This Writer's Life...
Have you seen any good films lately?
I've been up to my eyes in edits this week so I really fancy catching a good film over the weekend and I'm after recommendations. I'm looking forward to seeing Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Has anyone seen it? Is it good?
Another I want to catch is J Edgar. Any good?
I'm a great fan of Meryl Streep but I think I'll give The Iron Lady a miss. I wasn't a huge fan of Maggie Thatcher (she said with great understatement).
…One for the Welsh
I love daffodils. To me, they're a sign that spring is on the way. A fresh new start. They're also the national emblem of Wales, of course. (So are leeks for some strange reason.)
When I bought my first daffodils of the year yesterday, I had no idea that today would be such a great day for the Welsh.
First, it's St Dwynwen's Day. St Dwynwen is the patron saint of lovers and, therefore, the Welsh equivalent of St Valentine. …
And the winners are...
Happy Monday, everyone. I started the week with a trip to the dentist for a checkup and the hygienist for the usual torture. I do hope your Monday morning was better than mine. Mind you, I did get my own back. Last night, I was tucking in to a delicious chilli with lots of garlic bread. I'd almost finished when I had the "Aaargh - I can't eat garlic, I have to visit the dentist in the morning" moment. …
What happens next?
Dead Calm, the Dylan Scott novella I've been working on, landed on my editor's desk on Wednesday afternoon. Am I pleased about that? You bet! I had many moments when I thought it would never be written. Some books flow and some, um, don't. Dead Calm didn't. In fact, writing it reminded me of the famous Peanuts essay:
Dead Calm will be available in June and more details will follow soon.
…
Happy Monday!
I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was excellent. Saturday included a fantastic win for Burnley FC and yesterday - drum roll here - the sun shone in Lancashire. Yes, really. There were hints of it on Friday and Saturday, but yesterday was glorious. Cold, but really, really sunny.
To celebrate this rare event, we went to Lytham - home of the Lytham Windmill.
The sunshine was such a surprise that strange things took to the skies. …
Do You Suffer From Friggatriskaidekaphobia?
No? Me, neither. However, a lot of people do and (I love this!) treatment is available. Simply visit The Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center. (I'm sure other treatment centres are available.)
For those who don't know, friggatriskaidekaphobia is the irrational fear of Friday the Thirteenth. Imagine having a condition that you can neither pronounce nor spell!
Apparently, around twenty million people in the US suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia. …
Yawn...
This happens to me a lot. *yawn*
In the evening, I sit with a good book in my hand, or I work, or I stare at the TV and I struggle to keep my eyes open. I go to bed and, hey presto, I'm wide awake. Yep, like magic. I could party till dawn. My mind is the most active it's been all day and insists on toying with such things as The Meaning of Life at the same time as Did I Let the Cat Out? …
Bus passes and pension books
No. Not for me. Not just yet.
Almost everyone I've spoken to this year has complained of feeling their age though. Perhaps it's a Christmas thing and we're all struggling to carry round those extra calories. A moment on the lips and a lifetime on the hips, they say. Or maybe it's the weather. We've had nothing but grey, wet, windy and thoroughly depressing weather in this corner of the UK.
…And today is…?
It's Friday, right? Good. I'm not sure if it's a Christmas/holiday thing but I have no idea what day it is at the moment. And it will probably be March before I get used to writing 2012. I'm okay with the year at the moment because I'm still concentrating, but by next week I'll either be writing 2011 or 2013. (Perhaps it's just an age thing.)
So the deadline cometh. Two weeks today I shall be telling you that DEAD CALM, the Dylan Scott novella, has gone to my editor. …
Reflections
When a new year comes around, I tend to breathe deeply and take stock of my life. After vowing to make more time for friends and family, I usually remember the approaching deadline (20th Jan in this case ... which doesn't sound too bad if you close your eyes and say it quickly) and then race through another twelve months. This year, however, the writing world, especially the romance writing world, has lost a very special person. …
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