Hi Phillipa, thanks for having me on your blog today to chat a little about my debut ancient historical romance from Berkley Heat, Forbidden!

He was a master of seduction – but no match for the magical allure of the woman he wanted most…

Carys knew from the moment she first spied on Maximus in his naked barbarian glory that he was a dangerous Roman centurion – his taut, battle-scarred flesh marking him as a fearless warrior. But her desire for him was as undeniable as it was illicit.

As Carys’s loyalties are twisted, and freedom is no longer her single-minded obsession, an avenging former lover threatens to crush Maximus’s people into oblivion. Now Carys and Maximus must overcome the devastation of war and face the ultimate sacrifice if their forbidden love is to survive.

Excerpt (Over 18 Only)

Forbidden is the first book in a new erotic historical series of magical heroines and sexy warriors. My hero, Maximus, is a Roman Centurion, a patrician and loyal to his Emperor and Rome. When he discovers his heroine, Carys (who’s been spying on his bathing rituals for the last three months!!) he’s instantly captivated. Who is this woman and why hasn’t she been seen in any of the villages the Legion has vanquished?

Carys is, in fact, a Druid princess and acolyte of the Goddess of Wisdom, Cerridwen. She and the rest of her clan of Druids escaped into a magical enclave before the Romans invaded, and are waiting for a sign from their gods before they attack their enemy. But despite knowing this Roman would strike her dead if he knew who – what – she is, Carys can’t stop thinking about him.

Maximus has been charged by his Emperor to eliminate all Druids. And Carys has sworn to rid her land of the barbarous invaders. Yet despite everything that conspires against them they are irresistibly drawn to each other.

Do you enjoy reading romances set in more unusual times and/or settings? Which warrior (from history/romance novel/movies or the actor himself!!!) sets your pulses pounding? I’d love to giveaway a copy of Forbidden to one commenter and as always I’m open to discovering a new hot warrior to add to my *ahem* research files!!!

To give you some ideas, Christina supplied me with some pics of sexy screen warriors but I’ve found one of my own. It’s Goran Visnjic as Spartacus.

  

September has dawned here with glorious sun, blue skies and cool, clear nights. Here’s Mr September from 12 Men of Christmas (movie version of Dating Mr December.) He was played by Matt Embry, an actor with the sexiest ‘cowboy’ drawl I’ve ever heard.

I’m getting him in quickly because I’ve got a special guest author tomorrow – or later today if you live in Australia.

It’s Christina Phillips who writes sizzling hot historical romance and launches her sexy debut novel, FORBIDDEN, today. Back later with a fan and a hosepipe!

But thankfully, I’m actually very excited about this coming new ‘term’.

We have a Bank Holiday weekend in England – the last chance for families to get away before a new school year starts. We’ve just got back from the Lakes, and for a change, we had sunny, warm weather while the southern half of the UK got a soaking. Some people don’t believe that it really was glorious up there so here’s a pic to prove it.

This is Waterhead at the northern end of Windermere and you can just glimpse the chimneys of our flat building poking up through the trees in the centre of the photo.

Naturally, every time I visit, I’m reminded that this gorgeous place was the inspiration for Dating Mr December. We even saw a house that *could* have been Will’s:

I remember walking into an estate agents when I was writing Dating Mr December and asking for details of ‘the sort of place a multi-millionaire would own’. I omitted to mention that it had to be a great sh*g-pad too so I didn’t get thrown out!

I got back to a totally unexpected piece of good news about my US books. It’s not something I can share but I had a big grin on my face when I told Mr B. He can’t retire yet but I can treat him to a new mountain bike jersey. The last of the big spenders, me.

For those of you asking about new UK books, I have no news yet but if do get any, you’ll hear about it! For now, I’m going to focus on the launch of my US books.

Already, mentions of Dating Mr December are popping up all over the book blogosphere, as the romance reviewers receive their advance copies. This morning, I had the bizarre experience of spotting my new book in someone else’s hands, 5000 miles away – and on a video too. My book’s featured about 3 mins in.

So, I’m looking forward to my New Term with the usual mix of excitement, anticipation – and fear of the unknown. Will I get hauled into the toilets and have my head flushed down the loo by the School Bully (aka a snarky review site?) Will I make any new friends or end up mooching around the playground, ignored and kicking up the leaves? Will I get into trouble with the headmistress (aka my US ed) or be Teacher’s pet?

Oh err…. perhaps it’s a good thing I don’t have a crystal ball!

How about you? Are you dreading or looking forward to September?

PS if you haven’t already, please join my Facebook Like page for extra pictures, updates and news of all the free giveaways and contests for my US releases.

I feel slightly embarrassed about this – it’s not very ‘British’, is it? But it is the perfect way of sharing news about my books, contests, reviews, photos and Youtube clips from 12 men of Christmas on Facebook. Please come and join!

In non-writing random news, here’s a picture of our new Vango Orchy tent. Mr B and I want to get out into the Great Outdoors more. You know I love all that walking/biking/bodyboarding stuff – and the tent is a way of ‘getting back to nature’ more often. It keeps me sane and is the antidote to all that time spent I spend inside, sitting on my bottom, writing.

However, rest assured I shall be taking chilled Champagne with me to ease the pain of not having my TV and own loo.

Squee …Dating Mr December was featured by Sourcebooks in their RWA Conference brochure 2010. This is getting real!

Multi-published historical author, Elizabeth Bailey, is giving her Five Top Tips on editing your manuscript on the RNA blog today.

These are all very useful tips and I particularly like numbers 4 and 5. When I’ve had revisions, I always start with the smaller changes in the editorial letter (or agent’s email) as it helps me feel I’m making progress. Along the way, I find I begin to see ways of making bigger changes that work for my book, in my own way.

Killing your darlings…

At the end of the process, I’ve found the courage to ‘kill’ cherished scenes that just have no part in the book – like a helicoper rescue scene in one of my books. I’d researched it to death, interviewed RAF personnel and an ex MSF-doctor and I wanted to use it. Unfortunately, it did not move my plot along. It took me ages to find the nerve to delete it and replace it with a much smaller incident later in the book, that led to the deeper character development I needed.

Sometimes I think you need to go quite a way along the wrong path, to realise what the right path is. I’m always wandering off anyway!

Conversely, post-editing, there will also be points that I just ‘know’ are right and should stay. After a thorough round of revisions, I’ve usually got the confidence to keep them. Most editors or agents don’t want to be dictatorial (!), they would rather you worked out how to strengthen your book in a way that’s true to your own voice.

But everyone edits differently – any tips uou find helpful?

Liz is also launching a critique service for authors – all details on the RNA blog.

I’ve been away from the blog, working and Having a Real Life, rather than a virtual one. We went bodyboarding over the weekend, in Croyde, Devon and Widemouth Bay, Cornwall – I even caught some good waves this time, unlike my first attempt last year.

We had really great weather and visited Clovelly and Hartland Bay – we walked down to Hartland Quay to see the cottage used as the Dashwoods’ home in the recent BBC adaptation of Sense & Sensibility. It is beautiful, quaint and remote – and looks nothing like the cottage in the movie! A local lady told us that the film crew had added a complete new facade to the house.

We’ve bought a tent so we can get away more often in the summer weekends. I’m a fair weather camper who hasn’t slept under canvas (actually, it’s nylon now) for a squillion years so I’ll let you know how I get on!

And the above picture of Mr August from 12 men of Christmas has nothing to do with my decision!

I’ve seen the front cover but never the Full Monty so here it is. It was a PDF so Ms Bennet (who’s here for the weekend, double yay) turned it into a png for me.

Its very different to the original artwork cover for Decent Exposure which was great fun. Although I’ll never forget the shock when I first saw it and thought: “OMG, there’s a naked man on the cover.” Naively, as a first-time author, it had never occurred to me that if you write a book based on a nude calendar, the designers might just pick up on that theme. In fact, I still hadn’t come to terms with writing romance at all but I’m gradually getting there.

So it’s fascinating to me to see the wildly different takes on the same book. I confess that this photographic cover just has the edge for me.

Still, neither of the covers are pink and fluffy which should please a certain person. OTOH, they do feature half naked men. Oh dear. I fear I am beyond redemption and will probably burst into flames any moment now!

I hear some authors complaining that their covers are too fluffy and girly, when, in fact, they write serious women’s fiction. This is misleading the reader and I understand where they’re coming from. I however, can’t complain because my books are sexy, fun, upbeat – and (gulp) romantic – and I think this cover reflects just that.

This look, according to Claire’s, would appeal to Edward.

A new look for the Jacob fans.

It left me wondering what type of makeover would appeal to some other fictional heroes. John Thornton, for instance. Maybe you’d need a naive social conscience, something to cure your chronically sweaty palms (the real reason she refused to shake his hand) and a Victorian cleavage of Jordanesque proportions? (I’ve been trying to find a picture of Daniela Denby Ashe in *that* gorgeous dinner party dress. No wonder Mr Thornton seemed aloof, he was dumbstruck.)

How might you attract Mr Darcy? You’d definitely need fake tan (a natural consequence of your travelling in the summer,) 1000 calorie mascara (to enhance your fine eyes) and a realisation that you’d be willing to put up with a great deal to be Mistress of Pemberley.

Yes, I’m being very silly. Call it distraction therapy.

You can read the feature on Sugarscope here.

I dunno. What would attract *your* hero?