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 Lewis Hamilton My name’s Sue Moorcroft and I’m a Formula 1 addict.
So please don’t ring me when there’s a race on because I get grumpy. Or when the qualifying is on (which I have to miss, this week, as some fool has arranged an RNA meeting at the same time) or even the practice sessions. Yes, I know, there’s no hope for me, is there? The practice sessions are when I accumulate all the background information that makes me understand the ramifications of the new rules on fuel stops (there no longer are any) and the scoring system (erm …).
But what many women watch the F1 for is to see the drivers! And I’m not immune - they’re a pretty buff lot, aren’t they? All that time in the gym pays off. Here’s my prediction for the top five finishers on Sunday:
Lewis Hamilton
Jenson Button (readers of Starting Over might like to know that Ratty’s new dog is called Button, in All That Mullarkey, following the sad demise of his springer spaniel McLaren)
Fernando Alonso
Sebastian Vettel
Michael Schumacher
Does my selection have anything to do with my affection for the drivers or their hero potential? No. Is it the result of careful studying of form and preseason testing? Some. Or is it because my husband plays golf with two of the engine builders …?
Ah. Caught me. 
 Mike Phillips Chris - I’ve never found the magic in Formula 1, but maybe I should be looking inside the cars rather than at them? My kind of sporting heroes won’t fit in a tin; they’re strapping, rugged and covered with mud. And there’s no protective clothing to hide all that muscle in action. Yes, I’m talking rugby players.
Not convinced? Take a look at the world’s best-looking scrum half, Mike Phillips with that gorgeous combination of blue eyes and dark hair. Or classic Welsh heart throb Ryan Jones. Or the player recently voted the sexiest man in Wales, Jamie Roberts. And just to prove I’m not biased, I’ll remind you about Jonny Wilkson. Ooh, and check out Olly Barkley whilst you’re at it.
As for me? Well, I think it’s high time I did some serious research into Formula 1!
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 Jenson Button Christina - For me, it was a case of “if you can’t beat them, join them”. My dh is a huge fan, so I ended up watching too and was soon caught up in the sheer excitement of F1 racing. I’ve always loved speed (cars or motorcycles, don’t mind which) and you don’t get much faster than these guys!
As Sue says, the drivers aren’t a bad-looking lot either, which helps. My favourites are Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg, and they’re going to have their work cut out for them this season, so I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for them. (Never thought of naming dogs after either, by the way, but it’s a great idea!)
I have to say though that I do NOT want Michael Schumacher to win – enough is enough IMO – but it will be interesting to see how he compares to the new guys who have come up while he’s been away. All in all, Sunday’s race should be very interesting indeed! (And yes, I too will miss the qualifying because of that meeting L!)
May the best man win!
 Jared Leto Since an irresistible hero is the most important ingredient in a Choc Lit novel, you might like to know how we go about creating them. The process is as individual as each author, so here’s a quick paragraph from each of us on how we do it:-
Christina C – My heroes are always based on a real person’s looks (usually an actor or someone I’ve seen on TV or in a magazine), but I make up their personality completely from scratch to suit my story. As one of my friends put it recently – I get to daydream about gorgeous men and make them much more perfect than they probably are in real life. Although I usually go for fairly handsome ones, I like them to stand out in some way. Good looks alone don’t work – they have to have something else that catches my attention, perhaps unusual eyes twinkling with mischief, a killer smile or just an aura of “bad boy that needs taming”. To help kick-start my imagination, I have a whole notice board full of pictures of possible heroes next to my desk. Well, that’s my excuse for putting eye-candy on the wall anyway!
Sue M - Sometimes my heroes have the looks of a single person, sometimes they’re a pastiche of people. Ratty, from Starting Over, began to grow in my mind after watching Kevin Kline as the fabulous Pirate King in a film version of the Pirates of Penzance. I gave him blue eyes to go with his dark hair just because I fancied the combination. (For information, I have been in love with Ratty for quite a while!)
 Bryan Brown Justin, All That Mullarkey, is a combination of actor Bryan Brown (when younger), tennis player Fabrice Santoro and motor cycle racer Carl Fogarty. (I’ve been unfaithful to Ratty with Justin, I’m afraid.)
Like Christina, my heroes’ personalities just kind of come together as I get to know them. But all my heroes tend to have a naughty side. I don’t think I could make a convincing hero out of a vanilla man …
Chris S - It’s a sexy voice that starts it for me! I could hear Turning The Tide hero Matthew murmuring in my ear straight away. Matthew’s voice told me more about his personality. He’s a relaxed kind of guy, wears well-worn jeans, always has a hint of stubble – but if you mess with him, look out!
My heroes are never based on a single person, but they all share a similar trait. They’re strong, but vulnerable enough to need a good woman. Of course, finding the right hero requires meticulous research; all those leading actors to be studied, magazines to be scrutinized and, in my case, lots of lead singers to be listened to. Actually, it is important, because during the course of each novel I spend a lot of time with my hero so I’ve got to enjoy his company. Fortunately, I’m prepared to work really hard to make sure I find the right man!
Just a quickie - I’m leading a panel about the development of romantic fiction in the digital age at the wonderful Writing Industries Conference at Loughborough University on Saturday (the 6th). My fellow panellists are Mary Nichols, who writes Mills & Boon romances and also mainstream women’s fiction, and Lynne Connolly, who writes paranormal romance.
Hope to see some of you there!
 If you’ve ever heard that saying, ‘Never judge a book by its cover’, forget it. It’s not true. Not of actual books, anyway. The reader DOES judge a book by its cover, particularly if the writer is new to them. They need to glance at the book and think, ‘Gosh, how pretty/intriguing/heartrending/soothing,’ just when they’re looking for a pretty/intriguing/heartrending/soothing book.
(They judge it by whether it’s in a two-for-one offer, has a chart position, is displayed face out and by how much shelf space it has been allocated, too.)
It’s kind of hard that what the writer has slaved over for so long, the pages inside the book, might not ever be seen by the reader - unless the reader likes the cover enough to pick the book up and look inside.
Choc Lit spent ages and ages over the cover of Starting Over. And they were great about taking my opinion into account, which was blissful. And they came up with something so pretty and appealing! Writing friends say, ‘Haven’t they given you a lovely cover?’ Readers tell me, ‘It’s so pretty, I had to have it.’
 When work began on the All That Mullarkey cover, it needed to be different enough to be easily told apart but with a family resemblance. Recognisable kin.
I asked for the flowers to be babies’ breath (which gave the designer palpitations) because it has relevance to the story.
The butterflies are silver - that doesn’t show up, here, but should look mega on the shelves. And when we move on to the cover of Want to Know a Secret?, which is due out at the end of the year, I’m really hoping for silver helicopters. If you read the book, you’ll know why.
 And, because I’m:
- on the subject of covers
- a cover girl for the first time ever
- and probably the last time
I decided to end with the cover of Writers’ Forum March 2010. Yup, that’s me.
And to reply to a host of friendly insults:
- Yes, the photo is two years old
- Yes, I’ve taken my glasses off
- Yes, make up was involved
- No - I have not been Photoshopped!
Our blog is currently suspended while we change over to our new Author’s Corner - direct from the Choc Lit authors.
Come back soon to see it in action!
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