Thanks to many awesome authors across the pond, I have pictures of the Mills & Boon 100th Anniversary cocktail party, featuring Butlers in the Buff. These butlers in the M&B pics were not so in-the-buff as they are in other photos of said butlers. Were they indeed naked covered by an apron?
Thanks to Michelle Styles, we have this lovely picture of a very fortunate Liz Fielding, who appears to be having a splendid time. Styles reports that Fielding attracted a lot of buff butlery attention.
Styles also tells me that the party itself was incredibly glam, “the sort of thing one might read about in a Presents.” But ho, what news from yonder party breaks?
Seems Mills & Boon has a new tie-in to Rugby Union. Similar to the NASCAR tie-in, a variety of authors will be writing rugby romances.
Now, as someone who is completely mystified by both rugby and cricket, I say, BRING IT ON. Because that is a HOT idea, and if it doesn’t cross the pond, you’ll hear a lot more SB Sarah cursing the exchange rate as she orders piles of Rugby romances.
FINALLY!
A marketing tie in I can get behind! Believe you me, the things I could do behind a few of those rugby players.
http://www.adlbooks.com/DISPLAYDETAILFULL.cfm?isbn=2-9515928-5-x&sec=gay
The only problem with my Dieux de Stade calendar is I have to take it down every time Great-aunt Annie comes over.
She’s not offended by it; she just won’t stop staring. She’s 93 and I’m not convinced it’s good for her heart.
If the M&B titles turn out to be like the SEP football series, bring it on. Only diff will be the number of head and neck lacerations, concussions, and possibly a torn ear or 2.
My husband played rugby for a season and those guys can be SO HOT, however, (my husband included) there is something a little wrong with their brains to want to play a game so brutal. They revel in their injuries, then they drink and sing about it. Wierd. I never attended the post parties.
Rugby Union Romance?
I AM SO THERE! Time to start throwing some of my money M&B’s way again, methinks.
Love watching Rugby, and think that Brian O’Driscoll is a divine & godlike being – but so not sure about Rugby Romances.
As a former hooker (that’s rugby speak y’all, for the position I played in college) I can tell you those boys are hot and like to play rough.
The girls can scare ya though…I think they play even rougher. Huh…maybe that’s a turn-on.
Charlene – the crack about granny had me laughing – my 80something great-aunt is always looking to borrow my books!
VF word: into88 – you better believe I’ll still be into this when I’m 88. Maybe even more so since the brain may be the only thing getting any by then!
Rugby. Romances.
Oookkk. In my opinion, those words really don’t go together, but whatever.
Here are some more nice pics for you ladies:
http://towleroad.typepad.com/towleroad/2004/11/behind_the_scen.html
http://www.stade.fr/dieuxdustade/
http://room124.over-blog.net/album-273467.html
etcetera. . .
I’m pretty sure naked butlers are a health code violation.
I, too, sit glued to the telly for the rugby internationals and even have a passing acquaintance with the laws of the game. Sadly, it seems that only “Presents” authors will be let loose on Johnny Wilkinson lookalikes. Not fair.
I’ll just have to stick to the butlers. 🙂
“Sadly, it seems that only “Presents†authors will be let loose on Johnny Wilkinson lookalikes. Not fair. “
And there’s another problem – how could I enjoy the fantasy if they played for England?
True, Marianne—I have a similar problem since I live in Wales. But I happen to know that the head honcho at M&B, whose idea this was, supports Scotland … does that help?
Wales is fine, Scotland’s fine – it’s just the English…
Perhaps romances about the British Lions?
(My dh is English, so they do get a certain degree of support in our living room. Sadly.)
I so need to buy those rugby books as they’re released. I have no choice but to save up my devalued US dollars and buy them from Amazon UK. Curse you, currency exchange rate!
Liz: it’s a good moment to focus on rugger, with the Wales team doing rather well just now. (I’m not sure I ever recovered from the Western Samoa debacle, however many years ago that was. 😮 )
Sports are not my thing, but rugger is good for watching big blokes getting covered in mud, and cricker is – or used to be – a more intellectual experience. I am so glad M&B have decided to give football a miss, though it surprises me, because it is the most universal sport, played in more countries, I would guess, than any other.
😀
Chicklet, since they’re Presents, they’ll be released in the US.
Marianne, I’m a mixture of English, Welsh and Irish, while the dh is all English so at the moment we’re in total depression here, but since I loath nationalism in all its forms, I tend to just enjoy great play. My money is on the French this year!
“My money is on the French this year!”
Don’t talk to me about France. Five more minutes…
I wouldn’t put Wales out of the running. If they beat us, and it comes down to a final fixture against France at the Millennium Stadium, they’d be very highly motivated. And France weren’t perfect in the second half on Sunday.
(However, I’m not as nice as you – I’ll still hope we beat Wales.)
I shall sidle off now, and feign an interest in books…
Rugby players? *faint, thud*
Why can’t we have them here? WHY, DAMN YOU SPORTS GODS, WHY!?!?!
Those aren’t BUTLERS: they are WAITERS. Good grief. Don’t people know anything any more?
:0 🙂
Those aren’t BUTLERS: they are WAITERS. Good grief. Doesn’t anyone know anything any more?
🙂
Sorry about the double post – first one produced a server error notice, so I assumed it had evaporated.
Spam filter: ‘come65’. Come, and gone, alas.
Butlers, waiters, whatever—I’ll take three. Hamana. I thought the British were supposed to be repressed!
“I thought the British were supposed to be repressed!”
Huh. We just have different unwritten social rules, some of which look to outsiders like ‘repression’.
I have to say that naked or near-naked waiters seems pretty Bad Form to me. I don’t want some bloke’s dangly bits anywhere near my canapés, thanks.
🙂
Rugby UNION? Bah. The Rugby League fellas are a lot hotter. And the game’s more fun to watch, too.
Can you tell I’m a northerner?
Someone said rugby and hunky players…
(thanking CourtneyLee for the idea)