OCTOBER 2006

Come October the big smoke meets the Outback in the fourth book in The Brides of Bella Lucia series, Ally Blake's WANTED: OUTBACK WIFE.

Londoner Jodie Simpson needs to land an Australian husband - and quick. But can she and her friends pull this off with only six weeks until her working visa runs out?

Can they ever! Suddenly this shy British girl finds herself with a line up of assorted males willing to be the other half of her two year marriage deal. Who should she pick? Her neighbour Scott who has a penchant for mesh shirts, Barnaby the visual merchandiser whose favourite gay bar is just around the corner from her apartment, or the funeral director with the gravity defying Adam's apple?

Of course, even though he lives in the Outback, miles from her beloved Melbourne, has more brothers and sisters than she has family in the whole world, and makes her feel that he would rather her two-year project took a lifetime, there is always Heath Jameson...

For an excerpt, check out The Brides Of Bella Lucia blog.

Available in September from Harlequin Romance and Mills & Boon Tender Romance

MORE IN OCTOBER...

PROMISE OF A FAMILY by Jessica Steele

When Leyne Rowberry offers to look after her eleven-year-old niece, Pip, she certainly doesn't expect to get involved in Pip's search for her real father!Leyne's quest leads her to Jack Dangerfield, who is dangerously charming! He treats Leyne and Pip just like a real family, taking them out to lots of lovely places in London, and for picnics in the English countryside.Leyne finds herself falling for Jack, but for Pip's sake she keeps her feelings under wraps—until she discovers Jack's secret.

BUSINESS ARRANGEMENT BRIDE by Jessica Hart

Tyler Watts is rich, gorgeous and at the top of his game—except someone just moved the goalposts! Now Tyler realizes he is sorely lacking the one status symbol that everybody seems to have…the perfect wife and family. Tyler needs help, so he hires a relationship coach.

Single-mom Mary is out of her depth with Tyler… She may be an expert, but not when it comes to her own relationships! And every day she spends with Tyler makes her wish that she could be the one to fill his vacancy for wife….

Jessica says...

The hero of Business Arrangement Bride, Tyler Watts, is named after Wat Tyler, leader of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 – a wink to fellow medievalists – but is otherwise a thoroughly modern man, especially in his cluelessness about relationships. I have to say that in writing this book I was able to draw more than usual on the experience of my own relationship and am looking forward to giving John a copy to read, with various bits (e.g. communication) heavily underlined! I had lots of help from friends with this book, too. Selflessly, they helped me down several bottles of wine while deciding what we would most want to teach our men if they were ever rash enough to hire a relationship coach the way Tyler does, and here I am, in full research mode … It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!


LONG-LOST FATHER by Melissa James

What would you do if the husband you thought was dead walked into your life, wanting to pick up where you'd left off? Brett had been gone for six years. Wonderful memories were all Samantha had…she'd also been left to raise their little girl alone. But Brett is alive, and has finally found his wife. Only now he has a daughter who's a stranger to him and who will never be able to see what her daddy looks like. Although Brett knows he can never make up for the missing years, he's still Sam's husband. And although she's changed, and treats him with wary caution, he still loves her with a burning passion…one he hopes will rekindle their marriage!

AND FROM SILHOUETTE ROMANCE...

FOUND: HIS FAMILY by Nicola Marsh

From Nicola:

FOUND: HIS FAMILY started over coffee and cake at Acland Street with my first editor Kimberley Young (out from London for the RWAustralia conference 2005) and fellow Romance authors Ally Blake and Barbara Hannay.

Picture a perfect winter's day in Melbourne: cloudless sky, sun, gentle breeze and the hip vibe of bayside St. Kilda. It's a fabulous suburb filled with cosmopolitan cafes, restaurants, bars and hotels. Any time of day or night, St Kilda is bustling with tourists, locals and Melbournians lucky enough to have this funky suburb on their doorstep.

Acland Street is famous for its amazing cake shops (yes, those mouth-watering displays in the windows taste every bit as delicious as they look!) and while devouring a nougat slice, I thought "wouldn't this be the perfect setting for my next book?"

And Aimee Payet, the heroine in FOUND: HIS FAMILY, was born. Aimee runs Payet's Patisserie in Acland Street in the book, a single mum who is a successful businesswoman and is able to handle anything. Until her precious son Toby falls victim to leukemia and she is forced to contact the one person who can save her son: sexy TV chef Jed Sanderson, Toby's father.

FOUND: HIS FAMILY is my one and only Silhouette Romance release and a favourite book of mine. Here is a quick excerpt:

Aimee Payet loved chocolate.

She loved savouring the melt-in-your-mouth texture on her tongue, drinking its delicious sweetness and kneading the sticky bits of heaven with her nimble fingers as she produced yet another masterpiece for Payet’s Patisserie, the cake shop she’d successfully managed for the last two years since her parents’ death.

Today, however, even chocolate couldn’t ease the deep sense of impending doom that hung over her like a storm cloud about to dump its deluge in a catastrophic downpour.

She glanced at her watch, the same action she’d done every few minutes for the last hour, her stomach churning as closing time grew nearer. Jed had left a message saying he’d be here at six and if he hadn’t changed since she’d last seen him, he’d be here on the dot.

And her world would come crashing down around her.

“Aimee?”

The moment he said her name, the last five years rolled away, his deep voice washing over her in a familiarity which took her breath away.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She’d dealt with her feelings, moved on, created a life for her and Toby. A life that didn’t included Jed Sanderson, her first love, her past love. A life where they didn’t need him. Until now.

Pasting a forced smile on her face while her insides churned with dread at what she had to tell him, she turned to face him. “Hi, Jed. Thanks for coming.”

The words sounded small, soft, like she was hearing them through a wall of thick fog that occasionally rolled off Port Phillip Bay and shrouded Melbourne in its pea-soup density.

“Are you all right?”

No, she wanted to scream. Nothing’s all right and after I tell you the truth, nothing ever will be again.

Focussing her attention with effort, she saw the concern in his light brown eyes.

Eyes the colour of warm caramel.

Eyes that had captivated her from the first minute she’d seen them all those years ago.

Eyes that would soon fill with anger and pain when she told him about Toby. And what she wanted from him.

HER MILLIONAIRE BOSS by Jennie Adams

Saying 'yes!' to the boss. . .


Chrissy Gable is determined not to be charmed by her handsome new boss - he has a playboy reputation! But she quickly begins to realise why Nate is so irresistible to women - and it's not just his bank balance! Soon Chrissy finds herself tempted to stay after-hours with Nate - even if that means risking her heart . . .


Nate Barrett is struggling to understand his attraction to his quirky PA, but knows he must keep his distance. He is only her temporary boss, and Chrissy, with her warm heart, deserves real love - the type that lasts. . .


Read the excerpt at www.jennieadams.net . Buy the book at www.amazon.co.uk and www.amazon.com .


O'REILLY'S BRIDE by Trish Wylie

Sean O’Reilly had become so close to his colleague and friend Maggie Sullivan that he was beginning to imagine their friendship could lead to more. Only now, bizarrely, she’s backed off – and, even more strangely, she’s started looking for love on the internet! Well, if he can’t beat them, he’ll have to join them…

Maggie can’t let herself get close to Sean. Not now. Not when she’s discovered something that will break all his dreams of happy ever after. But she has no idea how much she hurt Sean – nor how much she has just fuelled his determination to make her his…by any means necessary!

RESCUED BY MR RIGHT by Shirley Jump

Victoria Blackstone has spent years caring for others, and now she's ready to change her life and put herself first. Trouble is, she's not sure she has the courage to do it alone.Noah McCarty has hit the road in an attempt to get some perspective on life and escape his damaged past. But when he becomes stranded and Victoria comes to his rescue, her innocence, warmth and determination are enough to stop him in his tracks.Noah soon realizes that he's found exactly what he was searching for, and when Victoria shows him he was her Mr. Right all along, he rescues her right back.