2015!!!

What are your thoughts on 2014 and what do you wish for 2015? More of the same? A change? More travel? More champagne? Less pizza?

For me, I'd like more unconventional love stories like "The one plus one", "The hundred year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared", "Murder @ Play", "Color Blind". I'd like more books like "Wonder". More movies like "Limitless". Fewer movies like "Lucy".

But wait...

Christmas has been canceled! And it's your fault because I told Santa you had been good and he died laughing!

Here's to a Loving Christmas, Everybody!

Wishing you hit the jackpot

for health, wealth, and happiness 

this holiday season 

and throughout the New Year!

Early Christmas Cheer

Cheers!

Saving the Soldier’s Heart By Jane Beckenham

Saving the Soldier’s Heart by Jane Beckenham is the second book in the Emerald Quest Trilogy, although it can be read as a stand-alone. And read it should be. With her beautiful turn of phrase and clever plotting, Ms Beckenham has created a real winner.

Personally, I'm a sucker for independent heroines, and it was my pleasure to get to know Maggie Francis, the protagonist of this story. The hero is a damaged man, and while I prefer my book crushes to be irresponsible bad boys, I found myself drawn to Clayton's quiet strength and bravery.

Whether it's laughter or tears you want in a romance, flirty humour or depth of emotion, you will find it in this book. You will find space to philosophize about the pointlessness of war. And you will find yourself glued to your seat, not even aware you're turning the pages.

From the blurb:

Maggie Francis has survived four years of horror of the Great War. She has lost her family and her home. She takes on the position of caring for a recovering soldier at stately Bellerose Manor. 
Lord Clayton Abbott doesn't care about the title, nor his beautiful manor house which unbeknownst to them holds many family secrets. 

All Maggie wants is peace and quiet while Clayton is desperate for the demons of war that revisit every night to disappear. But the discovery of a mysterious diary and the mention of emerald treasure draws them closer. Will they survive the events that follow?

The Cat Who Stole Christmas - in the Sweet Somethings anthology

Excerpt:

Phoebe’s fingers reached for a tin of pet tuna and her fingers brushed the back of somebody else’s hand.

“Oh, hello!” The voice was male, deep and full, like a cup of strong hot chocolate. “You must be my new neighbor. I’ve seen you around.”

Phoebe looked up. His face was angular, softened only by a pair of dark and broad eyebrows that looked as silky as the wings of a swallow. She had the crazy desire to reach upwards and run her forefinger along their arcs.

Suddenly, she became aware of the silence. The shop’s audio speakers were blaring out ’Tis the season to be jolly, a toddler wanted his Mama at the very top of his eardrum-puncturing voice, the meat department was having a sale for the next three minutes only, but between the two of them all was silent. Special. Anticipating.

“Um, yes. Hi.” Three words. After two weeks of fantasizing about her neighbor, all Phoebe managed was three words. Not very original words, nothing like: String theory rocks. Nothing that indicated her interest, like: Let’s do coffee, or, at the very least, My name’s Phoebe. It was as though the years of pushing people away had made her forget how to do small talk.

Her neighbor must have read her mind. “My name’s Josh. Josh McKenzie.” He extended his hand, large and tanned despite the winter season.

“Phoebe Jordan.”

His hand was warm and the skin pleasantly rough. Definitely not a man who used moisturizer.

“You have a cat, too, Phoebe?”

“Um, I guess. Or, more accurately, a cat has me.”

His laughter was as chocolate–rich as his voice. “Don’t they all. I’ll see you around, Phoebe Jordan.”

Buy Link: Sweet Somethings

Christmas Hope - in the Sweet Somethings Anthology

Hope Robinson, soon to be Hope Clark again, is freshly separated from her husband. The Christmas Caribbean Cruise that was meant to be their 10th wedding anniversary is now a trial run for their new lives as single people. Hope even has a list of objectives: meet new people, sleep with someone other than her husband. When playboy Giuseppe Moretti offers to buy her a drink and help her enjoy the cruise, Hope has a choice to make….

Excerpt:

 His fingers squeezed hers in a warm, comfortable handshake, and a spark of excitement shot up her shoulder.

How long since Josh’s touch elicited anything remotely as exhilarating as this?

      “Hope,” she introduced herself. Then, after a tiny hesitation, she added, “Clark. Hope Clark.” There. She’d done it. Used her maiden name again and the world hadn’t collapsed in a tearful heap around her.

      “May I buy you a drink, Hope Clark?”

      “You may.” With that, she put a big, fat, Giuseppe-shaped tick next to Action Point Two on the list. Action Point Two, Meet Other People.

      Action Point One had been Going On This Cruise As A Single Person. Originally, she had booked it as their tenth wedding anniversary celebration, a deluxe stateroom with a huge bed and a balcony, lured by the photo of a couple taking their morning coffee on their private sun-drenched deck. To Hope, the picture represented the very essence of contentment. A lazy day spent with the man she loved….

      “Do you like Club Penguin?”

      The question brought Hope back from her dreamland. “Pardon?”

      “Club Penguin,” Giuseppe repeated. His voice, thick and rich, made Hope think of Christmas eggnog. “The bar on Level Eight. Shall we?”

      She nodded. Didn’t care which bar. Tick the box next to Action Point Two, that’s all she wanted.

Buy Link: Sweet Somethings

Hunger Games 3 Part 1

The Hunger Games Trilogy: The most disappointing love story ever?

Review Copies To Give Away

Eve Summers is giving away 3 copies of Sweet Somethings for review. Please contact her on Facebook if you'd like one.

Sweet Somethings

Into something sweet today? Why not try SWEET SOMETHINGS by Eve Summers, a collection of short love stories? Read a free excerpt here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/491473.

Spicy Somethings

Feel like something spicy, romantically speaking? Then try SPICY SOMETHINGS by Eve Summers.

Buy from Amazon

Buy from B&N

Buy from Kobo

Buy from Oyster Books

Also on iTunes!

5 Pickup Lines That Would Make Me Pay Attention

1. Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?
2. You're so hot you made me forget my pick up line.
3. Would you sleep with a stranger? [No] Then Hi, my name is...
4. I'm going outside to make out... care to join me?
5. My name's Holloway. Josh Holloway.

Gone Girl - The Movie

"Gone girl" - the most honest movie about the nature of love and marriage?

Sophie Kinsella - Shopaholic To The Stars

If you know the Shopaholic series, you know its heroine is a classical chick lit woman: charming and bright in her own way, but also - at times - infuriatingly silly. "Shopaholic To The Stars" is no different. You will love reading it, and you will hate the parts where Becky goes over the top. Such is the trademark of chick lit.

I really enjoy the Shopaholic books. Does Becky irritate me? Sure. Does she melt my heart? You bet. Do I wish she'd finally grow up? Yes - but... but if Becky grows up, the whole tone of the series changes.What would distinguish a grown-up Becky from all the other young women? What would be the pull that makes these books bestsellers?

The sad truth is Sophie Kinsella can write about wonderful, mature and complex women - just read any of her Madeleine Wickham books. And yet the Madeleine Wickham books didn't sell as well as the Kinsella ones. Seems the public doesn't want wonderful, mature and complex women.....

5 Ultimate Love Songs

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" - Queen

 "The Power of Love" - Jennifer Rush

"I Want to Know What Love Is" - Foreigner

"What’s Love Got to Do With It" - Tina Turner

"It Must Have Been Love" - Roxette

 

 

 

Love is All You Need

Meet 10 women, from different places, backgrounds and times, and each with a different experience of men and romance.

Their stories in turn hold the promise of romance, reflect on finding love, or show the lengths we'll go to for the special person in our lives.

An anthology of stories which are funny, thought-provoking, and thrilling, with characters you'll empathise with as they discover that ... Love is All You Need.

Stories by Alyson Hilbourne, Yvonne Eve Walus, Johanna Grassick, Pauline Watson, Melanie Whipman, Linda Triegel, Laurel Osterkamp, Helen Yendall, Mary Lally, Sherri Turner.

Stephanie Plum - Takedown Twenty

The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich is another fine example of romantic suspense. I'm really enjoying "Takedown Twenty" (I'm reading out of order, having already finished "Top Secret Twenty-One", but it doesn't matter in this case).

Here's the blurb:

New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum knows better than to mess with family. But when powerful mobster Salvatore “Uncle Sunny” Sunucchi goes on the lam in Trenton, it’s up to Stephanie to find him. Uncle Sunny is charged with murder for running over a guy (twice), and nobody wants to turn him in—not his poker buddies, not his bimbo girlfriend, not his two right-hand men, Shorty and Moe. Even Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, has skin in the game, because—just Stephanie’s luck—the godfather is his actual godfather. And while Morelli understands that the law is the law, his old-world grandmother, Bella, is doing everything she can to throw Stephanie off the trail.
 
It’s not just Uncle Sunny giving Stephanie the run-around. Security specialist Ranger needs her help to solve the bizarre death of a top client’s mother, a woman who happened to play bingo with Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur. Before Stephanie knows it, she’s working side by side with Ranger and Grandma at the senior center, trying to catch a killer on the loose—and the bingo balls are not rolling in their favor.

With bullet holes in her car, henchmen on her tail, and a giraffe named Kevin running wild in the streets of Trenton, Stephanie will have to up her game for the ultimate takedown.

Does this look like romantic suspense?

Check it out on Kindle!

Romantic things to say to your love

“No matter what has happened. No matter what you’ve done. No matter what you will do. I will always love you. I swear it.”

––Defiance by C.J. Redwine

“I love you the way a drowning man loves air. And it would destroy me to have you just a little.”

––The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

“I never loved you any more than I do, right this second. And I’ll never love you any less than I do, right this second.”

––Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

Romantic Suspense

This virtual book tour is starting today!
http://buythebooktours.com/operation-genocide-yvonne-walus/

To celebrate, Yvonne Walus has asked her publisher to lower the price of OPERATION GENOCIDE on Kindle to only $2.99. Get it quick, because the special is valid for this week only!

Win with Operation Genocide

#Giveaway Blast: Operation: Genocide by Yvonne Walus #OGBlast
Click here: goo.gl/jIdEcs

Is OPERATION GENOCIDE a Romantic Suspense novel?

Is OPERATION GENOCIDE a Romantic Suspense novel? In a word: yes. There's definitely a strong romantic subplot. But it's also a thriller and a who-dun-it.

A new deadly virus developed in a secret lab founded by the government....
A murdered scientist....
An ex-boyfriend investigating the crime....

Go on. You know you want to read it. Click here.

• If you love suspense, you'll quickly find yourself wrapped up in this book. 
  A. Brantley
• This book is a keeper, a story which I could not put down.
  JaneB
• The story has a few excellent twists before providing a truly satisfying, and surprising, conclusion.  ”
  N Bishop

The most romantic proposals

1. Get her favourite magazine to run an article featuring you proposing to her.
2. Hang the ring box like an ornament on the Christmas tree.
3. Play a trivia game together. During the game, say "Your question is: Will you marry me?" rather than the question written on the card. 
4. Sing it to her.
5. Do it like this man, dubbed by the media "the most romantic guy in London".

How to write short romance stories

Haven you ever wondered how to write a short romance story? How it differs from a romance novel? Whether it needs a happy ending? Wonder no more.

So excited about this conference, see you all there!

RWNZ 2014 Conference - Casino Royale

14-17 August

Auckland, City of Sails

Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre

Join us in Auckland as we celebrate the 21st Romance Writers of New Zealand Conference.

Guest speakers include:

• Marie Force, Contemporary New York Times and a USA Today Bestseller hybrid author
• Courtney Milan, Historical New York Times and a USA Today Bestseller hybrid author
• James Scott Bell the #1 bestselling author of Plot & Structure
• Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
• Jim Azevedo, Marketing Director, Smashwords
• From Harlequin: Sue Brockhoff, Lilia Kanna, Flo Nicoll and Malle Vallik
• New Zealand Authors: Yvonne Lindsay, Trish Morey, Karina Bliss, Yvonne Walus, Lisa Whitefern, Frances Housden and Kamy Chetty

Youtube clips to encourage writers

A fellow writer pointed me to these:

• Never Discard a Crazy Idea
• Writing by the seat of your pants
• Pantstering Example

Just a reminder: only 9 days left till the Romance Writers of New Zealand Annual Conference in Auckland!

Does Harlan Coben write love stories?

Harlan Coben writes best-selling thrillers. But are his books also love stories in disguise? Read one of the following and be the judge:

• Gone for Good
• Just One Look
• The Woods
• Tell No-one
• Caught

Eve Summers joins Echelon Press

Great news for all the Eve Summers fans: the Eve Summers titles will be available from Echelon Press later this year. Watch this space for details.

The End of Red Rose Publishing

It is with sadness that I'm writing this blog. Red Rose Publishing has closed for business and we, the Red Rose authors, are trying to get our rights back and re-publish the books elsewhere. Until such time, none of the Eve Summers titles will be available for sale.

Thank you, dear Eve Summers readers, for the lovely journey.

Love quotes from movies

"Love means never having to say you’re sorry." – Ali MacGraw, Love Story
(I actually don't agree with this one. :-) )


"It was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together… and I knew it." – Tom Hanks, Sleepless In Seattle

"I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you." – Dirty Dancing

“I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle in your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” — When Harry Met Sally

Laura: “I’m too tired not to be with you.”
Rob: “What, so if you had a bit more energy we’d stay split up, but things being as they are, with you being wiped out and all, you want to get back together? Is that it?”
Laura: “Yeah.”
— High Fidelity

The Adjustment Bureau - a movie about love

An adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s short story “The Adjustment Bureau”, the film by the same title is about fate and free will. It is also the ultimate love story, beautifully portrayed by Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.

 

Love Quotes from Books

“Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That's what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side.” 
― Lauren Oliver, Delirium


“But if you were Matched," I say softly, "What do you think she'd be like?"
"You," he says, almost before I've finished. "You.” 
― Ally Condie, Matched 

“Everyone has something of beauty about them. But loving let's you look, and look, and look again. You notice the back of a hand, the turn of a head, the way of a walk. When you first love, you look blind and you see it all as the glorious, beloved whole, or a beautiful sum of beautiful parts. But when you see the one you love as pieces, as why's, you can love those parts too, and it's a love at once more complicated and more complete.”
― Ally Condie, Crossed

“Do people look the same when they go to heaven, mommy?"
"I don't know. I don't think so."
"Then how do people recognize each other?"
"I don't know, sweetie. They just feel it. You don't need your eyes to love, right?”
― R.J. Palacio, Wonder

“And what would humans be without love?"
RARE, said Death.
― Terry Pratchett, Sourcery

Romance Writers of New Zealand - Annual Conference 2014

Maleficent

Maleficent - in one word, magnificent.

5 Top Contemporary Romance Writers

Who are your five contemporary romance writers? Here are mine:

• Jennifer Crusie
• Jane Porter
• Nick Hornby (he'd be horrified to be classed as a romance writer, but Hi Fidelity is one of the finest romance books ever)
• Shirley Jump
• Laura Esquivel

The 10pm Question

"The 10pm Question" by New Zealand author Kate De Goldi is probably not considered a romance novel by most of its readers. And yet, as I lived alongside the book's characters, I couldn't help thinking that what the book was chiefly about was first love. First, pre-teen I-don't-even-know-it's-love type of love.

Loved every page.

Champagne

For no reason at all, I feel like writing about champagne.

This one is my very favourite. Tastes of gold and spring and luxury.

My second choice. Tastes how mineral water should have tasted if it wanted to be consumed at the Olympus.

What it lacks in originality, it certainly makes up for in taste. A good, predictable choice. If it's a tad boring, I'll be boring.

You know? I haven't had the pleasure yet. Keen to try it, though.

The best setting for a proposal?

2-week course reminder

"Running down the stairs, she put on her shoes." Do you know why your editor will tell you to rework this sentence? 

This class will tell you why. It'll also teach you how to dig deeper into the story to come up with interesting sentence structures, other than the dreaded "she did this and then she did that."

Where: The Savvy Forums
Cost: Premium Members $20 / Basic Members $30

Syllabus:
Lesson 1: Those pesky -ings
Lesson 2: He said, she said... Remove Those Tags!
Lesson 3: She went outside. She started the car engine. She drove... and the reader fell asleep.
Lesson 4: Q&A

Yvonne Walus is an award-winning novelist with over 20 books published in USA and UK.

Unlikely Romance Novels

Readers can find romance in the most unlikely places. Many murder mysteries, thrillers, SF and fantasy novels are romances in disguise:

• "Truth" by Terry Pratchett
• "Just one look" by Harlan Coben
• "The Day of the Triffids" by John Wyndham
• "Operation: Genocide" by Yvonne Walus

Faking It

Want a racy read that's also super humorous and intelligent? Then try Jennifer Crusie's Faking It. It's about what you think it's about, but also about art and conmen and a stack of wonderful characters you'll love to be with.

Easter Decorations

It so doesn't feel like Easter in my household. By Sunday, I hope to have painted some eggs and cooked some holiday food (baked cheesecake always features high on my list of Easter dishes), but at the moment, it's just another Thursday in the Eve Summers household.

A fellow romance writer, however, Jane Beckenham, is full of awesome ideas when it comes to doing over your home for Easter. Egg crafts, Easter Wreaths, table setting examples, it's all happening here.

Happy Easter, everyone!

A Cottage by the Sea

It's official: I'm on a Carole Matthews spree. Reading "A Cottage by the Sea" and really enjoying it. The themes are right up my alley: growing up, adventure, life choices. A fun book.

It's Now Or Never

"It's Now Or Never" by Carole Mattews is perhaps not a romance as much as a glimpse into what paths a girl's life might take. At (give or take) forty, you might find yourself lead a glamorous life with a glamorous husband and perfect children. Or you might find yourself stifled in your adventure-less existence. Or you might begin to wonder whether being single with a married lover is the best way to spend your youth.

As you get to know the three sisters and their life choices, you start examining your own. You only live once. What have you got to show for it?

The Only Way is Up - Carole Matthews

I really like Carole Matthews. Some of her books don't resonate with me as much as others, but she's always a fun, unpredictable read. THE ONLY WAY IS UP is probably one of my favourites. I don't know what it is about the "from riches to rags" stories that I find so alluring.

From the book jacket:

Lily and Laurence had it all: the money, the car, a beautiful home in the Buckinghamshire countryside. Then Laurence loses his job and everything disappears. With nowhere to turn, Lily and Laurence are forced to take their two young children and move to a flea-ridden council house on a notoriously rough estate. As they try to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, Lily constantly dreams of returning to her old, luxurious life. Will her dream come true or will she learn that money doesn't alway buy happiness?

Casablanca

Casablanca - the best love movie ever made. Just saying.

Welcome to the Real World by Carole Matthews

Welcome to the Real World by Carole Matthews was an enjoyable read. It's a romance, but with enough layers to pass for chick lit. It's warm and touching, humorous and poignant. Predictable, yes. But so is the whole genre.

From the blurb: Fern Kendal dreams that one day her talent will be 'discovered' and that singing in the local pub with her oldest friend Carl will be nothing but a distant memory. There again, in the real world dreams like that never come true. Or do they? 

Foreign-language romances

We're missing out by only reading mainstream romances. While I have nothing against Harlequin's very broad definition of romance books (historicals, paranormals, urban fantasy, steam punk, modern Greek tycoons as well as sex-and-the-city situations), I still feel there's a niche that needs filling.

This week, I was privileged to read a Polish contemporary romance. Katarzyna Grochola's "Houston, we have a problem" does not feature an alpha male. It does not feature a pathetic male, either. It's a story of a man coming to terms with a breakup. He's a genius at his job (film making) but cannot get a break. He drinks too much at parties, he rows with the neighbours, he gets irritated at him mother's Chihuahua... which doesn't stop him from taking his laundry there (his girlfriend moved out with the washing machine). In other words, he's human. We can sympathise or empathise with him. We can admire his genius. We can shake his head at the idiocy of his romantic decisions.

I'd like to read more such books. Harlequin, do you copy, over?

$100 could be yours

Buy a book and win $100!

If you are the 10th customer to buy this romatic suspense title, "Operation: Genocide" by Yvonne Walus, before the end of February 2014, you will win $100. To qualify, simply buy it here: http://www.stairwaypress.com/bookstore/operation-genocide/. The 10th customer will get $100.

As easy as that.

Austenland by Shannon Hale

I'm not an Austen fan. I don't go weak at the knees at the mention of Mr Darcy (who?) or Colin Firth (who? oh, you mean the gay guy in Mamma Mia!), but you know what? Austenland, the romance novel by Shannon Hale, works for me. It's fun, it's light, it's easy to read while stirring bolognese sauce or waiting at the piano lessons. I will read the sequel for sure.

From the blurb:

Jane is a young New York woman who can never seem to find the right man—perhaps because of her secret obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-obsessed women, however, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become more real than she ever could have imagined. Is this total immersion in a fake Austenland enough to make Jane kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

Don't miss Shannon Hale's next book, Midnight in Austenland, a mystery set at Pemberly available in February, 2012. 

 

 

The Big Bang Theory - The Kiss

The Big Bang Theory - still a better love story than Twilight, right? Especially now with the Sheldon-Amy kiss.

The Wolf Of Wall Street

The Wolf Of Wall Street is not marketed as a romance movie. I believe it should be. For all of us raised on Mills&Boons, for all of us who believe that love is straight-forward, for those who think alpha heroes should be honourable, here is a movie not afraid to show us exactly how corrupting power and big money can be. Here is a movie not afraid to claim a man can be unfaithful and still love his wife. Worth a ponder.

Seventh Taboo

You know he is somewhere out there. Your soul mate. Your other self. All you need to do is find him and you'll feel complete the way you've never felt complete before. Except that finding him is strictly forbidden. Finding him would break the Seventh Taboo.

And then, one night, you meet him. Every hormone and every cell in your body shouts that he's the lost half of yourself you've been searching for. Your logic disagrees. Which are you going to believe? The primeval instinct or your training? Your heart or your mind?

To what lengths will you go, what risks will you take, to prove to yourself that he is the one?

Read Yvonne Walus's "Seventh Taboo" today.

Romantic 2....

Romantic...

Best New Year Ever?

I've spent New Year on a cruise ship in the middle of the Nile. On a rooftop in India. In a swimming pool in South Africa. On the ocean in New Zealand. Watching fireworks in Poland. Drinking champagne at an international airport.

The most romantic time? In bed with my man, of course. :-)