Great reads

Natalie Anderson's fast becoming one of my fave HM&B Modern Heat authors. I was fortunate to win two of her recent new releases in a comp on her blog. First was her novella 'The Millionaire's Mistletoe Mistress' in Christmas With the Boss.

If you haven't read this yet, you're missing out. From the opening scene (gorgeous half-naked hero anyone?), she had me hooked. Her sexy hero, Ryan Taylor, was to die for. The way he regularly tries to spend time with the heroine while she volunteer gift wraps at the department store during her breaks was sweet and funny. I'm usually not one for Christmas-themed books, but I absolutely loved this one.

The other book I won, Ruthless Boss, Royal Mistress ,which is part of The Royal House of Karedes continuity, is on my TBR list.

I also recently read Natalie's Hot Boss Boardroom Mistress which was another fantastic read. Wonderful inner conflict, sizzling hot sexual tension and love scenes, and I loved how the hero's misconceptions about the heroine were eventually all blown out of the water as he realised how wrong he had been about her. This novel actually had me wondering how the hell these two were going to have their HEA. Which just goes to show how skillful a writer Natalie Anderson is.

I'm currently reading Nicola Marsh's Marriage: For Business of Pleasure. Her books never fail to deliver and this one so far certainly is delivering in spades. It's also interesting because I'm currently writing a marriage of convenience.

Now if I can only write half as well as these talented authors...

e-Readers

My fellow aspiring romance author, Rachael Johns, recently posted on her blog asking for recommendations on e-Readers. I decided to post about my e-reader which I've had since September 2009. It's the ECO Reader and it's the best thing I've ever bought.

I decided to buy an e-reader since moving to my new house which had less space for my precious books than my previous residence. I've got stacks of books in cardboard boxes in the garage because there's nowhere to put them. My e-reader cuts the need for storage space and hubby is much happier!

Also, I get to purchase and download all the latest HM&B Modern Heats as they're released in the UK rather than waiting for them to be available in Australia. Considering I like instant gratification, the e-reader is ideal. I don't have to wait for books to arrive in the mail. I also get to carry my ECO Reader in my handbag and have a number of titles stored on there. And the battery lasts for ages (7,000 pages - to put this in perspective, I've read stacks of books since I've purchased it in early September and I haven't needed to recharge since then).

When doing my research for what e-reader to purchase, I found a problem. Sony eReader wasn't available in Australia, neither was the Kindle (which didn't suit my purposes either because I wanted to purchase Harlequin novels), and there were two e-readers available in Australia and they cost a small fortune. And iphone wouldn't cut it for me because I have poor eyesight and I read for hours on end.

I purchased my ECO Reader from DA Direct in Melbourne, Australia for $449 (incl. GST) plus delivery. Or rather hubby purchased it for me as my birthday present :)

I got my 12-month warranty and the option of technical support plus regular firmware updates for my e-reader.

So there you go! Anyone, else got an e-reader? Care to share your experience?

NaNo and other things...

For me, NaNo is off at a snail's pace. All I've written so far is 654 words.

I've been mulling over the feedback that's been provided on my first chapter as part of the Category Romance Writing course I've enrolled in. Overall, the feedback was positive. My marker (not my original teacher) had some really good suggestions on how to improve the work. Boy, am I glad I didn't enter it into the Harlequin Presents comp! The chapter needs a rewrite. Problem is, I don't know how to keep the elements in there that the marker praised me on when I change the things she suggested. And she also suggested writing the rest of the ms first before coming back and layering in individual details about my characters. But I seem to have stalled...

Anyhoo, one criticism related to my title which reflects my warped sense of humour, I guess. The marker was correct in stating that it suggests I'm not serious about the genre, even thought that wasn't my intention at all! So 'My Big Fat Fake Wedding' will have to go. Any suggestions? I've got a billionaire who owns a strings of luxury hotels, a cocktail waitress and a marriage of convenience.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Harlequin Presents comp

Well, I've decided that my first chapter is nowhere near ready to be seen by an editor. Instead of entering the Harlequin Presents comp with a sub-standard entry, I'll work on it some more and submit it as my second assignment for the Category Writing Course that I'm doing. With the feedback that I'll receive from my fabulous teacher, then I can either rewrite, scrap, or edit the first chapter. There's something lacking, but I can't pinpoint exactly what...

At least I have a plan, so I'm happy. I've also signed up for NaNoWriMo this year with the aim of finishing the first draft of MBFFW. So instead of completing 50k, I'll be aiming for 44k.

Taking the plunge

I've finally decided to take the plunge into Blogland. I've been toying with the idea for a while, but didn't think I'd have anything interesting to say. Still don't. I also didn't want to spend time blogging when I could've been writing.



So what's changed?

1. By blogging, I'm hoping to increase my writing output by being accountable. Even if no-one reads this blog, at least I can see that the wordcount meter for my latest ms is/is not moving upwards.


2. I realised that even though I've been a member of Romance Writers of Australia since 2007, I don't know many other writers. Hopefully by blogging (and commenting on other writers' blogs), I can come out of my shell and network with other romance writers.


3. If I can state my writing goals up where the whole world can see them (not that I think the whole world will be interested - LOL), then I have to work harder to achieve them.

There. Now that that's out of the way, I can talk about what's currently on my mind. For the third year in a row, I've thought about - then abandoned - the idea of entering the Harlequin Presents Writing Competition. To be fair, I couldn't enter last year as I had to pack my belongings, move our stuff into storage, and move house around the time of the comp. This year I wasn't going to enter because...well, because I didn't feel ready. But after this post, I'm considering about entering. My first chapter needs a rewrite and I haven't written a synopsis yet. Is it doable? Coincidentally, I have a whole week off work. So if I work 12-hour days on it...Maybe I can get my entry in before the deadline? Or am I nuts to even consider it?

One thing's for sure. I'm through with sitting on the sidelines watching others doing something with their writing, while I sit in my comfort zone.