Fiona Lowe's Blog, page 9

Great News for my Aussie & Kiwi Readers

On Thursday I got a lovely note from Harlequin Australia telling me that my Wedding Fever trilogy….Saved By The Bride, Picture Perfect Wedding and Runaway Groom… would be coming out in print later in the year in Australia and New Zealand. They’ll be on-shelf where all Mills & Boon books are sold. Color me happy!

The books will come out in paperback in three consecutive months starting in September 2014. I’ll keep you posted on covers as that news comes to hand.

Deadline Life

North-east Montana Photo courtesy of Kari Lynn Dell http://www.montanaforreal.blogspot.com

I am very close to my deadline for my current single title novel; the Montana set book which I’m describing as E.R meets Northern Exposure and like anyone with a project deadline, it’s nose down, tail up and any attempt to stay connected to the real world does slip slightly. I have to set reminders upon reminders so I don’t forget school functions and appointments.

I am also judging Rita books so at the end of a long day of writing, I’m reading.  Not a hardship right? Except it too is reading with a deadline. Kinda sucks the joy out of it a bit although the book I just finished was so fantastic I was sad it was over. Sadly I can’t say which book it is but I am keen to read more of the author.

So that’s my life at the moment. What’s happening in yours?

Mr. Fixit is my Valentine.

It’s Valentine’s Day in Australia and it’s a humid, muggy day and the roses are looking  kinda droopy! Bit like me, really   Today I’m reflecting on Valentine’s past. When I was born, Valentine’s Day in Australia was a non-event. Even when I was a young adult it really wasn’t a big deal here but things have changed! Retailers want us to think it’s a big day.

But me, ever the romantic since at age 14 when I’d read Pride and Prejudice, I dreamed of being given a single, long-stemmed, red rose. I remember the excitement of receiving it too. It was given to me by a guy who bought it because I’d dropped a million hints! Thing is, I have to confess, I actually loved the rose way more than poor Tim. Sorry about that, buddy!

When my husband and I lived in the United States, we totally embraced Valentine’s Day because, wow, they really celebrate it from kindergarten through to the elderly. So we did the full deal; champagne, dinner, chocolates, sexy lingeries, the works. Great fun!

My husband is a random Valentine’s celebrator….one year I’ll get flowers, another ten I won;t but that’s okay because on the other 364 days of the year he does things like ironing, laundry, and bless him, he tries to repair stuff. Sometimes it works!

Since becoming a Harlequin author, Valentine’s day has been special. For a few years, they threw a ball in Sydney which was great fun but then the global financial crisis hit and now we get a little gift which I look forward to every year. There have been roses, chocolates, an umbrella. I wonder what it will be this year.

This morning, I helped my 10th grade son, cut roses from the garden to take for the girls in his class. I thought this was sweet and I figured my job as a romance author and mother was done. He will grow up hopefully to be a tad more romantic in the traditional sense than his father and chances are, given his skill in technical things, perhaps a lot better at repairing things!  Meanwhile, I need to teach him to cook and iron.

If there is one thing I have learned over the last twenty years, that is stage-mange your day so you get to enjoy it .My husband is out of town so I am now off to pick myself some roses to enjoy, put some champagne on ice and read a great romance.

Wherever you are, what ever you’re doing. Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

A German Doctor makes a diagnosis from watching House!

As you probably know, every medical romance author loves a good medical TV drama. What you may not know is that most doctors and nurses also enjoy them too. Back in the day, when I worked in a hospital, I used to watch E.R. and try to make the diagnosis before the TV doctors!

So imagine my surprise when I read this article in the paper on Saturday.

If you’re stricken with a rare medical condition, you better hope your doctor watches the right television show.”

It turns out that a German man suffering from a mixture of symptoms, including fever, blindness, deafness and enlarged lymph nodes was confounding his doctors and he was referred by his doctors to a specialist.

It just so happens that Dr. Juergen Schaefer, from the Centre of Undiagnosed Diseases, is a HOUSE devotee. He worked out the problem within five minutes because he’d seen it on HOUSE!! How cool is that?

Apparently, post hip replacement, cobalt was leaking into the man’s s blood supply from small fragments of his ceramic hip.

To read more about it, you can click HERE…there’s a video!

So what’s your favourite medical TV show and has it saved a life?

(PS Who thinks Hugh Laurie is a hunk? Also he is a musician…great jazz CD)

(This blog also appears at Love Is the Best Medicine)

Our Camping Vacation/Holiday

I’ve been off the air-ways on vacation/holidays in a tent. Cue a heatwave!

Yes, folks, we had four days of temperatures over 43C/108F (!!) and I was under canvas. Fortunately,  we were by the sea so although it was stifling hot, most days we could catch a breeze or just sit in the ocean.

Now, the Southern Ocean is a freezing place and most summers,I am in a full length wetsuit just to survive ten minutes in the water. This year, the water was like a bath! I didn’t get the wetsuit out of the bag.  On the hot days, not even the sea could summon up any energy and it was flat-as…no surf for us

The rest of the time was pleasant weather. We cycled, we read, we canoed, we ate, we sailed, we slept, we played board games and ‘bare foot bowls’ (too much fun) and the boys’ friends visited.

In the middle of all that, my latest book, Runaway Groom launched so there was a mad dash to the library to do some promo!

I got home to a new contract for two medical romances so they will appear in 2015 and 2016. Meanwhile, remember that Runaway Groom is now on sale where all e

Books are sold!

Amazon Kindle,  Barnes & Noble Nook

Carina Press ,   Kobo ,  iBooks

Booktopia (Australia & NZ)
Sony Store Australia ,  JB HI Books , iBooks Australia

So that’s what I’ve been up to! What board games do you play on holidays/vacation?

Happy Australia Day; January 26th

It’s Australia Day today…our national day.

Australia Day, January 26, is the biggest day of celebration in the country and is observed as a public holiday in all states and territories.

On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what’s great about Australia and being Australian. It’s the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation and what we mourn about it. For me this year, it is the current treatment of our asylum seekers that makes me embarrassed to be an Australian and utterly furious all at the same time.

It’s also the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future. Australia Day means different things to different people, especially for thethe First Australians. For many Indigenous Australians 26 January is an occasion to reflect on past loss and suffering.

There are Australia Day awards recognising service in all shapes and forms and it is also a day many migrants decide to adopt Australia as their country and they take up citizenship. They are given a certificate and a small native plant to mark this significant occasion.

My family generally attend a family day by the sea where there are free rides, fire works and community groups spruiking their activities. The smell of onions, sausages, falafels, souvlaki and ice cream fill the air….a true representation of our multicultural society.

Release Day for Runaway Groom!

 Today is release day for Runaway Groom, book 3 in my Wedding Fever trilogy! Cue the sound of champagne corks popping and fireworks exploding

It’s also my 24th novel and it’s just as exciting as my first or perhaps even more so because now I have dear readers who know me and write me asking when the next book is coming out

I was thrilled to get an email from a reader with an advanced copy who said, “Dear Fiona, You are not helping my insomnia!”

She read Runaway Groom in one sitting

Just in case you don’t know what Runaway Groom is about, it features an Aussie guy on the run, a lawyer hiding out and a heap of well meaning people in Whitetail. It’s a stand-alone book BUT if you’ve read Saved By the Bride and Picture Perfect Wedding, you get to revisit with old friends too.

I have a Pinterest board so you can peek in and see the log cabin Amy and Ben are forced to stay in

This is what the blurb says…..

Runaway Groom; Book three of Wedding Fever

Amy Sagar’s life is in ruins. Fired from her fast-track job and dumped by her double-crossing boyfriend, she retreats to Whitetail, Wisconsin, to lick her wounds and regroup. Meeting an impossible, sexy Australian isn’t part of her strategy for getting back on track.

Ben Armytage is running away. After being left at the altar and publicly humiliated, he’s taking his vintage motorcycle on an extended road trip from Argentina to Alaska. Having his journey interrupted by a breakdown and sharing a house with a curvy, redheaded lawyer in a town obsessed with weddings was never on his itinerary.

Though being stuck in a luxury log cabin isn’t really a hardship, living together with their broken hearts isn’t easy. When the attraction between Amy and Ben proves unstoppable, they’ll both begin rethinking their plans…

For more weddings in Whitetail, check outSaved by the Bride andPicture Perfect Wedding, available now!

 

Early reviews have been very positive with readers giving Runaway Groom 4 and 5 stars!

Fiona Lowe always has a way of mixing comedy with a sweet, hot, romance, Runaway Groom was no exception.

 

“I absolutely loved Runaway Groom. Fiona writes a wonderful romance.”

It’s a big book of 99,000 words and you can grab it from every eBook store for around $3-$4. Here are some helpful links!

Amazon Kindle,  Barnes & Noble Nook

Carina Press ,   Kobo ,  iBooks
Booktopia (Australia & NZ)
Sony Store Australia ,  JB HI Books , iBooks Australia

I hope you enjoy the Wedding Fever trilogy!

Welcome 2014.

Wishing you a healthy, happy and adventurous 2014 with plenty of time for reading!

Lost Days

In Australia, it’s summer and now Christmas is over, many people take vacation days between Christmas and New Year. I call these the lost days and I love them. We stay home and potter about, recovering from the frantic rush that was the end of the school year and the run-up to Christmas.

So what do we do? We play with our Christmas gifts.

We eat the food we baked for Christmas

We read books.

 

We work in the garden and prune the roses

 

 And we watch movies new and old. Do you have to work between Christmas and New Year or are you on vacation?

If you got some book money at Christmas and are looking to spend it,  then I’m thrilled to tell you that Runaway Groom is up for pre-order now! This is book three in my Wedding Fever trilogy and you get to meet Amy and Ben along with some old Whitetail friends.

What’s it about?

 Welcome to Whitetail, Wisconsin,  home of Weddings that WOW!  

Amy Sagar’s life is in ruins. Fired from her fast-track job and dumped by her double-crossing boyfriend, she retreats to Whitetail, Wisconsin, to lick her wounds and regroup. Meeting an impossible, sexy Australian isn’t part of her strategy for getting back on track.

Ben Armytage is running away. After being left at the altar and publicly humiliated, he’s taking his vintage motorcycle on an extended road trip from Argentina to Alaska. Having his journey interrupted by a breakdown and sharing a house with a curvy, redheaded lawyer in a town obsessed with weddings was never on his itinerary.

Though being stuck in a luxury log cabin isn’t really a hardship, living together with their broken hearts isn’t easy. When the attraction between Amy and Ben proves unstoppable, they’ll both begin rethinking their plans…

For more weddings in Whitetail, check out Saved by the Bride and Picture Perfect Wedding, available now!

Amazon Kindle,

Barnes & Noble Nook

Carina Press , Kobo, iBooks

Booktopia (Australia & NZ)

Sony Store Australia , JB HI Books,iBooks Australia

This Week in Pictures

With six more sleeps until Christmas, December’s hit the crazy-manic feeling and this blog is late but I bet no one notices cos you’re all doing the crazy manic stuff too!

So what’s been happening?

*We picked up Boy Wonder from his year at school in the mountains and he’s home for good He’s taller, his face is longer and his voice is deeper and he came home with a swag of prizes, including a Trangia. I see more hiking in his future.

 

*My husband arrived home last night with a mountain of gear including a bike and a TV. His job in Sydney is over and we need to assimilate  an apartment of stuff into our home. Fun times!

*I baked the Christmas cake. 

*After 13 years, I lashed out and bought a new Christmas wreath

*The Christmas tree is up and it stressed the cat out so much she pee’d on the carpet. More fun times!

So now it’s time to start wrapping presents and do some meal planning for the two family functions I am hosting.

How are you going with the final run-up?