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How to cope with Seven Months of Rain in Southern Spain…(Beginners Survival Guide).

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The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain…

I live in Andalusia, home to the hottest and driest summers in Spain, but in the west, weather systems sweeping in from the Atlantic ensure that it is relatively wet in the winter, with some areas receiving copious amounts of rain. Something that I can personally certify. This year, the rain started back in October and hasn’t stopped!

In October I heard the typical: “Woo-Hoo! Rain at last!” (The joyous cry lasted about a week).

1.Don’t be fooled by the hot summers. It can get very wet and cold.

November came around and everyone was like: “OK, we’re good now. The reservoirs have been replenished.”

2. Even if you’re an expert swimmer, keep armbands on you at all times.

December: There was a shortage of umbrellas and Wellington boots in all the shops.

3. If you’ve got some spare cash, think of investing in a dinghy.

January: Search parties were sent out to capture anyone performing clandestine rain dances.

4. For the love of God, don’t join in in any of these rain dances.

February: The rain turned to snow…OK, whoever pissed off Elsa? Go apologise.

5. Time to stop watching Frozen.

March: I seriously started thinking about moving back to the UK, at least there the houses are accommodated for the cold and rain, not like Southern Spain where you freeze inside the white-washed buildings with their F***ing freezing marble floors.

6. Time to book your flight home.

April: If this rain keeps up, we can all skip Operation Bikini (getting your body in shape for the summer, not the film) … good news at last!

7.Don’t let the rain fool you, it the space of one week it will go from 12ºC to 40ºC (and when that happens you’ll  find yourself fighting the urge to performing really odd dance moves to beckon the rain and then you’ll get nicked! Be warned!)

Good luck!

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European Master Athletics Championships, Madrid 2018

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Some of you are following my journey to the World Master Athletics Championships (Malaga, September 2018)

For those who have just stumbled across this now, basically after being out of competitive sport for many years I’ve challenged myself to try to get back in shape for the World Master Athletics Championships. I’m still trying to figure out why I have this urge to compete as a veteran. I’ve done all this in my youth, you would have thought that I’d have moved on to more sophisticated hobbies with age, like wine tasting clubs or just wine tasting. I don’t think I have much I can prove at my age. Surely there are better things to do with my time then wake up at the crack of dawn at the weekends to go running before my kids wake up. Like have a lie in or breakfast in bed to name but two.

Whilst I mentally try to figure it all out, I physically go about getting my training in and over the last few weeks it seems that slowly but surely I’m waking up those sleeping running muscles. The slow twitch ones, because let’s be frank, I’ve never had fast twitch muscle fibres. My heart and lungs starts to respond too. Thankfully my mind is still in a daze with all of this, though it’s only a question of time before it reacts and starts sending warning signals to stop this mad behaviour, so until that occurs I need to make the most of it and continue training.

So the Europeans come around and I get to go. I decide the 1500m is the best event for my current fitness level. The race was yesterday Friday 23rd at 13.05 pm in Madrid. I had a four hour drive to get from where I live to Madrid. I calculated the travelling time accordingly. Not taking into account that Madrid has this really confusing underground tunnelling network. So on arriving at Spain’s capital city I got completely lost in this underground spaghetti road system and of course the GPS system, like most things ten feet under, didn’t work and every time I popped, like a mole, out of these odd tunnels I was further and further away from the track.

I could feel myself getting worked up, and I hadn’t even got to the start line yet.

Finally, after much stress I got to the track and sprinted to the athlete’s corner to sign in. And, as if in slow motion where words come out really warped, I heard one official inform me I was too late. I don’t know how I didn’t faint from the realisation I wasn’t going to be allowed to run. I’m also still unaware how I was able to keep my cool and sweetly smile back keeping the hysteria from my voice as I replied “You’re so funny, but of course I’m running!” I think I even snorted out with laughter at the idea that I wouldn’t be allowed to run. Disqualified before even getting to the start line. (That would be a first and I hadn’t even taken a doping test to confirm my four cups of coffee). It sounded like some terrible nightmare. But sure enough, I was five minutes late and rules were rules.
Thankfully one of my team members, who was aware of the mess I’d got myself into, forewarned about my situation. Half an hour before the actual race, it was officially confirmed that I could compete. By that point I had such a stinking headache (and heartache) that I had no idea how I was going to run. In a bit of a daze I got into my racing kit and started warming-up.

I was so nervous I started talking nonsense to all the other competitors. Ironically one member of the GB team was actually Spanish, and I suggested we should swap kit, after all “Hodgson” isn’t quite your typical Spanish surname and “Ramos,” well, I didn’t even need a pro- Brexit to point out it wasn’t quite your most common UK surname.

Before I knew it, we were led out through this tunnel to the centre of the brightly lit stadium. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve raced, the pre-race nerves are still there, this time I had a headache to add to it all, but I was just so relieved that I had been allowed to run that everything else paled in comparison.

I came 2º in my heat and 12º overall. Not my best performance and a far cry from my PB but it was incredible to run with such talented athletes again. So World Championships, here we come. I’ve got six months to make sure I turn up on time…

And I say I don’t know why I do this, but then I see the look of admiration in my kids’ eyes and I know exactly why…

 

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Q & A with the Talented Gemma Snow

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Please welcome author Gemma Snow to my blog today, please make yourself at home.

Can you summarise your latest work in just a few words?

Thank you so much for having me on! Yes! So Leather and Gold is a class-clashing erotic novella set in Regency England, starring a widowed duchess and a devilish sea captain!

Regency England! I love it already! So, what was the inspiration for this book?

I love the built-in tension of historical romance! Everything has to be nuanced and unspoken and between the lines, and that makes for a really great set-up. Sexuality and desire are not new ideas, and so I wanted to play around with these universal wants in an era when they would have been even more misunderstood and secret. The character of Alexandre, my sea captain, was loosely inspired by the Three Musketeers, though, of course, the story takes place much later. I do love me a bad boy sea captain though.

Bad boys do have their appeal, don’t they ; – )

How do you decide on the names for your characters?

Well, apparently I liked the original names so much that I was halfway through the book when I realized I’d used both of them in Captain’s Quarters, one of my first short stories! I’ve written several Regency-era romances and there is a definite dearth of sexy names, so I made Alexandre French and moved outside of the nobility for Emmeline. It was a little embarrassing to realize that I’d forgotten my own characters!

That’s so funny, I’ve done something similar. I have a thing for “S” and “G” names and it’s often only half way through a WIP I realise everyone has almost identical names and then I have to go and change them all as it’s just so confusing to keep track of who is who! 

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Two things! One, you’ve probably heard a thousand times. Write – write all the time. Keep notebooks and phone notes and napkins and never stop telling stories. It’s easy to get caught up in the madness of the hustle, but if you keep your eye on the story, you’ll make it to the finish line.
And two, at the risk of completely negating that first one, you have to treat writing like a business. Get up, get dressed, make to-do lists, set deadlines, keep the books. When you treat writing like a business you’re more productive and the rejections and setbacks are far easier to manage.

This is so true! Aferall you can’t edit a blank page can you?

Tell us a little more about yourself. When you’re not inside your creative cave writing and plotting away, what do you like doing?

My dad and I have a startup company, so my days are almost all hustle and bustle. I run the social media and news department for a website for classic car enthusiasts, so I get to enjoy a lot of different hobbies and interests every day. I love baking, traveling, yoga, reading, art history, anything and everything that opens my mind and gives me new things to learn and explore.

From what I can gather, you write contemporary romance but also erotica, I have a great admiration for storytellers in this genre, what it the funniest / weirdest comment you’ve heard when you’ve told someone you write erotica?

Great question! So I’ve written in a lot of genres, contemporary, historical, erotic (erotic historical,) etc. I have to say, I get asked about Fifty Shades of Grey all the time! I have a lot of issues with the series, but I also find it funny because my work is much more graphic and explicit. If you go in expecting FS, you’ll probably be pretty surprised! The cool thing is though, erotic romance is a great platform to explore feminism, consent, sexual agency, and creativity. I think one of the most feminist things I do in my life is write about women exploring their sexual desires in safe, consensual environments, where they’re fostered and properly understood. This isn’t necessarily something I can explain to everyone I talk to though, but it’s a large element in why I love this genre so much.

This is a very interesting and important concept, thank you for sharing!

What can we expect from you in the future?

Stuff and things! I just signed the third book in the Triple Diamond series, which is a four-book menage series set on the Triple Diamond Ranch in Wolf Creek, Montana. That series has been such a fantastic fun series to write, because each book explores different elements and types of menage relationships. I also learned a lot about Montana — I’m a coast girl, so that was unique! Seduction en Pointe and Leather and Gold are both the first books in their series, so I’ll be working on the rest of those soon — and I have a contemporary royals erotic romance in the works too! I just wish there was more time for everything!

Congratulations on signing your next book. It sounds like you’ll be busy with all your up-coming writing projects.

As a child what did you want to do when you grew up?

Always a writer! Also a scientist, movie director, perfume-maker, and chocolatier. Obviously, I always had an imagination! I still haven’t given up on becoming a ballerina or a marine biologist. (My lack of background in either would disagree!)

I look foward to seeing you dance then…

Do you have any strange habits before, or whilst in the writing process?

I mostly keep a lot of notes — though they’re not always organized! I have tons of notebooks, two bulletin boards and a Google Drive worth of disapparate notes! Seduction en Pointe went through some major plot overhauls, and I actually did a storyboard of the whole book on this 12-foot whiteboard and may have left it in the foyer for like three months. My mom was really patient, but I think she had enough of her friends asking about the exhibitionism sex scenes in the dining room and she finally told me to take it down.

Oh my gosh! That’s hysterical! 

How many books have you written? Do you have any unpublished work?
Under Gemma Snow, I have four short stories, a novella and a novel currently published, with two more novels in the publishing queue and the series to complete. Under my other pen name, I have four novellas and a full-length novel out. I’m currently working to place my Special Forces series, so there are a couple completed manuscripts in the pipeline.

That’s quite a lot! You have a busy mind.

How long did it take you to get from the idea’s stage to your publication day?

Leather and Gold was a wild experience! I had submitted a very short version of this book, less than half, to anthology open submission, right around when I submitted The Lovin’ Is Easy to an anthology open submission. My grandma and I share a birthday and it’s always a big, rousing week of fun and family, and during this week my amazing editor gets in touch with me and says “we love both books, but can you double both of them by the end of the month.” I was literally editing the hardcopy of the manuscript in the backseat of the car on the way to my own birthday party! But I love how this book turned out and both manuscripts were far better for being longer.

That’s a real sweet story. It’s funny how things sometimes turn out and the bizarre things we often do to achieve our dreams.

What was your hardest scene to write?

There’s a scene where Alexandre and Emmeline break character during a very intimate moment, and that one was a bit rough. Alexandre is a hardened sea captain, very masculine, very controlled, and having his emotions displayed so rawly was tough to write, but so worth it in the end.

What did you do once you had written the final word in your book?

Haha, I don’t remember if I finished The Lovin’ Is Easy or Leather and Gold first, but it was such a whirlwind that I didn’t stop writing for a bunch of weeks — I think I then started on a different deadline. No rest for the weary and all that!

Yes, I think writing is difinately 24/7 , just as well we love it so much.

What movie could you watch over and over again?

Pirates of the Caribbean featured heavily in my life for a long time — I write about a lot of devilish sea captains and pirates! I’m also a huge fan of rom-com Shakespeare reimaginings, so She’s the Man, 10 Things I Hate About You, also Indiana Jones and any Harry Potter movie.

What would be the top song on your playlist?

I’m really more of an audiobook person than a music person (I know, it’s not cool to admit that!) But Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart” or “Hell on Heels” by the Pistol Annies, give me a lot of angry feminist juice.

If you won millions, what would be your first purchase?

I’d pay off the student debt. It’s not sexy, but my boyfriend and I both owe a lot in school loans and it’s really tough to start a real life for ourselves with that albatross around our ankles. Then I’d fund my startup company in full. After that, there are some castles for sale in Europe…

I’m sure they’d make a great setting to one of your next novels too!

A talking cat walks into your room wearing sunglasses, and a cocktail glass in hand, what’s the first thing that he says to you?

“Sugar pie, ain’t no one teach you to play the piano?”

Thanks so much coming along today, and for these really fun answers. I wish you the very best and look forward to reading more about you and your work.

You can find out more about this talented author here:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Goodreads
Or at https://www.gemmasnow.com

Buy Links:

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Amazon

Kobo

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If you want to get fit, just start walking…

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Small steps can lead to big changes…

If you want to achieve anything, start simple, but always have little dreams in your life that inspire you to keep learning and achieving regardless of age. It’s never to late to learn something new. I often give out fitness tips, but the basic idea can be applied to any new hobby you want to initiate, whether it be learning to play the piano, or perhaps writing that book.

So where do you start?

As I’ve just said, keep it short and sweet. For the next three weeks or so try and find time to do about 25 minutes of exercise 2 or 3 times a week. I’m only asking for 25 minutes, sounds easy doesn’t it?!

Week 1: Just go out and walk. Enjoy it. It’s your time. You’re not mum or dad in this 25 minute walk. You’re not the employee of some multi-international company. For these 25 minutes you escape all of that and become YOU again. If you fancy, listen to some music, just try to use this time as a moment to disconnect from the daily / weekly mayhem. Unwind with each step you take. There should be no stress in your gait. Just positive, assured steps.

 

Did you know that regular exercise:

  1. Modifies you’re nervous system so that you experience a decrease in anger and hostility (burn calories and build muscle whilst boosting your mood).
  2. Going for a walk can spark creativity.
  3. Regular walking can help improve you’re body’s response to insulin, which can help reduce belly fat. It reduces your blood sugar level and lowers the risk of chronic disease.
  4. You’ll keep your legs looking great.
  5. Greatly improves gastric mobility.
  6. Your other goals will start to seem more reachable.

Have I convinced you yet? And you get all the above for FREE – Bargain!

       

Week 2: Include a bit of jogging in your walk. Walk for 4 minutes and jog for 1 minute. Repeat 4 times. Finish with a 5 minute stretch.

Week 3: Include a bit more jogging (more!! I hear you say. If you do it right, believe me you’ll be wanting more). Do 3 minutes walk, 1 minute jog / 2 minutes walk, 1 minute jog / 1 minute walk, 1 minute jog x 2. Finish with a 5 minute stretch

If you don’t feel comfortable jogging, keep to walking, perhaps do 4 minutes normal pace and for 1 minute try and walk a little faster, so that there is a change of pace in the actual walk.
If you’re already quite fit and the above is a bit easy for you, turn the walk time into run time and the run time into walk time. This will make it more intense for those who already do regular exercise.

*Very Important: Always remember to go for a medical check-up before starting any exercise regimen and if during exercise you feel pain of any kind stop immediately.

I’ve included three simple stretches that you can do when you get home after your walk / run. But there are loads of great stretching videos on the internet that you can look up which are easy to follow, like: Easy Stretches for Beginners

Let me know how you get on…

And remember, life is taking one little step at a time…Don’t forget to enjoy the journey! 

Related articles:

What drives people to run a half-marathon

The Importance of Physical Fitness & Benefits of Cross-training

Tips to get Fit

Run VS Breakfast in Bed

Little Big Dreams

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The Importance of Physical Fitness and Benefits of Cross-training.

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A lot of you have been following my fitness tips via my newsletter and I promised that in February I would help take your fitness up to the next level. By now you should have completed about 13 weeks of relatively easy exercise. If you haven’t been following and would like to, here’s the link: Cristina’s Newsletter Sign-up

Links to the previous tips:

  1. Fitness tips nº1
  2. Fitness tips nº2
  3. Fitness tips nº3
  4. Fitness tips nº4

Before we continue, let me just answer the following questions:

Why is it so important to do regular exercise?

Staying active means keeping your body functioning at a high level. Regular exercise will maintain the performance of your lungs and heart to most efficiently burn off excess calories and keep your weight under control. Exercise will also improve muscle strength, increase joint flexibility and endurance.

Experts recommend working out several times over the course of a week (not just cramming it all in over the weekend which can raise the risk of injury) with varying exercises for the most benefit to your health.

What is Fitness?

Fitness does not only refer to being physically fit, but also refers to a person’s mental state as well. You can help relax your own mind and eliminate stresses by exercising regularly and eating right.

How Can You Become More Physically Fit?

To become physically fit requires a change in life style as well. You will have to incorporate a regular exercise routine in your life and also eat healthier.

Exercising does not have to be something boring and dreaded. It can be something that you enjoy that helps to increase the overall happiness in your life, as well as relieve symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety.

Any type of moderate activity like walking, swimming, biking or organised sports can contribute to your physical fitness. Try to find an activity that you enjoy and will be able to maintain long-term. I base my fitness tips around walking and running because both are the easiest and probably cheapest form of exercise to organise, you just need to grab your running shoes and wear some comfortable clothing and you’re all set to go.

So are you ready for week: 14? I hope so! ; )

For the next few weeks we’re going to introduce a cross-training workout.

Cross-training? “What!?” I hear you say in a panic, “is that some sort of hard-core, military-type obstacle course?” As images of “Ninja Warrior,” pop into your head.

Cross-training is typically defined as an exercise regimen that uses several modes of training to develop a specific component of fitness.

What are the benefits of cross-training?

Reduced risk of injury: Often injuries occur when you over-do a single activity. Joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons throughout your body are under a tremendous amount of stress through repeated movement, and it’s important to give them the occasional break.

Improved total fitness and enhanced weight loss: One of the most common mistakes people make with exercise is repeating the same routine week after week. To continue to improve your fitness level and reap all the benefits of regular exercise, you need to keep your body guessing. Cross training does this for you.

Enhanced exercise adherence. Research on exercise adherence indicates that many individuals drop out of exercise programs because they become bored or injured. Cross training is a safe and relatively easy way to add variety to an exercise program.

One of the easiest ways to incorporate cross-training is to alternate between activities (e.g., run one day, swim the next, cycle the next). But of course not everyone can fit (or afford) all three activities into the weekly mayhem.

*So if we continue with our walk / run routine, doing two or three sessions a week, one will now become the cross-training session which will consist of the following: (Click on the exercise name for images)

Remember correct posture is fundamental whilst performing these exercises, so you don’t strain your neck / lower back, etc. It’s always best to seek a personal trainer or do a few similar sessions at a gym where the instructor will explain correct posture and breathing for the exercises before you attempt them alone.

*Always remember to go for a medical check-up before starting any exercise regimen and if during exercise you feel pain of any kind stop immediately.

Week 14 – Week: 16.

(You should be aiming to do three exercise sessions per week. 20 – 30 minutes each session).

Day One: 5 minute walk warm-up. Run for 15 minutes and record the distance.   5 minute walk warm-down and stretch. *How far have you covered in 15 minutes? Let’s see if in a few weeks time you can repeat the 15 minute run and improve the distance covered. The ability to measure physical improvement is a huge motivational factor. But only to be repeated and tested occasionally, you can’t expect to achieve a PB (personal best performance) every single time you go out and run.

Day Two: 5 minute walk warm-up. Do one repetition of the cross-training exercises outlined above. 5 minute walk warm-down and stretch.

Day Three: 5 minute walk warm-up. (1 minute run: 1 minute walk) x 5, finish with a 5 minute walk and stretch.

*Don’t record the distance of your 15 minute run during week: 15. Just enjoy it without putting pressure to improve the distance.

If you feel comfortable, do 2 repetitions of the cross-training exercises in week 15 and 16.

Week: 17: Have an easy week. Take the week off or just do some gentle walking or light jogging and stretching.

And most importantly, have fun! (And sign-up for some more fun tips)

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Q & A with Shayne Ford

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Please welcome to my blog today the wonderful and mysterious Shayne Ford. Thanks so much for popping along today.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, what sort of books do you tend to write?

I write what I like to read– hot, steamy romances with a solid, layered, character driven story. The lead men are hot, the women are soulful, and the narrative is spiced with a dose of realism to make the stories believable. I like stories that have a dash of mystery and a lot of depth. My stories are not the typical romance, nor are they formulaic or fit a mold.
If you’re looking for something different these books might be for you. I currently have 22 books published.
My books are intended for mature audiences.

Wow! 22 books! That’s quite an achievement! Can you summarize your latest work in just a few words?

Dark Erotic Billionaire Romance. Dark McKenna (Shades of Love #1)

What was the inspiration for this book?

It all started with one scene, which is the focus of the first chapter.
A broody, broken, powerful man who has everything and yet lives life on the edge because of something dramatic that happened in his past. And a much younger, beautiful girl who is forced to fight for survival with everything she’s gotten. They each have something that the other one needs in order to pull themselves out of the maze.

I’m intrigued to find out more!

How do you decide on the names for your characters?

So far I’ve been lucky to find names that fit the genre, narrative and their personalities. To me, the name is extremely important and has to reflect all that. I write New Adult books, so I need names that suggest a certain age or names that are timeless. They also have to match. Yes, I like their names to have good chemistry as well.

You’re right, the character’s name is fundamental. Could you offer any more advice, especially for any budding authors out there who maybe reading this? 

Writing a book can be as simple or as complicated it as you make it.
To write a book, you have to have a story in mind otherwise you get lost and lose your motivation.
Then you need to sit down and write it, regardless of the circumstances you are in, and fighting all the possible distractions.
And last but not least, you can’t be disheartened if the first draft doesn’t sound good enough. You have to cross that finish line, and then you can polish that story as much as you want.

I totally agree, you can’t edit a blank page.

When you’re not inside your creative cave writing and plotting away, what do you like doing?

I spent most of my time writing. Other than that, I like driving, walking my dogs and working out. Often times, I take a break from writing and walk outside or hit the gym or simply drive, opening my mind to new ideas. That’s how I get a lot of inspiration. I also get them by listening music.

From what I can gather, you write erotica, I have great admiration for storytellers in this genre, I’m also greatly curious about what you say when your gran grabs a copy of your book, reads it and then offers you advice on how you can improve a scene or two! Seriously though, what it the funniest / weirdest comment you’ve heard when you’ve told someone you write erotica?

I write New Adult erotic romance with strong emphasis on the story and the characters. I add a good dose of realism to my writing to make the stories believable. So it’s a fusion, if you wish, between the more literary genre that is more psychological in nature and the hot and steamy romance writing.

Regarding the comments…
I have to disappoint, but I pretty much live like a hermit. There aren’t that many people close to me in real life. Therefore I don’t have the chance to talk to too many people. I’ve never gotten advice on how to write either, but I can imagine that this could be a fun topic of conversation, and possibly a good story for a book (wink) when brought up at a party or a gathering

Yes, or perhaps as a saucy chat-up line…

So, what’s the best thing about being a writer in your opinion?

Working on your own. Entering a fictional world. Exploring your emotions. Learning and growing. These are the few things that make it perfect for me. Writing is not for everyone, and it’s not as easy as it seems when you fully get immersed in it.

What’s the worst thing about being a writer?

I can’t think of many. I like the lifestyle and the freedom to work with my brain and my imagination. I also love the fact that I get to know people who are drawn to me by my books.
But generally speaking, writing is not for everyone. It’s intense, consuming, maddening at times and comes with a lot of loneliness.
It can also be heartbreaking if you’re set on making a living with it.

What can we expect from you in the future?

More books. I have several series planned for this year. As long as the stories keep coming to me, I will continue writing.

Thanks so much for sharing your passion for writing with us. I wish you all the success with your books and I will keep a look out for your future releases.

More about Shayne Ford

I’m a fan of muscle cars, dogs, chocolate, flowers and quiet, starry nights filled with love.

In case you wondered, I like my leading men soulful, ripped, adventurous and knowledgeable. I prefer them a bit wild. Not to tame them, but to watch them in full splendor.

For notifications on new releases, sneak peeks and behind the scenes bits, subscribe to my mailing list at:

Contact: shayne@shayneford.com
Website: www.shayneford.com
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Twitter:@ShayneFordBooks
FB Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/ShayneFordAuthor
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Pinterest (Shayne Ford)

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Five Easy Steps to keep your New Year’s Resolution.

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Happy New Year everyone!

One week into the New Year and I already know several of my New Year’s resolutions will struggle to survive. Especially the one where I convince myself that it’s time to clear out all the crap which keeps piling up in the house and gets crammed into cupboards or drawers.

For instance, I have one drawer in my kitchen filled to the brim. You open it and out pops half a dozen old batteries, Biros that don’t work, guarantees to washing machines I don’t even own. There are instructions on how to work my oven and microwave (dah!! You just turn the knob don’t you? Or am I missing out on something??). Yet I keep all this crap in this draw which I can hardly close, just in case, because I’m certain that as soon as I chuck the instructions and guarantees (all in Japanese anyway) away, my dishwasher will break down. I say to myself every year, this will be the year I will get organised. I will get files for everything. Colour coordinated from red to violet so that my office makes me feel like I’m sitting amid a rainbow. I will clear out the medicine cabinet of these half empty cough mixtures. Gooey bottles which are so sticky and green the sight of them is enough to scare a cold away and chuck the boxes of plasters that are so old they don’t stick any more.

Then I will revamp the spare room. I say “spare” room as if it is as defined by the Oxford dictionary as a room “not normally used and especially kept for visitors to sleep in” well, I’d like to see my guests sleep on the Black & Decor I have in there and the wood shavings of my latest DIY project. It’s not a spare room at all, rather a magician’s room where all the odd and missing socks magically appear, where the toys that nobody ever plays with end up in and about twenty different towels, and I have no idea where they’ve come from.

By the time February comes around my resolution to be more organised peters out, I tell myself that surely it doesn’t count as a resolution, it’s called Spring cleaning isn’t it? There, the pressure is off, I feel better already. When Spring comes around, it will be put back on the New Year resolution list, and this time next year I’ll have five or six more towels to add to my collection, more wood chippings and several more odd socks.

Generally, New Year’s resolutions are health-based, people vowing to take more care of their bodies in the coming year, give up the booze, the fags and get into shape. Unfortunately about 88% of people fail in keeping their New Year’s resolution, (sorry if the statistics are a bit discouraging).

So five easy steps  to help you get through the year keeping to your goals are:

  1. Only make one resolution. (That way if you break it, you only break one! lol) On a more serious note, it’s easier to focus on one goal instead of loads. Put all your energy into that one aspiration. Try to choose a  realistic resolution, preferably one you haven’t struggled to keep previously.
  2. Regularly remind yourself of the benefits. If you’re trying to give up smoking or trying to get into shape, remember, though you may sometimes struggle at times to keep to your goal, remind yourself of the health benefits. Of why you want to lose weight or give up smoking, nobody said it would be easy, but the key is to keep focused and not give up.
  3. Split your goal into a series of time-based steps. For example, if it’s getting fit, don’t just think of the end goal, which may be running a marathon in two years time, focus on little steps which will get you there. For example, your first 2 km run without stopping, that’s brilliant! You’ve achieved the first step, be proud of yourself!
  4. Give yourself rewards for achieving your each step. Every time you accomplish a small milestone in your journey, congratulate yourself. Break the journey up, this way and it will become more enjoyable.
  5. Expect to have small set-backs, and don’t make these a reason to give up altogether. You only fail when you stop trying.

If you want to get healthy and fit, sign-up to my Newletter

I give out some fun fitness tips about once a month as well as other goodies and giveaways related to reading.

If you’ve missed fun fitness tip nº 1 -3, you can check them out here:

Fitness tip nº1

Fitness tip nº2

Fitness tip nº3

Fitness tip nº4 will be sent out in my upcoming newsletter next week, so remember to Sign-up so you don’t lose out!

Now after all the Christmas festivities and the stress of choosing a New Year’s resolution, are you ready to wind down with a good book? For a very limited time you can get these books for free or for a discounted January sale price:

For romance click here: Romance
If you fancy hot and steamy reads you can click here: Hot and Steamy Reads

 

Final Cover Soulweaver

Q & A with Heidi Catherine.

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The Soulweaver, released 19th January 2018.

Today I have a very special guest. One of the most amazing things about becoming a writer is the incredible people you meet along the way. I have been fortunate enough to have become friends with a really special lady and an incredibly talented author. Please welcome Heidi Catherine to my blog today. Heidi, it’s so nice to have you here today, please make yourself at home.

It’s so lovely to be here with you! I’m a big fan of your writing. A Little of Chantelle Rose was a fabulous read. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it! Heidi, I believe your soon to be released debut novel “The Soulweaver” won the Romance Writers of Australia’s Emerald Pro award, what a fantastic achievement, Congratulations! Could you summarise this work in just a few words.

Thank you so much. It was a huge honour to win the award and get such positive feedback from all the judges. I was genuinely shocked. In just a few words, The Soulweaver is a story about a girl who’s haunted by memories of having lived before. As these memories sharpen, she has to choose between the man she loved in her past life and the man she loves now.

Sounds fascinating, I’m so looking forward to reading it. I’ve acutally already read the prequel The Moonchild (which can be downloaded for FREE here: mybook.to/themoonchild ) and it’s got me really intrigued to find out more.

What was your inspiration for this novel?

I was a very curious child and one day I asked my mother what would happen if a widow remarried, only to one day find herself in heaven with two husbands. My quick-thinking mother told me that in heaven there’s no jealousy, only pure love. I really liked that answer and over the years I thought about it a lot. This was my inspiration for writing The Soulweaver and I really enjoyed taking the opportunity to explore the possibility of reincarnation. So this book has been a very long time in the making!

It’s cetainly a fascinating concept.

You have also been named as a highly commended author in The Hope Prize and your story “The Extra Piece,” was published by Simon & Schuster in a collection of short stories. Is there a similar theme in your stories or do they all touch on different aspects?

I must have a short attention span, as the only thing any of my stories have in common, is that they were all written by me! I’ve tackled everything from romance to crime to middle grade fiction. My short story, The Extra Piece, is about disadvantage in the community and although it’s a work of fiction, it’s based on a couple of conversations I had with people who had to escape their country of birth. It’s evoked some really touching responses from my readers. But I have to say that The Soulweaver series is my very favourite thing I’ve ever written. I honestly loved every moment of it.

You have achieved all these amazing, prestigious awards, but the road to publication is often a long and bumpy one, what advice would you give to aspiring writers?

I need to stop blushing before I answer this! Thank you. Yes, the road in my case has been very long and bumpy with lots of dead ends and crocodile infested waters. The advice I often give to aspiring writers is not to do what I did! Don’t write a book that you think will be easy. Write a book that you would love to read. Because no matter how good a writer you are, if your heart isn’t in it, then it will show. Although in my case, writing the ‘wrong’ book was an excellent way for me to learn how to write the ‘right’ one.

What was the most surprising thing you learnt in creating your book?

I learnt that not every detail of a book needs to be planned in advance of writing it. I’d been taught to plot out my stories using a beat sheet, to make sure it followed the standard formula for popular fiction writing. And although this works brilliantly for some people, it really doesn’t work for me. I find that process stifles my creativity and sucks out the joy of writing. I’m far better off to develop a rough story outline, then launch into it, letting the story come to me naturally. I find this a more rewarding way to write as often a big plot twist will jump out and surprise me, hopefully just as much as it ends up surprising my reader. So what works for one writer, won’t necessarily work for another, and The Soulweaver really taught me to trust my instincts.

If you could spend one day with a character from your novel, or any novel, who would it be and what would you do?

I won’t say one of my characters, as I’ve spent many, many days with them in my head over the years. So instead I’ll say, Casey who’s a character from a book called Make it Count by Tamar Sloan. When Casey touches someone she can see how many days they have left to live. She’s a bit of a recluse and doesn’t like touching people, so basically I’d just spend the day hanging with Casey and trying to ‘accidentally’ bump into her so she can let me know how quickly I need to finish writing my next book (hopefully not too soon!) I’d also quite like to hang out with your character, Chantelle Rose, basically so she can just make me laugh all day. She might even let me in on what happened to her after the book finished as I’m dying to know!

Thank you! I’m happy to confirm that we’ll see more of Chantelle in 2018!

I imagine that this year has been quite a magical year for you, and early next year we have the release of your debut novel, which, may I add, has already got, not just once but twice! a bestseller ribbon during pre-sales on Amazon, any new projects lined up for later on in the year? (Book related or not)

I’m working on Books 2 and 3 of The Soulweaver series, The Truthseeker and the Shadowmaker. These stories follow my main characters into their next lifetimes and will be released by Crooked Cat Books in early 2018. I also have a couple of crime novels and a middle grade novel sitting on my computer, which I’d like to revive. So I have plenty to keep me very busy! It’s just as well that I enjoy what I do.

Thanks again for popping in. I look forward to reading your novel which I have already pre-ordered (buy link: myBook.to/thesoulweaver ) and will appear, as if my magic, on the 19th January.

Thanks so very much for having me on your blog today! I really hope you enjoy The Soulweaver. I have a free prequel novelette available on Amazon that you can read while you wait. It’s called The Moonchild and introduces you to the two main characters from The Soulweaver in the lifetime they lived before the book takes place.

You can find out more about Heidi here:

The Soulweaver order link – myBook.to/thesoulweaver

The Moonchild FREE prequel order link:mybook.to/themoonchild

Website: www.heidicatherine.com

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/heidicatherine

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HeidiCatherineAuthor

Twitter – @heidicatherine

Instagram – http://www.instagram.com/heidicatherine

 

 

 

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A puppy isn’t just for Christmas…

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As Christmas is just around the corner, I thought that it might be appropriate to talk (or rather write) a little bit about though it may well be tempting to get a little puppy or kitten or any furry friend as a Christmas present for a loved one, remember having a pet is a big responsibility.  I’m aware that you all know this, but for the last six months I’ve done voluntary work for the local animal rescue centre and I’ve been amazed at how many people don’t seem to appreciate the importance of looking after these beautiful loving creatures, and can leave them abandoned with such cold-heartedness.

In the last six months, five different puppies have passed through my hands. Puppies that have thankfully gone on to loving homes, but for the five that I have helped there are probably hundreds that haven’t have the same good fortune.

I don’t want to get into a debate on whether you should spade your cat or not, on whether you should dress your dog in a hand-made, dimond-studded body-warmer or not.

But a pet does require a minimum of attention. I’ve always loved having pets, but now holding down a full time job, plus part-time writing, looking after two young children and trying to keep up some sort of social life (nothing too adventurous mind, I’m lucky if I make it for a jog around the block with some mates from the local running club and have some Gatorade afterwards) I’m totally aware that I just don’t have time to have a pet and look after it properly.

I do this voluntary work now and again and every-time I get a puppy to look after it brings home how much hard work it is. Though I also have to say that the satisfaction of seeing the puppies grow strong is greater and the unconditional love they offer goes beyond words. It makes the experience a positive one, especially for my children who are learning that if you have animals you have to be responsible with them and that success at its greatest has nothing to do with fame or fortune, rather it’s about helping those in need.


If you’re still thinking of getting a furry friend for a loved one for this Christmas, you may want to pop into your local RSPCA, I can guarantee that there you’ll find a friend for life.

PUPPY YouTube VIDEOS

Sign up to my News Letter for the full story about the first three puppies I looked after “Three Against One. A true story about Love, Survival and Hope.”

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What drives people to run a half marathon?

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When you’re mad enough to run a half marathon…

Tomorrow I will participate in the 33rd edition of the Cordoba half marathon. Crazy I know, who actually pays money to go through pain?? Well, tomorrow alone, a mere 8300 people. Thousands will form behind the start line ready to run their own story. What on earth drives people to voluntarily wake up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday morning, get into some sparse and flimsy racing gear (though it will be freezing cold) travel into the city centre, where of course it will be impossible to park. Head to the racing area, in a semi- trance as if hypnotised and hand all their most precious personal belongings (phone, purse, house keys and car keys) to a complete stranger who promises to store it carefully in an improvised locker room? Because honestly it sounds more than a little crazy to me and yet, despite knowing how loopy this sounds, I’ll find myself doing it in less than 24 hours.

Not only will I quite happily hand over my latest model on the market smart phone to a person I’ve never met before in my life, I will actually find myself talking to complete strangers too as if they are my life long buddies. We’ll share racing stories as proud as if they were war stories and compare injuries as if they were battle wounds. We’ll even end up talking about our loved ones as if we’re in a foreign land, miles from home…

 

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