So now what?

As most of you will know I have completed my very first NaNoWriMo and am very chuffed that I did, and I hope got a half decent novel out of it. I will be taking the Nano blog down after November, as I will be submitting to Blaze all being well. *Fingers firmly crossed* and all that.

Scandinavian Scandal is with the powers that be at Harlequin thanks to SYTYCW so *fingers crossed again*

Having been completely wrapped up in Nano and Too hot to handle I now find myself at a loose end with far to much time on my hands, especially as I promised hubbie to not write anything till the New Year. There is of course the beginning of another story bubbling in my head, but am managing to ignore it mostly.

The house has never been cleaner, so can't even do housework to keep myself occupied, what a shame ;-)
I do have a brand new subscription to Blaze, so am merrily reading myself through those *fans herself* but as I'm a fast reader that's not going to last long and I have other books to read, but it's not the same as getting caught up in your own story and the excitement of seeing it all come together.

I think I may be addicted to writing, which is not necessarily a bad thing I suppose.

Ah well, I shall figure it out. Am probably just trying to escape the nightmare that is potty training Tj. Unfortunately he is most keen to wear big boy pants and at the grand old age of three he should be ready, yet I have my doubts. He manages very well at nursery, yet home is another matter....

I wouldn't  mind too much, but he gets himself ever so upset when he has a number two accident in particular and I do wonder whether it would not just be all much easier to leave it a while longer, for everyone's sakes. But then again he does have some successes and when he does he is so pleased with himself, bless him.

You'd think with child number eight I'd have it figured, but I never had these problems with the others, especially the other two boys were dry within two days and the last two girls never even had one accident when *they* decided to come out of nappies, so this is all new territory. It's probably Karma for writing a potty training toddler into my story right......

Ho hum and all that, this too will pass!

A much better day and a personal plug

After my woe is me blog of yesterday, inspiration struck and I have managed to write lots more with a fairly clear view of where I'm going now. Current word count stands at 15150 words :-)

On a different note, I got post today and was happy to see that my Weaning Story is in this month's edition of Breastfeeding matters by the charity La Leche League GB.

I hadn't read my story in a while and I still had tears in my eyes at the end, so be warned.

Every purchase helps to increase much needed funds for LLL, whose leaders work tirelessly at supporting breastfeeding mothers wherever they are in their breastfeeding journey. It is an amazing organisation I am very proud to be part of, run entirely by volunteers.

Right, I best go and see what my brood is up to. Teenage son number two is fretting about a lift - he can't possibly walk the ten minutes to his friend's house, as he is taking his X Box.... Though as he was mugged at knife point earlier in the year for just his old phone, not too far from us, he may have a valid point there!

Teenage son number one is I believe still asleep, or at the very least, hidden away in his room.

Teenage daughter number one is at her boy friend's house and I dare say the phone will ring soon for a lift home.

Teenage daughter number two is, well being very teenage like, if the keifing at everyone else is anything to go by and the rest of them.  I couldn't eat a whole one, let's leave it that ;-)

Oh and of course, joy of joys! I have mountains of washing waiting for my attention, thanks to teenage son number two not having put said washing in the basket for a week...

And folks wonder why I like to write Romance!!!

Inspiration, where art though..

Five days into Nano, I don't seem to be able to get myself motivated. Probably in part due to coming down with a cold, which means my head has turned into a jack hammer in much the same way Kitty's heart has whenever she is around Alex.

And therein lies the problem. I know where I want them to end up. I have a few scenes in my head, but can I put fingers to keyboard to convey that... no!
I found myself rabbiting on with my story last night, just for the sake of rabbiting, but am far from happy with it. And the urge to go back and rewrite that last chapter is huge, but I am resisting. Wouldn't know what else to write anyway.

So, where do I find the next scene, this is the question. So far am toying with staying at the party, conversation in the car on the way home, being called away for a major fire (actually favouring that one, leaving Kitty at the party and the mercy of hero's mother...)

Hmmm that has potential. And when exactly does Kitty give in and her and Alex have their fire works? Decisions, decisions.. right now I want someone else to tell me what to do, as I am second guessing everything and am convinced that the plot is, well not a plot and my writing not good enough and, and....

Woe is me and all that. Someone please give me a proverbial kick up the jacksy. Why did I ever think this was a good idea?!?

My Nano blog

I have decided to blog my Nano efforts here. So you can cringe along with me at my attempts to write a novel in thirty days...

First two chapters are up.
Be kind please!

My very own Plot Ninjas

I haven't blogged for ages, mainly because I have been knee deep in my manuscript for Scandinavian Scandal, which *drum roll, takes a bow* I have finished! :-) I am extremely pleased with it, even if I say so myself and it's a great feeling to know that I have completed it. Word count keeps changing, due to editing but right now it stands at 51105.

It is a certain amount of relief that Sven does not reside in my head anymore, though you know I didn't mind too much having to dream of that sexy Swede ;-) Hmm I digress....

Which brings me to the title of this post.I thought I would introduce you to my very own plot ninjas. Meet my eldest and youngest, both of them a constant source of inspiration in very different ways.

Tj, my little whirlwind, who gives me all the material I'll ever need for the children that seem to invariably find themselves in my stories - can't think why really - and Nate, my beautiful almost twenty year old daughter. She has come up with one of the twists for Scandinavian Scandal, so a very public Thank You!

Nate and I were still up in the early hours of this morning, putting the world to rights as only we can, when we started talking heroes. Such a hardship ;-)

Any hows, as you all know, mad woman that I am, have entered Nano this year and I had yet to figure out exactly who my hero was going to be, had vague ideas, but nothing concrete. Was he Italian, Greek, Russian -that had us giggling I tell you! Think we both have watched too many James Bond Movies as the only Russians we could picture in our heads were very tall, pale, menacing and wearing a fur hat! Apologies to any Russians who may be reading this btw...
I have been to your beautiful country many times and know how badly stereo typical that was.

We eventually decided that he is going to be English with an Italian mother and a firefighter. Cue both of us away with the fairies for a little while, imagining hunky firefighters as you do - ahem. Next we had to figure out my heroine. Nate decided she would be a fiery redhead, who hates her hair and her name. The heroine's mother called her Kitty, after reading Pride and Prejudice. "Seriously of all the names she could have chosen, she chose Kitty?!!"

Kitty will have a son called Noah, result of a hen weekend, five years ago, where she met a certain firefighter, who has no idea Noah exists....

Oh yeah, I'm going to have fun with this one! We came up with several other ideas too, that may or not make themselves into stories in the future.  But as I can clearly picture my hero in my head already, will be going with hunky Alex Giovanni.

Thanks Nate, for the giggle, the ranting about boobs and for just being you. Couldn't imagine anyone I would rather have those late night brainstorming sessions with.

Another day, another competition

I have entered Scandinavian Scandal into the Circalit Competition, so if anyone has the time, please read and write a review. The first three chapters are there. *gulp*

Nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that. The newbies novella is now mostly finished too and we have started a new project.

Isla amore can be read here and part two here.

On a personal level I had to giggle yesterday. It was parent's evening at the girl's school and I am pleased to report that they are doing very well.
Molly's teacher is new to the school and in conversation she said that Molly was quite quiet and she was wondering what her position in the family was. She guessed that she was either an only child or the youngest of two...

Cue, hubbie and I looking at each other, wondering what number Molly was (yes we really, did have to think about it, she is number six btw.) and bless the teacher she was completely flummoxed. She never would have guessed that apparently.
We're taking it as a compliment. Apparently children of large families are usually noisy, boisterous and ill behaved. Urm, no we would be mortified if ours acted like that! It does make me cross though, the stereo typing that goes on about large families. Not all of us live off the state and have children running riot in the streets!
Anyways, stepping off my soap box for a minute, we did work out that we had been parents at that school for a staggering fifteen years :-O

We have at least another eight years left at that school too. Does make me feel rather old, I tell you. I wonder whether you can get some sort of long service award for parents...

It's official

I have hopelessly fallen in love with my hero in Scandinavian Scandal. Now I am assuming this is a good thing, at least that's what I tell my husband, who finds all this still rather amusing. Not sure how he will feel once he has read chapter five mind you... Ahem.

This is after all the man, who has been known to express jealousy at my hopeless crush on one of  Charlaine Harris' characters in her hugely successful Sookie Stakehouse series of books. For those of you that have read them, well how can you resist Eric? And if you haven't discovered them yet, then start reading!

Anyhow, I digress slightly, easy to do when I start thinking of sexy vampires and back to Sven. As someone pointed out to me, if I don't fall in love with the hero of my book, then how can I expect anyone else to do so? Would this reasoning work on hubbie do you think? I have my doubts, but we'll find out I guess...

On a  different note, I am off just after lunch to pursue the other passion of my life, all things breastfeeding at the La Leche League  annual workshop in Newcastle.  Really looking forward to hearing Carlos Gonzales' Talk and generally speaking, soak up the LLL atmosphere. So good to be surrounded by like minded people, who value the nursing relationship between  mother and child as much as Tj and I still do. Not that he is coming with me this time. He is quite happy to stay home with daddy and his siblings and I will have a hotel room all to myself tonight. Pure bliss!

I am planning an early night with one of my favourite M&B authors, and copious amounts of chocolate ;-)

See you all when I get back.