Launch celebration for In His Eyes!

Happy birthday Hugh and Zoe!

I'm in Perth, Western Australia, for work this week, but despite a long day's work, I couldn't let the official launch day for In His Eyes pass without celebration!

I asked a few locals for a recommendation for a great wine bar nearby and I was told to head for Bathazar. I have to say it was very good advice, because if my characters Hugh and Zoe were to open a wine bar (and given Hugh's entrepreneurial spirit, that's entirely possible...) it would be one just like this.

The photos are a little on the fuzzy/dark side, despite the best efforts of my roped-in but dedicated work colleague/ friend/ unofficial photographer (he's been the one behind the camera in a lot of my portraits including most of Cassie's tour of the US and I owe him at least the glass of bubbles I shouted him tonight). The bar was dark and intimate and very, very awesome.

Yum!

It wasn't just awesome because of the atmosphere. The waiter gave us the wine list and they had quite an impressive and very international selection. I knew I wanted red wine, but I wasn't sure what kind. So I asked for him to chose something for me -- something rich, but not too "tannin-y" and fruity but not too light. He frowned for a moment and then said, "Hmm, you're interesting. Give me a moment."

Not everyone appreciates being called "interesting". But I'm quite okay with that. Especially in this context. So he brought me a wine to taste -- something not even on the list. A something that I've already forgotten the name of. But it was perfect. Rich and full of flavour, but not too intense.

I am a little bit of, what you might call, a wine-wanker. I fully admit I know only enough about wine making to be dangerous. And to potentially make a fool of myself by asking questions just knowledgeable enough to be really stupid. When I tasted the wine he'd poured me, I guessed it was Italian. It was Spanish. "Right continent!" I crowed. It doesn't take much...

So here's In His Eyes, snuggled, kind of where it belongs, amongst a wall full of wine.

Now, don't forget that if you're partial to an occasional glass of wine, I have a special giveaway for anyone who leaves a comment this month. You could win a pair of stunning Riedel wine glasses.

I'm also dishing the goss about some of the inspiration behind In His Eyes over on the SuperRomance blog, so come visit me there too.

Happy In His Eyes release day! Hope you enjoyed a nice glass of something -- whatever you chose to drink. :)

Going on tour with Cassie and Ronan

To launch Cassie's Grand Plan (available from this Tuesday, 6 March!!) I'm going on a blog tour. A blog tour, in case you were wondering, is a bit like a rock band tour, but instead of playing stadiums and staying up late drinking tequila with groupies, I visit other people's blogs and go to bed early with a nice cup of tea.

Sounds like fun, right?

Source

The best thing about a blog tour is that there is another chance to win a prize!! That's right, not only do you have a chance to win a $100 Amazon voucher in my Cassie Photo Bomb Comp, you have a second chance to win another $50 Amazon voucher just by following along with my blog tour! The person who comments at each stop along the way is the winner (or a random selection if there is more than one of you).

The tour officially begins at the SuperRomance Authors blog on Monday 5 March. Then you can follow me here:

• Romance Book Paradise 5th March
• Romance Book Haven 6th March
• Writing PlayGround 14th March
• Sunday Smooch 18th March
• Romance Reader 19th March
• Fresh Fiction 20th March
• RomCon Inc 22nd March
• Minxes Of Romance 28th March
• Catheryn Hein's Friday Feast 6th April
• Juliet's Ten Awkward Question- 9th April
• Theory on Thursday 12th April
• Romance University 16th April

After that, if you're not completely sick of me, but are instead, addicted to my witty banter, and feel the need to continue the commenting habit you've developed, you can always come back and comment here, at my very own blog post. Which is where, incidentally, I'll be announcing the winner of the tour prize. 

Now, groupies, get your typing fingers ready, your sparkling repartee sharpened, and -- most importantly -- your glasses on for those damned Captcha images that you have to complete in order to prove you're not a robot. 

A Christmas present from SuperRomance

The SuperRomance authors have got together and created a Christmas present for readers -- and in my case, the readers yet to come! (That seems a fitting description given it's Christmas...)

The recipe book includes recipes from a range of authors and includes all kinds of sweet and savoury treats. My contribution is the zucchini and pistachio spice cake that is my favourite special occasion cake. It's reasonably simple to make, looks glam and tastes amazing. I hope you'll try it out.

I'm about to get started on my own Christmas baking -- there is some dried fruit that needs to be soaked in a lot of booze! But first the Christmas decorations must go up and that's today's job. Hope you're all having a lovely festive season...

Writing satisfying endings

Wanda Ottewell is blogging today over on the SuperRomance Authors Blog about writing satisfying endings. Quite timely given right now I'm struggling with the final chapters of my WIP! She's also answering some of the questions posed by commenters. If that wasn't enough to entice you to head on over and leave some love, one lucky poster will win all six of this month's new release SuperRomance books. Run, don't walk!

New SuperAuthors post

Rabbiting on over on the Super Authors blog again. There are pictures of cake. Yummy cake. And you can win a Kindle if you comment!

Happy Birthday, Morten

It's Morten Harket's birthday today. He's 52 years old. Seriously. How good does the guy still look?

Some of you might be wondering, who on earth is Morten Harket? I give you:

Now, do you remember?

As my family and many of my friends know, I had a crush on a-ha for years. Years and years. I never got to see them live when they toured Australia in 1986, because my parents said I was too young to go to Melbourne for the concert (we lived in the country). So in 2005 I flew to London to see them live on stage at Wembley. Best. Concert. Ever.

I also went to London again in 2010 to see them perform in their farewell concert at Wembley, because, you see, a-ha is no more. They went splitsville after 25 years together. *pouts*

The power of my teenage crush is such that my brain still retains the birth dates of all three members. And when I looked at the date today - 14 September - my first thought was, Happy Birthday, Morten.

Oh, and my second thought was: today's the day I'm blogging on the SuperRomance Authors Blog. So I did that. Go there and check it out.