Busy, busy...

Yep. It's that time of the year again when writers of all descriptions and from all over the world attempt the beast that is NaNoWriMo. I'm glad to report that the moment of, "Yikes! What am I DOING??" has been and gone, and I'm really enjoying the journey. And the story I'm writing has some great potential too. I think/hope. Of course, it will need a LOT of re-writes and polishing before it is even close to being ready to be read by my beta-readers, but it is still fun. I'm seeing the story and scenes in my head like a movie which for me tells me its working. Then again - it could just be madness caused by sleep deprivation that is telling me that. Anyway - this is the sequel to Affinity, my favourite book, tentatively titled, "Synchronicity". I'm not sure if yet if the title is a goodie or if it's a clanger. Time will tell - and things should become a little clearer with a bit of sleep! 

November is a busy month for me. I'm also eagerly awaiting the worldwide release of my first full-length book, Beyond the Shadows. I'm gearing up for the online Facebook party and getting the goodies sorted out for giveaways. By the way - they are international. Here is the link if you want to check it out and join in the fun. 

Beyond the Shadows - FB online release party

November also means the annual A&P show (Agricultural and Pastoral) where the local branch of Greyhounds As Pets (or GAP for short) have a stall to show off our gorgeous doggies and to entice others to adopt one. I mean - who wouldn't fall in love with these gorgeous, elegant speedsters? 

Hmm...lets try another one....

Ahh! That's more like it. As I was saying, gorgeous and elegant! :) This is our Jazzy. She has been the most delightful and loving addition to our family and while time spent elsewhere when I could be working on my Nano novel isn't usually ideal, helping GAP find new families for the recent retired racing hounds is the very best use of that stolen time. It is a sacrifice worth making.

I'm also working to reach the coveted 50,000 words on November 27 as my hubby and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary on the 28th. My father is flying down to Nelson to look after our children and then we're off to enjoy the weekend footloose and fancy-free! It has been years since we've gone away just the two of us, so it will also be a weekend of rediscovery and fun. We can't wait!

So - lots of things on the go and to look forward to this month. How about you? Have you got a busy one?  

TRR Fall Hop - Winner!

Weeee!! What a fun few days this has been! Thank you so much for joining me. I hope you had as much fun as I did and came away with a big list of new authors and titles to read.

Now, its time to announce the winner for my stop on the blog:

DRUM ROLL.........

ASHLEY E!!!

Congratulations, Ashley! I'll be contacting you in regards to which format you'd like.

Fall Into Romance Hop

Hi everyone and welcome to my Kiwi stop of The Romance Reviews blog hop. So glad you stopped by! Not only am I going to be giving away a PDF or Kindle copy of my romantic fantasy novella, AFFINITY to one lucky person, but when you get to the bottom of the post, you'll see I have goodies for EVERYONE :) Yay! Don't you love giveaways and free stuff? Just leave a comment to be in the draw and if you want to double or even treble your chances - follow me on Twitter or Like me on Facebook. Easy peasy!

Romance writers are HUGE readers. One of the perks of being a writer is being able to rub shoulders with some fabulous talent, and to read their work before they're discovered by the masses. Catherine Bybee and Laura Kaye would be the most notable authors I've read before they hit their stride and started featuring regularly on the best-sellers lists. From their very first books, they were dynamite! So - with that in mind, I want to introduce you to two more amazing authors I consider to be the next up-and-comers and their books I fell in love with.

 First up - Kathryn Knight and her paranormal novel, GULL HARBOR.

I fell in love with this book because of the seemingly effortless way the author handled the story, the language and the pacing. From the very start, the hair stood out on the back of my neck and there were a couple of times I didn't want to be the last one up at night! Serious spookiness aside, the attraction between Claire and Max was sizzling and had me turning the pages long into the night (hence the scaredy-pants drama). I was rooting for them to work through their past hurts and find their happy-ever-after because quite simply, they wouldn't find it with anyone else. They were destined for each other. This book is getting some wonderful reviews, as is Kathryn's other book, SILVER LAKE, and when you read her work, you'll understand why. A true talent, get her books now and you too can say, 'you knew her when...' :)

The next author I absolutely ADORE anything by is Vonnie Davis.

Vonnie's books are laced with laugh-out-loud humour and swoon-worthy moments of serious sexiness. A woman of many talents, Vonnie writes stories in ALL genres, so you're sure to find something that tickles your fancy. And here is where your perseverance is rewarded. Vonnie's latest release, A MAN FOR ANNALEE, is FREE on kindle over the dates 17-21 September. Woohoo!! 

Click image for Amazon

Oh - and as an aside, my latest book, BEYOND THE SHADOWS is also being offered free for Kindle (click on the image on the sidebar) on the same dates as Annalee. So go get them and enjoy! :)

Don't forget that this blog hop is ongoing until September 21, 11.59pm EST, so you've got plenty of time to go and visit the other blogs taking part and (cross fingers!) win a book or three :) Maybe you'll even find your new favourite author during this Hop. Click on the Fall Into Romance button below which will take you on a random trip to another participating blog that you've yet to visit. Just make sure you're logged in to The Romance Reviews for the button to work. Registration is free if you haven't done this yet and can be found on the top right hand corner of their home page.

Before you head off to the next blog, don't forget to leave a comment with your contact email in case you win, and extra entry points will be awarded for Twitter or FB follow/likes. Good luck and thanks for visiting with me. It was fun!