More in Special Edition

For a while back there, the ideas just weren’t flowing, and that was one of the things that told me I needed to take a break from writing series romance and work on some other projects. Those projects, proving to be demanding ones, are still calling me, but I feel refreshed and eager to return to romance as well. I haven’t pitched these ideas to my editor yet, so they’re hot news… and they may never make it into book form if she feels they don’t fit the line… Still, I’m excited about them and can’t wait to get started, so here’s hoping.

The first is a secret baby book with a difference, but it would be too much of a spoiler if I let on what the difference is. Let’s just say it gives both the hero and the heroine a heck of a lot to deal with and at some point they have no choice but to shut out the rest of the world and make the right emotional journeys on their own.

The second is a series of three linked books – and possibly more, if I leave a couple of doors open. It’s actually an idea that I pitched to a writer friend for her to write herself, but it didn’t grab her. We’re funny like that, we writers. Something either grabs or it doesn’t. Well, this one didn’t grab her but it grabbed me, so I asked her if I could have it back and she had no problem with that. The trilogy is about career and ambition and love and family, and the different choices three siblings, all doctors, make about how to find the right balance in their lives. If I’m given the go-ahead to write these stories, I’ll tell you more.

Meanwhile, if you want to read anything else in the rich and rewarding Silhouette Special Edition line, click here.

Rita Time Again

It was a huge thrill to see two of my closest writing friends nominated for Rita awards this year. Unfortunately, they’re both in the Contemporary Series Romance category, so only one of them can win. Don’t ask me to choose! The fabulous Jane Porter has her third nomination, for her Harlequin Presents “Duty, Desire and the Desert King.” Jane’s novels for Presents are lush, lyrical, sensual, highly emotional and sometimes shocking, and if you love dark-hearted Alpha males, you’ll want to read these books. Kelly Hunter will be a less familiar author to most of you, but she’s truly a name to watch, and building to the stellar career she deserves. In just a handful of books, this is already her second Rita nomination. “Revealed : A Prince and a Pregnancy” is classic Kelly. Her friends think her books are like chilli chocolate – richly flavored, fun, sexy and tantallisingly exotic.

Hunt down “Duty, Desire and the Desert King” and “Revealed : A Prince and a Pregnancy,” (both from Harlequin) pour yourself a glass of wine or a cup of hot tea, slide onto a hammock or into a hot bath, reach for some chocolate… chilli-flavored, perhaps – and enjoy two fabulous reads.

Romantic Times Award

THE MILLIONAIRE’S MAKEOVER was an especially enjoyable book to write, as I was able to research its California ranch setting during a trip to a writing conference in San Diego, taking my fabulous friend, Grand Central author Jane Porter (“Flirting With Forty”  “Easy on the Eyes”  “She’s Gone Country”) along for company. Now RTBookclub magazine has given the book a Reviewer’s Choice award for Best Silhouette Special Edition of 2008, which is great.   Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the award ceremony, but I’ve heard those RT conferences are really something.

Here’s Catherine Witmer’s review:-

When Dr. Rowena Madison, Ph.D., meets millionaire businessman Ben Radford, he's suffering through a terrible divorce. It takes him a few months, but Ben gets around to hiring Rowena to restore the garden of a historic building he's bought--and that's when The Millionaire's Makeover (4.5) commences. Rowena makes the garden beautiful, and her innocence touches something inside Ben that he'd forgotten about ... but overcoming his hurt isn't easy. Lilian Darcy's latest has a pair of finely wrought characters, a slow-burning romance and a solid plot going for it. Add in a really fun, evil other woman and you've got a keeper.

—Catherine Witmer

My Fourth Rita Nomination

THE CHILDREN’S DOCTOR AND THE SINGLE MUM was one of my all-time favorite books to write, so I’m especially thrilled that it was recognized with an award nomination.  Best Contemporary Series Romance is one of the most crowded categories in the Rita ™ Award, and the book was up against some serious competition.  Fellow Silhouette Special Edition author Karen Templeton, whose books I love, took out the award for her story A MOTHER’S WISH.  Such a well-deserved win, Karen!  Congratulations!

Perhaps the best thing about the nomination is that my family and I happened to be in the US on a visit to my in-laws at the same time as the RWA Conference and Rita Award ceremony, so my husband was able to attend the ceremony with me.  He discovered just how scary it is to be sitting in that auditorium filled with 2,000 people, waiting for the announcement of the winner.  As in the past, I was shaking as the moment approached, and gave a massive sigh of relief when I didn’t hear my name.  Three seconds later, the disappointment hit, but it’s hard to be disappointed when Karen so deserved this honor.

New Books

I’m also tweaking and rewriting two completed novels with no publication prospects as yet.  They may even come out under a different name.  The market is tough at the moment, and when I write from the heart it tends not to fit into anyone’s pre-conceived market-oriented box.  It’s not chick lit, it’s not serious literary fiction, it’s somewhere in between.  Lots of layers and complexities, but fast-paced story-telling at the same time.  Even the titles on these books are still evolving.  One, I’m pretty sure, is called All Dressed Up.  The other might be called Secret White, but I’ll have to let that sit for a while and see if I still like it and feel that it fits.

The book I’m setting in Turkey, called Cappadocia, is approaching completion of a first draft.  Well, I’m calling it a first draft but it’s already had endless tweaks, major and minor, and I know there’ll be a lot more re-drafting to come once I can look at the whole thing as a package.  As usual, I’m torn between thinking it’s the best novel ever written in the history of the known universe, and wanting to just bury it in a deep, dirty hole in the back yard.  What can I say?  Writers are like that.

Horses, Horses, Horses

I actually wasn’t a horse person until my daughter developed her passion for horses and riding.  Side note:  Spent some time recently with my cousin, who has always owned horses and been a passionate rider.  We were so eager to talk, but there were other people at dinner rolling their eyes.  I said to them,  “She’s been waiting her whole life for me to want to talk about horses, and now I finally do and you’re trying to change the subject.”

Since I don’t ride myself, it’s been a challenge to support my daughter in the right way, but I’m trying.  My latest initiative is to start a yahoo group aimed at parents, grandparents, teachers and carers of horse-crazy kids.  If this sounds like you, please drop me a line at lilian@liliandarcy.com and I’ll send you an invite to join, or you can join directly through www.yahoogroups.com by signing in (or signing up, if you’re not already a member) and inputting horseandponyparent (all one word) to the search box.  There should then be a link saying Join This Group.  Easy!