Romy Sommer

I'm currently featured in a double page spread in the October edition of South African magazine Your Family (on sale now). I am so honoured to have been included in this article on local writers, and really pleased how it turned out - it's the first time an article has correctly quoted me all the way through! If you'd like to read the full article in a more legible version, the magazine can be purchased digitally here .

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...

I'll admit to feeling a tad disappointed when I saw The List on the New Voices contest site and not only did I not make it, but none of my CPs or online friends did either. (And by the way, you were all fantastic!) On the plus side, this contest has been an awesome experience for me, because it introduced me to a whole new bunch of aspiring South African authors. For more information on the South African entrants and other entries set in Africa or with South African characters, you can view the list here: http://saromancewriters.blogspot.com/2010/09/new-voices-entries.html Our country is a little backward when it comes to genre fiction, and until now most romance writers battle away quietly on their own while lots of fuss gets made about literary authors and poets. So we're not going to win any Booker or Nobel prizes (which have both incidentally been awarded this last week, in case you've missed the news) but we are steadily growing in numbers and in strength. Just w...

This is where I'm currently staying in Cape Town. My apartment is in the building on the extreme right of this picture. The entire complex is high security, ultra modern luxury. Each apartment has views over the marina and each building has a penthouse apartment. There are gardens and pools and walkways everywhere. Definitely a location that inspires romantic fantasy. And this is the view from my colleague's apartment: