Red Hot Sale

In time for Cyber Monday, my new release, along with Carmen Falcone, is going on sale for 99cents this SUNDAY. That's two books, two lives, one hot price. And to top it off we're running a giveaway!

From Sunday the 30th November to Sunday the 7th of December, get ready to be nice...and naughty, in fact get ready for Christmas to be Red Hot. To celebrate Cyber Monday, Red Hot Christmas is on sale for 99cents AND Michele de Winton and Carmen Falcone have a Red Hot prize pack up for grabs. The nice? Eight backlist titles. The naughty? A walk on Red Hot role in one of their next books. Your nominated names (we need two, real or fictional) will be used in a Red Hot Romance, for a character in a new book by both Michele and Carmen. You can even nominate a name as a great Christmas present! We've got nice and naughty sorted!

A Rafflecopter giveaway! 



We'll be over at a bunch of Facebook parties too, staring on Cyber Monday and finishing with the Twelve Romances of Christmas promo! Hope to see you all there. And if you've missed it, Red Hot Christmas has 35 FIVE STAR reviews, and counting! Its my first ever indie, so thanks for reading!

x Michele

Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the Get Wicked with Entangled Blog hop! It was seriously massive! We had a whole bunch of trick or treaters turn up at our door for Halloween and Mr Three was almost beside himself with the costumes. And now that holiday is down...its onward. Omigod, Christmas is coming. And with it comes a new release from me and my buddy Carmen Falcone! We're putting out a double book bundle of Sizzling Good Hotness complete with happy ever after. The countdown is on as it's coming 17th November! My title is Christmas Secrets, and when Gabby Phillips discovers her old flame Nicolas Morganti is...in the building, things get all kinds of hot under Santa's collar.
I hope you'll enjoy.

And on that note, the winner of the blog tour - chosen by my quality randomiser (putting all the names in a hat and getting Mr Three to pick one) is Rebecca Westmoreland! Congrats. I'll be sending you an ARC of our upcoming title soonest!

Back soon with an early reveal of our steamy hot cover...ooooh aaaabs, naked aaaabs.
x Happy reading
Michele

Conference season

Many of you will have been to RWA in the states lately - sounds like a blast - and downunder our conference season is starting too. Sydney, Australia is just about to kick off their extravaganza and New Zealand's conference happens just after. 
It's a great way to catch up with writers and readers and for someone like me who has been hiding at home for the last TWO YEARS looking after small people, it's a reason to get out of the house and see grownups. Yeay daddy day care. (Can you tell I really dont get out enough?)

If you're going to be there and see me wandering looking like a lost puppy, do stop me and say hi. Promise that I'll shake myself out of my baby haze and provide scintillating conversation. Okay, maybe not scintillating, I don't want to over promise. But I'll happily chat about the glory of being surrounded by such a great group of romance writers and I cant wait to hear what everyone has been writing and reading.
Have a great one,
x Michele

When all else fails - make cake

We had an epic storm here this week and power was out. So no computers and by the time power came back on I had run out of child free time. Instead of writing, I therefore made cake.
A while back I offered to make a birthday cake for a friend's daughter's birthday party. It turned into a bit of an epic cakeathon and a lovely mermaid was the result. (You can see her on my facebook page)  But that turned into me saying yes to another cake for another birthday party, and thus, my weekend was full. Full of gold coins, bounty, pirates and general chocolate treasure!
Given that loads of people ate it with happy munchiness, asked me to and it was relatively straight forward, I thought I'd share the step by step of it here. Hope you enjoy!

Step one - Make cake ;-)

(I made a banana date cake, less sugar because of the dates and bananas, and because it was for three year olds, I figure less sugar is good. Also. Icing). You could of course use a packet, or buy a sponge. All would be fine.




Step two - Carve. 

I cut the rectangular cake in half, then cut a 45 degree slice out of the "lid", used the cut out part as a wedge and buttercreamed the whole together. If you use sponge, you might need to put toothpicks in to stabilize, but if you're using a heavier cake (like I did) you should be sweet without.







Step three - Ice

You should really do a crumb coat here (a thinish layer of butter cream) to hold all the carved crumbs and make the next layer nice and neat. I was gong to do that, but then I figured, three year olds dont really need all that sugar. So I only did one layer. You can decide which you do - if you're using sponge you probably want to do the two cos sponge will give you more crumage ;-)
I used chocolate buttercream icing. And I made a darker chocolate icing which i layered on with a knife and planed into the other icing to give a woodish effect. Kinda.


Step four - decorate (and ice some more)

I made the silver stud-work with white fondant which I brushed with silver edible chiffon (dust). Then I just pushed edible silver balls in for the studs. I also used white fondant brushed with the silver for the skull (you can see it in the photo at the top of the post). Then I just pushed a bunch of gold chocolate coins and Hersheys kisses into the icing. Made a small piece for the candles, and spread breadcrumbs (you could use biscuit crumbs) over a thin layer of buttercream to act as sand.

Next time I'll have to do a book cake!!! Enjoy and happy reading (and cake eating.) x Michele

That's right party people, it's Entangled Publishing party time. Three years ago this month, Entangled started publishing category imprints - Indulgence kicking off in February with some seriously exciting results. Wow, what a ride. The gals at this publishing house have pushed every single boundary to bring new and exciting voices to market, and I for one continue to thank them every day, especially Publisher Liz Pelletier and my fabo editor Alethea Spiridon Hopson!
I hope you've enjoyed reading the category imprint titles as much as I have and long may they keep a coming. I'm signed up with them for a long wee while yet!
There's going to be plenty of shenangians on Facebook and I'll be linking to them so come join the paartay.
Happy Reading!
x Michele

Billionaire Buddies

So, as promised, I popped over to chat with Nina Croft this week and Rachel Lyndhurst is here today! Billionaires, Millionaires, men with money all round! Happy Billionaire Bundle everyone.

Are your heroes always billionaires?

Thus far they all have been! But I’ve written a few heroes since that are mere millionaires, so keep your eyes peeled for  these guys in 2014 and beyond. I’m a long way from offering up a man who isn’t seriously wealthy, though …

We all write about billionaires, but just what makes rich men so sexy?

I think at the root of it is the fact that money is power. Like it or not, it’s a fact – there aren’t too many broke men at the top that I can think of. Well, may be the Dalai Lama is pretty influential, but I’m not so sure about the ‘sexy’ there … Rich men have the means to make things happen and protect the people they love and care about. The chances are he can afford staff, so his woman can have the most ridiculous manicure and high heels if she wants to because someone else cleans the loo and puts the bins out. Public transport is out – chauffeured cars, jets and yachts are his thing. And diamonds … if you want a biggie, the guy has got to be rich. He also has the means to make the best of himself and look as sexy as he possibly can: private gym, bespoke tailoring, a natural tan, top notch dental and medical care – he’s got it all going for him. No toupees though …. We don’t want those. In summary, his bank account is big enough to make genuine dreams come true and help save lives whether that’s old Aunt Ida’s trip to Paris or a cute spaniel’s life-or-death heart operation.  He rocks.

Do you write what you know? (as in how many billionaires are you acquainted with, and can you introduce me to any?)

Ah … now this is where I have to confess I make it all up as I go along. I’ve never met a billionaire, I don’t think. I saw the Queen at distance once, but we never spoke. Now millionaires are a bit easier; David Gandy would count as he must have a few million stashed away by now – I’ve met him. I think your best chance of bumping into a billionaire is to hang out in places that reek of money, marinas, motorsport events, rock festivals, central London hotels on New Year’s Eve that kind of thing. I must get out more!

So we all love men with money – but what’s the next most important attribute you think a hero should have?

Well, he needs to be generous with all that money, I say. Nobody likes a miser, but he mustn’t be too flash with the cash either, that’s just vulgar. No diamond encrusted platinum watches. No gold taps. Or gold teeth! A nice charitable foundation that he has a genuine connection to would be good. I hate to say it, but, for me, he has also got to be drop-dead gorgeous as well. Shallow? Moi? When it comes to fantasy heroes the answer is yes!

Do you prefer your billionaires to be self-made men or old money?

Personally, I prefer the guy to be a self-made billionaire, but you’re pushing the realism sometimes if he’s under thirty years old. It depends how realistic your editor wants you to be. Old money is fine if it’s not tainted in some way and maybe gave him a head start in getting to his own first billion. However I think it’s important to show that your hero has grafted hard and made sacrifices to get where he is today and he needs to be able to relate to ‘normal’ people. Unless that’s your source of conflict, say with a sheikh or royalty of some kind. 

What are you working on right now, a billionaire or something else?

Right now, I’m going through final edits for a book which will hopefully release in February 2014. The American hero in this is not a billionaire, but he’s pretty wealthy and he’s built his millions up from nothing. Along side that is edits for a southern European billionaire – he’s stinking rich and will hopefully emerge in July 2014. Then there’s a bunch of Greeks – no paupers there, and then a Northern European who definitely won’t have billions, but enough to make dreams come true that’s for sure. And on the back burner, but very much on my To Do list, is a hero with very soft brown eyes who doesn’t appear to have a job or any money at all …

What was I saying about having to get out more? It’s not going to be easy!

Thanks for having me, Michele!!

Blurb for The Spanish Billionaire’s Hired Bride:

He bought her with cold, hard cash, but can she stop him from stealing her heart?

Blackmailed to marry against his will, Ricardo Almanza needs a wife before he’s thirty, and time is running out. A notorious playboy, marriage is the last thing he wants, but his stepmother’s sexy, debt-ridden personal assistant is the perfect solution. He makes her a business deal she can’t refuse—one million euros for three months as his wife. He might even enjoy being married to her … if she doesn’t kick the crap out of him again.

Helen Marshall can’t believe she’s considering Almanza’s outrageous proposal, but she must help clear her parents’ debts or they face financial ruin. The small print on the marriage contract changes to read three months as his wife in every way—including in the bedroom. Has she gotten in too deep, or will she need a new contract addendum, extending their marriage forever?

You can buy The Billionaire Bundle from just about anywhere that sells digital books, but here are two major links:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Billionaire-Bundle-Entangled-Indulgence-ebook/dp/B00G1DBCBQ

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-billionaire-bundle-michele-de-winton/1117194508?ean=9781622663774

About Rachel Lyndhurst

I write full-time now my children are at school, but I'm still a teeny bit proud of my law degree and accountancy qualifications. I've also had a lot of fun in the past working in the space industry, pharmaceuticals, insurance, a supermarket, a bus station, a railway depot, and a lingerie department.

I live, and write, surrounded by laundry and old newspapers most of the time with my daughter, son and The Exec in Fareham, on the south coast of England. Sometimes I can smell the sea from my back garden and I have grand designs on a luxurious garden office one day. Or a castle, I'm not fussy. 

When I'm not working, I do enjoy a good rummage through  a decent antique shop. Oh, and wine and expensive lipstick are non-negotiable .

I love to hear from my readers (especially the male supermodel ones), so please feel free to drop me a line or leave a comment on my blog: http://www.rachellyndhurst.com/ .

Rachel’s social networking links:

http://www.rachellyndhurst.com/

https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/rachel.lyndhurst.7

https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/RachelLyndhurst

https://twitter.com/RachelLyndhurst  Twitter: @RachelLyndhurst

http://www.goodreads.com/rachellyndhurst

Bundle me up Baby

It's out! The Billionaire Bundle is sitting on virtual bookshelves now and with hot international company, Dylan Johns is in fine wealthy company. If you didnt get a chance to read The Boss and Her Billionaire when it first came out - this is a great way to feast your eyes/mind/imagination on not only Dylan, but also Luc and Ricardo from Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire and The Spanish Billionaire's Hired Bride. Oh yusssss!
And because us ladies who like billionaires like talking about them we'll be hosting each other this week - I'll be over with Nina Croft on Wednesday, I'll have Rachel Lyndhurst here on Thursday and Rachel has Nina over on her blog on Friday. Fun times ahead!
So if you want to get yourself some fine looking, smart talking, all paying, bling providing billionaires - this is your book! Grab one from Amazon, or Barnes and Noble today!

And because we love all you fabo readers, we've got a giveaway too! Get rafflecoptering and you could win a Billionaire prize pack including a range of our backlist titles, a Millionaire Monopoly set (yes, really, how cool) some Billionaire chocolate cash and a $10GC! Click here to enter!

Dont forget about the other Indulgence releases too - Inara Scott has her fabo Falling for Mr Wrong out today too! Deeeeelicious.

I'll have Nina here on Wednesday so do pop over and say hi! Happy reading.
x Michele

It's a boy!

It's been a little while since I stopped by here. Sorry! But I have good reason. My wee man arrived early and pretty speedily into the world on the 6th of October at the very civilized hour of 5.29pm.
It wasnt exactly as planned. And it caught everyone by surprise, but maybe because of that, it was a whoooole lot better than the last time I did the crazy baby birthing thing.
This is a slightly different post to usual. Nothing to do with books. But everything to do with getting up close and personal. I did contemplate titling this post - "In honor of independent midwives" but I didn't think it would be as catchy. I probably should've however, because I had the most wonderful midwife and have no doubt that if she hadnt been focused on giving me the natural birth I so desperately wanted, everything would have gone very differently. Perhaps I should explain.
In New Zealand, we're lucky enough to have a system where women can choose to have an independent midwife look after them for the duration of their pregnancy and for about six weeks after the birth. These fabulous women are on call, ALL THE TIME, can come to your house, meet you in hospital and have the respect and admiration of thousands of women and doctors around the country. It makes for building an intimate and genuine relationship, and for creating a level of trust that I dont know would exist in an ad hoc situation (I wouldnt know of course, having never experienced it).
I had a lovely midwife for my first pregnancy, but the birth itself ended up in a very emergency style C-section with lots of medical staff worried, bright lights shining, and a total lack of control and composure for me. I had really wanted as natural a birth as possible and instead I got all the pain of a full labour complete with "Instructed pushing" - "Push Michele, Push, harder, harder, no that's no good," AND then had all the pain afterwards of recovering from a C-section. Sigh.
So second time round I really hoped to avoid both surgery and medical intervention in general. Introducing my fabulous midwife, who kicked out all the "Oh dear, a previous C-section" worriers and just go on with the job. (Giving birth after a C-section comes with risks - this series has some great information if you're interested) Two hours after arriving at the hospital, I had a new baby boy, (a whole bunch of stitches) and a huge sense of relief that I'd managed to get this one out before his tightly wrapped cord did anything nasty to his oxygen levels.
After looking at the trace, and the faces of some of the hospital staff, it was pretty clear to me that my midwife really did me a great solid and I'm so grateful. Ending up with another emergency situation with all the panic and fear of the last one would have possibly got me very down and I'm so pleased to have met someone who both trusted the birthing process, me and her years of practical experience in working when a situation was dangerous and when it was something that just needed to be got through to move on to the next level.
I hope this hasnt been a whole lot of rambling. And if you have no interest in birth or babies, then I apologise - I'll be back talking about books REAL soon - I've got some exciting news about The Boss and Her Billionaire to share I promise.
But if you're a mom, want to be, or are just interested in the birthing process, I'm glad to have shared and I'd encourage all interested parties to have a read of the midwife thinking website I linked to above. It;s interesting to hear how this process goes around the world and the different experiences women have of this universal process.
Anyway, thought I'd just share my news. We're not sleeping much at the moment - but we'll get there - and in the mean time - I've been reading LOTS of books. Get ready for a whole lot of new ideas ;-)
Happy reading and thanks for stopping by
x Michele

Brand Shiny New

Oh my excited goodness me! This!

Yep. Book two is out in the world - and you can hear me - and my sad sorry cold filled voice, being excited about it! If for some reason this doesn't work in your viewer - you can pop to youtube instead. More importantly than my iffy in person voice though, Felicity is awaiting your e-readers. Love Love and Found is sitting pretty on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as we speak. Hope you love her voice! 

 But wait, there's more! Two of the September Release titles from Entangled Publishing's Indulgence line have heroes stuck on deserted islands so, because we can, there's a hero smackdown contest running all this week on Facebook, culminating with a Twitter party on Friday! And there are prizes. Of course! Click here for the rafflecopter action. 

Friday the 13th, heroes dressed only in towels, Team Rick vs Team Marshall, the banter's already begun on twitter and it's not even close to Friday. Hope you can come and join in the fun.

And, because I've been waiting to share till the book was officially official - the blurb!

Felicity Williams can't remember the last five years thanks to an accident that wiped out her memory. She fled her old life in hopes of starting fresh and found refuge working on a cruise ship. But her past is coming for her…

Rick McCarthy wakes after a climbing accident to discover that his business partner and fiancée has quit her job and disappeared. He’s trying to accept that she’s run out on him, but now he needs her signature to close a deal that could literally be life or death. He’ll go to any extreme to get what he needs…even if that means becoming someone else to win her back. But a little lie becomes a large mess when they’re stranded on a deserted island together, and old misunderstandings might ruin their chance at new love…

Remember I'm also hosting the other three Indulgence authors this month, so stay tuned for some smexy blurbs, bios and boys. It's a release party baby, and you're invited!
Thanks for stopping by and Happy Reading!
x Michele