Game Plan

The last week has truly felt like a holiday, even though I haven't taken any leave from the day job. This is thanks to the sunny, warm weather we've enjoyed here in Johannesburg, long days spent beside the swimming pool, and the fact that I haven't written a word for a week.

In the meantime, my new story and characters have been sitting in the back of my head, quietly letting me get to know them. In the first week of January I'll start putting words on paper again and I've decided to do my own mini-Nano in January and February to write and polish this manuscript. I'm giving myself three months to send off a partial to 'my' editor at Mills & Boon. Which is going to be complicated by the massive job that has just come in at work and which will include lots of travel, but as the saying goes: where there's a will, there's a way. Thanks to Nanowrimo 2009 I know I can do it.

Roll on 2010 ...

Season's Greetings

Best wishes for the holiday season to everyone out there in Blog-land. Whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah or the Solstice, summer or winter, I hope you enjoy a glorious week!

Contest Feedback

This will be a very brief post because I've got to be up early tomorrow to be on set for the LG film shoot.

I got personalised feedback from the contest! The editor said she loved the intensity of my voice, my dialogue and my hero, but she also pointed out the weaknesses in my contest entry (namely the cliched setting, and the fact that I committed Sin #6 - see here). So she doesn't want to see more of this manuscript, but she has asked me to send my next partial for her attention. Whoopee, I'm out of the slush pile!

So "The Prince's Secret Mistress" has been filed away in File 13 and now I need to decide whether to re-look "The Playboy Duke's Reluctant Bride" (which I received a luke-warm critique on through the RNA New Writers' Scheme) or whether to hurry up and write something completely new.

A wise friend (thanks, Mandy!) has advised that I take a little holiday from writing until after Christmas, then make my decision. I'm going to do just that.

But right now I'm going to sleep. Good night, all!

A little light inspiration

Just because it's a hot and sunny Friday afternoon (and nothing at all to do with the fact that I have nothing to say), today's blog post is nothing more than a couple of inspiring pictures taken during my September trip to the Greek island of Corfu.


This is how the other half live ... or more specifically, the other 0.05% who don't have to work for a living ...those billionaire heroes we all love.


Mandy: I hope that after looking at these, the word counts for your Greek hero start to climb!