Merry Christmas !

I hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow and I will see you again in the new year :)


p.s don't forget to look at this tonight

Track santa 

Early Christmas Treat For Kindle Readers & Vampire Fans

For paranormal romance/urban fantasy fans who own a kindle here is a nice treat for you. Amazon UK is now offering the first eight books of Lara Adrian`s Midnight Breed series for only £1.49 each     ( paperback £5.00) !!!! Amazon US is offering first eight books at $2.33 ( paperback $7.99) !!!!
If you are a fan of Gena Showalter or J R Ward you will most definitely love this series. 

Amazon UK 

Amazon US 


The Breed are vampires that have existed amongst humankind for thousands of years. Within the Breed are a band of warriors called The Order who exist only to stop the deadly activities of the rogue vampires.
They  are fighting a dangerous war against the rogue`s and against the  bloodlust that could turn them. It is there destined breedmate that can give them peace.
I am on book five so far and they are very addictive.

If you would like to know more about this series and the author have a look at 

Lara Adrian The Midnight Breed Series


Go on treat yourself!

December = Busy, Busy, Busy!

It`s that time of year again. I can`t believe how quickly it seems to come round. December always seems to bring with it lots of madness, stress and running around. Although not snow this year so far.
The 1st of the month started with the usual argument with my children about why they can`t open every door on their advent calendar on day one and eat all the chocolate.
Then the school and nursery`s Christmas itinerary comes home. What joy for parents! So far we have completed 2 nativities, 1 school disco, 2 school/nursery Christmas dinners, 1 school party, 1 Christmas craft making event, put decorations and tree up as well as writing 60 cards for my children's friends.
This week ( which is the last week of school) we have 1 nursery party, 1 school Christmas fair, 1 school carol service, 2 birthday parties and a Father Christmas visit.
I will be glad to sit down at the weekend. Sunday night is Mummy's night! All the Mummy's from my daughters reception class are having a very well deserved chinese meal out together. I am really looking forward to it.
I have also completed all my Christmas shopping, done half of the wrapping and finished my NANOWRIMO! Well, my nanowrimo was 10 days late but I will not tell anyone if you don`t.
I hope you are finding the time to enjoy the festivities.


Merry Christmas


If it is all getting a bit too much here is some stress relief for you :)

Failing NaNoWriMo But Thats Ok!

It is now heading towards the end of week four of the life consuming NaNoWriMo.
Today is day 25 and I should be (cough, cough) at 41, 675 words. Should be but I am sorry to say my word count does not even look close. I have been trying, really. If I keep working at it I will even finish this year!
Week one I had lots of enthusiasm and ideas and the writing flowed easily. Week Two worries about my three year old sons health made it hard for me to concentrate and to stay committed to my writing. I had to put my son first.
From week three I swapped quality for quantity and tried to write furiously to catch up.  Previously I was pleased with what I was writing and how the story was progressing but from this point my story was turning into something that even I would not want to read. I know that the point of NaNoWriMo is to put quantity before the quality of your writing. And that if your story is stalling you are advised to throw anything such as aliens or murder into the mix just to up the word count. But I find that by writing silly pointless twists and turns makes be feel like a totally rubbish writer. As I said before it then ends up like a story even I dislike. What is the point? I have started to feel like I am killing a story I was proud of.
Plus I don`t know if it is because I am of a much lower intelligence than those people who reach 50,000 words during week 2 but I just can not write fast. I am not a fast thinker or writer, sorry. But does that make me a failure as a writer? Does that mean I will never succeed? I don`t think so. I am just happier working at my own pace. 
NaNoWriMo works for some people and not for others.
Anyone else who has had their confidence knocked by NaNoWriMo please read this


Are You A NaNoWriMo Failure ?

The Rollercoaster Ride That Is NaNoWriMo Week 2

 

Now we are all at the end of the second week of our mad writing dash. The finishing line is so close yet so far *sigh*.
This week the " not good enough" doubts crept in and I started to lose my motivation. Last week I had lots of ideas and was loving every minute of it. But this week the trying to juggle my busy week around writing took some of the fun out of it. I have had a couple of nights where I really meant to write but ended up falling asleep instead.
My 3yr old son has not been sleeping well this week and has also been wanting to get up at 5.30am every day which is not nice. Also this week he was diagnosed with asthma ( refer to previous post). 
Wednesday I had a very naughty day. I sat on my backside all day and read Sherrilyn Kenyon's new book The Guardian.
OMG !!! If you are a fan of this type of fiction you have to read it!!! It is one of her best and amazing. She creates so much emotion and empathy in her book that you are gripped. I really, really loved it.  I have a soft spot for hero`s who are emotionally broken and beat down at the start but gains enough inner strength and courage by the end to be there for his true love.
I am glad I spent the time to read this book because it has reminded me of the type of writer I want to be. Sherrilyn Kenyon inspires me.

The Guardian By Sherriyln Kenyon


If you are a Kenyon fan and you enjoyed Wren`s story in Unleash The Night ( my favourite, well joint favourite now) you will really love this one. 

Unleash The Night By Sherrilyn Kenyon 

 Go on treat yourself  :)


Yesterday I managed to do about 80% of my Christmas shopping. Nothing like a bit of retail therapy to make you feel better.

Today I am feeling refreshed and recharged and am ready to take on week 3.

Your NaNoWriMo Daily Word Count Target

If you were writing the minimum daily number of words every day in order to pass the finishing line on 30th November this is what your word count score should be looking like

DAY 1 : 1,667 WORDS

DAY 2 : 3,334 WORDS

DAY 3 : 5,001 WORDS

DAY 4 : 6,668 WORDS

DAY 5 : 8,335 WORDS

DAY 6 : 10,002 WORDS

DAY 7 : 11,669 WORDS

DAY 8 : 13,336 WORDS

DAY 9 : 15,003 WORDS

DAY 10 : 16,670 WORDS

DAY 11 : 18,337 WORDS

DAY 12 : 20,004 WORDS

DAY 13 : 21,671 WORDS

DAY 14 : 23,338 WORDS

DAY 15 : 25,005 WORDS

DAY 16 : 26,672 WORDS

DAY 17 : 28,339 WORDS

DAY 18 : 30,006 WORDS

DAY 19 : 31,673 WORDS

DAY 20 : 33,340 WORDS

DAY 21 : 35,007 WORDS

DAY 22 : 36,674 WORDS

DAY 23 : 38,341 WORDS

DAY 24 : 40,008 WORDS

DAY 25 : 41,675 WORDS

DAY 26 : 43,342 WORDS

DAY 27 : 45,009 WORDS

DAY 28 : 46,676 WORDS

DAY 29 : 48,343 WORDS

****DAY  30**** : 50,000 WORDS 

NaNoWriMo Week 1

 It is nearly the end of week one of the writing madness and my word count is on target, yay!!! I know its is early days so it is not really anything to shout about but this time last year I was already falling behind so I am happy. Last year I fell so behind on my word count that I could not catch up. I think I reached the end of the month at about 38,000 words. I really want to break through that mad writing finishing line this year.
Here is an interesting post about other fellow NaNo writers experiences

Writers discuss their speedwritten novels as NaNoWriMo begins


This week has also been a busy week for me because of another reason. My little girl had her 5th birthday on tuesday. Wow,  has it really been five years since my screaming, funny looking baby came into the world?
Last weekend we had a fancy dress halloween party for her at a village hall. Twentyfour kids plus parents , and family ! But it turned out to be alot of fun.

Tuesday, on  her birthday, we had more family at our house after school for a special dinner.
She had a great time and got so many presents. I now don`t know what to get her for christmas.
And this coming weekend is yet another busy weekend. We are going to a Guy Faulks fireworks display Saturday night and then taking my children to the theatre Sunday to see Roary the Racing Car . But I will at some point find time to keep writing. I will not fall behind! :)


To all UK followers, I hope you have a fun and safe Guy Faulks Night tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween !

Counting Down to The Mad Month

This is half term week which means children are off school and nursery.
I am not getting as much NaNoWriMo planning as I wanted but it is still only Wednesday. I really want to do well this year and have many ideas swirling in my head. 
My little girl is going to be five years old next week. It is very scary where the time goes. This week I am busy getting things ready for her Halloween fancy dress party on Saturday. I have invited 24 five year olds!!!!!
I really hope it goes well.

At the minute a book I am finding useful is Writer With A Day Job (UK)

Writer With A Day Job (USA) 

This is not one of the usual guides to getting published but a book about how to stay committed to your dream even with the stresses of a job, family, and other responsibilities life throws at you. It shows you how not to let life get in your way. That it is possible to do it all.

Aine Greaney "provides the exercises, inspiration, and techniques you need to build creative expression into your daily life and establish the productive writing life you`ve always wanted."

Nearly NaNoWriMo Time!!

For those of you who are not familiar with the term NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month .
It is a literary marathon that takes place every November that was started by a freelance writer called Chris Baty in 1999. The aim is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Wow, shocking I know. This averages out as 1,667 words a day for 30 days. You have to turn off your inner editor and doubtful demons and just write. This task means writing quantity over quality. Don`t take ten minutes pondering over every poetic word you are going to use just write. It is believed that by writing so freely in the end you will find some gems amongst the rambling writing.
There is also a book by Chris Baty called No Plot? No Problem!  that gives some great tips .
This can at times be stressful but you are not alone. On the NaNoWriMo web site there is a support forum broken down into the areas where you live. Also the local online communities often arrange face to face meetings during the month of November. Mine will meet once a week at the city library. It is well worth having a look at them.
A problem I found last year with NaNoWriMo was that if you miss a few days it is very,very hard to catch up. Last November for me seemed to be the month that everyone in my house got ill, typical.
But what i came away with from the experience was a renewed enthusiasm and drive to stay committed to writing regally. It was NaNo that inspired me to start this blog.
So succeed or fail who cares, have a go.


Here are some NaNoWriMo related articles worth looking at


25 Things You Should Know About NaNoWriMo


5 Tips For Successful NaNoWriMo (and how scrivener can help)


Tools To Help You Plot Your NaNoWriMo Novel


Tips For Winning NaNoWriMo

Would You Like To Write For Mills & Boon ? Expert Advice !!

This week I was excited to attend a Mills & Boon workshop which took place as part of their NEW VOICES
competition. A search for fresh and new romance writers. 
The workshop was hosted by the award winning romance writer KATE HARDY who has completed fifty novels for Mills & Boon as well as numerous local history books.
If you have the opportunity to attend one of these workshops please do. It was great to be able to ask a successful author many questions (sorry!) and I learnt a great deal.
As well as some free books I came away with some useful handouts.
Please take a look

Sherrilyn Kenyon Coming to UK in 2012!!

Wow it has been announced today that the number one best paranormal writer, the goddess SHERRILYN KENYON is currently working on the fine details of a book tour in the UK for 2012. Exact details are yet to be announced. I am soooooo excited! This woman can not write a bad book. Every one is truly amazing and inspiring. I am going to try my best to go and see her. I guess my nearest place will be London. I hope she also does a talk. When I hear more news I will let you know.

Hot In The City

Sorry that I did not post on Friday but we got back at the weekend from a few very, very hot days in London. A real indian summer. Last Thursday night I went with my husband and two of his friends to see Lee Evans at the 02 Arena. I have never been to that arena before and it is absolutely massive ! Lee Evans was his usual brilliant self and well worth seeing if you get the chance.
I have found some film footage of the show the night we were there on You Tube. If you are a fan have a look

My poor husband got ill while we were on the London Eye.
It may have been because it takes you up really high or it may have been because of the far too much eating and drinking that had taken place.
I am glad to be home now, but now have too much washing and other boring things to catch up on.

Shhhhhh....the s.e.x word

Writing the sex scene in your story, eek! Ok after a couple of glasses of wine I can write pages of sweaty passion. But how do you get over the embarrassment of someone you know reading your sex scene? The thought of your nan giving you disapproving looks is something I guess you have to learn to get over. I just hope nobody ask me questions about it !
The sex scene in a novel that includes a romantic plot between a hero and heroine is important in moving the story forward. Also your reader would expect it. Maybe not to the extreme that JR Ward writes them but a union of physical passion keeps your story exciting and satisfying. The sex scene should be something beautiful and realistic. 
Link the characters emotions to the act. Also unless you are writing erotica avoid clichés, and sounding like a pervert.
A funny bit of advice I have heard is "avoid fluids stay with feelings".

Here is some more writing advive on the topic


20 steps to Writing Love Scenes

Sex In Fiction

Is It Difficult To Write Well About Sex ?

Sex In The Romance

EroticThesaurus

Erotic Theasaurus And Synonyms

My Cow

Hey , do you like my new roller cow I bought today? No more carrying heavy bags, kids coats and lunch boxes. :)

Emily Bronte - Did the Writer of Wuthering Heights Have Asperger's Syndrome?

I have just found this interesting article about Emily that I thought I would share

http://doloresmonet.hubpages.com/hub/EmilyBronteDidtheWriterofWutheringHeightsHav-AspergersSyndrome

Jane Eyre

This Tuesday is going to be my first full day kids free!!! So I am going to treat myself to a trip to the cinema to see the new Jane Eyre. I am very excited about seeing it.
When I was a teenager I had an obsession about the Brontes. Strange girl I know. But I read all their books many times as well as every biography I could find.
While doing my GCSE`s I saved up for a trip to their home village of Haworth in Yorkshire. When a few friends heard about the trip they said that they would come to. But when the time came they all dropped out and I went alone. At 17 yrs old I had never been away on my own before but I got on a bus and after a very long journey reached Bradford then taxi to Haworth. I fell in love . Haworth is the most beautiful place in England. A little picturesque village with very steep cobbled streets that really are surrounded by wild moors.The Bronte parsonage, the church, the pub , chemist and houses all stand as they did when the sisters walked the streets.
The atmosphere and and the stillness of the place was amazing for a history buff like me. From that day my plan was to gain a history degree so that I could work for the rest of my life in the Bronte sisters house. I got the degree but life got complicated so I never got my dream job.
To this day my head is still bursting with thousands of Bronte facts so I thought I would share some with you.

1 .     The Bronte`s two older sisters died as children because of very poor conditions at the clergy daughters boarding school. Which Charlotte described at the start of Jane Eyre.

2 .    While teaching in Brussels in 1843 Charlotte fell in love with a married professor ( nothing happened between them). She wrote him a letter which he ripped up and threw away. Later his wife collected the pieces and sew them together with thread. The letter is at the Bronte parsonage museum.

3 .  Their father Rev Patrick Branwell Bronte had a fear of fire and would not allow any curtains in their home.

4. The three  remaining sisters first published some poems under the names Currer, Acton, Ellis Bell.

5 . They chose the surname Bell because they would often make fun of their fathers assistant curate Arthur Bell Nicholls .

6 . Emily was anorexic and would often sit at meal times reading a book while others ate.

7. Emily tried to move away to work at a school and study but her nature could not cope away from her home and beloved moors so she soon returned.

8. A ruin of a farm house called Top Withens which stands alone on a hill in the moors is believed to have inspired the idea for Wuthering Heights.

9 . The sisters only brother was Branwell Bronte. He was a talented artist but had many varied jobs. But everything he touched in his life would go wrong. His life would make an interesting film.

10 . Branwell turned to drink and drugs. In Haworth you can still go in the chemist where he bought his drugs then go across the road to the pub and still see his chair standing in a corner.

11 . Because of Branwells now violent intoxicated mood swings ( and fear of burglars) Rev Bronte slept with a gun next to his bed . Each morning he would point the gun out of the bedroom window and fire the loaded gun at the facing church tower. Funny thing is that he was going blind.Villagers must have made sure they did not go for walks in the church yard in early mornings. You can still see the bullet holes in the tower today.

12 . Rev Bronte campaigned for the grave head stones to be stood upright. Before this time most of the grave stones layed flat.  Because of this the village water was contaminated by the runoff from the church yard which caused the children's mortality rates to be as bad as the London slums.

13 . Emily caught a cold during the funeral of her brother Branwell in September 1848 and died 19th December 1848 at two in the afternoon on this sofa.

14 .  Charlotte attended the Great Exhibition of 1851.

15 .  Rev Bronte refused to attend Charlotte's wedding to Arthur Bell Nicholls as he believed her too old to marry. She was the only Bronte sibling to marry.

16 . Charlotte was pregnant with her first child when she died. There are some baby items she bought or made in the museum.

17 . Rev Patrick Branwell Bronte survived all him family. He died  8 June 1861(1861-06-08) (aged 84).


Branwell painted this picture of himself with his sisters (from left Emily, Anne, Charlotte) .But decided he did not like the image of himself so painted it out.

The only Known Photo of Charlotte

The Bronte parsonage museum

Haworth

Emilys bedroom. You can still see some writing and drawings she did on the wall.

The three sisiters wrote their novels sitting at this table. Emily died on this sofa.

Kitchen. Emily did a lot of the cooking.

Charlottes dress. You can see how tiny she was.

The family are entombed in the village church opposite their house.

I think I had better shut up now, I could talk about them for hours. If you have the chance please go and visit Haworth



 The new Jane Eyre

Emotional Freedom Technique For Writers

I have recently come across an article about the benefits of Emotional Freedom Technique to alleviate writers block and to overcome self doubts when writing.

I too often feel that what I am writing is just not of a good enough standard and feel like giving up on partially completed work.

This is a technique that I am planning to give a try.

EMT is sometimes referred to as “acupuncture without needles” as the technique involves you tapping on acupuncture points on your body while focusing on an issue that is holding you back. While tapping you are required to repeat a phrase that you construct to help remove the mental block.

It is a simple technique that is easily learned and can be done anywhere.

It is believed that this method allows you to re-programme your subconscious to work for you instead of against you.

Please take a look at the videos below. 

How to do it

EFT for Procrastination and Perfectionism 

 

 

 

EFT for Writer's Block

Sherrilyn Kenyon

I am now reading Sherrilyn Kenyon`s new book Retribution and am loving it! I don`t think she can write a bad book.

Wednesdays Words Of Wisdom. Anne Rice

I Wish Someone Told Me

Amy Winehouse Before The Madness Of Her Life

Lost In Translation. When Books Are Made Into Films.

Last week I was excited to hear that the Author Sherrilyn Kenyon had signed with Amber Entertainment to develop and produce films,  TV shows and webisodes based on her books. They are starting with the Chronicles Of Nick. 

Sherrilyn Kenyon will act as producer. I was all excited for about two minutes then remembered that most novels are butchered before they are crammed into either a 90 minute film or 15 hour TV series. 

There are not many films or TV series that keep true to the original book. Just look at Anne Rices Vampire series for example. The 2002 film Queen of the Damned just makes you want to cringe. 

The novel The Lovely Bones. Well, they certainly murdered that one.

I do appreciate that they have to use some degree of artistic license to fit the story in a set time limit but when they change too much it just angers me.

I really enjoy the True Blood TV series but have noticed that they have merged some plot points from a number of books in one show. They have also made characters such as Russell more important.

The Vampire Diaries is only very loosely based on the books by L J Smith.

Watching a TV series or film before you read the book would probably be more beneficial because the novels would just enhance and more fully develop the characters and plot.

How well Kenyon's books translate to film will depend on how much time they take and how much money that will be available.

Other novels that would be interesting to see in film are Nalini Singh`s Psy-Changeling Series and Gena Showalters Lords Of The Underworld series.

I would really, really, really love to see Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series on the cinema screen if they had the millions of pounds necessary to spend on it.

Have a look at this list of 20 good books that were made into not so good films

http://www.avclub.com/articles/lost-in-translation-20-good-books-made-into-notsog,2079/

Another Star dies at 27. RIP Amy Winehouse

I woke up to the sad news this morning that Amy Winehouse had died. She was an amazingly talented lady who became influenced by the wrong people. I always wondered who would go first Pete Doherty (above) or Amy. Now we Know .
She had a amazing voice and presence about her. There is nobody who can compare to her in music today. Her 2006 album Back To Black will forever stand as an stunning collection of songs. If you don`t have the album please buy it. Its very sad that due to her struggles she was never quite well enough to do a follow up. Even though she had a great family behind her she always seemed to be a fragile, lost girl.
I hope you now find peace Amy.

Wise words from Josh Groban, "Drugs took her gift, her soul, her light, long before they took her life".

                                          

Destination Taiwan

Have a look at this 
http://maps.google.co.uk/


1- Open Google Maps (Directions)

2-Type China as your starting point

3-Type Taiwan as your destination

4-Read step #48

LOL   :)

Back To Reality

Why is it you come home from a holiday feeling like you need a holiday? Guess its because we tried to cram so much in.
My happy little family are now back from sunny Wales. My daughter now has a very large shell collection and my son fell in love with a cucumber. Bless him, my baby boy turned three years old last week and for some weird reason took a liking to a cucumber.He walked round cuddling it all day the last few days of our holiday. He even slept with it. But in the excitement of getting home he now seems to have forgotten about his green friend. Probably for the best. The love affair could not have lasted much longer.
I have now learnt never to go to bed leaving my husband up watching Top Gear ( a TV programme about the latest cars) with a bottle of wine. The morning after a bottle or two of wine my husband said he could vaguely remember speaking to someone on the phone in the early hours of the morning. Checking his mobile phone he found a message he had sent his friend at 2am saying that he had seen a new sports car on TV worth hundreds of thousands of pounds that he really liked so he had phoned Mclaren to order a red one and was put on a years waiting list!!!! I nearly killed him!! I was really worried that he had handed over our bank details and our account was going to be wiped out. But nothing has shown up so I don`t know who he phoned. He now thinks its funny.
I did not do any writing when I was away so I have lots of catching up to do. But I did have a bit of a eureka moment with what I want to do next with my story. So feeling more positive.
When I was a little girl and had family days out at the seaside ( usually Great Yarmouth) my brothers and I use to like looking at the traditional funny seaside postcards. While on holiday I noticed they are not about anymore. I guess too politically incorrect. But they are a traditional part of the british humour like the Carry On films or Monty Python.
So I have found a few to share with you

Off for 10 days !

We are going away on our family holiday tomorrow. Yippeeeeeee....!!!!!!!
Hopefully I will be back with some fresh ideas.
See you soon