Holiday Snaps!

Those of you who follow me on FB or twitter will know I'm just back from almost 4 weeks overseas. You'll have probably seen the pics so forgive me for the double up but hey...who doesn't like to look at holiday snaps, right? Beware, I found pano mode on my iPhone camera and went a little craaazy! You can click on any of the images to make them larger!

LONDON
Freezing cold but still a special place in my heart.
Iconic symbols and a Harrods red velvet cupcake to die for!

Catching up with some medical author mates at a posh hotel for after noon tea. Or afternoon chamagne...

The lovely Kate Hardy and Annie Clayton

Hiedi Rice and Lucy King - my fellow Fairy Tale of New York authors!

Two of my fav medical authors - Jennifer Taylor and Caroline Anderson - whose books I read obsessively when I was trying to get published in the line. Awesome women, awesome writers and I have to pinch myself to think I know these wonderful writes personally!

Lunch with a view at The Shard with my fabulous editor Megan! Wow - does she know how to impress this girl from DownUnder!

Why yes, that is the Tower Of London you can see in the background!

CRUISE BOAT

View from the lounge at the front of the ship!

 ITALY

Our male companions having a toyota moment in Pompeii!

 

GREECE

I cried standing in front of these amazing ancient monument.

ME AFTER TOO MUCH FOOD AND BOOZE :-)

There are hundreds more but I won't bore you!
Do you like looking at other people's holiday snaps or would you rather stick a rusty fork in your eye?

Let Me Take You Cruising...

In honour of my October release, Countering His Claim - which is set on a cruise ship, the Cora Mae - I'm going to do a countdown of the top 5 cruising movies / T.V shows of all time.

There were others I considered including in this list, like Stardust (who can forget Robert DeNiro and his ship?), or Wall-E (with the cruise ship in space that is now the home of the human race), but I had to whittle them down to get to just 5.


  
5. Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Maybe it's not quite a cruise ship, but there is Captain Jack Sparrow as compensation.


 4. The Love Boat. 

I loved this show when I was young - perhaps that's where my love of cruise ships originally came from? Imagine hanging out with Julie, Captain Stubbing, Doc, Gopher and the gang for a whole cruise? Fun!


3. Titanic.

Yeah, I know the ship sinks at the end, but before that it was glorious! And the bonus of Rose and Jack's love story. "I'm the king of the world!"


2. Doctor Who Specials: Voyage of the Damned.

The cruise ship Titanic is a space ship in the future (as The Doctor asks, did they remember what happened to the original Titanic?). They pretty much had me at David Tennant. 


1. An Affair To Remember.

Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, and *that* ending. What more could a person want in a movie? Happy sigh.


Have I missed any good ones? Do you have a favourite? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cruising The South Pacific

I've always wanted to go on an ocean cruise, but, alas, I get terribly motion sick. So I did the next best thing - I wrote a book set on a cruise ship. :)

And if I was to cruise-by-proxy, where would I go? The South Pacific, of course! I've already been to many places the south pacific cruise ships dock, such as New Zealand, New Caledonia and the east coast of Australia, and I love this region. It's the perfect place to set a romance.

I visited travel agents and was given armfuls of brochures, I surfed the web, I visited some big ships down at the docks, and I went through my holiday snaps. I also grilled my other half, who spent many years on ships, and the gorgeous and generous Anna Campbell went on a cruise armed with a list of my questions for the ship's doctor (my heroine's profession).

In fact, I started to feel as if I *had* been on a cruise. The tropical islands surrounded by powder fine white sand. The vast expanses of indigo blue water. The feel of the sea breeze in my hair. Mission accomplished.

Though, now my interest in cruising has been piqued. I've also been checking out cruises to Alaska and down the Rhine. And I'm sure I could write books on a round-the-world cruise ship just as easily as from my little office.

Oh, except for that chronic motion sickness thing...

So, indulge me please. Help me live vicariously. Have you ever been on a cruise? If so, where was it and what was your favourite part? Is there a cruise you've always longed to do? Or do you hate the idea of floating in a big boat?

My cruise ship book, Countering His Claim, is out in October in the US, Aust & NZ and can be preordered now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Booktopia, Book Depository, or eHarlequin.