A Minxy Valentine Celebration

In addition to the obvious reason to celebrate on February 14th, we Minxes have a very special reason to celebrate this Valentine's Day: it's release day for our very own Sally Minx's Bound to Love.

Bound to Love is Sally's second novel, and its a launch title for Embrace Books, a new imprint of Salt Publishing. You'll be able to find out more about Sally, and get an inside look at her inspiration for this story, when she appears in our Author Spotlight on 2nd March.

Until then, here's a glimpse at the gorgeous cover for Bound to Love, and the blurb.

About Bound to Love

Jake Forrester, a controlled, self-reliant security expert scarred by his father's murder, is pursuing his goal of an independent life, relying on himself and logic, until he's forced to accept the help of an impulsive, spirited goldsmith who follows her instincts, wherever they may lead.

When Tempest MacKenzie witnesses a gorgeous stranger being bundled into a van, she tries to help him, but becomes tangled in a complex web of intrigue. Tempest finds stubborn Jake attractive, compelling and infuriating, his logic the complete antithesis of her reliance on her instincts. And Jake is fascinated and attracted to the feisty redhead.

As they spend time together trying to thwart a heist at the British Museum, the attraction between them flares out of control. The thief has a grudge against Jake, and danger stalks their every move. Will Jake learn to trust Tempest's intuition, before it's too late?

Bound to Love is available in paperback and as an eBook from Amazon, Amazon UK and direct from Embrace Books.

Sally's being a busy blogger today, so we'd be really grateful if you could support her. She'll be at the RNA blog, amongst others, andyou can find out more at Sally's own blog, Love and Chocolate.

Later this week, we'll be hosting another new Embrace author, Rachel Lyndhurst, so watch this spot!

And the winner is: Jonathon Rhys-Meyers

Last week we announced JRM as the winner of our Irish hotties poll. Since he got my entire vote, I happily volunteered to do this tribute post.
 

We bloggers often joke about the heavy research we put in to bring you these blog posts. (Of course it's a joke, because we love it!) But sometimes research can also lead you to dark places you'd rather not go.

For example, I loved JRM in Bend it Like Beckham, sighed over him in August Rush, and thought that his performance of Henry VIII in The Tudors was the best I've ever seen, because he captured the mercurial, young, adventurous King who attracted such devotion, rather than the bloated, slightly mad king who is usually portrayed.

But as I did my research and read news articles about JRM I discovered another side of him: the bad boy side.

So I'd love to know from everyone who voted for him last month - what appealed to you most? His hypnotic blue eyes, his boyish good looks, his movie roles or his bad boy image?

This month's Welsh hottie poll looks like it's going to be a much more closely contested race. If you haven't already voted, please head over to our right sidebar and place your vote. Pictures of the contenders can be found here.

Author Spotlight - Nell Dixon

The Minxes are very excited to have author Nell Dixon here with us today. Nell's pretty modest, but last year she won RNA Love Story of the Year for Animal Instincts from Little Black Dress. Today is  a very special day in a couple of ways for Nell, the first is... (shhh it's a secret) it's her birthday - Happy Birthday, Nell! And the second is that it's the Launch Day for her book, Making Waves.
And now for the minxy questions...

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

Five years ago in 2006 I’d seen the release of my first published books and I was thinking about writing Blue Remembered Heels which went on to become my first book for Little Black Dress.

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

This particular book, which is a short novella, was from an idea I’d dreamed up with my then critique partner, the wonderful Jessica Raymond. We wanted to create a small fictional Cornish seaside surfing town. I love being by the sea and the summer surf community atmosphere is fabulous. Lots of gorgeous guys in wetsuits and pretty surf bunny girls, sunshine and heavenly Cornish icecream, what was not to love?

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

In five years time I want to be top of the NYT chart – what writer doesn’t? It’s kind of like my dream to win the lottery or move to the sea. I want to still be creating warm feel-good stories that readers enjoy and give them a small escape into another world for just a little time.

4. Which was the last book you read that you wish you'd written?
Oh, this is tough. I love Jennifer Crusie, Jessica Hart and Liz Fielding so pretty well most of their books. The last book I read that I thought I really wish I could have written though is Queen of the Big Time by Adrianna Trigianni. I really loved that book, she’s a wonderful writer.

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

I am a huge reader, I read anything and everything – except horror and really gory crime. As a teenager I adored Jean Plaidy/Victoria Holt, Violet Winspear and Betty Neels. I love the Peoples Friend magazine and their pocket novels and I fell in love with warm, tender romance which made me feel good, made me laugh and made me cry. I decided I wanted to try and give other people that same feeling from my writing.

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

 For me a love scene always reveals something about the characters, quite often they are opening themselves up and making themselves vulnerable to the hero or heroine for perhaps the first time so I get very involved in the emotions of the scene rather than the mechanics. I try to make the reader’s heart bump a bit faster for my characters at those times.

7. What's the most romantic moment of your life so far?
Mr Nell is not big on romance as anyone who knows us will tell you. This Christmas though he bought me a Kindle, even though he couldn’t really afford it. It wasn’t that he’d spent the money but that he knew that above anything else he could have found for me it was what I wanted more than anything. He knows how important books are to me.

8. What do you wish you'd known about being an author before you were pubbed?
This is another tough one. I wish that I’d made the most of the time before I was published enjoying the process more instead of angsting so much over everything.

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

To keep writing, that at the end of the day the words you produce are the only thing in this whole crazy publishing world that you have control over.

10. Tell us about your latest release.

My latest release is called Making Waves – it’s a re-release of my out of print story which originally came out with Moonlit Romance as a duet as A Taste of Summer. It’s short, fun and feel good. If you like hunky surfers, Cornwall, and a big dollop of miscommunication then it’s the story for you. It’s released by Astraea Press, a new sweet romance e publisher.

11. What’s next for you?

Well, I’ve an exciting small project coming out later this year with two other authors so keep an eye on my facebook page, website and Twitter feed. I’ve another audiobook coming out with Audiolark. I also have some more things in the pipeline but again I can’t say anything just yet. I’m working on more new material too.

Thanks so much for joining us here today, Nell!
Find out more about Nell at her website, here
And her latest release, Making Waves, can be found at the Astraea Press site, and also at Amazon.co.uk here (It's also at Amazon.com for non UK kindle owners like Minx Sally),

Motivation

In my previous post, I explained why I loved the TV series version of The Vampire Diaries, but the book version not so much. I said that the book never really made me care enough about the characters, and that many of the characters came across like cardboard cut-outs. Since I wrote that post, I've been mulling over why that is, and I think I've come up with an answer.

Motivation.

In the books (at least the first two, since I haven't had the enthusiasm to read beyond those) the reader never really gets a sense of what the secondary characters want. Their sole pupose is to give the main character, the heroine, someone to react to.
An example: her aunt is a student, engaged to be married, looking after her two orphaned nieces, and who makes her dislike of the heroine's boyfriend clear. Period.

Considering how much more information the written word can share compared to a film camera, I feel the author missed a few tricks here.
What does the aunt want from her life? Is she getting it? How does she feel about her situation: is she coping, resentful, happy, tired? Is she pre-occupied with wedding preparations? Or even: how did she meet her fiance, a shadowy character who barely exists except as a name on the page?
A simple line here or there showing any of the above could have rescued this character from cardboard cut-out territory!

In the TV series, the screenwriters have given every single character, no matter how minor, motivation. They all want or need something. They all have flaws and strengths. They all have feelings. Suddenly they become real people. They become characters that the viewer cares about.

Watch the first couple of episodes and do this exercise: Make a list of the supporting characters. Then next to each one name their flaw, their strength, their desire, and their main emotion.

For example: The heroine's aunt Jenna.
Flaw: too young to be responsible for two orphaned teens.
Strength: her humour and compassion.
Her desire: to help her niece and nephew cope with their tragedy and raise them as good people, all while completing her own studies.
How does she feel? Out of her depth, inadequate, determined.

Even though she's a minor character who appears in only a couple of scenes, we get all this from her interaction with the main characters in those scenes.

Now I want you to do this same exercise for every character in your own WIP. Do they all have strengths and weaknesses? What are they feeling? What do they want? Will they get it?

Even if this background information never makes it onto the page, you will know your characters well enough to turn them into real people. Though I do suggest, even if it's just a line here or there, that you should at least make it clear to the reader what this character wants and why. Yes - even for the supporting cast.

Because it is the Why that makes readers care about your characters, and if they care, they'll keep turning the pages.

Man of the Month Poll: Welshmen

Firstly, an important announcement: The winner of our first Minxy Man of the Month poll is...

The very lovely Jonathan Rhys Meyers, with a very impressive 66% of the votes.

Now, I'm way too old to be a fangirl, but if I was going to adorn my bedroom walls with any man, it would be Jonathan. I freely admit I think him so beautiful, just looking at him makes me want to cry. Here's a reminder just how beautiful (as if you need one):

Watch out for a special post soon, entirely dedicated to him. Sigh.



And now, Welshmen: Wales is a tiny country - only 160 miles long by 60 miles wide and with a population barely above 3 million. You wouldn't expect a lot to be going on, but Wales does have more than it's fair share of buff young men. For this month's hot man poll, the Minxes have cast all other duties to one side (well, all other duties apart from dealing with proofs and work requested by editors) and bravely trawled through countless photographs of the fittest males to hail from this principality, to bring you five to chose from:

First, a duo of Jones boys:

Steve and Gethin

(Sadly no relation to myself, so I can't promise to introduce any of you.)

Actors, Ioan Gruffudd and
Owain Yeoman

And for those of us who prefer our men to be of a certain age, the man I'd most like to see in a bare chested fight with Daniel Craig for the title of Best Bond: Timothy Dalton

Vote for your favourite and we'll let you know the results soon.

Suddenly I feel very homesick for Wales.

PS Here's a photo of Tom Jones - especially for LilyS (see comments):

I'm saying nothing.

And, after a special request from my lovely friend, Judy Jarvie, here's Shakin Stevens;

My mother always said Shaky was better looking than Elvis Presley. I'm not sure about that, but he was rather easy on the eye in his younger days.











And, for Sue:

Michael Sheen                                                           and    Gareth David Lloyd

As Sue pointed out, Gareth was Ianto in Torchwood. How could I have forgotten him? And with me calling myself Welsh and a John Barrowman fan, too.

Finally, for Chris:

Mike Phillips                                              

and another lovely Jones boy, Kelly: