I hope you enjoyed my Big Blog Tour - I certainly did! It was great to visit so many interesting sites, and ’chat’ with you all. The tour finished with a Grand Christmas Draw, and I’ve announced the winner of that on my Blogger page. The lucky person will be receiving a Christmas Stocking filled with Weight of the Crown themed gifts. Congratulations!

September saw the start of my blog tour to celebrate the release of Weight of the Crown, my latest Modern Romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon. I hope you’ll visit all the sites that have been kind enough to play host to me between now and the tour’s end on 15th December. There will be regular giveaways, and as an added incentive to follow Lysander and Alyssa’s royal progress around the Internet, the names of all the people who comment on every single one of the blogs will be entered in a grand draw to be made on the day of my wrap-up party, 15th December. The prize is a Christmas stocking full of Weight of the Crown themed items!

Weight of the Crown is the story of Lysander, whose playboy lifestyle ended when his brother the king was killed. Now Lysander has to rule the desert country of Rosara until his little orphaned nephew is old enough to take on the task. Assuming control is second nature to Lysander, but he’s only too happy to delegate childcare to an expert. That’s where super nanny Alyssa steps in - but it isn’t long before these two driven, dedicated individuals discover there’s more to life than duty…

I’ve just got back from a week’s holiday in England’s beautiful Peak District. The people are warm and wonderful and the scenery is stunning - though I’m glad we were there in summer rather than winter. As we crested one bleak ridge after another and saw miles of windswept countryside spread out before us, I couldn’t help remembering the winter snows that kept this soft southerner snowed in for three weeks back in February.

There was a lovely surprise waiting for me when I got home. The author copies of my next Modern Romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon Ltd, Weight of the Crown, were waiting for me. What do you think of the cover? It’s a bit different from The Italian’s Blushing Gardener, isn’t it? That’s quite fitting as Weight of the Crown has a different setting from the Mediterranean I love so much. This book is set in the fictional kingdom of Rosara, where playboy Lysander has been catapulted into the top job by the death of his brother…

To celebrate the launch of Weight of the Crown, two very special things are happening. Firstly, I’m launching an occasional newsletter which will keep you up to date with all my latest releases. I’m planning exclusive competitions and extracts for subscribers, and you can add your name to the list by clicking on the link below my ’welcome’ post above. Everyone who subscribes will get an email copy of my Five Top Tips for Writing Success with their first edition of the newsletter.

Secondly, I’m going on a blog tour. The latest details are available here and the names of everyone who tracks my progress keenly enough to comment on every site will be put into a draw when the tour finishes on December 15th for the chance to win a Grand Finale prize.

Stop Press: congratulations to Suzanne, Ju, Elaine and Julie N - who were the first names drawn from among the lovely readers who commented on Nas Dean’s Romance Book Paradise - and to Shadow Kohler, who won my Summer Competition below.

To celebrate the July release of my latest Harlequin Presents Extra title, The Count’s Challenge, I’m running a competition with a signed copy of The Count’s Challenge for the winner, together with a little book of recipes, as heroine Gwen loves to cook. For a chance to win, all you have to do is to read this extract…

Gwen had always dreamed of becoming the chef in a top-class restaurant. She had managed it in record time by going into partnership with her best friend from catering college. Carys had supplied the glamour and business sense. Gwen had done the cooking, and kept her head down. Their system had worked perfectly, until her partner’s romantic adventures had thrown the business into chaos. Carys had vanished, leaving Gwen high and dry. Unable to find another partner, Gwen had been faced with a stark choice. She could sell up and go home. That would mean admitting to her parents that ’The Le Rossignol Affair’, as they called it, was a big mistake. Or she could mortgage herself to the hilt and make her new life work, alone. One path led back to the safety of the village shop where she had been born. The other route disappeared into an unknown future, but at least it was her own. She would be independent, without the need to rely on other people.

…and answer the simple question - What is the name of Gwen’s runaway best friend? Send your answer in an email to me, at christinahollis@hotmail.co.uk with the words ’Summer Competition’ in the subject line. The winner will be the first name pulled out of my best beekeeping hat on Sunday, August 21st. Good luck!

Christina x

Extract © Harlequin Mills and Boon Ltd, 2011

July sees the release of my Modern Romance The French Aristocrat’s Baby in the US, where it will appear as a Harlequin Presents Extra entitled The Count’s Challenge. I love this book, as I once dreamed of becoming a chef like Gwen. When it came to choosing a career, I found that the working hours as a writer are much more family friendly, and I get to cook every day anyway! I hope you enjoy reading The Count’s Challenge - I’d love to hear what you think.

In a very timely coincidence, enthusiastic reader Nas has just reviewed The Count’s Challenge on the eHarlequin members’ site:

"THE COUNT’S CHALLENGE also released as THE FRENCH ARISTOCRAT’S BABY, M&B Modern series, is fast-paced and feel-good romance that sparkles with red-hot sensuality, mesmerizing emotion and intense passion.
It’s a wonderfully written and richly layered love story from one of Harlequin Presents’ popular authors; THE COUNT’S CHALLENGE is another keeper from the fabulous pen of Christina Hollis!"

What can I say to such kind words!

I’m hosting guest blogs on Blogger each Friday during the month of July, as well as blogging at Author Sound Relations on 10th July. I’d love to hear from you. Why not drop by and leave a comment?

Christina x

Newsflash!
Congratulations to Minna and Judith, who both won signed copies of The Hot Head Virgin collection in my May draw!

I blog regularly at Author Sound Relations, eHarlequin’s Authors’ Blogs, Tumblr and Blogger as well as dropping into Facebook and Twitter. On Twitter, by the way, I appear as @ChristinaBooks. I’m still trying to get to grips with blogging so if anyone has any tips, I’d be very grateful! I love to hear from readers, so you can leave a comment at any of these sites.

Happy Reading!

Christina x

I’ve just had a wonderful surprise - the three-romances-in-one volume, The Hot Headed Virgin is now on sale in Australia. This book has a special place in my heart because it teams the very first Modern Romance I ever wrote for Harlequin Mills and Boon, The Italian Billionaire’s Virgin, with novels by Trish Morey and Melanie Milburne, whose books I really love.

This latest edition has a hot new cover - see the image on the right. The original artwork was beautiful, while the new one is both beautiful and sexy. Which one do you like best? They’re available as real books from Harlequin Mills and Boon (UK) and Amazon UK and as eBooks alone from Harlequin Mills and Boon (Australia), eBooks.com and Amazon US.

I’m also offering some signed copies as prizes. Just email me at christinahollis @hotmail.co.uk, including the words ’May Competition’ in the subject line to be included in the prize draw, which will take place on 1st June. Good luck!

Best Wishes and Happy Reading!

Christina x

The last few days have been more like summer than spring. Warm sunshine has laid cherry blossom on the boughs as thick and white as the snow was, only a couple of months ago. The swallows are back, and as I’m typing this they are swooping around the yard, trying to find some mud to repair their nests in the old cart shed. It’s been so dry lately there are more dust devils than puddles, and I’ve had to top up the pond already - mind you, the cat didn’t help by puncturing the lining with his claws while chasing tadpoles!

I’m blogging about birthdays on Author Sound Relations on Sunday 8th May, and there are regular updates at my blogspots at Blogger and eHarlequin.com. I’d love you to drop by and comment! At the moment I’m working on a new Modern Romance/Presents for Harlequin, which has the working title ’Fire and Ice’. The story is practically finished, but there is still some fine tuning of the details to be done. Sadly it all has to be done in the office, so I’ll be kept indoors looking out at the spring for a while yet!

Happy Reading!

Christina x

Winter has been going on forever, but there are a few signs of life showing here and there. Hazel catkins in the wood have started to lengthen, and the snowdrops are beginning to show. An old name for snowdrops is ’Candlemas Bells’ because they’re at their best around Candlemas (2nd February). There’s an old wives’ tale that says if the sun shines on Candlemas Day winter will return for another long spell, so let’s hope it stays cloudy that day!

The good thing about short days and long, cosy evenings in front of the fire is the chance to do lots of reading and writing. At the moment my TBR pile includes some entries for the RITA Awards, and from the amount I’ve read so far, I can see that the standard is very impressive. We’re only allowed to judge categories outside of our own specialist genre, which is a great incentive to read types of romantic fiction I don’t normally come across.

I’ve entered two of my 2010 titles, The French Aristocrat’s Baby and The Italian’s Blushing Gardener for the RITAs, so I have my fingers firmly crossed. Don’t forget that many of my books are also available as eBooks from eHarlequin.com, and other online booksellers such as Amazon.

I’m taking a few days away from the keyboard now to catch up on the gardening, try out some new recipes and get the bee equipment checked and ready for the new season, which will be starting in only a few weeks time. The reason for this lovely little holiday is that the stressing over my most recent Christina Hollis work in progress is over - Love and Loyalty has been accepted by Harlequin Mills & Boon Ltd, and will be released in the UK in September 2011. Love and Loyalty is only the working title, so watch this space to find out its official title and the release dates planned for other countries.

In the meantime, I’ll be blogging on Author Sound Relations every month as usual, beginning on 13th February. I’d love you to drop by and post a comment!

My latest Harlequin Presents Extra title, Master of Bella Terra is now available in the US; you can purchase a copy by simply clicking on the image to the left.

The winners of the competition I posted at the end of November were Beth and Kelly, who should be getting their prizes soon because the snow eventually cleared enough for me to get out to the main road! They were picked at random from those who wrote in with correct answer to my question,

"What title will my November 2010 UK romance, The Italian’s Blushing Gardener, have when it is released in the US in January 2011?"

The answer is of course Master of Bella Terra. Congratulations to you both!

The run up to Christmas has started already!

I hope readers in the US all had a happy Thanksgiving, and that you’re looking forward to the midwinter break now. Here in the UK snow isn’t all that common and bad winters are rare, so everyone got caught out by last year’s blizzards. As we live half a mile from the nearest gritted road, each autumn I pack a box with emergency supplies (toilet paper, candles, matches, chocolate… just the bare necessities of life!) so we can sit out the storms when bad weather strikes. As I write, the low winter sun is glistening on a light dusting of snow. Christmas is still a few weeks away, but our drive is treacherous so nobody is going anywhere today.

I’m about to start my Christmas present list, so that when we can get out, one shopping trip should do it. After that, I’m going to curl up in front of the fire with the cat on one side, a cup of tea (and obligatory chunk of something chocolatey!) and a big stack of romances. I’ll see you in a while - on Sunday, 12th December to be precise, which is when I’ll be blogging at Author Sound Relations with a few last minute Christmas present ideas. I’d love you to drop by and post a comment!

Congratulations to…

Laurie, Annie and Peggy, who were all winners of my most recent competition, drawn on 22nd October; they each win a signed copy of The Italian’s Blushing Gardener. If you’d like a copy too, you can purchase one by simply clicking on the image. Thank you to everyone who entered - keep your eyes open for news of a holiday special, coming up in a few weeks time!

Here in rural Gloucestershire we’ve gone from summer to autumn practically overnight. The beech leaves began turning a few weeks ago, but some recent hard frosts have persuaded the long, toothed leaves of the sweet chestnut trees to start changing from green to gold. Soon pattering in the wood won’t only be the sound of squabbling squirrels. It will be falling leaves, and instead of collecting sweet chestnut honey we’ll be roasting nuts in the fire. The greenhouse is full of pumpkins, waiting to be turned into soup.

Once it starts getting chilly, there’s nothing nicer than to curl up in front of the fire with something nice to eat, and maybe a romance to hand!

Love,

Christina x

Where has the year gone?

We’ve just come back from a short holiday in the London Docklands, (which is actually much better than it sounds). I’m writing this at the end of August, and there’s already a different feeling in the air. Our home is deep in the English countryside and makes a real contrast with all those lovely London shops and busy streets, although as you can see below we came across some beautiful passion flowers hanging over the railings of a London garden. Fruit is ripening all around our own garden, and the bees are busily organising their stores of honey. It won’t be long until we’re into the main preserving season. I love that - lining the kitchen shelves with bottles and jars in jewel like colours.

As usual I’ve entered the latest BBC Short Story competition and the Bridport Prize, and in the long wait for the results I’ve been busy editing a collection of my short stories. This will be published in 2012. I’m also working on a new Modern Romance intended for Harlequin Mills and Boon. It has the working title ’Love and Loyalty’, and I’ve already fallen in love with the hero, Prince Lysander. He’s shaping up to be one of my favourite men. You can follow his development from dream to full blown Alpha male and get lots of other little snippets about my life as a writer via my tweets as christinabooks on Twitter. Tweeting is great fun - have you tried it yet?

Things to come

November 2010 sees the publication of my next Mills and Boon Modern Romance, which is called The Italian’s Blushing Gardener. This is Kira and Stefano’s story, set in and around Stefano’s beautiful Italian estate of Bella Terra. Kira moved into the area first, determined to make a new life for herself in an isolated paradise. She resents her rich new neighbour Stefano, assuming he’ll wreck the place and modernise its beautiful old house out of all recognition. Stefano surprises her in more ways than one, and they both have a lot to learn about life, love and each other.

Isn’t the new style cover art for the Modern Romance line lovely? I think Kira’s look of cheeky determination on the front of The Italian’s Blushing Gardener really suits her character, but then I’m biased!

July’s release of The Count of Castelfino as a Harlequin Presents Extra edition in the USA is still available for online purchase from the eHarlequin site. Many of my books are also available as eBooks from eHarlequin.com, and other online booksellers such as Amazon.

I’m also on Facebook and have a regular spot on Author Sound Relations, so why don’t you drop by and post a comment? I’d love to hear from you!

A Touch of the Sun…

We’re having some beautiful weather at the moment: just right for sitting in the shade with an ice cold glass of something bubbly and a good book! Thank you to everyone who came to the charity event "On that note…"; it was lovely to meet you and weren’t the strawberries and cream delicious?

June and July are going to be busy months for me. On Sunday July 13th I’m blogging on www.authorsoundrelations.com about family life, and on July 3rd I’ll be writing on www.iheartpresents.com about passion - what else? July also sees the release of The Count Of Castelfino as a Harlequin Presents Extra in the USA.

Spring to come…

At last the weather has improved! This has been the longest winter I can remember, but now Spring is definitely under way. Pussy willow and catkins are filling the wood with silver and gold, much to the delight of the bees. They are spoiled for choice, with the wood on one side and the garden full of spring bulbs and wallflowers on the other. May 2010 is going to be a very exciting month for me. My latest Modern Romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon, The French Aristocrat’s Baby, comes out in both hardback and paperback in the UK. Here’s a little taster:

Struggling chef Gwen flew to France to fulfil her dreams - she’d rather work herself into the ground than return to her smothering family. But all her determination can’t help her resist the intense gaze of Count Etienne Moreau…

’You’ve come to apologise?’ she ventured.

That wiped the smile off his face. He grazed his lower lip with his teeth.

’No…what for?’ He questioned, mystified.

Gwen was already crimson. She hardened her features.He mustn’t guess she was thinking about the way his muscles bunched beneath the fine gold skin of his chest. Fidgeting with embarrassment, she blew a stray curl of hair back from her brow with a gust of hot breath.

’You know very well what for, Etienne Moreau.’

He gazed at her, shaking his head. ’No, I don’t.’

She stared back. HIs ebony eyes looked so steady and honest she found it impossible to believe he was goading her. And yet she was being forced into saying things that made her blood boil with embarrassment. She glared up at him malevolently. ’You tried to buy me. You reduced me to the level of a bowl of bouillabaisse! You asked me to be your mistress!’ She hissed.

To her total amazement, his response was a confiding chuckle.

’What’s the matter with that? As far as I’m concerned, that is one of the greatest compliments a man can pay a woman.’

’Well, it comes pretty low on my agenda, I can tell you.’ Gwen snapped. The day was already warm, and she was getting hotter by the second.

Etienne managed to stop smiling, but could not hide the relish in his eyes. ’That isn’t how it felt to me, last night,’ he murmured.

Now read on!

I can never get over the thrill of seeing the name Christina Hollis on display in the bookshops.

In addition, my very first Modern Romance, The Italian Billionaire’s Virgin, has come out as a Mills and Boon ’By Special Request’ three in one volume.

I’m teamed with the lovely Trish Morey and Melanie Milburne in The Hot Headed Virgin. It’s as good as it sounds, and has a beautiful cover too.

Happy reading!

Love,

Christina x

Snow, Snow, slow, slow, Snow…

Well that wasn’t much fun! It doesn’t take a lot of snow before England grinds to a halt, and where we live we’ve had more snow this winter than over the last twenty years. The photo is of the path from our back door to our shed: pretty for the first day or so but the novelty soon wears off… There’s a steep hill between us and the main road which means that if we get any snow or ice, we can’t get out. Usually that’s only for one or two days every year, but last month we were stuck for most of two weeks! The grocery delivery van couldn’t reach us and so we had to resort to taking a wheelbarrow through the forest to meet it on the main road.

Still, the time wasn’t wasted. I was able to finish my previous manuscript and send it off to my editor, which in turn means that I was able to start work on the next. Hope to fill you in on the details soon…

Blog Talk…

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, keeping warm and snug or cool and shaded, depending on whether you’re in a chilly climate or a warmer one. I can’t believe how quickly the break passed by. On January 10th I’ll be blogging on Author Sound Relations (aka Tote Bags’ n ’Blogs), so come on over. I’d love you to visit and leave a comment. There’ll be a small prize for a spot winner.

Talking of prizes, did you drop in on the eHarlequin.com Open House just before Christmas? It was great fun as usual, with plenty of good wishes, lots of chat and virtual mince pies. Sri from Colorado won a signed copy of my latest Modern Romance, The Count of Castelfino. and some other goodies. Congratulations again, Sri!

Encouragement…

My good friends at CataRomance have had more kind words to say about me & my books. It’s always wonderful to get such positive feedback; it makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Social Networking…

With the help of my wonderful daughter, I’m now on twitter as christinabooks and on facebook as Christina-Hollis. Join me there!

Tempus Redux…

The clocks have just gone back, giving everyone in the UK an extra hour in bed. Outside the drizzle is falling, and the temptation to turn to hearty stews and nursery puddings is almost irresistible. I’ve got lots of comforting new recipes I want to try out, courtesy of those roving TV cooks The Hairy Bikers but right now I’m keeping my fingers busy tapping away at the keyboard. When I’m not working on my latest Modern Romance (working title: Escape To Paradise) I’m posting up snippets of this and that on Twitter.com as christinabooks. It’s great fun - why don’t you have a look?

Excuses, Excuses…

The last weeks have been even more hectic than usual! First I had my last book to finish, then the next one to get under way, then all my guest blogging and finally a tummy bug that has swept through the family… As someone (who?) once wrote about seasickness: "First you’re afraid that you’re going to die, then you’re afraid that you’re not."

What makes the days flying by even more scary is how fast that Christmas is approaching! At least a visit to the eHarlequin site www.eharlequin.com will solve a lot of my present worries. A little romance will be a wonderful way to stay warm during the colder months ahead…

Past & Future…

During August, I ran a competition asking for readers’ favourite flower memories. This was inspired by the cover of my next Modern Romance, The Count of Castelfino. Heroine Meg’s love of flowers is reflected in the cover, and I asked for favourite flower memories. The response was absolutely overwhelming! It took quite a while to read through all the entries, and what a pleasure that was. I’ve never had such a long ’shortlist’ of possible winners. In the end I resorted to drawing a name from the finalists at random. The lucky winner is Jeanette, from Ontario in Canada. Her lovely story about being presented with a rose over dinner, and then drying it to keep as a souvenir really brought a lump to my throat.

Over the next few weeks I shall be blogging on some other sites. Between 14th and 18th September I’m writing for www.iheartpresents.com, and on 13th September for www.authorsoundrelations.com. Hope to see you there!

Summer’s Back…

We’re just having our first day of summer weather for about a month, so the temptation is to get outside and enjoy it. Later on today I’m going to be taking the top copies from my teetering TBR pile and lose myself for a couple of hours. There are some tremendous titles available in both Modern Romance and Presents this month.

Have you visited www.iheartpresents.com lately? There’s a great photo of lots of your favourite Mills and Boon authors enjoying a meal in Washington. I’m so envious that I didn’t get to go - Sharon Kendrick’s teaser of a gorgeous guest, and that talk of garlic fries…mmm!

A New Count…

I’ve just received my advance copies of The Count of Castelfino which is a Modern Romance due for release in the autumn. What do you think of the cover?

I’m glad it’s got some roses there in the corner, as my heroine Meg loves flowers.

Happy reading!

Love,

Christina x

Summer’s Here…

…and the weather so far in the UK has been glorious. There’s been plenty of sun, lightened by lovely cooling breezes. It’s perfect for relaxing outside with a long cold drink and a red hot romance!

June 2009 sees the release of my latest Mills and Boon Modern Romance, The Tuscan Tycoon’s Pregnant Housekeeper. I really enjoyed writing this summery story, particularly the scene where Michelle meets Alessandro in the starlit garden:

His profile was stunning as he looked up at the wide sky full of stars. In her mind his lips offered beautiful words, spoken just for her. More than that, she fantasised about the touch of them against her skin. Sitting next to him like this was a fragile bubble of happiness. The gentle chorus of insects, the cool breeze on her skin and the perfume of ripening fruit and flowers all added to the magic. Not even a bat, arriving to flicker around the heliotropes, could destroy this moment.

Alessandro looked to see if she was affected by it, and chuckled.

’Strawberries, champagne and a stranger after midnight - you’re taking it all in your stride, Michelle,’ he teased her gently.

There was a bitter-chocolate quality about his voice that sent a tremor right through Michelle’s body. He noticed.

’You’re cold - dannazione! If I’d brought my jacket I’d offer it to you. Why don’t you go inside and fetch something?

’I don’t have anything,’ she replied, hoping he would believe her. This was all too precious to spoil.

’Then sit closer to me. I can shield you from any chill.’

’I’m not cold.’ Not any more, she thought, taking in a long, slow breath…

Up and Coming

In July, Cheryl the nanny and Marco the rugged, self-made man get their chance to shine in The Ruthless Italian’s Inexperienced Wife when it hits the shops as a Harlequin Presents Extra title. This was another lovely book to write, especially the part when Marco whisks Cheryl off to his private tropical island for a relaxing break which turns into something a lot more intimate:

In one sinuous movement Marco slid an arm around her waist. He swept her into her apartment, off her feet- and onto his. Half a dozen steps in her new silver stilettos convinced them both Cheryl was no dancer. She stumbled and fell into him.

’This is our first meeting all over again.’ He chuckled softly into her ear. Her cheeks pinkened with a rush of guilty pleasure. He supported her, and showed no signs of letting go. Despite the feeling she must be leaving prints all over Marco’s bare feet, Cheryl let him carry on. This chance to feel his arms around her one more time made her reckless, and she laughed.

’Oh, dear. I’m sorry, Marco!’

’Don’t be,’ He murmured. ’I can’t expect you to be absolutely perfect in everything. After all, dancing isn’t part of your job description.’

Oh how I wish it was, Cheryl thought. It would be the perfect excuse to accept his arms around her at any time, without any consequences…

A New Release!

My latest Harlequin Presents title, Her Ruthless Italian Boss has been out in the USA for a couple of weeks, and today I received a keepsake of the cover art. Isn’t it lovely?

As it’s the last day of February, I’ve drawn the winner of my Valentine competition. Thanks to everyone who entered. I had a great time sifting through all the replies!

Congratulations and a little parcel of goodies goes to Carol Thompson from Gauteng, South Africa. It’s summer over there at the moment, and Carol’s ideal Valentine treat is a braai (barbecue) beneath the stars, alone with her husband.

I think that sounds wonderful, but I think I’ll wait a few months before trying it her in frosty Gloucestershire. We have the stars, but not the lovely weather!

I did a Temptation Tuesday blog for The Pink Heart Society this week. As it coincided with Shrove Tuesday, there are no prizes for guessing what I wrote about - pancakes!

Readers came up with lots of good ideas for fillings, and I tried adding some clean snow to my pancake batter to see if it made it any lighter, as my grandmother used to say.
It did, since I suppose it was like thinning the batter with distilled water, but the resulting pancakes weren’t as filling as the usual sort. I don’t think I’ll be repeating that experiment!

Happy flipping!

Love,

Christina x

The February Freeze begins…

The weathermen have been giving out dire warnings of severe blizzards for the UK, and as I write the sky looks full of snow. We’ve had snowdrops out in flower for a while now - they’ve lasted well in the chilly, still weather, but I don’t know how they’ll react to being bashed about by a snowstorm. It’s always cheering to see snowdrops braving the cold, but one clump of ours has special sentimental value. It came from the grounds of an old house whose original owner was a keen plant collector. The car park was being extended, and the new owners let me rescue a clump of self-sown snowdrops that would otherwise have disappeared under the tarmac. As a result I don’t know what variety they are - probably a mixture of any number of exotic sorts - but the flowers are big, bold and held up high on long stems. Unfortunately the flowers aren’t very prolific so they don’t produce white sheets of blossom like their smaller relatives, but they make quite a statement in a bud vase!

Throughout February, I’ll be running a Valentine- themed competition. To enter, mail me at christinahollis@hotmail.co.uk, putting the words ’Valentine Competition’ in the subject line and tell me your ideal Valentine treat. Mine is sharing an indulgent brand of coffee (fairly traded, of course!) and some cake with my favourite man, just the two of us warm and snug, while the winter storms rage outside…

Crunchy Marmalade?

I like to make my own jams, jellies and preserves. January sees my stocks of soft fruit conserves running low, but the Seville Oranges hit the shops last week so I bought a bagful and settled down to make some marmalade. I’d found a new recipe which sounded quicker and easier than my old faithful one, so I decided to try it. Talk about familiarity breeding contempt! It cooked far faster than I expected, so in the time it took to make a cup of tea it went from ’almost ready’ to ’almost ruined’! I managed to salvage five jars of marmalade, but the last inch or so in the pan looked a bit too dark. The finished batch of marmalade is edible, but stiffer than usual. There’s a faint tang of treacle about it and some of the peel is decidedly chewy, but it still manages to taste better than most shop bought marmalade. That’ll teach me to take my eye off the pan!

If the shop still has Seville oranges this week, I’ll try the new recipe again - properly this time! - and let you have the recipe if it works out ok.

Home Alone

After a false start, my family have finally gone back to paid work and schoolwork, respectively. My OH had an unscheduled extra day of holiday as snow fell on Sunday night. It cut us off from the outside world. We live nearly half a mile from the nearest main road and at the end of a narrow track, which is itself at the bottom of a steep slope. If there’s too much snow to sweep away easily, cars are useless until it thaws. A few years ago I took a chance which ended in an accident, so nobody goes in for heroics any more.

One good thing about our relative isolation is the number of birds we see in the garden, especially when it is cold. A heron glided in only a few feet over my head the other day, and this morning we’ve already had a nuthatch, dunnocks, all sorts of titmice, thrushes and the resident robin squabbling on the bird tables. Let’s hope the spring is kinder to them than this winter has been!

Happy Christmas Revisited

I’ve just posted my very last Christmas card of the 2008 season. Here it is - a design from The Riverside Collection in Holmfirth, Yorkshire (it’s good to know that pretty village isn’t simply the backdrop for the TV programme ’Last of the Summer Wine’). This card is going off long after all the others for a special reason. It isn’t because I forgot anybody, but because my mentor Paul Groves is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church. He doesn’t celebrate the big day until January 6th. So Happy Christmas to everyone who will be doing the same thing!

My family is just emerging from the horrible cold virus that’s been doing the rounds. Nobody has felt like venturing out of the house for ages, but of course we’re all raring to go now. Unfortunately, the new school term starts this week, so we’ve missed our chance. Best wishes to everyone who is suffering from sniffles and snuffles at the moment. Why not curl up with some hot honey and lemon, a Christina Hollis romance, and escape to a land of sun and seduction…

Post Christmas Post

I hope you all managed to snatch at least a few hours of relaxation over the past week! This short period between Christmas and New Year is always quiet. Here in England the days are at their shortest. Nights are long and very dark. We’ve had some beautifully starry nights lately, especially when the temperature dipped below freezing. My whole family has been suffering from the nasty cold that has been sweeping the whole country. We had a picnic planned this week, but unfortunately we were all sniffing and sneezing so much, nobody felt like leaving the house. It’s a good job everyone loves reading - nobody got bored. I had plenty to do besides curling up with the TBR pile, including an interview for Romance Books Newsletter which will be appearing online in January, and work on my latest Modern Romance WIP. And then of course there’s all those Christmas chocolates to eat…

More Christmas Cheer

Here’s a picture my small son made to wish you all a Happy Holiday Season. Isn’t it great? He worked so hard on it. Let’s hope there’s lots of peace and crackers and enough snow for snowmen this year, but only when we’re all safely tucked up inside, and nobody has to do any travelling! The weather has turned quite mild here but I’ve heard there’s ten inches of snow in Connecticut at the moment. I’ve noticed that here on the west side of England we often get the USA’s weather a few days after they’ve been suffering. Let’s hope it doesn’t follow the pattern this year. A little bit of seasonal weather is lovely to look at, but plays havoc with all the transport systems!

Here’s another charity card we’ve received this year. This design is being sold in aid of the local hospital, which was saved from closure only after a lot of hard work and fund raising by dedicated volunteers. They’ve worked so hard, they really deserve their success.

This is my last blog before Christmas. I’ve still got some presents to wrap, and there’s mince pies to make, ready for a certain visitor due on Christmas Eve and dressed in red... Whatever you’re doing, I hope you have a wonderful holiday and a peaceful, relaxed start to the new year.

Happy Christmas!

Love,

Christina x

Christmas Charity Cheer

What do you think of this Christmas card? It comes from the charity Greyhound Rescue West of England. They rehome retired or mistreated greyhounds, and run a sponsorship scheme to help with the cost of ongoing treatment for those dogs in need of continuous specialist care. Our children sponsor a dog each -via Mum and Dad!- and every Christmas they get a Christmas card each, in return. Jynx the cat finds this arrangement so much easier on his nerves than having to share the fireside with a real dog!

Countdown to Christmas

School artwork is getting seasonal! What do you think of the picture my son brought home yesterday? The playground was too icy for the chidren to go out at breaktime, so they all got busy indoors. Tomorrow, our village church is collecting presents to take to the local women’s refuge. We’ll be lighting the second Advent candle during the service. Thank goodness the weather has turned a bit milder - last week the first candle’s poor little flame kept being blown flat by an icy downdraught!

Oops!

I had no end of trouble putting up the competiton results and blog, and I’m afraid the versions that appeared yesterday missed out two of the prizewiners. Luckily I’d already contacted them with the news direct by email, but a million apologies to Max Livingstone and Pip Childs - sorry!

Congratulations!

I’ve just drawn the winners of my November competition. The correct answer to the question: What is the special name given to the rulers who lived in Venice’s beautiful palace? is of course the Doges. The first two names out of the hat were Jane Cheung and Christine Dionne, so congratulations to you both. Their prizes will be in the post as soon as possible. We’ve recently lost our local Post Office, which is a problem shared by many places in the UK. With Christmas on its way, we’re really going to miss our little meeting place in the centre of the village!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Season’s greetings to everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving Day! This will be the first year I haven’t had any home-grown pumpkins left at this time- it was such a wet miserable summer we only had a few, and they were converted into soup long ago. My husband had such a great time one November when he was working in New York. He was invited into the home of an office worker he had met only hours before, and got the full family feast treatment. They couldn’t bear to think of him working on Thanksgiving, then going back to a hotel room alone. How’s that for hospitality?

Don’t forget my competition ends on Friday, 28th November. For the chance of winning signed books and other goodies, just mail me at christinahollis @hotmail.co.uk with the answer to this simple question:

What is the special name given to the rulers who lived in Venice’s beautiful palace?

Good luck!

The Tension Mounts...

It’s only a couple of weeks now until The Ruthless Italian’s Inexperienced Wife goes on sale in the UK. December 1st is the big day. I can’t wait to find out what you think of it, especially the first scene where Cheryl is alone in a spooky old villa in the middle of a terrifying storm. This was great fun to write, but I’m feeling a bit apprehensive about it now as the first big storm of the winter is forecast to hit us here later in the day.

Don’t forget my competition ends on Friday, 28th November. For the chance of winning signed books and other goodies, just mail me at christinahollis @hotmail.co.uk with the answer to this simple question:

What is the special name given to the rulers who lived in Venice’s beautiful palace?

Good luck!

Month of Opportunity

It’s only the second week of November, but it’s already shaping up to be quite a month. Thank you to everyone who has entered my competiton - it’s running until the 28th, so there’s still time to join in! For the chance of winning signed books and other goodies, just mail me at christinahollis@hotmail.co.uk with the answer to this simple question:

What is the special name given to the rulers who lived in Venice’s beautiful palace?

The school Christmas production is on the horizon, so the house is full of catchy tunes and violin exercises. Although the hazel leaves have gone butter yellow, as they fall we can already see next spring’s catkins, tight and scaly, waiting for the days to start lengthening again. My work in progress is going well so far - mainly because the weather here has been too miserable and gloomy to spend much time outside. On these short, dark days it’s lovely to bask in the glow of a warm computer screen, dreaming up exotic scenes of sun-drenched Italy!

New Books

I’ve just had a box of paperback copies of The Ruthless Italian’s Inexperienced Wife delivered, and it’s great to get my hands on them. Some will be up for prizes in my competition, so don’t forget to enter! There have been loads of entries already, but there’s still plenty of time to enter. For the chance of winning signed books and other goodies, just mail me at christinahollis @hotmail.co.uk with the answer to this simple question:

What is the special name given to the rulers who lived in Venice’s beautiful palace?

The closing date is 28th November 2008, so you’ve got plenty of time to enter. Good luck!

Competition Time!

I liked the expanded artwork for the Australia and New Zealand edition of Her Ruthless Italian Boss so much I had an idea for a competition. For the chance of winning signed books and other goodies, just mail me at christinahollis @hotmail.co.uk with the answer to this simple question:

What is the special name given to the rulers who lived in Venice’s beautiful palace?

The closing date is 28th November 2008, so you’ve got plenty of time to enter. Good luck!

Fun In London

I’ve just got home from a couple of days in London. A working life spent crouching in front of a computer can be isolating, so meeting up with other Mills and Boon writers is a real treat. Traveling up to town from the country only takes me a couple of hours, but it’s like entering a whole new world. All those people, and the traffic! It’s a bit of a culture shock, but luckily Kate Walker is not only a top author, she’s famous for arranging an annual get-together for Presents/Modern Romance writers. It was a great start to my mini-break. I got to catch up with all the news from Abby Green, India Grey and Natalie Rivers when we were seated together on what Kate called the ’naughty table’. What a welcome for brand new recruit Sabrina Philips, whose first book, ’Valenti’s One-Month Mistress’ comes out in December!

September Already...

I can’t believe how fast this year is disappearing! My OH had a couple of days off this week and took me out to lunch at an enormous garden centre. There are all sorts of franchises inside this giant building, and at one I spotted the perfect present for my sister (can’t tell you what it is, as she’ll see!). I hate the way Christmas starts earlier each year but this really was the ideal stocking filler, and the chances of passing that way again were remote. I bought it and hid it carefully in my office - now all I have to do is remember where it is when December arrives!

Holiday Jobs

It’s been all go since my last blog. Everything came together at last for my work in progress, and it will be published early next summer. Watch this space for See further details! I’m having a short break to start thinking about my next story. I’ve already decided this will be a tale of love among the orchids, so the research begins now. As my brand new greenhouse has been a lovely warm haven during this ’summer’ of gloomy skies and endless rain, I can start by strolling down the garden path... the trouble is, all along the way I’m distracted by weeds that need pulling out, or grass that needs cutting. Still, you know what they say - ’Home is the one place that, wherever you sit, you’re always looking at a job that needs doing’!

I Need Your Help!

Oops - I’ve just been tipped off to check my entry on the Mills and Boon site, only to find that while my photo is still there, the text has disappeared! My health hasn’t been too good over the past few months, and combined with my total lack of computer skills, I’ve let things slide a bit. Now I’m going to try and spend more time on my web presence. This is where you come in - what are your top tips for using, and appearing on, the Internet? What do you like to see on a site, and what encourages you to visit? How do you network? There’ll be a small prize for the most useful contributions!

Congratulations, Jemmie!

Jemmie from Perth’s name was chosen (or rather "pawed"!) by the time honoured cat-treat method to win July’s competition. Her Ruthless Italian Boss is, of course, set in the lovely city of Venice. A copy will be on its way to Jemmie as soon as I can get it to the post office, along with some other little treats. Thank you all for entering!

Although it’s been raining cats and dogs here for days nothing can wipe the smile off my face at the moment. I’ve just sent off a completed manuscript for a new Modern Romance, which is always a satisfying (though scary!) moment and just as I thought my day couldn’t get any better, I got a phonecall to tell me I’d passed my first beekeeping test! That was a wonderful thrill, but now the learning begins, as my old driving instructor said. Every beekeeper I’ve met since taking my first tentative steps along this road has told me they learn something new about this fascinating subject every day, and they’ve been keeping bees for anything up to fifty years. My only regret is that I didn’t start this years ago. Moral: search out your local bee group - in my experience, beekeepers are only too happy to welcome newcomers. Especially those (like me!) who are scared of bees. I first went along because I was looking for a source of local honey to help combat my children’s hayfever, but was hooked from the moment I got there.

Bees aren’t as scary as you might think, and these days they need all the friends they can get!

Summer Holidays are here at last!

The children have been counting down the days, and the holidays have finally arrived. By a miracle, the weather improved just in time - unfortunately they’re so worn out by all that studying all they want to do at the moment is relax indoors. The forecast for next week is ’no rain’ which seems to be the best we can hope for this summer, so we’ll try and fit in some fruit picking. It’s great - fresh air, exercise and cheaper fruit than you can get anywhere else, unless you grow it yourself. When we get home, making granita is something we enjoy doing togather. It’s almost as much fun as eating it!

Put a kilo* of cleaned, ripe, soft fruit (strawberries, raspberries etc. or a mixture of the two) through the food processor If you’re a perfectionist, sieve out the pips at this point (though be warned - you lose quite a bit by doing it). Sift 200 grammes of icing sugar into the fruit pulp and add the juice of one or two lemons, depending on how sharp/sweet you like your mixture. Mix well. Freeze down quickly. It’s supposed to keep for three months or so in the freezer, but never lasts longer than a couple of weeks in this house!

*In UK Imperial measurements, this is very roughly 6oz of icing sugar to 2lb of fruit, but keep tasting as you add the sugar, until it’s perfect (or you’ve eaten all the mixture!).

Tests and Treats

This is shaping up to be quite a week for me. Last Sunday, five of us took a mock test for the Basic Beekeeping Assessment. It was pretty nerve racking, but we all passed, thank goodness. The real test is tomorrow, so wish me luck! We’ll have a real star of the British Beekeeping Association coming to assess us for real, but I’ve got something to take my mind off it. This week my latest paperback, Her Ruthless Italian Boss went on sale in the UK. No matter how often it happens, seeing the words Christina Hollis on the cover of a book is a real thrill. So if you see anyone lurking around the bookshelves with a big grin on her face, that’ll be me! If you’d like the chance to win a signed copy of Her Ruthless Italian Boss, all you have to do is e-mail me at christinahollis@hotmail.co.uk with the answer to this simple question: Her Ruthless Italian Boss is set in an Italian city famous for its canals and gondolas - can you name it?

First fruits of summer!

We’ve had some lovely weather lately but I’ve been to busy to make use of it. Whenever I manage to escape from the computer, it starts to rain! But today good weather and a day off meant I could spend some time on the garden and do some cooking, too. We had new potatoes, peas, baby carrots and roast onions - all from the garden- to go with our Sunday roast, and for pudding I made fudge brownies with Morello cherry sauce and ice cream. The trouble is we’re all too full to move now...

I can hardly believe it’s only a couple of weeks until my next book, Her Ruthless Italian Boss is published. It’s scheduled for release here in July, and I can’t wait to hear what you think about it!

I’m back!

Sorry for the delay since my last blog entry, but my fingers have been playing up a bit so typing has been off the menu for a while. Congratulations go to Amy of Newark, the winner of my latest competition. Amy’s list of five ambitions was first out of my summer sombrero, so she wins among other things a signed copy of Her Ruthless Italian Boss. It will all be on its way to you as soon as I can get to the Post Office, Amy. Her list was as follows:

-Lose 15lb
-Spend more time with my family
-Make the most of every day
-Visit all those places in Europe I’ve read about and
-Travel in space

I’m with you almost to the end, Amy, though I prefer to keep my feet on the ground. I can’t bear to think of jetting off from good old Planet Earth!

Sorry I’ve Been Gone So Long...

This infection I’ve got is taking a long time to clear up, and as my hands are affected it makes typing tricky. Still, every cloud has a silver lining and it’s giving me plenty of time to enjoy all your entries to my Ambitions competition. It’s running until the end of May, so if you’d like to enter just mail me at christinahollis@hotmail.co.uk with a list of the five things you’d love to achieve. Put ’Competition’ in the subject line, so it goes straight to the right folder. There are pens, autographed books and some other goodies to be won.

It’s funny how life turns out. When I was little, I dreamed about living in the country, miles from anyone else (ours was a VERY crowded house when I was growing up). I managed it, nearly a quarter of a century ago. But as a newlywed then, there was one very special person I was glad to share my solitude with. We didn’t think life could get any better, but then (to our surprise!) along came our children and it’s been getting better ever since. Changes are scary, and even the strongest Alpha male can be wary of any distractions. That’s why Luca Francesco, hero of my latest book Her Ruthless Italian Boss, tells heroine Beth ’And this time there’ll be no talk of marriage…or babies…’ as he wants to enjoy her body without the demands she once tried to make on him.

He didn’t know what he was missing - but in Her Ruthless Italian Boss he soon finds out!

There’s Still Plenty Of Time...

....to enter my ’Five Ambitions’ competition. Just email me at christinahollis @hotmail.co.uk with a list of your top five ambitions. Put ’Competition’ in the subject line, and I’ll be picking the winners after the closing date of 31st May. I’ve had loads of entries already so thanks to everyone who’s taken the time and trouble to contact me. The prizes are signed copies of my next Modern Romance, Her Ruthless Italian Boss, bookmarks and a few other little bits and bobs. Good luck! Something nasty caused by infected insect bites has put various parts of me out of action for the last couple of weeks, so much as I love blogging, I’ll have to keep this short. The only time I’ve been able to get out in the garden lately it’s been pouring with rain and/or freezing cold, so I’ve spent most of today in my greenhouse. That raised my spirits, though the roof leaks so I had to watch where I stood. Cold water down the back of the neck is no aid to recovery. I hope the weather is better where you are!

Competition Time!

I can hardly believe that more than a year has gone by since the release of The Italian Billionaire’s Virgin. Writing a Modern Romance for Mills and Boon had been top of my list of ambitions for years, and finally seeing the name Christina Hollis on that lovely, distinctive cover was a dream come true! To celebrate my very special anniversary, I’m running a competition from now until the end of May. There’ll be signed books and a few other little goodies to win, and all you have to do is send an email to me at christinahollis@hotmail.co.uk, listing your top five ambitions. Put ’Competition’ in the subject line, and a prize draw will be made after the closing date of 31st May. To get you started, here’s my current wish-list:

1 To keep writing the best Modern Romances that I can;
2 To keep bees;
3 To make perfect choux pastry (mine’s more like cement at the moment)
4 To learn to dance
5 To have a tidy house (not much hope of that when writing, cooking and the garden take up so much of my time!)

Good luck!

New additions to the family

Now the excitement of Easter is over, Spring is supposed to be on its way. Unfortunately March isn’t content with ’going out like a lion’ with blustery winds. it’s throwing down torrential rain, too. It just so happened that today we went to fetch Son Number One’s new hens. He’s been desperate for a pet, and poultry combines beauty with utility. They’re lovely to look at, and lay delicious eggs, too! His three birds, Cluckles, Speckles and Freckles were brought home proudly in a cardboard box and put into their fox-proof ark in the garden. All this was done in the teeth of a howling gale and horizontal rain. Not surprisingly, the hens took one look at the weather and dived inside their sleeping quarters! I doubt if we’ll see them again until the rain stops.

PS: How do you tell when it’s summer in England? The rain gets warmer...

Happy Easter!

Greetings to everyone on this cold and frosty Easter Day. The celebrations are very early this year, so the Easter Bunny was shivering as it hid the children’s chocolate eggs around the garden this morning! There was a lovely service on Thursday for the school children on what was their last day at school - but only until next Tuesday. For some strange reason this county is not having their holidays at Easter this year, but delaying them for a couple of weeks. This means half my family are now off for a two week break while the other half are still hard at work. In a fortnights time, it’ll be all change! I’ll keep writing every day. The arrival of the first hardback copies of my latest story, Her Ruthless Italian Boss, last week really spurred me on. I can’t wait until it appears in the shops! When the children are off school it means a VERY early start for me each morning so I can get some writing done before they want to go out. Though as it was Easter Saturday yesterday we all had a lie-in. We didn’t get up until nearly 7am!

Not A Dry Eye In The Place!

I’ve just had the most amazing evening. I went along to my daughter’s school and, with dozens of other parents in a similar state of awe and pride watched my little girl go up and receive her GCSE certificates. All of us in the audience agreed it felt like only minutes ago when they were tiny babies. Now, to quote Rodgers and Hammerstein, they’re ’Sixteen Going On Seventeen’! It’s amazing - take a bow, all of you!

We’d only just finished the sparkling apple juice when there was cause for another celebration. The hardback copies of my next release, Her Ruthless Italian Boss arrived in the post. The minute I’ve come back down to earth and thought up a suitable competition question, I’ll be offering a copy as a prize!

Beewildered...

Writing involves long hours driving a desk. When I’m not doing that, my natural habitat is a comfy chair with a mug of tea and something chocolatey. This all wreaks havoc on the waistline, so I’ve been trying to get out and about more. The garden is therapy for me, and at least a bit of exercise too so I try and work there when I can. Over the past few years I’ve noticed a real lack of honeybees, and news of beekeepers in the USA losing whole colonies made me wonder if they are dying out in this country, too. When a nature programme suggested that wild bees were virtually extinct in the UK, I thought I’d do my bit and offer a corner of my garden to a local beekeeper as a site for their hives. They could do all the complicated stuff while I lazed in a hammock, watching, and my fruit trees and flowers got the benefit.

That was before I visited the local beekeeper’s group! They are really lovely people and bees have turned out to be such interesting little creatures, I might eventually take it up myself. Working with live bees doesn’t start until the weather warms up so at the moment it’s a bit like learning to swim without getting wet, but I’m determined to give it a try. The fact that my local bee group make great tea and have an endless supply of chocolate biscuits has nothing to do with it, of course...;)

Where Does The Time Go?

I have absolutely no idea! I’ve had my head down, working hard and at the same time trying to find some time to start a new Modern Romance. Every time I look up, the garden reproaches me. We finally had some open weather, so for the past week I’ve been abandoning the computer in favour of a few hours beating back the ever-encroaching undergrowth.

A new project concerned with my day job has led me to discover some cute little bits and bobs that would make ideal competition prizes. I was hoping to have dreamed up a killer question to ask you all today, but I’m desperately typing this on the kitchen table while constructing our Mothering Sunday dinner. The veg are cooking and the chicken is ’resting’ sp that’s going to have to wait until I’ve got five minutes spare next week. Watch this space!

PS: Congratulations to Donna and Michelle, who won the competition I held during my ’Temptation Tuesday’ blog for the Pink Heart Society!

Back To Work

The children have had different school holidays for half term, so this is the first time for nearly three weeks that I’ve had the house to myself. It feels really strange!. I normally work at the kitchen table, but as that’s within a golden triangle between the back door, the living room and the fridge it’s like trying to work in the eye of a hurricane when everyone is ’in residence’. Last week I popped in to do a ’Temptation Tuesday’ blog for The Pink Heart Society. I asked for favourite ways with chocolate, and readers there came up with some delicious ideas. If I can get the recipes, I’ll put them up here.

What’s your favourite chocolate indulgence?

Another Busy Week

It’s been all go since I got back from the Harlequin Mills and Boon centenary celebrations. Not only was I blogging on Author Sound Relations, I’ve been working out the plot and characters for my next book. At the moment this has a working title of ’The Prince’s Ice Angel’ though that is bound to change! I also submitted an entry for ’Temptation Tuesday’ for this coming week (February 19th) to appear on The Pink Heart Society blog. It contains my favourite recipe for chocolate cake and should have had a photograph of it, too. Unfortunately, in the time between assembling the cake and finding the camera, my family found the cake. By the time I got back to the kitchen they’d done such a good job it was my duty to finish it off! That explains why the blog recipe is for chocolate Victoria sponge, but the illustration is of a Sachertorte...

Two celebrations!

On Thursday, 7th February I joined loads of other Harlequin authors, editors, staff and executives to celebrate one hundred glorious years of Mills and Boon. The party was held at The Wallace Collection in London, a truly spectacular venue. It was packed with art work and artefacts, but that evening we were all rather more interested in the hunky butlers serving nibbles and drinks! Alan Titchmarsh, gardening hero and naughty novelist gave a speech and every woman present got a beautiful long stemmed red rose. Getting all the way back to Gloucestershire on the train with my flower and my goody bag excited quite a bit of cheerful comment from other travellers.

I thought nothing could put a bigger smile on my face than the party, but when I got home I discovered my latest book had been accepted! The Ruthless Italian’s Inexperienced Wife will hit the shelves in January 2009. I can’t wait, although as I’m hard at work on a new story, I’ve got plenty to keep me busy until then!

Hello, Argentina!

I’ve had a lovely mail from two great Harlequin fans, Liliana and Marina, in Argentina. They’ve got a website, universoromance.com.ar/ harlequineras/, dedicated to Harlequin fiction published in Spanish. As I’m included, they wanted to know if I’d like to post a message to their readers. That started me wondering. I’ve had messages from places as far afield as Alaska, and the South Seas. How far away are you? Drop me a line!

Two lots of Exciting News

Life has been so hectic lately, the days are flying by! First of all, belated congratulations to Aline, who won a signed copy of One Night In His Bed and a bookmark in the December Open House session on Eharlequin.com. I’ve only just received your address, Aline, so your prize was posted yesterday (Wednesday).

Now to some personal news! I’d just put the finishing touches to a big project I was working on for my ’day job’, when I learned my book The Italian Billionaire’s Virgin, has been given a Cataromance Reviewers’ Choice Award. You can’t imagine how much that means to me! The Italian Billionaire’s Virgin was the very first Modern Romance I ever wrote. Getting it accepted by Mills and Boon was such a thrill, I was sure nothing could top it - until this week!

Going Live

I’ve just got back from a trip to the local radio station. A lunchtime chat with friends has never been so enjoyable, and it all went out live! Three of us talked about organic gardening for an hour while the talented David worked his magic behind the desk. I managed to squeeze in a bit about writing too, as we’re all keen authors. Let’s hope that brings lots more traffic to sites like pinkheartsociety.blogspot.com and harlequinpresents.com!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. We’ve been forecast snow for the end of the week, so I’m desperately trying to get my 10k steps per day in while I can. One flake of snow, or the merest hint of frost and we’re pretty much stuck out here in the country. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. It’s a chance to catch up on correspondence and get some writing done without the lure of shopping or visiting far flung relatives. But on the other hand, trapped inside with all the chocolates, biscuits, crisps, cakes and edible tree decorations left over from Christmas means I have to do even MORE steps once I can get outside again!

Here’s wishing you all a happy, peaceful and prosperous 2008 love, Christina x

Happy Christmas Day!

Wishing you a peaceful, happy Christmas and a wonderful holiday season, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Love Christina x

Three Times The Fun!

I’ve just got back from visiting my sister’s triplets in the Special Care Baby Unit. They are so cute you wouldn’t believe it - and unless I can get the picture to scan you’re just going to have to take my word for it...

It worked - thank goodness for that. The triplets look so sweet in their little outfits, don’t they? I held one for a while but it’s amazing how soon you forget what to do. He felt so fragile, I was afraid of squashing him. The staff are doing a marvellous job. I hope they get plenty of presents on Christmas Day - they deserve them.

If you fancy getting into the holiday spirit, why not nip over to www.eharlequin.com and join in the Open House party?