Snowkissed! eBook
Sarah Morgan / Fiona Harper
Special Releases
October 2012
There’s a new Sally in town! After seven years, Sally is finally facing her demons and coming home. The last time she saw Tom Hunter was when he broke off their relationship. Will the old chemistry pulling them back together be stronger than the new Sally? Or will Tom have to settle for a few stolen kisses in the snow?
Meanwhile, Serena’s wondering if she’s finally hit the jackpot – could this be the blind-date that dreams are made of? She’s never met anyone like Jake before and the instant connection is shocking. It could be everything she’s hoped for… but is Jake really Mr Right?
Mills and Boon Introduces
Andrea Laurence / Soraya Lane / Natalie Charles
Special Releases
October 2012
Three of the finest, most exciting new writers of romance
Andrea Laurence Will Cynthia Dempsey ever remember? They say she’s the fiancée of media mogul Will Taylor. But though it’s electric when they touch, Will is treating her as an ice queen who has betrayed him! What happened?
Soraya Lane Soldier Toby Freeman has survived war, but being a single father is proving much harder! Sienna Gibson understands the difficulty of adjusting to civilian life and tries to help Toby, but her beauty is more of a distraction!
Natalie Charles 2011 New Voices winner FBI agent Nick Foster has only seven days to save his ex-fiancée’s life. Libby is being targeted by a stalker moving closer each day. Nick can’t turn his back on her. Not even if it means putting his heart at risk!
Christmas Promises
The Christmas Eve Bride by Lynne Graham
Rocco thought he was done with Amber after her betrayal two years earlier. But when he unexpectedly runs into her, the attraction is still strong—so he asks her to become his mistress! Amber only accepts so her baby boy can have a better Christmas. But Rocco’s plan for revenge changes as he begins picturing a future with Amber…and their son.
A Marriage Proposal for Christmas by Carole Mortimer
Cally Turner thinks Noel Carlton is an egotistical playboy! The only reason she’s agreed to work for him is so she can give her daughter a Christmas to remember. But as she spends more time with Noel, she begins to wonder what’s more irritating—his infuriating arrogance or unexpected tenderness?
A Bride for Christmas by Marion Lennox
Wealthy businessman—and contented bachelor—Guy Carver is in Australia to take ownership of Jenny Westmere’s wedding salon. It’s strictly business. So no one is more surprised than Guy himself when he realizes that the deal he really wants to ink is making Jenny and her little boy his family by Christmas!
What happens when you get nearly 2000 romance authors together in one hotel?
It’s LOUD.
And you need a really big wine budget.
A few of the Harlequin Romance authors made their way to Anaheim last month for the Romance Writers of America annual conference. It was a smaller group than usual, probably due to it being on the west coast, but that didn’t dampen the fun AT ALL. It’s been nearly a month now since we descended en masse on the Anaheim Marriott, but it takes time to recover from these things. So today I thought I’d post a recap of some of the stuff we got up to with some visual help from Fiona Harper who can always be relied upon for taking lots of snaps! I’ve got a few of my own, and thanks to Melissa McClone for providing the group shot coming shortly…
Fiona and I arrived on Tuesday, late afternoon, and after a quick hug/catch up we headed downstairs to see if we could register (we were roommates). It took a while to get to the conference area, mostly because I’m a Chatty Cathy and saw tons of people and since we were all just arriving…anyway, registration was closed so we ventured to the lobby bar where we met up with Presents authors Sharon Kendrick, Abby Green and Heidi Rice (who had flown over with Fi on the same flight). Fi and I had a restorative glass of wine, as we were waiting to go to dinner with another group. And we ordered a second. And then the long day hit us and we were a bit silly when we finally met our group – including Rom author Barb Wallace – for dinner. I ran into Barb again late Wednesday morning, and we grabbed an early lunch by the pool – time to just catch up the two of us, which was soooo nice! I also kept running into Melissa McClone every time I turned around. Melissa was a RITA finalist last year, so she totally got my nerves that kept plaguing me throughout the week.
Wednesday night of conference always includes the Literacy for Life signing. Here’s a pic of Fiona at her table!
And here’s a pic of me, with my RITA Finalist Flag (along with fellow Finalist Deanna Raybourn)!
Thursday was “Romance” day. After the luncheon, several of us went to the Mills and Boon Meet and Greet and then on to the Romance Author Tea at the Cheesecake Factory. Here’s that group photo I was talking about. From Top left and down the side: Tessa Shapcott, Fiona Harper, Bryony Green, Donna Alward, Barbara Wallace. Top right and down the side: Teresa Carpenter, Lucy Gilmour, Patricia Thayer, Melissa McClone and Dianne Moggy.
This was the ONE time that all the Romance authors in attendance were together along with the three M&B editors and Harlequin’s VP of Series, Dianne Moggy, who was a lovely addition to our group. We had all met before at previous conferences except Patricia Thayer, who many of us met for the first time. The ten of us ordered eight different kinds of cheesecake, and then we all sampled each kind. Ten people – eight pieces – and we STILL couldn’t finish it all! Fiona took a picture of the carnage…it was sooo good. The Reese’s Peanut Butter seemed to be a fave…
When it was over, Barb and Fiona and I walked back to the hotel for some sunshine and exercise.
Friday night most of us met up again at the famed Harlequin Party which was held at the Hyatt. Fi and I went to dinner first with Presents authors Jennie Lucas, Janette Kenny and Lynn Raye Harris. It was fun being a glam Presents girl for a night! The party is always an awesome time – tons of dancing and somehow we always seem to stay until the last bell. I’ll let the pictures do the talking!
And…if you go HERE, you can see Barbara Wallace in her animal print, shakin’ her THANG!
And Saturday most of us saw each other again after the RITA Awards, as we had a Mills and Boon champagne toast. We really had something to celebrate as Sarah Morgan won a RITA for Doukakasis’s Apprentice!
So that’s what we managed to get up to – in between trips to Disneyland for Fiona and Melissa!
But you know it’s not all fun and cocktails – we do actually…um…work while we’re there. I’ve saved this for the last because there are some exciting things coming for the Romance line!
On Friday morning several of us attended the Harlequin Spotlight on Series. We learned lots about what’s happening across the board.
For those of you in the UK, RIVA is back! Mills and Boon have been rolling out new covers on facebook so do have a peek! This is the sassy end of the spectrum for our authors and include books from Liz Fielding, Jessica Hart, Trish Wylie, Nina Harrington, Fiona Harper….etc.
If you’re in the US, come February you’ll be seeing some changes as the RIVA books will have their own line called KISS! Two RIVA authors will be included in the line up each month, and the Romance line will release four titles instead of the current six. This is all to really anchor the kind of editorial that each line promises to the reader. We got a sneak peek at the KISS covers – they are going to be lovely! Stay tuned for more information as we’ll be keeping you updated here about the changeover, so it’ll stay easy to find your favourite authors. We’ve got some exciting things planned.
The Romance line, as well as all HQ lines, are getting a wee face lift too – and the new cover branding etc. looks great! Some lines will be sporting a new look early in 2013, and Harlequin has said that it’ll be across all series by mid-year!
Then on Saturday morning, there was an information session strictly for Harlequin authors (whereas the Spotlight was open to everyone). It’s great to learn about what’s coming up within the company for the authors and what new initiatives are happening both within editorial and things like marketing and PR.
In between times, we all had running around to do to various functions and luncheons and workshops. It really is a jam-packed week!
But without a doubt, the very best part is simply seeing each other again, sharing a hug and a laugh and coming away knowing that we’ve got the best job in the world AND THE BEST CO-WORKERS!
WE ROCK!
As many of you know, in the UK the Harlequin Romance books come out as either CHERISH or RIVA. RIVA is a fun, flirty, modern read and Mills and Boon is looking for some reader input into different cover designs! From the Mills and Boon Facebook page:
We’d love your help deciding the future covers for RIVA. It’s a quick survey, no more than 2 minutes.
Thank you!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/
Kisses on Her Christmas List - Susan Meier
Shannon’s Christmas Wish List
1. A gorgeous billionaire to buy her store…enter Rory Wallace—swoon!
2. The magic of Christmas…Rory and his little girl need to know that it still exists.
3. Willpower…because kissing Rory under the mistletoe would be a Very Bad Idea.
Shannon Raleigh can’t believe that both Rory Wallace and his little girl dislike Christmas so much and she’s determined to make her favorite season as magical as possible! But working with handsome Rory every day proves challenging, because Shannon finds herself longing for Christmas kisses with the man she can never have….
Runaway Bride – Barbara Hannay
Your gorgeous ex roars up in a red sports car and offers to sweep you away from the mess you’ve made of your life…. What would you do?
With her wedding dreams in tatters and the local grapevine ablaze, Bella Shaw is getting out of town and speeding across the country with delicious, dangerous Damon Cavello. Bella’s been playing it safe for so long—but not anymore. It’s high time she faced up to her past—and with Damon by her side, that time is now!
Family Christmas In Riverbend – Shirley Jump
A Christmas miracle: from tough tycoon…to daddy?
Edward left Livia because he knew he couldn’t give her the family and marriage she wanted. But when he’s forced to return home to snowy, sparkling Riverbend, he discovers Livia has moved there, too—with her tiny baby in tow!
Livia had hoped desperately that Edward would remain away until time blurred the memory of his lips on hers. Now, she longs for him, but how can she tell him her precious daughter is not just hers…but theirs?
Flirting With Italian – Liz Fielding
Bag: packed. Flight: booked. Soon I’ll be in Rome and experiencing life in a foreign language! Watch this space…
Newly single Sarah Gratton is determined to enjoy her holiday—could a just-for-fun romance with dark-eyed Matteo di Serrone be the answer? This Italian count is ideal flirting material—if Sarah’s brave enough to make a move!
Well, she might not be—but luckily Matteo is! Matteo decides to keep this mysterious woman close—no hardship at all, given their spine-tingling awareness of each other…
It’s like something out of a fairy tale—until Sarah realizes she’s made the most rookie mistake of all: falling in love with her holiday fling….
Nikki and the Lone Wolf – Marion Lennox
The life of a princess is no fairy tale. For just one week, Hollyn Saldani wants to escape the demands of duty and find what she once had: freedom…and the boy next door.
So she runs away. Back to Heart Island, where she spent childhood summers, where she could be truly herself.
Time hasn’t changed the place—but it sure has changed the boy she once knew. Nate Matthews is all grown up, running his own resort…and determined to show her just how extraordinary an ordinary life can be.…
The Secretary’s Secret – Michelle Douglas
Expecting a secret bundle of joy!
With one last look in the mirror, Kit Mercer prepares to face her boss—surely he can’t wait to sweep her into his arms again and declare his love?
Actually, what Alex Hallam does is tell her their fling can’t continue. He knows it’s the right thing to do—after his ex-wife’s lies, is he really ready for a relationship with sweet, lovely Kit?
Until Kit reveals she’s pregnant! Swapping the boardroom and working lunches for the baby clinic and wake-up feeds, they’ll get more than they bargained for…. Maybe even swapping their business contract for a marriage certificate!
RIVA from Mills and Boon:
Flirting with Italian – Liz Fielding
Bag: packed. Flight: booked. Soon I’ll be getting to grips with Rome and life in a foreign language! Watch this space…
Newly single Sarah Gratton is determined to enjoy her holiday – could a just-for-fun romance with dark-eyed Matteo di Serrone be the answer? This Italian count is ideal flirting material – if Sarah’s brave enough to make a move!
Well, she might not be – but luckily Matteo is! Matteo decides to keep this mysterious woman close – no hardship at all, given their spine-tingling awareness of each other…It’s like something out of a fairytale – until Sarah realises she’s made the most rookie mistake of all: falling in love with her holiday fling…
The Inconvenient Laws of Attraction – Trish Wylie
Laying down the law…
Lawyer Olivia Brannigan has faced down some cool customers in her time. But latest client Blake Clayton takes emotional control to a whole new level. The man didn’t even bat an eyelid when he discovered he’d inherited a fortune from his estranged father!
Blake doesn’t want guilt money – the only thing piquing his interest is the tough-talking, sweet-looking lawyer that comes with his new property portfolio.
Dating on the job isn’t in Olivia’s ‘Guide to Good Client-Lawyer Relationships’, and it certainly doesn’t sit easily with her ‘no strings’ attitude… But aren’t rules always made to be broken?
In CHERISH:
Firefighter Under The Mistletoe – Melissa McClone
For Leanne, infuriatingly charming firefighter Christian is out of bounds. His trail of broken hearts is legendary. Leanne’s fought hard to be one of the boys and won’t let anyone see that Christian’s smile makes her want to melt into his arms! But under the mistletoe it’s certainly the season to be tempted…A Marine for Christmas JC had been in love with her big sis… more info
Snowbound with Her Hero – Rebecca Winters
The best Christmas gift of all…
Christmas is approaching and a holiday in the snowy Alps with her young son should be a pleasure for single mum Crystal. But it means facing the one man who affects her like no other: brooding Frenchman Raoul Broussard. There was always a spark between Raoul and Crystal, but he is her late husband’s brother and she is determined to keep her distance. Yet with festive … more info
The Playboy’s Gift – Theresa Carpenter
Skye is shocked to learn her late brother and sister-in-law have left their little daughter in the care of Rett – her brother’s best friend…and Skye’s first love. The only way to protect her heart is to help the novice daddy and baby bond, then make a graceful exit. But the sight of Rett’s strong arms cradling the baby makes Skye weak at the knees…
