Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Blog award



Somebody loves me! Thank you for the award - it's cool and shiny and very unexpected.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Shrinking

It's official, I've gone down another size in jeans - okay so the new ones are a tiny bit tight but I can do them up without having to lie down - always a plus that, I think. Now if I can just keep this up and, I think I can as I'm not dieting just being more thoughtful about what I eat. It's so nice when your clothes fit you better. I'm not weighing myself either because it's what I think I look like and how that makes me feel that's really important and I don't want to get hung up on the old pounds and ounces. And yes, I don't do kilo's, I'm older and crotchety, live with it.
Synopsis is done now for You, Me and Him - it still needs a bit more oomph I think but it's looking okay and I've started chapter four.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Looking good

Miss La has had her hair cut and restyled. When she was six she decided she didn't want a fringe any more and grew it out. Now she's in senior school and all grown up she's had it cut back in. She looks so grown up and stylish, like a member of a girl band - sob - this is my baby!
My healthy eating routine appears to be working for me and I think I need to go down another size in jeans soon as the current pair are starting to fall down. I still don't look like Twiggy but it means I've gone down two clothes sizes since I strated my eating smaller quantities, cut out unhealthy snacks and cut down bread by eating salad instead at work regime started.
The copy edits for Crystal Clear are done and gone back to my editor at Little Black Dress and I now have a rough synopsis for You, Me and Him. Next stop, another chapter for You, Me and Him and another chapter for Just Look at me Now then the first third of Just Look at Me Now will be done! Yay!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Monday, September 21, 2009

Taxing Times

Well, the dreaded taxes are done and my paperwork is winging it's way to the good people at the inland revenue.Hopefully I haven't stuffed it up like I did the year before last. I'm sure they have my file marked with I for idiot when I ring them with my feeble minded questions. They are always so helpful and nice though. I'm hoping this will be my last year for doing them myself - I know I say that every year but it's not that easy finding an accountant type person who can work with someone who is as numerically challenged as me. It's always a load off my mind once the paperwork is done and sent and I tuck my envelope full of reciepts and my scribbled notes away for the year. I must chase down all my bits of paper for this year too - for some reason I'm a bit behind on that this year. I have them, I just haven't checked that I've entered them and put the receipts in the right month yet.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Music to write by

As well as my next Little Black Dress book, Just Look at Me Now I'm also working on another project. This is something I'm doing for fun as the story won't leave me alone, it's a bit bonkers and has all kinds of stuff going on in it and is hugely enjoyable to write. Today I started pulling together my playlist of songs that encapusalte different bits of the book. I do this for all my books and I already have one for Just Look at Me Now - the theme tune for that one is mainly Breakfast at Tiffany's at the moment btw.
For my fun book called You, Me and Him my list so far is:
The theme from Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jnr
All the single ladies - Beyonce
Crazy Horses - The Osmonds
Kiss from a Rose - Seal
I'm sure I'll add more as I go along but as I'm cobbling my synopsis together these are the sounds on my play list.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

On with the dance!

Well, we're back in the regular routine again now - dance school runs - show is in November so it'll be costumes and rehearsals again before there's time to blink. All of which is serving to remind me that I still haven't done my taxes and Christmas is sneaking up scarily quickly.
I'm also going to be doing a few extra hours at the day job - great news for my bank balance but not so good for my writing schedule so I need to get a move on. I'm sure I'd work faster if my neighbours would keep their dogs quiet. I love dogs and normally these dogs aren't noisy but just lately they are driving me nuts. It's like nails on a blackboard everytime they start and I lose my concentration. Argh.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Turkish delight

To add to my joy, Animal Instincts has sold for foreign translation into Turkish! Yay, wonder what they will make of Dave the parrot?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Lichfield lunch

Today was lovely, I've been working very hard over the weekend - massive edits on Charlie Darling and then I wrote almost 3k yesterday on the next book for LBD, so today was my reward. I went to Lichfield for lunch with two of my favourite writerly people - Phillipa Ashley and Elizabeth Hanbury. As usual we talked booky and writing non stop - toured the beautiful cathedral, drank lots of latte and ate cake. I also bought a very lovely scarf for my upcoming trip to London in November for a launch party and meeting with my agents. To top of my excellent day out I came back to an email saying that Blue Remembered Heels had sold to Indonesia. Very exciting to have foreign translations!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Edits and edits

More edits over the weekend on Charlie Darling - each round brings the release a bit closer! At least that's what I tell myself when I'm flagging a bit. Some books always need a bit more than others and I think because I wrote this a while ago now and I've learned so much more it needed that extra spit and shine to make it sparkle.
Tomorrow I have a nice writerly lunch lined up with two of my favourite people so I'm planning a head down, fingers on keyboard day today so I can play hookey tomorrow and actually have a day off before the day job summons.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Exciting stuff!

I just learned that the large print edition of Blue Remembered Heels will be out on the first of October. I need to remind all my lovely librarian friends at the local libraries who've been waiting to acquire it for their shelves. I think my mom will be first in the queue to reserve a copy so she can finally read it. Animal Instincts will be out in large print on the first of April next year so not too long for that either! Also, in my quest to find you all a bargain, the lovely people at the book depositary who not only have free delivery anywhere in the world also have Loves Me, Loves Me Not at a steal of a price - much, much cheaper than Amazon!HERE So if you haven't got your copy yet and the copies for your friends, relatives, work colleagues etc for Christmas, Halloween, birthdays etc - rush on over and bag a bargain.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Putting The Black Country on the map

Today sees the launch of a new ordnance survey map and this one finally has THE BLACK COUNTRY clearly marked as an area for the first time! Yay! As you all know I'm very proud of my area, it's a special place and recognition of it's heritage is long overdue. So you can imagine how chuffed I was to be on BBC radio WM this morning with a little snippet saying how pleased I was.Go Here for the Black Country alphabet song!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

What happened to this year?

How come it's September? Why does my car have dew on the windows every morning? and why are there spiders spinning their webs everywhere? I noticed some of the shops are evn starting to stock Christmas lines. I can't believe where the time has gone.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Random thoughts

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that the woman on the airfreshner ads, you know, the one whose kid wants to do a poo in Paul's bathroom is the same woman in the advert for kitchen towels where the elephant breaks down the fence?
And I want to know how Paul feels about people wanting to poo in his bathroom? I mean, does he charge? is there a queue outside his front door? Is he listed with a brown leisure sign on the main road pointing the way to Paul's bathroom?
It's like the ad for the phone, I think it's an iphone, where they tell you haow to phone Kevin after finding his number - I don't want to phone Kevin or email him.
Sigh, the belles have threatened to ban me from watching the ads.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Back to school

I waved goodbye to the belles this morning as they return for their new school year. Miss La is starting secondary school and for a whole year I'll have all three girls at the same school. Miss La looked very smart in her new uniform, laden down with all her equpment as they don't get their timetable till they arrive today so they have to take everything on the first day - PE kit, swim kit, football boots, labcoats, foodtech apron, bag with general school stuff, and lunch. I think her stuff weighs more than her.
Now I have to wait till after three when I schlepp back to collect them and find out how the first day of 'big' school actually went!

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Crystal Clear

Well, the first lot of tweaks are done and I've sent it back to my lovely editor for her thoughts. I've put the first unedited chapter up on my website now - so head over HERE and look in excerpts if you want a peek. It's also on Amazon for preorder and the release date seems to have jumped forward from April to Jan 21st! Yay!

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Friday, September 04, 2009

Romance

Longtime readers of this blog will know that Mr Nell is not romantic. This is the man who haggled for a discount on my engagement ring. Next year is our silver wedding anniversary and we've been debating how we should celebrate 25 years of me not having killed him. Well, he surprised me the other day by dropping a brochure in my lap and announcing that he'd booked a few days away for us in Jersey for our anniversary. In a hotel, with an indoor pool and a posh restaurant and everything.
Wow! I guess that means I'll have to get him more than his usual bottle of wine for his present.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Rambling

My edits have now arrived for Crystal Clear - I re read the ms through for the first time since I sent it off at the end of May. My editor writes little notes on the script that always make me smile when I read them and her suggestions are always good. By the time I reached the last scene I was surprised to find I was crying. Not sure why - I mean I know how it finishes, but I think it just took me a bit by surprise. Next stop implementing the three or four small suggestions from my editor before Charlie Darling comes winging back to me.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Getting there

Well, first lot of edits for Charlie darling are done - my editor says she'll have the next round to me in two weeks time. I've read through the NWS script and will get the report done this week when I've read it again. Prepared my workshop thatI'm delivering tomorrow night - I'd forgotten about it till my eldest reminded me. Now to tackle a few more of my cp's chapters and then I can hopefully get some more done on Just Look at Me Now by the end of the week.
I'm slowly recovering from the weekend's running around for the day job. This weekend was the Sandwell show and we made 1,200 eco friendly paper flower pots filled them with herbs and gave them away.