Best present ever...

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today is the 20th anniversary of my Best Present Ever. Now, to be perfectly honest, Mr Douglas and I don’t normally go in for Valentine’s Day presents, but he made an exception 20 years ago.

Why?

Because it was our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple…and we’d been married for less than three weeks. :-)

An awful lot of you will know that we eloped to London and spent our wedding night in the Dorchester (best hotel ever). Here’s a picture of the newly married me in our ‘Double Deluxe Room with Four Poster Bed and Views of Hyde Park.’ I look pretty happy, huh?

Well…before we left London for Australia over a week later, Mr Douglas managed to sneak back to the Dorchester to buy one of their amazingly plush robes for me. He smuggled it back in his suitcase and then hid it for a week before surprising me with it on Valentine’s Day. I never suspected a thing!

Happy sighs. :-)

So in honour of that memory, and of Valentine’s Day, I’m giving away a copy of my February Mills & Boon Australian Favourites duo: Her Irresistible Protector and The Rebel and the Heiress. All you have to do to enter the draw is to leave a comment telling me what has been your favourite present ever. :-) Good luck. Oh, and have a happy Valentine’s Day!

 Her Irresistible Protector

When Officer Mitchell King — her ex and the only guy Tash Buckley has ever loved — arrives on her doorstep, claiming she needs his protective custody, Tash is more concerned by the heart-fluttering, pulse-racing effect he still has on her!

Confined to Mitch’s beachside cabin, Tash finds it increasingly difficult to resist her delicious protector...

The Rebel And The Heiress

After losing her family fortune, it’s time for once-privileged Nell Smythe-Whittaker to make it on her own…with a little help from delicious bad boy Rick Bradford!

Rick hasn’t seen Nell since childhood, but with a family mystery to solve Rick needs Nell as much as she needs him. Yet with a past as chequered as his, can Rick ever be good enough for this beautiful heiress? It’s something he’s willing to prove...

Valentine’s Day – Love It? Hate It?

Just a week to go to the Day of Love – Valentine’s Day. Being a romance writer, I love Valentine’s Day. I know lots of people hate the commercial side of things (and I do too) but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a little loving focus on the one nearest and dearest to you.

And to celebrate it doesn’t have to be expensive or predictable (although again, I’m very happy with a big bunch of flowers). Picnic in the park together. Kayak down the creek together. Salsa in the sunshine together. Cooking pork chops together. Walk the wallaby together (well dog just didn’t alliterate!). It’s the being together and having a lovely time that counts.

As a romance writer, I’m often asked to speak at an event around this time.  This year, I’m travelling up to the Sunshine Coast to speak to the Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network.  In fact, just as this post goes live, I’ll be driving up the coast to Queensland. I used to live on the Sunshine Coast, so it will be lovely to go back. Love to see you there, if you live up those parts.

Do you have plans for this Valentines Day? Do you celebrate it or believe it is now too commercial to indulge in?

Stop Press! My best-selling romance, The Billionaire’s Pursuit of Love, is currently on sale for $1.99. If you’d like to pick up a copy, visit Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, Google Play or other e-tailers.

Hearts and flowers and all that jazz

I thought I’d continue on with the theme that Jen started on Monday—Valentine’s Day. I mean, we’re romance writers here at the LoveCats and we know a thing or two about romance, right?

Well, we certainly do in our writing worlds, though our real-life worlds can be…well, somewhat different. ;-)

Mr Douglas and I have never really worried too much about Valentine’s Day. Mind you, every year he does double-check this with me in case I’ve changed the rules (bless his heart). :-) I mean, we exchange cards but that’s about it. Sometimes he’ll grab me a pretty bunch of flowers…but he surprises me with flowers throughout the year too. I might grab him some chocolate, but, again, that happens all throughout the year.

All that said, we have had a couple of Valentine Day highlights.

One year I was sick with a miserable cold, so he bought me the soundtrack to my favourite movie—When Harry Met Sally. He set me up on the lounge with a soothing drink and a box of tissues, put the movie in the dvd player and the CD in the CD player and handed me both remotes. That’s true love right there.

But the absolute best Valentine’s Day surprise was the one right after we were married. Now many of you will know that I eloped to London to get married and that we spent our honeymoon night in The Dorchester. It’s still the most amazing, plushest hotel I have ever stayed in.

Me at The Dorch (in our double deluxe room with four poster bed and views of Hyde Park)

We then spent three nights in Paris before returning to London for another few days. Well, on our last day in London Mr Douglas managed to sneak out to The Dorch and buy me one of their amazing bathrobes. Not only that, but he managed to hide it from me for the entirety of the next month until Valentine’s Day. I was gobsmacked…and over the moon when he presented it to me. We still say that’s the best present ever.

I’m of the firm belief that true love is about a whole lot more than flowers and chocolates. Still…it’s kinda nice to have a day dedicated to celebrating romance.

From me to you: Happy Valentine's Day!

So what about you? Do you have a happy Valentine’s Day tale to tell…or maybe a Valentine’s Day disaster? And to my fellow Cats, is it all hearts and flowers at your place on Valentine’s Day or business as usual? ;-)

Love is in the Air

Can you feel it? Love is in the air. Valentine’s Day is just a few days away.  I have a few things going on this week in celebration of the day of love.

Library Lover’s Week

As part of Byron Library Lover’s Week, I’ve been invited to do an author’s chat this coming Wednesday. I love listening to authors speak about their books, their writing process and their writing inspiration. I’m so privileged to live in Byron and each August I enjoy the Byron Bay Writers Festival which is held just down the road. Last year I was lucky enough to be on a romance panel with the hilarious Mandy Nolan and fellow LoveCat Amy Andrews.  We had a blast.

So, I’m currently preparing what I’m going to speak about on Wednesday and I’d love to know what you like to hear authors discuss at these types of events.

Valentine’s Day Sale

My fabulous publisher, Penguin’s Destiny Romance, is celebrating Valentine’s Day with a sale of the first book in my Billionaire Romance Series, The Billionaire’s Pursuit of Love. You can pick it up now online for just 99 cents. It’s a lovers reunited story that plays out between the high life in London and an orangutan sanctuary in Brunei.

The inspiration for The Billionaire’s Pursuit of Love came when I attended a seminar held by a charity dedicated to saving the world’s orangutans. The wildlife workers lived in very basic conditions, working in the mud, rain and heat to ‘mother’ the baby orangutans until they could look after themselves – a little like human babies.

I then read a newspaper article about a man who’d designed one of the world’s most successful computer games and was worth millions. He lived a classic urban, jet set lifestyle.

I wondered what it would be like if two people, from such incredibly different worlds, were brought together through a twist of fate that just wouldn’t let them go. This is what happens to wildlife warrior, Sarah Walker and global technology guru, Blake Huntington-Fiennes.

So, wishing you a week of love and laughter. Happy Valentine’s Day for Saturday!

The Billionaire’s Pursuit of Love is available from Amazon, iTunes, Google, Destiny Romance and Penguin.  

Celebrate Cupid's Day

freedigitalphotos.net, sippokron

Can you feel it? The love floating in the air? The romance wafting about the place?

Yes, it’s that time of year. Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us. And I love it.

So many people are critical of the commercial nature of Valentine’s Day but I think there is nothing wrong with shining a romantic spotlight on your relationship. With all the pressures of raising a family, building a career, staying fit and healthy and performing all the mundane tasks required to maintain a functioning household, romance can often slide away in the face all of those demands. 

And, there’s no need to be pushed into something clichéd, costly or kitsch to make the day special. Moonlit walks on the beach, free. Handmade card, free. A playlist of my favourite songs, free. Voucher for cooking dinner every night, free (I’ve been making a lot of hints about that one!!)

freedigitalphotos.net, markuso

My husband and I usually go out for a candlelit dinner (well they are a cliché for a reason – I love candlelit dinners). We always talk about how we met. How we looked across a crowded room (yes, our relationship is cliché central) and knew in that instant something special had happened. How we lived on different sides of the world (me, London; him, Brisbane) or different cities (me, Melbourne and Durham, USA, him, Brisbane) due to career commitments for the next two years before we could finally live together. How we got to know each other through letters (no email or cheap phones/skype calls back in the IT dark ages) and what a lovely way it was to learn about each other. I read those letters often for inspiration for my stories and for how men express themselves when they are first falling in love.

Yes, I’m a die hard romantic. Lucky, considering the career I’ve chosen. So, this Valentine’s Day I’ll have dinner with my partner of the last 20 years and think, isn’t it lovely that we’ve taken time out of our crazy lives to gaze into each others eyes and reminisce about how lucky we were to see each other across that crowded room.

Jennifer’s latest novel, The Billionaire’s Pursuit of Love is out now available from Amazon, iTunes, Google, Penguin and Destiny Romance.

Happy Valentines Cat Tray-ler Sunday

Valentine's Day Cat Tray-lers are all about love.

As usual there is Simon's Cat. The second is a couple of unusual friends - a cat and his mouse friend - it's love.

The third is montage of love cats.

And lastly I have added some cute to make you go aaawwwhhhh!!!!

So enjoy our CAT Tray-lers on its own dedicated page right here