I heart Presents blog

Things are a bit complicated and stressful at the moment so I'm not able to post much with limited internet connection and only an iPhone to use. But I do have a new title out so I want to share that with you as much as I can.

So today I wanted to let you know that I have a post over on the I heart Presents blog today. I'm talking about the special challenges of writing Destined For The Desert King and turning  Nabil
from A Question of Honour into a hero when he wasn't so much of one in that story.

Can't work out how to link using the phone but I'm sure you all know where that is!

Hope to see you there!

And I really hope life will get back to normal soon!

The Story Behind the Story

Part of the dedication to A Question of Honour   reads like this:

To my who knows how many 'greats' back ancestor Chevalier Charles Wogan whose real-life story was the inspiration behind my fictional version.

Several  people have asked what this dedication means - and who exactly is the 'Chevalier Charles Wogan' I'm talking about.

I've mentioned the story in a couple of places  on my blog tour, but if you want the full story so that you know exactly who he was and what happened, then  a couple of posts around now will  give you the story.

If you look over over on I Heart Presents  today, you'll find the true story of Charles Wogan and the Polish princess  Clementina.

And on the Tote Bags 'n' Blogs  post  from yesterday there is a bit ore about other books that have been

written about this  hero inspiration, together with a couple of portraits of Wogan himself - and his Clementina.  Though I have to admit that neither of them look very much like Karim and Clemmie  on the cover of the Harlequin version out this month.

So if you've ever wondered about the answer to that question I'm always being asked - 'where do you get your ideas  from'  then here's one example of where mine come from.

There's a chance of winning a giveaway copy of A Question of Honor too if you comment  over at I heart Presents. 

I Heart Presents

Well, I was going to let you know that I have a post over on I Heart Presents on Friday (Friday 13th . . .hmmm .  .was that a good idea?)

Anyway,  that was the plan - along with a reminder that I have my regular blog on Tote Bags 'N' Blog on the 12th (tomorrow)

But then when I went over to check on the link to I Heart Presents, it seems that there is already an advance post for  A Question of Honor up there now - that was a surprise.

So - there is a long extract from A Question of Honor posted on I Heart Presents right now, my personal blog - about the story behind this book  ( from my own family history) will be there on  Friday.

And tomorrow I'll have a blog up on Tote Bags 'n' Blogs when I'll be talking about - something  . .  don't quite know what yet! Any ideas/suggestions anyone?

Catching up again

I'm not sure where the time has gone again.

Well, no - I do know where a lot of it went.

I was travelling, and meeting up with family and friends. With fellow authors. With editors.

I was in the beautiful city of  Cambridge  where I had a lovely family get together and a picnic in the sunshine (when we had sunshine, unlike today) on Jesus Green  after a visit to the outdoor swimming  pool. I met two of my sisters, one of  my brothers in law,  my nephew, and I met my  great niece  for the first time. A memorable afternoon.
In Cambridge I also went to the book launch of a dear friend who was celebrating  the publication of her very first book. You met Anna Sugden when she came  to this blog to join in the 40 for 40 celebrations and I was so happy to be able to join her at her launch party  on the same day as the family picnic - great organising that put both events on the same day.

Home from Cambridge, I just had time to turn round, unpack, do some laundry, pack again -  and head for London.

London was where the annual Association of Mills & Boon Authors lunch was held in the Reading and Writing Room (appropriately enough) of One Whitehall Place - Part of the Royal Horseguards Hotel.  The  guest list there read like a who's who of romance writing. Liz Fielding, Sarah Morgan,  Sharon Kendrick, Fiona  Harper,  Heidi Rice, Kate Hardy, Kate Hewitt,  . . .  If I went on, I'd fill the whole blog with names. There were also the new writers, Michelle Smart, Anna Sugden, Rachel Brimble, Victoria Pembroke, Christy McKellen and brand-new, only just signed Jessica Gilmore.  I also met up with new friend CC Coburn for the first time, face to face. Again, you met her here on this blog last month.

We were given wonderful  'Books are My Bag' goodie bags (thanks to Kate Hardy for letting me borrow the photo - my gift of chocolate didn't survive the Babe Magnet on the journey home!)  Kate also has some great photos of the venue etc on her blog. I didn't take my camera, so I'm relying on her.

She also has pics of the  Meridien Hotel  where the authors'  cocktail party was held  by Harlequin Mills & Boon. Another fabulous venue with  Rossinis (strawberries and champagne) and other delights.  So many new editors to meet and only I  just had time to chat with my own lovely editor before the evening ended. You can read about this event from an editor's point of view over on I Heart Presents.
I want to thank  Fiona Harper,  Heidi Rice and Sharon Kendrick for organising such a fantastic AMBA lunch. And of course I also need to thank Harlequin Mills and Boon for the fabulous cocktail party afterwards.

But there were two other treats in London - as part of the 40th celebrations - I've forgotten how many of the  '40 Special Things' we have crossed off on our list so far  but these two were really special. Well, they were for a theatre fan like me.  The Wednesday evening was spent at the National Theatre watching Othello starring Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear. And Thursday  evening was at the Gielgud Theatre to see Noel Coward's Private Lives  starring Toby Stephens and Anna Chancellor.
Both were totally fabulous - very different, but wonderful in their own ways.  Fabulous.

So now it's back down to earth and to work for a while. There are other events  coming up but for now I need to concentrate on writing.

Which reminds me - if you are interested in  writing and thinking about writing a romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon, don't forget that the annual writing contest - So  You Think You Can Write -  has started again  for this year. You can read all the details on the SYTYCW home page and here, again on I Heart  Presents.

And if you are interested in writing romance  and have ever thought about coming on one of my courses then I have some news for you coming up. 

Watch this space.

June Weddings

It's June - the month for  beautiful weddings. Well, it would be if there wasn't a huge thunderstorm crashing and flashing outside and a torrential downpour flooding the garden,

But June is the month when people's thoughts turn to weddings  - at least they do over on Romantic Friday Writers where the theme for this month - and their writing challenge is all about weddings -  writing a story, romantic or dark, which fits the wedding theme.  -

Denise, who organises things  over on that site,  has also asked me to join in. She asked me to write a post about the  books I've written that have led to weddings via very different routes.  And I was happy to do so. In fact it was fascinating to look back and see some of the ways I've played around with the whoel wedding theme. After all, everyone knows  a romance novel ends with a happy ever after - but that wedding can come before or after the story opens. It can be a wonderfully happy or a desperate, blackmailed event. It can be a marriage of convenience - or a  marriage of revenge.  Just shows you once again that even with some thing as obvious as a wedding in a romance, it all depends how you write it.

What about you? Do you love to see  the actual wedding in a book - or do you prefer the  fuss and fanfare to happen  'off stage' ?
  
Recently over on I Heart Presents, there was a survey to find 'What is your Favourite  Marriage  Trope?'    The winners were forced marriage or marriage of convenience. Do you agree?

Tomorrow my blog will be back on the  Pink Heart Society  site again. Yes, I know I've written my Date With Kate post for June - this one is the second part of The Lady and The Tramp - featuring this handsome hunk 

I Heart Presents . . .

Today's post is over on the  special Presents blog  - I Heart  Presents.

I'm talking about royal romances - because of A Throne For The Taking of course.  Is there a royal romance, modern or historical  that has grabbed your imagination? If so, tell me about it and you could be in with a chance to win a copy of A Throne For The Taking  to read this royal love story.

I heart Presents

I hope you are all having a lovely holiday. We have vistors staying - lovely author  Julie Cohen and her  young son . So today we've  been out visiting a pets farm and the gardens at a nearby hall in spue of the rain.

And today I'm also blogging over at I heart Presents  where I'm talking about the inspiration that was the 'seed'  that grew into The Devil and Miss Jones.