Time Flies

I'm not precisely sure I'm having fun (even though time is flying). It may just be that I'm inundated with laundry and housecleaning copyedits and emails-to-be-answered and other sundry obligations and I can't seem to find time to post.

But I'm working on it.

While I'm still working on the shoveling out process and the getting photos downloaded and printed process, I'd be delighted if you would stop by Book Talk with J&J where they are posting an interview with me today.

Leave a comment there and get entered in the contest to win a copy of One-Night Love Child. (If you already have it, we can find a backlist book for you). Or just comment and make me feel as if someone cares!

Promise to be back tomorrow with pics. It's our anniversary so I might have to do something celebratory, too. The Prof might enjoy that. Except school started today, so I doubt he even remembers.

Flynn's Back!

It isn't that Flynn doesn't want to share the limelight.

Well, maybe it is, because I'm pretty sure Flynn thinks PJ will have lots of opportunity to promote his own book in the next few months.

So when I got an email today from Maggie at DailyLit.com telling me that One-Night Love Child was going to be part of their series of books available by email, I told Flynn and he immediately said in his Earl's Voice, "And you've put it on your blog, of course."

He's really getting into his role as the earl, our Flynn.

Well, I was heading off to the dentist right then, and so I couldn't.

But as soon as I got back and found him tapping his toe and looking expectantly at me (I was going to say, Looking expectant, but he doesn't. That's Sara.). So I hurried right in here to post the good news.

DailyLit, in case you aren't familiar with it, sends out daily emails of the books it makes available through the site. It's like getting your own serialized version of a book daily to have with your morning coffee or on your lunch break or whenever you have a few minutes and want to dip into the daily read.

Those of you who read Kate Walker's blog know that her Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife was chosen to be given away as a free promotional title. It came out in June 2008 and is available through the summer.

So you can see what it's like by reading Kate's wonderful book. Or you can choose One-Night Love Child or any one of hundreds of books -- not only romance -- and for a modest sum have it delivered to your email box daily.

Flynn wishes they'd send his articles and books out that way. Mostly he hopes you will go check out his book there if you haven't already read it in book or e-book format.

And he was delighted to hear that when I told the DailyLit people his story began in The Great Montana Cowboy Auction, they said they'd look into including it among their offerings. I hope they do. It would be terrific to have Sloan and Polly's story available again.

On the road again . . . again

After you have written 61 books (which I have, apparently) and you are embarking on the 62nd, you begin to think you've been this way before.

Maybe not quite this exact same way, but some of the memories evoked are the same even if the sights along the way are not.

When I was reading Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit last spring I wrote several blogs -- one of which is here -- about it which, having gone back and re-read them now, make me recognize the efforts. It isn't that I wasn't aware of them before, but I think it's the ritual I am more aware of now.

There is, of course, the box. Or the collage. Or the heap of papers, books and sundry junk piled in the corner that is my treasure trove for the book. Every book has one. Or at least it has something -- some collection that I go to in order to discover the flotsam and jetsam that I will need to create the novel.

Oddly, though, when I did the collage for Flynn and Sara, nothing in the book turned out like the collage -- well, except for O'Mally and Liam.

Flynn changed as the book went on. Sara did, too. So did the castle. And the setting? Well, it started out in New York and never went there at all in the finished book.

Much the same thing happened to Sebastian and Neely and their box. The box is wonderful -- very impressive. And nothing much remained of the things I put on the box, either. The story took on a life of its own.

It began with the box, yes. But then it took off from there.

So starting over with Christo and Natalie, I don't expect to end up with what I start out with, either.

Just as well. It shows the characters are growing, developing their own story, finding their own way to their happily ever after.

At least I hope that's where they're going. They haven't seen fit to tell me yet.

But I'm turning up every morning -- and so far it's working.

Flynn's Getting a Big Head

Flynn was prowling around the office the other day wondering why no one was reviewing his book. (That's the trouble with heroes -- once they get to their happy ending, they are at a loose end, and they want to blog and cut down trees and save the world).

So he was thrilled when I showed him this review by the extremely insightful, very smart, absolutely brilliant Julie Bonello on the Cata-Romance site:

"If Susan Elizabeth Phillips ever decided to write for Harlequin Presents, then One-Night Love Child would be the sort of book she would write!

"Fast-paced, hilarious, poignant and wonderfully intense, One-Night Love Child is another keeper by the always outstanding Anne McAllister!

"Flynn Murray has got enough to worry about! As the new Earl of Dunmorey, Flynn has inherited Dunmorey Castle and has to find enough money in order to keep the Castle in the family. He certainly does not want or need any more complications, but when a letter arrives out of the blue telling him that he’s got a son, Flynn realizes that his life is about to get even more complicated!

"Sara McMaster had fallen for the Irish charmer from the very first moment she clapped eyes on him! Funny, charismatic and absolutely gorgeous, Flynn had been Sara's dream man, and she had enjoyed spending a torrid night of passion in his bed! However, when Flynn walked out of her life, Sara found out that he had made her pregnant with his love-child! But when he had failed to reply to her letter, Sara decided to try her best to forget about Flynn and to raise her beautiful baby boy, Liam, as best she could.

"What Sara doesn't know is that Flynn never even got the letter she sent – until now! Flynn is determined to get to know his son and to be a good father to little Liam – even if it means incurring the wrath of Sara, who has never forgotten his cruel treatment of her.

"Flynn had no intention of picking up where he had left off with Sara, however, under the beautiful Montana sky, the Irish aristocrat soon realizes that he is madly in love with the independent Sara.

"But has Flynn lost his chance with her? Or will he be able to convince her that he’s the only man for her?

"Anne McAllister is absolutely brilliant! She imbues her page-turning novels for Harlequin Presents with plenty of warmth, wit and charm and takes her readers on an emotive rollercoaster journey where she sweeps her readers off their feet with her brand of intense passion, dramatic emotional landscapes and moving romance!"

Romance does not get any better than this! Sexy, funny, dramatic and unputdownable One- Night Love Child is Anne McAllister at her glorious best!"

Gracious, Julie, I don't think I've ever been compared with Susan Elizabeth (even unfavorably), so I'm floating on air. Flynn says, well, of course, the hero had a lot to do with it. And I'm sure he's right, but even so . . . thank you so much for your kind amazing words. I'm delighted that you loved One-Night Love Child.

Julie also reviewed it on the Pink Heart Society blog which you can read there if you click on the link and scroll down a bit.

Flynn has been jumping back between the two, admiring himself in reviews. I'd like to, but beyond thoroughly enjoying them and being very grateful to Julie, I'm stuck in the middle of Seb right now (who has a big enough head as it is) and he's finally out of bed and standing on his own two feet. Now he just needs to DO SOMETHING!

Last Chance!

The grooms -- Flynn, Tom and Raul -- are about to take their contest and go home. The last day to enter their "Here Come The Grooms!" contest is February 29th.

So if you still haven't entered (and you enter three times -- once on my website, once on Kate Walker's and once on Liz Fielding's -- links on my sidebar), drop by and enter NOW!

Raul, Flynn and Tom will be glad you did. And you might be, too, if you win a copy of each of their books.

All you have to do to enter is answer three questions:

From Tom: What colour silk did he become intimately acquainted with?

From Raul: What's his full name and the name of his heroine (and no, it's not the name on the back cover of the book)?

From Flynn: What story was he covering when he went to Montana six years ago and met Sara McMaster in the first place?

The answers to Flynn's question is on my blog and in the excerpt on my website. Tom's is on Liz's website, and Raul's is on Kate's website. It doesn't take an advanced degree to figure out the answers.

And to be honest, Theo and Max and Domenico (last year's grooms) think you guys have it easy. They asked three questions apiece! They have been giving Tom, Raul and Flynn a hard time about it ever since they put up the contest. They say this year's grooms are 'lowering the standards.' So you better turn out and prove them wrong!

On Thursday I'm going to be blogging at Liz's -- so drop by and say hi if you want. You can win a book there, too. Or you can go out and buy one. What a novel concept! They're on the shelves now, except at Wal-Mart where Chris lives. There is a chance, I suppose, that they may have sold out. But my money is on them never having made it to the shelves in the first place.

So if you go looking and don't see it at your favorite store -- ask! Say, "Where's One-Night Love Child?" I'm sure they'll know precisely what you're talking about!

And if they don't, you can tell them. Thanks!

Flynn's Out!

Well, Sara is, too, of course. But you know what I mean.

I was at the drug store/post office this morning -- sending off some homemade Grasmere gingerbread to a friend who loves it and, incidentally, buying a gallon of milk before The Big Snow hit this afternoon -- and there on the shelves sat Flynn and Sara, otherwise known as One-Night Love Child.

Right there at eye level. They looked lovely. Very appealing.

I'm sure all the other books did, too, but to tell the truth, I didn't notice much. I will next time I go. I promise.

But I straightened their stack and then I decided to buy a copy to give to my mother. It isn't that I don't have author copies, but I thought Flynn and Sara would enjoy being purchased. And my mother will enjoy having it -- even if her eyes are not the best anymore.

I think of it as priming the pump -- purchasing the book -- now maybe other people will, too (she said hopefully). If you want to try before you buy, remember you can check out an excerpt here.

Now I must go shovel off some snow. We're up to our eyebrows in the stuff and there's more coming down!

Seb says hi. He's whistling at the moment. He's about to get the shock of his life, though. Poor Seb.

Guest blogging at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs

This is my day to blog at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs -- the lovely Lee Hyat's blog about books that have to do with all things romance.

As a year ago today I was heading off to Chicago in an attempt to beat a blizzard so I could catch a plane to Dublin to do research for One-Night Love Child (at the time simply called Flynn's book), I thought that writing about 'research' might be interesting.

It's my favorite part of writing, as a matter of fact. And you can read why -- in brief -- over there today.

But here I'll give you a list of my favorite research moments -- ones that I never would have got to do if I hadn't been writing a book:

• going to bull-riding school for The Cowboy and The Kid
• spending an afternoon at Frederic Fekkai Salon in NYC for The Inconvenient Bride
• lunching at the Society of Illustrators in NYC with the artist who did my cover for Dream Chasers and who took me to a cover shoot afterwards
• learning how to build an 11 ton sand castle for Marry Sunshine
  
• going to Ireland in search of a perfect place for Flynn for One-Night Love Child
• interviewing a major league umpire for A Chance of Rainbows
• Having a stunt coordinator work out a stunt-gone-wrong for Cowboys Don't Quit
• Learning what goes into being a muralist for The Santorini Bride
• Going on an archeological dig for Dare To Trust
• Exploring an island off the coast of Maine for Call Up the Wind
• Following a professional beach volleyball player's tour for Out of Bounds

Just thinking about on them all makes me reflect how rich and varied a writer's life can be. It's not all sitting in the garret staring at the blank computer screen -- though some of it definitely is!

Anyway, the trip to Ireland was an adventure -- the blizzard was only the start of it. But it was great fun -- and definitely worth the trip, as well as the hours in the garret writing afterwards.

Stop by and say hi. You also have a chance to win a copy of Flynn's book just by leaving a comment there. Gunnar will be picking the winner on Tuesday.

How I Met Sara

Flynn Murray here.

I don't think we've met.

But I understand from Anne that I've got a contest going on. Something about Here Come The Grooms! -- which she says is in its second year.

And someone is going to win my book and find out how I finally got Sara to say YES.

But I also understand that Anne has asked a question you're supposed to answer -- and said it was MY question. And the truth is, it isn't.

I would have asked you something about Sara, not about what I was doing when I met Sara. Sara's what's important -- not that. I would have asked you what Sara intended to do with her life. Answer: go to med school. Or idealistically: save the world. Or I would have asked: "What colour are Sara's eyes?"

They're brown. Except when she's angry -- and then they sort of flash gold. They did a lot of flashing in our book. She was pretty peeved.

But Sara, annoyed, is pretty exciting. And certainly tempting. Not that I wouldn't have settled for her just falling into my arms.

She didn't. In case you want to know. She took a LOT of convincing.

Well, you would, wouldn't you (this is Sara, by the way) if some here-today, gone-tomorrow Irish journalist knocked you off your feet, chatted you up, turned your world upside down, acted like he loved you -- did actually make love to you -- then went his merry way?

It wasn't like that. It was a matter of honour. Of doing what was best for her. I had nothing to offer her then --

And you do now, I suppose?

I'd say so, yes. Marriage. A home. Family.

Ha. You live in Ireland!

People do. You like Ireland. Beautiful country. Very green.

On account of the . . . ?

All right. So it rains . . . A lot. You had three feet of snow on the ground in Montana when I first came here six years ago. And now there's more!

We've been saving it for you.

See? This is what she's like. She fights me every step of the way. And most of the time, believe me, what we're fighting about is not the weather!

I'm not fighting. I'm only saying. And you don't have to come in here and complain to Anne's readers. You get your way in the end, you know.

It's YOUR way, too.

Well, yes, but, just tell them what you were doing here six years ago when you came to Montana, so they can answer the question.

I was covering The Great Montana Cowboy Auction for Incite Magazine. But then I met you and other things were a lot more appealing like . . .

Flynn! We are not doing Public Displays of Affection on Anne's blog!

No? Why not? Doesn't she permit it? We could go to Kate's . . . I hear she's running a dating service for cats.

So that's where Sid ran off to. I wondered. No, we're not going to Kate's. Not unless she invites us. Anyway, she has Raul and Alannah to deal with -- and Sid and Lola.

We're not cats. And we're not going anywhere.

We're helping Anne this month. She's signed you up to write for her blog, and that's what you're going to do.

Yes, Sara. Whatever you say, Sara.

He acts like this when he wants his way. I'm warning you, Flynn! Flynn! Put me down! Anne, get this hero under control! Anne!

Oh, good heavens. Well, don't mind us. We'll be back. Flynn has been looking forward to blogging ever since he talked to Theo and Spence. I'm sure he'll have something to say when he isn't . . . distracted.

Flynn!

Whatever you want, Sara . . .

Here Come The Grooms!

Remember last year when Liz Fielding, Kate Walker and I had books out in February and they were all about brides?

We got together and had a Here Come the Brides! contest, run by our lovely heroines.

Only our heroes, Theo, Max and Dom were not to be outdone. Before we knew it they'd organized a "Here Come the Grooms!" contest and basically took over. Well, they're men. What do you expect?

This year we decided to harness all that energy right from the start. So this year while the brides plan their weddings, my Flynn, Kate's Raul and Liz's Tom are going to be putting on a "Here Come the Grooms" contest, part II.

Who are these guys?

Well over the next few days, we'll get to that. You can meet each of them here, one by one. Or you can -- and I hope you will -- drop by Liz's blog and Kate's blog or websites and meet Tom and Raul there.

In the meantime, you've all seen the cover for One-Night Love Child (or if you haven't, scroll down to the entry below). Now let me introduce you to Flynn.

When Sara (and I) met Flynn Murray, she was nineteen, he was twenty-six and I was old enough to be writing my forty-ninth book. It was called The Great Montana Cowboy Auction, and the heroine was Polly McMaster, Sara's mother.

It was a single-title and there were a lot of characters -- most of them Polly's children, as I recall -- and the oldest was Sara.

Sara was a wonderful foil for Polly. Polly multi-tasked in her sleep. She had to. She was a widow with children, dogs, cats, a widowed mother, and an inability to say no to good ideas. Sara was organized, straightforward, focused, idealistic. She was going to go to medical school and save, if not the world, at least her little corner of it. She had Plans, Ambitions, Goals.

And then she met Flynn.

The first time they met she knocked him off his feet. Literally. And he returned the favor, figuratively and literally both.

Glib, charming, Irish to his toes, Flynn Murray was a journalist covering a story. He was a here-today, gone-tomorrow sort of guy. In fact he stuck around three days. Something of a record for a guy like Flynn.

And he was as enchanted with Sara as she was with him. Something between them just clicked.

But it was the wrong time. The wrong place. And he was the wrong man.

Flynn knew that, even if Sara didn't.

He wasn't a settling down sort of guy. He had places to go, things to do. And he was honorable enough to have left her untouched. Or he would have been if she hadn't showed up at his hotel room that last night and, in her honest Sara way, challenged him about what had been happening between them.

A man only had so much self control.

And that night Flynn reached the end of his. It was wrong, and he knew it. She'd hate him, he knew that, too. But how was he supposed to resist the woman who wrapped her arms around him and told him she wouldn't hate him at all?

Well, he didn't.

But he did leave. He had nothing to give her. And besides, Sara had goals and dreams of her own. He wasn't a part of them. He had no right to upset them.

But faced with Sara's idealism, he found the determination to find goals and dreams of his own.
And when he left he didn't look back. He spent the next five years covering stories from hot-spots all over the globe.

Fast forward six years and, just like John Lennon promised, life happened to both Flynn and Sara while they were making other plans.

Flynn, raised as the spare, suddenly became the heir and just a few months ago, the ninth Earl of Dunmorey.

And Sara -- well, Sara was almost as good a multi-tasker as her mother as she raised her five year old son.

Their paths might never have crossed again -- if a letter Sara letter wrote years ago hadn't finally caught up with him, and Flynn hadn't discovered he had a son.

# # #

To enter the Here Come the Grooms! contest, you will need to answer three questions, one each from Flynn, Raul and Tom. Then go to each of our website contest pages (here's mine) and send us the answers. Or you can send an email to me through the 'contact Anne' tab on the sidebar of my webpage if you have trouble making the send entry gizmo work.

There will be three drawings on March 1st -- one by each hero -- and the winners get copies of all three books!

Flynn's question is: What story did he come to Montana to cover when he met Sara in the first place?

You can find the answer on my blog or in the excerpt to One-Night Love Child on my website. You can get Tom's and Raul's questions on Liz's and Kate's blogs. Have fun!