November 16, 2011
You may have noticed an ‘undercurrent’ of excitement rippling around the romantic novelists of Britain this week – that’s because several hundred of us are off to the RNA Winter Party in London. I’m travelling down by train with Coffee Crew writer friends, Nell Dixon and Elizabeth Hanbury and we are ready to party i.e. we have a flask of coffee, three mini bottles of fizz and some cakes as there are no facilities on the train.
I have new boots to show off…
There are so many people I’m looking forward to seeing at the party including Debs Carr, who I’ve ‘known’ on line for years now – finally we will get to meet and she will find out I am really a hairy, 20 stone trucker called Dave….
The past few weeks have been ones of waiting and hoping and still waiting… but I’ve been to a Women in Rural Enterprise networkng event today that has pepped me up.
Plus I’ve had a really great review from this site for Carrie Goes off the Map which is out in just two weeks time!
I think that calls for Champagne, dahlings!
Posted by Phillipa @ 2:30 pm |
November 13, 2011
Hi and welcome to all the blog hop visitors! I’m thrilled to take part in my first ever Blog Hop. So…
1) HAVE FUN!!!
2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!
3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Monday, November 14, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, November 21, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
Winners will be drawn and posted November 22nd! ***
4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS & BOOK PAGES! EXPERIENCE A NEW DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!
5) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR & BOOK PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!
6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN? WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!***Authors & Book Pages have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules***
Save a Turkey? Is it *really* that close to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays?
While we may not celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK, I’ve already started my Christmas shopping, bought the cards and wrapping paper etc. I used to be all organised and bake mince pies and a chocolate log but these days, I confess to cheating buy buying them ready made.
I also have a great big reason to celebrate, because I have a brand new book out in the States on December 1st. It’s called Carrie Goes off the Map and it’s published by Sourcebooks. Now, it’s not a ‘holiday’ themed book but it does start and end in the frosty nights of an English winter. In between, the characters, Matt and Carrie, take the journey of a lifetime in a vintage VW camper van.
Me outisde the vintage VW van we hired as research for Carrie goes off the Map
As research for the book, I took my lovely, long-suffering husband on a five day tour of the south west of England in a vintage van. It was March and while the weather was largely fine, it was also freezing! One night it rained and with only the canvas roof for protection, my husband (who is 6ft 2″) got his feet wet.
Still, it did give us an excuse to huddle together for warmth…
Carrie goes off the Map is a romantic story of one couple’s very bumpy journey to happiness after both seem to have lost everything – and hopefully it will make you laugh and cry.
To win a print or E-book copy of Carrie Goes off the Map, simply tell me what was the most memorable trip or vacation you’ve had.
Hop to another tour blog HERE.
Posted by Phillipa @ 12:33 pm |
November 9, 2011
Posted by Phillipa @ 6:51 am |
November 7, 2011
This morning, I’ve started writing some guest posts and interviews for the launch of Carrie Goes off the Map, published on December 1st by Sourcebooks in the USA.
Blimey, writing blog posts about your novel really makes you think deeply about the characters and themes!
If only you could analyse them in such depth *before* you start…
You set off, not really knowing the characters. Perhaps one or two of them have landed fully formed on the page but others are slippery creatures who only reveal themselves as you go along.
Then, at the editing stage, you have the gift of knowing what should happen. You have the chance to go back and add subtle foreshadowing, new dialogue and extra scenes. You can also make those tiny tweaks of language and dialogue, that the reader may not notice, but hint at what is to come, drawing the reader (hopefully) deeper into the story.
Carrie was previously published as It Should Have Been Me in the UK in 2009, so writing about it now, I have the benefit of three years’ distance. Would I change anything about this book? I often do want to change my books after publication (!) but I did so much agonising and rewriting with Carrie, it’s pretty much how I wanted it to end up. That may be because I’d been thinking about the two main characters for a couple of years: a volatile, realistically flawed woman who reacts in her own quirky way to having her life turned upside down. Set against a cynical, world-weary doctor who has his own secrets to deal with, and suspects there is nothing new in his world to surprise him.
I half-wish I had the benefit of hindsight right now, as I wait for news of a number of projects. Or a magic wand, or fifty fingers and toes to cross. 😉
On a different note, I’m also planning a series of fun writing workshops for the new year, with fellow Coffee Crew authors, Nell Dixon and Elizabeth Hanbury. They’re going to take place at a variety of venues in the West Midlands so if you’ve ever wanted to Get Writing or Get Published, watch this space.
Posted by Phillipa @ 7:46 am |
November 2, 2011
Overnight, the print galleys for Fever Cure arrived from Samhain. I now need to check it thoroughly and then the book is ready for the print stage. Whew, It’s strange re-reading your work so many months after you write it, especially when it’s pretty steamy stuff. 🙂
It’s out in paperback in June 2012 but if you can’t wait that long, you can get the ebook right now in the UK or US amazon.
“Tom!”
Keira paused on the little half landing and listened for a
sound, a clue. Getting none, she called again, louder. “Tom!”
She reached the last flight of steps now and halted, ears
straining. She couldn’t hear anything, no water or creaking
floorboards, so she turned the corner and climbed the last few
steps. Her stomach fluttered as her ears caught the noise of
drawers opening and closing up above. A lamp clicked on in a
room at the far end of the landing, light spilling out from a halfopen
door.
Forcing her leaden legs to move forward, she walked in the
direction of the light. She was ready. She couldn’t hold back
anymore. If Tom wanted her, he could have her. “A life lived in
fear is only half lived”. That’s what Alex had flung at her when
she’d said she wasn’t going with him, though Keira doubted
he’d meant she should leave him and start a fling with another
man.
Sometime in the past hour, between the park and the
house, she’d made her decision. Maybe it had been as Tom sat
beside her on the bench and told her he wasn’t prepared to let
her go that easily. Maybe it was when he’d joined in with the
children’s games and given himself so generously to them. At
some point today, she’d made the choice to leap into the chasm.
Forget tomorrow. Or as Tom would say: carpe diem.
She stopped outside the door. “Tom… I’ve brought you a
coffee.” Her voice sounded weird.
She pushed the heavy door with her foot as more liquid
slopped onto the carpet.
His bedroom was bigger, possibly, than her whole flat, and
the ceilings were half as high again. A big sash window faced
the door, the heavy brocade curtains held back by tasseled ties,
framing the slate sky outside. She stifled a giggle that made the
coffee spill. He obviously wasn’t bothered about neighbours.
And the bed. The sight of it made her legs almost buckle. It
was a great ornate thing, who knew how old. Flanking it were
two little tables with lamps sitting on them, each casting a
warm pool of light on the heavy damask cover. On the opposite
wall stood a vast walnut wardrobe and a gentleman’s chest of
drawers, almost as tall as she was. Facing the chest, one hand
in an open drawer, was the naked figure of Tom.
From his broad shoulders to his endless legs, he was all
lean hardness and sinewy muscles. His powerful buttocks were
a pale gold against the darker honey of his back. Curling its
way across his lower back and bottom was a tattoo. A swirling
pattern of whorls and curves that drew her eyes and fixed them
on its strange, exotic beauty. She gripped the mugs tighter in
her hands, ignoring the ache in her fingers. Half the coffee had
gone by now, but Keira didn’t care.
As he turned around, she had to gulp down a tiny cry. Oh
wow, if his rear view was amazing, the front was even better.
His solid chest was sprinkled with curly hair, the narrow hips
set on long, muscled legs.
“Keira…what?”
Tom was frozen to the spot with shock.
A wet, flushed Keira stood in front of him, her hair stuck to
her head, her fleece and jeans damp and steaming. Tom’s heart
flipped as he saw her fingers gripping a mug in each hand so
tightly she might snap the handles off.
He felt a rush of protectiveness racing over him. She was in
his bedroom gaping at him like he was the first naked man
she’d ever seen. It was innocent and yet powerfully erotic.
How the hell was he supposed to walk away from this one?
He’d been so glad he’d had an excuse to come up here out
of the way of temptation. He’d had every intention of showering,
getting dressed and then locking himself in the kitchen while
she did the same, but now he’d have to be a saint not to want
her in his bed. His throat tightened. He was definitely no saint.
“Keira.”
The mention of her name sent a shiver through her body,
and coffee tipped over the edge of the mugs and onto the carpet.
It seemed to shake her out of her trance, and she drew in a
breath sharply. “I’m so sorry, Tom. I…I’ve brought you a hot
drink… Oh, look at the mess I’ve made!”
“It’s okay…” he said gently.
“Your lovely carpet, it’s all messy. I’ll get a cloth.”
“It’s fine. Stop worrying.”
“I didn’t know you were getting dressed. I should go.”
Tom wasn’t sure whether to believe her or not, and he
didn’t care. Did she know she was driving him insane? He took
the mugs, one by one, from her hand and put them on the
bedside table. He didn’t think he could take this anymore.
He raked his hands through his wet hair, battling every
impulse to take her. “Keira, go downstairs if you want, walk away if you need to, but please, do it now.”
Posted by Phillipa @ 7:39 am |
