Newsletter and contest

My July newsletter has finally gone out! It has its usual contest for a copy of my latest.
The big news is that Harlequin Historical is going to simultaneous publication in the US and the UK. This means my books will be out at the same time! Hooray.
HOWEVER, 3 of my books will be going as digital exclusives in the North American market (dates to be confirmed but before May 2012) -- Compromising Miss Milton, Breaking the Governess's Rules and To Marry A Matchmaker. I shall be doing a FREE prequel to Compromising Miss Milton which will be available wherever ebooks are sold. Harlequin is supporting me in this and my very lovely editor has agreed to edit the short novella. While I would have loved the books to have print editions in the US, I have decided to be really excited about the challenge and to embrace the opportunities this change presents. The digital revolution is really gathering pace and it is great to be in the forefront.
If you want a print edition of one of those three books, I recommend getting the UK version. New copies of Compromising Miss Milton are hard to come by. In fact, I don't have any personally. My editor is working on getting me a few copies for giveaways when it is released as an ebook.  New copies of Breaking the Governess's Rules and To Marry A Matchmaker are easy to come by. The best place to get copies if you live in the US is The Book Depository (www.bookdepository.co.uk)  as they do free worldwide shipping. Mills and Boon does flat rate shipping and then there is Amazon.ca or Amazon.co.uk.
A number of other UK first Harlequin Historical authors are also caught up in this, so you would need to check if they are going to be digital exclusive or not. This is so the inventory can be caught up. In the UK, unreleased US first books will be going as special 2 in 1 books. Again check your favourite Mills and Boon Historical author's website to see what is happening!!!!
When Ben and Eleanor comes out (sometime after May 2012), it will be going as print and digital in both markets at the same time. Once I know the dates, I will let people know. And this will be true of all my future books as well.

Newsletter and contests

My newsletter has gone out today.On offer for readers of my newsletter are chances to win a Hardback of Breaking the Governess's Rules as well as a copy of Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Romance (the 3rd edition is just out)

Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance is one of the books that I always recommend to aspiring writers of series romance. The new edition provides up to date advice on writing for all of the series. Kate walker covers things like writing with emotion, the importance of the question why. Each chapter finishes with 12 questions to make you think deeper.
If you want to write series romance, you need to read this book. It really is as simple as that.
ISBN 9781842851289
You can get it from Amazon or Book Depository. Make sure it is the 3rd edition.

I turned in my revised full yesterday so it is back to wiaitng to see what my editor thinks. I need to get on with the next one etc etc.

Winners from the November Newsletter

The winners from the November Newsletter are as follows:

Lorraine C -- signed copy of the Viking's Captive Princess

Suzy Roy -- a copy from one of my backlist books


And
Tammy Swift gets the dubious honour of me being her mentor for the year.

All have been contacted via email.

Many thanks for entering.

The November Newsletter

The November newsletter has gone out, complete with contests for readers and my annual writer's contest.

If anyone would like to recieve the newsletter and hasn't, please email me.

The closing dates for both contests is 30 November.

Currently I remain busy trying to revise as I keep finding more problems! Still I had lots of problems with The Viking's Captive Princess and it worked in the end or at least I hope people think it did.

October Newsletter and Mr Rochester

My October Newsletter went out this morning. The Reader contest (void where prohibited) is for a signed copy of Carla Capshaw's debut novel -- The Gladiator. It is the first Roman set historical that Love Inspired Historical has done and is an excellent read. I look forward to reading more books by Carla. If you did not get my newsletter and think you should, I would ask you to resign up and I will forward the newsletter. There is a click through email that you do have to use. The contest closes on 31 October.

I see that Mills & Boon has done a reader survey and Mr Rochester has come top in most romantic literary hero -- beating Sharpe and Mr Darcy. Personally I have been a fan of Mr Rochester since I first read Jane Eyre way back when I first visited my great aunt in South Carolina. Yes, he is a flawed hero but he redeems himself. He is selfish and decides to grab love with both hands when it comes. Would I have been as principled as Jane and left Mr Rochester for the icy moor? The ending scene is wonderful... I may have to re watch Jane Eyre with Toby Stephens...somehow Johnny Lee Miller as Mr Knightley does not give the same thrill.

newsletters, website and contest

My March/April newsletter has gone out. It has its usual reader contest where the prizes are copies of my books. If you have not signed up yet, the sign up is on the side bar. I only ever send out the newsletter when my books are out. There is always some writing tips, a recipe and some historical facts. This time the recipe is the rich poppy seed cake featured in both A Question of Impropriety and Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife. After all it is no good writing about something if you haven't tasted it! The big thing is that it is an old fashioned cake and so there is no leavening. The egg whites provide the lightness so it takes a careful hand.

I have FINALLY updated my website. The big problem has been getting the stupid thing to load. And as I lost the site when my other computer went down, I decided to totally redo the thing. This morning I broke down and telephone the 1&1 help line and the woman on the other end of the phone was very helpful. Within a few minutes, it was done. It is as usual a work in progress, but at least things are up to date with a slightly different look. My books are better arranged now. The problem with these things is you start with one time period or one book and then things just grow...

Tomorrow, I shall be at Unusual Historical and a copy of Impoverished Miss, Convenient Wife is up for grabs to one lucky poster.

Contests and Indoor rowing update

First of all, my thoughts are with all those threatened by Gustav and my prayer is that if it does hit New Orleans the levees hold.

There are a couple of contests on for An Impulsive Debutante -- at Liz Fielding's blog and also at Unusual Historicals. Leave a comment and you will be in the running for a copy.
My newsletter should be going out later today. And its big contest will be for a hardback of A Question of Impropriety. The paperback will be on sale in November. Set in 1813, it is a proper Regency but as it is set in the North East and has to do a little bit with the development of the locomotive, it is also different. You can read an excerpt here.
The newsletter will also have my recipe for plum chutney. The Victoria plum tree is once again overloaded. The tree is the best in the neighborhood for producing Victoria plums and we regularly get over a 100 lbs worth. Yesterday's culinary discovery was that plums make a good substitute for apricots in Moroccan dishes. It is the sweet tartness.

After the second week of indoor rowing, my weight continues to go down and my energy levels increase. Mentally I feel sharper and more focused. A recent study in the US showed that people are more mentally alert after 30 minutes of exercise. Another study (this time from the University of Pittsburgh)showed at overweight women needed to do 275 minutes exercise per week to achieve sustained weight loss. This is about twice the current recommendation. I have been reading my dh's Runner's World.
For a number of reasons, I have now ordered the deluxe seat. The current seat gets uncomfortable when you are rowing for longer than 15 minutes. I have resorted to sitting on a small pillow...
I have also discovered that intervals are killers but are useful. As my times are going down and my ability to row for lower periods is going up, I feel that I am achieving something. But the thing is that it must be kept up. It takes 6 weeks for something to become a habit.
My weight and poor fitness did not come on overnight and it will not disappear overnight, but through steady work Patience and perseverance.

My current wip is almost finished. I can just about taste the end. I think when all is said and done, it will be a good story.

More on character creation

My lovely sister emailed me to say that people are more than their Sun Signs and so I should not be overly concerned. And she is right, but characters are not people with all their wonderful contradictions. Characters need to display types of behaviour that readers can identify with and empathize with. They do not have to be sympathetic but their behaviour should show some sort of logical progression.
Thus while a person may be a number of different influences and impulses, a character is more likely to display or follow a certain arc of behaviour. He or she will have a finite number of motivations whereas a living and breathing human being will often have an infinite number of motivations. The more important a character, the greater the likelihood of many contradictory motivations and impulses.
Anyway, I like to keep things simple and to think along the specific type mode, rather than doing a pick and mix.
Ultimately, I want the characters to reveal their inner selves once they have been put under extreme pressure. It is the choices they make under pressure which defines them. But there has to be a certain amount of internal logic, and the use of astology/ennegrams/Myers Briggs does give me insight into the why and the choices they might make.

In other news: my newsletter and contest went out yesterday. The contest closes on 21 May ( this is the date I should be getting a fireplace in my study) and if you have not signed up, but do so before then, I will send you out the latest newsletter. It also has a recipe for Eccles cakes. And Eccles cakes are far better when they are freshly made, or if they are store bought -- at least warm them up. They date from the 17th century and are a mixture of currants, raisins, cut peel and spices encased in puff pastry.
Anyway, it is back to the current wip and the heroine who is revealing herself slowly. I do worry in some ways that I know more about the hero except that each wip is different and places different demands on the writer.

April Reader's contest

I have drawn the winners from my newsletter contest.
They are:
Jackie Wisherd who wins a hardback copy of Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife

and
Crystal Broyles who wins a paperback copy of one of my backlist books.
I will be doing another contest with my May newsletter.
My newsletter is free and includes details about my upcoming books, writing tips, recipes as well as contests for my books (and sometimes for critques) -- just in case anyone was interested.

April newsletter and contest

I have sent out my April newsletter today and as usual, it does have exclusive contests for people who are signed up to my newsletter. This time the top prize is a signed hardback of Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife. The closing date is 15 April. If anyone does sign up in time for the contest, I will send out a copy of my newsletter wit hthe detail of how to enter. You can find the sign up on the sidebar of this blog. The newsletter also includes my recipe for Lemon curd and its variation -- raspberry curd. I am currently suffering from a surfeit of eggs...

Advanced notice: Kate Walker will be having a blog launch party for the second edition of her book 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance on 8 April. If you want a good primer guide to writing category romance, this is an excellent one. I know her thoughts really helped me when I was writing The Gladiator's Honour. She will be doing a number of giveaways and I have contributed the prize of a signed copy of Sold & Seduced as well as a signed copy of the book that gave me the idea Kate's The Antonaxos Marriage.

December Newsletter and contests

I have done my December newsletter and it has its usual array of contests, plus two recipes. Mrs Charlton's Lambswool Punch and my own eggnog recipe.
There are also contests to win a signed hardback copy of Taken by the Viking as well as one for aspiring writers.
These are exclusive to my newsletter subscribers, so if you wish to take part, do sign up and I will send out my latest newsletter... The sign up is on my sidebar.
If you want a chance to win A Christmas Wedding Wager along with a whole host of other brilliant books, visit Kate Walker's blog for her annual Christmas Stocking contest.

I found out that Gladiator's Honor was out in Greece earlier this year as O Monomaxos. it is a very interesting experience to see my work in an entirely different alphabet. I did take several terms of ancient Greek, and so can recognise a few words. Being published in dfferent languages is one of the perks of writing for HM&B. Harlequins are published in 22 different languages and in 109 different countries.
So far, including English, my books have appeared in 5 different languages.

Newsletter contest

I should point out that there are a few days left to enter the contest for a signed copy of A Christmas Wedding Wager. The details are in my latest newsletter. If you do subscribe before the deadline of 30 November, I will send the details. The contest is for subscribers only.

I will be sending out my next newsletter on 6 December and that will have details of my Christmas competition. Prizes will include a treat from Northumberland and copies of my back listed books.

My current book is coming on. But I am suffering from a sore throat that won't quit and now having done my research on scarlet fever etc, I keep thinking -- strep and oh help. Seriously I do not know how medical authors cope. Needless to say, I am drinking lots of honey and lemon.

Revisions and Cranford

My revisions went off yesterday. My editors made me dig deep and I do think the book is far better for it.

Sometimes, it is very much a question of KNOWING that you should be asking questions and then forgetting. One thing my editors had me do was to look at the hero's attitudes towards marriage, beginning, middle and end. And breaking it down like that gave me added insight. Yes, I knew his attitudes changed,but could I pinpoint the exact moment they changed and highlight it. Reading through the ms I had submitted, I had to agree that the turning points were not as defined as they could have been. And because of that, the ending did feel flat. Anyway, fingers crossed -- all is well.

I now get to do the next book, the sequel to this one. Hopefully the lessons I learnt in my revisions this time will come through with this wip and the revisions will be light. One always lives in thought. Although I do like challenging revisions.

My newsletter went today, complete with the recipe for mincemeat. My next newsletter will be in mid Dec and will have a recipe for Lamb's wool punch.

I was very pleased to read what Kate Hardy had to say about A Christmas Wedding Wager. Kate is a fantastic writer and knows her stuff, so I consider it an honour that she likes my writing. Of course, when I am reading her books, I am apt to forget everything else. They are wonderfully well done Medicals and Modern Heats. Kate also writes non fiction about researching local history and researching the history of your house. Having read them, I find they are very useful indeed to the historical romance writer...

Cranford which had its debut on Sunday is excellent. It is one of those landmark BBC costume dramas. Eileen Atkins as the elder sister, Miss Dorothy steals the show. It is the interaction of the various character that is wonderful to watch. You get the feeling that here are people who have lives. Philip Glenister's character appears to be slightly Gene Hunt in 19th century. In other words -- strong and willing to act -- alpha male. The exact romantic lead has not been telegraphed -- Simon Woods is still in the running as is Greg Wise who plays Sir Charles Maulver. Time will tell and I prepared to shed a few tears, as I am certain several story endings will not end happily. BUT I know what I am doing on the next few Sunday evenings.

October Contest

To celebrate the publication of Taken by the Viking, I am running a contest.

To enter email me the answer to the following question:

In what year does A Christmas Wedding Wager take place? (Hint the answer is on my website)

The winner will recieve a copy of the UK version of A Chrstmas Wedding Wager -- Christmas by Candlelight. This is a duo and also includes Helen Dickson's Wicked Pleasures. The runner up will receive a signed copy of one of my backlist.

Please put October ACWW contest in the heading as I get a lot of spam.
If you are not a member of my newsletter, you will be invited to join my newsletter. My newsletter gives behind the scenes looks at my books, news, recipes, as well as writing tips.

July contest

As those of you who get my newsletter know, I am having a contest. The main prize is a signed hardback version of Taken by the Viking. This is a book that my daughter has been unable to put down. It is a very strange experience to see one's offspring reading and rereading one's book. She also demanded to read the unedited version of The Viking's Conquest, plus keeps trying to discuss the next two books in the quartet. Apparently I am supposed to write a grand epilogue at the end of the last book and put it on my website a la her other current fave Eloisa James.
I have a Regency duet to write before I get to them. It is most disconcerting as I want to concentrate on my current characters.
The second prize is one of my backlist books.
To be in the draw, you need to email me with the answer to the following question: What are the names of the hero and heroine of Taken by the Viking? The blurb and the excerpt can be found on my website.
I will be drawing the winner on 15 July.
My newsletter also has special contests just for subscribers.

Bits and bobs

My head is down and I am busily working through the last of my edits on my current wip. The fact that I really like it means that there will probably be tons of revisions, simply because I am far too close.

I did the draw for my June contest -- Noemie and Jane have been contacted and next time I go to the Post Office, the books will winging their way to them. Many thanks to all who entered.

My next newsletter goes out on 1 July (or thereabouts). Because I am doing a workshop on E harlequin about Goal,Motivation and Conflict -- Upping the stakes, I will be giving away a critque for the first three chapters as having my usual contest for a book...

The current mother duck is an awful mother. She was one of those animals who enjoyed sitting on her eggs far more than the reality of having ducklings. She has a tendency to preen while the ducklings run wild/get into difficulties or simply get lost. She also wanders off leaving the ducklings asleep or eating .They then notice, and run after her cheeping furiously. It is all rather nerve wracking. She started with about 10, and is now down to five...