Chaos and More Chaos!

As if there hadn't been enough chaos in Kelso town centre this year due to new pavements being laid, the town  is in an uproar all over again. For some reason no one can fathom, it suddenly became necessary to move the taxi rank a few feet, from one spot to another. In doing so, several disabled parking places had to be lost and the white paint on the road was changed to yellow to show that the spaces were for taxis only.

However, the new yellow paint hardly had time to dry before there was another change of plan. The disabled parking was restored with a fresh coat of white paint marking the places. Meanwhile the taxi rank has been moved into the next street - fresh yellow paint and all. Was all this messing around simply to keep drivers on their toes or could it be that someone at the council had over ordered white and yellow paint and needed to use some of it before stocktaking took place and the mistake was found out?

Yet Kelso isn't the only place to be in an upheaval at the moment. I had to take a trip to Galasheils last week and I had to drive around the town three times before I could find anywhere to park. When I say drive around the town, I mean right around the town. Back out and then back in again!! Not only had the car park disappeared, but the bus station had, too. To tell you the truth, I had no idea where I was going and by the time I got what I went there for, I was all too anxious to find my way out of the town and head for home. Whatever has got into the Scottish Borders Council, I only hope it evaporates by midnight 31st December. Enough is enough!

But Christmas is almost upon us and it is the season to be jolly, so let's talk about something else.

On Thursday a friend popped in and we had some champagne to start the festive season with a bang, I have to say it was really a very pleasant afternoon.

Last Friday evening four of us went to a Cabaret evening with show girls singers and acrobats at Springwood Park here in Kelso. Yes, can you believe it? There really was a dinner and a cabaret here in Kelso. It was really very good and I'm sure everyone had a wonderful night out.

Tomorrow afternoon - Christmas Eve - we are going to a friend's house for a glass of something wonderful and some nibbles. There are to be a few others there, so it should be a lovely afternoon among friends.

And then, of course, it will be Christmas Day.

My friend and I haven't managed to get to Newcastle for a couple of weeks now and I must admit we have missed our jaunt around the shops, usually followed by the glass of wine or two in the M&S Deli bar. But rest assured we will be there in the New Year. So if you see us in there, stop by and say hello!!

I think that is all for the moment, except to say that if you have forgotten to buy someone a Christmas Present and they have a kindle, then perhaps you could offer to download a copy of Only Twelve Days for them......  :-)   You can't blame me for trying.

Party hats on at the count of three
One...

Two...

Three!!!

Have a wonderful Christmas & all best wishes for 2014

Cheers!!!

Odds & Ends 2

During the summer, you might recall me mentioning that the town of Kelso was in an uproar as new pavements were being laid.  Well I have to say, it does look better, but, and there is a big but here,  can you believe it --- the work is still going on! Yes, the town is still in an uproar. There are still red and white barriers all over the place and I'm afraid I can't see an end to it before Christmas. Why on earth has it taken so long?

Stop Press: Christmas is definitely on its way.  Kelso town's Christmas decorations have been brought out of wherever they are stored.  The tree is already in place in the town centre, so it won't be long before we have the switching on ceremony. I have to say that the Christmas lights in the town always look very pretty. Long may it last.

Our nephew is being Christened on Sunday. Yes Christopher Ian, to give him his full title will be going to church for the first time. I do hope the weather stays dry for his big day.

Talking about the weather, we have had some wonderful sunny days this autumn. How lovely to see all the autumn colours in their full splendour. Though I should add it is getting much colder now. In fact my friend and I went through a snow shower on our trip to Newcastle this week. Snow in November!!

Yes I was at Newcastle again this week. More Christmas presents bought so I think I am almost ready for Christmas now.  I also strolled down to Fenwicks Christmas windows. They always put on a wonderful display for Christmas. Don't miss them if you happen to be in Newcastle.  Of course we had out usual liquid lunch at the M&S Deli Bar before dashing for the bus to come home.  The bus was packed again this week - standing room only at one point.  I'm not sure whether I will get there any more before Christmas. On the other hand, I would  miss a trip to that wonderful city.

By the way, if you are looking for a Christmas present for the bookworms among your family and friends, you might like to give my novel a thought.  It is called Only Twelve Days and is a heart-warming romance. Have you read Fifty Shades....  Well, - it is nothing like that :-)
Available from Amazon so you don't even have to go out of the house to buy it. It can be delivered straight to your door! I gather you can even have it gift-wrapped!.


I think that is all for the moment.

Take care everyone and have a brilliant day wherever you are.

Cheers!!

A Little bit of This & A Little Bit of That...

A little bit of this and that! Okay, where on earth do I start?

What has gone on in my life over the last week that you could possibly be interested to read about? The answer to that is simple - absolutely nothing. Yes I seem to have been flying around all over the place, but at the end of the day, nothing stands out. There is nothing that pushes its head above the cloud and says - yes - here is something you have all been sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to hear.

But then aren't most people's lives like that? Not everyone can be like James Bond and lead an exciting life flitting around the world to keep the UK safe from... whatever it is he keeps the UK safe from. No, most people simply to plod along from one day to the next and I am afraid I am one such person.

Therefore since my last post, the most exciting thing I have done is go to Newcastle and do some Christmas shopping.  Yes, you read that right - I have done Christmas shopping already!  I made up my mind that I wasn't going to rush around at the last minute this year. No! This year I was going to be prepared. So I have made a start.  However, I have to add that I was absolutely shattered when I got home. But don't misunderstand. Don't think for one minute that I am some weakling, who can't do a bit of shopping without having to sit down every five minutes and gasp for air. Let me tell you I have shopped until I have dropped from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road and back again before now. But dashing around the shops in Newcastle and leaving time for a glass of wine at the M&S Deli Bar before having to rush for the bus back to Kelso is something else entirely. Only having three hours to shop in town is enough to leave anyone breathless. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the day and hope to do it all over again this week.


My novel, Only Twelve Days, is out there in the big, wide world of Amazon if anyone is interested in heart-warming romances. However, despite Amazon being such a big wide world I'm sure you will find it with the help of the link from the title above.

Can I just add that Only Twelve Days would make an ideal Christmas present if you are stumped about what to give someone who enjoys reading romance novels.

BLURB.

"It is almost Christmas – one of the most wonderful times of the year. Nearly everyone is eagerly looking forward to spending the festive season with their loved ones.  Children see it as a magical time. A time when wishes come true and longed for gifts miraculously appear under the Christmas tree.

But what about those who are facing Christmas alone? When Christmas means nothing more to them than working from home, rather than the office or the college?

Bill and Sally are two such people. Both are shy and rather lonely; both left behind when the rest of the country was caught up in the changes of the swinging sixties. Will they avoid the holiday season, as they usually do and spend it alone? Or, this year, just for a change, will Christmas catch up with them?"

This morning I met some writing friends at a local hotel for a chat. We tend to talk about all things, rather than just writing, so it was rather interesting to meet up. Looking forward to the next get-together.

That's all for the moment.

Have an exciting day, wherever you are.

Cheers!!

Only Twelve Days...

Only Twelve Days, to what?? I can hear you saying.


Well in this case, Only Twelve Days refers to the name
of my latest novel.  It is a heart-warming romance and is set during the twelve days before Christmas.

Only Twelve Days would make an ideal Christmas present for someone who enjoys a tender romance, so I am relying on you to pass the word around for me.

Talking about twelve days, it must only be around that time since my husband and I came back from our holiday. But as I have been flying around all over the place, it seems more like twelve weeks.  Amazing isn't it? You wait all year for a holiday and it passes over so quickly, then when you are home, you don't even feel as though you have been away. So when is the next one to be?

                                                                                                           
                

The next event on our calendar is our nephew's Christening.
I saw him last week. It was the first time I had seen him for a few weeks and I noticed immediately how much
he had grown.

He was looking gorgeous and gave me  the most wonderful smile.
So we are looking forward to the Christening when we
can catch up with him again.

The picture shows him in his pumpkin outfit. All set for Halloween!

You might recall a few months back I commented on Marks & Spencer's tights. How I was rather surprised to find that even the medium size could almost be hoisted above my head and tied in a knot. I wondered who on earth they were made by.   Well after I had written the blog, they seemed to shrink back to a normal sort of size, but now they have suddenly grown again. Or could it only be me who has this problem?  I certainly hope they get it sorted out - fast.

I am having problems with my hair!  (More problems) Not only is it falling out, but my scalp has turned very dry and itchy. If it's not one thing it's another. The Doctor has given me something to rub in at night and a shampoo to wash it with the next morning. Hopefully this will sort out the problem. I have only used it once, but I expect it will take a while to cure.

Well I think that is all for the moment,

Have a good day whatever you are doing.

Cheers!!

A Couple of Things...

I just thought I would bring you all up to speed - by that I don't mean we are all going to speed off somewhere. No, my days of racing around are over. Nowadays I rather like to take life at a slower pace. So by bringing you up to speed,  I simply mean that I am about to tell you about what has been going on during the past week.

My husband and I went to Nidd Hall. It's a country house hotel, run by Warners Leisure Hotels for adults only. A lovely place where you can sit and relax or for those who feel more energetic, there are lots of activities going on during the day and evenings. Anyway, we were there to relax, so relax we did.

Last weekend, there was a celebrity chef at the hotel giving a cookery demonstration.  However I decided to give that a miss. I find there are too many cookery programmes on TV, without me going to see another when I am suppose to be chilling out from everything that normally goes on in the kitchen.  But I gather there were a lot of people were very interested and that they all came away with lots of new ideas.

One of the evening's entertainers was a comedian, who was really very good. And another evening we saw a group of singers and musicians called, Forever In Blue Jeans. They were excellent, so if you get the opportunity to see them, don't miss out.

My next piece of news is that my novel, Only Twelve Days has been published, both in paperback and on Kindle. So for me, it has been quite a week!

Only Twelve Days

Only Twelve Days is a heart-warming romance set during the twelve days before Christmas. Therefore, is you know anyone who enjoys reading a romantic novel, this has got to be the perfect Christmas Gift. There you are, you have one Christmas present sorted already, you can cross one off your list. Or even two; you might know two people who would enjoy Only Twelve Days

Anyway, there you have it, my week in a nutshell.



I hope you all had a brilliant week and are enjoying the weekend.

Cheers!!

Catch Up - Well, Sort Of!

Before I write anything else, can I just mention that both my novels, The Trojan Project an action packed thriller and Divorcees.Biz are at a very low price on Kindle at Amazon at the moment. And I really mean low!  I'm not sure how long the offer will last, so if you are looking for a novel which will either keep you on the edge of your seat or one that will make you smile, then make your choice and download a copy right now.

I am sometimes asked why I decided to write the two novels in completely different genres. Most writers stick to one genre.  Well the answer to that is, I really don't know. The best I can come up with was that when I decided to write The Trojan Project, I wanted to write something that would grab everyone's attention. Something that would make the reader gasp and keep them glued to the edge of their seat.  I say glued to the edge of their seat here as I didn't want anyone falling off their chair and needing medical attention.

However, when I came to writing the second novel, I felt I wanted to write something completely different. Something light-hearted, something which would make the reader feel good and relax and even make them smile. I must add here that I thoroughly enjoyed writing about the four women in Divorcees.Biz. Especially Sadie, the scatty one. She is a bit like me - grown up but not yet really got to grips with it. But then aren't we all a little bit like that deep down?

Okay, so I have given my novels a little bit more than a mention. But you will understand that these two books took me some time to write and now, looking back, they are a real part of my life. They are me.

Sooo... moving on, you will be delighted to know that my friend and I managed to get to Newcastle last Monday. I can't remember the last time we were there as my husband has been so poorly. I have really missed our visits to that wonderful city.  The only trouble was that because we hadn't been there for so long, the time passed too quickly. Going on the bus from Jedburgh saves a a great deal of hassle with traffic and parking and everything else that spoils a trip anywhere. But it does mean that you have to watch the clock. There is only one bus per day and if you miss it, then you are stuck there until the next day.  Nevertheless, it is good fun day out and we did make time for our liquid lunch in the M&S Deli Bar Gosh it wouldn't be the same without stopping off in the M&S Deli Bar. The staff there are so friendly and it is wonderful sitting there on the bar stools, sipping a glass of wine and watching the world go by.

Apart from my trip to Newcastle, my husband had three medical appointments last week, so that meant we couldn't really plan to do anything else on those three days. Isn't it amazing, some weeks we have nothing going on, no appointments etc., and then along comes a week when we can't do anything else but visit the hospital, doctor's surgery or clinic.

This morning was coffee morning at our social club. My husband gave it a miss, but I decided to go and catch up with all the local news. However, there wasn't much news going around this week. But the club did have three events to promote running up to Christmas, so we all have something to look forward to.

My laptop is giving me trouble. It seems to freeze up when I want to do anything. I have no idea what is wrong with it, but I have given it a verbal warning. Any more messing me around and it will be joining my last laptop in the land of unusable computers - the council recycling dump. I will keep you posted. If it the reprimand works, then I will hire myself out to people whose computers need a good talking to!!

I called this post 'Catch Up', as I thought I could bring you up to speed on the week's events. But it seems I don't really have much to catch up on as I thought I had. Anyway, I think I have rambled on enough

But, as always have a good day

Cheers!!

The West Wing - and More...

It occurred to me that I hadn't mentioned that wonderful series, The West Wing for some time. I wondered whether you might have thought I'd gone off the series, as I have mentioned it for a while.
Let me assure you that I have most certainly not gone off The West Wing.  In fact I doubt I could ever 'go off' the series. I watch it every opportunity I get and then when I have finished viewing the whole series - I simply start all over again.

How I wish they had carried on with Matt Santos as the new President (played by Jimmy Smits) especially as they brought Sam Seaborn back into the fold (Rob Lowe)  I must add here that the whole cast were brilliant. But as they didn't continue with the new President,  I guess I am just going to have to continue watching the original series over and over again.  Does anyone else have a favourite programme/series that they can't stop watching?

All else in my life is the same. My novel, The Trojan Project, now available on Kindle, is doing okay. Though a few more sales would be good. But I expect every writer/author says the same thing. It is so very difficult to get your work known. You might recall that The Trojan Project is a thriller, set in The Cheviot Hills in North East England.

At the moment I am working on the final edit of a novel called, Only Twelve Days. It is a rather tender romance set around Christmas time in the early 1980s - before computers and mobile phones had taken over the world.  Anyway I do hope you all enjoy it, when it finally reaches the kindle stage. Hopefully about the end November.

My husband's health is continuing to improve. He was so poorly just over a month ago, so it is good to see him doing so well. In fact he is doing so well, he has been helping me to sort out our garage. Now when I say sort out the garage, I don't mean there are a few unwanted things in there. No, what I mean is the place is piled high with unwanted things. I have no idea how it came to get into this state - well I suppose I do, really. If there is something we want out of the house, we usually just put it in the garage. It's an easy way of getting it out of sight. Anyway, we had come to the stage where it was difficult to get through the door, so something had to be done.

The problem is, there are also spiders lurking in there. I am terrified of spiders and I think they all know it.. Therefore, my husband was put on spider alert, while I had a crack at sorting out the rubbish. At this point, I must give three cheers to our friends and neighbours who had hired a skip to get rid of some rubbish of their own. They very generously suggested we dump some of our stuff in there, too. I had planned to make a few trips to the local refuse dump, but I think I would have been making daily trips for the next six months if they hadn't allowed us to use their lovely skip.

I haven't been to that wonderful city of Newcastle for some time. I'm not sure how the shops are coping without us, so I guess we will have to get ourselves down there very soon.

I think that is all for the moment, except to say: if you find a moment or two in your busy day, take a peek at The Trojan Project on kindle at amazon. You never know, you might just feel like reading it. But be warned, it is an edge of the seat read..... Enjoy!!

Cheers!

The Trojan Project - Now on Kindle!!

Do you remember my novel, The Trojan Project, that action packed thriller set in the Cheviot Hills in northern England. Of course you do, how could you possible forget, I ranted on about it enough at the time it was first published.

Well, sorry folks, but I am starting the ranting all over again, as The Trojan Project is now available to download onto Kindle.  It has been re-edited, as it was going to be released in the USA. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, this didn't happen and all rights were reverted back to me. 

It has taken me a little while to decide what to do next. The thought of sending out the manuscript to one publisher after another filled me with dread. So I decided that I wasn't going to go down that road again. Then I thought of an ebook, but I am not really a technically minded person.  Nevertheless I have somehow managed to get my head around uploading The Trojan Project on to Kindle. 

Yes I did it. It is up there now in all its glory. New cover and all, (pictured here) really love the cover. It was designed by a lady in the US and I think she really got it right.  

So please, head on over to Amazon and take a look. I would hate to think that I had puzzled over the ins and outs of self publishing to Kindle and no one was going to even take a look at it.   

 Simply follow the link to the new Kindle edition on  AMAZON

If you do decide to download a copy I really hope you enjoy this fast paced roller-coaster read.

Do let me know what you think,

Have a good day,

Cheers!!