Romy Sommer

It's been a very long time since I last read anything other than category romance, but I finally pulled this one from my TBR pile and I'm so glad I did. This book was written by Swedish journalist, Stieg Larsson, the first in a trilogy that has taken the world by storm. Sadly, Stieg Larsson died young and never lived to see the phenomenon his books have become. The story starts slowly. The various characters are introduced, the premises are set up and the reader settles into the pace as the book unwinds. The novel was very different from what I'm used to: emotion and passion are noticeably absent, and the writing style has a factual, journalistic quality to it. Nevertheless, the story is gripping, especially in the final third when the plot starts to take unexpected twists. Mikael Blomkvist is a disgraced journalist hired by an elderly corporate legend to solve a mystery. Aided by a fascinating anti-heroine, the girl with the dragon tattoo, Blomkvist investigates the disapp...

Thanks to a cold, I've been feeling down all week-end. Not the best frame of mind to pick up the May issue of Essentials magazine to discover that I didn't win their writing contest. In fact, I didn't even make runner-up. Part of me is saying "Cheer up; at least you made the top 20 shortlist." That same part reasons that it's only a short story of 1,500 words and maybe short stories just aren't my thing. A rather louder voice in my head is saying that maybe my writing is just crap and there are many others who write better than I do. I've consumed rather a lot of Haagen-Dasz Belgian chocolate ice cream in an attempt to silence that voice. Lucky for me, the ice cream is working. On the plus side, my company has bought me a brand new laptop to work on. It's very nice but I can't get too comfortable yet as one of the bosses is now toying with taking this new one and letting me have hers. In the meantime, I've taken Jackie's advice and star...

I really should be concentrating on the current novel. The one that is so close and yet so far. And yet I can't stop thinking about a new heroine I really want to write. I'm falling in love with the idea of a 'rock chick' heroine - a tough, kick-ass modern woman who needs nothing or no-one - or so she thinks. She doesn't quite fit any of the stories I've been toying with writing next, which means I might need to come up with a completely new story just for her. Is this just another excuse to procrastinate rather than write? Probably, but it sure is fun! Meanwhile, the WIP is suffering from the Seven Year Itch. Does anyone have any bright ideas on how to recapture the romance for a story that's nearing its end?

Cranio-sacral therapy is amazing. I have absolutely no idea how it works, except that it has something to do with the energy fields of the body - but it works! I met the therapist through my daughter's Moms & Tots group and started seeing her a couple of months ago because I was continually falling asleep with the kids at about 8pm and still waking tired the next morning. My energy problems have been sorted. (At least I no longer wake feeling like a zombie.) For a few weeks before the laptop crashed I was even waking earlier than usual to get some writing in before work. Some sessions are just really relaxing. Others (like the one I had on Friday) are really intense. You learn things about yourself that you know, but never wanted to face. Your eyes are opened to things that are really obvious, but which you hadn't you noticed before. My Friday session ended with the therapist asking me "What are you afraid of?" Then she went on to tell me that the reason I haven...