And so it is...

... that with eyes out on stalks and my insides corroding from one too many bottles of 'V' that I'm about to hit send on the wip and it'll ping over to my ed.

Wahooooooooo.

Even tho it'll be back to taunt and haunt me, most probably with humungous revisions, for now it is adios amigos... and HOLA HOLIDAY!!!!

Well, actually, its almost bedtime - can't come soon enough for me (and its only 5:30 - at LEAST 2 more hours to go - will I survive??!!)... but tomorrow the planning starts - I haven't even written a list yet, haven't even picked up the tickets... have I even told you where I'm going?
Have I???

Thank you!!!

I've been slack and haven't yet said a HUGE thank you to all you guys who voted and commented on my 'ironing sheets' dilemma... I'm so glad it was the landslide it was and its now part of the book (until my ed nixes in in revisions anyway! LOL).
It was a fun poll and I'm glad to know my slack housekeeping tendencies are pretty much the norm - in romance reader/writer communities anyway... we're too busy with books aren't we?! :)
So I'm hit-by-a-bus tired and have two more wekdays to get thru before my final assault on the wip - it is so close and yet so far to being done and I am itching to have a couple of solid 12 hour days on it... but in the meantime, its painting at kindy followed by "mooosik goop"...

The end of August...

... is looming which means if youre in Oz/NZ it is your last chance to scoop a copy of PLEASURED BY THE SECRET MILLIONAIRE from the shelves of the shops - it has sold out on Harlequin Australia's website so grab it while you can...
Meanwhile, over in the UK, BOUGHT: ONE NIGHT, ONE MARRIAGE is about to go into the stores - it's available from M&B and Amazon already and should be on the shelves next week.

I have a week before sending my WIP to my ed and then it is less than a fortnight to my HOLIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Better get head down for now...

Feel the Heat

... you all know there is a fabulous writing competition on at the moment right? Harlequin Mills & Boon are looking for more Modern Heat voices and all you have to do is enter your first chapter and synopsis and you could win an editor for a YEAR - working with you towards publication! That's a HUGE prize... all the details are over at http://www.iheartpresents.com/ - and there are blogs from both editors and authors about the line - and yes, there's a post there today from me - come and say hi!!!

Lockdown

... that's my mode for the next week and a half while I try to nail this book. I have my time all mapped out... High energy, focus... and many cans of V in the fridge.

But tonight? I'm going for the perfect preparation...

The big S L E E P ...

Wish Fulfilment

I'm up to my eyeballs at the moment in the wip and looking at a looming deadline so forgive me if things get a little haphazard round here... I've been doing some research on the posh London pad of He-Who-Has-His-Sheets-Ironed... and I'm having a ball furnishing it to perfection...

One of my ultimate fantasies is to have a private indoor lap pool - heated of course and with a pool person to come and make sure the pump and water and whatever is all working ok (I never want to see the person - I don't have a 'pool guy' fantasy at all - I'd rather it be my personal haven) - I'd just love to be able to wander down to the basement pool each morning and swim some laps in heated luxury and then have some fabulous bathroom with a fearsome shower, a warmed robe to slip into and fresh pineapple after to refresh me... then I'd just settle in for the day's writing... sigh...

I wanted to take a look at some in posh London houses so I could imagine it properly - you've gotta love Google right? And you know, if you have the money, anything is possible. Just go to

London Swimming Pools and check out their portfolio... ohhhhh yes... they even have one that converts into a Concert Hall - I'm not kidding!!!

Jan's BACK!!!

Well, where is the hostess with the mostess - and the cake! There has gotta be cake...oh, I forgot, AviJ is here and she ALWAYS has cake. May I try some of your newly-invented chocolate frosting please? (tongue hangs out...)
It's time to draw the winner of the book. Thanks for popping in over the last few days to say hi and share your fantasies. There was nothing TOO disturbing there, not enough to get the cops involved, anyway. But the fantasy I liked the best was Aideen's ballroom scene. Sorry if that's selfish cos I happen to be writing a story including a Viennese ball right at the moment, but there you go, let's just say I'm deep in character LOL.
So CONGRATS Aideen, thanks for sharing your fantasy with us. If you email me jan@jancolley.com and give me your postal addy, I will send off the book post-haste. I'd love to keep in touch too (esp if I need any tips about waltzing, ball ettiquette, wrenching up the tension in a public place...ballgowns...)
And thanks to everyone who dropped by this week to say hi. Have fun at the conferences, to those who are going, and thanks especially to Nat for inviting me to be her guest blogger. It's always fun at Nat's place! May we sell squillions of books in Christchurch and beyond!! Yeah!

Cover Lovers!

One of the most fun things about this job is surfing on Amazon and seeing a cover for the first time - I just spotted this one for the December US release of BOUGHT: ONE NIGHT, ONE MARRIAGE.

It's the same piccie but in the Presents cameo and my name in that gorgeous PINK swirly writing :)

I love it.

Now be back tomorrow to see who's won Jan's book - YAY!!!

The One... The Only... The Fabulous... JAN COLLEY!!!

I have SUCH a treat today! The wonderful Jan Colley - Silhouette Desire author has agreed to come play - we're shelf buddies in New Zealand this month for the first time which is FUN! So please, read her news and her excerpt, give us your answer to her question and be in to win! She'll be loitering to answer any questions you may have too so don't be shy!!!

Hello! Thanks, Nat, for inviting me to link arms and join in the fun as we appear on the bookshelves together for the first time, two Christchurch girls together. We should have gotten huge red stickers printed – CHRISTCHURCH AUTHOR – or maybe we should do the rounds of the bookstores with a big marker pen…

It always seems such a long wait from the time the books hit the shelves in the US to finally coming out downunder. And I’m having trouble typing the title now, since I’ve become used to the US spelling of Billionaire’s Favorite Fantasy. I’m pleased to report that it appeared on the Waldenbooks booksellers list, albeit in the bottom half, but it did languish there for three weeks, which is always good.
I have had some good reviews (and one bad – sad face) and some nice comments re the cover, which is my favourite cover of all my books.





Except for the hero’s too-dark hair, it was near perfect, right down to the rustic cabin and firelight, his black tee and jeans and especially the white coat. And yes, the long white fur coat was definitely an integral part of his fantasy…

And that brings me to my question: What’s your favourite fantasy? It should involve a man/lover as opposed to a weekend in Melbourne with a couple of close girlfriends and unlimited credit. (Some decorum, please. Remember, this is a family blog!) Does it involve a special place, resort or hotel? A Clooney or Pitt lookalike? Dancing in the moonlight, looking beautiful at a glittering ball, or walking hand in hand along a perfect white-sand beach? The most interesting answer will win a copy of Billionaire’s Favourite Fantasy. (And a copy of Pleasured by the Secret Millionaire from Nat!)

I’ll kick off by saying I have always had a fascination for meeting someone for the first time in a public place, usually crowded, and being almost immobilized by the meeting of eyes, while life goes busily on around you. (Naturally, I would be 6 feet tall with jet black hair with emerald green eyes and a figure like Wonder Woman…)I actually have a friend that this has happened to twice! The first time, she married him but alas, there was no happy ending…ay ay ay, it must feel incredible to be so deeply and immediately affected by a complete stranger, so that you end up doing something completely out of character – like Madeline did in my story…
So tell me your fantasy set-up(minus the gory details) and win a book!

And here is a taste:

Excerpt: Billionaire’s Favourite Fantasy.

Now she stood at the door of the cabin, trying not to think about movies she’d seen where the prostitute arrives at a hotel room and knocks on the door. Madeline took a deep breath, opened the door and walked in.
Like last time, colored candles in little glasses sat winking on many surfaces. A cheery fire crackled in the grate and the heavy velvet drapes were drawn. Fresh flowers on a table scented the air, and music played softly on the stereo.
Madeline set her overnight bag down softly on the floor. No sign of Lewis. Was he already in bed? Perhaps drawing a bath?
Turning, she locked the door then started for the bedroom, just as he appeared at the door.
Madeline stopped, barely breathing. Lewis stopped too and leaned against the doorjamb, looking as relaxed as she was tense. His eyes washed over her slowly, glinting in the dim candlelight. His hair was slightly damp and swept up over his forehead. The slight cleft in his square chin was accentuated by being clean-shaven, the first time she’d seen him completely clean-shaven. Like their last night together, he wore jeans and a black t-shirt, and no shoes or socks.
He gave a small smile. “My first fantasy fulfilled,” he murmured, “You came.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“You’re no coward.” He pushed away from the wall. “Can I take your coat?”
She turned toward the fire, unbuttoning the long camel-colored woolen coat, and handed it to him.
“Champagne?”
Madeline nodded, thinking the bubbles could hold hands with the squillions of bubbles of nerves in her system right now.
Lewis put her coat away and poured two heavy flutes from a bottle in an ice bucket by the table, and came to stand beside her in front of the fire. He held out his glass and touched it gently to hers. “Did you bring a fantasy?”
The pitch of the crystal reverberated through her chest.
Madeline took her time glancing around the room. “It’s all here.”
Her breath hitched when he reached for her free hand and laced their fingers together. She remembered the little things he did that first night to make her feel liked, respected, a little calmer. Like now, as he kissed the tips of her fingers.
“Would you care to eat in the restaurant tonight?”
She shook her head. They could do room service if necessary, like last time. Now that she’d made the decision, she didn’t want to waste a minute on other people, and staying in lessened the chances of anyone she knew seeing them.
Lewis squeezed her hand. “Nervous?”
She inclined her head. “Maybe a little.”
“More than last time?”
Madeline nodded again. Now he was her boss and she would have to see him again, maybe on a regular basis. He could make or break her career with one word or sly insinuation. But as she searched his eyes, soaked up the reassurance she saw there, her world became aligned on an axis of peace. It was right to be here.
“What’s your fantasy?” she asked breathlessly.
His eyes slid to her lips and he bent his head and closed the distance between them. “I have a few,” he whispered, and brushed her mouth with his. “But they all start the same way.”
His tongue traced the seam of her lips, coaxing her to open for him and she closed her eyes. Other than his mouth and his hand holding hers, he didn’t touch her. All her focus centered on the silky slide of his lips, the practiced stroke of his tongue, his breath melting into her mouth. So different from the greedy assault in the elevator. All feeling, patient, a leisurely entrée to entice and prepare her for more substantial fare.
A minute later, without thinking, she stretched out her hand to set her glass down somewhere, anywhere, so that she could touch him. Lewis pulled back, took her glass and put both of them on the mantel.
Madeline pressed both hands flat on to his chest but he circled her wrists and held them away.
“You can’t touch,” he whispered and bent his head toward her again.
“But I want to…” She gazed hungrily at the tight t-shirt that molded to smooth muscle, his biceps bulging with tight smooth skin. She wanted to touch very much, to feel all that tanned smooth skin under her fingers.
Lewis smiled lazily. “My first fantasy involves me sitting over there,” he jutted his chin toward a chair placed well back in the shadows, “and you right here, taking your clothes off, one piece at a time.
Madeline laughed shakily. “Really? That’s it? A peep show?”
His teeth flashed in the dimly-lit room. “Oh, that’s just the start of it.”
He waited while she assimilated that, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Madeline captured the tip of his thumb in her mouth, swirling her tongue over it before releasing it, and watched his eyes darken with desire. “Will you be giving instructions?”
“Most definitely,” he said, the hoarse tone of his voice turning her knees to water. Then he walked away to his chair and when he sat, she couldn’t make out his features at all, only his knuckles resting on his knees.
Nervous laughter bubbled dangerously close to the surface. Could she do this, be the woman he thought she was? If Madeline had been told a week ago that she would meet a sexy stranger while on holiday and spend the night making love to him, she might just believe it. But if anyone said she would knowingly go to a secluded cabin with the express purpose of having sex with her boss, and end up doing a striptease for his gratification, she would have laughed until she cried.
She took a long draught of champagne, pleased about the blow-out on the lingerie. The music he’d chosen was slow and seductive and although she didn’t recognize the group, she liked the sound and stood for a minute, learning the beat. Think of it as a test, she counseled, but her hand still trembled as she put down her glass. Then she turned to her faceless stranger, put a hand to her blouse and pushed the first tiny mother of pearl button through the hole.”

A Small Success

...well I did it - got up about 4:40am and did some work- yippeee - don't feel too bad at the moment either and just in the midst of the bath/bed routine - my own as well as the kids! Now it takes 21 days to make a habit doesn't it - or 28 for slow-pokes like me... one down then...

Now I have a TREAT for you - a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG treat. One fabulous guest blogger coming your way with one heck of a fabulous excerpt and a wonderful book to win... be back tomorrow!!!

Changing the Routine

Okay, so for most of last year I was able to write at night - get all the kids into bed and go for it - tired at times for sure, but really it was manageable.
This year that routine hasn't worked so well - I'm not sure what it is. A combination of events I guess - the school/kindy run is busier, we have more extra-curricular activies and the twins have had a rough time with their health. Anyway, I'm finding that thru the week I'm just so tired by their bedtime that I don't have the concentration I need to write. This has led to me putting in some monster weekends.
And so, time for a change - I'm going to attempt the reverse of last year - go to bed really early and get up early. I know other writers do this - Cole gets up at 3 or 4 or something. I'm going to aim for between 4 and 5 - and bed by 8 at the latest - so an 8 or 9 hour sleep - depending on the twins of course! But we can only try right? And I do know that I am freshest first thing - definitely a lark not an owl when it comes to working productively!
So, check in with me tomorrow and I'll fess up about whether I was able to drag my sorry self out of bed ultra early on a cold and frosty morning!

Anyone speak French???

I've got a review in for PLEASURED BY THE SECRET MILLIONAIRE - from Onirik.net/Blue Moon - French websites. I've tried (and failed) with my schoolgirl French and tried using Babel Fish translation service, but it's still not great - here are a few gems though:

The last novel of Natalie Anderson at Mills & Boon. It is always as well done, funny, deep and dépaysant. To discover!

It belongs to its young people authors with style very different ... and which one feels that they aim at a more current public, young person can be. This revival is particularly refreshing and welcome and gives rise to stuffed little books of dynamism, of humour but also of depth...

Obviously the very hot meeting of these two heroes could have constituted the principal framework of small novel but Natalie Anderson treats to the luxury to build an intrigue much major on the moult of our main characters. Both have problems to regulate with themselves... What starts as a light history of mutual attraction becomes more serious, more analyzed and finally in such a short format, the importance of psychology is remarkable. It is necessary to also note the astonishing naturalness of the evoked situations...

Natalie Anderson publishes a new novel in September in the United Kingdom which will without any doubt make it possible to still explore all its talent. It would be time that France locates it, it belongs to the young authors of the other end of planet (it is New Zealand) which deserves to be discovered.

You can (if you read French) read the full review at Blue Moon or Onirik!

According to Cosmo...

(and HUGE thanks to Aideen for bringing this to our attention)

"215 miles is the amount of ironing a woman does in her lifetime, compared to a man's 73"

AND

"women report greater sexual interest for partners who do housework"

Let me tell you I'm nowhere near 215 miles!!!!!!

And ooooh yeeeeeaaaahhhh - hubby has his hands deep in the kitchen sink right now... definitely a turn on! ;)

DO YOU IRON YOUR SHEETS?

Seriously. I want to know. See the thing is I have a moment in my work-in-progress where my heroine has the hero on about making his poor petite, heavily pregnant housekeeper iron his super kingsize sheets. The woman is literally drowning in them. It's part of the point where the heroine ticking him off for being well, a little spoiled.
And then I got to thinking - oh no! What if MOST people do iron their sheets? What if this is normal??!!!! What if I'm about to display my complete uncouth crassness and lack of general housekeeping skills because I don't iron my sheets??!! What if every reader of this book is going to raise their hands skywards and say ay yai yai - of course the housekeeper should iron his sheets!
See the fact is, I don't iron anything. My husband does it. It's because of my lefthandedness you know? I get burns every time. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!). So for me, ironing sheets just seems a little, well, unfathomable. Now I admit, I've never - to my knowledge - slept on ironed sheets. So maybe if I did I'd know the difference and never go back.
However, I can't see hubby ironing them this week. So please, take a moment if you will and click on the poll to the right there - and let me know what the consensus is - to iron or not to iron!!!

Conference Season

This weekend the big Romance Writers of America National Conference is on in San Francisco - and two of my Mod Heat buddies - Heidi and Kelly - are up for the RITA (the Oscars of romacne writing!) - it is VERY exciting and already there is wonderful news leaking out from the conference...

My very good friend and wonderful HM&B Romance author Donna Alward has won the Best Traditional cateogory in the Bookseller's Best award - hop over to the PHS post and see our ed with Donna's pin!!!!!!!

AND, news is just in about the first eHarlequin community member sale - New Zealand's own Sandra Hyatt has sold to Desire!!!!!! SUPER exciting - get thee to the eharl thread here to congratulate her!!!! - Sounds like its going to be one GREAT call story!!! :)

And the winner is...

... wow talk about down to the wire!!! The competition really was between Love Story and The Notebook - with Titanic coming a close third. But I think Love Story is the one to take it out..as I type there are 6 minutes left to vote so someone could come in and change that I guess!!!

And as for the winner of the draw for Jude and my latest books - we've pulled a name out of the hat and it's:

KAREN HANNA!!!!!

Congratulations Karen!!! Fabulous goodies will be winging their way to you shortly!!!
Thanks so much to everyone who entered and talked hte talk about movies and tears - happy and sad. It's been fab.

Now its August I have PLEASURED BY THE SECRET MILLIONAIRE on the shelves in Australia/New Zealand - infact my mum just phoned to say she saw them on the shelf of her fave bookstore tonight so that's pretty cool (you can always rely on your Mum to let you know these things!). AND my next release, BOUGHT: ONE NIGHT, ONE MARRIAGE is now available direct from Mills & Boon in the UK - check out the cute widget in my earlier post!

My fabulous fellow Christchurch writer Jan Colley has one out this month too and she's promised to come blog with me... stay tuned for that!

And as I close off this post, the bell has buzzed and indeed Love Story is the winner in our shortlist of weepie romantic movies!!!

Just a quickie

Have you checked out the fresh new Mills & Boon UK website??!! Its veeeeeeery pretty AND I'm thrilled 'cos next month's releases are up - including my BOUGHT: ONE NIGHT, ONE MARRIAGE - and you can do the 'browse the book' thing - see if this works!!!