Fiona Lowe's Blog, page 18

Fiji: Teenagers Surprise You

The Lad is almost 18 with July 17th being the big day. He’s in his final year of school and so much of this year is focussed on next year as he applies to universities. He can feel adulthood looming and he’s up for the challenge. But he was on  holidays so I figured he’d be sleeping late but no? HE had us up at 5.30am, hauling us up an almost vertical hill in the dark to the second highest peak on the island so we could see the sunrise. He totally drove this activity and then the next day got up again and RAN up to the highest peak. After that he reverted to normal programming of a teenager and slept in!

So here is the sunrise and it was glorious and it was worth the trip although I much preferred scrambling UP the hill than sliding down it afterwards.

After that I had to kickback and read for a large part of the day. Here I am reading Jilted by Rachael Johns which I really enjoyed.

After a nap we learned all about coconuts and how they use every part of the plant. Our guide said when he was a child his parents would tell him, ‘Be useful like a coconut.’  Here we are about to squeeze coconut milk through a sieve which is material from the coconut tree.

Funny story…I bought virgin coconut oil to bring home. It is totally clear. When it came out of the hold of the plane it was frozen and I figured it would thaw quickly. A day later, in my house it is still solid. Turns out it needs to be about 24C or 78F for coconut oil to be liquid!! Guess I won’t be using it until the summer.

After that I’m pretty sure I read some more, had a cocktail, ate dinner and went to bed. Tough life being on holidays/vacation in Fiji

Win a $2500 Wedding Dress

Boomerang Bride is on shelf in Australia today as a trade paperback (YAY!!)  and to help launch its Australian debut, Harlequin Australia are hosting a compeition for one lucky reader to win a  designer wedding dress valued at $2500! Now how awesome is that?

So to be in the draw, grab yourselves a copy of Boomerang Bride from Target, Big W, Kmart, Dymocks….. and follow the details to enter.

For all the goss on this book, the reviews, photos, why I wrote it and the song that inspired it, head to my website.

Missing Island Time

We’re home. After a marvellous week in Fiji, kicking back on “Island Time”, we’re having to adapt to the real world again. It’s also raining and cold and we’re missing those lovely 26C days. And the beach. And the hammock. And the naps. And the meals which were all prepared by someone else. And the view of the glorious beach ….

Over the week, I’ll post photos to show you what we did “this time last week”. To start off here is what I did last Sunday. I went to church and heard wonderful acapella singing, I lazed in a beachside hammock and read and I also went snorkelling and saw Nemo and many of his friends.

Here I was reading Sister Pact by Ali Ahearn and Ros Baxter. It was appropriate as it’s set on a tropical island!

Here we are on our way to Church. The Yasawas are a chain of islands and there are no roads. You either walk or go by boat.

We attended the Methodist Church. The Methodists arrived in the 1800s with the aim of stopping the cannibalism and converting the Fijian’s to Christianity. Today, on the far flung islands, the Methodist churches are still run without any musical instruments but with the sensational voices of the Fijians I didn’t even notice there wasn’t an organ!

 And the day ended with a glorious sunset and a beach cast in golden shadows.

Gone Fiji…back in a bit!

Sydney Harbour Hospital: Tom’s Redemption On Shelf in Australia from Today!

Winter is here with a vengeance in southern Victoria and I’m writing this with a blankie on my knee, the heater cranked up and counting down the days until we leave for a week in hopefully sunnier and warmer Fiji.

However, I find winter is great for catching up on reading. I heat up the wheat pack and tuck up under the doona! I have new book out this week.

Sydney Harbour Hopstial: Tom’s Redemption is the 4th book in the Sydney Harbour Hospital series, however all books are ‘stand alone’ so no need to panic if you haven’t read any of the others. Set in big city Sydney, it’s a departure from my usual small town setting and I loved going to Sydney for research! I hope you enjoy reading Tom & Hayley’s story. Sometimes life can deal you a lousy hand and Tom discovers it’s what you do with that deal that makes all the difference.

Reviews are coming in and one reader wrote, “This is one of the best M&B Medicals I have read in a long while – it seemed no time since I had started reading it until I reached the last page! “

You can find it on a shelf at Big W, Target, Kmart or  Amazon, iTunes and Mills & Boon Australia. For pictures and background information, head to my website.

Wishing you time for reading and some winter sunshine!

Easy Creamy Chicken Pie

Last night on Twitter I mentioned I was baking chicken pie. I got lots of recipe requests so I thought I would put the recipe up on the blog. Sadly I didn’t take a photo of it but picture golden puff pastry right here.  This pie is the reason why when you roast a chicken you roast a HUGE one so there is leftovers for the pie two days later.

SO….here is the recipe

Strip the meat off the chicken, you need about 500gms/1Ib. Actually you can get away with less by adding more veggies.  Then you turn the oven onto 180C/375F.  Dice or whizz a large onion or  6shallots/scallions, 2 cloves of garlic, some fresh herbs from the garden if you have them but don’t worry if you don’t  and 4 rashers of bacon. Sauté them using a tiny bit of oil if there isn’t enough in the bacon. When the bacon is crispy and the onion clear then stir in 2 tablespoons of flour. Remove pan from the heat. Now slowly stir in 1.5 cups of milk and bring to the boil. It will thicken. Take it off the heat. Now the recipe says allow to cool but seriously, who ever has time for that, right?

Now throw in the chicken, add 1/3 cup of tangy Parmesan cheese, teaspoon of grainy mustard if you have it, cup of frozen mixed vegetables for those with kids, and 2 lightly beaten eggs. Pour into into a greased pie dish. Cover with a square of puff pastry, brush with milk and bake for 30 minutes. Don’t like puff pastry? Use 5 sheets of filo.

Serve with plum sauce and most importantly, enjoy!

Now print this because you  know you want to make it!

Finding the Perfect Wedding Dress

Harlequin Australia is having some fun in the run up to the Australian launch of Boomerang Bride! Vote for the dress you like the most!

Apparently I have moments where I am illuminating! I must...

Apparently I have moments where I am illuminating! I must tell my family….they think I just phaff on about stuff  Many thanks to Foodstories for nominating my blog for an “Illuminating Award.”  As I sit in my office with a blankie on my knee trying to get words out on my current novel I often feel like I am wading through mud in the dark. So thanks for the ‘light’.

One of Those Weeks

I’m having one of those weeks where everything happens at once and I’m trying to be creative and write a novel on top of a ramped up week of domestic engineering.

Do you have those weeks where all the appointments come at once? It’s causing me a bit of stress so lucky for me I can wind down at the end of each day reading Rachael John’s rural romance, Jilted. The cover is enough to relax me!

It’s officially out on June 1st but there have been sightings in shops so if you’re after a relaxing read so that you can cope with your ridiculously busy week. this might just be the thing for you.

A Weekend Spent Talking Writing is Bliss

It’s Monday and I’m just finding my feet after spending the weekend in lovely, Launceston. I was invited to speak at the inaugural RWA Tasmanina Roadshow. It started off with a bit of fun…my plane was filled with blokes heading over for the AFL football match on the Saturday. I have to say, it’s the first time I have ever been on a plane where the passengers cheered when it took off. Then again, I think it’s the first time I’ve been on a plane where the bulk of the passengers had been drinking beer from about 11am

Melanie Milburne and Ebony McKenna were fellow speakers and I enjoyed being able to hear both of them speak and I took away something from their talks. It was fun to catch up with writers I had met before and to meet new ones as well.

The Tasmanian paper, The Examiner, interviewed us and I think the journalist wished we wrote Aussie rural romance as she’d read about it and she certainly made it sound like we did! But it’s a great article none the less and I guess as my medical romances are usually set in the Outback, then I fit the criteria to a certain extent.  The link is http://www.examiner.com.au/news/local/news/entertainment/tasmania-the-ideal-setting-for-romance/2562223.aspx

It was a terrific weekend and I send a special thanks to the committee who organised it. The only thing that would have made it better was if I had remembered to bring home all my business pants which I left hanging in the motel wardrobe. Fortunately, they are being sent home COD by the lovely people at the Sandors On The Park.

So now to find my brain and start work…. oh Boy Wonder has just appeared needing help with his geography homework…..