Happy Mother’s Day

I am celebrating my 18th Mother’s Day as a mother and for the first time ever, I have neither of my boys home! It’s not really a big deal as they’re both home next weekend, YAY and both of them had sent me snail mail letters for today.

I made a cup of tea and read them. The Lad’s was funny, and as usual, made me laugh and then I opened Boy Wonder’s. He’s up the bush this year so no shops and he made me a card and drew the most amazing eucalyptus leaves on the front. All good, lovely. I was still fine. Then I read the poem inside.

That was it. Tears flowed. I rang my mum.

It takes a village to raise a child so to all the women out there with children in their lives, Happy Mother’s Day!

The Light of Books

I have a mate, Monica, who is very artistic and she takes old lamps and old books and does amazing things with them.

She calls what she does, Recycled Enlightenment. She haunts the opportunity/thrift stores for lamps and old books and then she matches them up with themes and creates magic! She has some great children’s books and lamps for bedrooms, lamps for reading rooms, cookbooks for the kitchen…you name it,she puts it together and they look great.

Here are some of her lamps. This one below is a stack of crime novels and I just LOVE the little typewriter and jigsaw pieces

She also makes fabulous postcards and greeting cards.

 

 

 

 

 

Monica says,
RECYCLED ENLIGHTENMENT allows
her to enjoy the unique, organic process of reworking beautiful elemental objects from the past. Although its primary focus is the production of these distinctive booklamps, RECYCLED ENLIGHTENMENT also refashions other once loved materials into new art and design forms. Keep a look out for RECYCLED ENLIGHTENMENTS other artistic creations!

She also made me a standard lamp using everyone of my books! 

She sells them at markets and she also makes to order so if you fancy a lamp, check out her website and give her a call or an email.

Cover Cafe’s Annual Book Cover Competition

Color me excited! I’m thrilled  to say that the print edition cover of Boomerang Bride is a finalist in Cover Cafe’s annual competition and the voting is open! I ADORE this version of the cover.

Designed by Amanda Emmerson, this cover was chosen by the Australian arm of Harlequin  to grace the cover of  the Australian print edition last year. Carina Press also used it for the US print edition.

I have no clue who nominated the cover but I am

stoked that someone took the time and that it made it to the finals. If you love the cover as much as I do, you might want to pop on over to Cover Cafe and vote for it along with other covers in different categories. Three votes in three separate categories are required for the vote to count.

There is also a worst cover section and I found the covers there both oddly disturbing and compelling all at the same time! It’s worth stopping by for that section alone!

Voting is open until May 28th but why not do it now

A Mini Break in Williamstown at The Captain’s Retreat!

On Friday afternoon, DH and I set off down the road toward the big smoke of Melbourne, but instead of crossing the bridge into the capital of our state of Victoria, home of world class art collections and cuisine, we dropped down into Williamstown.

You can easily see the skyscrapers of Melbourne just across the river and the bright lights shine so close, but Williamstown, with it’s  maritime history is a delight. It has a  ”small town” feel despite being in the shadow of Melbourne’s CBD. They still have a green grocer and old fashioned butchers shop in the main street, just like when I was growing up.

With the river on one side and the sea on the other, Williamstown is very connected to the water and the walks take you past ship builders and docks…The Sea Shepherd was in port… gorgeous Victorian houses, botanical gardens and of course, the Esplanade along the sea.. They even have a Pirate’s Tavern located in the old ship yards and run by the Maritime Association.

We stayed at The Captain’s Retreat B&B and it was gorgeous! We had the suite and it was luxury from the most amazingly comfy bed to the spa bath, to our own verandah with a view of the estuary and a reading nook! We didn’t want to leave.

It also has a lovely deck where you can kick back and a living room with a fireplace and loads of books and magazines. Our room had gothic windows which were out of place in an 1880s weatherboard/clapboard house so I asked a friend who lived in Williamstown if she knew the history.

She kindly found out and sent  me a note,  which said,  the Captain’s Retreat has a chequered history and you were right about its ecclesiastical past…”Built originally as a single 4 room cottage (1862) and then extensively extended in 1880 for a ship Captain and his family, the house at #2 Ferguson St. has also been a Nunnery, a Brothel, Accommodation flats and Administration offices”

I love that it was both a brothel and a Nunnery!

According to my friend, Williamstown was pretty rough and ready and murders were a-plenty during the 1800 and early 1900′s and ghosts abound. They run ghost tours so we’ll have to go back and do the tour because it sounds like a lot of fun.

I took DH clothes shopping as there was a store with a sale of clothes he liked (Lucky!) and then we enjoyed a beautiful dinner with a writing mate and her husband.

Breakfast at The Captain’s Retreat was delicious  and with full bellies, we drove into Melbourne and took advantage of being able to see an ‘Art-House’ movie. We’re short of those where I live as the cinema tends to only show the blockbusters. We saw the French film, Rust and Bone which we really enjoyed and hey, I could understand some of the French.  Not a lot, but some!

Here are some more photos of our room at The Captain’s Retreat. If you want a lovely, relaxing get away, I really recommend it!

The perfect decoration for a Harlequin author!

The spa bath!

It may have only been 26 hours away but if felt like two days. So much so, I have forgotten where I was up to in Runaway Groom! I better get back to Amy and Ben today, as deadline is looming close now…about two weeks. Yikes!

ANZAC DAY. Lest We Forget

It’s April 25th today and in Australia and New Zealand that means Anzac Day. For those of you reading this who are  not from either of these countries, it is a day when we remember the men and women who have served in the defence of our countries. A bit like Memorial Day in the US, although Anzac Day came into being because of a specific battle in Turkey on April 25th 1915.

It was the day Australia lost it’s innocence and came of age. 8,700 Australians and 2,700 New Zealanders died during the Gallipoli campaign along with many British, French and Indian and Turkish soldiers. With a small population, the deaths of young man during WW1 changed the lives of an entire generation.

Of course in later years Australian troops fought in WW2, the Korean War and Vietnam. During the Vietnam war years, Anzac Day became a focus for anti- war sentiment. Then during the 70s and 80s it became for many a public holiday and the chance for a sleep in and a picnic.

Life changes and in the decade there has been a definite shift. Perhaps having forces serving in Afghanistan and Iraq effected us.  Perhaps it is to do with more Australian history taught in schools or the fact that more Australians travel and are visiting the Turkish peninsula, but Anzac Day is once again a day where many people take time to reflect and give thanks.

Lest We Forget.

Recipe for ANZAC Biscuits…these are ‘cookies’ that were sent to the soldiers. They had no eggs so could keep for a long time and they are YUMMY! We make them a lot and they’re an Australian cultural icon.

• 1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 3/4 cup desiccated coconut
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup or treacle
• 150g unsalted butter, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

Preheat oven to 170°C. Place the flour, oats, sugar and coconut in a large bowl and stir to combine. In a small saucepan place the golden syrup and butter and stir over low heat until the butter has fully melted. Mix the bicarb soda with 1 1/2 tablespoons water and add to the golden syrup mixture. It will bubble whilst you are stirring together so remove from the heat. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix together until fully combined. Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls and place on baking trays lined with non stick baking paper, pressing down on the tops to flatten slightly. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

What Can You Buy for $2.99? Saved By The Bride!

Seriously, there isn’t much we can buy for $2.99. In Australia, bananas are usually more per kilo than that. A coffee from a cafe is definitely more expensive than $2.99. Parking in a major city costs 10X  $2.99 per hour.  Saved by the Bride is 360 pages, 99,000 words and will keep you entertained for hours at the bargain price of $2.99.

 

Sale Links are Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook,Carina Press, Kobo ibooks and where all eBooks are sold.

Au-Tum-Num and theLeaves are Falling

It’s Autumn or Fall as the Americans call it and the leaves are falling. It’s my favourite time of year. Days can be sunny but not too hot and mornings and evenings are crisp.

Clothes wise, it’s layer weather…lots of layers you strip on and off throughout the day.

When we lived in the U.S, I adopted the habit of seasonal decorations. One of the guys my husband worked with was a lead-lighter and he made me these great leaves which I’ve put up in the lounge room. Outside, we have an autumn decorative flag up. I tell you, I’m in the autumn spirit!tions.

We’ve filled the garden with compost, putting it to bed for the winter and hopefully we will get a fabulous showing of spring roses in October.

So I will enjoy the splash of autumn colour because within a month or so we will be into my least favourite season for the garden…the winter blah! I eagerly await the snowdrops which give the only colour.