AMBA 2009

Each year the Association of Mills and Boon Authors get together for a posh lunch in London.  Editors and other guests from Mills and Boon also attend and it's quite the event.  This year Romance author Fiona Harper attended and has been gracious enough to give us a full account!

Every year I look forward to the Association of Mills & Boon Authors lunch. It’s a chance to get out of my writing uniform (tracksuit bottoms and old T-shirts, or possibly pyjamas), dress up and meet other people who love doing the same thing I do – writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon.

This year we met up at Tutton’s restaurant in Covent Garden. Since I was a bit early, I wandered round the shops for a bit (how much for a cup of coffee!?) and then made my way to my destination. I found fellow authors Kate Hardy, Caroline Anderson, Michelle Styles and Josie Metcalfe drinking coffee and chatting outside and joined them. It was a great way to start the day, sitting in the warm sunshine of a September afternoon, watching the people bustle around one of London’s top tourist spots, and discussing heroes and plots and generally having a good old gossip.

This year we had some extra guests for the event. Documentary film-maker Julie Mogan has been working on a programme about Mills & Boon for well over a year now and she and her camera operator and sound technician were busy filming snippets of the action. It was rather disconcerting to be screeching greetings to friends I hadn’t seen in ages, only to discover a fluffy boom microphone above my head. I do hope I didn’t say anything too daft. But, well, it was me, so I probably did.

Here’s some of the ‘Modern Heat’ girls: Heidi Rice, Kate Hardy and new signing Lucy King.

I foolishly also agreed to do a ‘vox pop’ for the film crew while we were all greeting each other and chatting before lunch was ready. Just tell us the name of your latest book, the name of your hero and what the book’s about, they told me. Now I know how people on those blooper shows feel. Honestly, how could I forget the title of my own book? My only prayer is that my bit will be totally unuseable, or that everybody else was much more eloquent and breezy than I was, and I won’t have to watch myself on TV sometime next summer with a cushion over my face. (I’ll be watching with a cushion over my face, I mean. They didn’t film me with a cushion over my face, although I’m wishing now they had…)

After that trauma, I was pleased to go downstairs into the vaulted dining rooms in Tutton’s cellar for lunch. I have to say, the food was gorgeous! The starter was gravadlax with potato salad and a honey and grain mustard dressing. The main course was a delicious chicken breast in a lovely sauce with Greek salad, and the pudding was strawberry and vanilla crème brulée. Sigh. My tummy was very happy after all that lovely food.

After dinner Guy Hallowes, M&B’s Managing Director, who is retiring, gave a short speech and received a small gift from AMBA for speaking. We also had reports from Claire Sommerville giving us the heads-up on all that’s been happening in the marketing department and Tim Cooper telling us about Mills & Boon’s progress in the digital arena. Apparently, Mills & Boons are the best selling eBooks in the UK!

It all wound up with the Mills & Boon champagne toast to the authors...all in all a lovely day to put on a bit of glamour!

RWA National Conference, Washington DC

Last week, hundreds of authors, yet-to-be-published writers and industry professionals took Washington DC by storm when they attended the Romance Writers of America national conference. Seriously- Tuesday and Wednesday the Marriott staff had this glazed, shell-shocked look at the volume of enthusiastic women (and a few men) that had taken their hotel hostage.


It was my first National Conference and boy am I hooked now. What a fabulous time. A lot of that time was spent with fellow Romance authors.
I met Fiona Harper in 2007 at the Association of Mills and Boon Author day, and we were both arriving on the Tuesday so we planned to meet for dinner. What a great idea - from that moment on Fiona and I met for several meals, down time - even sightseeing at the end of the trip.


Over the course of the next few days, I met several Romance authors I had before only known in cyberspace - Shirley Jump, Teresa Carpenter, Susan Meier, and debut author Barbara Wallace. On Wednesday, we all joined our Senior Editor Kim Young and met up with Editorial Director Karin Stoecker, Sharon Kendrick and Lynn Rae Harris for a trip to the Washington Post.


We had a guided tour, and got to sit in on their story conference where the editors of each section meet to finalize what will run on the front page etc. of the following day's edition. I expected a longer, more detailed meeting, but these people are fast, efficient and thorough. One story was swapped out in favour of another...and carry on. Here we all are in the foyer, photo taken courtesy of Sharon Kendrick - who cracked me up every time I met up with her. From left to right: Presents author Lynn Rae Harris, me, Shirley Jump, Barb Wallace, Kim Young, Teresa Carpenter, Susan Meier, Fiona Harper.

Shirley, Fiona and I had dinner together one evening as well, at a cute Thai place with gorgeous summer rolls and soup. Shirley is the QUEEN of shoes, by the way. Pop by her blog for her version of conference....and to Fiona's as well. Fiona had a brand new camera that took wonderful pictures.


One of the nice things was spending time with Kim and Joanne Grant, another UK editor. On Wednesday, several of the UK authors met for a trip to the Smithsonian. Put a group of Romance authors in the same room as the Hope Diamond - AND all those lovely gemstones and we all were finding lovely accessory pieces for our Rita and Harlequin Party ensembles. From there we saw the collection of inaugural gowns of the First Ladies. The lighting made pictures difficult, but lookie here - Fi got a great picture of Mary Todd Lincoln's.








What is Nationals without the famed Harlequin Party? Shirley posted a picture of the two of us by the 60th Birthday screen...and we danced...and danced...and danced... What a fantastic time. I forgot to be self-conscious and totally got my groove on!





Kim and Joanne looked fresh and lovely the next morning when they gave their workshop on "Don't Let The Plot Get In The Way of Your Story". I attended and had several lightbulbs about my own writing that will hopefully strengthen future stories. I didn't get a pic in the workshop, but here are Kim and Jo at the Bookseller's Best Awards ceremony. Congrats to Romance's Myrna MacKenzie for winning the Traditional Category!

On Saturday, I was honoured to fill in for our own Jessica Hart, who was nominated for a Rita for her 50th Romance, Last Minute Proposal. Oh, the glam dresses! The shoes! The list of best selling authors in attendance (I tried not to stare, I promise). There was a lovely reception afterwards.


And then it was over, and Fiona and I kicked back for some sightseeing. We took a trolley tour and had a fabulous time. We explored the Lincoln Memorial, as well as the Korean and Vietnam Memorials, as well as the Capitol, and had a hotdog and lemonade before crossing the Potomac to Arlington. At this point, we had to say goodbye - Fi had a flight to catch and I explored Arlington Cemetery solo. Here is a pic of Fiona and I at the Capitol. As you can see, after several days of "business casual" I went for comfort and sneakers for sight seeing. My feet thanked me.


I came home so tired but with so many great memories of a fantastic first conference!

RNA Awards - Fiona Harper

Tuesday was the RNA’s annual awards luncheon, where the organisation presents trophies for the Romantic Novel of the Year, the Romance Prize (for shorter romantic fiction, such as Harlequin Romance) and, for the first time, a Lifetime Achievement Award.

This year two Harlequin Romance novels (branded as Mills & Boon Romance in the UK) were on the shortlist, written by Jessica Hart and yours truly!

Here are all the books that were in the running:

What's Love Got to Do With It? - Lucy Broadbent (Little Black Dress, Headline)

The Wild Card - Beth Elliott (Robert Hale)

Mistress: Hired for the Billionaire's Pleasure - India Grey (Harlequin Mills & Boon)

Sold to the Highest Bidder - Kate Hardy (Harlequin Mills & Boon)

Saying Yes to the Millionaire - Fiona Harper (Harlequin Mills & Boon)

Promoted to Wife and Mother - Jessica Hart (Harlequin Mills & Boon)

All the shortlisted authors were asked to be at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington early for PR and photographs, which was great, because I got to meet up and chat with some of my old friends, such as Kate Hardy, who took the Romance Prize home last year, Jessica Hart and India Grey. I also got to meet fellow finalist, Beth Elliot, but unfortunately Lucy Broadbent, the last contender on the list was unable to make the ceremony.

I was also excited to be sharing a ‘green room’ (how showbizzy is that?) with some of the committee members and authors shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year —which I think we ought to call a Ronnie (RNY?), by the way, because it’s a bit of a mouthful! Cecilia Ahern looks so fresh-faced and young, she must have been a toddler when she got her first publishing contact. Here are some of the shortlisted authors for the Ronnie (See? It’s catching on…) signing their books.

Lunch itself was lovely and the service was fantastic. An army of waiters seemed to arrive and place the plates on the table simultaneously. I know it seems weird taking pictures of your dinner, but people really want to know! And who am I to deprive them?

The starter was Scottish Salmon Parfait with Tuna Tartar and Crème Fraiche Caviar. I took a picture, but I was so intent on eating it, I forgot to take one before I dived in. Here is a picture of someone else’s plate who was slightly less piggy than I was (but for pristine picture of the food, you'll have to visit Kate Hardy's blog - she obviously has more self-control than I have).

The main course (can you tell I like my food?) was Chicken filled with a Paris Mushroom Mousse, Marsala Cream Sauce, Marquis Potatoes and Sugar Snap Peas. This too was gorgeous. I loved the sauce. And just enough to fill me up without making me too stuffed, which was just as well, because pudding was just around the corner…

I don’t need to say much about dessert, apart from telling you that it was Bitter Lemon Tart with Raspberry Jelly and Crème Fraiche Ice Cream. A picture may say a thousand words. I’ve two to demonstrate how much I enjoyed it:
Unfortunately, our speaker, the debonair and charming Peter Bowles, of To The Manor Born fame, was unable to attend because he was unwell. First up was the Romance Prize and my little heart starting pattering hard as one of the judges. Margaret James, got up on stage and a short video display of all the shortlisted books played on video screens around the room. Margaret then gave a short description of each of the books, outlining what the judges liked most about them. I think she may have said Saying Yes To The Millionaire had “charm in abundance”, and Jessica’s Promoted: To Wife And Mother was described as “a lovely story about second chances and finding love in unexpected places”, but I knew as I heard the judges opinion of one of the other books that it had stolen their hearts. And that book was…

Hired: Mistress For the Billionaire’s Pleasure by India Grey.

I’m very glad I didn’t read it before the ceremony because it sounds fabulous and I would have been too scared to turn up! India, lovely as always, was completely shocked by her win and even though she said she hadn’t prepared a speech, she was warm, funny and completely disarming as she accepted both the Betty Neels rose bowl, which she gets to keep for a year, and a little star-shaped glass trophy, which she gets to keep for ever.

And while India was still reeling with surprise, it was on the next event, a Lifetime Achievment Award to Judy Piatkus, founder of Piatkus Books.

Then, it was time to present the Romantic Novel of the Year (okay, maybe the Ronnie wasn’t really a good nickname…). The shortlist was:

Before the Storm by Judith Lennox (Headline)
East of the Sun by Julia Gregson (Orion)
Sophia’s Secret by Susannah Kearsley (Allison & Busby)
Star Gazing by Linda Gilliard (Little Brown)
Thanks for the Memories by Cecilia Ahern (Harper Collins)
The Last Concubine by Lesley Downer (Transworld)

And the award went to Julia Gregson for her novel East of the Sun. All the books on the shortlist sounded fabulous. Uh-oh, I can hear my credit card groaning at the thought of another book shopping-spree.

Finally, now all the nail-biting was over, it was time to breathe out and socialise. Here’s me with new M&B Romance author Nina Harrington, who’s first book is out this July:

And another of Romance Senior Editor Kimberly Young, and Jessica Hart!

Here's our two "Romancers" with winner India Grey!

Congratulations India and Julia, and a big thanks to Fiona for the report and pictures, as well as Kate Hardy, photog extraordinaire!

Great news!

We take a break from our freezing winter (well okay, here in Canada it's freezing, obviously in other parts of the world it's not) to bring you some good news!

First, congrats to Patricia Woodside who was our December winner if Shirley Jump's draw. Patricia wins a copy of Miracle on Christmas Eve!

As well, the shortlist for Romance Novelist Association's 2009 Romance Prize is out and there are a few familiar names on the list. Here's the official release:

The Romance Prize will be presented at the RNA’s Awards Lunch on 10th February 2009 at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington.

The winner will be selected from the following books:

What's Love Got to Do With It? - Lucy Broadbent (Little Black Dress, Headline)

The Wild Card - Beth Elliott (Robert Hale)

Mistress: Hired for the Billionaire's Pleasure - India Grey (Harlequin Mills & Boon)

Sold to the Highest Bidder - Kate Hardy (Harlequin Mills & Boon)

Saying Yes to the Millionaire - Fiona Harper (Harlequin Mills & Boon)

Promoted to Wife and Mother - Jessica Hart (Harlequin Mills & Boon)

Fiona Harper has been short-listed before, and both Jessica Hart and Kate Hardy are past winners. Kate Hardy, who won in 2008 with Breakfast at Giovanni’s, had this to say: "Winning the Romance Prize has been the highlight of my career to date, and it's certainly opened up opportunities. I'm very proud to have won the award and to be part of the RNA - and have been delighted by messages of support over the year. I even had a personal letter of congratulations from the chancellor of the University of Leicester!"

The shortlist will be judged by Margaret James, creative writing teacher for the London School of Journalism and regular columnist with Writing Magazine; Paul Reizin, writer, producer and journalist; and Linda Leatherbarrow, prize-winning short story writer, reviewer and MA lecturer at Middlesex.

Congrats to our "Romancers" Fiona and Jessica, and also to Presents authors India Grey and Kate Hardy. And look for a report on the Awards Lunch in February!

Association of Mills and Boon Authors - Fiona Harper

People think being an author is glamorous. Believe me, if you saw the way I look most of the time I’m writing (trackies, no make-up, hair in a frizz), you’d change your mind. But once in a while, we get to go out, eat nice food, drink nice wine and, best of all, talk! September 18th was one of those days as it was the Association of Mills & Boon Authors lunch, followed by a ‘Toast to the Authors’ by HM&B.

I arrived at Brown’s restaurant near Leicester Square in London a little early to find a few authors already chatting and, before long, the place was buzzing with romance novelists. Harlequin Romance authors were thin on the ground this year, with only Lucy Gordon, Natasha Oakley, brand-new signing Nina Harrington (and me!) in attendance. I really missed meeting up with some of my other ‘Romance’ friends, but there was plenty of laughter and gossip anyway.

I listened in on an interesting discussion between some Presents authors who were competing as to who had the hottest covers. You realise the difference between the cover art in their line and ours when their heroes get to have bare chests and wear nothing but sheets. My latest hero is wearing a cable-knit sweater. Lovely cover, but I don’t think I can compete in the ‘hotness’ stakes. No, siree. But I could definitely triumph in a cover contest based on the ‘Awwwww’ factor.

Dinner was served in one of the old courtrooms above the main restaurant, complete with judge’s bench and chair. On the menu was:

Warm Goat’s Cheese with mixed salad, fig relish and basil oil

Chicken Breast served with mixed roasted pepper tomato Provencal

Rich Chocolate Truffle with raspberry coulis (and yes, it was as good as it sounds!)

After coffee we had speeches from some of the senior staff at Harlequin Mills & Boon. Karin Stoecker, editorial director of M&B, filled us in on how the various series had been doing in the previous twelve months and outlined exciting future plans and projects. Harlequin Romance seems to have been doing well, and ever since the ‘Brides of Bella Lucia’ series, continuities are still proving popular. The current ‘Wedding Planners’ series is doing well and the wonderful blog the authors have created to go along with it was mentioned.

The launch of the Sony Reader in the UK and the rise of the popularity of ebooks was mentioned by Tim Cooper, Director of Direct Marketing/Digital. I’m very exciteda about the whole thing, because my English Lord, Ordinary Lady is pre-loaded on every device sold in the UK at the moment. Way to go, Harlequin Romance!

There wasn’t much time between the end of the lunch and the start of M&B’s party to toast the authors. Time whizzed by so quickly and I can hardly remember all the people I talked to. Harlequin Romance had some some great achievements to toast:

Caroline Anderson
Caroline Anderson’s 75th book.

Liz Fielding’s 50th book.

Jessica Hart’s 50th book.

A RITA nomination in the tough short contemporary category for Natasha Oakley.

Bookseller’s Best win in the traditional category for Donna Alward.

Here’s to Harlequin Romance going from strength to strength in the next 12 months and I hope we have even more successes to toast next year!

A Bride For All Seasons - Saying Yes To The Millionaire

We thought it might be fun to do a short highlight on the second installment of the "Brides For All Seasons" series...so here's Fiona Harper with a little bit about her book, Saying Yes To The Millionaire!

First date: Trafalgar Square, London...

When cautious Fern Chambers is challenged by a friend to say yes to every question, she never expects to spend four days with dreamy Josh Adams in a charity treasure hunt.

First Dance: Covent Garden...

Daredevil millionaire Josh never stays in one place - or with one woman - for long. But Fern is challenging that rule...

First Kiss: The National Gallery...

As the final clue is solved, Josh realises the treasure he's been looking for is, in fact, the beautiful Fern. Can he persuade her to answer yes to his final question, the most important one of all?

The inspiration…

What would you do if you had to say ‘yes’ to every question you were asked? I spotted a similar sentence on a tag line of a New Year article in a magazine. I’m sure you know the sort of article I’m talking about. The kind that encourages you to take up new hobbies and embrace strange fads. I stopped in my tracks and didn’t even bother to read the rest. The lightning bolt had already struck and an idea for a story was brewing. A nice, ordinary girl could get herself into all sorts of trouble if she accepted a challenge like that, couldn’t she?

This spark of a story then combined with another idea. I absolutely love the hit TV show ‘The Amazing Race’ in which teams race each other around the globe trying to beat each other to a million dollars and had been waiting for an excuse to throw a hero and heroine into that pressure-cooker situation where everything they’d been trying to hide would come bubbling to the surface.

And why send them racing round the globe, I thought, when they have the wonderful cosmopolitan city of London on their doorstep? So I set the entire book in London and learned some very interesting facts about the city in the process. So, because she can’t say no to Josh, Fern ends up partnering him in a treasure hunt that last four days. All they have is £10, the clothes on their backs and each other. I’m not telling you if they find the treasure first or not – you’ll have to read the book to find out!

Heroine…

Fern Chambers is a risk analyst for a big insurance company. She spends her days weighing up how dangerous everything is and working out how to avoid it. Unfortunately, that philosophy has spread into her personal life too. Her much-loved older brother died of cancer when she was just a child and, since then, her parents have done their best to protect Fern from the big, bad world. Fern thinks she’s broken free of her parents’ suffocating influence, but old habits die hard and some attitudes and behaviours are so ingrained that it’s going to take a catastrophe to shake her loose…

Hero…

Josh Adams is the boy next door – literally. He was Fern’s brother’s best friend and the boy Fern had a gigantic crush on growing up. In contrast to safety-conscious Fern, Josh is an adventurer and a wanderer, never happy unless he’s moving – preferably at high speed with an accompanying adrenaline rush. Now he’s back in town and has decided to rope Fern into helping him out in the Secret London treasure hunt.

Only he hadn’t anticipated noticing how much ‘little’ Fern has grown up, or the sudden need to plant kisses on her in front of major London landmarks. So, as Fern and Josh race around London, they discover surprising things about the magical city, about themselves and especially about each other…


Bride For All Seasons blog: http://abrideforallseasons.blogspot.com/