One of the greatest pleasures of being a published author is when you learn your books have been translated into another language. It’s such a thrill to learn your story will be read by people in other countries. 

So far my books have been translated into 19 languages — at least I that’s how many I think there are. Not all the foreign publishers send me a copy. Usually I learn about them when either a reader writes and tells me or some copies land on my doorstep.  My publisher notifies me that they’ve sold the rights, of course, but that’s long before the actual publication date, so when the books actually arrive, it’s a nice surprise.

The doorbell will ring, and it will be the postie who hands me a box, or leaves it on the doorstep. And when I open it, it’s a lovely surprise — my books in Dutch, or Norwegian, or Spanish or German, or whatever. 

These are the latest — the Merridew sisters series (aka the “Perfect” series) in Indonesian. They arrived on my doorstep a few days ago, forwarded from my publisher. The Indonesian ones come in shrink-wrapped plastic, which is something a little different. I’m not sure why — possibly to stop people reading the books in the bookshop, something I used to do when I was a kid. 

Such pretty covers, aren’t they? On my facebook page and on Instagram, I posted the Indonesian back cover blurb, so click on those links if you’re curious.

I always find the variation in covers fascinating. Here is the Slovenian cover for The Perfect Rake in the same series. I found these covers when a Slovenian blogger blogged and tweeted about them, and tagged me in her post — for which I’m very grateful.

I don’t have covers or copies of all my foreign translations. One day I might try to create a post with as many covers of one title as I can. But for now, I’m sticking to a few.

Below is the Bulgarian cover for the Perfect Rake. A different feel again. All the covers are glamorous, of course, but highlighting different things.

The original English cover of the Perfect Rake doesn’t even have people on the cover. It’s very different, but very pretty, too, I think.

It was my first book with Berkley (PenguinRandom New York) and I was thrilled when the cover first arrived. You can’t tell from this photo, but the cover was embossed (textured) and the title was in dark red foil, so it glittered.

I remember patting it — quite a lot, like a cat. <g> The reprints of the cover don’t have foiling or embossing—they’re expensive processes—but if your copy does have the embossing, it’s a first edition.

So do any of these covers please you? Which is your favorite?

Spring has arrived in Melbourne and gorgeous flowers are popping up everywhere. Even in a neglected and weedy corner of my front driveway, self-seeded freesias are in bloom. 

They’re one of my favorite flowers, hardy, and so fragrant. These ar the old-fashioned kind, and for my money they smell better than the bigger, splashier and more colorful ones that have been bred, though I do like them, too.

Years ago I used to spend a lot of time around Lorne, a pretty coastal town in Victoria, and at this time of year, all along the grass verges of the roads there would be masses of these little creamy, fragrant freesias. I invariably picked some to take home and pop in a vase, and their delicate fragrance would fill the room.

I used to feel a bit guilty about picking them, but I’ve since learned that they’re regarded as a weed — they’re not indigenous to Australia —and so the local council has now eradicated them with poison. I feel a bit sad about it. I do understand that the local flora and fauna needs to be protected, but I did love those freesias.

Sorry, I just discovered that this post had never gone up. So even though it’s late, I’m posting it now.

ARRA is the Australian Romance Readers Association, and each year they hold an awards night. This year it was their tenth annual awards night—congratulations ARRA!— and was held in Sydney. I flew up to attend.

I was a finalist in several awards, and was thrilled to win three — Favorite Historical (Marry In Haste), Favorite couple in a romance (Emm and Cal from Marry In Haste) and I was delighted to be named Favorite Australian Romance Author — for the third year running.

For me the day began when I met up with friends and fellow authors in the hotel. We sat around, chatting, catching up, talking books and reading and solving the problems of the world. Then we raced off to change into our outfits for the dinner.

It was a fun night. I was seated with ARRA Debbie and Heather, two representatives from Booktopia (a fabulous Australian on-line bookstore (e and paper)) who were co-sponsors of the evening, and a couple of my friends — Kelly Hunter and Keri Arthur, who both won awards! There they are in the pic. on the right.

I caught up with some wonderful readers, too. Unfortunately I can’t post pics of them all, but here’s one of me with the lovely Helen Sibbritt, one of the ARRA stalwarts, who reads and reviews an amazing number of books, and at the same time is a fabulous wife, mum and grandma. 

It’s  tradition at this event to have a “bling-off” but the judges surprised us all when they chose not “bling” but a fabulous skirt, with historical designs. So pretty. Here it is, with Lisa from Booktopia wearing her winning romantic skirt.

The full list of winners is here.

The winners of the 2017 Australian Romance Readers Awards were announced last night at our Awards Dinner in Sydney. We started the announcements off with our Members’ Choice awards:

• Strongest Heroine: the winner was Cressy Knight, The Long Paddock by Alissa Callen.
• Favourite Couple: the winner was Emmaline Westwood and Calbourne Rutherford, Marry in Haste by Anne Gracie.
• Favourite New Romance Author: the winner was Amanda Knight.

In the main categories the winners were:

• The Favourite Paranormal Romance for 2017 is Silver Silence by Nalini Singh. This award was sponsored by Hachette Australia and was presented by Rebecca Saunders.
• The Favourite Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Futuristic Romance 2017 is Blood Kissed by Keri Arthur. This award was presented by Pamela Diaz.
• The Favourite Short or Category Romance 2017 is Casey by Kelly Hunter. This award was sponsored by Harlequin Australia and was presented by Kate Cuthbert.
• The Favourite Historical Romance 2017 is Marry in Haste by Anne Gracie. This award was sponsored by Hachette Australia and was presented by Rebecca Saunders.
• The Favourite Contemporary Romance 2017 is Twist by Kylie Scott. This award was sponsored by Allen & Unwin and was presented by Amanda Knight.
• The Favourite Erotic Romance 2017 is Team Player by Cate Ellink. This award was sponsored by Booktopia and was presented by Tracey Mills.
• The Favourite Romantic Suspense 2017 is Heart Breaker by Shannon Curtis. This award was presented by Brooke Moody.
• The Favourite Continuing Romance Series 2017 is the Psy-Changeling Trinity by Nalini Singh. This award was sponsored by Harlequin Australia and was presented by Sue Brockhoff.
• The Favourite Australian Romance Author 2017 is Anne Gracie. This award was sponsored by Booktopia and was presented by Tracey Mills.

Thank you to everyone who came along to the dinner and made it such a success, and particular thanks to our event sponsor, Booktopia, as well as the award sponsors. Congratulations to all the winners!