Montlake have started releasing the Avalon backlist as e and paperback. The first of my books to come on sale in  this new format are The Right Chord and Stuck.

 I had fun writing Stuck. I was trying to write a book where two people were stuck in a lift for the whole time.  I had to let them out after a couple of chapters because I realised if they were in for too long physical demands may became distracting. :)

The Right Chord is the first story of mine Avalon accepted so it is rather special to me. If you like dogs this is the book for you. Woof, the hero's  Malamud, is based on a dog who used to live next door. He'd howl mournfully whenever he heard police, fire brigade or ambulance sirens in the distance. Woof howls when he hears Grace, the heroine practising her violin. As she is a professional musician she must practise so tensions mount between Grace and Woof's owner Harry who is a writer and needs quiet to think and create.  

350 romance writers are heading to Melbourne this week for the 20th Anniversary conference, our biggest number of delegates yet. Apart from the usual excitement of catching up with friends, meeting new people, brushing shoulders with the visiting editors agents and big name writers, this conference is  special for me because of my very first R*BY final.

I never imagined Instant Family would make the short list for this award but it has thanks to some very discerning reader judges--LOL On Saturday evening the results of the R*BY will be announced. Finalling is such a thrill I honestly don't care if my book doesn't win much as I would like it to of course.

Instant Family will be available at the conference bookstore along with two other titles The Tangled Web which was a Golden Quill finalist and Stuck. On Saturday I will be doing a book signing during one of the meal breaks so watch out for that and come and say hello.

I've just signed a contract with The Whiskey Creek Press for Eve's Passion. Release date is August 2012. I'm thrilled to have a home for this story as it's one of my favourites.  It's a sexier read than my Avalon books so was unsuitable to send to my editor there.

I have however, recently sold my eighth story to Avalon--Love On the North Shore Line--no release date as yet.

The fabulous RWAustralia conference is coming up fast and excitement is rising in the ranks.
All is well on the writing front :)

I spoke to 60 six year olds this morning. They were learning about being an author and the process of an idea in someone's head turning into a book. What a fabulous group of children. They were very responsive and amazingly knowledgable. They all had questions prepared and asked them confidently. They all sat and listened attentively and were a credit to their teachers.

I love to think that in that group one little person may be inspired to write by today's experience. I enjoyed every minute with those beautiful children and would love to do it again!

 A couple of weeks ago we went to Narooma for a quick overnight visit with relatives. When we returned I had a phone message from the RWA R*BY manager saying please call her. I assumed it would be some RWA committee business or maybe about the Little Gems Anthology because we're involved in both but no, my book Instant Family had finalled in the Long Romance section of the Romantic Book of the Year. Wow!!!

Then I went to check the pile of emails before I rushed off to Sunday afternoon tennis. There sat an email from the Manager of the Phoenix Desert Rose Golden Quill Contest telling me Instant Family had won the Traditional romance category and my other entry The Tangled Web had finalled. I couldn't believe it!

Instant Family is set in my hometown of Canberra so I'm doubly pleased to be waving the flag not only for my publisher Avalon but for homegrown sweet Aussie romance! If you happen to be one of the readers who read and judged Instant Family as worthy--thank-you very much!!

I finished War and Peace! Last night was the end of a 964 page marathon which lasted many years. I've forgotten when I started but it must be at least 5 years ago because the book was a new paperback and now the paper is yellowing round the edges.

There are two Epilogues in which Tolstoy follows his characters into a future where the surviving couples are happily married with children underfoot and life is peaceful for a while. Of course with hindsight we know that those aristocrat lifestyles didn't last. Tolstoy finished W&P in 1869, fifty years after the Napoleonic  invasion of Russia and nearly fifty years before the 1917 revolution.

One thing stood out to me throughout the book and that was how little seems to have changed with the warmongers of our society. Tolstoy gives detailed accounts of the way campaigns are bungled and battles lost or won by stupid mistakes, and misunderstood instructions given by inept, lazy or preoccupied commanders with their own agendas.

I'm pleased I read the whole book and am ready to tackle another classic author now. Not sure what yet.

I'm really happy with the cover of my next book, it's so pretty and so romantic, exactly as a wedding themed book cover should be. The Wedding Party was inspired by niece's wedding in beautiful Narooma one summer day several year's ago. Her groom had two Best Men which was rather unusual and the celebrant made it a very personal and loving ceremony.

I was so impressed by the way she spoke I asked her afterwards was she a friend of the couple. She said, "No, I do all my weddings that way. I interview the couple and get them to fill out a questionnaire, secretly, about the other person. It makes it very personal and a surprise for everyone." This girl clearly loved weddings---I had my heroine.

At the reception one of the two Best Men declared he was the last of the trio of best friends to remain single and had no intention of following his mates down that aisle. He crewed on a charter yacht in the Med and loved his unfettered lifestyle. I had my hero.

To find out how I managed to wrangle these two into submission, overcome their totally opposite views on marriage and fall in love forever, snap up a copy of The Wedding Party when it comes out in June.

Keep an eye on my website and blog for a chance to win a copy because closer to the release date I'll be doing a giveaway.

We're heading off to Egypt via one night in Bangkok ( :) ) next week. My husband has always wanted to see the Pyramids and do a Nile cruise so we're finally fulfilling that dream. Alexandria and Istanbul have been on my list for a long time too so they're in there as well. Can't go all that way and be so close and not do Petra and float in the Dead Sea, of course. It's all very exciting.

BUT for the first time since 1975 and 1976 we're missing Christmas with the family.

At first it seemed like a good plan and we didn't mind because our families are close and we see everyone throughout the year on a regular basis, plus we promised exotic gifts from foreign climes when we return. First a friend issued invitations to his 50th birthday for the week after Christmas Then even worse a nephew announced he and his partner were getting married on Christmas Day to take advantage of the fact the family will be together and her mother and sister will be visiting from Europe. Waaahhh. Then last week a young friend invited us to his wedding in Melbourne just after the New Year.

So we're missing 2 weddings and a 50th birthday. Our only consolation is we'll be drifting down the Nile.

Seasons greetings to all

I've just signed up to this site along with many of your favourite authors. It looks pretty good if a little overwhelming at first. I spent half the morning entering my books into their database.
Check it out. They have author pages, a chat lounge, giveaways, reviews and probably more stuff which I haven't found yet. The link is on the right

Check out my website for photos from the RWAustralia conference in beautiful Coogee, Sydney.
http://www.elisabethrose.com.au

Just back from a fantastic long weekend in Coogee at the RWA conference. So much inspiration and so many enthusiastic writers--Wonderful.

I heard someone say there that she'd read anything with dogs in it and it made me think about my own books. Dogs make major appearances in two of them and a minor appearance in one. Cats are in two.

Woof, a malamute, features in The Right Chord. In fact the dog next door inspired the story by howling when he heard sirens. It wasn't a big leap to have a fictitious dog who howls when the heroine plays her violin. Of course he lives next door to her and belongs to the hero.

In my latest release The Tangled Web, the heroine has two dogs. One is a bouncy, friendly terrier called Fidelio ( Fid ) and the other an elderly black Labrador called Hannibal who leaves nasty smells about the house. The hero doesn't like dogs at first but becomes very fond of Fid.

The hero in Stuck takes his young daughters along to the Animal Shelter to choose a kitten. The heroine has a disdainful fluffy white Persian called Aladdin but she calls him Big Al.

In my next release Instant Family, the children are upset because the cat has disappeared, but, as cats sometimes do, it does turn up, much to the youngest girl's delight.

I write pets into my stories quite naturally. We always had cats and a dog when I was a child and my family has had a cat until recently. I hadn't thought much about it until I heard the comment at the conference and realised pets have wiggled their way into all my books except one. Although--there is a cat in Coming Home, he just doesn't belong to either main character!

I'm thrilled to say Avalon have purchased my seventh (!!!) book, The Wedding Party. No release date as yet but probably late 2011. Yippeee.

Pop over to the Avalon Author's Blog and get to know our new editor Lia Brown, in an interview by Avalon author Laurie Alice Eakes.

How exciting! My tickets to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra concert in November arrived yesterday. Can't wait.

On Sunday I'll be interviewed by Writers Ink , a romance writing group from Western Australia. Drop in and you may win a copy of Outback Hero, my latest release.

http://winkgirls.blogspot.com/

I've just discovered that the Large Print edition of Outback Hero is up on Amazon. Nice surprise. No cover photo yet but it's out in May.

I used to chuckle at the size of the print in those editions --about 4 words per page--but now I need reading glasses they're not looking so funny after all! LOL

Congratulations to Cassie from NSW. Her signed copy of Outback Hero will be in the post shortly.

My promo copies turned up yesterday. It's always exciting to open the big box of the newest release. If you'd like to enter the draw for a copy o0f Outback Hero go to my website and email me the answer to a simple question. The contest runs until the end of November.

I played at a wedding yesterday with my wind trio. We've done hundreds of weddings but this time the celebrant said something I've never heard before but was blindingly obvious in hindsight.

When they'd taken the vows he said, "You may now kiss your bride in public."

It never occurred to me before, that this tradition stemmed from giving permission to kiss in public.

I had a lot of fun recently finding You Tube versions of all the music in my books. If you go to the Music page on my website you'll find I've listed all the musical references. Now they are linked to performances. I thought readers may enjoy discovering some new pieces.

In my second book Coming Home, for example, the beautiful Elgar Cello Concerto plays a large role. If you haven't heard it the references won't be as vivid, they won't mean as much. I found a YouTube video of Jacquleine Du Pre whose wonderful version I mention in the book.

If you find these links as you read my books you'll be able to, as one of of my lecturers at Music School said, "enjoy two pleasures at once." He was talking about listening to Wagner operas in the bath LOL