Helene Young giveaway winner

I just realised we never announced the winner of the Wings of Fear giveaway. Congratulations to Mary Preston who commented:

I would love to try Australian romantic suspense because it’s ours. The very essence of the book would be familiar, and this familiarity of location and turn of phrase would heighten the suspense for me. Romantic suspense I just adore for not being saccharin sweet.

Anna Campbell featured in The West Australian

The West Australian recently published an article, Aussies say love is king, by Alecia Hancock, featuring historical romance author Anna Campbell:

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Last weekend I went to Melbourne for the R*BY awards, but I thought I’d let you in on some of the things I heard and experienced which I think would be of interest to other readers. You can find all my photos on Flickr.

Anna Campbell now with Grand Central

Anna Campbell has changed US publishers. Her next book will be published with Grand Central, which is part of the Hachette group. She will still be published under HarperCollins in Australia. I had a chat with her about the Australian format for her books (C format, which costs about $30 retail), but I’m not sure if the change will have an impact on the Australian editions.

Dymocks trade stall

The trade stall by sponsor Dymocks (234 Collins St), managed by the lovely Helen, was fantastic. They arranged books in bookshelves and had couches and seating set up for browsing. It was lovely and cosy and so entirely appropriate for a romance convention.

Plenary session – Publishing panel

I heard separately from two people who attended the Saturday morning plenary session featuring representatives from various publishers. The impression I got was that the Australian (non-romance specialist) publishers were very reluctant to even say ‘romance’ and that they didn’t want to know who ends up with whom in the first page.

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Anna Campbell is one of Australia’s most beloved romance authors. She has won the Australian Romance Readers awards for Favourite Australian Author two years in a row, and for Favourite Historical Romance three years in a row. Stephanie Laurens coined the term ‘Regency noir’ to describe Anna’s debut novel, Claiming The Courtesan, a book which generated quite a bit of controversy among readers. Her latest book, Midnight’s Wild Passion, was released in May.

Website: www.annacampbell.info
Social networks: Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Genre: Regency historical romance
Latest release: Midnight’s Wild Passion

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My Reckless Surrender by Anna Campbell

Dramatic, thrilling and, yes, a little over the top—vintage Anna Campbell.

This is a modified version of the winning review in the ARRC2011 Reader Challenge. (Here’s a photo of Kat receiving the award.)

‘I want to be your lover.’

Diana Carrick presents the Earl of Ashcroft with an offer too good for a notorious rake to refuse. So when he declines, she doesn’t know whether to feel relief or despair. She’s made a bargain with the devil: a child in exchange for marriage to the man who controls  the estate in which Diana grew up and which she loves.

Tarquin Vale, Earl of Ashcroft, is intrigued by the mysterious proposition but senses a bit of, well, dodginess about the entire affair. But this is a romance, after all, and his willpower is no match for Diana’s allure. Ashcroft embodies that favourite of all historical romance heroes—the rake who’s not really a rake—with an added bonus of being powerful enough to vanquish villains.

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Today, the Australian Romance Readers Association confirmed that the 2011 readers’ convention will run from Friday, March 25 to Sunday, March 27 at the Swiss Grand, Bondi Beach.

Keynote speakers include Australian author Anna Campbell (historical romance), New Zealand author Nalini Singh (paranormal romance and urban fantasy) and US author Cindy Gerard (romantic suspense).

You can read more details about the keynote speakers at the ARRA blog.

I’M SO EXCITED! So … who’s coming to Sydney?

Because ARRA members just wanna have fun. (And read!)

The Awards dinner was excellent. I’d never heard of Cello’s Restaurant before, but it’s a beautiful venue—although the lifts are a challenge if you’re the least bit claustrophobic. High ceilings, chandeliers, and even a grand piano to the side—it’s just reeked of old world romance.

If you follow  us on Twitter, you’ll know that Tracey O’Hara issued a challenge that eventually resulted in a call for a bling off at the Australian Romance Readers Awards dinner. And do you know what I love most about my fellow ARRA members? They said, Bring it!

You can see photos of the bling off here and here. (I’m missing a lot of blinged out people, though, so let me know if you have any more links!)

Sadly, I got carried away and left my outfit shopping so late I turned up to dinner, well, quite UNfashionably late. Others also suffered for the sake of bling and leather, with stories of shoes superglued to the kitchen floor, the case of the killer heels, and last-minute

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Anna Campbell took out the top prize in last night’s Australian Romance Readers Awards, held last night at Cello’s Restaurant in Sydney.

Campbell was voted Favourite Australian Romance Author of 2009 and also won Favourite Historical Romance for her fourth novel, Captive of Sin.

The night was a bonanza of wins for Australian authors, with Paula Roe, Kandy Shepherd and Bronwyn Parry taking the prizes in their categories.

Roe won Favourite Short Category Romance for The Magnate’s Baby Promise. Shepherd won Favourite Contemporary Romance for Love is a Four-Legged Word. Parry won Favourite Romantic Suspense for Dark Country.

New Zealand author Nalini Singh, who was also the guest speaker for the event, won Favourite Continuing Romance Series for her Psy-Changeling books and Favourite Sci-fi, Fantasy or Futuristic Romance for Angel’s Blood.

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Romance Book of the Year finalists

The Romance Writers of Australia has announced the finalists for this year’s R*BY Awards:

Short Sweet
Claire Baxter — The Single Dad’s Patchwork Family
Melissa James — A Mother in a Million
Marion Lennox — His Island Bride
Fiona McArthur — The Midwife’s Baby

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Romance authors in the media

Australian romance author Anne Gracie was interviewed on the 9am show with David & Kim (click on Entertainment, then Books).

Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan, the women behind popular romance blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and authors of Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels, were interviewed by Alan Brough on ABC Radio in Melbourne. Hilarity ensues.

Coming not so soon

I’ve been told that the Australian release date for Anna Campbell’s next novel, Captive of Sin, is December 16. Just in time for Christmas, but still so much longer than the US date. I don’t know if I can wait that long, to be honest. I haven’t seen any images of the cover yet.

Parallel import restriction debates continue

The Productivity Commission was due to hand in its report regarding restrictions on the parallel importation of books to Australia on Wednesday, but they’ve asked for and have been granted an extension until June. Until then, I expect we’ll hear more about the issue in the media. For some good arguments from both sides:

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Swan & Edgar bar (via the Booktagger blog)

First things first: Happy Mother’s Day to all you mums, nannas and mums-to-be! I hope you enjoyed a good breakfast in bed and that the kids’ arts and craft project churned out something useful or appealing or edible or easy to hide. :-D

Apologies for slacking off last week with the Bizzo, but this one is absolutely chockers with good romancey stuff, so I hope it’s worth the wait.

ARRC09 audio recordings

Audio recordings from the Australian Romance Readers Convention in February are now available. Click here for more information and an order form.

International Association for the Study of Popular Romance

The IASPR is offering yearly, 5-yearly and lifetime memberships. Click here for more information. The IASPR, University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, and the Romance Writers of Australia are sponsoring an academic conference on Popular Romance Studies.

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