Ally Blake Romance Author - Blog

Latest news from Australian romance author Ally Blake, writer of fun, fresh flirty romance novels.

Thursday 30 July 2009

the perfect pressie

My hubby gave me a camera for my birthday. A fancy one. With lenses and several different flash settings and aperture thingies and white balance and too many functions to even begin to pretend I've figured them out as yet. But it's beautiful. Truly. Even on auto, point and click and the kids look like they've stepped out of a Pumpkin Patch catalogue.

In fact I've have spent so much of the past couple of weeks following my poor daughters around with the thing permanently hanging from my neck. Toddler Girl hit a point where she started complaining every time the camera came out. Hence the number of photos of her pretending to cry ;). Then she realised by my taking photos she could continuously look at pictures of herself in return. The mirrors in the house are getting a break ;).

Is it strange that my husband and I, rather than settling back in bliss that we are finally alone, manage to spend every evening scrolling through pictures of the girls after they've fallen asleep?

Thanks Bub, for my perfect pressie - the two beautiful girls I am loving taking photos of.

Tuesday 21 July 2009

red-hot read!

GETTING RED-HOT WITH THE ROGUE is out now in bookstores across the United Kingdom!!!
The reasons behind the excessive use of exclamation marks are:
a) this is my second book out in the UK this month. The first DATING THE REBEL TYCOON is a Romance novel. If you haven't yet grabbed yourself a copy of DATING THE REBEL TYCOON, it's available in stores in the UK and North America all this month, so run, don't walk and grab it now ;). Or buy it here.
b) GETTING RED-HOT WITH THE ROGUE is one of my fave books of mine ever. The hero is delicious, the heroine a girl I adore, the story fun and frolicking from page one, and the memory of the writing of this book was oh so sweet. I truly had a ball.

You can grab a copy of GETTING RED-HOT WITH THE ROGUE now across the UK.
Wait til October in Australia and New Zealand. Or November in North America.
Or get an eBook sent to your computer today!

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Sunday 19 July 2009

the cutting room floor :: the working title

Last but not least on my journey through the leftovers lying about on the cutting room floor after editing my latest Harlequin Romance DATING THE REBEL TYCOON, (check out an older post to see what I mean), I can reveal my working title was...

HEAVENLY BODIES

I love an apt working title and this was one of my particular faves ever, I must admit! My heroine Rosie is an astronomer, and being that it is a romance novel both Rosie and Cameron are fairly goreous on the eye. So it fit like a glove.

DATING THE REBEL TYCOON - which was the title my editor came up with - fits the book to a T as well. Cameron is a rebel. He's the outcast son of the prominent Kelly family. And that's all Rosie and Cameron think they are doing at the beginning of the book - dating. Oh little did they know what I had in store for them!

To give you an idea of what I mean. here's a taste test you won't find anywhere else...

Cameron said, 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,’ Rosie 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.’



Read more about DATING THE REBEL TYCOON here.
Buy the book here. Or on bookshelves across North America and the UK now!

And don't forget to read about Cameron's brother Dylan in GETTING RED-HOT WITH THE ROGUE. Out now across the UK. Australia & New Zealand in October. North America in November.

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Friday 17 July 2009

the cutting room floor :: ufo sightings

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 final question which was...

Where does Cameron do most of his UFO spotting?

This answer scomes straight from my husband - who of course is the inspiration behind ALL my heroes. Hi, honey bun!!! The man is a Youtube addict. And what can he on there for hours at a time? Look up footage of UFO sightings. My heroine Rosie is an astronomer, so come on, I had to right???

Now this little bit of my hubby in Cameron wasn't completely taken away, it was moved from one character to another. It was orignally a comment made by Cameron's sister's best friend Tabitha. Got that? Needing - again - to cut down on banter, Tabitha's one scene was cropped massively. But I loved the reference so much I kept it, sliding it on over to my willing hero instead!

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!

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Thursday 16 July 2009

the cutting room floor :: the weepy movie

In a giving kind of mood I'm giving you all some insight into some bits that hit the cutting room floor when editing my current Harlequin Romance novel DATING THE REBEL TYCOON! Check out this previous post to see what I'm yabbering about.


The question I'm answering for you today is: Which weepy movie did Cameron admit to Rosie he had cried through?




Only one of my favourite movies of all time! And one during which I blubber until my face is so wet I can barely see...Dead Poets Society!
Seriously, can you blame him?


This tidbit was cut from a bar scene which I edited right down because though I thought the dialogue was hilarious ;) it didn't do much in the way of propelling the romance forward of shuffliung it back. Ditching such scenes is one of the crueller parts of this job!


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!

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Monday 13 July 2009

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!

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Saturday 11 July 2009

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!

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Thursday 9 July 2009

'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!

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Monday 6 July 2009

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.

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Sunday 5 July 2009

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!!!

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Thursday 2 July 2009

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!

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