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

There's something about a New Year that makes you feel like you're starting over, things can be fresh and new again.  You feel adventurous, confident and full of the promise a clean slate brings.  I always make a list of intentions for my new year, things I hope to achieve. One of my focuses this year is to improve my overall health and wellbeing, starting with my skin care. With the impact of the winter climate, changes in my skin's sensitivity and changes in my lifestyle it's time to try something new. Having stuck predominately to a traditional cleanse, tone and moisturise routine most of my life, I've decided it's time to try a new routine. Sometimes it's good to break out of a cycle it challenges you to try new things and in that you can make interesting and productive discoveries.   There's been a lot of talk and interest building over the last few years around Korean lifestyle, food, clothes, music, drama and of course skin care

It's finally here, the nights are drawing in, the temperature is starting to drop and it's time to say goodbye to my barely there summer duvet and welcome back my thick, heavy, cuddly winter duvet.  Only, the last couple of winters, the synthetic duvet just hasn't cut it, don't get me wrong, it's been okay.  As a 15tog rating it kept me warm on cold nights and it felt like a winter quilt only there was an element of comfort and luxury missing. When I write novels I see them as movies in my head and I always imagine the settings and rooms as though they are places I can open a door and walk in to.  The character I'm writing at the moment has quite a luxury lifestyle, don't hate her she's lovely I promise, but there are a few scenes in her bedroom and I was imagining how her room would look and I was obsessed with her bed being comfortably luxurious, the kind if you jumped on it you'd disappear swallowed but the depth and thickness of the duvet. If

Life for the most part is busy, so busy you don’t always have the time to spend with the people you love.  For my part I try to catch up with my best friends as often as I can, that time we spend together is really special so in my own way I try to make it the best night until the next night.   Games Nights are a fun catch up evening with friends, we share good food, good stories and play board games.  These nights are about taking the time to stay in each others lives, have fun and create memories which we will take about at Games nights in the years to come.   I love entertaining, I love having people to my home, I love to cook and bake for my guests.  I have a lot of really good memories, which are associated with food, so I like to make dishes that become an integral part of the memory the evening.  There’s something very special and cathartic about preparing food for people you love, so it’s not just the evening’s entertaining that creates.   For my latest get togethe

My second Festive Read, yes I know it's still technically September, was Heidi Swain's Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market.   Released in October 2016, this book is part of the Wynbridge series, in this story we are introduced to Ruby who has recently dropped out of university and is heading home to run a market stall for the Cherry Tree Cafe in order to save some money to go travelling. Her dad is not happy that his daughter whom he seems to want to live vicariously through is working as a market trader.  It soon turns out there maybe more to his concerns about her working on the market than it first seemed.  Not only is Ruby faced with dealing with her dad and his strange behaviour but she is working on the stall next to her childhood sweet heart who after three years she still hasn't got over.  Throwing herself in to making this the best Christmas market ever Ruby is determined to being back the community feeling and turn Wynbridge's Christmas mar

There's nothing better than sitting down with a hot cuppa and a sweet treat.  I love cake, probably a little too much and I love always having something ready to go in my cake tin.  It's always nice to have something ready for that late afternoon slump or for when someone pops in for a chat. I discovered the inspiration for this recipe last year, it was inspired by a Christmas Tray Bake recipe by the fabulous Mary Berry and I adapted it to my taste and store cupboard. It's a little to no rise fruit cake which I cut in to bars for serving.  It's rich and golden and foes great with a cup of tea or coffee. You can use marzipan and icing like I do or keep it plain, its adaptable throughout the year and keeps well if you can stand to stop eating it. Fruit Cake Tray Bake  I stary with 175g of butter or margarine  whichever is your preference and 175g of light brown sugar. Creaming them together until light and fluffy before I add 4 eggs, 175g of plain flour, 450

I'm a Christmas-a-holic, I freely admit it.  I love the lights, the weather, the feeling.  Most of all I love curling up with a roaring fire, a mug of tea and a Christmas themed novel.  As an indie author I spend most of my time when not in my day job writing so this is the way I relax. As it's now September, the weather is growing colder, the trees are changing to their beautiful autumnal crowns of glory I'm getting started on my pile of festive romance and cosy mystery books. The first on my pile is the charming A Christmas Tale by Cressida McLaughlin, The story focuses on Cat Palmer who takes a young puppy named Disco with her to work at the local nursery.  She soon discovers this was a bad idea when Disco escapes from her bag much to the children's delight and her boss's annoyance.  Fired from her job she decides to start her own business as a dog walker.  Securing clients from her beloved Primrose Terrace where she lives with her friend Polly, he

Summer is over, thankfully for me, I'm not a sun person I melt in the heat.  So as soon as the leaves start to turn and the nights start to draw in I do a little happy dance.  I love autumn/winter, I love the deep jewel colours, the cosy jumpers, big thick coats and walking on ground that crunches underfoot. Over the past couple of weeks I've had some time to myself to chill, relax, concentrate on my writing and also my cooking.  I love cooking, I like to play with flavours and mess around with random things I have in my fridge. At this time of year my craving for cosy comfort food starts to grow.  I love food that makes me feel warm and satisfied.  So I've decided to share with you all some of my favourites over the coming weeks and I would love to hear about some of your favourite cosy comfort foods so I can give them a try too Panacalty or Pannack  I'm from the Northeast and we have some regional variations on Panacalty or Pannack as my family has always ca

If you've read my blog before you'll remember I have very sensitive skin.  I'm very careful about what I use as the wrong product for my skin type can cause allergic reactions and psoriasis.  A few months ago I had a pretty bad flare up, I'm not sure what caused it but as a result I cut out all SLS and Paraban products to give my skin time to heal.  I also wanted to avoid the medicated products that I have previously used as I don't want my skin to become to used to them and render them ineffective when I really need them.  So, I was doing some research on line and came back to Trilogy Skin Care.  I had considered trying trilogy a few years ago but Clarins was working well on my skin and I decided not to rock the boat.  This time however I decided to give it ago.  I ordered a Rosehip Oil serum  (20ml £19.99) and Vital Moisturising Cream (60ml £24.50).  I always find it best to patch test each item before use so I started with the  Rosehip oil and as I had no r

Heidi Swain has done it again,  Welcome to Nightingale Square, a welcoming community who want to improve their local area by creating a community garden, not only to improve their health but to grow produce for everyone living around the Victorian Mansion at the heart of their little square. Meet Kate, on the run from a failed marriage she wants to hide away in her newly purchased home on the square and adjust to life without the fairytale she thought her marriage would be.  Life has a habit of poking it's nose in to your business and giving you opportunities you didn't know you wanted or needed.  Moving in to her new home Kate is confronted by new neighbour Lisa who quickly recruits her in to the community's crusade to build their communal garden.  But with the mansion up for sale and prospective developers eyeing up the site could her ideal little world be wiped out before it gets started. Heidi weaves a wonderful tale of finding out the fairy tale may not a

I have not blogged for a while, l have been focusing on developing and plotting my forth novel.     Also I haven’t really felt there’s been so much going on that would interest any reader, but last night was movie night, yes I know that’s not something massively out of the ordinary but the film I saw was beautifully inspiring and I really felt pushed to write a little review.     The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a film I have been looking forward to for a while.  I am a fan of Lily James, I think she is a brilliant actor probably one of the best up can coming stars in the UK.  I am also a huge fan of period drama and have a personal interest in WW2 based fiction and fact.   Based on Annie Barrows book of the same name, currently and amazon bestseller, the film follows writer Juliet Ashton in post war England suffering writer’s block while working on a book of English Foibles and touring the country giving talks on her last publication under the pen

I am an Autumn/Winter person, give me cold, give me rain, give me snow, I’m much happier with that than summer sun.   From the end of September onwards I start reading festive novels,  there nothing more ’Hygge’ to me than sitting on an autumn afternoon kor evening with a good book, a cosy fire, a hot tea or coffe and slice of cake.   Christmas themed books are my favourites as they add to the overall feel of the season for me - which I am guilty of dragging out as long as possible!  These are the first of my Christmas reads this year:  Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at the Christmas Fair - Heidi Swain  I was hooked from the beginning of this book.  Anna doesn’t celebrate Christmas for reasons I personally identify with to some extent.  Choosing to take employment as a companion over Christmas she arrives at Wynthrope hall and meets a cast of characters from the enthusiastic and bountiful Angus, his loving and dedicated but more sensible wife Catherine and the res