TUSCANY IN MAY, ANYONE?

It's been an age since I updated this blog but now I have returned to it with renewed vigour to remind you of things I should have reminded you about before!

First up is to say that if you want to come to glorious Tuscany, to learn how to write romantic fiction - then you should book now.

During a dreamy, one-week course - you'll stay in a picturesque watermill, surrounded by trees which are loaded with creamy and fragrant Acacia blossoms, just like this....

And you'll soak up the kind of inspiration you get from living among mountains which look like this:

Of course, we must not forget going to local restaurants for droolingly good food, where course participants can occasionally be persuaded into doing something as daft as posing winsomely with a sprig of flowers!

Twice recently, I have been asked if men are welcome on these courses and the short answer is...yes!

All writers (as long as they are passionate about their craft) are very welcome.

So what's stopping you?

BACK FROM MAGICAL TRIP....

to Ireland, where I wandered through Belfast, met up with the fabulous Lynne Graham, travelled to the tiny town of Clones and then caught the bus to Dublin, where I stayed with the lovely Abby Green. Whew!

Now I'm back and instead of the leisurely Christmas shopping I'd anticipated, I'm revising my book about the sexy Neapolitan Ciro D'Angelo. I shall deliver him into the hands of my editor next week, when I might have time to post some photos of Ireland. After all, it's not as if much else is happening at this time of year is it?!

And in the meantime, my book about Sheikh Zahid of Khayarzah and Frankie O'Hara will soon be hitting the bookshelves or floating through the aether in North America. If you want to get your hands on a copy, it's called MONARCH OF THE SANDS.

So are you also working or maybe doing something wonderfully indulgent (like making mince-pies while carols blare out)?

Or have you decided to brave the shops which currently look like Armageddon (Armageddon outta here!)

SHOULD BE IN BELFAST....

if misty ropes of fog hadn't been swathing the runway and causing my flight to be cancelled :((

Instead of landing in a city I've heard so much about but which I haven't visited since I was about five - I am staring out of the window at the familiar view from my writing room. I know there are things I could be doing. Things I should be doing. But it's funny how your mind becomes a butterfly when your plans are thrown up into the air.

So here's a festive photo, because....

Well, because it's nearly Christmas, I guess.

Any exciting anecdotes about delayed travel?

I'M A COVER-LOVER!

This book is out in the US in January - but thought I'd give you an advance view of the beautiful cover, along with the blurb on the back.

One of the best things about this picture of Zahid and Francesca is that the scene is so true to how I imagined it. The artist has captured perfectly the exotic river which flows through the amazing land of Khayarzah. He (or she!) has also captured the lazy passion which exists between the Sheikh and his once-geeky lover.

Today, I finished the first draft of my latest story, which features a Neapolitan - my first ever hero from Naples. Now all I need to do is polish and tweak and tie up all the ends before delivering the book. I love this part of my job. It's a bit like icing a cake - and apparently, Neapolitans take their cake very seriously!

Anyone out there ever visited Naples?

SNEAK PEAK, SEXY SHEIKH

This is the cover of THE SHEIKH'S UNDOING which will be on sale in the UK next month. It features playboy Tariq (who has a shocking track-record with women) and his loyal PA, Isobel Mulholland. Sparks fly when the fiercely independent Tariq finds himself injured and reliant on Izzy in a way he has never been before. Feelings can sometimes change when roles are reversed....

Do you like the cover?

In terms of light and overall effect, it reminds me of that very famous painting of a luscious woman in an emerald green evening dress - but I don't have a clue who painted it, or what it's called. If anyone can enlighten me - then a copy of THE SHEIKH'S UNDOING will wing its way to them.

Last night I went to the Romantic Novelists Association Christmas party (what a lot of capital letters!) in Birdcage Walk, just down the road from Buckingham Palace. Guided by my phone (what a surreal thing to write! Imagine a Victorian reading those words!) I walked there via St. James's Park. A fountain was coloured emerald and the palace behind was bathed in golden light. Even the trees were illuminated by carefully positioned lights, so that it felt as if I was in the middle of some fantastic setting. Or Disneyland. Oh, and the party was very good.

Tonight I'm going to see Much Ado About Nothing. Which pretty much sums up my morning so far. So I'd better get back to Ciro D'Angelo, my current hero - who needs to be beaten into submission!

INDULGENCE, SHOWING OFF AND DRESS-CODES

Back in August (or was it July?) I attended the Harlequin black and white party at the fabulous Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York. It was here that I received a Tiffany trinket for having published 75 books. Yay! I even bought a black dress for the occasion - though there is still a part of me which rebels at being told what to wear!

But for once I capitulated and followed the dress-code, buying a dress by a Canadian designer which one of my American author friends informed me was called an Opera Coat.

Lots of the fabulous women who attended my course at the Watermill in Tuscany, kept asking to see a photo of said dress.

So here I am, striding across the ballroom while wearing it.

And this is me enjoying a bit of an "Oscar" moment.

I'm currently deep into my latest book which features the gorgeous but very tricky Neapolitan, Ciro D'Angelo. And I'm at that stage where I could do with some inspiration.

So what have you all been up to - and have you ever enjoyed an "Oscar" moment?

SATISFACTION & LEARNING ITALIAN

Don't forget that you can still buy my Greek trilogy, SATISFACTION over at Amazon

Three sizzling stories about three outrageously alpha males! (And a fabulous cover).

Meanwhile, since I go to beautiful Italy so often, I've decided to bite the bullet and try to learn the language (though the latter might prove difficult, while doing the former!).

It ain't easy. But I keep telling myself that even if I only ever manage to say the equivalent of "Hello, my name is Sharon and I live in Winchester" - then at least I might be giving my brain-cells a workout!

Anyone else tackling a new skill?