Anne Whitfield's Blog, page 10

Review

Farewell My Ovaries by Wendy Harmer
Blurb: Claire Sellwyn-Wallace has decided to throw her ovaries a farewell party - one wild night of unbridled lust before she says goodbye to all that.
This time it will be everything she has always imagined. This time she knows exactly how it will go. She's old enough, she's earned it.
But can you plan passion? And what's love got to do with it?

I was really looking forward to this book as I'd been wanting to read a Wendy harmer novel for ages. She's made me laugh in the past either on radio, TV and in person as a guest speaker. So I was expecting a light comedy to make me chuckle and yes in places I did chuckle and smile at some witty sentence, or in response to the characters actions, but I didn't expect a sex novel - and that is what this book is all about sex. And lots of it.
I'm no prude when it comes to sex in books, I've even written it myself when required, but this book is drenched in it and in that respect I felt let down. I didn't care if Claire had slept with dozens and dozens of men, and she had. Her sexual fantasies become repeatative and over done.
All that aside I did enjoy the banter between her and her best friend Meg.
I felt Claire was selfish and vain and needed to grow up. Thankfully she did at the end of the book, however by that time I didn't care.

Pure Passion 2011 : Romantic Novel of the Year Long List

Pure Passion 2011 : Romantic Novel of the Year Long List


The longlist for the 51st Romantic Novel of the Year Award covers the whole gamut of romantic fiction: historicals, romantic comedy, sagas, chick lit and contemporary are all represented. The settings are as varied as the sub-genres with both the Magna Carta and Facebook acting as backdrops along with revolutionary Russia, North Africa, Paris and Yorkshire.

The long list of twenty novels, announced today, includes an impressive selection of best sellers, among them Erica James, Elizabeth Chadwick, Katie Fforde, Jenny Colgan, Lindsey Kelk, Jojo Moyes and Sarah Duncan. They share the list with some exciting new names in romantic fiction, and the only male to make the long list, Tom Gamble.

A shortlist of six titles (to be announced on February 10th 2011) will be selected and sent to the final judges.

This year's judges are Amanda Craig, novelist and children's book critic for the Sunday Times, actor Jay Benedict who is perhaps best know for the role of John Kieffer – the US Army officer and friend of Christopher Foyle in Foyle's War and Janine Cook, fiction buyer for Waterstones

The winner will be named on Monday, March 7th 2011 at a champagne reception at The Royal Horseguards, Whitehall Place London

The full list - in alphabetical order of author

To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick (Little, Brown - Sphere)

The Good, the Bad and the Dumped by Jenny Colgan (Little, Brown - Sphere)

The Golden Prince by Rebecca Dean (HarperCollins)

Sons & Daughters by Margaret Dickinson (Pan MacMillan)

Kissing Mr. Wrong by Sarah Duncan (Headline)

A Perfect Proposal by Katie Fforde (Random House)

The Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall (Little, Brown - Sphere)

Amazir by Tom Gamble (Beautiful Books)

The Island by Elin Hilderbrand (Hodder & Stoughton)

The Queen of New Beginnings by Erica James (Orion)

The Way to a Woman's Heart by Christina Jones (Little, Brown - Piatkus)

I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk (HarperCollins)

His Last Duchess by Gabrielle Kimm (Little, Brown - Sphere)

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbour by Lisa Kleypas (Little, Brown - Piatkus)

The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes (Hodder & Stoughton)

Virgin Widow by Anne O'Brien (Mira)

Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn (Little, Brown - Piatkus)

The Search by Nora Roberts (Little, Brown - Piatkus)

The Legacy by Katherine Webb (Orion)

Hope Against Hope by Sally Zigmond (Myrmidon)

Novella Accepted

I sold my contemporary novella, What He Taught Her, to MuseItUp Publishing today, so happy about that.Tentative blurb for What He Taught HerRob Healy has everything he wants, or will have once he's built his new resort on a small island in the Pacific. A woman in his life isn't planned at the moment, but when he sees Cassandra Kearns in the foyer looking stiff and out of place amongst the holiday makers his interest is spiked. What is a beautiful woman doing wearing a business suit and holding a laptop doing on an island resort, especially when there are no conferences booked that week?Cassandra Kearns is fleeing New York and all that makes her comfortable for two idyllic weeks in the tropics. She's stressed, overtired and close to breaking point. Her divorce is finalised, her daughter is grown and she's realising that she's on her own and dare she say it - lonely. She needs to take some time and recharge her batteries. But how is she to do that? She's worked 24/7 for years. Does she know how to have fun?When Cassandra meets Rob she rejects the spark of attraction she feels. A man in her life, after the betrayal of Oliver? She'd rather eat broken glass!Yet Rob is persistent, he's funny and he's gorgeous, but what exactly does he want?
Release will be next year, perhaps around June or so, I think, and will be available on Kindle and all other ereader formats. You can see more about MuseItUp and their books here http://museituppublishing.com/  

Behind Palace Doors

She was described as the most dangerous woman in Europe by Adolf Hitler; Noel Coward said people who spent any time with her were always reduced to "gibbering worshippers;" she adored Margaret Thatcher and disliked Germans; and she found the French comical and hankered for the old days of Empire and Commonwealth. Above all, though, she was loved by the nation and in this affectionate and often hilarious inside story of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, her former equerry Major Colin Burgess reveals what life was like living with the most private of all the Royals. A unique and warmly remembered historic insight into a longest-surviving packed with previously untold stories, this is also a celebration of a life gone—and a way of life fast disappearing.


A different look at behind the palace doors of the Queen mother's personal residences, mainly Clarence House in London. Major Colin Burgess was an equerry to the Queen Mother for two years and through him we glimpse the woman behind the public image and learn what it's like to be on the royal staff. There are no secrets revealed, but instead we subtly learn the demands and protocols within the royal family.


I found the book interesting and an enjoyable way to spend a few hours.

The Hating Game

Help Talli Roland's debut novel THE HATING GAME hit the Kindle bestseller list at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk by spreading the word today. Even a few sales in a short period of time on Amazon helps push the book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers.
Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/hNBkJk Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/hX2ieD
No Kindle? Download a free app at Amazon for Mac, iPhone, PC, Android and more.
Coming soon in paperback. Keep up with the latest at www.talliroland.com.

About THE HATING GAME:

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £2000,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?

Period Men

Christmas shopping

How dumb am I? (Don't answer that)
Yesterday I was all set to order my new Kindle from Amazon and then realised that it wouldn't be here before Christmas. Why did I think it would be?
Why is there a 7 week waiting time?
As much as I love Amazon I don't know why I have to wait 7 weeks before it arrives in Australia, surely they would have stockpiled them for Christmas and send them out as soon as an order comes in? Obviously not.

So, I won't be unwrapping one on Christmas morning. Poo.

In the end I didn't go through with the order at all and will order one in January sometime after the rush of Christmas is over.

My Anthology on Kindle

Well, after much frustration I finally got my lovely short story anthology up on Kindle. I'm not sure whether all the formatting is correct, but fingers crossed it is!

If you'd like to have your very own copy for $2.99 all you have to do is go to Amazon. I put the long direct Amazon link into a smaller one - http://tinyurl.com/24rnqm5  .

Thanks!

Rememberance Day

It is fitting that as we take time out today to remember those who served and died for us in the First World War and also the wars after it, that I have spent a couple of days this week visiting WWI websites for research on my current novel.
Many people say this era is too sad to write about, but I don't agree. The courage those men and women had, whether fighting and serving in the war, or those left at home to struggle on without them, is immensely satisfying to write about, to learn about.
Yes, there was death and slaughter, but from that bleak time grew the beginnings of nations' attitudes to band together in tough times and more importantly to weather the storms of future troubles. The great War was the first time that countries rose as one to fight a common cause.
How can man's courage be a sad thing?
These are the people who are the real heroes of the world, not football and film stars and the like, who too often in the media get the label of being a hero. Why? What on earth have they done that is heroic?

While searching my family tree I learned that I had ancestors who fought and died in the Great War. One great great uncle died on the first day of the first battle of the Somme in 1916. This information made me feel so proud that my family gave up strong men to save the world from tyranny.

Poppies growing on the Somme.
Lest We Forget.

Some websites to visit and honour those who fought and sacrificed for us.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/ww1.htm
http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/
http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/index.html
http://www.awm.gov.au/

The Tapestry Of Love

An enjoyable read for a lazy afternoon in the sun.


Rosy Thornton evokes an idyllic life in France with lovely descriptions of the Cevennes mountains where the book is set.

There where times when the pace was a little slow, but the heroine Catherine is delightful.

The hero though, wasn't up to my expectations, but that could just be me.