Nose Down, Tail up

Every year at this time I have three weeks to go until deadline, a lot of book left to write, a husband who has a birthday …WHAT was his mother thinking having him six weeks before Christmas?!..and the rising panic that Christmas shopping, cards and baking really needs to start happening. This year is no exception and it’s all happening and I start to employ ’swiss cheesing’. That’s making tiny holes in BIG tasks so I can at least pretend I have some control.  Yesterday I ransacked the calendar and made a list of what has happened this year. Today I wrote the nuts and bolts of the Christmas letter. The relief is immense even though not a single card has been scribed.

As for the book..well all I can do is write every day and keep the faith I will make the deadline like I have for the last four years but man, there seems to be a lot left to write! My head is full of book and other things are slipping like taking DH and DS2 to the movies yesterday only to find I was at the wrong cinema! My brain is too full of Sophie and Jack and even with lists a-plenty I am pretty much in the cave until December 10.

Feeling Less than Young

I’m feeling a bit like this jetty today….broken in parts but still trying to do the job required. Good news on the tennis elbow front…finally seeing some improvement although I’m yet to test it with a racquet but at least I can pick up the tea caddy now! Mind you, the tennis team might not want me back seeing as the wonderful woman I found to fill in is actually a better player than I am !

Fortunately I’m still able to type so back I go to sort out Leo and Abbie who really have to get serious and they’re just not

I’ve Gone Polish!

I was walking home from the gym this morning and the Aust Post courier comes about 8am. Inside the box was a package and with a zip of excitement I opened the pack wondering where in the world the two books inside would be from…it’s always a lucky dip!

So far I’ve gone to France, Italy, South Africa, Serbia and all four of the Scandanavian countries. Today I discover I’ve gone to Poland! Can’t read a word but it’s totally cool to know that Wedding In Warragurra is now Zmiana planu.  Anyone out there read polish and able to translate the title for me?

Ohh! A Review!

Putting your book “out there” is a bit like leaving part of your soul hanging and unprotected. Some reviews go straight to the bin but others make you smile and these two fit the smiling category

CataRomance writes: Wonderfully written, sensitively told and totally absorbing, The Doctor Claims His Bride is another triumph for this wonderful writer of engrossing romantic fiction!

Full of the warmth, humour, pathos and detailed medical scenarios that have become her trademark, The Doctor Claims His Bride is a tender, poignant and highly absorbing Medical Romance that will tug at your heartstrings, move you to tears and make you fall in love all over again!  The PinkHeart Soceity Review.

So I’m feeling pretty happy!  If the reviews intrigue you then grab yourself a copy in the UK or Australia.

Sweden – here I come!

 

It’s international post week down here in Victoria! Tuesday brought me French editions of A Wedding In Warragurra. So far all my books have gone into French so that wasn’t so much of a surprise arrival. BUT yesterday was!  I have debuted in Sweden and they even had that written on the cover.  I love these surprise packets in the post. What’s next?

A Week of Finishing

It’s been a big week!  The school holidays finished and the boys went back to school after giving the holidays 9/10! I was happy about that seeing as I thought I worked a lot. They pottered about with friends, went to the movies, a science club and generally had a good rest. And they needed to be rested as term 2 is 12 weeks!!

And yesterday I finished my 10th book!  I can’t believe it.  I met my goal of a chapter a week and I got there. I even survived the mid book demons where you wonder what on earth you are going to write next.  This last week, Tess and Cal spent a lot of time at “Westwinds” and I enjoyed it just as much as they did! So now I just have to do a final read of ‘The Surgeon’s Surprise Family’ and ping it to my editor. Then I wait.  But I’ll be busy waiting coming up with the next book:-)

 

 

The Reviews Are In!

 

You write the book and that is the part you control. The Cover, the Blurb and the Reviews are out of your control so whenever a new book hits the shelf there is always a moment of breath holding.

A Wedding In Warragurra is a special book to me and I was wondering how it would be received. I’m excited to say that the reviews are in!

“Reading a novel by Fiona Lowe is like stepping out in the warm Outback sunshine. Warm hearted, uplifting and spellbinding, her captivating Medical Romances are simply superb!” Julie Bonello CataRomance

“Fiona Lowe is simply terrific! Not only does this talented storyteller allow her readers to fall in love with her wonderful hero and heroine, but she also recreates their Outback town so vividly, that readers will feel as if they are standing under the vast Australian sky! If you are looking for a romance that is poignant, passionate and enthralling, then rush to the bookstore and pick up A Wedding in Warragurra – you certainly will not regret it!” Pink Heart’s Society

This book is out now at Mills and Boon UK and will be on the Shelf in the UK on March 15th.

For Australians wanting an advanced copy click HERE. Or Mark April 15th on your calendar and grab yourself a copy then.

A NEW YEAR and a new cover

Happy New Year!

A brand new shiny year with no mistakes in it…yet! Give me 24 hours:-)  I had a lovely New Year spent with friends and family and today it’s back to work!

To celebrate 2008, I have a US release of A Woman To Belong To, and a brand new cover!  So if you’re feeling snowbound by a northern winter, grab yourselves a copy because this book will take you to an exoctic warm location and leave you feeling sundrenched and so very far removed from grey skies that you will feel like a new person.  And isn’t that a great way to start a New Year?

An Early Christmas Gift

I got an early Christmas gift today.  My editor has bought my ninth book and it has gone through with no revisions!  I am happy dancing here as you will remember the grief this story gave me. I struggled with it until the end of chapter seven.  I had geared myself up for a rewrite between Christmas and New Year.  I have no details on title or release date, that will happen in the New Year. 

So I am extremely happy. I am now on holidays for a nine days…no writing, no other job, just sleeping in and spending time with the boys.  YIPPEE!!

Over The Hump

You may or may not have noticed that I haven’t blogged all that much about my current story. This has mostly been because I have been stressing a LOT about it. The idea seemed good but I couldn’t’start it. I never start books well but this one seemed particulary hard. This book has a big ’secret’ and I have never written a secret story before. You can’t reveal too much too soon and that has caused me a lot of angst. But I hit chapter seven last week and now this story is steaming ahead and I am really enjoying writing it.  Words are (for me) pouring out and I’ve started to sleep at night again rather than waking up at 4am in a hot sweat of panic.

So right now I am plunging Flynn, here, into his worst nightmare. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it