Romy Sommer

A very belated post since I'm just back from a wonderful weekend away in the Natal Midlands. A few weeks ago I blogged some tips on how to stay postive , and today I have three more. Follow positivity on Twitter. We all know the saying that if you want to be successful you surround yourself with successful people. The same thing goes with positivity. In order to stay positive, surround yourself with positive thoughts. A couple of my favourite mood uplifters on Twitter are Tiny Buddha and Inspirational Quotes . Please feel free to share any others you find. We can never have enough joy! Dance. Put on some bouncy music and get moving. If you have young kids, dance around the room with them. Dance like no-one is watching. Better yet, dance when no-one is watching. Guaranteed, no matter how silly it feels, you'll be getting exercise and by the end of the song you'll feel great. Breathe! When we get stressed, our breathing becomes shallow. This is natural fight-or-fligh...

Three of my lovely CPs, Sri Pammi , Joanne Pibworth and Suzanne Jones , have played the Lucky 7's game, and even though their excerpts are tough acts to follow, I thought I'd join the fun. Go to the 77th page of your work-in-progress, 7th line down, and paste the next 7 sentences. Then tag 7 others.  Consider yourselves tagged. Here's mine, from my never-ending single title WIP, When September Ends . The heroine, Vivian, is sitting under the bleachers at her old high school with her one-time best friend and boy-next-door, Ryan: “Nothing happened.” “Maybe it should have. Then maybe you wouldn’t have been such an ass on prom night.” “I didn’t want Serena. I only ever wanted you.” Vivian raised the joint to her lips and inhaled deeply. There was only half left and yet she still didn’t feel relaxed. I've now read seven further Lucky 7 contributions from Julie Cohen , Kate Hardy , Kate Jackson , Nicola Marsh , Rachael Johns , Liz Fielding and Teresa Ashby . Th...

Last week I blogged a teaser tribute to my critique group, the Minxes of Romance . If you haven't yet heard the exciting Minxy news that followed: Maya Minx sold to Harlequin Presents! It's been a busy week for us, as Sri Minx has finished and sent off her revisions (Yay, Sri!) to Harlequin Presents, Sally Minx is busy with her contracted book which has an imminent deadline, and on Sunday night I received a detailed revisions letter of my own for my New Voices 2011 entry, Once Upon a Time . The revisions are pretty massive, to the point that the editor even took pity on me and offered I could send her something completely new instead. Since I don't have anything new that I'm ready for outside eyes to see, I've opted to do the revisions. So this is me heading to join my other fellow Minxes in the Revisions Cave. It's warm and well lit, and we keep it stocked with plenty of coffee, lucozade and chocolate, but no other distractions are allowed. Wish me joy....

This is less a book review than a shining example of how we can all realise our dreams. Brief the Sun of Summer is a poignant, lyrical story set in northern England duirng World War 2, published in 2010 by Vanguard Press. It's a mostly true account of a young English girl falling in love with a Polish fighter pilot, set against the backdrop of sweeping events. The story is slow, beautifully written, and is sure to entrance. But for me, the two best things about this book have nothing at all to do with the story. Firstly, I know the author. Her grand-daughter was my closest childhood friend and is now the godmother to my eldest daughter. Secondly, the author published this book at the age of 91. She is the living proof that you are never too old to follow your heart and live your dreams, and that publishing is the one industry in which age is no barrier to success. Irene Hunter Steiner wrote and sold two romance novels in the 1970s, then after a long hiatus she wrote ...