My hero and heroine in The Bridesmaid's Secret had a summer romance back when they were teenagers. I thought the 'flashback' scenes of Gwen Stefani's video for 'Cool' perfectly captured that wonderful sense of summer sun and first love:
Sunday, 30 May 2010
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Golden Quill

Writing Grace and Noah's story was a bit of a rollercoaster - I scrapped most of the book and had to rewrite it in a fortnight - so I consider it a bit of a miracle story. It was part of the BlindDateBrides.com mini-series. More info can be found here.
Friday, 21 May 2010
The Bridesmaid's Secret - Inspiration

I've realised since I've started writing seriously that two writers can take an identical idea and craft something very different an unique out of it, so I wasn't scared that being given a basic plot would stifle my creativity. I just had to find my way to tell Jackie and Romano's story - and, to be honest, it wasn't difficult. As I read the story outline my brain started buzzing with ideas to bring the rich conflict to life. Ooh, I knew I was going to have fun with this one!
First up, I had to get to know my characters... Jackie Patterson was never going to be an easy heroine. "Think Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada," the editors said. Ouch. Make your characters identifiable, all the writing books say. And with a M&B Romance, the heroine is supposed to be someone readers would want to be best friends with. I couldn't see anyone wanting to do anything but throttle Jackie. She's high-maintenance, demanding and hard as nails. But... Underneath all of that, there was a headstrong teenage girl who'd had her heart broken, who'd had to grow up fast and had punished herself mercilessly for her youthful mistakes. I knew Jackie's past held the secret to her likeability. The venomous editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine wasn't who she was really - it was just who she'd had to become to survive. And once I worked that out about her, I knew I could make her someone readers could warm to, even if she rarely let down her guard.


Monday, 17 May 2010
The Brides of Bella Rosa
I was very excited when I was asked to contribute to a new continuity within the M&B Romance/Harlequin Romance line - The Brides of Bella Rosa.
Here's the skinny on the new series:

My book is book four in the series, the story of Lisa's middle daughter, Jackie - named after Jackie Onasis, and doing her very best to be as stylish and poised. But underneath Jackie's flawless exterior is a damaged woman, who has too many secrets to hold. It's only a matter of time before they all start spilling out...
Over the next couple of week I'm going to be blogging about the background and inspiration for the story, but if you can't wait until then, you can take a peek at my website, where I've posted some pictures and an excerpt.
Here's the skinny on the new series:

THE BRIDES OF BELLA ROSA
Romance, rivalry and a family reunited.
Lisa Firenze and Luca Casali: for years their sibling rivalry has disturbed the quiet, sleepy Italian town of Monta Correnti, and their two feuding restaurants have divided the market square.
Now, as the keys to the restaurants are handed down to Lisa and Luca's children, will history repeat itself?
Can the next generation undo its parents' mistakes, reunite the families and ultimately join the two restaurants?
Romance, rivalry and a family reunited.
Lisa Firenze and Luca Casali: for years their sibling rivalry has disturbed the quiet, sleepy Italian town of Monta Correnti, and their two feuding restaurants have divided the market square.
Now, as the keys to the restaurants are handed down to Lisa and Luca's children, will history repeat itself?
Can the next generation undo its parents' mistakes, reunite the families and ultimately join the two restaurants?
Or are there more secrets to be revealed...?
My book is book four in the series, the story of Lisa's middle daughter, Jackie - named after Jackie Onasis, and doing her very best to be as stylish and poised. But underneath Jackie's flawless exterior is a damaged woman, who has too many secrets to hold. It's only a matter of time before they all start spilling out...
Over the next couple of week I'm going to be blogging about the background and inspiration for the story, but if you can't wait until then, you can take a peek at my website, where I've posted some pictures and an excerpt.
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