You know how sometimes you just hit on something at the right time and suddenly everything else just starts clicking around you and its like magic? Well that's happening to me right now. I'm working on the second book in a series I'm doing for Desire next year and the characters are just so much fun. In part I was inspired to write this story by the great classical romantic comedies of the 30s and 40s.  I know that I'm not anywhere near as talented as Dashiell Hammett, but I have always loved The Thin Man and I am getting the same feeling from my characters--Nichole and Conner as I do from watching those movies.

Real fun guy vs girl stuff--both of them using every asset at their disposal to best the other one.  The dialogue is snappy, the characters are bold and just this side of too outrageous. It doesn't happen all the time when I'm writing but it has happened before. Its like I'm not even writing the book, the words are flowing as if they are already there. Its all finished in my head and I'm just doing time at the keyboard everyday, enjoying the ride and ready to get back there the next day.

I didn't realize it when I started writing this book (I'm calling it Indecent Proposal) that it would be as much fun as it is.  Basically its the second book in a series and it was the weakest idea of the three that I had.  Originally I wanted to do something very dark like Absence of Malice but that wasn't in line with the rest of the series and as I was tweaking I decided to write a couple of scenes with the characters and voila, magic.

I'm reminded of Amadeus and the way they portrayed him writing music. I'm even dreaming about the characters and hearing snippets of their conversation as I'm doing the school run or dashing into the grocery store to pick up dinner ingredients.   There is something about this story that reaffirms for me why I'm a writer.   A lot of times writing is really hard work and my parents would say that's because anything worth doing takes effort.  And I agree but when you get a book like this one--its just a gift and I couldn't resist sharing!   Its such a high to be doing something that I love as much as I love writing.  I guess today I just feel like I'm a genius!

Seriously though I love it when everything comes together and writing can just be fun! I hope that whatever you do, today is magic for you!

Sara Watts! I’d love to send you a signed copy of UNTIL THERE WAS YOU! Email me your snail mail addy to k.higgins@snet.net. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and once again, thanks to Maxim for taking the time to do this interview. Looks, brains and charm too! Sigh!

Gang, I am very excited to post this blog today, because I’m talking to Maxim Budnick, the incredibly good-looking model on the cover of UNTIL THERE WAS YOU. I admit that when I saw this cover, I got rather…um…excited? Is that okay to say? I got really excited, because Maxim looks so much like my mental version of Liam Murphy, the hero, that it was almost like seeing a character in real life.

KH: Thanks for being interviewed for this, Maxim! Let’s get right to the questions. Do you like older women?

MB: I definitely like older women. They know what they want.

KH: (Oh, my GOD! Somebody, get me…something! Quick!). Huh. That’s interesting. Great. Okay. And you’re a professional model, correct?

MG: Yes. I’m repped with Sutherland models in Canada and Wilhelmina Models in New York, among other agencies around the world.

KH: What is your favorite romance novel? Aside from mine, of course.

MB: To be honest, I have never read one.

KH: Oh. Okay, well, points for being candid, anyway. Maxim, do you think you’re as smokin’ hot as Liam, the hero of UNTIL THERE WAS YOU?

MB: When I get a copy for myself I may come to that conclusion, but for now I won’t be presumptuous.

KH: (He’s modest, too! He looks like THAT and he’s modest!). I see. In UNTIL THERE WAS YOU, Liam’s nicknames are Hottie McSin and God’s Gift. I heard that during the shoot, some of the women were calling you God’s Gift. Do those nicknames apply to you?

MB: (Laughing) Maybe some people might call me that, but I’m not aware of it. However, it’s two very different things for someone else to give you that nickname. I couldn’t take myself seriously if I ever called myself that.

KH: True, so true. (Sigh!) In the book, Liam is a motorcycle mechanic. Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?

MB: When I was working in South Africa, I rented one for a while. I’ve been dreaming about riding down through North America to the southern tip of South America.  I met two very inspirational fellow Canadians who were doing it on bicycles when I was traveling through Costa Rica and have wanted to do it ever since.

KH: That is so cool. Um…Liam also wears leather jackets. Do you own a leather jacket?

MB: I own two.

KH: Would you like to come visit me? Sorry, sorry, that was inappropriate.

MB: Of course! It would be a stimulating meeting of the subjective and objective. That is, the subjective vision of the writer’s character and the objective real life person used to embody that vision… You may call that an interest in psychology but I am always up for an experiment.

KH: (He’s too smart for me. Dang it! Well, his punctuation was a little weak. I’ll console myself with that.) Maxim, have you ever done other romance novel covers?

MB: I’ve done around 26 covers; however, romance novels are a small part of what I do.

KH: What kinds of things are you told before a shoot? Do they talk about the book or the vibe they’re looking for?

MB: It’s always different; sometimes it’s very clear what they want; other times, it’s not. I find that in the best shoots, I’m given a general direction of where we want to go with the shot, but there’s still a certain looseness that allows the models to take creative liberties. It comes across much less contrived this way.

KH: Do you watch America’s Next Top Model?

MB: Never have, but I have heard about it and it is nothing remotely like my experience.

KH: No, I’ve never seen it either (cough). So how was the other beautiful boy on the cover? That would be Mumford, the Great Dane? Are you a dog person? Do you own a pet?

MB: Mumford was great! He acted like such a puppy compared to how big he actually was. I am a dog person for sure, though logistically it makes no sense for me to have a dog right now. I work all over the world and it would be way too complicated to have that on the back of my mind. Though when I do settle down I think I would like to get a husky, I love big dogs that I can rough-house with.

KH: We seem perfect for each other, Maxim. Oh, sorry, did I say that out loud? Um, do chicks throw themselves at you? Guys, too?

MB: I don’t mean to be egotistical, but yes, they do.

KH: Really? Wow. That’s so, uh, rude.

MB: But I’ve learned  through my experience and the testimony of women that I can be intimidating, and when someone is intimidated, they will often act aloof and be be much less likely to approach you. So while it’s easy to meet women on one hand, there are other social quirks that need to be recognized to make meaningful connections. This requires me to project myself as approachable. Guys are much more forward than women in general, but I’m straight.

KH: (Thank you, God!) Maxim, were you always this beautiful, or were you a late bloomer?

MB: I’ve always had extra attention, but for some reason I don’t think it got to me.

KH: What does your mom think of your work?

MB: She laughs about it. Modeling is just a stepping-stone to other

things in life, and she fully supports me for it.

KH: Do you just love the Canadian healthcare system?

MB: Yes, of course! Fundamentally it embodies Canadian values and though it’s not perfect, it works.

KH: How do you like New York? Do you have any favorite hangouts where I might stumble innocently upon you if I just happen to be in the city?

MB: I have recently been going to this amazing Thai restaurant called the Topaz that a friend showed me.

KH: Oh, the Topaz. Let me Google that. Not that I would stalk you or anything. That would never happen. But thank you so much for taking time from your very busy schedule, Maxim, and all the best to you in your career and future endeavors!

MB: Thanks a lot!

KH: You are so welcome, young man. So, so welcome!

Okay, I think it’s time for a GIVE-AWAY, don’t you guys? Leave a comment, and I’ll pick one of you to get a signed copy of UNTIL THERE WAS YOU. And a million thanks to Maxim, who was such a good sport to take these questions!

More goodies being given away all this month, so pop over to my mailing list at www.kristanhiggins.com and make sure you’re on the mailing list.

Shana Galen finally has a title for the last book in the Sons of the Revolution series. Bastien’s novel will be titled The Rogue Pirate’s Bride, and is scheduled for release in February 2012.

The winner of the copy of REALITY TV BITES is Johanna J! Johanna, email me at shana@shangalen.com, or check your inbox later for an email from me. Congrats!

In August I decided I needed to get back into shape. My clothes were a little too tight, and I was huffing and puffing on my way up the stairs. As many of you know, it’s not easy to find time to exercise when you run a house, write books, and have a toddler who wants your attention every waking moment. I tried going to the YMCA and working out, but Baby Galen would nap too long or I would need to run errands or…there was always something.

And then I saw a boot camp class advertised in the YMCA booklet. It was three days a week from 5-6 a.m. Nothing is going to get in the way at 5 a.m., and Ultimate Sportsfan is home with Baby Galen. So I invited a friend to join me and signed up. To my shock, my friend agreed to do it too, which meant I actually had to show up. I couldn’t exactly invite someone else to be tortured in the wee hours of the morning and then sleep in.

So I’ve been going to boot camp for a month, and I am getting in better shape. I’m still sore and still huffing and puffing, but I’m doing it. And I’ll probably sign up for the next session too.

I feel like I’ve learned a few things from fitness boot camp I can pass on to you.

1. Pace yourself. Learn to slow down or say no when you’ve already got a lot on your plate. There’s usually 20 push ups still to come!

2. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. I am not embarrassed to admit I’m one of the last people when we do relays or sprints or pretty much anything. I’m not fast, but I am persistent. I can run three miles. I just can’t do it fast. And you know what? That’s okay. This is my workout, and it matters what I’m getting out of it. So don’t compare yourself to others (especially those bouncy college girls). Just do your best.

3. Just do it. September was probably the worst month for me to decide to wake up at 4:30 a.m. three times a week. I had a book due October 1st, a book out September 1st, book signings, a blog tour, and Baby Galen’s birthday to plan. But I knew if I didn’t do it then, I might never do it. So I went for it. Yes, September was inordinately hard, but October feels like a piece of…healthy celery stick compared to September. So don’t hold back. If you want something, make it happen.

Have you ever done a fitness boot camp or something else that was a real challenge for you? One person who comments will win a copy of my contemporary Reality TV Bites (written as Shane Bolks). The main character in the book has some real challenges to overcome.

When you tell someone you’re a writer for the first time, one of several things happens. Every once in a while, I happen to be talking to someone who actually reads romance novels or YA and they’re super impressed. That’s like hitting the jackpot. More likely however, it’s someone who reads high fantasy (if it’s someone from the Geek’s work) or serious literary fiction (if it’s a playgroup mom). The third option is someone who doesn’t really read much at all. These conversations read about like this:

Them: What do you do?

Me: I write romance novels.

Them: Like Daniel Steele?

Me: Um, no. She writes women’s fiction. And gets paid way more money.

Them: Oh.

Me: I write those thin books you can buy at the grocery store and Walmart. Or in a bookstore.

Them: <surprised> Oh … You can buy them in bookstores?

Me: Yep.

Long pause ….

Them: There’s a book club in our neighborhood. You should join.

Me: Oh, do you go?

Them: No. But my sister’s best friend’s cousin goes and she says it’s great. If you want I can email you the information.

Me: Ah … no thanks?

Don’t get me wrong. I want to be polite. But in the years since I’ve started writing, I’ve been invited to join about a dozen book clubs. None of which I’ve been remotely interested in joining. In my defense, I’ve never been invited to join a romance book club. It’s always, always “important” literary fiction. I’m guessing a lot of characters die.

Today at the park, I realized why people do this. It’s not that they want my wise insight into the fiction. It’s because they don’t know what else to say. I’ve been there before. Last year at the kindergarten social I asked on of the dads what he did. When I found out he managed the entire website for Ford all I could think of to say was, “My dad drives a Ford.”  Today at the park, I realized for the first time that all those book club invitations are the equivalent of “My dad drives a Ford.”

And now I know … I can turn down the book club invite without guilt. They don’t really want me there. It’s just the only thing they can think of to say that’s remotely related to books.

Have you ever met someone who’s profession took you so completely by surprise that you didn’t know what to say?

One of the questions I’ve been asked since the September release of my quirky romantic comedy Lucky Girl, written under my contemporary pseudonym Cate Lord, is why I decided to switch from writing medieval romances to contemporary romantic comedies.

This is a good question.  I didn’t exactly switch.  I do plan to write more medievals, since I love crafting emotionally-charged stories featuring roguish, alpha-male knights and stubborn damsels.  I’m currently reissuing my medievals in ebook format for Kindle and Nook, to keep my historical novels available for my readers.  But the inspiration for Lucky Girl?  I wrote it as a challenge.

My muse is willing to indulge most of my story ideas.  While writing my medieval romances, though, she whispered that there were more genres to be tapped in my “creative well.”  Why not try a story that was set in the twenty-first century and had more of a light-hearted, Chick Lit tone?  Instead of concentrating on developing the love story between a medieval hero and heroine, why not focus on the character growth of a modern day heroine?

I decided to give it a try.

The challenge wasn’t just in writing a contemporary setting complete with modern conveniences like cell phones, laptops, and shiny lip gloss.  It was also in tightening my focus.  It was strange, at first, to limit the point of view to that of twenty-nine-year-old Jessica Devlin who works as the beauty editor of Orlando’s O Tart magazine and who takes an overdue vacation to fly to England to take part in her British cousin’s wedding.  In my historical romances, I gave equal attention to the points of view of the hero and heroine; we see, feel, and live the plot through their thoughts, emotional reactions, and decisions.  Could I tell a complete story from just one character’s perspective?

I started chewing my nails—not an easy feat while trying to type.  I made a list of issues that concern most women of today, such as job security, weight, dating, office politics, computer woes, mother-daughter relationships, and the longing to find Mr. Right.

Secretly, I wondered if my muse had set this challenge to drive me crazy.

The more I got to know the insecure, heartbroken, loyal, eccentric, sarcastic, and lovable Jess, though, the more determined I became to write her book.  Because we only see the world through Jess’s eyes, I leave more for the reader to interpret than I do in my historicals.  For example, Jess stresses over the pounds she’s gained in the four months since her ex-fiancé betrayed her, and is appalled at the way she looks in the maid-of-honor gown she’s to wear to the wedding.  Is Jess as overweight as she thinks?  Or, due to the painful, crushing blow her ex delivered to her self-esteem, is she imagining how awful she looks?  Personally, I see Jess as a pretty normal-weight woman whose insecurities make her blow things out of proportion, but I’m also happy to let readers imagine her as they prefer.

So I know that our lovely Katherine Garbera has blogged before on her love of fashion, well, I have a bit of the opposite to confess. I am not fashionable. Not really on purpose. I think I have good taste. My house is decorated nicely, I definitely have an opinion about how things should look but I’m never really “in style.” I seem to have a knack for being late to the party, as it were. Some new fashion will come out and I’ll either not like it or feel ambivalent about it and then just when I decide it’s cute and I want it, the stores are done. This happens to me a lot with shoes, in particular. Frankly, it’s very annoying.

Recently Target had a very strange commercial, one that I simply didn’t get. Then whenever this magical stuff went on sale people went nuts and it sold out and then it was all over ebay. I didn’t understand. I saw some of it, still in stores, heavily patterned clothes and kitchen stuff and well, it’s not my thing. So I asked a worker at Target what the big deal was and he explained that this designer is big stuff and normally her products are very expensive. Okay, so that makes more sense. Making a big designers stuff more accessible to the masses, I get it. I still don’t care for it and I doubt that will change, but hey, I’ve been wrong about that. So if a year from now I decide I need to redecorate my house with all that patterned pieces, then all of you who bought it when it was hot can re-sell it to me.

When it comes to clothes though I’m just not that hip. I often don’t understand trends. Like skinny jeans, let’s talk about this. Who thought this was a good idea for anyone but 14 year old girls? I’ve seen far too many guys/men wearing them and that’s just not attractive. At all. They’re not flattering. They’re made for the ultra thin and all they do is highlight how much these poor people need to eat some twinkies. Yet they’re made for women my size. Come on people, full-figured women do not need thin legged pants – that’s not flattering. We need the flare.

I could write an entire blog on full-figured fashion, but today I really am trying to talk about how unfashionable I am. I’m mostly a blue jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, I like tennis shoes and flip-flops. When I go to writing functions like conferences, then I pull out my nice clothes, it’s all basically the same year after year, black pants with black jackets and different colored tops. And I often still wear my flip-flops because well, they’re nice and I don’t do heels. (there’a bother fashion thing I don’t get on any level)

So what about y’all? Are you hip and in fashion, with your clothes or your decorating taste? Or do you just do your own thing and hope no one will notice?

As most of you know, my most recent book was Seducing the Governess. It’s the tale of a young woman who, as a toddler, was orphaned and given to a minister and his wife to be raised. Her own grandfather – a duke – had disowned her mother for marrying without his approval. He also disowned her offspring and has no idea where they are. Years later, the duke is dying and decides he wants to see his granddaughter. He wants to include her in his will, which will make her a very wealthy young woman.

Ah, but this is only the beginning. My intrepid heroine, Mercy Franklin, is orphaned once again (by the minister and his wife) and must make her own way in the world. So she takes the position of governess to the niece of a man who becomes earl in his brother’s stead. This man was seriously wounded at Waterloo, his household is a wreck, his lands wasted. The niece is a shy little girl who has already had too many losses in her life. Yikes. Not a good situation for the poor, inexperienced governess. But she triumphs! Yay! She and the earl fall in love.

During the course of the story, as Mercy and her earl are getting to know each other, the grandfather hires a former army sharpshooter (and assassin who works in secret during the war for the crown) to find her. It is Captain Gavin Briggs  who takes on the somewhat perilous task of searching for the granddaughter. The old duke never wanted to know anything about her – not even the names of the people who adopted her - so the duke needs Briggs so scour the country for her.

And while the love story between Mercy and the earl is taking place, it turns out my readers (and my editor) were busy falling in love with Gavin Briggs. So I am pleased to announce that Captain Briggs is the hero of my next book, Brazen – which will be released at the end of next month. In it, Gavin must find Mercy’s sister – who was also abandoned at the same time - and take her to the old duke. But the sister, Lady Christina Fairhaven, has something else in mind. She takes Gavin on the adventure of his life – one that he isn’t likely to escape.

With some series, you really need to read all the books. I recently read The Hunger Games trilogy, which was that kind of series. You couldn’t just stop at #1 or #2. You have to read all three. My Governess book and Brazen stand alone, so it’s not necessary to read both, although I hope you will!  I would love to know what series pulled you in as a reader. Any genre – Lord of the Rings? The Bridgertons? Tell me!