What are you reading Thursday - Kate Hardy

This is where I have a terrible confession. Not to being a bookaholic with a TBR bookcase rather than a pile (because I think that one might be quite common)… but I read more than one book at a time. And I, um, have different books on the go in different rooms in the house.

So what am I reading?

On my desk, I have a carrot for working. I’m trying to swear off the internet until I’ve done my daily quota (is anyone else addicted to wordgames?), but after an emotional scene I need a break to clear my head. I daren’t read fiction at my desk because I know I’ll get sidetracked and not do my quota, but nonfic is another matter. So I’m reading Kevin McCloud’s Grand Tour. It’s the book of the TV series – basically Kevin touring Europe (mainly Italy) and viewing the buildings that had a huge effect on architecture in Britain during the age of the ‘Grand Tour’. Visually stunning (and I like the way he writes, too).

I also have a break at lunchtime (on the grounds that working straight through lunch is not good for you – reforming from the days of a sandwich at my desk). This means sharing my chicken salad with the dog and reading in the kitchen… and it’s natural that I’d be reading a foodie book in the kitchen. My best friend bought me a fabulous book on ice creams for Christmas (David Lebovitz’s ‘The Perfect Scoop’), and DH bought me Nigel Slater’s newest, 'Tender', so I’m a very happy bunny indeed with those two. (I could claim that this is work, as I am sort of planning a gelaterie book. But that is in several books' time - I have three Medical romances and my Venetian Modern Heat to write first.)

And then there’s my ‘wind down for the night’ read. (That’s where my TBR bookcase comes in.) I read an absolute beauty over the holidays – The Lost Recipe for Happiness, by Barbara Samuel. It was recommended to me by lovely Liz Fielding (whose duo pre-Christmas were an absolute treat). As she put it, it’s a romance and it has a gorgeous dog and recipes: right up your street. How right she was. There were lots of layers to the story, the heroine was very complex (read: rounded), I really liked the hero (clever men always do it for me), and I just loved the dog.

And the doggy theme has continued – when I saw the RNA longlist, I couldn’t resist ordering some of the ones I hadn’t yet read. Am enjoying Lucy Dillon’s Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts (though it’s already put a lump in my throat – I was banned from watching Lassie films as a child because they made me cry, and I haven’t been able to read Marley and Me (or watch the film) because I read an excerpt in the Sainsbury’s magazine and I was sobbing my eyes out). I’m hoping this has a happy ending, being a romance, so if anyone’s already read it and I’m going to need more than one box of tissues, do let me know…

Do you have more than one book on the go at a time? And what would you choose to read as a carrot for work, a lunchtime browse, and a bedtime wind-down?

In the UK, you can still get hold of Kate’s book Falling for the Playboy Millionaire from the Mills and Boon website – it’s also on the shelves this month in Australia. Temporary Boss, Permanent Mistress is on the shelves in US and is already on the Waldies list (thank you very much to everyone who put it there) and Kate is thrilled to report that it got 4.5 stars from Romantic Times.

You can find out more about these books, and Kate, on her website (http://www.katehardy.com/) and her blog (http://katehardy.blogspot.com/)

Writer's Wednesday: When Time is at a Premium

This Writer's Wednesday, PHS editor Donna Alward talks about dealing with the crunch....

When I handed in a book on November 30, I made a promise to myself to take it a bit easier in December.  After 2 years of January deadlines, both of which were interfered with for varying reasons (one being breaking my wrist), I was thrilled to be off the hook so to speak.  Oh, I still worked.  I revised a manuscript and sent it to my editor at Samhain.  I held my annual Christmas contest, did up blog posts, etc.  Revisions hit just before Christmas.  I actually worked pretty hard.  But I also did Christmas baking.  Watched movies.  Finished my shopping.  Hung out with the fam.

I did know however that January was fast approaching.  And with it - crunch time.

My next deadline is Feb 28, which gives me 8 weeks to put this book together.  Now, I have done a lot of the research and also character exploration which helps a lot.  But 8 weeks is less time than I usually take so the word of the day is focus.

And writing this book is not the only thing on the agenda.  I also have the first book of a duet hitting the shelves this month - that means promotion.  I have edits due to arrive at any moment and then author alterations that will demand my attention.  Just my luck - tomorrow I'm also attending Jury selection as I am one of those lucky random few to be picked.  And as any working mum knows - there is laundry.  Cleaning and cooking.  Chauffeuring kids.

If I let it, it would be easy to get overwhelmed.  So what I need to do is break it down into chunks.

8 weeks of 5 days a week is 1250 words a day.  But I don't REALLY have 8 weeks.  Because I need a week of that to edit and polish.  I could factor in weekends, but I don't because that is when the family is all home.  Unless I absolutely have to, I don't work weekends.  For one, I like relative quiet when I work and having everyone home doesn't lend itself well to that.  And for another, if I don't take time away, I get very grumpy.  I'm just as productive by giving myself evenings and weekends to recharge.  That is the time I spend with my family, and I guard it fiercely.

So - 7 weeks.  That would be just over 1400 words a day.  If nothing goes wrong.  But things always go wrong and often I go over the 50,000 word mark.  So let's give myself a word count daily goal of 1500-2000.  A weekly goal of 7500 to 10000.  TOTALLY doable.

One of the main things to avoid is distraction (aka word count procrastination).  Promotion is big with this so at the beginning of the month I check the schedule, see where I'm blogging etc. and do up all those posts in advance, sending them to the proper people.  I also, on that day, do up my monthly newsletter and update my website.  Then I don't need to look at it again for the month.

Another thing you can do is combine errands.  If I need to go to the post office to mail a prize etc. then I will wait until I have to run to the grocery store for milk and bread or I have to run the kids somewhere, and I'll go then. 

And finally, focus goes hand in hand with prioritizing.  If I really focus and put making word count first, I can get my 1500 words in a morning.  That leaves me 2 hours in the afternoon to do things like work on Pink Heart Society work, answer e-mail, and the zillion other things that somehow seem to crop up during the day.  I might even manage to feed my family.

It's not foolproof, but having a plan of attack goes a long way to alleviating crunch stress with me.

Do you have any tips for dealing with a full plate of work?

Donna's newest release is One Dance With The Cowboy, book 1 in her Cowboys and Confetti duet set in Larch Valley.  It's available at eharlequin and Mills and Boon now and hits store shelves on the 12th.

Congratulations to our Reviews site!

Congrats to our sister review blog, The Pink Heart Society Reviews, who has been nommed in the Preditors and Editors annual reader polls for Best Reviews Site.

As it's a reader poll, here's the url to add your vote:

http://www.critters.org/predpoll/reviewsite.shtml

Congratulations to our fabulous review team!

Destination Life: Istanbul -- A Turkish Delight

For my first Destination Life blog, I have chosen this year’s must visit city (according to the Observer) and the European City of Culture 2010 — Istanbul. But because this column is about doing things, rather than waxxing lyrical on the nightlife or the fabulous food or the fact that it is possible to dine on two continents, I am going to concentrate on two very Turkish things — Turkish Delight and a Turkish Bath. Istanbul is the best place to experience both.
The first place I encountered Turkish Delight is when Edmund in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe asks for some from the White Witch. I used to wonder why, particularly when my first taste was of a rather flavourless stale piece. Turkish Delight is the English name for lokum. However, if you happen to have some in Istanbul, particularly at the original lokum shop which dates from the 18th century, Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir, it becomes apparent why it is such a favourite and Edmund was addicted to it. Made correctly, it is intensely flavoured, melt in the mouth and wonderfully sweet without being cloying. It has no fat and is not chocolate. There are a number of flavours -- rose happens to be my favourite. However the ones with nuts are equally as good. It is a matter of tasting to discover which one you personally like.

The shop is hard to find as it is not in the Spice Bazaar but rather in a little street behind in the Spice Market. Face the Spice Market with the Galata Bridge behind you. Go up the right hand side of the outside of the Spice Market, on the Hamidiye Caddesi corners you will discover another excellent lokum and bakery that has been going since the 19th century , Hafiz Mustafa Sekerlemeleri. If lokum is not your sweet of choice, they do a wide select ion of baklava. It has a huge sign over the door giving the date. Turn left and your right hand side, you will discover Ali Mudiddin Haci Bekir. They do tastings, so you can try before you buy. It is possible to get it in the UK and the US at speciality shops, but the best Turkish Delight is eaten as fresh as possible. It is also possible to find lokum at one of the many stalls within the Spice Bazaar itself.
After going around the Spice Bazaar (the Grand Bazaar is claustrophobic but the Spice Market is full of wondrous smells to tantalize the senses), a Turkish bath can be in order. Of the oldest two Turkish baths in Istanbul, I recommend the Cagaloglu Hamman. It is probably the more famous and although slightly more expensive, the women’s side as well as the men’s side has lovely little cabins with sofas (camekan) where you store your things. At the Cemerlitas Hamman, women only get lockers. Equally at the Cagaloglu, I found they were far more willing to explain the process which can seem confusing and the masseuses also seemed more pleasant. However, Cagaloglu is strictly cash only and the Cemerlitas does take credit cards. According to one of the guidebooks I read, the Cemerlitas also does discounts for students with International Student Cards. The Cemerlitas did appear to be busier when I went but that could have been simply the time of day.
The bath itself is almost a direct take from a Roman bath, including the domed ceilings with star cut outs. Because of the Islamic devotion to cleanliness, Turkish baths flourished whereas Roman baths in the West were shut down. Before going to Istanbul, I had often read about a Turkish bath but had never experienced one. After I returned, I happened to read an old Victoria Holt, and it was immediately obvious that she had never experienced a proper Turkish bath. It is a bath as you wash rather than soak in a bathtub or pool of water.
After stripping down (many women do wear a pair of knickers) you proceed to the Hot room carrying your personal scrubbing mitt and soap. In the hot room, you are encouraged to pour bowls of water over you. While you are doing this, it is possible to converse, to day dream or simply to people watch. Because both of the historic baths are on the tourist trail, many of the women in the Bath are first timers and it is interesting see how they relax and suddenly become comfortable within their own skin and body shape. Equally it is interesting to have it happen to you. This is also helped by the way, the massuses bustle about, pouring water on themselves and how they simply get on with their job.
After awhile, the masseuse beckons and you go and lay on a raised marble platform where you are scrubbed within an inch of your life. You may have showered in the hotel that morning, but here, layers of skin come off. The masseuse then massages your body, concentrating on the arms and legs. There is no piped music but occassionally one of the masseuses bursts into song. Your hair is washed for you and then you are led to the shower where you rinse down. By the time, it is over, you are wonderfully relaxed. Your feet have ceased to hurt and you have ceased to care about your near naked state. I was not surprised to learn that during the Ottoman period, the public baths were used by women scouting out for wives for their sons. You then return to your cabin. You can rest if you wish or you can dress. They do have hair dryers.
The whole experience is rounded off by a glass of something at the bar/cafe. A waterpipe or hooka stood in the corner and backgammon was set up near a well cushioned couch. A cat was asleep on the cushions and opened one eye when we came in. The waiter was dressed in a traditional Ottoman garb, complete with red tasselled fez. Fresh orange or pomegranate juice helps restore your equilibrium. But they do Turkish coffee and a number of different snacks. It is an experience to be savoured rather than rushed.
Everyone should experience a proper Turkish bath at least once in their life. And if you happen to go to Istanbul, make the time to visit a proper hamman.

Michelle Styles's latest release in North America --Sold & Seduced does feature a Roman bath. One of Michelle's great pleasures in life is travelling, but travelling is about more than going somewhere. It is about experiencing life.

Male on Monday : : Robert Fuller

Anne McAllister is basking in between-book housecleaning mode. It's a wonderful place to be. It gives her more time to contemplate potential Males on Monday -- and allowed her to think back to one of her very first.

He was actually a Male on Tuesday and I was in junior high.

It was during the time that TV westerns were King of the air waves. There was Gunsmoke and Wagon Train and Cheyenne and Sugarfoot and Bronco and Cimarron City and The Virginian and Bonanza and countless others. Well, actually there were 32 total.

But for me there was only one that mattered -- Laramie.

Laramie ran for four seasons between 1959-1963, always on Tuesday nights.

It was the tale of tough, straight-arrow rancher Slim Sherman, played by John Smith, who was trying to run a small ranch and stage coach stop, presumably near Laramie, Wyoming, while also riding herd on his kid brother, Andy (Robert Crawford, Jr.) aided and abetted by sort of sidekick, older, father figure Jonesy, (Hoagy Carmichael) who kept track of the house and the details.

In later seasons after the death of Hoagy Carmichael and the maturity of Robert Crawford, Jr, the housekeeper was Spring Byington and the orphan boy, Mike, whom they took in, was played by Dennis Holmes.

All pretty much stock sorts of characters and all well and good as far as TV westerns go.

What made the show different? Memorable?
In two words -- Robert Fuller -- who played cowboy-drifter, Jess Harper.

While the lean, dark-haired, blue-eyed actor was definitely easy on the eyes, it was more than his physical attraction that prompted me (and thousands of other girls/women all over the world -- he was probably a bigger box-office attraction in Germany and in Japan than in the US) to breathe a little faster every time an episode centered on him.

The character of Jess Harper -- and the pitch perfect intensity Robert Fuller brought to the role -- was an equal part of the attraction.

Jess was a perfect counterpoint to "the world is black-and-white and there is only one right answer" Slim. If Slim was all about the white-hatted good guy, Jess was forever struggling with moral dilemmas. He was caring and intense and honorable. And the question of honor and how it should be played out in various situations was paramount. Issues were rarely black-and-white to him.

It was this struggle to 'do the right thing' -- even when it cost him dearly -- that made Jess such a compelling character.

I didn't realize it until years later, but Jess's struggles were often the influence behind those my own heroes have had to deal with.

Essentially, while not exclusively, everything I know about heroes I learned from Jess. And I'm not alone.

In 1991 at a workshop where I was speaking, another author, Jessica Douglass, talked about cowboy heroes. It was right before lunch and I was sitting in the back room thinking how hungry I was when she said she'd fantasized about Little Joe Cartwright, played by Michael Landon, being her brother.

But then she said, "And then along came Jess Harper -- and he was definitely not my brother!"

I sat up straight, appalled at the thought that Jess had been two-timing me with her!

Jessica was equally appalled when I brought his infidelity up at lunch. But many long conversations about Jess later, we decided there was definitely something important in the man and in the character if, 30 years later, we were both still writing under the influence, as it were.

We gave a workshop a year and a half later about the appeal of the cowboy hero -- Jess in particular. We talked to Robert Fuller himself preparing for it. (And if you ever want to feel speechless, try picking up the phone one snowy winter evening and, out of the blue, hearing a distinctive gruff baritone say, "Hi, this is Robert Fuller.")

It turned out Jess meant as much to him in a way as he meant to us.

Jess's character, his dilemmas, his need to find the honorable way to deal with life spoke to Robert Fuller with the same intensity that it spoke to us. A man of just as much passionate conviction and concern as the character he played, he said he was never sure where Jess left off and he began.

It was, he said, "the part of a lifetime."

And while he went on, after the show ended, to play the scout, Cooper Smith, on Wagon Train, replacing Robert Horton's Flint McCullough, and then to play Dr Kelly Brackett in the long-running show Emergency during the 1970s, both admirable characters, neither of them had quite the same personal impact as playing Jess.

He liked both the other roles, and is particularly proud of the influence that Emergency had on the public's perception of medical issues at the time. But Jess was a more complex character, one a thoughtful actor could get his teeth into and give even more substance to. It was one of those perfect casting decisions where the actor and the character were a perfect fit.

Laramie's last two seasons, both in color, have been released as DVD boxed sets in the last couple of years. Some of them are dated. They were shot on the back lot in Hollywood on a tight budget and sometimes it shows. But many are surprisingly good. And the ones in which Jess is featured often have more subtext and more real character dilemmas that are worth watching even today.

And, as Jessica would tell you, an episode with a wounded Jess Harper was a wonder to behold. I suppose those of us who haven't spent the last 50 years (dear God, it is!) reliving the Tuesday evening experience of our youth by writing about Jess in many forms, probably became nurses in hopes that we'd get a Jess of our own!

In one of the last roles of his career, Robert Fuller, in homage to Jess, played a modern day Harper hero in Chuck Norris's Texas Rangers. In 2004 he and his wife, actress Jennifer Savidge, retired to a ranch in Texas. But the character he developed and gave life to in Jess Harper is still riding the DVD range.

So if you're short on heroes and want a good example, look no further than Jess Harper, find copies of the DVDs, take a trip down memory lane. I've been doing it lately with the last season's episodes. And as I've been doing it, I realize that watching Robert Fuller play Jess to perfection was one of the most formative experiences of my writing life.

Did you find someone in the books or films or television programs of your early years who taught you what it means to be a hero?

Tell me who and where you found them and you could win a copy of A Cowboy For Christmas, starring my first actual cowboy hero, imaginatively named Jess Cooper!

I'll announce the winner on my blog on Friday of this week.

Anne McAllister has written about 20 cowboy heroes for Silhouette and Harlequin American, and even her Presents heroes, like Christo Savas in One-Night Mistress . . . Convenient Wife, owe a lot to the cowboys in her life (especially Jess).

Wild Card Weekend - The Call with Rachel Bailey!

What a way to kick off the New Year! Please welcome new Desire author Rachel Bailey with her call story!

Thanks so much for inviting me onto the Pink Heart Society to tell my call story! I’ve loved this site since its inception and am so excited to be here talking about my own sale.

I’d been writing for a few years, but pretty much all over the place – whatever took my fancy at the time, from quirky romantic comedies to category romances. Then, after one of my critique partners, Robyn Grady, sold to Desire, I started reading that line more and found I loved it. Loved the stories, loved the authors’ voices. This was a place I could see myself. So I wrote a story for Desire about Damon and Lily and polished and polished it.

When I was ready, I queried an agent, Jenn Schober from Spencerhill. She represented some great Desire authors so I knew she’d have the contacts to introduce Damon and Lily to their potential new home. Fortunately, she liked them, took me on and then sent them on a trip to New York to meet Diana Ventimiglia. For company, she also sent three chapters of another story, about Nico and Beth, with them. They all sat in the waiting room at Desire for a few months while things changed a little at the line, and then Diana read Damon and Lily and sent them up to the then senior editor to read.

Then Jenn emailed me to say they wanted to buy the manuscript, and lots of lovely things, including that they want to pay me actual money for it, and that they want to release Damon and Lily into the world in early 2010. They also liked Nico and Beth too and bought it soon after.

My husband saw the ‘call’ email first when he booted up the computer in the morning (because I’m in Australia, the email had come in overnight). He came racing up to the bedroom to wake me up and dragged me down, still groggy, to see the offer. I woke up pretty quickly.  I emailed my critique partners and friends and we opened a bottle of champagne that night.

One of the best parts was the timing – the Romance Writers of Australia conference was only a couple of weeks away so I was able to go to the published author workshops and the Harlequin dinner. Joy!

They named Damon and Lily’s story Claiming His Bought Bride, and it will be out in January in the US and in February in Australia. And Nico and Beth’s story was named The Blackmailed Bride’s Secret Child and will be out in the US in February, and in Australia in March. I was thrilled when they scheduled them as back to back releases!

There are far too many people who have helped me on my journey to thank here, so I want to throw out a great big fluffy purple group hug to everyone. Thanks!

Congratulations Rachel from all of us at the PHS!

You can grab Rachel's debut, Claiming His Bought Bride, this month from Silhouette Desire!

Must Watch Friday: Return to Cranford

Michelle Styles reveals the television programme that kept her enthralled over the holidays --Return to Cranford.

This holiday television view season for me was bookended by the Return to Cranford series showing on the BBC. I will admit to some trepidation as Cranford itself was a wonderful run up to the 2007 Holiday season. If you have not seen Cranford with its star studded and award winning cast, do. It is fantastic. So I was very excited and slightly worried when I saw the trailer for Return to Cranford. Could the production team do it again?

Before I watched the programme, I thought that it was not going to be as good. It couldn't be. Then after the opening credits, I was hooked and knew it was just as good , if not better. The production has woven two more of Gaskell stories into the plot. As ever it is the little details which make the series.

Return to Cranford starts in August 1844, and change is coming. The railway has reached Hanbury Halt but can proceed not further. However, that Return to Cranford does not shy away from heartache but it is also warmfully heart warming.

The Ladies of Cranford still hold sway with Miss Mattie (Dame Judi Dench) and Miss Poole (Imelda Staunton) providing memorable turns. Miss Poole , the parrot and the cage is priceless. Nobody minds in Sir Robert Peel is used to cover various chairs to prevent lime droppings, but droppings must not go on a newspaper article about a princess.

The focus is on several new families -- namely the Buxton and the Bells. They provide the major source of romance and you can not help but cheer as the characters grow. I will admit to thinking William Buxton (Tom Hiddleston) did not have much about him at first and boy was I wrong! He proved to be a wonderful romantic hero with plenty of determination and integrity.

The chemistry grows between him and Peggy and there are certain sigh worthy moment. It goes to show how little details, like the brushing of a skirt can provide a tremendous amount of sexual tension.

With his daughter off in India with her new husband, Captain Brown finds comfort in an unexpected quarter which causes ructions amongst the ladies.

Lady Ludlow waits too long for her dastardly son (wonderfully played by Rory Kinnear) and thus change must come to Hanbury. Harry, the young boy whom Mr Carter left his fortune to has a part to play and there was one point where my daughter and I kept going -- But, but they can't kill Harry, can they? So we watched with our hearts in our mouths. I did reach for my hankie.

By the time the series ends, it is a three hankie affair and you feel all is right with the world. And you want to see more. Luckily, the BBC issued the dvd on 28 December and so I can watch it again!

It is truly Bonnets at the ready and fantastic feel good viewing. As the BBC did the production with WGBH Boston, it will be on Masterpiece Theatre. It is one to look out for. You can read more about the production and everything behind it at the Cranford Chronicles.

Michelle Styles's latest The Viking's Captive Princess was a Harlequin Historical December release. Her Roman set novel -- Sold & Seduced is out now at eharlequin as it is February 2010 release.