A Hero's Blog Hop

What’s my ideal romance hero?

I usually define  him as an alpha-minus, beta-plus man, who retains the best and loses the less attractive qualities of each type.

So my hero has strength of character without being domineering, self-assurance but in a non-aggressive way, and of course that indefinable charisma which makes him stand out in a crowd. He’s successful too, not because of any inherited wealth or position, but through his own efforts in whatever sphere of work he has made his own. On the beta-plus side, he’s sensitive and caring, and maybe struggling with some inner insecurity which he keeps hidden.

In His Leading Lady; Kyle Drummond is a successful theatre producer/director, with a string of successes in both London and New York. To begin with, he comes over as overbearing and arrogant, but there are reasons for this. Jess, after disliking him intensely when they first meet, soon discovers a deeply caring man behind his public persona. He’s also pretty good in bed too (but then so are all my heroes!)

One reviewer said, “And OH MY do I wish Kyle Drummond were real!!! His character was so incredibly perfect and smoldering.”

In Fragrance of Violets, Jack Tremayne is a journalist and best-selling writer. After making a name for himself, he’s in a position where he can concentrate on the serious issues he wants to research such as global warming and alternative energy sources. At the same time, he reveals his compassionate nature as he tries to rebuild his relationship with Abbey, understanding all the reasons why she is so full of distrust.

In the words of a reviewer: I fell in love with Jack. What a heroic character. Considerate and patient with Abbey's presumption all men are like her absentee father, Jack works in the background to ensure Abbey can achieve her heart's desire. 

In Changing the Future, Paul Hamilton is a world-famous volcano expert, no longer the unknown university researcher he was when he first met and fell in love with Lisa. After an acrimonious break-up, both their lives have changed when they meet again. In contrast to his careful and guarded professional research, Paul has to deal with his tendency to jump to the wrong conclusions over the things that happen in his personal life.

Here’s the moment when he realises the truth:

His son. He let the words roll round in his mind. They sounded so good. His son.

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt. So did that mean—?

He heard the echo of Lisa’s words: No, you’ve got it all wrong!

The truth hit him like a thunderbolt. He had got it all wrong. Utterly, appallingly, catastrophically wrong.

For a few seconds he struggled to breathe. Lisa had been telling the truth, but he’d refused to believe her denials. Unfounded suspicion, and, yes, jealousy and resentment, too, had led him to make the most disastrous decision of his whole life.

In Her Only Option (my next release, due out in November), Ross McAllister is a well-known archaeologist, working on his dream project in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. He’s articulate, determined, and dedicated. His ex-fiancee told him he was married to his work, and she couldn’t compete with that. Realising the truth of her words, he’s decided there’s no room for a woman in his life. Until he meets Neve Dalton, a cruise ship tour guide, who shares his passion for Ancient Egypt. He knows he has met his soul-mate and, when their relationship is threatened by an unknown enemy, he won’t rest until he has discovered who is behind the threats.

My critique partner describes Ross as “one of those guys so interesting and smart, he doesn't see how gorgeous he is.”

You can find all my books at my author’s page on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Paula-Martin/e/B005BRF9AI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

And now I’d be interested to know which of my heroes sounds the most attractive to you!

Or, if you’ve already read one or more of my books, which one did you like the best (and, of course, why)?

I’m offering a PDF copy of either His Leading Lady, Fragrance of Violets or Changing the Future (your choice) to one person who leaves a comment here (please remember to leave your email address so I can contact you if you’re a winner!)

And now read on for even more exciting news!

Over 100 Authors and Bloggers are sharing their favorite things about romance heroes, a character post from them, and what we love about romance and men in general.

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yes, there will be over 100 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. So you can enter over 100 times!

What are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: The following Swag Pack! (USA only – apologies to my fellow Brits!)

Go here to visit the other participants in the bloghop, and increase your winning chances!

http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.co.uk/p/a-heros-hop.html

April, A-Z and Ambleside

It’s April 1st which means the start of the 2012 A-Z Blogging Challenge, and this year I’ve decided to have a theme: the English Lake District. It’s a beautiful area of lakes (as its name suggests!) and mountains which covers an area of almost 900 square miles in the county of Cumbria in North West England.

The southern part of the area is about 60 miles from where I live and I know it very well. I’ve been going up to ‘the Lakes’ since I was in my teens. My parents bought a caravan there, which I ‘took over’ from them in the 80’s and I went up there as much as I could, with my own two daughters (and often one or more of my friends or theirs).

I’ve also set several of my novels there: ‘Fragrance of Violets’, published in February 2012 (see left side panel), ‘Changing the Future’ (due for release in June 2012), and my current ‘work in progress’.

So come with me on a journey of discovery around this wonderful area in North West England. I’ll give you some interesting facts about many different places, as well as some personal reminiscences.

Today we start with: Ambleside, a small town with a population of about 2,600, situated at the head of Windermere, England’s largest lake.

To the south of the town are the remains of the Roman fort of Galava, dating from AD79, one of the small forts built to guard the Roman road to the coast. The name of the town, however, comes from the Norse “A-mel-saetr’ meaning river – sandbank – summer pasture.

In 1650 the town was granted a charter to hold a market, and it became a commercial centre for agriculture and the wool trade.

Nowadays, tourism is the lifeblood of the town, which provides a base for hikers and climbers, and it is usually very busy during the summer season. There are plenty of hotels, guest houses and restaurants, as well as 10 pubs or bars within a quarter-mile radius. In addition to the inevitable souvenir shops, there are also a number of shops dealing in specialist arts and crafts, and stores selling clothing and equipment for outdoor pursuits.

One of the most interesting buildings in the town is Bridge House, a small house built over the small river called Stock Ghyll. It’s said that at one time a family with six children lived here, with just one room downstairs and one room upstairs. Later it was used as an apple store, and in 1926 it was sold to the National Trust which now looks after it.

The photo of the right is an old postcard which I kept because the two people sitting near the Bridge House are myself and my friend and I think it was taken in the early 60’s. As the house is probably the most photographed place in Ambleside, we probably didn’t even realise at the time that we were being photographed, let alone that we were going to appear on a postcard! Artistic licence has changed the colours of our jackets to look like the modern, brightly coloured kagools.

We often used to go into Ambleside if it was raining (which it frequently does in the Lake District!) to do some shopping, have a pub lunch, and then spent half the afternoon in one of the coffee shops.

Find the other A-Z participants here

First Feedback for 'Fragrance of Violets'

It's always a nerve-wracking time, waiting for the first feedback about your recently released novel.  No matter that my critique partners loved it (eventually, after they'd helped me to sort out a few tricky moments) or that my publisher accepted it, or that my editor thought it was a great story...

Far more important is what the 'average' reader thinks of it!

This week I've had two messages about "Fragrance of Violets"which have not only helped to put my mind at rest, but even resulted in the fist in air 'yesss' moment.

The first came from a reader in California:
"I thoroughly enjoyed Fragrance of Violets. It's another page turner, especially with that secret hovering over most of the story. I kept wondering when someone was going to spill the beans, because of course, there had to be the conflict between our couple before we could have the happy ending. :-) I'm glad to see that another novel has been accepted by your publisher so that I have more to look forward from you."

The second came via Facebook this morning:
"Wow, excellent, what a rollercoaster, you owe me a box of tissues!"
I hope that means tears of happiness when the hero and heroine finally overcome their problems and conflicts and get together for their happy ending!

So - two satisfied readers. Hope it's going to be third time lucky too!

By the way, today I'm interviewed on the Romantic Novelists' Association blog. Finally I'm starting to think I really AM a Romantic Novelist!
http://romanticnovelistsassociationblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/interview-with-paula-martin.html

Six Sentence Sunday - Fragrance of Violets

My new contemporary romance, 'Fragrance of Violets' set mainly in England's beautiful Lake District, will be released next week by Whiskey Creek Press.

Here's more of Chapter 1, after Abbey has heard that Jack Tremayne has returned to the her Lake District village home.






Abbey knew her mother’s resentment, and that of many people in Rusthwaite village, stemmed from an article Jack had written for the local newspaper eight years earlier.

“He won’t be welcome here,” Mrs Garside said. “I bet Mike Barron won’t even serve him with a pint at the White Lion. No-one here has forgiven him."

No, probably not, Abbey thought. She hadn’t forgiven him either, but her reasons were different.

More next week!

Please check out more of the 'Six Sentence Sunday' writers here.

Six Sentence Sunday - Fragrance of Violets

My new contemporary romance, 'Fragrance of Violets' set mainly in England's beautiful Lake District, will be released next month.
Here's more of Chapter 1, after Abbey has heard that Jack Tremayne has returned.

Jack Tremayne back in the village? A confused mish-mash of feelings threatened to shatter her into as many pieces as the small figurine she'd just dropped. Feelings she thought she’d long since submerged; happy memories of the fair-haired good-looking boy who’d been her inseparable childhood companion.

No, she told herself firmly, she had to forget all that. She had to think only of the night he’d tried to seduce her and then had the nerve to blame her for leading him on. Her jaw tightened as she thought of the bitter fight which had followed, when he’d said so many hurtful things.

More next week.

Check out the other 'Six Sentences' here.

Out with the Old, In with the New

So here we are, January 2nd, two days into the New Year. January, of course, is named after the Roman god Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions. He's usually pictured with two faces, one looking to the past, the other looking to the future.

Although the old year has gone, I don't like to think of it as 'out with the old'. Each year that passes adds more experiences to our lives. Sometimes, if it's been a 'bad' year, we may wish to forget it, but it's still worth remembering the lessons we may have learned, even from the bad times.

In fact, 2011 was a pretty good year for me. My novel 'His Leading Lady' was published in June, and I had two more novels accepted by Whiskey Creek Press, which will be published in 2012. I re-started this blog early in 2011, initially as one of the ways of promoting my writing, and also tried to become more active on Facebook and several yahoo groups.

Far more rewarding than any promotion, however, has been the opportunity to make so many new friends. Sometimes I've interviewed them on our group blog 'Heroines with Hearts'; sometimes I've been invited to be a guest on their blogs; some I've 'met' through the yahoo groups; others via Facebook or Twitter.  While some remain as 'acquaintances', others have become 'real' friends, and I'd like to say a big thank you to them all.

What of 2012? None of us has any idea of what will happen in the future, either in the world, or in our own lives. We may have some things already 'scheduled' for us - for example, my novel 'Fragrance of Violets' is due for release at the beginning of February, and hopefully 'Her Only Option' will be released later in the year (although I don't yet have a release date for that), but obviously other things will happen during the year that are impossible to predict.

I don't usually make any 'New Year Resolutions' - mainly because I tend to break them well before January has ended!  But I do have a few goals. One of them is to be more organised with this blog, which I've let slide recently.

So my plan (at the moment anyway!) is to try to post something at least 3 times a week. I'll sign up for Six Sentence Sunday each week, and post six sentences from my newly released or about-to-be-released novels.

I'm also challenging myself to join in the weekly blogs with the Facebook blogging groups, GBE2 (on Tuesdays) and The Writers Post (on Fridays).  Of course, I might slip in some other posts on the other days - so watch this space!

Meanwhile, Happy New Year to everyone, and I wish you everything you wish for yourselves in 2012.