awwww...

I just found out that my Australian cover for my first Modern heat novel Getting Down to Business won the cover contest at last weekend's RWA conference!!!

They sent me this neat certificate which is all too much fun.

Thanks to all who voted and to Jackie Johnson of Hqn Sydney who picked it out.

for those who asked...

Dashing Dad, Minxy Mum, Stunning Suze, Lovely Luke (with my gorgeous nephew Rory in arms), Me, Handsome Hubby

luke loves suze, suze loves luke

I've been away the past few days, as I was given the amazing honour of being my little sister's bridesmaid.

Being that we live two hours apart by plane, I was the lucky one to organise a hen's tea, to help choose her gown, to get a pretty dress, and to be her witness, while so many of her wonderful friends were stand-in 'maids' over the past weeks. Hugs to them all!!!

After a week of grey skies, Saturday dawned beautiful and blue. We had our hair and make-up done by a gem of a woman who brought champagne and fudge, and she made us look smashing. Driving to the park with my dad chaffeuring the two of us was crazy fun. Walking through the park, a respectable half an hour late, was a walk I'll never forget. The serene blue sky, the warm sun beating down upon our face in the middle of winter, my arm linked with my sister's, our dad on her left, a dirt path beneath our feet, a promenade of tall trees to either side, sounds of kids playing, the scent of BBQ on the air.

And then the moment we crossed the bridge to find all of Suze's friends, family and her beautiful beau Luke, looking resplendant and very much in love. From the stories I heard later he was like an exited puppy all week just itching for the big day to hurry up and arrive.

Luke has been a part of our family for as long as he saw my sister across a crowded bar. They have a beautiful, sweet, clever little boy two months older than my Boo which only made the family bigger. But watching them have their day on Satuday was more gorgeous than I can even say. The vows, the look on his face, the number of friends who travelled from far far away...just gorgeous. Heck, I tried to say it in my speech which was officially the blubberingest bridesmaid speech ever. I apparently made everyone cry, and not from any kind of beautiful romantic prose but because I was such a happy mess.

Particular great moments of the weekend were: Suze and Luke carving their initials into the tree under which they wree married, the four of us in the bridal party stopping off for a breather and a Guiness at a local pub between the ceremony and the reception giving everyone there a thrill ;), dancing close with my hubby, and watching my sister's strong little family standing together at the pub the next day.

Suzie Q and her Luka, hugs and love to you both!!!

getting down in japan

Every other day I seem to get books in the mail; my translations from all around the world. And it's always a happy little surprise to see where a book has come out. Especially when the cover is one I've never seen before!

I madly flick to the inside front cover, or if it's Japanese as the one here is, to the back of the book to see which story it might be. This one here is the Japanese translation of my first ever Modern Heat GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS. And I just love love loooove it!!!

Don't you think there is so much fun and and flirtation in this picture? He is just super yummy and ubder confident which Flynn most definitely is, and she has a smart, slightly uptight look about her that is perfect for my Abbey.

If you'd like to see who I cast as Flynn and Abbey, check out my hero and heroine inspiration pages. If you want to know more about the book, go here. Or if you can read Japanese head on over to the Harlequin site to find out where you can buy the book!

I'm still here!

Just holed up on the dining room table with my old laptop to do revisions as if I work on the office computer the internet is a siren song, calling me to google pictutes of my next hero ;). So in the interests of finishing the book I'm being a good girl and staying out of this room.

Well, except now I'm here. Just for a moment. And google is not open. Okay, I'm heading back to the dining table!

That said the dining table is reeeeealllllly close to the fridge.

Here's a piccie of the hero I'm revising to show you I am happy where I am...

we have teeth!

Or *a* tooth to be more precise.

Mis Boo and I were at Play Group today and we were all comparing our kids' latest tricks. Counting off those with teeth we were the only gummy ones left. Then when I got home, the little miss was poking out her tongue, over and over again. Feeling inside her mouth, naturally assuming it must be because she must have had a swollen tongue in reaction to trying a new food for the first time today, there was a sharp spot on her gum!!!

Tooth!!! La di dah, so exciting!

So does the tooth fairy come only when losing teeth or do you think she'll make an appearance for such an auspicious occasion? I might leave a little velvet pouch beneath Boo's mattress tonight, just in case...

* sniffle *

My poor little Boo and I have had a cold - her first ever. And while she's been a right little trouper - mostly ;) - I've been a right old sook.

Thankfully we bought ourselves a brand new mattress so the moments my sweet hubby looked after bub so that I could have a rest, boy oh boy oh boy I almost decided never to get up again. Apart from actually being a mattress rather than a lumpy old sunken misshapen blob that we used to have, this one has a fancy pillow top design which truly makes you feel like you're lying on clouds. Lie down for five seconds and you feel like you've slept an hour. Like you've had a massage.

Why I am not lying there now I have no idea. Especially when I'm smack bang in the glorious middle of a Liz Fielding classic with another underneath it itching to be read.

Okay, bye!

come and get it!

THE MAGNATE'S INDECENT PROPOSAL is now available online in North America!!!

I am sooo excited as this is my first ever Harlequin Presents release. Harlequin Presents is such a popular, beloved category of romance novels, that I feel so proud to have been given my only little niche in the family.

But back to the book...

Romantic Times gave it four and a half stars! And said: "Ally Blake's The Magnate's Indecent Proposal (4.5) starts with an amusing premise and quickly moves into an entertaining love-at-first-sight tale. It's full of humor, witty dialogue, a hero to die for and a heroine that's his match in every way."

Buy online today from eHarlequin

conference countdown

Only three weeks until the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Melbourne! If you are coming along and looking to find out more about our beautiful city in a most pleasurable way, Kate Cuthbert of the Courier Mail has given a guide to which books to read to whet your appetite.

ROMANCE Writers of Australia holds its annual conference in Melbourne this month, so it is fitting to highlight some novels set in Victoria's capital.

For those who like to read category romances, Melbourne is your literary oyster, as many local authors choose to set their stories at home. Nicola Marsh's latest novel, The Desert Prince's Proposal, takes place in both Melbourne and fictitious Adhara, a desert country whose prince needs a bride before he can be crowned king.

Marsh writes for the Harlequin Sweet line, so category readers looking for something a little hotter might turn to Ally Blake, who writes for the Sexy Sensation line. Her novel, The Magnate's Indecent
Proposal, introduces a classic opposites attract story, which highlights Melbourne's restaurant culture.

Read the rest here...

And a huge congrats to my Harlequin Romance and Pink Heart Society buddy Donna Alward for winning the Best Traditional gong at the Booksellers Best awards in San Fransisco!