Rachel Lyndhurst's Blog, page 6
July 20, 2012
Summer is officially here
The weather lady said we're heading for a few sunny days down here in the south of England, maybe even a heatwave, which is typical now that we've got the flood pump working so nicely ...
Yep, in a few hours the children will be on their summer school holidays for a whole six weeks as well, so there's no ignoring the fact that summer really IS happening. Hurrah!
On reflection, the last two summers in my house were anything but relaxing; submissions, book deals, a publisher folding,deadlines and other Things That Simply Had To Be Done. However this year is different. I've a book (Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire) that, as I write, is still in the top 20 Amazon.com Kindle series romance chart after being released in February by Entangled Publishing. My second novel, The Devil to Pay is all ready for release with The Wild Rose Press on October 10th 2012, and I'm awaiting edits on my third book that's contracted to Entangled as well. Other projects are lining up behinds the scenes too, so I'm very, very happy with my lot this year.
So I'm going to try and STOP for a few weeks and just 'be', because they won't be children forever.
This is me and the little Lyndhursts a few years ago in Ibiza. A wonderful place. An inspiring place ... But enough of all that romancey stuff for now.
I'll be popping in and out to tell you what I've been up to, but until then I hope you all have a wonderful summer. Without wellies!
Yep, in a few hours the children will be on their summer school holidays for a whole six weeks as well, so there's no ignoring the fact that summer really IS happening. Hurrah!
On reflection, the last two summers in my house were anything but relaxing; submissions, book deals, a publisher folding,deadlines and other Things That Simply Had To Be Done. However this year is different. I've a book (Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire) that, as I write, is still in the top 20 Amazon.com Kindle series romance chart after being released in February by Entangled Publishing. My second novel, The Devil to Pay is all ready for release with The Wild Rose Press on October 10th 2012, and I'm awaiting edits on my third book that's contracted to Entangled as well. Other projects are lining up behinds the scenes too, so I'm very, very happy with my lot this year.
So I'm going to try and STOP for a few weeks and just 'be', because they won't be children forever.
This is me and the little Lyndhursts a few years ago in Ibiza. A wonderful place. An inspiring place ... But enough of all that romancey stuff for now.
I'll be popping in and out to tell you what I've been up to, but until then I hope you all have a wonderful summer. Without wellies!
July 2, 2012
Cancel Christmas for Rachel Lyndhurst because ...
...I just had all mine early and in one go.
Remember I told you I was going to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend? And I promised you pictures? Well, here we go:
Here's a snap of me with one of the vehicles that the Queen has travelled in - a great big Lincoln. Check out the cool number plate!
And this is as close as I could get to a Bugatti Veyron Vitesse. Very luxe. Very pricey.
I was within a few steps of Chris Evans at one point, and he's definitely a millionaire, but I fumbled with my camera and missed the moment. Here, however is one of his Ferrari collection.
The lovely, generous man has auctioned off the use of his collection to raise money for the charity Children In Need. According to the Southern Daily Echo he's raised £1.5 million so far. Brilliant stuff!
Here's Matt Baker's back (just in case any of you are desperate fans!).
Then I thought I heard angels singing ... and began to run (truly I did!).
And he was SO polite and kind and utterly charming ...
Yep, another dream come true - I met DAVID GANDY ! Yes! David superdupermodel Gandy!
Now, those of you who know me, also know that this is a big deal for me. A Very Big Deal Indeed. So I forgot to take any arty photographs of vintage champagne, because I was too busy drinking lots of it. For the shock you understand.
And now I need a very long lie down ...
Remember I told you I was going to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend? And I promised you pictures? Well, here we go:
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Here's a snap of me with one of the vehicles that the Queen has travelled in - a great big Lincoln. Check out the cool number plate!
And this is as close as I could get to a Bugatti Veyron Vitesse. Very luxe. Very pricey.
I was within a few steps of Chris Evans at one point, and he's definitely a millionaire, but I fumbled with my camera and missed the moment. Here, however is one of his Ferrari collection.
The lovely, generous man has auctioned off the use of his collection to raise money for the charity Children In Need. According to the Southern Daily Echo he's raised £1.5 million so far. Brilliant stuff!
Here's Matt Baker's back (just in case any of you are desperate fans!).
Then I thought I heard angels singing ... and began to run (truly I did!).
And he was SO polite and kind and utterly charming ...
Yep, another dream come true - I met DAVID GANDY ! Yes! David superdupermodel Gandy!
Now, those of you who know me, also know that this is a big deal for me. A Very Big Deal Indeed. So I forgot to take any arty photographs of vintage champagne, because I was too busy drinking lots of it. For the shock you understand.
And now I need a very long lie down ...
June 28, 2012
Surfacing ...
I've not posted for a few weeks (slaps own wrist) as I've been giving some light revisions on my latest Entangled Indulgence book my full attention. Well, almost all of it ...
I have been outside the house a few times (not including Sainsbury's and Le Dump):
I finally made it to Exbury Gardens at its glorious best.
And the amazing walled rose garden at Mottisfont Abbey.
I wish you could smell it - just incredible.
I'll be sharing more pictures from these places in due course as tiny bits of them have sneaked their way into the book that's just been revised and another manuscript too. And this weekend I'm being taken to the Goodwood Festival of Speed! And you know what that means, don't you? Fast cars, planes, millionaires and champagne - hands on research that's just too good to waste. Putting the camera on charge now! My mind is racing towards another book already ...
I'll be back with some pics next week, but for now it's the Post Office and the laundry that await. Poor Cinders ...
I have been outside the house a few times (not including Sainsbury's and Le Dump):
I finally made it to Exbury Gardens at its glorious best.
And the amazing walled rose garden at Mottisfont Abbey.
I wish you could smell it - just incredible.
I'll be sharing more pictures from these places in due course as tiny bits of them have sneaked their way into the book that's just been revised and another manuscript too. And this weekend I'm being taken to the Goodwood Festival of Speed! And you know what that means, don't you? Fast cars, planes, millionaires and champagne - hands on research that's just too good to waste. Putting the camera on charge now! My mind is racing towards another book already ...
I'll be back with some pics next week, but for now it's the Post Office and the laundry that await. Poor Cinders ...
June 6, 2012
A little bit of half term fun
Annie Seaton tagged me in this fun little post. Basically I am going to tell you four things on various topics that you may not know about me. And it’ll kick some life back into this neglected blog!
Here we go:
Four places I have worked:
A satellite manufacturer
A lingerie department
A railway depot
A holiday insurance company
Four movies I could watch again and again:
Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Forrest Gump
The Terminator
Dead Poet’s Society
Four TV Shows I watch:
Episodes
BBC news
Being Human
Dad’s Army repeats.
Four Places I have travelled to:
Italy
Spain
France
Greece
Four Authors I enjoy:
Sue Moorcroft
Anne McAllister
George Orwell
Howard Jacobson
Four websites I visit daily:
Novel Rank (OCD)
Barnes and Noble (more OCD)
Four favourite foods:
Roast pork crackling
Murgh Charga and fresh tandoor-baked naan
Anything with tzatziki in Greece.
Potato crisps
Four places I'd rather be:
Looking out over the sea from my (dream) cliff top Amalfi villa
Drinking fine wine in the sun in my (dream) castle with 10ft walls and no neighbours.
Somewhere it doesn’t rain during school holidays.
With The Exec, anywhere.
Four people I want to tag:
Teresa MorganDenyse King (D.J. Kirkby)
Sally Clements
Judy Jarvie
This is just a bit of fun, but if you've been tagged and you want to play, please make your own list and link back to me. :0)
May 25, 2012
The sun has got his hat on!
Well, guess what? I didn't make Exbury Gardens last week because the Exec was ill. And then I was ill. Typical! So we're going tomorrow unless something unexpected happens, and I'll be taking my camera, so you've been warned!
Last weekend wasn't a complete washout though; look what I found in our local antiques centre Chesapeake Mill :
A fab bit of vintage paste for ten pounds - might have even been around in 1952 when The Queen was being crowned - who knows? Isn't it lovely?
So, I'm well and truly ready for The Queen's Diamond Jubilee now. I shall wear it all day and eat coronation chicken and sherry trifle. Hurrah!
I rather think I should whip up an appropriate cocktail or three to toast Ma'am with as well. What do you think? All suggestions gratefully received - I'll need to test them out before the big day!
Last weekend wasn't a complete washout though; look what I found in our local antiques centre Chesapeake Mill :
A fab bit of vintage paste for ten pounds - might have even been around in 1952 when The Queen was being crowned - who knows? Isn't it lovely?
So, I'm well and truly ready for The Queen's Diamond Jubilee now. I shall wear it all day and eat coronation chicken and sherry trifle. Hurrah!
I rather think I should whip up an appropriate cocktail or three to toast Ma'am with as well. What do you think? All suggestions gratefully received - I'll need to test them out before the big day!
May 18, 2012
Friday already? Again?!
All my deadlines have now been met; proofs signed off, and a full manuscript submitted. And because I didn't go the the RNA summer party last night, my feet are not sore and neither is my head! I can't wait to see all the pictures though.
So, now that I'm technically a free woman for a bit, the laptop is going OFF. With any luck the sun will come out and I can go to one of my favourite places this weekend, Exbury Gardens, home of the Mitfords and the Rothschilds.
The gardens are currently in full bloom, bursting with rhododendron and azaleas - a simply wonderful blaze of colour. Here's a short video tour, with some very soothing music if you're stressed or have a sore head this morning!
I always come back inspired, in fact the estuary part of the gardens on the Beaulieu river was the inspiration for a scene in the manuscript I've recently sent off to my Indulgence editor at Entangled Publishing. The clouds are beginning to gather at this point in the story ...
I can almost taste the salt air already!
Are you planning anything special this weekend?
So, now that I'm technically a free woman for a bit, the laptop is going OFF. With any luck the sun will come out and I can go to one of my favourite places this weekend, Exbury Gardens, home of the Mitfords and the Rothschilds.
The gardens are currently in full bloom, bursting with rhododendron and azaleas - a simply wonderful blaze of colour. Here's a short video tour, with some very soothing music if you're stressed or have a sore head this morning!
I always come back inspired, in fact the estuary part of the gardens on the Beaulieu river was the inspiration for a scene in the manuscript I've recently sent off to my Indulgence editor at Entangled Publishing. The clouds are beginning to gather at this point in the story ...
I can almost taste the salt air already!
Are you planning anything special this weekend?
May 8, 2012
A micro update
The bank holiday is over, the mob is back to school and work and so am I!
I have a deadline to meet for my next book with Entangled Publishing and it's almost finished, but no distractions are allowed until it's sent off. So it's just as well the sun isn't shining because I'd be tempted to get out in the garden and finally plant this:
Isn't it lovely?
And in case you're wondering the strange pots with faces on the bottom right are my daughter's squirrel scarers. If she's lucky she'll get more than one strawberry this year ...
I'll be back when my Spaniard's been sent on his way. Have a great week!
I have a deadline to meet for my next book with Entangled Publishing and it's almost finished, but no distractions are allowed until it's sent off. So it's just as well the sun isn't shining because I'd be tempted to get out in the garden and finally plant this:
Isn't it lovely?
And in case you're wondering the strange pots with faces on the bottom right are my daughter's squirrel scarers. If she's lucky she'll get more than one strawberry this year ...
I'll be back when my Spaniard's been sent on his way. Have a great week!
May 2, 2012
Mandy Baggot is Taking Charge - release day!
Mandy Baggot and Sapphire Star Publishing proudly present Mandy's fifth contemporary romance novel, Taking Charge, released TODAY!!
Is going back Robyn’s only way forward?
American-born Robyn Matthers is going home. With her dad in hospital, his roadhouse in ruins and the ice hockey team slipping downthe league, she needs to take charge. But does she have the strength to do it?
Cole Ryan is a hockey player on a personal mission. He’s tall, dark, hot and Robyn’s noticed! But can she trust her feelings - or his? And what will Cole do when he finds out the truth about her?
With an ill father, a trailer trash step-mom and ex-boyfriend Brad desperate for another chance, does Robyn have time to contemplate a relationship? Can she start again? Does she really want to? And can two people really fall in love in three days?
Mandy has a month long blog tour with reviews, interviews and fun-packed features about the novel. All details can be found on www.mandybaggot.webs.com and here is your link to Mandy's Amazon pages to buy your copy!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mandy-Baggot/e/B003MENHL0/ref=sr_tc_2_rm?qid=1335023112&sr=8-2-ent
http://www.amazon.com/Mandy-Baggot/e/B003MENHL0/ref=sr_tc_2_rm?qid=1335023144&sr=8-2-ent
Is going back Robyn’s only way forward?
American-born Robyn Matthers is going home. With her dad in hospital, his roadhouse in ruins and the ice hockey team slipping downthe league, she needs to take charge. But does she have the strength to do it?
Cole Ryan is a hockey player on a personal mission. He’s tall, dark, hot and Robyn’s noticed! But can she trust her feelings - or his? And what will Cole do when he finds out the truth about her?
With an ill father, a trailer trash step-mom and ex-boyfriend Brad desperate for another chance, does Robyn have time to contemplate a relationship? Can she start again? Does she really want to? And can two people really fall in love in three days?
Mandy has a month long blog tour with reviews, interviews and fun-packed features about the novel. All details can be found on www.mandybaggot.webs.com and here is your link to Mandy's Amazon pages to buy your copy!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mandy-Baggot/e/B003MENHL0/ref=sr_tc_2_rm?qid=1335023112&sr=8-2-ent
http://www.amazon.com/Mandy-Baggot/e/B003MENHL0/ref=sr_tc_2_rm?qid=1335023144&sr=8-2-ent
April 30, 2012
Splish splosh!
I can't remember an April being this wet EVER! It's just not stopped, dreadful, depressing and a drought? Not in my back garden ...
Anyway it was The Exec's birthday this weekend so it wasn't all bad, although we decided to abandon our plans for a romantic meal overlooking a twinkling harbour as a warm spring evening was just not going to happen. And we got lots of boring jobs done. And I got very, very motivated to write like the wind.
One day, when I've saved up enough pennies, we are going here:
And I'm not taking no for an answer!
Has anything got you massively motivated this week? Where's your dream destination?
See you on Thursday, I have a sneaky feeling Lady Baggot may be popping in!
Anyway it was The Exec's birthday this weekend so it wasn't all bad, although we decided to abandon our plans for a romantic meal overlooking a twinkling harbour as a warm spring evening was just not going to happen. And we got lots of boring jobs done. And I got very, very motivated to write like the wind.
One day, when I've saved up enough pennies, we are going here:
And I'm not taking no for an answer!
Has anything got you massively motivated this week? Where's your dream destination?
See you on Thursday, I have a sneaky feeling Lady Baggot may be popping in!
Splish splosh!
I can't remember an April being this wet EVER! It's just not stopped, dreadful, depressing and a drought? Not in my back garden ...
Anyway it was The Exec's birthday this weekend so it wasn't all bad, although we decided to abandon our plans for a romantic meal overlooking a twinkling harbour as a warm spring evening was just not going to happen. And we got lots of boring jobs done. And I got very, very motivated to write like the wind.
One day, when I've saved up enough pennies, we are going here:
And I'm not taking no for an answer!
Has anything got you massively motivated this week? Where's your dream destination?
See you on Thursday, I have a sneaky feeling Lady Baggot may be popping in!
Anyway it was The Exec's birthday this weekend so it wasn't all bad, although we decided to abandon our plans for a romantic meal overlooking a twinkling harbour as a warm spring evening was just not going to happen. And we got lots of boring jobs done. And I got very, very motivated to write like the wind.
One day, when I've saved up enough pennies, we are going here:
And I'm not taking no for an answer!
Has anything got you massively motivated this week? Where's your dream destination?
See you on Thursday, I have a sneaky feeling Lady Baggot may be popping in!
