Talli Roland's Blog, page 39

Rain, Rain and Rain: I'm Home!

After two glorious sun-drenched weeks in Egypt, I returned yesterday afternoon to an equally rain-drenched London. But that's okay -- as much as I loved the break, it's so good to be home. Granted, I have about a zillion emails to deal with and lots of work to do, but I'm more than ready to dive back in!

I've also imported about half the cinnamon stock of Cairo (you would not believe how good the cinnamon is there), along with 3 kilos of sweets, so there is plenty of fuel to keep me going.

Some rather nice things happened while I was gone. Chick Lit Reviews listed The Hating Game and Watching Willow Watts on 'Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2011', while Trashionista named The Hating Game as one of its Top 10 of 2010! On his blog today, James Garcia Jr has a rather nice review of my novel, too.

All that and I was quoted as a 'bestselling romantic author' in The Times and The Daily Mail! I'll be talking a bit more about that tomorrow.

Maybe I should go on vacation more often! What's new with you? What have I missed?

Alexandria!

I've just returned to Cairo from two amazing days in Alexandria. Fresh fish, beach, palaces, Roman ruins... Who could ask for more?Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Cairo! Here's how I spent the first day of the year. Wishing everyone a fabulous 2011! Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Land of the Pharaohs... and Mr TR

These past few days since Christmas have been more hectic than the run-up to Christmas itself, as Mr TR and I scavenge the city for gifts to take to the in-laws in Cairo. Not to mention my seemingly never-ending quest to find articles of clothing that are both covering and cool -- something hard to do in the summer, not to mention winter. Thankfully, Egypt won't be nearly as hot in December as it was during our last visit in October 2009, when the thermometer hit forty almost daily and I nearly melted into a puddle of lobster-coloured flesh.

My blogging will be scatty for the next ten days or so while I'm gone. I'll try to drop in with some photos here and there, but blog hopping will be limited. So... happy New Year! A big thanks to everyone for all the help and support this year!


I leave you with some photos of our last trip to Egypt.

The Winners!

Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas! The photo below is me on Thames, on Christmas Day. This time, Mr TR and I biked (yes, biked) from our flat in west London to the South Bank, ducked into St Paul's, hit up a pub for some mulled wine, then biked back home again for a massive turkey dinner.


Now for the two winners of Isabelle Lafleche's book J'Adore New York! The lucky readers are:

Jayne from a Novice Novelist!
Susan Fields!

Congrats, ladies! And if you'd like a little light reading today while your tummy digests, I'm over on Leigh T Moore's blog today! Thank for having me, Leigh.

Enjoy your lazy Monday!

Christmas Cheer

Thank you for all the comments on yesterday's post! I'll be choosing the winner next Monday, December 27, so there's still plenty of time to comment to be entered in the draw. I won't be posting again until then, so...

Merry Christmas, all!

Have a safe, happy and relaxing festive time with friends and family -- and plenty of cupcakes, wine and whatever else takes your fancy.

I leave you with this Christmas-y video (ignore me) of the Christmas Market in Hyde Park last Saturday.

J'Adore New York by Isabelle Lafleche

This is why I love social media.

Back in September, I was ready to fly back from my two-week vacation in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada) to London, except for one thing -- I needed some books for the long plane ride ahead. Nipping into the airport bookstore, I was immediately struck by the beautiful cover of J'Adore New York . Flipping over the book, the synopsis sounded like just my thing:

When Catherine Lambert, an effortlessly chic Parisian lawyer, receives an offer to transfer to the New York office of her prestigious firm, she unhesitatingly accepts. A dedicated follower of fashion and everything stylish, she is determined to conquer the high-flying world of Manhattan law -- and love. Catherine's dreams of glamour fizzle quickly, however, when she is faced with the hard realities of her profession. The pressure of billable hours, the incessant demands of her impossible bosses, the conspiracies of two malicious secretaries and the advances of the lecherous client prompt her to question her career choice. But then she meets Jeffrey Richardson, a powerful client, and her New York life takes on the romance she'd hoped it would -- until an unexpected request forces Catherine to re-evaluate the exclusive world she's chosen for herself.

And... it was just my thing. I loved the insider's view on New York -- the city and the working culture. I loved that Catherine is ambitious, that she's an outsider, and that she works hard in a predominately male word without giving up her femininity. J'adore was a great read, and a few days later I posted my review on Goodreads. Since I sync my Goodreads with Twitter, the review link popped up on my Twitter, too. A few hours later, Isabelle got in touch and thanked me for my review, and I started following her.

And now, a few months on, we're doing a book buzz swap! I'm posting about her book here and over on her blog, she's posting about mine. Head over to say hi and check out her fabulous photos! Oh, and did I mention she's a fellow Canadian? :)

Isabelle has kindly offered to give away two copies of J'adore New York, open internationally! Just leave a comment to enter!

Be Jolly By Golly!

Snow in Kensington Gardens last Saturday.

Today, I'm participating in Jen and Melissa's Be Jolly By Golly! blogfest, spreading the holiday cheer. There's plenty in London these days (unless you're trying to travel) -- a recent snowstorm has transformed the city and made it actually seem Christmas-y!

Christmas in London for me is partly trying, partly special. It's trying because I'm miles from my friends and family back home, but it's special because Mr TR and I have formed our own rituals, even though Christmas isn't something he grew up with.

We get up Christmas morning, feast on croissant and bagels, then exchange gifts. Wrapping up warmly, we then head into the deserted London streets (the one day no buses run!) and drive ten minutes to the South Bank, where we stroll along the Thames and over to St Paul's. Coming back, we'll pop into Founder's Arms for a mulled wine, then head home again.

A dab hand in the kitchen, Mr TR always creates a feast for Christmas dinner and after stuffing ourselves silly, we'll collapse on the sofa and cuddle up to watch the Christmas cartoons. Bliss.

Thanks to Jen and Melissa for organising this! Go here to see the list of other participants.

The Serpentine Lake in the blizzard.

A Little Help From My Online Friends

I don't usually blog on Saturdays, but I'm just dropping in to say I'm over at Mason Canyon's blog today, talking about how a little help (okay, a lot of help) from my online friends got my novel in the top 25 on Kindle on the day of its release.

Drop by to have a read, if you have a chance.

Happy Saturday!

Let the Other Half Loose!

I'm not the world's biggest fan of Blogfests. They're fun, yes, but often hard work to read through and comment on.

But. When fellow blogger DL Hammons read my post on Mr TR and asked if I'd be interested in co-hosting a Significant Other Blogfest, I jumped. It could just be me and my cyber-stalking ways, but I'd love to read posts by all the people behind our blog personas! Husband, wife; mother, father; friend; pet... let them have the blog for a day.

Here's what it's all about:

We've all heard the saying: behind every successful man or woman, there's someone who supports them unconditionally. Nowhere is that more true than with us writers. Who else would put up with our 2 a.m. wake up calls to solicit opinions of a shiny new idea? Our whiplash inducing confidence swings? The hours upon hours in front of the computer monitor, with nary a grunt or nod when they attempt to disrupt our creative flow? The compulsive need to check email on our Smartphones for that reply we've been waiting so anxiously for?

It takes a special person to put up with writers idiosyncrasies, and we believe it's time they had their say! On January 21st, we are urging as many of you as possible to turn over your blogs for one day so your significant others can tell us what it's like to support a writer. And you're not allowed to censor or coach them in any way. We want the hard-boiled truth! The good, the bad, and the ugly! For one day we'd really like to see them step out from behind the writer and let us find out a little bit more about you… and them.

We realise this may take some coaxing on your part, but just think how much fun this will be. They have an entire month to organize their thoughts (and emotions). The important part is that they won't be alone in doing this. No one will be critiquing or judging that day….PROMISE!

Head over to DL's for the famous Mr. Linky to sign up. We've also included this nifty badge to use in promoting the event on your own blog, if you're willing.

Please sign up, then spread the word! This is a chance for your significant other to support you one more way.

Big thanks to DL for the great idea and for putting it all together!

We really hope you'll participate.