Cool Hand Paul... Gone but Never Forgotten

Was absolutely gutted to hear the news on Sunday morning that Paul Newman had died. He was the first movie star I ever had a crush on - in fact when I was 14 I was absolutely convinced I was going to marry him, never mind that he was several decades older and happily wed to Joanne Woodward (sorry, Joanne!). 

I sat through The Towering Inferno at the Shepherd's Bush Odeon four times in one afternoon just to oggle him and Steve McQueen being all sweaty and heroic - and let me tell you that was one bum-numbing movie (Robert Wagner trying to run through an inferno with a wet tea-towel on his head anyone!). So I feel I proved my devotion. Then I realised what a superb actor he really was watching Somebody Up There Likes Me, Hud (imagine someone like Tom Cruise having the courage to play such an irredeemable bastard these days, not flipping likely) and The Hustler and Cool Hand Luke. But the movie that really sunk me, and has inspired me ever since when writing my bad boy heroes has to be The Long Hot Summer. 

He plays Ben Quick, gorgeous, reckless, bad to the bone (or so you think) but actually wounded and haunted and misunderstood and in need of some good loving and who better to provide it than the young Joanne Woodward. The sparks fly off them in this movie and let us know just why they stayed married for 50 years. Just watch that final scene, it'll make you swoon. Who says happy ever after doesn't exist in real life. 

I absolutely loved this man - his politics, his generosity, his anti-showbusy ways, not to mention those killer blue eyes, and I even forgave him his obsession with motor racing — and I don't care if that makes me sound like a deranged stalker. 

Bye Paul, I'm gonna miss you.

Party Time...

Oh, alright, it was a week ago and all those other super-efficient romance writers have had their photos up on their blogs for over a week. But hey, at least I remembered my camera this time, and not only that I actually got it out of my bag and took a grand total of three pictures! 

So here they are, from my wild and wonderful afternoon and evening at the AMBA lunch and the Mills and Boon Authors toast afterward. Held at Browns restaurant in St Martin's Lane right next to Trafalgar Square, it's our annual opportunity to swan around and pretend that romance authors really do have uber-glamourous lives. 

Fabulous to meet Natalie Anderson for the first time, who had come all the way from New Zealand... Plus me old mates Kate Hardy and Julie Cohen. So here's a photo of the Mod Hot Posse, looking all glam of course. (The reason I'm not smiling is because when I do I always look like I have rigor mortis, it's not because I wasn't enjoying myself, honest).

Here's another pic from the lunch itself. I got sat next to the big chief at M&B Karen Stoecker so I was trying very hard not to sound like a complete ninny. Jennie Lucas who was sat on the other side rather unfortunately lost her voice that morning, so had to spend the whole lunch using a pad to jot down her responses! But luckily she's a writer...

And last, but by no means least, here's Abby Green and Natasha Oakley (my fellow RITA nominee this year) trying to figure out all the info about widgets from the nice man from the technology department. What the heck's a widget? seemed to be the main topic of conversation as I recall.

So on to more nuts and bolts stuff. Emailed the final version of my ms this morning, all the revisions have been okayed and it's just got to be line-edited now. Then I should get the official word that Book Five is a goer! Yippee. Will keep you posted about the next title.

Good news... of the WIP AND Hugh Jackman variety.

So, had a fabulous chat with my editor on Thursday morning. And she lurved the new WIP! Hallelujah!

Frankly, this was the make or break manuscript for me. Because I sweated buckets over it before I sent it in. After the nightmare that was the last two books, I tried to look for all those tell-tale signs of trouble this time around - you know, little giveaways like a complete lack of conflict between my H and h, or long conversations in which they bicker but get nowhere, or avoidance techniques such as endless descriptive passages or overdeveloped secondary characters... and this time I thought I'd caught them all... So to find out I mostly had was a huge, huge relief. Also good to know that after all the pain of the last two books, I've finally got some gain out of it. That said I'm not going to get cocky and think I won't make the same mistakes again. I've begun to accept that blind alleys and wrong turns are all part and parcel of my writing technique (seems there's no such thing as a Tom-Tom in my writer's life, more's the pity). But I can improve my chances of not going up too many of those blind alleys by writing a plot outline to avoid any major plot black holes (before I spend pages falling into them) and then I just have to watch for those telltale signs again, so my editor doesn't have to do it for me.

Me and my editor also had a very productive chat about book six, which is going to be a linked book to my latest WIP. All I'm saying is another Irish Bad Boy is in the offing. I'll be letting you know the outcome of that when I've got the 'little tweaks' done on this one.

Okay, now on to my other good news... And the excuse for that gorgeous picture of Hugh and Nicole in period dress. Actually it's more like mega exciting news. Went to the cinema on Saturday to watch a chick flick called The Women with my oldest son (I know, bless him!) which isn't nearly as chronic as the critics will have you think (is it just me with my feminist hat on, or are male film critics hard wired to hate chick flicks?) but even so the highlight of the afternoon came before the main feature when they screened the trailer for Baz Lurhmann's new film Australia.

We're talking three minutes of pure bliss ladies. Hugh in his cowboy dudes, Hugh in a dinner suit, Hugh just looking generally gorgeous and rumpled and sweaty and sexy - and Nicole Kidman to complement him all pure and beautiful and feisty. This film is gonna be awesome... And not just for the Hugh factor. Anyone see Strictly Ballroom? Moulin Rouge? In my opinion Baz Luhrmann is bringing epic romance in it's purest form back to cinemas. And let's face it we can all do with a bit more romance in our lives... Not to mention Hugh Jackman on a horse with added stubble (Hugh that is, not the horse!)...

I'm working at IPC magazines again next week and hoping to do a blog on this film on Whats on TV's film blog, will keep you posted on that if I manage to pull it off...

Blog Crazy....

Well, turns out that September is the month of the blog for me. So I thought I ought to try and update my own sadly neglected blog with info on some of the other places I'm blogging this month. 

First off, I did an extremely informative and well modulated piece about my writing process (and how it frequently drives me right up the wall) for Writing Playground on September 3rd. Then I'm scooting on over to I Heart Presents later in the month to add my two cents to the Feel the Heat contest with a blog on my wonderful year so far (which is of course just an excuse to mention my RITA nom and my posh frock ad infinitum - you have been warned). Got a very interesting email from Kate Walker about the Presents Blogathon being hosted by WeWriteRomance in October so I've thrown my hat in the ring to blog there too. Let's hope they want me...

Can you tell I am waiting not so patiently for a call from my ed about my latest WIP. Poor woman's only had it a week, but I'm still panicking. Ahh, the writer's life, why didn't anyone tell me what a flipping hard slog it was before I got into this malarkey in the first place? 

The PHS Hugh Jackman Tour 2008

Okay, the Pink Heart Society's Two today and what more excuse do I need to post a picture of Hugh Jackman on my blog? None at all naturally.

So Happy Birthday PHS. And I'm going to be having a big glass of vino tonight with chocolate accompaniment, because not only is there a birthday to celebrate, but I've finally finished my latest MS. Yipp-a-dee-do-dah! It's taken me to hell and back, but I think it's pretty darn good. Now all I've got to do is hope like hell my ed feels the same way.

Oh and cos I'm in such a good mood, I've also stuck a photo in of my current favourite squeeze, John Hamm from Mad Men, because I'm greedy like that.