Let Me Enjoy Spring

Dear Readers

August was a very busy month for me and unfortunately my writing took a back seat. I’m now going to be delivering my final book in my Wicked Wagers trilogy, To Challenge the Earl of Cravenswood, a month late. It will be released end of September, instead of the end of August. How did I let the month get away from me?

I didn’t factor in how much travelling I’d be doing during late July and August. I flew to the USA for a few weeks and then had the Romance Writers of New Zealand conference in Auckland. I had three conferences within four weeks – and I was presenting at one! It was tiring but so much fun. I got to meet wonderful people and I learned a lot.

So, here I sit, just as the New Zealand spring is starting, glued to my computer, writing frantically. We’ve had warm mid-winter months of July and August, unusually warmer temperatures, but punctuated with loads of rain. The grass is still soaking and the kids’ sports have been cancelled most of the month because the grounds are too sodden. At least that’s my excuse for not mowing the lawns.

 

I’m also on Jury duty this week which again has eaten into my time. I feel a moral obligation to do my jury service. I’d like to think that if I ever were facing a court that people from all walks of life were my jury pool. 

I have to report each morning to the District Court and we go through a ballot process to see who sits on a jury. I got selected for a jury yesterday, and it was a two – three week trial. There goes my writing! However, luckily for me, a very good friend was one of the lawyers so I was excused! It did give me some ideas for a story though so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

I hope to have the book completed by the end of September and then I’m going to take a week to enjoy spring. I’m building a house in the sunny Hawke’s Bay (a wine growing region) and I want to go up and spend some time picking curtains and furnishing etc. I’m hoping the spring weather remains warm and sunny while I’m up there.

Then for the rest of the year I’m finishing, Invitation to Passion, book three in my Invitation to Romance series. I’m hoping to get it finished by Christmas so I can enjoy the summer months of January and February in my new home.

BTW, I’ve some good news to share. To Dare the Duke of Dangerfield, book one in my Wicked Wagers trilogy, is now a FINALIST in the 2012 Kindle Book Review Indie Romance Book of the Year. It would be great if you could spread the news!

Let the Wicked Wagers Begin...
Lady Caitlin Southall’s temper has finally got the better of her. She’s challenged Harlow Telford, the Duke of Dangerfield, the most notorious rake in all of England, to a wager. She wants her house back. The one her destitute father lost to Dangerfield in a card game. But if she doesn’t win their bet, she not only loses her home, she loses her dignity and pride and damn it all, maybe her heart... For the handsome Duke has decreed, when he wins, she must spend the night in his bed.

Harlow Telford is amused by his hellion neighbor, Caitlin, or Cate to her friends, who seem to encompass everyone on earth except him. When she bursts into one of his private gatherings, he mistakes her for the entertainment. Her slap across his face sets him straight and raises the absurd desire to seduce the unconventional beauty into his bed. When she issues her daft challenge to win back her father’s pile of rubble, the terms are set. And he’ll do anything to win—except fall in love...

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What plans are you making for the next few months? Northern hemisphere readers will be heading toward winter. Is it hard to be perky about the change in season when it’s autumn, or are you a winter fan? I suspect the regions that have very hot, muggy weather are looking forward to cooler days.