Rachel Lyndhurst's Blog, page 8

Golly, is it Monday already?

Another weekend of wonderful spring weather in the UK this weekend meant lots of fresh air and reading in the garden. Flora and fauna are getting very busy:


According to the newspaper, some parts of the country were hotter than Rhodes!

I need to be in the Balearics this week though, not in body unfortunately, in mind - working hard on Ricardo Almanza, the Spanish billionaire who's after something all his money can't buy ...

Have a great week everyone!

Something for the weekend with Mandy Baggot!

It's been another super-busy week for me and I'm visiting Lisa's World of Books  today, so my fabulous chum Mandy Baggot is Taking Charge!


Thank you for having me on your blog today Rachel, it is an honour!
Now, in case people haven't heard my fantastic news, I have recently (about a month ago) been signed up by new US fiction publisher Sapphire Star Publishing and they will be bringing you my next novel, Taking Charge, on 3rd May! To whet your appetite for the book here is the blurb and a link to the trailer.

  Is going back Robyn's only way forward?

American-born Robyn Matthers is going home. With her dad in hospital, his roadhouse in ruins and the ice hockey team slipping down the league, she needs to take charge. But does she have the strength to do it?
Cole Ryan is a hockey player on a personal mission. He's tall, dark, hot and Robyn's noticed! But can she trust her feelings - or his? And what will Cole do when he finds out the truth about her?
Robyn returns to Michigan and things aren't quite the same. Her best friend has grown up and is thinking about marriage and babies, the ice hockey team is no longer the life blood of the community and her father is engaged!
When Robyn's twin cousins drag up past events that hold painful memories for her, she and Cole are forced together. But are either of them ready to start something new?

With an ill father, a trailer trash almost step-mom and ex-boyfriend Brad desperate for another chance, does Robyn have time to contemplate a relationship? Does she really want one? And is it physically possible for two people to fall in love in just three days?
But as well as doing final edits for Taking Charge and preparing for a month long blog tour (yes really!) I am out most Saturdays touring the South of England at Waterstones stores with my latest book Strings Attached.
 
If you missed hearing about its launch in November this is a story about hot rock god Quinn Blake and determined caterer and business owner, Georgina Fraser. Expect lots of secrets, dramas, relationship issues, comedy and of course a Mandy Baggot plot twist.
Now, Quinn Blake is very much the Alpha hero while Cole Ryan in Taking Charge has some Alpha traits but is a little more refined. But the rumour I've heard amongst the writing and reading fraternity is that the Alpha hero is dying out and what readers want more of is an unconventional hero. So what do you think? Alpha hero – still hot or not? Let me know your thoughts – I know mine and Rachel's!
 You can find out more about Strings Attached and all Mandy's other contemporary romance novels at www.mandybaggot.webs.com or meet her at a Waterstones store near you and get an author signed copy!

Party time! New Entangled contract signed!

Great news! My third book The Spanish Billionaire's Hired Bride has been contracted by Entangled Publishing. This category romance for the Indulgence line kicks off in sun-baked Ibiza, one of the Spanish Balearic Islands. Here's a glimpse of Ibiza Town to whet your appetite:


I'll let you know when I have a release date, but get your air conditioning serviced; it's going to get hot ...

A crisp and sunny Monday ...

I had a wonderful weekend, didn't do a scrap of writing but did lots of reading and got out of the house for a change. I popped into Fareham centre to visit Mandy Baggot who was signing in Waterstone's and naturally left with three new books. Yes, I know, I know; more books?! It's okay, The Exec ordered us a new bookcase this weekend too!

At the farmers market I bought Meon Valley watercress and a couple of ribeye steaks from Woodlands Jersey Beef who supply Michel Roux at Le Gavroche no less! Yummmmm.

And spring is just about here!


So a trip to the garden centre (with tea and cake) was in order for Sunday. Thus, we now have twelve heritage primrose plants to get planted in our woodland garden under the apple tree. And some ferns. And some other stuff.*Cough*.

But now, suitably refreshed, it's time to get back to work. And Monday mornings are actually quite a treat when you wake up to a 5/5 star review like this:

 "This story left me speechless ... I truly enjoyed this book. Rachel's Greek Billionaire (Andreas) can kidnap me anytime. Hey, I'll go more than just willingly."

You can read all of lovely Evie's review here at In Love with Romance .

Did you do anything exciting this weekend?

Something for the weekend with Sally Clements

Yes, I know it's a day early but later today I'm visiting over at Lush Book Reviews where I'm talking about how I started writing romance. And then I'm getting my hair done. So I thought I'd spoil you with an equally lush treat:


The Morning After by Sally Clements is FREE on 1st and 2nd March (Thursday and Friday).That's today and tomorrow!!


Blurb:

One photo changes everything…


A mortifying incident in her youth has shaken sense into Cara Byrne. No more bad-boys. No more getting arrested. Instead, hard work and good behaviour has earned her a job teaching at the local Boys Secondary School, and a proposal from a worthy man. So what if he doesn't exactly light her fire –surely passion is overrated?

When her friend since childhood, Ethan Quinn, storms back into the small Irish village he left to pursue a career as a Hollywood action hero, she's stunned to discover she's as susceptible to his lethal charm as every woman in the world. And when a compromising photograph floods the media of them in a clinch, her almost fiancé reveals his true colours, CarEthan starts trending on twitter, and she loses her job, could anyone blame her if she accepts his invitation to hide out at his Malibu beach house?

Ethan loves women, but never lets his girlfriends into his heart. He's failed at being there in the past, and won't put his heart on the line for anyone, ever again. But Cara's a different matter – and when passionate attraction is added to his friendship with the one person he's always confided in, he's thrown for a loop. Cara's lost everything, and like it or not, he's responsible. There's no fighting the attraction that blazes between them – but when the month long affair is over, will he ever be able to let her go?

So what are you waiting for? Grab it now while you can!
Here:
Amazon UK
Amazon.com

Location, location ...

Today I'm talking locations over at Catherine Miller's blog. Come and say Hi!

Hello Monday!

Today, I'm taking tea with the lovely Teresa Morgan at her blog: The Wittering Woman , so if you fancy a natter, you know where I am!

Guilty Pleasures

It's Sunday. If you can't spoil yourself on the day before Monday, when can you? I'm talking about fantasy over at Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews  today. It's a lovely site ...

And there's a chance for you to win a free copy of (now Barnes & Noble best-selling!) Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire too.

Hope to see you there!

Kia ora! Faye Robertson is in the house.

Today,I'm delighted to welcome fellow Entangled and Indulgence author, Faye Robertson.

Faye has been kind enough to answer some burning questions, so here we go!





What is your typical day?

I check my email on my iPad while I'm lying in bed at 6am. I love my iPad—couldn't live without it! Then I sometimes snatch 5-10 minutes at the computer while I eat breakfast before I leave for work. I work full time as a PA at a High School, so I can't write during the day. I do some social networking when I get in at 4.30pm until I start tea at 5pm, and then my main writing time is from 6pm until 7.30pm-ish. I'd like more social networking time, but I try to spend that last hour and a half just writing.
What surprised you most when you became published?
I don't even have to think about this one—it was definitely the amount of editing I had to do. The first time I got edits back, I had to have a lie down. The story was covered in red ink! I thought it meant I was a terrible writer. But I learned so much from those edits and they've made me a much better writer. I hope!
Do you have a dedicated writing space? What does it look like?

In our open-plan house, the computer area looks like something out of the space shuttle, with a Mac, my son's new flash PC and two laptops. I sit in the corner with a pinboard covered in reminders and lists and little notes that say things like "Just write the next book" and "BICHOK" (that's Bum In Chair, Hands On Keyboard!)
What's next for you?
I'm rewriting the end of the second in my Sensual Healing series with Samhain Publishing, Making Sense. I have a contract for that and it comes out at the end of the year. I also have a couple of other manuscripts to polish and send off, one to Samhain, one to Lyrical Press (I've just had a sci-fi romance contracted with them.) But my main project is a new single title book I've just started. It'll be a fun contemporary romance set in small-town New Zealand. I'm very excited about it!
Share your blurb or short excerpt from your latest release with us.
This is the blurb from my new Indulgence book, Kiss and Make Up.
The Opportunity of a Lifetime…
 Makeup artist Tabby Rogers is thrilled to land a job on a New Zealand movie set with lots of perks, including getting her hands on sexy Kiwi stunt man, Eli Black.
The sexual electricity zapping between them can't be denied, but neither of them is in a position to handle happily-ever-after. Eli's jetting off to Hollywood, Tabby's next assignment is in the UK. But there's nothing wrong with a short-term fling, right?
Except as the sparks burn hotter and responsibilities pull at them from opposite ends of the globe, it quickly becomes clear that something's gotta give. Must Tabby sacrifice her hard-won career for love? Or will Eli forever be the one that got away?
  Faye (who also writes as Serenity Woods) lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand with her wonderful husband and gorgeous teenage son. She writes fun, flirty, and sexy contemporary romances for the modern woman who likes intelligent, spirited heroines, and hunky but approachable heroes. She's won several romance writing competitions and is a member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. She would much rather immerse herself in reading or writing romance than do the dusting and ironing, which is why it's not a great idea to pop round if you have any allergies. You can check out all her books at www.fayerobertsonromance.com.
 Other places where you can find faye:Website: http://www.fayerobertsonromance.comFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/serenitywoodsromance Twitter: @FayeRobertsonNZAmazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/fayerobertson

Something for the weekend?

I've decided to start up a regular feature on Fridays to tell you about lovely books, lovely people and other exciting goodies that catch my eye. So for my very first something for the weekend here's the fabulous Judy Jarvie with a gorgeous freebie for you!






Free Kindle Download This Weekend!


What's nicer than something for nothing? Well, Nanny Behaving Badly published by E-scape Press is exclusively free this weekend only from the Amazon Kindle store. 

It'll only be available for a limited time – Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th February so please make sure you snaffle yours. It should be available from around 8am on Saturday just in case anyone goes in early and it's not there.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nanny-Behaving-Badly-ebook/dp/B005OKAVBE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316683641&sr=8-1

And some reasons why it's worth a free read:

1 The Hero: Lyle Sutherland is a racing driver with banter,brawn and brains.
2 The Heroine: Maddie Adams means well but sometimes (ouch,erk) she gets it wrong. It's fun to watch the fallout (hopefully).
3 It's about naughty behaviour between consenting adults – a rollercoaster romance.

The blurb –
Strong, silent-type single dad hires wild streak nanny—off-limits opposites attract.


Maddie Adams hopes for a smooth ride in her new temporary coffee shop job so she doesn't mean to make the worst impression possible with the handsome café owner, Lyle Sutherland. His suggestion that she becomes his son's replacement nanny shocks them both. When attraction and passion are unleashed between boss and sassy super nanny, Lyle's secrets and a shock pregnancy challenge old wounds.

Get yours FREE. Or pop by this blog for more info - http://judyj.blogspot.com.

Thanks for the tip off, Judy, I'll be getting mine as soon as it comes up on Amazon, don't you worry!

Have a great weekend everyone. :0)