I have limited writing time.  I’m not complaining, I’m coming to terms with it, and I try not to use it as an excuse.  Basically, between day job, MA and home commitments, I can put aside about 10 hours a week.

Fair enough.

This being the case, it’s a little off-putting to realise you’re suddenly working on three books at once.  This struck me while posting in comments (no, Biddy, I will not fight you for Gerard Butler… I concede, I concede!) and I’ve got to wonder whether it’s a good thing or not.

So what am I working on?

DANGEROUS LIES – final tweaks before it goes to publisher

DANGER: DEEP WATER – plotting and early first draft scene making

UNNAMED WIP – plotting and revising

The unnamed one is the one I promised myself a spare month to have a look at, and see if it would fit the needs of a UK publisher I’d like to submit to.  DANGER: DEEP WATER is what I hope will be my third book for Medallion Press  (the one with Gareth who’s only Gerard Butler when Biddy can spare him). 

And you know what?  I’m enjoying myself.

I can’t quite work out how to get Gareth and Lisa from a yacht on the Mediterranean to my home ground here, so I can really get stuck in, but it’ll come.

It may involve explosives.

Anyone know how to scuttle a steel-hulled boat?

So, inspired by the RNA’s top leading men list, I set about finding my physical inspiration for Gareth, the hero of my current WIP.

It wasn’t hard.

In fact, I ended up dreaming about him on Monday night, which sealed the deal….

Yes, it’s Gerard Butler of 300/King Leonides fame. I first noticed him in the otherwise disappointing second Tomb Raider movie, where he played a very attractively flawed hero/antagonist.  Then of course he took the planet by storm in 300.

And here’s Gareth from the WIP. We’re in Lisa, the heroine’s, POV:-

So far so good.           

Lisa blew on her coffee and watched the man out of the corner of her eye.He wasn’t being aggressive or controlling, he wasn’t overacting the outrage or too confused.  And, hey, he hadn’t pulled a gun on her yet, a definite plus in her eyes.  He wasn’t even leering all that much, which left her less scope for managing him but was – oh – such a relaxing change.  So far, so good.  Only . . . .

Only he was too cute.

No, cute was too soft and cuddly a word, too fluffy, like that ridiculous surname.  Lacy.  He was not a lace kind of man.  Leather?  No, not really that either.  The worn wool he wore, that was almost felted by bad hand-washing, and was now grey-ish although it had probably been blue once, that wool suited him down to the ground.  Rugged.  Soft and rough at the same time.  Natural.

She blinked, coffee-scented steam in her eyes.

Steady.

Lisa brought the smile back, pursing it to sip cautiously at the hot coffee.  Bliss.  “Better?” he asked, in that gentle voice that was almost an affront to the lines on the face, or the line of that jaw.

And, in case you were wondering, this is Lisa:-

They make a lovely couple, don’t they?

Pity they’re going to very nearly get each other killed….  *rubs hands*

Yes, I know, this one’s been running around blogdom for a few days, but, really, do we need an excuse to make sure the item has legs?  Long, strong, muscular legs…

Johnny Depp and Pierce Brosnan make Romantic Novelists’ hearts throb

Members of the Romantic Novelists’ Association have voted Johnny Depp as the Number One Perfect Romantic Hero in a poll to mark Valentine’s Day. According to these authors, a romantic hero should be gorgeous, deliciously sexy, intensely masculine and have a commanding presence.

‘We should be qualified to judge,’ one writer commented. ‘After all, we create these heroes on paper every day.’

The top ten male celebrities voted the Perfect Romantic Hero were:

1. Johnny Depp
2. Daniel Craig
3. Sean Bean
4. Richard Armitage
5. Hugh Jackman
6. Colin Firth
7. Alan Rickman
8. Pierce Brosnan
9. George Clooney
10. David Tennant

A second poll, taken by members of the RNA admitting to being over a certain age, voted for male celebrities over fifty who’ve ‘still got it’. Remarkable for his appearance on both polls, Pierce Brosnan took the crown for the over fifties by a huge margin.

The top ten Over -Fifty Perfect Romantic Heroes were:

1. Pierce Brosnan
2. Harrison Ford
3. Ranulph Fiennes
4. Bill Nighy
5. Liam Neeson
6. Sam Neill
7. Sean Connery
8. Peter O’Toole
9. Clint Eastwood
10. Omar Sharif

I don’t know what it says about me, but I wouldn’t kick any of those, from either list, out of bed.  Except perhaps David Tennant (sorry Julie).  Mind you, I can take or leave Richard Armitage (do NOT get the fuss) and Colin Firth, personally.

BUT, the bit that makes me grin is number 2 on the first list:  Mr Craig.  Because, you know, I just finished revising a book where the blond, spy hero is described thusly:

“He was fair . . . no, he was golden, gilded, bright.  Tall, slim, with a grace of movement that made her stomach clench.  His hair was short, tousled, but his grooming was impeccable.  Blue eyes, a face lined in the shape of a smile, even now, as he frowned at her.  Surfer dude meets the City of London.  The debonair beach bum.”

And, you know I wrote that years before My Craig was ever dreamed of for Bond. 

I feel so smug….

So, yes, I’m about a week behind the times with a post about the gorgeous and exciting Romantic Novel of The Year Awards Luncheon, but I have some good pics to share, so I’m going to post anyway, okay?  Good.

I went as the guest of Julie Cohen, shortlisted for the Romance Prize.  Every shortlisted author found a red rose, courtesy of the Romantic Novelists’ Association (lovely touch) at their table, and here is Julie with hers..

The Harlequin Mills and Boon editors were much in evidence, and here is Julie with her lovely editor Maddie (who is a goddess in human form. And I don’t even write for them….)

The Romance Prize (which is the Award for a short romance novel) went to Kate Hardy, and we all cheered madly – it couldn’t have gone to a nicer lady. You can go and see her pics and congratulate her yourself here.

Julie and I pottered round London the day after the Awards, for research purposes, you know. And I found out how impressively the Millennium Bridge frames St Paul’s Cathedral.  Later that day I went to pay my respects at the Duke of Wellington’s tomb…  Husband was jealous!

For more pics of the Awards, and of the M&B 100th anniversary party the same week, try Liz Fenwick’s blog, Liz Fielding’s blog, and Michelle Styles’ blog!

Have you ever noticed how, when you’re really busy, you want to do anything else rather than the task you have to complete?

You long to finish, so that you can concentrate on more rewarding activities like, say, organising the larder cupboard.

Currently, my list of things I really, really want the time to do includes:-

1. Hoovering the house really thoroughly.  You know, including those corners that have some cosmic attraction for cat hair, and that Husband usually overlooks.
2. Shaving my winter coat.  It’s covered with those little woollen dangly pills and threads, and Mum gave me this nifty pill-remover thing.  I really want to tidy up my coat.
3. Baking something.  Since I’m dieting, in spite of my principles on the subject, this reduces the baking repertoire somewhat.  And WHY is it so impossible to buy a decent flapjack?  Like, one that isn’t completely swimming in butter and sugar, contains good quality oats, fruit (but not cherries or apricots, blech) maybe some nuts, and definitely some seeds???  They’re all either full of nasty additives, dripping in sat fat, or too cake-y.
4. Tidying my office.  Nuff said.
5. Clearing out the store cupboard in the utility room.  The one with the canned goods, some of them ten years past their best before.  Some of those tins came with us when we moved house.
6. Clearing out the larder cupboard just outside the kitchen.  There are things in there that never made it back into the kitchen when we had it re-done.  And I think there is something living in the old bags of flour.
7. Getting the boiler serviced.  No boiler should be dripping green.  (yes, we do have carbon monoxide detectors, and its’ a fairly new boiler.  Panic not.)
8. Brushing the cats.  A full-time job that’s gone by the by.  The blanket on their bed beside me, which has only been down a few weeks, could be sheared.
9. Cutting up and composting the old Christmas tree in the front yard.  That’s just so… so un-classy….
10. Taking regular exercise.  Yeah, I know.

So, just let me finish this marketing info, finish the contracted book that’s due, and I’m tackling that list…

What’s on your list of things you want to do, if only…?

So you can find me briefly mentioned on Biddy’s Blog, and while you’re at it, pop over to the Pink Heart Society and look at her guest blog, there, too.

Today I’m visiting Julie Cohen, while Biddy’s feeding the Nuns…