Back In The Saddle! And Chasing The Harlequin @MillsandBoon Dream Again With A New Romance

Okay, I have a dirty little secret. I love Harlequin Mills & Boon novels, have done since age thirteen when my mum left one she was reading unattended and it intrigued me enough to start me reading them. Back then, the books followed only the heroine's POV and all the good stuff stayed firmly behind the bedroom door.

Things have come a long way since then, but the books still offer that special type of feel-good escapism, which I love!

On and off over the years, I've tried to crack the HMB market, managed to come close, but gave up too soon I think. Although I resisted the yearning, telling myself I'll never manage to become a Harlequin Mills & Boon author, the hunger never really left me. 

So I'm at it again. 

I've started a new manuscript, which I aim to finish ASAP and submit to Harlequin Mills & Boon's KISS/Modern Tempted line. This fun, flirty series feels right for me, so please wish me luck!

The story I'm working on is entitled Sexiest Eye Candy To Lust After. It features two sexy, funny characters involved in some spicy, yet emotional, scenes.

This is my new hero: Ethan Stone, he's a TV weight-loss coach.

And this is my heroine Dr Karis Van de Burke, she's a cosmetic surgeon

Take one super-hunky TV weight-loss celebrity, one love-rejected cosmetic surgeon, a little guilty pleasure, and the consequences of one-night could prove shattering.

I just love starting new projects. Especially when they feature hot, hunky heroes like my new hero, Ethan Stone. I can't wait for you to get to know him, he's charming, candid, compassionate, persuasive and generous. 

My heroine, Karis Van de Burke gives him a run for his cheeky money. She's smart, empathetic and wholesome with a bad-girl steak. Unfortunately she has one fatal flaw--she runs! Yep, my girl can run a marathon, but she runs fastest when she's running away from the first hint of rejection!

Karis wants a one-night stand but what she really needs is a man who'll always be there. Ethan, on the other hand, only ever does casual, disposable relationships. What he needs, though, is a woman he can trust. 

Is it possible they might eventually find what they need in each other? I can't wait to find out, can you?

Just to whet your appetite, here's a taster in the form of blurb:

Super-hunky, weight-loss celebrity Ethan Stone brings out Dr. Karis Van de Burke’s inner bad-girl. To prove it, when Ethan accepts the challenge to persuade the sassy, love-rejected cosmetic surgeon to appear as a guest on his show, she ends up inviting him into her bed for one night of guilty pleasure instead.

Used to women throwing themselves at him boobs first, Ethan knows his way around every female erogenous zone, but the sizzling chemistry he has with Karis blindsides him. Soon he’s convincing her to extend their one-night to another...and another...and...

Karis can’t resist! Yet, if Ethan discovers her secret, he’ll ditch her as fast as her ex-fiancé had – but really, what could go wrong in a one-week, tangle-free, affair?

 
  


(photos purchased from Shutterstock)   

News

I must apologise for not posting a Fast Writers interview last Friday. Blogger refused to allow me to write a new post. In the end I got frustrated and gave up.

I will be posting this Friday, however. You'll be pleased to know that I'll have Harlequin Mills & Boon author, Melanie Milburne on the blog this week! She writes VERY fast!

On another note. I've been busy getting my new RIVA story written. I subbed through Harlequin Mills & Boon's Romance Fast Track and got a request for the partial--yay! I'm hoping to send it off very soon. Will keep you posted.

Heard From HMB

Well it's been a while since I sent the requested complete MS of Zach's Rebound Girl (aimed at HMB's Modern Heat series) to Harlequin Mills & Boon. To say I fully expected an instant reject would be putting it calmly!

I heard from the Modern Heat senior editor last week and to my immense surprise, she gave me wonderful feedback, mentioned that if I revised Zach's Rebound Girl,  she would be happy to assess it again!

I'm juiced and petrified all at once! Afraid to make a wrong choice and excited to finally get so close to a contract offer from Harlequin Mills and Boon. If I manage to get my secondary characters under control, fix the things the editor suggested and am offered a contract, it would be a twenty-year-long dream come true. 

Twenty years sounds like a long time when I look at it but, in reality, Zach's Rebound Girl is only the fifth MS I've subbed to HMB--I pouted a lot and for a long time between each rejection! My advice to any writer targeting a specific market? Don't get so disheartened that it takes you over twenty years to reach the same place many authors do in two, three or six years.

Pouting is bad!!

To begin with, after reading the revision letter several times, I couldn't settle on the right direction for ZRG. I mean, cut the secondary character scenes and you have to change quite a bit of the story's direction.

I think I have a handle on where I'm taking Zach and Maddie now so my head doesn't hurt half as much any more.

Thanks for dropping by, I'm off to duck back into revision mode.

Will continue to keep you posted on the Zach's Rebound Girl journey.


Bye for now x

Audio Books

I love books! I know you do too. But like every author I know, time is something I battle with every day. I don't know if you agree, but I'm convinced the Earth is spinning that little bit faster. So that an hour is shorter than it used to be, making twenty-four hours seem like twelve. These days, there’s never enough time to do everything we need to do in a day, and so we end up sleep-deprived and behind on everything.

Which means I’ve collected a huge TBR (to be read) pile of books I can't seem to plough through.

My solution?

Audiobooks! I've found myself listening to more audiobooks of late. Sure, they're more expensive than paperback or eBook downloads but I'm a child of convenience and audiobooks are super convenient. I'm also big on multi-tasking. I can download an audiobook to my mobile phone, iPod, or MP3 Player and listen while I do my household chores--I'm telling you, it's the only way they'll get done! *g*

It's a fantastic way to get through my stack of To Be Reads while I do all the other things I need to get done. I love grabbing my phone, popping in my earphones and listening to a book or a Sermon while walking or spending a bit of time on my Elliptical trainer or Exercise bike, or while I'm gardening. I even listen while on the school run... Oh the joys of modern technology.

Like eBooks, audiobooks seem to me to be a fast-growing segment of the publishing industry, although it isn’t new—Harlequin Mills & Boon brought out a number of their Presents/Modern books on tape in the early 90s. I still have all of mine!

However, while HMB no longer produce their Modern/Presents line on audio, their Blaze & Desire lines are often released in audio format. Perhaps more lines go to audio, but I haven't seen them, so please forgive me if you know of others I haven't mentioned. And please feel free to share any knowledge you have on this.

For me, audiobooks are a godsend. And even better is the fact that I will soon be able to get a hold of my favourite TWRP authors since my publisher (The Wild Rose Press) has announced a deal to produce some of their author's stories on audio! So keep an eye out for details of audiobooks coming soon to The Wild Rose Press.