Leading Ladies by Three Minxes

We all have favourite movies that remain unforgettable and become a part of us long after we've turned off the VCR or DVD or we've left the cinema and empty popcorn box behind; movies with characters that make us smile or LOL, or brings tear to our eyes.

Today, Minxes Suzanne, Sally and Maya bring you the leading ladies who have struck a chord with us and carved a place in our hearts.

Suzanne:

My favourite leading lady of all time has to be Margaret Sullivan in The Shop Around The Corner. This is a gem of a film - made in 1940 and directed by Ernst Lubitsch, it's inspired an array of other works: In the Good Old Summertime (musical starring Judy Garland), You've Got Mail (Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan) and the stage musical She Loves Me (I saw this years ago with Ruthie Henshall and John Gordon Sinclair - and it was fab). Worryingly, it was also the inspiration for Are You Being Served - but, thankfully, I already knew and loved the original film version when I found this out.

It's a predictable romcom, in that you know from the outset that Margaret will get her man (in this case James Stuart), but that doesn't make the journey any less enjoyable. Margaret's character is feisty and stubborn and funny. On being told by Stewart there are no job vacancies at the shop in question, she nonetheless makes a difficult sale, impressing the owner and landing herself work. In a lovely film she shines, and if you get the chance to see her in the role of Clara Novak, you should jump at it.


Sally:

My favorite leading lady is Holly Hunter. She's a very versatile actress, with a great emotive range, and is able to convey so much through her eyes that I find her compulsively watchable in any films that she appears in. She's not your average pin-up but her quiet strength shines through in all the character's she portrays. I loved her in Miss Firecracker, a movie where she competes in the Miss Firecracker beauty pageant - but my all time favorite is 1995 movie, Copycat.

Copycat is a much underrated thriller in my opinion, with some great performances all round. Holly plays Detective Monahan, a tough determined detective trying to track down a serial killer who is copying famous murders, and she has to work with agrophobe Dr Helen Hunter, played masterfully by Sigourney Weaver to catch the murderer. Harry Connick Jr. is totally blood chilling as evil Daryll Lee Cullum, and if you enjoy thrillers and haven't tried this one, watch it! If thrillers aren't your thing, then do check out Miss Firecracker ... Holly's tap dance is worth it!

Maya:

The Lake House, one of my all time favourite movies made me fall in love with Sandra Bullock. The film itself is extremely poignant with two people who meet “out of time” but are destined to be together. Sandra's performance is arresting to watch and I was on the brink of tears for most of the second half of the movie (something about star-crossed lovers and moving love letters do that to me, I’m afraid).

I also loved her in this movie because it was a departure from her usual funny girl routine, even though I think she’s also a wonderful comedienne. I absolutely adored her in The Proposal and she totally kicked ass in the Speed movies :).

But I think what raised Sandra Bullock to the top of my list was the way she dealt with her personal life in this past year.

Throughout the chaos engulfing her very public marriage break up, she remained dignified and strong, and that’s a quality I admire in my leading ladies.

This picture of her on the cover of People Magazine published just months after her divorce made me smile and go, “YEAH!”

For me, she’s definitely a wonderful leading lady and a huge inspiration!

We'd love to know who your leading ladies are!


Tune in next week for three more Minxy favourite leading ladies.

Time to Party!

Because it's Friday, but also because we deserve a party as a reward for our hard work during the past few month, whether we entered the New Voices Competition or held the hands of contestants.
For this party there are no burly bouncers and no guest list, just an open house for anyone who's suffering PTRSD (Post Traumatic Rose-Stress Disorder), Waitingforthelistitis or just fancies a nice party :-)

Help yourself to champagne and cake and mingle with the celebrities - Michael Weatherly and Daniel Craig have dressed up for us,

Simon Baker has gone for smart casual but Gilles Marini can't seem to keep

his clothes on and has made himself at home :-) So, get out those pink

feather boas, Ugg boots or whatever

takes your fancy. It's time to let off some steam and recharge those batteries for the next stage of our writing journey...

If anyone fancies a party game how about writing a story in ten words for Chick Lit Shorties? There are fab prizes - critiques, blog overhauls, Amazon gift cards... And we're not going to mention the 'c' word because this is about having fun. So while 'I entered New Voices and now I'm a nervous wreck' is a story in ten words and meets the requirements of the 'c' word it's not quite in the spirit of things. If you want to know more click here.

In keeping with the party spirit we also have a prize to award - Tami has won a copy of Suzanne Brandyn's 'Heat in the Outback'. Tami please pop over to Suzanne's website and use the contact info to let her have your snail mail address, the link is here.

Now, what music shall I put on, any requests?

Author Spotlight: Suzanne Brandyn

Today we have Australian author Suzanne Brandyn here to tell us all about her books, and answer the Minxes questions - take it away Suzanne!

Where were you in your writing career 5 years ago?

Five years ago I had a dream, a dream to be published. I learned everything I could about writing romance. I wanted to see my name in the Romance Writers of Australia’s Hearts Talk magazine. I studied and studied ‘how to’ of romance writing. Last year I had my first romance novel published. My name not only appears as a published author in the magazine, but I’m now also a member of their editorial team.

Where did you get the idea from for this particular book?
It is based around the town I was born. I love the area; love the mountains and the wide river. So I took my heroine back home, where she faces her past and obstacles arise making her think twice about her life.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?
I think a lot of authors would say a famous author. But to be sensible, I’d love to have at least another ten novels published with a bigger publishing house.

Which was the last book you read that you wish you'd written?
I had to laugh at this question. Lol. Still grinning. The Twilight Series, who wouldn’t?

Was there any particular author or book that made you want to be a writer?
Nora Roberts’s stories and style inspired me to want to write my own novels.

Do you find writing love scenes giggle-worthy or cringe-worthy?
I have no trouble in writing them at all. They are worthy to a story if that story requires one. Love is universal. I don’t feel it different to writing a passionate kiss scene.

What's the most romantic moment of your life so far?
I think getting married in Hawaii two years ago was very romantic. It was a perfect, romantic time. The weather, delivered on a blue platter, the music romantic. It was my dream come true.

What do you wish you'd known about being an author before you were pubbed?
I wished I knew more about the promotional side of publishing. It takes a lot of writing hours away. I enjoy it though and I’m having book signings and library talks within the next few months.

What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?
Trust your gut feeling. Write what you like reading. If you believe in your manuscript, so will an editor.

Tell us about your latest release.
Have you ever misplaced something? Has it taken you ages to find where it is? ‘Usually what you’re searching for is right before your eyes.’
Thinking she has it all, the perfect life, the perfect career, and the perfect fiancé. Sarah Munro questions all when she returns to her hometown, and to the man she left behind so many years ago.
Both characters have a secret, and it’s up to them to come to terms with the past or grab onto it and yank it into the future. They try to settle their differences but a raging attraction ignites. That attraction has been smoldering for years.

What’s next for you?
I hope that my next manuscript will be published. It is set on a property in the New England Region of NSW, Australia, a property where I lived. It is a suspense novel with romantic elements, about a woman escaping domestic violence and returning to a property she inherited by her recently departed mother. She faces many obstacles. It will be a great read. I’m also about to start another. So I’ll be busy. Lol.

You can find out where to purchase Heat in the Outback at Suzanne's website, http://www.suzannebrandyn.com/  and Suzanne is giving a free print copy to one lucky commenter.

Heat in the Outback is available now from Eternal Press, and Passion in Paradise is available from The Wild Rose Press.

Thank you so much for joining us here at the Minxes of Romance today, Suzanne!

Monday Minx Newbie

Today’s special minx announcement is…

ME!

Lacey Devlin has joined the Minxes in all their glory, and no, I didn’t have to bribe them with money!

I’ll admit I’ve shied away from CPs in the past because I was sure that I didn’t have enough time to stop them from trying to murder me when I wasn’t able to get a critique done on time, but that was before I was introduced to the Minx system!  I’m a lucky girl and I’ve got all their emails now, so there are no “take backs”.

As this is my first official post as a Minx I’m suppose to dazzle you with fascinating facts about myself, and oh boy, where to start ;)

For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Australian, and in my spare time I wrestle crocodiles… or perhaps I write.  Actually, I think the more people between me and a crocodile the better.  That also applies to snakes, spiders, sharks and politicians.

Because I live such a fascinating life I struggled to come up wit a dazzling tid bit about myself that’s never been blogged before, and I came up with two tid bits.  So today I’m going to introduce you to my fur children Lucy and Zoe who are miniature Maltese terriers weighing less than 3kg each.  They are fearless in the face of a dog ten times their size as long as there’s a fence between them.  I’ve spent many hours with them balanced on my lap while I write what will hopefully become a published manuscript.

Zoe and friend.



Lucy who likes to sleep in
contorted positions best





To give you an idea of their size against a pig ear.

I started writing as a wee lassie no bigger than your thumb and those stories were fantastically terrible—a child genius I am not.  Then, I discovered the romance genre and Mills & Boon.  Thousands of books later my obsession has grown and there’s a lot less room in the house.  As I continue toward my dream of being a published M&B author I’m thrilled that I’m now surrounded by wonderful women who are willing to read my work, however fantastically terrible it may or may not be.



Fur children



Weekend Round-Up

Wednesday Winner!

The lucky winner of Wednesday's giveaway with Paula Graves is Jo Gilliver. Congratulations, Jo! Please contact Paula directly at paulagraves@charter.net to claim your prize!

Monday

Coming up this week on the Minxes blog, we have a very special announcement tomorrow--come back to join us for the news. We've learnt everything we know about keeping our readers in suspense from the lovely ladies at Mills & Boon :-)

Wednesday

This week our author spotlights highlights Australia's Suzanne Brandyn, come by Wednesday to see Suzanne's answers to our Minxy questions and there's another giveaway!

Friday

A 'pot luck' posts from one of the Minxes.