A book recommendation...

I've just finished reading "It Started with a Kiss" by Miranda Dickinson - if you're looking for a cockle warmer for your Christmas stocking, this could be just the thing. I really enjoyed it.
The story centres around twenty-nine year old Romily, who has a brief encounter with her ideal man... one perfect kiss, and then he's gone. She gives herself twelve months to track him down, and sets out on a quest that snowballs into a popular blog and newspaper coverage. Does she find him? I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say there are a couple of twists along the way that I didn't see coming. Running alongside the main story there's the fact that Romily is the singer in a wedding band, and their various gigs and weddings make a glorious romantic backdrop for the story to play out against. Throw in a cast of friends and family that spice the story up nicely, and it's a proper Christmas 'curl up on the sofa and escape'  sort of read - the ideal antidote to a hard days Christmas shopping!
'It Started with a Kiss' has only been on release for a couple of weeks, and I can see why it has already hit the Sunday Times Bestsellers list. It's warm and sparkly, one to read over the holidays with a big mug of hot chocolate.

Movie Review - Only You

Every so often, an old movie pops up on TV, which, even though I've seen it loads of times, I have to watch. Only You is one of those movies. Made in 1994, it stars Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr, and I love it.

Marisa plays Faith, a woman who believes utterly in destiny, and that every person on earth has a soul-mate. At the beginning of the film, when she is only eleven, she earnestly tells her brother, Larry:
Soulmates are our destiny.
We all have one.
My soulmate is the one I'm supposed to wait for, the one that will wait for me.

Playing with a ouija board, Faith learns the name of her soulmate, Damon Bradley. And later, a meeting with a fortune teller confirms that Damon Bradley is her destiny, although the fortune teller warns her : The truth is, you make your own destiny, don't wait for it to come to you.

As an adult, without meeting Damon, she accepts the proposal of her exact opposite, the practical and unromantic doctor, Duane. But even then she longs for romance, watching romantic movies with a soundtrack of 'Some Enchanted Evening,' and declaring that love is all to her disollutioned sister-in-law, who plays the perfect counterpart to her romantic lead.

Ten days before her wedding, Faith learns that Damon Bradley is in Venice, and, dressed in her wedding dress (which she's trying on) immediately dashes to the airport to find him.

What happens next is a delightful romance, where she meets the man of her dreams (played by Robert Downey Jr,) falls in love with him, and then rejects him when he admits that he is not, in fact, Damon Bradley, but is the man of her dreams in every other aspect.

I won't spoil the ending by explaining any more about the plot, but I find this story beautifully crafted. Echoes run through it in complex webs. On a date with Robert's character, Peter, (while she thinks he's Damon), they have so much in common - so many things they both love, that it is obvious they belong together. As if to confirm it, a street musician plays 'Some Enchanted Evening' as they walk past, and they stop to dance in the street....
Swoon.

If you haven't seen it, and you love romantic movies, track down Only You. You'll love it!

Author Spotlight - Amy Andrews

Today I'm pleased to welcome one of my favourite medical authors. Amy writes smoking hot medicals that have me turning the page long into the night. It was no surprise for me to hear that Amy's next release is going to be a Riva. I'm so excited to read it!! Here's Amy talking about her current release.


Where were you in your writing career 5 years ago?

I had about four or five books out and was just dabbling in my first ST. I was writing fast back then – I’ve been getting slower and slower. Sob!


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

My latest medical – Waking Up With Dr Off Limits - is the fourth in a linked series and came about from a few of my medical writer friends talking about wanting to do something together and then approaching one of our eds about it. We were given some very loose guidelines by editorial but essentially all the characters and setting came from us. We set it in Coogee so at the conference there in 2010 we were able to meet and discuss our characters and go looking for local Coogee landscapes that we could put in the book. We hadn’t decided who was going to do what book but as our plotting chat expanded on a little loop we’d set up, we kept talking about how there was going to be a TDH character that also lived at the house, maybe a brother of one of the heroines, to give the books a bit of eye candy and comic relief but then he grew and grew and grew and I knew I wanted my heroine (who hadn’t even really come to me by that stage) to be hopelessly in love with him. So I volunteered to go last so that Jess’s (really must stop choosing heroines names that end in an s!!) unrequited love could be well chronicled and then I could give her, her HEA at the end.


Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?

In five years I hope to be closing in on my 50th Harlequin. I’m now also writing for their RIVA line (Innocent Until Proven Otherwise is out in Feb next year) so the magical 50 will be split between two lines. I also hope to have a thriving ST career. Last year my sister and I co-authored a contemporary women’s fiction novel (with romantic elements – of course!!) which Harper Collins Australia picked up in a 2 book deal. Sister Pact, a story about two estranged sisters forced to play nice, is out in time for Mother’s Day next year.

Our second book tentatively titled Sister Napped is out the following year and continues the story of Joni and Frances. It’s great to see so many Australian publishing houses now realising what we Aussie romance authors/readers have known all along – romance rocks. And most importantly romance sells. It’s great to see so many Aussie authors being picked up by our local houses. And it was even better to hear one of the editors (can’t remember who) on the editor panel in Melbourne this year say that the RWA conference is now THE industry conference to attend in Australia. That can only be good news for ALL of us.


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

I have two actually. I just finished On The Loose by Tara Janzen, a new author to me. And also Susan Sey’s Money Shot. I highly recommend both of them. Tight writing. Great one liners. Zingy dialogue.


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

No. But there was one that made me want to be a different writer  Getting Rid Of Bradley changed my life. Until I read this fabulous Crusie category romance I thought I knew what a romance was. She blew that away. She showed me that you could be funny and snarky and sassy and irreverent. Yes perhaps I should have already known that  but to that point I wasn’t really reading any ST romance and my category choices were along the lines of Ann Mather and Carole Mortimer – great books but very different to Crusie’s.


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

Well it’s not going to sound very romantic I’m sure but a few years back my husband and I went to the Amalfi Coast in Italy sans children and one day we ended up at a little beach side shack (literally on the beach) that served basic food and cold local wine and we just watched the ocean together for a few hours – talking and eating amazing local cuisine and absorbing the ambience. It was bliss!


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

That getting the call isn’t the prize. It’s just the beginning of the journey and beyond that tantalizing, frustratingly out of reach door is another bloody huge mountain to climb!


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

Don’t give up.


How do you go about researching the medical detail that needs to go into your books?

I’m a terribly lazy researcher - I really don’t like it (would never make an historical writer!!) so I tend to chose medical situations that I know a lot about either through personal experience or just plain osmosis from having worked in the industry for over two decades. If I need to research I have a swag of medical people I know or work with that can usually answer most questions. If not it’s the www. But I think it’s also important to stress that any romance is first and foremost about the relationship – the medical stuff mustn’t overshadow that so I urge anyone out there trying to write for the line not to tie themselves in knots over medical detail.


Tell us about your book.

I’m excited about Waking Up With Dr Off Limits because it’s my first ever virgin book. I can’t believe it took me 25 books to get here  I guess though this series of four linked books is called Single Free and Fabulous in Sydney because it involved much younger heroines. I usually write my female leads in their 30’s so it seemed a good fit with Jess’s young character and her three year obsession/adulation/crush on Adam. I should perhaps add a warning here—my editor said she had to fan herself when she was reading it  Jess may have waited til she was 24 but she caught up fast! Jess is a newbie theatre nurse and Adam (Ruby from book 1’s brother) is a hotshot highflying surgeon working for an international surgical charity. He’s away a lot but that doesn’t stop Jess pining for him and imagining what could happen! Then one day she comes home from work after an all nighter in the OR to find Adam very much home and sleeping in her bed. And he’s coming to work in her theatres on a major case and wants her to help! Suddenly Adam isn’t looking at Jess as his little sister’s friend anymore. And Jess knows it’s now or never….


What’s next for you?

I’m writing my second RIVA next – not that I currently have a clue about any of it. But that’s okay, I know it’ll come. I have a title – the rest will follow 

Waking up With Dr Off-Limits


Jess's Diary: At least catching my housemate Dr Adam Carmichael--bachelor, sex-god, and my secret crush extraordinaire--in my bed {!} means he finally knows my name! For years Adam's been 100% off-limits {if ever a man needed a revolving door on his bedroom ...}, but there's no harm in dreaming of more ... is there?


Available from Mills & Boon UK, Mills & Boon Australia, Amazon UK




Thanks for being with us today, Amy, I'd be interested to know when you sleep with medicals, Rivas and Single Titles!!

Brotherly Love

Okay, I confess... I'm a sucker for a handsome clutch of brothers. There's something charismatic and sexy about a bevvy of good looking brothers, especially when they are close friends too. They form their own little club that you desperately want to be a part of, you know? Or even better, be the little sister of!

I'll start with an obvious bunch. Girls, brace yourselves for this photo on a Monday Morning, it's a treat... the Walker boys from 'Brothers & Sisters'. Hand on heart, I searched for a photo with shirts on, and without Rob Lowe and Gilles Marini, but I just couldn't seem to find one... ;o)

Can you remember what we were talking about before you looked at that? No... me neither....
*cough* Brothers. I loved the dynamic of the brotherly relationships on Brothers & Sisters, they were all very different characters but fiercely loyal to each other when the chips were down. And they all adored their mum, which only serves to make them even more swoonsome. I miss the Walkers.


Next up, a movie clan - the Ludlow trio from Legends of The Fall. I can't say enough about how much I love this film, and much of my adoration stems from the strength of the fraternal relationship between Tristan, Samuel and Alfred. Again, three completely contrasting characters, and I find myself sympathising with all of them. It's such a beautiful, tragic love story about one woman who is lucky enough to love them all, but one more than the others. Sweeping, and epic, it sums up brotherly love with aching clarity. I think I know it almost word for word, and still can't make it to the end without crying. That scene on the porch with Alfred & Tristan gets me every time... "You say that again and we're not brothers."

It should be noted that I managed to talk about Legends of the fall without waxing lyrical about Brad Pitt. It was hard. 

And lastly, a clan from the world of Romance novels - The Bennett brothers, courtesy of the fabulous  Kelly Hunter.
I love Kelly's romances anyway, but the Bennett brothers books really shone for me.
Red Hot Renegade with serious eldest brother Jacob Bennett was utterly gorgeous, a really fresh slant on a reunion story. And then came Pete, the flirty hero helicopter pilot on a lush greek island. I loved him!
Not to mention super sexy Luke... If you haven't had the pleasure of the Bennett brothers, put them on your Christmas list, you won't be disappointed.

Can you add to our Monday morning list of beautiful brothers?

TV Show Review: Blue Bloods

I’m a huge fan of Tom Selleck. I fell in love with him from way back in the day when he was Magnum PI, through to Three Men and a Baby. I wasn't so sure about his role as Monica's squeeze in Friends but doggone it, I forgave him for it.

So imagine my whoop of joy when I saw him featured in the newish series of Blue Bloods last year. I watched, I loved and I believe this is his best role yet.

In Blue Bloods, Tom plays Police Commissioner Frank Reagan, the second of three generations of a New York Catholic cop family, with two sons played by Donnie Wahlberg and Will Estes.

Blue Bloods is more than just Tom Selleck, although his dimples on the rare occasions he smiles on the show makes me melt (Shallow? Moi?).

There are three things that make Blue Bloods special for me: Family - the way this family support each other through rights and wrongs. Integrity – the way Tom’s character struggles between the fierce need to protect his family and the pressure of being Police Commissioner. Great Drama (spoiler alert) – the common thread that runs in the show is the loss of Tom’s first son under shady circumstances and this thread crops up throughout the series and keeps the show just that little bit more interesting for me.

But even without these elements, I’d watch just for Tom's dimples and Donnie Wahlberg's bad boy looks.

Yes, apparently I'm that shallow, lol!