Catching up

Sorry there's been nothing new on my blog for so long! Between book deadlines and family illness, something had to give - and this blog was it. But I'm just popping by to re-direct you to the new blog related to my next book, Blind-Date Baby.

Blind-Date Baby is part of the Blind-DateBrides.com trilogy - three books about three women finding love and friendship in the world of internet dating.

Book 1: Nine-To-Five Bride by Jennie Adams (out now!)

Book 2: Blind-Date Baby by Fiona Harper (available at eHarlequin and Mills&Boon.co.uk now!)

Book 3: Dream Date With The Millionaire by Melissa McClone (out soon!)

We've set up a blog with excerpts, dating profiles, background to the stories and settings, so pop by and take a look! You can find it at http://www.blinddatebrides.com/!

And if that's not enough, my heroine, Grace, is blogging all through the month of May on what's going on in her head as she goes on a blind-date and gets tangled up with sexy Noah Frost - with totally unexpected consequences! There'll be a new post every day and you can find Grace's blog here or by clicking on the link in the sidebar of the Blind-Date Brides.com website.

Grace is a forty-year old empty nester who is determined to grow old disgracefully, and no one is more suprised than her when she discovers she's back at square one with a new chick to hatch!

Kiss Goodbye To No Kissing

What I love about being British is that we are all certifiably bonkers from time to time. Here's a prime example:

It seems a no-kissing ban at a British railway station has sparked an outrage! Apparantly, too many people are spending too long smooching goodbye and it's clogging up the station. Here's a link to a news story about it: http://tinyurl.com/cj8d2m

Madness, I say. While I can understand the frustration that delays can cause, surely there has to be a less daft way to handle the situation.

Anyway, it seems my publishers, Mills & Boon, have started a campaign to 'Kiss Goodbye to No Kissing'.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/18/no-kissing-zones

There's even a group on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55595782510

So what do you think? Should we put timetables ahead of love?

RNA Awards Lunch 2009

Yesterday was the RNA’s annual awards luncheon, where the organisation presents trophies for the Romantic Novel of the Year, the Romance Prize (for shorter romantic fiction) and this year, for the first time, a Lifetime Achievement Award. Did I mention I was on the shortlist for the Romance Prize for the second year running? I may just have mentioned it in passing…not that I was at all excited about it, you understand.

All the shortlisted authors were asked to be at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington early for PR and photographs, which was great, because I got to meet up and chat with some of my old friends, such as Kate Hardy (right, with yours truly), who took the Romance Prize home last year, Jessica Hart and India Grey. I also got to meet fellow finalist, Beth Elliot, but unfortunately Lucy Broadbent, the last contender on the list, was unable to make the ceremony.

I was also excited to be sharing a ‘green room’ (how showbizzy is that?) with some of the committee members and authors shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year —which, by the way, I think we ought to call the Ronnie (RNY?). Cecilia Ahern looks so fresh-faced and young, she must have been a toddler when she got her first publishing contact. Here are some of the shortlisted authors for the Ronnie (See? It’s catching on…) signing their books.

Lunch itself was lovely and the service was fantastic. An army of waiters seemed to arrive and place the plates on the table simultaneously. I know it seems weird taking pictures of your dinner, but people really want to know! And who am I to deprive them?

The starter was Scottish Salmon Parfait with Tuna Tartar and Crème Fraiche Caviar. I took a picture, but I was so intent on eating it, I forgot to take one before I dived in. Here is a picture of someone else’s plate who was slightly less piggy than I was (but for pristine picture of the food, you'll have to visit Kate Hardy's blog - she obviously has mose self-control than I have).

The main course (can you tell I like my food?) was Chicken filled with a Paris Mushroom Mousse, Marsala Cream Sauce, Marquis Potatoes and Sugar Snap Peas. This too was gorgeous. I loved the sauce. And just enough to fill me up without making me too stuffed, which was just as well, because pudding was just around the corner…

I don’t need to say much about dessert, apart from telling you that it was Bitter Lemon Tart with Raspberry Jelly and Crème Fraiche Ice Cream. A picture may say a thousand words. I’ve two to demonstrate how much I enjoyed it:

Anyway, enough of the frivolous stuff and on to the awardsy bit. Unfortunately, our speaker, the debonair and charming Peter Bowles was unable to attend because he was unwell (get well soon, Peter!). Fist up was the Romance Prize and my little heart starting pattering hard as one of the judges, Margaret James, got up on stage and a short video display of all the shortlisted books appeared on screens all round the room. Margaret then gave a short description of each of the books, outlining what the judges liked most about them. I think she may have said Saying Yes To The Millionaire had “charm in abundance”, but I knew as I heard the judges opinion of one of the other books that it had stolen their hearts. And that book was…

Hired: Mistress For the Billionaire’s Pleasure by India Grey.

I’m very glad I didn’t read it before the ceremony because it sounds fabulous and I would have been too scared to turn up! India, lovely as always, was completely shocked by her win and even though she said she hadn’t prepared a speech, she was warm, funny and completely disarming as she accepted both the Betty Neels rose bowl, which she gets to keep for a year, and a little star-shaped glass trophy, which she gets to keep for ever.

And while India was still reeling with surprise, it was on the next event, a Lifetime Achievment Award to Judy Piatkus, founder of Piatkus Books.

Then, it was time to present the Romantic Novel of the Year (okay, maybe The Ronnie wasn’t really a good nickname…), which went to Julia Gregson for her novel East of the Sun. All the books on the shortlist sounded fabulous. Uh-oh, I can hear my credit card groaning at the thought of another book shopping-spree...

Here's Julia with her trophy:

Finally, now all the nail-biting was over, it was time to breathe out and socialise. Here’s me with new M&B Romance author Nina Harrington:

And here’s a little montage, including India with her trophy:

Now, the questions now is: who can I bribe to get myself on the shortlist again next year? Any ideas, anyone? ;-)

The Sexiest Thing On Two Legs

It's official - according to the Romantic Novelists' Association's annua poll:

British actor Richard Armitage has leapt from last year’s 4th place to this year topping the ratings in the Romantic Novelists’ Association 2009 Valentine’s poll, to take the title of Sexiest Thing on Two Legs, beating top Hollywood stars to the number one spot.

Johnny Depp, who topped last year’s poll, was pushed firmly into second place, with Hugh Jackman and George Clooney mere also-rans. "Richard Armitage took 20% of the vote, more than double the count of any other male on the list," said the RNA pollster. "He was a clear winner from the off."

The picture below is the closest one I could find to match my mental image of Will, the hero of English Lord, Ordinary Lady.

Anyway, here's the rest of the list. According to romantic novelists, the sexiest male celebrities of 2009 are:

1 Richard Armitage
2 Johnny Depp
3 Hugh Jackman
4 George Clooney
5 Daniel Craig
6 Sean Bean
7 Alan Rickman
8 David Tennant
9 Pierce Brosnan
10 Gerard Butler

Snow in London

I'm interuppting my pre-deadline silence to post a few pics of the snow in London over the last few days. We've had about 10" where I live - which is a lot for us! Normally, we're lucky if we get an inch or two and it normally disappears by lunchtime.

My eldest daughter was in seventh heaven as it was her birthday. It was the first 'snow day' she's had in years and got to make snowmen and go sledding too. I lost count of the time she said, "This is the best birthday ever!".

Romance Prize 2009

Finally I can let the cat out of the bag and tell you that I've made the shortlist for the RNA's Romance Prize again this year!

Here's the full press release, including the shortlist:

The Romantic Novelists’ Association, who will announce the shortlist for the Romantic Novel of the Year award on 13th January, is also honouring writers of shorter romances such as those published by Harlequin Mills and Boon.

“Although both awards celebrate novels with a high romantic content,” explains Catherine Jones, Chairman of the RNA, “the Romance Prize honours the most memorable stories set around a single theme that concentrates on the developing love affair.”

The Romance Prize will be presented at the RNA’s Awards Lunch on 10th February 2009 at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington. The winner will be selected from the following books:

What's Love Got to Do With It? - Lucy Broadbent (Little Black Dress, Headline)
The Wild Card - Beth Elliott (Robert Hale)
Mistress: Hired for the Billionaire's Pleasure - India Grey (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
Sold to the Highest Bidder - Kate Hardy (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
Saying Yes to the Millionaire - Fiona Harper (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
Promoted to Wife and Mother - Jessica Hart (Harlequin Mills & Boon)

Fiona Harper has been short-listed before, and both Jessica Hart and Kate Hardy are past winners. Kate Hardy, who won in 2008 with Breakfast at Giovanni’s, had this to say: "Winning the Romance Prize has been the highlight of my career to date, and it's certainly opened up opportunities. I'm very proud to have won the award and to be part of the RNA - and have been delighted by messages of support over the year. I even had a personal letter of congratulations from the chancellor of the University of Leicester!"

The shortlist will be judged by Margaret James, creative writing teacher for the London School of Journalism and regular columnist with Writing Magazine; Paul Reizin, writer, producer and journalist; and Linda Leatherbarrow, prize-winning short story writer, reviewer and MA lecturer at Middlesex.

Margaret James, a member of the RNA for 20 years with 13 published novels to her credit and a former organiser of the Romance Prize and the New Writers’ Scheme, says it’s a delight to be involved in the judging. “I'm finding the shortlisted novels are perfect reading treats for these cold winter evenings, and I know that choosing a winner is going to be very hard.”

Former journalist and TV producer Paul Reizin is the author of three comic novels and a memoir of his life in the lonely hearts, Date Expectations - the true story of how he met his wife. Reizin says: “Romantic fiction is generally thought to be a female preserve, so in helping judge the 2009 Romance Prize, it’s particularly nice to be asked to provide a male perspective.”

Linda Leatherbarrow’s story collection Essential Kit was published by Maia in 2004. She has won a Bridport Prize, an Asham Award and is a three time winner of the London Writers Competition. Her stories have been widely published and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Linda says: “I was delighted to be asked to judge this prize and look forward very much to meeting the short-listed authors.”


Now, do I read the ones on the shortlist I haven't read yet and continue to scare myself silly before the ceremony on 10th Feb, or do I bury my head in the sand and remain blissfully ignorant?

Anyway, congratulations to all the other authors on the shortlist and I look forward to saying hello to you all on the day!

Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses - Settings 2

I know it’s been a while since I posted and this book has been out for a couple of months now, but I couldn’t not write about these settings in Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses. Blame flu, Christmas chaos, book deadlines and family crises. But better late than never...

Across the river from Louise’s house is the little village of Lower Hadwell. Those of you who have read Her Parenthood Assignment will recognise it as the same hamlet in which Luke and Gaby live. They even get a quick mention in Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses – but if you blink, you’ll miss it.

Dittisham from Greenway Quay

Lower Hadwell is based on the real village of Dittisham on the River Dart in Devon. It’s a beautiful, chocolate-box kind of place with cottages painted in pastel colours and the steepest hill ever. Louise and her son, Jack, walk backwards up the hill to try and stop their calves from screaming. Been there, done that, felt the lactic acid building up in my muscles…

The other key location in this book is Louise’s boathouse. I had no idea when I sailed past it hundreds of times during my teenage years that it belonged to the mysterious white mansion up on the hill (see previous post). The boathouse always looked so idyllic, with its arched windows and balcony – just the place to spend a lazy summer’s afternoon.

A view of the boathouse taken from the river

In reality, it’s a pretty sparse place inside, with only a tiled fireplace and some old cane furniture, but in the book I embellished. The fireplace was still there, but Louise chose this as her bolthole, her hiding place, when life wasn’t going as planned, and renovated it to make it a little more comfortable. Think New England creams, pale blues and deep reds, a roaring fire and a wrought iron daybed covered with a quilt and you’ll be pretty much there.

The inside of Greenway boathouse, which once belonged to a certain Mrs Mallowan - better known as writer, Agatha Christie.

This is the place where Louise goes to lick her wounds when she has to spend her first Christmas without her son – and the place where her Christmas Wishes start coming true. Ben realises how miserable she is and decides to cheer her up by bringing Christmas to her solitary pity party – whether she likes it or not! And this is the place where Louise and Ben’s romance both starts and ends – in terms of the book, anyway. I like to think the romance keeps going even when there are no more words left on the page…

A sign on the boathouse jetty that inspired Louise's loathing of tresspassers.


The view from the boathouse balcony

Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses - Settings 1

My father loves sailing and when I was about 12 he bought a boat and moored it on the River Dart in Devon. Many weekends and holidays were then spent on the yacht. I can’t say I always appreciated the wet weather, anything above a force 5 wave, or some of the chores, but hey, I was a teenager, it was my job to whine about these things.

I did, however, love the scenery, the feeling of freedom that comes from sailing and getting to see things you never normally see from the road. Up the Dart, just above Greenway quay was one of these places. Just through the trees, you can see a lonely white mansion – just a glimpse, before the boat motored on and it disappeared from view. I always used to look out for the house, every time we came back to the mooring from a sailing trip, and wonder who owned the house and what it would be like to live there.

Years later I discovered the house was called Greenway and had belonged to Agatha Christie. That just made me even more intrigued. Then, a couple of years ago, I learned the National Trust had acquired the house and that the public could go and view the gardens. Next time we visited Devon, I was there like a shot, camera in hand. I knew I wanted to use this mysterious white house as a setting in a book – I just didn’t know which one yet.

The house was old and crumbling, when I visited in May 2007, although there are plans afoot to renovate the house and provide holiday accommodation in some of the upper floors! So I had to guess what it might be like inside and take some of my inspiration from the surroundings.

This was the perfect place for my WAG heroine, Louise, to come and hide out from the world when she’d finally ditched her cheating husband. The loneliness, the beauty, all seemed to match her mood. I knew at once that she would love to live there and I based her fictional home of Whitehaven on Greenway, although I did take a little license here and there. Not only is the house stunning, but the gardens and views across the river are wonderful too. Here are just a few of my favourites:

The hilly woods of 'Whitehaven'

The greenhouse where Louise and Ben first meet.

Inside the greenhouse.

View from Greenway looking towards Dartmouth & Kingswear

Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses - Story Inspiration

The WAG is a twenty-first century phenomenon - WAG standing for “wives and girlfriends”. The term initially was used to describe women attached to famous sporting figures, mainly footballers, but in recent years the definition has broadened to include the other halves of just about any man who is rich and famous.

After hearing a young girl on television one day announce that it was her sole ambition in life to become a WAG, I was saddened. When I think of all the sacrifices women have made over the last century to ensure I am treated as an equal, have the right to vote and equal pay, it’s a bit of a shame that any woman would want be defined solely in terms of who her husband is, rather than try and make her own way in life.

I wondered what sort of background would push a young girl into seeking this kind of life for herself, and what would happen if she was suddenly catapaulted out of that role. Who is Mrs WAG when she’s no longer married? How is she going to feel about herself?

This is where my heroine Louise came from. She’s not a total waste of space and has long put up with an unhappy marriage for the sake of her son, but when she realises her husband is having yet another affair, she snaps and tells him she wants a divorce. Suddenly, she’s on her own again and not quite sure what to do with her life. To make matters worse, the general public seem to think her ex can do no wrong and that somehow the fact he’s been ‘playing away’ is her fault. She’s moved into an old mansion in the countryside to start a new life and lick her wounds, determined not to let any man close enough to hurt her again.

You can understand why she freaks out when she finds a stranger messing around with plants in her greenhouse. Ben Oliver is a green-fingered single dad who knew the previous owner of the mansion and promised to look after the gardens until a new owner came along. Unfortunately, the village grapevine hadn’t been working very well and he had no idea that day had come until he was faced with the wrath of Louise. And she's a pretty formidable force when roused!

Ben has his own reasons for steering-clear of high-maintenance women. His ex-wife left him to ‘find herself’, giving him custody of their daughter. Unfortunately, all of his ex-wife's plans to 'move on' seem to involve dropping Ben in difficult situations, but he keeps a lid on his anger for the sake of their daughter. Despite unfavourable first impressions, he and Louise strike up an unlikely friendship, bonding over the struggles of being a single parent. I wanted a really steady, ordinary guy for Louise - someone who was the complete antidote to her vain ex-husband.

The closest real life man I could find to my mental picture of Ben is actor Tom Chambers, who has stared in the BBC’s Holby City. How surprised was I to see he’s one of the contestants in this season of Strictly Come Dancing? There’s something quite disconcerting about seeing your down-to-earth hero strutting his funky stuff in sequins, but hey, I love the programme, so I’m not complaining!

eBooks and other things

I succumbed! I went out and bought myself a Sony Reader, enough of an event to make me interrupt my blog silence (mainly due to impending deadline!)

Very excited to see two Mills & Boon titles on it, Margaret McPhee’s The Wicked Earl and my very own English Lord, Ordinary Lady – the one with the feisty pink-haired heroine and the stuffy English lord (see pic below!). Of course, mine now has more romance books on it, because I’ve just taken advantage of the 3 for 2 offer at the Mills & Boon website on eBooks and I’ve bought Liz Fielding’s latest, Wedded in a Whirlwind, as well as a couple of others.

You don’t even have to have a dedicated eBook reader to take advantage of eBooks, because you can download Adobe Digital Editions via M&B and read them on your PC! No more waiting for the postman! My books are on my Reader now and ready to enjoy. Or they would be if I didn’t have a book to finish… (pout).

The only problem is I won’t be able to take my Reader in the bath – I’m far too clumsy. And I have two puffed up books on my bathroom window sill to prove my point. So, for once, I won’t be in there so long as to make the water go cold and my toes go ‘frilly’ (as my youngest used to describe it) reading one of Liz’s books. Perhaps I can curl up by the fire instead. Yes, that sounds just about right on a drizzly November afternoon.

To coincide with the release of my latest book Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses, I’ll be blogging over the next few weeks about the inspiration behind the story.

Stellar Review for Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses

I was over the moon when I learned that the Romantic Times had given Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses 4½ stars!

Here's the review:

Ex-model Louise Thornton's divorce from a film star has made her life tabloid fodder -- so she takes her young son to live in a small town. Landscape architect Ben Oliver has been tending the grounds of Louise's new home since the previous owner's death and agrees to stay on. The two bond over the trials of single parenthood -- and eventually attraction flares into much more. But Louise's past makes it difficult to believe in Ben, or his love for her. Fiona Harper's Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses (4.5) pairs a simple plot with complex characters, to marvelous effect. It's both moving and amusing.

If you want a sneak peak, I've updated my website and there's a short extract to read here!

AMBA 2008

People think being an author is glamorous. Believe me, if you saw the way I look most of the time I’m writing (trackies, no make-up, hair in a frizz), you’d change your mind. But once in a while, we get to go out, eat nice food, drink nice wine and, best of all, talk! Yesterday was one of those days as it was the Association of Mills & Boon Authors lunch, followed by a ‘Toast to the Authors’ by HM&B.

I arrived at Brown’s restaurant near Leicester Square a little early, but nevertheless, got a warm welcome from Michelle Styles and Sharon Kendrick, who organised the event, and also Kate Hardy, Annie Burrows and Trish Morey, who was visiting all the way from Australia!

It turned out she wasn’t the only one who had travelled from far, far away. I also chatted to Natalie Anderson, who has my undying admiration for flying halfway around the world from New Zealand with twin toddlers! She’s either a saint or raving mad. Either way, she was great fun to chat to! And since she said she reads my blog, I thought I’d better put something on it for a change. I was also pleased and surprised to see the ever-glamorous Jennie Lucas, who had flown in from America. We met last year at the RWA conference in Dallas, so it was great to catch up with each other. Here's Jennie looking serene:

As well as first time visitors from out of the country, we also had a few new authors making their first appearance, including Sabrina Phillips, whose first Modern Romance comes out next year and the very recently signed (two weeks ago!) Nina Harrington, who sold to M&B Romance.

Dinner was served in one of the old courtrooms above the main restaurant, complete with judge’s bench and chair. On the menu was:

• Warm Goat’s Cheese with mixed salad, fig relish and basil oil
• Chicken Breast served with mixed roasted pepper tomato
• Provencal Rich Chocolate Truffle with raspberry coulis

After coffee we had speeches from some of the senior staff at Harlequin Mills & Boon. Karin Stoecker, editorial director of M&B, filled us in on how the various series had been doing in the previous twelve months and outlined exciting future plans and projects. Claire Sommerville, M&B’s marketing director, told us how successful M&B’s centenary year projects had been, from the ‘And Then He Kissed Her…’ exhibition, to press coverage, upcoming TV programmes and celebratory books and products. Lastly, we heard from Tim Cooper, Director of Direct Marketing/Digital. Bless him, he pretended to be scared of a roomful of romantic novelists, but we didn’t believe him. Not only did he mention the launch of the Sony Reader (and offered to let us fondle his afterwards - seriously), but he also talked about the new look M&B website, complete with whizzy features. You can now ‘Browse the Book’ – click on a link and read the opening chapter of all the current releases. I can’t wait to do that with my Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses, which goes on sale on the M&B website next month!

I’m a big fan of eHarlequin, the website for HM&B books in North America and have been an active member of its online community for over four years. The great news is that millsandboon.co.uk is going to get its own online community very soon! If it’s anything like eHarlequin, it’ll be a great place to come and chat about books, sexy men and just about anything else you can think of.

Authors swilling champagne (but the toast had just been made...)

There wasn’t much time between the end of the lunch and the start of M&B’s party to toast the authors. Time whizzed by so quickly and I can hardly remember all the people I talked to. We had some great achievements to toast (forgive me if I can’t remember them all!):

• Caroline Anderson’s 75th book
• Liz Fielding's and Jessica Hart's 50th books.
• Nicola Cornick’s and Louise Allen’s 25th books.
• RITA nominations for Nicola Cornick, Heidi Rice, Natasha Oakley and Kelly Hunter.
• Bookseller’s Best win in the traditional category for Donna Alward.
• National Readers’ Choice Award win for Janice Lynn.
• Romance Prize win for Kate Hardy.

There were still so many people I hadn’t chatted to by 6pm when we had to finish! Still, it left plenty of time for a few of us to wander off for a drink at the National Gallery bar, then eat our way through lots of wonderfully spicy curry in Soho, then onto India Grey and Abby Green’s hotel for more drinks – I stuck to coffee by this time, although I should have asked for decaff, because my head was spinning so fast I couldn’t get to sleep by the time I crawled into bed just before midnight!

Julie Cohen, Abby Green, Biddy, Jennie Lucas and Heidi Rice

News for September!

I’ve decided blogging and school holidays don’t mix very well. But the Harper chicks are slowing trickling back to school this week and it’s high time I reappeared in cyber space!

I have two good bits of news!

First of all – and I have had to keep quiet about this for months – I can announce that the Sony Reader eBook launches in the UK on Thursday and a copy of my Feb 08 book, English Lord, Ordinary Lady is going to be pre-loaded on every one sold in the UK! How cool is that? I’m very excited.

Secondly, I have a new cover!!! This is the North American cover for my November release Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses. Isn’t it lovely? And here’s the blurb, just because I love it:

Three Christmas wishes…

1. A new life in the country:

It’s taken all of Louise Thornton’s courage to start again with her young son. This will be a different life, one away from the paparazzi – and her cheating celebrity husband!

2. Someone to help decorate the Christmas tree:

Louise is determined to make this Christmas perfect for her son. But it’s not until she meets meltingly attractive landscape architect Ben Oliver that she starts to sparkle again.

3. A proposal under the mistletoe?

Single dad Ben puts his daughter first. But when he catches Louise under the mistletoe, Ben realises only he can make Louise’s wishes come true…

Behind the Scenes: Saying Yes To The Millionaire - Chp 8 part 1

Chapter 8 also brings enough locations to split it into a couple of posts. Fern and Josh’s first clue leads them to another tube station, but since they only make a pit stop at this point and return to it later, I’m going to skip on to the next couple of locations first.

The first destination is Old Billingsgate fish market. It lies on the north side of the Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge and was the city’s main fish market for more than 900 years, renowned for its noise and foul language. The market moved to new premises in 1982, but old building remains, although it is not open to the public.

This is where Fern has her least favourite challenge – eating yucky things! There is a large terrace in front of the building, where I placed my imaginary fishmonger’s stand. And as Fern leans over the railing, feeling a little green, she gets a fantastic view of Tower Bridge.

From there, my hero and heroine race to the most romantic destination in Saying Yes To The Millionaire – St. Dunstan-in-the-East. I wandered into this ruined church completely by accident more than 20 years ago and was entranced to find a beautiful garden inside. It truly is one of London’s hidden treasures, tucked away inside the old city. The spire was built by Christopher Wren, the architect responsible for St Paul’s Cathedral, and is one of the surviving features of the Blitz in 1941.

“Instead of the musty air and vaulted ceiling of a centuries-old church, it was as if she'd stumbled into a corner of Eden. The ancient stone walls were still in place with their ornate arched window frames, but where the pews should have been was a garden—stone paths, drooping shrubs and a softly gurgling fountain. Another world amidst the pollution-stained buildings and grimy streets.”

Chapter 8 , Saying Yes To The Millionaire.

A thunder storm rolls in and things get a little hot and steamy between Fern and Josh in this very spot in one of the ruined towers:

"She found a spot under a thick branch thrusting through one of the glassless windows where the rain wasn't falling so hard. She reached out and grabbed a handful of Josh's T-shirt and pulled him close so he was covered too.

Still concentrating on the camera, he shook the water out of his hair. Her pulse began to gallop. He was very sexy when he was damp, and he was only a few inches from her.

He stopped checking the camera and smiled at her. ‘Back to Aldwych tube station. Do you want to wait here for a minute or two or shall we just get going?’ he stuffed the camera into his pocket, then flinched and let out a yell as a big drop of water hit him on the back of the head and rolled down between his shoulder blades. ‘Not much shelter here, is there?’

She looked at him, suddenly feeling very serious.

‘It's enough.’

Rain was running down his face and she reached up to smooth it away from his cheeks, to explore the damp spikes of his hair with her fingertips.

Josh froze. The look in her eyes totally floored him—so full of warmth and tenderness and... desire... for him. He shouldn't want her to look at him that way but, oh boy, he did."