Wips and Excerpts

The WIP is really steaming along...that word count meter keeps going upwards and despite general craziness in life, I might actually finish this first draft before the end of the month.

I am on my way out the door presently but I have posted new excerpts on my website. You can find one for FALLING FOR MR DARK AND DANGEROUS at http://www.donnaalward.com/DDpage.htm

and you can find a new one for my January book, THE RANCHER'S RUNAWAY PRINCESS at http://www.donnaalward.com/Runaway%20Princess.htm

Catch you on the flip side...

D

Curses!

This is entirely Michelle Styles's fault.



You are Macbeth! A supposed retelling of the true story of King Macbeth of Scotland, Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's bloodiest plays. Macbeth, after hearing the prophesy of three witches, believes he will be named king of Scotland. However, this line of thinking eventually leads Macbeth down a horrible road of blood and death as he fights first to gain, and then to keep hold of the crown. Believing the play to be cursed, many actors will not even say the name of the play inside of a theater unless it is being performed and refer to it simply as "The Scottish Play". But you probably don't care about some stupid old curse. As Macbeth you most likely don't take warnings too well and you are so headstrong that you can't take good advice when it comes your way, even if it is for your own good. But being Macbeth isn't all bad. You are most likely a man (or woman) of action. People probably like you because you are good at thinking on your feet and making quick decisions. But be careful, as your rash behavior may also get you in to trouble along the way.

Your Score: Macbeth

You scored 39% = Tragic, 28% = Comic, 38% = Romantic, 51% = Historic

Now...I have to blog my 19th Book Blog. I just have to...just like I had to turn off the television and read until I finished it last night.

It's A ROYAL MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE by Marion Lennox.

Every now and then you read a book that succeeds in making you feel completely and utterly inadequate as a writer. This is one of those books. I adored it. I adored just about everything about it. I had so many "I wish I could write like this" moments I lost count.

It takes the shop-worn hook of a royal marriage of convenience and just completely turns it upside down. The pacing and action are fast, the characters have lots of depth and are wonderful, and the dialogue is sharp and laugh out loud funny. And yet...there is a tenderness about it that had me blinking my eyes in several spots as we got towards the end.

At one point there is an attempt on their lives and the heroine, a spunky Yorkshire vet. Rose is such a strong, practical woman. She says...."Someone tried to shoot me, so I'm supposed to take a sleeping tablet and go calmly to sleep without getting it sorted? You must be out of your collective minds."

Yet I LOVED how just pages later we see her feminine side...and how it knocks the hero, Nick, for a loop:

"You realise discipline in this castle is shot to pieces?"

"Yes," said Rose, chuckling more than the girl had chuckled, and hugging Hoppy as she rolled back out from behind the settee. "I believe they're my knickers you're standing on, sir."

He bent and picked them up. They were pink and white and lacy, with butterflies embroidered on them.

"My God," he said with reverence. "And I stood on them. Why didn't I notice these last night? Were these special for your wedding?"

"Of course," she said, and then she giggled again. "Nope. I tell a lie. I wear knickers like this all the time."

"You're kidding me." He held them to the light as one might hold up a piece of priceless art. "You wear these? As a country vet?"

"I wear brown, grungy overalls and mud, and I smell like cattle," she said. "I have to be a girl sometime."

"It's a tragedy," he said, awed.

Marion, thank you for the best book I've read this spring.

Noms, Movies and Books

The big news from this weekend has already been revealed in the comments from Saturday's post....HIRED BY THE COWBOY has finalled in the Bookseller's Best Awards, sponsored by the Greater Detroit RWA.

This contest is judged solely by booksellers and librarians...the people responsible for ultimately making our books available to the public...and I'm especially thrilled that my very first Harlequin Romance has made the final cut.

My mates in the Traditional category are Ally Blake, Michelle Douglas, Lucy Gordon, and Claire Baxter! Lovely.

And also congrats to fellow Pink Heart editor Trish Wylie for finalling in the Short Contemporary category.

Reel Review: I also watched another movie on the weekend. Now Natasha mentioned in the comments that she thought Music and Lyrics was a terrible movie. I'll concede it wasn't one of those movies that blew me away, but I did enjoy it. At least there were little bits of dialogue in there that resonated with me as a writer...like when Hugh Grant accuses her of her worst fear. Which is more than I can say for the other flick I watched on Saturday: Catch and Release.

It was boring, except for the times it was annoying.

Just when you thought you were going to get a moment of truth, it would dart away to something else. It seemed to be an arty experiment on subtlety, only in this case it failed miserably in my opinion. And Kevin what's his name ( I could IMDB it but I couldn't be bothered) was a pig. Or rather his character was, which at least I suppose provided a distraction from the utter boredom.

It's not often that I truly don't enjoy a movie in any way. But this is one of those rare occasions. Timothy Olyphant's dimples were the best thing in it.

On to something far more lovely....

Book Blog 18! This time it's for Kate Walker's Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife.

Two years ago she left Raul without one word of regret. Now chance has thrown them together once more, and the proud Spanish aristocrat will see that Alannah pays for her mistake!

He wanted Alannah Redfern the first moment he saw her. Her unique combination of purity and passion intrigued, then intoxicated him. And Raul Esteban was a man used to getting everything he wanted.

Now Raul knows that beautiful Alannah is no longer a naive girl. Until their one night of passion proves that Alannah is still an innocent! Raul will do whatever it takes to keep her at his mercy...

Kate has succeeded yet again in writing a great alpha hero. He's tough. He's really tough. BUT he also has this vulnerable side. And I think this is part of what makes her such a success. Her heroes still have all the trademarks of the romance novel "Alpha" and yet there is something that we empathize with. The characters remain relatable. I love that. I still might be a Guido woman, but her Raul is a very close second. :-)

Reel Review - Music and Lyrics

Last night I watched Music and Lyrics as it was on the movie channel. I have come to the conclusion that Hugh Grant is at his most adorable best when he's being cheese or sleaze. Even his portrayal of the PM in Love Actually was a bit cheesy and he played it well. And we all know the sleaze that was Daniel in Bridget Jones.

In this movie he plays a has-been 80's pop icon who has 36 hours to make his come back by writing a song for a young pop-lette. In comes the "plant lady" (Drew Barrymore) who has a gift for putting lyrics together. Quirky and cute - which just about summarizes the whole movie. Lots of little laugh out loud bits too.

Definitely worth a watch on a Saturday when you just want to kick back and relax.

Playlists and Progress

Well gang I'm feeling a bit upbeat today. The WIP is chugging along....I'm firmly in the middle now and I know things will shift and be tweaked, but I do think it's coming along. I'm now at 45% done....and if I get a chance to work at all this weekend that will be much closer to 50. I have 2 chapters back from my CP that need tweaking, and a scene to write to finish this chapter and voila. That will just about do it.

Something I did this morning was finally set up a playlist for this book. Sometimes I write to complete silence, other times I like background music and sometimes I have THEME music...like for THE RANCHER'S RUNAWAY PRINCESS I had Let Me Call You Sweetheart, The Tennessee Waltz and My Wish (by Rascal Flatts).

This time though It's mostly mood music. I have a couple of italians at a winery in British Columbia...you'd think a fish out of water, wouldn't you? But not so much. So I have a mix of Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, RyanDan, Il Divo and one song by Damien Rice.

It's working for me, and that's what matters.

I do think I'll spend the afternoon cleaning the house...the kids are home on Friday afternoons. That way we won't have to do it tomorrow, and I might be able to pull out the laptop.

Sunday is Mother's Day here. I don't think there is anything planned, beyond a cruise in the new car and maybe an ice cream. :-)

Happy Birthday, Covers and Translations

Happy Birthday to Kate Walker!

I got Michelle Styles's newsletter today. She usually includes a recipe. This time it was for Eccles Cakes. They sound so delish that when I heard it was Kate's birthday I immediately wished I could be with her so we could have some with tea.

Kate is one of those people that I met and instantly felt, as Anne Shirley would say, was a kindred spirit. She gives the best hugs in the world. She's brilliantly fun, unabashedly emotional (I can relate) and I have felt since that our time together was far too short. In other words, this is one very special lady that I always respected but grew to love in the space of a moment - right about the time I heard "This must be Donna" behind me at the AMBA lunch.

So happiest of birthdays darling, and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Yesterday I also happened across this:

Which I like ever so much more than the UK version. It's the same artwork, but I think the lighter background of the NA version keeps it from being too dark. Normally I love the rich feel of the pink top and bottom of the UK covers, but I think with the colours this time the NA one gets my vote.

And on amazon there is another translation listed in Spanish. I am not sure which book it is for. I haven't heard anything about THE SOLDIER'S HOMECOMING being translated, and the new one is due out in NA October 14. Which is the right timing for FALLING FOR MR DARK AND DANGEROUS which is an August book. I don't have any details yet to find out which it is. The title could work for either one. But it IS another translation so that makes me happy.

Off to do the school run and then get to work!

Interviews, Cars and Chocolate

Yesterday quite by surprise I ended up being interviewed for television at the school. I didn't realize media was a part of our Music Monday celebrations, and afterwards I had several moments of panic about how I looked and how I sounded. My daughter was also interviewed and she did a great job. We pvr'd both news broadcasts last night and were on both. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as I expected. LOL. My husband later told me that our daughter's eyes were HUGE. LOL. For more information about what Music Monday is all about, go to http://www.musicmonday.ca/.

We taped the news because last night we were car shopping. We are trading in our minivan - we've wanted to do this for a while - and getting a smaller car. My dh had his heart set on a sports car. We took out a Subaru WRX STi and he loved it. For the family...meh. But this car is basically for HIM so I was on board. That being said...we didn't get it. His love for it only went so deep. The deal wasn't one we could live with so we scooted out for some fast food on the way to the Auto Mall.

We went to another dealership as our second choice was there and we asked for a salesman, browsed, waited, and drove away...no one seemed to want our money last night.

Then we drove into one more dealership, as I remembered that they had ONE of the car we were looking for. We ooohed. We aaaahed. (I might have done the majority of oohing and aahing until the kids settled into the leather interior of the back seat, and then they were in the royal carriage.) We took it for a test drive. We got a better trade in for our van. The customer service there was really good. Our salesman had candy for the kids. Bottled water. They had a look at our van...and ran it through their car wash for pete's sake! We bought it. We should be able to pick it up later this week.

I couldn't get the pic from the dealer site as it's flash player, but I google imaged it and this is very close to what it looks like....we don't get a spoiler but we do have a sunroof.

It's an Infiniti G35x. I'm happy as it has all wheel drive. And leather interior. And gadgets. I think the dh really enjoyed the drive too. I know I'm looking forward to it and I'll have a better time driving it than I would trying to get used to a performance car.

So in other news today, Natasha Oakley is the new SPOTLIGHT IN SIX on the Harlequin Romance Author Blog...I'm going over there to post it right now.

She's also issued a chocolate challenge over at the Pink Heart Society.

Without further ado...my choccie recipe for FANTASTIC FUDGE BROWNIES

1 Cup Butter

2 cups sugar

4 heaping tbsp cocoa

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter, sugar and cocoa. Add beaten eggs and vanilla. Add flour. Add nuts at this point if you want nuts...(pecans are my favourite...between 1/2 and 1 cup depending on how nutty you are).

Bake in a 9x13 greased pan at 350 until done. I know this sounds nebulous but my guess is it's about 45 minutes. Then you have to test...you do not want your tester to come out dry, but not with gooey batter either...there should be fudgey bits on it, or it comes out clean but with a coating of moisture.

Frost right away (because then it melts to a glaze) with: 2 cups icing sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp boiling water and 2 tsp vanilla.

YUM YUM YUM.