Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Guest Blogger - Emmie Dark

The Playground welcomes debut Super Romance author Emmie Dark today. Emmie hails from Australia, where the weather is just opposite ours (and since we've been having unseasonably warm weather here, I wonder what it's like Down Under). Please make room on the swingset for Emmie!


An Affair to Remember

Thank you so much for inviting me to blog with you!

Today I thought I’d talk about one of my favourite old movies – An Affair to Remember. Can you beat the combination of Deborah Kerr and (swoon!) Cary Grant?

Their character names are more than a little confusing: Nickie and Terry – that’s Cary as Nickie and Deborah as Terry! I don’t think those names would work in a book – as a reader I’m sure I’d be far too confused about who was who to keep things straight!

I remember hearing once that Cary Grant was apparently terrible at remembering his lines. In the final scene where Terry is sitting on the couch and Nickie finally realizes why she didn’t meet him on top of the Empire State Building, apparently Deborah Kerr had to keep feeding Cary Grant his lines. I don’t know if that’s true, but even knowing this doesn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story at all.

Like any good romance story, we go into it with a fair idea of what kind of ending we’re going to get – Nickie and Terry, “happily ever after”. The suspense, the reason we keep watching, or keep turning the pages, is to find out HOW. (Especially after what happens to poor old Terry!)

That’s the trick we have to master as romance authors – getting readers connected to our characters quickly, ensure they care about them (Will Nickie follow his passion and become an artist? Will they both find the courage to end their current relationships so they can be together?), and then we must maintain the tension and drama as the hero and heroine find their way back to each other.

In an Affair to Remember, Nickie and Terry face many obstacles along the way to happiness. And I – like many of you, I’m sure – cry along with them!

What’s your favourite classic romantic movie? Tell me about it for a chance to win a copy of Cassie’s Grand Plan.


CASSIE'S GRAND PLAN
Four steps to a brand-new life

Cassie Hartman knows what she needs to do to get her life under control. First, she’ll get herself promoted. Then she’ll update her appearance. Steps three and four—marriage and family—well, those will have to wait.

Then Ronan McGuire shows up. The too-sexy, too-polished business consultant has the power to derail Cassie’s plans before she’s even really started. If he doesn’t approve her promotion, she’ll be back to square one—and that’s not an option. Cassie needs to keep her focus on that first step, no matter how much Ronan tempts her to skip ahead to the third and fourth ones….


After years of writing press releases, employee newsletters and speeches for CEOs and politicians – none of which included any kind of kissing – Emmie Dark finally took to her laptop to write what she wanted to write. She was both amazed and delighted to discover that what came out was sexy, noble heroes who found themselves crossing paths with strong, determined heroines. And plenty of kissing.

Emmie’s overnight success has taken about five years to achieve. She began fiddling around with story ideas when the urge to write fiction became overwhelming. In July 2011 she sold her first book to Harlequin SuperRomance and she’s not looking back, with her second sale in September. Both books will be out in 2012.

Emmie lives in Melbourne, Australia, and she likes red lipstick, chardonnay, sunshine, driving fast, rose-scented soap and a really good cup of tea. Like, a really good cup of tea. She’s particularly fussy about it, and has been known to pack her own teabags when she travels. Most members of her family are too scared to make her a cuppa, in case they get it wrong.


Emmie will be giving away a copy of her book and there's a $50 Amazon gift card for names drawn from people who follow her around her blog tour. More info can be found here.

25 comments:

Playground Monitor said...

While it's not a classic in the traditional sense of the word, "Sleepless in Seattle" is destined to become one. And it has the references to An Affair to Remember. I also love Breakfast at Tiffanys (that last scene in the rain ahhhhhhhhhhhhh) and Romancing the Stone (you have to love a movie about a romance writer).

Thanks for joining us today. And congrats on the new book!

Marilyn

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Welcome to the Playgroun, Emmie!

I'm not sure I'd classify it as a romance, but one of my all time favorites is Gone With the Wind. I mean, in one sense it is...but they don't exactly end up together.

Princess Bride is another favorite. Which reminds me, I've been meaning to get it to watch with my girls.

Insti

Summer said...

My favorite classic romantic movie would probably be Roman Holiday, even though the ending isn't so happily ever after, but maybe I kind of love it because it isn't.

Anonymous said...

Emmie, I *adore* An Affair to Remember! That final scene gets me every time--it's so beautifully written and directed. For a second choice (though not a classic), I have to choose Pillow Talk. It's the go-to movie for me when I need cheering up. :-) Emmie, good luck with your blog tour! I have my copy of CGP--wow, you're getting great reviews on Amazon!--and I look forward to reading your debut!

catslady said...

Picking favorites is hard - I enjoyed all the ones everyone mentioned. I think I could add Pride & Predjudice and Little Women too. Caring about the characters is the most important to me even if once in a while there isn't a HEA. Congratulations on your release and I think it's wonderful you wrote what you wanted to write!

Angel said...

Thanks for hanging out with us today, Emmie!!! I'd have to say my favorite romantic movie is the updated version of Sabrina with Harrison Ford. I haven't watched a lot of the "classic" movies, because I'm not much of a chick flick kind of girl, but this one pulls me in every time.

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

Welcome, Emmie, and congrats on your debut.

My mom has asked me to take her to NYC one day to go to the top of the Empire State building because of An Affair to Remember. She's very afraid of heights, but its a bucket list item for her.

My favorite romances... While You Were Sleeping, The Proposal, Princess Bride and You've Got Mail top the list, although I love a lot of the ones mentioned here today, too. Pillow Talk! Love that one... Rock Hudson pretending to be straight, pretending to be gay. Good stuff. :)

Emmie said...

Hi Marilyn, thanks -- it's lovely to be here! I also love Breakfast at Tiffany's -- when I was in NY I went to the store with my morning cuppa and a croissant for the fun of it!

Emmie said...

In Kiri, The Princess Bride is one of my favourite all-time movies ever. It's so romantic and funny and silly. I hope your girls love it too!

Emmie said...

Hi Summer - another great Audrey movie. I love it too -- and that final scene always makes me tear up!

Emmie said...

Hi Kathy -- thanks for your kind words!! Pillow Talk -- yes!! All the movies people are suggesting are reminding me of the treasure trove of romantic movies out there. Pillow Talk was my favourite movie for a long time when I was a teen. It's so fun!

Emmie said...

Hi Catslady -- thanks for your lovely words. Pride and Prejudice is definitely a winner in pretty much all its incarnations, I agree.

Emmie said...

Hi Angel -- I like BOTH versions of the Sabrina movie. Harrison Ford is particularly wonderful as the romantic lead though, I agree.

Emmie said...

Hi Andrea -- what a great bucket list item. I have actually done that -- friends of mine were travelling in the US when I was (back before the days of mobile phones) and because we weren't sure of each other's plans, we just agreed to meet at the top of the Empire State Building at a particular time on a particular day. It worked! And we had a great day in the city. Hope you and your mom get to enjoy it soon.

PM's Mother said...

"Return To Me" with Minnie Driver (and my 85 year-old brain cannot remember the hero) has taken the place of "An Affair To Remember". I, too, liked the remake of "Sabrina".

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

PM's Mom - David Duchovny. I love that one, too.

Emmie said...

PM's Mother -- I haven't heard of that one! I'll have to check it out!

chey said...

My favourite romantic movie is the Princess Bride.

Joanne Dannon said...

Hi Emmie

I also love An Affair to Remember but my fav movie is When Harry Met Sally. There are just so many fab one liners and yes, they also have a number of obstacles to overcome.

No need to enter me into the draw - I'm currently reading and loving "Cassie's Grand Plan" :)

Emmie said...

Hi Chey -- yep, with you on that, it's an awesome film.

Emmie said...

Thanks Joanne!!

Laurie G said...

My favorite romantic movie is Pretty Woman. I like the Cinderella love theme. The beautiful emergence of the swan in the bar/restaurant scenes , the fire escape at the end , the bathtub...

Sound of Music: love triangle, nun and her vows, war, escape, music and children

BW said...

Two of my favorite romantic movies are "Affair to Remember" and "Gone with the Wind". Gotta love Clark Gable.

"Sleepless in Seatle" is high on my list too.

Maria said...

Hi Emmie, can't wait, had to order a copy of your book, it will reach me soon.

Two names which I always say I'll never use in a book of mine are Pat and Phil - both very common in Ireland where I come from. Readers would be puzzled as to who was the bloke and who was the girl.

I had a Phil in my first novel (all my two novels are yet unpubbed). She was an Irish women named Philomena, married to an Indian and her in-laws keep calling her Meena, and Indian name!

Desere said...

Just wanted to drop by to say nice post ! I have already won a copy of the awesome sounding book so please do not enter me for the contest !

Desere