Disney men & a (somewhat) healthy dessert

In this post, I am going to talk about two of my favourite things: Disney men and dessert. You have been warned.

I have been a little quiet this week as all I've done is gone over the four books I have already published via Amazon KDP - looking for those errant commas that still evade me and searching for missing speech marks etc. I think after resolving the cover saga, I needed another drama - this time obsessively editing my books - but a couple of days ago, I became unwell (if you read my Judith McNaught post here then you'll know I have been housebound for the last couple of years because I've been ill) and decided to stop the obsessive editing and make use of my 1 month free trial with Amazon Prime and watch loads of stuff while I got better ... well, in reality that meant rewatching all the Disney. If you read my book WEIGHTING TO LIVE then you'll know that the main character loves Disney. That was not a stretch of my imagination to write about as I also love Disney - more like, I ADORE Disney. Somehow, as I am getting older, I'm appreciating all the films even more which I didn't know was possible. One thing that I do love even more than Disney is THE DISNEY MEN! If you follow my twitter account, you already know this but just WOW! Why are they not real?! I think my favourite is Phoebus from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Just saying.

Onto dessert (which is sadly not a Disney man):

Recently, I have been trying to lay off the sugary treats as when I am writing and editing, I find I have more bad sugar etc because I tend to work long hours each day and need the extra energy - that, my friends, is a ridiculous excuse.  My core diet is pretty healthy but sometimes, I do like to layer on a good dose of fat and sugar. I called the dessert I am going to talk about somewhat healthy because it is - well, it's better than sitting down with a pint of Ben & Jerry's and it doesn't have any extra ingredients that no one can spell or pronounce or has been banned in half the world.

An arty picture that hopefully 

conveys how thick the yogurt is.

It's quite simply Greek yogurt & honey. So far, this is the only thing I have found that satisfies me as much as a tub of ice cream or a big ol' bag of chocolate. The texture and body of it I think is the reason as it's thick and extremely creamy. You can obviously get whatever Greek yogurt you like but I would recommend the Fage Total 0% Greek Yogurt. Not only is is fat free, it has a wonderful texture that really complements the honey. I always use Rowse original honey as I love the taste - it's strong and full of flavour - and mixed with the yogurt, makes for a delicious end to any meal. I use half of the 500g pot and about 1.5 dessert spoons of honey. Obviously, alter measurements to however you like.

I will never stop having real ice cream and all that lovely stuff but once in a while, making a healthier choice won't kill you - the opposite in fact.

Until next time.

McNaughty but nice

For someone who has been promising to write this post for ages now and going on about the author like I have, I thought this would be easy to write. I was wrong. In my head, I had all these grand plans and fabulous things to say but I can't seem to get them out. Bear with me here and I will try my best to make a semblance of sense.

I think one of my problems was wondering where and how to start but then I realised, before anything, I needed to mention something that remains an all-encompassing part of my life: for the last two years I have been unwell. Very unwell. Bad enough to be limited by what I can and can't do and not be able to leave the house much and only then, for short bursts to the library across the road. I feel lucky to say that I will get better but it's a very slow process and all I am left with for now is time. I feel incredibly lucky as well that my mother has looked after and supported her twenty-something daughter through it all.

Apologies for already going on too long, I'll get to the point:

It all began back in late 2013 when I was in the early stages of my illness and remarked to one of my very close friends (let's call her C) that a particular character was very attractive in a book. She said something along the lines of 'You think HE is attractive, have you ever heard of Judith McNaught?'

'No,' I told her.

The copies of Whitney My Love and Almost Heaven that
 my friend sent me. Before reading them, I judged
 both books by their covers.

She then went on to explain that Judith McNaught was a romance novelist and instantly, I told myself that this author wouldn't be my cup of tea (I thought I wasn't a romance novel person due to the fact I had never read one - faulty logic at it's best).  I said to C I would look into her books and forgot about the conversation we had for a while ... and then I got post. C sent me beaten up copies of two of McNaught's historical romances, Whitney My Love and Almost Heaven. Again, I took one look at the covers and decided they were not for me. As far as covers go, they are pretty uninspiring and everything I imagined romance novels to look like so I left reading them for a while until one Sunday night, with nothing to do, I decided to pick up Whitney My Love, just out of curiosity, and only read a few pages...

I can honestly say I have never been sucked into a book so fast, ever.

I loved it instantly. I carried the book around with me, turning the pages faster than I could read them, desperate to know what would happen next. From start to finish it was perfect. After that, and left with an almighty book hangover, I swiftly moved onto the other book my friend had sent me, Almost Heaven thinking This CAN'T be as good as Whitney ... I was mistaken. I adored it. Both books had two of the most compelling stories (love or otherwise) I had ever read. Epic romances with engaging, strong and witty characters.

How sweet is my friend?
A package she sent me containing
CHOCOLATE
AND
Until You and Once and Always

After finishing both books, I went borderline insane down the phone to C and a few months later, she surprised me with another package containing two more of Judith McNaught's historical romances, Something Wonderful and A Kingdom of Dreams (shock horror, I loved them too).  Last Easter, C sent me Judith's last two historical romances, Until You and Once and Always and after devouring and (surprise surprise) loving them, I quickly moved onto her modern romances.

Yes, I loved them too.

My Judith McNaught collection (yes, I do
 have 2 copies of Whitney My Love)

Judith McNaught has the ability to create such immersive stories that have somehow got me through two of the hardest years of my life both emotionally and physically - taking me to another place, allowing me to escape when I was in pain. Her characters feel real, you root for the leads and fall in love with the others too (my favourite character of all-time from any book is called Lucinda Throckmorton-Jones from Almost Heaven; with her umbrella in hand, her occasional appearances made me laugh more than I ever have). The settings are rich in detail, the books are smart and funny and the love stories aren't sickly or corny. I am not very familiar with the romance genre as a whole (only reading a few C has recommended) but just talking about Judith McNaught, it's a shame that a lot of people who think they don't like romance novels will miss out on her work just because she is labelled in that category.

I have so many favourites of her books that it would be silly for me to list them but I would suggest to anyone who has never read her work to start with maybe Paradise (if you are more into modern tales) or Almost Heaven (for a regency/historical setting).

If by some crazy fluke Judith McNaught is reading this post I would like to say thank you, because you have helped a girl get though one of the hardest times of her life.

Until next time.

*Psst!  This weekend my short story CIRCLE is FREE on Amazon.  Click here (UK Link) or here (US Link) or visit any other Amazons around the world to download it NOW!

My New Obsession: The font RAGE ... I should probably also mention that I have a new book out.

Move over the novelette, I have a new obsession and that is the font RAGE ... and it seems ever so appropriate for MY BRAND NEW SHORT STORY THAT IS AVAILABLE TO BUY ON AMAZON AS AN EBOOK NOW!

Here is the cover for it that showcases my new love (the font RAGE):

And here is a rather vague blurb for CIRCLE:

Saving someone’s life isn't always the right thing to do. 

A short story in 5000 words from the author of the WEIGHTING TO LIVE series.

Want some good news?

IT IS TOTALLY FREE TODAY!  (*Regular price 99p)

CIRCLE is very different from WEIGHTING TO LIVE and I hope you enjoy it. A suspenseful thriller (well I hope it is anyway) that is definitely out of my comfort zone but I had so much fun writing it.

I thought it might also be interesting to include the picture to the left which was my first idea for the front cover. I think I made the right choice to go with the one above but I am rather fond of this one too. Both covers were made completely on Paint (where my obsession for the font RAGE started).

You can get CIRCLE here (UK Link) here (US Link) and at all other Amazons around the world!

Also, on an unrelated note, I have a little FYI to add instead of making yet another blog post about it: I think the cover saga might be over. They are DONE (I think...).

Until next time.

The week where I wrote to Amazon A LOT

Before anything, I just need to say HOW GOOD WAS EPISODE 8 OF POLDARK?!?! Lovely Americans, when Poldark hits your screens in the summer, you are in for an absolute treat!

This week, I have been writing something new ... I'm actually embellishing the truth within an inch of its life - technically it's not brand BRAND new but close enough. I talked about it briefly (here) but in a nutshell, a while ago, I wrote just under 4000 words (3,814 to be exact) in a couple of days of something new but stopped because I felt really ill. Instead of going back to it when I felt better, I moved onto editing the short stories that became CHANGES: A SHORT STORY COLLECTION and forgot about it. Last week, I remembered and on a whim, read a bit of it and felt there was something there - no idea what but something enough for me to not leave it alone and work on it again.

It's been an odd sort of week - frustrating in places but still, I've somehow managed to get a lot done. I will try to explain below:


DAY 1 - Monday 4th May 2015
Today I read through the new piece of writing I've just talked about and added about 800ish words to the draft. I realised very quickly it would be perfect as a short story but apart from that, there is nothing interesting to add about the day.


DAY 2 - Tuesday 5th May 2015
I have been in the middle of 2 concurrent dramas with Amazon KDP and spent quite a lot of the day contacting them to try and resolve both issues. In a nutshell, I wanted customers who had already downloaded WEIGHTING TO LIVE and CHANGES to get the updated versions with the new cover and one customer services representative said that was going to happen then today, I was told that it wasn't possible. This saga went on until they realised they had made a mistake but told me it still couldn't be done (sad face). The other issue was that any covers I upload to Amazon KDP came out to the side so part of the border disappears and it looks terrible. A week ago, they said they would look into it and contact me by the latest today ... but after asking them about it, they said they needed more time and couldn't tell me when.

Word count for the short story - 0
Word count through emails to Amazon KDP - 1,000,000


DAY 3 - Wednesday 6th May 2015
In the morning, I (prematurely) made a cover for the short story I've been working on then spent the rest of the day working on the story, giving it an ending then editing it.

I also uploaded new covers for WEIGHTING TO LIVE, CHANGES and SIXTEEN MONTHS in the vain hope that the border would be right this time (if you are curious, it wasn't right).


DAY 4 - Thursday 7th May 2015
I spent the day editing the short story. THE END.


DAY 5 - Friday 8th May 2015
I spent the morning editing and rewriting the blurb for WEIGHTING TO LIVE. I think it needed to sound a little more professional. It's not sterile now but a little more put together - I hope so anyway.

The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent editing the short story.  As it's only 5,000 words, I've read it through quite a bit now and I'm pretty surprised how fully-formed it is - enough to say that I think it will be finished by early next week, which is exciting.


I'm off now until Sunday as I am trying to be less obsessive about writing, although no one can kill my obsession with the font RAGE. Curious to know what I'm talking about? You'll find out in the next post. Ooo.

Until next time.

Very Good Lives

'And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.'


That is one of my favourite quotes of all-time and comes from the book I am now going to talk about now. VERY GOOD LIVES: THE FRINGE BENEFITS OF FAILURE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF IMAGINATION by J.K. Rowling has just been released and comes from the 2008 commencement speech she gave at Harvard University. I had already watched the speech on YouTube many times but to read it is a totally different experience. You are able to absorb every word and really take it all in. It's beautiful, inspiring and hits home on subjects that need to be talked about. The book is also well laid out, pretty and only takes about 20 minutes to read.

I got my copy from the library but when I can, I will definitely be getting my own because not only is it a fantastic little book, but the sales go to J.K. Rowling's own charity: Lumos which 'works to support the 8 million children in institutions worldwide to regain their right to a family life and to end the institutionalisation of children' and university-wide financial aid at Harvard University.

You can buy the book on Amazon (here).

Until next time.