Friday Film Night:: The Waiting Game

This month at The Pink Heart Society, Silhouette Desire author Maxine Sullivan will review the next of the Harlequin movies.

"The Waiting Game" is a 1998 movie based on the 1985 Harlequin Intrigue book of the same name by Jayne Ann Krentz. And just like the Harlequin movies reviewed here in previous months, this movie is quite different to the book. Nonetheless, I loved this movie. In fact, after seeing it on television and finding it wasn’t available in Australia, I bought myself a DVD copy from the States. (It’s now available in Australia).

When Sarah Frazer's uncle turns up at her art gallery then disappears again just as quickly, Sarah's instinct goes on full alert. She's grown used to her uncle's ways of coming and going but this time she knows something is wrong, despite Sarah's jealous fiancé insisting that she is worrying for nothing. Then two men turn up in Sarah's life, both mysterious and both gorgeous, and with a secret connection to each other and to her uncle that involves the CIA and the international drug trade. But who is the good guy and which of them is the villain? Even though a picture on the back cover gives it away, it was still quite a while before I could actually tell. Both men were charming and both were interested in Sarah for reasons of their own.

Sarah (played by Chandra West) is beautiful, feisty and no fool, and she is the perfect heroine for this movie. Sarah’s misgivings increase when she finds Adrian Seville (played by Chris Potter) in her uncle's home claiming to be a computer guru and friend of her uncle. Adrian is the perfect match for Sarah. He’s on his own mission to clear his name but he can’t help but try and protect her at the same time, even if she doesn’t want to be protected.

And then there’s Carl (played by Australian, John Pyper-Ferguson) who befriends Sarah's fiancé, Matt, with the lure of developing property. But he's only trying to worm his way into Sarah's good books to help him find something in the box of artefacts that Sarah's uncle has sent to the art gallery. Once he has what he is looking for, he intends to kill her uncle and if Sarah gets in the way he’ll kill her too. Unfortunately for both men, Sarah isn’t about to let either of them deter her from discovering the truth.

There were some very polished performances in this movie, not the least by the secondary characters. Paula Abdul plays Sarah’s best friend, Amy, and Art Hindle plays Sarah’s uncle, Lowell Kincaid. Paula is a singer in her own right and now a judge on American Idol. Art Hindle is one of those actors whose face looks familiar from the many movies he’s appeared in over the years, including playing a policeman way back in the 1982 movie, Porky’s.

And speaking of art, take a look at the wonderful paintings on display in Sarah’s art gallery. I don’t know a lot about art but those paintings look quite unique to me and really added to the authenticity of the movie.

The sexual chemistry between Sarah and Adrian bounces off the screen amongst the elements of danger and suspense. There are a couple of very hot love scenes, including one involving handcuffs. And the ending could be said to be almost... climatic in more ways than one.

I give this movie 10 out of 10. It’s my favourite of the Harlequin movies.

Maxine’s next Silhouette Desire, The CEO Takes A Wife, will be released in the States in July and in Australia in August. Visit Maxine's website for more information.

And don’t forget to visit the Diamonds Down Under blog for information on winning that magnificent diamond pendant!

Thursday Talktime - More on the Centenary

This Thursday PHS columnist Kate Walker reveals the most up to date news on the publications and events that are part of the ongoing celebrations for Mills & Boon's Centenary year.

As you already know (and if you don’t, where have you been? ) 2008 is the date of Mills & Boon’s 100th birthday and the celebrations and events have been going on all you so far. Some of these - like the Centenary birthday party in February - have already been reported but there have been others that haven’t and there are still some more coming up. So here’s a quick run down of what else you can expect in this important year.

As you can imagine, the PHS editors, columnists and other authors have been very much involved with the celebration events and on May 17th, four of us, together with Mills & Boon Editor Suzanne Clarke took part in the Lincoln Book Festival. In the afternoon, I gave a two-hour workshop on writing romance and this was to launch the second, revised and expanded edition of the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance.

That evening there was also a Celebration of 100 Years of Romancing Readers. Kate Walker, Trish Wylie, Natasha Oakley and Kate Hardy discussed the world of romantic fiction and what it takes to write for Mills & Boon. “From first glances until happily ever after.”

Because we all know each other, the whole event became very informal. We all talked about our writing careers and how we came to be writing for Mills & Boon, and the lines we’re in. Everyone chipped in, adding bits to everyone else’s answers and the event was more like a chat with a group of friends.

The audience were invited to share a celebratory glass of champagne with us and everyone who attended took away a special Mills & Boon goody bag with special gifts from the company as part of the celebrations. Many of the authors had also donated books (many of them signed) to go into a special collection which was to be given away as a raffle prize. The proceeds from the raffle went to Breast Cancer Research, a charity that M&B is proud to be connected with. The raffle was drawn on the night and the lucky winner was already a well-established romance reader – someone who bought 18 books a month! (We love readers like that) She was so excited to have won that she was shaking all over when I presented her with the prize.

Other events coming up are these:
Thursday, June 5, 2008 - Saturday, August 9, 2008 Mills & Boon Exhibition Manchester Central Library St Peter’s Square, Manchester .

This colourful exhibition features many wonderful book covers, photographs, cartoons and memorabilia. It weaves together the books and their writers and the women readers of romance, against the backdrop of history from the suffragette era through two world wars to the present day.

The exhibition traces the evolution in romantic fiction of Mills & Boon over 100 years, reflecting the enormous changes in women's lives in work, family and, of course, sex. But it also highlights the contribution of Mills & Boon to the enduring appeal of romance, and the happy ending with the hero and heroine falling in love.

Our research is based on the Mills & Boon archive, interviews and the books themselves. We tell the colourful story of this amazing company which grew from tiny beginnings as a general publisher to the biggest romance publisher in the world.' – Margaret O'Brien, Exhibition Curator.

After August 9th, the exhibition will be going out to other parts of the country so hopefully as many people as want to will be able to see it.

I’ve been invited to the opening of the exhibition on June 5th so I hope to report back about it in more detail either here or over on my blog. In the meantime, you can read more about the exhibition here.

Saturday June 14, 2008 - Monday, June 16, 2008 Cape Town Book Fair www.capetownbookfair.com
(Sadly, I’ve not been invited to this!)

Saturday, June 14, 2008 Regency Day Manchester Central Library Nicola Cornick Workshop, Regency Crafts, Regency dancing class

There will also be an author forum featuring best-selling writer Penny Jordan (over 80 million books sold worldwide) at the Manchester Literary Festival on Saturday 18th October.

In connection with the Manchester Exhibition, I’ve also been asked to run a workshop on Writing Romance at Hale Library – probably on July 19th (to be confirmed)

And on October 17th (to be confirmed) I'll be at Guildford Book Festival

There will be rolling PR campaign throughout 2008, including a research survey in conjunction with the National Year of Reading, library events, regional author workshops and readings.

If you want to find out more about any Centenary events and see if anything is happening in your area, then keep an eye on this page on the Mills & Boon Site

But if you can’t get to any of the events, you can still join in the celebrations with some of the special Centenary publications. To mark their 100th birthday, each month, M&B are publishing a special 100th Birthday Edition book. These celebratory editions are packed with extra features and include a FREE bonus story. May’s book is the Last Rake in London by Nicola Cornick and June’s will be A Perfect Marriage by Kathryn Shay.

Other special publications are the fantastic Centenary Collection which features 24 novellas by a great selection of M&B’s most popular authors – authors like Lynne Graham, Michelle Reid, Liz Fielding, Lucy Gordon, Sandra Marton, There’s even one by Kate Walker. You can buy these books with their special retro style covers and collect them as they come out each month (they cost £1.49 each) or buy the whole set from the M&B site for the bargain price of just £23.00, plus £2 P&P. This is the best bargain of the year!

Then there are the cards. The brand new Mills & Boon card range from Peachy Keen takes wonderfully retro book covers from Mills & Boon past classics and gives them a humorous makeover. The cards were worked on by the Peachy Keen in-house design team and two stand-up comediennes in order that both the design and the humour were spot on. The range consists of 24 cards and launched in February. At least that’s what I’m told – but I haven’t seen any in the shops yet so if you spot them please let me know!

Have you seen the M&B jigsaw? That’s right – the jigsaw. If you love romances, and you love puzzles, then this is a great souvenir of this special year. The jigsaw has 1000 pieces that combine to create an image of 10 past covers dating from 1958 to 1991. I’ve already bought one of these for my MIL and if you’d like a chance to win one of them, there will be a contest coming up on my blog very soon.


Finally, of course there are the TV programmes – the last I heard there were two, possibly three in production. There’s the Channel 4 documentary with Julie Moggan that I wrote about earlier, and one that BBC 4 is making where Stella Duffy is trying to write a romance for Mills & Boon.

So that’s a round up of what’s happening - so far. As I get more information and details of events/publications etc I’ll let you know.

When Kate's not giving workshops or celebrating or visting exhibitions, she's busy writing her next book. Her latest Harlequin Presents - Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife is published in June. And in the same month, her bestselling Alcolar Family Trilogy is being rereleased in an ebook Bundle - available from eHarlequin.com.

Oh - and do you see that poster in the pic of the gang at the Lincoln Book Festival? That's the official M&B Centenary poster. I have three of them to give away so if you fancy winning one to put on your wall, just post a message today - and add a 'poster - yes please ' to your message and I'll get Sid to do his stuff and pick the winners.

Writer's Wednesday : Writing Around the Kids

PHS's own Jenna Bayley-Burke makes her first return to the blogazine post-baby in a valiant attempt to write something.

How do you manage to write an entire book in your ninth month of pregnancy? You know, I just did it and still I'm not sure. It's one of those things you do, and then try to figure out later. Or not.

I'm through trying to figure out the formula of this writing gig. Words are magic and when you're lucky enough to have them flow from your mind through your fingers and into book form, I vote we just say thank you.

Of course, my new rejection of formula has two causes. One, trying to write any other way than my own drives me bananas. And two, I don't have time to work out someone else's way anymore. I think the third baby has pushed me right over the edge from managing to verging on collapse! But it's temporary. The girl baby will learn to sleep...at the same time the boys do, preferably.

How do you write a book when you have three kids? Even now, with a two-week old baby laying next to me and two boistrous boys climbing about their room down the hall, I'm writing. I'll tell you a little secret. I like it. It's my 'me' time. My chance to let my mind run wild and free though my body is tethered to the small people who need me. How else am I going to manage to spend half my year in Hawaii if not in my imagination?

Motherhood is a moist occupation, but between the spit-up and the diapers and the spills and the bandaids it does allow a lot of time for thinking. While encouraging the imaginations of the kids, you do remember to allow yours a chance to play as well. I've come up with my best story ideas while my kids were around - pushing a grocery cart, watching as they ride bikes up and down the street, at the park. There are spare moments to think through stories...well, scenes anyway.

How do you get started writing after taking time off? When I'm having trouble, I start small. Blog posts. Short stories. Scenes. I'll work my way up from there. If that isn't working there is the cannonball method. Just do it.

I've stepped away from writing for lots of reasons. Depression, rejection, vacation...lots of -ion excuses, I suppose. What always brings me back is the need to tell a story. What better way to do that then to simply start writing? Let the story take you where it will and sort it out later. I know that is mortifying to the plotters in the world, but the thrill of it is worth every moment of panic. After all, to make it all the way across the country, you only need to be able to see as far as your headlights shine.

Where do you find the time? I write for an hour and a half a day...when the kidlets are on a schedule. a half hour at naptime and an hour after bedtime. Any other computer work has to be done around that, as does most everything else. And...if you are reading this, you have time to think through a scene. You know...right now!

Jenna is hard at work on her next title for Mills & Boon Modern Heat. In the meantime, Her Cinderella Complex is available with a millionaire, secretary, engagement of convenience, private island, and a hot pool scene. To find out what Jenna is up to now...check out her website or blog

Temptation Tuesday - Norwegian Fjords

Historical author Michelle Styles is back with us, with a lovely post about northern beauty - the Fjords of Norway!

There are times when you become jaded and tired of modern living. You want to get away from it all and travel to an unspoilt wilderness, a place where there few people, dramatic landscapes and crystal clear water. One such place is Norway, and in particular, the Western Norwegian coast line aka the Norwegian fjords. Land of the Midnight Sun, Of towering mountains, crashing waterfalls, glaciers and some of the most dramatic scenery known to mankind. And it is a landscape that would have been familiar to the Vikings. 96% of Norwegians live in and around Oslo, leaving only 4% to inhabit the remainder. Because of its heritage, in particular as a laegacy of World War 2, Norway maintains a system of mountain huts and a right to roam. Because Germany invaded them, Norwegians vowed never to taken unaware again and to this day, Norwegian men and women are prepared with a half hour’s notice to take to the mountains and form a resistance force.

The western coast of Norway is one of the more unspoilt tourist destinations in the world, and many people have the mail boat cruise up the coast of Norway as an all time dream. You can do shorter cruises, for example taking the ferry from Newcastle up to Bergen and that will give a taste of what cruising the fjords is like. Great snow topped mountains tower over the placid waters and forests rise steeply.

Bergen is a great stopping off place. The central harbour region, Bryggen, has not really changed since 1702 when Bergen was the centre for the stock fish trade. Stock fish or dried cod was a popular fish, particularly in Catholic countries. The Hanseatic League controlled the trade and there are several museums to this period. It is also possible to get salt cod on the menu at one of the many restaurants that are clustered around the harbour. It is generally fixed to a Spanish or Italian recipe though and is absolutely delicious, if done properly. The distinctive gables and narrow alleyways make the harbour incredibly picturesque. You can also reach Begen by the Oslo-Begen train line which has a reputation for fantastic scenery. The trains also have special family cars and are a lot nicer than their British counterparts.

It is possible to rent cabins in the area and spend several days hiking in the Hardangervidda National Park, just to the east of Bergen. Geilo, a popular ski resort, is a good place to stay. In the winter, it has both down hill and cross country skiing, while in the summer, it provides a number of hiking trails. The cabins have under the floor heating and wood burning stoves.

Hardangervidda is the home of the last wild reindeer in Europe as well as Arctic raspberry which is supposed to taste better than the Finnish cloudberry. You also need to keep an eye out for the trolls who are supposed to inhabit the mountains.

Even if you don’t see trolls, you can still take one of the most thrilling train rides in the world – the Flam railway from Flam to Mydrdal. You start up in the icefields where they filmed the ice planet in Star Wars, and the train zigs and zags through a series of tunnels and overhangs worthy of a Disneyland ride until you are suddenly in the upland pasture and then at the head of the Sognefjord – the longest fjord in the world, with the mountains rising above you and the tranquil sea out in front of you.

Further north of Bergen is Jotunheimen or the Home of the Giants. There are no public roads and people either walk or ski. Ibsen mentions two of its lakes – Gjende and Bygdin and Jotunheimen is also home to Norway’s highest waterfall –Vettifossen which has 275 metre drop. Basically, the landscape has not changed for thousands of years and you can experience it like the Vikings did.

But wherever you go, the sheer beauty of the place is bound to inspire and refresh your spirit. So if you are suffering from ennui, there is no better place to go than the Norwegian fjords.

Michelle Styles’ next UK release Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife features the west coast of Norway. She has been to Bergen, cruised up fjord, skied in Geilo and taken the Flam railway. She has not however seen a troll. She lives in hope!

Male on Monday :: Brad Pitt

In a recent poll plastic surgeons the word over claimed the name most mentioned by their male clients as to who they most wanted to look like was his. By a huuuuge margin. So, for your viewing pleasure, Ally Blake presents to you…Brad Pitt.

Can you believe we are a year and a half in and this guy has not yet been done? He's a blonde haired blue eyed hunky son of a gun. For all intents and purposes he's taken, but the fact that he's not married leaves room for maneuvering which is always a help. And come on, he's one of the sexiest men on the planet right?

THE BEGINNINGS…

Born William Bradley Pitt in Oklahoma on 18 December 1963, Brad Pitt is a touch over six foot. Right, hero stats so far so good. Before his acting success he worked driving strippers in limos, moving refrigerators and dressing as a giant chicken while working for "el Pollo Loco." So far I'm smiling, how about you?

THE MOVIES…

Did you know that early on our Brad appeared in 21 Jump Street alongside Johnny Depp? In a few episodes of Dallas as a character named Randy? And in two episodes of Growing Pains as two completely different characters?

Brad first came to my attention in Thelma and Louise. Hooooey the guy was hot hot hot. That sexy smile, those baby blues, the six-pack, the charm, the way he wore those jeans. Mmmm mmm. As drifter JD, the man who makes a woman of Thelma, then makes criminal of her by stealing all her money, the guy came close to stealing the show and that's saying something considering the subject matter and powerhouse performances of all in that fantabulous movie.

From that he moved onto starring roles in moves good: Fight Club, Spy Game, Snatch (with a hilarious unintelligible accent that made the part) and bad: Meet Joe Black, Cool World, The Mexican.

Troy, one of the worst movies ever made. Yet in it Brad was the one redeeming feature. The guy can really act. As heroic Achilles he was masculine, heroic, smooth and very touching. And if a guy in a skirt can be sexy then that's saying something!

And then Ocean's Eleven cemented him as a modern day Rat Packer. And it has shown the guy can be really funny! He and George Clooney on screen together is enough to warm any women's cheeks, but then when that repartee starts swinging back and forth, a woman's brain comes into play as well. The lazy walk, the laid-back linen suits, the smarts. Rusty is his piece de resistance.

THE WOMEN…

Our Brad was once upon a time the perennial fiancé. It all started with Juliette Lewis who he met on the set of the NBC movie of the week Too Young to Die? and then worked with on the kinda forgettable Kalifornia. Then it was Gwyneth Paltrow who he met on the set of the fantabulous Seven.

And then came our Jen. Jennifer Aniston did the impossible. She got the ungettable get. She married the guy. The only one he married he met on a blind date arranged by his agent. Interesting… They only released the one wedding picture, thus satisfying the public's need to now and keeping their day private at the same time. Clever, clever pair. In us Weekly he as quoted as saying "Being married means I can break wind and eat ice cream in bed." Maybe that's where it all went wrong ;).

He and Jen were married for almost five years until Brad did the unforgivable. He left our heroine for the bad girl. Angelina Jolie. The vamp. The one who is meant to try to steal him away but fail miserably.

Can we forgive this? I'm not sure I have even yet. Even though he and the bad girl have become a family, which only adds great dad to the mix of hero qualities. He's a complicated one this one. And don't we all love a complicated hero?

TRIVIA…

Has his teeth capped.

He took Greek language lessons in secret to surprise Jennifer Aniston who is of Greek ancestry.

Without being asked to, he made an appearance on MTV's Jackass where he did stunts with the cast, dressed in an ape outfit.

Donated 5 million dollars of his own money to rebuild homes in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.

Initially didn't want to appear in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, although it was he who gave the script to director Doug Liman.

THE VERDICT…

He made $20,000,000 making Mr. and Mrs. Smith. A catch? Well, I'll let you be the judge ;).

Ally's latest novel THE MAGNATE'S INDECENT PROPOSAL is her third Modern Heat and is out in the UK as we speak!

Grab a copy now to find out what happens when a gorgeous, entirely too privileged for his own good, Luddite in a suit meets a lively dog groomer with persistent shampoo stains on her skirt and a past filled with disappointing men. Throw in matching mobile phones and match-making friends and you'll get yourself a Modern Heat!

Read an excerpt on her brand spanking new website, or better yet, go buy the thing! You can get it online now at Mills and Boon.