Where has the year gone?

The Holiday Season is upon us, yippee. 

I love Christmas. Why? Because it’s the start of summer holidays in New Zealand. There is something about the sun shinning, the warm weather, colorful gardens, fresh fruit and vegetables, and blue skies, that lifts my spirits.

The urge to get out walking again has just struck me. I put on my walking gear, grab my Dictaphone and walk through the vineyard neighboring my property. It’s amazing what my characters say to me when I’m out in the fresh air.

The latest conversation is with characters from my soon to be released Regency romance, A Kiss of Lies. Even though I’ve finished the book, its #1 in the six book Disgraced Lord’s series, and all the characters intermingle in the other six books.  I’m currently working on book #3, A Touch of Passion.

At the moment Christian and Sarah are discussing their missing colleague Grayson Devlin, Viscount Blackwood. They’re worried about him. I’m laughing because I know where Grayson is and what’s happening to him - he's off saving a damsel in distress. Book #3 in the series, A Touch of Passion reveals all.

I’ll share a snippet from A KISS OF LIES – 14 January 2014 (Random House Loveswept release). It’s Christian’s first meeting with Sarah….

Her vocabulary and demeanor spoke of maturity. As he assessed her, his whole body ached with the most basic human need.

He wanted her. Not just her body, but more . . .

He wanted the dream he’d promised himself on the battlefields of Europe. A beautiful wife and family, a home, some shreds of normality, a few children to justify the future and to give him a tangible reason for having put himself through the horror of war.

He watched her nervously lick her lips. His groin tightened. He imagined the sleek wetness around him . . .

He tried to cross his legs, but hit his knee on the underside of the desk. Reality returned.

He’d be lucky if even a governess agreed to be his wife. The allure of his wealth and title meant that a desperate few still approached him. But he refused to marry a woman who’d have him only because of his title, and then lie rigid and cold beneath him in the marriage bed.

This woman unsettled him because she looked at him differently. She looked at him as if he were a kindred soul, as if she understood his pain and wanted to share it.

Good God. She looked at him as if he were whole

There is a FREE chapter prequel on my website for you to read which explains why Christian is so taken with Sarah….

Read some early reviews (it's in NetGalley if you're a blogger)

People must think me mad when they see me walking along, talking into my little handheld machine.  There is no excuse not to go walking now, as I can work while I walk. I bet there aren’t many occupations where you can say that!

I'm on deadline again, and I've just moved house, and city! I'm really looking forward to a relaxing family break over Christmas and New Year. I have over 603 books on my kindle, yet to be read, and I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms.  So, around Christmas you'll find me lying by my pool enjoying a fabulous book. Maybe I'll do a bit of swimming and of course I'll be out on my daily walk with my characters, talking into a small silver machine....

What’s you favorite time of year and why? What will you be doing over the Christmas break? What books have you got lined up to read?

I'll wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year now, as I won’t be posting until the first week of January 2014. Where has the year gone? Have a safe and fun holiday! Waving from a very warm New Zealand.