the cutting room floor :: the uber band

As part of my "what got cut out" from my current Harlequin Romance novel DATING THE REBEL TYCOON pre-publication series of posts (check out an older post to see what I mean), here's the answer to the second question which was...

Which rock band did Cameron's school chum Callum originally plan to be a roadie for before becoming an orthodontist instead?

The answer? Aerosmith! they'd be a pretty cool band to follow round right???

Why was this bit cut out? Again - and as most often happens with me - it was originally there in a scene in which Cameron was being funny with his old friends but it was about a guy who never appeared in the book and made no difference to whether or not Rosie and Cameron were going to get together or not. So poor Callum, and his childhood dream were cut!

Here's what poor Callum missed out on - Aerosmith singing "Dream On".

Read more about DATING THE REBEL TYCOON here.

Buy the book here.

And don't forget to come back to see the answers to more cutting room questions over the next few days!

the cutting room floor :: the cardboard hunk

As part of my "what got cut out" from my current Harlequin Romance novel DATING THE REBEL TYCOON pre-publication series of posts (check out my last post to see what I mean), here's the answer to the first question which was...



Which "gorgeous movie star" was originally depicted in the cardboard cut out that kept Rosie company on cold lonely nights???


From the moment I dreamed up a life-sized carbaord cut out to be Rosie's makeshift, live-in boyfriend, I had the image of Keanu Reeves from Point Break in mind. All dark and slippery and muscly and wet, holding a surfbaord and making any guy who came into her home feel inadequate in return. Every man bar gorgeous, confident Cameron Kelly of course. Though perhaps there was a twinge, just for a moment ;)...

Keanu was cut and changed to "gorgeous movie star" in copy edits. A taste thing? Legal reasons? I was only flattering so I'm not sure that was the reason ;). These things happen. Sometimes you fight to keep 'em. Other times you save your battles.

Read more about DATING THE REBEL TYCOON here.

Buy the book here.

And don't forget to come back to see the answers to more cutting room questions over the next few days!

'dating the rebel tycoon' - the cutting room floor

Right here, just for you lucky souls who have stumbled upon my corner of the web today, I'm going to give you some nice little treats that might make your reading experience of DATING THE REBEL TYCOON my current Harlequin Romance, a little more fun.

When one writes a book, some bits and pieces do get edited out. There are word limit reasons, legal reasons, taste reasons. And for whatever reasons I am going to reveal some insider goss about my lead characters which disapeared by way of the editing chopping block!

First, I'm gonna make you guess. How much fun is that???

Which "gorgeous movie star" was originally depicted in the cardboard cut out that kept Rosie company on cold lonely nights???

Which rock band did Cameron's school chum Callum originally plan to be a roadie for before becoming an orthodontist instead?

Which movie did Cameron admit to crying during?

Where does Cameron do most of his UFO spotting?

What was my working title?

Watch this space for the answers over the next few days.

Read an excerpt from the book to get a feel for the characters.

Or better yet buy the book, read it, and see what you think!

it's my birthday!

Check out my post on the PINK HEART SOCIETY today. As a biffy pressie the lovely eds there gave me a coveted Male on Monday post and I have taken full advantage highlighting not one but five lovelies for the day. It's my party and I'll adore five men if I want to!!!

Here's a pretty piccie of one of them just to whet your appetite.

dear reader...

As a special treat on it's big release day I'm giving you my Dear Reader letter for DATING THE REBEL TYCOON:

Dear Reader,

Did you know that this year is Harlequin’s 60 birthday? Well it is!

Thinking about it takes me back to the much-loved, dog-eared favourites my grandmother kept in boxes galore under her spare bed. I can still smell the old paper, see the creased, faded covers of books read and re-read by a true fan, and remember opening book after book to check if I had read the story before. And then came a new opening line, a new first time a heroine saw her hero, and an old familiar rush of anticipation, delight and warmth.

To tell you the truth not much has changed! Okay so maybe a little. The Harlequin books I read now I have picked up in bookstores not from under my grandmother’s bed. Many of them are now written by wonderful, wise, warm women I consider friends. And I am absolutely honoured to be a writer of Harlequin romance novels myself. But in the reading, that old familiar feeling that sneaks up when I sink into a story has never gone away.

The very idea that out there in the world, a reader might pick up one of my books, read the first line, and settle in knowing that she will be in for a fun, flirtatious, moving, sigh-filled ride amazes me everyday.

So thanks Harlequin for letting me be a part of your world, then and now. Happy birthday and many happy returns!

Love

Ally xxx

DATING THE REBEL TYCOON received 4 1/2 stars from Romantic Times magazine

and is out now in North America and the UK!!!

new 'modern heat' guidelines

Length: 50,000 words
Executive Editor: Tessa Shapcott
Senior Editor: Bryony Green
Editor: Joanne Grant
Editor: Jenny Hutton
Editorial Assistant: Megan Bassett
Office: London, U.K.

Modern Heat is a vibrant, sexy new stream of editorial that launched in the U.K. in 2006 and has been published within Harlequin Presents since May 2008 (two every month). Upmarket, glossy and sharply contemporary, these stories sparkle with lively dialogue and sizzling sensuality! They offer all the international glamour, passion and alpha-male heroes you expect from Modern/Presents, with a flirty young voice and a whole load of sass!

Written by talented, original authors such as Heidi Rice, Natalie Anderson, Kelly Hunter, Kimberly Lang, Anne Oliver, Anna Cleary and Lucy King, these entertaining romances reflect the life experiences of today’s young women, within a chic, glamorous and usually urban setting. The heroines are often your twenty-something girl-about-town but there's no compromising on the Modern Heat hero: he must be very alpha and absolutely to die for! There’ll be sparks flying when these two meet—and nothing short of fireworks once they get to the bedroom!

We are on the lookout for new authors who can convey that young urban feel with 21st-century characters, simmering sexual and romantic tension and, of course, that all-important hot sex! And our top editor tip: there is no better way to fully understand the Modern Heat experience than to read as many of them as possible!

For those of you hoping to one day write for Modern Heat, to aid you in your research ;), GETTING RED-HOT WITH THE ROGUE is out mid-July across the United Kingdom and Ireland, in October in Australia and New Zealand, and in November as a Harlequin Presents in North America.

Check out an excerpt here, or you can buy it online now. The fabulous Book Depository website has free delivery worldwide, and they also have my backlist Modern Heat novels A NIGHT WITH THE SOCIETY PLAYBOY and THE MAGNATE'S INDECENT PROPOSAL available still as well!

2009, the year of...

2009 is the year of Astronomy. And wouldn't you know it, my July Harlequin Romance DATING THE REBEL TYCOON in the UK right now! - has an astronomer heroine.

Here's a sneaky peek at a bit of a telephone conversation between Rosie Harper and Cameron Kelly, a man with his feet planted firmly on the ground who still manages to make her see stars...

‘You’re in a profession which must be lousy with men. How is it you haven’t succumbed to sweet nothings whispered in the dark by some guy with a clipboard and a brain the size of the Outback?’
‘Lousy is the operative word,’ she admitted.
‘Mmm. It can’t help that your colleagues all have Star Trek emblems secreted about their persons.’
‘Oh ho! Hang on a second. I might be allowed to diss my fellow physicists, but that doesn’t mean you can.’
‘Is that what I just did?’
‘Yes! You just intimated all astronomers are geeks.’
‘Aren’t they?’ he said without even a pause.
She sat up straight and held a hand to her heart to find it beating harder than normal, harder than it even had when she was a green teen. It had more than a little to do with the unflinching, alpha male thing he’d found within himself in the intervening years. It spoke straight to the stubborn independence she’d unearthed inside herself.
‘You realise you are also insinuating that I am a geek?’ she said.
This time there was a pause. But then he came back with, ‘Yes. You are a geek.’
Her mouth dropped open then slammed back shut. Mostly because the tone of his voice suggested it didn’t seem to be the slightest problem for him that she might be a geek.
‘Rosalind,’ he said in a way that made her want to flip her hair and lick her lips and breathe out hard.
‘Yes?’ she sighed before she could stop herself.
His next pause felt weightier. She cursed herself beneath her breath and gripped the teeny tiny phone so tight her knuckles hurt.
‘I realise its last minute, but I was wondering if you had plans for dinner.’
Um yeah, she thought. Cheese on toast.
He continued, ‘Because I haven’t eaten and if you haven’t eaten I thought it an entirely sensible idea that we make plans to eat together.’
Oh? Oh! Had Cameron Kelly just asked her out?

This book was full of magical moments that seemed to just happen on their own, and Rosie Harper coming into the world this year was just one of them. You can read all about the starstruck moments as they happened here.

DATING THE REBEL TYCOON is available now online from www.eHarlequin.com in North America and www.millsandboon.co.uk

more babies

We've had some new members of our household arrive over the past two days.

Toddler Girl loves turtles (because Mary Poppins rides one) so I suggested to reptile-loving hubby she might like one as a pet. So now we have two penny turles swimming about in a tank in our kitchen. And boy are they cute!!!! Teeny tiny and seriously adorable.

Somehow that translated to "Since I acquiesced to turtles how about you buy yourself more scary looking reptiles for yourself!"

So now we are proud co-inhabitants with two shingleback lizards, which in the end aren't nearly as scary looking as I thought they'd be. They're actually quite beautiful with heads shaped like dinosaur heads and the most amazing markings on their skin.

For those of you who adore Arrested Development as much as we do the lizards are called Buster and Lucille 2. The turtles are as yet name-free. If Bridget had her choice they'd be Woody and Buzz. Any other ideas most welcome. (We have no idea if they are boys or girls so let your imaginations run wild!!!)

winter wonderland

Today is the first day of winter down under. It's my favourite season. Not least becuase I was a winter baby and my birthday is just around the corner ;).

I love winter fashion. I love coats and hats and scarves and Ugh boots. I love going for walks all rugged up so that only my face gets cold and my nose turns icy and my lungs burn from it. I love when the footy season hits its stride. I love hot dinners. I love soft wheat heat packs. I love snuggling with my two warm as toast kids. I love flanelette sheets. I love the sound of the heater kicking in. Basically I love winter!

Happy Winter down under!!!

stars, stars, and more stars

Taking time out from snuggling with my heavenly delicious newborn and chasing after Toddler Girl to let y'all know about the gorgeous four and a half star review I just received from Romantic Times for my July Harlequin Romance DATING THE REBEL TYCOON.

A chance meeting with developer Cameron Kelly, her high school crush, turns astronomer Rosie Harper's carefree life upside down. Their whirlwind romance catches Cam by surprise too; he's used to moving on the minute things get serious, but something about Rosie makes him want to stay. With Rosie, Cam is brave enough to face his family at a party for his estranged father, but the evening doesn't end well. Winning her back won't be easy, but Cam's a determined man. Fast-paced and sexy, graced with great characters and funny dialogue, this one's a standout from start to finish.

How lovely is that??

Then the fabulous Nancy who is super fast and has read the book already had this to say on eHarlequin : Ally Blake is fast becoming one of my favorite authors and this book really brings home to me why I like her writing so much. She has a gift for stringing words together in a way that makes my heart sing for the hero and the heroine. She pens believable characters, no matter their circumstances, trying to make their lives work in a way that does not cause undue pain. But when attraction strikes they have to grow and change. She creates strong heroines and alpha males in touch with their gentler side. Her heroine thinks of her hero, “a man who might be bullheaded, but then so was she. While he was also gentle. Gentlemanly. Incredibly strong. Generous. Funny. Attentive. He had a huge heart and the soul of a dreamer.” What a guy! I love this story—well done!

Awwwwww!!! Thanks Nancy!!!

DATING THE REBEL TYCOON is the first of my books about the ultra fabulous Kelly family and is out in July in North America and the UK with other markets to follow. Watch my website for more details!

baby news

A quick note to let you all know that my baby daughter has arrived! (How pleasant and civilised does that sound? As though she appeared on our doorstep wraped in a big pink bow ;))

Veronica was born (again with the passive terminology - it's an avoidance technique I'm sure!!) last Friday the 15th and she's truly a beautiful, gorgeous, sweet, yummy little soul.

As to where I'll be the next little while? Sitting back with her warm little head tucked under my chin, her soft little body cuddled in my arms, drinking in new baby smell while Toddler Girl runs an ablosute muck!

Ally
xxx

where am I?

Just a quick update to let you know I'm lying low at the mo'. How's that for poetry???

My latest opus is with my editor, and I'm taking things verrrry easy - eg. putting up baby furniture, socialising with my girlfriends as much as I can, catching up on a backlog of movies I haven't seen (Marley & Me, Nights in Rodanthe and Australia in the past few days alone!!!), shopping for last minute baby things, packing and repacking my hospital bags, washing baby things. Okay, so running around like a mad chook!!!

But mostly I'm hanging out with Toddler Girl - reading her fave books, drawing pictures(I'm amazingly good at doing Humpty Dumpty and Iggle Piggle upside down, not so good at numbers), watching the same scenes from Mary Poppins over and over and over, chasing her around the house as much as a basically 9 month pregnant woman can - while I await those first pangs to come from nowhere!

So if you don't hear any updates from me for a while, that's why!

'Til then, don't forget BARGAINING WITH THE BILLIONAIRE is out now! It's a 3 book collection with my HOW TO MARRY A BILLIONAIRE alongside stories by Robyn Donald and Kay Thorpe. Those of you in the UK can pick up a copy in store, for everyone else the collection is now available as an eBook.

Happy reading,
Ally
xxx