Milestones & Counting Blessings

I really wanted to come up with something hugely profound and awe-inspiring for my last post before I turn, ahem, "21". Over the last couple of weeks I've wracked my (according to my daughter) ever-dwindling brain cells for earth-moving subjects.

In the end, I've decided to keep it simple. As I move into another decade, I'm reminded how transient life can be and with that in mind, I thought what better way to say goodbye to the old decade and hello to the new than by counting blessings?

So here are a simple (writerly) five:

1. I'm thankful for my lovely CPs who bolster me and whoop for me and are always there with "you can do this". I treasure them without measure.

2. The lovely people I've met throughout my writing journey. Writing is such a solitary craft but the knowledge that I can reach out to my wonderful writer friends is priceless to me.

3. I'm thankful for the equally wonderful books out there that make me want to become a better writer just by the magic they produce. There's nothing more inspiring IMO than reading a book that gets you so jazzed up you can't wait to get writing yourself.

4.  Twitter! I never thought I'd say this about any social media, but I love this medium so much for the inspiration and camaraderie I get when I log on, I can't not mention it. Twitter Rocks!!

5. Chocolate - enough said.

So there you have it folks. And to make the chocolate lovers out there really jealous, I thought I'd cheekily post a replica pic of the cake I intend to have tomorrow (mine's being decorated). It's a chocolate curly wurly cake from Konditor & Cook and each slice tastes like a little piece of heaven...

Please feel free to share what you're thankful for. We'd love to know.

The Year of the Minx

Happy birthday to us!

This week this blog turned 2. To celebrate the occasion, Sally Minx is generously giving away free copies of her first published novel, Catch Me a Catch, to all our lovely blog followers. You can download the book from Amazon or Amazon UK.

A year ago we were just like any other one year old. We were just standing on our feet and taking our first wobbly steps. A few of us were published with smaller presses, a few were working with editors, a few of us were still clinging to the nearest chair and wondering how we were supposed to get across the great divide between published and unpublished.

But 2012 is a whole new ball game. We're excited toddlers now, running around as fast as we're able and sticking our fingers into every open lighting socket we can find. It's been so electrifying a start to the year that we're calling this The Year of the Minx.

You already know that Maya Minx has sold to Harlequin Presents, but behind-the-scenes we have 5 (!) Minxes all working on revisions for various editors, one with very exciting news we're not quite ready to share, and the remaining two both have editors excited about their work.

Can it get any better? Yes it can!

To continue the festivities, we'd like you to share your good news with us. Today is the day for sharing the joy, whether it be big or small. All good news is worrth celebrating. And in return for sharing, you get to help yourself to a cupcake.

Final Winner Announcements

Thank you so much to everyone who supported our May Minxy Birthday Bash. It was so much fun, and my only wish is that we could have given everyone prizes!

The winners of last week's contests are: Joanne R, who has won the Riva bag from Lorraine Minx, and April Vine, who has won a copy of Catch Me A Catch from Sally Minx.

And now for the big one that everyone's been waiting for ... ta da ...
The Grand Prix winner is Teresa Ashby, with Nas Dean as runner-up. You can email your contact details / addresses to minxesofromance@yahoo.co.uk

Congratulations to all of you!

Apologies to all of who who struggled to login or comment with Blogger this month (as I did!). If you're still struggling, there's some helpful advice on how to fix the problem here: http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/

What’s the word? Win the bag that won Mills & Boon’s comp

The first prize this week is an exclusive giveaway: the wonderful Riva bag made by Lorraine Minx, which won the M&B bag contest recently!

Here’s a picture:

This week’s competition question is:

How many minxes are there in the Minxes of Romance?

Leave your answer in the comments box, and we’ll pick a winner on Friday!

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In this post, I’d like to share one of my ‘secret weapons’ called Visual Thesaurus. I’m a very visual person, I like to mindmap stories, and find straightforward thesauruses sort of dull, so when I discovered this one, I was in heaven!

You type in the word you overuse and want an alternative of, and this is what you get…

A box comes up over all the dots and words when you hover over them, and you can click on another word and it will create a lovely expanded word map to see even more alternatives.

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Check in on Wednesday to see our second weekly prize!

Winners and the Grand Prize Contest

The winners of last week's prizes are:

• Winner of the scarf from The RainForest Site is Scarlet Wilson.
• Winner of an ebook from Maya Minx is Karen.

Ladies, please email us on minxesofromance@yahoo.co.uk to claim your prizes.

Grand Prix Contest

As part of our First Birthday Bash, we are running an amazing Grand Prix contest. In order to enter, you'll need to be a follower of this Blog, and the question you need to answer is simple: How old is Minxes of Romance?

The first prize includes:

• A signed copy of Sally Clements' Bound to Love
• A "Careful or you'll end up in my novel" t-shirt
• A personalised Minxy notebook courtesy of Minx Jo P
• An Amazon gift voucher valued at $10 courtesy of Minx Sri

One runner-up will also win the following:

• Claire Robyns' historical novel Betrayed
• An Amazon gift voucher valued at $10 courtesy of Minx Maya

This contest closes on Sunday 29th May, and the winners will be announced on Monday 30th May.

Author Spotlight - Jan Jones

Jan is a leading light in the RNA (Romantic Novelists Association) and we are honoured to have her here with us today.

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

I was already a published writer of short stories and my debut romantic comedy novel Stage by Stage had been published the year before and had won the RNA Joan Hessayon Award. Since then, the publisher has discontinued the imprint, so I’ve moved into Regency territory. I have continued to write short stories for women’s magazines.

2. Where did you get the idea from for this particular book?

Fortunate Wager came from the character of my nearest town, Newmarket, in Regency times, and from Caroline, who was a secondary character in Fair Deception but who wanted a book of her own! She is the daughter of a gentleman trainer, who would like to train racehorses herself. Unfortunately, this is not allowed in 1817 Newmarket.

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

Still writing. Still being published. I’d like to move into contemporary-with-laughs territory

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

I recently re-read Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones. I wish I’d written most of her books, but this one most of all as it is my favourite

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

I don’t think so. I always knew I was a storyteller.

6. Do you find writing love scenes giggle-worthy or cringe-worthy – or neither?

Neither. I love them. When they are right for the moment in the story, I find the right words.

7. What's the most romantic moment of your life so far?

That first kiss. That’s always the most romantic moment.

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

Nothing, really. I went into it without preconceptions.

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

To go with my own voice. My own advice would be to never give up.

10. Tell us about your latest release.

The Kydd Inheritance is the prequel to my Newmarket Regencies. It stars Nell Kydd, desperate to hold together the family estate in the light of her brother’s disappearance and her evil uncle’s machinations. When Hugo Derringer shows up, she would like him to be friend rather than foe, but she is unsure what his motivation is for helping her.

11. What’s next for you?

I’m currently writing the third of my Penny Plain gentle mystery serials for People’s Friend, I’m also writing an atmospheric serial for Woman’s Weekly and the 4th Regency. Also polishing up a contemporary. And I have a sheaf of short stories waiting for a moment to write them. I’m sure there used to be more hours in the day…

The Fortunate Wager and The Kydd Inheritance are both published by Robert Hale. You can find Jan at her website and on her blog, where there are links to all her books, and you can follow her on Twitter.

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Today's Minxy book give-away comes courtesy of Minx Maya. To stand a chance to win, just leave a comment on this blog post. The winner will be announced at the end of the week.

More chances to win (and Release Valves)

Writing just for fun

During the April Challenge, when I was supposed to be re-writing Innocent Abroad, I found myself starting a new story which is now at nearly 6,000 words. This new story started out as nothing more than a bit of self-indulgent fun. It doesn't fit into any of my current plans, and I have absolutely no idea where the story is headed, but it's turned out to be a great release valve.

Whenever I'm feeling stuck or stressed about the WIP, I switch over to this new story and write a scene. Because it has no plot and no direction, I can write anything I want. So far I have a jumble of scenes which bear absolutely no relation to each other. But they make me feel like I'm achieving something, get the creative juices flowing, and I'm able to go back to the WIP in a much happier frame of mine.

Do any of you have writing 'release valves'? Pleased share with us how you get over feeling stuck by a story.

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Minxy Birthday Contests

Congratulations to last week's winners, Rachael Johns and Gaelikaa. This week we have another two contests, and we're announcing our Grand Prix contest.

First up this week is a chance to win this stunning necklace, courtesy of Minx Suzanne in Scotland.

Since yesterday was Mother's Day in most of the world (apart from the UK who celebrated the event before Easter already!), all you need to do to enter is leave a comment below telling us why Mothers are special people.

On Wednesday, you'll have a chance to win a Minxy ebook, and at the end of the week we'll announce both winners.

* * *

The Grand Prix

For the rest of the month of May we'll be running a Grand Prix contest. In order to enter, you'll need to be a follower of this blog, either here on the blog itself or on Facebook's Networked Blogs. And the question you need to answer is simple: How old is Minxes of Romance?

The first prize will include:

• A signed copy of Sally Clements' Bound to Love
• A "Careful or you'll end up in my novel" t-shirt
• A personalised Minxy notebook courtesy of Minx Jo P
• An Amazon gift voucher valued at $10 courtesy of Minx Sri

One runner-up will also win the following:

• Claire Robyns' historical novel Betrayed
• An Amazon gift voucher valued at $10 courtesy of Minx Maya

This contest will close on Sunday 29th May, and the winners will be announced on Monday 30th May.
Good luck!

A Winner!!

On Monday our month long giveaway to celebrate our birthday was launched. We asked which title the newlywed Prince William and his bride were given. Everyone who entered was correct, the answer was the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

 I enlisted the help of my son to choose a winner. Here he is with his newly emptied Easter egg box full of winners' names.


Head down choosing the winner ...



And here he is looking slightly shocked that he's picked the winner!! RACHAEL, you've won a Minxy meercat!

If you can email me either at my own email address (click on link on my blog) or otherwise use the Minx email address to let me have your snail mail address and I'll sent it to you :-)

Congratulations on being our very first winner!!