A season for giving

Current work: Medical, polishing
Listening to: Joni Mitchell, Blue (superb album - one of my favourites)
Reading: Kelly Hunter, Playboy Boss, Live-in Mistress (excellent read and great secondaries)

It's coming up for Christmas - the season for giving.

Jo Leigh, a fellow Harlequin author, lost her husband to cancer back in June. Not only did she lose the love of her life but, because she’s in the US and is self-employed, she has huge medical bills to deal with on top of it. So the romance writing community is rallying round to help with a grand auction.

This is particularly poignant for me because, only 10 days ago, I was having fairly major worries about being in a similar position myself in a few months’ time. Luckily, DH had the all-clear, but there but for the grace of God. (And he’s not better yet, though he’s insisting on going back to work. Sigh. Men.)

Anyway, if you’re interested in getting a book bundle or a critique (agent/editor/author) or mentoring or additional items, please click on the button below to see what’s up for grabs:

I’m offering a bundle of five signed copies - One Night, One Baby; The Doctor's Royal Love Child; Hotly Bedded, Conveniently Wedded; The Greek Doctor's New-Year Baby; and The Spanish Doctor's Love Child. (Go here if you want to bid for the bundle.)

So if you want to do something to help Jo (and also help yourself by getting a critique or mentoring or some good reads – or even buy someone else a Christmas present), please go and join the bidding.

Thanks.

And thank you also to readers who put me at #3 yesterday on the e-Harlequin top 10 bestsellers with Hotly Bedded, Conveniently Wedded. Really made my evening. Especially as, at that point, the book was pre-order only!

Am polishing the last half of the Med at the moment. Have been watching ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ (very pleased that Tom got through – yep, that’s my vote for the final) for inspiration. Am still mulling over the wedding ‘first dance’ song. I need a proper waltz (i.e. something in 3/4 time – annoyingly, all the songs I’ve picked or looked through in my piano books are 4/4 – and rats, that includes Take That’s ‘Rule The World’, which is just fabulous – will earmark that for another one). Not ‘Moon River’, as I’ve used it before; and not ‘Time in a Bottle’ (ditto). I was thinking maybe my own wedding song, Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Need Your Love So Bad’ (hey, would you guess DH is a blues fan?). But I’m open to suggestions...

following the dust

Current work: Medical, chapter 10/11 (dirty draft)
Listening to: Corelli (soothing stuff needed)
Reading: next on TBR pile

Everything here is chaos. Conservatory: full of cabinets from utility room. Dining room: full of stuff from half of said cabinets, plus stools from kitchen breakfast bar. Kitchen: full of stuff from other half of utility cabinets. Breakfast bar: taken up by beer fridge, and dehumidifiers underneath. Kitchen bin: buried somewhere, so have temporary bin (aka recyclable carrier bag) on worktop next to sink.

And over everything is a fine layer of dust. You can clean it up with a damp cloth and, ten minutes later, it’s back just as thickly. So there’s no point in doing it, and even less point in getting stressed about it. Though I have to say it’s a tad beyond my mess tolerance limit (which is pretty broad to start with). The smell is horrible – it’s back to living in a building site. I’ve had to cancel plans for the weekend (‘early Christmas’ with the godmothers) because I cannot ask people (even if they are my closest friends) to stay in this mess, and I don’t want to cook a proper Christmas dinner (turkey and trimmings) in a kitchen that reeks of wet concrete/screed/plaster and has dust settling everywhere.

Amazingly, I’m still working. It might only be one chapter on from yesterday… but I tinkered with some earlier ones as well. And I hit the wordcount I need to be on track for finishing the book this week.

OK. Distraction time. Very interesting news here at NASA about a discovery through the Hubble telescope: a planet orbiting another star. (They’re 25 light years away, mind. 147,000,000,000,000 miles.) I particularly like the quote about “following the dust” – yeah, that’s what writing a book is like, for me. Something small that leads you to something bigger.

At the moment, I keep coming across references to glass. I’ve used fulgurites before (in One Night, One Baby); and my plan for the current contract’s books involved a storyline around glass. Murano glass, maybe. (This is possibly an excuse to write a Venetian book and therefore buy a glass bead for my Pandora bracelet – but note the original idea came to me about a year before I discovered Pandora.) Or dichroic glass, which was in my original notes for the storyline. And my mate Michelle Styles has recently fascinated me with this Claude glass business (see her recent book, An Impulsive Debutante, for more details). I’m also researching stained glass – this is for a commissioned nonfic book, but I have the distinct feeling that I’m going to be writing a novel involving glass in a couple of months’ time, because this seems to be the pattern right now.

Um. This seems to be turning into a craft post. So let me state here, yes, I know that this is not how a romance writer is supposed to work. A romance is about the hero, the heroine and their journey together. The characters always, but always, have to come first.

But this is my take on how it works for me. It’s the little things (aka following the dust) that lead me to the characters. My imagination clearly works in an oblique fashion, because I don’t always start with the characters. It’s more likely that something else leads me to them – usually something involving science or history. It might be the fact that I’m fascinated by clouds (One Night, One Baby); or the fact that my dream house came up for sale and was way beyond my means (Sold to the Highest Bidder!); or the fact I was organising a firework display and wanted to know how glow-sticks work (Seeing Stars); or it might be something I uncover during my research for my nonfiction books. (We’re back to glass, again…)

The lightbulb (also glass?) goes on. And then the characters come in and say, ‘Hey, that’s my story.’ When I wake up with the first (or last) scene in my head, I know I’m ready to work on the book.

I know this goes against what all the craft books say: I’m supposed to start with the character and the conflict and ignore everything else. I’ve told my head this, but it’s too busy following the dust – so I’ve learned to stop worrying about the way I’m supposed to work, and to work in the way that’s comfortable for me. (If anyone else out there finds craft books paralyse them: you’re really not alone. They give me a bad case of Impostor Syndrome. Should I be reading them to raise my game? Should I be worrying? Um… The lowest grade I’ve ever had in an exam is the one for which I worked hardest. So I think it’s maybe better to stop worrying and trust my instincts.)

Given that my next book is the Norway book (my lovely, lovely ed has OK’d the revised outline) and the one after that is a Med, this means that this glass business is two books away. Which gives it time to bubble nicely in the back of my mind – and also gives me time to persuade the kids that we need to go and see a glass-blowing display in the next school holidays. They won’t need much persuasion, provided the place I have in mind is near a café that sells chocolate cake – the younger members of my research crew are very predictable.

Glass. Tougher than it looks. (I think that’s my heroine.)

Wonder what my head’s going to find in the huge amount of dust in the building site formerly known as my house?

France

Current work: articles/nonfic
Listening to: Kathryn Williams
Reading: Donna Alward, Falling for Mr Dark and Dangerous (enjoyed this very much – and I really loved learning about the Chinook wind. What makes a book extra-special for me is if I learn something new. This ticked the boxes. Oh, and I want some of that cake. Note to self: ask Donna for recipe)

Finished the revisions last night. Quite late. Here’s hoping my ed likes them. Interestingly, she asked me to take something out of the original outline. Her revision notes said to me that my original plan was the way to go. Have nicked a location from my mate Fiona Harper, also inspired by a blog post from my mate Jan Jones. (Will admit to this properly if it stays in the book – I might end up with another set of revisions on this one.) My beloved spaniel has a walk-on part in it. (Not that you’d know it. He’s snoring gently on his bed, next to my desk.)

Spent the morning with Dad; came home to a French copy of One Night, One Baby (and a superb title – La promesse d’un inconnu).




This is a view of London I know quite well, as we normally end up on the river if it’s dry and not over-cold. And of course, where the picture would have been photographed, there are, ahem, lamp posts. (My mate Amy Andrews hasn’t quite yet recovered from that scene in The Cinderella Project!)

Plan for the rest of today: lunch with dog (very brief), articles, and a bit of work on my nonfic…

D is for...

Current work: nonfic; MH duo book 2
Listening to: Kathryn Williams
Reading: Next on TBR pile

Disaster. Which is the zone my life appears to have entered for the last three weeks.

It's also for something else scary. Dentist. Yup... there was I, keeping all fingers and toes crossed that all the disasters had gone. But at 3.30 am on Wednesday morning, I was hunting through the medicine cabinet for painkillers.

8.30, lovely receptionist answered the phone and booked me in for lunchtime. Arrive with kids and timidly ask who's going to see me. To my relief, NOT the dentist who hurt me last year. To my even bigger relief, a female dentist.

She did the usual tapping things. Teeth refused to react. Then: 'Oh, you've got a loose bit in your filling.' Out comes enormous needle. Two children sitting in the corner look horrified. This is a Good Opportunity, to be seized immediately. 'This is what will happen to you if you don't clean your teeth properly without me having to nag you...'

Into the waiting room. 'How loud is a drill?' asks littlest. I explain that she can hear a drill going right now. 'Can we stay here?'

Actually, am glad they did because the decayed bit (just like last year) was nasty. The words 'root canal' and 'extraction' were suggested as possibilities, countered by 'you'll need to sedate me first'.

Right, back to nice things. Remember there are still books to be won. A copy of The Spanish Doctor's Love Child at Love is the Best Medicine - where I'm talking about the lure of the Mediterranean; and at The Writing Playground, a copy of One Night, One Baby is up for grabs.

castles

Current work: nonfic; MH duo book 2

Listening to: various piano stuff

Reading: Next on TBR pile

I forgot to mention our trip out on Friday (needed to escape for a bit). Went to Orford Castle, which was built by Henry II as one of his defences to keep the Bigods in check. There's also a fascinating story about a merman.

And there's a very strange opening just outside the constable's chamber.

According to the audio guide, this is a rare urinal. (Sorry. I know it's not exactly a salubrious topic. But I was fascinated. It didn't even occur to me: I'd thought garderobes and possibly chamber pots.)

We also visited Framlingham Castle, which is pretty (but practically empty - inside there's a newer building which was formerly a workhouse and a school). Mary Queen of Scots was pronounced queen from here.

You can walk right round the castle walls, at the top - fabulous view. But it's only when you walk round the outside of the castle as well that you notice something about the walk... (That rickety-looking bridge isn't rickety. The real thing is much less scarier than from this viewpoint.)

The loss assessors came yesterday and were really, really nice and helpful. Am shocked by how bad the damage is, though. Three rooms' worth of flooring to be redone... all from one little leak. Not sure how much damage on the cabinets. I did squeak when it turned out our garage wall is damp - because on the other side of that wall are 2,000 books, some of which are antiquarian (think colour, mid 19th-century, i.e. expensive). But my office floor readings are OK so hopefully all is well.

They're coming back next week to do more readings; in the meantime, we have a dehumidifier and fans in. And weeks of disruption to the kitchen!

So now for nice stuff. You can still go into the draw to win a copy of The Spanish Doctor's Love Child at Love is the Best Medicine - where I'm talking about the lure of the Mediterranean.

And I'm also blogging today at The Writing Playground, where a copy of One Night, One Baby is up for grabs. Come and say hello - I'm talking about heroes!

(Yeah, yeah. We all know who that means...)

Lovely review -and still in the Waldies

Current work: nonfic; MH duo book 2
Listening to: various piano stuff
Reading: India Grey, Mistress: Hired for the Buisnessman’s Pleasure (lovely read – and I’m not biased just because I suggested the Chopin *g* - Orlando is wonderfully drawn, as is Rachel)


Had a lovely review from Cataromance for The Spanish Doctor’s Love-Child:

“a wonderfully poignant tale rich in feeling, emotion and romance by a wonderful romantic novelist who never fails to captivate, enthral and move her audience. Featuring a gorgeous hero, a lovely heroine and lots of tender romance, pathos, drama and passion, The Spanish Doctor’s Love Child is a spellbinding tale about moving forward, new beginnings and the redeeming power of love by an extraordinary writer whose books I just cannot get enough of!”

Thank you, Julie Bonello, for making my day.

And a special thank you to those readers who've kept One Night, One Baby on the Waldenbooks' Top Ten list for the third week running.

These sort of things really are helping me get through a personal rough patch. (Did I mention DH ended up being called out to work on Sunday night at stupid o'clock? Bang went my sleep. Couldn't sleep last night, either. Probably because I'm worrying too much.)

Dad wasn’t too bad yesterday, so am keeping fingers crossed that he continues to do well and that particular crisis will resolve. Really pleased that we got some smiles and laughs out of him yesterday.

It's pouring with rain today – but we have to stay in anyway for the insurance loss assessor. Keeping my fingers crossed that that goes without a hiccup. Might take the kids bowling afterwards.

some good news, for once

Reading: Mistress of the Art of Death, Arianna Franklin (superb storytelling – unsurprisingly, as she’s written one of my all-time top ten novels under another name. Recommended.)

Righty. Real life is still difficult, so here are some nice things that are happening in my life.

Firstly, I have a book out on the shelves in the UK this week (it’s out next month in Aus and US, and in October as a Presents Extra in the US). And I just LOVE the cover.


Secondly… I have a new nonfiction out, which went straight into the Jarrolds' top 5 local books chart on its week of release, and was there again on Saturday (with another of my books).

And thirdly (saving the best until last) - guess what’s #2 on the Waldies list, this week?




Thank you very much to the readers who put me there. And if you want the chance to win a copy of One Night, One Baby, drop by at Book Talk with J&J.

a bit of research (and win a book)

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve done an interview at Book Talk with J&J, so do drop by and take the chance to win a copy of One Night, One Baby.


Spent yesterday doing some research with the troops. Part of this involved a trip to Morston Quay.



And from there we went out on a boat to Blakeney Point. This was a trip I've wanted to take for absolutely ages. It qualifies as research, because part of my book for Breedon involves flora and fauna: and there was something in particular I wanted to photograph.


Blakeney Point is basically a spit of sand heading out into the North Sea - and it's a rarity because it's one of the few places in the UK where shingle bank, saltmarsh and sand dunes are found together. The old lifeboat station used to be situated at the tip, but the spit has grown another ¾ of a mile since then. The Point has been a nature reserve since 1912 and is under the care of the National Trust; the old lifeboat station is used by the wardens and as an information point.

And what’s on the Point?

One of the largest colonies of seals in the world. In Norfolk, we have both Grey Seals and Common Seals. They spend about 90% of their time out of the water, but sometimes you'll see them going for a swim; they can reach speeds of up to 25mph in the water and can stay submerged for up to 10 minutes. Their whiskers are very sensitive - that's how come they know where to swim for the fish.

But basically they like being in their little family group. The Common Seals have their babies from June-August, and the Greys from Nov-Jan. The babies put on between 1 and 1.5kg per day in the three weeks between birth and weaning.

For the ornithologists among you - this is also a prime spot for tern (Sandwich, Common, Little and Arctic), oyster catchers and ringed plover.

After the boat trip, we switched books and did some more church pics. This is Blakeney. The little tower to the right (I've taken this from the east end) used to be the lighthouse tower. And note the group of 7 lancet windows (albeit with modern glass). There are only two other places in England where there is a group of more than 5 lancet windows - one is in Ockham and the other is Lincoln Cathedral.

And this window is at Briningham. A nice piece of Decorated tracery... though obviously the glass is much newer. And very purple, so I couldn't resist the shot.

Catchup in real life (win a book)

Have been doing some exploring with the kids, involving areas of the county we haven’t really gone to before. (This is work. As I've just sold another nonfic book, I'm working on three at once plus one on spec, all of which need pics and therefore mean family research trips. DH is with us, this week, and the younger members of my research team are a tad disgruntled to find that means no cafe and chocolate cake. Oops.)

Norfolk has more round-towered churches than anywhere else in the country. This is Hales church, which is seriously pretty – thatched roof, Norman blank arcading outside (and a fab Norman door), and inside you can actually see the imprint of the weave of the basket in the Saxon splay window.

We also have a very odd church tower at Burgh St Peter (the church is actually dedicated to St Mary, not St Peter). It was built by the Boycott family as a kind of memorial - the family whose name has passed into general usage as the word 'boycott'. Charles, the grandson of the man who made the tower, was a land agent who tried to enforce rent rises for an absentee landlord in Ireland; everyone refused to speak to him or his family, to work for him or to sell him goods.

And just to prove how rural an area this is – here’s a brood of pheasant chicks who took over the road.

From there we ended up at the seaside. This is the new big wheel at Yarmouth.


And here are the wind turbines. The sky is not blue, by the way. This is a North Sea storm about to blow. (See clouds on the pic above, taken about three minutes before.) I liked the quality of the light here. You'd never believe I had a huge funfair right behind me, with one of the oldest rollercoasters in Europe, would you?



In other stuff… I’m doing an interview at Book Talk with J&J, so do drop by and take up the chance to win a copy of One Night, One Baby.

The Modern Heat girls are also doing a whole series of blogs at I Heart Presents – so do drop by there, too!

on top of the world (well, the charts, anyway)

Current work: admin and Modern Heat (I will get time to work, I will, I will)
Listening to: Kathryn Williams
Reading: The Queen’s Fool, Philippa Gregory (whoops, got the title wrong last week)

Lovely weekend. The radio interview was fab (more on this tomorrow). Very sad to say goodbye to our headteacher on Friday but her leaving do was a real celebration. The word that kept being used was ‘outstanding’ – very true. Her shoes will be very difficult to fill.

Then my best friend was up for the weekend – lots of talking and laughing and consumption of chocolate. (Helped by lovely, lovely India Grey who not only sent me her new book, she sent me chocolate to say thanks for telling her about the Chopin piece. Thank you, India.)

Yesterday evening, went to see my cousins and went through all the wonderful wedding pics.

And then I caught up with work and a couple of interviews and blog pieces that needed to be written. As part of it, I checked the URL for my new US book, and had an amazing surprise. Not only is One Night, One Baby STILL in the e-harlequin top 10 ebooks (that’s three weeks now), yesterday it was NUMBER ONE!

So I’m on top of the world. And the charts – because I’m also still in the Jarrolds local bestseller charts. And my new book is out and Waterstone's had already practically sold out. DH – who doesn’t have the book bug – grabbed it and hasn’t put it down all weekend. I decided to ask him what he thought (he’s painfully honest, so this was actually major bravery on my part). ‘It’s really interesting.’ (That’s DH-speak for utterly brilliant. My husband is extremely laid-back: the most he'll usually say about anything is that it's ‘all right’.)

Colour me very happy.

begin at the beginning – or not

Current work: nonfic/MH book 2 c1
Listening to: Martin Ostertag and Boris Bagger, Nocturne (cello and classical guitar)
Reading: Eileen Ramsay, The Stuff of Dreams plus some nonfic research

I don’t often do craft pieces (mainly because I dislike analysing my own work and why I do things – I’m too close to it to judge, and analysing it always gives me a nasty dose of Impostor Syndrome) but I spent a lot of yesterday dithering about this question. One that normally doesn’t bother me – I usually like the beginnings of books and have problems ending them. (We don’t talk about the saggy middle syndrome – my book and my body tend to share this problem, and although I can fix it in the book… no, let’s not go there.) But yesterday the book refused to start.

So where do you start a book? At the beginning? Or not?

I know the theory. In a romance novel, you’re meant to start

• at a point of change (i.e. the beginning of the journey)
• preferably with something that pulls the reader straight into the middle of things
• and with your hero and heroine on the page together as soon as possible. (The theory there is that your readers are like puppies – they bond with the people they meet first. That’s quite insulting to said readers, but it’s a valid point: readers do expect to meet the hero and heroine first because they’re the most important characters.)

Now, the beginning of the journey isn’t necessarily the same as the beginning of the story. Yesterday, I could have started my book in three different places.

Number one was the beginning of the story (and involved a journey, so that appealed to me) – but it just wasn’t strong enough. I could see big information dumps (things which are better shown by the characters in dialogue and action rather than told by Mrs Omniscienct Narrator – oh, how basic a mistake is that? How many books have I written? Have I learned a thing?).

Number two skipped over that beginning and was probably going to end up being a love scene by the end of page two. Too much, too soon?

Number three was definitely a strong, dramatic opening – but it was the storm and I want the calm first. I want the readers to know my characters before seeing them tested.

And then there's the whole question of viewpoint. (Am dithering on that one, too.)

It doesn’t help that I watched a film with DH this weekend which I enjoyed hugely and set all kinds of ‘what if’ threads running through my head. A little bit of self-discipline is required. Which means getting on with what I’m supposed to be doing and not letting myself be distracted by new exciting storyline here. Especially as I know said distraction will wait: I’m putting off starting this book because I’m scared it’s going to go pear-shaped. It’s planned, it’s doable, it’s something I want to write. Bu-u-ut- I’m having one of those sticky moments where I wonder if I’m up to the challenge.

Or maybe authors change the way they work from time to time without realising it. I used to rush through a book and then the ending was like treacle. Maybe it’s going the other way round for me now, because at the moment I seem to be writing the endings first and putting off the moment where I have to write the first words.

Right. I need some trumpet-blowing to bolster me. So. Apologies in advance for this. The University of Leicester has done me proud with their press release (and I’ve had some nice emails about it); this weekend saw me in the local bestseller chart for the sixth week running with Heroes, Villains and Victims of Norwich; and One Night, One Baby is still in the e-harlequin top 10 ebooks. (That’s been ages – about a fortnight now.)

Thank you SO much to everyone who’s been buying my books. I will do my best to write a new story you’ll really enjoy. (And thank you, Jan, for passing on comments to me about Breakfast at Giovanni's (aka In Bed With His Italian Boss). Maybe I should redo my tagline as 'warm, realistic romance' or something like that...)

Plan for today: school run, guitar lesson, work, school run, evening meeting at Madam’s new school (where I get to hand in admission forms etc). And then a bit more work.

conference, part deux

Current work: admin
Listening to: Karine Polwart
Reading: Sharon Penman, The Sunne in Splendour

I’m aware that did a lot of name-dropping yesterday. Sorry. Don’t mean to be luvvie, but these people are actually my real-life friends. I guess it’d be the same if there was a musicians’ conference (oh, duh, there is – it’s called a music festival) – if they blogged they’d be talking about the people they chatted with at the bar and… do rock stars eat cake and chocolate, the way romantic novelists do?

Anyway. To the point. Saturday at the RNA conference. First was a talk by Mark Thornton from Mostly Books


all about thinking like a bookseller (very useful for me re local history books and much food for thought).


Then Liz Bailey and Eileen Ramsay did this hilarious talk on networking and how to do it gracefully; great entertainment value, and I think it told us all an important thing – that authors are just as paranoid as each other and convince themselves that nobody will want to talk to them, yada yada yada. (As with any profession, you get the odd person who behaves badly, but most are nice - you just need to talk to them and treat them as you'd like to be treated yourself.)




Interestingly, they also mentioned that it’s bad form to ask another author to crit your work or intro you to their editor or agent… if they offer, fine, but don’t ask. I have to admit, I feel bad about refusing to read people’s work, but I have tight deadlines and young children and I just don’t have spare capacity, especially this year. I’m behind on my own stuff and just can’t do it. (I can, however, recommend a very good appraisal service. Hilary Johnson.)

Then it was Anna Louise Lucia on a sense of place – enjoyed this very much and it struck a real chord with me, as well as getting me to write the first couple of paragraphs of chapter two in longhand. I’ve cropped this photo of our Anna, because Anna uses her hands a lot when she speaks, and the full view is… Well. Let’s just say it goes with other, um, conversations I had with various people after wine later that evening…



After lunch, the head of Midas PR talked us through a PR campaign.


Much food for thought there. Then I ducked out of the next session as I needed to flop, and that’s when I discovered that the PDA disk had corrupted. Tried writing longhand and ended up with a pageful of scribblings-out. Ick. Can't work that way. Then lovely Katie Fforde

introduced the next speaker - an audience with Jill Mansell.

Jill is amazing. She writes her book longhand with a fountain pen (hats off to her, because I prefer to compose straight to screen!). Her talk was great fun – as warm and witty as her books.

Chatted to historical author Mary Nichol at lunch about local history (she’s from my part of the world); then dinner. Silver service, allegedly… but very difficult for the poor waiting staff when the tables were crammed so closely together. Not sure what the first course was; then duck (which was nice) and lemon pudding (which was REALLY nice, the best food of the weekend).

And then it was the presentation of the Elizabeth Goudge award. I was so pleased for the winner, as it was her first conference. And I was also delighted because one of my friends was a runner-up – here’s Biddy Coady collecting her prize from Joanna Maitland.

And then it was time to go to the bar – spent lots of time chatting with lovely Nell Dixon, who had me in hysterics with some of her tales. (Sadly, I can’t use them as research, because it’s not a setting I can use in a Med…)

We did have coffee breaks in between, and I was thrilled to be asked to sign copies of mine. (Doesn’t take much to make an author happy. Four little words. ‘I loved your book.’ Even better when they can remember the hero’s name – and if they can remember a snatch of dialogue, well. Author heaven.)

To borrow a phrase, ‘And so to bed.’ More attempts at stifling the gimlet light with Post-It notes. (Yes, this is going to end up in a book. This book, to be precise, because it fits this one.) More failure. Wide awake at 4am on Sunday, panicking about my talk… but I’ll tell you about that tomorrow.

Edit: I've just discovered that One Night, One Baby is the featured book today in the ebook section at eHarlequin (and it's still in the top 5 bestselling ebooks - wow!)

bad puppy and exciting stuff

Current work: nonfic
Listening to: Medieval Baebes
Reading: Sharon Penman, The Sunne in Splendour (gory in places but am enjoying it, especially as she’s unashamedly pro-Yorkist *g*)

I cracked. Bad me. I just realised Kate Harrison’s new book is out… and I thoroughly enjoy her work (sharp writing, rounded characterisation). And I did promise Madam some more Jane Blonde books, as she’s just started #2 and this means she’ll be looking for #3 in a day or two. (Recommended by the brilliant children’s section Waterstone’s, Castle Street, Norwich. And they were spot on. The difference a good bookseller can make…)

While I was there, I picked up a teensy bit of research material. And… This is a hangover from the book before last, where my doctor hero plays the cello. I discovered Boris Bagger and Martin Ostertag’s gorgeous version of Chopin’s Nocturne in E flat (Op 9, no 2) on YouTube – cello and guitar. Even though I’m listening mainly to 15th-century stuff at the moment (research), this is beautiful and I needed to add it to my collection.



Am still feeling lousy. On Friday, the cough was atrocious and I actually considered going by train to the RNA conference on Friday. However, that would mean:

• Calling in a favour from a friend at school so she’d see Madam in for me (which she would – but it also means Madam not going clingy on me. Chances of that happening = very low, because even though she’s a Daddy’s girl she’s a bit, um, possessive of me as well);
• Trusting that I can get a ticket so I’m facing the direction of travel (if I sit with my back to the engine, especially if it’s hot, I will go very green around the gills);
• Trusting that there will be no delays, especially as I have to…
• … change trains at least twice each way (four times on the way home) – not to mention getting taxis from home-station, station-conference, conference-station, station-home. And that isn’t good because I will have to…
• … lug lots of stuff about (including a very heavy bag of books needed for my talk);
• And, the clincher – home journey involves a bus trip between London and Colchester. I don’t take buses, for the same reason that I don’t sit with my back to the engine.

So I’m sticking to Plan A and driving. (My sister and stepmum both think the infamous cough is stress-related. Even Dad noticed it. And no, I’m not blogging about why this weekend was fairly stressful, out of respect to him – all I will say is that Parkinson’s is a lot more than just a tremor.)

Madam had a major wobbly lip after Dr Who on Saturday. ‘Whoever wrote that was really nasty. David Tennant has to keep being Dr Who. He has a REALLY NICE SMILE.’ Hmm. And I’m away next Saturday so I’ll miss it.

Oh, and the exciting stuff?

• I’m still in the bestseller list with Heroes, Villains and Victims of Norwich (yippee);
• my lovely M&B Modern Heat stablemate Robyn Grady emailed me to let me know that One Night, One Baby was in the e-harlequin top ten bestselling e-books (this changes minute by minute so I might not be there now, but I was there all weekend);
• and I had a great interview with lovely Maggie Secker at BBC Radio Norfolk on Sunday (thanks, Maggie).

wooooohoooooo!

Current work: nonfic
Listening to: Karine Polwart
Reading: various research stuff

Lovely to be back at guitar yesterday (despite still feeling rubbish – and v cross that I can’t shift the sore throat/cough/cold).

Although I haven't practised, Jim indulged me: I’m doing the prelude to Bach’s lute suite in D minor this week (at least, the first six lines of it - there are a couple of tricky stretches and it's moving from fifth to third position so I'm having to think about what I'm doing. And there are barres, which I find tough). Lovely stuff.

And the excitement? I discovered yesterday that Romantic Times gave me FOUR AND A HALF STARS for One Night, One Baby. And what did they say?

Kate Hardy's One Night, One Baby (4.5) is a terrific attraction-at-first-sight story. He's hot, sexy and vulnerable, and she's patient because, in the end, she knows he'll be worth it.

So I am noisily pleased. Thank you very much, Sandra Garcia-Myers. You made my day (especially welcome because of this lurgy).

Thank you to everyone who’s commented here or sent me an email re the pen issue. I can see a trend here :o)

and another lovely new cover

Current work: MH duo book 1
Listening to: Kathryn Williams
Reading: thinking about the next on my TBR pile (got caught up in research last night)

More nice post: cover flats for my US August release, One Night, One Baby.

And a few little facts to amuse you (well, they amused me). Feel free to add more in the comments – although I’m not in need of distraction right now, I do enjoy this sort of thing.

• 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
• If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter A? One thousand. (“One hundred and one” etc cannot be included because “and” is not a number.)
• A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
• A snail can sleep for three years.
• Polar bears are left-handed.
• In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
• “Stewardesses” is the longest word typed only with the left hand.
• A dentist invented the electric chair.
• Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
• The “sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick” is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.
• Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.

oh, yes, it is!

A red letter day, that is. Icing on the cake today – two lovely reviews from Cataromance, both with four and a half stars.

The Doctor’s Very Special Christmas
Take the phone off the hook, put your feet up and get ready to lose yourself in this spellbinding tale of second chances and new beginnings written by an outstanding writer of romantic fiction: Kate Hardy!

Packed with intensity, drama, emotion and heart-stopping romance, The Doctor’s Very Special Christmas will move you to tears and leave you breathless as Kate Hardy tells this powerful tale of two kindred souls finding one another.

Nobody tugs at the heartstrings better than Kate Hardy and romance readers will find themselves devouring The Doctor’s Very Special Christmas in a single sitting!

Read more here.

One Night, One Baby
Romantic fiction does not get any better than this! Fresh, funny, heartwarming and absolutely unputdownable, One Night, One Baby is vintage Kate Hardy! Featuring a lovely heroine, a gorgeous hero, sizzling sexual tension, an adorable cast of secondary characters and steamy romance, One Night, One Baby is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter night!

Read more here.

Thank you, Julie Bonello, for making my day. :o)

And some nice stuff...

1) Harlequin are having a special 'open house' Christmas party where you can come and chat with authors and win stuff (I'm giving away a copy of The Doctor's Very Special Christmas and One Night, One Baby).



2) Go and see India and wish her happy anniversary (she was a child bride).



3) My fabby new cover for my March title, Sold to the Highest Bidder (ignore the mountain - there are none in my part of the world, where this book is set - but at this angle you wouldn't see the lake from his bedroom!)

competition(s): winner and more chances to win!

Thanks to everyone who left comments last week. Winner of the competition to win a signed copy of One Night, One Baby is J Squires. Please email me your snailmail address (to kate(dot)hardy(at)btinternet(dot)com – replacing the stuff in brackets with a dot and an @ symbol – sorry to make it complicated, but I’ve learned the hard way that if you put your email address in as a link, the spam merchants rub their hands together and deluge you!).

To find out who won a copy of The Doctor’s Very Special Christmas at the Medical Romance Authors’ joint blog, go take a look (sorry, I am such a tease)… and while you’re there you get the chance to win a copy of Fiona Lowe’s fabulous Vietnam book.

There’s also a Christmas Stocking competition over at Kate Walker’s blog (win lots and lots of excellent books, including a signed copy of One Night, One Baby), and at Liz Fielding’s blog she’s doing daily giveaways from her backlist – she writes the most beautiful books (and I allowed myself a bit of her new Sheik book last night – what a treat).

(And if you don't win, One Night, One Baby and The Doctor's Very Special Christmas are both available on the Mills & Boon website. As is Liz's excellent Sheik book.)

how many days to go?

Current work: revisions to Modern Heat (archaeologist)
Listening to: Sheryl Crow
Reading: Judith Lennox, All My Sisters

Yesterday was a bit scuppered. Two littlies at home with a tummy bug. I am a bad mother because instead of being the ministering angel (hmm – that’s the Victorian idealised view of the perfect mum) I let them curl up on the sofa with the dog and a duvet and watch the Simpsons. I was in the room next door so I was well within hailing distance, and I checked on them every half an hour… but… arggh. Work. Christmas preparations. Difficult. Especially when they perk up and you hear a herd of elephants going upstairs. Then again, it’s a tummy bug. They’re on the mend but I don’t want to send them back today in case it takes another downturn or they pick up another one on top of it.

I can feel the panic starting now…

Good weekend lined up. ‘Early Christmas’ with my fave aunt and uncle tomorrow (am doing beef rather than turkey, though) and hopefully finishing my revisions and the Christmas shopping on Sunday; plus I want to look in Smith’s as I have TWO M&Bs out this month… (The Doctor’s Very Special Christmas – a weepie to warm your heart – and One Night, One Baby, aka my stormchaser.)

sneak previews of the new books…

I’ve spent much of the day working at a very gentle pace (waves to the Slowing Down Police), so my website is now up to date. (It’s going to have a makeover soon, but I’m keeping that under wraps until I’m ready!)

So do go over and take a look (and I have to say I’m very pleased with my November/December bookshelf – what do you think?).

There are also some new excerpts – from The Doctor’s Very Special Christmas and One Night, One Baby , both of which are out in the UK shops at the end of this month (and the Christmas book is out in Aus and the US too) – and a page about my new medical, The Spanish Consultant’s Love-Child (including a very scrummy recipe for spinach).

Go and have a read. Meet Rob and Emma (and yes, you may recognise her dog) and Jane and Mitch. Enjoy. (And then – if you want to get your hands on them early – they’re on the Mills & Boon website.)