SARA News - The "It's a real gem" edition.

Hullo, intrepid readery friends!

We do hope you've all been well and are enjoying a stellar beginning to 2016.  :)

Please, grab a coffee and a Tim Tam, and immerse yourself in the luminous, glowing sparkly wonderful that is the REAL GEM edition of the SARA News.


We begin with the news that both Emily Hussey and Emmeline Lock's short Sunstone stories have won places in the 2016 Romance Writer's of Australia's Little Gems Contest, and will be published in both print and ebook format later in the year.  Check that fab cover from Sheridan Kent, who has won the cover contest a whopping FIVE times.  Ah...  Makes me want to crack out the banana lounge.  What a gem!

Khloe Wren recently achieved a FIVE STAR review from The Romance Reviews for her Erotic Vampire Romance, Scarred Perfection from Evernight Publishing.  It's a Top Pick, too!  Read more here.  It's a gem!

Bronwyn Stuart has a shiny new release!  Mixing Business With Pleasure is out from Escape Publishing, and by Bronwyn's own admission, it's "hot, hot, hot!"

Alison Marcum loves her baby brother and would have done anything for him--until the day his loan sharks arrive on her doorstep and demand she pay them ten thousand dollars or else. 
With no way to repay the money, and not wanting to find out what they’re capable of, Alison transforms herself from boring social worker to smoking hot model--but getting work isn’t going to be the hard part for a woman who’d promised herself never to step in front of a camera again.
Sam Mason is overseeing a jewellery advertising campaign, and after spending ten minutes in the boardroom with a nearly naked Alison, he decides he might actually enjoy the job. Strictly business, though. Sam’s been burned by a model before and no matter how attracted he is, there’s no way he’s getting involved.
As the lies begin to unravel and the loan sharks get impatient, will they both risk it all to be together or lose it all in a bid not to repeat the past?


Bella Bucannon has a twinkling new website, ahead of her mid-year Harlequin release, Bound by the Unborn Baby.   Check out the pre-order link here.  Website designed by SARA's own HelzKat Designs.

"As far as everyone's concerned, Alina, this child is ours." 

Surrogacy is the closest Alina Fletcher dares get to motherhood. But when she must tell tycoon Ethan James she's carrying his late sister's child, his solution takes her breath away—a temporary marriage of convenience for the baby's sake!  
Alina knows it's the right decision for her baby, but is marrying a stranger—especially one who makes her heart sing!—the right choice for her? Having loved and lost her own family, this proposal could be another chance at happiness…if only Alina's brave enough to say "I do"!

Good grief, these gems are so bright, I gotta wear shades.  :)

Until next time, happy reading!

Emmeline.  

UP-CLOSE with long-time SARA member Harriet Jarvis!

 
Tell us about your writing journey.

I have always enjoyed reading and plotting stories in my head and can’t remember when I didn’t. I progressed from children’s adventure and horror to romance and murder mystery. Occasionally I’d write poetry or short stories but didn’t have the discipline to pursue it.

After retiring I spend a lot of time reading romance and decided to buy a computer and have fun trying to make sense of the random scenarios in my head.

I’ve written a few category novels - most of which need drastic editing and have a few more in progress. I have entered Little Gems 10 times over four years and love the feedback. I find most criticism justified when I check it against my writing. Favourite comment: ‘This was my favourite entry. I would love to read more from this author.’ In 2013 I finalled with 'Stealing the Detective’s Heart'. Holding a copy of your published story ranks right up there with jumping from a plane.
 

How long have you been involved in the South Australian Romance Authors group and Romance Writers of Australia, and how many conferences have you attended?

I joined SARA, RWA and the SAWC in late 2009 and went to my first conference in 2010. Haven’t missed any since and enjoy the workshops and meeting other writers. Leith always comes. He’s a consummate traveller - quite happy to explore any city on his own and attend special night functions.

What do you get up to in a typical day? And what did you do before you were a writer?

I was a bookkeeper for 50 years apart from time out when the boys were young. Now I write, read, travel and am trying to clear 40 years of accumulated stuff from my study and the back shed. This means bin it, save it or take it to the Salvation Army!

Is it true your husband critiques all your manuscripts?

Leith has read and critiqued all of my Little Gems entries and a reasonable amount of the novels. He’s listened to hours of plots and scenes, given constructive advice (i.e. Aussie men don’t say that), helps out with technical stuff and willingly does research for me. He’ll also act out a scene with me to check whether it’s practical.

Who are your favourite authors?
I don’t have favourite authors. I tend to skim-read and if the story grabs me I’ll reread it. I have some I keep and reread passages or the whole book just for the enjoyment of the story. ‘All a Man Can Ask’ by Virginia Kantra (2003), ‘Perfect Morning’ By Marcia Evanick (1989) and ‘Uneasy Alliance’ by Jayne Ann Krentz (1984) can always grab me. I also love intrigue if the story and the love interest are believable and strong.

Finally, what’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?
We love travelling now we have time and can afford it and have visited and helicoptered over the three great waterfalls of the world. Relaxing and writing on a cruise boat is special.

Whenever the opportunity arises I love to try something risky. I’ve white water rafted, hot air ballooned, abseiled, skydived and in Zimbabwe crawled to the edge of the African rift to see a waterfall hundreds of metres below in the valley.

I’d like to be able to swim but after a few strokes I sink. In an emergency I’ll just have to hit bottom and run like heck – which with my arthritic hip and knee doesn’t promise much hope!

UP-CLOSE with the lurvely Emmeline Lock (and Little Gems second-place-getter!)

Take it away, Emmeline...!

Thanks for having me here today in the SARA lounge. Very plush. Love these big recliners with the drink holders in the arms--functional and comfortable!  And such an interesting colour! What is that, fuchsia? Magenta? Regardless, I heart it. Classy!

Tell us about your work background.

While I would dearly love to tell you that I'm an astrophysicist, a lion-tamer and Hugh Jackman's personal masseuse, I'm guessing you're talking about outside my head, huh?  

I've done admin work in a real estate company, and have worked twice in different fruit shops, while I studied. I also have had a long, relentless stint as mother and wife in the fruit shop called my house. As far as real jobs go, I've been a teacher for over ten years. Ten years!? Ye gods!

How long have you been a member of the South Australian Romance Authors, and what made you join?

That is a mighty fine question, Carla, and one I had to look up the answer to, because my mind is a steel trap, but only for the things that have happened in the last four to six hours. I first went to SARA for their June meeting in 2010.

I guess I went because writing is a very solitary pursuit, and I wanted to touch base with other like-minded people. Not only to clarify that I wasn't the only crazy, there're-people-living-in-my-head, person out there, but because Eleni Konstantine had a very cool blog, and I wanted to hang with her. I also had a lot of drive and enthusiasm for writing, and wasn't sure if I was pushing my apple-cart up the right tree, so to speak. I'm totally allowed to make up stuff like that. It's called artistic license. SARA taught me that*.

What is EverTrue, which came second in Romance Writers of Australia’s Little Gems contest nationally, about and where can people get the anthology?

EverTrue is a short story about a cupid who falls in love with the man she's got in her bow-sight to make fall in love with someone else. It's messy. Well, as messy as something can get in 3,000 words.  

I was completely gobsmacked to final in that one, let alone come second. Talk about freak me out! I did a lot of embarrassing happy weeping when I got that message. Got really drippy. That'll teach me to open emails on my phone whilst at the checkout...

You can get get your awesome copy of the Little Gems 2013 Anthology - Sapphire from the RWA website. These little stories are perfect for a bus ride, or to fill a few minutes if your doctor is actually running on time, or while you're waiting for your bubbles to chill and can't bring yourself to walk away from the freezer in case you forget about it and it explodes.

Hey, we've all been there. 

You write funny paranormal and futuristic romance. Very specific hehe! What attracts you to this kind of scribbling?

I do! I think I like it because I've always been delighted to read speculative fiction, because of the pure escape it provides (my early love being fantasy), but I'm also looking for a bit of a laugh, because, let's face it, I'm a clown.

Even if I'm trying my hand at coastal romance, or contemporary romance, some kind of joke-cracking ghost, or sexy angel with a very big ... halo seems to pop up.

Ha! Pops up.

Sorry. ;)

Your fave form of procrastination to avoid doing writing?

Totally, reading! Though, in my head it doesn't count, because they go hand-in-hand. Like a kitten and that fan of newspaper on a string, like coke and icecream, like Sunday mornings and hangovers. Same goes for movies, especially rom-coms and action films.

Same goes for trolling online for images to use for story boards. Not a time-suck at all! Nuh-huh.

I am also an enormous fan of sleeping. So, if I've got the don't-want-to's I usually feel like I'm going to die if I can't get intimate with my pillow asap, and just hit the hay.

And, just between us, I have been known to play a game or two on my tablet. That scrabble game with friends and that hideous fabrication from the pits of hell, Candy Crush Saga. 

What are you working on now, and how many manuscripts have you notched up?

I'm currently working on cleaning out my wine cellar, because I found some great specials online and... Oh. You mean writing-wise, don't you?

When the cellar doesn't need my attention, I'm working on a novella set in the EverTrue world, plus having a go at a coastal, small-town ghost story. I'm also scribbling illegible notes for a few more short stories, and playing with Scrivener and calling it work.

You are often a “lady in red”, if I’m not mistaken! How many red things do you reckon you own and why do you like the hue?

Ha! Sing it to me, Carla! Mr DeBurgh, stand aside! ;)

Being a blue-eyed blonde, my mum always dressed me in blues, and now that my hair has gone from Scandinavian ash to arse-o-housemouse brown, I've, quite unconsciously, been reaching for the red. It's kinda odd.

Possibly, the birth of my children caused my life to spiral out of control, and I was looking to reestablish my self-identity, so was drawn to the power colour. Or possibly, there was some long-forgotten childhood trauma involving toffee apples or fire trucks.  

I vote for my vast love of Christmas leaking out into other months.

My wardrobe would probably hold ten or fifteen items that are red. Then there are the phone and tablet covers, and my kitchen kitsch.

I also really like red wine, but that may just be a coincidence, because I also like turquoise, and don't drink (much) blue curacao.

You’re also a real technology/social media guru. When did this obsession start and what are your fave communication devices and sites?

You know, since the birth of the interwebs (I remember meeting a web browser for the first time at uni. Does that date me?), I've loved getting online and meeting people. One of the first things I did when we got dial-up at home was join the eHarlequin Community. Blow my mind!  

While I don't hang there any more, I met my awesome CPs [critique partners] there, and we still CP to this day. You can't tell me that isn't Fifty Shades of Awesome.

I do have a (possibly unnatural) great love for my iPad. A love which was only five inches smaller on two edges when I just had the iPhone. What marvellous technology! There are eight iDevices in this house now, and I don't think we're at saturation point yet.

That said, we also have a few hours a day when we turn off the devices and do crazy shizz like talk to each other, and catch a few rays that aren't generated by an completely fabulous back-lit Kindle app.

The great thing about technology is that everyone can be a guru. You just have to give it a crack.

I think sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are ground-breaking. I also love how you can get any information you need on the internet (so long as you're not overly concerned about it's authenticity and factuality). So much fun!

When you’re not writing, what occupies your time?

Is this the part where I get to mention Hugh again?  

No, sadly, or quite joyously, my family is it for me. I coach a bit of netball (badly, but with great enthusiasm), teach singing to kids (see previous), and work at the school where the offspring go. I also do a lot of dancing around the house in my socks rockin' out with a hairbrush, and love to catch up with friends and family for a quiet (or often quite noisy) drink and a card game.

I like shopping, cooking and buying wine online... If you're seeing a pattern regarding wine here, please ignore it.

Thanks ever so much for having me here today, Carla. You're the perfect hostess. Sorry about the popcorn crumbs on the recliners. Luckily, that red wine ring on the arm there blends with the hot-pink leather. Or is that cerise? ;)

* SARA taught me no such thing. I made that up!

SARA News - The good stuff just keeps on coming...

Hello dear reader, and welcome to yet another super-sassy instalment of the SARA News.  

We have some new books for your reading pleasure this evening...


Claire Baxter's Entangled Bliss release Flirting with Danger is now available from etailers.  To celebrate it's release, Claire is blog-hopping across with blogosphere with a rafflecopter giveaway.    Head to Claire's website for more deets.

To be together is dangerous. To stay apart is impossible.

Firefighter Jasmine Mackinnon has always just been one of the guys. So no one’s more shocked than she is to find herself kissing fellow firefighter and all-around sinfully handsome playboy Aaron Parkes after a friend’s wedding. Jasmine knows she can’t risk an emotional connection with a colleague—a potentially dangerous entanglement when fighting fires together—and nothing's more important to her than her job.

Aaron never noticed how beautiful Jasmine was until he saw her out of her firefighter duds, but there’s something about the fiery woman that tempts him. Though he knows pursuing a real relationship is out of the question for a serial dater like him, when their casual flirtation builds into something more serious, it's not just their jobs or their safety on the line. It's their hearts.

In other book release news, KE Osborn's debut novel Trust Me? The Trust me? Trilogy Book One is available now at Amazon and Smashwords.

When Jenifer Taylor, a young woman from the big City of Mornington Vale California starts her day, it turns from bad to worse, when on her way to work she is in a chain collision.Little does she know that this accident will set off a chain of events transforming her dull life, filling it with love and heartache.Aiden O'Connell, a young, attractive, and rich businessman sparks her trust issues as he starts his pursuit of her.Jeni admits her feelings for Aiden; only to find out he is being investigated for a serious crime. Her trust issues spark as she goes through a journey of self-discovery. She must decide once and for all whether she trusts the man she loves, when she’s asked the ultimate question.“Do you trust me?”This is book one in a series of three. Book two "Love Me?" coming soon. 


Finally (Don't be sad, we'll be back next week!), the Romance Writers of Australia Inc's Little Gems Short Story Anthology 2013 Sapphire was released at the RWA's recent National Conference.  It feature's SARA's own Little Gems 2013 contest finalists, Harriet Jarvis (Stealing the Detective's Heart) and Ute Rozenbilds (Mining Sapphires), plus the second place winning story by Emmeline Lock, EverTrue.  

Secure your copy now at the RWA website.  

Until next time, happy reading!  

Emmeline  :)