… and I like this one, too!  It’s at Genre Go Round Reviews, by the famed Harriet Klausner:

This is an exciting romantic suspense with the emphasis on just who is Jenny Waring. Readers, the agency and Kier are hooked with “breaking” Jenny (though our motives differ). It is fascinating to watch the cold hardened Kier break instead as he begins to admire and desire his target. When he falls in love, he knows she broke him. Readers will relish this character driven espionage romantic thriller. (more)

Harriet Klausner

And… drumroll please…. Amazon.com is telling me that Run Among Thorns is in stock, ahead of schedule! 

Chrissy says go and buy it!  Go on!

Yes, I’m over-excited.  I apologise….  ggg

I’m having a very writing day today.  The gardens are screaming for attention, the house needs a clean and I could do with making progress on two MA assigments, but today I’m prioritising reading for a CP, and writing my own stuff.

I’m working on something new and speculative, for the UK market.  It’s going well (3,000 words in the few hours I’ve snatched this week), but since it’s not romantic suspense I have this nagging feeling that nothing’s happening and it’s all rather bland…. *sigh*  It’s hard to know if something is working when you’re out of your comfort zone…. and there are no explosions.

Right.  Off to do breakfast - a quick smoothie I can gulp down - make coffee, and then get started. 

Oh, but before I do - a story of clothing success.  I bought a skirt in the January sales, a delicious confection of ivory silk and indigo-navy net.  Gorgeous.  But I’ve stuggled to find a top to go with it - and I’ve been looking for months.  A wardrobe clear out and winter/summer changeover revealed my summer wardrobe was woefully slim, so I’ve been building it up a bit - just a handful of tops and cardis that’ll go anywhere….  Leaving the supermarket one afternoon, I spotted a lady in a well-fitting gypsy top which looked to be just the shade I was looking for.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I complimented her taste and asked her where she’d bought it.  Obviously pleased, she said she’d got it from Bravissimo, a shop for, um, well, let’s not be shy about this - ladies with big boobs. 

Now, I’m no Katie Price, believe me, just somewhat over average.  I visited the website, made my choices, and today a couple of tops arrived- and I was right!  It goes with the skirt perfectly!!!  And it fits delectably.  Bravo, Bravissimo!

And yes, I am planning outfits for RWA in San Francisco already.  Yes, I am that obsessive…

It’s funny.  When I got The Call, it was at the end of a bad day and completely transformed it into a spectacular one.  And today, which was dogged by a dodgy tum, inexplicable work and other worries, I get home to find my author copies had arrived.

They’re GORGEOUS.

Yes, yes, I know.  I’d say that anyway.  But really.  They are BEAUTIFUL!  I’m in love with the scene break marker - a little black thorn branch….  *wiggle*

Of course, it’s crunch time for Husband.  He never read any of my manuscripts, but always promised he’d read it if it was published….  he just came in to the office with a pile of books to demonstrate it’s position in his To Be Read pile.  He’d have been in a lot of trouble if that position wasn’t, immediately after the one he’s reading now!  

So we ripped open the box together, I caressed my book, and then called Mum so we could cry over it together!  Yes, I know, pathetic…. 

Anyway.  It’s a grand feeling, folks.  I highly recommend it.

Go see my Debut Author Interview on Magical Musings!

This is so much fun…. 

We’re back from holiday (which I’ll talk about later) and something happened on my return to make me think about the milestones for RUN AMONG THORNS.

I remember starting the book, sitting outside in the sunshine on a picnic rug during lunchbreaks.  I remember finishing the first draft, but I don’t remember precisely when I finished the final version, because there were a few revisions involved.  I remember sending it out the first time.

I definitely remember the first rejection.

I remember, vividly, The Call.  The first time I signed a contract.  The first time I saw the cover.

Now I get to store another memory with those milestones of a book.  I get to remember what it felt like to read my first ever review.

It felt fantastic.  A reader read my book!  A real, honest-to-goodness stranger read my book and loved it.  I’m equal parts humbled and overjoyed.  Here’s what Robin (who also picked RUN AMONG THORNS as one of her Top Picks), of Night Owl Romance, had to say:

 4 .5 Hearts.  Ms Lucia weaves a very suspenseful tale with just the correct amount of romance thrown in. I could not put this book down and finished it in one day. This is a definite keeper. The action is fast paced and the attraction between these two characters is touching. 

I’m happy dancing, here!

My debut author interview also appears on the Magical Musings blog tomorrow, so do pop on over and find out more about some of those milestones…  I hope to see you there!

We’re off to Scotland.  Not the wild highlands, but the softer, sweeter, gently peaceful lowlands.  The edge of the Galloway Forest Park, to be precise. 

No phone, no mobile signal, no internet.

Bliss.

On the way, we’ll be visiting here again, during the week we’ll see some of these sights, then on the way home we’ll pop in here.

It’s a dirty job….

See you soon.

For the last couple of weeks, Kate Walker has been having a launch party on her blog for her tome-all-writer’s-should-have’s new edition.  Now, I probably wouldn’t be writing today at all if it weren’t for Kate.  And even if I was writing, I’d be doing it ill-informed and disconnected, because she introduced me to the RNA, and wide world of writing friends.

 Kate’s 12-Point Guide to Writing Romance taught me a lot, and is still an invaluable tool.  It’s one of those books you reach for when you’re stuck, to get tools, understanding, exercises and, perhaps most importantly, questions.

But don’t take my word for it, go and see what other people have been saying about it on her blog.

And then go and buy the new improved 2nd Edition. 

(Thank you, Kate.  For everything.)