When I wrote for Ellora’s Cave, I tried my hand at a short paranormal romance. My aim was for a word count of less than 15,000. I wrote My Scarlet Woman and sent it to my editor only to receive a rejection. She liked what I’d done, but I’d crammed too much story into my romance, and it suffered because of it. Her suggestion was to rewrite my book into a longer form. Right, I thought. I love this...
Love at first sight. That was me and the alpaca. “If we ever purchase land, we’re getting alpacas,” I told my husband. Fast forward quite a few years, and I still don’t have any alpacas. Some of my characters, however, do own alpacas. Facts about farming alpacas: 1....
Black Moon Dragon, my New Zealand-set romance, contains dragons or taniwha. In this particular book, I’ve used more Maori mythology than usual and terms that are perhaps unfamiliar to those who live outside New Zealand. I’ve solved this by including a glossary with...
This is a continuation of my post about my visit to Hobbiton in Matamata. Part one is here. I was busy taking photos of Hobbit holes and my surroundings and saw something moving. It took me a moment to realize the pheasant was real and it was busy feasting on the...
I've wanted to visit Hobbiton in Matamata for ages, and yesterday, I finally got to explore the home of the Hobbits. In order to visit it's necessary to plan and book ahead. My tour was for 10:30 and Hobbiton central was very busy with tours going out every half an...
Today, I’m excited to welcome Anya J Cosgrove to my blog. Anya J Cosgrove lives in Québec with her husband, her beautiful son, and two mischievous cats. She works as a veterinarian by day. What would Buffy do? Kick ass! Hi, Anya. I understand you’re a new author....
I'm still on an adventure kick and trying as many new things--big and small--as much as I can this year. This week, I tried a new recipe for vegetarian chili, which I discovered on The English Kitchen blog. It was a complete success, and I'll be adding it to my recipe...
