Rachael Johns's Blog, page 5

Get reading, get set… GET READING!!!

A few months ago my gorgeous publisher emailed to say that MAN DROUGHT had been chosen to be one of GET READING’S 50 Books You Can’t Put Down, but I couldn’t say anything until September first!!

I was ecstatic to have been chosen as part of this awesome program. I’ve been following this list for a long time now and to have one of these coveted stickers on my cover is a dream come true.

 

As part of GET READING I’m lucky enough to be heading to Broome this Wednesday to speak at their library about MAN DROUGHT and also romance writing! I cannot wait – have always wanted to go to Broome. If only it was for a wee bit longer. For details of this event, click here!

I had a long look through the 50 Books booklet this morning – available online here – and there are SO many books I want to check out. My top few are:

LEFT FOR DEAD by Samantha and Lawrence Barlow
THREE HOURS LATE by Nicole Trope
BLOOD SECRET by Jaye Ford
THE VALE GIRL by Nelika McDonald
THE LAVENDER KEEPER by Fiona McIntosh
EVERYTHING TO LIVE FOR by Turia Pitt
THORNWOOD HOUSE by Anne Romer
THE FIRST THIRD by Will Kostakis

I’ve already been lucky enough to read THE ROSIE PROJECT and QUEEN OF THE ROAD!

All the 50 Books reads are available from good bookshops and chain stores nationally and also online through iBooks and Amazon.

Man Drought is currently on special at Amazon!

So, have a look at the list and let me know which books you’ve already read and loved or which ones you’ll be grabbing during September!!

Romance Writers of Australia Wrap-up!

I started this post about three days ago, the day after I got back from the Romance Writers of Australia 2013 conf. This was a particularly exciting and particularly exhausting conference! Exciting because in 22 years it was the first ever WA conference and exhausting because I was on the organising committee. Of course, there’s lots of plus’s to be on the committee as well – we got insider information on speakers, conference bag goodies and the food, which included a divine chocolate fountain on Friday night!

I arrived at the venue last Wed night and had a gorgeous dinner out with four people I chat to lots on line but only two of which I’d met before. We took American Maisey Yates to OUTBACK JACKS for a laugh! We is Jackie Ashenden, Robyn Thomas and Autumn Macarthur. I’d only met Jackie and Robyn before but you wouldn’t have known it to look at us. I bet onlookers thought we’d known each other for decades!!

Thursday was conference prep day! The committee and some dedicated volunteers packed our gorgeous RIDING THE WAVES envirobags, with the fab keep cup, Baci chocolates and six (yes SIX) free books from publisher sponsors! Thursday night was the Destiny welcome function, followed by the fab Harlequin Author dinner. I sat next to Leah Ashton, Nikki Logan, Victoria Purnam and Tricia Stringer. All gorgeous writers and fabulous dinner companions!

But the real conf kicked off Friday with Kim Hudson’s VENUS ON A HALF SHELL workshop. Unfortunately I missed two hours of this workshop – was at very fabulous meeting with my publishers – so I kind of lost my way. I do find the whole archetype thing fascinating and the lovely Kim sent me her powerpoint notes, so I’m looking forward to having a good look through them!

Friday night was the awesome Harlequin Nautical or Nice cocktail party. Sponsored by my fabulous publisher, this is a dress-up event and it’s always interesting to see the different takes people have on costumes. I went in a seal onesie (cos Nautical and easy). My gorgeous roomie Becca J Heath went as a bar of Cadbury’s chocolate and my friend Leah Ashton went as a Nice biscuit. I really wish I’d known cos then I would have gone as a piece of cake. Other costumes included pirates, sailors, mermaids, a ship and even an island!!

On Saturday I managed to get to a couple of workshops, the first being NIna Bruhn’s SAVE THE CAT. This was based on the book by Blake Snyder, of which I have but have not yet read. I’m gutted that I seem to have lost my conf notebook but she talked all about the ten types of movies (stories) and told us how most of us write only one or two of these. I  quickly ruled out a few – I’m not MONSTER IN THE HOUSE (Jaws, Fatal Attraction) and I’m definitely not GOLDEN FLEECE (Star Wars, Back To The Future) or SUPERHERO – and decided that I’m probably a little RITES OF PASSAGE and a little BUDDY LOVE. She also talked about the three act structure and a lot of other fabulous stuff. I’m now determined to read SAVE THE CAT asap!

Next I went to a more practical workshop – How to use the computer program Scrivener. While the presenters were awesome, I’m still not entirely convinced that Scrivener will enhance my writing process much. I did however like the fancy little thing that lets you know how much you’ve written and how close/far off you are to your goal! Maybe I’ll have another play later. Any of you use Scrivener!?

Other workshop highlights included the panel I moderated on self-publishing – really interesting to hear from three successful self-publishers about what worked for them – and also the published author roundtables. This is where authors get together in small groups of people similarly published to them (I’m in the Single Title camp) and discuss publishing business related issues. What’s said in Roundtables stays in Roundtables, but I came away with some nuggets of pure gold!

Saturday night was the Gala Awards night. This is the first year this hasn’t been a sit down dinner. We went for a dessert and champagne theme instead. The awards were zoomed through and afterwards Escape Publishing put on a dance floor, groovy music and the chocolate fountain. All in all another fab night!

Sunday we were all starting to look a little blurry eyed. Luckily I was giving away free Diet Coke and Tim Tams in the RIDING THE WAVES chill-out lounge!! The only workshop I managed that day was the one I moderated (the self-pubbing one mentioned above) but I spent lots of valuable time chatting with other writers!! This socialising and networking part of conference is almost as/if not just as important as the actual learning! It’s helpful to hear what other people are doing and the experiences they are having. Which leads into the BIGGEST thing I took away from the conf.

This was during Julia Quinn’s fantastic plenary speech on Saturday morning. She won me over when she waxed lyrical about her disorganisation skills, but the thing that really resonated was:

NO AUTHOR WILL HURT THEIR CAREER BY HELPING ANOTHER AUTHOR!!! 

I strongly believe this too! It is so easy to compare oneself to others sometimes and feel a smidgeon jealous at another’s success but it is much more uplifting and beneficial to celebrate each other’s successes and work together to spread the word about our books!! I love all my romance writing friends and I’m so glad for such a uplifting and supportive organisation!

LONG LIVE RWAus!!!

PS. I’ve only shared a couple of pics here but you can see the rest of mine on my FACEBOOK PAGE!

Reading Habits

Hi Folks

Hope you’ve all had a splendity-splendid weekend. I took the kids to see ROOM ON THE BROOM (based on the book by the fabulous Julia Donaldson) at the theatre in Perth today – an exhausting but awesome day. Lots of ice-cream involved too. Whoops. I drove most of the way there and back but my mum took a little turn towards the end and I got to catch up with some reading on my iPhone!

This got me thinking that nowadays, with all the different reading options available to us, I usually have at least THREE books on the go.

I’m generally reading a print book and this sits by my bed – I’ll read it for half an hour or so (or as long as it takes me to fall asleep at night) and if I’m lucky maybe a few pages during the day. Currently my bed book is – The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert whatever-his-name-is! Hey, we all know he’s really J.K. Rowling!!

Then I’ll also have an audio book on the go. If I do any long drives on my own, then this book moves faster, otherwise I’ll listen whenever I go for a run/walk, which at the moment is sadly on average of about once a week. My current audio book is The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson. I’ve read four of her books before and have absolutely LOVED them – this is not my fave, but maybe that’s cos I’m listening to it in snatches. Haven’t had a long trip on my own for a while

And my third book is an e-book. I’ve got a Kindle and I also read on my iPad and iPhone – I’ve got the Kindle App, Google Play App and iBooks app all synced to my pad and phone, so that wherever I am with whatever device I can pick up where I’ve left off. Currently on my phone I’m reading LICK by Kylie Scott (it’s getting RAVE reviews)!

So, I’m curious – are you faithful to one book or like me, do you read more than one book at once on different platforms?!

Aren’t we lucky to have so many options these days.

x

Rach!

My Secret Life with Dakota Harrison…

I’m trying to recall exactly when I met today’s guest… but the first interaction I can actually recall was via email. She had the most fun interactive backgrounds to her email – lots of colour and happiness, and I immediately knew she was a good sort. We met later and in person debut Samhain author Dakota Harrison is just as lovely.

Dakota’s first book EXHALE was released this month and is on my Kindle waiting to be devoured. Today she shares with us what she does when she’d NOT writing!

Welcome Dakota!!

Good morning everyone! Thank you, Rachael, for having me today.

After reading some of the past posts in this vein, my life is rather ‘everyman’ (or ‘everywoman’) in comparison. Two children, husband (some might say that constitutes a third child… ), and various pets. I run my own mobile hairdressing business three days a week, which suits my writing life perfectly.

This is the view from my office – where the business side of things happen. Or not! Edits and all the other stuff happen here, the actual first draft takes place at the dining room table or recliner chair.

It’s certainly peaceful, and I can see if the kids are misbehaving!

I live in rural Queensland, a good three hours from Brisbane. When people think of Queensland, they think warmth and long sunny days. Not here! We have the reputation as the coldest place in Queensland. During summer it’s a blessing – winter, not so much.

One thing I do in my down-time is bake or cook. My favorite things to bake? Sweets. Cakes, biscuits, muffins, and most of all – brownies! I love them still warm, and as a fellow writer and good friend observed – they need ice-cream when warm like that. Also pumpkin soup is a fave in winter!

Another thing I love so to travel. I haven’t done a lot of it, but getting married in Hawaii on Valentine’s Day was a wonderful start! This is looking back at Waikiki and Diamond Head from the dinner cruise ship.

The visit to the Pearl Harbor Memorial really struck a chord in myself and my husband. It was humbling to think of what had happened all those years ago, and that the sailors are still entombed there.

Hawaii itself, though, was simply beautiful.

This is Sunset Beach, the surfing mecca.

The sand is amazing, it doesn’t stick to you like our white sand. It’s more granular, like sugar, and if you look closely, it’s the prettiest mix of shades of pinks and whites. A week on Oahu simply wasn’t enough!

Thanks for spending a little time and having a sneak peek into my life outside of writing!

Good morning everyone! Thank you, Rachael, for having me today.

Thanks for stopping by Dakota and sharing some of your life with us!! You made my mouth water with those Brownie photos and I’m dreaming of a holiday! 

Be sure to check out the blurb of Dakota’s fabulous new book below and find her on Twitter, Facebook and at her website.

EXHALE – Samhain publishing

Takeshi is finishing up a brutal double shift in the ER when a familiar—and bloody—face erases all thought of heading home. The broken body of the woman fighting for her life belongs to Gabby, his best friend’s mother. A woman he’s loved since he turned nineteen, when he foolishly declared his love for her.

She’s not dying today. Not on his watch. And not with a promise left unfulfilled.

Gabby has never forgotten the taste of the kiss Taka gave her under the mistletoe all those years ago. Or the silly promise that surely by now he’s forgotten. She’s wrong. Taka remembers. And she melts as he uses every trick in his highly trained surgeon’s hands to heal her—and rekindle the heat between them.

But there’s a secret lurking in Gabby’s past. And when it follows her all the way to Seattle, it threatens to drag the one man she loves into the nightmare she thought she’d left behind.

You can grab a copy of EXHALE from the following places – Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Booktopia, Samhain or your fave e-bookshop!

You should all fire me, you know!?

OMG, tomorrow is July 29th and the last time I wrote on this blog (a post written by ME that is, not a guest) it was June 29th! That is TERRIBLE! I am a total and utter blogger failure.

I wish I could tell you, I’ve been busy writing another book, but two weeks of that time was kids school holidays and I really did nothing much except tweak OUTBACK BLAZE (aka edit the damn thing – but it was so long-winded due to snatching moments of time between school holiday stuff, that it didn’t FEEL like I did much at all). Good news is that is now 6k words lighter than when I first subbed it – trust me, that is a good thing!

In the school holidays we:

Did a fair bit of bush-walking. The kids love it for some reason and it’s quality family time. On one trip to Clackline, which is about an hour and a bit east of Perth we walked to an old Clay Refractory and you cannot believe how mega cool the kids thought this was. Hubby and I were pretty surprised the public were allowed access, cos it looked like it could crumble at any moment, but the kids loved all the clay they found on the floor.

Watched two movies – Monsters University (Oh my, it’s a prequel, I just assumed it was a sequel) and Despicale Me 2. I must admit, I’m pretty fussy about kids movies. I don’t ADORE them all but these two were pretty cute. What’s not to love about minions!
Spent two days in Perth catching up with friends and cuddling one dear friends gorgeous new baby.
Discovered Skylanders!!!! Yes, I succumbed and bought my kids the Skylanders Starter pack for Wii!! I’m a bit of a nazi when it comes to TV and games but during the limited time they’re allowed to play my kids have found a new obsession. Especially His Lordship, who’s happy to read his new Skylanders book from the moment he gets up in the morning until he falls into bed at night.

Now school is back, the first edits of OUTBACK BLAZE have been subbed, and last week I started work on the third book in my BUNYIP BAY series (first will be OUTBACK DREAMS in Oct). Am really looking forward to writing this book. In fact, there’s a lot I’m looking forward to at the moment – the Romance Writers of Australia conf in August, a book out in October and Genre Con in October. Life is good in my little world.

Although the sore throat I’m starting to develop can take a hike!

My Secret Life with Emmie Dark

I’m delighted to have fabulous Superromance author, Emmie Dark on my blog today. I’m currently reading Emmie’s latest book JUST FOR TODAY and it is totally delicious! It kicks off with a very sexy one night stand and I’m desperate to finish my edits so I can get back to it. But more about the book at the end of this blog, but right now, I’m going to hand over to Emmie who has a juicy secret to share with you all!! 

Take it away Emmie:

Like a few of the writers who’ve visited here to confess their secret life, when Rachael asked me to talk about “what I do when I’m not writing” at first I drew a blank. I’m on deadline right now, so my life seems to consist of writing, cups of tea, writing, sleep, writing and a re-watch of Season 5 of True Blood so I can really enjoy the first few episodes of Season 6. (Because some things are too important to miss out on.)

But I did think of some strange, and kinda secret, thing that I did many years ago.

I was in a movie. This movie, to be precise:

Queen of the Damned was a version of the Anne Rice book, starring the vampire Lestat (arguably made famous—or infamous—by Tom Cruise in “Interview With A Vampire”).

But there was no Tom Cruise in this movie. In fact the movie kind of disappeared without a trace, and its stars have never really risen into the A-ranks. (Sadly, the female lead, a singer making her movie debut, Aaliyah, was killed in a plane crash before the movie was released.)

But it was an amazing experience, being on the very bare outskirts of movie-making magic.

I was just an extra. (And a pretty ordinary extra, as I recall.) A friend of mine had seen the notice calling for participants and convinced me  that it’s be an awesome idea to sign up. So we did.

Before heading to the meeting point we’d been provided with, we had to get dressed. No makeup artists or costume designers were provided, just instructions to “goth ourselves”. Black clothes (I have no shortage of those), white face paint, black eye shadow, messy hair, lots of eyeliner, a few crucifixes around our necks. Done!

The scene I was involved in was a rock concert, filmed at an abandoned quarry in Bacchus Marsh. We were to meet at 7pm, be bussed out to the location, work movie magic, and returned back to the city around 6am. (Yes, AM. Filming went all night.)

There were three or four bus loads of people who turned up. I seem to recall a kind of vetting process as we boarded the buses, a quick once-over from a someone wearing a headset and you were sent to one bus or another. It quickly became clear that those people with the most outlandish and elaborate costumes were being sent to one particular bus.

We were not sent to that bus.

At the location, on first sight, it was pretty amazing. Smaller than I imagined. But still pretty cool – a fully formed rock concert stage all set up and ready to go, with flame-shooting columns along the sides. The organisers seemed to think the crowd would be pretty excited by the fact that there was a brand new, never-before heard Korn song played, but that didn’t do much for me.

There was a circus tent set up as our “trailer”. No fish tanks, masseurs and chilled bubbly for us, instead we had hot dogs and popcorn and Coke cans.

Meanwhile out on set, we had to listen to the brand new Korn song about 453,876 times – approximately. Over and over and over. God, how BORING it is to make movies! They don’t tell you that in the weekly gossip magazines.

After a long time of chanting and waving our hands above our heads making devil fingers, my friends and I basically got sick of the whole thing and retired to our “trailer”. We ate hot dogs and drank Coke and talked about the ridiculous and inane things you talk about at 4am when you’re dressed as a goth and stuck in a freezing cold quarry in Bacchus Marsh.

Tragically, you can’t see me in the final film. All that effort with white make up base and black eyeliner was for naught. One of our friends even had a broken arm, and I thought for sure we’d see him waving his cast around. But no – I’ve watched it closely.

And now, thanks to the magic of the internet, you can too.

I honestly have no idea how they pulled together that scene from the disjointed and hectic filming I witnessed. It just makes me all the more impressed by the skills of actors, directors and movie-makers today. And quite happy to remain a popcorn-chomping audience member!

WOW Emmie – that was really interesting. You so have to put that in a book someday. The closest I have been to a movie set is being an extra in a St George’s Bank add. Sadly, I never saw the add, although I did get paid something like $100 for it

Blog readers, I’d love to know – what’s the closest you’ve got to a movie set?

Emmie’s latest SuperRomance release “Just For Today…” came out in June and is available now at Amazon, Booktopia, Kobo, iBooks and any good book store. Check out the blurb below:

Veterinarian Jess Alexander doesn’t have one-night stands with the best man at a coworker’s wedding. But thirtysomething divorcée Jess is definitely in a rut that a night of reckless passion with a younger man just might break. And what better candidate than criminally good-looking Sean Paterson?

Being with Sean is exhilarating. But where could this relationship possibly go? Expecting anything more than a good time from Sean is a one-way ticket to heartbreak. Against her better judgment, Jess can’t walk away from whatever this is…not yet.

You can find Emmie on the web:

Website:  http://www.emmiedark.com

Blog:  http://emmiedark.blogspot.com.au/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/EmmieDarkFanPage

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/EmmieDark

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Cover reveal: OUTBACK DREAMS

I’m beyond excited to reveal the cover for my October release OUTBACK DREAMS (Harlequin Australia). I was going to wait till nearer the time to share but in the end I just couldn’t wait and I think you’ll understand why!

As usual my newsletter peeps were the first to get a look at the hunk above. If you’re not a subscriber but would like to be, you can sign up at the bottom of my website – http://www.rachaeljohns.com

Do you re-read books!?

Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve blogged – life’s just been flying by at the moment!! But lately I’ve been thinking a lot about books I’d like to re-read. Books that left me feeling as if I wish they hadn’t ended, books I wish I’d written, true comfort reads. I’ve decided that despite the MASSIVE, tottering TBR pile (both in print and on my tablet), I’m going to re-read some books over the next few months.

Below is my list of books that truly held me captivated at various times in the last ten years or so. I’m really interested to see if there are books that I loved the first time round but don’t feel the same about second time around. Often I believe whether I like a book or not, depends on what else is going on in my life and how I’m feeling at the time of reading.

In no particular order this is my list of books I’d like to re-read:

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty - I started listening to the audio book of this while driving (2.5 hours) from our house to the airport for a conference once. I loved it so much, I found the book in the airport bookshop and finished it on the plane!
Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding – this was such a fun read and I read it around the time I started writing, so I think it was quite influential in my initial attempts.
I Have A Bed Made Of Buttermilk Pancakes  by Jaclyn Moriarty – I was writing reviews for The West Australian when I read this book and was glad I didn’t have to review this one. It was just so amazing and cleverly written – if I remember, scenes are kind of written backwards (had to explain) and I knew I’d never be able to convey it’s ingenuity properly. Saying this, I recommended it to someone a couple of years back and they didn’t like it at all.
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby - I used to read a lot by this author and along with About A Boy, this was one of my faves. It’s about a bunch of suicidal people who meet on a rooftop one night, ready to throw themselves off (and if I recall correctly), they convince each other to give it one more week and then meet again.
Faking It by Jennifer Crusie – read this after hearing Jenny speak at a RWAus conf. The book is as funny as the author herself!
Mr Perfect by Linda Howard – after Leah Ashton recommended this author, I downloaded this audio book. Loved it so much I went out and bought the print copy and can’t wait to dive into it again.
The Magnate’s Indecent Proposal by Ally Blake – my all time favourite Mills & Boon, about a couple who meet when they accidentally switch phones. Funny and sexy, the first third of the book at least is them text messaging each other.
Carole King Is An Alien by Yasmin Boland – this is one of two novels written by astrologer Yasmin Boland and I’m gutted she never wrote anymore. Can’t remember exactly why I loved this book (great reason to reread) but I totally did. Think it was it’s quirkiness.
Marrying Daisy Bellamy – gorgeous love triangle romance from awesome author Susan Wiggs. Such a heart-warming, feel good story and one of the first of hers I ever read.
Love Rat by Moya Sayer-Jones – again I can’t recall why I loved this book but it’s on my keeper shelf so I must have!

So that’s my list – I’m gonna be busy – and I’m sure I’ll think of more as I embark on this project.

I’m curious… do you re-read books and if so what are your faves?

My Secret Life with Jennifer St George

A massive welcome to the hugely talented, all round fabulous author Jennifer St George!! I’m lucky enough to have met Jennifer and done a brilliant media workshop with her. All her books are in my leaning tower of to be read !! Cannot wait, because if they’re only half exciting as her secret life and hold a fraction of her effervescent personality, I know I’m in for a treat. Jennifer is published by Destiny Romance and her latest release is The Love Deception (what an awesome title)!!

Without further ado.. take it away Jen:

Before I moved to Byron Bay and began writing romance I worked in marketing and management consulting for twenty years. That life is so different to the one I have now, it feels like it’s a secret even to me.  That life involved lots of international travel, hotels, exhaustion, elation and some incredible memories. Fortunately that life has given me lots of inspiration for my stories and is the reason why I set them in exotic international locations. As they say, write what you know.

In that secret life, there are lots of highlights. Here are a couple of memorable moments:

Being picked up by the KGB

I’d flown to Moscow to launch Guinness beer in Russia. When I walked off the plane I was taken by security through a side door and my passport taken away.  To say I was a little nervous was an understatement. But I was quickly ushered through a VIP exit and into the hands of the KGB. Well in reality I was picked up by the head of a Russian drinks distribution company. He’d formerly been a KGB submarine officer. The stories he told! Still it all felt very exciting and a bit risky.

After the launch we walked out into the snowy night through Red Square, past Saint Basil’s Cathedral and to some local vodka bars. I’ve never seen so much vodka in my life. I keep tipping my drinks into a nearby pot plant or I would have been face down under the table.

I’ve never been back to Russia but often think of that exciting time surrounded by Russians, vodka and snow.

I gave away a pub in Ireland

Well I did the publicity anyway.  This was another Guinness promotion and the company organised a competition in the US to give away a pub in County Cork.  Ten Americans were flown to Ireland to compete in pub games to win the pub.  As we were in a tiny little village by the sea, I couldn’t convince many media to attend the event, so I produced a VNR (video news release) and brought down a satellite truck and beamed the story out from there. The story went wild. I fielded calls from all over the world. Jay Leno’s people even rang.  The resulting coverage reached over 40 million people. A bit of a career highlight.

Presenting to financial gurus in New York

I ran some analysis on a major US oil company and discovered something very interesting about their share price. The firm I worked for felt I had to present these results to the financial team in New York. I was terrified. These were US financial gurus. One guy had written the major financial textbooks used in the ivy-league MBA programs. I travelled to NY with the partner of the firm who worked on my presentation all the way from Sydney to NY. I had four hours sleep and then was up at the podium. I was so tired, I don’t really remember giving that presentation or the questions they asked. Afterwards, I had enough time for a walk down Fifth Avenue, have a meal and it was back on the plane. It was insane. I decided then management consulting wasn’t really for me!

I have some amazing experiences in my career, but at the other end of the spectrum, I spent a long time promoting toilet paper and fork-lift trucks, nearly crash-landed in both Geneva and Edinburgh and worked way too many 14-hour days. But all the ups and downs have provided an endless supply of settings and scenarios for my stories.  In fact, all that waking up in different hotels in different countries was the inspiration for my latest release, The Love Deception. I’d often wake up and not know where I was. This is my heroine, Felicity Carter’s experience at the beginning of The Love Deception. From that point on, her life is a rollercoaster ride in the search for truth, understanding and ultimately…love.

What a great concept Jen, I might have to move The Love Deception up my tower And I must say I really do hope you put giving away a pub in a book one day!  You can find Jen online at her website, on Twitter and Facebook!

The Love Deception is available now from iBooks, Amazon and Destiny romance, check out the blurb below:

When Felicity Carter wakes up naked in a strange bed, she has no idea how she got there. And  no recollection of meeting the gorgeous man calmly offering her breakfast. Shocked and embarrassed, Felicity flees – hoping that their paths never cross again.

The last thing she expects is to discover that her mystery man is Damon Fullbright, partner at the law firm where Felicity has just started work – and her new boss! Damon is appalled to find the young woman he rescued has been hired to work on his team. Apart from anything else, he doesn’t need the distraction.

Despite their early misconceptions, their appreciation for each other  - both personally and professionally – begins to grow. But when Damon discovers what Felicity’s been hiding, how will he ever trust her again?

A gripping romance that combines courtroom intrigue with a dash of Barbados, The Love Deception is the latest book from Jennifer St George.

The Busy Writer’s Guide to Bake Sales

Last week, I had a MASSIVE deadline. In case you missed my stressing, I had to finish OUTBACK BLAZE (of which I’d had two months to write) and this just happened to coincide with the school cake stall!!! ARGH!!!! I could NOT waste the kidfree day I had the day before the cake stall to don an apron and go all Nigella Lawson!! I had a book to finish.

Of course, books or no books, I am first and foremost a mother and I take this job very seriously. As well as wiping snotty noses, almost killing myself on Lego in the middle of the night and listening to the most boring books in the world for reading homework every night, this means doing my bit for school fundraisers! So, I had to get over my stress and BAKE. But I wanted something easy. Stuff that would taste good, that I could cook a couple of days before and most importantly would be quick and easy.

ENTER fabulous 4 Ingredient Cooking! Has anyone got these recipe books? I don’t have yet but I liked these gorgeous ladies on FB a while back and have been being tantalised by delicious and easy recipes ever since.

I knew that these recipes would be my saviours and so I scrolled back through FB for one I’d already tried – Caramel cookies – and looked on their website for more (decided on Pineapple cake). A friend also mentioned a THREE ingredient (yes, you read that right) BROWNIE (that lasted up to three months)! I so had to try that. In the end, I made about four plates of biscuits, three plates of brownies and two cakes and here I am to share with you how. It took me just one morning and they all tasted fabulous.

Check out my Smartie cookies. These use the 4 Ingredients Caramel Cookie recipe, which I found on FB and I added my own flourish of three Smarties on top of each one! These went down a treat!

Because it was a CAKE stall, I thought I’d better make a couple of cakes and I found this Pineapple Cake on the 4 Ingredients website. I figured pineapple is moist, which meant the cakes should last a couple of days and it DID. I iced them both the night before with a simple cream cheese icing and they smelt so good, I am going to make one for myself tomorrow Sorry – I didn’t take a photo of this, OR the Nutella Brownies, which you all must do yourselves a favour and make.

I’m not sure who to attribute this recipe too because there are a number of websites sharing it, but here’s what you’ll need:

*1 Cup Nutella

*2 Eggs

*10 Tablespoons all purpose flower

Basically mix all these babies together, chuck in a square brownie tin and bake to gooey perfection. About 180 degrees (celcius) for about half an hour. This recipe is SO delicious, I forgot to take a photo cos I was too busy trying to cut it and plate it without eating it. I might have to make another batch tomorrow!!!!

So folks… what’s your favourite easy recipe? Go on, please share!!