Voices Inside My Head

I really need to do a blog post. The last time I blogged it was the 14th October! (I didn't even mention my birthday which has came and went). And now we're rapidly approaching the end of October, and Halloween.

I have finished the first draft of my 3rd book, and came up with an idea for another book - which maybe the 4th I write, as these characters keep talking to me. It's nicknamed Cinderella meets James Bond, only because she leaves a ball (Christmas party) at midnight and the hero - dressed in a tuxedo - doesn't get her name.

I appear to be alternating the seasons with my books. My first book, Plus One is a Lucky Number, was set in the summer and my second, One Fine Day was set in autumn/winter. My third - which is only in draft state - is set in the summer again, where as this 4th book, if this is the next one I write, is set in the winter. Well, it starts with a Christmas party where the hero and heroine meet. It may go the whole four seasons! Who knows?

It's been rather lovely actually. It's felt like a very long time since two characters really spoke out to me to have their story told. I don't know what it is about these two but they won't leave me alone. But, however much these two characters keep talking to me, they're going to have to be quiet for a little longer. I have written their first scene and made some notes of their characters, and I will continue to brainstorm them as I need to give them a back story each but my focus must be on editing book 3, which has the working title of To Love Again.

Obviously I haven't managed any writing while the kids have been off school - but next week it's back to the grindstone. Without wanting to wish my life away, or my children's for that matter, I do dream of the day I can work full time as a writer. If it will ever happen, is another thing. But for now, I need to continue to do the best I can.

With Enough Coffee....

I am determined to get my boys to drink tea and/or coffee. I've just never been sure when to do this, considering both drinks do contain caffeine, which is a stimulant, and I don't wish to have them up all night, unable to sleep. They are children after all!

Then I came up with a cunning plan... I'd buy decaffeinated. (Yeah, I know, not all that cunning... why I hadn't thought of this earlier!) This means they can have a warm drink before bed (or after school) and it doesn't always have to be hot chocolate.

And I'm determined to introduce it to them without adding sugar!

Now, the reason I want my kids to like drinking tea and coffee is because I've observed, over the years, those who don't drink hot drinks like tea or coffee tend to drink a lot more fizzy drinks during the day... and in so doing so, either have shocking teeth or are overweight. (Sorry but that is the truth of it).

As I don't really wish to name and same all the fizzy drinks and be sued. And energy drinks, which in my opinion are EVIL, for this article I will refer to them all as pop.

Pop are high in calories and don't even hydrate you. It makes me so mad when I see young children choosing these drinks as an option! Even if you drink the diet pop variety, you will not lose weight. (Ever noticed the amount of people drinking these drinks and are not losing weight?) The reason being is these drinks are sending the wrong messages to the brain that a sweet thing is about to enter the stomach... but that sweet thing isn't really sugar... and so then the brain craves the sugar it didn't get... and so the person tends to eat more because of it. Defeating the whole objective of the diet 'pop'.

Hot drinks are more sociable too. Nowadays the in thing to do is to meet for coffee. (We have Costas in abundance in Weston-super-Mare and they are all busy!)

I know my love for coffee began once I started working full time in my first proper job, but my dad had from an early age given me milky coffee. I remember having it in a glass cup and saucer.

Probably like most coffee drinkers, I need a cup of coffee every morning to give me that kick start. I drink more when I'm writing or at work too. But I do usually stop drinking coffee in the afternoon and switch to green tea (with lemon or mint - but has to be Clipper), unless meeting someone for coffee. I don't drink black tea. Never have. Can not, for the life of me, get round the taste of it to enjoy it.

In my opinion if you're going to drink pop - do the full fat variety and keep it to special occasions. I very occasionally have a Coke - it is my guilty pleasure. But it's probably once in about six months that I dirnk it. Usually with vodka, or when nursing a hangover. Or I really need that sugar fix, but I never drink diet. I can taste the artificial sweeteners and I don't like them.

I know my kids will drink pop eventually, but I want to encourage that they only do it on special occasions, and choose a healthier option if they need a drink. So the boys and I are getting into a cosy routine at reading time before bed, to have a cup of tea or milky coffee, or a hot chocolate, and hopefully their passion for tea and coffee will begin.

Are you a tea or coffee drinker? Or both?

Want To Hold On To Summer That Bit Longer?

As an author I always fear I'm not doing enough - writing, promoting, advertising... You name it, I worry about it.

At the moment, Plus One is a Lucky Number is 99p on Amazon.co.uk. And therefore, is probably 99p on all other good ebook sites too.

As I have this blog, and I need to put a post out there, and really I'm quite within my rights to advertise my own book, I thought I would.

If you'd like to hold on to summer that bit longer, fancy a wedding, romance, sun, sea and surf.... then this maybe for you.

Blurb: Plus One is a Lucky Number

The wedding favour...

Sophie’s going to a wedding where the invite is strictly plus one… but with her single girl status not exactly fitting in with the bridesmaid dress code, and the best man being none other than the ex she would rather forget, Sophie needs a favour and she needs it fast!

Luckily for Sophie, her dreamy but distant co-worker Adam Reid owes their mutual friend James big time…and his gorgeousness more than fills the role of the ‘Perfect Boyfriend’!

As they take off to the sunny shores of Cornwall for the wedding weekend, it’s not long before pretence leads to passion and Sophie and Adam must decide; is their relationship real or is it all for show?

Buy Links:

Amazon UK Paperback

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Waterstones

Harper Impulse

Add on Goodreads

Kobo

‘If you like Jill Mansell and romantic comedies, you will enjoy Plus One is a Lucky Number.’

5 Stars by BookBabe - 'Everyone’s worst nightmare – Sophie is going to a wedding with no suitable ‘plus one’ in sight! Adam is persuaded to fill the position (who wouldn’t want him!) and fun and games ensue as the long weekend unfolds. As two work-focused individuals act out the part of a loving couple, there are enough twists to keep the reader turning those pages, with some great laughs. One to curl up with for a bit of romantic fun!'

Fake Friday with Rhoda Baxter

It's been a while since I've had a guest visit my blog, and so today I have Rhoda Baxter returning to promote her new book - Please Release Me. 

Hello, Rhoda! So.... 

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be instead?

Chocolate taster. Or maybe a bookshop ‘character’ who doesn’t actually do any work, but hangs out in the armchair in the bookshop, drinking tea, chatting and recommending books to people. I’m doing lots of reading and eating chocolate to keep my eye in, in case the opportunity comes calling…

Oh, that does sound like a fantastic job. Doesn't pay so well though... 

If your latest book was made into a film, who would you want to play

• Your hero? Ben Wishaw. Oh yes.

(I need to check out this guy... I have no idea who he is).

• Your heroine? I’ve got two heroines in my book. For Sally, Keira Knightley. For Grace Ayesha Dharker (Grace is mixed race and I pictured her as a kind of taller version Ayesha Dharker).

Have you ever read a book that you’ve wanted to throw against the wall?

Oscar and Lucinda. I simultaneously love and hate that book. It’s wonderfully well written and I cared about the characters SO MUCH. And then… that ending… gnnnnh. I’m going to have to go have a lie down until smoke stops coming out of my ears. Excuse me.

Oh, I haven't read that book... maybe I won't now, if the ending isn't so satisfying... 

What do you like to achieve in your writing?

I want to make people laugh, pause and then think. I think I understood a lot about how other people felt by reading. I want the same thing to happen with my books. I write comedy because I’d rather have fun people talking in my head than grim ones. That said, they have very angst-ridden lives sometimes.

The Wuthering Heights debate – do you love or hate Heathcliff?

Oh, I don’t like him. I think he’s a wrong ‘un. Don’t like Cathy much either – wild wicked slip of a girl.

Phew! I agree. She's probably the reason Heathcliff became so vile. This book isn't a romance, it's a tragedy.

What’s your favourite TV show?

At the moment, it’s The Big Bang Theory. I’m very fickle though. Next week it’ll be Firefly again.

From TV, books or film:

Who is your favourite all time hero?

Easy. Willy Wonka. He’s a genius. He’s a millionaire. He looks like Johnny Depp under all that make up… and… He owns a chocolate factory. (I’m assuming he pays the Umpa Loompa’s decent rates and is a good employer, obviously.)

Who is your favourite all time heroine?

Amelia Peabody Emerson from Elisabeth Peters’ books. She’s an archaeologist, amateur medic and a total kickass lady. She and her husband Radcliffe get up to all sorts of adventures.

Some fab answers there! Thanks so much, Rhoda, for taking the time to answer the questions for my blog. 

Please Release Me

Buy link: myBook.to/PleaseReleaseMe

The very silly Lego book trailer: https://animoto.com/play/DBE2BHWxYkaRBiFK2Yehww

Blurb:

What if you could only watch as your bright future slipped away from you?

Sally Cummings has had it tougher than most but, if nothing else, it’s taught her to grab opportunity with both hands. And, when she stands looking into the eyes of her new husband Peter on her perfect wedding day, it seems her life is finally on the up.

That is until the car crash that puts her in a coma and throws her entire future into question.

In the following months, a small part of Sally’s consciousness begins to return, allowing her to listen in on the world around her – although she has no way to communicate.

But Sally was never going to let a little thing like a coma get in the way of her happily ever after …

I will be donating 50% of my royalty earnings to Martin House Children's Hospice http://www.martinhouse.org.uk/

My website link: www.rhodabaxter.com

Twitter: @rhodabaxter

Bio:  Rhoda Baxter likes to write about people who make her laugh. In real life she studied molecular biology at Oxford, which is why her pen name might sound suspiciously similar to the name of a bacterium.

After trying out life in various places, including the Pacific island of Yap (it’s a real place!), Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Didcot, she now lives in East Yorkshire with one husband, two children and no pets or carnivorous plants. She has a day job working in intellectual property and writes contemporary romantic comedies in whatever spare time she can grab.

She can be found wittering on about science, comedy and cake on her website (www.rhodabaxter.com) or on Twitter (@rhodabaxter) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/RhodaBaxterAuthor).

A New Obsession... The Man From UNCLE

Ever since watching this film with my friend on Thursday, I haven't stopped obsessing about it. I wanted to see it because of Henry Cavill who plays Napolean Solo (the American Spy). Ever since seeing him as the Man of Steel, I've been a fan! And in this movie he doesn't disappoint either. He shares the screen with two other great actors, Armie Hammer (Illya Kuryakin) and Alicia Vikander (Gaby Teller) and the chemistry between the three of them is amazing.

Solo and Illya (the spies) have a love/hate relationship which is fun to watch but as this story unfolds, I found myself loving the relationship between Illya (the Russian spy) and Gaby (the East German girl). I don't want to ruin this film with any spoilers, but they have to pretend to be engaged... and you all know how I love relationships that are pretending to be in a relationship. Yes, I've been on YouTube and yes there are fanvids of these two already :)

There are a few moments in this film where these two sizzle. You think they're about to kiss... you want them to kiss... desperately...

Guy Ritchie directed this film. It's of his usual calibre, but I would say it's better - if not his best yet! Brilliant. You will be entertained from start to finish, there is never a dull moment, the comedy is timed to perfection. But the comedy isn't spoofy, it's just dry and fun. The film is set in the 60's to keep it in line with the TV series it is inspired by.

One fantastic action movie! My friend and I came out of the cinema wishing we could go back in and watch it all over again.

Don't worry, I still have a love for Henry, who is my inspiration for book 3 (which I'm currently writing) but I think it's safe to say, Armie Hammer, my Russian Spy, with his blond hair, blue eyes and slim, muscular build at 6' 5" will be my next book inspiration - or he'll be fighting it out with Tom Hiddleston.

If you're wondering - like I was - where have you seen Armie Hammer before, he's The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp which is okay, and he's Prince Alcott in Mirror Mirror which is the tale of Snow White and is another fantastic movie.

Here's the official trailer of The Man from UNCLE. I promise this isn't showing you all the jokes and best bits. The whole movie is the best bit!

If they can make a million Mission Impossibles... then they can make a sequel to this movie!

*I've found the pictures/photos off the internet, I've lost track of who they belong to, but they don't belong to me. And I hope the owners don't mind me borrowing them for the cause of bigging up this awesome movie.