Royal Wedding Watch Party

Tomorrow, I'll be on Twitter early in the morning, posting my thoughts about the royal wedding. If you're on Twitter, please join in! I'll be using the hashtag #royalwed and will be joined by several other authors. Expect--among others!--Harlequin Mills & Boon author Kate Hewitt, who's written royal romance for Presents/Modern, as well as Christina Dodd, whose current release is the bestselling book Taken By The Prince.

We'll be chatting about everything from Kate's gown to the processional to who's wearing what. Of course, as a writer, I'm always fascinated with what's going on beneath the surface...how will Kate's parents feel? What would it be like for you if one of your friends married into the royal family? Watching the faces in the crowd should prove interesting!

And then there are the souvenirs. I've already blogged about some of them, but tomorrow I'll be highlighting a few more. Please join in with your discoveries. The more offbeat and fun, the better!

If you're in the US and want to watch the royal wedding along with us, here are some options I've discovered:

BBC America: BBC America will be simulcasting BBC One's reports beginning at 3 AM. If you want the British perspective on the royal wedding, this is the channel to watch.

ABC News: Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters will begin reporting at 4 AM Eastern time. There are also iPad and iPhone apps available from ABC online that will allow you to follow along.

CBS News: Katie Couric begins her reporting at 5 AM Eastern.

NBC/ITN: Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, and Brian Williams will begin at 4 AM Eastern.

MSNBC: If you're up REALLY early, MSNBC starts their reporting from London at 3 AM Eastern, with reporter Martin Bashir.

CNN: Coverage starts at 4 AM Eastern with Anderson Cooper, Piers Morgan, and the always funny Richard Quest.

Fox News: Fox is partnering with the UK's Sky News for coverage beginning at 4 AM Eastern.

If you'd like a different perspective than the news stations offer, The Weather Channel will be covering the event. There's also a pajama party on E!, hosted by Guiliana Rancic.

While the truly British at heart would have a cup of tea to stay awake at that hour, I heartily recommend coffee. I'll have a mug of Green Mountain Mocha Java in hand, but I just might treat myself to a Walker's Shortbread to make up for my lack-of-Britishness.

See you then!

Romantic Comedy News

I receive several e-mails a week asking about future books in Simon Pulse's romantic comedy line.  Over the last few years, the line has featured some fantasic authors, such as Jamie Ponti, Erin Downing, Aimee Friedman, Nancy Krulik, and Micol Ostow (and that's just a start!)  To date, I've contributed four titles to the line (Royally Jacked, Spin Control, Do-Over, and Scary Beautiful.)  However, in the last few years, I've been busy with other projects, which means I usually answer those "when will you write...? e-mails with some variation on "Someday."

I'm happy to announce that "someday" is now here!  I just agreed to write a fifth romantic comedy for Simon Pulse. The book is tentatively titled NOT MY BOYFRIEND--tentative, because titles often change while a book is in production--and it's the story of a teenage boy who asks his best friend's younger sister, a talented athlete, to pretend to be his girlfriend. The pair think the charade will be simple, but find it forces both of them to question their offbeat views on romance.

The book is slated for a December 2011 or Spring 2012 e-book release, and I couldn't be happier.  As more detailed release info becomes available, I'll post it here and to my bulletin board.

Bonus book news:  If you're a fan of Jennifer Echols, then you'll be thrilled to hear that she's also agreed to write another romantic comedy.  Her story, DOUBLE DATE, will also be released in Spring 2012.  It's about two best friends who can't figure out which of the guys flirting with them is interested in which girl.  Worse, the girls don't want to admit to each other that they're interested in the same guy.  Jennifer will also be posting updates on the story to her blog, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, thanks so much for all your e-mails requesting more romantic comedies.  I'm happy to oblige!

Royal Wedding: The E-Book Version

Nothing like a royal wedding to start a deluge of royal-themed books.  You just knew the minute Wills and Kate entered that press conference to announce their engagement that a slew of royal biographies, wedding photo books, and wedding etiquette guides would follow.

However, here's one title you might not have expected:

Hyperion Books just released A Modern Fairy Tale from popular British author Jane Green.  Not only does it discuss (as promised by its subtitle) three generations of royal love, this e-book has additional audio and video content.  There's footage from ABC's video archives and a video introduction by Barbara Walters.  It will also include a free downloadable update after the wedding showing footage from the big event.

For those of you with e-readers/iPads, is this something you'd anticipated when you bought your device?  Do you like the idea of having videos and audio to enhance your books?  What do you think of the promised post-wedding updates?  

Don't forget:  If you're watching the royal wedding on April 29th, you can join me on Twitter where I'll be live-tweeting the royal wedding.  I'd love to share the event with you and hear your thoughts on everything from the gown to the guests to the much-anticipated balcony kiss at Buckingham Palace.