Hurry and download yours soon in your favorite format:

One Night of Passion
Stealing the Bride
Once Tempted
It Takes a Hero
His Mistress by Morning
Tempted by the Night
Something About Emmaline
This Rake of Mine
Love Letters from a Duke
Confessions of a Little Black Gown
Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress
Lord Langley is Back in Town
No Marriage of Convenience

Danvers Series
One Night of Passion

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Stealing the Bride

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Once Tempted

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It Takes a Hero

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Marlowe Series
His Mistress by Morning

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Tempted by the Night

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The Bachelor Chronicles
Something About Emmaline

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This Rake of Mine

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Love Letters from a Duke

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Confessions of a Little Black Gown

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Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress

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Other Titles:
Lord Langley is Back in Town

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No Marriage of Convenience

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©2012 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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And there are plenty of authors to chose from, including Nora Roberts/JD Robb, Robyn Carr, Cathy Maxwell, Amanda Brice, Leigh Duncan, Alma Katsu, Lavinia Kent, Mindy Klasky, Alethea Kontis, Kieran Kramer, Allison Leotta, Pamela Palmer, Hope Ramsay, Alix Rickloff, Christine Trent.

The signing is an embarrassment of riches, so why not take advantage of it and check out what books are available over at Turn the Page. But order before Friday!

Oh, and if you live in the area, the signing is this Friday, from 11-2ish. But you will want to get there early, as they had out tickets for entry and when the tickets are gone, then no one else will be let in. Also, no outside books. Sorry about that! But if you can come, I would love to meet you!

©2012 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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1. Did you have a nickname growing up? Yes, but there’s no way I’m going to tell anyone what it is.

2. If you could choose any 3 people in history to meet, who would they be?

• Shakespeare, because I think he must have been a very entertaining and amusing man as well as the greatest writer that ever lived. I’m particularly fond of his comedies and I’d love to ask him how he wrote such appealing female characters. (Especially since they were played by boys on the stage!)
• Mozart, because I can’t imagine anything more glorious than having him play his compositions to me after dinner.
• Oscar Wilde, because he was the wittiest man ever. Also, from what I’ve read he was an amazingly kind and sweet man beneath his posturing.

3. Where is the most beautiful/romantic place you’ve ever been? I’ll have to go with Venice. I’ll never forget arriving on the water bus at St. Mark’s Square. It’s the only place I’ve ever been that made me cry when I saw it, just from the its sheer breathtaking beauty.

EB: Personally I think your cover is one of the most romantic I’ve ever seen!

4. Where do you go for inspiration when the creativity well is running a little dry? That’s a very interesting question. In the short term, when I’m stuck on a scene, I take a long walk in the country and always feel refreshed. In general, I find reading non-fiction helps, both historical works and contemporary memoirs and biography. Learning about the way real people have tackled problems gives me perspective on my fictional historical characters.

5. What is the very first romance book that you read? Pride and Prejudice, probably. And I know the first Georgette Heyer I read, in my early teens, was Powder and Patch. The first “modern” romance I read was a Catherine Coulter but I’m afraid I can’t remember which one.

Miranda’s brand new release, Confessions from an Arranged Marriage is her long awaited story of Minerva Montrose and the Marquis of Blakeney. Find out more about Miranda and her books at MirandaNeville.com.

Have any questions for Miranda? Or even perhaps share what was the first romance you read?

©2012 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Thus said the woman who always writes long.

Writing a full love story, in 10,000 words or less, is not easy. In fact, it is a true challenge to an author used to having the roomy wide open spaces of 90,000+ words to introduce characters, establish conflict, introduce a plot that will entice readers to follow the hero and heroine along on their adventure and, like the hero and heroine, fall in love along the way.

No, 10,000 words requires you jump right into the story, into that snapshot of a moment, when two people fall in love and find their soul mate. In other words, love at first sight. Which is why I used that most perfect of love at first sight plots, Cinderella, as the framework for my short story, Cynders & Ashe.

I also had only about 10 free days to write the story, while I was between contracts and novel commitments.

So I planned accordingly–taking notes about the story when they occurred to me, mapping out the characters much the same way, so that when I sat down one Sunday evening, I had a file of information to organize. I also used this story as my first attempt to use writing software–in my case, Scrivener. I organized my story into the software folders–using the plot note cards to designate each and every scene, compiling my character sketches so I had all my players lined up like a cast in a play.

Then when Monday morning rolled around, I sat down to write.

But in this case, I didn’t start at the beginning, I wrote whatever scene appealed to me at the moment. In the mood for a masquerade? I wrote the ball scenes. Feeling a little morose about my future, I wrote about the heroine’s life as a lowly seamstress. The story unfolded quickly before my eyes and I found myself, like the characters in the story, enfolded right into the action. At the end of 10 days, I had it. 33 pages of passion, love and a satisfying romance. Okay, so I did run a little over 10,000 words. But then again, I always do.

Eventually the story was published in The Mammoth Book of Regency Romances, and now I am pleased to offer it as single story for a digital download. Check it out on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, and coming soon to iBooks.

(And of course, I had to use Earthly Charms for the cover design–isn’t this the most stunning cover you have ever seen?)

So, do you like short stories or novellas? If not, why? I’m about to start work on another novella and would love to hear reader’s thoughts on these stories.

Comment below to be entered in this week’s blog drawing.

The Rules:

1) Leave a comment below and let me know which of the covers or books you love:

and/or

2) Tweet the following: Enter to win a signed book by #JuliaQuinn & an arc of @elizboyle’s Along Came a Duke at http://elizabethboyle.com/blog/?p=2189 #contest

Do both and you are entered twice! I’ll give you all until midnight, PDT, Saturday, April 7th to get your entries in.

Make sure to check back here Monday, April 9th to find out if you won. You’ll have a week to claim your prize.

Last week’s winner is: TinaM, who was poster #23 and made her comment on March 26, 2012 at 2:07 PM. Tina, contact me with your address and I will send you your prize. You have a week to claim it.

©2012 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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My space with all my notes and scenes laid out around me

There are generally two kinds of writers: Plotter and Pantsers. Neither is better than the other, it is just how we approach the story. A plotter likes to have the story points laid out beforehand, a roadmap one might say of what will happen from A to Z. Some writers have detailed a synopsis of every point, character sketches, story arcs and a variety of information all written down before they even compose a single sentence. Others just notes that guide them from one chapter to the next. A pantser has a general idea for a story and that’s it. For them it is the thrill of seeing where the story takes them.

I was the odd ball of our foursome, being in the middle of the spectrum of plotters. As a plotter, I like my work organized, a good idea of where the book is going to go and I always brainstorm each section, chapter and scene before I sit down to write. My three fellow retreaters, Jane Porter, Liza Palmer and Caitlin Crews are more on the pantser side of the fence. Jane does do a bit more plotting than the other two, but the three of them definitely like to write without a safety net. I watched them in breathless awe.

Liza's work area

Really? You can do that?

Not this author. No way.

And I thought I was being really out there writing my scenes out of sequence.

What I found fascinating about Liza, was how she sits down, laptop in front of her and a blank journal beside her and she just starts writing. The pages fill up and the journal becomes her record of her journey. Like a diary of an unplanned trip. She writes down ideas, tips, revisions even as she hurries forward with her story. We debated desserts as she considered what to have her chef heroine make for a man’s last meal, and with a pie decided, she continued on. All the charm and grace of a road trip down Route 66. So very cool.

Megan hard at work in her corner of the condo.

Megan tends to hole up, a few notes and again, just writes. She looks online for visual inspiration–Tumblr and other sites, and after a while, the pages start to come forth. I liked her sparse style, which contrasts with her rich and in depth stories.

Jane's cast of character and composition

Finally comes Jane, who is the most visual of writers–she has pictures of all her characters, in all their moods. Sorting through her collection of magazine clippings, downloaded photos, she can show you her hero happy, defiant, angry, serious, all his stormy, Alpha moods right before her, contrasted with the photos of her heroine and secondary characters. And then with her cast assembled, they begin to speak to her and she writes. It is a very cinematic approach to writing.

We all use music to write with. Finding the right songs, soundtrack and moods using songs that we play over and over as we write. My current sound track is a mix of 70s hits that just seem to capture the light hearted mood of the book I am writing. We shared songs and musicians we’d discovered, each of us taking notes of the others tracks.

Really, there is no right or wrong way to work. It is all about what speaks to you. And one other thing I discovered–some of us mutter as we write. And I’m not pointing any fingers. ‘Cause some of us mutter all the rest of the time.

©2012 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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1. Where is the most beautiful/romantic place you’ve ever been? I once journeyed by bus from Aberystwyth, on the Welsh seacoast, to the inland mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. I was traveling alone, and didn’t know anybody in either place (I’d sort of picked them off the map), so it was just me and the craggy, impossibly green Welsh hills and the little towns where the bus would occasionally make a stop. I’ve never seen another landscape with that combination of grandeur and intimacy.

2. Do you celebrate when you finish a book and what do you do? Oh, heck no. The few weeks after a book is finished are some of the most stressful in the process, because that’s when I send it off to my editor and wait to hear what she thinks. And it always seems possible, in those weeks, that her response is going to be, “Oh, my god, reading this manuscript has made me realize you really can’t write at all! What were we thinking, signing you to a contract?”

3. What blogs do you visit? Dear Author and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, for generally keeping up with the Romance world. History Hoydens and Word Wenches for fascinating articles about historical detail. ReadReactReview for thoughtful, accessible analysis of the genre. And Gossamer Obsessions, because AnimeJune can make me laugh just as hard with a good review as with a bad one.

4. If you were not writing, what job would you have? I wish writing were my only job. But as long as I’ve got dependent kids and a mortgage, I’m going to be pretty wedded to the health benefits and steady income of my day job – I’m just cautious that way. So if I weren’t writing, what I’d have is my same not-very-interesting day job plus more free time. Minus a lot of fulfillment.

5. Most embarrassing song on your iPod? It’s possible there might be some Journey on there. In fact it’s altogether possible that Journey singer Steve Perry’s solo hit, “Oh, Sherrie” is on there, for sing-along purposes. “You’d be better off alone!/If I’m not who you/thought I’d be-EE-ee!”

If anything, the cover for her debut, A Lady Awakened, makes me pea-green with envy. Quite literally! Isn’t this the most gorgeous cover you’ve ever seen? And thus begins Cecilia Grant’s career. You can find out more about her at her website, CecilaGrant.com. Make sure to get your copy of A Lady Awakened, and be on the lookout for her second book, A Gentleman Undone, coming June 2012 from Bantam.

©2012 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Last week’s winner is Commenter #39, Linda, who posted the following:

Linda says:
November 28, 2011 at 10:00 PM (Edit)
Christmas songs are all so lovely; it’s hard to pick one fav but probably “Hark the herald angels sing” if I had to choose one.

If this is you, email me with your mailing address and I will get your prize off to you.

And if you didn’t win, then it is time to try again!

This week’s drawings (yes, there will be two prize boxes) filled with, what else, books–a number of them signed, along with some fun author swag!

This is how you can enter for a chance to win:

1) Leave a comment below and tell me what on your To Do list you are determined to get done this week,

and/or

2) Tweet the following: @ElizBoyle hopes one of you #wins this box of #romancebooks. http://elizabethboyle.com/blog/?p=1792

Do both and you are entered twice! I’ll give you all until midnight, PT, Saturday, December 10th to get your entries in.

Make sure to check back here Monday December 12th to find out if you won. You’ll have a week to claim your prize.

PS: If you haven’t already, hop over to my Contest page to enter for a chance to win a Barnes & Noble Nook!.

©2012 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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This week’s drawing (in honor of the holidays!) is for a Chapters book bag filled with, what else, books–a number of them signed, along with some fun author swag!

This is how you can enter for a chance to win:

1) Leave a comment below and tell me what is your favorite holiday song or what is the most pressing thing you need to find for the holidays.

and/or

2) Tweet the following: @ElizBoyle hopes one of you wins this box of romance books. http://elizabethboyle.com/blog/?p=1771

Do both and you are entered twice! I’ll give you all until midnight, PT, Saturday, December 3rd to get your entries in.

Make sure to check back here Monday December 5th to find out if you won. You’ll have a week to claim your prize.

Enter today! And if you haven’t already, hop over to my Contest page to enter for a chance to win a Barnes & Noble Nook!.

©2012 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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1. Where is the most beautiful/romantic place you’ve ever been

Wow. So many in the world, but I’d have to say Venice. I’ve dreamed of going there my whole life, and we were lucky enough to stay at a Palazzo built in the mid 1400s with a balcony over the Canereggio Canal. I could have sat there all day watching the gondolas, the sunlight washing the wedding cake houses, the ever-changing water and sky, listening to the church bells and music, the water lapping against the pilings and the chatter in the narrow streets and bridges. I ate pasta out in small piazzas and bought a shameful amount of beautiful scarves, Murano glass, and ceramics. I wandered everywhere, and lit candles at every church I could find(and that was a lot). And then at the end of the evening, we retired to our balcony to watch the moon gleam off the water, and listen to the church bells. When I think of Italy, I think of church bells. They were like a symphony of joy.

2. Do you celebrate when you finish a book and what you do?

I celebrate the end of a deadline by reading every book and watching every movie I’ve saved up during deadline. Then I do my ritual office-cleaning of all of the research, notes, candy wrappers, empty cups and various trash that’s gathered in my office during deadline. Then my critique partner Karyn Witmer and I go out to lunch. Very satisfying.

3. If you were not writing, what job would you have?

I would actually go back to either being a trauma nurse, or become a death investigator. I’m fascinated by forensics. What would I wish I could do? Specialized travel agent for individual trips off the beaten track (after my answer to 1, I’m sure it’s no surprise). For instance, instead of staying in Florence, Italy, we stayed in Sienna and took the train over. Sienna is smaller, cheaper, and to me, far more intimate, a walled medieval city that just reeks of charm. We never stay at chain hotels, or go on big tours. In India I found a place to stay at the Ranthambhore Tiger Sanctuary that had luxury tents for rooms. Incredibly cool. I love it when I find a great deal in an interesting place. (You can follow my travels on my website, where I have a Travel for Fun page).

4. If you were going to an island for a long time, name 5 things you would bring.

• Ipod
• Ipad
• Generator….do I need anything else?
• Probably sunscreen or a hat, but that’s boring.
• My husband and a Swiss army knife(he says you can do anything with a Swiss army knife).

5. Print or ebook?

Print. I’m probably getting something like a Nook for long airplane rides, but when I can, I love the feel, smell and romance of a book. Some of my earliest memories are walking into a library, and there is just a smell that makes me excited and anxious, as if magic is hiding around the corner. I’m page bender, for the places I want to go back to, and an underliner for great lines or research information (I just finished Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier about women who were early amateur paleontologists, and I’ve marked it up to point to more research on the subject, since I have a character in an upcoming book who is a fossil hunter). There’s also just something about a book, a glass of wine and a hot bath that makes my life better.

EB: That combination will make anyone’s life better!

Looking for a great read to curl up in the tub with? Try Eileen’s new book, Always a Temptress, available now. To discover more about Eileen Dryer, her travels/adventures and her wonderful books, visit her site, www.EileenDreyer.com

©2012 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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1. Did you have a nickname growing up?

In college, one of my best guy friends used to call me “Emma”, because of my tendency to meddle (constructively!) in peoples’ love lives. Well, at least it was mostly constructive. Some of my best match-making has been done by misdirection. I had a particular talent for accidentally setting people up with their future spouses while trying to set them up with someone else.
I’d say this was great training for writing romantic fiction. I play the same “will they work? Won’t they work?” game of trial and error with my characters. The only difference? In this scenario, I get to craft both sides of the dialogue.

2. Where is the most beautiful/romantic place you’ve ever been?

Okay, I know this is going to sound counter intuitive, but… Wales. I went on vacation to Wales this past summer. The general reaction of most of the hoteliers and restaurant staff we encountered was “Really? You came here for fun?” Yes, yes, we did. And I loved it. Wales was gorgeous: crumbling old castles, amazing natural scenery, an absurdity of photogenic sheep dotting the fields. My favorite spot was a cliff in Snowdonia with heather turning the hills purple all around and a river and an old abbey lying way down below.

3. Do you celebrate when you finish a book and what you do?

Er, sleep? While I write my books, I print them out chapter by chapter, keeping the growing pile of pages on my ancient Walmart kitchen cart so I can actually see my progress as I go. It’s one thing to know, intellectually, that you’re up to three hundred pages; it’s another thing to actually see that pile and think, wow, that’s a lot of paper! Even better, once I’ve finished the book and send it off to my editor, I take the whole huge, unwieldy pile of paper and dump it with a great big whump into my recycling bin. There’s nothing more satisfying than that whumping noise. To me, that’s the feeling of DONE. Not to mention that there’s then an empty spot on my kitchen cart which needs to be filled with a new proto-page pile….

4. What new authors have you recently added to your TBR pile?

My TBR pile has grown exponentially recently, thanks to a Friday feature on my website called Weekly Reading Round-Up, where my readers pop in and talk about what they’re reading. Through them, I found Rhys Bowen’s Lady Georgiana mystery series and Kate Morton’s compelling historical novels. Also recently added to my TBR pile via Weekly Reading Round-Up is A Brief History of Montmaray, which I’ve been assured is just like I Capture the Castle. I also have Loretta Chase’s Silk is for Seduction, which I’ve been using as a personal bribe. I don’t get to read it until I finish my latest manuscript.

EB: Great! Now my TBR is overflowing.

5. If you were going to an island for a long time, name 5 things you would bring.

• A supersized tube of SPF 85 sunscreen—I burn just by being in the vicinity of sunshine. We’re talking full-on lobster red. My skin doesn’t seem to have grasped the concept of “tan”, although it has “burn”, “peel”, and “freckle” down to an art.
• An ipod, programmed by my little sister—she’s a genius at mixing peppy 80’s music, mellow girl music like Vienna Tang and the Weepies, folk music of the Judy Collins persuasion, and Broadway tracks. Perfect for a week (or several weeks) at the beach.
• A kindle with lots and lots of books! (Is that cheating?)
• A copy of Gone With the Wind, since I can re-read that an infinite number of times.
• My netbook (or, if there’s no power, lots of notebooks), for working on a new novel….

This week saw the paperback release of The Mischief of the Mistletoe, which by the way, won the 2011 RITA for Best Regency Historical Romance. To learn more about Lauren and her wonderful Pink Carnation series, visit her website:
www.laurenwillig.com.

©2012 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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