Archive for April 26th, 2010

A fallen star. A runaway bride. They’re about to be pitted against each other by a very powerful man. Madison Miller has everything - beautiful, talented and just a little bit naive; she’s the small-town girl who swept to victory on America’s hottest talent show to become the nation’s sweetheart. She’s also head-over-heels in love with the man who’s masterminded her career - the head-spinningly powerful, lethally attractive Beau Silverman. But there’s trouble in paradise… Jess has bolted from her approaching wedding and a dead-end job in London to chase dreams of being a fashion designer in New York. But she’s finding life in the Big Apple tough, until she meets a man who makes her an offer she can’t refuse. It means a taste of a life she’s never had - glamorous parties, paparazzi, haute couture - but at what price? Sweeping from the hotspots of LA to the coolest bars of New York, SPOTLIGHT cuts a gloriously fun swathe through the world of celebrity and glamour, with a page-turning story at its heart.

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The lovely Rowan Coleman told us about her new short story competition, and we think it is one to share with all our readers in case there is a budding author out there looking for akick start to their writing career! Rowan’s career actually began when she won a short story competition, so she knows what she is talking about, and the prizes are just amazing too. You have to write a story no longer than 1000 words on the subject of starting over, and the entries will all be judged by Rowan Coleman and some fellow published authors.

For more information on the competition, visit Rowan’s blog with more details about the prizes, Rowan’s own journey into being an author, and most importantly - how to enter! Good luck!

Diane Chamberlain has been compared to the ever fab Jodi Picoult and she had her first book released in the UK last year called The Lost Daughter. 2010 brings three more releases from Diane - The Bay at Midnight was released earlier this year - and the other two are Before The Storm due out on May 21st and Secrets She Left Behind which is out on 20th August 2010. I have The Lost Daughter on my shelf and love the sound of her other releases. Here are the synopsis and covers for both books (first Before the Storm, second Secrets She Left Behind):

Her little boy has been accused of murder. How far will she go to protect him? When the local church is razed to the ground, dozens of trapped children manage to escape - many helped by fifteen-year-old Andy Lockwood. Born with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Andy is more like a little boy than a teenager, but in the eyes of the people he saved, he’s a hero. Laurel lost her baby once through neglect and has spent the rest of her life determined to make up for her mistakes. Yet when suspicion of arson is cast upon Andy, Laurel must ask herself how well she really knows her son - and how far she’ll go to protect him.

Nineteen-year-old Maggie Lockwood spent a year in prison for her part in a fire that cost three lives. The scars carried by the surviving victims - inside and out - are still raw and Maggie’s release from jail does nothing to free her from the guilt. Returning home, Maggie hides herself away, too afraid to see Keith, the boy she grew up with, played with as a child - and recently learnt is her half-brother. Keith nearly lost his life in the fire and the emotional and physical wounds he carries have changed him forever. With childhood innocence gone, Maggie and Keith must learn to come to terms with their new lives, but trying to move forward will have deadly consequences.