It's June and so Anna Louise Lucia's launch month

Today marks the long awaited launch of Run Among Thorns by Anna Louise Lucia. The RT gave the book 4 1/2 stars and it is a wonderful romantic suspense book. Once I prised it from my dd's hands, I enjoyed it very much.

Anna is a very dear friend of mine. She is the writer that I am most likely to have lunch with, and the sort of person who just is -- a good friend and a good writer.

I have known about this book since about the time I started to frequent eharlequin. Anna was waiting forever on a first read and then revisions. (We met for lunch when she received her second round of revisions) Ultimately, it was not a good fit for SIM, and Anna reworked the book. She then submitted it to the very first Romance Junkies contest and won a read through by the Medallion Press. It then went very quiet as the ms was lost and eventually found. But Anna never gave up. We went out to lunch after she sold.

And for the sake of the reading public, I am very glad. It is a wonderfully escapist read. If you like romantic suspense, you will love Anna Louise Lucia.

Anna is having a contest and several other things. If you are in the UK, you can purchase Run Among Thorns at Amazon.co.uk. Then next June (far too long a wait imho) her second book --Dangerous Lies comes out.

Easter Monday musings

I survived Easter, and the house is now awash with chocolate. Unfortunately much of it is Green and Black's or Thornton's. I shall simply have to exercise more.

On Saturday, I went over to Anna Lucia's. She lives in the sort of wonderfully quirky house that I love. Bits are from different times and the spare bedroom has distinct ghost like feel apparently until they redecorated. Whatever ghosts that are in her house, they appear benign. Julie Cohen was there with the fecklet. She looks wonderfully happy and relaxed. All in all a good time was had. Where Anna lives is wonderfully old fashioned and rural, but my middle said as we came back along Hadrian's Wall that she thought where we lived was not bad either. The Spring sunlight highlighted the wall perfectly -- it was the sort of day that photographers love.

I have started to do my calculations for my next wip. It is getting to the point that I have to begin writing. My critique partners are going to start cracking whips...but I have been writing in my moleskine. I love and adore my moleskine notes books. They are fun to write in but I will have to put words on the computer -- starting tomorrow. It is part of being disciplined.

When I saw Julie and Anna, it was interesting to see the different ways in which writers work. I had a sneak peak of Julie's latest -- all rubber banded and clipped. On the other hand, I use a large binder to keep my manuscript in when I doing revising. I find it easier -- particularly when I come to the random page tightening stage. BTW Julie's cover for it is even better in the flesh as it were. I am sure it will be brilliant. She used David Tennant as a model for her hero. As my middle says -- David Tennant is totally hot in Dr Who. My middle kidnaps Julie's books and reads them. Her favourite thus far is Spirit Willing ,Flesh Weak. Julie very diplomatically said it was up to me if my daughter read those books. All I know is that they are in many ways tamer than the stuff I read at her age. I can well remember reading the John Jakes Bicentenial series (The Bastard, anyone?)when I was 12. So how can I complain?

Kate Hardy said lovely things about Sold and Seduced on her blog. Her comments mean a lot to me as I like her writing, and I respect her judgement. Sold and Seduced has also been reviewed on the PHS review site and I was very pleased with the review there.

I suppose this is the time to remind one and all that I am running a contest. Basically email me with the answer to the question:
Which song is playing on my myspace page?

I am drawing the winners on 14 April. 3 lucky people will receive a signed copy of Sold and Seduced as well as the book that gave me the seed -- The Antonakos Marriage.