I've saved one of my favorite reviews till last. Jennifer at Wild on Books gave TEMPT THE DEVIL five bookmarks and had this to say: "TEMPT THE DEVIL is a sensuous whirlwind of emotion set amidst the spectacle of Regency England.  Lovers of historical romance will be enticed by the theme, and the story itself will undoubtedly earn Anna Campbell a host of new fans while delighting her old fans."

On 18th December, I had the huge pleasure of joining with some Avon luminaries on Romance Radio to talk about Christmas celebrations. You can listen to the show here and find out just what Stephanie Laurens, Gayle Callen, Kathryn Caskie and Victoria Alexander  want from Santa!

Good news for UNTOUCHED which placed second in the historical section of the Lake Country Romance Writers prestigious Barclay Gold contest. Congratulations to all the winners and a special congratulations to my Bandita Buddy Donna MacMeans who tied for second place in the historical section with THE EDUCATION OF MRS. BRIMLEY. You'll find a list of the winners here.

If you live in Australia or New Zealand, keep an eye out for the mass market size paperback of UNTOUCHED which Avon Australia release this month. It should be available at KMart, Target, Big W and all good booksellers.

Some more fun stuff. I'm now on Facebook and MySpace and having a hoot linking up with everyone! I've also updated my HarperCollins author site with photos from the San Francisco RWA conference and also with my book covers. Pop over and check them out!

More fun towards the end of the month! From Monday, 26th January to Friday, 30th January, that rowdy bunch, the Romance Bandits will stage another raid on Romance Novel TV. You never know what will happen!

Another great contest for you, starting this month and running until the end of February. It's an Aussie book bonanza where the winner collects a bundle of books from authors Christine Wells, Paula Roe, Annie West and Bronwyn Jameson - oh, and me! There are two consolation prizes of signed copies of TEMPT THE DEVIL.

My Favorite Things this month talks about one of my favorite corners of England, a place that features strongly in TEMPT THE DEVIL.

With the release of TEMPT THE DEVIL, I'm touring the blogoverse! I hope you can pop in now and again to say hello.

All month, I'm the featured author on Eloisa James's and Julia Quinn's Bulletin Board. This is a really happening place so please come and say hi! Just click on the Book Club on the forums list. There will be prizes and I'm hoping to coax a few of my writing friends over as surprise guests. 

And don't forget the Romance Bandits invade Romance Novel TV  from 26th to 30th January! Lock up your valuables!

I have a title for my next book! It's out in November in the United States and it's called CAPTIVE OF SIN. Isn't that great? Please keep an eye out over coming months for a blurb, a cover and an excerpt. Not only do I have a title, I also have news that it's sold to AST in Russia. Huzzah!

Here's another fantastic review for TEMPT THE DEVIL, in fact two reviews for the price of one. My friends at the Romance Round Table had some very perceptive things to say about Olivia and Erith's love story.

There's another very nice review at singletitles.com which concludes:

February has been a busy month in Campbellandia with lots of radio and press interviews. I'd particularly like to thank the staff at Sunshine Coast Libraries for setting up two great events, the High Tea with Anna Campbell at Lyn's Place in Minyama, and the workshop for beginner romance writers at Maroochydore Library. I'd also like to thank The Weekender for supporting the high tea and putting together some spectacular goodie bags. Thank you also to all the wonderful people who braved the sticky hot weather to attend!

Another huge event in February was the inaugural Australian Romance Readers Convention, ARRC09.  You'll notice various photos scattered around this edition of latest news and I think it's pretty obvious that ARRC was an absolute blast.

Everything kicked off on Friday night with a riotous welcome reception followed by a pajama party where everybody brought their teddies (of the fluffy kind) and talked about their favorite books. Saturday, the real business started. I moderated a panel on rakes and heroes in historicals and it was wonderful to speak to a packed room. I'm not surprised - I was wrangling Alison Stuart,  Stephanie Laurens and Sara Bennett. The consensus amongst us was that we write heroes and not rakes but that the word 'rake' sells books, hence its popularity in Romancelandia. A huge thrill for me was Saturday afternoon's launch of the Australian edition of TEMPT THE DEVIL. Stephanie Laurens did the honors - wow!

Saturday night was the gala dinner and awards presentation. I'm delighted to say the green monster, UNTOUCHED, won Favorite Historical Romance of 2008. Thank you to everyone who voted for me - you gave me a huge thrill! Congratulations to the other winners:

Sunday there were a few sore heads but still plenty of big smiles. I attended a panel on the future of romance and another on category romance featuring my wonderful critique partner Annie West. The conference ended with everyone agreeing it was an enormous success and that we wanted MORE!!!!! Thanks to the ARRC committee for all your hard work. It certainly paid off in spades.

A couple more snippets from ARRC. There was a silent auction for the Victorian bushfire victims and we raised over $7,000. Wow! Thank you to all the readers who came up to say how much you love my books. Honestly, that's better than chocolate! Also thank you to everyone who came to say hello at the various signings and get-togethers. It was such a treat to meet so many people who love romance books ALMOST as much as I do! ;-)

While I was in Melbourne, I took advantage of Annie West's presence to shout her lunch at one of my favorite restaurants to celebrate the acceptance of TEMPT THE DEVIL. As many of you know, we have this great scheme where whoever has sold a book takes the other one out for an extravagant lunch. Punch Lane is a fantastic, unpretentious bistro that serves brilliant food and has a wonderful cellar - and believe me, Annie and I took advantage of both. Another fun get-together was breakfast with Romance Writers of Australia members Josie Caporetto and Serena Tatti at Brunetti's in Fitzroy. Ooh, la la, the cakes!  Thanks also to everyone who turned up at my signing with Anne Gracie, Liz Maverick and Keri Arthur at Rendezvous Books on Monday. Lovely to catch up with you!

Make sure you check out the revamped Avon Authors site. It looks absolutely gorgeous and there's already great buzz in the forums and blogs. Watch for author interviews and exclusive competitions coming up.

Some books I'd like to bring to your attention this month include RITA-award winning Sophia Nash's latest instalment in her Widows' Club series, LOVE WITH THE PERFECT SCOUNDREL. This is Grace's story which I know we've all been waiting on since we first met her back in THE KISS.

My good friend Nicola Cornick also has a new historical romance out this month. It's called KIDNAPPED: HIS INNOCENT MISTRESS and it's set in the Scottish Highlands. I'm very much looking forward to this! Nicola and I regularly wax eloquent on the beauties of Scotland.

Great news in the Bandita lair! Romance Bandit Kate Carlisle has hit the New York Times list with her debut book, HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER, which I mentioned last month. Congratulations, Kate! You're going to be a huge star!

New on the articles page is a short piece on contests which I wrote for the February edition of Hearts Talk, the newsletter of Romance Writers of Australia.

This month's contest is a doozey. Tell me your favorite historical romance and you could win a great historical romance pack which includes signed copies of UNMASKED by Nicola Cornick, THE TROUBLE WITH MOONLIGHT by Donna MacMeans, A NOTORIOUS WOMAN by Amanda McCabe and TEMPT THE DEVIL by Anna Campbell.

Happy New Year, everyone! May 2009 be happy, healthy and full of great books!

TEMPT THE DEVIL is now available in America! Huzzah! Here's the Amazon link if you can't find it in a bookshop near you!

Some amazing reviews have been coming in.  Joyfully Reviewed chose it as one of their recommended reads and said TEMPT THE DEVIL was "simply stunning."

Coffee Time Romance said this was, "A stirring romance, between two vibrant people, with an intensity that truly captures the reader, and holds until the last page in this sizzling read."

The Romance Reader awarded TEMPT THE DEVIL five hearts and ended with this: "I was so in love with this story, I read it in a day. I was even sad to see it end. TEMPT THE DEVIL brings a new love story, with realistic, fresh characters into print. For anyone who has been hurt by love, and desires a hopeful story to lift their spirits, this is a must read."

Night Owl Romance chose TEMPT THE DEVIL as a reviewer top pick and said Anna Campbell "create(s) spellbinding tales that I can't put down."

Fresh Fiction calls TEMPT THE DEVIL a "deeply intense and unforgettable story of human emotions." The review included this gem: "Ms. Campbell's tales stand out due to her ability to take readers into the depth and intensity of human emotion. Readers feel her characters' despair and their joy. She's an exceptional talent who pens unforgettable stories."

Happy Easter, everyone! I hope the bunny bounces by your place!

I’ve been very busy in my writer’s cave for most of March and I’m making great progress on the new story. I’m really enjoying getting to know these characters and then torturing them. Which reminds me of an old Spike Milligan joke when he made fun of a military recruitment poster: “Join the Army, Travel the World, Meet Interesting People! And then kill them!”

A couple of nice reviews for my books have popped up in the last month. There’s a lovely one of TEMPT THE DEVIL on Alaine’s Reading Blog.  There’s a great review of UNTOUCHED at Happily Forever After.

Also please check out an interview I did for a great site for writers called WritingRaw.com. Weeb asked some really interesting questions!

New on the website this month is an article on Point of View. This originally appeared (in German) in Love Letter Magazine then was reprinted in the Romance Writers of New Zealand newsletter, Heart to Heart.

For those who missed the Australian Romance Readers Convention in February (or for those who want to relive it), both the historical romance panel I participated in and my launch are now available as recordings on the Net.

Some books to look out for this month.  Firstly, a real treat for romance readers in America. My wonderful critique partner Annie West's THE DESERT KING'S PREGNANT BRIDE is out in the US this month. You’ll love this emotional, passionate story of two people who meet by chance and discover that they’re exactly where they need to be.

And we have a quartet of Romance Bandits books out in April to delight you.

Donna MacMeans’s third historical romance THE SEDUCTION OF A DUKE is out. This is a sequel to her sparkling multi-award winner THE SEDUCTION OF MRS. BRIMLEY.

Bandita Trish Milburn puts on her Tricia Mills hat when her first young adult novel HEARTBREAK RIVER hits the shelves this month. This sounds like a great story of courage and emotion!

One of the best writers around is Blaze author Tawny Weber. And I’m delighted to report her latest romance COMING ON STRONG was as good as all her other books. You’ll adore watching the sparks fly between Mitch Carter and Belle Forsham. Even better news, we only have to wait till May for the sequel GOING DOWN HARD to hit the shelves.

Beth Andrews’s debut romance for Harlequin SuperRomance, NOT WITHOUT HER FAMILY, was one of my favorite reads last year, smart, touching, true. The sequel A NOT-SO-PERFECT PAST is out this month. Whoo-hooo! Can’t wait to read it!

My Favorite Things this month continues March’s movie theme. I’m talking about the great LAST OF THE MOHICANS. And please check out my current contest which closes 30th April. One lucky person will win four great historical romances including TEMPT THE DEVIL.

Happy spring, my friends in the Northern Hemisphere. Happy autumn, my friends in the Southern Hemisphere. Must say autumn's my favorite season down here with one proviso - the swimming season is over. The water's just a bit too chilly just now for this little black duck!

May is Brenda Novak auction month. Every year, Brenda has a fantastic auction for readers and writers (and basically anyone, really, the prizes are fantastic and not all related to books) to raise money for research into juvenile diabetes. So far she's made over $500,000 for this worthy cause and this year should be her biggest ever. I'm offering a couple of prizes:

I'm also participating in a humungous Romance Bandits basket which is so great, it will make your eyes cross. At the time of writing this, the basket wasn't yet listed on the auction site (Brenda's been overwhelmed with goodies) but if you go to the Gift Baskets page and search on Romance Bandits, I'm sure you'll see it.

Bidding opens 1st May and closes 31st May. Good luck!

For those on Facebook, I'm spending a week as guest author from Monday, 27th April, on the discussion page at the Avon Romance Books Australian page, although we have fans all over the world. If you're not already a fan, why not join?

I've just done a major revamp of my HarperCollins Author site,  including new colors and updates to news, what's next, my bookshelf (keep hitting refresh to get the complete list!) and the timeline. Love the fresh look. Check it out. And remember, if you want current information about blogs, etc.,  that's a great place to look.

Speaking of site updates, make sure you check out the updated Romance Writers of Australia website which looks fantastic and now includes all sorts of great information about romance writing in Oz.

Something else to check out on the internet is the new Facebook Avon Fan Reading Group which got off to a huge start this month with Jenna Petersen talking about her new release THE NOTORIOUS VISCOUNT.  Lots of great authors lined up to take part. I'll be there talking about CAPTIVE OF SIN, my next release, in November.

If you want another sneak peek at TEMPT THE DEVIL, there's an excerpt up on Single Titles. Why not check it out?

Lots of good news to report. Firstly, I'd like to congratulate all the finalists in the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart and RITA Awards. You can see the full list here. A special shout-out to Golden Heart finalists, Bandita Kim Howe, who finaled twice in the Contemporary Series Romance Suspense/Adventure category and the Novel with Strong Romantic Elements category, and to Bandita buddy Pamela Bolton-Holifield/Louisa Cornell who finaled in the Regency History Romance category. My friend Vanessa Barneveld finaled in the Young Adult section with her wonderful manuscript "Call Me Crazy". Congratulations, V!

Also I'd like to congratulate Bandita RITA finalist, the fabulously talented Christine Wells whose THE DANGEROUS DUKE is a finalist in the RITA in the Best Regency Romance category. Other RITA congratulations go out to Aussies Stephanie Laurens (three finals!), Barbara Hannay, and Lilian Darcy. Also congratulations to the many Avon girls who got a mention, especially Bandita buddy Lorraine Heath  whose IN BED WITH THE DEVIL is nominated in the Best Historical Romance category. I look forward to cheering myself hoarse in Washington in July!

More congratulations are due to two wonderful Australian romance authors whose books regularly appear on this site as giveaways. Both Bronwyn Jameson and Annie West finaled in the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence. Good luck to two fantastic reads, Bron's THE TYCOON'S ONE-NIGHT REVENGE and Annie's THE BILLIONAIRE'S BOUGHT MISTRESS.

More good news! I'm sure you've all noticed the new publicity photos on this site and wherever I've appeared on the web lately. They're the work of a very talented Caloundra photographer called Robyn Hills who has just won Photographic Artist of the Year at the Australian Professional Photography Qld Awards. Congratulations, Robyn. Well deserved!

A couple of books to look out for this month. GOING DOWN HARD, Tawny Weber's follow-up to the brilliant COMING ON STRONG, is out from Harlequin Blaze. Can't wait to find out what happens to Sierra and Reece! Another is by debut Aussie Regency historical writer, Beverley Eikli, whose first book is out in hardcover from Robert Hale in the U.K. I read LADY SARAH'S REDEMPTION in manuscript and said, "Dramatic, heartfelt and unusual! Eikli sweeps you away into a dangerous Regency world where only the most daring player wins love."   Finally, don't miss wonderful Aussie author Kelly Hunter's new U.S. release THE MAVERICK'S GREEK ISLAND MISTRESS. Kelly writes some of the best romance around, smart, funny, sexy, emotional.

Don't miss this month's contest which closes 31st May. It's my Devil, Desire and the Desert King contest. You can win Annie West's THE DESERT KING'S PREGNANT BRIDE, my TEMPT THE DEVIL and an advance reader copy of Pamela Palmer's DESIRE UNTAMED which doesn't hit the shops until 30th June. This is the first instalment in what promises to be a hugely successful series, THE FERAL WARRIORS.

My Favorite Things this month continues the movie theme I've followed lately. I'm talking about Howard Hawks's classic western RED RIVER.

I have a deadline at the end of the month, so not a lot of blogging this month. I'm only doing my two regular spots:

Lots of blogs this month leading up to the American release of CAPTIVE OF SIN on 27th October.

Huzzah! The day has arrived. If you live in North America, CAPTIVE OF SIN is available at a bookseller near you! I loved writing Charis and Gideon's story and I hope you take those characters to your hearts!

I received a lovely surprise a couple of weeks ago when my friend Vanessa Barneveld sent me a trailer she'd put together for CAPTIVE OF SIN.  Isn't this gorgeous? Vanessa is a very talented writer who finaled in last year's Golden Heart contest - if she keeps this up, she might make it as a filmmaker as well!

I'm blogging in many places this month to celebrate the launch of CAPTIVE OF SIN.  I'm doing lots of giveaways so swing on by to join in the fun!

Another great review for CAPTIVE OF SIN appeared on Bookpage. Christie Ridgway said: "An emotional read about brave and loving characters, CAPTIVE OF SIN will bring sighs and smiles to readers looking for rich, historical drama." You can read the whole review here.

And Cybil Solyn really took CAPTIVE OF SIN to her heart, when she wasn't cursing the fact that the story kept her awake far too late. Curses which are always music to a writer's heart! She called it "an amazing read." You can see the whole review here.

Strictly Reviews gave CAPTIVE OF SIN five stars and said: "This has to be one of the best historical romances I have read so far. It had all the drama, angst and just the right of amount of action to keep me thoroughly captivated from the very first page. I couldn't put it down. I became like a woman obsessed. However, I do have a warning for you all. You must have a box of tissues handy."

My Overstuffed Bookshelf gave CAPTIVE OF SIN five flames (Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf For Rereading!) and said: "A book that captures true romance and enough intrigue to keep me up all night reading. Ms. Campbell has now shown me the wonderful world of historical fiction. I am now hooked on finding more books from this author."

The Australian trade paperback edition of CAPTIVE OF SIN will be out in mid-December. Check out the spectacular cover! I can't wait to to see that at my nearest bookstore. 

More news on CAPTIVE OF SIN. Epsilon in Turkey has bought the rights to my fourth book and it should be out there some time next year.

Also if you're in Norway, please keep an eye out for the Schibsted edition of CLAIMING THE COURTESAN this month.

A phoenix out of the ashes! Sadly, one of my favorite sites, Romance Novel TV, no more. Maria and Marisa were fantastic ambassadors for romance and were always incredibly supportive to me. Now PJ, Gannon, Andrea and Buffie from that site have set up a fantastic new destination for romance readers, The Romance Dish.  I'm really excited that I'll be continuing my regular monthly reviews, mostly of romance classics, there on the 24th of each month.

Don't forget to tune in to Romance Radio on Friday, 20th November

at 8am, to hear me talk about CAPTIVE OF SIN!

This month's My Favorite Things has some happy snaps from the recent Romance Writers of America conference. And make sure you check out the latest contest too. Tell me about your New Year's resolutions and you could win one of two prize packs. Both include a signed copy of CAPTIVE OF SIN and a couple of wonderful books from my prize cupboard. A little bit of a mystery goody haul to start the year!

A quiet month for blogs as I'm going to be head down at my computer, working on polishing my latest story.

How can it be December already? Wasn't Easter last week?

I'll start with some great news about CAPTIVE OF SIN.  I was incredibly excited to discover that COS featured in prestigious industry journal Publishers Weekly's top 100 books of the year, one of only five mass market paperbacks to make the list. The article says, "Campbell pulls out all the stops with this heart-wrenching historical romance. A hastily wed heiress must help her husband, a war hero, recover from post-traumatic stress that leaves him unable to bear human touch." You can see the complete list of the 100 best books of 2009 here.

After the wild forays into Bloglandia of the last weeks, this month it's a lot quieter. Phew!

A couple of days after that, I read the kind of review you dream about. Rose Fox, who reviews popular fiction for Publishers Weekly, blogged about CAPTIVE OF SIN. Here's an excerpt:

In fact, to my vast satisfaction, good reviews have been flooding in for CAPTIVE OF SIN:

Still on the subject of reviews, but for older books, check out this wonderful five star review of UNTOUCHED at Heather's Reading Romance.  And Christine Morehouse of Romantic Crush Junkies gave five heart reviews to CLAIMING THE COURTESAN,  UNTOUCHED and TEMPT THE DEVIL as part of my great week visiting her site. Thank you, Christine!

Aussie and New Zealand readers have the chance this month (around the 17th December) to pick up the gorgeous trade paperback edition of CAPTIVE OF SIN. It should be available in all good bookstores, including Target, Big W and KMart. Here's a photo of my good friend, Medical author Sharon Archer, holding up an advance copy which fortuitously arrived during her recent visit.

December is a big month for foreign editions of CLAIMING THE COURTESAN. Both Schibsted in Norway and Futami-Shobo in Japan are releasing their translations. I haven't seen a hard copy of the Norwegian edition, although the cover is spectacular. But the Japanese books arrived a couple of days ago and they're absolutely gorgeous. One of my favorite editions ever.

At the moment, I'm busily writing a long short story, almost a mini novella, for THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF REGENCY ROMANCE which should be out next year. I'll keep you posted. I've never written a reunion romance before so I'm having huge fun with these characters. Check out the other MAMMOTH anthologies!

Sharon was smart enough to bring her camera so I hope you enjoy the photos of her visit. I'll be featuring more in my blog for the Romance Bandits on 10th December. Right on Sharon's heels, I had a wonderful weekend with Medical writer Amy Andrews, Harlequin Presents writer Trish Morey and Desire and Harlequin Presents writer Robyn Grady.  Oh, dear, my aching head! Too much partying isn't great for my liver either!

If you live in North America, a great book to look out for is BLACKMAILED BRIDE, INEXPERIENCED WIFE by Harlequin Presents author Annie West. You'll be hooked by this passionate tale of two wary people who enter into a marriage of convenience and find so much more than either bargained for. I love marriage of convenience stories and this one's a doozy!

There are more happy snaps in this month's My Favorite Things which includes pictures from a couple of Australian events in the last year or so. And don't forget to enter the great New Year's Resolution Contest where there are TWO prizes up for grabs, both mystery parcels of signed books including signed copies of CAPTIVE OF SIN.

I'd like to close by thanking you for your amazing support this year and especially to all those people who took the trouble to contact me personally to say how much you enjoyed reading my books. Those emails mean a lot to me and I treasure all your messages. I wish everyone a very happy and safe Holiday Season!

Don't forget to explore the amazing new romance site, The Romance Dish. My latest review, of Georgette Heyer's immortal DEVIL'S CUB goes up there 24th December but there's always something exciting happening there so swing by if you can.

November has been a really busy month for visits from writing friends, always something I enjoy! I had a marvelous weekend with historical author Christine Wells and erotic fantasy writer Denise Rossetti.  Then one of my dearest friends, Mills & Boon Medical writer Sharon Archer came up for a few days.