Stress soothers – Kandy Shepherd

It’s been quite a stressful time for me in recent weeks. Our house is on the market and it was a frantic time getting it ready. Now there’s the constant pressure to keep it really tidy! 

Amidst all that I had my next story to finish for Harlequin Mills & Boon. A severe bout of the flu took me out of action for a month, which put me behind on my deadline. (I caught the flu before I’d had a chance to get vaccinated.) 

Thank heaven, I finally finished (just last night!) after long hours of BOC (butt on chair) and being very anti-social. Now I go through the nail-biting time of hoping my lovely editor likes the story...

Other stressful things have been happening too. So I thought I’d share some photos of things I love and think looking at might help to keep the blood pressure down!  (Of course that's apart from the obvious stress releases like exercise, meditation, massage, binge TV and so on!) I’d love to hear what are your favourite stress relievers.

The first thing I turn to at stressful times is chocolate, which I really, really shouldn't do. All those stress-relieving nibbles and all that sitting down leads to a new stressor – getting fatter! Deadly, my dietitian daughter warns...

Chocolate is not what I should be turning to!

I love to have flowers in the house, from my garden ideally. While my house is open for inspections I indulge in some flowers arrangements from my favourite florist. We go way back to my magazine days, and she knows just the flowers to lift my spirits!

The colours of these flowers soothe my soul! (Love the little cabbages.)

I absolutely love the water, swimming in the sea and walking along a beach are among my favourite past-times. Both these beaches are in the far northern suburbs of Sydney and easily accessible. One reason this particular LoveCat likes living DownUnder!

This is Bungan Beach on Sydney's northern beaches, view from a house for sale  (that we couldn't possibly afford, sadly!)

Too chilly (winter Down Under) for me to swim but others are braving the waters at Mona Vale, another Sydney  beach.

Who isn't cheered up by a rainbow. This one was taken on a walk around our little farm when I was seeking inspiration for a plot point. 

Stormy weather and a rainbow in the Blue Mountains

Food I haven't had to cook myself (or clear up afterwards) is a cheer-up treat. This cafe breakfast of corn fritters really hit the spot. 

That gorgeous green is a pea puree

Of course my cats always bring joy, just looking at them makes me feel happy. Stroking them and listening to them purr are proven stress releasers.

My precious kitties taking up my entire side of the bed! From left: Alfie, Tabitha, Ivy

Then there's spending time with my wonderful husband and gorgeous daughter. But they don't much like me posting pictures of them on social media!

What works for you when you need to distract yourself from stress? I'd love to read your comments!

Sand in my thesis

I recently travelled seven hours north to the gorgeous beachside town of Lennox Head. For a fortnight, I stayed in a little townhouse with a balcony that looked out over the sea. There were breaching humpback whales. There was beer and books.

And there was my thesis.

This trip was planned MUCH earlier in the year, and I thought my thesis would be completed, submitted, done-and-dusted. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men. ;-) Alas it wasn’t, which meant I had to work while I was away. But I think all of that sea air has improved the health of my thesis—the Vitamin D has given it stronger bones, and the bracing sea breezes have blown all the cobwebs away. Hey, that’s my theory and I’m sticking to it. :-)

After all, there was a strategically placed bench just meant for mulling and musing. 

Swimming was had. And in the immortal words of Mrs Bennet: “A bit of sea bathing would set me up for life.”

Besides, beaches and rainbows can provide a writer with oodles of inspiration, right? :-)

The beach had a face for every mood too.

Misty

Stormy

Sunny

“But Michelle,” I hear you say, “you live in Newcastle and you have lots of beaches nearby. What’s the big deal?” We’ll ignore the fact that I can’t see the sea from my front veranda, and do's a little comparison of today’s temperatures:

• Newcastle’s forecast is for a top of 19C with wind and rain increasing. Water temperature is a bracing 18C.
• Lennox Head’s forecast is for a top of 27C and the chance of a late shower. Water temperature is a glorious 22C.

What's more I caught up with fellow LoveCat, Jennifer St George, for coffee and gossip! We chatted non-stop for over an hour about writing, study, and life. Which was fab -- missing you, Jen!

So today I’m pining for all of that warm white-sand goodness. And, seriously, can you blame me? :-)

Tropical bliss — Kandy Shepherd

I just returned from a few days break in tropical north Queensland—the Australian state to the north of New South Wales where I live. I went in search of warmth and relaxation and found both. The winter in my part of DownUnder has been decidedly chilly. Not so in Port Douglas! It was perfect with just-right hot sunny days and water the right temperature to swim in. Bliss!

Note, however that I swam only in the pool. Walking along the lovely Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas I asked a local who was walking her cute dog why no one was swimming.

“Because there could be crocodiles in the water,” she replied somewhat reluctantly, perhaps not wanting to scare the tourists.

EEEK! Sharks I know about, but crocodiles in the surf? Apparently they sneak in from the mangrove swamps that bracket the beach. So no swimming on a beach what wasn’t netted.

The hotel where we stayed has beautiful tropical gardens. What says vacation and sun more than palm trees?

 I realised as I wandered around that the grounds that so much of the beauty of a tropical garden is in its leaves—as colourful as any flower. In fact some of the tropical plants have tiny, insignificant flowers. I just loved those leaves. But sadly tropical plants wouldn’t thrive in my farm garden where frosts are frequent.

Was there something significant I could learn from my trip to enhance my writing? Maybe something about hidden dangers or hidden beauty? Who knows what might sneak out of my subconscious and onto the page! One thing for sure is that the next romance I write will be set somewhere in the tropics!

 What says “vacation” to you? Have you ever been surprised by something unexpected where you’ve visited? Is there something about your home town you think visitors should know? I’d love to read your comments!

PS. I stayed at the QT Resort in Port Douglas. 

Retreating by Amy Andrews

I recently was lucky enough to team up with three other authors and go on a retreat to Currumbin on Queensland's beautiful Gold Coast. The house was amazing and there's just something about water that is so creatively inspiring for me. We all made great inroads to our WIP's and that was despite the amounts of wine we drank each night 😎😈😋

The house we stayed in was like something out of Home Beautiful. Seriously, there's no way I'd have stayed sane if I'd had little kids in this house. It was elegantly appointed, the view was to die for and I did not want to leave!

But hey....why not judge for yourself?

View from the main deck area - we even saw whales in the distance!

Early morning sunshine on my bed

View from my bedroom - see I did work!

Amazing sunrises!

Look at those Home Beautiful touches!!

Did I mention there was an open fire?

And amazing gardens?

Oh and the beach....

It's official, the beach is my happy place.

What's yours?

Monday Ramblings by Amy Andrews

Its release day for me so I am a bit all over the shop at the moment 😍 and consequently a little late for this blog.

So here are some Monday ramblings from a mushy release day brain.

Hot Mess. You should buy it. Fireman + reunited lovers + amnesia = all the romance awesomeness. Yes, even if I do say so myself 😘 Best part? It's first in a series of 4 hot firemen! So what are you waiting for??

I have a new website. Its soooo pretty. Click here and it'll take you there!

Do not watch the new Anne of Green Gables series if you are an Anne purist. The second episode is all kinds of weird....

 

I love the beach in all its moods...

What do you think of my new cover for Holding Out For A Hero which I'm self-pubbing and should be out very soon? 

  
It's almost June!! Just in case anyone had forgotten...Pretty soon there'll be those annoying people who pop up and tell us how many shopping days until Christmas!

New bio pic for my sister and I to use in some Ruby award publicity.What do you think?

We had the option to go for  serious shot but what the hell, right?
Life is serious enough.....

Reckon that's a good note to end it on. Is anyone elses brains as mushy as mine at the moment? Care to add a random thought for us all to ponder?

In the swim – Kandy Shepherd

They say an author reveals more about her or himself in what they write than they might realise. I have to say that I find this true of myself. For example, it surprises me how often my love of water and swimming seems to sneak into my stories. I’m not doing this on purpose—it just happens!

Curl Curl beach in Sydney on a flat surf day

 My first three books for Harlequin Romance are set in the fictional beachside town of Dolphin Bay (to be published together as an anthology Heart of the Bay by Harlequin Australia on December 12 in Australia and New Zealand.) Beaches and swimming pools, Sydney Harbour, the Yarra River, a fountain and even a bathtub have been significant in other stories, too, whether set in Australia, Indonesia, Greece or a fictional European principality. That the hero and heroine are usually not wearing much in the way of clothing while they’re in the water or on the beach adds to the sensuality of the story too!

North Sydney Pool, a favourite place to swim laps

 I’m not long back from enjoying a fabulous swimming holiday in Crete—my second with a company specialising in Greek open water swimming holidays. It’s an organised tour where you swim with a fully supervised group, divided into smaller ability groups, in the most glorious blue seas. The swim averages five kilometres a day, divided into two swims before and after lunches in Greek tavernas reached only by sea. (The group is The Big BlueSwim if anyone is interested.)

The beautiful blue waters of Crete

 People tend to react with shock when they hear this as I tend to be a somewhat indolent person, happy to loll about reading at any opportunity. Then they wonder if I’m a fantastic swimmer. I’m not. But I’m competent, can stay in the water a long time and am not frightened of deep water. On both the swims I’ve been in the slowest of the groups and very happy with that.

I swam with other swimmers from the US and Israel but mostly British folk where the swim holiday seems to be very popular. Why would an Australian want to swim in Greece they ask? No sharks or other scary creatures is one reply—another is that swimming in such a history soaked country as Greece is something special. I can’t wait to go again!

I couldn't stay out of this hotel pool on the Gold Coast, Queensland

But in the meantime the weather is heating up Down Under and there is no shortage of wonderful places to swim here at home.

How about you? Do you like swimming? Or have another favourite summer activity? Or winter activities? I’d love to hear your comments!