The Return of Clever Bobby Stone

I'm thrilled to announce that my classic Black Lace title, ENTERTAINING MR STONE, has just been reprinted with a brand new, dramatic cover!

Entertaining Mr Stone is a favourite of mine, amongst my own books, for a number of reasons. When I was writing it, way back in 2004, I tried something of a different kind of voice for me, a story told in first person present, solely from the point of view of the heroine, Maria Lewis. I'd never done this before, but somehow it really worked and I had enormous fun with a new way of storytelling, really getting inside Maria's head and her thoughts and emotions.

I also loved writing the book because it gave me a chance to indulge my fannish passion for a fabulously talented actor who I had a major crush back then [and who I still think is sensational!], the amazing Vincent D'Onofrio. I was heavily into Law and Order Criminal Intent at the time, and I wanted to create a book boyfriend of my own who was somehow an expression of Robert Goren, but at the same time a new and unique character in his own right - a man who was sexy, powerful and dynamic, but not a classic pretty boy hero. Robert Stone is a middle aged man, husky of build, and with a touch of grey in his hair, but he has that certain je ne sais quoi which makes women fall at his feet and tremble at his - very kinky - touch.

Another fun part of the book was that instead of a glamorous international setting... I set the book in a reflection of the locale where I live myself, a medium sized city in the North of England. I also used other things from my own background ie. the specific setting is Borough Hall, a local government office building much like one I used to work in. Alas when I worked there, there was no Robert Stone-alike, and none of the shenanigans that take place in Entertaining Mr Stone... in that respect, the book is pure, escapist fantasy!

And Entertaining Mr Stone also initiated other stories, establishing the time and place for a lot of books that came after it.

In Suite Seventeen Stone and Maria are secondary characters and the Waverley Grange, which first appeared their book, becomes a major setting for not only Annie and Valentino's story, but many books that follow.

In Too Deep is set in the locale of Entertaining Mr Stone, but this time at the Borough Library. Gwendolynne meets Daniel there, but they too spend time at the Waverley Grange.

Another visitor to the Waverley Grange, is Jay Bentley in The Gift, and he and Sandy have many passionate encounters there, when they're not hanging out at her cafe in the small nearby town of Kissley.

The notorious Waverley draws many prestigious visitors, and one of them is handsome kinky billionaire John Smith, who has a piquant encounter with Lizzie Aitchison there, when he mistakes her for The Accidental Call Girl. John and Lizzie's story spans the The Accidental Mistress and The Accidental Bride too, shifting focus to Kissley Magna, the 'posh' end of Kissley, when John buys beautiful Dalethwaite Manor there.

So, Entertaining Mr Stone led to a lot of other things, and I'm pretty sure I'll visit the Borough and its environs again at some time in the future. In the meantime, here's the blurb:

When reforming bad girl Maria Lewis returns to her home town after a career blip she takes a drone job in local government, hope for breathing space and a chance to get her head straight. But the quiet life she was looking for is quickly disrupted by the enigmatic presence of her boss, Borough Director of Finance, Robert Stone. A dangerous and unlikely lust object, Stone touches something deep in Maria's sensual psyche and quickly attunes her to the secret erotic underworld that parallels life in the dusty offices of Borough Hall. 

But the charismatic Director of Finance isn't the only one interested in Maria. Knowing lesbian Mel has designs on the newcomer, and so does cute young techno geek Greg. Human Resources Manager William Youngblood would also like to prise the Borough's latest employee away from the arch-rival for whom he has ambiguous feelings.

Can adventurous Maria find time to experiment with this embarrassment of lovers? As well as entertaining her cool and sexy Mr Stone?

PRINT

Amazon.com :: Amazon.co.uk :: Amazon.ca
Barnes and Noble :: Waterstones

DIGITAL

Kindle: US :: UK :: CA :: AU
Epub: Nook :: Nook UK :: Kobo :: ARe :: Sainsbury's Ebooks :: Waterstones Ebooks
Apple: US :: UK :: CA :: AU



You can read an excerpt of ENTERTAINING MR STONE here.

The Next Big Thing

I was tagged in a blog meme, entitled THE NEXT BIG THING, by the fabulous Kristina Lloyd. It involves the answers to some questions about... well... the next big thing in my publishing life. Here goes:

What is the working title of your book?

The Accidental Call Girl. It's the official title and it's part of an even bigger thing, my 2013 Accidental Trilogy.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was originally inspired to write it after reading Belle De Jour's Diary of a London Call Girl and watching The Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

What genre does your book fall under?

It's an erotic romance with an emotional journey that spans the three books in the trilogy.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

There's no doubt that the hero, John Smith, must be played by Simon Baker if the story was ever to be filmed. For me, John and the character of Patrick Jane are physically identical, even though they have very different personalities.

Lizzie, the heroine, has a lot of fun with her passing resemblance to 50's glamour icon Bettie Page, so I think a good actress to play her would be Gretchen Mol, as she appeared in the Bettie biopic, The Notorious Bettie Page. She has a softer more modern look than Bettie herself, so she'd be perfect for Lizzie.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

"The Secret Diary of a Call Girl... by mistake."

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It's published by Black Lace and I represent myself.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Four or five months.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I'm not sure it's quite like anything else. At least, I hope not!

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Well, that's pretty much the same question as the one about where did the idea come from, isn't it? So the answer is much the same... Belle de Jour's memoir. Although when I first had the idea, I'd never seen The Mentalist, so you could say that the gorgeous Simon Baker inspired me too, in the actual writing of the book, as he's provided a visual that wasn't there in the original concept.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Instead of this being a book about a precocious young stud in his twenties, my hero, John Smith is a beautifully mature and seasoned forty-six. This makes The Accidental Call Girl something of an age gap romance, because John's lover Lizzie is only twenty-four.

The Accidental Call Girl and the entire trilogy is set in the same world as quite a few of my other books, the universe that began with Entertaining Mr Stone. Some of the action takes place at the infamous Waverley Grange Hotel, of Suite Seventeen fame and Lizzie lives in the same Northern 'borough' as the heroines of all my 'Stoneworld' novels ie. Entertaining Mr Stone, Suite Seventeen, In Too Deep and Kiss It Better.


I won't tag anyone else in this meme... but if you feel so inclined to carry it on, please do go ahead! :)

New Interview

There's a new interview with me up at ERWA at the moment. My friend Ashley Lister - author, journalist, reviewer and all round renaissance man - asked me a few 'Between the Lines' questions about how I create and then re-use characters, especially in my Stoneworld novels.

Between the Lines - Portia Da Costa

For those of you not aware of Stoneworld, it's the fictional northern municipal borough I created around this delicious man... Borough Director of Finance Robert Stone as 'played' by the awesome Vincent D'Onofrio. :)

At Lust Bites today...

Basically, yabbering a little bit about Stoneworld... where IN TOO DEEP is set.

Return to Stoneworld... again

If you leave a comment while you're over there, and then again, when I post a saucy excerpt there on Friday, 26th September, you'll go into a prize draw in which the winner receives copies of ENTERTAINING MR STONE and SUITE SEVENTEEN.