Christina Hollis: Spring Cleaning Fever...

Love In Every Stitch...

I hate housework. You get the place looking great, then someone wrecks the magazine stack looking for something, or a cupboard bursts open, sending  paperwork all over the floor. All your hard work, undone in seconds! So when I heard about a system that means you tidy up once in your lifetime and then just twiddle round the edges, I had to find out more.

Over the past month, I've been following a reality TV program called Back in Time For The Weekend. The brave Ashby-Hawkins family spent last year living for a week in each of the last decades of the Twentieth Century. From the post-Second World War deprivations almost up to the present day, they've learned what it was like to live as a family in changing times.

One of the most interesting facts brought home to them was the explosion in the amount of "stuff" we all accumulate. In the Nineteen Forties and Fifties, the UK was on its knees. Food was rationed. There was no money to spare, but that hardly mattered as the shops were practically empty. Presents were often hand-made. Repair, re-use and recycle were habits, long before they became Green watchwords.

These days, all our homes are so stuffed with electronic gadgets, fitness equipment and leisure goods, cars are parked on the street so garages can be used as storage space. Canny people are making a fortune by providing secure units excess items owned by people who can't bear to throw anything away.

All that really struck a chord with me. Tottering Towers is totally stuffed with...well, stuff. Ninety percent of my housework time is spent shuffling things from place to place. Back in Time For The Weekend showcased one method of dealing with it. Marie Kondo's book, The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying brings tough love to the closet.

Marie is a great believer in only keeping those things which create a spark of joy within you.  It follows that, the less you have, the easier it is to keep your house tidy. That's the theory, but it means unless something is either beautiful or useful, it has to go. For a start, every piece of clothing you've been meaning to mend, update, or wear again once you lose weight must go straight to the charity shop. Be honest—when are you going to have time or willpower to do anything with it all? I asked myself that question. Within two hours, I filled four sacks of clothes weighing nearly seventy pounds in total! You could almost hear the foundations of Tottering Towers sigh with relief.

Then spring cleaning fever really took hold. It was hard, especially when I came across a trunk of baby clothes.  My smallest baby is now sixteen years old! As Tom Lehrer sang, "Sentiment will not endear it..." so nearly all of it had to go, although I confess to keeping their christening robes, and two little outfits I'd made for them. I'm not a natural knitter, so remembering the time, tears and effort it took me to create such sweet and delicate garments is a boost to my ego, as well as a keepsake. I'm thinking of having them framed!

Find out more at
  myBook.to/HeartOfAHostage

The great thing about spring cleaning is the old place looks lovely, as there's hardly enough stuff left for us to get it untidy again—at least until the next shopping expedition...

In Heart Of A Hostage, my latest book for The Wild Rose Press, a disaster means Maia has to stop living like a princess and face real life. She copes by spring cleaning the castle where she's being held hostage.  I don't believe domestic engineering is solely women's work, but scruffy, threadbare surroundings suck all the joy from life. Maia beats the men at their own game by proving she can rise to any occasion. I'm hoping a rigorous clear-out of my office inspires me to do the same!

Are you a hoarder? Or can you dispense with things the second they've served their purpose?

When she isn't cooking, gardening or beekeeping, Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women.  Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and she’s sold nearly three million books worldwide. You can catch up with her at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Her current release, Heart Of A Hostage, is published by The Wild Rose Press and available at myBook.to/HeartOfAHostage  worldwide, and from http://bit.ly/1iNf2Gw in the US.

Spring Forward

 Happy spring!!

Even though spring's a week away, in most of the US, we're springing forward today.  I feel like I've gone back in time when I lose that hour.

Speaking of going back in time....

I'm going back to some of my earliest writing this week.  A Day Late and a Bride Short, my first Silhouette Romance, is finally available as an eBook!!  Thirteen years ago, when I sent this proposal to my editor, she sent me back a note from the Senior Editor saying that with that title, she'd expected a marriage of convenience story.  My original idea wasn't that at all, but as a very newish author, I said, "That's exactly what it will be."

My editor bought the proposal.  It wasn't quite the story I intended to tell and to be honest, I wasn't sure how to write a contemporary marriage of convenience.  As someone who's been married for many years—someone who is still wildly in love with her husband—I have to confess, marriage isn't always convenient!  But I fell in love with the story and the characters!

I had so much fun going back in time with this story!  My house was loud and crazy back then...wait, it's still loud and crazy.  Maybe that just goes to show that as much as times change, they stay the same!

Oh and you can have a chance to win  a copy of A Day Late and a Bride Short (Kindle Edition) in an Amazon Giveaway!. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.See Official Rules.  

Reviews:

More than Magic Award Winning Book

"... a beautiful, and sweet, love story."  ~Romantic Times Bookclub 4 1/2 Stars Top Pick
"Ms. Jacobs has done it again!" ~Kelley Hartsell, Love Romances
"My favorite Holly Jacobs book yet!" ~Cheryl St.John, Author of MARRY ME...AGAIN


Speaking of fun...I've been playing with videos again.  There's a new Cooks and Books...definitely on the book side of things this time!  And the first of my "Ask the Author" videos.

My kids would tell you that I amuse myself a little too easily!  LOL

I hope you're reading for spring! I'm heading to Barbara Vey's Readers' Luncheon in May!!  Maybe I'll see some of you there??  I'm so itching to get out to the garden again!  I'm sure there will be more Cooks and Books videos when all the fresh produce starts coming in! Do you have any fun spring plans??

Holly

I Waxed My Legs for This? 6/16

A Simple Heart, 5/16

Carole Mortimer: Checking in

Happy March, Everyone!

I’m going away for ten days to Majorca this month, for a much needed break with my husband and youngest son, after the rush and bustle of Christmas and the long wet winter in the UK. We actually had our first snow of winter yesterday. Just a flurry, with more expected tomorrow. I love the snow, which is strange because my star sign is Leo, and we’re supposed to love the sun not the cold. I know snow causes chaos, on the roads and airports etc, but I just love to see that carpet of white on the ground. It always makes me smile.

March is a very busy month book-wise for me, with two books being released. The first book is Savage Alpha (Alpha 8), released on March 2nd. This is the last book in the contemporary Alpha Series. But—I love it when there’s a ‘but’, don’t you? 

The second book released this month, on March 1st, is the introductory novella to Knight Security, the spin-off series to Alpha. The novella is called Alexandre (Knight Security 0.5), and it is out in an anthology, titled Royals & Rogues, with four other bestselling authors, Susan Stephens, Shelli Stevens, Heather Long, and J C Makk. We all had such a lot of fun putting this anthology together.

Interesting fact—I was contacted on Facebook yesterday by Vikkas, the model for the cover of Savage Alpha. I’m still swooning. He is so nice¸as well as being hot, hot, hot. He loved the cover of Savage Alpha, and just wanted to tell me so.  

Coming up next month I have the release of Taken by the Earl (Regency Unlaced 3) on April 2nd. Followed by Pursued by the Viscount (Regency Unlaced 4), release date May 27th. June will see the publication of the first full-length novel in the Knight Security series, Defying Asher (Knight Security 1). Asher is a secondary character in both Savage Alpha, and the novella Alexandre (Knight Security 0.5). He’s arrogant, outspoken, and really needs a kick up his bossy ass, which my heroine is only too happy to provide. I am sooo looking forward to writing Asher’s story! 

As always, the stories in my Alpha, Knight Security, and Regency Unlaced Series are all romances with added suspense and danger. But beware—they are also more explicit in their language and sexual content than my other books.

eBook buy links Savage Alpha (Alpha 8): Amazon | Barnes & Noble This book is also available on Kobo, iBooks, and Smashwords.

eBook buy links Royals & Rogues, 5 author anthology: Amazon | Barnes & Noble  This boxed set is also available on Kobo, and iBooks 

Website: www.carolemortimer.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CaroleMortimerAuthor
Email: contact@carolemortimer.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/@carole_mortimer
Newsletter: www.eepurl.com/2rfzz            

Spring has Sprung! :: Anne McAllister

It's that time of year again!

I've spent lots of years in a cold climate  blessed, most years, with plenty of snow.  So when it gets to be March, I start looking around for signs of spring.

This year the signs began appearing well before March.  I teach class one day a week, and the first week in February one of the women in my class came in late and rather breathless and announced, "I've just seen a flock of robins!"

We practically all stampeded to the door to see what she'd seen. And yes, there they were.

There were crocuses well above the snow a couple of weeks ago, and the daffodils are pushing their way up by the back door.

When we went for a walk with the dogs yesterday, I could see that the scilla was beginning to come up, too. In a few weeks -- or less -- it will be blanketing the lawns hereabouts.

Blue lawns always make me smile.  I didn't grow up in this climate, so I've had to learn all about it. The first time I saw a

blue lawn, I thought I was seeing things as I drove past in a car.   I couldn't imagine what was making it blue.  Now I always make it a point to walk the dogs past all the blue lawns in our neighborhood just to enjoy the spectacle. It doesn't take much to make me happy, I guess.

Or maybe it's the feeling that we are coming out of hibernation, that we don't have to bundle up to our eyeballs to go out and get the mail anymore.

It even makes me happy -- most of the time -- to wipe the dogs feet every time they come back in after an excursion around the back yard.

In spring I measure the weather in 'dog-foot days.'  The more times they go in an out, multiplied by how many feet I have to dry (or sometimes wash and dry) is an indication of just how muddy it is out there.  Today was a "48 dog foot day," which is pretty

muddy -- particularly since I ended up washing one dog's feet every time she came in.

Still, I'm not complaining. It's spring. The book is coming along.  I'm going to see three reprints this spring when my Tanner Brothers trilogy comes back with brand-new covers. And I'm going to get to post them on my newly updated website (still in progress, but check around Easter and it might well be there!).  That will feel like spring all over again!

What are your favorite signs of spring?  (My apologies to all readers from Down Under for this very geographically oriented post. Feel free to tell me what you love about autumn.  I'm pretty fond of it, too!).


Photo credits: 
1) Dakota Lynch: own work. An American robin searching for food in a Missouri field.          CC BY-SA 3.0 Creative Commons license.
2) crocus By Thomas Wolf (Der Wolf im Wald) (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
3) Ixtlilto (Own work) [Public domain], Creative Commons via Wikimedia 
Commons
4) BSchenck: own work 
5 BSchenck: own work

Making a splash – Kandy Shepherd

 My star sign is Pisces, the fish, and though I’m not a particular fan of astrology, I am definitely a water person. I love being by water and I also love swimming in it!

Doing what I love to do in summer!

 My part of Down Under is in an unprecedented heat wave for this time of year with a month of temperatures hovering over 30˚ C, 86˚F and little relief from rain. The hottest day in Sydney was 42˚C, 107˚F.

Such a sweltering day! That's 42˚C, 107˚F!

Though these temperature can be uncomfortable and are terrible for gardens and our farmers, they have been great for swimming. I’ve been swimming at the beach; the harbour pool (where parts of Sydney Harbour are fenced off and shark-proofed); the beautiful Olympic pool right under the Sydney Harbour Bridge; and in the municipal pool high in the Blue Mountains where the water is usually freezing.

The best place to be!

I’m making the most of the extended summer!

Splashing about!

It’s probably no surprise that every novel I’ve written features a water setting of some kind: the characters surf in Australia, swim in Bali, stroll along the waterfront in San Francisco, are castaway on a tropical island. The restoration of a fountain is symbolic of the growing relationship in another.

So why would my March release from Harlequin Romance be any different? Much of the early action in Crown Prince’s Chosen Bride takes part on Sydney Harbour where party planner Gemma Harper and Tristan, the incognito Crown Prince of Montovia fall in love.

“Gemma swam ahead of him with effortless, graceful strokes, ducking beneath the water, turning and twisting her body around. How did he describe how she seemed in the water? Joyous. That was the word. She was quite literally in her element.”

Of course, having my hero and heroine wearing only skimpy swimwear does help keep the sensual tension simmering too!

Tristan’s castle in the fictional European principality of Montovia is on a vast lake and its icy waters are also important to the story and Gemma and Tristan’s developing romance.

Do you like to swim? Or walk? Or play tennis? Or  zumba? (Or loll on the sofa reading romance novels and eating chocolates which is my other favorite past-time!) I’d love to hear about your favorite activity—please share your thoughts with a comment!

I’m giving away one signed paperback copy of Crown Prince’s Chosen Bride. Make a comment to be in the draw. Please include your email address if you want to be included in the draw.

Kandy Shepherd is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the

Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook and Twitter

Mothering

Yesterday was Mothering Sunday in the UK and I was lucky to celebrate with my two kiddos.  My son surprised me by coming home from University on Friday while my daughter had "gotten me out of the house" by taking me out for coffee and cake.  :)

From my earliest memories I was carting around a baby doll and being Mommy to her.  I added more dolls over the years and though I had goals to be a business woman (I grew up in the 70s and 80s) I also really wanted to be a mom.  I like taking care of people.  When I got married young I knew I had a choice, I could work on my career which at that point was still nebulous.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do...I considered accountant, teacher, advertising executive and anything else that struck my fancy in college but one thing I always knew was I wanted to be a mom.  So I started my family first.  

I thought if I have my family then I have a good solid base to start from and I was right.  Having my

daughter sparked in me the desire to go after my dreams. And everything that had seemed vague about my future suddenly made sense and I started writing.  I had to continue working as a secretary but I wrote in my free time when my baby was sleeping or when I was on a lunch break at work.  My goal was to be a full time writer before my daughter started kindergarten so that I could be at home when she got out of school each day.  And I'm very happy to say I did it.  Well I still worked part time but I was writing and selling consistently.  

It's been twenty years since I made my first sale.  The book didn't come out until October of 1997 but I made the sale in March of 1996. 

Sometimes I think that I couldn't have writing without my kids.  They have provided me over the years with so much inspiration and emotional growth.  

What about you?  Career woman, mother, both?  I think we're pretty lucky to live in a world where we have so many options.  Leave a comment to be entered to win a copy of my upcoming release from Harlequin Desire HIS BABY AGENDA.

I'll announce the winner on next month's blog.

Last month's blog winner is...petite!  Please email me at kathy @katheringarbera.com (no spaces) to claim your prize.

Read an E Book Week...

It's Read an EBook Week at Smashwords and there are a load of great books to download for free or at discounted prices.

I have about a dozen book at Smashwords and two of them are free this week, Eloping With Emmy and Wild Justice.

The huge advantage with offers at Smashwords is that they are available worldwide (unlike Amazon where the deals often don't reach Australia) and can be downloaded for any devidce, (including the Kindle).

So go and fill your boots, find some new authors, have fun!

Addison Fox: Growth

As a writer, my work is dependent on the observations of others. What motivates them. What really motivates them. And how those motivations ultimately affect their behavior.

For a writer, this is rich and fertile ground. The character who is brash and unpleasant often hides something dark or embarrassing beneath. A cynic’s loud belligerence is often interpreted as self-confident, yet often masks insecurity. And the one who holds an idyllic –nearly manic—outlook on life is seeking a sense of order that’s never truly attainable.

It’s the exploration of these traits that make up one more tool in the writers toolbox. But it’s conveying it on the page that carries the challenges.

How do you show a character’s growth if they’re so unpleasant on page one the reader has no interest in continuing?

That’s where it’s essential as the author to drop important clues that keep us interested in these vulnerable humans who will grow through the course of the novel. That brash woman who never has a kind word for anyone? She’s the first to reach down and pick up a child’s dropped toy. The loud, overbearing cynic? He’s got a small dog he can’t lavish enough love and affection on. And the manically cheerful one? She pours herself into music, pulling the sweetest, darkest notes from a violin.

In these and so many other ways we can show the person beneath the exterior. The shell they show the world versus the person they truly are. (As a side note, the movie THE PROPOSAL did this extraordinarily well with Sandra Bullock’s character.)

As a writer, it’s a gift to play with these elements, bringing them alive on the page. It’s that exploration of the human experience that makes my job, day in and day out, always unique. And always changing with each story I tell.

Thanks for joining me today! And feel free to drop in and share your favorite character to hate – but who changed your opinion by the end!

XO,

Addison

Despite early ambitions of being a diver, a drummer or a doctor, Addison Fox happily discovered she was more suited to life as a writer. She lives in Dallas and - thankfully - doesn't have to operate on anyone. You can find her at her home on the web at www.addisonfox.com. Her latest release, COLTON’S SURPRISE HEIR, from Harlequin Romantic Suspense is on shelves now. You can visit her at her website at www.addisonfox.com

Roxanne Snopek: When You Don’t Have Anything To Say…

Find a cliché!

I watch NHL hockey. I am Canadian, after all. Also, Fear the Walking Dead hasn’t started up again yet so I’ve got to do something, right? But you know what I’ve discovered to be at least as entertaining as the games? The post-game interviews. (Bear with me. I cheer for the Vancouver Canucks.)

As a professional wordsmith, I find these conversations fascinating in a can’t-stop-watching-the-car-wreck kind of way. After all, we’re taught to avoid clichés as lazy writing (note: the lazy use of the car-wreck analogy.) We strive for freshness in our language, a crisp twist of words to engage the reader.

Not so hockey players on TV, however. When those broadcasters shove their mics into all that muscle and sweat, you can practically watch the clichés forming, the scripts lining up, those carefully-coached words and phrases ready to fall out of those pretty, toothless mouths.

I could write the scripts. In fact, here’s one now:

Host: So, Ilya/Sergei/Mikhail, what were you thinking when you felt the puck on your stick in those last few seconds? (Or “How did you feel?” That’s a classic.)

Player: Well, James/Scott/Kevin, I am thinking I must to keep it away from their players, get it down ice and into net, fast as possible. (Hockey, in a nutshell.)

Host: I can believe that! Tell us what your team did today to achieve this stunning victory.

Player: Why you heff to esk? We give one-hundred-ten percent, we play as team, we push envelope right out of comfort zone, and at end of day that make the difference. No need for to reinvent tire. (He shoots, he scores, he passes Cliché 101!)

Host: What do you think is your secret to success?

Player: We go out strong and focus energy on puck, to be getting it in net. We keep simple and manage game. We play good road game. We take one game at time. Like I say, at end of day, game is what game is. (Now I understand hockey!!)

Host: Well there you have it folks, the secret to success! Congratulations again.

Player: Spasiba. Also, keep feet moving. Very important in hockey.

There you have it, indeed: the proper use of clichés, or What To Say When You Have Nothing To Say and You Just Want to Go to the Locker Room But Your Contract Stipulates You Must Play Nice With the Pretty TV Men.

At the end of the day, take it from me, it’s better to think outside the box, stand on your own two feet, swim against the tide, march to the beat of your own drummer and reinvent that wheel if you want to.

And if you’ve got nothing to say, it’s okay to be quiet. In fact, if anyone wants me… I’ll be reading.

CJ Carmichael: The “Ugly Duckling” Heroine

I’m sure you’re familiar with the fable where an ugly duckling is rejected by the farmyard geese, only to emerge as a graceful and beautiful swan at the end of the winter. From this fable has sprung one of the most enduring character archetypes used in both movies and novels alike. Whether labeled a misfit, a nerd, a wallflower or a dork, these characters have been forced into situations where they are unable to tap into their full potential. The end result is a rather sad and lonely existence.

A terrific example of the ugly duckling archetype is the “Joan Wilder” character in the wonderful romp of a movie Romancing The Stone. Joan begins the movie as a nerdy, timid writer, whose restrained hair reflects the tight rein she keeps on all of her passions.

By the end of Joan Wilder’s adventure with the unscrupulous, but sexy Jack T. Colton she has emerged as an unfettered, beautiful and confident woman, ready to take on the world.

There are plenty of other examples of the ugly duckling character. In The Charm School by Susan Wiggs, the main character, Isadora Peabody, is an awkward misfit from an accomplished Boston family.  There’s also Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady, Harriet from Harriet the Spy, Vivian from Pretty Woman, and maybe the most famous misfit of all...Harry Porter.

I’ve written over fifty novels and never yet tackled the ugly duckling archetype, but for some reason I’m being drawn to it this spring as I contemplate plotting my next novel. I have in mind a young woman who has been looking after her sickly parents since she was eighteen years. As a consequence of never being able to focus on what she wants in life, she’s become rather...dowdy. She’s only twenty-five, yet feels as if life is passing her by. And it is.

Through the course of my novel, this young woman will learn how to engage with the world again. She’ll figure out who she is and what she cares about. And yes, her transformation will include a new hair style and some updated clothes. But the improvements that really matter will be the interior ones.

I’m hoping this will be a story that my readers will engage with. But I suppose only time will tell! If you want to keep updated on the progress of this and my other writing endeavers, please sign up for my newsletter. While you’re visiting my website make sure you enter my Grab-bag contest. I’m giving away a great custom totebag and a stack of ten autographed books. 

Nothing Like a Small Town - Susan Sands

I've been back home in my tiny Louisiana hometown helping my parents move from a place they've lived for forty-one years.

You can imagine how entrenched one gets after such a stretch of time. I grew up on that piece of property--we moved there when I was eight years old. I can only imagine how my parents felt tearing it all apart and uprooting everything, even if they only moved a mile away to my grandmother's home.  We didn't hire a moving company, as I would have in Atlanta. Nope. We had pickup trucks (multiple) with trailers attached. We had neighbors and family. We cooked gumbo and picked up fried chicken. We caravanned and made many trips from the old house to the "new" one. People showed up to help without being asked, and it was heartwarming. They worked from early morning until after dark for two solid days, and it makes me tear up at the dedication to helping a fellow neighbor in need for no payment besides a true appreciation. It was back-breaking and there's still a ton of unpacking left to do, but what a testament to small-town life that others would give up their weekend in the service of my family. I'm incredibly humbled.

I write about such things in my books because it's where I'm from. But I've lived so far away for many years, and my life hardly resembles the one where I grew up. Coming home again was good. It's been hard work, but good. How nice to be reminded of such kindness up close and in person.

I write for the Southern Born line at the Tule Publishing Group, and yes, I am Southern born.

I hope everyone has an amazing week and feels as blessed as I have these past couple days, no matter where you're from.

Susan Sands

Check out my small town Southern romantic women's fiction novels, Again, Alabama, and Love, Alabama, (April 13, 2016)

e-mail snsands@gmail.com

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/susannsandsauthor

Twitter: @SusanNoelSands

Blog:  Sweet Home Alpharetta at: http://susansands.com

Abby Green: 10 Year Calliversary!

What do Heidi Rice, Scarlet Wilson, Fiona Harper and Iona Grey have in common with one of my favourite films, Four Weddings And A Funeral?

Well, they’ve all provided me with inspiration for this blog! My friends helpfully reminded me that it’s 10 years since I got ‘the call’, and then I thought of that great scene in Four Weddings And A Funeral where Andie MacDowell lists her lovers to an increasingly nervous looking Hugh Grant. 

Anyway, I thought of the ten years and imagined that each one is significant…a bit like a relationship with a lover. 

Year 1 – THE CALL! You’ve been wooing this lover for a long time, and finally it HAPPENS! Cue fireworks and Angels singing. It really is as amazing as you’ve been told.

Year 2 – The rush of love continues. You’re coasting on the excitement of your first book coming out. You are working on a second book and even though there’s a pesky little voice in your ear - ‘But how did we do it the first time around?’ - you ignore it and hope for the best.

Year 3 – The glow of the honeymoon period hasn’t quite worn off. But now you’ve done your second book and have come through that hellish fear + realization that you do know how to do it and now you have deadlines to contend with and they suddenly loom large.

Year 4 – With about three books under your belt, a kind of quiet cockiness sets in. You’re confident your lover isn’t leaving, just yet. You might even go public – to your first conference – whether it’s the RNA or RWA. Agents and Editors and Publishers, Oh My! Everything is a whirl of talk about Indies or Outies; Self-Pub or Trad-Pub; Paranormal or Inspirational. Lots of new words, workshops and all while trying to figure out what the heck a capsule wardrobe is.

Year 5 – You might build your first official home office now. A little nest for you and your love. But can you work here? Hell no! Why is it that the corner of your bedroom or the corner of the kitchen table still seems to be the only magic spot?

Year 6 – Now you’re a pro at going public. No longer the shy wallflower at conferences, you’re giving workshops and wowing newbie and aspiring authors with your knowledge. Even as you quake quietly in your boots because you still feel like a bit of a fraud and as if someone is going to snatch your latest contract out of your hands and screech, ‘We’ve made a huge mistake!’

Year 7 – This is when you might feel confident enough to leave the day job. The fear of leaving all that’s secure behind and taking a leap into the creative abyss. But with your lover by your side, how can you fall? Wheeeeeeeee! (Hopefully you bounce gently onto a soft feather mattress and don’t go splat onto concrete).

Year 8 – You can now look at your lover with a certain smug gleam in your eye. You’re both still here. A little battered and bruised maybe, but more in love than ever….or, wait a second…what’s that you see in the distance….*gasp* a more handsome/interesting lover???

Year 9 – You’ve broken up (or maybe you’re two-timing your lover). But it’s ok…because you weren’t content with the limited repertoire of your old lover, so you’ve taken a younger and more inspiring model who offers all sorts of new, er, positions. Suddenly, you want to try everything…what about self-pubbing a paranormal romance featuring a Werewolf/Fallen Angel/Biker?

Year 10 – As you wait to hear if your newest lover is going to commit, you realize you’ve come full circle and are awaiting ‘The Call’, again. Except, this time you know exactly what’s ahead and are ready to leap into the abyss with both feet. You’ll take a parachute though…just in case your lover steps aside at the last second. You’re not as naïve as you used to be! 

Look for Abby's new release, Awakened by Her Desert Captor on Amazon!