2012

I could rattle on and on about what I wanted to happen this past year, what actually happened this past year, how I felt about it, how others felt about it, blah blah blah, but I would probably end up with a blog post around about half the length of one of my novellas, so I decided to give you a summary of the key events that took place this year.

Two contracts signed with Beachwalk Press

One story published with Beachwalk Press

One baby girl born in June

One wedding postponed, because preparing for said baby girl ate away at all the wedding savings we had for it. Totally worth it though, and probably a good thing, because…

Zero wedding plans. I’m the most indecisive person in the world, and my fiancé is one of those ‘I’m happy as long as your happy’ people, which sounds sweet but is really just a cop out. I want him to actually start helping me with this process. Anyway, rant over.

Two modules of my degree out of the way.

Two pretty good results, which I’m proud of considering everything else I had going on.

25 Blog posts (this one makes 26)….oops, not that impressive a number. But at least I’m trying J

Three (approx) nights I’ve actually had a good night’s sleep this year.

Zero nights out this year. I’ve only just realised this, either I’m getting old or I really need to get a life…either way, slightly depressing.

There have been far too many of these to count – Books read, chocolate bars eaten, coffee consumed, whole soggy biscuits at the bottom of my cup courtesy of my two year old son, days I’ve told myself the diet will start tomorrow, evening spent watching rubbish television because I’m too tired to move.

Still three hundred and sixty four days spent loving my life this year so far, and I’m hoping tomorrow will be just as great.

So, to sum up, 2012 has been a pretty good year for me. It’s been fairly tame, but more amazing than ever. I can’t wait to see what 2013 holds! Happy new year all!

Merry Christmas everybody!

To all my readers, fellow writers and anybody else who might have stumbled upon this, have a great Christmas and I hope Santa brings you everything you wished for. Having my first book released isn’t the only reason this year is very different for me, I also thought it was about time, with two kids of my own, that I relieved my mother and took over the cooking of the Christmas dinner!

I’ve spent a whole two days baking mince pies, a variety of cakes and biscuits, and even made a very extravagant ginger bread house, and so far, there have been no casualties. Given my history in the kitchen this makes me a little nervous, because it all seems a little too good to be true so far, and I really don’t want to screw up the actual Christmas dinner.

I love Christmas anyway, but this year just seems extra magical because my son is just starting to understand what's going on. He’s running around like a mad thing, and it got my reminiscing about Christmas when I was a kid. It used to be great because my parents used to foster children, and so Christmas’s when I was growing up was all about all the people that had moved out coming home, and to say we were full to the rafters would be an understatement. I used to love sleeping bags on the floor, eating off of anything that had a remotely flat surface, family board games and my grandmother keeping an eye on all of us while my parents would fall asleep after a huge dinner. Looking back now makes me realise how lucky we were to have such great Christmas’s and I know I have my parents to thank for that, they wanted to make it special for not just their own children, but to all of the children in their care.

So as you can imagine, I have quite a lot to live up to, and I’m determined to make Christmas’s in our house just as memorable. So to anyone else who faces the daunting task of single-handedly cooking their first full scale Christmas dinner, good luck, and you’re not alone! Happy Christmas everybody!

(P.S. To everybody who hosted for my blog tour, thank you! You guys are amazing! Also, a big thanks to Shades of Rose Marketing, for making my tour so easy and fun!)

All in a week's work

I will readily admit that I can be one of the most disorganised and hectic of people, but this week I think I’ve been on top of my game. I’ve been struggling over the last couple of months to fit in my writing, which of course, as a writer is kind of the kiss of death. But then I realised last week that if you want something done you can’t just wait around for it to happen, you have to take the bull by the horns and make it happen! And so just by being in the right frame of mind I've been making sure I have quality time to write, making sure I get my work done on time and even making time for all the other little things I’ve been wanting to get done recently. You want to know the odd part? Even though I’ve been doing far more in the last week than in the last few months, I somehow seem to have more free time as well. I think there is a lesson in there for me somewhere!

So what have I achieved with this new proactive style of working? Well I’ll tell you… I am very near completing the third story in the ‘Rags and Riches’ series, as in I have done revisions, chopped and changed drastically for what I hope is the last time, and am going to give myself a couple of days to edit it before submitting it! I never thought I’d be able to manage to get it done before the end of the year but it looks like I will! Yes!

In case you didn’t already know, the first story in this series got released on Monday, find out a bit more about it here!

Thank you for reading!

Tomorrow is release day!

It’s finally here! From tomorrow you’ll be able to get your hands on ‘Business and Pleasure’ the first novella from my series ‘Rags and Riches’! I’m so excited to be able to finally share this with you, so here is a taste of what it’s all about…

Can mixing business and pleasure ever result in a happy ending?

When sexy, rich Lawrence Russo asks Mia to come and work for him in Italy for two weeks, she jumps at the chance. After all, it beats pole dancing, and the salary he offers her is practically obscene.

A relationship quickly begins to develop between the two, but Mia can't help but wonder if Lawrence's feelings for her are genuine or if he feels he's just paying for a service.

Even if their relationship is strong enough to survive her insecurities, what will happen when somebody from her past shows up and threatens to reveal her deepest, darkest secret?

Excerpt: Lucy looked around nervously. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I…don't know," Mia admitted. Perhaps she was just being paranoid.

"Mia." She heard a familiar drawl coming from the shadows. Her heart raced in anticipation as she turned to see the speaker. He walked out of the shadows and toward them like a jaguar stalking his prey, but Mia didn't feel intimidated, only excited by his presence.

"You shouldn't go sneaking around in the darkness. You could give a girl a fright." Mia laughed.

"I could leave, if that would please you," he purred. She loved the way he emphasized please. He gave no indication that he was going to leave. Mia was glad.

"Er, maybe I'll just go wait around the corner," Lucy said awkwardly. Mia nodded to acknowledge her, feeling a little guilty, because she had actually forgotten Lucy was still there.

"So, what are you doing here?" Mia tried to seem nonchalant, despite the fact that her body was having some kind of chemical reaction to his presence.

As if from nowhere, the handsome man produced the bottle of champagne he had purchased earlier that night. "I do believe we have plans to share this." He took a step closer to her.

"Oh. I would, it's just we aren't supposed to socialize with the clients outside of the club," Mia said teasingly, although it was technically true.

"Tell me, Mia, do you always do what you're supposed to do?" It seemed as though he had expected her reaction.

"No, I guess not."

"I've been watching you, Mia."

"I've noticed." She took a step in his direction and looked challengingly into his dark eyes. "So, do you like what you see?"

They were close enough to touch, and Mia's every nerve was tingling, hoping to feel his fingers on her skin. He swayed forward and, for a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her, but he leaned toward her ear instead. "I have a business proposition for you," he breathed, sending a shiver through her body before he pulled away from her.

It took Mia a moment to compose herself, and his eyes sparkled with amusement, no doubt he was enjoying her confusion. "Business…a business proposition?" Mia attempted to sound as casual as she possibly could.

"I'm returning to my home in Tuscany tomorrow," he announced.

Mia felt her heart sink, but was determined not to let it show. "Oh, it must be beautiful in Italy this time of year. But what does that have to do with me?"

"I was hoping you would accompany me."

So there we go! If that sounds like your kind of thing then  you’ll be able to get hold of from Beachwalk Press or from Amazon!

Thank you so much, and if you do read it then I really hope you enjoy!

Cover art for The Best of Both Worlds

A lot is going on this week with the release of my first story 'Business and Pleasure' but that doesn't mean that I'm not just as excited about the cover art for the second story in the series.

So here it is, the cover for 'The Best of Both Worlds', I hope you love it as much as I do.

 

 

This will be the second book in the series 'Rags and Riches', and will be released March next year. This one is set in London and introduces you to Melissa Morgan, an aspiring model, and Riley, the owner of a bar on the wrong side of town. Expect fireworks when Melissa stumbles in there one night after being humiliated by her fiancé...

One week to go!

Well we’re nearly there! Just one week to go before ‘Business and Pleasure’ is released! As you can imagine, right now I’m just a bag of nerves, but beyond excited at the same time! I can’t wait to share this with you all!

 

 So, on the day it gets released ‘Business and Pleasure’ is also going to go on a virtual blog tour, courtesy of Shades of Rose Marketing! As promised, here’s a list of all the places you can find me on that tour. I'll be doing spotlights, interviews and guestposts on the following blogs:

17th - Ella Jade

17th - Tamaria Soana (Interview)

18th - Savannah Chase (Guest post)

18th - Aimee Duffy (Interview)

19th - New Age Mama

19th - The EbookReviewers

 

20th - Lacey Wolfe

21st - Reading, Writing, and Roses

22nd -  Intriguing Reads - Spotlight


That's where I'll be from the 17th, I hope you'll join me for a chance to learn a bit more about my new release, a little more about me and it's also an opportunity to check out all those great blogs. Thank you for reading!