Sunday 30 May 2010

New sales!

I'm thrilled to announce that Harlequin have accepted another of my short stories for the Spice Briefs line! This one is called A VERY PERSONAL ASSISTANT and is about what happens when the relationship between a dynamic female executive and her handsome and sexy P.A. takes an unexpected turn down the path towards pervy eroticism. I'm particularly delighted that this story will see the light of publishing day, because it's my first sale inspired by my latest muse, Patrick Jane from the The Mentalist. Of course *my* Patrick isn't a police consultant with almost supernatural powers of observation... but he certainly does bear a startling resemblance to a certain Mr. Jane. In my mind at least. He might appear quite different to someone else reading the story... :)

 
But that's not the end of the good news. The editors at Harlequin not only accepted this particular story, but they asked if I would write two additional ones for the line too. These stories aren't specified or written yet, but this is the ideal opportunity to pen a couple more tales in the LADIES' SEWING CIRCLE series, and I already have several ideas that I'd like to flesh out for these commissions. So hopefully in the future, you'll be able to read about new heroines who are the friends of Sofia [A GENTLEWOMAN'S PREDICAMENT] and Prudence [A GENTLEWOMAN'S RAVISHMENT] and discover what naughty escapades they get up to!

Monday 24 May 2010

I know my Holmes!

The Game's Afoot!

Score: 100% (8 out of 8)
Just took this quiz and scored a clean sweep! Sherlock would be proud...

Friday 21 May 2010

Isn't this luscious?

Here's the sumptuous cover for my June Spice Brief, A GENTLEWOMAN'S RAVISHMENT.

Isn't it divine?

If you want to learn more about this naughty story from the Ladies' Sewing Circle, there's a blurb and excerpt here.

And you can also pre-order if you so wish here at eHarlequin.

For maximum enjoyment, remember to read A GENTLEWOMAN'S PREDICAMENT first!

Tuesday 4 May 2010

Fun with ebooks!

I think ebooks are brilliant, and I'm starting to build up quite a collection of them on my Sony Reader, but the problem for a writer is that with an ebook, you don't get the thrill of holding the individual volume in your hands when the crisp, immaculate author copies arrive... or do you? ;)


LOL! Yes, I've been playing with Photoshop again instead of getting on with my writing! Nifty, though, eh?

A GENTLEWOMAN'S PREDICAMENT has been out four days now, and it's received its first four star review on Goodreads from Tracyene, who loved it and can't wait for the next in the series. Wonderfully heartening to hear her good opinion! :)

"Predicament" is also starting to appear at a variety of different digital outlets and can now be purchased from eHarlequin, Kindle, Sony eBook Store, Mills and Boon, Books on Board, Fictionwise and Diesel eBook Store. So if you haven't yet indulged, why not give "Madame" Chamfleur and "her" naughty stable of hot Victorian studs a whirl, eh?

Saturday 1 May 2010

Yay, I'm a historical author now!


I'm thrilled to announce that A Gentlewoman's Predicament is published today! Although most people who visit here will know that because I've been battering on about my first historical Spice Brief and it's imminent arrival for long enough... :)

Have got to admit that I'm a bit nervous about this one. Though I experimented with some historical scenes in Gothic Blue, this is the first entirely historical work I've released and it's a definite challenge to create a period 'voice' when all I've ever really done until now is work with modern characters and settings. I hope it works. I think it works. My editor certainly seems to like it. But now it's up to the readers to judge whether I've pulled it off. Eek!

Still, writing stories set in the Victorian era is a gamble I'm totally committed to now, given that my first ever full length Harlequin novel is set in that time period too. I'm loving the research, and I was fascinated by everything Victorian long before it ever occurred to me to write about those times... so I'm hoping for the best and trying my utmost to get In The Flesh right so that it'll be a worthy contribution to the Spice erotic list.

Anyway, back to A Gentlewoman's Predicament. It's already available from eHarlequin and Kindle, and by the time you read this it might also be live at Diesel Ebooks. It's also listed at the Mills & Boon ebook store, but I'm not sure whether you can buy it there yet, as it's listed as a June title. I'm sure it'll pop up at other outlets soon too, so check at your favourites.

Here's the official Harlequin blurb for 'Predicament'. I must admit, it contains a little bit of a spoiler, but it's not really a problem as Mme. Chamfleur's naughty secret is very quickly revealed in the story. ;)


"Sofia Harewood's problem: finding a partner who can please her in the bedroom better than her disappointing first husband! She senses there should be so much more to lovemaking—and she's determined to discover what she's been missing.
Sofia's mission takes her to A. Chamfleur, purveyor of "Intimate Advice to the Gentlewoman"...but the encounter is not at all what she had imagined. For A. Chamfleur turns out to be Monsieur Chamfleur—and he and his associates are more than willing to introduce Sofia to a new world of sensual delights....
And look for Portia Da Costa's next story of Victorian sensuality, A Gentlewoman's Ravishment, the second installment of the Ladies' Sewing Circle series."