Naughty November!
Dig in, we're on the slippery slope to Christmas ...
I was all set for Halloween and little visitors with my stash of extra 99% dark chocolate. Can’t understand why no-one came a-knocking this year…
Maybe it’s just me or maybe it’s been October’s Hunter’s moon, but sometimes (okay frequently) I feel like smoke is already escaping my ears and I’m walking around with like a human grenade with the pin removed. My fuse is seriously clipped. I’m too busy to even think of Christmas. I’m mentally fixated with just making it to the end of the school term without detonating. SO it’s the perfect time of year to find refuge in entertainment.
Have you wanted Rivals on Disney yet? OMG! Do it! For me, it’s been the perfect combination of naughty and nostalgic! There was definitely something to be said for the gloriously tacky, decadent and digital-free ’80s! I've been revisiting Jilly Cooper’s romance bonkbusters, and I might have to write my next romcom set in the last century just so I can double down on my escapology.
When I haven’t been teaching — grins with teeth bared (Yes, I imagine some studensts find me quite scary this time of year! Who needs a Halloween mask?) — I’ve been busy busy busy with the launch and promotion of 12 Tropes of Christmas. It’s been a blast (in a good way).
Did you grab your copy yet?
I also realised, I don’t think I’ve told you about my own Christmas story in the anthology:
Merry Hell.
I wonder if that title says something about my current state of mind ;)
As you may know, 12 Tropes of Christmas is the collaboration of a dozen awesome Aussie authors and we’ve each chosen a different romance trope to write a story around.
I chose Jilted Bride. Here’s the low down:
Merredith Clutterbuck’s perfect winter wedding doesn’t go quite to plan. First there’s her meringue of a dress with a mind of its own, and then her fiancé, Jason, takes the winter theme a little too far when he gets cold feet…
Determined to put on a brave face, Merry decides not to let the wedding reception go to waste. There’s only one big problem—her childhood best friend, Mike Hellman, who happens to be Jason’s best man (and her current favorite frenemy).
And tonight of all nights, Mike seems hellbent on looking after her. If only he weren’t so hellishly handsome, he’d be easier to ignore.
Is being jilted the tip of the iceberg or the icing on Merry’s wedding cake!
And for a taster here are the opening lines:
““Snowball fight!”
Hell, no. Snowball and fight are not words any bride wants to hear on her wedding day, least of all from my three idiot brothers.
I’m delighted to say, the 12 Tropes of Christmas anthology has taken off like a rocket and we were given an Amazon bestseller flag the day after our launch! Yeehaw! It’s proving popular with Kindle Unlimited readers as well because for $3.99 it’s a real bargain getting a dozen Christmas stories (and a dozen ways to fall in love!). It’s also available as a paperback. Here’s the full cover I made.
If you haven’t joined in the festive fun yet and are in dire need of some indulgent escapism, you can get your copy here:
More Book Bargains!
If that isn’t enough, there are some real romance book bargains to be had via the links below (just click on the image). You may even spot one of my books in the selections!
Contemporary Romance in KU:
Romance Makes You Laugh
Young Adult/New Adult Romance Promo
Steamy Holiday Romance in KU
As an aside to my romance obsession, to broaden my horizons, I’ve attended a few other awesome non-romance author events this month:
A character writing workshop with Christos Tsialkos (what a lovely, humble guy!) probably best known for his book, The Slap.
I also joined writing and reading friends at the launch of Christian White’s latest novel, The Ledge. He’s a local author and I’m a bit of a groupie fan having been to all of his book launch events at our wonderful local bookshop, Farrells. He probably thinks I’m stalking him, poor man.
And Benjamin Robinson’s ‘Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret’. Once a stand up comedian, this guy knows how to entertain and even makes murder funny! Hilarious!
To redress the balance of all those male authors, today, I’m off on a Writing Retreat weekend to Philip Island with four fabulous female writing friends. It promises to be wicked fun, so I’ll fill you in on all the gory details in my next newsletter … maybe! It depends on how wicked it gets.
Anyhow, my lovelies, that’s me for this month. If you’ve read any of my books or the 12 Tropes of Christmas stories, please feel free to give us a punt with a review. It makes a big difference to every author’s success.
I’ll finish with a huge big thank you to Helen for this 5 star one below!
Best wishes for a cheerful and stress-free November! Be naughty as you like.
Merry reading (and reviewing!).
Anna
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