whole event was a huge success. I was on such a high.

But, I hadn’t sleep for three nights beforehand as I was so nervous. I’ve done lots and lots of presentations in my life, but usually I’d been presenting about a product or a service, not about my own creative efforts.

Before I left for the launch, I meditated for fifteen minutes. I think I would have been a lot more nervous if I hadn’t. I learned to meditate when I used to work in big corporations to manage the stress. I pull this calming technique out of the bag whenever I’m heading for a stressful time (I know, I should do it everyday).

So, what tricks and tips do you have for managing nerves? I’d love to hear.

Together for the first time in one heartwarming volume.

The Convenient Bride: Sienna De Luca will do anything to save her family's hotel, and ruthless Italian businessman Antonio Moretti knows it. With problems of his own, he proposes a marriage of convenience that will secure his next business deal and save Sienna's hotel.

In keeping with her part of the bargain, Sienna travels to Venice with Antonio, who introduces her to a life of luxury and opulence. Antonio soon realizes he has vastly underestimated Sienna. Unexpectedly, she gets too close, and when she discovers his dark secret, Antonio's perfectly planned life begins to unravel . . .

Seducing the Secret Heiress: Diamond heiress, Charlotte Wentworth, is passionate about two things - cooking and her  fiancée, Paul. Until the day she finds out Paul has been unfaithful. 

Charlotte flees to Europe, determined to build her own life without her family's fortune. When she meets gorgeous TV producer, Gabe Grenville, she keeps her connections secret and soon finds herself the star of his new cooking show. But how will he react when he discovers Charlotte's true identity?

Available in print through Big W and other good book stores. Also from Amazon, iTunes and more...