3 November 2011
Hi there, I’d like to tell you a bit about my beautiful and talented friend India Grey. It was pretty much love at first site when we met at Kate Walker’s 50th book celebrations about five years ago. Not long afterwards, we agreed to share a hotel room in London for the Annual Mills and Boon Author lunch and discovered that our bathroom had opaque doors which also happened to be see-through, do not ask how this is possible.
This would be dubious even for a romantic couple (come on, where’s the mystery??!) and in our case it destroyed about five levels of ‘getting to know you’ in one fell swoop. Let’s just say it’s quite an, er, bonding experience. And provided much hilarity for the editors in Mills and Boon. We always aim to please ;).
Since then she’s come to Dublin to visit me and I’ve been to Cheshire to visit her. She was there for me when the ash cloud struck and we did a Thelma and Louise style road trip to Holyhead so that I could get the ferry home. Without bumping into Brad Pitt on the way, alas.
She won the RNA’s prestigious Romance Prize in 2009 for Mistress for the Billionaire’s Pleasure.
She is a tea-aholic and has a sense of style in all things that would make a grown woman weep. She IS the domestic goddess.
But, she is also a writing goddess. October 2011 saw the release of Craving the Forbidden,
and part 2 of this linked series of books is out in December, In Bed With a Stranger.
I’m waiting until I have both copies to read because I am waaay too impatient to read one and not have the other to hand immediately. I don’t do delayment of gratification!
All of her stories are infused with a gorgeous dreamy timelessness that characterizes the most classic romances. And she is currently working on a longer single-title story which I’m sure will be stupendously brilliant. I have visions of it being optioned for a huge film or TV series a la Downton Abbey and then I can come along to visit the set as the writer’s friend and generally create mayhem and havoc. No pressure India ;).
Basically, she’s brilliant and if you haven’t been reading her books then don’t come back until you have. This is me, showing her how much I love her at this year’s AMBA day…
Anyway before you reach for the sick bucket, in other news I have received the author copies of my latest, The Call of the Desert,
This is the last book in my current series of Sheikh stories. Once I started I couldn’t stop! This is the story of Kaden and Julia. They appeared briefly in my last book The Sultan’s Choice. Kaden is Samia’s older brother, the Emir of Burquat. When he turns up at Samia’s wedding to Sadiq with the ex – lover who broke his heart I wanted readers to be intrigued if they noticed the little interplay.
This is their story.
Kaden and Julia met years before when she was a student in his country. They had a passionate love affair which ended badly. Now it’s twelve years on and they’ve both been bruised and battered by marriages and relationships. What will happen when they meet again? Are their feelings for each other as strong as ever, or diminished by the sands of time?
You’ll just have to email me for a book so you can find out ;). I have some copies to give away to anyone who emails me with their postal address between now and the end of the weekend. If I run out of copies before the weekend is over I’ll put up a notice here…
Back soon!
x Abby