SOLD! To Ellora's Cave!

I'm beyond delighted to share that books 3 and 4 in my Forbidden Roman/Druid series have been contracted to Ellora's Cave! I have my fingers crossed that book 3 will be out later this year or early next year. I'll keep you posted!

Here are the (unedited) blurbs to give you a taster:

Betrayed

When Druid priestess Nimue is injured and enslaved by the hated Roman Legion, she's determined to escape and complete her mission for the Briton king.

But the tough Roman warrior who saved her life is far from the brutal barbarian she fears. His touch inflames and passion burns and against everything she believes in her heart surrenders to her enemy.

Roman warrior Tacitus is enchanted by the fiery beauty who shows no fear and challenges him at every turn. He's determined to make her his, whatever it takes.But when he discovers the depth of her betrayal his loyalties are torn between his heritage and a woman who could destroy everything he's ever believed in.

Tainted

Driven by the knowledge he failed to protect his king and embittered at losing the woman he loves, Druid warrior Gawain despises the lust he feels for the beautiful Roman patrician, Antonia. But despite the danger of discovery he embarks on an illicit liaison with her, determined to uncover the reason for the infinite sorrow that haunts her eyes.

Newly arrived in Britannia from Rome, Antonia is inexplicably drawn to the cold, tough Celt who ignites a passion she long thought died at the hands of her brutal former husband. She knows her growing feelings for him can lead nowhere. But when a shadow from her past threatens her future Antonia is torn between the Empire of her birth and betraying Gawain, the man she's grown to love.

I've also sold a Regency Vampire novella and an exciting Highland Warrior series to Ellora's Cave. More details on those books coming soon. Looks like a busy year ahead!

Hot Romans, Magical Druids & a Paranoid Emperor

Today I'm blogging over at Historical Hearts on What is an Ancient Historical Romance, Anyway? There's a little bit of background to the world that my Roman/Druid books are set in and I also explain how the Emperor Claudius's paranoia when it came to Druids dovetailed so beautifully with my plot for Forbidden!

Cool Forests & Ancient Magic

Today I'm over at RR@H Novel Thoughts & Book Talk chatting about my world of Forbidden - with a copy of Forbidden for one lucky commenter!

I found a lovely reader review for Forbidden over on the Australian Romance Readers Association blog yesterday. The reviewer, Nicola Smith, had this to say:

"I enjoyed reading Forbidden. It took me to another place of cool forests and ancient magic. The characters Carys and Maximus are strong and likeable. I also enjoyed reading about their cultures and the impact the Romans had on the Celt society."

Don't forget to scroll down and leave a comment on Michelle's post to be in with a chance of winning her fabulous Undone, The Perfect Concubine!

Captive & The Perfect Concubine *Giveaways*

I'm delighted to have my dear friend Michelle Styles visiting my blog today. Michelle writes for Harlequin Mills and Boon Historical, and after she sold The Gladiator's Honor back in 2006 I love to call her the trail-blazer when it comes to opening up the line to ancient historical romances :-)

I'm over at Michelle's blog today chatting about my world of Forbidden, so do please pop by there and say hi - there's a copy of Forbidden or Captive up for grabs for one lucky commenter!

And now it's over to Michelle...

When Christina and I realised that we both had Roman set stories out in February, we decided to do a blog swap. Christina is over at my blog talking about her latest release Captive and I am here talking about The Perfect Concubine.

I am so excited that all things Roman are getting more attention in the Romance genre.

The Perfect Concubine is an Undone and approximately 15,000 words as opposed to Christina’s full length novel. Undones are downloadable as e-books and occasionally they are grouped together in anthologies. They are Harlequin Historical sexiest offering and give authors a chance to explore their world more. But they are short and are meant to be in a lunch time. So they can be very focused . For me, it was a chance to revisit a world that I love.

The Perfect Concubine takes place shortly after Sold & Seduced and has a minor character – Piso the Greek as the hero. It is 68 BC and the Roman Republic has not yet given way to the Empire. The story focuses on the merchants of Rome, rather the soldiers. They built trading empires out of nothing and fought to keep them.

Rome, 68 B.C.

Valeria's life is in the hands of Piso the Greek—the very man who had risen from a common sailor to wealthy ship owner following their doomed romance. He is the only man brave enough to sail the dangerous seas to Alexandria to reunite Valeria with her missing brother and restore her family's fortune. But Piso demands a high price for his help: Valeria must become his concubine and share his bed once more....

Wherever good e-books are sold and on e-harlequin. E-harlequin is doing 14% discount until 14 February.

I have a free download to offer to one poster. It is supposed to be for the US and Canada only (or that is what I am told) as it is from e-harlequin.

Thank you Christina for having me.

Book Trailer for Captive

I've been working on the trailer for Captive for the last few weeks, and it's finally finished. Here it is - hope you enjoy!

Go, Captive!

I'm quite easily pleased, and last night I was pretty much over the moon when I discovered (via Google!!!) that Captive is up for pre-order at WH Smith in the UK! Growing up in England, WH Smith was a huge part of my life, and I used to spend most of my pocket money on the lovely Penguin classics. Captive is also up for pre-order at Tesco UK - and I used to do all my grocery shopping there for years, so this all feels very surreal and strange and exciting!

Don't forget to pop over to the Dark Side Dowunder blog tomorrow (Wednesday) to check out who won my Magic Thursday giveaway!

The "Forbidden" Goddesses

Join me over at the Dark Side Downunder blog, where I'm chatting about the goddesses who inspired me in my Forbidden series, and there's a chance to win an early copy of Captive!!

A New Sale!

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce Berkley Heat have bought the third book in my Forbidden series, ENSLAVED. This is the story of Nimue, a Druid priestess who appears near the end of Captive. As soon as she appeared I knew I wanted to tell her story and I'm so excited I'll be able to!

Here's the blurb from Publishers Marketplace:

Christina Phillips's ENSLAVED, in which a druid priestess is captured and enslaved to a Roman tribune who must decide whether his loyalty lies with his heritage or the woman he suspects may be Rome's deadliest enemy...

Bare-Chested Gerard Butler

It's been a while since I posted pics of hot guys and seriously, they don't come much hotter than Clive Owen and Gerard Butler, do they? Lovely black hair, massive weapons and cool protection. What more could a girl want from her ancient historical hero?

(OK I'll answer that - a bare-chested pic of Clive Owen!!!)