Written Fireside - Part Six!!!

Grab that toasting fork and lob that hotdog in the bin, you know you're never going to finish it now the marshmallows are up!!



pic used under creative commons from mynameisharsha

Yes, it's the moment you've all been waiting for! After AJ Nuest's nailbiting last instalment, the time has finally arrived for Part Six of Written Fireside - 'For Clara', the travelling blog hop story.

If you haven't a clue what I'm talking about, well you've missed a treat! Not to mention the first course of burgers and hotdogs. But no matter, you can pick the whole story up right from the beginning using the following links:

PART 1 - Lori Connelly

PART 2 - Teresa Morgan

PART 3 - Carmel Harrington

PART 4 - Romy Sommer

PART 5 - A J Nuest

And now without further ado, here is my first contribution...

PART 6

     Clara snapped off the flashlight and jerked her fingers back from the wall panel as if it were red hot. With her back pressed against lumpy plaster and peeling wallpaper, she sidled along until she could peek though the gap at the edge of the shabby lace curtain and down to the driveway below.

     Her heart hammered in her drum-tight chest and a panicky flash seared through her brain – ‘…caught, I’m caught…’

     She was so certain that it would be Derek’s porky silhouette she would see below that her breath caught in surprise when instead a shaft of moonlight picked out Mark’s muscular frame in silver. He crunched across the gravel toward the front door, glancing with interest at her own car, parked alongside his. She may as well have hung a neon flashing sign on the house – CLARA IS HERE. It hadn’t occurred to her to hide the car – why would it? No one knew about this place except for her– right?

     Unless hers wasn’t the only note Barbara had left behind.

     He couldn’t have followed her, she’d driven past him in the café. How else could Mark know about the summer house? Had her friend contacted Mark too from beyond the grave? Did she mean to bring them together somehow?

     Nothing was certain anymore. She ached miserably to talk to Barbara, knowing she never could. They’d survived this long by working as a team. She really wasn’t sure she was up to the challenge of seeing this through alone.

     But maybe she wasn’t meant to.

     As the door banged below and footsteps progressed steadily up the stairs she darted back to the wall panel. She would hear what Mark had to say. She would keep an open mind. But behind the panel was her only bargaining chip, and she wasn’t about to give that up. Barbara had meant her to find it, she was sure of that, and she wasn’t about to share it. She fumbled madly with the secret panel, shoving her hand into the dark space behind it as the footsteps got louder. And she managed to stuff the cloth-wrapped bundle under her sweater just as the door banged open.



And we're at the halfway mark. For the next instalment head back over to Lori Connelly's blog... See you there. Last one there gets the burnt waffle!

I'm Visiting!

I'm talking about my writing routine and All Bets Are On over at the lovely Rachel Brimble's blog today. Come over and keep me company if you have time! http://rachelbrimble.blogspot.co.uk/

My First Kiss!

No not THAT first kiss!! You don't want to hear about braces on teeth, school discos and red-haired Stewart Simpson who was a couple of inches shorter than me.

 

I'm talking about my first Harlequin KISS!

Known to those who followed this blog for the latter part of last year as The Book From Hell, it has since been renamed with the gorgeous title 'All Bets Are On'. And I am skipping around the house in excitement because release week has finally come around.

I got to read and approve the final edited version of All Bets Are On early this year, and to my utter amazement somewhere amidst all the angsting and crashing of head on table, the story somehow redeemed itself into being funny, sweet, engaging and (I think) the best thing I've written for Harlequin/M&B so far. For this I must thank my fabulous editorial team and also my family who put up with my whining and even threw ideas into the brainstorming mix (Lib I'm looking at you!) instead of forcing me to move out and live in the shed, I really wouldn't have blamed them.

So without further ado:

THE BLURB:

The stakes are high, but the prize is worth it!

Ask Alice Ford to shine in the boardroom and it's a done deal. Ask her to go on a first date, however, and she's a quivering mess! So, when she discovers that she's the target of an office bet—to get her into bed—it's her professional nightmare!

Office legend Harry Stephens is her unlikely saviour. He even volunteers to teach her just how to avoid a heartbreaker. After all, it takes one to know one….

But what is Harry really after? And when his kisses throw a curveball into the situation, is Alice ready to gamble  everything for love?

THE EXCERPT:

     'If you're thinking about dating again, maybe you'd like to go for a drink,' he said.

     'With you?'

     The question exploded from her lips in the form of a laugh. Because it was laughable, wasn't it? That after her past experiences she would look twice at someone like him?

     'Your amusement could be construed as an insult, you know,' he said mildly.

     'I can't,' she said. 'Sorry.'

     In Harry Stephens's world, of course, no meant maybe. He realised it was a simple matter of finding the right approach. Start small. And most important of all, offer some kind of incentive. Make her think he could be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

     'Just hear me out,' he said. 'I've got a proposition for you.'

     'What kind of proposition?'

     The upset tone had slipped from her voice. He could almost hear the ticking over of her mind. Her attention had been raised because he'd given his question a detached work-style tone.

     'I'm exactly what you need,' he said. 'To help you get back out there.'

THE LINKS:

UK Amazon: http://amzn.to/18XYDbx
US Amazon: http://amzn.to/1bC70Ji
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/15xeOqQ
The Book Depository: http://bit.ly/1bC7gIb

I'll be back soon with an update on the second in my Do Not Disturb trilogy, working title Room Service, featuring hot tennis player hero. I am currently racing against time (school breaks up imminently and the small one will be back in control) to get it subbed.

Happy summer all! xx

The Tasty Summer Reads Blog Hop!

 I’m taking part in the Tasty Summer Reads Blog Hop with my current release Your Room Or Mine? (see sidebar for buy links)

Follow the links on the hop to get lots of lovely inspiration for summer reads - all authors taking part will be discussing their current summer release or WIP and also offering up a tasty recipe that ties into it! Mine doesn't even involve any cooking - what's not to like!?

 

HOP QUESTIONS...

1)When writing are you a snacker? If so, sweet or salty?

I am a terrible snacker and my snack of choice is biscuits. I choose Rich Tea Fingers, not because they are the yummiest of biscuits (they’re not) but because they are about 22 calories per biscuit and I can kid myself that even after I’ve eaten ten or so, the calorie count isn’t desperate!

2) Are you an outliner or someone who flies by the seat of their pants? Are they real pants or jammies?

I am an outliner. I have a scene list, with brief notes on what takes place, for my entire story before I start writing. Writing by the seat of my pants/jammies fills me with terror.

3) When cooking or baking, do you follow the recipe exactly or wing it?

I follow the recipe exactly and if I don’t have one of the ingredients I worry constantly while it cooks that it will be ruined. I am not a confident cook. I wish I was one of those people who could just throw the contents of the fridge in a wok and come out with a masterpiece. Hmm, noticing a pattern here with my writing and my cooking. Apparently I'm not a pantser when it comes to the kitchen either!

4) What is next for you after this book?

I am currently writing the next book in the trilogy, another standalone fun and sexy romance but with the same backdrop as Your Room Or Mine? – an exclusive boutique hotel in London. This time around my hero is a gorgeous pro tennis player with a playboy lifestyle and my heroine is the Guest Services assistant who for her own reasons, loathes all things celebrity. See my Pinterest board (button at sidebar) for some of my inspiration.

5) Last Question...on a level of one being slightly naughty to ten being whoo whoo steamy, where does your book land?

I would say a 7. It’s pretty hot and explicit but there’s nothing weird in there! I would call it romantica– the language used is definitely more contemporary romance than erotica.
 

And here is my summer recipe! In Your Room Or Mine? Izzy and Oliver are a bit too wrapped up in each other to eat much of the time, but their story takes place in summer, and there's a particular steamy scene involving a spoon (enough said). Eton Mess would definitely be one recipe you could eat with one!

Can’t-Go-Wrong Eton Mess

Buy the following:

1 pack of 8 meringue nests

500 g strawberries

400ml double cream

Serves 4

Wash, hull and halve the strawberries, then take a handful and squash with a fork into mush. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Put the strawberries, cream and strawberry mush into a bowl and roughly crumble the meringue nests in. Fold the whole lot together without overmixing. Spoon into serving glasses and voila! Serve immediately.

 For more stops on the tour, and more fabulous summer reads and summer recipes, check out the very lovely Angela Campbell and Rae Rivers

My First KISS and a Giveaway!!

My first book for Harlequin KISS, All Bets Are On, is released 23rd July! This is my third book for Harlequin/Mills & Boon, but it is the first one to see a North American release so I am jump-up-and-down excited! My previous two titles were available only via the UK Direct to Consumer programme. (Although do watch this space as I have hopes they may get a bit more of an airing fairly soon!)

 

To celebrate I am having a Goodreads Giveaway - my first one ever. It will run throughout July, and all you need to do is click on the sidebar button and sign up to be in with a chance of winning a paperback copy of All Bets Are On!
 

The stakes are high but the prize is worth it!

Ask Alice Ford to shine in the boardroom and it's a done deal. Ask her to go on a first date, however, and she's a quivering mess! So, discovering that she's the target of an office bet...to get her into bed - it's her professional nightmare!

Office legend Harry Stephens is her unlikely saviour. He even volunteers to teach her just how to avoid a heartbreaker. After all, it takes one to know one...

But what is Harry really after? And when his kisses throw a curved ball into the situation, is Alice ready to gamble everything for love?

 

 If you fancy an office romance with a fun twist set in lovely Autumnal London, head on over to Goodreads now!!

News!

I know, I know. I've been on a sliding scale of pants when it comes to blogging but I have reasons.

Since the super exciting whirlwind of selling to HarperImpulse, I've been getting some lovely reviews for Your Room Or Mine? and in the wake of all that lovely self-validation there I was thinking I can finally do this writing thing! Your Room flowed from my pen in the space of three weeks (three weeks that included Christmas in them!) and so when I started on my next book for Harlequin KISS, I thought it meant that I actually had a clue what I was doing now. Wouldn't the same flowing story experience happen?

I now grudgingly realise that I will probably never know fully what I 'm doing. There will always be a bit of me that's winging it and wondering if I really can do this again.

*pauses to chuck stone at doubt crow*

The first three chapters of Book #4 went down well, so off I went, doing more of the same, smugly believing that this is it - I've cracked it! - and then I checked in with my editor at the halfway point and found that the book wasn't working, The hero was coming across as mean and the plot needed a different direction. NOOOOOOO!

Cue crashing-head-on-desk angsting of monumental proportions, combined with the new fear that I've taken on too much with my new commitment to writing sexy novellas. I ended up making big changes to the first three chapters and scrapping-and-rewriting chapters four to six. Rewrites are truly horrid. Time consuming and draining and I went at them with grouchy muttering.

The true up-and-down rollercoaster of writing has really shown itself to me this last couple of months. I've just handed in the finished ms for Book #4, expecting more rewrites and hefty revisions, fully prepared this time, filled with doubt about what I'd done, and to my amazement and utter relief the book has been accepted with no need for more work.

I am beginning to understand that I have no inner gauge of whether my writing is good enough or not. The nearest I can get is that it's good enough for me to feel comfortable when sending it in that at least it won't be laughed out of the room. Good enough is a whole different thing. Maybe it comes from being too close to the project - the last few chapters are always really intense for me when I'm writing them and I can't really see wood for trees.

Anyway - I am delighted and breathing a bit easier because I now have a bit more time to play with before my next novella deadline. I'm busy plotting it all out now and getting ready to start writing. And in the meantime, I'm very excited to be able to share my cover for my August KISS release, All Bets Are On (aka The Book From Hell). What do you think?

The cover fairy as well as the title fairy have smiled on me this time! Alice and Harry look exactly like this in my head, which isn't always the case (am thinking especially of my first release Secrets of the Rich & Famous here, for which the hero on the cover is inexplicably ginger and a bit of a moose when he should look like Alex O'Loughlin).

Not so this time, I'm so pleased with it, and I really love the colour popping style of the new KISS covers. This will be my first NA release with Harlequin so I am extra specially excited.




Thanks for bearing with me, and I will be back soon with a progress update on the next Do Not Disturb novella. :0)

Release Day!!

Today is release day for my fun contemporary short romance Your Room Or Mine?, the first in a series of three linked books, and I'm so excited!! It's been a real whirlwind - I only finished writing the story at the end of January, I had no publisher lined up for it and no idea if it was good enough to end up anywhere.

To have it published just a few months later by fab new imprint HarperImpulse really is a dream.

I'm visiting over at the lovely Aimee Duffy's blog later today along with Romy Sommer, who shares my release day with her fabulous contemporary story Waking Up In Vegas. Drop over and see us if you have time :0)







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