Brotherly Love

Okay, I confess... I'm a sucker for a handsome clutch of brothers. There's something charismatic and sexy about a bevvy of good looking brothers, especially when they are close friends too. They form their own little club that you desperately want to be a part of, you know? Or even better, be the little sister of!

I'll start with an obvious bunch. Girls, brace yourselves for this photo on a Monday Morning, it's a treat... the Walker boys from 'Brothers & Sisters'. Hand on heart, I searched for a photo with shirts on, and without Rob Lowe and Gilles Marini, but I just couldn't seem to find one... ;o)

Can you remember what we were talking about before you looked at that? No... me neither....
*cough* Brothers. I loved the dynamic of the brotherly relationships on Brothers & Sisters, they were all very different characters but fiercely loyal to each other when the chips were down. And they all adored their mum, which only serves to make them even more swoonsome. I miss the Walkers.


Next up, a movie clan - the Ludlow trio from Legends of The Fall. I can't say enough about how much I love this film, and much of my adoration stems from the strength of the fraternal relationship between Tristan, Samuel and Alfred. Again, three completely contrasting characters, and I find myself sympathising with all of them. It's such a beautiful, tragic love story about one woman who is lucky enough to love them all, but one more than the others. Sweeping, and epic, it sums up brotherly love with aching clarity. I think I know it almost word for word, and still can't make it to the end without crying. That scene on the porch with Alfred & Tristan gets me every time... "You say that again and we're not brothers."

It should be noted that I managed to talk about Legends of the fall without waxing lyrical about Brad Pitt. It was hard. 

And lastly, a clan from the world of Romance novels - The Bennett brothers, courtesy of the fabulous  Kelly Hunter.
I love Kelly's romances anyway, but the Bennett brothers books really shone for me.
Red Hot Renegade with serious eldest brother Jacob Bennett was utterly gorgeous, a really fresh slant on a reunion story. And then came Pete, the flirty hero helicopter pilot on a lush greek island. I loved him!
Not to mention super sexy Luke... If you haven't had the pleasure of the Bennett brothers, put them on your Christmas list, you won't be disappointed.

Can you add to our Monday morning list of beautiful brothers?

Author Spotlight: Kelly Hunter

The first book I read by Kelly Hunter was Misbehaving with the Magnate which had me hooked from cover to cover. The most recent, Red Hot Renegade, turned me into Kelly Hunter's number one fan (in a non-Misery sense of course!). This book is the last in her Bennett family series - they're all great reads, but each one seems better than the last. Red Hot Renegade kept me flying through the pages and into the wee hours. With an Asian heroine far wealthier than the seriously seductive, tough martial arts hero, this novel was certainly different. It was fresh, fun and sensual - all the qualities of the new Riva line. Her first Riva novel, With this Fling, looks like it will be just as good a read and I'm looking forward to opening my brand new copy!

And now that I've had my fan girl moment, here's Kelly ....

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1. Where were you in your writing career 5 years ago?

Unpublished and unsure which line to target. Harlequin Temptations had just left the building – much to my dismay – and there was rumour of a fun, flirty and sexy editorial stream somewhere on the horizon. When the guidelines appeared for a HMB London edited line (then) called Nu Temptation, I snail mailed off a partial. A week and a half later HMB London asked to see the rest, at which point I had to fess up that the rest didn’t exist. Yet. I still remember Ed’s long suffering email sigh and her very patient, ‘just send it when it’s done’. That story became Wife For A Week, and Ed bought it, and it helped launch a new editorial stream (Modern Extra which later became Modern Heat). It also gave me quite a few more Bennett Family stories to write.

2. Where did you get the idea from for With This Fling?

It all started with wanting to write a back-from-the-dead hero. But a back-from-the dead hero was unlikely to work tonewise for Riva. I needed fun. Flirty. Not a hero who’d had amnesia or who’d walked away from the heroine in order to protect her, and I certainly didn’t want him to have been held prisoner somewhere nasty. Nope, I wanted a daisy fresh back-from-the-dead hero, and he couldn’t be a vampire either. I headed for the gin. I decided my heroine would invent a fictional hero for some terribly convincing reason and then kill him off when she no longer needed him. And then he would reappear, so to speak. In the flesh. Daisy fresh. And twice as sexy. More gin ensued. Of course I could make this premise work…

3. Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?

Still writing. Still selling.

4. Which was the last book you read that you wish you'd written?

Barbara Samuel’s No Place Like Home (and pretty much every Barbara Samuel/O Neal book since then).

5. Was there any particular author or book that made you want to be a writer?

It was a cumulative effort that began with Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree and gained momentum with every story that ever swept me away.

6. What do you wish you'd known about being an author before you were pubbed?

That you need to work even harder once you’re published to stay published and captivate new readers.

7. What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

Every word counts.

8. What does the new Riva imprint mean for you.

It means I get to help launch another new line. Woohoo! That was the mememe answer. In a general sense, a bold new line means there’s room for authors to boldly go where no author has gone before. I love that kind of freedom. It’s not for the faint of heart though, because – count on it – somewhere along the way you’re going to go where no one wants you to go.

9. Tell us about your Riva launch release.

With This Fling is about a reality challenged heroine who invents a fiancé to appease her dying godmother. He's dashing, honourable, supremely accomplished, and above all, absent. When he's no longer needed Charlotte kills him off but the gossip grinder has done its work and Charlotte’s workmates believe she’s lost both her godmother and her fiancé. They want to help and go searching for a memento of Charlotte’s beloved fiancé to give to her because lo, she doesn’t even have a photo of him. Then the contents of a man’s office turns up on her doorstep. Then the owner of the office arrives to collect it. He shares the same surname as Charlotte’s fictional fiancé. Perfect he most definitely is not, but he is rather dashing. You can see where this is going...

I really enjoyed stacking my poor, imperfect, in-the-flesh hero up against the fantasy of the perfect man. That my poor, imperfect, in-the-flesh hero was a category romance hero and not real(istic) either amused me no end. Small things amu-- ah, never mind.

10. What’s next for you?

An April RIVA release called Man She Loves To Hate.
You know those historicals that start with the heroine disguised as a stable hand or cabin boy and the hero thinks he’s losing his marbles along with his lust for women? I love those stories (possibly the small minds thing again). I love the deception and adore the reveal.
I decided to open a contemporary story in similar fashion, and try and make it believable, and flirty, and fun, and it’d help if I had some handy dandy reason as to why the hero and heroine wouldn’t declare undying devotion the moment the ruse was up. What If ensued and the Man She Loves To Hate was born.

This segues into a question for the Minxes. Anyone have a favourite story opening, premise, or scene that you’ve never forgotten, even though it’s been years since you read the book? What made it so memorable? Try breaking it down. Which bits of the premise or scene intrigued you the most? Then, for the writers here, have a quiet think about the kind of story you might be able to wrap around that lovely old favourite story bit.

I hope you enjoy reading the new Riva stories and thank you so much for the invitation to come and talk stories and play with the Minxes.

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With This Fling is a January release in the UK through Mills & Boon and Amazon, a February release in Australia and a June release in North America.

Red Hot Renegade is available through Mills & Boon and will be released in North America in March as a Presents Extra, under the title Her Singapore Fling.

To find out more about Kelly, you can visit her website here.

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Congratulations to Desere Steenberg, winner of last week's Kimberly Lang contest.

Anything Goes Friday - Book Reviews

Today we're reviewing books we've recently read and loved. First up is Sally Minx, reviewing Kelly Hunter's Red Hot Renegade, then Romy Minx reviewing Michelle Reid's Mia's Scandal.

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Everyone loves a sexy hero, and from the moment that Martial Art expert Jake Bennett appears on page one of Kelly Hunter's latest Modern Heat he claimed the title, and made it his own.

The book opens at Jake's brother's engagement party, where he awaits the arrival of his long estranged wife, Jianne Xang-Bennett. Kelly masterfully hooks the reader by showing how all of Jake's family are concerned for his reaction. They know he still cares for her, and by showing their concern rachet up the tension until Jianne enters the scene.

The story is set in Singapore, and Jake is an unusual Modern Heat hero, in that he lives modestly in his dojo, where he teaches karate. He's not rich. Jianne is. And she's being relentlessly pursued by a dangerous suitor called Zhi Fu who has tracked her from China to make her his.

Jianne needs to persuade Zhi Fu that she isn't available, and what better way than to reunite with her estranged husband? She moves into the dojo, and soon they're not pretending to be in love any more, but are caught up again in a familiar attraction that threatens to overwhelm them. But Jianne left Jake for a reason, and isn't convinced that he will put her first. And Jake is wary of love after his relationship with Jianne broke up so many years before, and will have to learn to accept both her and her wealth to make the relationship work.

Red Hot Renegade is masterfully written, and a wonderful read. The setting, hero and heroine are all out of the ordinary for a Modern Heat, and all the more powerful for it. Bravo Kelly!

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Thanks for that review Sally. Jake and Jianne both made an appearance in Kelly's previous book Untameable Rogue, so I was already keen to read their story, but your review made me go out and buy it.

Mia's Scandal is part of the The Balfour Legacy, a series of special releases by Harlequin.

We often read Italian heroes but it was really interesting to read an Italian heroine for a change. Michelle Reid caught the flavour of Mia's passionate temperament and her difficulties with the English language without it ever being intrusive. What I really loved was that she was a truly spirited heroine, though she is also a complete 'innocent', having grown up in rural Tuscany. She stood up to the hero at almost every turn and gave as good as she got, even venting her temper on him. And she was never TSTL.

But the best thing about this novel was the Greek hero. Nikos might possibly even be the most enticing hero I've ever read. And yes, that includes Darcy! If you've read the book, please let me know if you agree.

Michelle Reid tends to 'head hop' a lot, but it is a testimony to how well this book hooks the reader that after a while it no longer annoyed me and I just had to keep turning the pages.

My overall impression, as much because of the evocative writing as because of the cover, was one of colour. Whenever I think of this book I'm going to remember it as black & scarlet. The book was sensual, seductive, and as delicious as dark chocolate. In spite of the constant POV shifts and the glaring use of the word 'likened', this book is going on my keeper shelf.