Happy New Year!

Look at this beaut!

Isn't this cover for the Mammoth Book of Hot Romance gorgeous?

My contribution is FIRE AND ICE, a somewhat wintry story with a warm, naughty centre. Lots of other fabulous authors between the covers too, notably my super writing buddy, Saskia Walker!

Seasons Greetings!

The God of the Hive

The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wonderful! I devoured this at top speed, desperate to know the resolution of the story that began in the previous book.

There were some great new supporting characters in God of the Hive. I'm not usually a fan of child characters, but I found Estelle to be very likable. And I loved Robert Goodman! He was intriguing and playful, tragic and yet somehow triumphant. With his blond puckishness, he somehow reminded me of my own current muse... ;)

I thoroughly enjoyed this fine addition to the Russell/Holmes saga and now I can't wait for The Pirate King next year.

View all my reviews

I'm Christmas visiting today...

with my buddy Madelynne Ellis, who's running a fun Advent calendar at the moment. Behind today's door there's a saucy excerpt from A GENTLEWOMAN'S PREDICAMENT!

Advent Calender Day 19: Portia Da Costa

The *other* Patrick and Miranda

Because I'm a colossal doofus and my memory is a bit dodgy, I've managed to write two pieces of fiction lately where the names of the hero and heroine are Patrick and Miranda. I'm not sure how I've got fixated on the name Miranda, unless it's because this wonderful lady is so funny, but obviously, the name Patrick is derived from my current Muse, the divine Patrick Jane, the clever yet tragic central character in The Mentalist.

A couple of days ago, I linked to an excerpt of TOUCH OF HEAVEN, my late 2011 paranormal erotic romance novella from Samhain - in which Patrick #1 is the mysterious and hunky next door neighbour of Miranda #1.

Today I have a link to the story of Patrick #2 and Miranda #2. This Miranda is a successful and dynamic businesswoman who's a bit of a workaholic and desperately needs a bit of downtime and a change of scene. Luckily, she has a remarkable and rather gorgeous male PA, who also happens to be called Patrick. When the pair go for a drive in the country, their roles are reversed, and Miranda discovers that the super efficient and normally subservient Patrick is actually a thrillingly dominant lover with a taste for kinky fun.

Why not not check them out as they set out on their excursion...

A VERY PERSONAL ASSISTANT

Unfortunately, there's a little bit of a wait to read the full story. It'll be published by Harlequin Spice Briefs in March 2012.

THE LANGUAGE OF BEES

The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another wonderful installment of Mary Russell's memoirs. I was a little bit slower to become immersed in this one than some of the others, but once I really got stuck in, I was as captivated as ever.

I think the slight problem for me was that I've never been a fan of Irene Adler, and have been even less fond since I discovered Mary! So it wasn't easy to warm to Adler's son, initially.

Clearly, it wasn't a problem with the writing, just my own prejudices. I've become quite protective of Mary and Sherlock's relationship and don't want echoes of past loves to intrude.

Silly, I know, but it just shows how skilfully the memoirs are written and how deeply I've been drawn into them. :)

Naturally now, I'm dying to read THE GOD OF THE HIVE!

View all my reviews

TOUCH OF HEAVEN - a first look

Pleasure with a perfect stranger can be divine

When Miranda Clay first sets eyes on her neighbors' temporary house-sitter she gets a delicious, erotic treat that she hadn't bargained for - mysterious Patrick likes to sunbathe without his clothes on! Mesmerizing and golden, her new friend is more than just a handsome face and a perfect male body though, and his healing hands and his uncanny natural empathy quickly dispel Miranda's aches and pains and her fears of growing older. But as the pair are drawn ever closer, and their physical intimacy becomes transcendent, a stunning revelation and an agonizing choice threaten to part them even while a lasting love blossoms.

~~~~~~~~~~

Touch of Heaven is a sexy paranormal novella that's due to be published by Samhain Publishing in the second half of 2011. 

Click here to read an excerpt and meet the divine Patrick! :)

Stories of Married Bliss...

Here's a wonderful anthology that I'm really excited to be a part of - compiled by a legendary editor!

WITH THIS RING, I THEE WED - edited by Alison Tyler

As the title suggests, this is a collection of stories themed around weddings and marriage, from the engagement stage right through to the anniversary celebrations of long-standing couples. My story is called ANNIVERSARY WALTZ and describes the rather perverse anniversary celebrations enjoyed by a loving and long married couple, Amanda and Julian. They're a husband and wife who love to play games...

Read an excerpt here

Published in May 2011 by Harlequin Spice

In the New Year and beyond...

Here's my provisional schedule for 2011 and beyond:

• March 2011 - Far From Perfect - contemporary romance from Samhain
  
• May 2011 - The Anniversary Waltz - BDSM short story in With This Ring, I Thee Bed
  
• July 2011 - Fire & Ice - short story in the Mammoth Book of Hot Romance
  
• Autumn 2011 - Touch of Heaven - paranormal erotic romance novella from Samhain
  
• September 2011 - Another Chance - erotic romance short story from Spice Briefs
  
• January 2012 - In The Flesh - historical erotic romance novel from Harlequin Spice
  
• March 2012 - A Very Personal Assistant - erotic romance short story from Spice Briefs
  
• September 2012 - A Gentlewoman's Rescue - Ladies' Sewing Circle #3 from Spice Briefs
  
• March 2013 - A Gentlewoman's Dalliance - Ladies' Sewing Circle #4 from Spice Briefs
  
• TBA 2012/13 - Historical erotic romance novel #2 from Harlequin Spice
  

There's a possibility that there might be one or two other story items, but nothing definite. I'm very keen on the idea of self publishing something too, perhaps a small anthology of stories to start with.

Look forward to excerpts of a few more items on the list in the near future.

What's happening at the moment...

Gah, sorry for the long silence here. I'm the most hopeless blogger on the face of the earth. Even when I've got news to announce, I tend to blank on ways to convey it and blog about it. Shameful, when writing is my trade...

So what's the latest?

My most recent publication is a short story in the lovely Rachel Kramer Bussel's PASSION anthology.

This is a selection of hot but romantic stories from a variety of authors including Rachel herself, my brilliant critique partner and all round literary life support pal Saskia Walker, and other online buddies like Justine Elyot and Charlene Teglia, plus many more fabulous folk. My effort is THE EFFICIENCY EXPERT and features an unlikely hero, a hated and feared 'management consultant' who comes in to sort out the company where the heroine works. But when Susie meets Noah out of hours, in a bar, she discovers he's not quite the ogre she's made him out to be at work... in fact, he's a sexy hunk with a much more amenable side to his nature.

Here's a mini snippet of THE EFFICIENCY EXPERT, plus some links so you can buy PASSION!

In terms of what I'm writing at the moment... Well, I'm working on the early stages of a proposal for my second Spice novel. I have one or two different notions... I won't grace them with the word ideas as they're still so vague they hardly earn that title... but the strongest contender seems to be something I'm just calling Diamonds for the moment. It involves a Victorian inheritance, and a pair of distant cousins with issues - both between one another, and with other people and situations. Adela and Wilson Ruffington don't really like each other all that much, although they can't deny a mutual attraction. Both are somewhat spiky and difficult characters, and not what you'd classically call "beautiful people". I'm at the very early stages with Diamonds, though, and have only written half of a scene... and have very little plot to speak of, as yet.

Prior to working on Diamonds, I completed A Gentlewoman's Dalliance, which is #4 in my Victorian Ladies' Sewing Circle series for Harlequin Spice Briefs. In this one, naughty prime time lady, Mrs. Mary Brigstock indulges in kinky fun with her hubby... and a handsome young 'specialist'. Oooh, la, la! I'm hoping to post a teaser of that one soon on my web site, along with one from #3, A Gentlewoman's Rescue, in which lady bicyclist Lucy falls off her bike and almost straight into the arms of Ethan, a deliciously earthy hunk with a secluded country cottage.

These two stories won't be available until September 2012 and March 2013 respectively, alas. Sob, sob, sob... But in the meantime, you can still whet your appetite for my Victorian writing with my first two Ladies' Sewing Circle outings: A Gentlewoman's Predicament and A Gentlewoman's Ravishment, the risqué adventures of Circle members Sofia and Prudence respectively.

That's all for the moment, but I hope to post again tomorrow [yeah, right...] with news of what's in the pipeline for next year and beyond in terms of writing and book and story releases...