I’ve been wondering if one of the problems I’m having writing this current book is my hero, Rafe.  Not because he’s not everything you’d ever want in a man – intelligent, funny, kind, deeply attractive and, oh yes, he just happens to be very wealthy, too – but because he’s just too gorgeous.  There’s something overwhelming about him, and I know Miranda (the heroine) feels that as well. 

Every time I have a hero who is good-looking and/or very nice, I run into strife.  The old clichés of tall, dark and handsome don’t really do it for me.&a ...

For my birthday in 1987, I asked a friend for a copy of Roget’s Thesaurus, as I’d heard it was the kind of book writers had on their shelves, and I was at the time working diligently every evening (how times have changed!) on the manuscript which finally got me out of the slush pile.  That story wasn’t accepted, in fact, but it did get a very positive response and a recommendation that I start afresh with a new story, which I did.  On 23rd December 1989 I came home from work at The Observer to find a letter (remember letters?) accepting my first book.  As you can imagine, it was a very jolly Christmas.  (That original manuscript eventually became Oasis of the Heart, in case you’re interested.) 

It’s just me this time, I’m afraid, and in very grumbly form.  I am SO stuck.  I have tried all of Kate Hardy’s helpful suggestions for getting past a block, but nothing is working.  I don’t usually hit this stage until Chapter 7, but have been squeezing out pages since Chapter 4 and am still ploughed deep into the sand.   I know what I need to do (just write through it) but somehow just can’t bring myself to it.  Carrots, sticks … none of them are working, last night I gave up altogether and decided I might as well update the blog if nothing else. 

To make matters worse, I have had some lovely reviews for Promoted: To Wife and Mother, at Romance Junkies, Cataromance and 

It’s time for another guest blog, and I’m enormously pleased to welcome now Kate Hardy, winner of the this year’s Romance Prize.  Kate has come down to earth long enough to tell us about her new book, Sold to the Highest Bidder , which is also out this March, and about her writing in general.  I’ve always liked Kate, ever since she foolishly admitted to thinking that I was glamorous (I was two sizes smaller then) so she is clearly a very, very nice person.  She is also a very successful one, with a writing schedule that puts mine to shame.  ...

I’m still on page 2, but after a very (very) rough draft, I’ve gone back to the beginning to start the first proper draft of the book, so it’s not quite the lack of progress it sounds.  I’ve done my usual timetable, allocating a certain number of pages per day, and - again as usual – have managed to not give myself quite enough time to finish it without a last-minute panic.  After a very relaxed couple of months, it looks as if I’m going to have to knuckle down at last.

Ever one to put off the moment of truth, however, I’ve decided I’d better update the blog quickly first, as March is coming up fast and I should be doing something about Promoted: to Wife and Mother which is ...

Just a quick update before I head off to London for the Mills & Boon centenary party tonight, but there’s a spur-of-the-moment contest, too, so if you’d like to win a copy of my most recent story, keep reading to the end … I want to do some thank yous before then, though.  First, to Elizabeth Rolls, for her guest blog and for stopping by to answer my questions so patiently over the past few days.  Thank you, Elizabeth!  I really enjoyed hearing about a quite different way of writing.

I’d also like to say a great big THANK YOU to everyone who has clicked on Where in the world are you? I check it every day, and give a yelp of excitement every time I see that a new flag is lit up, or another yellow ...

It’s been a big day.  I have written all of 27 lines, which means I’ve completed the first page of my next book.  It’s only a rough draft, of course, and written in a mixture of past and present tenses, and I haven’t bothered with much punctuation, so it may not sound like much, but psychologically, getting to the end of that first page marks a huge step.  I now officially have a ‘work in progress’, for a start.  I’ve been messing around for two and a half months now, and the longer I leave it, the harder it is to get going again.   Not that I’ve been hanging around doing nothing – I feel as if I’ve been busy, in fact - but the level of displacement activity (don’t tell me you haven’t noticed how ...

Have just made it home after a wonderful but exhausting weekend away, but can just muster the energy to put up a few photos of the party last Thursday.  Sadly, I was late arriving, thanks to a delayed train, and so missed a lot of the razzamatazz.  I could hear it all going on as I was struggling to change into my jewelled shoes in the rather lovely loos, but it was pretty much over by the time I made it upstairs (couldn’t help thinking it was all a bit of a metaphor for my life) and the speeches were just coming to an end. 

Still, there was still plenty of party going on, and the Wallace Collection was a wonderful setting. The crowd was a bit daunting at first, but once I got a glass of champagne and elbowed my way into the throng I found lots of people I knew. 

I promised you some fresh voices on the blog this year, and I’m delighted to introduce the first of my guests, Elizabeth Rolls.  I have to admit that I’m very envious of Elizabeth.  Not only does she write historical romance, which I’ve always secretly felt that I would like to do – what else is a PhD in medieval history for??? - but she also lives in the beautiful Adelaide Hills.  As a closet South Australian, I spent a lot of time sighing gustily over the photos of her home on her website, complete with gum trees and an assortment of livestock.  It’s all a long way from York, where Mungo, Douglas and the still-feral Archie are the closest I get to livestock, and my little courtyard garden will never bo ...

OK, settle down and make yourself comfortable, because there’s lots to tell you this time and I want you to concentrate!  I’ve spent the last week scratching my head about how to mark the publication of my 50th book this October.  I have a sinking feeling we’re all going to get sick of hearing about that book, but I felt I had to do something, and rather than wait for a frenzy in October, I’ve decided (with some prodding from Nikki!) to liven up the website all year, so we’re starting now ... 

I’ve got the message that websites need to be interactive, but it’s hard trying to think of something that will involve you without requiring a lot of time and effort on your part.  However, we’ve come up with a couple of ideas, which we think y ...