My Life as a writer - When I'm not scribbling

So I made a promise this year that I would be a better reader, I set myself a reading goal as part of the Goodreads challenge of 25 books - now that may not seem a lot, but I wanted to give myself a fighting chance as I have to divide my time between work, family, writing and reading.  So since 1 Jan I have read 8 books - Happily this week I've finished my 9th!   The Longest Ride - Nicholas Sparks purchased from AMAZON.co.uk I’ve read a couple of Nicholas Sparks books previously and always enjoyed them.   I will admit this one I hadn’t paid attention to and only picked it up after having seen the movie.   What attracted me to this story was the inclusion of a romance affected by World War 2.    If anyone reads my other blog MY LIFE AS A WRITER , and if you don’t please take a look, it’ll explain my interest in relationships affected by war. I started reading The Longest Ride a few weeks ago and it took me longer than I thought to finish it.   Not because it’s b

Life is hectic, stressful and chaotic, it can play havoc with your skin, your health and your general wellbeing.  Sometimes you just have to say stop and take a little time for yourself to give your body a treat and recharge your batteries for the days/weeks ahead. After going through periods of stress and anxiety I found that taking some time to have a mini pamper session could lift my mood, help my skin and lower my stress levels.  I try at least once a week to give myself a mini pamper session to relax and refocus my mind. This is currently my pamper routine; As we move in to Spring I'm exfoliating my skin with Calcot Manor Body salts, this is refreshing my skin and leaving it feeling smooth after months of being hidden under long sleeves and jumpers. I apply to damp skin using a circular motion starting at the feet and working my way up. CALCOT MANOR SCRUB I then shower off the salts which do leave a bit of oil on the skin, I tend to follow up with Treacle Moon

The clocks have gone forward, the mornings are nights are growing lighter and the weather is supposed to improve - maybe!  To prepare for the change in season I paid a visit to my local Clarins counter.  I love the Clarins team at House of Fraser, they have been amazing with me since I went in for advice last summer.   I have really sensitive skin, I can be fine with a product for a few days and then suddenly my skin reacts to it or I can try something and within seconds my skin reacts.  It can be a bit of a nightmare, I would love to be someone who can pick up any product and use it without a second thought but that's just not the way my skin is.   It's refreshing to find a brand that takes your concerns on board and isn't always looking for the sale which is why Clarins is my go to range of the moment.  Having been in earlier in the year I called my adviser Katherine and booked an appointment to test out foundation and concealer colours.   I attended for my

I love holidays, I am one of those people who starts there Christmas shopping in January just because I love to celebrate things. So after Christmas when it's those cold dark months of generally rain up here in the North I look forward to Easter and the time of year when everything starts to change and become new again. This year Easter is early, so its still quite cold so my garden isn't looking its best.  Since there's been so much rain and damp there's been no chance of tidying of planting so my Spring clean focused on the interior of my house.  This involved paining everything! Anyone who owns a dog especially a large one will feel my pain when it comes to white walls and light coloured carpets, they just aren't a great match.  Now the weather is picking up just that little bit the amount of mud being trampled through the house and shaken on to walls has reduced, it was time for the paint brushes to come out of retirement and the white paint to be sloshed

My house is my sanctuary, which every now and again needs a bit of a spruce up.  At the moment it's my study that needs a little TLC.  It's been a bit neglected for a while so this year it's getting a bit of  lift.  I also think my tastes have changed a little since the last time I decorated it properly. To start with, my study is quite a small room, it's meant to be my writing/working at home haven; a dedicated space to work.  A couple of years ago I bought my desk which I love, it's solid wood and reminds me of the desks you see in old movies or period dramas.  So the theme for this room will fit in generally with the look of my desk. I looked through the Houz app which I do find kick starts my interior design creativity and I watched some of the home design videos of my favourite vloggers such as Fleur De Force, Alexandrea Garza, Viviannadoesmakeup  etc. I  settled on the following key aspects I wanted to incorporate in my design;  Richly coloured w

TP Keane: Author Spotlight: Claire L Brown : In this weeks Author Spotlight, I meet up with the very talented Claire L Brow, author of, Jonah Axe and the Weeping Bride , a fantas...

I am writing this a few days after attending the screening for the new Matthew Vaughn (Marv) and Dexter Fletcher (Director) movie Eddie the Eagle, my excuse is it's been a rather busy week! Anyway, so Tuesday night I went to a pre release screening of Eddie the Eagle staring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman.  The film is loosely based on the life of Eddie the Eagle Edwards who took part in the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988 and became a huge personality for really embodying the true meaning of the games.   The film follows a young Eddie who is told by everyone including his dad played by Keith Allen that he will never achieve his dream of being an olympian, always the underdog Eddie never looses sight of his goal.  After his leg brace is removed, and his dad repeatedly tells him he will never be an athlete no matter what sport he tries Eddie switches his goal to the Winter the Olympics and skiing.   As Eddie trains he becomes part of the British team in contention to

Robert Thorogood's novel follows Detective Richard Poole  and his team on the island of caribbean island of Saint Marie as they investigate the murder of Retreat owner/spiritual guide and all round good guy Aslan Kennedy.  Richard isn't your typical Caribbean police office, he's more of a stuff English conservative who wears wool suits in the hottest of weather even if that means he faints every once in a while.  He's also someone who doesn't like to have a problem he can't solve.   Along with his long suffering partner Camille he works on solving the locked room murder.   Five people enter a Japanese tea house to undertake the retreats sunrise healing ceremony locked in by Aslan himself only for their meditations to be interrupted when they wake to found Aslan dead. So who did it? I picked up this novel as I've watched the popular series on BBC which was inspired by this novel.  It's a very Christie like scenario, although there's a murder

As we move towards spring, not that it currently feels like it’s anywhere near with all the white snow outside my window, I checked my make box to see what I might need to refresh.   Following a cold but not bitter winter I’m almost out of moisturiser so I booked a facial with the Clarins team to assess my skin needs.   Spring Cleaning my Make Up Kit  As my skin is extremely sensitive to new products sessions like this allow me to talk to a professional about my skin care routine and try products to ensure I have no reaction before I buy.    My advisor was great and we had a lengthy discussion about my skin before she started. For the facial she used One Step Cleanser  Eye Make Up Remover  Hydra Quench Mask Double Serum  Ever Mat Foundation 105 I had been using Multi Active Day and Night Cream for around three weeks by this point and we agreed this was still the right cream for me.   We did however decide that my foundation had become a tad da