Congratulations to Georgina, who has won the April website contest and to Julia who has won the special contest for newsletter subscribers. The prizes are on their way to you! I’d also like to thank everyone very much for signing up to the newsletter again. I appreciate it very much. The May website contest is [...]
I can’t believe how quickly the holidays went by and I hope that everyone had a lovely break from routine and the leisure to enjoy some reading. At this time of year I always love to hear which books people got for Christmas. I usually end up expanding my “to read” list as a result [...]
The UK Festival of Romance is taking place this month in Bedford and this wonderful offer has just been announced. You can WIN A PAIR of WEEKEND ROVER TICKETS in associationwith Novelicious. The lucky winner and a friend will win £60 worth of tickets to ALL THE PARTIES at the Festival: – Meet the Authors Coffee [...]
It was back in 2010 that the idea was first mooted amongst the Word Wenches to write a short story anthology. As soon as we started discussing ideas I knew whose story I wanted to write. In 2009 my Brides of Fortune series had been published. It featured a secondary character called Lady Lydia Cole, [...]
Today is Leap Day and I’d like to wish a very Happy Birthday to all those born on 29th February! I hope you have a very special day. I’d also like to congratulate everyone who is taking this opportunity to propose. Good luck and best wishes for the future! Tomorrow, 1st March, is World Book Day. So [...]
Today I am reflecting on the historical roots of “desert romances.” Not only is the sheikh hero hugely popular in contemporary romantic fiction but some historical authors are also turning to the genre. A few years ago Louise Allen wrote a wonderful Turkish-set novella called Desert Rake and Marguerite Kaye has written the fabulous Princes of [...]
The RNA’s Regency Day last Saturday was splendid fun and thank you to all the organisers for the hard work they put into making the day such a great mixture of events. There’s a wonderful summary of the day here on the RNA blog. Thanks to Annie Burrows for that. It’s impossible to pick out [...]
Today the lovely Sara Trimble has invited me to join her to chat about hot starts and slowburning books. What is your favourite first line? Do you enjoy plunging straight into the story or do you enjoy a bit of build up? Come and chat with us about your favourite opening lines for the opportunity [...]
The new series of Downton Abbey hit UK screens last Sunday night (I understand that it is due to show in the US in the New Year) and, perhaps inevitably, aroused once again the debate about whether or not the programme is an authentic depiction of Edwardian life. Historian A N Wilson branded the series “b*******” in [...]
What lies beneath the dust jacket of a book? A couple of weeks ago, the leaders of both the UK Labour and Conservative parties were in the news for their holiday reading. A photograph captured Ed Milliband, Labour party leader, carrying a pile of holiday books that included such titles as Fault Gap, Prosperity without Growth, The [...]