NEW AUTHOR SERIES: Nina Blake

The series continues, and what an exciting one it is - so many fab new authors!

All the featured authors are from the Romance Writers of Australia or Romance Writers of New Zealand, and have just been or are newly published with the digital imprints of Australian publishing houses like - Random House, Harlequin, Penguin and Pan Macmillan.

This week, please welcome Nina Blake.

Nina Blake didn’t learn English until she went to school but that didn’t stand in the way of her love of reading. Unlike many other authors, when she was growing up her house was never full of books and as a teenager, her mother told her she read too much. As if such a thing was possible.

After university, Nina worked in public relations managing publications. She still loves publications, both hard and soft copy. She is delighted that Escape Publishing has picked up Forget Me Not, her personal favourite of all the romances she has written.

She was lucky enough to meet the man of her dreams when she was at university. Though it wasn’t love at first sight and Nina was a bit slow off the mark, they’re now happily married. And it’s staying that way.

Nina was always lousy at sport and still can’t run, catch or throw. Despite this, she enjoys aerobics and working out at the gym. Some of her friends call her a gym junkie, an accusation that’s completely unfounded.

She lives in Perth, Australia with her husband and son.

Title - FORGET ME NOT
Release Date - 1 May 2013
Publisher - Escape Publishing

Call Story - The "call" came by email. It's the first email I've received from an agent or publisher that started off "I am delighted..." Well, I was delighted too! My husband and I celebrated that night with beer. It's bubbly and similar in colour to champagne. We waited for the weekend for a bottle of the real thing.

About your book:
Hero - Stefan Porter has amnesia. He's lucky enough to have an ex-wife who will help him, but why on earth would he ever have left her?
Heroine - Claire is a compassionate lawyer (no, the two are not mutually exclusive) who must help Stefan get back on his feet.
Setting - Sydney from the spectacular harbour to the terrible traffic.

Claire and Stefan’s marriage was over. They’d been estranged for six months, living in separate apartments, leading separate lives. Until an unknown accident leaves Stefan with no memory of who he is, what he wants, and the wife he left behind.
Claire’s compassion leads her to caring for Stefan. Though he is back to being the thoughtful, affectionate man she fell in love with, she can’t let herself get too involved. The instant Stefan’s memory comes back, he’ll remember who he was and what he really wants – and it’s not Claire.
Or is it?

FORGET ME NOT excerpt
Stefan needed her. Whether he liked it or not. And there was nothing either of them could do about it.
Claire Simons followed the nurse down the hallway. It felt like a tunnel, the walls painted pale gray to match the carpet, the muted prints on the walls failing to brighten the place up even slightly. She wished the nurse would talk to her, say something, anything; the only noise was the soft thud of their footsteps on the threadbare carpet and the faint clink of crockery in the distance.
Stopping outside one closed door, the nurse knocked and pushed it open without waiting for a reply.
Her heart racing, Claire wanted to yell. She needed more time, she wasn’t ready, she was never going to be ready. One look at her and Stefan would remember everything, and they’d be back where they started—or finished—and that was more than Claire could handle.
But she’d already come this far. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, Claire followed the woman into the room.
“Mr Porter,” the nurse said.
He sat on a chair, looking out the window, with his back to them. Stefan’s shoulders were broad in a crisp white shirt, his figure imposing. Even in the bland surrounds of a hospital room, he had a certain presence that was palpable.
It was strange to see Stefan so still. He was normally so busy, so active, never stopping for a moment. Whether he was working on a case, working out to an exercise program, or ordering people around—as he often liked to do—he was always on the go.
“Stefan,” the nurse said, more loudly.
He turned his head. “Yes.”
“Your wife is here.”
He shifted his gaze to Claire, standing by the bed. ‘I guess I should say “hello”.’
Claire was glad to hear his voice again, a distinctive American accent tempered by years of living in Australia, a voice wholly his own. It was so familiar, so reassuring.
Claire looked him up and down. Same dark brown hair, though it was longer now. Same blue eyes, same chiselled features. Only the neatly trimmed goatee was new, adding a funky edge which softened his features.  But something else was different. The Stefan she’d known seemed missing. His eyes had always been striking, pale irises ringed in dark blue, lined with thick lashes. They now seemed dull and empty.
That was it. In his eyes, there was … nothing.

You can find out more about Nina on her website. Check out her other romances at Amazon. Here's one of her book covers: