Looking for fairies and tropics has arrived plus a great giveaway.

There’s nowhere like Warwickshire when the bluebells appear in the woodlands. Ann and Sophie have the same thoughts on a warm sunny April afternoon. Sophie is on the hunt for fairies.

You never know when they may appear and glad to see she found them. Good to see magic in the air. Hope you’re enjoying the Easter break and doing things you enjoy.

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, so to make up for that I’m doing a giveaway. Not one or two but three of my Redington paperbacks to give you some great sunshine reading. It’s a collection of short stories set in Norfolk, a mixture of happenings and characters to keep you entertained for a while. Obviously if you’ve read the book you wouldn’t want another one, so only for people who haven’t already got one can apply. Just pop a comment saying why you’d like one, and good luck if you have a go.

Other great news is my tropics skin-care storybook has arrived. It’s called the story book of skin care as it’s adapted to what you need. Here’s mine on the right, and a tropical day in Torquay on the left.

The complete boxed set has cleanser, toner, moisturiser, green serum for lovely skin, face mask full of natural products, see more here.

They really work well and if you want to know more about that, let me know and I can put you in touch with Ann, who will give you more information.

Enjoy the weekend, and get your name in the comments box if you’d like a free signed copy of my book.

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Pocket Novels

I’m a pocket novelist for My Weekly, and proud to say another one will be published soon. It’s set in the Caribbean, will let you know as soon as it’s here.

Great to see family members today, Ann and Sophie called, then our Son and his dog bounded in, and lovely to see them all.

                

Knitting is another pastime that I find helps with relaxing, not that I need an excuse to sit down and watch something funny on t.v. Rising Damp is on, and for me good comedy doesn’t date. Same as Larry Grayson who was on the night before. He was a local celebrity in our area, coming from local town of Nuneaton.

My day job is now making badges and key rings, also putting words on tee shirts. Can’t wait to put book covers on key rings, and more news on that coming soon. Have a great week, however you’re spending it.

 

 

 

The Winner is…

Congratulations to Sally J, the winner of Murder in the Village. Alan drew your name out of the pepper pig pot a while ago.

Well done, Sally

 

 

The winner is…

Your signed copy will be on it’s way next week if you could email your postal address please. Or p.m me on facebook. Well done.

Thank you to everyone who had a go at winning my latest book. Jan, Honoria, Maggie, Nick, Rosemary, Amy and Navedeep.

Here’s the link if anyone would like to buy it, and there will be more giveaways on the blog later on. To enjoy the first in the series of Redington, that one is here.

If you’d like to see the other works I’ve done along the way, these are found on this link.

The garden is looking good at the moment, have a look at these.

You wouldn’t be surprised that I have an idea for a book with the word sunflower in the title for later on in the year. Still working on the Caribbean story, and looking forward to the RNA conference next Saturday. Have a good week, and more news after the conference.

Anyone for lettuce?

We’re fully stocked with salad leaves. At the moment it’s all year round lettuce, spinach and rocket leaves available in the kitchen garden. And growing on we have yellow courgettes, mini munch cucumber, tomatoes, money maker are my favourite variety. As well, we have normal cucumber, green courgettes, dwarf beans, and dwarf peas, lots of herbs and tons of strawberries with heaps of flowers on them as well.

Good job the garden is looking rosy as we’re having the house re-vamped and it’s going to be a bit of a building site during the summer months

Front border

 

In writing news, this will be available soon.

And I’m busy working on my next pocket novel, which is a romantic story set in the Caribbean, so off there now. So I’m going to have some chopped pineapple to eat while I’m sailing away… Up to chapter 6, and more news on that as it develops.

Enjoy the lighter nights and mornings. It’s getting light at half past four in the morning now when I go out to my cleaning job.

And the great thing is I’m all done by coffee time.

Into the New Year

Hope the weather isn’t too bad where you are. It’s cold and a bit bleak in the midlands, but we’re still able to go to work. And I’ve been to the gym three times last week. How is it that you can take months to get fit and then after two weeks of mince pies, chocolates and other food, you’re almost a stone heavier? So it’s back to the green tea for a while. Good job I like it.

Do you want to be a pocket novelist? If so, the only way to know exactly what the editor is looking for is to read some. Or preferably, subscribe. I’ve recently become a subscriber, so now I get those lovely handbag novels delivered to my door. The stories are really good, if you like a longer story where you stay with great and exciting characters. Look out for a follow up to Country Matters coming towards the end of March/early April. You can see the opening chapters on my website if you’re interested. Though I’ve edited it a bit since then so it won’t be exactly the same. Another bonus to being a subscriber is getting these wonderful books at half price, and you don’t have to go driving round to find one.

It’s time now to clear out your wardrobe. That’s me talking to myself. To say it’s a bit messy would be an understatement. But seeing as I had some new clothes for Christmas, it’s about time to sort and chuck out, or send to the charity shop. But if I’m anything like my mum, she recently tried to have a clear out, and ended up getting rid of one dress, which she gave to me. It was actually mine about twenty years ago and I gave it to her. A red velvet classic. I may do pictures of before and after the closet clearance, but please prepare yourselves as it’s not a site for the squeamish among you.

This grey and white jumper is one I’ll keep because I knitted it myself and it’s good with a thin jumper underneath and goes with jeans, trousers or a skirt.

Have a great weekend, and more on the wardrobe clearance soon.

Redington on kindle

Thanks to the lovely people who’re buying Redington on kindle, hope you enjoy the stories, and don’t be shy to leave a review if it’s going to be a good one.

My mum in law phoned to wish us Happy New Year and she was full of excitement. She’d found a copy of the paperback book Redington in my brother in law’s house over Christmas.

I found a book with your name on! She told me, and now her sister who’s staying with her for a while is reading it as well. Glad to say they’re enjoying it, and said it’s really cheery and good. Not sure what they expected it to be:) as long as it’s making them smile, that’s a good thing.

They’re taking turns to read it and Alan’s aunt was hurrying along with it because she’s only staying for a week. I told her not to worry, and I’ll send her a copy of her own, seeing as it’s cheered her up no end. That was my intention, to make people feel better after paying a visit to my make believe village in mid-Norfolk. Not sure what they made of the Halloween story, but they were laughing on the phone to Alan.

It makes me happy to know that my story collection cheers people up. Now I’ll have to put them on the list for a copy of the next book which will be out soon.

I’m hoping to keep up to date a bit more with the blog. I’ve neglected it a bit and been faffing around on facebook, and seeing as this links to facebook anyway, I’d rather keep the blog going. Have a great week, whatever you may be doing… more news on the blog soon.

 

Something Special

Look what just landed on the doormat. How lovely and now I’m off to the garden with a cuppa and a ham and mustard cob to read through.

I’ve started a new job this week, and getting into the swing of it. The people are friendly and the hours still give me time to go the the gym. What a fantastic cover they’ve chosen. Is it bad to say you can’t wait to read your own book even if you know what’s in it:)) It’s dated the 28th July, so will be in the shops soon. Hope you enjoy it if you buy and read it.

What makes you laugh?

For me, laughing is important. It uses up more calories than if you don’t laugh, and makes you feel a lot better for having had a good laugh.

Some things will always be funny, no matter how long ago they happened, or if you’re a lot older and wiser than you were at the time the funny happened. When me and a school friend worked as office girls in a portacabin, typing invoices and filing, we thought we should be destined for better things. So when lunchtime came around, we decided to go round the industrial estate, knocking on doors to ask if the firm in question wanted any more staff. We really should have been eating lunch and having a cup of tea to get the morale up for the afternoon. Instead, we trudged around, not giving up incase the next place was THE ONE.

Getting a bit fed up, and tired and hungry, we came to the last place in the row. As we walked past windows, we could see a group of people sitting chatting. This made her nervous, and she was holding her thumb to her lip, saying, ‘Oh, dared I knock?’ Being the kind friend I was, I gave a hearty knock on the door, opened it and gave her a shove into the room. After that, I ran through what I thought was the door, but it was a broom cupboard. Collapsing among the mops and brushes I laughed so much it was difficult to get up. Not sure she would still laugh at that, but it always makes me chuckle when I think of it.

Another time, I was at an interview where two chaps sat behind a desk. They invited me to sit on a black chair opposite them. When I sat down, it gave out a loud hisssss. a farty chair and they didn’t even blink. All I could think of was, hope they didn’t think I’d let one go at the start. Didn’t get the job but don’t think I’d have wanted it after that. I should be writing, and now I’m off to do that.

Who’s your favourite funny man or woman? Mine has to be Ken Dodd, Les Dawson, Victoria Wood, Jenninfer Saunders, and all the cast of Fools and Horses will never fail to have me chuckling. Sad news that little Ronnie has left as well, but I like to think he’s met up with Big Ronnie and back doing those sketches we all loved so much.

Apart from being funny, Ken Dodd has one of the lovliest voices I’ve ever heard and could have been a great singer, but too funny to not be a comedian.

Watch out for the April Fools tomorrow. Have a great weekend.

 

 

 

 

Something to make you smile

Hello to all my lovely blog followers. I’ve been a bit skinny on here lately. Not skinny as in super slim. I’ve been to the gym most days though, and me and my gym buddy get each other to do more working out than we would if we went on our own. We do sit ups on one of those bouncy balls.Leaning back to look at the wall, then sitting up.

Lift ups on the monkey bars, then I go on this thing like an upside down spaceship. One of these… only turned upside down, then I balance on it. Most of the time.

Hello to all my new followers in America. Hope you’re enjoying the blog. I’m busy re-writing something special for someone special. Can’t say more than that at the moment incase I jinx it. I usually talk about writing more than getting on with the writing, so I’ll let you know soon.

Here’s something funny that happened yesterday. Being of a certain age, me and hubby take a vitamin tablet. You’ve heard of wellwoman and wellman. Those. I had two boxes in my hand, and for some reason, my eyes, saw him with the woman box and me with the man one. He had a tablet on his lips about to swallow it – I had as well. With the awful thought of him swallowing a woman one and me the man one, I did what came to mind and yelled out, ‘Stop!’ Turns out he was taking the right one, and I was as well. Good job he did stop to check, so if they had been the wrong ones, we’d have been alright.

Happy Easter to everyone, and thinking of our friends in Brussels.

 

A jog with a view

I’ve been going to the gym most days over the last week. On Thursday, me and my gym buddy got to the reception. I’d love to blog about what happened next, but on a scale of 1 – 10 it comes around about 9 and a half, so I have to send it off to my favorite laughter pages of That’s Life. They seem to like my funnies and have printed quite a few so far and are always asking me for more. Seeing as they pay well, must give it a chance. He spent the next five minutes texting everyone to tell them about it. I couldn’t exercise for laughing either for quite a while.

His brother was one of the text recipients, and he happened to be going for a run on the same morning; outdoors around Torbay where he lives. This is the picture he sent me of early morning sun shining over my little Brixham bay.

 

The picture on the right was taken last September, looking across to where he took this one from.

It’s been a cold but fresh day here today, so I’ve been chopping up the wood from our old shed that’s been stored in the greenhouse. Now we’ve got tons of firesticks, and the greenhouse is a bit clearer than it was. Next I’m going to make a base for a half shed so that we can clear out the shed that’s so full you can’t get in it. And, we have a bathroom booked. It’ll be a while before the busy plumber can come and sort it all out, but it will be done some time before the summer. And I’ve made up two spring baskets. It was so chilly at tea time though, they’re in the greenhouse with the sticks until it warms up a bit.

Now I’m off for a cup of tea and to watch the voice. And I forgot to mention that I got head hunted the other day. I was about to start cleaning in one of the cabin offices at the building site when a man approached. I said, “Did  you want Ray, or Jim?”

He said, “Neither of them, you.” Oh, I had a quick think as to what I might have done wrong, like go the wrong way round the site, or not wearing my hard hat. Then he handed me a card and told me he needed good workers as he’s the director of a cleaning company. I started saying, “Oh, yes, I do this that and the other.”

He said, “I know, I’ve seen you.” Wonder if that was when I slopped water up my jeans, or did a twirl with the mop. Either way, I’ll keep the number handy.

Have a great rest of the weekend, and a good week ahead.