Today a relatively new face at Harper Impulse has dropped by, Erin Lawless - displaced Londoner, currently living in the West Country - and her new release is going down a storm! www.erinlawless.co.uk

Welcome, Erin. Pull up a chair. So as a romance writer, you must have a pretty good picture in your head of your ideal man?

Well I am marrying my ideal man later this year – no celebrity composite necessary!

Yeah, yeah. Me too; never even think about another chap ;-) Go on...

 – but if you’re asking..! Ideal voice would be Patrick Stewart. His splendid Shakespearean baritone would make even mundane sentences like “Is the milk gone off?” sound epic and glorious. And for brains let’s go Professor Brian Cox – because I always want to learn more about science and he could teach me! But definitely not his voice over Patrick’s – Brian Cox always sounds a little like he’s pinched his balls in his fly zipper.

Ha! But not an image I really want to dwell upon. ;-) Moving on... So if you've got your ideal man already in tow, how did you arrive at this destination? Care to tell us about any embarrassing stops along the way? Maybe from your teenage years?

Every Sunday night for as long as I can remember, my brother and I watched ‘The X Files’ with my dad (in retrospect, we were way too young!). I fell hard and fast for Agent Fox Mulder. Such a mystery of a man! So passionate, yet so reserved. So sarcastic, yet so funny. Stubborn in his beliefs, but still open to new truths. Also, the man looked damn fine in a suit.

And there we have it!

I still feel giggly whenever I see David Duchovny anywhere – and I have a framed THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE poster in my study.

Gold! Let me have a look... Nice!

So the X-Files then? Did you know I was working in a mortuary in Vancouver just before that series star. I was learning to do autopsies as part of my medical degree, and some guys came in to see what they were like in real life to make them accurate in filming. They went a bit grey! But I digress - Getting back... Did you ever want to be a detective?

No, I always wanted to be a writer, but I think at the age of eleven I thought I was going to write film scripts! Later on, in my teens, this morphed into an interest in becoming a television scriptwriter, because writing episodes for serial shows just seemed like having a job writing fanfiction, which at the time appealed to me greatly!

What about what you wanted to read?

I always loved anything Enid Blyton, but particular favourites were The Twins at St Clares, or Malory Towers. I upset my family by telling them I wished that I went to a boarding school. I didn’t mean I wanted to live apart from them per say, I just felt like I was missing out on all the midnight feast/mystery solving fun.

Yes, that seems quite common. Our poor parents! Anything else?

A bit cheaty, as I would still say she is one of my favourite authors, but anything that Tamora Pierce writes! I devoured her ‘Tortall series’ as a teen and to this day I think they are my desert island books.                                                                                                         Finally, a little obvious, but the Harry Potter series. I was exactly the same age as Harry and co for the first four books so I am of the true, original Potter generation, who had to face the excruciating and unbearable wait between books. Years later I bought all seven paperbacks for my younger sister for her birthday, and felt like I should peter them out to her – one a year! – so she got a similar experience to the one I’d had. I ended up not being that cruel…

You're a good sister! Thanks for sharing all this with us today and all the best for your wedding - very exciting! But let's not forget to mention your book - The Best Thing I Never Had. It's a brilliant title and has a load of great reviews. Thanks for dropping by, Erin.

You can catch up with Erin at her website, or on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/erinlawlessauthor  and Twitter:  www.twitter.com/rinylou Bye!

For a delightful change I have a bloke with me today. Nic has dropping by this morning; the rose among thorns of the authors at Harper Impulse; our token male voice.  All the way from (the usually) sunny Florida, US of A. Welcome, Nic, pull up a chair.
http://thechannelingauthor.blogspot.com/
So today we are looking for an ideal woman. I can do that. So who is she, Nic? Come on. There has to be someone out there. Don't be shy. We won't tell.

Now Wendy, I'm a happily married guy, so do you really expect me to discuss Nicole Kidman in public? Don't even think about asking me to talk about the incredible red hair, big eyes, supermodel body and seductive accent because I refuse to do it.

Wouldn't dream of it Nic...

Oh! How did that happen?  ;-)

Yep. I look like that... in my dreams!

Okay. So now we have the fantasy, but where did it begin? Who did you have a crush on when you were young - teenage let's say?

It was Grace Lee Witney, who played Yeoman Janice Rand on the original Star Trek. I had no idea what a Yeoman was, but I wanted one. The basketweave hairdo, the short skirt and the killer voice made her the total package among the boys at school. (The girls had it bad for William Shatner, and got in trouble with the nuns when they were caught passing notes about him in class.)
Anyway, I was crushed when my crush only lasted a few episodes in the first season and was replaced by the alien babe of the week for Captain Kirk's love interest. But unlike most people, I actually got to meet my crush... thirty years later at a Star Trek convention I was covering. She was then sixty-six, but still had that gleam in her eye and was incredibly nice. I told her I had a boyhood crush on her and she said, "Yes, I get that a lot."

Richard Armitage, I hope you're listening.  :-) But try not to leave it 30 years!

So you were a Treky? And is that what you wanted to be when you were younger? Adventuring out into space? An astronaut?

Ha, no! Once I realised I was never going to play centerfield for the New York Mets, I knew I wanted to do something creative. Both my parents worked long hours for little money and impressed upon me the fact that education would lead to a much easier life.                                                 My fifth grade teacher encouraged me to write short stories and create a classroom newspaper, so I knew I wanted a future with some sort of writing involved. My first job out of college was that of a newspaper reporter.

Great. So, books; something dear to all our hearts. What books featured strongly in your childhood, Nic?

Well, you're probably expecting Huckleberry Finn or The Hardy Boys but since my mother worked nights I had a habit of "borrowing" books from her bedroom that weren't exactly in the school library. Of course I had to go to confession over this.
The Love Machine / Jacqueline Susann: Racy story of the behind-the scenes machinations in television news. (When I went into the industry, I found out this was pretty much a non-fiction book.)
The Godfather / Mario Puzo: Required reading in every New York area Italian neighborhood, though parents quickly ripped page 27 out of the book. (Sonny Corleone nails a bridesmaid against the door.) After the movie came out, no one bullied me anymore.
When Worlds Collide & After Worlds Collide / Philip Wylie & Edwin Balmer: Don't laugh, but the cheesy 1951 sci-fi movie was based on a terrific novel written way back in 1933. The book, which included a sequel, was way ahead of its time and included things like solar powered cars and atomic energy rockets.

So if I get this post wrong, I might end up with a horse's head in my bed, is that what you're telling me? ;-)  Moving swiftly on to that 'working long hours for little money' thing... writing! And I hear you've got a new book coming out shortly? How exciting.

Yes, it's called 'Boss Girl'. It's a rom-com about a bunch of female network executives who turn the industry upside down by pairing older attractive women with hot, younger men on anchor teams. I have a young adult title in the pipeline too.

I'm impressed. But if they haven't already read it, I think people should know about 'Wing Girl', your first rom-com, already for sale and getting some really great reviews.

Well thanks for taking the time to drop by today, Nic. Good luck with all your launches and feel free to stop by anytime you're in the neighbourhood.

You can contact Nic on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nictatano1 and Twitter @NicTatano and you can buy his book on all good online ebook retailers and of course, at www.harperimpulseromance.com/books/wing-girl

It's always nice to have visitors, and look who's just dropped by... it's the lovely author from West Sussex - my old stamping ground! -  Sue Fortin

Welcome, Sue, pull up a chair. Settle down with a nice cup of tea and then tell me...Who would be your ideal man? 

For many years I have had a super-adult crush on Andy Garcia. In my mind, he is perfect in every way which is why I never want to meet him in real life as I don’t want any illusions (or should that be delusions) crushed!

Ah yes, fictional man, we do so love him.
Mmm. M-hm. Yep, that works for me. Sorry? Oh yes, Sue. Should I shrink that picture down a bit, do you think? No, I don't think so.

So we have your ideal man in full technicolour, what about the nursery slopes? How did you fare back then?

I had many varied and, some might say, odd crushes growing up. They included John Wayne, Simon Le Bon, Adam Ant, Nick Skelton and David Cassidy.  I also had a severe crush on an older lad in the village where I lived and for the sake of dignity, his, not mine, he shall remain nameless.

Love it! Yes, we wouldn't want to stray too close to real life, would we? Well, let's see what I can come up with for that then...
No, it's no good, I cannot find a hot picture of John Wayne ;-)
Okay, this will do. David Cassidy - I take it it's not the grown-up version we're aiming at  - but yes, I think the teenage me would definitely have liked him as a lad...

So what were you thinking of doing with your life back then, Sue?

I wanted to be a professional show jumper – this involved marrying aforementioned Nick Skelton.

Well I think he certainly deserves a picture too, then. Don't you?

So we have seen the types you were dreaming about. What were you reading back then, when you were young... (That sounds so rude!) younger?

Anything by Enid Blyton although I was particularly fond of ‘The Mystery of …’ series.     

The Fog by James Herbert – I think I was about 13 when I read this and, despite it frightening the life out of me, I couldn’t put it down.

The Scold’s Bridle which I read when I was about 16 and was when I discovered Minette Walters. I went on to read many of her books afterwards.

What a well-rounded reader you were! So books, then? We can't let you go without mentioning your latest release. It's called The United States of Love and it's out now.

And what I notice from all your fabulous reviews is that people say it is really hard to put down. Great job, Sue!

This fantastic read is available now in digital formats, so rev up your readers and go and buy yourselves a copy.  Amazon uk

You can contact Sue on Facebook: Sue Fortin Writer’s Page , Twitter: suefortin1 and her Harper Impluse Author Page.  Thanks for coming, Sue and all the best for your next book.

Thanks so much for inviting me on your blog, Wendy, it's been really good fun. 

You are very welcome, Sue. Send my love to the south.

And normal life resumes: Children back to school, hubby out at work and look who's just dropped by...Louise Wykes, guest reviewer on She Loves to Read. www.shelovestoread.weebly.com
    Welcome, Louise. Take a seat. I don't know about you, but after all the fuss of getting the kids ready for a new school term, I feel in need of some hot men talk, so tell me, who is your ideal man?

Oooo, well probably it would be the body of Colin Firth (dressed as Mr Darcy)

Of course!

With the brains and wit of Tim Minchin and the Heart and soul of Captain Wentworth in Jane Austen's Persuasion.

I like your choice. A girl with classical taste, I see. But where did it all begin?

My first band crush was Take That and I was convinced I was going to marry Gary Barlow and he would write songs and I would write books :-)  My first fictional crush was Mr Darcy and to date no one has knocked him off the top spot!!!

Well we know Mr Darcy is completely fabulous, but Gary Barlow??? I take it we're not talking middle aged X-Factor judge, Gary here, but teenage boy band angst-ridden lad. Am I right? Hmmm...    

 Yes. It's a winner!

So, tell me... When you were busy lusting after the boy wonder, what did you want to do with your life?

I wanted to be a journalist/writer and to be honest I think I still would, but I have yet to do something about it *guilty face*.

Absolutely! Go for it. My dear old Dad, before he died, said to me, 'Go for it. What have you got to lose? The price of postage.' And half the time it's not even that anymore; it's the click of a button. Sieze the day, Lou! Go for it.

So if books are your passion, which ones were important to you while you were growing up?

Anne of Green Gables, by L M Montgomery - I loved Anne, with her talkative ways and getting into scrapes. She was so passionate and energetic.

Matilda, by Roald Dahl - It showed me I wasn't alone in my love of reading and that quiet, small people can still have incredible power.

And 'Sweet Valley High' books - Just because I devoured these and it was wonderful finding out about a glamorous world where people still had the same problems as myself.

Thank you, Louise. It was lovely to have you on here. I hope you reach for your dreams and wish you all the best with it.

You can contact Louise on Twitter @jaustenrulesok

Well it's official, I've eaten more than a third world nation's annual grocery list. Each step is setting off a pendulous motion, very reminiscent of the old desktop favourite, Newton's Cradle. This is me on the right... No, not the pretty lady(sadly), the slug-like one behind her. So it is with great regret that I announce the beginning of the *pause for dramatic music*   DIET.

Yes, even though I still have one family birthday yet to survive, needs must. It's time to suffer the slings and arrows of calorie counting and denial. And anyone who catches me with a bar of chocolate in my hand has my permission to clout me. Of course I blame my husband. He was the one who made all the fabulous mince pies and Christmas pudding and who bought me all the chocolate...

But if I'm going to get inside the mind of my latest heroine, I'm going to have to be able to imagine that there's the slightest possibility I could still be attractive to my hero.

*Deep sigh as she braces herself for the onslaught*

Wish me luck and happy New Year!