Just read... Kandy Shepherd

We’re having a long, hot January summer in my part of DownUnder—too hot really. So hot all I could do some days was sit near an air conditioner or fan and read. Turning the pages and lifting a cool drink to my lips was all the effort I could make!

Looking at what I read over the holiday break, I realised it was all romance and thrillers. I do read broadly across all genres as well as literary novels and non-fiction but recent reads, both print and e-books did not include those. Just romance and thrillers.

My family can’t understand why I enjoy thrillers and police procedurals, not shying away from the sometimes gruesome. (Or watch television programs where there is often a deal of screaming involved!) I say it’s because of the suspense of the whodunnit, the way characters react under pressure and danger, and because justice inevitably prevails.

And then there’s romance. Like many romance authors, I’ve often asked why I write romance. The implication is, why don’t I write something “better” than romance. Apart from the perhaps unintentional insult the question implies, I get a little cranky sometimes at having to “justify” what I write. The simple answer is that I love reading romance and decided to write what I enjoy reading!

Looking back (a looong time ago) I realise I always enjoyed stories with even a hint of romance in them—even in children’s books. My introduction to romance novels started with first my grandmother’s collection of Mills & Boon and Women’s Weekly Library that were considered “safe” for a young person’s eyes.

I don’t know that they realised how sensual some of the M&Bs were and how I combed them for the “sexy bits”!

When my mother brought home These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer from the library and told me she thought I would enjoy it, I got hooked on historicals. Then I really got into the “bodice rippers” of the eighties!

What I love about romance? That wonderful feeling of falling in love and that gorgeous, guaranteed happy ending. I love that about chick flicks too (but not when someone dies in the end!)

I still adore category romance, one of the reasons I love being a LoveCat alongside my favourite authors of the genre.  Sometimes I have to pinch myself that my bookshelves at home now include rows of my own books, not only in English but also translations!

Did you fit some reading time over the holiday? What is it you love most about romance? I’d love to see your comments!

What are you reading...?

Being part of a book club that meets once a month means I get to read lots of non romance books intermingled with my daily fix of romance.

Here's what I've been reading this month:

The Woman Who Stole My Life is Marian Keyes' newest release. It's a story about a beauty therapist who becomes an overnight sensation with a book she *wrote* while in hospital, completely paralysed with a rare disease called Guillan- Barre syndrome. And about how the syndrome and the success change her life completely.

The book is written the way a lot of books seem to be written these days...out of chronological order. We flick back and forth between the past and the present, and while this isn't too difficult to follow you do have to keep reminding yourself where you are.

I think I've read all of Keyes' books and loved her earlier works with a passion; one of the first 'chick lit' authors, her stories were always littered with emotion and humour. This one lacks a lot of the humour, but has lots of emotion and those endearing Irish accents....

The Girl On The Train had me up at night desperate to finish it. It's a psychological thriller (not something I usually read) written from three women's POV.

Rachel, the main protagonist, travels on the commuter train to London every morning and every evening and stares out of the window watching the world go by. The train always stops at a junction next to a row of houses and she has made up stories in her head about the lives of one of the couples there. (not sure if this makes me weird, but I do that a lot ;-)). One day she sees something that she knows is wrong and detrimental to the couple's lives...

Again this book is written in the past and the present..so we have three women and different timelines, so it did get a little confusing- but the scenes are all headed with the name of the character so it's not too onerous! This story was a little like Gone Girl, in that the narrators seemed unreliable in their recounting of events, and they weren't particularly likeable..but it was an awesome read!!

US by David Nicholls, author of One Day. This book made me laugh and cry so hard! The story follows the hapless scientist Douglas who is getting ready for his life to change once his son leaves home and goes to university. He doesn't realise just how much it is going to change until his wife tells him, in the middle of one night, that she is leaving home too. He manages to convince her to go on the Grand Tour of Europe that he has arranged (both wife and son are artists)...and they all embark on a trip that definitely changes all their lives. It is written with such humour and longing and determination that Douglas will keep his family together that you are desperately willing him on. It has tones of The Rosie Project in it too. I loved it.

I see that The Light Between Oceans was published in 2013, so I'm a bit behind the eight ball with this one. I picked it up last night in bed and loved the lyrical language and effortless beautiful descriptions about life on a lighthouse on a deserted coast in Australia in the 1920s. I only managed a few pages (I was tired after watching cricket the night before!)...I'll keep you posted.








Of course, I always have to have my fix of romance books- I have the first in the brand new Sarah Morgan series to start just as soon as I finish The Light Between Oceans, plus the 175 books on my kindle waiting to be finished!








Oh and talking of books...I just got the cover for my Medial romance May release: Tempted By Her Italian Surgeon...what do you think?

What are you reading? Any gems to share?