Following the characters

Over on Kate Walker's blog I think I have a post on Thursday. Kate is celebrating Presents this month and has asked a few of us to write about some aspect of Presents for her while she's living it up in Washington DC at RWA.

This is very Tom Sawyerish of her. But even so I was happy to oblige.

There's a lot to enjoy in writing for Presents. Our books go all over the world. We get to research amazing places -- and we get to imagine whole worlds of fascinating people. As a day job, it's hard to beat.

I would happily have written all my books for Presents but that's not the way my mind works. I follow the characters wherever they go. They dictate the story -- and sadly, marketing and editorial don't think in broad enough terms for them all to be Presents.

That's okay. I probably couldn't write at all if I tried to specifically aim my books for external guidelines. I'm just glad 28 of them have fit there so far.

This is the weekend that PJ and Ally's book, Antonides' Forbidden Wife, is up for the RITA award in the short contemporary category. If ever a book didn't seem to 'fit' the notion of a Presents, their book might be it.

PJ hadn't even been on my radar as a Presents hero. I'd always known him as a surfer. Of course I also knew he was more than that. But surfing really formed a lot of who PJ was as a young man, and it is still a core element in the man he became.

He was a free spirit, a lone wolf, a man who didn't march to his family's drummer. As such he was very much a role model for the young Ally. At least he was a great support for her in those days. He gave her the means to do what she wanted to do with her life simply by marrying her.

When I followed them into and out of their back story I was fascinated by the people they were and the adults they became. I had no idea that they even had a story when Karin Stoecker, the editorial director at Harlequin Mills & Boon said she'd like to read Peter's story after he'd been in his brother, Elias's book.

"What about Peter?" she said expectantly.

I didn't know anything about Peter when she asked. The first thing he told me was that as soon as he left New York, he began to go by his initials, PJ. He re-invented himself. He was very happy to tell me all about his life up til then.

But in order to write Antonides' Forbidden Wife, I had to follow him and Ally for several months. I had to learn about them as they seemed to learn about themselves. I'm very happy they ended up being in Presents.

I wish them the best of luck on Saturday night. I'm going to be packing to head out for the grandchildren's the next day.

But no matter what they do or don't do on RITA night, I'll always love having spent time with them, following them around, and helping them get to their happily ever after.

It's a Presents with an M&B cover in the RITA version. The only version I had at the time of the contest.

RITA nominees

Today was the day RWA announced the finalists for the RITA awards which will be presented at the national Romance Writers of America conference in Washington, DC this July. There is a full list posted at the RWA site, but I can't get the link to work so you can get there easily from here.

So I can't show them all to you, but I'm happy, thrilled, delighted, over-the-moon, gobsmacked and a variety of other adjectives to tell you that PJ and Ally's book, Antonides' Forbidden Wife, is one of the finalists!

Ally has been walking around with a smile on her face ever since we got the phone call this morning. PJ looks somewhere between amused and smug -- like he's caught the wave of the day, and nobody -- but nobody -- has had a better one.

I've told him that that remains to be seen, that there are other finalists. He wishes them well. And then he just grins at me. He's happy. He's vindicated.

I'm grinning, too, of course, because PJ was not expected to be a hero.

He was a surfer, for heaven's sake. When I wrote about him in his brother Elias's book, The Antonides Marriage Deal, PJ was a thorn in his brother's side.

He was the theoretically 'irresponsible' brother, Peter, who had taken off for Hawaii at age 18 and never really bothered to come back. Not until halfway through Elias's book at least -- and only then, as far as Elias was concerned, to annoy him.

Of course it didn't turn out that way. Unbeknownst to his family, Peter Antonides had reinvented himself in Hawaii. Or maybe he discovered who he really was beyond just one of those Antonides kids. He'd grown up, found a life, a purpose, even a new variation on his name. He found himself.

And incidentally, he found Ally.

He didn't tell me that then. He was a fun supporting character. I liked him as soon as he appeared. But I didn't know a lot about him because Elias's book, as PJ continually reminded me, was Elias's book. And Tallie's. It was their story, and Elias didn't want him horning in on it.

PJ didn't mind. He was a patient man. Easy going. Laid back. A mañana sort of guy.

A Presents hero?

Perhaps not your usual suspect. Still, he was my idea of a Presents hero. He was strong and determined. Patient. Honorable. Competent. Patient. Pretty darned gorgeous. And did I mention, patient?

It's true. PJ bided his time. He waited for his book the way he waited for Ally. Though he did tell me he was glad the book at least hadn't taken ten years.

Still, he waited through Theo and Martha's book, through Flynn and Sara's book, through Spence and Sadie's book. He was even prepared to take a back seat to Sebastian and Neely's book.

But then, all of a sudden, Sebastian had issues. I had a deadline. And, guess what? I needed a book. I needed a hero. I needed PJ.

Just like Elias and Tallie had. Just like Ally did.

And there he was, my hero. PJ Antonides stepped in and took over. He eased Sebastian out for the time being and began telling me his story, introducing me to Ally, doing for me what he'd done for everyone else -- saving the day.

Is it any wonder I fell in love with him?

So I am incredibly happy that he and Ally have made the RITA finals. And I really wish I could take them to Washington for the conference and the awards ceremony.

But I'm going to be celebrating it from afar this year. I'm going to have grandkids here in summer camp that week and, I hope, a brand-new one to go see in Seattle right after.

PJ says he understands. He says he doesn't mind. He says he knows we'll be there in spirit, anyway, and he's just basking in the joy of his nomination. It's true, of course.

But lest you think that besides being patient, competent, strong, determined and drop-dead gorgeous, he is also terribly terribly noble, let me tell you the whole truth.

PJ is thrilled that Antonides' Forbidden Wife is a RITA finalist and we're not going to Washington, because he still gets all this glory -- and he doesn't have to wear a tie.

Coming soon!

I'm back!

Refreshed, revived -- and ready to report that my website is undergoing a major revamp and should be up and ready to go February 1st.

Heather at WeWriteRomance has taken the bits and pieces that were there from an earlier design that got dropped due to circumstances beyond that earlier designer's control, and has done miracles with them. She's got a great grasp of visuals (so not like me!) and can actually translate my babbling and gibberish into things that look great on the page (far better than I envision them, to tell the truth).

I've been seeing some of the pages this past week, and while they won't all go up on February 1st, you should get a flavor of them then. The blog format will eventually reflect that, too, but it may not happen at once. So while we are in transition, bear with us.

Having a new improved website is like spring cleaning -- only better. (I wonder if Heather would come and do the same to my house. Probably not. Sigh.)

Anyway, Heather is fabulous, and I have to thank Kate Walker for passing her name along -- and of course, to thank Heather for being willing to jump into the breach and whip things into shape.

Eventually all the pages should be back and many of the ones that never made it into the revamp of a year ago will actually reappear if not instantly, then over the next few weeks.

I also need to thank PJ for filling in for me this past couple of weeks while I had a bit of a kick-back-and-relax time. It was much appreciated. But that's the sort of guy he is. He stepped up and solved Ally's problem ten years ago. He solved mine this month.

So thanks, PJ. Hope you and Ally have a great time in Hawaii. Keep us posted on the new little Antonides. Let us know when he/she arrives!

O'Kate has come back from O'Dublin and sent me the name of the winner of Santos's share of the Here Come The Grooms contest.

She'll be announcing it on her website tomorrow, I think. And then I can announce it here. We're so glad to have had so many participants.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer the questions.

We're looking forward to the 4th annual Here Come The Grooms contest next year. We love to do it together and, as Kate said earlier today, "I always look forward to hearing the groooms' opinions of things." Amen to that.

We Have A Winner!

Hi. PJ here.

We have a winner here -- Karen from North Carolina is the winner of my third of the Here Come the Grooms contest this year!

Her book (MY book!) is already on its way to her. Hope you enjoy it, Karen.

Jago has written to say that Rachel in New Zealand has won his third of the contest, and her book has gone out today also.

Santos is incommunicado right now as Kate and her spouse and he and his new bride have gone off to Dublin (what is it with Santos that he's taking his writer on his honeymoon? Or isn't it the honeymoon? Maybe not. I'm sure Kate will tell Anne to find her book and let me read it so I'll know!)

As soon as they all get back from Dublin, we'll have Santos's winner to post as well.

Congratulations to Karen and to Rachel. And many thanks to everyone who took the time to find out the answers and enter the contest. We were really glad to see so many people turning out to do it!

Stay tuned because Liz and Kate and Anne are already talking about next year's contest. Should be interesting. Anne said maybe Christo would be up for it. All I know is, it won't be me. I'm going to be on my way to Hawaii for a nice winter break with Ally and the new person in our lives.

How old do you think he or she will have to be before I can get him/her on a surfboard?

Grooms Contest -- Last Day

Well, Anne has dropped the ball and can't tell you about Santos (that's him over there on the left) personally because she can't find his book.

This will give you some idea of the state of her office (CHAOS!), and she sends apologies to The Man Himself because she remembers hearing about his story as Kate was writing it (and drooling over him, she says, which I find disgusting, but what can I say?)

Anyway, she will find it, she assures me, and write about it while it is still on the shelves (which it will be until late February). So if you don't win a copy, don't despair. You can go buy one -- and Kate will be pleased.

So will Santos, provided he can be distracted from the right sister who is now his bride!

Today, in case you haven't noticed -- is January 21st. The last day to enter the 3rd annual Here Come The Grooms Contest.

This means that Anne will probably snatch the blog back and send me on my way (not a hardship, though I've enjoyed being here, but I'll have more time to spend with Ally when I'm not writing blogs) -- and we're going to celebrate the news of a prospective little Antonides coming along in a few months (Yiayia will be over the moon -- she likes the notion of great-grandchildren, and the more the better. But mine will be the best looking, she tells me!).

So, details below for entering if you haven't already done so.

There are three questions and to win you have to answer all the questions and email your answers to Anne, to Kate and to Liz. Each of them will pick a winner and that winner will get a copy of each of the these books.

Here are the questions:

1. PJ left New York after he graduated from high school. Where did he go?
2. Who was Santos supposed to be marrying?
3. What scent did Jago recognise?

You'll find the answers in excerpt on Anne's, Kate's and Liz's websites and you've got until January 21 to send in your answers.

Got it? You'll find "contact me" links on Kate's, Liz's and Anne's websites, too. Use those to email them-- all three of them with all three answers, don't forget. Good luck!

I get to come back and announce the winners, so you haven't totally got rid of me. Ally might come, too. Go for it.

Meet Ally

Hi. PJ still here.

Anne is enjoying her week or so off. She did pass along to me an email from Janet who said she would like to see a pic of Ally. Hey, no problem. Always glad to share pics of my wife.

This was taken not long after I first met her. She was working at Benny's, which was a diner sort of place near the beach in Hawaii. I used to buy my plate lunch from Ally. She was a college student at the time, under the thumb of her dad who definitely thought he Knew What Was Best for her -- including who she should marry and what she should major in.

He had her whole life mapped out.

Ally had other ideas. But she needed a little help then in order to realize them. Once we got married, she managed just fine. Took off. Lived her own life. Made a success of things.

Sometimes marriage just sort of jump-starts things for you.

Trouble is, I had some very strong memories of a wedding night I didn't think was going to happen. But once it did, well, a guy doesn't forget that.

I wasn't sure Ally remembered it, though. Not until she came back. And even then she came back saying she figured it was time we got divorced.

I didn't think so.

Anne is still looking for Santos's book. She promises to find it. She'd better. The contest ends this week! Don't forget to enter.

If you don't win, Santos's book will still be on sale in February.

To Christo and Natalie

PJ here.

Anne just sent up a flare telling me that Christo and Natalie have left England headed for the copyeditor in Canada. So . . . no more revisions!

Whew.

Anne is pleased. I'm pleased -- because that mean I can get back to my once-and-forever wife, Ally, now. And, of course, Christo and Natalie are vastly relieved.

Break out the champagne!

Really glad to see all the entries for the Here Come the Grooms contest coming in. Remember, if you haven't already entered, you can do so until January 21st. The questions are below. Keep scrolling down.

I'll be back to tell you about Jago's book, Wedded in a Whirlwind. I can see what he means about Manda having a kick like a mule now. But, given the circumstances, I reckon he deserved it.

The book kept Anne up until 1:30 this morning. She thinks it's dynamite. She gave it to me this morning so I could read and "understand" Nick Jago.

Well, I don't know about that. But it's a good book. I'll be back tomorrow and tell you a bit more.

One Groom . . . Introducing Myself

Hi. PJ here.

Anne is up to her eyeballs in revisions. So she's giving me free rein at her blog while she works. She says she has to be done by Monday, and that Christo and Natalie are NOT cooperating, and she's going to wring their necks.

Makes me glad she was a lot better humored when Ally and I were the couple of the month.

I guess we're the couple of the month again now -- at least our book is. If you don't mind a bit of shameless self-promotion, I'll just tell you that it's called Antonides' Forbidden Wife.

I figured they ought to have called it Antonides' Absent Wife. After all, I hadn't seen her in five years!

It was a heck of a shock when she came waltzing in the door. It was an even bigger surprise when she said she wanted a divorce.

Divorce?

Seems to me that if you're married, you ought to at least give it a shot before you call it quits. Try telling Ally that, though.

Well, I did try, in the book. Pretty successfully (if you don't mind me spoiling the ending). But Anne says the interesting bit is how we got there.

Maybe. But I like the end result a whole lot better.

If you like the process, though, answer the questions in the last blog or on Anne's contest page and you might win a copy of the book (and Santos Cordero's book and Nick Jago's book).

Anne says if you've already read mine, you can win Sebastian's book, Savas' Defiant Mistress, because she actually got copies the other day.

If you have questions about Antonides' Forbidden Wife, fire away. I'll be here through the end of the month.

Aloha,
PJ

Here Come The Grooms . . . Again!

It's back!

The 3rd Annual Here Come The Grooms! Contest starts January 7, 2009 and runs through January 21, 2009.

What does this mean to you?

Depends on if you want three chances to win three new books.

For the last three years Kate Walker, Liz Fielding and I have had Grooms come and take over our blogs -- not to mention our lives -- in January. It all began when we all had books out in February 2007, and they all had the word "Bride" in the title.

We thought our brides would like to host a "Here Come The Brides" contest on our sites. And they did.

But they had so much fun that the grooms decided they'd get into the act, too. So they pretty much hijacked the month. They ran their own contest -- and their successors, the 2008 grooms, came back and did it again last year.

Not to be outdone, PJ Antonides (my guy) from Antonides' Forbidden Wife, Santos Cordero (Kate's guy) from Cordero's Forced Bride, and Nick Jago (Liz's guy) from Bedded in a Whirlwind, have been lurking around waiting for their turn.

It's here.

We'll be introducing you to each of them in the next few days.

And they'll be along to blog. At least I'm sure PJ will.

I suppose Jago and Santos will be, too. In the meantime, PJ says that he has his question ready and you can find it and the answer to it (if you're in a hurry) on the contest page of my website. The other grooms' questions are there, too.

Just click on the tab there and answer the questions (look in the excerpts or on our blogs for the answers) and you will be entered in PJ's drawing which will be after the contest ends January 21. Do the same thing on Liz's and Kate's websites and you have THREE chances to win.

PJ says that if you have already bought his book (which he hopes you have), and you win, he will either send you a backlist title of your choice (providing he can find it in my attic) or a copy of my upcoming Savas' Defiant Mistress when the first author copies finally arrive.

That's if you're into delayed gratification, he says. As he has had to wait ten years for his wife to turn back up in his life, PJ understands all about delayed gratification.

He'll be back later this week to blog.

Send in your entries now!

Housekeeping

I know I should have done all the housekeeping stuff before the holidays. But when you're going to be spending it with several little and not-so-little-anymore boys -- and their dog -- there really isn't much point.

It was lovely. We had a very good time. Now I am cleaning up.

And while I'm doing that, I am cleaning up loose ends on my desk as well. Some of them have to do with winners of books which will be sent out, weather permitting, tomorrow. Avi and Gina, your books will be on their way first thing. And Mallory, who won 3 Antonides books at the eharlequin open house, yours will be out the door, too.

My apologies for not getting them sent earlier, but the ice, snow and lines at the post office didn't cooperate. The lines are gone now. And, barring major ice, I'll be at the p.o. tomorrow.

Speaking of winning books, it's almost time for the 3rd annual Here Come The Grooms contest which I've been doing with Kate Walker and Liz Fielding. We're getting ready to do it again. So check back for details.

PJ has already agreed to come and blog, which is a very good thing, as I'll be deep in Demetrios's story by then.

Stay tuned.

Up to my neck . . .

Apologies for the lack of posts which is not intentional.

There is the general holiday preparation stuff which normally goes on at this time of year. But there are also the book revisions which are making me rethink the first third of the book and recast it in a slightly different form.

I like the suggestions my editor made and the changes I've done so far have made it a better and stronger book, I think. At least Christo and Natalie seem to think so. They want me to get on with it faster. I will.

But presently I am also dealing with a very very sick dog. As he has been a member of the family for twelve years -- and the outcome does not look promising -- I am rather distracted and spend a lot of time with him. So bear with me, please.

Gunnar is a very special guy. He's has definitely, as my youngest son once said about our first dog, "improved the quality of life around here." Right now his quality of life sucks. But we're doing the best we can.

If you want to read something cheery -- or at least more entertaining than this -- there are some great blogs on my sidebar and if you aren't already going to several of them, do check them out.

I have good news about my website which has been in limbo for much of the past year. It seems that it is about to get a serious update -- and a lot of content that's been missing since the old site was 'revamped.' I'll keep you posted on that.

And, of course, keep an eye out for PJ and Ally's book, Antonides' Forbidden Wife, coming later this month (so it won't get lost in the Christmas rush). Julie Bonello wrote a lovely review of it over on the Cata-Romance site.

RT had nice things to say, too. Michelle Reid very kindly sent me their review a couple of weeks ago. I meant to post it, but there's the small matter of not having any time.

No Place Like Home

I have barely seen "home" in 6 weeks. It looks pretty much the way I remember it. The dogs were glad to see me. So was The Prof.

So were the complement of grandsons (three of the four in existence, the eldest being elsewhere) who were in the front yard when I got home from the airport. So was the new puppy who was following after the twins. I harbor a deep wish that said puppy will find a different home as the boys already have a dog (father of puppy), and this puppy looked like twins would be too much for him. Just my humble opinion.

It is rare however to feel that kids will be too much for a dog, so trust me on this.

Anyway, I am home. And I wrote 35,000 words in 3 weeks (amazing even myself, not to mention the 8 year old granddaughter), and I have one and a half scenes to go to finish Christo's book. Correction: to finish a draft of Christo's book.

It should be done in the morning. Then I can go back to the beginning and line up all the frogs (remember, we're in the year of the frog in McAllisterland; the ducks are taking the year off).

With luck Christo and Natalie can go winging off to the editor on Wednesday or Thursday. Early for once. Imagine that.

I'm also way behind on updating my website. Poor PJ, aka Antonides' Forbidden Wife, is halfway through his month on the shelves in UK and Ireland and I haven't even posted him on the sidebar.

I will stick him here, though so you know to look out for him if you are a UK/Ireland person in need of a good book.

I might even let PJ or Ally come and blog. What do you think? Should we invite them?

I'm going to bed with Christo now -- and finish his scene. Get your minds out of the gutter.

See you tomorrow (I hope).

PJ and Ally

I was cruising around the internet yesterday evening and discovered that PJ and Ally's Presents cover exists and that other sites have it -- even if I hadn't seen it until that moment.

So, here it is. Yes, I know you've seen it in the UK hardcover version, but it always looks different (to me anyway) in the Presents version.
It comes out in January 2009 in the stores, which means that those who subscribe in the book club may find it turning up in their mailboxes any day now.

Antonides' Forbidden Wife

And here we have the hard cover version of PJ and Ally's book, now known as Antonides' Forbidden Wife.

It's coming out in UK in September in this edition, which is primarily for libraries. In November it will be out as a Mills & Boon Modern (that will likely be some form of this cover with a blue background). And in January it will be out in North America as a Harlequin Presents.

As the covers turn up, I'll be uploading them here and, when amazon.com and amazon.co.uk have them, I'll try to provide links on the sidebar to their site.

It's a nice cover. PJ doesn't look like PJ to me, and Ally doesn't look like Ally. But that's frequently the way it is with books. Though I must say that the artist's choice of Nathan Kamp for Flynn in One Night Love Child was inspired (probably better than the one I'd been seeing in my head). He wouldn't be bad for PJ either. This guy on PJ's cover is gorgeous, but he looks a bit buttoned-down to be PJ who spent twelve years surfing his way around the world.

Oh, well. He's not an ax murderer, either. I've had one of those. And she's not Snow White. I had her, too.

I've also had the Jay Leno and Jimmy Cagney Death Mask cover. So I'm quite sanguine about this one. It may not be my favorite ever, but it didn't send me screaming out the door, either.

What do you think?

Cover's Coming!

I got the cover for the Mills & Boon Modern hardback of Antonides' Forbidden Wife in the post the other day.

Actually, not just the cover, I got the books themselves. It seems ages ago since I wrote PJ and Ally's story. So long ago that I had to stop right in the middle of Mom Camp -- well, really right in the middle of doing the laundry -- and read it (so did my daughter) to be sure I still remembered it.

I do.

I even remembered how it ended. Also discovered that the suggestions my editor made did, as I'd suspected, make it a better book.

I have to scan the cover, which I haven't done yet, before I can post it. But stay tuned. It will happen in the next day or two. Right now I'm up to my eyeballs (I was going to say up to my teeth, but given the teeth issue this week, that seemed to be tempting fate) in kids and laundry.

We are also going on a boat ride tomorrow at the end of Mom Camp, which should be fun.

The kids are coming along. And then we're celebrating the almost 8 year old's birthday (for next week) and doing more laundry.