Janus's Month - looking backwards and forwards

This is the post I meant to put up a couple of days ago.


I’ve spent much of today taking down and packing up the Christmas decorations. The house looks strangely bare – but much more ready for work and getting down to a new year. But if ever there was an occupation that is guaranteed to have you looking back wards and forwards at the same time, then this is one of them

So as I worked, I was thinking – and remembering what 2006 had contained. One of the problems, I think, with the idea of a new year, and New Year Resolutions, is that the need to resolve to do better, be thinner, become more organised etc etc implies that what we were before wasn’t good enough. That we need to improve, become the ‘New You’ when in fact the old one was perfectly fine, it just needed a dust down and a spruce up. There are people I know –scary Kate – you know who you are! them who will come out with phrases like ‘I only wrote 10 books this year’! And add, like in a school report, ‘must do better.’ Hmmph! That’s why I love the Best Year Yet book – it makes you look at what you have achieved, rather than berating yourself for what you haven’t.

So - 2006

Books- obviously, there were books. Books published and books written. The books published were The Antonakos Marriage. The Italian’s Forced Bride (UK edition) and At the Sheikh’s Command. The USA publications were slightly different – The Antonakos Marriage, At The Sheikh's Command - and an older book, The Married Mistress finally made it into America (and sold out on eharlequin). All the USA books hit the Waldenbooks Top 10 lists for Romances for 2 or 3 weeks. Antonakos was the #1 bestseller for the month it was out in the UK – and the ebook was in the ebook top 10 for weeks on that site. Oh yes, and The Twelve Month Mistress was shortlisted for Romantic Times Best Presents award and The Italian’s Forced Bride won CataRomance’s Best Mills & Boon Modern Romance in the Reviewers’ Choice Award.

Books written – this time last year, I was starting out with a new editor. And that is always a slightly scary, unnerving time. You get to know how one editor’s mind works, the approach they have, the things they like – dislike – and you settle into a routine. A change of editor jolts you out of that routine, makes you adjust and learn all about this new person. That’s not a bad thing. It stops complacency settling in. My current editor is wonderful – and I’m not just saying that because she’s flatteringly complimentary about my work. She’s the best sort of editor – an editor who comes to the books having been a reader first and you can’t learn that instinctive appreciation any other way. I love working with her. We’ve worked together on three books – the three titles together now – four if you count the fact that she took over the preparation of At the Sheikh’s Command. And I love the way that she ‘gets’ my books – she understands my heroes, and she falls in love with them just like me.

So this year, I have three new books written – including the two linked Sicilian Brothers stories. One of which will be my 50th title for HMB – but we’ll come to them when I’m looking forward, not back! But one thing my new editor does is encourage me to go for things. She was right behind me with the Sicilian Brothers project and so I’m thrilled that she’s my editor for that important 50th book.

But it’s funny the things you forget – before I could even get those books written, I had to have eye surgery – the second of 2 operations to remove cataracts. Looking back on that, I can recall how scared I was of the first one – but by the time the second one came round I was a lot more confident. Now I’ll tell anyone thinking about the operation to go for it. Before the surgery I was groping around in a haze without my contact lenses – sometimes even with them! – now I have the sort of sight that I haven’t known since – well, I don’t remember ever seeing things thins clearly! I was 12 when I was prescribed my first pair of glasses.

Teaching – one of the greatest things about last year was watching the way that the reputation of the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance grew. I kept seeing it mentioned on the internet and I was thrilled by the way that people said it helped them. Newly accepted authors like Abby Green and India Gray both mentioned the book in their ‘call’ stories, which was a huge compliment. I taught three courses on the book in 2006, one in Kent (a one day seminar) one in Caerleon – where I did a 5 session course at Caerleon Writers’ Holiday in some of the hottest weather I can remember – and finally there was the November Novel Weekend in Fishguard just a couple of months ago. Each of those was a thoroughly enjoyable occasion – I had some lovely students and some great fun. Also under teaching comes the work I did with the RNA New Writers’ Scheme. I read and critiqued 8 manuscripts – all of varying standards and there were two authors in that mix who I hope I will one day see make the leap from New Writer to newly published writer. That was another delight, learning that another New Writer I had worked with in the past had had her first book accepted – look out for The Kristallis Baby by Natalie Rivers coming in summer.

Which reminds me to remind anyone reading this who wants to be part of the NWS scheme – don’t forget that numbers are limited and if you want to join – get your application in to the RNA.

What else happened in 2006 – the start of this blog for one thing . I’d been blogging on eharlequin and that got me hooked. So in February I launched this blog – and now have had over 10,000 hits (since I set up the stats recording ) from 69 countries. As a result, the entries for both the Bag of Books Contest and the Christmas Stocking Contest went through the roof (much to Sid’s delight). There were other contests too, both on my web site and through my Newsletter where I run special Members only Contests and through all these ways I’ve been able to get in touch with so many readers from all over the world. I just heard this morning from Jenny in Singapore who was one of the Christmas Stocking winners. And the Here come The Brides Contest has entries from India, Malaysia, Bulgaria.

People - there were lots of great people in my life 2006 – old friends and new ones. Students on all the courses, members of the RNA at the Conference or the Romantic Novel of the Year Awards at the Savoy. Other M&B writers who came to the Association of Mills & Boon Authors lunches . . . new authors Abby Green and Christina Hollis who came to the Presents authors dinner – where Sandra Marton joined us from America. Of course there was Anne McAllister who came on a far too short visit (Sid would never forgive me if I missed her out), Lovely Anne and Gerry who run Writers’ Holidays and the Fishguard weekends, that new editor I mentioned, The Girls ( you know who you are), fellow authors and friends Michelle Reid, Kate Hardy, Michelle Styles, Susan Stephens. Duck in a fleeting but so welcome visit from Dubai - together with Mr Duck (Mr Drake?). The founders of the Pink Heart Society, Lee from My Tote Bag, Heather and Terescia from We Write Romance who designed and set up my fabulous new web site (have you visited it yet?) . . . no – I can’t mention everyone but I have to give a special mention to the gorgeous and adorable Nathaniel - my ‘cyber grandchild’ - welcome to the world Nate! I hope I get to meet you properly very very soon.

As well as people there were lovely creatures in my world in 2006 – the cats of course, Bob, Spiffy, Dylan and The Cat Sid. Mysp onsored guide dog puppy Uffa, ‘my’ lions – Raffi and Anthea who sadly died during the year and Achee the young lioness who became my adopted lion instead along with Roque, my adopted tiger . I hope to have more news of them in 2007

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Phew! That was quite a year. A very satisfying year to look back on. And yes, a great antidote to the ‘must do better’, New Year New You syndrome that’s filling so many papers and magazines right now. I have areas of my life that need a bit of dusting down – some of them need a real sort out - but even the imperfect, ‘old’ me achieved plenty, did plenty, lived plenty in 2006.

And I’m looking forward to more of the same in 2007.

Miranda, meet Theo . . . and Theo . . . And Leo

BRIDE BUZZ

Remember how I mentioned Miranda Weston, and her hero Theo ? if you followed the link to Anne McAllister's blog, then you will have found that, investigating Miranda , Anne found out this:

Miranda Weston is the heroine of, believe it or not (and sadly, I do believe it because I know from experience the mysterious ways that editors schedule books) another February book with the word Bridal in the title (The Greek's Bridal Purchase) by the lovely wonderful Susan Stephens.

This would not be cause for concern for either Susan or me except that my hero is called Theo Savas and hers (and this is where editorial needed to rethink the way they schedule things) is called Theo Savakis!


So there's a real coincidence there. Two Greeks, both called Theo Sava . . . something. But this had started me thinking. There was something buzzing at the back of my head, reminding me that I'd met up with one of those names somewhere else . . . And then it clicked with me. I'd read it in a book over Christmas - and the book I read over Christmas was Michelle Reid's January release The Italian's Future Bride. (There's the Bride word again!)
No, the Italian isn't the guy with the similar name - he's Rafaelle Villani - but his heroine Rachel has a sister who is married to - guess what - Leo Savakis! Obviously he's Theo Savakis's brother or cousin or something!

This is a perfect example of the way that three romance writers, all writing at slightly different times, in very different circumstances and places, can come up with things so similar that you'd think they'd all been in conatct and discussing their ideas before they wrote them down. But they haven't - none of them knew of the coincidence until the books are out and in print.

I've seen this happen before. Some years ago (way back in 1997) I wrote a book called Hers For a Night. The heroine was called Georgia. Until I wrote the book, I hadn't seen any heroines called Georgia anywhere. But as soon as I'd written it and had it accepted, suddenly there were Georgias appearing all over the place. Lots in Harlequin novels - a UK 'soap' - Brookside had one major character called Georgia. When my book appeared in sthe shops, people asked if I'd taken the name from the soap- but I'd thought of it before that character had appeared.

Sometimes I think that there's something in the air that popular fiction writers/scriptwriters/screenplay writers breathe in so that we can end up thinking on the same or very similar lines. I remember when I first met Michelle Reid, she told me that she had started an amnesia story, got several chapters into it, the she picked up my Shattered Mirror and found it was so very similar to her story - we both even had the American hero and English heroine. And that was before we became friends. Now we have to be careful not to discuss the books we are working on of we find we're following the same lines of development.

The really intriguing thing about this is that it's a sort of future prediction as well. When we write a book, we know it won't be published for at least a year. The gap between acceptance and publication is getting narrower now, but it's still about 12 months. So when we sit down and write, we are predicting what will be popular in a year's time - themes, settings, characters - names. It's all part of what the Offspring calls having your finger on the pulse - and Theo, Theo and Leo Savas/Savakis are perfect examples of that happening.

Not the post I meant . . .

This is not the post I inteanded to write.

It's 2007 - new year - new me and all that. I fully intended to be sorted out, tidied up, organised in a word . . .

Hah! Insert hollow laughter here.

I was planning on a review of the past year and a look into what's happening in the new one - but Fate has a way of stepping in and hitting you over the head with thigs when you don't expect them. This time it hit me over the head with a migraine. Thanks Fate! I really did feel as if I had been hit over the head too.

So I'm not sorted out, tidied or organised at all. And the review of the year is still to be written - as is the looking into the future post . . .

So instead of that - I shall post something else - let's have some



BRIDES BUZZ




I'll start by talking a bit about The Santorini Bride - or, rather, Anne McAllister will because I asked her yo give me some background on her book so I can pass it on to you.

Here's what Anne has to say about The Santorini Bride , how she came to write this book and what titles she has coming up next in 2007 onwards :

THE SANTORINI BRIDE is the middle book of three (so far), beginning with THE ANTONIDES MARRIAGE DEAL (which it is not necessary to have read, but if you did read it,this will explain where Martha was when no one could find her! That she met her match in Theo Savas was as big a surprise to her as it was to Theo. He has a heck of a time convincing her, though! While I'd intended to go back to the Antonides and Savas families for my next book, another character from THE SANTORINI BRIDE piqued my interest when he offered Martha a shoulder to cry on. Actually he did more than pique my interest, he grabbed the book and tried to run away with it!

His name was Spencer Tyack and the minute he appeared, he seemed determined to take over. He muttered about stupid Greeks who didn't know a good woman when they saw one (that would have been Theo) and said he'd do a far better job of things -- which just goes to show how blind some men can be, as Spence's own soulmate was right under his nose! He didn't believe me. But he wouldn't let me alone until I proved it to him. So he and Sadie Morrissey (the girl under his nose!) have their own story coming in October from Harlequin Presents and HM&B Modern called THE BOSS'S WIFE FOR A WEEK. It's all about what happens to Spence when he's making other plans.

I fully expect to come back to the Antonides and Savas families in the future. But I wanted to tie up another loose end first. That's the book I'm working on now. It is a spin-off of THE GREAT MONTANA COWBOY AUCTION and the rest of the Code of the West books I've done for Silhouette. Only this one is going to be a Harlequin Presents!

It's the story of Flynn Murray, consummate charmer and Irish journalist who, to his dismay, has finally had to take over the drafty Irish castle -- and the earldom -- he has tried to forget for years. That also means settling down and begetting little heirs to the earldom. But just when Flynn is prepared to do his duty, coincidence -- or fate -- brings Sara McMaster back into his life. She awakens memories he'd long buried and desires he believed he'd forgotten. Six years ago life pulled them apart. Now it has thrust them together again, if only for a moment. A moment is all Sara can stand. She doesn't want to fall in love with Flynn again. She's been there, done that, and she's finally recovered from it. She has made a life for herself, picked up stakes, moved on. If Flynn had wanted her back then, she would have followed him to the ends of the earth. Not now. And she doesn't want him disrupting her equilibrium again -- or their son's! Flynn doesn't know about Liam, which is no fault of Sara's. She'd tried to tell him. He'd moved on. That's what he does -- move on.

Well, he might have done it to her, but she won't let him do that to Liam. I'm just beginning work on the book now and it's already going in directions I didn't expect. Flynn is as big a charmer as ever. Sara is not quite the idealist with the practical bent that she used to be. She's a mom now. She's had to adjust. Flynn's an earl now -- he's made some adjustments himself. And Liam -- well, he's five and he's got an agenda of his own. I'm hoping to go to Ireland in February to do some on-site research for their story which begins in New York City. I don't know if we'll get back to Elmer, Montana or not. But it doesn't matter. Sara and Flynn will always carry memories of it in their hearts.

I read The Antonides Marriage Deal and loved it when it came out in April last year (can't get used to saying that and meaning 2006 - I still think of that as this year!) It was, as one astute reader and reviewer commented, like:
a Kathryn Hepburn and Spencer Tracy movie, the bantering, power struggle, and sexual tension.
I fell hard for Elias and lov ed the way his relationship with Tallie developed. So I'm really looking forward to gettting my hand on The Santorini Bride and reading that too.

Oh yes - and here's a little more BRIDES BUZZ

Anne, Liz and I have been receiving lots of entries for this contest - but several of them puzzled us for a while. In fact they created something of a mystery.

Who was Miranda Weston - and why did people think she was Anne's heroine?

If you want to know the answer to this, you'll have to check out Anne's blog where she explains everything.

And no - Miranda's not the name of Anne's heroine - she's a heroine all rig ht - but in someone else's book! The coincidences that have set off this little mystery trail just go to show that there's nothing new under the sun - and that romance author's minds work in very similar ways!

Now I'm back to organising and sorting . . . and maybe I'll write that review of the year tomorrow . . .

PS I should have said that if you want to enter the HERE COME THE BRIDES contest then you need to check out my web site (you can admire it's new design while you're there) or Anne's or Liz's and find the details of how to enter - don't forget, if you enter from each site you get 3 separate chances to win!

New Year, New Site, New Contest

So it's 2007 - I hope this will be a very special year for you all. I wish you joy peace happiness and love to create some very special memories to look back at this time next year. And because it's January 1st, my brand new web site is officially lanched today. It's still at the same place but if you go and take a look, you'll find that it's a very different look - totally revamped and brought right up to date

And to mark the launch of this new look, I have a brand new contest to launch too.
As you'll already know because I - and they - have been trailing this contest for a while, this is a contest I'm running jointly with special friends and wonderful writers Liz Fielding and Anne McAllister .

The contest came about because we realised that all three of us have new books out in February - in both England and the UK in the case of Anne and Liz. And each book has a title with the word 'Bride' in it. So it seemed natural to get together and bring you the Here Come The Brides Contest. And that is what we're launching today.

The winners of this contest will each receive a set of the three band new February releases, signed by each author. And we have three sets of those to give away. And what's more, if you visit each author's site and enter the contest there, then each entrant will have three chances to win.

The books you can win are illustrated here -
Firstly, there's Liz Fielding's Romance release The Valentine Bride.
Harlequin Romance #3932

Then there's Anne McAllister's latest Presents novel - The Santorini Bride
Harlequin Presents #2610



And finally, there's my own February Presents release
The Italian's Forced Bride.
Harlequin Presents #2605

I'll be giving some more details of each of these books over the next couple of days.


So what do you have to do? It's simple really. All you have to do is to visit each site, find the details of the books where the name of each of the brides is listed, and collect them up. Then send those three names to each author according to the instructions on their web site.

The contest ends February 1st, 2007.

But of course once the Brides start running their own contest, the Grooms in question are bound to get to know about it, and when they do, anything can happen. So it could pay you to keep checking back and find out just what's happening in the future.

Oh yes - as I don't have a February UK publishing date - and I'm well aware of the fact that many of my English and Australian readers will have already had and read The Italian's Forced Bride when it came out in M&B Modern/M&B Sexy in April and May 2006. So for anyone who has already read Domenico's story - and I know there were lots of you because I got so many letters about this book and how it reduced you to tears - I have an alternative prize of a brand new signed copy of my not yet published March M&B Modern UK release - Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride in which you'll find another Italian hero - a Sicilian this time, obviously - in sexy Guido Corsentino.

This book is so new that I don't yet have the paperback cover to show you - but here is a look at the library edition cover.

So that's the Here Come The Brides contest - good luck to everyone who enters. Just watch out for fireworks when those grooms find out!

And a Happy New Year to everyone.

Cat Calendar - January

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The Brides are coming . . .

So here's a little bit more about one of those 'things I did on my holidays':

I mentioned working with Anne McAllister and Liz Fielding on a joint contest.
This started because all three of us realised that we all have books coming out in February with the word Bride in the title. So we decided to create a "Here Come The Brides" contest to celebrate the publication of these books beginning January 1st.
From the start of the New Year, details of this contest will be published on each of our blogs and our individual web sites - visiting each author will give you another chance to win not one, but three brand new titles from Anne McAllister, Liz Fielding and myself.

Watch this spot for info about all the books and contest details!

And keep calling back because once this contest starts - you never know what might happen.

Look out for posts with the buxom bride picture in them and you'll get all the information you need.

The Brides are coming . . .

What I did in My Holidays

When I was in school, way back in prehistory, whenever we went back into class after a holiday period, like the last week or so, we would be asked to write an essay. And at the beginning of each term you could just about guarantee that the topic of the essay would be ‘What I did in My Holidays’. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve written something with that title.

So, to continue the tradition – here you are

What I did on my holidays Christmas 2006

1. Relaxed at the thought that the as yet unnamed Greek Pineapple book had been bought

2. Slept – very necessary after tweaking the above G P book

3. Visited family and friends – went out to dinner with one couple, spent an evening with another, had two very enjoyable visits with the Offspring and his partner and even made it over to Leeds to visit the BM’s family. Also caught up with friends on line and by phone. All of which was v. necessary after the total concentration needed to deal with G P book.

4. Celebrated glorious joyful news of one special Christmas baby we were waiting to hear about. The lovely and talented Julie Cohen had her gorgeous son on December 23rd. I’m extra partial to little Capricorn boy babies as The Offspring was one, once upon a time, so welcome, welcome to the world dear Nathaniel.

5. Celebrated more good news when the young mother I mentioned in November as being so desperately ill, came home to her husband, newborn son and little daughter on Christmas Eve after weeks in hospital. And again toasted the wonderful relief when a very special and dear friend received an all clear after a major health scare. These are the sort of things that are real Christmas presents – the ones that matter.

But yes, I did receive some lovely Christmas presents too. One that DH and I are still trying to find the perfect actual thing for – and another an experience that I just know I will love – coming up in April. And anticipating it will be part of the enjoyment.

6. Ate – not too much actually. I didn’t buy in any chocolate or many biscuits etc. And it’s true, if you don’t have it in, you don’t eat it. So although the inevitable ‘need to lose weight’ resolution has to be faced, at least I didn’t add on anything extra this year.

7. Read – not enough but I have reduced the TB R pile by 3 books

White-Hot by Trish Wylie – a great friends into lovers story that was one of the books in my Christmas Stocking Contest

The Italian’s Future Bride by Michelle Reid – well you should all know by now what I think about Michelle Reid – not for nothing is she at #1 on the Waldenbooks bestselling Romances chart this week.
Never Go Back by Robert Goddard – a perfect stocking filler gift. I always admire his detailed plotting, even if his characters don’t fully come alive as real living people. But a new RG is always a Christmas reading treat for me.

But then I was given – count them 5 - no 6 new books as gifts and treated myself to a selection from the new January romances out now. Lovely Liz Fielding sent me her new book (out in February) – of which more later – so I haven’t actually lessened the pile at all . . .

8. Enjoyed filling up my storytelling/imagination banks with a self-indulgent soaps-fest and a couple of thoroughly enjoyable films – introducing the BM to fabulous Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean, admiring the beautiful and brilliant Judi Dench in Mrs Henderson , and last night the absorbing The Hours where the acting is just stunning.

9. Organised a special New Year contest for members of my Newsletter list – there’s still a chance for you to enter this if you’ve signed up for the Newsletter – Sid will be picking a winner on Monday.

10. And talking of Sid – he and I are working on a project that will hopefully continue throughout the year and become a feature of this blog so watch out for that.

11. Finalised the revamping and updating of my web site with its totally new look. In this, I have been superbly helped and supported by the brilliant Heather and Terescia from We Write Romance who have helped to bring to reality the ideas I had and have produced a site that is professional, attractive, informative and welcoming. Thank you so much Heather & Terescia – you’ve been fantastic.

12. And two other fantastic women I’ve been working with recently are Anne McAllister and Liz Fielding. As I’ve already mentioned, the three of us have been planning a joint contest together. And it’s almost ready to unveil. More on that very soon.

13. And finally - because I have to meet the next deadline, and just in case 13 is unlucky for some, (and in case my editor is reading this as I know she does occasionally) I’ll add as a final point the fact that I’ve also been thinking/working/planning on a new book with a handsome, proud Spanish hero growing in my mind. More details when I have them (or should I say, when he lets me have them)

So there you are – what I did on my holidays. You can expect further developments from some of these later this week.

Twixtmas

So what day is it again? It’s Friday. . . I think.
It’s not Christmas Day – we’ve done that.
It’s not New Year’s Day – not yet.

It’s somewhere betwixt and between.

And betwixt is sort of how I feel as well. After getting the Greek Pineapple book finished and tweaked and accepted (still no title yet) and then going straight into Christmas preparations, I had a sort of conveyor belt type of feeling – one thing about Christmas – and a almost missed deadline – is that they focus the mind wonderfully. No chance of thinking of anything else. They both demand total attention and you don’t have a chance to think of anything else much. You have long lists of things that must be done and that’s what you reach for when you wake up in the morning. What you do all day long and what you think of last thing at night as you mentally add more things to the list as you fall asleep.

I’m good on the ‘must –dos’. Must dos get done. It’s the things that I know should/could be done. The things that would make my life a little easier, a lot more enjoyable, more organised, that I don’t quite get a grip on. I usually muddle through quite well – I wrote my contracted 3 books this year plus the teaching etc that I was committed to do - and I had a life as well but there were things I didn’t do as much as I wanted to. Or as easily and calmly as I could.

So along comes the New Year in a few days time and everyone is talking about resolutions. But the trouble with resolutions is that everyone tends to grab at the obvious – must lose weight (yes) be more organised (yes) Exercise more (yes) . . . One thing I’m SO glad I don’t have to do is resolve to give up smoking. I did that 17 years ago and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. One of the toughest too, but I knew I had to do it. Now if I had still to give up smoking, then the idea of resolutions wouldn’t be quite such a problem – the smoking would have to go and that’s all that needed to be said. But I don’t have anything that stands out so strongly these days - just what seems like hordes of things that I ‘could do better’ or ‘would like to do more ‘ - and I don’t want to just jump in and say I’ll do this this and this . . . because then my brain starts whirling. Too much choice. Too many options. And my thoughts overload as I try to think which ones matter most. I need to prioritise.

Some years ago I bought a book called Your Best Year Yet by Jenny Ditzler. This book is based around questions. Questions that make you look at your life and see not just what needs doing, but what areas are working really well. It makes you look at achievements as well as problems. Answering the questions shows you where your life is in balance and where it’s not. It’s the perfect book for Twixtmas week – the week betwixt Christmas and New Year. It makes you look at what has happened in the past and decide how you would like the future to be – and what you should do about it.

So today I’m going to pull that book off my shelf and spend some quiet time answering the questions.
Well, I will just as soon as I can find it. You see when I reorganised my office a couple of months ago, I had new bookshelves built. That meant I had to pull all the books off the shelves and pile them up - then put them all back again. And I had a deadline so I just piled them back again on the shelves in no particular order . . .

Resolution one – be more organised!

But then, it was a pretty old and well used edition of the book – I’ve had it for five years or more and used it a lot . . . Amazon has a nice new clean edition . . .

No – Resolution two – not to impulse buy from Amazon until I’ve read some of the books in my TBR Mount Everest (and the ones I was given for Christmas)

I really need that book
Resolution for today – find the damn book! (Which probably means sorting out the bookshelves)

What about you?

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Cat Christmas Countdown - 4

What can I say about Sid that hasn't already been mentioned? Way back in February, when I started this blog, he made an appearance in a posting and made sure that everyone knew about him.He has also muscled in on Anne McAllister's blog every now and then - and on Anne herself when she visits here. I suspect that Ms McAllister who would catnap Sid ACOSB in the blink of an eyelid if I didn’t check her luggage for purring each time she leaves after a visit. It's the same with Anna Lucia who has enough cats of her own but has been known to describe Sid as The King.So let's recap on what I said in February. I never intended to have four cats. Some years ago I had three and 3 is a nice number. There’s one for my lap and one for the BM’s – and one left over for any visitor (like Anne or Anna) who wants a lapwarmer. But cats decide who they’re going to live with. And one night we opened the door to let the cats in and in came Bob, Dylan, Spiffy – and Spiffy brought a friend with him. A handsome, big (very big) black and brown tabby who just about announced that he lived here and would I please show him where the food was. (Actually I don’t believe he said please – just 'Lemmme at the food!’)

And so Sid came into our lives. We tried to keep him out in the hope he would go home, but he just sat outside our patio doors and yelled and yelled and yelled. We couldn’t sleep. The neighbours couldn’t sleep and Sid was not moving. So we let him in. We tried to find his previous owners at the start - but then when we found that he had half his whiskers pulled out and air gun pellets in his stomach, we decided they weren’t worth looking for. We called him Sid because of an ancient radio comedy programme called Round the Horne which had a character named Rambling Sid Rumpo in it. Rambling Sid suited the wanderer. At first he was a rather pathetic creature. He was nervous and panicked if anyone went near him, he slept with his eyes open and twitched and moaned in his sleep. His head and his tail – a wonderful, thick, richly furred tail - stayed down. He didn’t even have enough spirit to lift his tail for the first five months he was with us.

But once he was secure in his chosen home, Rambling Sid turned into A Force in Fur. He lost the ‘Rambling’ part of his name and gained a knighthood. As TS Elliott says, cats have many names – and this is certainly true of The Force - his full title grew until it became Sir Sidney St John Willoughby Portly-Lummox ACOSB (A Cat of Superior Breeding). Anne McAllister has added to that by awarding him the honours of Earl of Hellions Bumpstead and Lord of Blubberhouses. (And for those of you who are laughing at those ridiculous names, I assure you they are real, genuine English village names the first in Essex, the second in North Yorkshire.)

Since his arrival Sid has become A Personality (note – I resisted the temptation to say A Purrsonality). He now regularly appears on my web site – where he often gets more fan mail than I do). He is the one who ensures total fairness in the choice of all the winners of my contests. I put all the names of the entrants on pieces of paper, top each one off with a cat crunchie and the one Sid eats first is the winner. If this was the 1600s and not the 2000s, he would probably get me accused of being a witch and having him as my familiar as he rarely leaves my side. He sleeps on my bed (well – he sleeps on me!). He sits on my lap, and if get up he follows me. And during the day, when I’m working, he sleeps on my desk, curled around the computer keyboard. He’s there now – dozing contentedly and occasionally reaching out a paw to pat my hand as I type. If I pause to think then he senses the silence, lifts his head and pushes it under my hand so that I have to stroke him. As an aid to thought it’s pretty good. He just wonders why it took us so long to realise this was where he belonged – he knew this was home from the moment he saw it.

The only fly in the ointment - or cat in the way of the firespot, is Dylan. Dylan and Sid will never be friends. So that’s Sid – or, as he’s usually known to my readers Sid The Cat. The capitals are important. In his mind, he’s The Cat and no one else gets a look in. Oh well, four cats is a very nice number - there's one for the BM's lap and two for anyone visitors. There's no room at all on my lap - that's Sid's territory and only his.
four cats is a very nice number - there's one for the BM's lap and two for anyone visitors. There's no room at all on my lap - that's Sid's territory and only his.And in the hero stakes, who is Sid? I asked two of his greatest fans, Anna and Anne - and Anna suggested Vin Diesel might just match him for size and presence . Anne had no doubts

-

How can you ask? she said. He's Hugh Jackman. With perhaps a little Sean Connery
thrown in.

Which of course he is. Tall, dark handsome, with real presence and charm to spare.
And can't you just hear him saying 'The name's Sid . . . Sir Sid'?


Which just left one problem It's Christmas - and would A Cat Of Superior Breeding allow himself to be photographed wearing a Santa hat in order to celebrate the festivities.


The answer? Well - yes - but only if it's worn at a very rakish angle.




HAPPY CHRISTMAS from Sid

Christmas Angels Part 2 - For Anne McAllister

When I wrote about my new Christmas angel, I mentioned my old Christmas Angel - one I had made myself years ago when the Offspring was a small boy. asked to me take a picture of this elderly angel and post it for you to see. So I've done that.

Here is my little felt angel that I made all those years ago when I had time to do such things and wasn't writing or tweaking Greek heroes in the week before Christmas.

There were a couple of other little felt tree decorations I made as well that year - a star and a Christmas stocking and these two who hang on the tree with the angel - Father Christmas with a wonderful beard (you can't see the details but each of those sections of beard end in a curl of white



And Frosty the Snowman with his jaunty hat and scarf, a very red nose, and a red and green broom in his hands.

These 3 are now hanging on the tree together and that always makes me feel it's really Christmas.

Oh yes - and talking of that tweaked Greek - my editor's Christmas present to me was a note to say that the tweaking was fine and the Greek book had been bought , ready for publication in November 2007. No title as yet so it's still just known as 'Andreas's Story' - but as soon as it has a publication title, I'll let you know.

Cat Christmas Countdown 3 - revisited

One of the things I forgot to mention about Dylan is that if he is outside and wants to come inside, he will go to the french doors and beat his paws against the glass of the windows until we let him in. As he also leaves his claws out and scrapes them across the glass , the resulting sound is horribly unearthly.

And if you take a picture of Dylan doing just this - as I did today - just as the dusk is gathering, he looks pretty unearthly too.

Cat Christmas Countdown 3

The first cat I ever had of my own was a grey and white kitten called Misty who was my seventh birthday present. Sadly, she died of cat flu after only a couple of years, but I have loved grey cats ever since. So when I learned that the RSPCA had a grey and while kitten looking for a home, I knew that home had to be with me.

I might have gone to the RSPCA looking for a Misty type of kitten - what I got was Dylan aka Dyl the Vill (short for villain) and Misty he is not. Where Misty was petite and very feminine, a sweet natured cat, Dylan is a street fighting thug with a great interest in working men! If any electricians or plumbers come to the house to do repairs etc, Dylan is there like a shot, playing the ' I'm just a small, injured cat' look to perfection so that he gets their attention and, hopefully, strokes. He is not very good at purring - his purr sounds rusty as if it doesn't get used all that much - but when he gets stroked by men who work with their hands, he loves it. He also loves being stroked by Anne McAllister - not that I'm saying anything about the size of her hands - but she does know just the right spot on his head to rub in just the right way.


Dylan also gets attention because he is small - though as ' his girl' Biddy points out he had powerful shoulders which mean that he walks with a real swagger, like some gunslinger heading into the OK Corral. He also only has one eye that works because of a dose of cat flu (what is it with grey cats and cat flu?) that meant one eye totally sealed up and now has only partially opened again so he always looks like he's winking at you. He is by far the smallest of all the cat but he is the fierce one, the one you don't want to tackle on a dark night, the hunter who will tackle a pigeon as large as himself and will climb the tallest tree to go nesting.

He is also a cat who will follow his humans anywhere - if I leave the house and he is in the garden, then he sets off down the street with me. Which is fine if I'm only going to the post box, but not so great if, as happened once, he follows the BM right to the door of the local 6th form college where he (the BM that is) was teaching an evening class. As a result, Dylan is the most educated of our cats because he has attended a lesson on writing poetry.


Hero-wise, Dylan would like me to claim that his is the Tom Cruise of cats, small but perfectly formed, but the truth is that in character and behavious he is much more like Jack Nicholson, with that roguish wink, the swagger, and a charm all of his own.

Dylan also occasionally has ideas above his station - these are the result of his first trip to the vets, when a very new lady vet labelled him a'silver tabby' when he is in fact just as grey tabby - not silver at all. He is also Sid's Nemesis - the pair of them have never settled into any sort of affection and barely tolerate each other. Dylan however is the cat who always gets the firespot and once winter comes, he will remember the delights of the fire and head straight for the spot in front of the fireplace where he will sit and wait, knowing with absolute certainty that a fire will appear - because he wants one.

He is also brilliant at mind control. If the other cats need to go out in the night, they will come to our bedroom and scratch on the foot of the bed or throw things at us from the nightstand - but Dylan just sits in the hallway and thinks. And suddenly I will wake up and realise that downstairs a cat is waiting . . .

He can also do this in reverse by sitting on the lawn outside my bedroom window and sending 'let me in' commands to wake me up.

And as you can see from the first picture of Dylan in this post, he is also a cat who still believes in Santa - though he is a little worried about him coming down the chimney and disturbing him, because, of course, he already has the firespot.

Welcome to . . .

I've finally unearthed my list of countries from underneath a smug cat and just in time as overnight the count has gone up to 67.

So today I welcome - and Wish Happy Christmas if you're celebrating it - or just happiness, whatever point of the year you're at to The Russian Federation ->

South Korea

Bahrain ->

Slovakia

Switzerland
Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you'll come back again

Interview with HMB Editor

Those of you who visit this blog because you want to be writers and who are aiming at publication by Harlequin Mills & Boon, you can have a unique insight into what goes on behind the scenes at this major publishing house and learn all about their selection procedure, the 'slush pile' etc.

Over on the Pink Heart Society blog, HMB editor Jenny Hutton has spent the last two days blogging about her job, what it's like to work in Editorial and all the new and exciting projects the company has coming up in 2007. She's also been answering questions that have been sent to her by members of the PHS.

So if you're interested, why not visit the PHS Blog and read all about it. And while you're there, take a look at the other posts - there's always something of interest to read.

Christmas Contest

No - not mine - my Christmas Stocking Contest is over - but over on Romance Junkies, there's a big Winter Wonderland Contest with lots of prizes to give away from lots and lots of your favourite romance authors

So why not check out this contest and see what you can win?If you want to find my contribution, it's in the toy store - and I love rocking horses!