Wild Card Weekend - Intrigue-ing Themes!

Julie Miller joins us this weekend with some insider info on the upcoming Intrigue Pitch at eharlequin!


Thanks for having me back at Pink Hearts this month—it’s great to be here!

Do all you aspiring writers out there know that Harlequin Intrigue Senior Editor Denise Zaza is hosting an Intrigue Pitch contest on www.eHarlequin.com next month? Entrants need to submit a one-page synopsis of their completed ms by November 4th—and the finalists she selects will get to do a live chat with the editor. There have been many manuscript requests from these eHQ Pitch contests in the past (across several Harlequin/Silhouette lines), and some have even gone on to sell! You can find more details on the contest at http://community.eharlequin.com/content/editor-pitch-harlequin-intrigue .

Because of the contest, on the Intrigue Authors Group blog and other discussions there at eHarlequin.com, we’ve been chatting a lot about writing for Harlequin Intrigue—some of the qualities that are unique to the line, like fast pacing, larger-than-life heroes, ending scenes with hooks, heroines who are smart/scrappy/strong, villains who demand the best and more from our hero/ine, sexual tension and deep emotions, how much sex can there be in an Intrigue, the differences between Intrigue and Silhouette Romantic Suspense, and so on. And as we were discussing what kinds of stories work well for an Intrigue, I got the idea for my blog post here.

Traditional romance storylines.

Yep. Amidst all the shoot-em ups and explosions and clues and daring escapes, the most popular storylines for Intrigue are ones that feature traditional romance story hooks. Of course, with Intrigue, we take that familiar story and twist it up with danger and heart-stopping passion and villainous show-downs. That traditional story of a woman with amnesia or a hero in uniform or a Cinderella tale or friends becoming lovers or reunited lovers or cowboys and on and on are all storylines that sell really well in Intrigues.

Take my December 09 Intrigue, BEAUTY AND THE BADGE. Hmm… Any clue what that storyline will be about? I’ve taken a romance classic—the Beauty & the Beast fairy tale—and turned it into an Intrigue. I made my hero, Detective Kevin Grove, a “beast”. He’s big, he’s bad, he’s scarred inside and out, and yes, he’s not handsome. But, ooh, does he ooze masculinity. And he’s got a protective streak in him that runs straight down to his bones. Both traits that make him a perfect Intrigue hero. My heroine is the beauty who wakens him in the middle of the night, needing his protection. She’s also the one woman who can break the spell of mistrust that encases his heart. She’s stumbled on to murder and conspiracy at the company she works for, and has nowhere else to turn. There’s even a wise grandmother/fairy godmother who plays matchmaker. He’s gruff—she’s stubborn. He’s sexy—she notices. When he falls, he falls hard, knowing he’ll probably wind up with a broken heart—but she’s the one with the magic, remember? It’s her love that ultimately saves him. After they get the bad guys and he saves her life, of course.

So I thought it’d be fun to turn some traditional romance story themes into something Intrigue-ing. I’ll start you off with a couple of examples, but I challenge you to put your own suspenseful twist on a favorite romance storyline of yours. What’s something you’d like to see in an Intrigue?

Plain Jane—spinsterish secretary sees her boss get murdered. Her boss’s handsome son, a cop, comes to her, demanding answers to the murder. When he see that the killer has his eyes on her, too, the cop steps up as her personal bodyguard—keeping the witness safe. What he doesn’t count on is how close quarters with the surprisingly sexy secretary not only fuels his passion, but soothes his grief and awakens his heart as well.

Cinderella—another secretary takes her lady boss’s place at a charity fundraiser ball, dressing in jewels and a ball gown. She even dances with a mysterious Prince Charming whose strong body and quiet charm make her feel like a real princess. But, terrorists attack at midnight, ending the evening prematurely. Mistaking her for her boss, the terrorists kidnap her and other wealthy patrons, holding them for ransom, intending to kill them off one by one until their demands are met. But Prince Charming turns out to be a government agent. The two of them use all their skills to free the hostages and escape themselves. She loses her shoe in the chase and spends most of the story barefoot. At the end, realizing how well they work together, and how well they love together, the hero presents her with a new pair of shoes… and an engagement ring.

Get the idea? You don’t have to be as detailed as I’ve been. I tend to be long-winded. Have fun - and good luck!

I’ll give away a copy of one of my Harlequin Back List titles to one lucky poster. You can see all my books on my website at www.juliemiller.org.

You can catch up with Julie's latest releases at www.juliemiller.org!

Beauty & the Badge--Precinct: Brotherhood of the Badge--Intrigue--December 2009

Takedown--Intrigue--April 2010

Must Watch Friday...or not

In which Pink Heart Society editor Jenna Bayley-Burke begs to never be assigned a Friday again!



When you say that you don't watch much TV or make it to the movies people tend to think it's a political choice, or a statement about your IQ. But really...it's not. I don't have weekend babysitters or a desire to take a toddler to the cinema...so no movies. I use those prime-time TV hours to work, so I never know who is sleeping with whom on Grey's Anatomy. We don't even watch the news because we don't want the kids to catch something that might give them nightmares, so we read the newspaper.



Weekends the TV gets a workout changing channels between football (or basketball, or golf, or...) games, and I try to get some work done. So far this work has been largely unpacking, but soon I'll actually write something.



I'd love to be able to lose myself in a movie or a half hour sitcom, but it will be a few years until then. I don't really watch TV, not because I think it's a waste of time, but because I don't have the time!

Someday...I want a comfy couch, a snuggie, a remote, and a day all to myself :)

Jenna is not writing much of anything, and won't be until September October November. In the meantime, Compromising Positions is available with chocolate, Kama Sutra yoga, a decade old crush and a steady addiction to sugar. To find out what Jenna is up to now...check out her website or blog.

What Are You Reading Thursday - Amanda McCabe

Harlequin Historicals author Amanda McCabe is here to talk about an old, favourite stash - Sunfire novels!

For the last few weeks I’ve been sorting and packing my books to get ready for a move. So far I have about fifty boxes full, but the job is going very slowly because I always end up sitting on the floor by the shelves re-reading the books before they go into the box! It’s so much fun finding old friends, rediscovering gems I forgot I had, and laughing and crying over favorites. I’m sure I’ll do the same once I unpack them in the new place.

One great thing I found was my stash of old Sunfire novels. These were my introduction to historical romance (along with Barbara Cartland and Georgette Heyer, and old Fawcett Regencies by Marion Chesney and Joan Smith). I was in junior high when I found this line, and I loved them. I ran to the bookstore every month to get the new titles. Who needed that silly Sweet Valley High and Babysitters Club when there were the Sunfires???

These books were essentially YA romances/”girl power” stories set in various American historical settings. (The Old West, the Revolutionary War, etc—there was a very wide variety, including stories centered around the War of 1812, Vegas casinos, and the Triangle factory fire). There was always a smart, independent young woman looking for her place in the world and two love interests. (You could tell which one she would choose because he was always depicted in the right side of the cover—spoiler).

My first was Emily, a rich Gilded Age New York girl who wanted to be a nurse, and impress the hunky doctor from the wrong side of the city. I also loved Victoria (the Alamo), Nicole (the Titanic, way before Leo and Kate), Danielle (the Civil War), Sabrina (the Revolution), Elizabeth (Puritan New England, though she had a heinous ‘80s perm on the cover), Merrie (Pilgrims), and of course Amanda (wagon train).

Sadly, I lost many of them in a move when I was about 15, but thanks to Ebay and library book sales I have retrieved many of them. Going through these books now takes me back to when I first discovered them, and I realize I still love heroines like the ones I found in these pages—brave, smart, willing to change, fearless in standing up for her beliefs and fighting for her love.

What are some of your earliest romance reads? How have they influenced what you read or write now? And does anyone have any tips on organized a move???

Amanda’s new book, The Winter Queen, a tale of passion, danger, and Christmas at the court of Elizabeth I, is featured on her website at http://ammandamccabe.com, along with Behind the Book historical info and dates of upcoming releases. You can also visit her on the Risky Regencies blog.

Writer's Wednesday - Out Of The Comfort Zone

Brigid Coady explores writing out of the comfort zone

I am a creature of habit. I have my routine every morning when I get up and woe betide anyone who messes it up. I wish I was more of a creature of habit about my writing but that is another post which would cover among other things my internet addiction and TV watching habits.




No the habit I’m talking about is in my creativity. The habits I had gotten into in terms of what sort of stories I want to write; the length, the subject, the ideas. For a long time I believed I couldn’t write short stories. I had attended all those courses about writing for those magazines that buy short stories and very quickly I realised my voice and ideas didn’t fit there. So I put aside all thought of short stories and plugged on with my Modern Heat and now my new work. I was happy. I was writing the stories I thought I wanted to write.



And then at the beginning of this year I decided that I needed to join a writing group. I looked around and knowing myself I knew it had to be somewhere near otherwise I wouldn’t go. I ended up joining a writing group run by my local library and suddenly for the first time in years I was with non-romance writing writers.

It was weird.

They wrote other sorts of stories and the writing exercises we did meant that I couldn’t resort to my default romance stories. At first I felt uncomfortable as if I was wearing a jumper with odd length sleeves. My writing was clumsy and broken.
And then there was a revelation… there were other stories out there, other subjects. Blimey. Who’d have thunk it? And then came the day when our lovely group leader, the Children’s Librarian issued us a challenge. There was a short story competition being run nationally and she thought we should all enter. Were we up for it? Me? A short story? You have to be kidding me. I didn’t do short stories. But I was already out of my comfort zone and I obviously felt brave so I started to write. This short story felt different but right. Its only constraint was its length and its theme. 2000 words on conflict.






Ping! Zing! WOW!








A whole different set of creative muscles woke up and started to flex. No longer was I constrained by boy meeting girl (although there was a touch of romance), I was writing first person as a 15 year old boy. And I finished it. It probably wasn’t the conflicted, war torn, literary masterpiece they were expecting but it was mine.
It didn’t win the competition but it did in another one but more than that it set my imagination soaring. Those creative muscles are still working and I have ideas buzzing round in my head.

When have you stepped out of your comfort zone? And how was it for you?


Brigid is basking in the glory that her short story ‘The Great Leap Forward’ will be published in Tonto Books ‘Even More Tonto Short Stories’ soon. When she isn’t basking she is working on ’Bah Humbug!’ and a young adult fiction idea.

Travel Tuesday: The Temptation that is Corfu

Sarah Morgan shares the glory that is Corfu!

It’s October which means the evenings are dark, the mornings are chilly and winter is just round the corner. Although there are many things I love about this time of year, I’m not quite ready to let go of the summer so my temptation at the moment is my holiday photographs. While I’m reaching for another jumper, I’m still thinking sunshine and the island of Corfu, which we were lucky enough to visit this summer.
I am in love with Corfu. It is the most northerly of the Greek Islands, which means that even in July (school holidays for us!) it isn’t as hot as some of the more southerly Greek islands, like Crete, but still hot enough that all I really want to do is lie around reading or take a cooling dip in the sea. The water here is crystal clear and the beaches are some of the cleanest in Europe. Take a boat to one of the hidden coves and you’ll have the place to yourself because large parts of this island are undiscovered by tourists.
Inland, far away from the few noisy resorts that have grown near the airport, you’ll find tiny villages where farmers still use donkeys as a mode of transport, where goats graze in back yards and where you can stumble across a beach that no one else has discovered.
Corfu is unusually green and lush for a Mediterranean Island. It’s been called the Emerald Isle, and that is largely due to the enormous number of olive trees which cover the island – more than 3 million. They carpet the island, protecting it from the harsh summer sun. Olives are an important local industry here and, like wine, no two olive oils are alike. Interspersed among the olive groves are tall Cypress trees, which make the place feel more like Tuscany than Greece.
Part of travelling is trying new food and the local dishes on Corfu are delicious - my favourite is Stifado, beef simmered in local herbs and a rich tomato sauce - and of course everything cooked and dressed in the best olive oil you will ever taste. Even the thick, golden honey has its own special flavour because the bees on this island are spectacularly well fed. In every tiny village, and around every corner there are flowers - Oleander and bougainvillea tumble out of pretty pots, displaying dazzling colours even in the dry heat of summer.

I’m not alone in falling in love with this place - plenty of people have done the same before me. Corfu was Homer’s last stop before returning to Ithaca, Shakespeare reputedly used it as a background for The Tempest and Gerald Durrell wrote My Family and Other Animals while living here.
I’d definitely love to have a house here but sadly that’s just a dream. In the meantime I have my photographs.......


Sarah is currently working on a new Harlequin Presents set in Corfu so that she has an excuse to look at her photographs for a little longer. In the meantime her September release in the UK, Powerful Greek, Unworldly Wife will be published in Harlequin Presents Extra in December. For more information visit her new website which should be live from November www.sarahmorgan.com.

Male on Monday: Alexis Papas

Michelle Styles discovers a new face and a hot commericial...because a picture can be worth a thousand words, particularly when you are doing revisions!

Ok, sometimes you see a face that just deserves to launch a thousand romance stories.

Greek model Alexis Papas who stars in the new Davidoff Hot Water campaign is one of those men.

He exudes a certain quality.

And well... very little is known about the model. He works for Ford Models Europe -- Homme and is 6' 2" with brown hair and green eyes. He wears size 11 1/2 shoes.

Or at least that I could discover...in my limited time. But inspiration does not mean you have to know that much about him. He's Greek. He has high cheek bones and broad shoulders. He stars in an incredibly hot advertising campaign.

And so after hearing about him from Judy Jarvie, I let Kate Hardy know who happened to share him with Heidi Rice and other MH authors.

The Davidoff Hot Water commerical should be required viewing for anyone interested in writing for series romance or indeed studying sexual tension. There is a certain chemistry between the couple. The female model is Alyssa Miller btw.

But there is something about his eyes that reminds me of the early Presents novels that I used to read as a teenager.

Here is that Davidoff Hot Water commerical in case anyone is interested:

And if you have not had enough pictures of Alexis Papas, here are some more for you to research:



If anyone knows more, I'd be delighted to hear...

Michelle Styles is currently hard at work on revising an early Victorian romance but she knows good eye candy when she sees it! Her next book The Viking's Captive Princess is published in December.