Sexy food ideas....help?!

HELP!

I'm planning a menu at the moment for my wip, and I need it to to be sexy with a capital S!

My H&H are currently in reluctant agreement not to act on their clear and present sexual chemistry, and are road testing the meal at the request of the chef. I'm going to use it to ramp up the already raging sexual tension between them, so every course needs to be sensual to look at and to eat ( but also believable as a meal you might be served in a swanky restaurant, so no, eating strawberries out of navels is not an option, lol!)

So... what would you serve? I'm thinking of oysters and champagne as a starter, but the main course is stressing me out. Dessert I'm thinking maybe something with fresh figs drizzled with honey.
Help? Any ideas for dishes that are sensual to watch someone else eat?

The partial is ticking along well I think, I've pretty much written the draught apart from this scene. Then obviously it'll need heavy editing before sending in, but should be good to go before the deadline of the end of the month.

It's tricker this week to find writing time though as it's half term and I have the tiny terrors under my feet all day, plus the weather's rubbish so we're all going slightly stir crazy. I've got a three year old drama king who's all about the temper tantrums at the moment, and a six year old professional wind up merchant who delights in riling him. Not a good combination, they've yet to agree on anything today. Bolt or Ice age 3? Dinosaurs or train tracks? Spaghetti or penne pasta for dinner? One wants one, one wants the other, and it ALWAYS ends up with shouting from the tiny but mighty one. It's about three hours until I can pour a glass of wine, not that I'm watching the clock or anything... I love them, but roll on Monday!

Valentines day was unexpectedly nice chez moi - heart shaped toast and jam in bed with a copy of the OK magazine. We know how to live in our house, haha!

Full steam ahead

I've had word back from M & B - it's a green light for the revised plot, with some cautionary notes to think about as I go along. Phew! I'm really glad, as I didn't actually have a plan C!
One of the things i'm mulling over at the mo is time scales. How long a period is realistic for two love-allergic people to do a complete about turn and reach their HEA? My original synopsis kind of tied it all up within six weeks, but would that actually happen in real life? I'm not so sure.
The shiny new plot removes Jack's late wife & child completely, & allows more scope for sizzle & playfulness, which is good. What isn't so good is that I still want Jack to be wearing a wedding ring in the opening scene, so he's needs to have / had a wife. I'm currently going with recently divorced rather than killing her off, although I may change my mind and lop off her head with helicopter blades if I get desperate! One to try and avoid I think.
The Ed's asked for the first three chapters, and we've settled on a deadline of 28th Feb, the day before my birthday. :o) Although in actual fact it's not my birthday, as my real birthday is the 29th Feb, but it's as good as it gets for me most years.
That's not long away is it? I am full of nerves about it, the reality of what an extraordinary opportunity this is is setting in and I so don't want to blow it.
T - 25 days and counting...

Yikes!

My chapters up on iheartpresents http://www.iheartpresents.com/2010/01/harlequin-presents-writing-competition-2009-runner-up-joanne-pibworths-first-chapter/
(if anyone can tell me how to replace that ridiculously long link with a word i'd be very glad - i'm SO bad with computers it's embarrassing.)
It feels really odd to see my words on there! It's completely nerve wracking wondering what people will make of it.

No word back yet on my revisions, but it's only been a couple of days so that's no shocker is it? I'm too impatient.
I've decided to just carry on writing as if they've said yes and hope for the best.
What's the worst that can happen? They could say no of course, but no writing's a waste is it? ( I think I may have read that over on Jackie Ashenden's blog this morning, it's sooooo right!).

Am off now to chew my nails....

Sent!

Well, i've sent in my plot revision plan for Jack & Nancy, so i'm playing the waiting game now to hear if they like what they see. I have my fingers and toes crossed, I actually prefer it the new way - it has more potential for  sizzle. :0)

I also got notified that my chapter & feedback should be on iheartpresents one of the days this week. Nervous? me? You betcha!

Back to the casting couch...

Oh the drama.
Having cast Jack & Nancy, i'm now going to throw a hollywood strop and sack Jack.
He is indeed one gorgeous specimen, but his youthful good looks are causing me angst!
He may be mid 30's in real life, but  he doesn't look it does he? And his role as clean living farm boy turned rookie reporter as Clark Kent keeps rearing it's ugly head - he's just not grubby enough to say the lines I need him to say. :o)
Sorry Smallville,  get your coat.

I'm therefore handing over the role of Jack into a more authoritative pair of hands - not to mention all together more wicked...

Jack & Nancy

One of the perks of writing romance is definitely getting to play casting director isn't it?

It's like making your own movie, but taking all of the associated jobs on yourself - writer, producer, editor, director, head of casting - everything but starring in it and bagging the hero yourself in actual fact! There's something not quite right there surely?

My wip at the moment stars Jack & Nancy, and i've finally settled on my castings for the main roles. ;O)

Actually Nancy has been pretty much sorted since day one, she's fiesty & modern, and in my minds eye she is very similar in looks and personality to the character of Lois Lane in Smallville, as played by Erica Durance.
Finding Jack was trickier. I knew he was dark haired and sexy, with a glint of humour. I have trawled through loads of men ( tough job, one best done without my husband and children to distract me) and although many were goooood, none were pefect for Nancy.

It then struck me why I was struggling - because he was right under my nose all of the time!

I'm a smallville fan of epic proportions anyway, and honestly, who can out alpha a bone fide superhero? No one, or  at least not for me in the case of Jack & Nancy. I'm going more with the image than the actual character in his case though, as as Clark Kent he's not nearly alpha enough.

I've tried to nail in my head who my perfect alpha male character would be, and the closest I can get is a divine cross between Sawyer from Lost ( too hot to actually live), David Duchovny in Californication, and Gene hunt in Ashes to Ashes... although I realise i'm probably alone on that last one.

Having now settled on Jack & Nancy, the gorgeous thing is I can easily find images of them together, and today I found I can even watch little montages of their romance set to music on youtube... is that taking things too far? I am thinking probably.....erm, yes?

Another good thing about going with these two is that i've watched their frustrated would-be romance blossom and can really feel the tension & chemistry sizzling between them, so it's easy for me to transfer that emotion over to my own characters.

I have no idea if this is a bad move or not - is it usual to choose characters you've seen work as a couple on screen in the past, or is there a danger it might have an influence on your writing? I'm hoping not?

So...the call

I'm happy to report that 'the call' happened as planned today, and they were lovely & chatty, not anywhere near as scary as I'd imagined . :o)

There was a lot of positives to draw on, they said they feel that my chapter hit the sassy tone of MH well, and that my voice is contemporary & sparkled with a unique & sexy style.
I reckon I could actually  die a happy girl after that!

There are necessary revisions though, and loads of things to think about going forward. The main concern is that my story includes a child, which they feel is an incredibly tricky thing to pull off.
I have to say that I can totally see what they mean - i've been finding exactly that as I've progressed on from where chapter one left off. It's an accomplished skill to be able to write in a child without allowing them to take up very much of the word count or get in the way of spontaneous action - def something to leave for later down the line in hind sight.
We discussed options to move the story forward, and i'm going to think on it to see if there's a way I can make the premise work without the child in it. It's quite tricky as lots of the emotional conflict hinges around the fact that my hero is a widower, and without that in the mix a lot of the fundamental elements of the plot have to go too. It's not impossible, but the fear is that in changing the scenario too much I might end up losing the spark that's there now, and I don't want to force the characters to fit the plot.  The alternative option is to shelve it for now and do something completely different, which thankfully they've said they'd happily read. As I said, loads to mull over.
I'm hopeful that I'll  find a way to make it work for Jack & Nancy though, as I'm fond of them and would love to finish writing their story.
On the phone today they encouraged me to really push the boundaries, so that's the plan i'm gonna go with... stand well back! :o)