Oh, dear, I was very sorry for myself last time, wasn’t I?  I hadn’t realised quite how boring I was, so apologies to everyone who waded through the last blog! I’m glad to report that toothache is now but a distant memory, vanquished by a lovely relaxing week in Greece.  We had the top floor of a house overlooking Stoupa, with an L-shaped balcony that caught the afternoon breeze from the sea.

I could have happily spent the entire week on that balcony, looking out over the bay and to the mountains beyond but managed to drag myself down to the beach at Kalogria, all of five minutes’ walk away.  Soft sand, clear turquoise water, a shady bar for a beer at lunchtime …it was tough, but someone had to do it!

Stoupa itself is wedged between the sea and the Taygetos Mountains, a pretty, peaceful place, surrounded by olive groves, with secret gardens and pots along the walls. 

But I had work to do, too.  We plotted the next book over a bottle of rosé, and fine-tuned it bobbing around on lilos (the rigours of research) so now I have two stories churning around in my head, the one I’m supposed to be writing until the end of August, and the one I’ll have to start in September.  I also had to forgo my usual holiday reading of thrillers, and broadened my romance reading instead, in preparation for the course I’m teaching in Tuscany at the end of September.  I have to admit that I’m not usually much of a romance reader (too much of a busman’s holiday) but it has been really interesting to read across the Harlequin/Mills & Boon lines and discover some new names.  Top picks from the pile I took to Greece with me were The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O’Neal (recommended to me by Liz Fielding) and Kelly Hunter’s Taken by the Bad Boy, which I bought after Kate Hardy pointed me her way.  I’ve lots of others still to read, and will be using examples from authors who write great dialogue/plotting/emotion/sex/historical detail etc on the course, so if you’ve got a personal favourite, do let me know.

 Apart from that, it’s back to a rigid writing regime tomorrow.  My next book isn’t out until November, but here’s a sneak preview of the cover – gorgeous, isn’t it? I usually grimace when I first see my covers, but think this one has a magical feel to it, in spite of the hero’s hair.  And yes, I HAVE thanked my editor.  She has to put up with me grumbling most of the time, so I thought the team deserved some gratitude for once.

I haven’t seen the UK cover yet, which will be in the new two-in-one format.  Here’s the hardback cover which isn’t too bad, but the image is a bit muted for me.  More about Under the Boss’s Mistletoe nearer the time, when the paperbacks arrive. I’m not enthusiastic about the new look, I confess.  To me the soft colours and images scream wishy-washy, which doesn’t reflect the stories in the Harlequin Romance line at all.  Still, I’m no marketing expert. HMB are keen for reader feedback, though, so if you’ve got any comments on the new covers, you can email them at  makeover@hmb.co.uk.