Couture Corsets and Publishing Books

Today I published Lady Sarah's Redemption on Smashwords and bought the beautiful couture vintage corset, below - on impulse.

For months I'd been eyeing out the beautiful range of boned corsets at What Katie Did but as they cost around the two hundred (UK) pounds mark, I confined my corset envy to admiration from afar.

Now, it just so happens that my publisher, Total-E-Bound, is sponsoring a competition where they are contributing 100 pounds towards a Couture Corset for readers who are entered into the draw when they buy a copy of one of four books in the Bodices & Boudoirs collection. This includes my erotic English Civil War romance The Cavalier (details on my Beverley Oakley Books page).

Buy now for a chance to win
a Couture Corset
BUY

So there I was, preparing my blog about the release of The Cavalier and the Couture Corset competition for my August 9th slot at The Romance Studios and was checking the link to What Katie Did when, lo and behold, I discovered they were holding a fantastic sale with some lingerie reduced to nearly a third of the price, including the beautiful 'Antoinette' corset, below, and above, right that I'd fallen in love with. It was all the impetus I needed to click the Buy button.
So, with a competition like the B&B's Couture Corsets, why not do the same!

  Sale Showgirl Velvet Antoinette Corset

The link below will take you to the full collection...

What Katie Did

Half price clearance sale - now just £75!

This breathtakingly beautiful steel boned corset could be the piece-de-resistance of our Showgirl collection. Or, the icing on the cake, if you'll pardon the pun!

The base for the design is our Antoinette overbust corset once again, but the resulting creation is anything but standard. The fabric is scarlet satin, overlaid with black floral flocking, which is echoed in the rich black velvet overboning and modesty panel. Opulent, decadent, just like the Dauphine herself, the Velvet Antoinette features a balconette bustline for gently uplifted and firmly supported breasts, and gored hips for a ravishingly wasp-waisted silhouette.

It's suitable for most shapes, and for seasoned and inexperienced corset-wearers alike as it's easy to wear and comfortable despite allowing a greater waist reduction than our non-gored versions. Wear it on a night out and you'll be stopping traffic... wear it on a night in and you might have the same effect on hearts!

I was delighted when the rights to my first three Regency Historical Intrigues reverted to me a couple of weeks ago.

To celebrate, I'm offering for a short time the kindle edition of LADY SARAH'S REDEMPTION for an introductory price of only 99c at Amazon: http://tiny.cc/wht6hw

Here's the blurb:

When spoiled heiress Lady Sarah Miles assumes the identity of a drowned governess to escape marriage to her best friend, James, she thinks her troubles will be over within the fortnight.

Arriving at the grand estate of reformist MP Roland Hawthorne to take charge of the tortured widower's rebellious sixteen-year-old daughter, Caro, Sarah unexpectedly forms a strong attachment to the occupants of her new household.

But when Sarah’s deceit plays into the hands of an unexpected adversary who uses Caro as a pawn in a high stakes game of revenge, Sarah must risk everything she holds dear - including her love for Roland - to redeem herself.

Me in my wedding dress and why I want a corset

Yesterday I posted in a blog at lovermaoncepassion about the fabulous competition to win a Couture Corset my publisher Total-E-Bound is sponsoring.

All you have to do to be in the draw is buy one of the four novellas from the Bodices and Boudoirs collection, of which my novella, The Cavalier, is one. (See details here.)


The Cavalier is a poignant tale of blighted love - and renewed hope - set during the English Civil War in 1648. Normally I write Regencies but I couldn't resist the opportunity to write about a time in history when the conflict was so raw. Brother could be fighting brother or, in this case, a Puritan woman is faced with her lost love - who turns out to be second-in-command of the King's Men currently besieging her castle.

Eight years before, Elizabeth had married the brutal Puritan, Silas Drummond, against her will. Nevertheless, she's been a dutiful and obedient wife.

Then Charles Trethveyan marches into her life offering her a bargain that will save her hated husband's life.

A bargain she can't resist until she learns it's based on a lie.

Not knowing that Charles is acting to save her life, Elizabeth succumbs to her husband's demands that she make the ultimate sacrifice - for the sake of honour.

Death is imminent unless the truth can be revealed in time.

Fortunately I married under a lot less duress than poor Elizabeth and got my Happy Ever After without the angst she suffered. I've posted a picture at of me at www.loveromancepassion.com running through fields of purple Salvation Jane in the middle of the Clare Valley wearing the 1961 French-designed wedding gown my mum wore, and which I was able to squeeze into 30 years later. However, since I'm thinking of wearing the dress to a Fancy Dress you can see why I'd be contemplating a corset.

Read a Steamy Historical and Win a Couture Corset

Read a steamy historical and be in the draw to win US$155 towards a Couture Corset.

More competition details at  Love, Romance, Passion where I’m blogging on corset envy.

Win a Couture Corset

I've always wanted to own a beautifully-made lace-up corset. There are some fantastic ones at www.whatkatiedid.com in the UK.

For a limited time my publisher, Total-E-Bound is sponsoring a competition in which those who buy a copy of one of the four novellas in the Bodices & Boudoirs collection - which includes my sensual and dramatic story of lost love returning, The Cavalier - goes in the draw to win 100 pounds towards a beautiful corset.

So what are you waiting for? Click on the link and check out the four stories - all very different, very heartfelt, sensual and dramatic.

Why Not Drop By For a Chat?

Hi there - why not drop by for a chat? For the next 24 hours I'll be here:

http://www.theromancereviews.com/forum/

Under Events à Sizzling Summer Reads Party July 2012 à Author Chat: Beverley Oakley

I've been answering questions all day but am very happy to answer more.

How I Could Have Cut 23 Years Off My Writing Apprenticeship

As part of my (exhausting but fun) Blog Tour I'm over at Romance Junkies today where I've made a list of do's and don't to cover what I learned in the 23-years between writing my first book and getting a contract.

How I Could Have Cut Years Off My 23-year Writing Apprenticeship!  @http://www.romancejunkies.com/rjblog/

The Cavalier Release Day!!

I’ve always adored historicals in all time periods. For a long time I’d been wanting to write this story: that of a virtuous, loyal wife confronted with the greatest conflict she could ever face – the return the one man she truly loved. I then thought, what would be the *only* way she might be disloyal to her husband? That’s when the setting came into play – a civil war and a scenario where she’s blackmailed into it in order to save her husband’s life.

It was a challenge to get the balance right and not tarnish the integrity of my hero or heroine. I tried to make the story as much about honour as it was about desire.

I also think this story might only have worked in the midst of war. Death was hanging over all my characters and I tried to juxtapose the brutality and revenge elements with a real and passionate love that the reader truly had to believe in if the story was to work.

This short novella begins on the eve of battle and ends twenty-four hours later with the occupation of Drummond Castle. In the interim a lot of lives are lost or irrevocably altered but at least someone gets their happy ending. Writing it made me feel that the pen really is mightier than the sword.

Here is the blurb:

Drummond Castle, home of staunch Puritan Silas Drummond and his beautiful wife, Elizabeth, has been besieged by Royalist forces. In a bargain to spare her husband’s life, Lady Elizabeth has agreed to spend the night with the commander of the hated King’s Men.

Second-in-command, Charles Trethveyan, has other ideas. He’s planned this moment since Elizabeth chose to marry Silas eight years before.

When Elizabeth discovers that her former Cavalier lover has taken the place of his superior, she must decide whether Charles is motivated by love or revenge.

Either way, her response will have devastating consequences.

*Note: The Cavalier is one of a collection of four historical novellas in Total-E-Bound’s Bodices and Boudoirs anthology.

You can read more by visiting my website or you can buy the book at Total-E-Bound.

The 'Getting-Published' Tool-Kit

Most writing apprenticeships are a few years. I've heard 'ten' bandied around as a popular, general figure amongst my Romance Writers of Australia friends.

Since mine was 23 years - yes, 23! - I decided to name my blog I'm writing for Romance Junkies' on July 17th The 'Getting Published' Toolkit and list the five main reasons it took me so long to get published.

The blog post is also a celebration of the release of my 6th book - The Cavalier - an erotic English Civil War romantic novella which is due for release on July 16th. That's tomorrow!

In Praise of (Supportive) Husbands

We all love them! I'm over at Manic readers blogging In Praise of Supportive Husbands: http://tinyurl.com/87s3xjw

Blogging topics - Where do they Come From?

With two back-to-back my releases - Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma and The Cavalier - over these past couple of weeks I decided to put together a blog tour. I'm a seat-of-the-pants writer and unfortunately this technique carries through into my business approach.

"Must Organise Blog Tour" became my mantra for a few frenzied days where, in ad hoc fashion I'd submit a few requests, here and there. Although I've been writing for years and my first book came out four years ago, it's only been since January with the release of my first e-book - Rake's Honour - that I've turned my attention to any kind of online promotion.

Prior to that it was all library and author chats for my expensive hard cover releases.

There are pros and cons to the new situation in which I find myself. Obviously the downside is that I'm starting from scratch, in a sense. And, boy, it's a steep learning curve. I've been trying to actually understand Twitter and work out how to discover interesting things that are happening using it. Everyone says it's so easy, but the whole protocol and format is alien. So that's another thing I have to really dedicate myself to getting better at. Yesterday I discovered I could actually condense URLs. I'm reasonably computer-savvy so why didn't I even know that was possible?

Why? Because it's hard enough snatching time to just write the damn book, My promotional abilities are only just now grinding into gear.

However, there is an upside and that's the range of really lovely people I've met online. I've loved blogging at Black Velvet Seductions and Manic Readers, in particular, because the hosts, Laurie and Ivy, are such friendly, communicative and enthusiastic people. It's a real pleasure to prepare something and have a chat with them along the way.

As for topics, they occur in the same ad hoc fashion.

I've had an exciting life both in my own right and tagging along as the 'trailing spouse' to a pilot whose work has taken us to 10 countries in 18 years. That's countries we've called home. I've blogged about that quite often, drawing the correlation between events or themes which have made their way into my work. At Black Velvet Seductions I'm in the middle of three blogging events in which I details events such as Being Locked up in French Guyana and The Hero Who Married My Sister as well as my upcoming blog on the 19th - Why Losing My Job was the Best Thing to Happen to My Writing Career.

Today I've just finished a blog for Manic Readers' July 13 slot. As I sat chewing my virtual pencil trying to think of a topic, I thought how much I was missing my husband who'd been away for five days.... and there I had it:

"In Praise of (Supportive) Husbands."

So drop into Manic Readers on Friday and you can read all about how wonderfully supportive of my writing my darling husband of 18 years has been. I'll be posting the exact address on the day.

Because, as usual, I simply cannot find the exact blog address. Supportive though my husband is of my writing, he does sometimes have a few less than complimentary words on the subject of my navigation skills and my response to that has become my mantra in life:

It might take me longer than most people, but I always get there in the end.

Book Giveaway - Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma

The lovely ladies at Booked Up Reviews have posted an in-depth interview with me about the differences between my two writing names and what's in the pipeline.

There's also a give-away of Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma to one commenter chosen at random so if you want to pop over there and say a word or two, you might just find yourself with an e-copy of Lady Lovett's Dilemma, which has the following blurb:

The eight—year marriage of the once mutually-adoring couple, Lord and Lady Lovett, is rejuvenated through the anonymous counsel of Lord Lovett’s former mistress.

Eight years of marriage has not dimmed Cressida, Lady Lovett’s, love for her husband, but the birth of five children has cooled her ardour.

Now rumours are circulating that the kind, dashing and seemingly ever—patient Justin, Lord Lovett, has returned to the arms of his former mistress and Cressida believes her choices are stark—welcome her husband back to the marital bed and risk a sixth pregnancy she fears will kill her, or lose him forever.

With the astonishing discovery that methods exist to enable the innocent Cressida to transform herself into the vixen of her husband’s dreams without expanding her nursery, she seeks to repay the woman responsible for her empowerment...only to discover her unlikely benefactress was, and perhaps still is, her husband’s mistress.

My last story featured a fiery, feisty heroine so this time it was fun to write about a sweet, passive, happily married heroine. As was normal 200 years ago, Cressida is not equipped with the vocabulary or knowledge to explain that while she wants to continue her loving relationship with her husband she can't bear to be intimate when she knows the consequences may well be another pregnancy. Prompted by her jealous, bullying cousin to discover the truth, Cressida stumbles upon the means to please both her husband and herself, as well as a 20-year-old mystery. It's now that she uses her sweet nature - and hidden determination - to secure someone else's happy ending as well as her own, showing surprising depths of courage, daring and spontaneity along the way.

You can read more on my website: www.beverleyoakley.com or get the book here: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1718

First foray into Self Publishing

My first foray into self-publishing begins this week now that I have the rights back to my three Regency Romantic Intrigues published in hardcover by Robert Hale.

So far I've commissioned artist Lyn Taylor to do the lovely cover. I'm hoping that by the end of the week I'll have done the in-between bits and it'll be available on Amazon. Also, that the process will be started for paperback editions.

Others who've blazed the trail before me have been very helpful with their advice and my darling husband came back from his overseas trip two nights ago with a neat little book outlining tips and pitfalls.

I'm looking forward to beginning and am in the process of going through the book again and making a few changes, though the story line will remain the same as outlined below:

Lady Sarah's Redemption 

When spoiled heiress Lady Sarah Miles assumes the identity of a drowned governess to escape marriage to her best friend, James, she thinks her troubles will be over within the fortnight.

Arriving at the grand estate of reformist MP Roland Hawthorne to take charge of the tortured widower's rebellious sixteen-year-old daughter, Caro, Sarah is caught up in a web of deceit that goes far beyond her own charade.

As Sarah battles her conscience, her courage is tested to extremes when she risks her own reputation to save Caro's. What began as an attempt to win Roland's affections now has all their lives hanging in the balance. Even if Roland forgives her, it may be too late. 

Pre-order for The Cavalier

In a change of policy, my publisher, Total-E-Bound has introduced big discounts for pre-orders - so it's a good time to check out, not just my English Civil War romantic novella, The Cavalier, but some of the other great stories on the site.

I've been very happy with TEB's attention to detail in creating a quality product, especially when it comes to copy edits. This is my third Beverley Oakley sensual historical romance and, like my other books, it's been copy edited five times.

I'm a freelance editor, myself, so I turn in a pretty clean product, but there are multiple editors who query everything from grammar points to whether a particular word used had entered the vocabulary of the day to whether the noise of cicadas or sparrows would be more appropriate to the setting. (This was queried in my very first paragraph.)

Here's the blurb and a bit about the novella in which:

A Puritan woman’s loyalties are tested when her husband is imprisoned by the Royalist lover she was forced to surrender through duty.

The Cavalier

by Beverley Oakley

Drummond Castle, home of staunch Puritan Silas Drummond and his beautiful wife, Elizabeth, has been besieged by Royalist forces. In a bargain to spare her husband’s life Lady Elizabeth has agreed to spend the night with the commander of the hated King’s Men.

Second-in-command, Charles Trethveyan, has other ideas. He’s planned this moment since Elizabeth chose to marry Silas eight years before.

When Elizabeth discovers that her former Cavalier lover has taken the place of his superior, she must decide whether Charles is motivated by love or revenge.

Either way, her response will have devastating consequences.

I usually write Regency Romances – either traditional under my Beverley Eikli name, or sensual or erotic under my pseudonym, Beverley Oakley. However this gritty, sometimes brutal story had been begging to be written for a long time. I love historical author Pamela Belle’s work. Her brilliant English Civil War Wintercombe series has resonated over decades with me.

I’ve also devoured everything I can find to do with seventeenth century diarist Samuel Pepys and his life. I feel comfortable with the time period. Honour and loyalty are two of my favourite themes and integral to a romance set against civil conflict when families and friends could be fighting on opposing sides. This short novella begins on the eve of battle and ends twenty-four hours later with the occupation of Drummond Castle. In the interim a lot of lives are lost or irrevocably altered but at least someone gets their happy ending. Writing it made me feel that the pen really is mightier than the sword.

You can read more by visiting my website or you can get the book here.

Release Day for Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma

Release Day! It never loses its edge, the thrill of that day. My second sensual Regency Historical - Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma - comes out today with the following premise:

The eight—year marriage of the once mutually-adoring couple, Lord and Lady Lovett, is rejuvenated through the anonymous counsel of Lord Lovett’s former mistress.

Eight years of marriage has not dimmed Cressida, Lady Lovett’s, love for her husband, but the birth of five children has cooled her ardour.

Now rumours are circulating that the kind, dashing and seemingly ever—patient Justin, Lord Lovett, has returned to the arms of his former mistress and Cressida believes her choices are stark—welcome her husband back to the marital bed and risk a sixth pregnancy she fears will kill her, or lose him forever.

With the astonishing discovery that methods exist to enable the innocent Cressida to transform herself into the vixen of her husband’s dreams without expanding her nursery, she seeks to repay the woman responsible for her empowerment...only to discover her unlikely benefactress was, and perhaps still is, her husband’s mistress.

I loved writing this story as the main couple are so devoted yet they really are trapped by their nineteenth century upbringings. Cressida doesn't have the knowledge, let alone the vocabulary, to articulate her fears while Justin believes she's shifted her focus from loving him to loving only their children.

When Cressida stumbles upon a woman who can help her, she also stumbles upon a twenty-year-old mystery. Now there is someone weaker than herself who needs championing and this is where Cressida really finds the courage to stand up to society and society's strictures.

I hope you enjoy the story. You can buy it here at: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1718

Coffee Time Romance Chat

Tomorrow 11am Australian EST Time (Tuesday 9pm US EST) I'm doing my first author chat in cyberspace - the Coffee Time Romance chat room. It's a chance for any 'passersby' to ask questions of me and my two fellow Aussie Historical romance authors, Heather Boyd and Tamara Gill, about us and our writing. Here's the link -http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/Chat2.html - and I'm so hoping I'll have some visitors.

Nice Review

I love my latest review for Rake's Honour from Manic Readers  http://www.manicreaders.com/index.cfm?disp=reviews&bookid=21335

Blogging about my Journey to Publication.

My latest book, Rake's Honour, is my first written under the pseudonym Beverley Oakley. Today at ARRA (Australian Romance Readers Association) I talk about my journey to publication and why I had to take a pseudonym. You can read it at:  http://australianromancereaders.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/guest-blogger-beverley-eikli-2/

It's also been a big week in other ways. My husband took a turn for the worst with what we thought was a recurrent bout of malaria and my beloved Rhodesian Ridgeback best friend, Homer, was attacked as I walked the girls to school when a dog jumped the fence. Poor Homer needed 8 stitches and we now call him 'patchwork dog' as he was recovering from an earlier operation on his opposite flank.

However, we all got our HEA. Eivind's much better - weak, but ready to go back to flying next Wednesday. Homer is fine and still romping around any fluffy white dog he sees in case it turns out to be his best friend, Roxy, from whom he was tragically parted when we moved to Victoria. I feel most sorry for the owners of the dog who attacked Homer. They're lovely people who'd rescued their dog from a dog home so as to give him a new lease of life. But while he's proved loyal to his human family he's unreliable with other dogs.

When my husband was diagnosed with pneumonia last week he said the doctor had described the conditions this winter as a 'perfect storm'. The wet and freezing weather and the cocktail of flu and colds raging throughout the region has knocked out about half my six year old's class at school. Meanwhile poor Eivind has been in bed for seven days now.

Health - or lack of it - seems to be the general topic of conversation these days but it's also a reminder that we are very lucky compared with previous generations.

Though this is a house of sickness I have some good news on the writing front. It's too early to go into details, but I will in my next post.

Winter is well and truly here. Cold and drizzle prevented the kids walking to school, which didn't matter as I had to be up at 4.45am to take my lovely husband to the airport. I've just remembered I had volunteered to judge three writing competition entries and today is the deadline so I'll have to suspend my own writing for today. As one daughter is sick for the third school day I'll divide my time between judging and looking after her.

Meanwhile the work in progress will have to wait although I'll have some late nights ahead of me if I'm to fulfil my time obligations for a request for the full.

A nice surprise visit from my sister, plus a large chunk of chocolate cake brought around by a friend will help me get through this grey and dreary day, so I've got nothing to complain about.

Right! Back to judging!

Writing Under the Influence

Many masterpieces owe their immortality to the substances enjoyed by their creators in their creation. Samuel Taylor Coleridge admitted writing Kubla Khan under the influence of opium. Georgette Heyer found gin and dexedrine helped her write throughout the night.

But writing under the influence of back pain? The consequences are spasmodic. Voltaren washed down with red wine makes me sleepy rather than productive. However it's not the first time chronic back pain has reared its ugly head and I'm sure I'll be working away at my book, raise my head in contemplation and think, "I wonder when the pain went away." Pain is like that.

We all have our favourite 'after a few reds' story. Mine is being locked up in French Guyana and rescued by the man who later married my sister. I've talked about it in detail, here at Black Velvet Seductions:

Blogging on TRS Blue

Hi everyone, I'm blogging about my upcoming release, Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma at   http://trsblue.blogspot.com.au/ and also about the sort of stories I write and the cover art.
Here's the lead-in, but if you want to read more, pop into The Romance Studio where you can read posts from a range of authors at the TRS blog-a-thon!

It'll be fun!

I write sensual or erotic Regency Historicals with lashings of intrigue under the pen name Beverley Oakley and traditional Regency Historical romances filled with mystery and intrigue under the name Beverley Eikli.

Writing about women trapped by convention and the honourable men who come to their aid are my favourite topics, and as my second erotic Regency is due out soon, I wanted to tell you a little about it...

The Cavalier Cover Art

Want to know how I met my gorgeous husband in Botswana and how he's influenced the heroes I write? It's all here:
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/Interviews/BeverleyOakley2012.html

New cover Art & Great Review

I love the new cover I've just been sent of my Beverley Oakley July 2 release, Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma, which has the following blurb:

Eight years of marriage has not dimmed Cressida, Lady Lovett’s love for her husband but the birth of five children has cooled her ardour.

Now rumours are circulating that the kind, dashing and seemingly ever-patient Justin, Lord Lovett, has returned to the arms of his former mistress and Cressida believes her choices are stark: welcome her husband back to the marital bed and risk a sixth pregnancy she fears will kill her, or lose him forever.

With the astonishing discovery that methods exist to enable the innocent Cressida to transform herself into the vixen of her husband’s dreams without expanding her nursery, she seeks to repay the woman responsible for her empowerment … only to discover her unlikely benefactress was, and perhaps still is, her husband’s mistress.

And a another fabulous 5-star Review from Booked Up Reviews

Reviewer: Dolce Amore

I usually don’t like to read too many historical books because I find them boring, unreal, or full of errors. But this one was wonderful!

Miss Fanny Brightwell has to marry a rich man because her father lost everything before he died. When Alverley, the man Miss Fanny hoped to marry tells her that he wants her just as his mistress, she is devastated; that means that she'll have to marry the pestilential Lord Slyther, but that night she meets Viscount Fenton.

At first, Lord Fenton wants to marry her… however, after some lies by a jealous man and some misunderstandings he believes that Miss Fanny was a consummate lover and he offers carte blanche instead.

What a splendid book! I loved every moment of it. Ms. Beverley Oakley created an original and amazing plot. She keeps our attention through the whole book. And the characters… what can I say? Outstanding! I loved Mis Fanny and adore Lord Fenton. I enjoyed with their misunderstanding and I was delighted by their torrid and passionate meetings. And the end… made me burst out laughing. It rocks!

5 stars for her and I can hardly wait to read her new release… Ms. Beverley Oakley, I’m not above begging for more! I expect I won’t have to wait too much longer for it, you are now one of my favorite writers.

Publisher: Total E-Bound
Review Courtesy Of: ManicReaders

What would I do without critique partners? I thought I'd whip up a 10K piece for the Aussie gals' anthology and yes, I managed a first draft in five days of hurling myself at the computer between the washing up and story time. I'd been pot boiling this story for months and it was destined to be about a 50K novella. However, the bones of the story lent itself to a poignant reunion story with each partner of the now dissolved couple believing the other guilty of a betrayal which had sent them on a downwards spiral until their unexpected meeting.

Essentially, the story is only two scenes and there's a lot of emotion to incorporate which must be laid bare without backstory getting in the way. Yet back story is essential. It's what ups the pace and makes the reader keep turning the page asking, 'But why...?" I think that's where my true love lies: perfecting that page-turning response, upping the ante and feeding in tiny snippets of backstory to create suspense.

However, it's my brilliant critique partners, Jess Dee, Bernie and Frances who give me the honest low down on where there's too much of it - the dreaded backstory! - and not enough emotion.

I'm on the home stretch now. Just a few more hours and I'll have it nailed. But my dreams of uninterrupted writing hours to get it done today are just that:  I have school volunteer reading for my 6-year-old's class and my Vic Uni Short Story class to teach.

Anyway, here's to those great gals who tell me the unglossed truth and inspire me with their feedback which helps me always to 'make it better'.

I'll get there soon!

Living in a Parallel Universe

It's so good that Eivind is now more than half way through his command upgrade. If all goes to plan I can start calling him Captain Darling in May or June.

Yesterday he had Sessions 4 & 5 in the simulator which is exactly the same as the cockpit of the 737 except that it's... a simulator. An exhausting session from all accounts as they were loaded up with multiple engine failures, unruly passengers, bad weather, two alternate airports that couldn't be used due to closed runways and storms and faulty flaps.

I told him we had more in common than he realised. In the simulator he's acting out a fantasy in a parallel universe so he can save passenger lives while I'm doing the same thing at my computer.

What a beautiful day - even though I haven't had a glass of wine and the kids have put sticky fingers on my keyboard.

It's the last weekend before the school holidays so with a lovely little friend to amuse the girls I got half way through the novella I'm submitting for an anthology to be published by a group of Australian writers.

If it doesn't make the cut I'll see if my lovely TEB editor, Rebecca, likes it. It's 8000 words with a twist in the tail... haven't got to the end but I've spent enough hours pot-boiling it so I think it'll work out.

Busy, busy on other things, mainly promo. I'm part of the Web hunt at Night Owl Reviews and I'm also building up my Beverley Oakley Facebook page. Have a look and give me suggestions as to how to improve it. I'm learning on the hoof!

School holidays means hard work
School holidays are always challenging as one tries to balance the necessary entertainment of kids with the self-imposed or very real spectre of advancing deadlines. Fortunately I really believe I'll get my latest novella off to Ellora's Cave by the end of tomorrow.

In the meantime my wild six-year-old is shredding the Saturday papers into tiny pieces. I'm sure she's going to ask if she can set fire to them, next, as I made the mistake of recounting my blissful childhood when I had my own fire pit at the bottom of our garden in Adelaide, South Australia, where I concocted various witches' brews in an old three cornered pot my mother tossed my way.

However, as we've had rain, hail and generally freezing weather I might be off the hook. Its just gets so tiring being the parent who always says 'no' when the other one is always away, flying. Eivind assures me the full-on commitment required by his 737 command upgrade is not representative of the usual pattern and that he can bid for a more family-friendly roster and I do believe him and am supportive. My 18 years as a trailing spouse in twelve countries has equipped me for odd hours, such as regular two months away and one month at home during his survey job, or four months away when he flew in Antarctica.

That said, I loved turning the tables and being the one to take a two-month contract in Sweden, pre-kids, while he stayed at home when he was chief pilot of the airborne geophysical survey company we both worked for. I wanted the job - for both the excitement and the novelty of being away (as well as the money) - but I also wanted him to know that it can be plain drudgery simply keeping the house in order in the domestic sphere. Of those two months I have very happy memories of gathering blueberries by the lake at the resort where the crew was stationed and going to nightclubs in the Arctic circle town of Arvidsjaur. I doubt Eivind remembers much of his time spent making solo meals and doing the washing.

So now I've pandered to my daughter's whims and generally been the good parent - with an interlude drinking wine with my sister who is also married to a Norwegian pilot she met in Botswana, like me. While the four kids ran around we had a great time discussing family dysfunctionality and the difficulty of being appreciated as a returning mother to the workforce with disparate world-wide work experience.

That said, it's now time to get the girls to bed, print out my 54,000 word novel about star-crossed lovers involving an older woman and a younger man, and go to bed.

But first I must check the electronic diary to see when my lovely husband is home so I can prepare a nice dinner to reflect my understanding that his stress levels in the hot seat are high.

Being the wife of a shift-worker requires a broad level of skills including frustration-free nurturing, understanding, appreciation and good old fashioned appreciation.

And I can do all of that... just as long as I can claw enough out of a day for 'just me'.

There's a fun competition happening over at Night Owl Reviews - 

http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Pages/springflingdetails.aspx - with lots of prizes on offer, including a copy of my recent release, Rake's Honour.

Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy today's beautiful weather finishing my work in progress while the girls have gone off to the beach with their friends - two lovely brothers aged 7 and 9 who each gave my girls 'Secret admirer' Valentine's Day Cards and 6 little chocolate seashells. Sophie and Lillie were so excited.

My lovely husband is returning today, also. His hectic flying schedule as he completes his command upgrade on the 737 (commuting out of Sydney) means I'm always checking the electronic diary to see if he'll be home that night so I should organise something a bit nicer than usual for dinner.

Home is where the Alpacas are - sometimes...

A couple of weeks ago I made a flying visit to my home state of South Australia for an author chat at the Clare Valley Library. At the same time I visited dad at our family property, Wuthering Heights, just 6km North of Clare, a B&B amidst 80acres of trees and hills set among the valley's vineyards. Here I am with the family alpacas.

Now I'm back home again and there's lots to keep busy with. I'm nearly finished my work in progress featuring a sweet, neglected viscount's wife and the handsome younger man with whom she falls in love.

There's also a fun competition being held at The Romance Reviews  http://www.theromancereviews.com/event.php. in which my latest sensual Regency Historical Rakes Honour is up for grabs if you answer one easy question.


Now it's time for bed. My lovely husband is watching a Norwegian thriller on TV while I think it's time for me to finish the excellent Monica McInerny 'At Home with the Templetons'. She was a local Clare Valley girl, growing up near us, and so I thought it was high time I read one of her books. I'm loving it!

It's been a busy but a thoroughly enjoyable ten days hosting old friends, Pat and Mark, from Lesotho. I was a small girl growing up with their son, Julian, and it's been so fun to cover the decades and countries we've lived in since then. My mother and Pat were great friends.

Each day now I'm anticipating the cover art for my next two releases: Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma and my anthology story The Cavalier. July 2 and July 16 are the release dates.


Rake's Honour has also received only 5-Star reviews (three of them) so its reception has been really pleasing. It's not yet listed on Amazon.

And so a new week begins and its back to making sandwiches and making sure school hats are not forgotten and homework is done on time. And lights are out by 9.30pm meaning I must go now.

Promo - Too Little or Too Much

While I now have two author names I reasoned I wouldn't have to do twice as much promo. Besides, how much is too much, and how much does it really count?

For three years I've promoted my lavish hardcovers, published by Robert Hale, with author talks and interviews and a bit of blogging. The books were acquired by a number of libraries, and expensive in Australia, so I chose to ignore popular romance sites on the web to promote them.

In January Robert Hale released my Regency Intrigue Lady Farquhar's Butterfly (under my original writing name Beverley Eikli) as an e-book. A week later, Total-e-Bound released my sensual Regency Historical, Rake's Honour (published under my new pseudonym, Beverley Oakley).

Since then, I've been working overtime to promote both of them. That's meant, often, two different author pages on many sites. I've kept my picture and bio the same but the heat level of each is different - though the level of plot and intrigue is similar. I don't want one of my traditional readers of a Beverley Eikli to find themselves blushing at a Beverley Oakley.

My stories are about women, trapped by convention in a man's world, trying to follow their dreams. Sometimes my heroines are feisty - such as Fanny Brightwell as in Rake's Honour;  sometimes they've had the fire knocked out of them by abusive and drunken husbands - such as Olivia in Lady Farquhar's Butterfly; or sometimes they're still desperately in love with their husbands but don't know how to navigate the matter of procreation - or minimising it - as is the case with Cressida - in my July 2 release Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma - who has five children by the age of 25.

So I've been blogging, advertising with The Romance Studio, The Romance Reviews, Night Owl Reviews, updating my bio with Amazon. I've even tweeted a little (@BeverleyOakley), though I'm still learning the ropes.

Will it make a difference?

Well, I'm learning a lot, both about the process and other writers and their work so that's not a bad thing.

As for the decision to take a pseudonym... only time will tell whether I've made a rod for my own back.

The sting in the tail - or in this case, the toe!

Last night I finished another novella about an older woman and a younger man with lashings of romance, culminating in the usual twist in the tale or (more in this instance, sting in the tail).

Talking of stings in the tail, this morning, I had a rude welcome to the day with a real sting in the toe when I put on my shoe in the kitchen and, shrieking with pain, withdrew my foot to find a spider clamped to the end of my toe. Its fangs were so embedded I couldn't get the spider off for some seconds. I then flung it to the ground, covered it with a glass, then flicked it into a clear ziplock plastic sandwich bag and pierced it with a pin so I could identify it.

Fortunately it wasn't the horrible White-tail I'd feared, so at least my toe isn't going to necrotise or have to be amputated. But it was painful!

Is there a moral to that story? Well, nothing cleverer than check your shoes before you put your feet into them.

An Old Story Ends & A New One Begins
Well, I've typed THE END to my latest story. I've never tackled an older woman, younger man romance and I'll certainly rest this one for a while before I hand it over to my brilliant critique partners. It's the first book in a series so the ending was challenging. How do I satisfactorily wrap up the story with respect to my two central characters when the action is just about to shift to the daughter? Well, I've done it so that's a rhetorical question. Now I need a bit of distance - and some honest feedback from my good old Ozcritters - before I'm in a better position to know if I have or not.

A wonderful review from JERR

When one gets a bad review one has to just take it on the chin and move on. On the other hand, a good review can make your heart sing and just push the passion through that pen! I got such a review for my recently released Rake's Honour. 5 stars from Just Erotic Romance Reviews. Here it is....

Title: Rake’s Honour


Author: Beverly G Oakley

Publisher: Total E Bound
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1503

Reviewer: Barbara McCormick

Rating: 5 Stars
Heat

Level: O

Fanny Brightwell must find a husband or be married off to the odious Lord Slyther. Her first attempt at doing so leads her into a compromising position, from which she is rescued by the dangerous rogue Viscount Fenton. Fenton discovers that the memory of Fanny’s kisses haunt him. The two meet at a ball and have an unexpectedly passionate encounter. Afterward, Fenton offers to set her up as his mistress. Since her family’s fortunes rest on her ability to marry well, Fanny must take control of the situation.

The characters in Rake’s Honour, a Regency romance, leap off the page and into the reader’s heart. Fanny is well aware of her obligations to her family, yet yearns to find a husband she can love. Fenton has outgrown his childish excesses and is ready to settle down with a wife. The heat between these two practically sets fire to the pages, a mean trick for an e-book! Ms. Oakley brings the setting and time period to life without lengthy descriptions of society’s strict rules. The sex, oh my goodness, the sex is hot and in unusual settings as Fenton and Fanny must hide what they are up to from the eyes of judgmental society. Supporting characters like Fanny’s younger sister and her friend and confidante, Lord Quamby, bring added life to a lush story. The pacing is just perfect, keeping you in your chair reading right through to the end. The “mamas” are ever present, placing demands on their children to marry well for family’s sake. In the end, Rake’s Honour is about satisfying society’s demands while still finding ways to remain true to oneself and one’s heart. For these reasons, Rake’s Honour earns an honored spot on my re-read stack.

Website Update - New look coming soon.

I've been trying to get an RSS feed onto my website for absolutely ages - and now I've done it, thanks to incredibly knowledgeable and helpful fellow romance writer, Maree Anderson- http://www.mareeanderson.com/

Maree is a fellow Romance Writers of Australia member and clearly far more knowledgeable than I am about this sort of thing. Our organisation is a marvellous resource for information. I've posted my RSS-related queries onto so many technical forums and got nowhere. The advice never worked for me. Last night, however, I posted my question onto the RWA author loop, got my answer by morning and in a couple of clicks had achieved what I've spent hours and days trying to achieve through various other channels. So thank you, Maree!

Beautiful Clare Valley

I love visiting dad and Wuthering Heights, the fabulous 80-acre property that's been in the family for 30 years. We built the mud brick Bronte Manor and now there are three cottages nestled amongst 25,000 trees.

Last night I returned to Clare to do an author talk at the Town Hall. It was a really lovely night, supported by many lovely Clare people and followed by a delicious supper put on Friends of the Library. Thank you to all of them!

My journey from Gisborne to Clare, however, felt like one of those epic road trips. I was booked on staff travel on the 10.10am, but was bumped because an earlier cancelled flight meant every last seat on this flight was booked. We couldn't help but look daggers at the stragglers onto the plane, which scotched our chances of getting on. (Yes, I know, they were paying passengers.)

We then had two hours to wait for the next plane but were told there were no seats available, however if there were no-shows (i.e. people on flex-fares who didn't show up) we'd have a chance.

Fortunately, there were and the three of us got on. A lovely gentleman called Trevor (and fellow standby passenger who was chewing his fingernails like me) was trying to get to a funeral in Adelaide. He was hiring a car so he drove me from the airport to the railway station and then I caught the train to Mawson Interchange and a bus to Gawler where dad picked me up to drive the last hour to Clare. I made it just in time to have a glass of white wine with my sister before getting into my glad rags for the talk.

A nice evening, as I said!

And now it's morning, the birds are singing and it's time to help dad reorganise the layout of his memoirs before I make my epic way home.

Sunday morning dramas

Yesterday my Sunday morning slumber was rudely disturbed by my 7-year-old nephew and 6-year-old daughter bursting in on me in great consternation as the rain thundered down on the tin roof.

"Mummy! Auntie Bevie! You've got to climb onto the roof. Quickly! We left Auntie Penny's birthday presents there in a box last night."

I'd stayed overnight at my sister's house to look after her two little boys so she and her husband could go to a party in Echuca, 2 hours away, leaving my husband to enjoy the solitude of our own house so he could study in peace.

Now, here I was in my green and pink polka dot pyjamas climbing a 15ft ladder in the pouring rain at the crack of dawn, wondering whether I should tell Penny that under my watch the kids had actually done this, or just get the presents - and me - safely out of the rain and just leave it.

The joys of children! And I thought it was going to be the two-year-old who'd be the problem!

Win an e-copy of Rake's Honour

Today I'm blogging with the lovely Maria-Claire Payne, a fellow Total-e-Bound writer at:

http://maria-clairepayne.com/a-no-sex-sexy-saturday-book-give-a-way-with-beverley-oakley 


Maria-Claire is one energetic gal - as you can see from her blog! I've included an excerpt of Rake's Honour and a bit about me.


Meanwhile, this is no ordinary Sunday as I've stayed over to look after my two nephews, together with my two girls, so my sister could go away for a party overnight with her husband, and mine could.... study at our home! (That's what happens when you're married to a pilot. Sleep and study and time away from home flying mean that I look after the kids a fair bit.) However, dh took our six-year-old on a special daddy/daughter trip to buy her the roller skates she's been saving up for. 


Last night was a very broken up night with my two-year-old nephew looking for his mummy but now the kids are eating breakfast and I've snatched a quiet couple of minutes.


Anyway, tell me what you like about the cover art and you're in the pool to win a copy of Rake's Honour.

New Contract

It's always exciting to receive a new contract. This evening I signed my third contract with Total-e-Bound for a novella to be included in their Bodices and Boudoirs anthology. It's called The Cavalier and is set during the English Civil war and under my Beverley Oakley name. It'll come out on July 16, exactly two weeks after my second release on July 2, entitled Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma.

The cover art for LLLD should be coming soon. That's always exciting, too. It'll be very different from my Hale book covers but then the covers reflect the type of story and my Hale books are traditional Regencies and my TEB books are more sensual. Essentially, the stories are still the same stories, though.

The building of our new pergola in the back garden has taken out of me far more than I thought. Including writing time! I've spent literally dozens of hours painting and with Eivind studying for his command on the 737 there's been no one to help. He did hold the 10ft ladder, though, when I had to paint the highest reaches. The girls would hold it for about ten seconds and when I peered down into the misty gloom all those seemingly half a dozen metres below there'd be no one there!

Still, it's better than Eivind being up a ladder since falling off one six years ago was how he broke his back. It's only recently that he has more pain-free days than the other way round. Losing 23kg helped. My hubby look pretty tremendous these days!

AUSTRALIAN WOMEN WRITERS CHALLENGE


I've just signed up for the above which runs from 1 January 2012 -  31 December 2012.


The Goal (as stated on their home page at http://www.australianwomenwriters.com/p/australian-women-writers-book-challenge_25.html is to:

• Read and review books written by Australian women writers throughout 2012, the National Year of Reading – hard copies, ebooks and audiobooks, new, borrowed or stumbled upon bybook-crossing. 

Now, as I'm a romance writer, I aim to read in at least two other genres and to post my reviews here and link back.

The idea is to:

• "help counteract the gender bias in reviewing and social media newsfeeds that has continued throughout 2011 by actively promoting the reading and reviewing of a wide range of contemporary Australian women’s writing."

I'm in!!

Love Thy Neighbour

Well, no more teaching English as a Second Language - for the short term, at least, since the hours of my college were changed and didn't fit in with after-school care.

I loved the diversity of my classes. The cameraderie of students from Kuwait, Libya, China, South Korea, Italy and Greece was proof that people get along if they can get to know one another as people rather than nationalities.

Hanging Rock Races

Went to the Hanging Rock Races last week. This was where the famous 1975 film Picnic at Hanging Rock was shot. Unfortunately the races last year were cancelled due to kangaroos on the track and this year moved to Kyneton because of a divet.

Anway, just uploaded this picture of me and the family (including beautiful Homer) from last year to show how lovely the scenery is.

I'd forgotten painting was so boring. Or so time-consuming. It's a good thing I have a couple of stories in my head to pot-boil or I'd go insane.

I also have my best friend, my big, loyal Rhodesian Ridgeback Homer, who is never more than two metres away, to keep me company. Every time I go inside to make a cup of tea or find some other excuse to leave the job at hand, he gets up with a groan and lopes after me.

If only my children were so dedicated - or could wield a paintbrush with any expertise or enthusiasm for more than two minutes. Mind you, I won't be on at them to keep up the hard work. I've spent too much time already fixing up the spills and drips.

Soon it'll all be worthwhile. A beautiful 6m x 6m pergola in blue and white will grace the back garden next to the swimming pool and I'll be enjoying entertaining my friends too much to remember how much I detested all the painting.