Must Watch Friday - SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND

PHS Editor Donna Alward is very excited to bring SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND to the PHS for Must Watch Friday - with a post that really demanded visual aids...

I can't believe Sparty hasn't been done yet as a must watch!  When I did a search to be sure, I got so excited.  Because a show I began to watch and was just Meh about turned out to be one of my favourite shows of the year!

Spartacus takes the historical story of the slave/gladiator and creatively expands on the seeds of truth.  I started watching because I had watched ROME and loved it.  REALLY loved it.  But after the first episode or so of Sparty, I was just so-so about it. 

In the show, Spartacus the Thracian joins forces with the Romans only to be betrayed. When he deserts and returns to his wife, he is caught by Claudius Glaber (Craig Parker, LOTR).  Spartacus's wife is taken and sold into slavery and Spartacus finds himself at the House of Batiatus - with a kill or be killed future as a gladiator.

I was initially turned off by cheesy effects - blood spatter in slow-mo type things that are better suited to something with the name Tarantino attached to it (and I've never truly gotten the lure of Tarantino's work).  It seemed more campy and soap opera like in contrast to HBO's ROME, relying on special effects rather than tight storytelling.  But I was kind of taken by Spartacus himself, and that's all down to Andy Whitfield.

There is something about his eyes that I can't resist.  And there were times - before he was "molded" into the brotherhood of gladiators (read: when his hair was still long) - that I thought if they ever made another movie about Jesus, he could play the starring role.  So I kept watching.

And it got better.

Spartacus, Crixus and Varro

Drama.  Storylines.  Sex, betrayal, friendships and swords.  More twists and turns and fewer slow motion cheesy effects.  Batiatus, played by John Hannah, who you almost respect as head of the ludus except that he is a power hungry liar - and woe to him once Spartacus finds out exactly what he's done!  Batiatus's wife, played by Lucy Lawless, is gorgeous and yet just as devious.  Then there's the friendship between Spartacus and Varro (and OMG OMG if you've watched you know what I mean) and the competition - even hatred - between Spartacus and Crixus (Manu Bennett).  There's a whole storyline with Crixus that is wonderful and the whole lot of them are trained - and contained - by the force that is Doctore. 

Lucretia, Ilythia and Sura

And the women!  Well, let's not get started on Ilythia and her treachery.

By the last episode - and knowing the basics about Spartacus in history, I knew what SHOULD happen - I was on the edge of my seat.  And let me just say...the final epi of season 1 BLEW ME AWAY.

So...now I live in hope for Season 2.  And on that note - I wish a speedy and full recovery to Andy Whitfield.  Production has halted while he has treatment for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  A shocking development when you see someone so young and healthy.  Hopefully he's back to fighting form soon - and we get more Spartacus.  Because I can't wait to see what happens next!

If I haven't convinced you, maybe you'd like a peek at the trailer???

Andy Whitfield just HAPPENS to be Donna's casting for her current WIP.  In the meantime, HER LONE COWBOY is finishing up its run in Australia and New Zealand and her next release is a reprint of HIRED: THE ITALIAN'S BRIDE in the anthology, Mediterranean Men and Marriage in July.  You can check out all her releases at her website at www.donnaalward.com. 

What Are You Reading Thursday - Fiona Harper's Top Picks

Fiona Harper knows it’s What Are You Reading Thursday, but…ssshh…she can’t tell you what she’s reading at the moment, because she’s judging a competition, and she’s got to keep it secret. So…she’s going to tell you about her top three reads so far this year!



Girl From Mars by Julie Cohen

“I Philomena Desdemona Brown, do solemnly swear to forsake all romantic relationships. There. Do I really have to repeat it in Klingon?”

It’s not like the vow, made by Fil and her two nerdy best male friends so they’d always stick together, was a big deal at the time. Frankly, Fil wouldn’t know romance if it hit her in the face anyway. Her one true love is her job as the artist for the famous comic Girl from Mars. Just like the comic’s alien heroine, Fil’s never had or needed a love interest—just her best friends.

Until one of her friends breaks the vow and falls in love, bringing her smack back down to earth. Could it be that romance is in the stars for Fil after all?

Although this is a fun read that you won’t be able to put down, it’s expertly crafted, full of multiple layers, subtext and emotion. I loved the way Fil’s comic book character—Girl From Mars—reflected her own emotional journey. I totally and utterly felt Fil’s geekiness and I loved watching her learn to embrace her femininity and sexuality.


Oh-So-Sensible Secretary by Jessica Hart

You know when you meet the most gorgeous guy and get butterflies in your stomach? Well, that's what it felt like the first time I, Summer Curtis, laid eyes on my movie-star-gorgeous boss Phin Gibson. I was starstruck! I've got to get a grip!

Phin might be delicious, but he's always late, totally disorganized—my complete opposite! But somehow he's making me, the oh-so-sensible Summer, want to let down my perfectly pinned-up hair!

Jessica is another one who makes me lime green with writers’’ envy. I loved, loved loved, this book. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me sigh as I finished the last page and closed the book. Summer was deliciously starchy and Phin was an utterly gorgeous hero. Although there were some tried-and-trusted plot elements in this story—a fake engagement and a hero who has fantasies about librarian-like Summer letting down her hair and turning into a sex kitten—they seemed totally fresh, probably because these characters were utterly real to me. (And I promise I'm not just saying this because Oh-So-Sensible Secretary is paired with my latest release in the UK! It really is that good.)


Easy On The Eyes by Jane Porter

At 38, Tiana Tomlinson has made it. America adores her as one of the anchors of America Tonight, a top-rated nightly entertainment and news program. But even with the trappings that come with her elite lifestyle, she feels empty. Tiana desperately misses her late husband Keith, who died several years before. And in a business that thrives on youth, Tiana is getting the message that her age is starting to show and certain measures must be taken if she wants to remain in the spotlight. It doesn’t help that at every turn she has to deal with her adversary—the devilishly handsome, plastic surgeon to the stars, Michael O'Sullivan. But a trip away from the Hollywood madness has consequences that could affect the rest of her life.

I could hardly put this compelling story down. I think I even cooked with it in my hand. As a…cough…woman who is reaching her prime, this story really resonated with me. I hate feeling as if I’m invisible because I’m not the right size/too wrinkled/teeth aren’t white enough etc. I cheered Tiana on as she broke out of her cocoon and began to work out what really mattered in her life, putting those who were ready to drop her because she was ‘over-the-hill’ to shame.



Fiona's next book, Housekeeper's Happily-Ever-After is an RT Book Reviews Top Pick for April! It's out now in the North America and Australia/New Zealand (and available as a 2-in-1 with Jessica Hart's new release, Oh-So-Sensible Secretary from Mills&Boon in the UK)

Ellie Bond tries to escape her past by taking a job as jet-setting Mark Wilder's housekeeper. But the accident that killed her husband and daughter have left scars, both inside and out, and she worries she'll never be able to leave the past behind and find true happiness.

Writer's Wednesday : : Lessons Learned

Anne McAllister has been published in romance for 25 years. That seems like a long time. But, as time is relative, it doesn't seem nearly as long as the time she spent waiting for them to buy her first book.

Back in the dark ages when I was a thirty-something mom of four, including a two-year-old who didn't know the meaning of the term "daily naps," I started writing my first book.

That was 1981 (see, I told you it was the dark ages). And I had discovered romance novels the year before. I had never read one until I was visiting a long-time friend in an unnamed state where she worked in a VERY STRESSFUL job in the state public welfare system. As an antidote to her work, she read romance novels to shore up her belief in the good of humankind and the possibility (albeit perhaps imaginary) of happy endings.

As it happened we were vacationing with several children between us, I was recovering from a broken ankle, and she said, "I'll chase the kids. You read some of these. I think you could write one." And she thumped a box of books down in front of me. It was full of Harlequin romances.

She chased. I read. I fell in love. With several heroes. With half a dozen authors (like Jane Donnelly, Robyn Donald, Anne Mather, Charlotte Lamb, Essie Summers, and Mary Burchell). With an entire genre of books.

I went home and began reading them voraciously. I read -- conservatively -- four to five hundred of them in the next six months.

I had epiphanies along the way: the discovery of an approximate number of chapters was cause for rejoicing. A general word length was a wake-up call. A general sort of notion of structure -- it had a central focus on a man-woman relationship with a guaranteed happy ending -- was thrilling. I loved to write, but structure was my downfall. So to know the story had to end happily, well, how fantastic was that?

Plot? What plot? Characters? Yes, vaguely. But mostly, with the relationship I had something to work with, and with the happy ending, I had a finish line.

So I started to write one.

It took me a year. There was the two-year-old (see lack of naps, above). There were the grade schoolers. There was the one entering junior high. There were baseball practices and cello lessons and tennis team and several thousand other distractions.

Worse than all of them was the feeling that I didn't know what I was doing, that the finish line was for some book other than the one I was writing, and, above all, there was the terrifying feeling that if I let my hero and heroine talk to each other, they might resolve all their difficulties on page 19. And then what, for heaven's sake, would I do for the rest of the book?

It was a nightmare. But I stuck it out. And a year later, I had a book. It was even a romance. They actually got to their happy ending. I was exhausted but relieved.

Little did I know that the ordeal was just beginning.

I had already determined to send my manuscript to Harlequin. I thought it fit with the books they published, and, even more, I thought I might as well start at the top. They were the biggest and most respected game in town. And I was a staunch admirer of many of their authors. So I got out my Writer's Market and did what it told me to do.

I sent off three chapters and a synopsis to Toronto, which is where Americans were supposed to send their stuff in those days. I included the self-addressed envelope and International Reply Coupons so they could tell me that it had arrived.

It was April 1982. Then I sat down and watched my mailbox for signs of acceptance.

Ha.

Two months later, in June, I got my postcard back -- postage due!-- saying the partial had arrived. What the IRCs went for is anyone's guess.

By that time I had figured out that it wasn't going to be an overnight event, and I began on my next book. After all, I hadn't been rejected yet, so I had no reason not too get busy and work. So I did.

Another five weeks went by. It was late July. I got a letter (this was in the days of real paper letters, remember), saying that Toronto had sent my partial on to Mills & Boon in London. Yippee, I thought and kept writing on book # 2.

Six more weeks went by. In mid-September another letter dropped into my mailbox. An editor at Mills & Boon thought my partial looked interesting enough to ask for the whole manuscript. I had a typescript of it finished and sitting on my desk (computers? Not in those days), so I bundled it into the mail and kept on writing book two.

Three more months went by. In December, 1982 I got a three page revision letter from the editor at M&B. The book was "promising." But there were some things that needed my attention (three pages worth of them). If I boiled those things down, it turned out there were four things I needed to work on: the hero, the heroine, the plot and the ending.

Dear God. 'And the ending?' I couldn't even nail that?

Whatever. I ripped into it again. I cut the first three chapters. I sharpened. I whittled. I didn't tweak so much as gut. I retyped it again. And I sent it back in a month later. Then I went back to writing book two.

Three more months went by. It was April again. Another letter. The manuscript was much better. More promising. But they wondered, since I was American, if they shouldn't send it to the new North American line that was just starting up. What did I think? (Harlequin American was not yet on the stands. I had no idea if they should or not.).

I said, "Whatever you want." What was I supposed to say? No? Reject me instead? I'm not that crazy.

They sent it to New York. I kept writing book two. The youngest child, who had been two when I began and three when I finished the first book, turned four. The Harlequin American line appeared on the stands. And after reading the first ones, I knew at once my book didn't belong there, but I thought it very likely my second book did. It was almost done. I kept writing.

Months passed. Five of them. No word on book one. I finished the second book. I sent it to Harlequin American. I started book three. I also joined Romance Writers of America and decided to go to a conference in Minneapolis. I knew there would be an editor there from Harlequin American. So I actually mustered my courage and called (as in picked up the telephone and dialed the number, quaking, breathing fast, and sweating) and asked about the status of the book I didn't think belonged there. "We'll get back to you," they said.

They did. Three days later I got a letter from a Harlequin American editor agreeing with me. It didn't belong there. It didn't have the tone that their books had. They'd be happy to send it back to Mills & Boon, who had apparently indicated to them that they would be willing to look at it again should American feel it didn't work for them.

"Send it to me," I said. And I went back to book number three. I also, while I had my courage up, called the editor at Mills & Boon and told her what had happened, then asked if they really did want to see it again. "Yes," she said without hesitation. "Then, er, what can I do to make it work for you this time so you don't want to send it somewhere else?" I asked her. Again, no hesitation. "Cut 3000 words," she said.

I began cutting. I also went to Minneapolis. I met another Harlequin American editor at the conference. She was editing the book of a Wisconsin author I knew. They invited me to accompany them to dinner on the basis of kindness, I guess.

We discussed the book that hadn't worked for them -- and why. Then I said I had sent them another book more suitable. "Oh?" she said. "Yes," I replied. "It has a heroine with five kids and a hero who gets chicken pox." She blinked. Then she said, "Well, I'll certainly remember it when I read it."

I went home, finished cutting the 3000 words from the first book and sent it back to London. I finished the third book in December, 1983. Two weeks after Christmas the non-napping kid would turn five. His eldest sibling was in high school. I sent book three to Mills & Boon and set about wrapping Christmas presents. I also got an agent. I told her my saga. She said, "I'll take care of it."

She did. Three days into the new year, Harlequin American, bought the hero with chicken pox and the heroine with the five kids.

Three weeks after that the editor from Mills & Boon wrote to say she really liked book number three, but could I please cut 6000 words. I did. I typed it again (remember, no computers). I sent it back. I waited.

In April 1984 -- two years almost to the week from when I sent the first book out into the world -- my agent called to say that Mills & Boon had bought both books one and three.

What did I learn from the experience? In a word, patience.

And not to give up. Always to keep working. To focus on what I could control -- the book in progress, not the book on some editor's desk. They were lessons worth learning.

I also learned that, for me, it was important to follow the characters, to be true to them and their story. Each of those books came out in a different line. The first, Dare to Trust, came out as a Harlequin Romance. The second, Starstruck, came out in the Harlequin American line. The third, Lightning Storm, was a Harlequin Presents. It is not the accepted method of writing for a series romance publisher. It cuts into the audience base if they don't know where to find you.

But the truth of the matter is, if I had to fit all my stories to a marketing department's vision of what constitutes a line, where you'd find me is not writing at all. So I'm blessed that Harlequin has let me follow my characters and never asked me to do that.

Anne's most recent title, One-Night Mistress...Convenient Wife, is a RITA finalist this year.

Her next book, The Virgin's Proposition, will be out from Mills & Boon Modern in May (she thinks) and from Harlequin Presents in November (she thinks). She finds out online, like everyone else, which is where she found her new cover, which she loves.

If you want to read an excerpt, please stop by her website sometime after next week when she is home from visiting the now 30-something year old son (who would actually like a nap if he could find time to take one) and his family, and can send the said excerpt to her webmistress to put up on her book page.

In the meantime, stop by her blog and contact her to get in the drawing to win one of the 365 wonderful books she is giving away in her Great Book Give-Away contest to celebrate her 25th anniversary of publishing this year!

Destination Life: Hadrian's Wall

PHS Editor Michelle Styles visits one of her favourite spots in the world -- Hadrian's Wall


I am very lucky that the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hadrian’s Wall, is literally on my doorstep. My children tend to go a bit ho hum as school trips have often involved visiting Roman sites. But when I was growing up, it was a place I always wanted to visit. And actually it does live up to expectations.

A few years ago, they developed a cross-country walk which goes along the entire length of Hadrian's Wall from the city and post industrial landscape of Newcastle to the rural section in Northumerland and further through the forgotten back water charm of Carlisle and onto the flat plains of Cumbria until it reaches the shore at Bowness on Solway. Not only do you get the Romans, but there is also other history. For example Heavenfield where the Christain army of Oswald of Bernica defeated the pagan Welsh in 633 and thereby ensured that Northumbria would be Christian, is at Chollerford, near to the Roman fort of Chesters. You can also see early industrialisation and of course the Tyne Valley railway is one of the oldest lines in the world. The various old mine workings on the south side of the Wall give a clue as to why the Roman Empire stopped where it did. The Romans did mine in the area.

I have walked parts but not the whole thing. I do applaud those people who have walked the Wall -- 70 miles. Even more impressive are the people who have walked the Pennine Way which bisects Hadrian's Wall just to the west of Housesteads. As the walk in linear, there is a local bus that runs along the wall. Alternatively you can do a thing with leaving a car at the either end of your proposed walk. Many people who walk the Wall have arrangements where various bits of luggage are bused to the next b&b or hotel. There are also a few campgrounds, basic bunkhouses and youth hostels along the route. There are however relatively few places to eat along on the Wall itself. This is partly because the most dramatic sections are within the Northumberland National Park and there are planning restrictions.

The central portion which is around where I live is the most dramatic with its cliffs and various forts. Personally I prefer to walk around Steel Rigg, just up from the Twice Brewed Inn rather than at Housesteads. Fewer people but the views are spectacular. However, in recent years, my visits to the Wall have become fewer. I used to use the Wall as a playground for my children, letting them run off steam by running around the ruins, playing hide and go seek. It was a great destination for picnic -- whether it was Housesteads (the ruins are further), Chesters or Corbridge. Vindolanda was always a good bet for rainy days and during the summer there is always an archaeological excavation going on. We happened to be there the day they discovered the remains of the Christian back in the mid-1990s.

So when a few weeks ago, there was a project to light the Wall, I knew I had to see it. I also knew there was little point in trying to see it from the Wall. Instead my daughter and I walked up to the New Alston crossroads so we could get a panoramic view. The roads around the Wall are normally clear but that night, they were nose to tail. The lights were pretty to look at, but really I prefer to see the Wall with few people around and to actually walk in and amongst the stones. The evening did remind me how much I do love the Wall and how it breathes history.

So sometimes, the best destinations are easily overlooked ones in your own backyard. They may not be exotic or new, but they can hold many memories. Equally they can be places other people long to visit!


Michelle Styles's most recent releases Compromising Miss Milton (May 2010 M&B Historical) and An Impulsive Debutante (June 2010 HH Direct) take place around Hadrian's Wall. You can read excerpts on her website.

Male On Monday - the Luck of the Irish

Pink Heart Columnist Kate Walker celebrates not one but a whole selection of Males on Monday - all of whom represent the very best of a type of man who constantly inspire and intrigue her. They may have appeared in her books as Sicilians, Spaniards, and even Greeks, but they are all originally from the country where Kate's family's roots are very firmly planted - the Emerald Isle.

When I was growing up, I was imprinted on a tall, dark handsome - oh, so handsome Irishman. I adored him, thought he was total perfection. The problem was that he was my uncle. My mother's brother was a dead ringer for the young James Mason. Actually if I’d known it, the young James Mason had grown up just a few miles down the road from the West Yorkshire town where I lived then. And where my uncle was working as a GP alongside my father. But I suspect that even if I’d met up with JM himself, I’d have found him slightly wanting in the personal hero stakes, because he lacked one thing that my uncle had quite naturally, something that made him a sure-fire hit that for me shot his hero-rating up high. And that was that he (Uncle John) had a gorgeous soft Irish accent.

Psychologists claim that our image of the type of man we find attractive is laid down the age of five, so my adoration of my uncle would fit with that. I’m sure he was responsible for the creation of my personal template of the perfect hero – tall (well, taller than me – it was a lot easier to be taller than a hero-worshipping five year old!) Dark haired, blue-eyed. And that accent. I’ve been a sucker for an Irishman ever since.

So when I was thinking about who to choose for my Male on Monday today, I was thinking about several possibilities and unable to make up my mind. I also went back over the list of the men I’d already chosen for this special accolade and that was when I realised that so many of these guys all shared one vital attribute – they were carved from same block as my Uncle John – they were all Irish.

So instead of just celebrating one man today, I’m celebrating a type – a nationality. I’m celebrating the Irishman. And if that means I get to go back over the guys I’ve chosen in the past – and other PHS posters have done too – well, it’s my male on Monday and as I’m celebrating my birthday this week, this is my birthday present to myself.


So here’s a selection of some of those Irish heroes who inspire with their looks, charm, acting ability and – oh yes, that accent.


Pierce Brosnan was born in County Meath, Ireland, but moved to London at age 11. Brosnan's tackled films of all genres (and he even has his own production company), yet he'll always be associated with one role above all others, that of the suave super-spy Bond.

Liam Neeson's from Northern Ireland and has been acting in films since the late '70s. Nominated for an Oscar for his starring role in Steven Spielberg's critically acclaimed film Schindler's List, Neeson's filmography is not only impressive but also eclectic. He's done comedy (Love Actually), a comic book film (Batman Begins), historical epics (Kingdom of Heaven, Rob Roy) and even tackled the role of a Jedi Knight in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Sam Neill – you think he’s Australian? No, he was born in Omagh County Tyrone N Ireland. He doesn’t have the Irish accent now but I’ll forgive him .. .



Born in Dublin, Ireland, hot-blooded reformed bad boy Colin Farrell first received attention after starring in Tigerland for director Joel Schumacher. Other high profile films include: Minority Report, Phone Booth, S.W.A.T., Alexander, Miami Vice, New World, and In Bruges.

Another product of Dublin (there must be something in the water), Gabriel Byrne is well-respected and undeniably talented, yet he's never really achieved that A-list status he so justly deserves. Byrne's filmography includes starring roles in Excalibur, The Usual Suspects, End of Days, and Vanity Fair

Multi-talented Kenneth Branagh not only stays busy in front of the camera, but also writes, directs and produces feature films. A fan of Shakespeare's work, Branagh has brought Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, and Love's Labour's Lost to moviegoers worldwide. I’ve been lucky enough to see him on stage in Richard III and when we met and chatted to him afterwards, he was charm itself – charming enough to make me forget about the ‘tall , dark, blue-eyed’ part of the Irishman’s appeal.

Another actor whose charm makes you totally forget that he is in fact not classically handsome is James Nesbitt. Another personal experience - I had had dinner with Mr Nesbitt and experienced that charm firsthand. OK, I had to share it with Anne McAllister, Abby Green - and my husband - but as research goes . . it's a hard job but someone has to do it.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is another actor born in Dublin and emerged as someone to keep an eye on when he took on the role of glam rocker Brian Slade in the indie film, Velvet Goldmine. Meyers sang his way through that Todd Haynes film and then later went on to play rock and roll icon Elvis Presley in a made-for-TV movie about the famous musician's life, which earned him an Emmy nomination. And of course there’s The Tudors . . .



Ciaran Hinds was born and raised in Northern Ireland and inherited his drive to act from his mother, who was an amateur actress. The 1981 John Boorman movie Excalibur was Hinds' first major film. Other big movies include Mary Reilly, Oscar and Lucinda, Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, and Veronica Guerin. He is also a close friend of Liam Neeson . . . Oh dear, the thought of those two out together . . Hinds also played a great Mr Rochester in 1997.

Cillian Murphy Born in Douglas, Cork, Ireland, his starring role in Danny Boyle's thriller 28 Days Later jettisoned him into the public eye. Other major films include: Intermission, Breakfast on Pluto, Red Eye, and playing Scarecrow in Batman Begins. Cillian Murphy has the most beautiful eyes .

And finally there’s my latest discovery Aidan Turner. The star of Desperate Romantics and Being Human was the subject of my last Male on Monday, so if you want to read more about him, you’ll find that post here.

I could also include Stephen Rea (for acting ability if not the looks) Stuart Townsend, Daniel Day-Lewis who has sort of become Irish, Aiden Gillen, Peter O’Toole (wrong colouring . . .but the eyes .. .) . But I think I’ve proved my point. I shall now have to go and lie down in a darkened room to recover.

What about you? Does an Irishman do it for you? Or is there another nationality, another accent, that fits perfectly into your ‘love map’? As it’s my birthday coming up and I like to share the celebrations, I have a copy of your choice of my backlist books to give away to one commentator when I can get the other big, dark male in my life (ie Sid the Cat) to pick a winner.

Kate's latest USA title is The Konstantos Marriage Demand, still available in Presents Extra. In the UK, her By Request three in one Claimed by the Sicilian has reprints of her best-selling Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Wife, The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge and The Sicilian's Wife is in the bookshops right now.

Coming in July is A Good Greek Wife?

part of a special mini series based on updating the Greek Myths. Kate is currently working on another 'special project' - more details when she can reveal them.

All the information can be found on Kate's website with the most up to date stuff on her blog.

Weekend Wildcard: One Tough Cookie

Harlequin Presents Author Christina Hollis looks at the qualities that make a strong heroine.

My grandmother was one tough woman. These days she would have been given the title ‘Chef’, but as she reached the peak of her (then unliberated) profession just after the First World War, she had to settle for being called ‘Cook’ instead. In those days, parenthood never affected a man’s career. In contrast, Gran had to give up the job she loved the minute she married. Living ‘off the strength’ in England while Grandad was working in India, she raised four children and kept a big house and garden going, all on her own. This was in the days before childcare payments and the National Health Service. Over the years, her little family survived a nearby farmer going Postal, a burning plane grazing the house and crashing just beyond the poultry run, a savage stray dog trying to hold them all hostage, and many other dramas. She took it all in her stride, saying that after working in a busy kitchen, you can cope with anything. It was certainly true in her case!

I love cooking, and at one stage considered going to catering college. In the end, I decided writing about food was much easier than working with it. My latest Modern Romance for Mills and Boon, The French Aristocrat’s Baby, has a heroine who’s ready for anything - apart from a life-changing experience in the arms of a gorgeous man.

Gwen Williams is living her dream of running a restaurant in the South of France. It is tough, and gets harder still when her business partner cuts and runs. Enter Count Etienne Moreau, who walks straight out of Gwen’s fantasies with a fabulous offer. Both Etienne and Gwen are determined to shake off the past and take charge of their own futures. He is irresistible - Gwen certainly can’t keep her hands off him - but she is used to living by her own rules. Etienne wants to make her his mistress, but she refuses to be bought...

‘You can have absolutely anything you like, except my signature on a marriage certificate.’ He chuckled. ‘Apart from that one small detail, my generosity knows no limit. Try me. Name your price.’

Reaching for a napkin, Gwen wiped her hands and dropped it onto the table in a symbolic gesture.

‘It’s nothing you could buy, no matter how much money you’ve got, monsieur. I want my independence, and the chance to make my own way in the world. I don’t want to go through life being carried by anyone else.’
Copyright Harlequin Mills and Boon Limited, 2010

Gwen is mistress of her own mind - right up until the moment when she discovers something that throws her organized world into total chaos. Etienne is her only chance of happiness, but if neither of them is willing to compromise, how can they move forward?

I loved working on this book. Etienne and Gwen were so sure of themselves, I enjoyed bringing them together to make a perfect match. They both had good qualities, but there came a point when each had to reassess their attitudes to life. Too much spirit and independence can easily tip over into selfishness.

What qualities do you look for in a heroine?

You can learn more about Christina Hollis at her website. Christina's latest The French Aristocrat's Baby is out now and you can read the first chapter by clicking above!