Home sweet home…

I have just come back from a really lovely holiday in the Canary Islands. My friend and I visited Meloneras in Gran Canaria and I have to say that it was the perfect break.

The hotel was spectacular – there was no other word for it. Built to resemble an African village (the Canaries are off the coast of Africa so it’s not as crazy an idea as you might think!) it was truly amazing.

We had to walk along a glass walkway to reach Reception and it felt as though we were actually walking through the tops of the trees in the jungle. There were walls of waterfalls, the most beautiful plants in the grounds, and a stunning and very inviting lazy river where you could just drift along. Add to that delicious food and wine to go with it, beautiful sea views and coastal walks and you can imagine how much we enjoyed ourselves. However, despite all the luxury and everything it was good to get home again.

That’s the thing I always find whenever I travel. I love seeing new places and enjoying new experiences but I love returning home. There’s something so comforting about being in your own home with all the familiar items around you, isn’t there? Even though the weather has been dire in England (no change there!) it’s good to be back and see the countryside around where I live looking so green and lush.

The blossom trees in my garden are heavily laden with flowers, the hedgerows are thick with fresh new green leaves. There is nowhere as beautiful as England in the Spring, or at least that’s my opinion.

I love to travel and I also love to return home but what about you? Do you hate leaving your home to go on holiday or do you hate returning to it? And where is the one place you would
want to live if you had to choose? Home or abroad?

I’d opt for home but maybe you’re more adventurous than me!

Jennifer.

Duelling Covers by Amy Andrews

So, if y’all haven’t guessed by now I’m slightly obsessed by covers. I don’t think that makes me unusual amongst my peers. And anyone who hangs around author blogs knows that covers can make the difference between a good day and a bad day for an author.

Those of you who are regular visitors to this blog will be able to, I’m sure, recall my Grandpa-Lit cover that inspired this blog – http://loveisthebestmedicine.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/would-you-buy-a-book-from-this-man-by-amy-andrews/

But, I’ve had a good run lately and with my latest medical – One Night She Would Never Forget (out next month) – I have been gifted an absolute beauty. A little ripper as we say here in Oz! I’ve tweeted about it and put it up on my FB page but I just can’t show this cover enough love so I made it the subject of this blog!

I think this is just about the sexiest damn cover I’ve ever had – possibly ever seen! I love it sooo much I want to have it made into wallpaper and cover my bedroom walls with it. This is the US cover. People from the UK get the same couple, the same picture, but just their faces. People in Oz – this is your cover –

Somewhat different huh?

The funny thing is – both of the covers are perfect for the story. Miranda is a single mother – has been since she was seventeen. Her days have been/are teddy bears and reading stories. Then, on a rare night out at a swanky hotel she meets Patrick, who also happens to be a single father, and they have one blistering night together.

So the covers are both right.

But you know which one I prefer right?

And it’s not really just about all that bare flesh and the sexy lingerie and the very clear message that these two people are about to get completely naked and do the wild thing. I love the way they look totally “in” to each other. I think there’s an intimacy about the pose – like they both know how precious this adult moment of togetherness is in their kid-orientated lives – which is difficult to achieve, IMHO, from two people who are essentially strangers.

It’s interesting though that both books, at least to me, convey a lot about the content. And I’m not talking about the plot. I’m talking about the sensuality and what each cover tells a reader without even having to read the back blurb.

US cover says – this book is sizzling hot.
OZ cover says – this book is rot-your-teeth sweet.

Which is a potential concern for me as an author because anyone who picks up this book thinking it’s going to be sweet is going to be kind of….surprised….. Which is fine if it ends up being a “nice” surprise but if the reader feels cheated or let down?? Especially if she’s taken a chance on me and this is her first Amy Andrews? What then? I lose a reader. And maybe quite a few more if this reader tells a whole bunch of her friends not to read me. Maybe more if she’s got a blog or takes it to FB or tweets about it.

And every reader – actual and potential – matters to me.

Sure, I know you can’t please every single person every single time but damn it, I’d like to try

So, some questions for those of you stopping by which I’d love to know the answer to and I’ll give away a copy of the book with that cover to one lucky randomly drawn commentor.

Which cover do you prefer?

Do covers make the difference to whether you buy or not or just whether you pick it up for a closer look?

Does it annoy you when a cover sets an expectation it doesn’t reach?

There…just a few q’s to be going on with

And because I’m feeling extra generous I’ll put any commenters into the draw twice if they also go and like (or already have) my FB page (and I will check ) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-Andrews/382936461720040?ref=tn_tnmn

Acquiring a taste for…

It’s an acquired taste.

How many times have we heard that expression? When I say it, it’s usually in reference to something I don’t much care for (like beets). Sometimes you really are able to acquire a taste for something, and sometimes not. I’m still working on the beets!

I was reminded of this the other day when I was piling green peppers onto a fajita, and my husband commented that he remembered when I couldn’t stand the smell of peppers. It’s true. My best friend from childhood lived with us for a while when my husband was in graduate school. She used to try to sneak little bits of green pepper into the meals she cooked. The second I walked into the house, I would smell those suckers and cringe. Yet I credit her with desensitizing me to peppers, which I now love. So yes, for me, green peppers were an acquired taste. Judging from the ratio of peppers to meat in my fajitas, I’m now a fan. Taste acquired.

Living in a country other than my own has been a learning experience. We once hosted

Acquiring a taste for tacos!

a Mexican-style meal for a group of dear Brazilian friends. If you look closely at the picture, you can see little note cards on the wall that tell how to construct a taco, burrito or a fajita and explains what guacamole and sour cream are (things that Brazilians don’t normally eat). In fact, guacamole was a very different taste for our friends, who normally eat avocados in sweet dishes. One of our friends told me she likes to sprinkle sugar on a slice of ripe avocado and eat it for breakfast. So to have them mashed and served in a savory dish took some getting used to—just like eating them in desserts has been new for me.

One taste I have definitely acquired is bacalhau (a variety of dishes made from dried

Tina with friends at the “House of Bacalhau” restaurant in Brazil

salted codfish), which I learned to eat and prepare while living in Portugal. Brazilians also serve bacalhau from time to time, especially at Easter. The first time I tried a bite, I detested it. It’s salty and tastes strongly of fish. It’s said the Portuguese have 365 ways to prepare bacalhau, one for each day of the year. It’s true. I have a cookbook to prove it! The second time I tried bacalhau, it wasn’t as terrible as I remembered. But the day I helped a dear friend prepare it was the day I fell in love with bacalhau. It’s a long, labor-intensive process which involves soaking the fish for a couple of days in the refrigerator in order to rehydrate it and remove the excess salt. And you don’t just shove it in the fridge and forget about it. You have to change out the water several times. Then you boil the fish. Then you let it cool and take off the skin and pick out hundreds of bones (some of which are tiny—and are incredibly hard to remove, since your hands become slippery within minutes). Finally the bacalhau is ready to use in whatever dish you’re making. You have to truly love someone to make bacalhau for them. I still fix a small casserole dish of Bacalhau com Natas (codfish in cream sauce) every Christmas. And I still love it. Taste acquired!

What about you? Are there any tastes you’ve acquired over the years? It might not even be for a certain food, it could be a book. Is there a genre you didn’t expect to like but now can’t devour fast enough? I’m currently having a love affair with YA (young adult) books that are written in first-person. One of my daughters has gotten me hooked on Meg Cabot. In fact, this particular daughter is coming home from college in a few days, and she called and said, “Guess what? I’m bringing a new Meg Cabot book with me. We can fight over it.”  Taste acquired!

Audio Books and The Joy of Being Read To

When I was growing up, my father read to me. If was often A.A. Milne but it was also other books and when I learned to read myself there was still nothing better than snuggling down in bed and being read to. Obviously, I got to a point where that stopped.

Fast forward 20 years and I was at home recovering from major surgery. My sister-in-law called by with some cassettes from the library, ‘talking books’.  I thought it was a bit of an odd thing, given I was able to read but I was also not very well and reading was too taxing so I lay in bed and listened and was transported back to those wonderful, childhood memories of being read to. Plus I could lie down and close my eyes!

 

Then I had my own children and I read to them but on long car journeys, talking books were fabulous and I went to the library and borrowed the talking book CD’s. It all worked well until the time Boy Wonder left a bag of talking books worth about $200 on a bus in Vietnam. You gotta love FedEx…we had those babies back safe 24 hours after we lost them and my library was none the wiser. Opps, hope none of the lovely librarians are reading this

 

I have been heard to say here before that I love my iPad a ridiculous amount for an inanimate object and right now I am in love with the Borrow Box App because I can download talking books using my library membership.  I find talking books fill the gap for me that many people fill with music. Recently, when I drove three quarters of the length of Tasmania twice in two days, I did it listening to a talking book. When I do the big bake offs or am cooking or tidying in the kitchen, I do it listening to talking books and when I finally clean this pit of an office, I will do it listening to a talking book.

The last two book group books I have listened to rather than read. I did not intend to listen to The Book Thief, but  when I went to borrow the physical book it wasn’t available. I was about to buy it on my Kindle when I noticed I could get it on Borrow Box. I thought I would give it a try, thinking I would probably have to read it to remember things for discussion. The narrator of this book is brilliant and he is adding to my experience.  

That said, recently I didn’t finish listening to a book because the narrator’s voice drove me spare so I do think the narrator is an important consideration.

I have also listened to my novel, Boomerang Bride as a talking book. I was a bit hesitant at first. What would it be like to hear the words I wrote, but the narrator jumped so seamlessly between the US and Australian accent that I lost myself in the story. (By the way, when I went to get the link, I discovered the audio is on a massive sale for $3.99 instead of $24!!!!!)

Borrow Box is an Australian app but I am certain that there would be other library apps in other countries. And of course, there is always the tempting siren call of Audible, the talking book department of Amazon! with its fabulous sales!  Amazon offers the opportunity through Kindle for you to jump between the print version and the audio and it SYNCS so you just pick up from where were you last reading no matter whether it is the book or the audio. Sweet!

So tell me, do you listen to talking books? How do you find the experience?  Or if you don’t listen to them, what are you reasons for that? I’d love to hear!

A Mother’s Love by Dianne Drake

Admittedly, I used to be a bit of a cynic when it came to what I call greeting card holidays – holidays I believed were either created by, or bumped up by the greeting card industry to sell its goods. In fact, I remember in my flippant teenage years even telling one boyfriend I didn’t want a card or a gift for Valentine’s Day because that just put more money into some greedy pockets. Likewise, I avoided Mother’s Day and Father’s Day with a passion.

Then the strangest thing started happening when I was about 14. One Mother’s Day, my mother gave me a card and a gift. She said in deference to my individuality and my opposition to the whole tradition, she respected Mother’s Day and wanted to pay honor to the fact that she was a mother. So, even though it didn’t mean much to me, it did to her and all she wanted from me for Mother’s Day was for me to allow her to express her sentiment. She told me the best part of her life was about having two children and being a mother.

As it happened, I grew up and got over myself. Got over my misguided opinions, and eventually realized that this was one of her gentle lessons…one of the many. That was her way of teaching me – not by yelling or nagging or getting angry or even drumming it in my head. She showed me life through gentle ways and trusted that in her teaching I would find my own way.

My mother never got to read any of my work, and for that I’ll always be sad. But I truly believe it was her spirit that became my muse. So in tribute of my mother, and for all mothers who gently guide their children – a poem. No, not of my creation. I’m not a poet. But the words of Helen Rice Steiner say the things I should have been saying in cards to my mother all those years ago.

A MOTHER’S LOVE
A Mother’s love is something that no one can explain,
It is made of deep devotionand of sacrifice and pain,

It is endless and unselfish and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy itor take that love away . . .

It is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters even though the heart is breaking . . .

It believes beyond believing when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty of the rarest, brightest gems . . .

It is far beyond defining, it defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret like the mysteries of creation . . .

A many splendored miracle man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence of God’s tender guiding hand.

I hope you have a very happy Mother’s Day!
Dianne

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Nice place for a white wedding….

Who doesn’t love a good wedding? Romance books are full of them- the heart-warming conclusion of a conflict-filled journey with the ideal setting just perfect for each couple.

Way back in the dark ages when I got married (20 years ago) in the UK, there were a finite number of places you could officially tie the knot unless you went abroad: basically, either a church or a register office. There were (as far as I could find anyway) no other options- no celebrants who would marry you while sky-diving or at the top of a city landmark. So we opted for a register office with a wedding breakfast / dinner/dance at a hotel. (About a year later, possibly less, the law changed and  getting married pretty much anywhere became possible).

Louisa and Hubby getting married in the not so romantic register office

Nowadays the choices for weddings are literally overwhelming and I sometimes wonder where/what we would choose if we were going to get married in 2013. Would we jet off to a tropical island with a small group of guests? Las Vegas? The top of Auckland’s Skytower? A cathedral? Would we choose something traditional or something more outlandish?

Would we do what this couple are doing and try out a wedding in every country before we made a final decision? (Wild idea!).

Recently my hubby and I spent a few days on a small island just off the Auckland (New Zealand) mainland and we found ourselves in a tiny but picturesque Tuscan style vineyard.

Beautiful scenery, beautiful food…

The waiter told us that a few months ago they held their first wedding there and it was wonderful. We decided that possibly, if we were to get married again, that this may be a perfect place to choose-  surrounded by rolling hills and late summer sunshine, with amazing food and heavy vines- close friends would be able to come because the cost wouldn’t be astronomical…bliss. But who knows? Given the actual scenario of a wedding and the amazing opportunities available where would we choose?

What about you? Where was your wedding? Did you do anything a little different? If you were to get married in 2013 where would you choose?

Foreign Covers are the Tops! by Lynne Marshall

I have to admit that I get more excited about receiving copies of my foreign book covers than I do about my actual books sometimes.  Odd, right?  I can’t explain it, but there is something about seeing my stories translated into other languages—going out to stores in other countries—that sends me over the moon.

I guess that makes me feel like I’ve got fingers around the globe without leaving my office computer chair.  I don’t have a clue if the foreign editors have done my books justice with their translations or not, but the thing that strikes me the most is the fact they found something about my story they felt was worth sharing.  Wow.  This is the blessing above all blessings in the writer’s world.  Not to sound like the actress Sally Fields at the Academy Awards when she won best actress for Norma Jean, but – they must like my story, really like my story to go to the trouble of translating it into French, Finnish, Italian, Polish, etc.  It’s funny, but sometimes the only way I can identify my foreign editions is when I see the character’s names in the back cover blurb.

Recently I receive two beautiful book covers of foreign releases.  This first one is for the Finnish Laakariromaani line. It is a story near and dear to my heart, but the topic is such a delicate one—a young woman gives up a child for adoption in her teens, only to confront the real father thirteen years later—that I feared it wouldn’t go over well with a lot of readers.  The original title was, Temporary Doctor, Surprise Father, and it came out in 2009.  (I’m also lucky enough to share this “Tupla” book with Joanna Neil.  >waves to Joanna<

This book never made it to the North American audience, and I keep hoping it will find a way across the pond in e-book form at least.

The Finnish editor re-titled this book:  Erikoismies.  The Google translator calls it:   Special Male, which I think is cute and that is exactly the kind of guy Beck Braxton is.

The second gorgeous book cover is the French version of my debut Harlequin Special Edition – original title – Courting His Favorite Nurse – the new title for the Passions line is: Soupirs interdits.  Translations: (which really stumps me) Sighs Prohibited.

 

Most recently, I discovered this Australian (or is it the New Zealand version?  Do they have separate covers too?) book cover for my soon-to-be-released book #7 in the NYC Angels continuity – Making the Surgeon Smile.  What do you think about my silver fox?  (Amy Andrews, any thoughts?)

 

 

If you or anyone you know can speak Finnish, French, Italian or Danish, I have a book for you!  Leave a comment – that’s all you have to do.  I’ll choose a name and you send a book in whichever language you or your friend speaks.

 

For the rest of you – Do too many book covers confuse or delight you?

I’m thrilled to say that Making the Surgeon Smile has gone live on the Mills&Boon website, and is also available for preorder at Amazon.com.

All the best, Lynne www.lynnemarshall.com