Stephanie Cage - Writer

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a competition on Christina Courtenay's blog , and received a nice little goody bag of books from Amazon: Nell Dixon's 'Just Look at Me Now', Sue Moorcroft's 'All That Mullarkey' and of course Christina's 'Trade Winds'. My to-read pile has been shrinking more slowly than usual during November thanks to NaNoWriMo . However, I've now read all three, so it's time to report back on some great romantic reads... ' Just Look at Me Now ' was first up, and I loved the sparky, surprising heroine Tia. Tia is the glamorous fashion editor of Platinum magazine, but she has a big secret, in the form of a past life as fat, frumpy Barbara. When school bitch Juliet shows up at Platinum and sets her sights on Tia's gorgeous boyfriend, it's a no-holds-barred catfight to the death. Tia and Josh make an adorable couple, but Juliet is one determined lady and so far life has dropped pretty much ever...

Yesterday I was waiting at the traffic lights, and as I watched and waited for the lights to turn green, an unexpected flash of colour in the night sky caught my eye. Right in front of me, a huge firework exploded in a shower of ruby sparks. Beautiful! I love going to watch organised firework displays, but sometimes it’s even more magical when you’re faced with a starburst completely out of the blue (or black). I love fireworks so much that I chose to set the grand finale of ‘Desperate Bid’ at a firework party. Here are a few tasters to get you in the mood for bonfire night… Like a firework itself, the tiny spark of their idea had caught a fuse, travelled through the dark city, and sent a shower of fizzing, cracking light bursting outwards through hundreds of lives. Tonight it was alive and electric. The air sang with voices and music from stalls and car radios. The hiss of sparklers and burgers grilling added to the fizzing atmosphere. Alex was exhausted, but he loved every second...