Lets Hear It For Nerds

Sometimes I wonder why I write romance. There's not much sense to it, given the type of guy I go for. People talk about Matthew McConaughey and I don't see it. I picked up People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue and came up with maybe three or four who did anything for me. I mean, for someone who writes romance novels, I've got some pretty quirky taste in men.

Maybe that's why I write Blaze as opposed to lines expecting the ultra-alpha-macho-gorgeous-wealthy types. I just don't know that guy, can't imagine dating him, so I have trouble writing him. And the beautiful thing about Blaze is that I don't have to. Blaze offers a little leniency. It gives me leeway. My guy doesn't have to be quite the stud you'd find in, say, Presents or Desire. I can lean toward the Gamma man. Because for me, no matter how great my heroes are on the eyes, no matter how fantastic they are between the sheets, I've got to throw in a little vulnerability or I just can't stand them.

As a newbie writer, I've so far played it safe and kept my heroes leaning toward the more classic romantic lead, but what I'd really, really like to do someday is write a romance novel featuring the kind of hero who seriously tugs at my heartstrings.

Yes, ladies. I'm talking about the nerd. That funny, clumsy, sometimes goofy man who, despite the fact that his six pack is in a grocery bag and the only thing chiseled is his hairline, seems to catch my eye anyway.

I don't know what it is about them. Maybe it's their approachability. If you're like me and at the age of forty-six still haven't gotten over those scarring incidents from high school, the down-to-earth, friendly, likeable guy does have his appeal. Unlike the captain of the football team, these are men you aren't afraid to talk to. They're modest, they're nice, they get embarrassed. And when they find their way onto national television, you can bet they're probably rich, too!

(Now wait a minute, I'm not talking Bill Gates. There's nerds, and then there's nerds, and some guys even fistfulls of cash won't help.)

No, I'm talking about guys like Alton Brown, here.

Okay, so he probably won't be edging George Clooney out of his spot as People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive", but there is something deliciously appealing about this man, and it's not the fact that he can cook or that he can explain the molecular science behind water purification.

What I love about Alton is his vulnerability. It's the self-deprecating humor that makes me want to overlook that dorky hair spike thing and do something sinfully bold--like show him that some of those uni-task kitchen utensils he complains about actually do have alternate uses, he he.
But Alton isn't the only one. I've also got a fetish for Mr. Mythbuster himself, Adam Savage, and the fact that I do has left me perplexed on more than one occasion.

I mean, for one thing, I've seen the man in his underwear--on TV, you dirty minds!!!--and seriously, Colonel Sanders couldn't come up with a pair of whiter chicken legs. Yet there's something about the guy that makes me want to write him into a book.

I think it's that he's smart yet slightly dangerous. He calculates numbers in his head like Rainman then uses the information to blow something up. I mean, what's sexier than explosives, ladies?! Couple that with his wide-eyed boyish reaction when Buster blows sky high and I'm willing to overlook the impending man-boobs and attempt some combustible science of my own.

Now, I will admit not all nerds are, shall we say, nerdy. If you can't get into a man who's more jiggle than gigolo, science has options for you.

Yep, what would a blog about sexy nerds be without mentioning this man?

Ahhh, Grissom, Grissom, Grissom. You know, I saw William Petersen back in his prime twenty years ago in a movie called "To Live And Die In LA". I'd thought he was okay, nothing to write home about. Yet age him two decades and give him a fascination with bugs and I'm putty in his petrie dish.

But my fascination with Grissom stems from something completely different than the others. He's not vulnerable, or boyish, or self-deprecating. He's funny, but only in a dry, infrequent kind of way. No, what Grissom's got is that calm, cool and quiet thing going. Oh, yeah. What woman doesn't adore a man who's not only flippantly ignorant of his own sex appeal, but doesn't even recognize when a woman's coming onto him?

Just think of the things a bold and sexy Blaze heroine could do to a guy like that without even resorting to a bug suit.

Personally, I'm dying to write a romance that features one of my guys, here. I haven't figured the right angle yet, but I have to believe with enough experience under my belt I could pull off the consummate nerd hero and possibly convert thousands of women over to the bungling side of love.

What do you think? Could you get into a romance novel featuring a nerd, or do you really need those fantasy men to be bad-boy dangerous and bigger than life? And have you read any romance novels that featured the kind of guy I'm talking about? If so, which ones? (I'm making a list ;-) )

Lori

www.LoriBorrill.com

PUTTING IT TO THE TEST - Harlequin Blaze, April, 2008

UNLEASHED - Harlequin Blaze, November, 2008

Holding out for a hero... with Ally Blake

From the very first book I ever wrote, I have always “cast” my heroes and heroines. Keeping my eyes open for pictures of people who give me an immediate emotional reaction - whether it be happiness, joy, sadness, regret. So long as the picture conveys emotion, it's up for grabs.

Google is good for this. As are magazines. But most of my guys come from watching copious amounts of television.

Maybe it’s the cheeky smile and gravelly voice of McSteamy from Grey’s Anatomy, the suave, tall dark handsome Alpha with a twist of Mr Big from Sex and the City. Whatever it is, there is something, some spark, some way about them that sends me searching the internet for that one perfect picture that represents the man I see forming slowly in the back of my mind as I get to know him in writing his story.

For my current UK release THE MAGNATE'S INDECENT PROPOSAL, I went through a few incarnations before I settled on my Damien. At the beginning he was pretty alpha, overtly strong and powerful, a big guy.

But as the pages were filled he began to change. He became of all things funny. And kind of nice. And he had a complete aversion to all things technological that I simply could not deny. So how was I to write a strong Modern Heat type hero with those traits and get away with it?

Television, that's how.

To be more precise The West Wing and Brothers and Sisters. Two shows I love, both of which have Rob Lowe looking fine in a suit and tie, being masculine, beautiful and charming while at the same time giving the viewer glimpses into the inner sensitivity of a man in power.

Rob Lowe isn't my Damien, and neither are Sam Seaborn or Senator McAllister. But the characters he plays are cut of a similar cloth. And you know what? Boy oh boy were they a lot of fun to watch and rewatch in the writing of this book!

Ally's latest novel THE MAGNATE'S INDECENT PROPOSAL is her third Modern Heat and is out in the UK as we speak!

Grab a copy now to find out what happens when a gorgeous, entirely too privileged for his own good Luddite in a suit meets a lively dog groomer with persistent shampoo stains on her skirt and a past filled with disappointing men. Throw in matching mobile phones and match-making friends and you'll get yourself a Modern Heat!

Read an excerpt on Ally's brand spanking new website, or better yet, go buy the thing! You can get it online now at Mills and Boon.

The Next Book

There’s always a “next book”. Whether it’s the next book in your TBR pile, or the next book in your TBB pile, there’s always one there, waiting.

Right now, my ‘next’ book is the one I’m starting to write, and that has to be one of the most terrifying moments in a writer’s life. The blank page (or screen, as it were) sits there, silently screaming “Write something! Write something!” until I want to pull a Stephen King/Jack Nicholson and type 400 pages of “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

At least the screen would stop screaming “writesomething-writesomething-writesomething” at me.

Looking back at these ‘Devil’ books, it’s odd how each one has been (or is being) written differently. With The Devil’s Daughter, I wrote the entire book first and then the synopsis, because that was the easiest way to do it. And it’s usually faster for me to write a 400-page book and then a 5-page synopsis than it is to try and write *just* the 5-page synopsis. Weird, I know.

Moving on to the sequel. I was about half way through writing Dancing with the Devil (scheduled for release in December) when I suddenly had to stop and write an outline of what was going to happen – or, more accurately, what I *thought* was going to happen. Invariably, the story did not follow the path I thought it was going to, but I still felt better for having sketched out an idea anyway.

This new book has started out completely different. Much to my shock and bewilderment, the first thing I wrote was (gasp!!) a synopsis. Yes, yes I did. Now, as experience has proven, and my editor will attest to, synopses are not my forte, but that’s all right, because she’s a very patient and understanding woman. Thank God. J So the synopsis is written and when I close out of this, all that’s left on my computer will be a new Word doc with the two most important words in every book: Chapter One.

And below that is the same old cursor, blinking that same ear-splitting yet silent cry of “writesomething-writesomething-writesomething.” This time, though, it won’t be screaming for long. In fact, that blinking little cursor is going to wish it’d never messed with me.
What’s your “next” book

The National Year of Reading

2008 is the National Year of Reading in the UK. It is about celebrating reading in all its forms and highlighting the importance of libraries. It is about encouraging parents to read to their children, and people in general just to read.
It is about challenging employers to turn their old smoking rooms into quiet reading rooms, and encouraging workers to read. Natasha Oakley’s whose Wanted: White Wedding is out this month explained “`Setting aside the fact I earn my living writing books, as a mum of five this is something I really want to be involved in. The hope is that the campaign will reach people who don't consider themselves 'readers'. The slogan is 'Reading - Anytime, Anything, Anywhere'. I'm all for taking the snobbishness out of books. It should be fun!'
Authors from literary authors to series romance authors are involved in a wide number of events. As part of the NYR nine Mills & Boon authors have been asked to be ‘Writers in Residence’ in nine of England’s library authorities. The timing and the match could not be more perfect, as Mills & Boon celebrates its 100th birthday, there is no one who knows a good book like a Mills & Boon author – or reader! It’s a fantastic accolade and tribute to the importance of Mills & Boon to libraries and all the hard work done by so many of our authors in them.
The Mills & Boon ‘Writers in Residence’ for the NYR are: Louise Allen – Peterborough, Susan Stephens – Kirklees, Kate Hardy – Norfolk, Nicola Cornick – Wiltshire, Sharon Kendrick – Hampshire, Caroline Anderson – Suffolk, Michelle Styles – Northumberland, India Grey – Cheshire, Natasha Oakley – Bedfordshire
Kate Hardy whose In Bed with Her Italian Boss recently won the RNA Romance Prize explained what being a Writer in Residence meant to her: "Reading is one of life's greatest pleasures, so I'm delighted to support the National Year of Reading by being a writer in residence at my local library. I've spent many happy hours choosing books from my local library and even more happy hours discovering new worlds through those books." Nicola Cornick added “"I am thrilled and honoured to be the Wiltshire Writer is Residence as part of the National Year of Reading. Helping to build a greater national passion for reading is a cause very close to my heart. For me it is all about entertainment, exploration and ideas a plenty!" Nicola’s 25th book, The Last Rake in London is published next month.
A spokesperson for Mills & Boon said : ‘Mills & Boon is extremely proud to support the National Year of Reading, a government-backed initiative which aims to get more readers reading more! It will be supported by a TV advertising campaign featuring Geri Halliwell, Lenny Henry, Bill Bailey, Jon Culshaw and Jo Brand amongst others. The NYR will see a nationwide campaign reminding reluctant readers, hesitant readers and even prolific readers of the joy of reading. It’s a wonderful opportunity for Mills & Boon to be part of this fantastic year celebrating reading!’

You can see the launch video here. It is one of my current favourite as I do love the mish mash of celebrities and in particular Bill Bailey reading from Susan Napier's Harlequin Presents. i think it captures the whole essense of the campaign.
But wherever you are, 2008 is a great year to read. One thing you can do to challenge yourself is to take part in the e-harlequin 100,000 book challenge. For every book review posted on eharlquin, they will donate a book to the National Literacy fund. It is a challenging target and they do need more readers.

Books to Get Lost In by Megan Crane

I just heard that one of my favorite new tv shows, Women's Murder Club, has been cancelled.

TV makes me so mad. As if it wasn't bad enough that they cancelled Journeyman, my other favorite new show this season. This is why I spend whole months not watching TV at all, and retreating into books instead. Especially great, sprawling books that lure me away from my own life and make it difficult to come out of them.

For example, I finished reading the brand new Marian Keyes novel, This Charming Man the other night. Talk about a book well worth sinking into. I love Marian Keyes. Her books are big, rich treats that let you get lost inside them. This new one is no different. Four different women with a certain connection to one man, and four different, complicated stories. So very, very good.

I also recently read Sugar Daddy and Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas. Both are fantastic books on their own; together, they transported me to a whole different world. This time to Texas, where everyone and everything is larger than life, extraordinarily good-looking, and actions have fascinating consequences. So delicious.

I'm currently reading the final book in Scott Westerfield's Midnighters trilogy. The trilogy focuses on a group of teenagers in Bixby, Oklahoma who discover they have superpowers during a magical extra hour of the day that occurs each midnight. These books are engrossing and addictive, so start them at your own risk!

What about you? What books draw you in, and make it hard for you to drag yourself back out?

12 Points on the 12th by Kate Walker

I recently celebrated a birthday (no, I’m not admitting how old!) and that started me thinking about the way that something as basic as when they were born can influence the creation of a character when you’re writing a book. I don’t just mean when they were born, say 34 years ago, so that is their age at the beginning of the book, but other, more intriguing aspects of the influence of their birth.

Some authors like to use astrology as a way of getting into the nature and personality of their hero and heroine. There are books that go into great details about the way that your birthdate and so star sign affect your personality and your relationship with others. Books like Sun Signs by Linda Goodman detail the different characteristics of the Leo man or the Gemini woman – and discuss how they relate to each other. You can also take this further if you read Love Signs or Relationship Signs by the same author.

You don’t even really have to believe deeply in astrology to get something from books like these because, if you put aside the fact that the descriptions are headed ‘Taurus Female’ and ‘Scorpio Male’, you still get useful information and ideas about the way that a woman with this sort of personality will interact with a man of a particular type. Just knowing what things about each other will ‘rub them up the wrong way’ or where they might find an unexpected connection can often spark ideas either for the conflict in a book or the way that conflict might be resolved.

But another way of looking at when your characters were born and the way this can affect their personality is that of their birth order in the family. And this one had a particular interest for me when I was writing my latest Harlequin Presents novel, Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife.

Its amazing how brothers and sisters with the same parents, upbringing and life experience end up with such different personalities and interests. One school of though believe that your place in the family has a huge influence on how you'll turn out, determining everything from the type of career you'll choose to the type of person you'll become.

Although it's officially classed as 'pop psychology' its easy to believe that where you're born in relation to your siblings really does have an effect on how you'll turn out. Your place in the family hierarchy influences everything from the amount of 'quality time' you spend with your parents as an infant to whether you're the trail blazer or baby of the family all of which must have some impact on your expectations of, and the way you interact with, the 'outside world'.

Some believe that there are a certain set of identifiable characteristics that go with each birth position, and this is what they say:

First borns

For a while at least first borns receive the undivided attention of their parents. Being the first to do everything can mean you're doted on and overprotected while at the same time under great expectation to succeed. For this reason first borns are often perfectionists. Determined to live up to their own and their parents high expectations they hate to mess up and so are often quite cautious and unwilling to take risks. First borns can be fiercely ambitious and driven to succeed which is perhaps why more first borns are in 'high powered' jobs than any other sibling position.

On the other hand first borns have to make the transition from only child to sibling. Parents often encourage the eldest child to take on extra responsibility and 'be a grown up' to their baby brother or sister and while this can make first borns very caring towards others it can also make them very strong willed and quite stubborn when it comes to new ideas and ways of doing things.

Middle children

More than anything middle children are different from their elder siblings, having never been the 'only one' they've got to fight for their parents attention somehow! Middle children sometimes act out to fight for attention, enjoy winding up their siblings and often adopt a hard done by attitude to life (characteristics often put down to middle child syndrome).

As they aren't the trail blazer of the family, middle children often have fewer expectations and less pressure to succeed placed on them by their parents and so are more likely to follow the life path they want to. They are often very sociable, have great people skills and lots of friends. Middle children often have good negotiation skills too, probably from the years of practice they've had competing with their older brother or sister!

The youngest child

The youngest child is often spoiled and treated as the baby of the family. As their older siblings have been there and done it all before they have far fewer expectations placed on them by their parents and so tend to be more impulsive and egocentric than their brothers and sisters. Having grown up as the baby, youngest children have to fight to be heard and so are often quite gregarious and outgoing. They also often have their parents wrapped around their little finger and are much more likely to get away with things than their brothers and sisters. As they have had so few constraints put on their development by their parents youngest children tend to follow more artistic pursuits and take more risks than older siblings, although they still tend to be treated as the baby even when they're grown.

The only child

Only children are very much like first borns in that they are blessed with the undivided attention of their parents, although this carries on uninterrupted through their childhood and beyond. For this reason only children often spend a lot of time with grown ups and so can be quite advanced for their years and can also be quite eager to please. However, having never had to learn to share only children can be quite egocentric and many have awful time keeping skills.

As only children don't have playmates on hand they have to learn to entertain themselves and so are often quite happy in their own company using hobbies to keep themselves amused. They tend to be quite independent as adults although just as the only child are often pampered by their parents right on into adulthood.

In Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife, both my hero, Raul Marcin, and heroine Alannah Redfern are born into a particular position in their family. Raul is the middle child, the second son, with a third child, as sister, who is younger than him. Alannah is the first-born, the older sister to her brother, Chris. So they start off with those roles as defined in the notes above. But Raul’s older brother died young, as a child, and so immediately he became like the first born, deeply responsible and ambitious, determined to succeed. In the present day too, when then tragedy intervenes, it changes both their lives in so many ways. One of which is that they are no longer in quite to same position in the family as they had been before. And part of the way that they adjust to that change also means that they behave differently towards each other as a result.

Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife is a story about family as well as the central relationship of the hero and heroine and so the ideas of birth order were particularly useful when thinking about this plot and, most importantly, about the characters at the centre of it. But what really matters is that this idea, or that of the astrologers with their star signs, give us useful tools, possible different ways to look at the characters we are creating and go deep into their personalities. And when you’re writing a romance where the characters are absolutely central to the story, any techniques like these are a great help in giving those characters depth and substance.


What about you? Where were you born in your family? And do you think that these definitions of the way that position affects you are true for you?

If you’re interested, I’m a middle child, and I think a lot of it is true for me. Let me know what you think and I’ll get Sid the Cat to pick a name at random from the posts to win a signed copy of my June book Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife so you can read about Raul and Alannah for yourself. You can read more about this title - and all the others I have coming up soon by visiting my web site here.

Down to business - Christina Hollis

Writing must be the perfect job, but isn’t without its problems. In the days of manual typewriters, irritations like forgetting to put in a sheet of carbon paper to make a copy, or aching wrists from thumping away at sit-up-and-beg keys were constant niggles. Then came computers. Uninterruptable power supplies and memory sticks ought to make power surges and lost documents a thing of the past. The trouble is, they rely on the human factor: that nut behind the keyboard!

Ernest Hemingway said hopeful authors should apply the seat of their pants to the seat of their chair and get on with it. That leads to the greatest pitfall of all. A combination of lack of exercise and working at the kitchen table is a recipe for disaster. It’s so easy to reach for a little something during all that ‘thinking time’. When he visits the filling station, my darling OH often picks up a slab of cherry cake or bar of chocolate. Who could resist that? Not me! There aren’t any exercise facilities near where we live, and though I love walking, the temptation to write just one more paragraph/get to the end of the scene or see what might happen next means any opportunity slips away down a black hole. Before I know it, there’s no time to walk anywhere beyond the village school, to pick up my son. That isn’t enough to keep unwanted pounds away. I try and restrict the number of treats I eat, but it’s very hard. That’s why I love including food and parties in my writing. My book One Night In His Bed featured a steamy scene over homemade pasta. In the story I’m working on at the moment, the hero Alessandro has his chef prepare a delicious cake for heroine Michelle. My next release, Her Ruthless Italian Boss, has the dreamy setting of Venice and features a masked ball with free-flowing champagne and all sorts of treats. It was great fun to write, and I hope you enjoy it!

There’s a competition running on my website, http://www.christinahollis.com/, to win signed copies of my books and a recipe for nid d’abeilles. My sister used to work in a smart French patisserie, and once made one for me as a birthday cake. I woke next morning a year older and several pounds heavier. Ah, the trials of research!

Happy Mother's Day from Sandy Blair

Parent-child relationships have proved rich fodder for writers since biblical times. Today, there seems to be a plethora of contemporary authors focusing on mother-daughter relationships, more so than any others. Is this because women read more books than men do today? Perhaps.

Or is it because more women are being published today, and authors tend to write what they know?

Jane Austin exposed many a maternal foible and child’s resultant angst in Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibilities. Today’s novelists continue to explore this family strife with books like The Red Tent, My Sister’s Keeper, and Bridget Jones’s Diary as do screen writers with films like The Ya Ya Sisterhood, Steel Magnolias, and The Jane Austin Book Club..

So, why all this angst between mothers and daughters? I have a pet theory.

Human females are cyclic, hormonal animals. As mothers go into menopause, their daughters are usually entering estrus. Not a good combination. Since alpha females tend to influence other females’ cycles within their household, the result is a mega load of hormones careening around four walls causing many a voice to rise and many a tear to flow. Is this nature’s way of insuring our chicks flee their comfy nests in timely fashion to bring forth the next generation? I strongly suspect so.

And in this process we often forgive but rarely forget…wherein the conflict lies.

The good news: Daughters do grow up and often become mothers. Finally understanding what you were trying to accomplish, they send you flowers on Mother’s Day with a note saying, “Thank you.”

So what book or movie touched your heart? Did you see yourself and your mother in?

Sandy, the mother of Alex and identical twins, Rachael and Rebecca

http://www.sandblair.net/

A Highlander For Christmas, Zebra, available now

Contests, Contests, Contests!

by Anna Campbell

There's so many chances for you all to win prizes this month!

Firstly, I'm running a Harlequin Presents contest through my website. I cleaned out the prize cupboard and came across some great signed HPs that I'd love to give away. So many, in fact, that I'm giving away two prizes of four books each. The books are:

THE GREEK TYCOON'S UNEXPECTED WIFE by Annie West
THE BOSS'S CHRISTMAS BABY by Trish Morey
THE SPANIARD'S DEFIANT VIRGIN by Jennie Lucas
ONE-NIGHT LOVE CHILD by Anne McAllister (signed bookmark)

All you need to do is pop by my website and answer a simple question. Good luck!

Sophia Nash is giving away a signed copy of UNTOUCHED, my second book, in her May contest. You just need to call by her website and answer a question. And while you're there, check out the great excerpt from her latest release THE KISS.

Jennie Lucas is offering two signed copies of CLAIMING THE COURTESAN, my first book which she called "her absolute favorite romance she's read all year". Just visit her website and, you've got it, answer a simple question.

Finally in this cornucopia of giveaways, the Romance Bandits blog, my regular gig, is a year old this month and our readers get to celebrate. We're giving away a whole stack of prizes including books, book vouchers, Romance Bandits goodies, chocolates and critiques. Details here.

Have you ever won anything amazing in a contest? I won a box of Beatles LPs once in a contest through our local newspaper by finishing the song title A Hard Day's... Which is a bit of a no-brainer!

Goodies from Greece - Annie West

My mind has been in Greece. That’s a bit of a problem since the rest of me is in Australia, but there you go. Perhaps it’s because my latest book is set in Greece (The Greek Tycoon’s Unexpected Wife is a Harlequin Presents release in mid May, labelled under the new logo ‘Presents Extra’). Or maybe it’s because my mind wanders to things I like when I’m supposed to be working. Over the years I’ve discovered so many tempting things from Greece.

Greek food – yes – I HAVE to start with food! I hadn’t discovered the joys of Greek food until I made my first visit to that country. Now I’m a fan of most Greek cuisine, from a simple meal of fresh fish washed down with local retsina to the well known souvlakia (skewered lamb), moussaka (layered eggplant with sauce), baked vegetables stuffed with rice, salads etc. My first sight of a Zacharoplasteion or Greek sweet shop stopped me in my tracks. Cases and cases filled with sweet treats. Baklava (filo pastry layered with almonds and walnuts, cinnamon and sugar, soaking in sweet syrup and dusted with crushed pistachios). Nut rolls (similar but in neat little rolls). Kataifi (rolls of stuffed shredded filo pastry in syrup). Plus all sorts of treats made with raisins, nuts, cinnamon and cream. Far too many to describe but Wow!

On the food theme (what, me obsessed?) let’s not forget halvas (a Greek treat made with semolina – sounds dull, but wait till you try it) and loukoumia (the Greek version of Turkish delight). Double yum.

Greek islands – I love the Greek islands. And as there are so many I think trying to see them all might take me a lifetime or more. From Crete with its rugged mountains and prehistoric sites, to Rhodes with its fantastic medieval city. Karpathos where I had the best bread ever, baked in an outdoor oven (sorry, food again), while looking past old fashioned windmills down to the sea. Hydra with its perfect little harbour and Santorini with amazing cliff top views over a volcanic caldera (which some believe to be the source of the Atlantis myth). I have a list of a few others I want to visit. It will take me years...

Greek music – perhaps this is an acquired taste, but I love it. Of course there’s bouzouki music but there’s a lot more too. Did you know there are Greek bagpipes? Personally I like the dance music and Rembetiko (a sort of urban blues).

Ancient Greek jewellery – one of the benefits of being a classics student was that I had to visit the museums in Greece. Don’t let anyone tell you they’re full of boring stone inscriptions. Well, they are, but there are other wondrous things too. Like the gold wreaths made for Philip of Macedon and his family. There’s one of oak leaves and acorns, all solid gold, and so incredibly fine it looks about the thickness of real oak leaves. And in Crete, check out the ancient Minoan jewellery. I particularly enjoyed the seal rings (one of which inspired Stavros’ family ring in The Greek Tycoon’s Unexpected Wife). It’s no coincidence that my hero is the head of a fine jewellery house that produces fabulous pieces fit for royalty.


Greek Embroidery – maybe not an obvious choice, but definitely outstanding. I’ve spent happy hours looking at fine needlework produced in different regions of Greece. I've even tried my hand at some and it was worth the effort. For anyone interested in sewing, or just looking at beautiful things, check this out. The Benaki Museum in Athens is an excellent place to start.

Greek monasteries – I could write a whole blog about these alone, but maybe one picture will suffice. Spectacular!

I’m in danger of spending too long here and not returning to the current book I’m supposed to be writing. So, I’ll stop and hope I’ve whetted your appetite for some of Greece’s treasures.

Do you have a favorite goodie from Greece too? Or something you’ve always wanted to see there? Or, have you discovered a treasure somewhere completely different that you’ve visited and want to share with us? (I’m always interested in learning about new places to put on my must visit list!).

Warm regards,
Annie

Annie’s latest North American release The Greek Tycoon’s Unexpected Wife is on sale in shops from late May and is out now at eHarlequin or Amazon. To read an excerpt or enter Annie’s contest to win this latest release and two other new Aussie releases, visit her website.



Annie’s other current release The Billionaire’s Bought Mistress is published in the anthology Mills and Boon Presents... available only in the UK - try Amazon UK

Celebrating Kate!

One of the great joys of writing is the long hours holed up alone in the garret -- no, wait, that's not it.

One of the real great joys of writing is the people you meet when you are NOT holed up in the garret with the imaginary people who are helping you make your living.

They are fine, of course. And handsome, frequently. But generally not restful and easy to be with. They take managing (or don't take it, which is often worse).

No, the real joy is the real flesh-and-blood friends you make -- other writers often -- who make your world a richer, brighter, more colorful (or as some would say, colourful) place.

There have been quite a few such wonderful writers in my life -- and one of them is having a birthday today.

So, please join me in wishing a very happy birthday -- and many more -- to the warm, wonderful, witty (and ever so occasionally wild) Kate Walker.

Kate, as most of you know, has written a lot of books, given countless hours of reading pleasure to millions of people in languages she doesn't even speak --much less write in -- all over the world. She's also a terrific teacher of writing, as many wannabes and gonnabes know.

Actually there are now quite a few plain old "be"s whose books are on the shelves who owe much of their publishing success to Kate's wisdom, so they're pretty fond of her, too.

Those who are interested in learning from a pro should take a look at her new Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance. You won't be sorry.

What can I say about Kate?

She's the person I would most like to trail around Grasmere with in a pouring rain while she's suffering and ill because she absolutely never complains. She's the one who will take dictation from a cat and send long missives (he's pretty wordy) to all his friends and fans without once thinking she has better things to do.

She will trudge through the back streets of beautiful downtown Millom looking for dead relatives' old houses (who aren't even her dead relatives) and act like she's having a perfectly good time.

She will track down and send any book or dvd or document that you think you might want/need/fancy no matter how obscure because that's the kind of friend she is.

She even -- and if this isn't real friendship, I don't know what is -- shared Hugh-in-a-towel with me for our Australia and New Zealand Romance Writers Convention jaunt. She actually let me bring him home afterwards (well, she said she had another, but that doesn't detract from the generosity of the act).

What more can you ask?

So here's to Kate -- a wonderful writer, a fabulous friend, a mother of cats, a champion of hedgehogs!

Happy birthday, dear Kate!

The Animals We Love

I don’t have children, but I do fill my life with animals. If you’ve ever looked at my website, you’ve seen pictures of my dog Star and my cat Eddie Munster. I think animals bring a lot of joy into our lives. They love you unconditionally. Yes, even cats! Eddie has to sit on my lap every night when I watch TV. Star needs her fifteen minutes of petting before she can go to sleep. Um, yes, they sleep on the bed. Pets also filter into my writing. In my story Somebody’s Ex (which appeared in Somebody’s Lover), my heroine Randi had a Norwegian Elkhound just like Star. She even gave the dog Norwegian commands. In It Must Be Magic, which was a Jennifer Skully release in 2007, my heroine’s cat played a very prominent role. Lili could talk to animals and her next door neighbor’s cat tells her that he saw a murder out in the woods. Of course Lili has to solve the crime, with the help of her two cat friends (and her hunky next door neighbor). Her cat Einstein was very snarky and very fun to write. Einstein was a lot like my Eddie Munster. I imagine that’s exactly how Eddie would sound if he could actually talk to me, oh wait, I mean if I could understand him. Because he does talk to me. So you can see that animals are an integral part of my life and my writing. I’d love to hear about your pets.

Jasmine Haynes, Show and Tell, Coming July 2008.
http://www.skullybuzz.com/

Who is He? - Susanna Carr

I remember the first time I saw Daniel Craig on screen. I was watching a British TV movie called The Ice House. The moment I saw him I leaned forward in my chair and asked, “Who is he?” to no one in particular. I don’t know what it was about him that made such an impression on me, but to this day, I’ll watch a movie because it has Daniel Craig in it.

The same thing happened to me last night with another actor. There I was, watching a DVD of an Agatha Christie TV movie and once again I’m leaning forward in my chair and asking, “Who is he?” Since I was in the room alone, no one was going to reply.

I continue to watch the movie, unable to get enough of this actor. Who cared about the murder mystery plot? Give me more of this guy! His character was dangerous and mesmerizing, and finally I had to visit IMDB.com and find out who he was. It turns out to be an actor named Elliot Cowen. Wow. I can’t wait to see more of him.

Ever watch a TV show or movie and find an actor completely irresistible? Who is he?

Susanna

http://www.susannacarr.com/

Coffee Shop Research - Nancy Warren

I think about love a lot. It’s my job as a romance writer, after all, but I’m endlessly fascinated by couples. What attracts two people to each other? Why this one, and not that one? In my wonder and curiosity for how the process works, I spend a lot of time covertly studying couples in coffee shops, restaurants and public places like airports. I often go to coffee shops to write -- so a good day of people watching usually means a sucky day of word production. But when I watch two people together, I like to guess what their relationship is, and, if it’s a love affair, where they are in the course of it.

There’s a scene in the movie When Harry Met Sally that takes place at an airport where Harry watches with interest as Sally passionately kisses her boyfriend good bye. Billy Crystal, as Harry, is able to guess, pretty accurately, how many weeks Meg Ryan’s Sally has been going out with the new guy based on the heat of the kiss and the fact that her lover is still interested enough to drove her to the airport. It’s a funny scene, and makes me think that screenwriter Nora Ephron is another voyeur. But then I think all writers are. Richard Curtis, who wrote Love, Actually has my favorite airport scene. If you watch the final scene of Love, Actually, it ends at Heathrow and we see glimpses of the couples we’ve been following throughout the movie, but then the camera turns to random strangers, embracing, laughing, crying. More and more of them, until the screen is filled with tiny films of strangers embracing those they love. I adore that scene with its quick, intimate peeks into lives we’ll never know.

In The One I Want, my Kensington Brava that just came out this week, I finally got to use some of my coffee shop ‘research’. I have a scene where my heroine, Chloe, who is starting The Break Up Artist, a business breaking up relationships that aren’t working, is at the mall having a quick coffee in the food court and observes a couple getting engaged. Getting engaged in the food court? Of course she can’t take her eyes off the intimate drama. She’s joined by her annoying (but very hot) landlord, an ex-cop and trained observer and they both watch the scene play out. Afterward, they have a bet about what really happened and, naturally, Chloe, the woman who understands the heart wins the bet over Matthew, the guy who doesn’t see so well below the surface of things. It was a fun scene to write and I suppose gets at the heart of the book. Love is always a mystery, and often the truth isn’t what appears on the surface, but what’s hidden deep down where the authentic self lives.

Have you ever done that? Watched a couple and been able to read the unspoken clues of body language, facial expression, eye contact, even the way they’ve dressed for each other? It’s amazing what people reveal about themselves and their hearts. And thank God for that, they sure make the romance writer’s job easier!

Have a great day,

Nancy
http://www.nancywarren.net/

Where Did My Words Go?

Somewhere along the way I lost my facility with words. It was right around the time I had children. If you’re not a parent, you might not know about the post-partum phenomenon of fuzzy mommy brain (not a technical term, but a decent description IMHO). I think part of the syndrome is hormonal, although I have no scientific evidence to back that up.

Beyond the possible hormone connection, the bigger part of my post-pregnancy verbal issues was simply a lack of practice with words. After working hard at my Master’s program (in English lit, keep in mind) and teaching English at the college level, I was glad to take a little time off after I had a few kids. In fact, I was thrilled. My days consisted of Sesame Street and taking long walks while pushing a stroller, and that was quite alright with me. Problem was, I had next to no adult conversation during that time period and I certainly didn’t have any deep, thoughtful conversations that required meaningful contemplation.

Let’s face it, when you’re knee deep in diapers and truckloads of laundry, it’s all you can do sometimes to catch a shower during the day let alone find time for intellectual stimulation. So I forgive myself for going a bit brain dead during that time. But it’s scary when you’re use to expressing yourself intelligently and all of the sudden you find yourself pausing for long moments during a phone conversation, unable to find the right word. My family would try guessing what I wanted to say since I lost all talent for formulating a thought into words. Sometimes I’d wake up from a nap three hours after a phone conversation like that and the word I’d wanted would come to me. Talk about slow processing time!

After a few of those incidents, I realized what was happening. Verbal facility isn’t like riding a bike where, once you learn, you never forget. A flare with words is a skill that requires exercise. Practice. Immersion. And as much as I loved Sesame Street, Elmo wasn’t working with me at the verbal level I needed to stay sharp.

I started reading more. Working on the occasional crossword puzzle. But most of all, I used my new epiphany to get back to writing. I’d started a novel around the time I started grad school but then got away from it as I got busy with course work. Now that I’d taken a bit of a breather, I got out my old notes from the project and pursued it in earnest.

It didn’t take long before my words came back, helped along by daily writing and by meeting writer friends who wanted to talk about characters, conflicts and plots. I immersed myself in language and stories all over again and it was like coming home. I felt recharged and rejuvenated, intelligent and whole once more.

*** Did you ever have those space-out moments as a new mom or has anyone close to you gone through the fuzzy brain months? Share your experiences on the board for a chance to win Joanne’s sexy new May Blaze, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. Winner chosen at random from all posters.