That’s where I am these days.  I have two book babies on the cusp of being born.

NYC Angels – Making the Surgeon Smile is already available at Mills & Boon website and will be in stores in the United Kingdom, as well as available at the Harlequin website on June 1^st.  It is also currently available for pre-order at Amazon

UK E-book edition

The first few reviews have been great—except the grand dame of reviews at the Mills & Boon website wasn’t exactly thrilled with this one.  Sigh I guess I can’t please everyone—Anyway, I’m biting my nails my readers will enjoy my portion of the continuity story created by the lovely editors at Mills & Boon.  Hats off especially to Flo Nicoll.

I’m also eagerly awaiting the release of my second Harlequin Special Edition – The Medic’s Homecoming.  This is Lucas Grady’s story.  For those of you who read Courting His Favorite Nurse last year, you’ll remember him as the hard to reach brother to Anne Grady.  This book is also available for pre-order at Amazon.

Aren’t both the U.S. and U.K. book covers fantastic?

I’ve been running a contest exclusively for my newsletter subscribers.  I’m giving away two full sets of the entire NYC Angels continuity.  The first winner was announced in the May newsletter. Congratulations Judith P.  I won’t draw the second winner until July, so there’s still time to sign up for my newsletters and enter the contest.

Don’t forget the Brenda Novak auction for Diabetes.  My fun tote plus goodies only has six bids so far.  Check out what’s inside here!

So now you know what I’m currently biting my nails about – what about you?  Anything got your nerves tied up in knots these days?

Until next time, make it a great one!

Lynne

If you’ve got one – hug her and tell her you love her.

If you are one – I hope you collect lots of hugs and kisses.

Best wishes,

Lynne

North American version

UK E-book edition

On May 1st, Making the Surgeon Smile will be available at the Mills & Boon Website in the UK in e-book format and also as a 2 in 1 with Alison Roberts under Medical Romance. Here’s the third cover version. So many covers for one book!

2 in 1 version – in UK stores and online

I thought it would be fun to share an excerpt from the first chapter:

Chapter One

Monday morning Polly Seymour dashed into the sparkling marble-tiled lobby of New York’s finest pediatric hospital, Angel’s. The subway from the lower East Side to Central Park had taken longer today, and the last thing she wanted to do was be late on her first day as a staff RN on the orthopedic ward.

Opting to take the six flights of stairs instead of fight for a spot in one of the overcrowded elevators, she took two steps at a time until she reached her floor. As she climbed, she thought through everything she’d learned the prior week during general hospital orientation. Main factoid: Angel Mendez Children’s
Hospital never turned a child away.

That was a philosophy she could believe in.

Heck, they’d even accepted her, the girl whose aunts and uncles used to refer to as “Poor Polly”. It used to make her feel like that homely vintage doll, Pitiful Pearl. But Angel’s had welcomed her to their nursing staff with open arms.

Blasting through the door, completely out of breath, she barreled onwards,
practically running down a man in a white doctor‘s coat. Built like a football player, the rugged man with close-cropped more-silver-than-brown hair hardly flinched. He caught her by the shoulders and helped her regain her balance.

“Careful, dumpling,” he said, sounding like a Clint-Eastwood-style grizzled cowboy.

Mortified, her eyes shot wide open. Sucking in air, she could hardly speak.
“Sorry, Dr….” Her gaze shifted from his stern brown eyes to his name
badge. “Dr. John Griffin.” Oh, man, did that badge also say Orthopedic Department Director? He was her boss.

She knew the routine—first impressions were lasting impressions, and this one
would be a doozy. Without giving him another chance to call her “dumpling”—did
he think she was thirteen?—she pointed toward the hospital ward and took off,
leaving one last “Sorry” floating in her wake.

At the nurses’ station, she unwrapped her tightly wound sweater, removed her
shoulder bag and plopped them both on the counter. “I’m Polly Seymour. This is my first day. Is Brooke Hawkins here?”

The nonchalant ward clerk with an abundance of tiny braids all pulled back into
a ponytail lifted his huge chocolate-colored eyes, gave a forced smile and pointed across the ward. “The tall redhead,” he said, barely breaking stride from the lab orders he was entering in the computer.

Gathering her stuff, and still out of breath, Polly made a beeline for the nursing supervisor. Brooke’s welcome was warm and friendly, and included a wide smile, which helped settle the mass of butterflies winging through Polly’s stomach.

Brooke glanced at her watch. “You must be Polly and you’re early. I wasn’t expecting you until seven.”

“I didn’t want to miss the change-of-shift report, and I don’t have a clue where to put my stuff or which phone to clock in on.” Would she ever breathe normally again?

“Follow me,” Brooke said, heading toward another door, closer to the doctor. “I see you already ran into our department director, Dr. Griffin. Literally,” Brooke said, with playful eyes and a wink.

Polly put her hand to the side of her face, shielding her profile from the man several feet away and still watching her. “I think he thought I was a patient.”

“Did he smile at you?”

“Yes.”

“Then he definitely thought you were one of our patients. He doesn’t smile for staff.”

End of excerpt.

This book is simultaneously releasing in UK and US, but the UK puts up the books at the website one month prior to actual time in the stores.  As many of you know, Medical Romances do not go on book shelves in stores in US and are only available (both in print or e-book) through all of the major bookselling websites, most especially www.harlequin.com   The book is also available for preorder at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Just in case you wanted to see one more cover version of this book…her you go!

Australian version

Until next time, make it a great one!

Lynne

Note to Newsletter subscribers:  The first contest winner will be announced in the May Newsletter.  Watch for the mailing in the early part of the month.  The contest will continue through June, and the second winner will be announced in the July newsletter.

To sign up for my newsletter, go here: www.lynnemarshall.com and click on “join e-mail list” button.

We are a country holding our breath until we find out who did this

We are a country mourning the loss of three bright futures

We are buoyed by our spontaneous heroes and skilled professionals

And coming together in our prayers

We will not let evil win

This week’s blog is a replay from my recent Harlequin Special Edition Authors’ blog appearance.  I hope you enjoy the story.

Recently I broke my foot, well a bone in my foot.  Now I get to wear that clunky boot thingie (looks like something you’d wear to walk on the moon) for six to eight weeks.  Of course there’s a story to this broken bone fiasco and it involves two dogs, a dark night, and poor judgment. Mine!

Hubby and I pet sat for our daughter and S-I-L’s dog, Max.  He’s a big adorable black Labrador mix, and as docile as can be.  Then there’s Milo, my eight month old rescue puppy—a little white dynamo Terrier mix.  Milo loves to pester puddin’ head Max, and sometimes I need to step in because poor Max, who has an Eeyore kind of personality, just puts up with it.

It was a dark and starless night, Milo still had way too much energy, and I got the bright idea to take the dogs out back and let them run.  Well, they both sat there looking at me—I think Max was looking at me but I’m not sure because he’s so dark you can’t see him at night—waiting for the entertainment to begin.  I volunteered, started running like a wild woman, and the dogs caught on.  Milo the canine missile sometimes runs like a maniac, and in a mad dash, he cut me off, clipped my foot and sent me flying over him.  I landed wrong, a burst of pain shot up my leg, and I laid there and cried like a baby.  Sorry to say, I did cry.  I also wondered how in the heck I was supposed to get back to the house, since I obviously couldn’t walk.  I’m a bit lame in emergencies, and it didn’t occur to me to crawl, so I managed to get up and hop all the way back to my patio, where I could call out to my husband.

The rest, as they say, is history.  As the RN at Urgent care said, I bought myself an x-ray and got sent to the cast room the next day.  Fortunately I’m wearing one of those removable boots instead of a permanent cast.

Here’s the kicker.  This happened just before Valentine’s Day and unbeknownst to me Hubby had made some extra special, and different plans.  We were going to drive down Kanan Road, a beautiful canyon that takes us inland folks out to Pacific Coast Highway, then we’d mosey over to Santa Monica.  There they have walking food tours (key word being walking) where participants go from restaurant to restaurant and sample food at each one.  The total distance is around 1 ½ to 2 miles.  I’m sure that helps those tasting all the great food at the wonderful restaurants feel less guilty.

As you guessed we had to cancel and I was bummed, but hubby has promised to revisit that plan for another special occasion. Or, hey, how about for no occasion at all?  Just for the fun of it…once I’m wearing some footwear a little more stylish than this clunky moon boot thingie.

I’m hoping, by the time you all read this, I will have had my official seven week check-up and the boot will be history.  I’ll keep you posted.

How about you, have you ever had a big event planned and some mishap or illness ruined the whole thing?  Do tell!

Until next time, make it a great one,

Lynne

This blog is what I shared with the Love is the Best Medicine – Medical Authors blog a few weeks back.  It’s a fun story, a true one, and I hope you enjoy!

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie:

The other day I took my puppy to the pet store where he’d gone through obedience training to buy more food.  We ran into his trainer, and it was like a puppy love reunion.  Milo!  Dustin said, bending down for some puppy lovin’.  Milo’s tail wagged like it might fly off his bottom.  Before we left, Dustin gave Milo a cookie—a dog cookie that looked like a real cookie to me, like an Oreo with cream filling but pink outer cookie wafers instead of chocolate.  Dustin promised it was indeed for dogs, that it had peanut butter filling and practically zero sugar.

I wondered why a dog needed a cookie when they had biscuits, but maybe I’m old school.  It’s part of my aversion to anthropomorphism of our pets.  Though our beloved pets have distinct personalities, they are not human.  But I digress…

The way Milo went after that cookie, I had to smile and enjoy it along with him.  No, I didn’t try it, but Dustin swore he’d eaten one to see how it tasted.

A side note:  We have discovered that Milo loves small bits of apple, carrot, and cantaloupe.  I’d rather reward him with stuff like that, but I’m not one to be rude and refuse a gift obviously given with affection for my dog.

I let Milo have about half of the cookie and put the other half in a plastic bag on the counter for another treat time.  (Here’s our boy)

Flash forward to eight o’clock that night.  I took Milo out back for a potty break and left the sliding door on our patio open.  Later, while my husband and I were watching TV, we heard some scurrying.  Bill followed the sound into the kitchen and discovered mouse droppings on our counter and a mouse hiding behind our microwave.

EEEEK!  I cannot participate in such events and covered my eyes. Lalalalala.

The mouse—let’s call him Merlin—had his disappearing act down to perfection, and as we cleaned our counters with disinfectant I noticed that Merlin had eaten through the plastic back with Milo’s future treat, and had gotten the top wafer of the cookie halfway across our counter before dropping it on the windowsill once the chase was on.

Hmm, for a dog cookie that wasn’t supposed to be sugary, it sure got the attention of a backyard mouse in record time.

At the time of writing this blog post, the ongoing saga of man versus mouse continues.  Droppings, droppings everywhere, but ne’er a mouse to find.

*update at publishing date:  Husband – 1, Merlin – RIP.

The moral of this story is – Never leave the back sliding door open when peeing your dog at night, especially when you’ve left dog cookies on the counter.

How about you, do you give your dog treats that look like human cookies?  Do you have any fun mice stories to share?

And now – just because it is so beautiful and I am so proud of it – I want to share the book cover for my UK version of Making the Surgeon Smile – my June 2013 Harlequin Mills & Boon release. It’s available for preorder in UK here and US here

Until next time – make it a great one!

Lynne

I’ve been shouting out to the world about the wonderful Medical Romance series currently beginning in March with books #1 and #2.

Redeeming the Playboy by Carol Marinelli and The Heiress’s Baby Scandal. by Janice Lynn

April 2in1 at Mills and Boon: Unmasking Dr. Serious by Laura Iding and The Wallflower’s Secret by Susan Carlisle

NYC Angels – Children’s doctors who work hard and love even harder…in the city that never sleeps!

You heard my take about being a part of a multi-author continuity when I wrote this blog.

Now, I have the good fortune to have Flo Nicholl—one of the editorial staff at Harlequin Mills & Boon, UK masterminds behind the project—on hand to answer a few questions regarding the process of making a fiction continuity come to life.

Isn’t she lovely?        

1. How does the publisher decide to start a continuity?

FLO: We know our readers love linked stories and we always try our best to deliver what our readers want So, when we come to plan out the year ahead, including a major linked continuity is always a priority – they’ve been so successful in the past and we want each new continuity to build on that success!

2. What sparked your creative juices for NYC Angel’s?

FLO: Oh, a combination of things – our obsession with US medical TV dramas, our amazing US author base, the high-octane city of New York itself… so many reasons to get excited about an NYC-set continuity! What’s more, after setting continuities in Cornwall,UK and Sydney, Australia, it only seemed fair that the US got a starring role! It’s such a globally adored city that we felt the many readers around the world be captivated by it.

3. How long did it take to write all eight synopses?

FLO: How long is a piece of string?! The process can be quite time-consuming, but it’s ALWAYS worth it. We initially brainstorm an overarching concept and continuity arc, before turning our attention to the individual stories. Then it’s a case of brainstorming not only unique, fresh story ideas, but also (hopefully!) tailoring those stories to our continuity authors too. Typing them up can take a while, but only because we’re all crazy perfectionists and want our authors to have the best story outlines they possibly can!

4. Did that daunting task make you more empathetic for us poor authors trying to come up with new stories several times a year? <g>

FLO: Haha, well actually, brainstorming storylines and then writing them up is one of the most exciting parts of my job! I’m no thwarted writer, don’t get me wrong – I love being an editor, but it’s always fun to flex our creativity and enjoy the challenge of setting up a compelling imaginary world. Having said that, I’ve now been involved in brainstorming five 8-book continuities and know exactly how hard it can be to come up with fresh, different storylines. So I am in constant, total awe of authors who produce innovative, exciting storylines on such a regular basis – you are all amazing!

5. Was it hard to give your babies to the authors to grow them creatively, to breathe life into those outlines, and how did it feel reading the completed stories as they came back in?

FLO: Getting a continuity story delivered is always major news in the department, especially for all the editors involved in the brainstorming process. Because whilst we love thrashing out the ideas and writing them up, nothing compares to the excitement of seeing how authors transform them into their own storylines – putting their recognisable stamp on the characters and bringing the characters to life in a way we could only dream of! Trust us, the attachment we feel for the stories only grows when we see how well they’ve been written!

6. Often a writer misses her characters when the book is done. Did you go through a slump once this huge (and wonderful) undertaking of NYC Angel’s continuity was completed?

FLO: Personally, yes, it’s always sad to wave goodbye to character whose hopes and dreams you’ve been living and breathing for a while! But luckily, the editing process means you get to catch up with them a few months later anyway, so there’s always that to look forward to. Oh, and plotting the next continuity, of course

Thank you so much for taking time out of your uber busy schedule to answer my questions, Flo.  Each and every author in this continuity is excited about sharing our stories with our Harlequin readership.  The UK branding is nothing short of beautiful, and speaking for myself, I am very proud and pleased to be a part of it.

Here’s the fabulous book cover for book #7 – Making the Surgeon Smile – my contribution and #8 – An Explosive Reunion by the lovely and talented Alison Roberts.

Flo Nicoll is an Associate Editor for Harlequin Mills & Boon. She joined the company after finishing her literature MA and deciding to put her chronic addiction to romantic fiction to good use. And what better place to start than Romance HQ?! Working for Mills & Boon is a dream come true for Flo – and she still can’t believe she’s lucky enough to read happy endings for a living!

Special thank you to Flo for sharing her time, and until next time, make it a great one!

Lynne

This blog originally appeared at the Savvy Authors’ blog February 2, 2013.

For those who may have missed it, I wanted to share here at my website.

With the cost of national writing conferences often being out of our reach, there is much to be said for attending conferences closer to home.  If you’re writing genre is romance, there are many opportunities throughout the year to attend something educational, yet doesn’t require airfare.

This past October I attended the Emerald City Writers’ Conference inWashingtonState, and I was amazed by the level of planning, professionalism, and production that went into this event.  To prove how worthwhile attending smaller regional conferences can be, I’d like to list ten things I took away from this conference. (Though I could include at least 150 things, I edited down the list to ten.)

1. I don’t have to blog!

In a cozy workshop setting, I was able to hear Liz Pelletier, from Entangled Publishing, say “Blogs are a pointless waste of time.” I asked if I could quote her and she said yes.  So now we know if a writer doesn’t enjoy blogging, they don’t have to.  The bottom line, as with everything in the novel-writing biz is – spend the time you’d put into writing your blogs and getting frustrated feeling as though you’re spinning your wheels, on writing that next solidly good book.

2. When going Indie – writing and promo are 50/50

Four highly successful Indie authors, Gerri Russell, Carolyn McCray, Anne Charles, and Taylor Lee all sell more than 5K a month self-publishing.  They said you need to have 4 books out a year, and should utilize the free books days from Amazon for promo.  Also, don’t be afraid to fail 30% of the time.

3. It’s Okay to Cry Into Dog fur

Susan Wiggs said we all need to use our personal theme when writing.  The character’s desire drives the story, and we should have our characters “bump up against” each other for contrast.  Most importantly, make it clear what the emotional hurdle is our characters must overcome. When writing new scenes, know the goal and create an obstacle for each one.

4. Take Inventory from Time to Time

Jane Porter spoke candidly about the need to tune up our careers, to ask the hard questions such as: Is this writing career getting me where I want to go?  If not do some hard thinking about what you want to change, how to change it, and also what you’re proud of and the things about your writing you’d never change.

5. Finally Got the Lowdown on Concussions

Dr. Crista McHugh, M.D. by day and paranormal/fantasy author by night, ran a fabulous and extensive workshop on trauma and medicine for writers.  Her frustration with authors giving their characters concussions and not following up with the physical consequences was of particular interest for me as I’m often frustrated by the lack of accurate detail in books.  I also walked away with a list of ER terms you won’t hear your doctor repeat in front of you, but you can use in your books to make them more realistic.  If you ever have the chance to take this workshop – sign up!

6. We Must Seduce the Reader into Turning the Page

Darynda Jones, fabulous author of the Grave novels, said the key is to create empathy for the main character, because it is paramount that the reader likes your character.  Give the reader some indication of the character’s needs and longings right off.  Be sure to orient the reader, draw them in, set the stage, or you might lose them in a sea of confusion.  Detail and description help set the stage.  Important rule:  Keep language simple and vocabulary clear.

7. How to Reach Readers (Indie style)

From the creator of Smashwords, Mark Coker, I learned some secrets of e-book publishing.  Key importance: A great cover image – we need to “arrest” the reader with a thumbnail.  Be everywhere!  Give books away.  $2.99 is the sweet spot for books.  Don’t be negative on social media.  Think globally.

8. Character and Backstory go Hand-in-Hand

Dynamic Cherry Adair imparted her tricks of the trade, such as – plot the action first.  Start at the end of the book and work back with the adventure.  Know the point of each scene before writing it.  Get in late and leave early.  Layering and texturing is what colors in your story.  Write the basic story with draft one, then go back and fine-tune the book with each draft after that.

9. The Conference Committee Puts Their Heart and Soul into the Event (and it shows.)
10. Even if you attend the conference solo, you’ll soon feel a part of the local scene with writers you’ve heard of and perhaps interacted with online.  All you have to do is extend yourself, smile, be friendly, welcoming, and maybe buy someone a drink, and you’ll feel like you belong at that regional conference, no matter where it is held.

I could go on and on about everything I learned, but these cliff notes should give you an idea of the value of local/regional conferences when the budget can’t manage National Writing Conferences.

There are many regional conferences to choose from in every season of the year.  I have been to Moonlight and Magnolias, Desert Rose,EmeraldCity, New England RWA Conference, San Diego RWA Conference.  I also have high hopes about attending the New Jersey RWA conference one day, as well as so many other conferences around the country such as next spring’s SoCal RWA California Dreamin’ which is right in my back yard.

Here’s the takeaway from this blog – If you’ve been on the fence about attending a local writing conference, find one near you and attend!  You won’t be sorry.

Have you attended regional conferences?  What was your experience?

Until next week, make it a great one!

Lynne

Note to readers: Since I last blogged I have broken my foot, and that’s my excuse for skipping my blog last week.

As promised, this week I’m sharing the book blurb for book number seven in this lovely continuity – Making the Surgeon Smile by ME!

Here’s the book blurb:

Along came Polly…

Surgeon Johnny Griffin’s world stopped when he lost his wife and unborn child. Now only his little patients can brighten Johnny’s day. Until the moment bubbly new nurse Polly Seymour whirls into his ward and turns his life upside down!

She’s the ray of sunshine this brooding doc needs—the only woman who can make him feel alive again. It could be the second chance Johnny’s dreamt of…if he doesn’t let her slip through his fingers…

NYC Angels

Children’s doctors who work hard and love even harder…in the city that never sleeps!

I don’t have a cover to share yet, but I’ve certainly got pictures of the characters as I imagined them.

Orthopedic surgeon, Dr. John Griffin, was described as thirty-nine years old having short cropped graying hair, with brown eyes (and gold flecks).  Height 5’11″ solidly built.

Personality – Unapproachable, tortured by memories, though warm-hearted underneath.

I think I found the perfect match with Dermot Mulroney, don’t you?

And people-pleasing Polly was described as twenty-seven, enthusiastic and bubbly, but secretly desperate for love.

She is Ash blonde with wavy and bouncy, shoulder-length hair.  Her eyes are bright blue, and she is petite.  I’m embarassed to say I don’t know this actress’ name, but physically she fit what I imagined Polly Seymour to be as described by the continuity bible.

And for those who don’t believe my excuse for not blogging last week, here is my boot and Milo, the reason I’m wearing it.  More on that another time. 

One last thing before I leave you to your weekend, Mills & Boon has an official Facebook App for NYC Angel’s and it would be great if you’d follow this link to like it.  They are also running a contest to win the entire series, so go and enter!

Until next week, make it a great one!

Lynne

What do you think?

Last year I was offered the chance to take part in my very first continuity, Harlequin style.  The Medical Romance line was setting eight stories in New York, featuring the Angel Mendez Children’s Hospital. I jumped at the chance, but admittedly my intentions weren’t pure.  My first thought?  I won’t have to write a synopsis!  Yeah!

After I pulled my fist from the air and signed on the dotted line, I was gifted with an incredible continuity bible written by the lovely and talented UK editor, Flo Nicholl.  Wow, eight complete synopses including overview backstory, character conflict already built in, and even a physical characteristics chart for each hero and heroine.  Each story was vastly different, yet all interconnected by the hospital and one main couple, Dr. Alex Rodriguez and Dr. Layla Woods.

I felt a little queasy beginning my book.  Who were these characters, and would I be able to write them the way Flo envisioned?  Would I ever create two characters like these?

After I dealt with my initial insecurity, I delved right in to following the synopsis for scenes, creating the set-up the way I would any other book (and I’ve written twelve Medical Romances and two Special Editions so far, so I do have a clue), and getting to know Dr. John Griffin, and the perky Polly Seymour.

As I diligently went about my business writing, something magical happened.  I fell in love.  Yes, I fell head over heels for my hero and heroine, and I wanted nothing more than for them to find their happily ever after.

So, though this project started out unconventionally for me, I soon fit right in then moved over and let the characters fill in all the blanks the synopsis could not possibly cover.  It was a great experience and I’m thrilled to be a part of it with the seven other talented authors.

Aren’t the above banner and first book cover beautiful?

If you haven’t seen the complete rundown of release dates for all eight books on my website home page yet, go here.

I’m thrilled to be paired with the very talented Alison Roberts for the final duo, due out this coming June.  She will finally tell the continuity couple’s story.  I can’t wait to read it!

Next week I’ll share my book blurb and also the people I chose to play Johnny and Polly and give a little more history on the Angel Mendez Hospital, fondly known as Angel’s.

Do you like continuities?  Why or why not?

Until next week, make it a great one!

Lynne