Gasp! The House is tidy!

I'm currently in shock...

We've spent the last week sorting, shredding and filing the buildup of paper that had occurred in the house. Five large boxes crammed with fifteen years worth of paper. That created one black sack of shredded paper for each year we've been together and two boxes of things we have to keep...

I tell ya, the recycling men had a shock and a half on Friday when we put out the first eight bags. We had to reassure them that it wasn't a wind up!

But it's not just that.

We've moved the computer down to the end of our "Dining Room", shifted the bookcases around, got rid of a lot of stuff and essentially cleared a lot of stuff away. I cleaned the kitchen (you'll need shades to go in there) and did the washing up (we'll have a fixed dishwasher by Tuesday)... I even managed to clean the cooker!
It means that my writing has suffered a little - I haven't done as much as I should have done, but when Life happens, you can't just ignore it!

I do feel a lot better for it though. It's a useful exercise - I got rid of a lot of physical and emotional baggage while I was shredding. The house is clean, my psyche has been cleaned up a little as well.

Now I am ready to get moving on my own work - writing and crafting. I have a novel to get ready for December and a whole slew of Christmas presents to do.

Wish me luck!

Funny what you find on Amazon...

One of my friends from Webook - MJ Heiser has recently achieved the state which so many of us are struggling / longing to reach - she has become a PUBLISHED Author!

*pauses for Cheers and Applause*

Her book, Corona, is a stunning Fantasy set on the world of Jaenrye. It is one that I am desperate to own, but I had thought it would only be on the US version of Amazon. I did a little digging and found this on the UK version of Amazon -

Corona by MJ Heiser

I immediately put it on my wish list, so that ANY FAMILY that might read this can ACCESS and BUY it for me... (hint, hint)

Then I noticed the line "2 new from £10.12 ; 1 used from £14.61 ". This shocked me. Corona has only been out since May - it hasn't quite cooled from the press yet, how could someone buy the book, read it and sell it again as a used copy?!!!?!!!!?

But there it is - being sold for nearly fifteen quid! You could have knocked me down with a feather...

Okay, now we get to the real reason I am yapping about this. If anyone from the UK wants to read Corona (and believe me, it's worth buying!) please buy the proper copy! MJ Deserves your support!

Besides - a brand new copy will cost you less than the second hand one! *grins*

Drumroll Please... And the Blog Award goes to...

ME! Apparently... well, okay, I'm getting a little carried away there. Sorry.

Actually I did get the Blog Award (See the nice piccies under my mugshot?) from two of my fellow writers and bloggers - Noelle Pierce and T.L. Tyson !

Thank you for that, Ladies!

I’m not entirely sure why they did it (possibly an attempt to bribe me for the next FSS Contest…*grins*) but I am grateful they enjoy my writing and my Contest that much!

Now according to the Rules of the Awards I have to do a couple of things...

"Rules? What Rules?"

These Ones:

Here are the rules of the awards:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order…)

4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

So what's up next? Ah, yes, Seven things about me... Hmm - tricky! How do I avoid being boring?

1) I’m a Map Writer – no, not a Map Reader, a Map Writer…

Every story I write longer than 1000 words will get a map drawn for it. They help me understand the place and the people my characters interact with. The maps also allow me to go back to that world to write different stories.

2) I’m a simple person at heart, almost a child in my ability to trust and love people.

Be nice to me and you’ll get nice back. Be nasty and I will ignore you forever… I mean it.

3) I love Dragons.

I'm not joking when I say this. I love reading about them, drawing them, collecting them. I do believe that they are real - they've just gone into hiding so Humans won't hunt them anymore, like the Unicorns and Fae.

4) I like to write Speculative Fiction.

Speculative Fiction, for those who don't know is Fantasy, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Horror... anything that is the product of a fertile imagination - which I have in an over abundance!

5) I have a Rainbow and a Cub in my house.

That's right - The Princess Terrorist became an Official Rainbow this week (despite having been on the list since she was eight months old and attending since she was old enough to walk.) and will be parading in the Arena at the Scout and Guide Fair on Saturday... as will Number One Son, who has joined Cubs recently and will also be parading.

6) I have been engaged for fifteen years.

Pick your jaws up off the floor - The Other Half and I have known each other since University. We got engaged in 1995 (he proposed in the pub) and I have been planning the festivities ever since. However, due to a number of events (both happy and sad) in the intervening years, we've been unable to get enough money together for even a tiny wedding. So we're still engaged...

7) I have been writing seriously for two years.

And in that time, I have made so many friends, all over the world that it would be impossible to thank them all on any acknowledgments page I could put into a book.

They have all had an impact on my writing, be it through refining my work; encouraging me to carry on writing when life got tough; cheering for me when I manage to get stories published or commiserating when I got rejected.

Thank you to everyone!

Now I get to have a bit of fun and award some genuinely brilliant blogs, a very well deserved award!

Poppet's Imagination Captivation - This is the blog of a superb writer, a knowledgeable and wonderful person and someone who has inspired and encouraged me for a long time.

Uphill Writing - Rik Scott is one of my favourite bloggers. He has helped and encouraged my writing from day one of knowing him on Webook. He is a brilliant creative writing teacher and a good friend.

Spirit Lights the Way - Nancy has a unique blog, one that is calming for the soul and thought provoking for the mind. This is a blog for first thing in the morning, to prepare yourself for the day ahead.

The Right Brain Ramblings - Okay, so she gave me the award in the first place, but T. L. has so many blogs, I sometimes wonder how she remembers which one she is supposed to be writing that day! *grins* This particular one brightens and entertains...

Angels and Demons and Portals. Oh My! - J.A.Souders is another of my favourite bloggers. She is direct and honest - but is kind and caring with it. An agented writer, she fully deserves to be published and yet she spends her time helping the rest of us get an agent!

Tel's Talk - Terri Nixon is one of the first writers I met when I started out on the net. She's had some tough times, but has kept writing all the way through. I admire her as a person and love her work.

The Inimitable M - A hard working writer and publisher, Maggie is someone that I admire for being so strong and capable. We also share a cat (name) - my favourite orange and white moggie is named Gizmo. Maggie's little Cabana boy is nameed Gizmo - coincidence nes pas?

The Pat Black Experience - is just that - an experience not to be missed. Pat is an entertaining writer with an intelligence and dark comedy that begs to be published.

Godchecker GodBlog - Godchecker.com is my absolute favourite website. I can spend hours on there researching different gods, demons, saints, angels etc... So when they announced the creation of the GodBlog, it quickly became another stop on my weekly Blog Run.

Grumbles and Grins by Karen Bessey Pease - This is a relatively new Blog Run Stop for me, as I have only just met her via Slush Pile Reader. I can however recommend her Maine humour and charm as a damn good reason to read her blog!

The Writing of Dean Wesley Smith - Another new stop on my Blog Run, it's one of the best and most informative places I have been so far. Well worth a read!

Simon's Writing - I am... - Okay, it's not strictly a blog, but Simon Betterton is a fascinating person. He's off to Hong Kong (I think) soon and I hope he has a good time, because boy, am I jealous!

Joanne Ellis - Another Writer's website but one I think that regular Blog Runners would like. Read and enjoy!

Children's Circle - Here you can find stories that have been written by the Genius that is Sir Terry Pratchett and compiled by Steve Cohen, the editor of Bucks Free Press. I'll leave you to explore and enjoy the site, it's a fun one!

M.J. Heiser - One of several people who I would like to claim as a friend in person, she has encouraged my writing ambitions since we met on Webook and she was undiscovered. Of course, she's been discovered now, so she's slightly ahead of me - but never fear, I will catch her up!

And that's about it - I'm going to post this on my Website Blog as well; Noelle gave me the award for my website, T.L. gave it to me for this blog, so I have to answer both!

*grins insanely and shakes her head*

The things I have to do to make myself and my friends feel good - are worth doing well!

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