Monday, November 30, 2009

Giveaway Winner

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

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Win a copy of Outback Hero

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.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Wedding kiss

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.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

My Music Links

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

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Pet peeve

I've read a few historical romances lately--I'm quite partial to them -- but my enjoyment has been spoiled by American anachronsims in the language. I'm sure the US authors and their editors don't even notice, but I do!

It grates on me when a young lady in supposedly Regency England says "It's time to go wash up." NO!!! Can you imagine Jane Eyre saying that to her charge? I don't think so. And replying to the query "How are you today?" with "I'm fine."

The weird thing is in many other respects the authors go to great lengths to use formal language and terminology relevant to the setting.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Things I learned while unpublished

I wrote for 6 years before I sold to Avalon. During that time I wrote and learned and wrote some more and learned some more. An ongoing process as we all know . . .

One important thing I learned is how long it takes me to write a book and what my method is. This is valuable knowledge for a writer because when that first sale comes along and with it the first contract, you have a clear idea of what you can manage and in what timeframe.

Publishers buy an author not just one book. They want to know they can rely on their new author to produce good quality, clean, ready to go work, on time as per the contract. Regard your unpublished time as an apprenticeship. This is when you learn not only your trade but about yourself.

Another bonus was that with 6 years of writing behind me I had a nice pile of stories to offer my publisher one by one with only minor revisions needed to suit the house guidelines. No stress involved. I also had vastly improved writing skills to bring to the revision of each suitable, completed manuscript. Suddenly I have 7 books out or in the pipeline.

I'm glad I didn't sell that very first story that went off only to be rejected. I wasn't pleased then despite some nice comments about it, but in hindsight it was a very good thing.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

New Sale

I've just heard from my lovely editor that book number 6 for Avalon, 'Instant Family' is scheduled for Oct 2010.

That means 2 books will be out next year starting with The Tangled Web in June !

Better get writing--fast.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Four Things Tagging

Avalon Wester writer Ian Parnham tagged me. http://ijparnham.blogspot.com
so here goes

Four Movies that I can see over and over.
1. Six Days Seven Nights 2. A Night At the Opera 3. Terminator 14. The Castle

Four Places I have lived.
1. Canberrra Australia 2. Sierre, Switzerland 3. The Hague, Holland 4. Leeds, England --briefly

Four TV shows that I love to watch.
1. Spicks and Specks (ABC Australia) 2. Graham Norton Show 3. Father Ted 4. Silent Witness

Four places where I have gone on vacation.
1. Western Australia 2. Uluru 3. New Zealand 4. China

Four favourite foods.
1. Mangoes 2. Pasta 3. Nuts 4. Chocolate

Four websites I visit daily
1. Nick Hoorweg Music http://nickhoorwegmusic.today.com/2. Avalon Authors blog http://avalonauthors.blogspot.com/3. Facebook 4.RWAustraliaYahoo group

Four Places I would rather be.
1. I like where I am 2. Outside 3. At a good concert 4. Travelling

Four things that I would like to do before I die.
1 Go to Brazil 2. Finish War and Peace 3. Live to 100 (at least)4. See the Pyramids

Four novels I wish that I was reading for the first time.
1. A Dance to the Music of Time--Anthony Powell ( That's 12 in one)2. Pride and Prejudice--Jane Austen 3. The Mayor of Casterbridge--Thomas Hardy 4. To Kill A Mockingbird--Harper Lee

Four people to tag.
Nick Hoorweg http://nickhoorwegmusic.today.com/
Tracey O'Hara http://traceyo.livejournal.com/
Christina Phillips http://www.christinaphillips.blogspot.com/
Erica Hayes http://faerylite.livejournal.com/

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Washington here we come

I'm such a slack blogger! Anyone who was evenly vaguely interested has probably wandered off by now.

Anyway. We've been finalising our USA trip which culminates at the RWA conference in Washington. My husband and I are leaving Canberra on July 1st and heading to Las Vegas via LA. We recover there for a couple of days and visit the Grand Canyon, something that's been on my list for a long, long time.

After that we fly to Buffalo for Niagara Falls, pick up a hire car and meander across to Gloucester north of Boston on the coast to visit friends. Train to New York for a week then on to Washington and home on July 21st.
I'm really looking forward to the NY stay because I'll be able to meet my two lovely Avalon editors Chelsea Gilmore and Faith Black, plus visit the Avalon offices in Madison Avenue. Our daughter is joining us for the week in NY so that will be double fun. Jazz clubs and music events are the big draw for our family.

I'm heading to Washington a day ahead of my husband. He's not mad keen on being surrounded by thousands of romance writers LOL but we aim to take in as much as we can of the sights of the famous city. I want to see that long rectangular pool that shows up in movies all the time.

Only three weeks to go now!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

New music blog

Check out this new blog. Looks interesting. The first post is about Steely Dan one of my all time favourite bands.
http://nickhoorwegmusic.today.com/

Friday, April 24, 2009

Giveaway of Stuck

Hop over to my website and seek out the answer to this question to go in the draw to win a copy of Stuck. You've got till May 1st.
Name one of the hero Brad's two daughters.
Email me your answer and you could be the winner of my latest Avalon release 'Stuck.'
http://www.elisabethrose.com.au

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Reading

I read a lot and in many genres and absolutely love visiting the library for my next fix. My current page turner is John Grisham's The Last Juror.

If you haven't read any Grisham, why not? He's a master storyteller. He has an incredible ability to set the scene with a few descriptions and deft characterisations. The Last Juror is written in first person which I like-- both to read and to write-- and this gives a very personal intensity to the events which is sometimes missing in third person narrative.

The story reminds me vaguely of to Kill A Mockingbird which I also reread fairly recently. Maybe it's the southern USA small town setting of last century with it's racism and corruption, and the legal drama at the heart of the story.

It's more than that though. Both stories have at their core a deep sense of what's morally right as seen through the eyes of a young person. In this case the young newspaper man Willie Traynor (24) and in To Kill A Mocking Bird. the little girl, Scout.

If you haven't read To Kill A Mockingbird, it's a classic. Read it. Then you can watch the movie with Gregory Peck as the lawyer, Scout's father.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Avalon Authors Blog

Avalon authors are launching our new blog today kicking off with Chief Editor Faith Black. Pop over to http://avalonauthors.blogspot.com/ to see what she has to say.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

April Scavenger Hunt


The Long And Short Of It review site is having an April Scavenger Hunt to celebrate romantic comedy. My allotted day is April 20th when a copy of Stuck is up for grabs.




It sounds like lots of fun for the whole of April with lovely prizes donated by the participating authors.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Free download

My short story "The Interview" is available for free download on the The Wild Rose Press website. The hero Jack is the same don't-waste-my-time character as in my book "Strings Attached." I wrote the short first but Jack had more going for him than just a short story. He was too intriguing to leave.
Go to http://www.thewildrosepress.com for a free read.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

An excellent morning

This morning I had two good news emails from my Avalon editors. They were thrilled to send me the following review for my next book 'Stuck'--to be released in April.

Publisher's Weekly - February 9th 2009Stuck Elisabeth Rose. Avalon, $23.95 (272p) ISBN 978-0-8034-9944-7
Gina Tait, half of this offbeat novel's opposites-attract duo, is a busy woman whose overbooked life takes a 90-minute break when she gets stuck in an elevator with relaxed widower Brad Harding. While the two share an intense physical attraction, their lifestyles are far too different to contemplate a relationship. Still, after they escape the stalled elevator, they can't stop thinking about each other, and when they try to be friends, Brad's daughters decide that Gina is the perfect candidate for motherhood. The transformation of total opposites to plausible lovers happens slowly but organically (despite the absurd setup), and the cast is charismatic and easily lovable. Romance readers looking for a low-key time-burner will have a ball. (Apr.)

Then there was another good review of the same book in Booklist.


Stuck.
Rose, Elisabeth (Author)
Apr 2009. 272 p. Avalon, hardcover, $23.95. (9780803499447).
Brad Harding is making an infrequent trip into Sydney from his country home to lodge a formal complaint on behalf of his community regarding the placement of a cell tower. An artist who works with wood, he enjoys the laid-back, friendly nature of his bucolic home. The bustling, impersonal city seems neatly summed up by the no-nonsense woman who steps into the elevator. She’s slick, uptight, and all business.

Ordinarily, they would have nothing to do with each other, but when the elevator breaks down they’re forced to interact. Gina Tait is exactly what Brad imagines her to be, but much more lies beneath the surface. Gina sees Brad as some sort of counterculture hippie, but that doesn’t stop her from leaning on him when the elevator goes dark. They might never meet again after their rescue, but that short time together leaves an indelible impression. Preconceived notions and prejudices fall by the wayside in Rose’s highly enjoyable out-of-the-blue romance.
— Maria Hatton


Plus my current Avalon release 'Coming Home' will be available in Large Print.

Needless to say I'm very, very happy!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Support for authors from ARRC09

Excitement is rising amongst authors and readers as the inaugural Australian Romance Readers Convention date draws closer.

Meeting hundreds of avid romance readers will be an extraordinarily uplifting and confidence boosting experience. Not once will we authors have to answer such stupid questions as: 'Does your publisher give you a template to write to?' 'Aren't those books all the same?' 'You write romance? Oh that's easy.' etc etc etc

What bliss to be in a massed assembly of readers who all get it!!! And want more of what we give. Even if we don't write in the particular sub genre a reader loves she will still be open and enthusiastic about the fact we write about love and romance.

I can't wait and I know my author friends feel the same.