I'm a member of The Minxes of Romance & The Romantic Novelists' Association. I love reading and writing flirty romances with witty heroines and irresistible heroes.
Monday 19 December 2011
Getting in the mood...
If anyone is looking for a Christmas read I've been listening to The Jewels of Manhattan and can thoroughly recommend it. It's the kind of book that makes you itch to write and I'm hoping the fact I'm going away for a week somewhere I'll be looked after means I'll be writing again soon.
All I want for Christmas is to finish my book... Although I have to say the boots were rather nice too ;-)
Tuesday 29 November 2011
Down a rabbit hole and being Kwirky
I've also been busy getting my craft stuff ready to sell at some upcoming Christmas markets but once that's all done intend to get down to some serious writing again.
These are some of the things I'm taking to the events. For news of events see my other blog - Kwirky Design
Also you can get a sneak preview of my Facebook store - Kwirky Kaleidescopes
Friday 7 October 2011
Glamlit v. Chiclit
A while ago now I mentioned the rise of the glambuster. Several months later and the National Press are onto my trend (Okay, maybe they already knew but I like to think I was the first to recognise the migration over to glam ;-)
Thursday 22 September 2011
Guilty!
Tuesday 20 September 2011
Mad busy/Mad crazy
Saturday 27 August 2011
New Beginnings (and this time I mean it!)
Thankfully on Wednesday this came to an end in a highly pressurised game of Deal or no Deal that lasted 7 hours in a windowless, underground room. I could take the bankers offer and run or I could stick it out for another two years during which I was promised (threatened?) things would get much nastier. As they had already been pretty nasty - being followed by private detectives, having my post box rummaged through at 3 am, being forced to try treatment that made me worse, having every aspect of my medical and personal history raked over, being squeezed financially to the point of homelessness and being unable to afford food, being lied about, threatened and even blackmailed - my mind boggled as to how things could get even worse.
So, with great relief I decided to take the money and run, or in my case stagger, home. I've been so shattered I can barely take it in but finally it's dawning that all the energy I expended on the insurance reports and rehabilitation can now be channeled back into writing and that, more than any amount of money, is what is making me happy :-)
Now I can finish that requested full (finally!) and maybe even dip a toe in the waters of New Voices. Just for fun though as I've been way too sick lately to sign myself up for the kind of rosemania that swept the internet waves last year ;-)
And in case you were wondering what I've been up to all this time, well even though I've been unable to face a computer screen my creativity still insisted on finding an outlet and these are a few of the things I've made this year. It's patchwork but not as my nan would know it...
Wednesday 13 July 2011
#MarryingCadeWave Stop Six
It’s launch day for Sally Clements’ new book, Marrying Cade, and to celebrate, she’s having a Mexican wave of excerpts! You can keep up with the wave’s progress on the twitter hashtag #MarryingCadeWave – and add a tweet with the hashtag to chat with everyone else who’s reading along!
Here’s how to do it…these are the stops, just call in to these blogs to read each excerpt (they start at stop one, and finish at stop ten). Alternatively, start wherever, and click on the next stop link at the bottom of the excerpt. Or just click on the buy link, to get your own copy of Marrying Cade!
Stop One – Talli Roland’s blog http://talliroland.blogspot.com/
Stop Two – Maya Blake’s blog http://mayabauthor.blogspot.com/
Stop Three – Nas Dean’s blog http://nas-dean.blogspot.com/
Stop Four – Joanne Coles’s blog http://joannecleary.blogspot.com/
Stop Five – Romy Summers’ blog http://romysommer.blogspot.com/
Stop Six – Lorraine Wilson’s blog http://lorraine-wilson.blogspot.com/
Stop Seven – Joanne Pibworth’s blog http://joannepibworth.blogspot.com/
Stop Eight – Suzanne Jones’ blog http://suzanne-sj.blogspot.com/
Stop Nine – Lacey Devlin’s blog http://laceydevlin.blogspot.com/
Stop Ten – Sally Clements’ blog http://sallyclements.blogspot.com/
Stop Six’s excerpt…
“Ciao, Cade.” Her low voice caressed his name. Her eyes rose to his and jolted him with a bolt of blue.
It was Melo, all right. He’d know those eyes anywhere.
She leaned toward him, proffering her cheek for the customary kiss.
Cade’s lips grazed the smooth skin of her cheek, and his nostrils filled with the intoxicating scent of her perfume. His fingers smoothed over her upper arms, feeling the shiver snaking through her. She had a tiny mole above the outer curve of her mouth, something else he remembered from the Melo of old.
He stepped back, needing distance.
“Hi Melo. You look great.” The scratchy croak was just about all he could manage. Rosa’s sister had blossomed into the most stunning woman he’d ever seen. Twelve years ago, the gangly tomboy had been the perfect companion for a boy on holiday. They’d done everything together. Well, almost everything. Now he was tongue tied around her, and that was new.
Monday 4 July 2011
Wake me when it's over...
Sunday 5 June 2011
The new buzz word at HMB Romance HQ
How to be fresh and new and yet fit the category line? It's a very interesting question, answers in a comment box will be welcome ;-)
While you're thinking about it have a slice of cake:
Monday 23 May 2011
Riva Bag Giveaway
Friday 20 May 2011
Reporter Minx
Check out the Minx site today for photos of Minxes at the RNA party. I was determined to get to what would be my first RNA event of the year and despite the pain and tiredness it was most definitely worth it. I got to meet Sally Minx for a start, which was lovely :-) It was also fab to chat to friends old and new and to feel that buzz, and the corresponding internal thought "I am a writer and I will write despite everything". Unfortunately I haven't had the pain relieving injections into my spine yet so I just want to set the record straight - if you saw me slumped against a wall it wasn't because I was sloshed ;-)
Thursday 5 May 2011
News and the science of heroes...
Friday 29 April 2011
Out of mothballs...
Yeah, yeah, you're coming over to support me, I know, the promise of a hot, single prince doesn't interest you in the slightest ;-)
Friday 8 April 2011
Not so guilty pleasures
Escapism, fantasy, glamour and the promise of an ending that will leave you feeling upbeat...well personally I don't see it's that complex a puzzle or anything to feel remotely guilty about.
The last month has been pretty horrid but as everyone around me seems to have subscribed to 'The Secret' I will weed out the negative ;-) The most positive part of the past few weeks has been discovering new authors writing what I would call Glambusters - they all capture the essence of what I would love my writing to encapsulate - glamour, passion and emotion. I'd recommend without hesitation Tilly Bagshawe, Jo Rees and Tasmina Perry as fantastic Glambuster authors. I also managed to catch up on "Kissing Mr Wrong" by Sarah Duncan and last year's Romantic novel of the year "Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts" by Lucy Dillon and I'm grateful to all these talented authors for getting me through a very difficult time and distracting me from pain during sleepless nights.
I hope that some of their skill may have rubbed off on me by osmosis as I am itching to write again and thankfully my voice to text software is now working again on my computer :-) I've also missed my lovely writing friends and hope to catch up with you all soon...
Wednesday 9 March 2011
A sight for sore eyes
I blame the painkillers. How else could I have missed Michael Weatherly returning to the screen in a new series of NCIS?Or Simon Baker with the re-start of The Mentalist? Or fail to spot a new legal drama starring Rupert Penry Jones - Silks. Okay he's playing a bastard but he's still easy on the eye and I can even forgive the glaring errors of the programme's researchers (I used to work in that world, in another life).
I've missed being in touch with my writing friends too. If I haven't emailed you back it is definitely NOT personal, I think I'll have to do an inbox trawl to see what I've missed...
Being able to sit and lie down is nice (yes, injured nerve in back still mucking me about) but being too zonked and sick to write isn't. Nor is having an allergic reaction to anti-nausea medication and the strapping holding my kneecap in place.
Stopping the drugs wasn't a great idea either as I now can't sleep and have become so irritable with the pain that I managed to get a cold caller to hang up on me (and I wasn't rude to her, I promise, just a tad...er, scathing). I've been medicating/distracting myself with episodes I've missed and scouring Youtube for things to make me laugh. Are there any programmes that have you glued to the remote? Please let me know, I need more material for the sake of the innocent bystanders and cold callers (actually I'm not so bothered about them).
It's not a completely dead period for me creatively though - I've been getting so many ideas and thoughts I'm keeping a special notebook of "things to do when better" because thankfully the fall down the stair injuries will get better...at some point and then I'll just be back to the brain injury which will feel like a treat in comparison!
And I will be sending my full to Mills and Boon, there is no injury on earth that is going to stop me. If Jean-Dominique Bauby could write The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by blinking (read about it hear if you are interested) then I am blinking well going to do it!
But if you lose me for a week or so it's because I've had to give in and try an opiate patch. I promise I'll be back and once more go a blog trawling...
Thursday 24 February 2011
Minx in a Muddle
Sunday 13 February 2011
Getting in the mood...
Thursday 10 February 2011
Getting back on Track
So I am now less distracted, although I am drugged up to the eyeballs (legally I hasten to mention), on permanent dog watch and dealing with crisis after crisis. Determined to turn the tide I have cadged a lift and a dog sitter for tomorrow so I can make it to Selfridges to see the lovely Mills and Boon artwork and of course have fun at one of Heidi's workshops. I may be a little zonked but intend to pick up inspiration by osmosis so that when I finally have five minutes peace I can think about the points raised by the Editor in her request email and maybe feel like a writer again!
Monday 7 February 2011
Distracted
I chose this photo of him even though it's not a 'good' one because it's him very happily receiving a tummy tickle and it reminds me how happy I've been able to make him.
The op is this morning, please send your positive thoughts/vibes/prayers his way, he really does deserve to have his happy ending...
Saturday 5 February 2011
News, or 'A watched inbox never pings'
And so the Editor email sat in my inbox unread for a good 7 hours, in fact I almost missed it, skimming over my list and selecting a stressy one to read first instead. It's a modern take on the old wisdom - watched pans take longer to boil, if you take your umbrella out with you it doesn't rain, you only find object A when you are looking for object B...
What did the email say? It was a request for the full ms, my first full request and the nicest thing to happen to me for quite a while :-)
Tuesday 1 February 2011
Getting hot under the collar
It's good timing - A fall down the stairs before Christmas has left me with nerve, muscle and ligament damage in my back and knee which a doctor cheerfully told me last week would take 3 months minimum to heal. The irritated nerves are stopping me from sleeping and as the bath is the one place I can unclench my teeth I spent last night there (yes, the whole night, very glad of the combi boiler!), listening to Heidi Rice's "Pleasure, Pregnancy and a Proposition". Thankfully Heidi managed to distract me with the sizzling interaction of her characters :-)
As the injury is just one of the unpleasant things being thrown across my path at the moment after "The End" of the audiobook and in the interests of not going stark raving mad I progressed to series 4 of Brothers and Sisters which arrived on my doormat with perfect timing (yes, I have come late to the 'Gilles Marini in his swimming trunks party' but better late than never ;-)
Also I have had a go at making a bag from M&B Riva covers - they are so fab it's not hard to make them look good! Click here to see the other M&B bags.
Monday 24 January 2011
Take one book nightly...
I've always used books to self medicate against stress, the greater the stress the 'nicer' the book I prescribe myself. During my university finals I had a pile of my old Enid Blyton's and pony stories under the bed and as 2011 has been more than a tad stressful so far perhaps it explains my recent foray from Heat over to Sweet in listening (yes, listening! M&B audiobooks have returned to the UK :-)
Sunday 2 January 2011
A Hopeful New Year
And your 'R's be Revisions.
But most of all may 2011 be the year of 'C's -
Calls, Contracts and Congratulations all round...
Whether you're multi-published, aspiring or an avid reader I wish you all a very hopeful and happy new year :-)