Sharon Kendrick's Blog, page 9
November 18, 2012
CHRISTMAS COVERS & MYSTERY TITLES
Another cutesy Christmas cover has arrived - this time from Sweden.
I love it. Although as I recall, the couple were reaching the end of their relationship during the festive season (as so often happens!). They certainly weren't gazing at each other in a dreamy-eyed way like that. If you're interested in the English language version it's called SHAMEFUL SECRET, SHOTGUN WEDDING
And if anyone out there speaks Swedish, I'd love to know what "Lynbryllup" translates as.
I love it. Although as I recall, the couple were reaching the end of their relationship during the festive season (as so often happens!). They certainly weren't gazing at each other in a dreamy-eyed way like that. If you're interested in the English language version it's called SHAMEFUL SECRET, SHOTGUN WEDDING
And if anyone out there speaks Swedish, I'd love to know what "Lynbryllup" translates as.
November 15, 2012
CHEKOV AND BAD TASTE
The Swedish cover of ONE HUSBAND REQUIRED* is just so cosy that I had to share it.A roaring log fire. An old-fashioned Christmas tree (with non-matching baubles just like my own tree, which is always a monument to bad taste). Who could ask for anything more?
Today I saw the giant and pretty fir which has been erected in Covent Garden and which went some way towards soothing my frazzled nerves. I'd just endured the first half of Uncle Vanya and the acting was so bad it made Chekov's writing seem puerile and flat. Just awful. (But at least I didn't have to stay).
*If you don't speak Swedish and would like an English copy of ONE HUSBAND REQUIRED, you can buy one here
Today I saw the giant and pretty fir which has been erected in Covent Garden and which went some way towards soothing my frazzled nerves. I'd just endured the first half of Uncle Vanya and the acting was so bad it made Chekov's writing seem puerile and flat. Just awful. (But at least I didn't have to stay).
*If you don't speak Swedish and would like an English copy of ONE HUSBAND REQUIRED, you can buy one here
November 13, 2012
EMUN ELLIOTT & THE LURE OF A BEARD
Still on the subject of hero inspiration - I've finally found a man who can make a beard look attractive. No. Forget that understatement of the century. Who can make a beard look absolutely bloody amazing. Emun Elliott is that man and the charismatic star of the BBC costume drama, The Paradise which I've been completely hooked by and which you can read about here.
Sadly, the programme has just finished its run but catch it if you can. It's a superb example of gripping sexual tension and intense romance - portrayed with little more than longing looks, punctuated by kisses which seem almost chaste but are packed full of emotion.
I've never written a hero with a beard before (other than the mystery beard which turned up on Titus Alexander on the UK cover of BACK IN THE HEADLINES)
But Mr Elliott has made me rethink my strategy.Would you like to read about a man with dark, soulful eyes like his - even if he has the kind of jaw which has no real relationship with a razor?
November 12, 2012
SEXY?
Over at iheartspresents I'm talking about my latest release - a sizzling story about a Duke and a once famous member of a girl-band, The Lollipops.
BACK IN HEADLINES is out in the USA now.
I'm also talking about sexy men and inspirational men - and the man I had in mind when I wrote Titus Alexander was Damian Lewis. Damian is currently very famous indeed thanks to his gripping and often harrowing performance in Homeland.
He has steely eyes and the coppery-coloured hair which I find incredibly attractive....
Do you?
BACK IN HEADLINES is out in the USA now.
I'm also talking about sexy men and inspirational men - and the man I had in mind when I wrote Titus Alexander was Damian Lewis. Damian is currently very famous indeed thanks to his gripping and often harrowing performance in Homeland.
He has steely eyes and the coppery-coloured hair which I find incredibly attractive....
Do you?
November 3, 2012
AN ITALIAN BLOG
Regular readers of this shockingly irregular blog will be aware of my huge passion for Italy.
I love Italy and have done ever since my twenty-first birthday when my parents asked if I wanted a ring or a watch and I replied, "No, all I want in the whole wide world is to see Michelangelo's David!".
So off I went to a magical place called Firenze where I hunted out the David, ate rather a lot of cheese omelette (omelette alla formagio was one of the few things I could ask for with a passably good accent) and bought myself a gorgeous handbag, in the dark green colour of one of those paintbrush-tip-shaped conifers you see all over the country.
I've just been reading that provincial capitals in Italy are about to be merged for reasons of cost-cutting, including the Tuscan cities of Pisa and Livorno. They are only fifteen miles apart but they have been separated for centuries by a relationship of "cordial loathing" (don't you just love that expression?). Which goes some way to explaining the Livorno saying "Better a death in the house than a Pisan at the door." Am trying to imagine this being said about two places in England (say, Bath and Bristol) and somehow it just doesn't seem to work with the same degree of reasonable passion.
I'm off to Umbria very soon and Venice - and in 2013 I shall be taking my Tuscan writing course at the glorious Watermill . I think there are a few places left.
In the meantime, here's a picture of the very best soup additive in the world. Chuck a handful into a pot of vegetables and stock and you have yourself a feast.
So which country makes your heart beat a little faster?
I love Italy and have done ever since my twenty-first birthday when my parents asked if I wanted a ring or a watch and I replied, "No, all I want in the whole wide world is to see Michelangelo's David!".
So off I went to a magical place called Firenze where I hunted out the David, ate rather a lot of cheese omelette (omelette alla formagio was one of the few things I could ask for with a passably good accent) and bought myself a gorgeous handbag, in the dark green colour of one of those paintbrush-tip-shaped conifers you see all over the country.
I've just been reading that provincial capitals in Italy are about to be merged for reasons of cost-cutting, including the Tuscan cities of Pisa and Livorno. They are only fifteen miles apart but they have been separated for centuries by a relationship of "cordial loathing" (don't you just love that expression?). Which goes some way to explaining the Livorno saying "Better a death in the house than a Pisan at the door." Am trying to imagine this being said about two places in England (say, Bath and Bristol) and somehow it just doesn't seem to work with the same degree of reasonable passion.
I'm off to Umbria very soon and Venice - and in 2013 I shall be taking my Tuscan writing course at the glorious Watermill . I think there are a few places left.
In the meantime, here's a picture of the very best soup additive in the world. Chuck a handful into a pot of vegetables and stock and you have yourself a feast.
So which country makes your heart beat a little faster?
October 29, 2012
MONKEY BUSINESS
Watched the most amazing programme yesterday called NATURE'S MIRACLE BABIES. Yes, it's a cheesy title - but it's a remarkable short film about endangered species, which are being bred in captivity. There are Barbary Lions and beautiful leopards - cute and fluffy little things with a fierce snarl and razor sharp teeth. There's a very moving live birth of a gorilla at London Zoo.
It also shows the care and dedication shown by people who look after animals and it made me to fish out this photo of a monkey which I took back in March, when I was staying with friends in Singapore.
Any ideas what to call this monkey?
A glossy hardback novel for the best suggestion.
It also shows the care and dedication shown by people who look after animals and it made me to fish out this photo of a monkey which I took back in March, when I was staying with friends in Singapore.
Any ideas what to call this monkey?
A glossy hardback novel for the best suggestion.
October 10, 2012
BACK IN THE HEADLINES
I'm very excited about my latest hero - a sexy English Duke named Titus Alexander and the woman who is driving him crazy.
Roxy Carmichael is a woman who has fallen on hard-times. A one-time singer with a dodgy background, she's the last person this blood-blooded billionaire wants in his life. But Roxy needs help and to his fury - Titus feels duty-bound to provide it. He takes her to Valeo Hall - his stately home on the beautiful Norfolk coast - and that's when the fireworks really start....
This is the UK cover, which came as a bit of a shock because I don't remember giving Titus so much designer stubble that it seems to have grown into a small beard! But the man featured here manages to convey a brooding and potent sexuality - and that is very Titus.
You can read an excerpt here
I loved writing this story and I love the chemistry which sizzles between the unlikely couple. It's a long time since I've had an English "toff" hero, and I hope you enjoy Titus as much as Roxy eventually does....
Roxy Carmichael is a woman who has fallen on hard-times. A one-time singer with a dodgy background, she's the last person this blood-blooded billionaire wants in his life. But Roxy needs help and to his fury - Titus feels duty-bound to provide it. He takes her to Valeo Hall - his stately home on the beautiful Norfolk coast - and that's when the fireworks really start....
This is the UK cover, which came as a bit of a shock because I don't remember giving Titus so much designer stubble that it seems to have grown into a small beard! But the man featured here manages to convey a brooding and potent sexuality - and that is very Titus.You can read an excerpt here
I loved writing this story and I love the chemistry which sizzles between the unlikely couple. It's a long time since I've had an English "toff" hero, and I hope you enjoy Titus as much as Roxy eventually does....
September 18, 2012
INSPIRATION & DAVID WILMOT
Sometimes you see a film or a play which lingers in the mind because it's so bloody brilliant - and one such film was SHADOW DANCER which I liked so much that I saw it twice in one week! One of the reasons it was so good was down to the superb acting of the entire cast - exemplified by actor David Wilmot, who deserves an Oscar for his brooding and menacing performance. Watch the trailer here and you'll see exactly what I mean. (He's the one threatening the heroine).
Imagine my surprise when fellow author Abby Green arrived in London with a signed photo of said actor, which she'd brought all the way from Dublin's fair city. What a gal!
And thanks to our lovely senior editor Joanne Grant who took this picture of me posing with it at our annual author party where much merriment and inspiration was to be had by all.
Has anything inspired you recently?
Imagine my surprise when fellow author Abby Green arrived in London with a signed photo of said actor, which she'd brought all the way from Dublin's fair city. What a gal!
And thanks to our lovely senior editor Joanne Grant who took this picture of me posing with it at our annual author party where much merriment and inspiration was to be had by all.
Has anything inspired you recently?
September 5, 2012
LEARN HOW TO WRITE A ROMANCE....
If you live, or are within travelling distance of central London, then why not sashay on down to Victoria Library on Friday, 21st September where I'll be running a writing workshop. The course runs between 5.30 - 6.45 and you can find details here
I'll be covering everything you need to know about writing romance - but the "rules" are the same for writing any kind of fiction. We'll be discovering what makes your characters leap off the page and what makes the reader care what happens to them. We'll learn about the importance of narrative and what keeps dialogue fresh and real.
Oh, and we'll be having a laugh - that, I promise.
And while you're in the vicinity - you could do no better than having a stroll around the glorious St. James's Park which is the oldest park in London and is surrounded by three palaces.
Gorgeous!
I'm also running a course in Mayfair - posh! - on 25th September and I'll let you have details of that within the next couple of days.
I'll be covering everything you need to know about writing romance - but the "rules" are the same for writing any kind of fiction. We'll be discovering what makes your characters leap off the page and what makes the reader care what happens to them. We'll learn about the importance of narrative and what keeps dialogue fresh and real.
Oh, and we'll be having a laugh - that, I promise.
And while you're in the vicinity - you could do no better than having a stroll around the glorious St. James's Park which is the oldest park in London and is surrounded by three palaces.
Gorgeous!
I'm also running a course in Mayfair - posh! - on 25th September and I'll let you have details of that within the next couple of days.
August 22, 2012
SFOGLIATELLE e THE MAGIC OF NAPLES
Today I'm over at http://www.iheartpresents.com talking about my latest USA release, entitled: A TAINTED BEAUTY.
It's the story of a man with unrealistic expectations and a woman who longs to match them.....
In the blog, I talk about the magic of Naples and you can hear the most wonderful and evocative Neapolitan music.....
It's the story of a man with unrealistic expectations and a woman who longs to match them.....
In the blog, I talk about the magic of Naples and you can hear the most wonderful and evocative Neapolitan music.....
