Birthday Month Is Here!

It's October. Although I don't like how fast the year is passing, and I dread Christmas will be upon us faster than I can say snow, I still get excited about this month - because it's my birthday month!

Last night, I wondered that because we get the twelve days of Christmas, and my birthday is on the twelfth, why can't I have twelve days of my birthday?

So I'm taking a look at my wish list... the more unrealistic one... and seeing what I'd like for my birthday.

On the first day of my birthday, I would love sent to me...

Adam Levine. 

I would love to see Maroon 5 live. I'm not really a concert goer... but I would love to see this band!

Another Year Older...

Maybe still not any wiser... lol!

Yay! It's my birthday! I have been celebrating all week, but today I get to open presents!

Think I'll be having champagne for breakfast. As you do.

I'm not expecting too much today, however, if I were to have a party, my ideal party guests would include...








Henry Cavill, Tom Hiddleston and Bradley Cooper, to name a few very quickly off the top of my head...

(By the way, I keep telling Tom he needs to put come clothes on!)

And maybe Adam Levine could sing for me. :) 

Yeah, my list hasn't really changed much. 

And if anyone would like to buy me one of these for my birthday, I'd much appreciate it! 

Yes I would like it in this colour too. :) 

My Perfect Date

I have Rachel Lyndhurst to thank for the inspiration of this blog post. I think it was something about going on holiday and finding my perfect hot surfer dude whilst away. Interestingly, in the second book I'm writing, Perfect Isn't An Option, my hero Steve is looking for someone a little less perfect.

Anyway, this got me thinking about being wined and dined... One day... one day... And I was thinking of who I'd like to meet, the dream boat who's going to whisk me off my feet and love me forever...ha ha!

And I realised I'm a bit choosy.

Maybe it's the romance writer in me?

I mean, he'd have to have the eyes of Bradley Cooper... In fact he'd have to be as handsome as him, too.

He'd need to look good in a tux, but look just as sexy in a T-shirt and Jeans, and drive a nice car - I want to be chauffeured about! - and handle himself as well as James Bond.

 

Can dance as good as Brendan Cole...


And sings to me like he's Adam Levine...









With a body as hot as Joe Manganiello's...








And can afford to buy me diamonds. (I'm not really that materialistic, money doesn't buy love, but wouldn't it be nice to have a man buy you diamond earrings?)
(And my mum will like this one) And he's got to have manly hands. Not girly ones. No, hands that look like they've worked hard and have strength.  Hmmmm... I have a thing about hands.

Oh, and ideally, not a smoker.

And there is one other quality he must be superb at....

Ironing! ;-)

Okay, okay, I don't need to spell out the other thing, do I? You can probably guess, considering I write romance.

I don't expect much, do I?

Have I forgotten something? What would you add to this list?

(For the record... A disclaimer - this blog post is meant to be construed as a bit of fun! We all know this guy can only be found in a book.)

Romantic Debate With The Optician

Well, I thought I better get a blog post in before I head off to sunny, I mean rainy Cornwall. Something tells me I will need to pack my wellies! What is it with June this year?

I've charged the Kindle... Thought this was easier than taking a pile of books. I'm still reading my Katie Fforde, Living Dangerously, which I can empathise with the heroine quite a bit, so that will come too.

So I picked up new glasses today. And as you can see, (unfortunately I have to be in the pictures too) this is the best I could do with the phone on my camera. I can actually switch the camera around. But when I do that, the bloody thing goes blurry. I think the lens on the front of the phone is not as good at focusing as the back one. So bit startled and scared pictures, trying to concentrate on pressing the button, as I didn't have anyone in the house to take the photo for me. Haven't quite trained the cat yet.

The glasses are full frames - where as before they were half. And I've gone darker... hoping I look really intelligent now!

Anyway, as well as collecting my glasses I had my contact lens appointment. The guy who isn't even 30 (well he might have been, but he looked quite young to me) notices that on my notes my occupation(s) is customer assistant (at the big ol' retail giant express) and a writer. He laughed at the combination, then asked me what I wrote.

At the moment, when I say romance I feel quite cynical - I am getting a divorce and don't really feel there is such a thing as happy ever after - in fact that's why I write it. It's the only Goddamn way! I generally don't have a high opinion of men, full stop. However, he then groans and starts going on about how women's fiction has become less literal or something, I can't remember quite what he said, but he quoted it all being like "Fifty Shades Of Grey."

Now I've not read this book but I know that there was a mini debate on it on my facebook wall a while back. One person loved it, while others hated it.

Then we discussed Twilight and (luckily) agreed on that one. Though I don't think Stephanie Meyers is a 'bad' writer, I just didn't enjoy the story because it's written for teenage girls.

He enjoyed Wuthering Heights, talking of it being expertly written - it is but it is also dated (and I hated the storyline) - but when I mentioned Jane Eyre, which is very descriptive, because again that's of its age and fashion, but is a much better story (in my opinion) he said he hated it. I did nearly want to punch the guy, truth be told. Apparently he dumped his last girlfriend because she 'liked' Twilight.

Wow. Men! (I'm saying that a lot lately).

I was trying to explain that writing nowadays needs to be less descriptive... but sometimes, trying to discuss this with a non-writer, even if they are readers, goes a little over their heads. Ah well, I got my contacts anyway lol!


Now I must finish packing and crack on with some more writing as I'm not attending my (new) writing group as intended. For today's tottie, I will leave you with a new video from Maroon 5... I've got a thing about men being all dirty and beaten up - and Adam Levine looks hot in this video! Becky Black understands this obsession... particularly with one of our favourite TV characters.

Warning: It is the explicit version!



The lyrics are poignant for me at the moment. "One more f*cking love song, I'll be sick." Love it.

Don't worry, I maybe cynical, but I will still write romance.

Valentine's Day Secrets

It's a bit late - as the day is almost over - but I've been so busy today (it being half term and needing to entertain the kids) that this is the first chance I've had to post!

Being a romantic novelist (albeit not published - yet) you would think Valentine's Day is important to me. And it is. But I do believe that if you love someone, you shouldn't need a day to tell that someone. You should be telling and showing them every single day.

In fact, I find the romance is lost on Valentine's day. Going out for that romantic meal, and you have to stick to a over-priced set menu, and there are more tables crowded in, rows upon rows of couples, all eating the same food. It feels a little false.

To me, Valentine's is really about the secret admirers. This is a day to tell someone, albeit secretly (unless you're really brave and can face the (possible) rejection) that you fancy the pants off someone.

I've only ever sent one 'secret' card myself when I was about 15 years old (if you exclude the time me and my mate Rachel making quite a few up - cutting out letters from papers, spraying them perfume and all sorts - and sending them out to a few guys for a laugh).

I have received two 'secret' cards, when I was at school (so I was 14-16 years old), and to this day, I haven't the faintest idea who sent them to me. But they still made me feel special. It really did make my day - especially as I considered myself an ugly duckling at school (not that I think I've turned into a beautiful swan now, but I believe I have improved a bit with age lol! Better glasses for a start!). It was kinda cool, yet scary. Especially as one was hand delivered to my home address! (The other had been posted by the postman - so they still knew where I lived, but hadn't actually hand delivered it).

This year, I received so many I had to wade through the cards, flowers, champagne and chocolates in my hallway. All from Adam Levine. Obviously. Oh, there might have been some from Bradley, too...

As it's Valentines, I deserve my favourite picture of Bradley :D

What does Valentines Day mean to you? Have you ever sent a card as a secret admirer? Have you received one? Did you ever find out who your secret admirer was?

Advent Calendar: Day 9

Good morning! I'm feeling rather organised scheduling my advent calendars, so they are there for you to open in the morning... just after you've had your breakfast. Isn't that when you open yours?

I can't wait to post this guy any longer. I love their music, I love this man's voice. Hopefully with all the Christmas parties going on, you'll all be dancing to Moves Like Jagger lots in weeks to come!

This man is just gorgeous. No words can describe how I feel about Adam Levine. He is a new discovery to me but now I can't stop watching You Tube and all of Maroon 5's videos because they're so damn sexy.

And he's not really my type either. Okay, so I do find some dark haired guys attractive (Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Richard Armitage ...), but nine times out of ten I fancy the blond one.

I can see this guy being very inspirational for me. He hasn't got a superhero build, but he's fit and very, very sexy. And what a voice!


I'm loving the tattoos too. I'm not usually a big fan of tattoos unless on the right guy. And they suit Adam Levine.

9th December

Small World

Adam Levine fix anyone?

Does anyone else think the world is a small place? Or maybe it's just Weston ...

As you know my writing group was donated some books from Jean Saunders' family. When they came along to the group last month, I instantly recognised her husband, Geoff, as he comes into the shop regularly (where I work weekends).

I saw Geoff again last Friday, and commented on how I'd finished reading one of Jean's books (The Craft of Writing Romance) and enjoyed it. We got talking, as I do while bagging customers' shopping (because I can be a bit of a chatterbox), and found out he lives round the corner from me.

I've lived in this house nearly ten years. I've lived around the corner from a very successful writer for nearly ten years! We were practically neighbours! (Admittedly, I only started to take my writing more seriously, as in I wanted to write professionally, since 2009 - but hey).

I think I've been subscribing to Writing Magazine since 2009, and would read Jeans' columns. Probably a good job I didn't know she lived around the corner... for Jean's sake. 

Then, (it all happens at work) talking to another customer who comes in regular, I found out he comes from Thorpe (in Surrey) - he went to Thorpe School - that's where I went to school! He is twelve years older than me but he was saying how when he was there the swimming pool was being built. I learnt to swim in that swimming pool!

And then, later this week, chatting with my dear, newly acquainted friend, Talli Roland, who I sat next to at the RNA Conference and had a good natter with (because I'm a chatterbox), she tells me she worked at Magna Carta School in Egham. I went to Magna Carta School. Okay, so I left in 1990 and Talli worked there between 2004 and 2006 but even so - Mr Smith and Mr Wilson (two of my favourite teachers) were still there at that time.  

I'm just finding the world can be incredibly small at times, but in a good way. 

(And yes, and the picture of Adam Levine is to draw you all in, plus I needed my fix. Really should be writing, but at least I've done a blog post. That's writing related, right? Does anyone else find doing a blog post helps get you in the mood for writing? Or am I just procrastinating - again?)

The One That Didn't Get Away

There was an interesting article in The Guardian which I read on Facebook today. QR Markham has been caught with his novel 'Assassin of Secrets' plagiarising James Bond novels and a like.

Amazing how someone can think they can get away with it, too.

Did it give him any satisfaction using someone elses work? As a writer, really?

He's not a writer, he's a conman, trying to make a quick buck off someone else's hard work.

Plagiarism is not cool, and certainly not professional.

I always fear that I might 'borrow' something that I've read - unintentionally of course! I suppose we all may worry about that and what our subconscious can do. But however crap my writing is, it is my own work and I'm proud of that.

Well, you can safely say QR Markham has burned his writing career... unless he is able to come back as another name. Rogue traders, anyone?

The amount of money he has probably cost the publishers, it wouldn't surprise me if he's sued. Boy, is he in trouble.

Okay, and now for something light hearted, less depressing, and totally unrelated - for all you girls to look at. Hot pic of Adam Levine! Yes, I am obsessed! And it wouldn't be my blog without a bit of eye candy.

Hmmm... maybe I should consider something for any male readers I may have... Nahhhh!

New Found Inspiration

I promise this is writing related! Honest. No, really, it is.

Last night, in my tiredness and lacking enthusiasm to actually write, I was watching You Tube videos.

With my lovely new radio that I have in the kitchen, courtesy of my dad, I've been listening to Kiss quite a lot because they play non-stop music sessions. Radio 1 is great in the morning, but sometimes I find it a bit dull during the day.  With Kiss I get to boogie in my kitchen!

My dad and I have been discussing music videos, because he usually puts a music channel on in the background when there is nothing on the TV, and has been telling me about some clever videos. So with this in mind, too, last night I was searching them out.

My favourite song at the moment is 'Moves Like Jagger', and I wanted to listen to it. I found out the band was Maroon 5. (Yes I know, I should know this stuff, but before the arrival of my radio I have been very ignorant to the muscial world).

So, watched that video, then watched some more of Maroon 5... and couldn't not stop watching Adam Levine. As you can see, he's not my usual type. I tend to prefer blonds. Yet, the occasional tall, dark, skinny guy takes my fancy too. He will be inspiration for a hero, I know it!

This particular video (below) is very sexy in my opinion. (Plus I've put another on Tumblr which features Rhianna where he looks so hot in a suit).  Let me know what you think. Is he your type, too? Great voice all the same! (I'm loving the music, which always inspires my writing).




So guess what album I'd like to see in my Christmas stocking...