Novelicious Undiscovered Entries & A Bored Dog

Most of my waking time is spent in front of a laptop/computer. If I'm not at work then I'm either in the shed, or in the conservatory writing, editing or reading books to review for Alternative Thursday over at Novelicious.com. At the moment I'm reading competition entries for Novelicious Undiscovered.

Don't forget, if you want to enter Novelicious Undiscovered, the closing date is this Tuesday, 3rd April.

My family are fine with this. Rob works a lot and loves gardening. Sas, when she's not at school, has a social life that really could keep a full-time social secretary busy and James is at uni. So, that leaves poor Grumps. He's the one who has to sit/lie and wait for me to finish. Something I never seem to do without immediately starting on the next book, etc.

He does go for a walk every day, usually to the beach, and whenever I go out in the car he comes with me, usually sitting on the front seat with the teens in the back!

Poor him. He always looks so miserable, even when he's having fun.

A Great Weekend

I had a wonderful Mother's Day last weekend. My son unexpectedly came back for a long weekend and these are the gifts my children and the Grumpy one gave me, as well as beautiful cards with thoughtful words written inside each of them.

These glorious tulips arrived by post from my son.







My lovely daughter bought me this book.

I love Leah Fleming's books and was going to wait until the paperback version of this book came out, but now I don't have to.











The Grumpy one bought me this beautiful orchid as well as a new pair of secateurs. Well, obviously Rob bought them on his behalf, thanks Rob.

To celebrate the new, sharper secateurs I began trimming back the tangle of honeysuckle and clematis that had overtaken one area of the garden. Some of the plants had grown over an old, dying palm tree and when I tried to pull the greenery away from the tree Rob noticed that it was moving rather more than it should have done and shouted for me to move out of the way.

Needless to say, the palm tree was rotten at the roots and the eighteen foot monster crashed down next to me. I don't know who was more surprised me or Grumps who gazed at it in horror for a few moments before taking the opportunity to have a celebratory wee against the horizontal tree. Charming!

Dancing With Sean Connery (Mum, not me)

For those of you who commented on my last blog post about my mum dancing with Sean Connery, here are the pictures.

It was the sixties. Doesn't she look lovely? He looks gorgeous too, of course, but then he was James Bond!

x

And The Award Goes To...Me

I was awarded the Liebster Blog Award by the kind and talented Choc Lit authors. Thank you, ladies.

I've got to give five random facts about myself and pass this on to a blog that I want to recommend to you.

- My mother once danced with Sean Connery. I'd forgotten about this until my sister told me that a postman came to her door last week and asked if it was her mother who had danced with SC all those years ago! (Odd?)
- My father had a plane crash and survived. Phew.
- I was asked to leave the convent school I attended when I was twelve because they said that I charming and always polite, but if I didn't want to do something, nothing could persuade me to do it. My daughter now goes to this school and is doing very well, thankfully.
- When my mother was pregnant they thought I was twins! I'm not sure what that says about me...
- I can ride side-saddle. (Although I haven't for years. Not much reason for it!)
I'd like to pass this award on to Jean Bull.

The lovely Diane Fordham passed the Sunshine Award on to me. For this award I need to tell you several things that make me happy.
- Reading in my conservatory with Grumps sitting next to me and the sun shining outside.
- Chocolate. (Goes without saying really though).
- Watching tv with my family with a fire in the grate when it's wintery outside.
- Opening books sent from publishers for my Alternative Thursday reviews at Novelicious.
- Walking the Grumps on St Ouens' Beach.
- Going out to lunch with Rob and the children.
- Writing in my shed.
I'd like to pass this award on to Flowerpot.




I didn't win a RoNA Award *mind wanders off into a daydream* at the Romantic Novelists' Association's 2012 Award reception, but the following authors did :



CONTEMPORARY ROMANTIC NOVEL - Summer of Love by Katie Fforde
EPIC ROMANTIC NOVEL - The Kashmir Shawl by Rosie Thomas
HISTORICAL ROMANTIC NOVEL - Highland Storms by Christina Courtenay
ROMANTIC COMEDY NOVEL - Please Don’t Stop the Music by Jane Lovering
YOUNG ADULT ROMANTIC NOVEL - Dark Ride by Caroline Green
THE RoNA ROSE AWARD - The Dangerous Lord Darrington by Sarah Mallory
THE HARRY BOWLING PRIZE WINNER - A Dark Flowering by Natalie Lloyd-Evans
Congratulations to them all.

I did, however, receive a Special Commendation for my entry to the Harry Bowling Prize. I may have mentioned this once, or twice...

Editing In The Shed...

I'm in the shed editing, so really, I should sign off and get on with it, but there's so much going on at the moment. Here's a snippet...

On Monday it's the Romantic Novelists' Association's Awards 2012 (RONAs). I'd love to have been there, but work is hectic and I've only just returned from the Caribbean so I couldn't really take the time off.

The closing date for the Novelicious Undiscovered 2012 Writing Competition is on 3rd April (only a month away), so if you were thinking of entering (wish I could, but as part of the team I can't) don't forget to send your submission in before that date.

Posts about the line up for the Historical Novel Society Conference in September are very exciting. I have a three special birthdays this year (none of them mine) and each one is on a date/weekend when a conference I'd hoped to attend is being held. Thankfully, I should be able to make this one.

Right, enough chatter. It's time I made a fresh cup of tea and carried on with my editing.

What are your writing plans this year?

Fogbound In Jersey...

It's our second day of fog and, as is the case when you live on an island, our second day with no flights, newspapers, mail, etc. I don't mind too much because I'm not going anywhere and thankfully am not stranded in an airport trying to get home. However, February is a dull month at the best of times and with the fog and very little to see, I'd much rather be in Antigua, Shirley Heights to be exact.

The lucky winner of Evonne Wareham's fabulous new book, Never Coming Home, and a Wispa bar, is Talli Roland. Congratulations, Talli, I hope you enjoy Evonne's book as much as I did.

Don't forget you can also have a chance to win a copy of this book (and a Wispa!) at Novelicious where I've reviewed, Never Coming Home, and where Choc Lit Publishers are including the giveaway as part of the 'Wispa it...' blog tour. Here's the link. All you have to do is leave a comment.

I love reviewing books for Novelicious and never know what treasures I'm going to find in my postbox each day when I come home from work. None today, thanks to the fog! At the moment I'm lucky enough to have a copy of Liz Fenwick's debut novel, The Cornish House, so I'm going to wish you all a great weekend, make a cup of tea and carry on reading it.

Ooh, before I forget, if anyone lives in London and can pick up a copy of the Metro mag on 27th February (especially the insert) and forward it to me, I'd be very grateful.

The 'Wispa It' Blog Tour - Never Coming Home by Evonne Wareham

Never Coming Home... The ‘Wispa It …’ Blog Tour

‘Wispa It...’ Snippet No. 5
She was as striking as her mother, but with a wilder edge.
The dark curls were barely kept in check by a flamingo pink
scarf. Flawless skin. Wide, dark eyes. Wide, full mouth.
There were smudges under those eyes, and tension in the set
of her head that shouldn’t be there.

Just a short one this time – Devlin’s first sight of Kaz from chapter two of Never Coming Home. Drop in next week to find out what Kaz thinks of Devlin at that first meeting!

Writing both sides of the love story.
There are many types of romance. (Loud cheer.) Lots are written solely from the point of view of the heroine, which provides all sorts of possibilities for delicious misunderstanding and guessing games on the part of heroine and reader. ‘What is he thinking?’ Those are the books where you really get to engage and empathise with the heroine. You follow her journey, and experience all her joys and her sorrows. When you put the book down you truely feel that you have lost a friend.

But that’s not the only way.
A fundamental requirement for anyone who wants to write for Choc-Lit is that the hero will get his chance at a point of view. As well as understanding the heroine, we get to see the hero up close and personal. We get to know what he's thinking as well as what he's doing. As a reader, I love the opportunity to follow the hero's journey on the inside, and experience his heartache as well as the heroine’s. (Of course there will be heart ache. This is romance. The Happy Ever After has to be worked for!)

It's also very rewarding to write from both points of view.
If your hero is an action man, like Devlin in Never Coming Home, there are frequent instances where he is doing one thing and feeling something quite different. I particularly enjoyed exploring the ambiguity of Devlin's past -- the man he was, and the man he might be -- exploring his vulnerabilities as he makes the transition from one to the other. The reader would never know anything about that from his actions. He'd make darn sure of it. He acknowledges that he has issues about being in control of any situation. His business partner, Bobby, who has a pretty clear-eyed view of him, accuses him of thinking that he's some sort of superman. He never lets his guard drop, but inside his head there is all the confusion and puzzlement of a man coming to terms with the path his life has taken. And realising, for the first time, what it might mean to fall in love. It’s immensely satisfying to write both sides of the love story. I hope it is just as satisfying to the reader to enjoy them.

The rest of the blog tour will be as follows:
Tuesday 21st February Sarah Broadhurst Sarah's Book Reviews
Thursday 23rd February Debs Carr Novelicious
Friday 24th February Elle Symonds Trashionista
Tuesday 28th February Tara Chevrestt Book Babe
Friday 2nd March Lou Graham Lou Graham's Blog
Wednesday 7th March Author's Blog Choc Lit website

Evonne was born in South Wales and spent her childhood there. After university she migrated to London, where she worked in local government, scribbled novels in her spare time and went to the theatre a lot. Now she’s back in Wales, writing and studying history and living by the sea. Her membership of the Romantic Novelists’ Association lets her enjoy the company of other authors and gives her an excuse to sneak back to London from time to time for essential stuff, like attending parties. She still loves the theatre, likes staying in hotels and enjoys walking on the beach, where she daydreams about her characters. She hopes that all those things come through in her books – drama, glamorous locations, engaging heroines and dangerous heroes.

For a chance to win a copy of Never Coming Home and a Wispa, please leave a comment saying why you think you deserve to win a copy of this book and I'll ask Evonne to choose a winner.

Evonne’s novel Never Coming Home will be published March 2012 shortly followed by her paranormal thriller Out of Sight Out of Mind.

For more information visit www.evonnewareham.com and Evonne’s blog. You can also tweet with her @evonnewareham.