SEE WHAT I MEAN!

Mills & Boon are running a fabulous new writing competition called New Voices (you can find details here) - the prize being publication of your own novel.

The competition has its own Facebook page and yesterday, I suggested to entrants that they print out a hard copy of their story to work on, before submitting.

Why? Well, I've published over eighty books and you'd think I might have it down to a fine art, wouldn't you?

Wrong!

Below is a page from the current manuscript I'm working on - bearing in mind that I thought it was as good as it could be when I printed it out!

I don't know why things look different on the page from how they do on screen, they just do.

And a reminder that this week sees the publication of a special release called SATISFACTION, which is about three amazingly gorgeous Greek tycoons, including the highly controversial BOUGHT BY HER HUSBAND.

The book is officially out on September 16th - but I spotted a copy in W H Smith today.

So will you be entering the New Voices competition?

TRANSPORT

No, I'm not talking about lorries thundering down the M1 motorway, or the difficulty of finding your car in a multi-story if it happens to be silver - but the ability of a photo to transport you to another time, another place.

Which is why, on this morning of relentlessly teaming rain when I'm trying to work towards a Black Moment and realising that I haven't actually got a black moment - that I have chosen instead to return to New York, in July. This pic is of me with the lovely Bryony Green - who has been my editor for seventeen years. (What do you mean? What long-suffering look on her face?)

The photo was taken at the Starlight Room of the Waldorf Astoria hotel where Harlequin threw a fabulous black and white party.

Sigh.

Do you suppose that if life was one long swirl of constant glamour, that we'd get bored with it?

MONARCH OF THE SANDS

hits the shelves this week!

FRIDAY, 2nd SEPTEMBER sees the UK paperback release of this sultry and highly emotional desert romance.

You can also order it here

How do you rate the cover?

I love those dreamy ochre towers.....

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

Today I'm blogging over on ihearts about my latest US release, which is out in the shops today.

I'm talking about how the story came to be written and about my sexy Russian hero, Nikolai Komarov. So come on over and say hello.

Oh, and one more thing....

At the end of the blog, I've included the most wonderfully evocative piece of music, which is quintessentially Russian.

I wonder if you can guess what it is?

(And this is a post-script to the reader who has just informed me that MONARCH OF THE SANDS is not released in paperback in the UK until September 2nd. Thanks for the heads-up!)

But you can order it here:

www.millsandboon.co.uk/books/modern.htm

ZAHID AND FRANCESCA'S STORY

Ever since Sheikh Zahid Al Hakam first made a moody appearance with his girlfriend Francesca in ITALIAN BOSS, HOUSEKEEPER BRIDE, readers have written wanting to know more about them. Like, what was the terrible atmosphere between them all about? And why was Zahid so angry with his girlfriend?

I knew there was a story there somewhere, I just had to wait for the idea to come along. And it did. Which is how MONARCH OF THE SANDS was born.

Frankie O'Hara isn't your usual kind of heroine. She's the geeky daughter of a scientist who has known Zahid since she was a little girl. Only the little girl has suddenly grown up....

And Zahid is unprepared for the woman she has become.

I absolutely loved writing this and hope you enjoy reading it - and it's out in the UK now.

The book is a stand-alone, but if you haven't read the story which inspired it, then write to me and I'll see if I can find one lucky recipient a copy.

WHAT AN AMAZING COVER!

This book features not one, not two but (you've guessed it!) THREE stories, all about incredibly charismatic and sexy Greek heroes and the women in their lives.

I love Greece; the vibrant blue and dazzling white which seem to define it. I love the scent of pine and of lemons wafting through the air. The sight of a line of octopuses hanging out to dry in the bright sun. The milk-warm sea and the drowsy sense of well-being which creeps over you after just a few hours. I hope I've captured that essential Greek feeling in this book and that you enjoy reading it.

It'll be released in mid-September but you can pre-order it here.

And if you have any inspirational Greek memories, I'd love to hear them....

TOO PROUD TO BE BOUGHT

Is out in the United States right now. It features my first ever sexy-as-hell Russian hero. With his hair of beaten gold and glacially blue eyes, Nikolai Komarov has a heart as cold as ice. And Zara Evans, the small-town waitress who walks into his privileged life - is just about to find that out for herself.

Discover what happens when two very different worlds and two very different people collide...

Oh, and MONARCH OF THE SANDS is now available in the UK. This book tells the story of Zahid and Francesca - which so many readers have been pestering me to write. So now you can discover why they made such a moody entrance in ITALIAN BOSS, HOUSEKEEPER BRIDE!



(Can't quite work out why the two covers are of such differing sizes!).

And now I must try to ignore the sunlight which is glinting on Lake Trasimeno, which I can see from where I write this. Instead, I must lose myself in my latest hero, Zak Constantinides. Oh, but he is TROUBLE!