Romy Sommer

Not strictly the UK, but on Friday 12th June I flew to Dublin to meet up with fellow Minxes. These ladies are not only my writing friends and critique partners, they've become like family. We stayed up late every night, drank copious amounts of wine and coffee, and talked, talked, talked. But all too soon it was over, and  I can't wait until I get another chance to meet with them again - one weekend was definitely too short a time!  

This year I'm trying something a little different, by taking part in Six Sentence Sunday , that Twitter and Facebook sharing of excerpts. I'll kick off the year with an excerpt from The Fire Inside , my contribution to Blaze , the anthology of eight stories by the Minxes of Romance. SIX SENTENCES: He was tired beyond belief of the endless events he attended. More and more all he wanted was a real conversation over dinner. A real flirtation with some real chemistry. “You can always take Sam. She doesn’t have a date.” Yeah. That kind of chemistry. THE FIRE INSIDE Fire fighter Sam Redfern is used to being seen as just one of the boys. Until TV talent scout and celebrity Ryan Morgan shows up in Coombethwaite and starts to make her feel very much like a woman. A woman with needs. Available from Amazon and Amazon UK .

For the first time ever I get my own name on a book! The Minxes of Romance have released an anthology of eight scorching hot stories featuring the fire fighters of Coombethwaite. This book was a fun collaboration that started as one of those silly ideas that happen late at night, but which turned into something with a life all its own. Please, please buy a copy, read and review it. I guarantee that there is something for everyone in this book, from sweet to sensual to scorching, light and flirty to downright intense.  Blaze is available from Amazon and Amazon UK . Also on the good news front, I'd like to congratulate Jennifer Drogell for her So You Think You Can Write win. Well done, Jen, and I can't wait to buy my own copy of The Divorce Party .

I'm behind the times with the news, since the whole world has known about it for a full week, but at last I'd like to congratulate my Minxy CP, Joanne Pibworth, on her sale to Harper Collins. Jo's book The Lighthouse will be published under the pen name Jodie James, and the lovely people at Harper Collins are running a contest on their Authonomy site to find the book a new name. You can find out more here . Jo's call story is up on her blog, but the post that touched me most was this one she did for the Seven Sassy Sisters. We Minxes shared the ups and downs of Jo's journey, but what's really moved me about her success, is what I've learned from her along the way. I love that in spite of multiple rejections from her publisher of choice, having to re-think her career as a writer, then the 21 agent rejections she received on this book before it sold, she has remained strong and cheerful. Those rejections stung, but she never let them get her down. ...

Last week I blogged a teaser tribute to my critique group, the Minxes of Romance . If you haven't yet heard the exciting Minxy news that followed: Maya Minx sold to Harlequin Presents! It's been a busy week for us, as Sri Minx has finished and sent off her revisions (Yay, Sri!) to Harlequin Presents, Sally Minx is busy with her contracted book which has an imminent deadline, and on Sunday night I received a detailed revisions letter of my own for my New Voices 2011 entry, Once Upon a Time . The revisions are pretty massive, to the point that the editor even took pity on me and offered I could send her something completely new instead. Since I don't have anything new that I'm ready for outside eyes to see, I've opted to do the revisions. So this is me heading to join my other fellow Minxes in the Revisions Cave. It's warm and well lit, and we keep it stocked with plenty of coffee, lucozade and chocolate, but no other distractions are allowed. Wish me joy....

This week is the final week of the Minxes' Birthday Bash. Up for grabs this week are a copy of Sally Clements' Catch Me a Catch , which was shortlisted for the RNA's Joan Hessayon award, and also a RIVA! bag made by Minx Lorraine. Grand Prix Contest In order to enter the Grand Prix contest, you'll need to be a follower of the Minxes Blog, and the question you need to answer is simple: How old is Minxes of Romance? The first prize will include: A signed copy of Sally Clements' Bound to Love A " Careful or you'll end up in my novel " t-shirt A personalised Minxy notebook courtesy of Minx Jo P An Amazon gift voucher valued at $10 courtesy of Minx Sri One runner-up will also win the following: Claire Robyns' historical novel Betrayed An Amazon gift voucher valued at $10 courtesy of Minx Maya This contest will close on Sunday 29th May, and the winners will be announced on Monday 30th May. And where is all of this happening? http://minx...

I was hoping to be hot off the press with congratulating the winner of the Joan Hessayon Award at the RNA's Summer Party this evening, but sadly I'm still waiting. (Come on ladies, enough with the champagne now ... spill the good news). The reason I'm on tenter hooks is that Sally Minx is one of the five nominees for this distinguished award. GO SALLY! As it's now nearly 11pm here in South Africa, and as I have a tech recce starting at the crack of dawn tomorrow, I'm going to have to try to sleep without news. But I'll be online tomorrow as soon as I possibly can to share the joy with you - and the shoes. PS: Sadly (for the Minxes) Sally Minx did not win. The JHA trophy went to Charlotte Betts. Congratulations, Charlotte!

As part of the Minxy Birthday Bash, I'm offering one commenter on today's blog post a chance to win a copy of my 1920s novella, Let's Misbehave . All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on Maureen Child's interview here . Each week in May we're running two contests, and there is also a Grand Prix contest that runs all month. You can find out more about how to enter these contests here . Happy birthday Minxes!

Head on over to the Minxes of Romance to read our big announcement.