Friday 3 December 2010

Bath's Christmas Market

The Bath Christmas Market is in full swing and despite disruption caused by the snow (very early for us this year)there are as many people, if not more, enjoying the experience.

Bath is a lovely place all year round, but during December it becomes something special. The added bonus this year is walking through the city with the surrounding hills blanketed in snow - it's quite something.

Loads to do here in December: there's the Market, of course, plus the opportunity for festive dining at the Roman Baths and Pump Rooms (where incidentally I'll be enjoying afternoon tea next week with a friend). Add to this the Thermae Spa which is very atmospheric at night, especially if you brave the rooftop pool with its vista of the night-lit Abbey and rooftops of Bath.

Ah, how I love this city :)

Friday 26 November 2010

Searching, searching...

I'm blogging about our search for a new addition to our family today at Over the Backyard Fence.

Friday 19 November 2010

Bad, bad blogger

Oh dear, it's been ages since I last posted. Can't believe where the time has gone. I've been working though, and trying to get to grips with the latest WiP which has given me some angst. This has been the hardest book I've written and I'm not sure why. Doubts have crept in about the process, my ability, and pretty much everything else. I keep getting bogged down and it's been hard clawing out of the mire. Writing-wise, I've gone for days without a coherent thought and it's been scary. Thankfully, I'm back on track now and enjoying the process again.

One of the things I have been doing during this lean writing spell is to read about the writing process and listed below are some great books I've found which have helped get me back in the saddle:

Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maass - do the exercises, they really help focus the mind
The Plot Thickens by Noah Lukeman - a pick-up/put-down book with great writing prompts
The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines by Cowden, LaFever,Viders - informative and motivational
On Writing by Stephen King - funny and inspirational

I've loads more on my bookshelf and plan to work through them all, but writing comes first and it's by writing, writing, writing that we really learn our craft.

Have fun.

Friday 11 June 2010

Writing Sexual Tension

Hop on over to Terry Odell's blog and read her posts on Linda Howard's recent workshop. Linda Howard writes fabulous sexual tension, so if you'd like some pointers from this amazing writer don't miss Terry's posts.

Friday 21 May 2010

Samhain Newsletter

The new Samhain newsletter is about to launch. It will be published monthly and will feature upcoming and new releases - both in eBook and Print - as well as free downloads and contests.

Sign up here to make sure you don't miss a copy of this exciting new publication.

Friday 14 May 2010

Axa Assistance? .... a misnomer if there ever was one!

We were caught up in the Eurostar delays over the 2009 Christmas period and had to abandon our trip. We had travel insurance via Axa Assistance through our friendly bank and as this was absolutely no fault of ours and lay solely in the hands of Eurostar (who, incidentally, handled the situation abysmally)expected the compensation claim to go through without incident.

Wrong! Axa have refused to pay us a penny. They say that "you must check in according to the itinerary supplied to you" ... err, Axa? Are you the only insurance company on the planet who didn't hear the international news that Eurostar had five trains stuck in the channel tunnel on 19th and 20th December 2009? Or that St Pancras was closed as no trains were running? When trains began running again, on a very limited basis, we couldn't get a seat, but according to Axa "lack of seat availability is not a listed reason for abandonment". Oh really? Thanks for that, Axa. Now we can save some money by asking Eurostar to strap us onto the roof!

Sunday 25 April 2010

RAH Conference at Lucy Monroe's Blog


Lucy's RAH Conference starts tomorrow! Head on over to Lucy's blog for more details and the schedule. I'm up on Friday, talking about my love affair with Men in Black :)

Sunday 28 March 2010

LASR Easter Egg Hunt

The Long and Short of It are planning a fun Easter Egg Hunt starting tomorrow. Prizes include $25 Amazon or BN.com Gift Certificate, eBooks, tote bags, Easter baskets filled with goodies, T-Shirts and more. Participating authors (including moi) have hidden an Easter egg graphic on their websites and all you have to do is find it. Send the URL of the page on which you find the image to lasrcontests@gmail.com. Please send one email for each egg found. The more eggs you find, the better your chances of winning.

Pop on over to the LASR website and join in the fun! Good Luck!

Sunday 21 March 2010

What do tons of authors, tons of prizes, tons of hotties and tons of readers have in common? They’re attending the first ever Readers at Home Conference! During the week of April 26-30, authors and readers will converge on Lucy Monroe’s blog, to celebrate their favorite genre–romance!

We are giving away Swag Bags to the first 50 readers who register for the conference. To register, all you have to do is send an email to Lucy Monroe with your name and mailing address (for the Swag Bag) stating your intention to attend the RAH Conference. The Swag Bags are for conference attendees only and we are trusting that you truly intend to attend the conference and interact with the authors and other readers on the blog. :) Lucy is shipping the Swag Bags at her own expense, but many authors have donated loot for you all, and each Swag Bag will have a free book inside.

Yes, that's right - the conference is FREE. How cool is that?

Every day there will be multiple authors visiting and guest blogging,
with new posts going live every 3 hours between 6 AM and 6 PM. Lucy
will post a hottie who is definitely hunky enough to be a cover model
and there will be daily drawings for multiple prizes
(more than 50 over the week!!!), including dozens of signed books, a
B&N gift card, a t-shirt, 3 prize tote bags filled with books and
goodies (from Sue G at BTRB and Becke Davis), free online
subscriptions to Affaire de Couer magazine and 2 more Swag Bags given
away each day. What could be better?

Hope to see YOU there!

Monday 15 March 2010

Bahrain Grand Prix? Dull as Ditchwater

Yesterday's kick-off to the 2010 Grand Prix season was so boring I struggled to stay awake. The most exciting part of the whole thing was when Hamilton said there was some vibration at the front of his car, but even that didn't stir me. Eventually, I turned the sound up and let the roar of the engines lull me to sleep. At least Melbourne can't be any worse...can it? Time would have been better spent working on the WiP.

Saturday 6 February 2010

New Review and Vote for Me!

Following a great review from Fern over at Long and Short Reviews, I've just been notified that No Strings Neighbor is up for Book of the Week. If you get a minute, maybe you'd be so kind as to pop on over to LASR's website and cast your vote for Greg and Ellie's story. I sure would appreciate it :)) Here's the link: http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/recentrev.htm

Friday 5 February 2010

Wanna vote for me?

Voting for the Sammie Awards is up and running. Play Me and Satin Lies are both in the Samhain lists and I'd welcome your vote if you feel so inclined :)

Sunday 10 January 2010

Two more great reviews, this time for Play Me from Samhain Publishing:

4.75 Diamonds from Got Romance Reviews, Reviewer Becca Dale said Play Me had "enough sexual tension to start a fire...Play Me’s alluring tug of war kept me engaged start to finish. Definitely a keeper". You can read the whole review here.

4 Books from Long and Short Reviews. Reviewer Fern said: "The build-up is done wonderfully, and you’ll be waiting on the edge of your seat to learn what happens next. Romantics will love this story, and should be sure to pencil Play Me on their TBR list."

Sunday 3 January 2010

A great review

2010 started well for me with a great 5 Diamond review from Got Romance!

Reviewer Becca Dale awarded No Strings Neighbor 5 Diamonds and had this to say about the story:

No Strings Neighbor provides a delightful read. Ms. Jones characters drew me in, made me laugh, smile, and generally care about them. I found Ellie’s struggles tugging at my heart while I hoped her story would not force Greg to give up on his own dreams. Ms. Jones did not disappoint in her resolution of the conflicts between these two. Definitely a worth the time and money purchase.

Becca Dale, Got Romance Reviews

What a lovely start to the year!