Anything Goes Friday - Book Reviews

Today we're reviewing books we've recently read and loved. First up is Sally Minx, reviewing Kelly Hunter's Red Hot Renegade, then Romy Minx reviewing Michelle Reid's Mia's Scandal.

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Everyone loves a sexy hero, and from the moment that Martial Art expert Jake Bennett appears on page one of Kelly Hunter's latest Modern Heat he claimed the title, and made it his own.

The book opens at Jake's brother's engagement party, where he awaits the arrival of his long estranged wife, Jianne Xang-Bennett. Kelly masterfully hooks the reader by showing how all of Jake's family are concerned for his reaction. They know he still cares for her, and by showing their concern rachet up the tension until Jianne enters the scene.

The story is set in Singapore, and Jake is an unusual Modern Heat hero, in that he lives modestly in his dojo, where he teaches karate. He's not rich. Jianne is. And she's being relentlessly pursued by a dangerous suitor called Zhi Fu who has tracked her from China to make her his.

Jianne needs to persuade Zhi Fu that she isn't available, and what better way than to reunite with her estranged husband? She moves into the dojo, and soon they're not pretending to be in love any more, but are caught up again in a familiar attraction that threatens to overwhelm them. But Jianne left Jake for a reason, and isn't convinced that he will put her first. And Jake is wary of love after his relationship with Jianne broke up so many years before, and will have to learn to accept both her and her wealth to make the relationship work.

Red Hot Renegade is masterfully written, and a wonderful read. The setting, hero and heroine are all out of the ordinary for a Modern Heat, and all the more powerful for it. Bravo Kelly!

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Thanks for that review Sally. Jake and Jianne both made an appearance in Kelly's previous book Untameable Rogue, so I was already keen to read their story, but your review made me go out and buy it.

Mia's Scandal is part of the The Balfour Legacy, a series of special releases by Harlequin.

We often read Italian heroes but it was really interesting to read an Italian heroine for a change. Michelle Reid caught the flavour of Mia's passionate temperament and her difficulties with the English language without it ever being intrusive. What I really loved was that she was a truly spirited heroine, though she is also a complete 'innocent', having grown up in rural Tuscany. She stood up to the hero at almost every turn and gave as good as she got, even venting her temper on him. And she was never TSTL.

But the best thing about this novel was the Greek hero. Nikos might possibly even be the most enticing hero I've ever read. And yes, that includes Darcy! If you've read the book, please let me know if you agree.

Michelle Reid tends to 'head hop' a lot, but it is a testimony to how well this book hooks the reader that after a while it no longer annoyed me and I just had to keep turning the pages.

My overall impression, as much because of the evocative writing as because of the cover, was one of colour. Whenever I think of this book I'm going to remember it as black & scarlet. The book was sensual, seductive, and as delicious as dark chocolate. In spite of the constant POV shifts and the glaring use of the word 'likened', this book is going on my keeper shelf.

Author Spotlight - Cindy Davis

Today we're very excited to have Cindy Davis answering the Minx questions. Cindy is of course, a very talented editor as well as an author, and previously featured on the Minxes blog, telling us all about how to do the perfect synopsis. Take it away, Cindy!

Where were you in your writing career 5 years ago?
At that time I was focused on attending as many conferences and workshops as possible. To learn as much as I could. I made sure to introduce myself to every editor, agent or publisher I met, regardless of their genre. One time, I introduced myself to an agent in a ladies room waiting line. You never know where an opportunity will present itself.

Where did you get the idea from for this particular book?
Funny where ideas germinate. Play with Fire is the second in my Angie Deacon series. I am a gardener. I thought it would be interesting to have a precious flower stolen. I emailed three of the world's top iris breeders and asked for info on their most expensive iris. One breeder phoned me, laughing because their most expensive flower was $50. But, he had a great idea for a plot: in reality, there's no such thing as a red iris, they don't carry a red gene. Iris breeders have spent millions, literally, trying to produce one genetically. In Play with Fire the character does produce a red, but before he can take advantage, all his work is stolen and he's killed.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?
On the best seller list! Grin. It's a long shot but they say to shoot high and don't take no for an answer. More realistically, I see my editing career moving to another eschelon. I have done some teaching at conferences and I'd like to see that go further. There are some tutorials on my website: http://www.fiction-doctor.com./

Which was the last book you read that you wish you'd written?
Anything by Lee Child. I don't like his sentence structure; as an editor it makes me cringe but his plots are unique. There's something new on every page. I also find Sandra Brown's mysteries to be like that. (Don't care for her romances though)

Was there any particular author or book that made you want to be a writer?
I guess my love of writing comes from the Nancy Drew series, and anything by Agatha Christie. Agatha was another author with tremendous variety in her stories. I always loved puzzles--most of the time figured whodunit before the sleuth.

Do you find writing love scenes giggle-worthy or cringe-worthy?
My first drafts are usually a good bit of both. There isn't much in the way of love scenes in a mystery series. Readers have told me that's not what they want from a story. Then again, I think it's realistic to assume there ARE love scenes, so mine tend to be short and to the point. Like Angie and Jarvis' first time in Play with Fire: Jarvis kicked the door shut and shoved her back, thumping her head on the panel that vibrated to the Stones. His first kiss stifled her gasp of surprise. He leaned in, crushing her breasts with his chest. The thick bulge of the prop gun pressed into her hip. And became the most erotic sensation she'd—his tongue drove deep in her mouth—ever experienced. As the final pulse-pounding beat of Wild Horses shook the walls, Colby Jarvis rode Angie with the pulse-pounding fury of a stampede. For several scenes afterward, Jarvis berates himself for treating her like that, and every time Angie thought about she wanted to buy Stones albums.

What's the most romantic moment of your life so far?
I am married to a black and white kind of guy who never sets up romance on purpose. That said, romance can come in unique and unexpected places. We had the best picnic, at dusk, in a small boat on the Blackwater River in northwestern NY state, anchored under an overhanging tree... I will someday use this scene. But not in the mystery series, Angie hates the water.

What do you wish you'd known about being an author before you were pubbed?
How hard it was to find a truly good small publisher. I was first pubbed by one of those small presses who began solely as a means to get the owner's books published. She knew nothing about the publishing world, art work or editing. She hired a printer who knew nothing either. My first books had awful art and glue on the covers. Since then, small presses have come a long way, but ones like that gave small pubs the bad rep.

What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?
Write write write and pay attention to critiques from your elders. If somebody says something's wrong with your story, really stand back and evaluate. And here's some advice from me: never never turn in a first draft manuscript. I can't tell you how many people do that. They query a publisher with about a third of the book yet to write, then when the ms is requested, scurry to finish the last chapters.

Tell us about your latest release.
That would be Play with Fire I mentioned above. Angie and partner Tyson Goodwell have just opened a community theater, the culmination of a dream. The murder happens on stage of their first production--and the murderer is none other than Detective Colby Jarvis. Angie investigates in order to clear him.

What's next for you?
Two things. Book three of the Angie Deacon series will be out in August. In Hair of the Dog Angie is on vacation. For three nights she's kept awake by a dog barking. She finally confronts the neighbor publicly. As mysteries happen, he's found dead the next morning. To clear herself she follows clues to a makeup factory and a dog show. Not surprisingly, the two turn out to be related.


Secondly, I am writing a romance. Yes, in Finding Cassidy I will be writing a love scene, or three, though there will be no Rolling Stones. Cassidy Scott, an actress being stalked by a fanatic, takes a leave of absence and rents a bungalow in a small NE town. She meets two people: Arlen, a teen who's an aspiring screenwriter (naturally, he thinks he recognizes her), and his friend and mentor, Kirk Blackwood, a reclusive artist who reads a note on Cassidy's counter and concludes that Arlen is all wrong—Ms. Scott is a serial killer. As her relationship with the artist smoothes out and moves along, the stalker arrives in town.

Book one of the Angie Deacon series, can be ordered here from Amazon.

Book two, Play with Fire, can be ordered here from Amazon.

Also available now, Final Masquerade from The Wild Rose Press.

Read more about Cindy at her website: http://www.cdavisnh.com/

Thanks for the interview, Cindy!

Minx Post - Catch Me A Catch

Minx Sally here. I get to do a Minx post this Monday, to announce that my first book, Catch Me A Catch is coming out this Wednesday from The Wild Rose Press. It's a story close to my heart. Set in the glorious West of Ireland, and featuring a heroine who's job means she's up to her elbows in chocolate, which is definitely my dream job! (And with a blog called Love and Chocolate, I think it's very apt that my first book should feature chocolates on the cover.)

Here's a sneak peak, and an excerpt. I do hope that everyone likes it!

Catch Me A Catch by Sally Clements

She had the perfect life - and all she wanted was to escape it. Artisan chocolatier and reluctant matchmaker Annie Devine wants to survive the annual Durna Matchmaking Festival without messing up. She's useless at relationships, and the whole village know it. They've known ever since the day she was left at the altar in her wedding dress. When Jack Miller, charismatic head of Miller Advertising is forced to make an emergency stop on his transatlantic crossing, she mistakes him for a love-lorn bachelor, and sparks fly. Jack's in Ireland to discover his roots, while Annie's desperate to escape hers. Annie longs to win the coveted Chocolate Oscar competition, and claim the ultimate prize, her own shop in Dublin. But with the deadline for Jack's return to New York looming, is she making the right choice?

Excerpt

“Annie! What the hell?” She grabbed him by his upper arms and slammed him back against the worn brickwork of the building.

“What did you think you were doing?” The potent buzz of anger infused every pore. “What sort of idiot caveman are you?”

He’d kissed her. In front of everyone. She scrunched her eyes tight shut to blot out the memory. And, stupidly, she’d let him. With a snort of disgust, she dropped her hands to her sides and moved away. He’d better have a good excuse for kissing her, because she didn’t have a clue why she’d kissed him back.

“You needed my help.” Jack clenched his jaw and crossed his arms over his chest. “They were all over you in there.”

A tension headache stabbed between her eyes. Oh great. Hero complex.

“I did not need your help. I can take care of myself; I’ve been doing it for years. The last thing I needed was you pawing me in front of the whole town. You’ve made a show of me.” She bit her lip, the repercussions of her very public response to him fully sinking in. Her privacy was the most important thing to her. And she’d just tossed it away by kissing him.

“They all already think I’m desperate. Now every guy in the village will think I’m easy too. I’ll be fighting them off with a stick,” she muttered wryly. This was morphing into the weekend from hell. Before she melted back to Dublin, the grapevine would be buzzing with more news on her love life. Just what she didn’t need.

He shoved away from the wall towards her. She glared, effectively halting his approach. “I kissed you for a reason, and it wasn’t the obvious one.”

Catch Me A Catch available here from Wednesday.

RNA Conference Top Ten and an announcement!

Better writers than me have posted excellent write-ups of conference talks so instead of a deep, insightful blog post I thought I'd do a list of "Ten things I didn't know before the conference". There are probably an awful lot more than ten but I know you haven't got all day. So, before your cup of tea/coffee gets cold I'll get on with it...

Conference Top Ten (facts, tips and gossip)

1. The biggest sector buying books in supermarkets is women aged 40-49 and for some titles supermarkets can account for 90% of sales.
2. Digital is seen as the way forward (but beware, if the supermarkets are giants Sony, Amazon and Google are monoliths...) ebook sales and audio downloads have rocketed, particularly with the release of the ipad. Ebooks and audiobooks may be released as packages in the future
3. Watch out for 'author apps' - a kind of fan club app, with the opportunity to get sent free excerpts. .
4. Writing a 'Trojan Horse' - Romantic plot-lines are selling really well, especially when dressed up as something else e.g. an aspirational plot-line (lifestyle change, travel etc). If you write romantic suspense emphasize the suspense part of your pitch! It's sad but true - there are women out there who want the romance stories their grandmothers read but to have it dressed up as something modern, more contemporary perhaps.
5. Romance accounts for 20.5% of all fiction sold.
6. It takes a brave and a good writer to start a new trend, to innovate rather than imitate. One point from the Mills and Boon talk (see photo below) was that writers need a commercial awareness of the market and to keep their fingers on that market's pulse to create fresh stories that are relevant to the twenty first century reader.
7. The words 'twenty first century' appeared no fewer than 7 times in the key points of the M&B talk. Methinks they were making a point.
8. It is possible to be creative at 9 am on a Sunday morning with a screaming headache and the cogs of your brain grinding painfully - Julie Cohen's workshop taught me that - despite feeling crap I came out of the workshop with a new hero and story idea. From discipline can come inspiration. Actually think I'm in danger of getting deep there, so moving swiftly on...
9. You don't have to be a Planner or a Panster like it's your religion for life - you can be somewhere in between or a flexible planner (thanks Kate Hardy for the excellent talk :-). Switching off your email while you're writing can lead to better productivity. (Okay I already knew that one but sometimes it's good to be reminded... Like Kate Walker's workshop on Conflict, you can never be reminded too many times).
10. Sadly there were rumours that our favourite 'party outfit' publisher may be having distribution problems, we firmly hope for the sake of it's fab writers that there will soon be better news on the inkvine...

But now it's time to finish dunking that biscuit and make an official Minx announcement (drumroll please):

We're very pleased to announce that we've lured one of our lovely blog friends over to the Minxy side. She probably doesn't know what's hit her yet so we're announcing it before she changes her mind. I'd like to welcome Joanne Pibworth as a new member of the Minxes of Romance. Welcome Joanne.

Joanne will be introducing herself properly here on the Minx blog on Monday 9th August so I hope you'll come back then to welcome her properly :-)

Author Spotlight: Rebecca Savage

Today, The Minxes are very thrilled to welcome Rebecca Savage to the spotlight!

Take it away, Rebecca...



1. Where were you in your writing career 5 years ago?

I started writing in June 2004, so I was a rookie. Sometimes I still feel like one.

2. Where did you get the idea from for this particular book?

Well, 9/11 and the tragedies surrounding it will forever be in my mind and may others. This latest book, Guard My Body, is based on terrorism, homegrown, where a man wants to get help and cross the border into the US with bombs and...well, i can't tell you more, but that the idea. Terrorism...at home and abroad.

3. Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?

I used to want to hit it big with the big name publishing houses. Now I'm happy with e-publishing as long as I have my fans and can write, write, write...I ever get with a big house....hmmmm...actually, I may never try. Too many games.

4. Which was the last book you read that you wish you'd written?

Everything by Angela Knight! She's the greatest!

5. Was there any particular author or book that made you want to be a writer?

Not necessarily, but there are alot who I idolize and adore and wish I could be more like.

6. Do you find writing love scenes giggle-worthy or cringe-worthy?

Depends on how they're written. If there's talking and it's humorous, then giggle-worthy. If they're worded too...hmmmmm...extremely, then I still read them, but some words are just a bit much:)

7. What's the most romantic moment of your life so far?

OMG, let me think back to before the divorce...oops, did I say that outloud...Before my ex, there were some very romantic experiences. Once, I sat in a park, lights out, at night, under the stars, in Italy...how could that not be romantic...it's Italy, for goodness sakes:)---the guy was great and gorgeous. Yep, definitely a wonderful memory.

8. What do you wish you'd known about being an author before you were pubbed?

Nothing. It's a step by step process and you have to climb the ladder. The problem is, you don't know the rungs are there until you get to them and they identify themselves. Then you make the choice and take the step and keep going...or you don't.

9. What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

Never stop writing!

10. Tell us about your latest release.


I mentioned it's about terrorism and it's also about a librarian with a wildside who has a sister who's CIA with an even wilder side. The sister and her male partner need her help. So she gets to show her wildside. What a way to go!

11. What’s next for you?

I'm working on the third of that series of six, and a dragon story...wow, talk about tough. I'm branching out of my normal element into fantasy. World building is fun...

Thank you so much for joining us today, Rebecca, and we look forward to more books from you in the future.