Season's Greetings

Have a gorgeous Christmas holiday, filled with good company, great food and even better champagne. (I know I will!)

Ministry of Smut

During my trip to Ireland this last weekend an exciting new project was born: the Ministry of Smut. Watch this space for more...

My first writerly adventure

After having been away all of last weekend, in Gloucestershire staying with Olivia's parents for Polo in the Park, I'm now off to Ireland this weekend to meet a few of the amazing writers I've met online - Kitty French, Zara Cox and Tabitha A Lane, amongst others.

For the first time in forever I'm feeling a little daunted. I feel like an imposter hanging out with these accomplished writers. I'm a little out of my comfort zone here. What if they think I'm just some upstart wannabe? No matter, I'll do what I always do when I want people to like me: feed them champagne.

Après-blogging

So what am I doing with all this free time I have now that I'm not blogging every week?

Well, the great thing about The Bet was that it forced me to carve out time very week to write the post (which is actually a lot harder than you'd think. Even when the posts are short, I usually spend ages thinking about what I'm going to put in it, then finding links and pictures to add).

Writing this blog has also forced me to be disciplined - which anyone who knows me will tell you I am most certainly not!

Now that I have a little spot of time every week and a whole lot more discipline, I'm using it to learn all about writing, 'meeting' other writers - and actually writing. And I'm getting really excited about this. I now have a completed short novella!

Yes, me! I've actually finished something. I wrote The End. And wasn't that exactly the point of why my girls made me take The Bet in the first place?

Thanks to a few of my new writer besties, I've even found a cover artist who is going to make me covers for... are you ready for this? ... an entire trilogy!

So watch this space. There'll be news and snippets and cover reveals coming soon!

Book Review: One on One

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance copy of Lexy Lockhart's debut novel, One on One, and read it last weekend. Lexy is a friend of two of my favourite authors, Zara Cox and Kitty French, so coming with their stamp of approval I expected good things. I wasn't disappointed.

As I'm probably the least sporty person I know, and I can barely tell one side of a soccer pitch from another, I really didn't expect to be wowed by a romance novel set entirely against a football background. In fact, the football aspect gave it this book a very different, fresh edge compared to other books I've read. The chemistry between Gabe and Allegra sizzled, and I admit I found Gabe very appealing. I am after all a connoisseur of sexy male butts in tight shorts!

Release of this book is imminent, so keep an eye out for it at Amazon now.

This coming week at work we're doing an installation for a client at Clerkenwell Design Week so I'll try not to misbehave. Or at least, not to misbehave more than usual. See you next week!


More about One on One:

Rules are made to be broken…

…but not at Westchester United.

Allegra Alvarez has worked too hard to get where she is to jeopardise it all. Her one and only rule: Stay away from Gabe Morgan, the walking, talking, pant-melting temptation.

Her father, Westchester’s new chairman, issues playboy striker Gabe with a rule: touch my daughter and I will sell you. The only problem is Gabe has never been given a rule he hasn’t broken.

Which will win…his passion for Allegra or his love of the beautiful game?

Post #38: Making Wishes

Christmas might be for family, but New Year is for friends. This year Sophie, Amelia and I spent the new year (or Silvester, in this part of the world) in Davos, Switzerland. Cold snow, hot chocolate and lots of flirting with hot ski instructors. The perfect start for what will be a perfect year.

I’m a great believer in resolutions. Well, they’re not so much resolutions as making a Wishlist for the year. So what’s on my Wishlist for 2015?

Exercise More
A no-brainer. I'm not going to be a twenty something forever. And I really have no excuse since we have the treadmill and rowing machine taking up space.

Drink Less
Okay, maybe not going to happen. Not this year.

Australia!
I've never been and I really want to go.  I might even finally learn scuba diving. Definitely want to go snorkelling again.

Take this writing thing more seriously
This blog started it all, but now that I've tried writing stories of my own I really want to do more of it - and I want to treat it as more than the hobby it's been. Which means I need a bit of a subtle attitude adjustment. And to make more time for it.

Look into self-publishing
I've met some lovely authors who are doing very well through self-publishing. That seems like the path for me, so I need to learn more about it.

Phone Grandmaman at least once a week
Another no-brainer. I always have good intentions, but this year I'm not going to let a week go by without talking to her. 

Someone to travel with
This follows on from 'Australia!' Much as I love my BFFs and much as I love the freedom of being single, I'd really like to find someone to travel with - a someone with strong biceps, broad shoulders and a six pack. Someone who can rub suncream on my back, hold my hand and share the adventure. Someone who'll stick around for more than just a quick trip Down Under.

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