Ah, happy days...

Another nice pic of the Big Adventure Gals ie. Saskia, Madelynne and Portia, taken by our buddy Victoria Janssen.

Yesterday was a cool day!

Didn't do much in the way of writing, but lots of nice things happened! :)

First was my first post RWA lunch out with my buddy Saskia... and as always, it was totally brill!

[this is her at the Passionate Ink Party, but she looks just as stylish in Cafe Revive!]

We had a good long natter and enjoyed the opportunity to review and reflect on our experiences in San Francisco. The highlights, the tougher aspects such as jet lag, the people we met, and the value we think we got out of the trip. We both concluded that we got lots of the latter! We also compared notes on the projects we have ahead and how we're going to approach them...

When I parted from Saskia, promising we'd get together again soon, I moseyed on down to the local Waterstones and found 2 copies of Gothic Blue in stock. Now, in San Francisco, bolstered by Saskia urging me on, I'd signed some books in a Borders there, but I wasn't quite sure I could do the signing thing alone in a local shop. I circled the store two or three times, buying an AA mini guide to Washington in the process, but eventually, I plucked up courage to ask the man on the desk if he wanted me to sign my books. I'm glad to say he was really pleased and delighted, and I managed to adorn each copy with a fairly reasonable PDC autograph... and slip in a promotional postcard plugging IN TOO DEEP [which is out in the UK on 4th Sept, eeek agh!]

Speaking of IN TOO DEEP, some author copies of the same arrived yesterday too.

I must admit it looks absolutely fabboo 'in the flesh' and even more deliciously pink! Which pleases me no end, as pink is my favourite 'accent' colour. :)

I also received another foreign edition. A German version of THE DEVIL INSIDE.

The German title translates as "I see what you need"... which actually makes quite a lot of sense in respect of the plot! The eagle-eyed amongst you might notice an 'extra' piece of lace above the girl's right wrist... Although this is a fairly tasteful cover compared to some of my continental editions, there was a nip on show, and as I don't want to get want to get a government health warning on my blog for rude pictures, I thought I'd better be cautious and hide it. ;)

Oh, and to round off a pretty splendid day, in the evening I had a jolly good online chat with my other RWA travelling companion, Madelynne. This was another chinwag about writing projects and general juicy gossip... and the Z word was not uttered even once. ;)

More RWA frivolity!

Cathleen Ross, Madelynne and me! Think this was at the Harlequin Party... and that's cola I'm drinking, honest!

more gratuitous Ed... and thoughts

Here's another choice and moody piccie of Edward Norton in American History X... aka Jay Bentley in my WIP, KISS IT BETTER. Have just been watching the movie and discovering scenes I hadn't expected to see... very, very powerful stuff, and definitely disturbing.

Have been thinking me some about KIB. It's going to be romantic, but I'm definitely determined not to sell it short in terms of hot sensual action too. There's got to be a good mix, a good balance of the two aspects of my writing... strong eroticism melded with a real, believable, perhaps even slightly prickly love story.

I think I can do it. I believe I can do it. It'll be a fun challenge. :)

On the 'recovery' front, I'm still battling with a degree of fatigue. Was quite strong yesterday, and did 1.3K words on KIB, but today, I'm flagging again. The trip to San Francisco really took a bite out of me, I've got to admit. I think it's my age, and a few bits and pieces of health issues that I have... I'm okay, basically, but I do have stamina issues sometimes and RWA demanded a *lot* of stamina, even for the young and sprightly!

But having said all that, it's the brilliant, lovely, fun parts of the trip that I remember. The very, very positive stuff. And no amount of jet lag and weariness can deter me from wanting to repeat the experience!

Getting back to normal?

Yes, I think I'm gradually beginning to return to the everyday world of my normal writing and non writing life... at last. It's been a strange and wonderful interlude, this RWA experience, and though I must admit it's been a tad physically challenging, in terms of jet lag and fatigue and whatnot, the positive aspects have far and away outweighed any slight negative bobbles.

I find it hard to look back and form a truly coherent picture. It's more little vignettes that float in my mind, bobbing in a delicious and fondly reminiscent soup. Dazzling flashes that illuminate an overall landscape of warmth, friendship and welcome. I can't begin to describe the awesomeness of how kind people were. Both my existing friends, and new friends. Also, what it felt like when people knew me, recognised me, rushed up to me and hugged me... and said heartwarming things about my writing and my books. For someone who's always waiting for the other shoe to fall, and for someone to say 'it's all a mistake, we take it back... return to square one', this kind of affirmation is like a pure gold dream. It just blows me away!

Attending RWA was an A1 experience for me, completely invaluable for any number of reasons. And I want to thank my dear buddy Saskia for encouraging me, and making me brave enough to make the trip, and for guiding me through the entire process and helping me and making me laugh and enjoy myself every step of the way. Never mind Alcatraz, she was my rock. Also, I want to thank my other wonderful travelling companion Madelynne for the same reasons. Her calmness and unflappability were a real steadying force for me, and her sense of humour really pepped me up when I was flagging sometimes.

But now, it's back to work. KISS IT BETTER is my priority, with a deadline of 1st of December. Sounds a long way away, but if the first part of this year is anything to go by, it'll be on me in a flash. KIB will be a challenge, too. It's very, very much a romance book. It has a romance type structure, and will definitely have a full on happily ever after... but... it still has to be full of the hot, hot sex that people expect in a Portia Da Costa novel. Melding the two things can sometimes be a tall order, but I'm prepared to strive my best to do it, and do it as well as I can.

Read these accounts!

Here's a cute photo of me with [L-R] my buddies Saskia, Shelli and Karen at the Harlequin Party at RWA.

I'm being very lazy, and not really writing proper accounts of my recent trip, but Saskia is doing some fabulous recaps of RWA. We didn't go to *all* the same things, obviously, but her lovely summaries do contain quite a bit about yours truly, so check them out for a wonderful flavour of the event, the people and the ambience.

The Naughty Lady from Shady Lane

The Hat... yes, I wore it!

As my brain is still totally fried and I have the creative capabilities of a mollusc at the moment, here's a piccie instead.

It's me in 'The Hat' in San Francisco! Yes, I wore it quite a lot when I was out in the sun and it was just the ticket for keeping rays off my lily white face. So, am really pleased with the way it turned out.

You'll also notice one of the famous San Francisco cable cars in the background, and shortly after Saskia took this shot, we boarded one and rode back from Fisherman's Wharf to Union Square. It was a blast! We felt like we were in the movies... LOL

Note also the nifty Adam Ant tee shirt! Tee shirt lover that I am, I brought three back for myself from the City by the Bay, plus one for himself.

My first Literacy Signing

Here's me hiding my nerves behind a grin! Was terrified nobody would stop by, but in fact lots of people turned up to say hello. :)

Photo by Saskia

Yes, I am back...

.... I didn't get lost or detained in San Francisco!

This is a piccie of me, taken in the Fisherman's Wharf area, during a sight-seeing trip with Saskia, with the infamous island of Alcatraz there in the background.

And here's me again with the gorgeous and lovely Michelle Buonfiglio at the Bellas' Breakfast, one of the highlights of my RWA experience. I think Madelynne took this piccie...

I don't think I'm capable of writing a proper account of my trip, as it's all pretty overwhelming and my poor jet lagged and sleep deprived brain just doesn't seem to be able to process it properly. Suffice it to say, though, that our RWA really was the adventure of a lifetime, and totally crazy, exciting and fun from start to finish. Met some lovely, lovely people and returned happy and inspired!

Yikes, I'm really going to San Francisco!

Yes, the time has finally arrived! I'm just chilling at the moment before doing my final packing, and then this evening, it's off on the first stage of my long journey to San Francisco. Spending a night at a hotel at Leeds/Bradford airport, so we're on the spot for our 5am check-in... eek!

Not sure if I'll be able to keep in touch while I'm away [I'm a rubbish blogger when I'm home!] but there may be Tweets to the right, if my phone will work properly in the US, and there may even be mini blogs from my phone, although not many, because it'll be expensive.

So, hope to have some nice piccies when I get back, and lots of stories to tell about the conference and all the fun I'll have with my mates, old and new.

Au revoir and all that... :)

A strange and wonderful day!

First of all, here are my newly dyed eyelashes, ready for RWA. They might not look anything special, but believe me, they look twice as long as they did before, due to the pale tips now being a beautiful shade of blue-black. :) Note also the tidy brows as opposed to the previous Neanderthal Babe look...

Today's big news broke, however, just as I was setting off for the La Femme Beauty Rooms. Got a phone call from my agent, with various bits of news... and the big kicker of me having sold four short stories/mini novellas to Spice Briefs!!!

I can barely believe this. In fact I keep waiting to wake up. I was very, very cautiously hopeful about these stories, but the reality of selling them still seems amazing. I've actually only written two of them. One is A Gentlewoman's Predicament, my naughty Victorian thingie, and the other is Twice the Pleasure, a menage a trois story, which is the first in a trio of shorts entitled Risque Reunions, all based around a ten year school reunion. I just have outlines for stories #2 and #3, but they're pretty clear in my mind, and shortish, of course, so I can't wait to get my teeth into them and polish them off too.

The timing of this news is fantastic too, and will help no end with my confidence levels at RWA! At the moment I feel as if I could almost float across to San Francisco, no jet required!

More news as and when it breaks...

My RWA spending money!

Have been to the Post Office and got myself some dollars for my trip to America... although not quite as many as shown above! LOL! I don't think the bills for drinks and snacks and coffees and souvenirs will quite come to $26 millon...

Have also had my bushy eyebrows groomed into an nice neat feminine shape as opposed to my usual Denis Healey style... Tomorrow, my pale and whispy eyelashes go dark... :)

The Mad Hatter

Here's a piccie of my new bush hat/sun hat that I just got for my trip to RWA. It's for just in case we choose to go out for a stroll and the sun is bright. I'm not one for exposing my lily white face to the rays, and also with my hair being so chemicalised so brutally, it's not a great idea to get too much sun on that, either. I think the chapeau looks quite nifty, even allowing for me looking like a dead dog due to lack of makeup. :)

In other news, I had a sleepless night, mulling over something, so I feel pretty knackered today. I've made my peace with the issues that were bugging me, and actually see positive spins now, but it's left me weary. I may have forty winks in a minute, or, if I can't nod off, I might relax with Saskia Walker's gorgeous book RECKLESS, which I'm currently loving and savouring.

In even *more* news, I've been interviewed again! This time it's at the wonderful WE WRITE ROMANCE site.

Click here to learn some not particulary dirty secrets about me!

I.am.a.serious.writer not a.kink.penning.freak... Yeah, right... LOL

It's like a hurricane out there...

Just look at all this mad wind over the British Isles! It's crazy out there! I've just been up to little town for an essential prescription, and I nearly got wafted off my feet... and I'm no sylph, I can tell you. When I got back I felt as if I'd been put through an industrial mincer and an hour later I'm only just getting over the shock of it.

Am really close to the end of In Too Deep now. Just a couple of scenes left to write. Strangely though, I'm still not in 'race for the end' mode, the way I usually am at this stage. I'm almost reluctant to push on... not because I don't want to leave my characters, but because this has been quite a tough book to write and I'm scared of it somehow. And I know there will be tons of editing, changing and layering to do. I think the lesson to be learned is to stop pantsing as much, and do more planning and working out beforehand. Then I wouldn't be changing so much on the fly and having to go back and engineer what's already been written in order for it to be consistent. I freely admit that I dove into this book without a clear idea of what it was... and that's just stupid!!!

In other news, plans are steaming ahead for The Big Adventure! I'm thrilled to announce that our little Mad Brit Erotic Romance Posse has officially increased to three, as Madelynne has now registered for the conference and will definitely be joining Saskia and I on the expedition! I can't wait! I know we three are going to have the wildest time! Saskia is going to have her hands full with us two nervous nelly flyers though... I haven't been on a plane in nearly 30 years and Madelynne has never flown! It should be veeerrry interesting! :)

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Telly: nothing yet
Choc/Yummy: grapes .... :(
Mood: vaguely out of sorts but not too bad
Writing: not yet
Reading: some stuff for a buddy
RSI/FMS: not bad


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

planning meeting....

Had a splendid and very jolly lunch with Saskia yesterday! It was part planning meeting for The Great Adventure and part our usual robust and occasionally a tad raucous discussion about writing and the erotic romance writing scene in particular. Have to say, we were both on splendid form and probably terrified a lot of the quiet living patrons of Cafe Revive in big town! LOL

Also tried on some trousers in BHS, with a view to building my wardrobe for the forthcoming trip, but was most displeased with the sight that greeted me in the harsh, unforgiving light of the changing room mirror. Was rather afraid that Captain Ahab would fling a harpoon over the top of the cubicle door, so vast were the tracts of blubber on show. I think it's time to start easing back on the quantities of chocolate that I consume, and to try and eat a bit more healthily. I don't want to be skinny or anything, because I'm not that uncomfortable with the way I look, and I dress crafty anyway.... but I don't want to be charged for excess @rse-baggage when I board the aeroplane in July!

And finally, is anyone interested in a Yahoochat with a bunch of fabulous Berkley Heat authors today? Including my fabulous buddy Saskia and many others?

Well, they'll be hanging out on the Joyfully Reviewed Chat Loop between 10am and 10pm EST. It should be fantastic... I'm looking forward to joining in the fun.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chatting_with_Joyfully_Reviewed/

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Telly: News24
Choc/Yummy: fruit :(
Mood: fat
Writing: not yet
Reading: Exclusive anthology
RSI/FMS: achy, due to being fat


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

An awfully big adventure...

Those who visit this blog often enough will have gathered that I don't go anywhere very much. I'm a homebody, and I go to the supermarket, the fish and chip restaurant or the Toby Inn, and the pub. I sometimes walk up into little town to the shops, and if I'm feeling really ambitious or brave, I go to big town to meet my lovely writing buddy Saskia, or to Manchester to meet my other lovely writing buddy Madelynne and sometimes other writing friends too.

What I do not usually do is leave the country or get on aeroplanes...

But that's all going to change. Come the end of July, I'll be boarding a jet to San Francisco to attend the 2008 Romance Writers of America Conference! To say this is a big step for me is a massive understatement... the last time I flew, I swear the pilots were named Orville and Wilbur!

Luckily for me though, I'll be in the company of Saskia, who lives not too far from me, so we can travel together. And hopefully, if all goes well, Madelynne will be with us too! How cool is that? A mini posse of crazy British erotic romance authors... I can't say yet whether we'll take the conference by storm, but at least we'll be there, causing a little stir of some sort. Even if it's just all my American chums giggling at my broad Yorkshire accent!


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Telly: Numb3rs
Choc/Yummy: christmas chox
Mood: sort of excited but distracted
Writing: not yet today, but soon
Reading: A Kingdom of Dreams - Judith McNaught
RSI/FMS: so so


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!