RWAus Top 15 Favourite Covers

This year is the 20th anniversary of the Romance Writers of Australia. To help celebrate, the RWA held a 20 Years of Romance Covers contest, where authors submitted their fave book cover from the last 20 years. There were so many gorgeous covers! The results have just come through and I'm delighted that Captive made the top 15!! The full list of finalists can be found here. The winner will be announced at the RWA conference in August.

Go Bren and Morwyn!!

Hot Doctors & Fever Cure

All this week my good friend Phillipa Ashley has been chatting about hot doctors over on her blog to help celebrate the release of Fever Cure from Samhain. Today I'm partying with Phillipa and sharing one of my fave movie doctors - can you guess who I chose?! Pop on over and join in the fun, we even have photos!!!

Phillipa will be popping over here some time next week but to whet your appetite here's the blurb for FC!

The road to heartbreak is paved with honorable intentions…

After a year dealing with her mum’s health scare and the end of a bad relationship, Keira Grayson was looking forward to kicking up her heels at her best friend’s wedding. Until she kicks off her (spare) knickers in front of the trifecta of perfection. Tom Carew. Son of an earl, honorable doctor and possibly the hottest man on the planet.

One look at Keira’s delightful embarrassment, and Tom’s hormone meter spins off the charts. Trouble is, his bags are already packed to return to the jungles of Papua New Guinea. He has patients waiting—and amends to make for a terrible choice that left devastation in its wake.

They both reason that indulging in a one-time dinner date won’t hurt…until their inhibitions melt away in the heat of their lethal sexual chemistry. Leaving Keira wondering if a sizzling fling is just what the doctor ordered, or another prescription for relationship disaster. And Tom fighting a battle against inner demons that could shatter both their hearts.

A Cucumber Break

I made the deadline for my latest book and sent it to my lovely editor at 5 pm last Wednesday (deadline day!). Talk about cutting it fine. That's the one good thing about the 12 hour time difference between here and New York!! It's just as well I had no choice but to hit Send since otherwise I would've gone through the entire book yet again.

So, after crashing for a couple of days and using up an entire cucumber on my poor sore eyes, I thought I'd have a week or so to tidy up the house and clear my desk. But by Friday afternoon I started getting that twitchy feeling. The one that's a prelude to me sliding into a grumpy, cantankerous witch (because in real life I'm not like that at all!!) It's like a mild anxiety attack hovering beneath the surface and it always hits me when I'm not in the middle of writing something.

Despite not having the faintest clue last Wednesday on what I should write next, by Sunday a heroine had taken up residence in my mind and refused to leave. Unfortunately, considering the hero who's her perfect match, it's impossible for her to be in the next book. Not that this fact shut her up, incidentally. So I've spent the last few days frantically trying to coax my next hero's soul mate into revealing herself. I hope she doesn't take too long because I'm itching to start writing again!

I never did get around to clearing off my desk either!!!

Ancient Historical Summer Beach Reads

My lovely writing friend, Alli Sinclair, has listed her top ancient historical Summer Beach Reads over at her blog, Novel Adventurers and I'm completely thrilled that she's included both Forbidden and Captive! If you love ancient historicals then pop on over and check out her fabulous list!

Galactic Burn

Congratulations to my good writing buddy Mel Teshco on the release of Galactic Burn today! Can't wait to read it :-) Check out this scorching blurb:

Humans have been almost wiped out. Only a few females are recovering from the devastation. The same deadly virus annihilated the female population of a mighty alien nation and their three kings—Dar, Ezra and Maddox—are looking for one special female, Lillian, to capture and seduce.

 

Though Lillian survived, she has no memory and struggles with the fact that three alien men have become her lovers. One by one, they take her, make her burn for release and satisfy her every sexual need. She craves their touches, their kisses, their comforting embraces while forming strong emotional bonds with each. Lillian is falling for her sexy aliens and agrees to become their life mate in a special ceremony—her three males will make love to Lillian as all the surviving alien males watch.

But, as the ceremony nears, Lillian begins to remember. The aliens lied and covered up the horrible truth. Their happy, new life together might not be possible after all.

Forbidden at Sizzling Summer Reads

The contest to win a copy of Forbidden is up on The Romance Review site now if you want to join in - you have to scroll down a little way to get to my question. The answer is up on my website in the excerpt for Forbidden - and here's an additional hint, it can be found on the second page of the excerpt!

Still love this cover to bits!!!

Two Wonderful Little Words: The End!

Today, about five minutes ago in fact, I type THE END on my current book. Hooray! what a relief. I feel like I've been writing this book all year! (probably because I have, more or less!!) Now it just needs a good polish and as it came in at almost 103,500 words I need to cut back to 100k, so that should be fun. Ha ha, or not!

But although it feels like I've been writing this book forever, when I checked my diary I realised it's been five months and two weeks. Considering this includes a complete rewrite of 70k I guess this isn't too bad after all. On the downside I suppose this also means I have no more excuses not to clear the mess that is my desk!

Sizzling Summer Reads!

Here in Australia we're in the depths of winter (it's cold and wet as I write this!!!) but happily I'm joining in a sizzling summer party over at The Romance Reviews during the month of July!

All month there's going to be fab contests with awesome prizes and the chance to chat with amazing authors. I'm over there on 11th July with an easy-peasy question to be in with the chance of winning a copy of Forbidden. The answer to the question (you'll have to pop over to TRR on 11th to discover what it is!!!) can be found by reading the excerpt of Forbidden on my website (told you it was easy!)

All you need to do to join in the summer fun is register at TRR and that's it! I hope to see you over there on Monday 11th July!!

Vengeance Born - Stunning Cover!!

My good friend Kylie Griffin has just unveiled the cover for her debut fantasy romance from Berkley Sensation - isn't it completely gorgeous? It hits the shelves on 7th February 2012. I'm so looking forward to reading this series. Congratulations, Kylie!!

VENGEANCE BORN: A Novel of the Light Blade
There is no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In this place of desperation and conflict, anyone who is not pure bred is virtually powerless. Until an unlikely champion is born…

Annika, half-blood daughter of the Na’Reish King, longs for more than her tormented life among her father’s people. Conceived in hatred and bred as a tool of retribution, she’s gifted with a special talent that can heal as well as destroy.

With the Na’Reish vastly outnumbering them, Kalan, a Light Blade warrior, knows the future of humankind depends on him alone. Incursions into human territory and raids for blood-slaves by the Na’Reish Horde have increased. As Chosen-leader, he faces the task of stopping the demons—and convincing the Council of aging Light Blade warriors that change is necessary for survival.

When Annika learns Kalan is a prisoner in her father’s dungeon, her dream of escape seems within reach. She agrees to free him in exchange for his protection once they reach human territory. Now, marked for death for helping him, Annika must learn to trust Kalan as they face not only the perilous journey to the border but enemies within the Council—and discover a shocking truth that could throw the human race into civil war…

Halo - Reloaded

A lot of authors are now self-publishing their out of print backlist titles, and I'm very excited that my friend, Amanda Ashby, has just made her debut romance, You Had Me at Halo, available on Kindle! How cute is that cover? And at $2.99 it's a bargain! Here's the blurb:

 When Holly Evans wakes up dead at the tender age of twenty-two, she's pretty sure things can't get any worse (especially since her boyfriend was about to propose to her with a diamond ring the size of her knuckle). But Holly's wrong and it turns out that she's still got some mortal baggage to unload before she can walk through the pearly gates, which is why she's being sent back to earth to get things sorted out.

Problem is that when she lands in the body of computer geek, Vince Murphy, she discovers that instead of having left the building, Vince is still very much alive (and remarkably unimpressed at the idea of sharing with a dead girl). So now Holly has to sort out her unresolved baggage in the next forty-eight hours while stuck in the body of a guy she barely noticed while she was alive. And if she doesn't? Well, let's just say that she's probably not going to like the alternative.

And here's the cover to Michelle's In a Treacherous Court - I meant to post it up yesterday and completely forgot. Seriously, this head cold has a lot to answer for!!

Juicy Bits

Eleni Konstontine had her short story, Dragon's Quest, published on the Antipodean SF site, in issue 156. I love the dragon!! And if that isn't enough juicy goodness, recently, Eleni also voiced the podcast for Dragon's Quest and you can listen to it here Antipodean SF Yay, Eleni, you clever girl!!

More goodness comes in the form of a great Goodreads contest from my friend, Michelle Diener. Michelle's debut historical novel, In A Treacherous Court set in the court of Henry VIII comes out in August, but if you're in the US you can enter the GR contest here to be in with a chance of winning one of 10 copies that are up for grabs. The contest runs until 11th July. Good luck!!

Skittles and a Fairy Bad Day

Huge congratulations to my dear friend, Amanda Ashby, as her fabulous YA Fairy Bad Day hits the shelves today!

Here's the blurb to whet your appetite:

First, my rightful designation of dragon slayer is STOLEN right out from under me by Curtis Green. Sure, he’s really cute, but that doesn’t give him an excuse.

 On top of that, I am assigned to slay fairies. I know what you’re thinking—how hard could it be, right? Wrong! These menacing beasts with their tiny hipster clothes and mocking sarcasm love taunting me. And they won’t STOP!

  But the thing that tops my list of stuff to ruin my day? That would be the GIANT KILLER FAIRY that I have to hunt down and slay because I am the only one who can see it. There is someone who can help me. Unfortunately…it’s Curtis. 

And here's the excerpt Enjoy! (and if you're wondering what the Skittles reference is all about, they play a Very Important role in the book!!!)

New Website

After months of putting it off I finally bit the bullet and redid my website. It took about five days to build and then another five days to upload it to the web (seriously! It was Very Confusing) And then another couple to fix all the glitches which hadn't shown up beforehand. So hopefully *fingers crossed* everything is working the way it should be now, but it's a bit like painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge!!

Here's the link if you want to have a quick squizz!

And here is a gratuitous picture of Henry Cavill, just because I felt like posting it!! 

The Immortal... Henry!

I'm a bit of a fan of Henry Cavill (Sussex in The Tudors. Need I say more?!) so I was thrilled when my friend, Eleni Konstantine, posted a YouTube clip for his next movie, The Immortals. He looks pretty damn hot in a skirt, that's all I can say!! And his weapons are impressive. I will definitely be checking it out, purely for research purposes you understand because Henry - especially in this gear - is a dead ringer for the hero of my next ancient historical romance!


And here's the trailer. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day & Killing Your Darlings

Happy Mother's Day! I hope you all had a wonderful day with your human and/or fur babies. My lovely children framed the cover of Captive for me and it is completely awesome :-) unfortunately my photo skills are such that I can't enlarge it to show all the details!

I recently heard back from my editor on my current book. She had read the proposal - the first four chapters and synopsis (my chapters are quite short!) and had some excellent insights on the plot based on the synopsis I'd given her. Now, synopsis writing is not my strong point, especially when I haven't even written the book yet. I have enough trouble writing the thing after the book's finished! I don't even look at the synopsis after it's done so the book rarely follows my original ideas. However in this case, although I'd wandered away from the synopsis, the issues my editor pointed out were things I'd intended keeping.

After a mild panic attack (and a late night brainstorming session with the amazing Amanda!) I realized that no only was it all doable, but by doing it would clarify all the sticky bits at the beginning of the book that I'd earmarked as needing to be sorted out. Once again I'm amazed at just how much can be slashed and burned without making the entire plot disintegrate. It's hard to kill your darlings but sometimes it just has to be done!

Happy Firsts at Strange Candy!

Today I'm over at Strange Candy Reviews to help celebrate her first year blogoversary! So in keeping with the theme of 'firsts' I'm chatting about how I felt when I first held my very first copy of Forbidden in my hot little hands! Strange Candy has a fab contest going on from 22nd April to 6th May where one commenter can win a $50 gift card to the Book Depository so if you get a moment pop on over and say hi. I'd love to see you!

Happy Easter and the Great.... What If?

Well, I'm looking forward to the long Easter break coming up! Hopefully the weather will stay fine and my husband can finish off his latest project. Which is... enclosing half of our back garden so the kitties don't go wandering! When we were first married we had two little kittens and one was run over and killed when she was only nine months old. I don't think we've ever got over it. So this way we hope to give them freedom but also ensure their safety. And that's not all, cats go missing on a regular basis round here and I do NOT think it has anything to do with the cats themselves running away.

And in other news, I'm over at Magical Musings today with my good friend Michelle Diener (who writes historical fiction for Simon & Schuster imprint Gallery Books) In both Forbidden and Captive my heroines have to make life-changing decisions and take a leap of faith. Today over at MM I chat about my own leap of faith in embracing a new beginning in a new land. Would love to see you over there!

Plus - my blogger has changed! It's been upgraded in my absence. Or did I upgrade and just forget?! Wouldn't surprise me!

The Making of a Cover

Tony Mauro, the fabulous artist who illustrated the cover for Captive, is being interviewed today over at Book Lovers Inc where he gives fascinating insights into the whole process from the model shoots to digital artwork. Well worth checking out if you have a moment!

Hot Demons!

I'm thrilled that my fabulous CP, fellow Tiara Girl Amanda Ashby, has sold her next book to Puffin! Here's the scoop from Publishers Marketplace:

Amanda Ashby's DEMONOSITY, in which a sixteen year old girl's life is
turned upside down when she has to protect an ancient alchemist's
relic from two demonknight brothers, one of whom is good and one of
them bad: the problem is she has no idea which is which, to Puffin, in
a nice deal, by Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency (World English).

Forbidden & Captive Land in Oz!

So, while I was supposed to be writing this afternoon I decided to have a little wander around the Internet (as you do!) Wow am I glad I did! I discovered that both Forbidden and Captive are now for sale in Australia as from 7th April! The last time I looked both were slated for a 2nd May release. I'm almost beside myself with excitement at the thought of seeing my books on local bookshelves - although given the fact they are erotic romances, perhaps they won't be in Big W or Kmart? But still!!

It's doubly exciting as this month is Aussie Author Appreciation April over at Fangbooks where heaps of fantastic paranormal, fantasy, UF and sci-fi Aussie authors are being showcased.

Time for a celebratory glass of wine, I think!!!

Captive Kitties

Today I'm over at fellow Berkley author, Kylie Griffin's blog, chatting about my writing procedure and my kittens (oops, I mean my daughter's kittens. But, details...) There's a signed copy of Captive up for grabs or, if the winner lives internationally, an Amazon gift card. And while you're over at Kylie's, check out her upcoming debut romance! Vengeance Born is due out in February 2012 and it looks totally awesome!!

Computer Woes and Historical Inspirations

Argh! My computer is driving me mad. It's always been very slow but since installing the new anti virus software last week it's gone completely ridiculous on me. Now I'm being spammed by my own emails which is very annoying!!! I hope it fixes itself soon before I rip all the hair out of my head!! But in happier news... Today I'm over at Unusual Historicals, where I'm chatting about the historical background to Captive, including the real-life historical character who inspired a cruicial plot thread in the book. Would love to see you over there!

NOR - Top Pick for CAPTIVE!

My lovely editor just sent through this review from Night Owl Reviews for Captive - 41/2 star Top Pick! Here's a snippet:

I loved how Bren and Morwyn were able to move into a relationship, with so much against them. There was little reason for them to trust each other, yet they found themselves wanting to believe the best in each other. I found it interesting how Morwyn twisted her desire into an acceptable penalty to her shaken faith, while she tried to keep her heart out of it, she didn't quite succeed. But then again, neither did Bren, who fought a guilt as strong as hers. The passion between them was scorching hot, and I felt Ms. Phillips did a great job creating sizzling scenes that never seemed to get lost in over-the-top prose.

Thank you Aemelia for the fabulous review!

Darklight on... ME!

Today I'm in the hot seat over at the Darkside Down Under blog, where you can discover all sorts of fascinating facts about me! (or not so fascinating, as the case may be!!!) Thank you to the ever-patient Eleni Konstantine for setting up the interview!!

And the party continues...

The party over at PW Beyond Her Book is absolutely phenomenal! Have you visited yet? Today would be a good day because the venue is a castle and the prizes range from contemporary, historical, erotica, e-book and audio books - awesome!! There are also several e-readers up for grabs. And since Forbidden and Captive fall in the historical and erotic categories, a copy of one of my books is also on offer!

Have fun!

Give me an 'O'

Over the last couple of weeks I've received several lovely emails from readers, and today I received a wonderful letter in the mail which absolutely made my day (month, really!). It's the most fabulous feeling to know someone has enjoyed your books that much and really does make it all worthwhile when you struggle through those less than wonderful writerly days :-) Thank you!

My dear friend Shelley Munro contacted me today to let me know Forbidden has been reviewed by Just Erotic Romance Reviews. I'm thrilled that the reviewer, Aggie Tsirikas, gave the book a Gold Star Award and an 'O' Rating (this stands for 'Orgasmic' !!!) JERR is a review publication, so I can't link directly to the review but hopefully it will be up on their website in a month or so.

Here are a couple of snippets:

"Ms. Phillips skill in creating sexual tension that simmers and explodes from the first meeting between Carys and Maximus is palpable. While their love scenes are filled with erotic passion and grace it doesn’t overpower the story, but rather enhances their developing love adding dimension to their developing personalities and relationship...

"It’s satisfying to find a new author whose debut novel is so impressive with attention to detail giving us a glimpse into the life of these Roman legionaries and Celts, but also wrapping it all up in a fantastical and engrossing story to give us a compelling and spellbinding romance. I’m sure I’ll be re-reading Forbidden many times. I highly recommend Forbidden and for these reasons I recommend a Gold Star Award."

PW 4th Annual Anniversary Bash

The wonderful Barbara Vey over at Publishers Weekly's Beyond Her Book is gearing up for her annual anniversary bash. This is a virtual party and it's going to run non-stop from Monday through Saturday, and there are the most amazing prizes to be won! Not only fabulous books but there are also 17 e-readers to be given away - and you can win just by leaving a comment over at the party.

Here's the scoop directly from Barbara:

Here’s the daily schedule, but e-readers will be given away daily, so get your comments in every day:

Monday, March 7th - Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Urban Fantasy (Takes place in haunted house)

Tuesday March 8th – Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Adventure (Takes place at a murder scene)

Wednesday March 9th – Publishers, Editors, Bloggers, Librarians (takes place on an island)

Thursday March 10th – Inspirational, YA, Nonfiction (takes place at a shopping mall)

Friday March 11th – Contemporary/Historical/Erotica/E-Books/Audio (takes place at a castle)

Saturday March 12th – Romance Blowout (takes place at Niagara Falls)

I'll be there on Friday with a giveaway of a copy of either Forbidden or Captive. Looks like the party's going to be a blast!

Social Media

If you're a writer, what social media do you use? The chances are that, beside your website, you also have a blog, maybe a Facebook page and possibly use Twitter. How do you find time to juggle the social networking with everything else and still find time to write? Is it essential for a writer to have an interactive online presence? Which is your favourite and why?

I've recently set up a new Facebook Like page. I love chatting with readers online and hope this could be a way of connecting. I also have a Twitter account but to be honest I'm not too sure what I'm doing over there, which is why I often appear to fall of the edge of the twitterverse.

What medium do readers most like as a way of connecting to authors? Is it important to have that interaction and if so do you prefer if the author uses a blog, FB, Twitter or some other media? Or does it not matter to you?

Seductive Musings has a great post about the different social medias from a reader's perspective, and makes the point that for many readers it's the author's website that is the first and most important port of call when looking for up to date info. The post is long but is well worth reading and certainly gave me a lot to think about.

What are your thoughts?

Hot Cover Love

Today I'm over at the lovely VampFanGirl's blog, Lovin' Me Some Romance, where I'm talking about hot covers and what it is about them that we especially love? Pop on over and leave a comment to go into the draw for a giveaway of either Forbidden or Captive!

I've also set up a new Like page on Facebook, so if you'd like to join please click on the link below!!

Couple of Contests

I'm holding a contest to win a copy of Captive over at GoodReads for the next couple of weeks - just click on the link or the widget on the right sidebar to enter - it's as easy as that!

My good friend, paranormal YA romance author Amanda Ashby and her very clever husband have just launched her brand new website - and it's fabulous! Amanda is also holding a contest over at GoodReads for an ARC of her upcoming Fairy Bad Day (Amanda thinks up the best titles!) so don't forget to join in the fun because this book r-o-c-k-s.

Ancient World

Busy day today, not only am I having fun with the LoveCat girls, I'm also chatting about my ancient world of Forbidden and Captive over at Tote Bags n' Blogs ~ and there's another giveaway!

Peeled Grapes, Anyone?

My good friend Mel Teshco has interviewed me over at the LoveCats DownUnder blog today, and you can find out what exactly it is that Alan Rickman does for me every morning! And it might not be what you think!!! There's also a giveaway for one lucky commenter!!

Exclusive Excerpt of Captive

Today I'm having fun over at Seductive Musings where there's an exclusive excerpt of Captive and a teaser which I think gives a feeling of what the story is about. Love to see you over there - and there's a copy of either Forbidden or Captive up for grabs for one commenter who finishes off a provocative sentence!!!

A Sexy Dessert

Today I'm over at Book Lovers Inc, where the lovely Has asked me some fab questions. If you want to find out what dessert I think perfectly describes Bren and Morwyn's relationship then hop on over and have a look-see! And don't forget to leave a comment to be in with a chance of winning a copy of either Forbidden or Captive!

Captive at Borders True Romance

Today I'm being interviewed at Borders True Romance. Find out who I could see playing Bren and Morwyn if a movie was made of Captive!!

And there's a giveaway!

Winner of The Perfect Concubine!

And the winner of Michelle Styles contest to win a download of her Roman Undone, The Perfect Concubine is ~~~

Jena Lang

Congratulations, Jena! Please contact Michelle at michelle@michellestyles dot co dot uk (no spaces) with your details.

Big thanks to everyone for joining in the fun! And don't forget to check out Michelle's blog to find out who won of copy of either Forbidden or Captive!

Pleasure Me, Captive

Today I'm over at Monica Burns' Pleasure Me blog party, where not only is there a chance to win a *signed* copy of Captive but also to go into the draw for a Grand Prize of a Deluxe Spa basket worth $150! Would love to see you over there!!

Question Time

For another chance to win a copy of either Forbidden or Captive, I'm partying over at Not Another Romance Blog today, where the lovely Rita asked me some fabulous questions. Hope to see you over there!

Everything Erotica Spotlight at RT

I'm chuffed that Captive is being showcased on the Everything Erotica Spotlight over at the Romantic Times BOOK Review site. There's a message from me and also an excerpt. Fun!

I'm also over at my good friend Kaye Manro's blog, who writes sizzling hot sci-fi romance - and her series is called Forbidden too!! Check out Kaye's Forbidden Love and, coming soon, Forbidden Destiny!

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!

The Perfect Hero

Today I'm over at the Dark Side DownUnder blog where I'm talking about heroes - specifically, what makes a hero perfect for you? Or just pop on over and leave a comment or ask a question! There's a copy of either Forbidden or Captive up for grabs and I'll draw a winner next Wednesday!

And don't forget to leave a comment on Michelle's post to be in with a chance of winning a copy of 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.

CAPTIVE Release Day!

Today is Captive's official release date! It still feels a little unreal but I'm so excited that Bren and Morwyn's story is finally out there. I hope readers love Bren as much as I do :-)

If you see Captive on the shelf, I would love if you could take a photo and let me know!! It's not on the shelves here in Australia - yet - although I'm thrilled both Forbidden and Captive are being released by Penguin Australia on 2nd May *yay*!

I have a blog tour during February where I'll be giving away copies of either Forbidden or Captive - I'll post details here on my blog with links. Be sure to pop back to find out where I am!!!

She is a prisoner of her sworn enemy - and her own desire...

Having lost her faith when Roman invaders destroyed life as she knew it, Morwyn took a vow of celibacy to spite her goddess. But before she can join up with the rebels, she's captured by a Gaul mercenary whose animal charms and chiseled body will test her conviction... and make it harder to kill him.

Bren, pledged to the true Briton king, has spent three years undercover in the Roman Legion. So when his own unit attacks and brutalizes a fiery Celtic beauty, he saves her the only way he can - by claiming her as his prisoner. But unlike his men, Bren would never take the woman by force, no matter how obviously she burns for his touch.

As they near Roman headquarters, Morwyn resolves to honor her vow of celibacy - but if the Gaul were to ravage her, could she be blamed for enjoying his body? With just a hint of seduction, sooner or later the Gaul will succumb to his exquisite captive...

Excerpt

Amazon

The Book Depository

IndieBound

41/2 Star Review for CAPTIVE

With only a couple of days until Captive hits the shelves, I'm thrilled with this 41/2 Star review from Steph, from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club:

Primal and sexy, I love this series.

Sensual and vibrant, this historical romance is emotional and sexy. I could not put it down and this may be my favorite new time period in historical romance. I can’t wait for the author to write more!

"Bren('s)... reputation is black and unsavory, but the author gives him a vulnerability and humanity that proves how worthy he actually is. It was fun to read how this sober and serious Bren lightens up under Morwyn’s sensuous attack... When Bren reveals what drives him, I really felt for him. But the best sections are their interactions as they flirt with each other and slowly learn to respect and care for each other."

Captive at Novel Adventurers

I'm very excited to be over at Novel Adventurers today with fellow RWA member, Alli Sinclair. I first met Alli at conference last year, and she has the dubious honor of being the first person I actually told there that my book was coming out the following month :-)

We'd love to see you over there if you get a mo - there's a copy of either Forbidden or Captive up for grabs for one commenter and the contest is open all week. I'm chatting about the historical background to my Forbidden world and welcome any questions!!

In other not so fab news, we have a cyclone warning so are currently battening down the hatches and hoping for the best. Seriously, the weather is getting so freaky **still not thinking of 2012**

Captive by the Kitties

My author copies of Captive arrived the other day! I still get a thrill when the FedEx van pulls up on the drive. My daughter's kitties were mildly interested but far more excited when I gave them the emptied box to play with!

Happy Australia Day!

Pleasure Me with Romance

Pleasure Me With Romance

On 5th February I'm thrilled to be partying over at Monica Burns blog, to help celebrate the 1st March release of her latest historical romance, Pleasure Me. I wanted to give you an early heads up because Monica has an awesome line up of historical romance authors, giving away heaps of fabulous books. I'm in awe to be at the same party as them!! As well as my dear friend Anna Campbell, take a look at some of the other award-winning bestselling authors who are taking part:

Starring some of today's hottest bestselling

historical romance authors such as

Jayne Anne Krentz/Amanda Quick,

Sabrina Jeffries, Madeline Hunter,

Lorraine Heath, Sarah MacLean, Julianne MacLean, Lucy Monroe

and many more!

Join in the fun here

RWA Flooded Communities Book Appeal

Romance Writers of Australia is holding a Book Appeal to assist flooded communities from the Qld floods.

RWA Flooded Communities Book Appeal

We’ve all seen the devastation the recent Queensland floods have wrought and have wondered how we can help. We know that for many affected families, books will not be high on their priorities list for some time to come.

But…

We also know how valuable books can be in providing time out when reality gets tough.

So…

With the aid of some wonderful volunteers, we’ve put together a Romance Writers of Australia Flooded Communities Book Appeal.

What we need?

FICTION BOOKS! Romance books, children’s books, young adult books, genre books, whatever – either new or in sparkling condition.

Please send them to:

RWA Flooded Communities Book Appeal

PO Box 1717

Noosaville Post Office

Noosaville BC

Queensland 4566

When to send them?

Now! And any time over the next few months. The books will be boxed and delivered to the appropriate libraries/schools/neighbourhood centres/community centres in batches as soon as the communities are ready to receive them. We’ll be liaising with councils, libraries and schools to ensure this is done appropriately. Feel free to pop a note inside, or if you’re an author, sign it.

Here's the Facebook page link with up to the minute info

See the Romance Writers of Australia wordpress for more information

Thank you

Captive at Strange Candy Reviews!

Today I'm over at Strange Candy Reviews where there's a chance to win a copy of either Forbidden or Captive - love to see you over there!

I Saw the Angel

There's a great quote of Michelangelo's that I absolutely love - "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free".

I've got that imprinted in my brain at the moment, as I'm struggling with the opening chapter of my current book. The book is written - but it needs major surgery to find the true story, aka the angel.

So far I'm on my third version of chapter one, and this is so unlike my normal writing process I feel like a hamster running in a wheel - expending a huge amount of energy and not getting anywhere!

Thankfully, every time I strip away a layer, the romance (which after all is the core of the book) becomes clearer so at least I'm on the right track, even if I feel I'm taking endless diversions. My amazing CPs (who are both on tight deadlines both professional and personal) have read every version so far (and not that I want to worry them or anything but I have a feeling I haven't finished with it yet!!) My agent is also amazing with her insights, and I'm determined to pull this off!

So that's why I've been mia since New Year. Today I also received my RWA Golden Heart entries (can't wait to read them, they look awesome!) but what I really need is a few more hours in each day!

Welcome to 2011!

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful festive season. I had a fabulous time with family and ate far too much as usual! The kittens enjoyed climbing the Christmas tree which was fine until one of them climbed too high and fell off, dragging a couple of stars with her. Fun :-)

The weather has been scorching here for the last couple of weeks. I'm talking hitting the 100 degree mark, and our drought continues even as the rest of Australia is suffering from awful flooding. Today is cloudy and it's raining but the heat is still pretty stifling. With all the weird weather everywhere I'm trying not to think about 2012 :-)

Writing wise I haven't done any since before Christmas Eve, but I have been working on the Captive blog tour which starts... quite soon really!! I have a couple of guest posts lined up towards the end of January, and I'll give more details when I know them.

How is everyone? What did you get up to for NewYear's Eve? We ended up watching the latest season of Bones on DVD!!!

The Partying Starts Now!

Well, it's almost Christmas Eve here in Australia (in fact it probably is Christmas Eve already in most of Australia!) so I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and merry festive season.

If you have a moment, pop over to Magical Musings where we're starting the holiday early with some tasty eye-candy!! And there's also a chance to win a copy of Captive!

Christmas Cuteness! & 4 Star Review for CAPTIVE

A month ago my eldest daughter rescued a pair of kittens. They were only six weeks old and as you can see from the pic, are completely adorable!! Today Miri and Ava are starring over at the LoveCats Down Under blog, where they spill all their naughty little secrets.

And I was very happy today to discover RT BOOK Reviews gave Captive 4 Stars! Here's a snippet:

Phillips’ second in the Forbidden series is just as hot as its predecessor. Readers will be held Captive by the magic between Druid priestess Morwyn and Bren. More than the passion between them, however, are the misunderstandings and half- truths that also blossom. Readers will be intrigued as the layers of the story unfold.

But is my stocking big enough...?

Are there really only five days to Christmas Day? (and if I tell Santa I've been a very bad girl will I get Henry in my stocking...?)

I know this week is freakishly busy for everyone, but just want to let you know that this Thursday, 23rd December I'm partying over at my good friend Michelle Diener's group blog, Magical Musings. There will be cookies and hot warriors to help melt the snow ~and~ I'm offering up a copy of either Forbidden or Captive to one lucky party-goer who leaves a comment on my post!

Win a Copy of Captive for Christmas!

Over at Dear Author today is the Berkley Winter giveaway with masses of awesome books up for grabs - including a couple of copies of Captive! So if you'd like to be in with a chance of winning any of the books on offer, hop on over and leave a comment. It's that easy!!

Freebie Read for December

My good friend Michelle Styles, who writes for Mills and Boon Historical, has a free read up this month over on the eHarlequin boards. His Stand-In Bride is a regency and we're up to chapter four this week. Well worth popping over for! And in other news, Michelle and I both have Roman set books out in February so we're planning some fun then!

I'm a third of the way through Enslaved, so am happy about that. Things always slow down writing wise over the Christmas holidays although I'm hoping to hit 40k before the big day.

And speaking of Christmas the tree is up, the presents are wrapped and I'm almost done with the shopping, hooray!

Fab December Giveaway

The lovely Vamp Fan Girl, over at Lovin Me Some Romance, is holding a month long contest throughout December to giveaway the entire series so far of The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger! All you have to do is hop on over and leave a comment on the post - make sure to follow the guidelines to be in with a chance of winning. How easy is that?

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!!

Countdown...

Huge thanks to my good friend, Tracey O'Hara, who made this awesome countdown widget for Captive! Tracey's second book in her fabulous Harper/Voyager Dark Brethren series, Death's Sweet Embrace, hits the shelves one week before Captive, so we're almost shelf sisters!!

If you'd like to post the widgets on your sites, please do!!!

And don't forget, on Thursday I'm over at the Dark Side Downunder blog where there's a chance to win a copy of either Forbidden or an early copy of Captive (when I receive my copies, probably mid January 2011)

Babbling About Books...

I discovered another wonderful review for Forbidden the other day, from Katiebabs at Babbling About Books, and More:

"Christina Phillips has a nice way with words and setting up a story. Her love scenes have just the right amount of heat and should appeal to those readers who like a little more spice and passion. Forbidden was an enjoyable read by an author who can really tap into the emotions of her characters and the world around them. For a solid reading experience, I would recommend Forbidden."

That made me very happy!!!

I'm deep in the world of Enslaved now, and really enjoying getting to know both Nimue and Tacitus. I love when they surprise me with unexpected revelations from their past!

How a Book is Acquired...

If you've ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at an acquisitions meeting in a publishing house, agent Rachelle Gardner has a great blog post, highlighting two possible scenarios. I found it a fascinating read but also quite painful!!!

Fairy Bad Day ARCs!

My good friend and CP, Amanda Ashby, recently received a couple of ARCs for her upcoming YA novel, Fairy Bad Day. And OMG but they are sooo adorable!!! Look at that cool kick-ass sword!!

My life seriously couldn’t get any worse.

First, my rightful designation of dragon slayer is STOLEN right out from under me by Curtis Green. Sure, he’s really cute, but that doesn’t give him an excuse.

On top of that, I am assigned to slay fairies. I know what you’re thinking—how hard could it be, right? Wrong! These menacing beasts with their tiny hipster clothes and mocking sarcasm love taunting me. And they won’t STOP!

But the thing that tops my list of stuff to ruin my day? That would be the GIANT KILLER FAIRY that I have to hunt down and slay because I am the only one who can see it. There is someone who can help me. Unfortunately…it’s Curtis.

It’s going to be a fairy bad day.

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...

Updates

It's been a busy week writing wise. I started a new book which I'm very excited about and wrote a synopsis for another one (I don't love writing synopses, they're a form of torture!) I also joined the Romance Writers of America and entered the RITAs with Forbidden. I've only ever entered a couple of writing contests before, since I tend to get a bit stressed out with all the formatting rules and what not, but since all I had to to do for this one was fill in the form, pay the fee and have the books sent, I thought I could manage that!!

I've also started organising my blog tour for Captive in February and have some totally awesome stops lined up.

And don't forget to check out the Dark Side Downunder blog! So much juicy goodness going on over there. I'll be hosting the blog on 25th November where I'll be chatting about the goddesses in the world of the Forbidden series.