Smothering the Breathless Authors with Love!

Miranda's February Musings

Wow, December/January in Australia! So many super hot days, so many horrendous fires, so much heroism and so many sad losses. Keep donating (thankyou), keep praying, the fires are still burning in some places. We will get back on our feet, but as we do we salute the heroes who've saved so much, even as some lost their own lives. Such humbled thanks. Thankyou. Thankyou. Thankyou.

Words are simply not enough. We need to celebrate our own, our friends and family and loved ones, and hug them tight and just smother them with love. 

So as February begins I'm celebrating my fellow Breathless in the Bush authors, precious people to me. And, {{{shrug}}}, I'm totally biased about them and I don't care! So with no further ado, let my smother-them-with-love CELEBRATION begin! 

We love having KRISTINE CHARLES on board at BITB, and I've just read the anthology LOVE SABRE featuring her novella, A Mutual Thing. The book totally sends up the purple prose that used to dominate romance in yesteryear, but in such a creative way it's taut and terrific, sassy and sexy. (See what I did there? Thank goodness we've moved on.) But seriously, this book romps along with such fun. And not so much of the purple prose after all. These authors have created quick-to-read stories that are very energetically entertaining. (18+ warning for the *cough* love sabre...)

Image courtesy of amazon.com

Our beloved JAYNE KINGSLEY blows me away with her stories - and you'll find her Christmas novella A Kiss For Christmas Eve reviewed by yours truly here; sheer delight. Her full-length novel LOVING LUCAS made it onto my January read list, and I have to say that the always popular office romance trope - and friends-to-lovers - makes a wonderful appearance (I love these so much). Miranda is the boss's daughter, and Lucas doesn't know how he can work with her - because, so much temptation. OOH. And, that cover. 💋

Image courtesy of amazon.com

I actually knew ALYSSA J. MONTGOMERY before she was published. As soon as I read her first unpublished manuscript I knew Romancelandia had a powerhouse author about to explode on the scene. I am fairly smug I called it, heh, and her star continues to rise. I read her wonderful book SEDUCED BY THE STRANGER  over January and, wow. I love me a good amnesia plot, with a pregnant-by-I-don't-know-who plot also tossed in! So gripping. Go, Alyssa!

Image courtesy of amazon.com

The marvellous CASSANDRA SAMUELS is someone who knows just so much about Regency times, I'm impressed. Never try and get away with anything but true facts about the Regency period around her, she is spot on! I adore Regency romances, so enthusiastically dived into COLLECTOR OF HEARTS in January. My only concern was - why had I waited so long to read this?! Silly, silly me. I totally loved her hero, Robert Mallory, Marquis of Sheldon. To cope with something absolutely appalling in his life he became, well, a 'Collector of Hearts' - but then tossed them aside. I knew it was going to take someone very special to collect his heart... I laughed at Cassandra's wit and sparkling dialogue, and then, oh my, I cried. Such an outstandingly beautiful story. ❤ 

Image courtesy of amazon.com

Magical MARILYN FORSYTH creates beautiful stories in exotic settings, and I can't wait to read whatever she publishes next. If you haven't already, fall on her last book, FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN. I've never been to the Australian opal fields and possibly never will, so reading about the amazing opals, a mystery about a fossil, and a stunning romance - is, like, win win win! I adored this story. In fact, when I visited the Australian Museum in Sydney, there was a certain opal exhibit that entranced me...and which Marilyn assures me is the inspiration for this story! Intrigued? Oh, do read the book, it is so wonderful. You'll never look at opals the same way again. Or fossils! 

Image courtesy of amazon.com

ENISA HAINES and SHARON BRYANT are special stars in our special Christmas anthology A VERY AUSSIE CHRISTMAS.  I was so thrilled to read it, and each story is so very unique. Enisa's story is Endings, Beginnings and Sharon's is Desert Fire. Why wait until next Christmas to read them? It's still hot here in Oz, go back and get some blazing Christmas spirit in your year right now. 😍 

Image courtesy of amazon.com

So, ta-dah! I give you The Breathless Girls, who I celebrate! Perfect to pop on your reading list!

With love until next time,

Miranda xxx

Love to Laugh:

At the charm and wit in those ravishing Regencies, like Cassandra's!

Love to Love:

My BITB authors. Always and forever, girls! Mwuh. 

Love to Learn:

Which of the above have you read? Is there a special author you celebrate? 

5 Characteristics of a Romance Villain

By Cassandra Samuels

Villain: A  character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot.

Don't we just love to hate a good villain?  This week I'll be exploring the world of the bad guy/gal and what's needed to make a good one. Villain in this post also refers to villainess.

In romance the villain is someone who could stop our love birds from getting together. Someone who could be the cause of past, present or future trauma. Or who might endanger either hero or heroine.

1. Villains have to have a backstory, something that made them into this person they have become. They can often be charming and quite likable until you learn their true motives. What are their motives and what brought them to this point?

courtesy of Cat Planet

2. Villains have a lot of the same characteristics as the hero, it's just that they are misdirected. They are often convinced that they have been hard done by or wronged in some way and therefore their anger and revenge is justified.

Giphy.com

3. Villains will not stop until they get what they want, to the point of obsession.  Often their revenge will be the only thing that is keeping them going. They have committed their life to the pursuit of their justice.

4. Villains have to be a worthy opponent to your hero. It's important that your villain's actions prompt the hero to act, even if it is out of character for him. Otherwise why would the hero bother to act at all?

screen shot from the movie The Scarlet Pimpernel

5.Villains are smart and calculating and can't be fools, although they may play the fool to disguise their true motives. Ultimately, though, you want your villain to be as well fleshed out as your protagonists.

What do you look for in a great romance villain? What is your favourite romance villain from a book?

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Love to Love  attending the Historical Novel Society conference

Love to Laugh at my husband and his dry sense of humour.

Love to Learn about writing and being an INFJ personality type

5 Characteristics of a Romance Hero

By Cassandra Samuels

What makes a great hero, someone we can fall in love with?

Here are my five 'must haves' for a hero.

Definition: A hero is someone who gives of himself, often putting his own life at great risk, for the greater good of others - with or without a cape!

giphy

In Romance, a hero doesn't always have to be saving the day. Instead he is trying to win the love of the heroine. He still needs to have the characteristics that will make, not just the heroine, but also the reader fall in love with him.

1. A sense of duty

Giphy.com

You want your hero to be able to stand up and do his duty, whether that means to family, friends or country. He may not know, understand or want to at the beginning of his journey but there will be something in him that makes it impossible for him not to do his duty in the end.

2. A sense of self-awareness

The hero must know he has faults as well as strengths. He must try and work on his faults and not rely on his strengths alone. This may be something he isn't aware of at the beginning of  the story but by the end he has a better understanding of himself and how he can be a better man for the heroine.

3. A sense of mystery

A hero who is an open book is dull - there is nothing special about him. He needs a bit of mystery. Something that is, perhaps, propelling him towards something that is not evident to the heroine or the reader. Maybe he has a secret or a bad past, but it is the fact that no one is quite sure that makes for an interesting character.

Andrew Measham - unsplash

4. A sense of individuality

Our hero has to to have something about him that is different from the other men around him. A quirk, his physicality, or even his heritage. Whatever it may be, it has to be intriguing enough for the heroine to want to know more about him.

5.  A sense of worthiness

Tim Mossholder - unsplash

If we don't empathise with our hero he is lost. There has to be something about him where, at some stage in the story, we are on his side. Whatever his past may be, whatever his experiences have been, whatever his goal may be. If he is likable, despite his sometimes irrational (to us) decisions, and we still want him to be happy, then the author has done her job well.

There are many more characteristics that make a great hero. Can you add any?

Who is your favourite hero and why?

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Love to Love  how my grandson's greet me at the door with excitement and hugs every afternoon.

Love to Laugh at the tv show 'Have You Been Paying Attention'.

Love to Learn: about other authors' processes.

Using Music to Create - 'Collector of Hearts' Release Day

By Cassandra Samuels

Tomorrow is the big day! Release day for Collector of Hearts, Book 1 in the Regency Hearts series. To celebrate I will be giving away a copy of my new book to one lucky person who leaves a comment.

buy here

Today I'm going to talk a little about how this book came to life and the power of music to help create. For me the spark of a story can come from many places but for this book it was a song, The Reason by Hoberstank. I thought, what if there was this man who is pretty messed up, who really needs someone to show him that he can love and also be worthy of love?

I pictured Robert Mallory, Marquis of Shelton, as being a rake, someone who was as notorious on the duelling field as he was in the bedroom. But what led him to this place? What happened to him to make him this way? The more I thought about it, the more I began to know this character, to understand him.

I entered my first chapter into a competition and it finalled. Okay, I was beginning on the right track. This entry became my first chapter but the comments from the judges made me realise that I needed to get the reader onside first. I worked and worked on the prologue because I knew if I didn't the reader would think Robert was a jerk. I entered the competition again, and again it finalled. This time the judges comments were more sympathetic, so I worked on the story some more. 

I usually work with headphones on because, if I don't, I am distracted by every little noise in the house. The music gets me in the mood to write and then becomes white noise after a time. That's when I know I am in the zone 

Robert Mallory is definitely egotisical. He's been living off his reputation as the Collector of Hearts for years, and when he meets Arabella he has no idea how his life is going to be turned upside down. The song Writings on the Wall by Sam Smith sums up how important Arabella becomes to Robert in his search for himself and redemption.

Next I had to create a heroine who would be strong enough to put up with his nonsense and also love him despite his many faults. Originally, I had Arabella's twin sister having her own love story simultaneously with Arabella, but that meant less time for Robert and Arabella, and I needed all the words possible to make this love story work. I pared the story back and under the guidance of the all-knowing Kate Cuthbert, and with the support of my crit partners Marilyn and Enisa, I re-wrote the whole thing. But when I needed inspiration for how Arabella felt about Robert, I turned again to music. For Arabella I listened to Starving by Hailee Steinfeld.

In Collector of Hearts Robert talks about love as just part of a game. A game he always plays to win. He's talked himself into believing that this is how things are done, and when Arabella challenges that idea he sets about to prove himself right. Only he gets caught up in his own game and Arabella doesn't play by his rules. This sets him on a path to a place he never knew he wanted to be. Falling in love. True love. The epic song Beautiful Lie by Thirty Seconds To Mars seemed to sum it up perfectly.

 I hope you enjoy Collector of Hearts as much as I loved creating it.

Do you listen to music when reading or writing? What is your favourite song to listen to at the moment?

Love to Love  listening to music and discovering new ways to be inspired.

Love to Laugh at early copies of my work.

Love to Learn from wonderful volunteer judges in contests. Such feedback is priceless.

Miranda's April Musings

How Do You Choose What To Read Next?

Part One!

It's a problem, isn't it? You read a super good book, sigh, cry, hug it to your heart, kiss the cover (er, not that I'm admitting to that...), etc. etc., and put it on the keeper shelf. (Maybe stuff it somewhere on the keeper shelf might be a better description. Or make space where there is none and ruthlessly shove it in, aha...) Oh, the desolation at having finished! Will there ever be another book so wonderful, so moving, so thrilling, so romantic?

My gorgeous new mug, ooh ooh.

The answer is, and I'm not making this up, of course there will. Take heart, mes amies, there is always a teetering tottering tower of romance to choose from. Thank you, romance writers, I love you all!

The very second, and even before (don't you love that pre-ordering function from Amazon?) one of the marvellous ladies from this blog - Marilyn Forsyth, Cassandra Samuels, Karen Davis I'm looking at you - publishes a newie, it's pre-ordered in a flash. Happy day when it arrives on my Kindle as Marilyn's book recently did; and I'm anticipating Karen's book eagerly. Sharon Burke and Enisa Haines, it won't be long now... 💕💕

Photo credit: http://marilynforsyth.com.au/

Photo Credit: http://www.karenmdavis.com/books.html

And when I simply and utterly love a book to bits, I also love the function on Amazon that says: Customers who bought this item also bought - and there's your reading list for the next two months. Or two years. Scroll down and see it here, for Marilyn's first book. There's also the Top 100 Bestselling Romance feature on Amazon, which is fun to browse through. Total clickbait for me.

In my neck of the woods, Sydney, Australia, we have some fabulous bookstores which draw me in as shiny diamonds attract others. I'm talking Dymocks, Abbey's, Berkelouw Books, and Harry Hartog. If you're drawing a blank about what to read next, pay your fave local bookshop a visit, stay a while, drool a little, and you will come out with treasures.

Me? I just have to scroll through my Kindle (overstuffed, ridiculously so) or my shelves (ditto), and I'm spoilt for choice. I never seem to have a problem about what book to read next.

Funny thing, that.

What about you?

Love from Miranda xxx

Love to love: Easter eggs. I think I've just consumed my body weight in them plus hot cross buns. Love this time of year!

Love to laugh: At my TBR list. Psst, confession: I think even if I live to be 1,000 years old I'll never read all the books waiting for me. But I'll give it a jolly good shot.

Love to love: Knowing all those excellent reads will happen. I am ever the optimist.

The Last Post: Completing Your Manuscript

with Dee Scully

The Last Post is traditionally a bugle call signalling the end of the day but over the years it has become better known as a farewell to departed servicemen and women. As writers we have no such farewell for our manuscripts. Often it’s difficult to know just when a manuscript is finished; so how do we know when to call it a day, to stop polishing and submit the work and move on to the next manuscript? What is our Last Post?

Breathless’s own Cassandra Samuels, author of A Scandalous Wager, doesn’t feel she’s ever ready to let go. “I know I always feel I can do more…but eventually you have to look at it and say to yourself [that] you have done the best you can with it and now it is time to let some fresh eyes see it. That’s when I send it to my editor."

Multi-published author Nikki Logan says much the same. “I don’t think you’re ever ‘done’ revising. Polishing. Tweaking. Second-guessing. Angsting. After a few books, you come to realise the signs of over-working—not necessarily in the finished product but in your own processes. If I catch myself spending a whole day on a single scene in the final stages of editing I know I’m going too far. That late in the process I should just be flying through the work, buffing a few rough edges. Not reworking.”

Alli Sinclair, author of Under the Spanish Stars and the May 2017 release, Beneath the Parisian Skies, agrees with Cassandra and Nikki. “I’m a perfectionist. In my eyes, a book is never completely finished. There will always be something I want to change, so I’ve had to learn to let go.” 

Alli suggests using the following three-point checklist:

*Have I done structural and copy edits to the best of my ability?

*Have I given it one last read through to make sure it holds together and there are no dangling thread storylines?

*If I read it again, will I vomit? (This is a very big sign that I have read and reread and revised so much that I just can’t stand the sight of it anymore!)

But what is our Reveille, our Last Post, the one thing to tell us our manuscript is ready to submit for publication? All our authors agreed, our Last Post is tweaking. If you’ve structurally edited your story, revised the copy, and made sure there are no plot-holes, then you’re done. If you tweak much more you run the risk of tweaking your voice right out of the manuscript. So, if you’ve done all the above and are just tweaking, stop and heed your writer’s bugle call. The day is done. Your manuscript is finished. Time to submit and move on.

How do you know when your manuscript is ready to submit?

I love to love:  our servicemen and women.  I have them to thank for my freedom.

I love to laugh:  at my iPhone's autocorrect.  Does it really think I don't know how to spell duck?

I love to learn:  new things about writing.  It helps me grow as a writer and as a human being.

Sadly, this will be Dee's last post for Breathless in the Bush. We have loved having her as part of our team and hope to welcome her back at some time in the future. We're sure all her loyal supporters will miss her as much as we will. We wish you well, Dee, and a heart-felt thank you for all you have done for us. xx

That All-Important First Line

with Marilyn Forsyth

I love it when I open a book and the first sentence totally grabs me, forcing me to read just a little more, and then I end up reading the whole first page (or even more, depending on how busy the bookstore is J). That's a book I’ll buy.

So what makes a great opening sentence? I’ve narrowed it down to 5 techniques.

1. Arouse Curiosity. By throwing the reader immediately into the action, the author raises questions the reader simply must read on further to find the answers to. A great example of this is from Mandy Magro’s 'The Wildwood Sisters' (Romantic Suspense): Her laboured breath escaping her in short, painful gasps, the girl staggered through the engulfing darkness, the towering ghost gums she’d found so beautifully mesmerising in the daylight now seeming menacing and foreboding.

2. Set Time and Place. A first sentence that establishes time and place immediately grounds the reader. Teresa Medeiros does this really well in 'Goodnight Tweetheart' (Contemporary Romance): In her darker moments Abby Donovan had often fantasised that her career of choice might lead her to become intimately acquainted with the phrase ‘Would you like fries with that?’ but she’d never guessed she’d end up embracing the traditional uniform of working women the world over-the bunny costume.

3. A Strong Sense of Impending Trouble. Actually, even the merest hint that trouble is about to break out is enough to invite the reader to keep reading, but Judy Nunn hits the reader over the head in her opening line to 'Spirits of the Ghan': James McQuillan knew he was a dead man. (Australian fiction)

4. Introduce a Unique Character. A short piece of dialogue or brief description can be enough to give insight into an intriguing character the reader will want to know more about. Cassandra Samuels found a unique way to introduce the reader to her heroine in 'A Scandalous Wager' (Regency Romance): From the diary of Lisbeth Carslake, Countess of Blackhurst… I refuse to give in to the curse of the Black Raven.

5. Establish the Writer’s Style. The tone of a book is apparent from the opening sentence, so make the reader laugh or take them by surprise or provide them with an instant image, something to show your distinctive writer’s voice. Juliet Marillier does this so well in all her books. I love this from 'Twixt Firelight and Water: A Tale of Sevenwaters' (Historical Fantasy):
A fair maid in the wildwood lies
A raven pecks her sightless eyes
Then wings into the heavens again
To shriek his song of death and pain.

I have a tale to tell.

Crafting the perfect opening line takes a lot of thought, but remember: you don’t have to make your first sentence perfect before continuing on with your story (although it’s a Procrastinator’s dream defence J)  Personally, I’ve changed the beginning sentences of my books more times than I’d like to admit, but I do try to save that for the editing stage.

Do you have a favourite opening line you’d like to share? When you read, is the first sentence a deal-breaker/deal-maker for you?


Here’s a bit of fun for those who might need help to get started with their opening lines. These are from Clifford Fryman’s 'Story Starters'.

What a huge mistake.

He got hit by a car just to get her attention.

What do you do when the thing you need most is from the person you like least?

Love to Love: meeting the original Time Slip Queen (IMO, anyway), Barbara Erskine, at the Hay-on-Wye Festival. 'Lady of Hay' was first published 30 years ago so Barbara kindly signed my original copy and the Anniversary edition.

Love to Laugh: at the Scottish accent (in a good way). Had so much fun trying to work out that the 'coo' the lady was referring to was actually a cow.

Love to Learn: about aspects of British history from people passionate about keeping history alive. It was fascinating to have my many questions answered by the different characters at this re-created mediaeval fayre last month at Harlech Castle in Wales.

Writing Life: Re-filling the Creative Well

with Cassandra Samuels

I don't know about you but last year was a hard one for me. There were lots of up and downs - more downs than ups it felt like at times - but here we are at the beginning of a new year. It's time to start over, start anew, begin again.

Gify.com

Sometimes it feels like we are always going at a million miles an hour.

After the craziness of Christmas and New Year it is nice to spend some time dreaming, reflecting, and relaxing not just the body, but the mind, too.

 

It's time to re-fill the creative well; the place in your head where all good things begin to grow.

How can you re-fill that creative well?

There are plenty of ways. What works best is really up to you.

• Take a short break away from the everyday, get away from it all
• Take time out to watch that TV series you have been recording all year
• Read some of those books on the To Be Read (TBR) pile/shelf/bookcase/room
• Perhaps take a long hot bath
• Go for a walk along the beach
• Go to the movies
• Get a massage 
• Go to a museum or art gallery

All these activities are relaxing and rejuvenating.



So are you in need of Refilling the Creative Well? How do you re-fill the well?

Love to Love: Growing my own fruit and Veg in my mini vege patch.

Love to Laugh: at Romantic comedies like Love Actually.

Love to Learn: new ways to re-fill my creative well.

Blogiversary - Successes!

with Cassandra Samuels


Welcome to day four of the Breathless in the Bush Blogiversary. I really hope you are all having a great time with us.


Today we are going to have a little fun playing, Do You Want to Build a Hero? Did you just start humming that Frozen song? Basically, I will suggest a feature/characteristic and you get to tell me what you think the hero should have e.g. how tall, what colour eyes, occupation, etc. Get all your friends involved because there will be a nice little prize announced tomorrow, but you have to be in it to win it.
(Check the comments section below to find out the winner of  yesterday's $20US amazon voucher.)

But first today I thought I might spend a little time reflecting on the successes and achievements of my fellow bloggers. It’s been a big year for many of us, so here goes.

Marilyn Forsyth has had an amazing year. She was a finalist in the Valerie Parv Award this year but due to some very exciting news she had to bow out of the competition; the reason being that she has accepted a contract with Harlequin Mira for her Pearl Farmer story (not yet titled) which she pitched at the Romance Writers of Australia Conference last year. Hurrah! We are so excited for Marilyn and for you because you will get to read it sometime early next year!

Dee Scully has also had an amazing year. She has overcome her fear of contests and submitted to two RWAus writing competitions…one of which she won - The Ripping Start. Squee!! She was also a finalist in the 2015 Valerie Parv Award. This particular achievement is very close to her heart seeing as, way back when, this was the contest that gave her the fear of competitions in the first place. Now, with more confidence and having developed her writing skills she is showing all of us to never give up.

Enisa Haines has come a long way this year. Working on the blog and Facebook has given her confidence in connecting with social media, and she is less intimidated now. She really has created some wonderful blog posts for us this year and is currently working on a very exciting manuscript which she plans to submit to a publishing house when it is completed. Stay tuned.

Sharon Burke is the newest member of the BITB Blog. It has been over 10 years since she was an active member of "Breathless in the Bush" and RWA, and she has decided to return to romance writing because she's missed it. She has previously had a short story published. Her goals for this year are to be published in romantic short stories and to begin researching an idea for an historical romance based on her own relative.

Karen M Davis has also had a very busy year. She and two other authors went on a wild author road trip and visited readers up and down the coastline from Sydney. If you met Karen at one of these please say hi in the comments. Karen is currently working on a new book not connected with her previous series (Sinister Intent and Deadly Obsession). We can’t wait to learn more about her new book this year.

Our lovely reviewer Miranda has given us a plethora of fantastic book suggestions and reviews this year. Our TBR piles are groaning under the weight but we wouldn’t have it any other way. She hopes to bring you many more book suggestions in the future so keep coming back and checking out her blog posts.

As for Cassandra Samuels? Well, I have had a very steep learning curve going on since my debut book, A Scandalous Wager, was released last November. I am hoping to have a new book available for you all next year. I have been working on many new story ideas and am excited by the prospect of having them available for you to read in the future.

Thank you all for your support of the Breathless in the Bush blog; it really does keep us motivated.

Do You Want to Build a Hero?

Now let the fun begin. How tall should a hero be? Leave your suggestions in the comments but keep coming back because the rest of my prompts will be in the comments.

Miranda's June Musings

with the always fabulous Miranda

Winter is here downunder, readers! My absolute favourite time of the year! Time to snuggle by the fire with a hot drink and read. (To our northern hemisphere friends, translate that to a cool drink by the pool...) Naturellement this leads to Our Absolute Winter/(Summer)Essentials: books! Last month I promised you some Historicals, so I am delivering.

What did I love to love this month?
Debut books! Lovely debuts! Two beautiful authors I simply adore. Besides being the nicest people ever, these lovely ladies are all talent, talent, talent.

First is the absolutely fabulous Cassandra Samuels, already known to you marvellous blog devotees. How inspirational are her posts here? Have you read her book A Scandalous Wager? Move over heroes, there's a new boy in town, Oliver - and oh my, just look at those dark eyes. He's returned from war to take up the impoverished earldom, and gains access to the widowed (possibly murderous) Black Raven's house on a wager. Their first meeting is surprisingly comic. Oliver's totally foxed, but conscious enough to be endearing and witty. And he continues so right through the book, while The Black Raven, Lisbeth, is very guarded. Every reader's heart will go out to her. I know mine did. Love, love, love this unexpected couple. And Oliver is... just... yes please thankyouverymuch...

   

The second debut is the delicious Elyse Huntington. Pssst! I can let the cat out of the bag and let you know Elyse will be doing a guest blog here later this year, so you've got plenty of time between now and then to read her lovely new sparkling My Dark Duke. I love a good duke story. James, said dark Duke, has been in retreat for years, ever since his first wife died in mysterious circumstances. (Another did-he-or-didn't-he? Delicious.) Then he meets Lady Alethea Sinclair, someone who's very determined not to marry, unless it's for love. Two strong but vulnerable people...it makes your romantic heart go ahhh. After you finish reading, pop over to the tender epilogue on Elyse's website - it brought tears to my eyes: More Good Bits.


What did I love to laugh at this month?

My TBR, which could possibly reach the moon... Happy dilemma! Here's a brilliant book I plucked off the pile and fell in love with: The Game and the Governess by Kate Noble. Lord Edward Granville (another earl!), swaps places with his old military friend and secretary John Turner for a ridiculous wager (another wager!): that he can 'have' any woman he wants without using his title. Snort. We all know how that's going to turn out. His unlikely quarry is governess Phoebe Baker. Lots of catnip here for any romance reader, miaow. Historicals are simply So! Much! Fun! To! Read!



What did I love to learn this month?
That I adore - and will probably always adore - short category romances. Here's two I loved:

Lily Rose is an idealistic archaeologist in Playing by the Greek's Rules by Sarah Morgan. She's a Pollyanna, sunshine and kittens kind of gal. But definitely not saccharine or overdone, she's really one of the most endearing heroines I've ever read (perhaps alongside Molly, in Molly Cooper's Dream Date by Barbara Hannay). On the rebound, Lily decides to have a relationship with her playboy billionaire boss Nik Zervakis, while developing a 'Kevlar' non-caring shell so people can't hurt her anymore. Yes, well, the Kevlar approach doesn't work, and in the end we all care. Blissful.

 

  

Do you read Historicals? Category? Both? Do let me know what you read this month... I can't wait to hear -  I'm always so happy to add to my towering TBR! 

Miranda xx