The new buzz word at HMB Romance HQ

Unpredictability is apparently the new buzz word at Mills and Boon headquarters, to quote Editor Flo Nicoll "Unpredictability is literally all we can talk about". At last year's RNA conference the theme of the Mills and Boon Editor talk was 'new twists on old themes' so this is clearly something anyone trying to write for Harlequin M&B needs to be thinking about. I'm going to be interested to find out the results of the Unpredictability Task Force - what are readers sick of, what do they want to see more of etc. If you want to read the Editor blog post in full or find out what on earth I'm on about then click here.

How to be fresh and new and yet fit the category line? It's a very interesting question, answers in a comment box will be welcome ;-)
While you're thinking about it have a slice of cake:

Riva Bag Giveaway

Just a quickie to let you all know the Riva bag I designed for the Mills & Boon Competition is this week's prize on the Minx blog so get over there and get commenting (and sign up to follow the blog while you're at it) and the bag could be yours!

Reporter Minx

Check out the Minx site today for photos of Minxes at the RNA party. I was determined to get to what would be my first RNA event of the year and despite the pain and tiredness it was most definitely worth it. I got to meet Sally Minx for a start, which was lovely :-) It was also fab to chat to friends old and new and to feel that buzz, and the corresponding internal thought "I am a writer and I will write despite everything". Unfortunately I haven't had the pain relieving injections into my spine yet so I just want to set the record straight - if you saw me slumped against a wall it wasn't because I was sloshed ;-)

News and the science of heroes...

I don't know if you've all heard about it and I'm trailing behind but in case you haven't - Amazon are branching out into publishing romance novels, both print, ebooks and audiobooks. Read about it here. An expanding market can only be good news I think :-) If I find out more about submissions I'll let you know...

Other news - After analyzing 15,000 Harlequin books, neuroscientists Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam have compiled a list of the top 10 most popular professions for heroes in romance novels. They are: 1. Doctor, 2. Cowboy, 3. Boss, 4. Prince, 5. Rancher, 6. Knight, 7. Surgeon, 8. King, 9. Bodyguard, 10. Sheriff.

Interesting but number 3, Boss, covers quite a lot of professions really!

Do any professions turn you off a hero? Or alternatively turn you on???

Out of mothballs...

I've taken myself out of mothballs and have dusted myself down to blog over at the Minxes of Romance today. So if you're looking for some light relief from the mundanity of royal wedding commentary, have any interest in marrying a hot-yet-still-single prince or just want to say 'Hi' please pop over :-)

Yeah, yeah, you're coming over to support me, I know, the promise of a hot, single prince doesn't interest you in the slightest ;-)

P.S. for any eagle eyed viewers of "Guilty Pleasures" I did not in fact appear in it, it was my evil crone clone (who should not be allowed to trim her own fringe while tired, that's all I have to say on the matter). Thanks Suz for alerting me to the dreadful imposter :-)

Not so guilty pleasures

On Tuesday 12th April TV viewers in the UK will be able to watch the Channel 4 documentary made about Mills and Boon - "Guilty Pleasures" (More 4 at 10 pm). It promises to examine the "allure of the fantasy world created by Mills & Boon".
Escapism, fantasy, glamour and the promise of an ending that will leave you feeling upbeat...well personally I don't see it's that complex a puzzle or anything to feel remotely guilty about.

The last month has been pretty horrid but as everyone around me seems to have subscribed to 'The Secret' I will weed out the negative ;-) The most positive part of the past few weeks has been discovering new authors writing what I would call Glambusters - they all capture the essence of what I would love my writing to encapsulate - glamour, passion and emotion. I'd recommend without hesitation Tilly Bagshawe, Jo Rees and Tasmina Perry as fantastic Glambuster authors. I also managed to catch up on "Kissing Mr Wrong" by Sarah Duncan and last year's Romantic novel of the year "Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts" by Lucy Dillon and I'm grateful to all these talented authors for getting me through a very difficult time and distracting me from pain during sleepless nights.
I hope that some of their skill may have rubbed off on me by osmosis as I am itching to write again and thankfully my voice to text software is now working again on my computer :-) I've also missed my lovely writing friends and hope to catch up with you all soon...

A sight for sore eyes

I blame the painkillers. How else could I have missed Michael Weatherly returning to the screen in a new series of NCIS?Or Simon Baker with the re-start of The Mentalist? Or fail to spot a new legal drama starring Rupert Penry Jones - Silks. Okay he's playing a bastard but he's still easy on the eye and I can even forgive the glaring errors of the programme's researchers (I used to work in that world, in another life).

I've missed being in touch with my writing friends too. If I haven't emailed you back it is definitely NOT personal, I think I'll have to do an inbox trawl to see what I've missed...
Being able to sit and lie down is nice (yes, injured nerve in back still mucking me about) but being too zonked and sick to write isn't. Nor is having an allergic reaction to anti-nausea medication and the strapping holding my kneecap in place.
Stopping the drugs wasn't a great idea either as I now can't sleep and have become so irritable with the pain that I managed to get a cold caller to hang up on me (and I wasn't rude to her, I promise, just a tad...er, scathing). I've been medicating/distracting myself with episodes I've missed and scouring Youtube for things to make me laugh. Are there any programmes that have you glued to the remote? Please let me know, I need more material for the sake of the innocent bystanders and cold callers (actually I'm not so bothered about them).
It's not a completely dead period for me creatively though - I've been getting so many ideas and thoughts I'm keeping a special notebook of "things to do when better" because thankfully the fall down the stair injuries will get better...at some point and then I'll just be back to the brain injury which will feel like a treat in comparison!
And I will be sending my full to Mills and Boon, there is no injury on earth that is going to stop me. If Jean-Dominique Bauby could write The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by blinking (read about it hear if you are interested) then I am blinking well going to do it!

But if you lose me for a week or so it's because I've had to give in and try an opiate patch. I promise I'll be back and once more go a blog trawling...