Yoo Hoo

Yoo Hoo, It's me! I'm here....  my doesn't time fly, it seems like only yesterday I was posting about RUBY.... but it wasn't yesterday or anything like it... it was many many months ago. Shameful I know.
I really don't know where the time goes, guess I've done what I always do and thought TOMORROW. ie:  tomorrow I'll write my blog, update my website and do all the other writerly stuff that seems so much more nowadays. Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Bernardine Kennedy, Marie Maxwell....  aarrrggghhh.

But amid all that I have managed to write another book so there's a bit of a result!  GRACIE is set for publication on April 25th.
Gracie was a character in RUBY and this book is about her although RUBY still features in it because the two lives are so entwined. The next one will be MAGGIE, the story of Ruby's illegitimate daughter who was adopted at birth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm still working on another Bernardine Kennedy novel alongside MAGGIE.  It's more in my 'old' style so I'll be back to gritty...  I've also got two short stories I'm frantically trying to get finished. One day I may catch up :)

 

So... there you have it, a potted year of writing and doing not a lot else!

 

Later.. xxx 

 



Back At Last

Bet you thought I'd gone forever eh? Well I sort of have, there are so many really classy, informative, amusing, educational blogs out there in Blogsville that I was feeling quite inadequate.
I was also quite poorly for a couple of months at the beginning of the year which affected everything so recently I've been playing catch up on a daily basis with everything both work and personal.
And meanwhile Blogger has changed so I haven't got much clue about what I'm doing or how this will look.
Right now life is a challenge! But last month I started to feel normal again and the assorted scans and tests are over for the time being. Yay.

I'm so far behind but passing by today to let you all know that  RUBY by MARIE MAXWELL (me) is being published on June 7th in both paperback and kindle formats.
The Kindle version is on pre-order off at the moment, a mere 99p until thursday. Bargain.... :)

Here it is:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ruby-ebook/dp/B006KWAIGS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1338899252&sr=1-1
 
Also I've taken part in a Q&A session on the RNA blog and its up there now.

http://romanticnovelistsassociationblog.blogspot.co.uk/

I am thinking about moving my blog over to my website... nothing definite but if I do I'll let you all know. The website is due for a few more tweaks (something else on my vast to-do-list) but on the whole it's up to date :) and it's still here: www.bernardinekennedy.com

All of my Headline books are now available on Kindle so if you missed them first time around you have a second chance!

GRACIE, the follow on from RUBY is under construction but like everything else it's way behind. Think I need a ghost writer, a personal assistant, a housekeeper...  etc etc

Sooooo... that's the quick catch-up. The long version will have to wait just a while longer!

Mwah  Mwah     xxxxxxx

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Just passing by to drop off Seasons Greetings. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with everything you wish for both materially and spiritually as well as a happy and contented 2012

Apologies for my silence; the past few months have been hectic as I got to grips with my new persona but I'll be back with all the news soon. My New Years Resolution is be more efficient.... or at least to try harder!

In brief: All my Bernardine Kennedy Headline books are now available on Kindle and RUBY by Marie Maxwell will hit both the shelves and Kindle next year.

Love and best wishes to you all,

Bernardine xxxx

Summertime......

Well it's July and therefore midsummer even if it doesn't seem quite like it. But we did have some summer in June so guess we should be grateful?? Help! I NEED some Caribbean sun...

So what's happening? Not a lot to be honest apart from work and more work!

I've promised myself I'm going to practice some time management to unbog myself as soon as RUBY is finished. I've really struggled with this book, the change of genre foxed me enough with adding in a different era and all the research which I spent far more time on than I could ever have imagined. Then add in some 'poorly' time and I'm way behind........ I think I underestimated it all but I'll get there I hope.

Good news is that all my previous books are going to available on Kindle etc very soon. I'll put up a PS just as soon as I know they're up.

May was the RNA summer party which is always good fun. Catching up with old friends and meeting new and of course a whizz round the shops in London en route. I've so far resisted the handbag I fell in love with in Selfridges Handbag Hall. I just love that place :)

Earlier this month was the Harper Collins summer party at (ahem) Kensington Palace. It was a great night with lots of chanpagne, cocktails, canapes and cakes. There were several famous faces wandering around includiing the Davids Walliams & Baddiel, but more fascinating were the

suited and booted baldies crunching up and down the gravel talking into their sleeves and the

armed police loitering behind the hedges. Would I want to live in a place like that? Oh yes! Someone convert a broom cupboard for me please, I don't mind cramped!

My blog wouldn't be complete without a photo of the ever growing Roxy. She has a boyfriend who lives next door who seems to think he lives here. Because of confusion his name is Maisie but we call him Dyson because he creeps in and hoovers up Roxy's food... Boom boom.

On the left is Roxy being very unladylike on the desk while Maisie is on my office chair.....

xxxxxxx

Layout...

Please ignore the gaps between paragraphs in the last post. I've tried closing them but it ain't happening. Ignore!
And also ignore the date on the main post, it should be TODAY! GOOD FRIDAY... can't change that either! Gremlins at work... I am a techy idiot but I don't care B x

Heading for Easter.

Here we are again. See? I always turn up eventually! I hope you're all well and looking forward to Spring and Summer? I know I am. The weather's really rather gorgeous at the moment, very Mediterranean, hope its lasts through to Bank Holiday Monday and then for the Royal Wedding. Fingers crossed!

I'll start off with the cat info as so many people has asked! Yes we did it. We got another cat. Not a replacement for Ollie of course but its hard not having a cat in the house!








This is how she looked when we first got her at nine weeks old; she's a X Bengal and is a real feisty Essex girl.














and this is how she looks now ... she's five months old growing fast!








we're all so pleased with her and she's spoilt already. She has a gorgeous, affectionate temperament and had settled so well but oh the stress of letting her into the big wide world of the garden. But she's been out there and comes when she's called and is locked in all night so lets hope she's okay. All we can do....

But enough about cats.... :)

Writing!

The good news is that:

1) All 7 books on my backlist with Headline are going onto Kindle this summer. I'm really pleased as eBooks have taken off in a way none of us anticipated and the market is worldwide.

2) TAKEN and SHATTERED LIVES were both published in Portugal in January with gorgeous covers.... I think they're really attractive (see below) so I hope they do well.





















3) The title of Book One in the Avon Harper Collins quartet is going to be RUBY, the others will all have 'girl's name' titles as well. Fingers crossed for them, everyone is very enthusiastic at the moment and the planning is ongoing with the covers being designed and modelled as we speak! The other names are chosen (sort of) but I'm not absolutely convinced. GRACIE, MAGGIE, VIOLET. Let me know what you think....

RUBY starts in 1945 when she returns from evacuation and continues into the fifties when she is living in Southend.
The next books will then move forward to later in the fifties and then into the sixties.
The research for them is really interesting but very time consuming. So much I didn't know about the history of Southend and the various areas around the town despite living here! I've read so many books and webpages I could be a bit of an oracle if I had a half decent memory but its currently overloaded. And of course, every so often I find out something I didn't know and I have to go back to alter what I've written to accommodate it.

As I think I've said (senior moment?) my name for these books will be Megan Maxwell, or rather 'Bernardine Kennedy writing as Megan Maxwell'.


Whatever the Cost has been on the back burner while I get on with Ruby but I'm back to it in the summer. Maybe I need another cruise first to just confirm my research???

In the run up to the ESSEX BOOK FESTIVAL I was interviewed on BBC RADIO ESSEX. I love doing radio and it all went quite well. (I think!) By chance it coincided with the announcement about library cuts....... this is something close to my heart, I think libraries provide such an important community service that it would be a crime to have a swathe of cutbacks, staff losses and closures. I was asked about it so said what I thought.

Then I did a talk at Hadleigh Library about my new books and the research I've had to do. There was a good turnout and a brilliant audience who asked lots of questions (I love question time). Thanks everyone... There was also the support of a group from the Hadleigh and Thundersley Community Archive Group who have so much information about the area.

Library talks are always such fun... a big thank you to the staff who put so much work into organising the event.

In other news: my website http://www.bernardinekennedy.com/ is currently being revamped so watch this space.... later in the year I'll have the Megan Maxwell website linked in.

Getting a bit complex eh?!
Thats it for the moment. Have a really good Easter and a relaxing break in the sunshine.

Don't forget you can also find me on Facebook and on Twitter @BerniKennedy


Bernardine XXXXXX

INTO 2011

2011.
I'll kick off by wishing you all everything you wish yourselves for a Very Happy New Year. Once again I'm sure we're all making resolutions of the losing weight/wagon climbing/nocotine dumping variety. All I want this year is revitalise my motivation and imagination and pour it into my new books. Wish me luck!

The Books.
Book number one of the newly contracted four is well under way but Christmas, and before that the cruise, set me back a bit as you can imagine but both were fun so I'm not complaining. The book still no definite title but the working title is 'Nobody Knows'. and I guess that includes me!
As part of the annual Essex Book Festival, I'll be talking about the new books and the research aspect of writing out of era at HADLEIGH LIBRARY on Weds 16th March at 2.00 pm. Do come along if you're around this way. I'm really looking forward to it as the local history experts will be there and I'm hoping to pick their brains.


The Cruise.
That went really well and we had a brilliant time! The Bay of Biscay only bounced us a bit and we missed the snow by a whisker because we left a day early and stayed in the New Forest for a night before boarding in Southampton. Good timing because the snow fell as we left and was mostly cleared by the time we came back 12 days later.
The ship (Independence of the Seas. Royal Caribbean) is truly beautiful and, although huge, was easy to work out. I loved it and could easily have stayed on there for a few more weeks. Months?? I just loved sitting on the Promenade 'people watching'. Such fun. Accommodation (we had a suite on Deck 9 with a balcony) was great, all the staff were fantastic and the prices of drinks and extras was nowhere near as high as I'd been led to believe. Downside was, IMO, poor value excursions ashore but that's been my experience on all cruises!
Can't wait to get back on that ship asap. (Memo to self: get the book done first, get the book done)

THE KITTENs
We are currently kitten hunting. Ollie will be a hard act to follow but I can't live without a cat in the house any longer. Its three months now so it's time although not quite the right time as there don't seem to be many young kittens around. I feel guilty for not going to a cat-rescue but I have had many rescue cats and dogs over the years and feel its okay for me to choose this time. We've looked at Bengals, Siamese and Orientals but feel that the high cost (around £400) would do more good in a rescue, so am now looking at XSiamese, like Ollie. I know we can't replace him but I do like that temperament. I'll let you know how we get on!

Once again here's wishing you all the very best New Year....
Till next time. xx

Good News, Bad News and the rest

I'm currently having problems with Blogger and don't know the answer so I'll update this briefly and hope to solve it soon. Or I may have to move my blog elsewhere. We'll see.


The good news is that I've signed with a different publisher for four books in a different genre and with a different name. The interlinked books will be 'gritty regional sagas' set in the fifties in and around Southend. My name for these books will be Megan Maxwell.

Its all very exciting and I was delighted to get a great write-up about it in the Bookseller but at the moment Blogger won't let me put the link up!

The bad news is that Ollie-cat 'the special one' was run over and killed last month. He was found on the back road and I just wanted to scream at him 'what were you doing there?'. It was traumatic for all of us, he was such an integral part of the family, a huge presence and so attached to us... far more dog-like in temperament that a cat normally is. Very very sad..... RIP Ollie.
He's now buried in the garden next to the plant he's sitting in the middle of in this photo.






The rest of the news is that we've booked a pre-Christmas cruise to the Canary Islands from Southampton (be kind Bay of Biscay, be kind). I shall take my trusty laptop because as I've discovered before, working on a ship's balcony with a nice view and a glass of wine is much more relaxing than in my office-shed in winter! and anyway, I really really couldn't be disconnected from the internet for 12 days!

Below is the ship we're going on.... looks good eh?
It'll be a chance to do some research for the book I'm struggling with (last one before the new 4) and it will also make a nice travel feature.
Now I have to make selection of books to take..........



This week is World Travel Market in London. The industry showcase for everything to do with travel. I love it! It's an excuse to catch up old friends as well as keeping up to date with all things travel.

It's so hard being without Ollie that when we get back we're going to get a kitten. Either a Siamese or X Siamese. It's not fair to get one and then leave it and also not fair on those we're leaving behind to have to tend to it while we cruise! :)

Thats it for now, just hope Blogger lets this be posted!!

Till next time xx

Bet you though I'd been abducted by aliens.

I've given a lot of thought to this blog lately and wondered whether to I should continue with it. as there are so many brilliant and informative blogs out there now.
But I'm back, ready to once again chatter away aimlessly about life in general and see where it goes....
However, othing screamingly exciting has happened while I've been 'gone'.
We've had the builders in and now have a new kitchen (Shaker style) and a rather cool bathroom; we also have a very useful downstairs cloakroom.

But builders... they're a different breed to the rest of us I'm sure. They just moved in and took over the house, oblivious to my muttering about working at home. I nearly had a heart attack when they first just turned the electricity off when I was in the middle of downlaoding a load of stuff. They didn't understand my rant at all!
Plasterer said 'my missus spends all her time on ebay as well. It's not good for you'. He was a brilliant plasterer so I didn't kill him then and there!

And while the builders were causing havoc indoors we had badgers destroying the garden. It looked like a muddy battlefield as they dug holes all over the lawn and burrowed under the fences! They were so naughty but seem ot have either moved on or settled underground.
Builders and Badgers... has to be a story there somewhere!

'Whatever The Cost' is nearly finished at long; I don't know why I've found this one so hard but it just wouldn't come together and I've probably written the word count ten times over as I've changed, deleted and fiddled. But I'm nearly there. Whether its good enough is of course another issue. Very hard to be detached from the book you've written.

Good news is that TAKEN has been sold to Portugal following the sale of SHATTERED LIVES last year which is nice. Probably be out some time next year.

More good news, I have accepted an offer from a different publisher for four books in a different genre. I can't put the details out there yet but four books really secures my writing career so I'm really pleased.
It's also fun researching something different.
More info to follow!

Last month I went on my annual pilgrimage to the Romantic Novelists Association Conference. It was held at the Old Naval College in Greenwich. What a fantastic building, I'm ashamed to say I never realised how fabulous Greenwich is. Right on the Thames and wonderfully renovated, well worth a visit and I MUST go back. I really loved the area and naturally had a spin round the market. Only problem was that it was soooo hot, especially in student accommodation. Luckily I had the foresight to take an electric fan with me as well as my trusty old-fashioned hand fan!
The conference was of course as good as ever.
If you'd like to check it out then go to the RNA website www.rna-uk.org where you can link to the blog. Many have written fantastic reports and updates on the blog so you can really get the feel of the fabulous weekend.

Before I went to the conference Ian and his brother went on their annual camping trip to Brixham in Devon. They love pitching their tents in a field and being at one with nature. Hah. Not for me. I don't do basic anymore. Bring on the five star.

Have been having a bit of a panic lately with a very painful leg/hip/back. Take your pick! No-one seems to be able to decide where the pain actually and all are interpreting the Xrays differently! Hmmmmm. All I know is that it's so bad!
Hence I'm having an MRI scan very shortly. I've had one before and to my eternal shame, I threw an absolute pink fit! I'd sailed in there not expecting to be bothered but as soon as I lay down and had my head strapped that was it. Full-blown panic attack..... it took three attempts to get me into that machine and that was only thanks to the understanding scanner operator. Not looking forward to repeating it.
Will let you know how it goes. If it goes. :)

No holidays booked until the back is sorted out but have bought a wonderful singing and dancing touch-screen all-in-one PC. Very beautiful and clever! Am a teeny bit in love with it.

So, thats about it for catch up, have promised myself to kee up to date in future.........
Many thanks to all of you who have emailed to check that all was well. As my mother would say, a touch of lazyitis.

Back soon xxxxxxx

Icons on furniture and fittings!

After reading in the news this morning that a woman in New Mexico has found an image of the Virgin Mary on her bathroom wall I thought, HAH. Mine's better! I've got an image of God himself.

Below is an image from my conservatory floor that I like to think is a message from above to keep me in check although heathen suggestions over the years have included: Shakespeare, Darth Vader and a Cocker Spaniel.

B xx

PS. someone pointed out the date on my spring post is March 14th. It wasn't it was April 2nd (I think). Normally it wouldn't matter but it makes a silliness of me talking about the whole of March doesn't it?

Just ignore. I can't find a way to change it. Blogger is blogger.........

SPRING HAS SPRUNG. Maybe!

Happy Spring Everyone! Yes I know its been a long time but I'm really not as good at this blogging thing as I thought I would be when I started it. I know many who blog nearly every day or at least once a week and although I always intend to do better I forget! Maybe because my to-do list is so long the things at the bottom start to fall off and forgotten!

I did start a blog on Mothers Day but it was soon out of date.... here's the precis... I had a lovely day, a gorgeous orchid and full Sunday lunch from Kate the daughter and a bouquet of flowers from Stephen the son who came round without the gorgeous Riley baby who was poorly with a bug. He's better now though thankfully. He's growing rapidly and is well on the move... off like a rocket on knees and bottom. Soon be time to start moving things upwards, there hasn't been a baby around this house for many many years so I'm not prepared!

March has been a funny month taken up with everything BUT writing.
The first two weeks I spent on jury service. Interesting from a research point of view but there was lots of hanging around in between cases. I'm glad I did it though. I now know the inner working of a jury which is always helpful for a writer. I can't imagine how anyone copes with a really long complex trial running into months... my nightmare would be a big business fraud or somesuch. I'm such rubbish at that sort of thing! I do words not figures.

Then the next week it was off to London for the Romantic Novelists Association Awards Lunch at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington. I went up the day before and came back the day after managing to turn it into a three day lunch with a quick whizz around the handbag department of Selfridges thrown in!
I always stay at The New Cavendish Club, an olde worlde faded glory private hotel just down from Marble Arch and therefore Oxford Street. I love it there and as the RNA and Society of Authors have corporate membership there are usually several of us there at times like these to sit around in the bar and compare notes and generally socialise. Brilliant.
After the lunch we went over the road to the pub, The Goat, for several hours before heading around the corner to eat. Great fun. Many have blogged about it... check out:

http://romanticnovelistsassociationblog.blogspot.com/


Nope, I'm not in any of the photos anywhere... I now duck when a camera comes near me after seeing one of the most scary pics of me ever up on screen a few months ago! aarrgghh.

The next week Ian and I headed down to the New Forest for a few days. I love it there, I've been many times over the years, initially on Press Trips then just for fun. We managed a trip to Lymington and Burley before disaster struck and Ian went down with a bug of some sort. We ended up coming home a day early but it was nice to get away and we did manage a drive up over Godshill to see the roaming ponies and donkeys.

But when we got home the drama continued... we had intruders, badgers in the garden! They really are a bit thuggish, digging up the lawn, breaking fence panels, chucking furniture around and trying to get under the sheds. But the worst thing they done is kill my toads! We've had toads in the garden as long as we've been here and I'm rather fond of them, all part of the eco-gardening system. (We don't do chemical of any sort out there, no slug pellets etc YUK). The badgers have rampaged over their territory and them.
I've been in touch with the Badger Trust and they'll come round and advise. badgers are so protected it can be hard to know what to do if they start really digging.

Anyway... back to writerly things. Today was the day I decided that the current book was going in the wrong direction and I needed to cull around 15,000 words. That is a writers nightmare. The words have been written and much time spent so its hard but it must be done! I'm also working on another book alongside WHATEVER THE COST. It's a trial project for me in a different genre so we'll see where it goes!

My new website is now up and running. More subtle than the previous one. let me know what you think.
http://www.bernardinekennedy.com/
connect with me on Twitter: @BerniKennedy

Well have a very good Easter everyone....

Bernardine

nearly Febraury 2010

Oh my, time is still flying along at a right old rate. Sadly I'm still running along behind it trying to keep up!

I started the new year with the most awful virus that turned into pneumonia. For a couple of days I did think I was about to pop off but thankfully I recovered though even now I still feel a bit fragile. AND I had the flu jab in October!
Hence I am now even more behind with everything than usual, but at least I've remembered to pay the taxman. It always happens that I get my PLR (library payment) notification in the middle of January (yippee) and then have to pay my income tax just after. (Boooo) So not fair.

Just after Christmas we arranged a family get together in our local Toby Inn and Carvery. We agreed to meet at 7.30. The ones that arrived at 7.30 then called us to say they'd been told that the pub was closing at 8.00 as there weren't enough customers. We hot-footed it there and explained there were others en route but no, no reasoning, despite people coming from as far as Milton Keynes. Ten to eight the last bell rang and we were soon booted out. I complained to the company and although we were sent Carvery vouchers to compensate, the email I received said that it was perfectly acceptable and that managers could close their pubs/restaurants whenever they wanted to.
So... think twice before arranging a get together in a Toby Carvery!

My new website is coming along nicely but it is so hard updating it. Much harder than starting from scratch which with hindsight maybe I should have done. The designer is being very patient with me. So far.... will let you know when its up and running but looking good so far.

The wandering family members are all back from their extended Christmas break in sunny Australia. They came back from 39 degrees to freezing temps and the tail-end of the snow which had enveloped us here for a couple of weeks. Not too bad for us as we live on a main road (they have to grit them) but some of the side roads were really treacherous for weeks. During one particular white-out my daughter said it looked like Lapland! Very pretty......

Off now to type a few more words of 'Whatever The Cost' and try to figure out how best to kill a character!

next time.. some book recommendations. So many good books ou there by so many good friends
its hard to know where to start!

Till later.....
Bernardine xxx

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year with a quick pic of my gorgeous Santa Baby hanging out in sunny Australia. Oh okay then, he's not MY baby as such but thats not the point!

news and views next week. Love to you all. xxx

SEASON'S GREETINGS!

Just passing by to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

It's been an up and down year for most of us I'm sure, it always is. My highlight was, of course, my first grandchild Riley, born in June. A beautiful little boy who we all adore. The minor downs all fade into insignificance in comparison!

So, very best wishes to you all, I hope you continue to read my blog and to enjoy my books. Next year will see a new website and hopefully, a highly motivated me with a new book to go with it.

As the turkey burns, the pudding explodes, the relatives bicker and the children fight and scream, just remember:

IT'S NOT THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MATTER, IT'S HOW YOU REACT TO THEM.

So chill out and enjoy, it's not that long until next Christmas when you'll have to do it all again!


Love to you all, Bernardine xxx

Pre-Christmas

Since the last blog lots has happened so I'm back a bit sooner than usual.

First there was the RNA winter party (I think of it as the first Christmas party of the season). The usual humdinger of an evening catching with friends and fellow authors, many of whom I don't see very often. We're a widespread group!

Had a bit of a shop and lunch in Oxford Street beforehand with crime writer Lesley Cookman; surprisingly I didn't succumb to the temptations of the handbag department of Selfridges which proved I do a teeny bit of will-power. Though I may just have to go back for the glorious red patent concoction that caught my eye on the way past it! In fact it called me... loudly. It even knew my name. 'get thee behind me Satan' I said firmly but.........

From the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in Birdcage Walk (where the RNA parties are held) on the Thursday to the Institute of British Architects the following Monday, the night of the Colman Getty Pen Quiz. I guess the copious amounts of champagne didn't do us much good as we did V. BADLY. But it was for charity so we consoled ourselves with that. The team from the Times were the winners. (Boooo)

http://tinyurl.com/lap33x link for RNA blog. (always a good read)
http://tinyurl.com/yfj8mdk link for PEN

(Memo to self: must learn to link properly. Offers of help anyone techy? x)

below is the Team pic taken beforehand at the New Cavendish Club.

left to right back row: Catherine Jones, Veronica Henry, Catherine King, Melanie Hilton. Front row:: Janet Gover, Katie Fforde, Judy Astley, Bernardine Kennedy. (team member Jay Dixon took the photo. where was Liz Harris??)

Forgot to say previously that my whinge onblog about Mercedes Loughton worked and my car was taken away, fixed and cleaned from top to bottom. The power of the web! I also had a singing/dancing stereo.cd changer fitted. Does anyone know if this will be obsolete when the digital changeover happens? Never occured to me at the time.......

I'm having a new website built so watch this space. will link as soon as its up and running. I'm going for grown-up and informative. The web-designer has done websites for several authors so I have good vibes....

Below is a pic of my waterbaby grandson at only five months. He's doing so well in the water which is so great, especially as he (along with his mum and dad) is en route at this very moment to Australia to spend a month with his Australian grand-parents who live near Canberra.

Okay, off to catch up with something or other from my very long to-do-list. Back soon.

Bernardine xx

PS for the man in the US who contacted me through this blog about the orchid (not) named after me! I deleted your mail by mistake. could you mail again? many thanks and many apologies!

BACK AGAIN

I'm back! I've been having had a blogging break while I tried to get on top of everything else that has been loitering on my assorted to-do-lists for so very long.

I did post that I was intending to not blog for a few weeks but then didn't realise for yonks that a glitch in the sytem meant it wasn't visible! it would be so nice to have a techy brain... mine goes so far then says 'Too much information'.

Thanks to those who have mailed me via my website while I've been gone to check I was still alive (!), much appreciated even if I haven't answered everyone. Sorry! I've still got a backlog of emails but the rest is now more manageable. or it would be if Christmas wasn't just around the corner.

Baby Riley is off with his mum and dad to Australia for Christmas, I certainly envy them Christmas in the sun. One day we shall go somewhere hot over the holiday, maybe even go on a festive cruise; last hot Christmas I had was when I lived in Nigeria a long time ago and everyone used to go to the beach for the day. I had many a hot Xmas Day in my youth. Ah... nostalgia.

Talking nostalgia, I had an email and phone call from a guy who is writing a book about the Beatles touring around cinema venues in the 60's, he'd read somewhere that I was THERE. Now that was something to remember. Queuing for three days and sleeping on the pavement to get tickets and then of course, going to the show itself. And there was also the trouble I was in for bunking off school and also lying to parents because I knew I wouldn't be allowed. Deep Joy!

I remember the cold of the nightime queueing, the fun of just being there and the noise of the show itself and the surreal feeling of being just a few feet away from John, Paul, George and Ringo!
Yes, I saw the BEATLES live on stage at Southend Odeon and have the tickets and programme to prove it.

I love this pic of them. So young; but then so were we all!

'Whatever the Cost' ground to a halt for a while when I think my brain shut-down for a rest. I watched much daytime TV and read many trashy magazines and I'm up and at it again now. Have to wait and see where the whole book goes; I'm taking a chance with this one so am on rsiky ground. Hope to have it finished by Christmas but there are several party nights in between so we'll see.

Below is the Portugese cover of 'Shattered Lives'. I really like this cover also, tells the story quite well I think. It's out over there this month sometime.

TAKEN is currently with a US publisher. Fingers and everything else are crossed but I'm not sure how my books would suit that market. Still, wait and see.

Below is another pic of Riley who is growing fast and turning in a real water baby already having swimming lessons. Brilliant. I was a competitive swimmer once upon a time and also used to teach swimming so I love the idea of getting him in there asap. And of course his mum is Australian and his dad has always loved swimming. Olypic Games, here comes Riley!





Right, I'm off but will be back sooner rather than later! xxx

Bank Holiday Time

Another Bank Holiday Weekend is here and, at the moment, the weather looks promising. Hope it stays that way as daughter Kate is away on the annual Reading Festival pilgrimage along with many friends, tents and assorted equipment.
It's becoming a bit of a habit in this family, Husband Ian went off to smaller festival last month, Togfest' in Milton Keynes, and thoroughly enjoyed it. He was there with his brother, the second half of 'the camping boys' who go to Devon each year and attract calamities. They're off again next weekend. Moi? I only do five star nowadays and preferably in the Caribbean.

And in the meantime I stay home and argue with car dealers. Those who know me know that I've had a SmartCar for several years and loved it. Adored it in fact! I loved it so much I passed it on to Kate and bought another one, an ex-demo car, last november. Now I know I was dumb in that I took delivery and didn't check it over at that instant but I believed him that it was pristine and perfect! NOT! It was grubby inside, there was glass on the floor which to me meant a window had been broken, there were bits missing and worst of all there was a small cigarette burn on the stained drivers seat.
9 months on I'm still waiting for Mercedes Loughton to come and sort it out. Month in, month out, they promise so this time I promised. To blog. Watch this space! I am so disappointed that I'm thinking about getting rid of it if I ever get the bits and pieces done.

Still thinking about getting another kitten as company for the very spoiled Ollie who hates being on his own even for an hour. Over the years I've had so many rescue cats that I really want to choose a kitten this time but at the same time I feel guilty about not homing a homeless cat. Will carry on thinking. Suggestions?

On September 14th I'm off to do Jury Service. I was 'summoned' for Sept 1st but then they changed it. I'm actually looking forward to it; brilliant research IMO, the inner workings of Crown Court and its inhabitants. I know it can involve a lot of hanging around so I'll have plenty of guilt-free reading time! Bonus.
Kind hearted people keep telling me how to get out of it but I don't want to.

Back to work now; I really have to motivate myself and increase my wordage which is not what it should be. Typing is more a chore these days with dodgy wrists and shoulders. How I wish I'd learnt to type properly when I was considerably younger!

Summer is here!

Hello everyone!

Hope all is good with you all wherever you are. Here it looks like summer, and it feels like summer so it must be?. It is August after all? Even if we've recently had a tropical monsoon, hailstones like golfballs and, just a few weeks ago, a heatwave. I put the central heating on last week and the ceiling fans the week before. Yesterday there were floods though fortunately not here. Can't help wondering when the hosepipe ban will be announced. Like night follows day......

Yep. The Great Unpredictable British Summer is on a roll.

Since I last posted, I've received my copies of the Large print version of Shattered Lives. I really like this cover, what do you think? Eye-catching enoough to fly off the library shelves?

Still waiting for news and views of the Portugese edition, I'm looking forward to seeing the cover and getting a publication date and then its fingers crossed for sales. It's my first time in Portugal so it will be interesting to see what happens.

My latest, 'Whatever the Cost' is generally coming along okay (??) although I am finding it heavy going right at this moment, so heavy that I'm well into any Work Displacement Activity that comes my way. I tell myself that watching daytime TV and reading trashy mags is good research but I know that I'm putting off the moment of 'moving the story along'. Hopefully it'll start to flow again soon. Take no notice, 'where do I go next?' is my regular cry as I sit front of the screen!

In the absence of anything exciting enough to make you all sit up and take note here's a piece I did for someone else's blog, 'meandmybigmouth' (link to the blog is below). Let me know what you think.

Right now I’m tearing my hair out trying to write a couple of personal press releases that can be sent out to the media to prove that I’m really very interesting and worthy of a few column inches that will help promote my next book. You know the press releases I mean, they delve into the personal rather than the professional and are written to catch the jaded eye of the journo assigned that day to sifting through them all.

Once the crack-high of acceptance and publication has died down, there comes a stark realisation that the next step for one’s lovingly crafted book is for it to actually sell in enough numbers to keep the publisher happy. The loyal purchase of the first book by family, friends and curious colleagues (after the debut they lose interest) just won’t do it; the book has to be lobbed forcefully out into the big wide world and the general public have to hear about both it and the author and then they have to be persuaded that they really, really have to go out and buy it. Complex stuff.

This is where publicity and self promotion comes in. Publishers and agents will do some of the touting around but on the whole it’s down to the author to try and fire up some interest. Any interest.

Self-promotion is a necessary evil that even the most shy and retiring has to get to grips with but it can be a dangerous balancing act trying to find the happy medium between being ordinary and uninteresting and giving out ‘too much information’, some of which is possibly (accidentally?) exaggerated and which will one day return to bite the author on the bum. Trust me, there’s always someone somewhere ready to rain on your parade. So just how much personal information should you give out about yourself and your nearest and dearest in the quest for that ever elusive publicity? Where does a Joe Bloggs author, not normally in the public eye, draw the line between doing everything possible to get mentions and quotes, and going too far?

It seems to vary greatly from person to person; I cringe sometimes when I read an in-depth confession of something so deeply personal, tragic, humiliating or devastating it brings a lump to my throat and then see the little note at the bottom of the piece about the authors latest book that is out that very week.
Cringe I might but at the same time I can understand it. Authors want their books to sell and so do their publishers but in these days of gossip magazines and tabloid newspapers publishing increasingly salacious details about celebrities, being normal, ordinary and hard-working doesn’t cut it.
‘Happily married mother of two point four children who lives in a semi and works part-time in a bank writes a novel’ isn’t going to grab any headlines unless she was moonlighting as a high class call girl at the same time. (N.B.High class call-girl is good, heroin raddled street walker is bad).
Same as ‘Disabled dad whose wife ran off to Turkey with a toy-boy leaving him with five kids managed to find the time to write a heart-rending account of his struggle when they were in bed’ will have them all gagging for the details. Especially if the wife now wants her share. Bring on the tabloids!

So would I tell tales on my kids to get a two line mention at the bottom of a page? Would I rip into my ex-husbands who are also the fathers of said kids? Reveal personal details about my childhood, adolescence and marriages that will embarrass not only me but also everyone close to me? No I’m sure I wouldn’t. Well I haven’t done so far. But would I drag up something from my past that makes a good tale, doesn’t impact on anyone else and won’t come back to haunt me? Oh Yes.
All I have to do now is think of something catchy! Back to the drawing board of my ratchety old past!
---

http://meandmybigmouth.typepad.com/scottpack/2009/07/guest-blogger-bernadine-kennedy.html#comments

To sign off here's the latest photo of the gorgeous Riley laughing his little socks off at only one month old. Clever little boy!

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

hey everyone! Big news. I'm a Grandma!

Stephen and Belinda are now the proud parents of baby Riley (see Rock Kid above) who was born on June 26th. All is well, he is gorgeous and I'm in lurve! He weighed in at 7lb 2 oz and is a happy little man.

Can't remember anything else at present so will leave Riley as the star attraction.

Back later xxx

Hoping I'm back.

Thi is going to be short and sweet while I make sure I am definitely blogging!
I'm hoping that I've now conquered the gremlins that stopped me posting. Seems someone reported my blog as spam and I was threatened with ex-communication. Spam? Moi? I used to eat it once upon a time but that's the closest I am to it. Oh well... takes all sorts I guess. I've had several problems with a couple of nutcases trying to post daft comments on the blog (hence moderation of comments) so maybe its all connected? anyway Blogger now accepts I am who I am!

Work has been taking priority lately and I haven't done much else for a while now.so although I said we wanted to go to Jersey we haven't actually got there. Maybe soon....... I also want to go back to Singapore and also to Dubai... so many wishes!
Daughter Kate is currently in Mexico and texting about dolphins and hammocks and making me feel quite envious so maybe I'll have to go back there. It seems you're more likely to catch swine flu in London than Cancun right now!
We did go to Derby for two days where step-daughter is moving to shortly with her fiance. I've been near to derby before but never into the town. Managed a few hours shopping at the shopping mall..........

I have had one bit of socialising since the last blog at the RNA summer party last month. Great fun catching up with lots of old friends and also meeting new ones that I'd only previously 'met' on writers groups. Now looking forward to the winter party in November.

Baby grandchild is due so very shortly so thats an excitement, I'm having fun shopping at the moment but having to exercise restraint as we don't know if its a boy or girl. Due July 5th so not long to wait.
Will have to keep Ollie the cat away from it though, he's a naughty boy and I don't think he could be trusted with a baby. He is also now officially a serial killer of wildlife. Something different every day although he doesn't savage them, just brings them in and drops them if I shout. Very strange behaviour. But he's a character........

Off now as I'm pushed for time but will try and add some more later....

B xxx

PS don't forget you can also find me on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace!

PS

I don't understand the big gaps on my previous posting and can't seem to do anything about them for some weird reason. Hope to have the problem solved eventually, meanwhile just ignore!

GROWING OLD IS INEVITABLE..... GROWING UP IS AN OPTION.

Sheds again and Womans Hour.

hello again everyone. Just a quick news update but first, very briefly on sheds as I know this can be so boring to non-shed lovers..... Ian is not happy that my shed is now famous and is deemed better than his so now he wants another one that is bigger. And of course, if that happens then so will I. let battle commence!

Re: care of the Elderly.

Following on from my letter in the Mail there was this interview in the Sunday Telegraph:

http://tinyurl.com/ckd54y

Then following on from that was a visit to Womans Hour for me which sounds very grown up and as everyone who knows me knows, I don't usually do grown up!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/04/2009_19_tue.shtml

I know everyone views it differently (see comments on the previous post) but its good that the topic is high up in the media right now. Care of the Elderly is just as important as Care of Children but the elderly do get overlooked when it comes to government funding. IMO both groups are equally in need so its important for it to be discussed.

My mother wasn't a dear little old lady but I still admire the way that, well into her nineties, she still put on the lippie and posed for the camera holding her stomach in. The below pic (taken when she was 94) is in her memory. I hope I'm still kicking ass at that age!

Wednesday is the Romantic Novelists Summer Party in London so I'm off to party and eat and drink with lots of friends, many of whom I don't see often enough, time and distance being an issue. Can't wait. Shall I go shopping first? Is that Selfridges I hear calling me? Is the handbag department waiting to welcome me? Hmmmmmmmm.

Since writing the paragraph above I have made the decision NOT to go shopping and lunching beforehand. So much work to do and last time I was in Selfridges I so nearly bought a ridiculously expensive handbag; get thee behind me Satan, I'm stopping home and working until teatime.

Sheds and other bits and pieces

Bet you can't believe I'm here so soon after the last blog! I'm determined to catch up on myself with EVERYTHING. We'll see. This is just a short blog though!

Below is a link to the piece about my Shed/Office that is on the Shedworking Blog.
http://tinyurl.com/calse6 I think I mentioned this last time.
Ian is not over-impressed because he thinks his shed is better! Of course it isn't........ Ian's shed is below and mine is below that. Mine is obviously superior and I also have a Buddha to look after me. He only has a squirrel.




Now I have to get to grips with the Old School piece.

On friday we're all going to a 'Glitz and Glamour Ball' in aid of daughters friend Jessicas charity in Vietnam that supports orphans. Should be fun. I'm not doing a ballgown and tiara but hope to scrub up a bit! I'm excited to be going out after having to miss a few nights out recently.

For anyone who wants a laugh,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3rwVZIZA8k
I so remember the film and the song and even now people of a certain age break into song when I tell them my name!

Anyone been following the sad story of the elderly lady who was taken from her daughters home by what i can only describe as a snatch squad from Social Services. Well it reminded me of how badly my own mother was treated so I penned the following to the Mail and it was printed on Monday.

..............................'Why am I not surprised that Social Workers / police et al stormed in to remove an elderly woman from her daughters care?
when my mother, who still lived independently with our support, was taken into hospital it turned into a nightmare and not just because of the lousy state of the ward and the indifferent attitude of the Care staff.
The assorted services were determined she wasn't going back home, they held meetings without me and even went so far as to call in the owners of local nursing homes to find one to take her. When I said that there was no way she was just going anywhere without my approval they over-rode me and tried to arrange it anyway.
All they were concerned with was how much her property was worth and how much she had saved.
My mother was 95, lived just around the corner to me and had constant support from the family with all of us visiting, doing her shopping and caring for her. All was well until she was taken to hospital following an attack of diverticulitis.
Yes she was difficult and demanding, yes she would shout and be rude to the staff but hey! at 95 she deserved a bit of leeway!
Her health went downhill rapidly and she died on the ward before they could cart her off to a care home against her, and our, wishes.
I feel the way Mrs Figg and her daughter were treated is abominable but at the same time I'm not suprised. The system now comes before the individual and that is so wrong'................

Any comments? Experiences?

Must go and do some work after playing around on twitter etc for far too long.

Spring and Twitter

Spring has sprung. I know this because the sun is shining and also our 'fit' postman has got his shorts on. Brightens up the moring no end!

I don't know how many of you are on Twitter.... but I've got to grips with it now. You still won't find me listed for some weird reason or other but if you want to follow me / be followed then its: www.twitter.com/bernikennedy
It's yet another 'work displacement activity' for me along with Facebook, MySpace and assorted Yahoo groups. I'd do so much more of everything if I was surgically removed from the internet!

WRITING UPDATE......
Portugese edition of 'Shattered Lives' as well as the large print edition should be out later this year;
Currently writing a piece for my old convent school (St Bernards, Westcliff) on 'memories'. Good and bad I guess but on the whole I quite enjoyed it. Sadly I was easily distracted even then and read far too many novels and nowhere near enough school books. The Angelique books and also Harold Robbins books were my downfall!
Also doing something on 'working in my office shed halfway down the garden' for a blog on sheds. Will post the link as and when.
'Whatever the Cost' is coming along nicely and just maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel that is not an oncoming train!

Till next time. Enjoy the sun! xxx

Soon be Easter!

Hello again. brevity will be the buzz word today mainly because I've done nothing except work recently.

WHATEVER THE COST was thundering along quite nicely when I had one of my 'moments' and decided to change it all around. All very time-consuming but I think / hope I've changed it for the better.
Sometimes just the briefest mention of something means heaps of research to make sure I get it right so I've been reading up on OCD, a fascinating subject, and adoption in Ireland in the sixties.
It makes me realise what a truly wondrous invention the internet is, everything is there at the touch of a button. I LOVE Google so much, though I do often get side-tracked and go off at a tangent.

I've recently tried to sign up to TWITTER but I have a problem that my name is too long. I'm used to having it spelt wrong because of the dreaded second 'r' in Bernardine but the fact that Bernardine Kennedy is two letters too long is really weird. Guess I'll have to give it up, its no good if no-one can find me. Bernardinekenne isn't something that rolls off the tongue withe ease.

Holidays are at the forefront again, this time we're thinking of taking a brief break in Jersey. I haven't been there for yonks and Ian has never been. Its only a short hop from our local airport which is just around the corner so is convenient and I also really want to go to Jersey Zoo. I'm not a zoo supporter but many years ago my parents and I travelled on the same ship as Gerald Durrell and a film crew.

We were going to Nigeria and he was going to Sierra Leone to film a documentary on the Colobus monkey which he also used in his book 'Catch Me a Colobus'. He was a terrific man who loved animals, liked his triple gins and kept everyone amused for nearly two weeks.
I want to go to his zoo but I am also worried I may be disappointed! Maybe I shouldn't go? I'm not sure now.

I feel the same about Monkey World in Dorset (Jim Cronin). I've been watching the programme (Monkey Business / Monkey Life) for so many years now I feel part of it so will I be disappointed at the reality if I go?

And there's Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin) but doubt I'll be getting ther in the near future!

Yes I know, I must stop analysing everything and just do it!

I hope you all have a very Happy Easter regardless of the inevitable bank holiday weather.

Till next time xxxx

BACK FROM SAILING THE SEAS!

OCEAN VILLAGE TWO in Aruba

We arrived back on thursday but its taken until now for my brain to get back into the right gearand my body to get over jet-lag which I swear is getting worse as I get older. The first few days were spent trying to stay awake but I'm back to working today. So many mails to do deal with and Facebook stuff to catch up on as well as checking back to see what I'd written before we went away.

For everyone I owe mail to.... I'm getting there!

We had a great time on the cruise doing not a lot except lazing around. We went ashore at every port even though for some it was only for a walk around and a bit of shopping. Lots of sun, sea, relaxation and food 24/7. Oh my.......

We took coach trips on Barbados, (loved the wild north east Bathsheba coast there) and Tobago where we saw an old sugar plantation and hundreds of bats as well as the statutory Fort. Everywhere in the Caribbean has forts and cannons! Also went out on a small boat whale watching off the coast of Dominica and saw loads of them, also dolphins. Its a popular area for pilot whales and sperm whales. No photos of the whales though, every time I focused the camera they dived! We were excited out of all proportion to see the tails come out of the water. Impressive creatures!

We went to the beach on Isla Margarita, a very expensive shopping mall in Aruba and got lost walking in Bonaire! The trolley tour on Curacao was interesting but too short for such a pretty island. The Dutch influence is huge in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao... the Dutch Antilles islands. (ABC)

Martinique was cancelled as there were civil riots (reminded me of the assorted coups when I was living in Nigeria) as was Mayreau as the sea was too rough too lower the tenders to take everyone ashore. (the ship was too big to dock there).

Oh, and on Bonaire we saw the most fantastic yacht docked in the harbour.... the toy of Paul Allen (Microsoft) with its own helicopter! I don't know, boys and their toys! Yes I was impressed, yes I am that shallow, yes I took photos! (see below) I want that yacht...

In St Lucia and St Vincent local bands came aboard; St Lucia was reggae but in St Vincent a steel band came on and they were fantastic. I love steel bands at the best of times but on the top deck of the ship under the stars overlooking a Caribbean vista? wow. A brilliant night, probably the best of the trip.

Thats enough of holidays, apart from the photos of course!

Paul Allen's 'Octopus'. Note the helicopter on the back! Classy eh?

Bathsheba Beach, Barbados.

Leaving Bonaire

I took the opportunity of limited internet access to read a lot. I took my baby Asus PC with me but access was soooo expensive. I did go beserk and take loads of trashy magazines with me but I also read 5 books.

Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell. I enjoy her books but this one didn't grip me quite as much. Enjoyed it though. Maybe just familiarity and I need a break from her books for a while?

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben. Now he is probably my favourite right now, this was great. I loved it.

Love of my Life by Louise Douglas. I knew nothing of this book or the author but the title grabbed me; romantic and sad as well as being unusual. Great first book by the author.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adiche. I chose this because it is about Nigeria and the Biafran War and is also a huge selling award winner. It starts at a time when I was living in Nigeria and then carries on to cover all of the war. I left when the war started but my parents stayed there for longer. This is a novel but based on fact. An interesting read.

4th of July by James Patterson. Another of my favourites. This man is just so prolific he leaves me breathless. Loved it.

And that is it for the time being. apart from poor Ollie who had been battered the day before we got back by the local Thug-Cat and cost £65 in vets bills as a welcome home gift for us! grrrrrr. But he's worth it! Pic is of Ollie amid the valentine roses that he thought were his!

Till next time........ xxxxx

Holiday Time.

Just a quick catch up before going off on holiday tomorrow morning. We fly to the island of Aruba then board our ship for two weeks of sun, sea and excess. Once again our cabin is just one deck away from the restaurant that is open 24 hours although I have promised myself that I won't go in until I have walked once around the jogging trail on the top deck. Hmmmmm. I mean well.....


Our stop-offs are:

ARUBA, BONAIRE, TOBAGO, GRENADA, ST LUCIA, MARTINIQUE, BARBADOS,

ST VINCENT, DOMINICA, MAYREAU, ISLA MARGARITA, CURACAO.



Lots of interesting islands to visit there and it will be nice to go back to my favourite, Barbados, even if it just for the day.
I'm taking my gorgeous teeny laptop with me so I can keep in touch with the world (the internet is such an addiction) and maybe do some work?? again, hmmmm. I mean well......
I'm also taking several books along for the trip so will talk about them when I get back. One of the best bits of a holiday for me is reading purely for pleasure and leisure!


I belong to the Romantic Novelists Association and have had many great times at assorted events but I missed the big lunch and the following pub party this year because of a double booking I made after I got the days mixed up. Grrrr. However, congratulations to award winners Julia Gregson and India Grey.

The RNA did a poll of sexiest male celebs 2009 and the results were:

1 Richard Armitage 2 Johnny Depp 3 Hugh Jackman 4 George Clooney 5 Daniel Craig 6 Sean Bean 7 Alan Rickman 8 David Tennant 9 Pierce Brosnan 10 Gerard Butler




My voting was (roughly) :


1 Gorgeous George Clooney (who else?)

2 Alan Rickman (Truly Madly Deeply King John!)

3 Keith Richards (I know, I know, but I adore him!)


4 Gary Sinese (CSI New York. Right)

5 Johnny Depp (but only as Jack Sparrow)

6 Paul McCartney (old Beatle crush from way back! I'm loyal)

7 William Petersen (Gruesome Grissom ofCSI Vegas)



The rest of my list is along the lines of the RNA voting so there I'll finish there. Comments would be appreciated??


















Here's Keef..... This is my favourite Stones pic. Daughter Kate bought me a large linen print of this for Xmas.


Shattered Lives continues to do well and I've had some great emails. Do keep them coming, I become neurotic very quickly when there is silence. 'Whatever the Cost' is coming along nicely, I'm really enjoying writing it which is goo. I just need an extra pair of hands and a masseuse for my shoulders.

Now I'm off to do the packing and tie up the loose ends before going. I'm going to miss Ollie the cat but he's in safe hands here.

Till next time.... B xxx

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

Before anything else I'd like to wish A Happy New Year to everyone. I hope 2009 will be good and bring you everything you wish for. XX

Many thanks to everyone for all the emails and good wishes for both Christmas and for Shattered Lives, every word is always much appreciated, I am always so grateful to you all for taking the time to mail me.
I know I've missed a few mails that have gone into the dreaded spam folder so I may well have missed others. If I haven't replied that's why! The best way to avoid that is to always put a reading / writing related heading that can't be misinterpreted by the spammer as something dubious.

Well, another Christmas been and gone, a New Year started and resolutions broken already. No, I'm fibbing. I've learnt now that NY resolutions are a waste of time and far too stressful so I don't make any anymore. I did once make a resolution not to go to the gym and I've kept to that one okay. The 'lose three stone by the end of the month' one was always going to be tricky.

Shattered Lives is out there in the shops and the response has been good. There was a great review in Now Magazine (big selling weekly celeb-type mag) last week which gave it four stars. Yay! Every little helps. (isn't that an ad on TV?)
It's also been sold for Portugese translation and for large print which is excellent.
I recently received my PLR (Public Lending Rights) figures and the books are all doing well in the libraries so thats good also.

Also, just in case you think I've forgotten, I shall be getting my web-site updated very soon; the newsletter is already overdue.

Where does all the time go I wonder?
Whatever The Cost is going well now and I'm enjoying writing it though I definitely have to move a little faster to try and get it under my belt before our cruising holiday in mid-feb. I've gone back to my original writing style for this one... fingers crossed it works. I shall be taking my new baby laptop (Asus eee) which I am in love with and my internet dongle with me on the ship so I can easily stay in touch. If it all works properly I may even update the blog from the high seas just for the hell of doing it!

However, me and technology aren't always best friends so we'll see. I'm very good at buying all the latest gadgets... its understanding how they work that is the problem!

The big personal news is that I'm going to be Grandma! Son Steve and Belinda are expecting a baby in July and I am so excited. We have no babies in the family, just a cat! He's a gorgeous cat and I love him dearly but........ Right now I'm having to sit on my hands to avoid baby shopping..... what age do they have laptops now?!

Must off now... till later,

B xx