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GREEK TYCOON, WAYWARD WIFE
goes on sale in the UK in May 2010 and in North America in June 2010.
The two-week marriage bargain...
Trembling with trepidation, Libby Delikaris braves the lion's den to ask her Greek husband for a divorce. But he's more merciless than Libby remembers and she suddenly finds her plan has crumbled.
The infamous Rion Delikaris knew Libby would return before long. He's been patiently waiting. No longer the boy from the slums, he's ready to show his wife what she's been missing!
Rion's offer: a two-week reconciliation... and he'll make sure she honours all her wedding vows!
REVIEWS
4.5 Stars, Romantic Times UNDER THE COVER SECRETS
I’d originally intended to write Greek Tycoon, Wayward Wife straight after The Desert King’s Bejewelled Bride, as I’d fancied writing a husband and wife reunion story for ages - the idea of reuniting a hero and heroine who had been torn apart by their differences, but who had once believed in their love so deeply that they made the ultimate commitment, just seemed so appealingly intense! Given the importance of loyalty and family in Greek culture, I’d always planned that the hero of this story would be Greek too, so that the break-up of his marriage would not only have wounded him deeply but have gone against his fundamental beliefs. But at that point I couldn’t settle on reasons why my hero and heroine’s marriage would have broken down, nor why they would stay in a room together for longer than five minutes if they met again in future, so I left it stewing in the back of my mind and wrote Prince of Montez, Pregnant Mistress instead. When I’d finished, I still longed to write my proud Greek, so I went back to the concept, and again began myself the same question:
What possible circumstances might mean either my hero and heroine might need to stay in a room together for longer than five minutes - or even better, have to act like they were still happily married for a couple of weeks - even if it was the last place on earth that they wanted to be?
It was only when I heard my husband answer me that I realised I'd been talking to myself again. ‘If he was a politician and he wanted to sway voters in order to win an election?’ he replied nonchalantly from the sofa where he was watching Obama’s inauguration.
It was the answer I'd been waiting for.
Nevertheless, I was apprehensive. Could a politician also be a sexy alpha hero? I'd never seen it done in a Modern/Presents story before....but once I got thinking about power and morality of the political sphere, of the integrity and strength of the alpha hero - they seemed to blend so perfectly that taking on the challenge was irresistible.
And so Orion Delikaris was born. Is he sexy? Well...his long lost wife certainly thought so, and I'm inclined to agree, but I'll leave you to make up your own mind!
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PRINCE OF MONTEZ, PREGNANT MISTRESS
went on sale in the UK in November 2009 and in North America in January 2010.
Pregnant - by royal decree!
It's the night of a most glamorous art auction in London, and Cally Greenway is due to win the restoration commission of her dreams... Until the paintings sell to an unknown bidder and, devastated and dashed, uncharacteristically Cally finds solace in the arms of a handsome yet ruthless stranger...
The very same man who bought her precious paintings - the Prince of Montéz! Leon summons Cally by royal decree: His Majesty wants a mistress: biddable, pleasurable...and pregnant?
REVIEWS
In her fabulously sexy new novel for Mills and Boon Modern Romance, talented new writer Sabrina Philips stirs an intoxicating cocktail of passion, intrigue and seduction which will keep readers entranced from start to finish!
Prince of Montez, Pregnant Mistress is an unmissable romantic tale featuring a gorgeous hero, a feisty heroine, heart-stopping intensity, red-hot passion and plenty of sizzling drama to keep readers frantically turning the pages all night long!
4 Stars, Julie Bonnello for CataRomance
This thrilling and powerful love story by Sabrina Philips leaves the reader breathless..
5 Hearts, Marilyn Shoemaker for The Pink Heart Society
Sabrina Philips made me believe that Cally and Leon would fall for each other...I believe absolutely that they’ll live happily ever after.
B+, Liviania, The Good, The Bad and the Unread
UNDER THE COVER SECRETS
This book is loosely linked with my previous book, The Desert King’s Bejewelled Bride, in that it shares one scene which is exactly the same - a dinner at Leon’s palace. However, in this story, the evening is of course seen through the eyes of Cally and Leon, rather than Tamara and Kaliq, the hero and heroine of Bejewelled Bride. It was a challenge to write, but great fun to have examined the emotions of all four characters around the table over the course of two books!
The paintings, Mon Amour par la Mer, that Cally restores over the course of the book are fictional, but inspired by real works. The style I envisioned was that of Flaming June by Frederic Leighton, which I went to see at the Tate Britain in London, where it’s currently on loan from Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico – just beautiful. The idea of there being two paintings, one in which the subject is clothed, and the other nude, is inspired by Francisco Goya’s Nude Maya La maja desnuda and Clothed Maya La maja vestida. As for Cally’s job as an art restorer, the research on that was fascinating, and I’d like to thank Elizabeth Kendall, Director and Chief Conservator at Parma Conservation in Chicago for her insights. Do check out their website to learn about art restoration for real – it’s fascinating.
In terms of the story, I started knowing that I wanted to write a book in which the hero and heroine were new to one another from page one. My previous two stories were about couples with a shared past reuniting, and I wanted to try something different. When I was sunbathing on my honeymoon in Zanzibar I started contemplating how a girl might find herself going to live and work in the home of a wealthy alpha hero, and out of nowhere the heroine-as-art restorer idea was born. The auction opening scene – a delight to write, sprang to mind next, and then the story just took off!
Unlike many other authors, I don’t usually use images to ‘cast’ my characters, but Leon was my first exception. His physical appearance was inspired Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. I first spotted him in the film Wimbledon (which, incidentally, inspired a scene in The Desert King’s Bejewelled Bride) and his intensity combined with boyish good looks seemed to embody exactly what I was trying to achieve with Leon!
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THE DESERT KING'S BEJEWELLED BRIDE
went on sale in the UK in July 2009 and in North America in August 2009 as part of the Presents Extra mini-series 'Royal and Ruthless'.
Blackmailed virgin...
Kaliq Al-Zahir A'zam cannot believe the audacity of Tamara Weston! This teasing little virgin, who once rejected his proposal of marriage, is now a top model, displaying her body on advertising billboards for all to see.
Bejewelled bride!
Kaliq still wants Tamara, so he sees to it that she returns to his kingdom for the assignment of her career – she will model the royal jewels she should have worn as his bride, and deliver to him the wedding night he was previously denied...
REVIEWS
Passion smoulders in this royal delight.
4 Stars, Romantic Times
Sabrina Philips has created an amazing and spectacular love story with The Desert King’s Bejewelled Bride. It is also her first sheikh book and I’m certainly hoping it’s not her last as it’s exceptional!.
5 Hearts, Marilyn Shoemaker for The Pink Heart Society
Sabrina Phillips’s second novel, The Desert King’s Bejewelled Bride is a terrific Modern Romance that will thoroughly enchant, absorb and enthrall readers who enjoy well-written, escapist and sexy romances! With a feisty heroine, a sexy hero, powerful emotion, sizzling sex and emotional drama, The Desert King’s Bejeweled Bride is a vintage Modern Romance from Sabrina Philips, a writer whose star is set to keep on rising!
4 Stars, Julie Bonnello for CataRomance
UNDER THE COVER SECRETS
I wrote this story in the Spring/Summer of 2008 – at a time when I my first book, Valenti’s One-Month Mistress had just been accepted for publication, and I was excitedly preparing for my wedding which took place at the end of May. Whilst the story is very much Kaliq and Tamara’s, I feel that it is unavoidably infused with the sheer joy and the sense of anticipation I was feeling in those incredible few months. I hope it shows!
This book features a sexy scene in which Kaliq and Tamara play a game of tennis. It was inspired by the film Wimbledon starring Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst which I adore (though I’m afraid I have no aptitude for tennis myself!) Furthermore, the 2008 Wimbledon championships themselves were taking place whilst I was writing the book, and appropriately, it will be the Wimbledon 2009 finals the week that The Desert King’s Bejewelled Bride hits the shelves in the UK!
One of the first scenes that I envisioned when I was planning this story is one in which Kaliq feeds Tamara an exotic fruit – part of the reason why I love Sheikh stories is that it’s not just the experience of falling in love that’s so thrilling and unfamiliar but the sights, sounds and tastes too. But the question was, what fruit? I sampled various options (from a section of the supermarket I’d never explored before!) but after a decidedly un-erotic attempt at eating a pomegranate, I used my imagination and opted for a fictional quava fruit instead!
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VALENTI'S ONE-MONTH MISTRESS
went on sale in the UK in February 2009 and North America in
March 2009.
Blackmailed!
Faye Matteson cannot believe the nerve of Dante Valenti! The arrogant Italian expects her to become his mistress in exchange for his help with her failing business.
Defiant!
She fell for him when she was just an innocent – but he took her virginity and left her heartbroken. She’d sworn, Never again!
Taken!
But no one should ever underestimate the power of Dante Valenti’s sensuality. If he wants her, he will have her.
REVIEWS
Harlequin Presents fans will adore this steamy tale of secrets, passion and seduction! Sexy, dramatic and blazing with fiery emotion, Valenti’s One-Month Mistress marks the beginning of an exciting career for a wonderful new talent: Sabrina Philips!
4 Stars, Julie Bonnello for CataRomance
I was actually blown away reading this debut book by Sabrina Philips. Faye and Dante’s story is incredible…Its intensity will take your breath away and it will be one love story you will long remember.
5 Hearts, Marilyn Shoemaker for The Pink Heart Society
UNDER THE COVER SECRETS
I woke up with the idea for the story on the last day of a romance writing course run by Sharon Kendrick in Scotland (see About Me for more details, and watermill.net for info on the course – which has now coincidentally moved to Tuscany – jealous!) Straight afterwards I accompanied my husband (at the time my fiancé) on a business trip to the States, and I was so inspired to get started that I wrote the opening scene on the flight.
The concept of an alpha male telling a strong, independent woman how to run her restaurant business was partly inspired by Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. It was on TV at the time, and although I wasn’t a can’t-miss-it fan of the show, I thought such a scenario would be all the more fascinating if sexual history and chemistry were thrown into the mix!
There are a few allusions to ancient Roman gods in the book. I love this automatic heritage of Italian heroes, it’s so powerful and very close to my heart as I studied Classics at both A-Level and University.
My feisty heroine Faye Matteson loves to swim to get frustrations off her chest. Unlike Faye I never swam professionally, but when I’m stuck on an element of a story I find it an excellent way to get my ideas flowing again! |
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