Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

September 30, 2010 • 4 Comments

This week has been so hectic I don’t know whether I”ve been on my arse or my elbow!! My son has left for the USA and then is heading to Europe after a few months, so we’ve had all that to sort out….. he was still packing 10 minutes before we were due to leave for the airport…. and when you’re an anal Type A person like me, it isn’t good for the stress.

My daughter is working on a Masters paper and I’ve been helping her proof…. so that’s a job and a half. And proofing isn’t my strong point!

The NZ government, in its infinite wisdom, decided to increase GST (Goods and Services Tax) to 15% from 12.5%….. omg trying to sort that one out is a living nightmare, all sorts of adjustments have to made for goods bought before Oct 1 but paid after and ditto for rooms we’ve sold in the motel… and let’s not forget the people whose stay with us straddles the date!!!!

Anyway, rant over………….. something very good and very exciting is that my CP and very good friend Amanda Ashby has just posted the back cover copy for her new book Fairy Bad Day, so I thought I’d post it too. This book is so funny you’re going to love it:

My life seriously couldn’t get any worse.

First, my rightful designation of dragon slayer is STOLEN right out from under me by Curtis Green. Sure, he’s really cute, but that doesn’t give him an excuse.

On top of that, I am assigned to slay fairies. I know what you’re thinking—how hard could it be, right? Wrong! These menacing beasts with their tiny hipster clothes and mocking sarcasm love taunting me. And they won’t STOP!

But the thing that tops my list of stuff to ruin my day? That would be the GIANT KILLER FAIRY that I have to hunt down and slay because I am the only one who can see it. There is someone who can help me. Unfortunately…it’s Curtis.

It’s going to be a fairy bad day.

How awesome is that??????

Anyway, I’m heading back to the land of the anally retentive and stressed!!! Hopefully normal service will resume soon (aka chatting on the phone, msn convos, some writing…….)

September 18, 2010 • 2 Comments

So it’s spring in NZ and where we are the weather is fabulous – probably not the best day for me to say this seeing as NZ is in the middle of being hit by the worst storm ever apart from where we are in the east.

Anyway, storm aside, I love coming out of winter because it means summer is not far away, and for me in an ideal world there would only be one season…. summer. I could happily live with blue skies and sunshine everyday of the year – I realise we need rain, but rain can fall when I’m asleep!!!

Of course, spring also signifies change…. and yesterday we put our motel on the market, hopefully for it to be sold early next year so we can head over to Sunshine Coast in Australia around July time!! I’m very excited about that, so watch this space!!

Other news, on the writing front I’m working on a new book, and trying to make it as scary and creepy as I can!!! Who knew after all these years of loving stuff tied with a little pink bow, I’d get such pleasure from being so creepy?

That’s it for now….. no point in me saying I’ll try to be a better blogger because that’s a bit too much like the girl who cried wolf!!!

August 27, 2010 • Comments

This is a very exciting week for me because my fabulous critique partner, Christina Phillips, has her book debuting. Below are details about her launch party and the fabulous prizes on offer. I know it’s not YA (she writes hot and steamy) but I couldn’t let this moment pass without giving her a HUGE shout out!!!

To help celebrate the release of Forbidden, Christina Phillips’s debut Roman/Druid Ancient Historical Romance from Berkley Heat, she’s holding a launch party with lots of amazing authors and fabulous giveaways! In addition, Christina’s giving away a signed copy of Forbidden to one lucky person who helps spread the love. All you have to do is mention the party (you can copy and paste this blurb), being held from 1st to 6th September at http://christinaphillips.blogspot.com. You can Tweet about it, blog, Facebook, MySpace or anything! And then drop her an email at ChristinapPh @ gmail dot com (no spaces) to let her know. Please put Forbidden Launch Party (or something similar) in the subject line. The winner will be drawn for that on Monday 6th September.

August 18, 2010 • 6 Comments

Got home from the Romance Writers of Australia conference the other day and had the most amazing time. It’s the first time I’ve been to this conference and was also presenting a YA workshop with my friend and CP Amanda Ashby.

We laughed and laughed all through the weekend, in fact it started in the taxi on our way there. The taxi driver asked where we were heading and we said to a romance writers conference…. big mistake!!! He then handed us something he’d written, complete with pen, and asked us to look at it. Luckily for me I can’t read in a car because it makes me feel sick. So, Amanda took charge. After assuring him several times that it was very well written, and that no it didn’t need any more emotion (it turns out it was a sermon he was giving about the composer Hayden and his religious beliefs) he allowed us to pass it back to him. But then, having discovered that Amanda’s husband is a composer decided us regale us with his version of Ave Maria (hummed!!).

The conference was so slick, the workshops amazing and getting the chance to meet all the people I’d only known online was awesome. And of course catching up with people I already know, and love, was fab too.

So here are my some of my photos:

Amanda and Christina (my fab CPs) also known as the Tiara Girls, or as we’ve now decided to rename ourselves the Tiara Mafia…. which we thinks sounds more kickass!!!!

Me by the Sydney Opera House, it was awesome!

The Tiara Mafia at the cocktail party

Cocktail party: I can’t remember the name of the person on the left, sorry, who we met; Amanda, Christina, Giovanna, Kris, Trish Morey.

Me, Emily Gee/May, Amanda at the cocktail party – Emily is trying on the Tiara for size.

It was fantastic to meet Vanessa Barneveld again and she came out to dinner with us on the Sunday.

At our YA workshop: me, Amanda and the fabulous Robyn Grady who introduced us, and lived to tell the tale!!

Emily and Barb enjoying drinks in our room before the awards dinner!!!

That’s it for photos, I wish I’d taken more. I can’t believe I don’t have any of the fabulous Rachel (soon to be neighbor), Amy, Allison Rushby, Anna Campbell, Maxine Sullivan, Kerri Lane, Louise, Nalini……. I could go on forever.

Next year I’ll try better!

August 11, 2010 • Comments

One more sleep until flying to Australia. And I’m beyond excited!!! I can’t wait to do the tourist bit in Sydney, and to meet up with people I’ve only talked to online.

I’m looking forward to giving our YA workshop…. we’re going to have another run through this morning…. it’s a good job run throughs and the actual thing bear no resemblance to one another because they’re usually very bad and we giggle a lot!!!

Will pack this afternoon, last minute washing is hanging up drying and must remember to leave instructions for the motel…. I’ll worry about that when I get back, I’m sure it will all be fine… and as I said to my husband: don’t worry I’m only a phone call away – and of course my phone will be turned off during workshops (which is pretty much all the time!!!)

Hope you all have a good week. I will be posting lots of pics on my return… providing this time I remember the memory card!!

August 5, 2010 • 2 Comments

A week today and we’ll be flying to Sydney, and if I said I was getting excited that would be an understatement….

I haven’t started packing yet but my suitcase is open beside the bed and I’m dropping things in there, or near there as I remember…. most importantly our three Tiaras. Because what is a Tiara Girl without her Tiara. The Tiara Girls are Amanda Ashby, Christina Phillips and me. We’ve been crit partners and best friends for years and it’s only once a year (though we’re planning for more when Amanda and I move to Australia) that we can all get together. And this year we have so much to celebrate, not least Christina’s debut book is just about to launch!!

I’m trying frantically to get as much written of my new book as possible before we go, well at least 50 pages so I can whizz it by my agent to see what she things. Yet again, I’m writing edgy near the knuckle stuff… which seems to be what suits me best.

Anyway, have a great week, I will try and post again before I go away, but with my track record I wouldn’t bet on it.

After conference there will be lots of photos and goss.