On the phone

This isn't about those times my big sister needs to rant and I get stuck for hours but something a little more bookish. I am always stuck for a few minutes in the car at school pickup and swimming lessons and so on.

Usually I write, scraps of conversation and what not.

Or I play Angry Birds (it's a sad addiction).

But I finally got kindle app and read a whole book on my phone. It helped it was a lovely Sarah Mayberry (Her favourite Temptation) which made it super easy to read. Now, it isn't my fave way to read but it is perfect for those few minutes I can steal.

What about you, what do you read on?

If you squint

One of my heroines is a baker. She makes cupcakes that leave me drooling on the keyboard. I am not quite so talented but with my little man turning 6 this week and being mad for all things Star wars, I rolled up my sleeves and gave it a go.

Of course his Pa can't eat egg so it had to be an ice-cream cake!

What do you think? Recognisable?

An oldie but a goodie

So, I survived 50ks - and successfully at that but I needed a break from that story. After doing the brain mush thing for a while, I picked up an old story and I can see stuff I didn't before.

Time really is magic!

I have also been devouring books. Romances of course but some in YA and NA too. Some sci-fi and I wrote a story for Mr nearly-6 birthday next week. Now I think my brain is getting back into gear. Or at least it will when the kids go back to school.

Holidays here with three under 8 are full of arguments and tantrums and the most hilarious moments. They're the break the kiddos need but also make me switch into a different mode and make me LONG to get back to writing and the kind of peace Miss 4's kindy schedule gives me.

I way appreciate writing time even more when I have so little!

Holidays and old stories - like? Loathe?

Winter gremlins

Once again, I signed up for RWAus 50kin30days. Again.

WHAT WAS I THINKING????

It is freezing cold (for Adelaide, which means maybe as low as 8 degrees) and there are sniffles and scratchy throats abounding and all I want is to nap. But I'm trying to write 1667 words a day.

Great plan me.

 

This is actually snow from our trip to Japan - but it feels cold!!

But so far (with the exception of the day my cold thing got me) I've got pretty close to that. Every day. That's with sick kids and going out (who plans social events in winter?? #hibernate) and general wanting to throw my hands up and say it's all too hard.

Why?

Well, there's the small hate-to-fail issue I have happening and I told people I would do it. There's the advice and support on the forums and there's the habit. I'm in this story, loving the characters and it is kind of fun. Lots of fun, even. Eleven more days to go and it might just happen...

Have you tried one of these challenges?

Valentines Approach-eth

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. having been with hubby for a bajillion years, give or take a few, we've had a few of these days. Sometimes they're a disaster of someone forgetting or the 'don't worry we're saving' that someone (maybe me) didn't mean.

This year I have spent up a little but it's something we needed. a splash of luxury we might not have got around to otherwise. Of course I won't mention it here in case hubby is snooping. I always love flowers too. The first Valentine's Day after my mother passed away hubby started a tradition of a white rose for her. he was sad he'd been too shy (we were young) to treat her while she was alive. Then when Princess was born he bought her a daisy.

Ahhh....

I really do believe in every day is for 'I love you' but also spoiling someone never hurt (unless it's my children *grin*).

It's put me in the mood for a Valentine's story.

Any recommendations?

=)

A release 23 yrs in the making

Made for Marriage

This month another of my brilliant CPs hit the shelves (hope it's catching). Helen Lacey's Special Edition release, Made for Marriage is available at last. It's a great read... BUY IT!!

Equestrian Callie Jones was used to difficult parents at her riding school. But Noah Preston took the cake.
How dare he question her teaching abilities, after his headstrong daughter paid no heed to rules—her teacher's or her father's?
Single dad Noah was ready to apologize for overreacting. But he wasn't sorry for the way the stunning American riding instructor made him feel. And he soon learned that there was more to Callie than her smarts, sass and fire: a shattered heart that threatened to splinter even further. Could he make her see that he—and his family—were for keeps?

Buy Links: Amazon Amazon UK Book Depository

=)

It's here... One Perfect Night Release Day!

Completely thrilled to have an excerpt from the awesome and lovely Rachael Johns' new Carina Press release, One Perfect Night! It's a wonderful read so please follow the links at the foot of this post and BUY IT!!
=)

Excerpt from One Perfect Night

“Don’t look now, but Mr. McSexy just entered the building.”
“Blast.” Peppa Grant spun round and did exactly what her best friend and colleague Izzy had ordered her not to. Her breathing faltered at the sight of six foot plus of unadulterated male who now towered at the entrance to the company’s function room. An anxious hush fell over the previously buzzing room. As all eyes snapped to him, she tried not to quake in her costume’s fairy shoes.
Until half an hour ago, Cameron McCormac had meant nothing more to Peppa than the new name at the very top of the office food chain. Now he was the man who owned the car she’d sideswiped in the car park tonight.
The dangerously handsome man who was making her pulse spike simply by standing in the doorway. “Oh, God.”
As Peppa pushed her barely touched glass out of reach and let her head fall onto the table in front of her, Izzy giggled.
“It’s. Not. Funny,” Peppa declared when she finally looked up. Her eyes sought the company’s new CEO again and she felt her heart collapse into her stomach.
“You’re right,” Izzy said, reaching out and stroking Peppa’s hair like a mother over a sick child. “If I’d just put a prize-winning dent in the big boss’s red, convertible pride and joy, I’d probably be at Sydney airport boarding a plane or planning to hitch a ride with Santa back to the North Pole.”
“Hilarious.” Peppa shot her friend a sarcastic smile. “Please tell me McSexy has just vanished up a chimney?”
Izzy took a sip of her chocolate mocktail, her sea-blue eyes sparking with laughter as she peered theatrically over Peppa’s head. “No can do. Looks like he’s doing the rounds, handing out candy canes or something to all the children. Molly must have put him up to it.”
Molly, although old enough to be his mother, was Mr. McCormac’s personal assistant. Rumor had it when he did anything remotely human, she’d put him up to it. She’d been with the company longer than anyone and was the brains behind this event, the annual Christmas party for children of Lyrique Recordings’ employees. Peppa had a fleeting fantasy of leaving a message with Molly about her little misdemeanor in the car park but that wouldn’t be right. And she hadn’t been brought up to take the easy option.
“I’ll do it now,” she said, resting a hand on her queasy belly as she pushed herself off the stool and onto quaky feet. Although whether her shakiness was from trepidation or her gorgeous boss’s sexy gait and air-of-confidence, she couldn’t be sure. “Confess before I’m due on stage and then, if he has any sympathetic bones in his body, he’ll let me entertain the kids before the crucifixion.”
“You’re such a drama queen,” sighed Izzy. “The top job pays well. He has enough money to line his undies drawer in gold. You apologize. You give him the details of your insurance company. You get on with your life. Simple.”
Simple. Right. But Izzy didn’t know that Peppa had just switched to a budget insurance provider. As she had never needed to claim in seven years of driving, the switch had seemed a good decision at the time. The upside was low monthly rates. The downside? A mammoth deductible on claims.
Well, that faux-pas may not only have cost Peppa her car and her job, but paying back the damage to the boss’s vintage Lamborghini would seriously endanger her ability to pay her mortgage. Not to mention she’d have to put her plans for an overseas holiday on hold—a holiday that had been all about helping her mind and emotions recover from the battering of the past few months.
“I think he’s looking at you.”
Izzy’s words broke Peppa’s reverie. And of course she looked up, across the room, only to find her gaze colliding with the Head Honcho himself. Her heart hitched a beat. Despite the distance she could see the roguish tilt of his lips, the slight frown of his distinguished black brows and that his devilish licorice eyes were trained on her. Dark-chocolate hair, speckled with naturally sun-kissed spikes, framed a face so chiseled it could have been carved from stone. A man so in-control of his world he had no reason to question it. Heat flooded her cheeks and, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention, Peppa forced herself to break her gaze.

If you’ve enjoyed this excerpt, you can read the first chapter of ONE PERFECT NIGHT at Rachael’s website: http://www.rachaeljohns.com/pages/bookshelf.html

Or, you can buy the book at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/One-Perfect-Night-ebook/dp/B005Z1CF2A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321790650&sr=1-1) or Carina Press (http://ebooks.carinapress.com/262D0727-23A2-4E9D-B75E-249FF29C76DF/10/134/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=5BB8BC4C-4898-4073-8306-FECF92B5DC5B)

And to celebrate her debut release, Rachael is blogging today at the following places, giving away a copy of ONE PERFECT NIGHT at each spot:
· Get Lost in a Story (http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/_
· Chick-lit Central (http://chicklitcentraltheblog.blogspot.com/)
· Novel Thoughts (http://novelthoughts.wordpress.com/)

AUTHOR BIO:
Rachael Johns is an English teacher by trade, a mum 24/7, a chronic arachnophobic, a supermarket owner by day and a writer by night. She rarely sleeps. Rachael received The Call from Angela James telling her Carina wanted to publish her book on April Fools Day and, when she told her friends, half of them wondered if it was a big joke. Luckily it wasn’t. As an active member of Romance Writers of Australia, Rachael has finaled and placed in a number of romance writing contests. Each success is uplifting and publication is her dream but even if none of this happened, she’d still write. It’s a much better option than ironing, which she refuses to partake in. Ever.