Pippa Croft's Blog, page 7

First TIme launched – Second and Third Time out soon!

The first thing I want to say is in reply to a question on Goodreads: where are the Second and Third books in the series? Well, The Second Time I Saw You is being copy edited and is out in May. Third Time Lucky should be out in September. So there you are – they will all be available very soon.

So – onto Publication week. It was an incredible rush – totally exhausting, nerve wracking and exciting. I don’t mind saying that I am now completely knackered and could sleep for a week.

On P Day, MR B had left me a bottle of fizz and a card (see above) and later, this gorgeous bouquet of flowers arrived from Penguin followed by a package of exclusive postcards which I am signing and using as giveways and contest prizes.

Here’s an online version:

A huge bunch of friends and authors then joined ina 12 hour online Facebook Party with me – we had over 40 entries in the First Time contest and the winners each won a Kindle copy of the book and a signed postcard.

THANK YOU to everyone buying and reading the book – if you bought a copy and liked it, please leave an Amazon review.

I’ll be back very soon with deatils of more competitions and giveaway – but first I have to sleep.

Win Kindle vouchers & goodies – First Time We Met out tomorrow!

I can’t believe it BUT…

The First Time We Met is published as an e book tomorrow – on the eve of Valentine’s Day.

I have an exclusive party starting at 10am on my Facebook page – please email or contact me on FB if you want to join in. There will be prizes and I’ll be asking people to share their ‘first times…’

ALSO

If you Like either of my Facebook pages – Phillipa Ashley OR Pippa Croft or both – and leave a message on the special Party Thread to say you’ve done it, ‘ll enter your name to win a Kindle voucher for the book plus I’ll send the winner a Limited Edition signed postcard designed by Penguin Books.

https://www.facebook.com/PhillipaAshl...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pippa-...

I’ve also given a huge interview to Novel Kicks today – with lots of information about the book, about my research and inspiration for the scenes.

And I’ll be around on twitter all day!

Hope to see you at one or other of the parties.

The First Time We Met video – book bloggers confess!

A group of fantastic book bloggers have made a funny, touching and downright GORGEOUS video about the first time they met important people in the lives – all in celebration of The First Time We Met which is out a week today. Please, do watch it – it’s just lovely.

I have my own confession to make: I’m still in my pyjamas at 12.30pm which is a record, but I did get back from a research trip to Rome (for The Second Time I Saw You) at 4.30am this morning and I’ve been writing since 9am…

Back on February 13th which is – eek – Publication Day.

Free romance writing workshop

Morning,

Just whizzing in to mention that I’m hosting a free romance writing workshop at Cannock Library in Staffordshire on Tuesday February 11th at Cannock Library, Staffordshire.

The theme is retro romance vs contemporary romance. I’ll be talking about my writing career and the new Penguin series and answering all your questions on writing women’s fiction, getting published etc. The talk will be followed by a hands-on creative vwriting session, based around the way romantic fiction has changed over the years.

Call Cannock Library on 01543 510365 to book your place.

Hope to see you there.

Just a reminder The First Time We Met is now available to order from Amazon UK, Amazon US, Kobo and most online retailers. The second book in the series will be published in May, followed by Book 3.

The First Time We Met: new cover & available to order now

One word describes today: excited! Ok, make that two words. Wildly excited because I have so much news to share about my Penguin romance series.

First of all, the e book The First Time We Met has gone live on Amazon UK this very morning, with a brand new cover and blurb. Ye Gods, you can actually preorder it. I loved the other cover but this one has also garnered a fantastic reaction and I think it reflects the content better. It is a very sexy book.

The e book of #FirstTimeWeMet is published on February 13th – in perfect time for Valentine’s Day, with a paperback hopefully to follow in autumn this year.

Here is the blurb:

Senator’s daughter Lauren Cusack is leaving Washington behind for the dreaming spires of Oxford University – and she’s ready for a challenge. Now a fully-fledged Master’s student, Lauren is determined to make the most of every single minute.

But then she meets Alexander Hunt, and everything changes.

A devastatingly handsome English aristocrat, Alexander is as brooding and enigmatic as they come. Lauren tries to resist his advances, but he has his sights clearly set on the young American, and what Alexander wants, he gets.

Caution soon gives way to mind-blowing passion and Lauren is drawn into Alexander’s privileged world of glamour and status. But all that glitters is not gold – for Alexander is a man with a dark past, and desire may not be enough to conquer all else . . .

The plan is to publish the ebook sequels The Second Time I Saw You and Third Time Lucky? will be available in spring and summer – also this year.

Better get writing, then…

Phillipa

Happy New Year from Lauren and Alexander!

This year, my new year messages will be from the hero and heroine of The First Time We Met, which really is coming very soon from Penguin.

From Lauren Cusack: may your 2014 be awesome and bring you happiness, health, creativity & a brooding Brit aristo with more issues than Time magazine!!

Impeccably polite message from Alexander Hunt: Do I really have to do this? Wtf is Twitter anyway? Don’t people have actual lives? Oh, OK, if I absolutely have to: Of course, I don’t do social networking, but Ms Cusack told me to wish you a Happy New Year or she’ll cut off the family jewels and may never sh*g me again. I wouldn’t like that very much…

(Lauren: That’s more than 140 characters, Alexander…)

From me: I’ve had an incredible 2013, more than I could ever have dreamed of andf I wish you all a fabulous 2014. I’ll be back shortly with a some suprising news about the cover of the book…

Happy Holidays, everyone!

So, this will probably be my final post of 2013. It’s been an incredibly exciting year, both personally and writing wise, not to mention the busiest I’ve ever had. 2014 is set to be even more manic and I must admit, I’m trying not to look forward to it too much, because I don’t want to wish away the time I have at home with Mr B and Ms B!

We even managed to squeeze in a pre-Christmas trip to the romantic Baddesley Clinton, a moated manor house dating back to the C15. It was decked out for the season with carol singers and made a peaceful country interlude from the mayhem of the shops.

I’ve just finished what will be my last bit of writing until the end of the week. Now, it’s time to finish wrapping the presents and try and clear the floors of paper and shopping bags! On Christmas Eve, we always head into Lichfield for a walk around and coffee. On the Big Day, our parents arrive and we all muck in together to make the lunch, before collapsing in a heap. My Dad, then trots out his latest (or oldest) jokes. This year he’s started writing comic verse so I feel that we may be in for a recitation or two…or three. I’ve bought him a Favourite Poems book as inspiration.

As for the writing: The First Time We Met is almost ready for publication in the New Year, and I’ll have lots of news about the book and some of the events I’ll be doing in 2014, after Christmas.

Until, then I wish all a very Happy Christmas and New Year!

Ta dah! The cover for The First Time We Met by Pippa Croft

Ta dah! I am way beyond excited to share the cover of my debut Pippa Croft novel, the First Time We Met – the e book is available for pre-order on Amazon now with the paperback to follow.

More news than you can shake a stick at

Reindeer at Keswick Christmas Fair.

So much news – so little time…

I’m writing this post while checking no one from the publisher is looking over my shoulder because I have so much on at the moment, I don’t know what to do first!

Ok. I do know what to do first – and that’s carry on writing the second book in my new Pippa Croft romance series. The first book – titled The First Time We Met (see that.. ‘First’… we don’t just make these things up you know…) is done and dusted and I’m expecting copy edits back any moment.

Last Thursday I went to Penguin Towers in London where my ed and the publishing director made my whole week by unveiling the cover. I know it’s my cover and my ‘baby’ but I almost blubbed in the middle of the meeting because it is truly beautiful!

I’m hoping to share soon, with revised dates for the ebook launch which is coming out several months before print is scheduled. It will be very early Spring so watch this space.

Meanwhile, please do follow me @PippaCroftBooks on Twitter.

And: Christmas is approaching at a scary pace. This weekend we spent in the Lake District, visiting the Christmas Fairs in Hawkshead and Keswick. Hawkshead (where Wordsworth went to school) had a lantern parade around its tiny cobbled streets while Keswick had a visit from real reindeer. I finally feel festive, and came back with lots of goodies and gifts.

Hope to be back before Christmas with a cover and links.

Pippa/Phillipa

Whew – what a Festival of Romance

So, the Festival of Romance is over for another year. First, I want to thank Kate Allan, the organiser, and her wonderful team for the hard work they put into making the UK’s only Romance Literary festival a huge success. This was the third year it has been held, and it’s grown into the major reader romantic fiction event of the year.

Proceeedings kicked off on Friday with an Art and Romance Evening at the Higgins Gallery but I didn’t arrive until Saturday morning when I read from ‘It Happened One Nigh’t at the Coffee and Cake morning. Over a dozen authors took part and the Lane Coffee Bar was packed with readers and writers.

Giving a reading – photo from Fiona Harper.

Then it was straight onto the Romance Fair where about 30 stalls were set up in the Corn Exchange – this was the chance to get books signed by the author. Here’s my stash:

At lunchtime, I joined a panel of authors who had won awards at the 2012 Festival and we did a Q & A session on our books and writing process for around 60 readers and writers. It was chaired by Lou Graham, who kept us all in order! One of the most illuminating parts of the panel session for me, was hearing about other authors’ writing processes – and that we all share many of the same doubts and fears about writing and finishing a book. It was strangely reassuring and if I could pick one message from the session it was to Keep Writing and ignore the self doubts.

The author panel – thanks to Carol Wright (dizzy C) for the picture

After lunch, I headed for a lie down at the hotel before meeting my husband, author Hazel Osmond and my agent, Broo Doherty for the Awards Ball. Everyone pulled out all the stops for full on glamour, with the guys in black tie and lounge suits. I didn’t take my camera – which was a bad decision – but we did have proefssional photos taken so I hope they’ll be on the Festival site soon.

My book was nominated for Best E book category which was won by Carmel Harrington. I’m hoping that a list of all the award winners will go up soon on the Festival of Romance site any moment.

Hazel had also been nominated for the Best Romantic read and my agent was up for Literary Agent of the Year – and – hurrah – she won! I’m afraid we went on celebrating into the small hours, eventually demanding tea at the hotel bar…

We know how to party.

And now, it really is back to reality. I have a new book to start!