Of Writers and Friends

Seems to be the thing at the moment. Writers spending time with their writer friends. And I'm not missing out. Today I'm heading into Blenheim to what we call The Cottage to spend the weekend with my writing group, my writing friends. The people I can spill my guts about editors, agents and the market in general.

Two other Lovecats will also be there - Louisa George, who's flying in from Auckland, and Barbara DeLeo. As I'm writing this I'm thinking hairdryer, towel, chocolate, (oops - cancel that one) makeup, shoes and looking at the empty bag on the end of the bed. It's quite small so maybe I'll leave out the walking gear.

These weekends are for some intense writing sessions and brainstorming and general chat about what's going on in the writing world and who's doing what.


                                                                 We work very hard.

 

 

 

We keep our fluid levels up.

 

 

 

We maintain our energy levels.

 

 

 

We don't watch DVD's, read magazines or wear sloppy clothes.

 

Okay, so that bag is looking smaller by the minute. I'll ditch the slippers to make room for the chocolate. Damn, that word just keeps popping up. I meant to say sunscreen and hat for when we go on a walk - except I'm leaving the walking shoes behind. Maybe I'll get another bag down and take everything. Jeepers, anyone would think I didn't get out very often.
The fact is I love going away, whether for a weekend or a month, and I especially enjoy spending time with my writing friends. I always come home invigorated and ready for another battle with my current story.
Do you have a particular group of people you love to spend time with away from home?

Fly on the wall...

Have you ever wondered what writers talk about when they get together?

Last week I caught up with my writing buddies Annie West and Anna Campbell for G & Ts by Annie’s pool. Good friend and fellow writer Judy joined us a bit later when we broke out the bubbly. So…the burning question—what did we chat about?

Judy, Anna Campbell, Michelle Douglas

* Fruit and carbohydrates. I brought along a really pretty bowl of fruit. Anna and Annie are great fruit devotees. Me? I demolished the olives and dip instead. We tried to find the secret for why we’re so attracted to carbohydrates. The answer we came up with—because they’re yummy.

Isn't that the most glorious bowl of fruit you've ever seen? (yes I was proud of it)

* Anna kinda sorta interviewed me about my writing process for an upcoming workshop she’s running. It’s going to be a great workshop.

* My current Buffy the Vampire Slayer craze and what I’m trying to learn from it as a writer.

* I quizzed Annie and Anna about what I should do for a 10-minute launch of my March book Road Trip With the Eligible Bachelor, (which is happening at Singleton Library tomorrow evening so if you’re in town come along!) and they gave me great advice. Thanks, ladies!

Anna Campbell and Annie West with G & Ts

* We briefly chatted about one of Annie’s upcoming projects and the brainstorming she and Anna had been doing.

* Book titles: our faves and not-so-faves of our own and each others.

* Our parents

* Our pineapple books—you know, the ones we never want to experience again, and why they were pineapples. The reasons varied. My pineapple book was Christmas at Candlebark Farm. When I received the 3rd set of revisions from my editor I realised the book needed to be completely rewritten. Sigh. I learned so much from that book, but I never want to go through that process again.

* Our ages and when our birthdays fell on the calendar year. Shall I confess it had never occurred to me that as an August baby that meant my parents had had a rather pleasant summer holiday. :)

Anna Campbell, me and G & Ts

* Critiquing—pros and cons and wonderings if we were nurturing rather than critical.

* Holidays and cruises

* French champagne

* What we had planned for the weekend

So, as you can see, we’re like any other bunch of people who are both colleagues and friends, we talked shop, we enquired after each other’s families and sprinkled amongst that was talk about other things that interest us. It was brilliant.

What about you? Have you been having any fun chats with colleagues and friends lately?

Celebrate Cupid's Day

freedigitalphotos.net, sippokron

Can you feel it? The love floating in the air? The romance wafting about the place?

Yes, it’s that time of year. Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us. And I love it.

So many people are critical of the commercial nature of Valentine’s Day but I think there is nothing wrong with shining a romantic spotlight on your relationship. With all the pressures of raising a family, building a career, staying fit and healthy and performing all the mundane tasks required to maintain a functioning household, romance can often slide away in the face all of those demands. 

And, there’s no need to be pushed into something clichéd, costly or kitsch to make the day special. Moonlit walks on the beach, free. Handmade card, free. A playlist of my favourite songs, free. Voucher for cooking dinner every night, free (I’ve been making a lot of hints about that one!!)

freedigitalphotos.net, markuso

My husband and I usually go out for a candlelit dinner (well they are a cliché for a reason – I love candlelit dinners). We always talk about how we met. How we looked across a crowded room (yes, our relationship is cliché central) and knew in that instant something special had happened. How we lived on different sides of the world (me, London; him, Brisbane) or different cities (me, Melbourne and Durham, USA, him, Brisbane) due to career commitments for the next two years before we could finally live together. How we got to know each other through letters (no email or cheap phones/skype calls back in the IT dark ages) and what a lovely way it was to learn about each other. I read those letters often for inspiration for my stories and for how men express themselves when they are first falling in love.

Yes, I’m a die hard romantic. Lucky, considering the career I’ve chosen. So, this Valentine’s Day I’ll have dinner with my partner of the last 20 years and think, isn’t it lovely that we’ve taken time out of our crazy lives to gaze into each others eyes and reminisce about how lucky we were to see each other across that crowded room.

Jennifer’s latest novel, The Billionaire’s Pursuit of Love is out now available from Amazon, iTunes, Google, Penguin and Destiny Romance.

Tēnā koutou katoa! - Celebrating who we are.

Yesterday was our national day in New Zealand. Waitangi Day celebrates the signing of the treaty of Waitangi between indigenous Maori tribes and the English Crown in 1840, and it's a day for us to reflect on what makes us New Zealanders. But we're a funny lot us kiwis, we're often a little shy about showing our national colours and we don't go in for a lot of pomp and ceremony. What we tend to do instead is have the day in the sun with friends and whānau (family) getting back to nature.

Yesterday my friend Heather and I continued our little tradition of trying to pack the day full with as many things as possible that define us as New Zealanders.

First, we took our kids to a gorgeous part of the country, the Marlborough Sounds. Here there are endless waterways, peaceful New Zealand bush and people having fun in and on the water. Here is our little picnic site all set up. 

Next, the challenge was to eat as many New Zealand's favourite foods as possible. Of course we started off with snacks - that's my Jay introducing you to Lemon and Paeroa (L and P) a yummy lemony fizzy drink, Kiwi Dip made with dried onion soup and reduced cream (tastes MUCH better than it sounds!), pumpkin and kumara (sweet potato) dip  and Bluebird chips.

The rule for the day was that we could only eat New Zealand food and listen to New Zealand music. Here are two or our favourites - the fabulous Lorde, and one by my gorgeous friend (and godfather to my youngest) Tama Waipara. I love the way Tama includes so much New Zealand imagery in his music.

  

After a swim (and doing "bombs" off the jetty) it was time for lunch— first there was bacon and egg pie, sausage rolls and Watties tomato sauce....

and finally a whole lot of kiwi goodness....pavlova with kiwifruit, mallow puffs, jaffas, jet planes and pineapple lumps.

The day came to a close with a drive home on our notoriously windy roads, with everyone already planning on more kiwi delights for next year.

How do you celebrate your national day?

Wanted: Family Stories of World War 2

Deb Dufel during her Top End travels in Australia

I’m so pleased to have my globe-trotting friend, Deb Dufel, visiting the blog today.  We were chatting on-line one day (me, sweltering in 40°C heat in Southern Australia and Deb, shivering in -15°C in the North American cold snap!).  


Anyway, she mentioned she was coming back to Australia to visit the War Memorial in Canberra again to do some more research for a story set in Australia during World War 2.

I was intrigued so we talked some more and I asked if she’d like to visit us on the LoveCats and tell us about her project!

Over to you, Deb!

Canberra War Memorial, K. Campisano

Thanks, Sharon!  I was really excited when you invited me to visit. 

Three years ago, I had no clue that Australia was literally the front line of the war. As I settled into my Australian life and we travelled across the top end of Australia we found various war memorials and we learned. Our friends shared a bit more history.

Then, one day, a friend pushed a USB drive across the table, and said, “These are copies of my grandfather’s letters during WW2 and while in Changi-Changi prison.”  

Outback Australia

Though he had survived the camp where only 1 in 1000 had, he never quite made it back. In the fifties, men were told to “just pull yourself together, mate.” 

Unfortunately, my friend and I shared an experience – her grandfather and my father suffered from what we now call PTS. Neither man spoke of their experiences.  And neither was able to live life to its fullest in the aftermath.  

An idea for a book set in WW2 Australia blossomed. In the beginning, I thought I’d follow the soldier line, and then more and more people shared their stories, including 90-plus-year old sisters, Edna and Greta, who had lived on an outback station. These women, who are cultured, beautiful and side-splittingly funny, shared their deepest fears, and we held hands and spilled tears for the men and women who never returned. 

 

Prison Boab

One day, Edna invited me to teach her how to use her new IPad. Her sister was visiting from the homestead and so for two hilarious hours they taught me!  Edna had set morning tea on verandah where we adjourned after the computer lesson. I was invited to “play mother” and later they admitted they wanted to see if I could pour properly. 

Greta, the younger sister by 10 months, asked what I did. Edna stepped in and said, “She’s discovering what us old bats did during the war.” 

Outback Australia

They started to laugh, and then took turns telling me one of their favourite stories - how they made bullets and shot them!  Apparently, Edna made the best bullets since she measured the black powder. 

“Greta just dumped it the casing,” Edna said.  “It was a waste - plus the kick knocked me on my bum.” She grinned. “But it was fun watching all the boys run when you came out with Da’s gun,” she said to her sister, before turning to me to say, “Gret is still a crack shot.”  

They lifted their delicate tea cups in salute to each other, their eyes twinkling with mischief.

Then they sobered. “Remember when the wireless man came with the telegram?” one of them asked.  Seventy years had passed since the arrival of a telegram announcing the death of their “baby” brother on some far shore, but the pain hadn’t eased for these two sisters.  

Wall of Poppies, Karen Campisano

 

A visit to the War Memorial in Canberra tore my heart. So many Australians gave their lives to the rest of the world. And yet, little is known of the women and men of the Land. The focus of my research subtly shifted again, to these unsung heroes. 

As a writer, I want to build as complete a picture of those turbulent times for the story I want to write. So, I wonder… does your family have a story that you’d like to share?  

If you wish please, contact me, Deb Dufel, at WMB_1941@yahoo.com

To Keep Or Not To Keep...?

During January I did a major clean-up of my office.  Not only the surface areas -- the accumulated materials from my last project -- but this time I opened every cupboard door and pulled out every drawer to take a long hard look at the accumulated junk.  

Well, okay, only some comes under the classification of junk.  There is also valuable research material -- magazines and newspaper cuttings and other items of interest which I go through every so often for inspiration -- and my keeper shelves.  During my clean-ups I generally close the cupboard door on my keepers.  They're classified as "keepers" for a reason.  They stay.

But this time I got to thinking.  Why am I keeping these books?  80-90% of my reading these days is digital.  I've started to recollect my favourite authors, favourite series, in digital format.  Do I need the paperback version when I'm not selecting my reading material from these shelves?  

And so I got to work.  

I couldn't let go my absolute favourites.  I still have a reduced-by-half keepers cupboard.  Many are hardbacks and/or signed copies.  Another selection of favourites was moved into this box, currently located beneath my writing desk.  It could take a little while longer to convince myself to let them go for good.

So, tell me, are you a keeper?  Has the shift to digital reading changed your "keeping" habits?  And which one series -- or author -- could you never part with?

Sunday Smooch with Amy Andrews

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from  Amy Andrews but first 


... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Tammy!


Can you please contact Alison Stuart on alison (at)alisonstuart (dot) com to receive your copy of Claiming the Rebel's Heart


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from one of the new Bold and Beautiful novellas - Forbidden Affair

Blurb and Cover

Steffy is back.

A year in Paris has cemented her resolve to get over Liam and her miscarriage. Resigning from Forrester Creations is her first step.

She is surprised when Bill offers her a job as head of marketing and PR at Eye On Fashion. Is this what she wants?

Hoping to convince her it is, Bill joins her volunteering at Daisy's.

They are alone, late at night, when an earthquake strikes, and the building collapses around them.

Frightened and trapped in the rubble, they become closer, and Steffy realizes she's falling in love with the last man she should.

But is this an attraction borne from fear, or is it something much deeper?

Scene set-up - Bill and Steffy are trapped in the collapsed ruin of Dayzee's after a major earthquake has hit LA. After a particaularly bad aftershock, Steffy turns to Bill for comfort.

Bill groped around for the flashlight at their feet, locating it fairly quickly, flicking it on, then standing again and pulling her against him. Silently, he shone the beam around the area. The pile of rubble where they’d raised the flag seemed okay and the piping was still anchored in place. But when he shone the light on the kitchen side, Steffy gasped.

A beam from the kitchen rubble pile had shifted and fallen sideways. It was large and clearly heavy and it didn’t escape Steffy’s notice that it had come to rest in almost the exact spot she’d been standing when the aftershock hit.

“Oh God,” she said, a sudden wave of nausea roiling through her intestines as she turned her face into Bill’s chest.

“It’s okay,” he murmured, rubbing her back, flicking the flashlight off and plunging them into darkness.

“No, it’s not,” she said, raising her head. “I was . . . standing right there.” She’d be dead right now if he hadn’t snatched her away. He’d saved her life again.

“But you’re not now,” he soothed, his hand continuing its calm stroking.

Steffy looked into his earnest face. He was so heroic right now she could barely breathe for it—it was suffocating and oh so sexy. Everything about him was sexy. His impossibly square jaw, his neat beard, his strong chin. The way he oozed masculinity and confidence.

And his mouth. God but his mouth was sexy.

And he was right. They could die here. The building could collapse before they were rescued and they’d be gone. Wiped from the face of the earth.

And she’d never know what it was like to be loved by him.

“Kiss me,” she said.

Bill blinked at the unexpected request. “Steffy, are you sure—”

She didn’t give him a chance to finish, just raised herself up on her toes and kissed him instead.

His lips were resistant at first. She wasn’t sure if that was from shock or from some kind of belated morality, given how much she’d been banging on about it, but the second she whimpered her frustration against his mouth, he opened to her and she took what she wanted.

He let her take the lead, his lips slanting in the direction she wanted them to go, his tongue stroking against hers when she commanded it to do so. Her hands bunched in the fabric of his T-shirt, her hips aligned with his and when she felt the hard length of him at the juncture of her thighs she rubbed herself against him, desperate to get closer.

Bill, his breath ragged, pulled away. “Are you sure?” he asked again, knowing this was escalating, feeling his own control at snapping point.

Steffy blinked, her head swimming from the overdose of testosterone and the sheer weight of her need. “I’ve never been surer of anything,” she said, dragging his head back down.

Bill didn’t need any more convincing. And he didn’t do any more following either. He bumped her back against the door frame and flayed her with a kiss that left them both gasping.

“More?” he asked roughly.

“Oh God, yes!” Steffy begged.

“All the way?” he demanded against her mouth.

Steffy whimpered. “I’ll die if you don’t.”

For the chance to win an e-Book of Forbidden Affair tell me, are you a Bold fan? Are soaps your cup of tea? If not, what's your favourite television show?

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver