Friday 31 May 2013

Friday's small celebrations!


This week I am thankful for;
  •  finally clearing out the cupboard under the stairs! 
  •  nailing some edits on a couple of chapters that have been giving me a bit of a headache!
Short and sweet today as I want to get on with some more editing while I have a couple of hours free. Have a great weekend.

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Time to Get Healthy!



As writers we can often live a sedentary lifestyle. Too many hours sat on our backsides in front of a computer screen, taking solace in chocolate and other less than healthy snacks! Today's the day we can share our ideas and tips with others, something that has had a beneficial effect on our health. 

My tip is try yoga. I have been going to a class for the last 18 months or so and can thoroughly recommend it. It is great for working on your posture and alignment. It strengthens and tones your muscles but one of the best parts for me is the relaxation. It is a chance to switch off from the day to day woes and recharge. The commitment of going to a class also helps me continue because it is an hour and a half for ME away from distractions.

My other tip is herbal teas. I don't drink coffee at all but enjoy regular tea, to ring the changes I usually have a selection of teas in my cupboard to fall back on. Most of them are reputed to have beneficial qualities and I must say I have found they help me. Here is the list of those I enjoy, although there are many others so why not give it a try!

  • Camomile - Relaxing and calming, I drink this every night before bed.
  • Peppermint - Ideal after meals as aids digestion.
  • Lemon and Ginger - I like this one particularly for stomach aches or sore throats
  • Nettle (sometimes mixed with other ingredients) - Detoxifying.
  • Fresh mint leaves from the garden in hot water - Just delicious anytime!



Friday 24 May 2013

Phew, is it Friday already?


Thanks to Viklit for hosting our weekly celebrations hop.

This week has been seriously busy! Between work and home I don't seem to have had much time for anything extra. I managed to edit a chapter but that was about it on the writing front for the week. Hoping for a more productive time next week. Here in the UK we have another long weekend so that should be good especially if the sun shines.

Other celebrations this week; Saturday is our 28th Wedding Anniversary. Where did that time go? Husband and I are celebrating with a meal and a trip to the theatre to see a production of 'The Mousetrap' by Agatha Christie, the longest running play in the world! Saw it many years ago in London so looking forward to seeing it again albeit on a much smaller stage. If you are at all interested in finding out more, check out this link HERE.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Wednesday 15 May 2013

Inject a little colour - awaken the senses?



I was flicking through some photos taken on our holiday last year and I realised some of the most appealing were those that were alive with colour. The colours were so reminiscent of the trip that just looking at the photos transported me back to the places these photos were taken.In turn this tuned into other senses. The smell of the spices in the markets or the floral scents from the flowers. The voices of the street sellers and the cool, slightly uneven, surface of the tiles. It started me thinking about how I write colour into my stories.

Do you use colours as simple adjectives or do you seek creative ways to describe colours in new ways?  How important is it to you to paint these images for your readers? 

“Soon it got dusk, a grapy dusk, a purple dusk over tangerine groves and long melon fields; the sun the color of pressed grapes, slashed with burgandy red, the fields the color of love and Spanish mysteries.” 


"The world is a carousel of color.” 

― Anonymous


“Colors. Would it be green or blue today? Maybe white—my favorite. A dark voice in the back of my mind offered no color at all as an alternative. I smothered that voice. The days of no color were simply too hard to bear. I needed color today.” 

I like to stimulate the senses when I write so I do pay attention to the way I describe touch and smell, think I'm going to add colour to that list as well now.  I am going to start a colour notebook (we love our notebooks don't we!) so that I can jot down imaginative ideas for future use. 



Recently Deanie Humphrys-Dunne at  Thoughts and Ideas nominated me for the colourful 'Sunshine Award.' Thank you Deanie for thinking about me! I was given a similar award a short while ago so I am posting a link to that post  HERE.







Friday 10 May 2013

Shine On Award and the little things to celebrate

Deanie Humphrys-Dunne at Thoughts and Ideas nominated me for this award recently. Thank you Deanie. I haven't seen this particular award before, pretty little badge isn't it?

THE RULES:
  • Display the Award Certificate on your website.
  • Announce your win with a written post and link to whoever presented your award.
  • Present the award to 7 deserving bloggers. 
  • Drop them a comment to tip them off after you have nominated them in the post.
  • Post 7 interesting things about yourself
  • If you don’t have a blog but have a website, Facebook, or Twitter or other type account, post there with a link back.
OK so I'm bending the rules here but I can't think of 7 more interesting things about me this morning, so I'll give you one weird one! Well I'm told it's weird but maybe there are others like me out there!

  • I don't like drinking out of a full glass. I'd much rather have two half glasses and I would certainly never choose a pint glass!
I'll nominate my last 7 new followers for this award should they wish to collect it. Elise Fallson, Rena, Tina, Brandon Ax, Suzy Turner, Elsie Write. Great getting to know you all :)
***

And of course it's Friday again already so time to Celebrate those Small things with Viklit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author. 


I'm celebrating the arrival of these guys outside my bedroom window! A pair have nested here for about the last five years. Last year they built a wonderful nest and settled in only to be scared off by a rather aggressive sparrow. I was shocked and didn't realise they can do this. The nest was abandoned and I seriously wondered if I would see them again so when I opened the curtains the other morning and saw them it cheered me up. They look like young birds so maybe they are offspring from the previous pair. Fingers crossed the same thing doesn't happen again. Husband not so pleased as they make rather a mess down the wall and it is difficult to open the window in case it frightens them but a small price to pay for being able to watch them raise their babies so close up! 


Happy weekend everyone.




Monday 6 May 2013

Birthstone Unicorns - May EMERALD

May is one of my favourite months, with its promise of summer and longer days. I always wanted to be a May bride and I was - an extremely windy May day when my veil nearly took off and a guest lost their hat over the side of a cliff! The birthstone for this month is the beautiful emerald. Their deep green a symbol of new beginnings and nature.The verse from the Gregorian poem goes with this nicely, although my engagement ring was not an emerald.

Who first beholds the light of day

In spring's sweet, flower month of May

And wears an Emerald all her life

Shall be a loved and a loving wife.

May is often a time for traditional festivals. My local town is famous for Flora Day held on the 8th. This Spring festival celebrates the end of winter and the arrival of new vitality and fertility. Houses and shops are decorated with greenary, yellow gorse and bluebells. It looks wonderful. The dancers and many of the crowds wear sprigs of Lily of the Valley too. Lily of the Valley is often considered to be the birth flower for May.

For a snippet of this festival click HERE to be redirected to a You Tube clip showing the Midday dance. The ladies wear long dresses and the men top hat and tails. There are several dances throughout the day starting at 7am and finishing at 5pm. Local school children dance through the streets in white. The sound of the band playing the familiar tune vibrates through your head by the end of the day but it is an amazing spectacle that brings the whole community together.

Bluebells in the woods


Or how about a bit of cheese rolling in Gloucestershire. It looks quite dangerous to me!

Emerald, the Birthstone Unicorn, is involved in a special festival this month. Click on the tab at the top of the page if you want to read a short extract from her story.

Happy Birthday to all born this month




Friday 3 May 2013

The Spirit of Nimue Cover Reveal and Celebrate the small things


Today I am pleased to be part of the cover reveal for Donna Hosie's final instalment of The Return To Camelot Trilogy - The Spirit of Nimue. Congratulations, Donna. Don't these covers all look fabulous together?





BLURB

THE RETURN TO CAMELOT trilogy concludes in THE SPIRIT OF NIMUE.

Natasha Roth and her older brother, Arthur, have removed the magical darkness that had fallen over the land of Logres.

But all actions have consequences.

Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, is now a sworn enemy. Natasha realises that the only way the land of Logres will truly be at peace is if the sorceress is removed forever. So with her beloved Sir Bedivere, the feisty Guinevere, and a trusty brethren of knights, Natasha plots to free Logres from the malevolence of Nimue once and for all.


Yet Arthur also has problems. Now a father to Mila, he starts to witness a terrifying change over his girlfriend, Samantha, as she struggles to contain the awakened powers of Morgana.

With dark magic coming at them from all sides, Natasha and Arthur decide to make use of the Falls of Merlin: a mystical landscape of waterfalls that connects 21st century England with the mystical world they fell into. A place that does not exist in the future.

And by the end, they will know why.

As Natasha finally discovers the truth about her past link to Logres a tragedy will strike at her very heart. Can Arthur get his young family back to the 21st century and still continue to be the king that Logres demands he be? What is the secret that Sir Gareth has been hiding all this time? 

  And who is the true owner of Excalibur?


THE SPIRIT OF NIMUE is released on Amazon on the 31 May 2013. It is the final book in THE RETURN TO CAMELOT trilogy.  

GOODREADS
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6153661.Donna_Hosie?utm_medium=api&utm_source=author_widget

AMAZON.COM
http://www.amazon.com/Donna-Hosie/e/B00A49AN7M/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

AMAZON.CO.UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Donna-Hosie/e/B00A49AN7M/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0




This week I am celebrating the fact that in the UK it is a Bank Holiday weekend. I am hoping for a little time to read, write and enjoy the sunshine that is forecast.
Happy weekend everyone 






Wednesday 1 May 2013

IWSG post - May


It's the first Wednesday of the month and so time to share our writerly insecurities! To sign up, see a full list of participants or simply find out more visit our Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

I seem to be suffering from some form of writing paranoia at the moment. I mean one day I feel great, I love my work, my characters speak to me and all is well in the world. Then the next, well... I think it all sucks, it's useless. The characters have gone off in a sulk and won't talk to me however much I plead or offer bribery in the form of chocolate!

Is it just me or does this happen to others too?